David Marquez interview – Westside Pro Wrestling

NWA Main Man

David Marquez is a member of the NWA Board of Directors, the promoter of NWA Pro and one of the people instrumental in the Explosive Pro Wrestling affiliation with the National Wrestling Alliance. Westside Pro Wrestling’s Tez Himself was lucky enough to get the opportunity to speak to the very busy NWA Pro promoter.

WPW: You got your start in the wrestling business in the late 1980’s, how did you initially get involved?

MARQUEZ: I started out like most people, being a “jack of all trades”. First taking jackets, then graduated to taking photographs and such. Things really started to fly for me in the mid 1990s when I moved to Missouri and started World Legion Wrestling with Gordon Solie and Harley Race. Its pretty much been full steam since then.

WPW: The NWA had been a major part of Australian Wrestling in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, but with the decline of World Championship Wrestling, had no affiliate. This changed in 2005 with the affiliation with EPW. Can you tell us how this came about and how do you think the affiliation has gone after nearly five years?

MARQUEZ: Hartley Jackson and Mikey Nicholls came to stay with us at the LA Dojo. They told me about EPW and Davis Storm came right after them. During their time training, we talked about many different possibilities and in those three months we created the relationships in both Perth and Adelaide.

WPW: Mikey Nicholls, Bobby Marshall and Shane Haste seem to have had the biggest success of the Australian talent that have visited SoCal since 2005. There have been title runs (Nicholls and Marshall) and shots at the NWA World Title (Haste). Do you think any Australian talent has a shot at a BOD (Board of Directors) Title reign in the future?

MARQUEZ: I’d say all of those guys you have mentioned, I’d even throw in Damian Slater. I’m very impressed with the ability of everyone I’ve seen from Oz. If I had to pick one…it’ll be a toss up between Haste and Marshall.

WPW: The 2007 NWA Australian Tour was a good time to be a WA wrestling fan, getting to see the likes of Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Rocky Romero, Sean Waltman and The Real American Heroes compete against EPW talent, who some of us had been following since their early years. Is there any update on a DVD release of the shows and on a personal note, how did you find your first experience of Australia?

MARQUEZ: We’ve planned on adding the tour to our “Reclaiming the Glory” DVD, but that has been put on hold by Big Vision due to the decline of DVD sales world wide. They are looking at other means of distribution for us as I answer these questions. And as for my time down there…I really enjoyed myself. I met some of the most wonderful people I think I will ever meet; I ate meat pies and drank a lot of ice coffee (your version of ice coffee is very different from ours). That tour will not be my last one to your country.

WPW: The NWA Australian National Championship has become stuck in Adelaide, when it was created to be a title defended around the country. The title was last defended outside of South Australia in November 2008, and hasn’t been seen in Perth since April 2008. Now with EPW Adelaide’s name change to NWA Pro, it seems increasingly unlikely this will change any time soon and Perth fans are disappointed with this situation. Does NWA have authority on the title or is it all in the hands of NWA Pro Adelaide?

MARQUEZ: Yes the NWA does have authority, and the management there knows what’s best for their promotions. I’m sure when the time is right, that green beauty will pop up in Perth again.

WPW: The airing of the NWA on Fire program beginning in January is the first time NWA product has been shown on Australian National TV since World Championship Wrestling in the late 1970’s. How did the deal come about?

MARQUEZ: That was secured by a third party distributor that licensed our footage and re-packaged it from existing programs. I have no idea really, what each hour consists of.

WPW: Does the NWA have any plans regarding Australia in the near future?

MARQUEZ: Well yes. It’s my hope to grow the NWA brand there. The management teams there are looking into expanding the brand, but currently there is no rush.

WPW: What does the NWA have in store for 2010 on the American scene?

MARQUEZ: Well, we hope to keep developing new talent. Return to television in a different way, especially the format and model. And to keep up what we are doing and that is producing hundreds if not thousands of NWA sanctioned events world wide.

WPW: Thank you for taking the time to speak to Westside Pro Wrestling, Mr. Marquez.

