Colt Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” #304 – Little Guido interview (June 2, 2016)

The Art of Wrestling with Colt Cabana
Episode 304 – Little Guido
Release Date: June 2, 2016

DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD

Report by Chris Davidson

Hot Topics

– Little Guido talks about his career in ECW, WWE, and beyond.

– Colt Cabana discusses his recent appearance on Fusion TV’s “The Chris Gethard Show.”

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 – Introduction
5:52– Song of the week
9:32 – Little Guido interview
17:44 – Guido talks about being Italian and his family
25:56 – Guido talks getting into wrestling
30:10 – Guido talks time in ECW/WWE
35:07 – Guido talks UWFI
42:37 – Guido talks getting in to ECW
48:51 – Guido talks about his life after WWE
56:36 – Colt wraps up the show

EPISODE SUMMARY

0:00 – Introduction – Colt opened the show noting that he is now a TV star because he was on the season finale of “The Chris Gethard Show” (now available on YouTube). Colt spoke about Little Guido, mentioning his appearance on a recent live podcasting taping that has yet to be released. Colt went in depth on his appearance on “The Chris Gethard Show”, mentioning the appearances from Rhyno, X-Pac, and “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm. Colt praised the writer’s room, which he enjoyed being a part of. Colt plugged the AIW J.T. Lightning Tournament, in which Little Guido participated.

5:52– Song of the week – The song of the week this week is “Pass It to You” by Local Rabbits

9:32 – Little Guido interview – Colt opened the podcast thanking Little Guido for dying his hair for the podcast. Guido said he only dies his hair for Tommy Dreamer, since Dreamer gives him crap when his hair isn’t dyed. Guido talked about his gray hair, and told Colt that he doesn’t have any negative things to say about anyone he’s worked with, so he doesn’t want people to listen if they expect him to bury people. Colt called his show a positive podcast, and told Guido he wanted to get into Guido’s story. Guido started in ECW in 1995 when Paul Heyman gave him the Little Guido gimmick. Colt asked about Tommy Dreamer calling Guido the craziest man in wrestling. Guido isn’t sure where that came from, and mentioned getting a real job; only wrestling for extra income. Guido talked about New York based wrestlers getting “jobs” at the New York Daily News while they were working in WWF. Guido said that when people ask him about wrestling, he tells them to Google him, because they can learn whatever they want. Colt circled back to Dreamer calling Guido “crazy,” and Guido ran down a list of wrestlers he thinks are crazier than he. Guido admitted he’s hyper, so that may be where Dreamer gets that he’s crazy.

17:44 – Guido talks about being Italian and his family – Colt asked about Guido’s family, and Guido confirmed he’s Italian, but he was born in Queens. Guido brought up going to Italy with WWE and letting fans down because he didn’t know Italian. Guido joked that he would get squashed in Italy, but he once won the Cruiserweight belt in Italy and lost it before they came back to America. Guido said he was never really a title guy, and credited Daniel Bryan and other smaller wrestlers for paving the way for guys his size to win titles. Guido talked about his brother and sister, and credited his dad for getting him into wrestling by taking him to Madison Square Garden regularly for shows, including WrestleMania I. Guido praised his dad for supporting his and his brother’s interests, and brought up his son being a star amateur wrestler. Guido said he loves taking his son to his sporting events and on trips. Colt asked more about Guido’s childhood, and Guido spoke about John Gotti and going to his house to try and see Gotti.

25:56 – Guido talks getting into wrestling – Guido went into the genesis of the Little Guido gimmick as a Joe Pesci-type that eventually became Little Guido. Guido started training in 1990, right after he graduated high school, after being an amateur wrestler in high school. One of the trainers at an amateur wrestling camp was a former pro wrestler who helped him get in touch with a pro wrestling school. Guido told a story about driving two and a half hours just to get the phone number of Gino Caruso’s wrestling school, which he thinks was a rib from his amateur camp instructor.

30:10 – Guido talks time in ECW/WWE – Guido said his connections are the reason he’s been so successful, but he likes to think he has the skills to back them up. Guido talked about turning down a WCW contract to stay in ECW because of Paul Heyman, and then ECW folded a few weeks later. Heyman told Guido he’d take care of him, and got Guido a job in WWE. Guido talked about getting the call from Heyman that he was getting a job in WWE and the call from John Laurinaitis which led to him quitting his day job. Colt said this was the first he’s hearing about Guido having a day job, and he had been using Guido as inspiration for making it in wrestling without a big deal. Guido said that he held out on getting a job as long as he could, but soon after he got a job, Heyman called him about going to WWE.

35:07 – Guido talks UWFI – Guido said he went to UWFI because he was one of the top guys at his wrestling school, but he didn’t know what shoot wrestling was. When Guido got there, he was ran until he was exhausted and then stretched and submitted for seven days as a “tryout.” Guido then got hired by UWFI to get beat on for months before he finally tried to quit. When he tried to quit, he was told they were waiting to see how long he would last, and he started actually training. Guido joked he lasted two months, which may be why Dreamer calls him crazy. Guido said that the matches were a shoot, but the finish was a work, so he had to toughen up to survive the matches in Japan for the three years he was there.

42:37 – Guido talks getting in to ECW – After UWFI closed down, Guido got in to ECW due to his connections with Tazz and Dreamer. Guido briefly wrestled in Puerto Rico with Pablo Marquez, who told Dreamer that Guido was interested in a job. Marquez called Guido and told him to go to Philadelphia to meet Paul Heyman and start wrestling in ECW as Damian Stone before becoming Little Guido. Colt asked how Guido felt about ECW. Guido called ECW the time of his life, and recalled his fear of hearing New Jack’s music and having to get hit with a trash can and whatever else objects New Jack brought out. Guido credited New Jack for being good to him since they traveled together. Guido praised Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich for teaching him old school mentalities and helping him learn to better work a match.

48:51 – Guido talks about his life after WWE – Guido said he has a fairytale story where he didn’t have anything bad happen, where he doesn’t have anyone he wants to bury. Guido touched on his year as a WWE referee and the low pay compared to being a wrestler. Colt asked if there were any low points in Guido’s career. Guido said that the only time he felt really low was when he started working security for $11 an hour right after leaving WWE, but that job led to his current success working in the court system. Guido encouraged young wrestlers to save their money and get a real job when they leave the big promotions. Guido wrapped up by saying that he doesn’t need a wrestling job, so he doesn’t reach out to WWE/TNA. Guido said he would help Colt if he needs a job in the future, then joked about not needing a Twitter or Facebook before Colt ended the interview.

56:36 – Colt wraps up the show – Colt plugged Guido’s upcoming (sometime) appearance on a live episode. Colt plugged his upcoming events, thanked Little Guido, his fans, his tech help, and sponsors before signing off.

Overall Score & Review

Score: 7.5 – Colt Cabana and Little Guido offered up another strong episode of The Art of Wrestling. Guido had an interesting story and he is a fun guy to listen to. The audio on this episode was great, as it has been ever since Colt got some extra assistance on that front. This episode breezed by, but it felt like Guido covered the highlights of his career with no trouble. Guido’s life seems to have turned out very well post full-time wrestling, which is always great to hear. I would recommend this episode to any ECW fans, or anyone who wants a positive story from a former WWE Superstar.

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