The Art of Wrestling with Colt Cabana
Episode 306 – Jimmy Havoc
Release Date: June 16, 2016
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Report by Chris Davidson
Hot Topics
– Jimmy Havoc discusses the development on the British indy wrestling scene, and talks his love of hardcore matches.
– Colt Cabana recaps working for X-Box at E3, and announced a future contest for an X-Box.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Introduction
8:16 – Song of the week
11:48 – Jimmy Havoc interview
19:35 – Jimmy Havoc talks British wrestling
27:23 – Jimmy Havoc talks growing up and getting into wrestling
33:33 – Jimmy Havoc talks hardcore wrestling
41:42 – Jimmy Havoc talks Progress Wrestling
46:40 – Jimmy Havoc talks crazy stunts
57:31 – Colt wraps up the show
SHOW SUMMARY
0:00 – Introduction – Colt opened the show talking about his new gig as an X-Box Live host, and how he pretty much always takes bookings that are offered to him. Colt started talking about injuries, including one he got getting eliminated from a battle royal. Colt praised U.K. wrestlers for putting out unique products of which people of various demographics identify. Colt went more in-depth on interviewing people at E3 on behalf of X-Box. Colt teased a contest on Twitter and Instagram next week to win a free, custom, wrestling-styled X-Box. Colt talked about his match with Damien Sandow, joking that Sandow became Damien Cabana and various other names. Colt teased a future interview with Sandow once things calm down for him. Colt mentioned getting free food at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood in Baltimore, and wrestling with the owner, Johnny Crab Cakes, and former NFL play Torrey Smith.
8:16 – Song of the week – The song of the week this week is “Fireball Trick” by The Sprained Ankles.
11:48 – Jimmy Havoc interview – Colt opened the interview talking about Jimmy Havoc’s injury sustained in Australia on his first weekend of a tour. Havoc dislocated his knee, popped it back in during the match, and eventually required surgery. Havoc was brought to Australia to try and pave the way for British wrestlers to go to Australia, rather than ex-WWE wrestlers. Havoc talked about Progress Wrestling in the U.K., particularly about wrestling in venues where he watched a lot of concerts growing up. Havoc joked that he wanted to be a rock star growing up, despite not being able to sing or play an instrument, and now he is living that life to an extent. Havoc discussed various rock festivals in the U.K., and Colt talked about a festival he was invited to, as well as the Gathering of the Juggalos.
19:35 – Jimmy Havoc talks British wrestling – Colt brought up the rise of Progress Wrestling, and the British wrestling scene, and asked if Havoc felt he was succeeding along with the British scene. Havoc said that the scene has found its stride, and praised Zack Sabre Jr. and Fergal Devitt (Finn Balor in WWE) for helping grow the scene before leaving for bigger success. Havoc credited putting a free show on YouTube with a hot crowd for helping Progress Wrestling gain mainstream wrestling attention. Colt talked about the challenges of putting out free products and then trying to convert free viewers to paid customers. Havoc plugged Progress’s DVD and streaming service for paying the bills. Both men talked about the glut of streaming services available for music, movies, and wrestling. Colt talked about the changes in British wrestling that he’s seen in the last decade, and Havoc credited it to wrestlers really owning their own gimmicks. Havoc cited ROH as the top indy promotion they had to compete with initially, but Progress has been able to build its brand and carve its own niche.
27:23 – Jimmy Havoc talks growing up and getting into wrestling – Havoc grew up in Dartford, outside of London. The first match Havoc watched was Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI. Havoc said his grandmother was into old British wrestling, but he mainly watched American shows. Colt asked how Havoc found a wrestling school despite not knowing anything about the indy scene. Havoc started wrestling in a backyard fed, before eventually training at Hammerlock with Andre Baker. Colt mentioned hearing negative stories about Baker, but Havoc said he was nothing but nice to him, Devitt, and Sabre Jr. Havoc discussed the training area, and Colt joked with him about training session Colt conducted at Hammerlock that didn’t have a ring and had a lot of kids in attendance.
33:33 – Jimmy Havoc talks hardcore wrestling – Colt asked if there was much of a difference between Havoc’s ring persona and his personal life. Havoc said he likes horror movies and he loves hardcore wrestling, but there isn’t a huge difference in and out of the ring. Havoc briefly mentioned being a substitute teacher, and then went into what he enjoys about hard core wrestling. Havoc said he likes seeing his own blood, and brought up his fear of getting set on fire that, now that he’s done it a few times, he enjoys doing. Havoc’s first time getting set on fire involved an ironing board that was set on fire using lighter fluid, which didn’t work out like he had anticipated due to the board’s cloth. Colt brought up a show he recently saw at a bar between Tommaso Ciampa and Sami Callihan, where all he could think about was not messing up the bar. Havoc told a story about planning another flaming ironing board spot, hoping the venue would turn him down, but he had to go through with it when the venue said it was fine. Havoc said that he may have gotten into a niche as a hardcore guy, which he claimed hurts less than a standard match.
41:42 – Jimmy Havoc talks Progress Wrestling – Havoc talked about his first major storyline in Progress Wrestling where he went on a yearlong losing streak before turning heel and winning the title. Havoc held the belt for two years, cheating to maintain his championship, until he lost the belt and blew the roof off the building they were in. Havoc mentioned that the indy scene has had trouble building because promoters don’t want to build storylines around wrestlers that are only on a few cards. Havoc credited his storyline with Progress to changing some of that thinking, and said he doesn’t like to wok solo dates, because he can do a four show storyline that works better as a whole.
46:40 – Jimmy Havoc talks crazy stunts – Colt asked Havoc to tell him some of the craziest things he’s done. Havoc mentioned a “Pancake Day” match where he had lemon juice squirted into cuts on his back. Havoc also mentioned having fans staple things to him, and wished the lemon juice had actually been water. Havoc said that fans are conditioned to think everything in hardcore matches is real, so they can get away with faking more things. Colt asked about death matches in the U.K., and Havoc listed a few wrestlers who were successful. Havoc said there wasn’t a promotion that ever did only death matches, and he felt death match wrestlers were more successful because they weren’t very common. Colt talked about a chairs match he once had when he got the itch to get into hardcore wrestling, but he felt “bumping onto weird stuff would hurt too much.” Havoc started wrestling wanting to go through a table and when that didn’t hurt, he wanted to get hit with a chair, then fall on thumbtacks. Once he realized these didn’t kill him, Havoc kept escalating his matches. Havoc touched on his early hardcore matches and then plugged his social media. Havoc talked about his injury, told a quick story about Jimmy Jacobs, and Colt ended the interview.
57:31 – Colt wraps up the show – Colt teased Jimmy Havoc getting back into the ring once he’s healed up and mentioned a YouTube report he made of his time at E3. Colt plugged his upcoming events, thanked his fans, Jimmy Havoc, his tech help and sponsors. Colt joked about a recent car ride with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash where he felt like a real member of the NWO before signing off.
OVERALL SCORE
Score: 7.1 – Jimmy Havoc was a great guest for Colt Cabana to bring on to the Art of Wrestling. Havoc didn’t talk a lot about growing up or getting into wrestling, but he spoke with knowledge of more than just the history of the U.K. wrestling scene that affected him, and was able to discuss how that scene has grown in the last 15 years. Havoc’s discussion of hardcore matches was also fascinating. Colt hasn’t had a guy known for death matches on in a while, and they are almost always entertaining to listen to. There were some different audio issues at some point, where the audio echoed, but it was still audible and didn’t detract too much from the listening experience.
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