Check out David Marquez’s blog “Some Assembly Required” at www.nwawrestling.com

Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport, Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport– The Western Australia – So Cal NWA Connection.

The Western Australian So Cal Connection isn’t the newest tag team appearing for M1Wrestling next weekend. Its been a phenomenon in our wrestling scene that hasn’t been replicated anywhere else in the World. As a Southern California native, when I think of Australians I typically think of Crocodile Dundee, Kangaroos, Koalas, or Outback Steakhouse. When someone mentions wrestling in Australia the feint sound of Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport fills my ears and I reflect on my fond memories of Outback Jack and his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation. However nearly 25 years have passed since Outback Jack and The Australian Wrestling Scene has grown leaps and bounds since then. Western Australia alone has a handful of promotions, but today I’m talking about Explosive Pro Wrestling. In the world of professional wrestling any influx of talent from one wrestling promotion to another is often referred to as an invasion. And the invasion of Southern California wrestling by Australians dates back to late 2005 and since the invasion 15 Australians have used the SoCal Wrestling Scene as a learning excursion and for a short while, called Southern California home.

The Western Australian Connection to SoCal all comes down to a meeting of Explosive Pro Wrestlers, Hartley Jackson (who is actually from Southern Australia) and Mikey Nichols and the NWA. NWA Pro Wrestling had started to gain a foothold in the Southern California wrestling scene with its ties to the World Famous Inoki Dojo. There the Inoki Dojo recruited talent from across the country and across the world. The talent was originally groomed for chances to appear in New Japan Pro Wrestling, which was exemplified by Bryan Danielson, TJ Perkins, Ricky Reyes, Rocky Romero, Tommy Williams, later by Fergal Devitt and Karl “the Machinegun” Anderson. Two wayward travelers, Jackson and Nichols came to the United States for an opportunity to be apart of the famous gym. Unfamiliarity of the local area kept the duo from reaching the dojo right away. It wasn’t until after a miraculous call by Hartley that guided the two to the Dojo. David Marquez remembers “I get a phone call from [fellow NWA Member] Ed Chuman. He tells me, he got a call from two Australians. I don’t even know how they got Chuman’s phone number.” I talked to Jackson and told him how to get to the Dojo. About six hours later and a lot of walking “Jag” and Nichols reach the dojo.” It wasn’t long after joining the ranks of the Dojo Elite, Hartley and Nichols propositioned NWA member and former Vice President of Inoki Sports Management North American Operations David Marquez, about business. At that point there was a meeting with EPW’s Manager Rick Sanders that a deal would be made to not only have EPW join the NWA, but also an open boarder for the Western Australians to work for the NWA in SoCal. Which at the time were strictly the Inoki Dojo Shows and later the Alternative Wrestling Show. A lot of the action from 2006 was filmed for internet only release, soon other Australians would join the Inoki Dojo and the NWA Pro Wrestling Family.

The duo of Jackson and Nichols would return to Western Australia at the end of May 2006, however Nichols would return in June and would bring with him Bobby Jo Marshall and Ferguson “Psychofett” Block but would return home shortly after. Then in November in 2006, AZ Vegara, Chris Vice would all join the Dojo with the returning Marshall. The initial relationship would bring a total of 6 Western Australians who would compete regularly for the Inoki Dojo, Alternative Wrestling Show, and the Empire Wrestling Federation.

2007 would start off with another influx of Perth wrestlers. Vegara and Marshall made their debuts for the NWA Wrestling Showcase. Marshall would also venture to Arizona for his first shot outside of the SoCal scene. Cameron Wallis would soon make his SoCal debut along with South Australian and EPW Wrestler Damian Slater both wrestling in AWS. Both Marshall and Wallis would appear on the NWA Feista Lucha DVD from Las Vegas, NV. Damian Slater would appear during the NWA Wrestling Summit Tour. Nichols would return to the states spending time in Arizona and SoCal and would later become the first Western Australian to win a championship belt in the States when he pinned Karl Anderson to win the EWF American Championship. Over the next two years the talent trade would continue. SoCal Native Jarek Matthews joined the EPW crew. And former EPW Heavyweight Champion won the Mach One Wrestling title, becoming the second EPW Wrestler to hold championship gold while in the states. As of now, no SoCal Championships have traveled to Western Australia, however the NWA Australian Championship was defended in SoCal when Jayson Cooper of NWA Pro Australia defeated Damien Slater at a SoCal Pro Wrestling Show.

Three years have past since the faithful day that brought Nichols and Hartley to the States and Australians continue to come to Southern California. The list of Western Australians wrestlers to venture to the states has grown to include Shane Haste, Alex Kingston, Dan Moore, Maricus Pitsonopolous, Kiel Steria, and Barry Schmidt. EPW talent would work for the NWA all over Southern California (SoCal Pro Wrestling, Mach 1 Wrestling, Alternative Wrestling Show, and Empire Wrestling Federation. But they didn’t just stop with NWA affiliated promotions, the Australians would work for New Wave Pro Wrestling, MWF Lucha Libre, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. The Western Australians have benefited from the ample opportunities states side and are able to learn different styles to bring back to their country. SoCal benefits by having a dynamic influx of talent bring something a little different to the scene. So the next time you think of wrestling over here in the States, think of all the Australians who’ve impacted the SoCal Wrestling Scene and made it better. Because SoCal Fans have certainly come to appreciate the import of Australian wrestlers and I no longer think of Outback Jack or Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport…

NWA Pro’s Mach One Wrestling’s New Heavyweight Champion, Bobby Marshall

Courtesy of the National Wrestling Alliance

Anaheim, CA (December 18, 2009) – With a capacity crowd in attendance at the American Sports Center, NWA: Explosive Pro Wrestling stand out pinned and ended the year long title reign of NWA: M1 Wrestling Champion “Red Tornado” James Morgan in 14:28.  Morgan used everything he had against Marshall, but with little scouting and time to prepare for his defense Marshall took him to the limits. The match started with a back and forth battle for dominance, but the stronger and bigger Marshall took the match outside the ring, tossing and banging Morgan against everything head first including a series of head shots into the corner post causing Morgan to be busted wide open. With the blood flowing, Morgan tried valiantly to keep his championship, but the powerful Marshall was just that; too powerful.  After winning the championship, Marshall stated: “I am no longer from Australia, I’m now from M1, M1 is my home, I am the King of LA. Look these people love it and you (David Marquez) love it too and like Red Tornado found out he was a puncher going up against a boxer and I beat him.”

The complete audio interview will be available soon right here on nwawrestling.com. NWA: M1 Wrestling has ended its year with this card and will return on Friday January 8, 2010.

NWA’s David Marquez Blog

David Marquez has started blogging again for the NWA. Lot of interesting behind the scenes stuff. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should.

Read it here, “Inside Job”

NWA Pro Wrestling Revolution in Mexico

“Revolution at “El Palenque de Tijuana”

NWA Heritage & Pro Wrestling Revolution Heavyweight Champion “El Patron” Oliver John from the Border Patrol made his debut at “El Palenque de Tijuana” with 2 Time NWA Worlds Champion Adam Pearce as they battled el Mystico de Juarez and the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Blue Demon Jr.

On hand for this special event was NWA [Pro Wrestling Promoter] David Marquez and Pro Wrestling Revolution’s owner, Gabriel Ramirez. They thanked Tijuana for having this match take place and looked forward to coming back. There are talks of making this a new home for the NWA and Pro Wrestling Revolution, only time will tell.

The end of the night had Blue Demon Jr. and Mystico de Juarez on top, but that was nothing short of a revolution breaking out. Oliver John and Adam Pearce with help from Vanderpyle, left their opponents laid out including unmasking Blue Demon Jr. and Tijuana did not take it lightly!

All images courtesy of Chema Castro III
Credit: Pro Wrestling Revolution

Big News for NWA New Jersey

On the heels of crowning new NWA New Jersey Champions in “Crowbar” Devon Storm and Tag Team Champions, in Jim Powers and Danny Inferno, NWA New Jersey announced on that they have struck a deal with Comcast Cable, which will take them statewide in New Jersey. Fridays at Midnight and replays on Saturdays at Midnight. More news will be released as they become availble.

The news broke on the NWA Pro Wrestling Wrap Up from Sept. 13th 2009. The NWA Pro Wrestling Wrap Up features Ricky O, David Marquez, and Mike Sanz.

NWA Update, by David Marquez.

So, things around the Big Vision/NWA production office seem to be getting back on track. Over the last few months there’s been several situations that didn’t allow us the time to produce the amount of video I wish we could. Well, not things are bit back to normal and we’ll be getting back to the grind and hopefully we’ll stay on task. Also, we should have new news on TV distribution (additional to Colours) for the Showcase that should allow more viewers to have better access.

Another bit of news is the NWA Board has asked us to highlight more NWA area talent and we agreed that we need to do that, so over this Summer we’ll be sending our cameras out to events all over the country or show footage from other NWA area TV programming, so you all get the real “flavor” of the National Wrestling Alliance.

“The Best of Blue Demon, Jr.” had done really well since its release last week. At the moment its only avail exclusively at Hastings Stores and the Big Vision website (www.bvdvd.com). We only ran enough to meet Hastings order, so I guess this is a limited release, so I’d get your copy now. With the success of the title, we’re working on others including what was the original “Reclaiming the Glory” set. A lot has happened in the last few years and we felt that waiting would allow for a better release; I think we made the right decision.

Anyhow, we’re all here at the office on a Saturday turning out video. At the moment, I’m editing the Phillips Arena event from last Summer. I have to seen the footage since we shot it, I’m so happy with what we produced that day.

I won’t bore you all with anything else, gotta go back under the lights and shoot some segments that should be online this week. The episodes that are missing should be up by mid week too.

As always thanks for you passion for the NWA and loyalty.

David

NWA Wrestling Showcase Episode 2

The 2nd Episode of the NWA Showcase is now available to the internet audience at large. The episode was originally set to air Feb. 6th however, ColoursTV aired Episode 2 from last season. David Marquez commented on the Alliance Message Board that “Yes, seems like the network ran the wrong tape 2. Sorry guys! Its not what we want either. Just found out right now.” When asked if the video would be on-line Marquez replied with “We can’t just “put it online”, our deal with them is that they have the rights to air the program first, then we can upload it on a delay. “Its” not that easy. This happened on a Friday, after closing hours and there was nothing I could do…”

Episode 2 features: Joey Ryan Vs Willie Mack, Tito Aquino & Liger Rivera Vs Trevor Murdock &
Lance Cade, Espiritu Inturnal & Sidareal Vs The Boarder Patrol, Khan Kussion Vs Tristan Gallo, and in the Main Event Derrick Sanders Vs NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion: Blue Demon.

To check it out click here Episode 2

News from New York

NWA Colorado??? Fusion Pro Wrestling joins the Alliance

As announced by Eric Sax from the NWA Wrestling On-line Forum:

Effective February 9, 2008 in Commerce City, Colorado.

Fusion Board of Director Victoria Star announced tonight that Fusion Pro Wrestling has been sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance to be THE ONLY territory in Colorado.
Stay tuned to the Fusion website for more exciting news.

As David Marquez explains Fusion will be co-promoting cards with NWA Pro. Marquez eluded to having members from Northern California also sanctioning events in the NWA. What this means for the NWA is another foot hole in an other wise ignored territory. NWA Pro in the past 3 years have gained affiliates in Southern California; Alternative Wrestling Show, Empire Wrestling Federation, High-Risk Wrestling, in Arizona with Rising Pheoneix Wrestling and Impact Wrestling Zone, in Utah with Ultimate Championship Wrestling Zero, in New Jersey with NWA Pro EAST, in Pennsylvania with NWA Black and Blue, in Australia with Explosive Pro Wrestling Perth and Adelaide, and now with Fusion in Colorado. This is great now giving another home for NWA Champions to travel too. This also gives the Fusion Pro Champion: Raheem Rashaad, another opportunity to compete at a larger level in the NWA. And challenge the best that the NWA can offer.