Kayfabe Q&A: Ricky Reyes

Age: 34

Height: 5' 9"

Weight: 192 lbs.

Who trained you, and what was the experience like?

I started training with Jesse Hernandez in San Bernardino, California. I wrestled there for a couple years, training at his school everyday. From there I branched out to UPW in Huntington Beach and started training at their school. There I met Kevin Quinn. He trained Christopher Daniels as well as CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Ace Steel, and all of those Chicago guys.  He had come to UPW to be a writer, and head trainer of the school. Then he broke off and had his own school in California, so I stayed and trained with him.

Then eventually the New Japan dojo opened up in late 2001 and I was invited to come down. Antonio Inoki was there all the time, as well as Ken Shamrock, Frank Trigg, Lyoto Machida, Wallid Ismail and all those UFC fighters.

Along with myself was Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, and Rocky Romero. We all just trained there together. I like training so I'll just go train wherever, like I moved to Puerto Rico for a year and I trained with Glamour Boy Shane, and other guys I wrestled with that had schools throughout Puerto Rico. And on my off days I would just go find a gym and work out. I really trained all over. When I lived in Mexico I trained with Negro Casas, Shocker, and Vampiro. Anywhere I could go and learn something from somebody, I just did. To this day I still train every week.

Reyes facing off with CM Punk in Ring of Honor

You have worked for promotions all over the world, do you have a favorite company or promoter to work for?

I wouldn't say that I have one particular promoter or company. I just enjoy wrestling in general. Everywhere you go, you enjoy it for different reasons. Like in Puerto Rico, working for Carlos Colon was like a dream come true. I mean you live in San Juan rent free on the beach, and your schedule is wrestling on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You have interviews Thursday nights at the office, and the rest of the week you're just hanging out on the beach, going to the gym, and getting into trouble.

I love wrestling in Japan. That's my favorite place to wrestle just because of the atmosphere, and the work ethic that's there. With the Japanese wrestlers there's no easy night, and you elevate your game. Even when you come back from Japan you still have that fire in you for a long time.

Wrestling in Mexico was unbelievable, I mean it was wild. The fans there are insane. They're so hot everywhere you go, like in Mexico City and everywhere you go the crowds are unbelievable.

And now as far as the independents I do here, I wouldn't say that I like any particular one more than the other. I enjoy everywhere I work. It's not like I wake up and say, "God, I gotta go to work at this place" or "I hate that place".  If I don't like where I wrestle, I just don't go there anymore.

You've had several tryouts with WWE, how stressful is it knowing that your performance could make or break you in the eyes of company officials?

It's not stressful in the sense that my performance could make or break me in the company. The fact of the matter is, I'm a good all around wrestler. There is more of that there now, but there's not too many guys there who can do what I do, like wrestle all different styles and have trained all over the world.

What's stressful there is, knowing what to do or not to do. You want to go there and express that you're interested in working for the company as everybody is. But you just never know with them. You don't know if they are interested, if they like you or don't like you. There are so many people you have to impress. But if they are interested in you they're going to keep inviting you back, which is what they're doing now.

All I know is, when I go there I take care of what I can control, which is my performance in the ring. And doing the best I can to voice the fact that I want to be there. In my eyes I feel that I deserve to be there. I've worked very hard for years and years, and I made it my goal this year to try to get into the WWE. At the beginning of the year I made it my goal because I had already toured Japan ten times, I've wrestled in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, and I've been all over the world. And I feel that I am more polished than I've ever been, and I have something I can contribute to the company. I didn't want to be one of those guys that people looked at and said, "This guy is all jacked up and looks good. Lets sign him", And then just sit there and rob money from the company, and be one of those guys that are there for a minute and then they're gone.

I feel I can contribute, and I can help. The past few times I've been there this year there's been a really good vibe from all the guys, and all the office personnel. Everybody who comes into contact with me, it's the same positive vibe. With them it's just a timing thing. It's one of those things that, with everything that's happened to me with them this past year, I still don't know. You're on their time. They'll come get you when they're ready. But like I said, when I go there all I can do is worry about myself, and whatever challenges they give me, I do it to the best of my ability and hope for the best.

Tell us, who is Ricky Reyes?

I would say that right now the best all around wrestler in the country. I say that knowing that everywhere that I've gone, and everywhere I've been I worked at learning that style from those wrestlers. No one can out wrestle me, in any particular fashion or style.

There is a lot more to me than a lot of people see, character wise. People only see me in one light because of how I've been highlighted, like in my Ring of Honor years. But there's a lot more to what it is I bring to the table. If you go as far as to look through You Tube and follow what I'm doing, you will see that there is a lot more to me. But at the end of the day, I just love wrestling. I love what I do.

There's a ton of good guys out there, but there are very few who actually get it. And a big thing for me is understanding what it is that you're going out there to do every night. And doing it to the fullest, weather you are the main event, the first match, or anywhere in between. It doesn't matter if it's a grudge match, or a heated feud or whatever. There is something that you have to develop when you go out there, and I get that. And I do that every night.

Now that I've done a few matches for WWE, I think all the important people that are there get what I'm doing. So it's good that I keep showing up there, and that I express that. All the people that I've talked to in the company are starting to grasp, "Hey, he's not just what we've seen him as, or what he's been known for. There is a lot more to him." I'm dedicated, and I'm committed to wrestling and every aspect of it.

As far as Ricky Reyes goes, I'm a hard worker and an intense wrestler who takes it very seriously, and I live it everyday.

Do you have any upcoming dates you would like to plug?

December 8th I'm in New Jersey wrestling for NWA On Fire for a TV Taping.

December 15th I'm in Connecticut for CTWE.

December 21st ICW in Long Island.

December 29th I will be wrestling for Maryland Championship Wrestling at their end of the year show.

How can people get in touch with you?

I don't Tweet, and I barely get on Facebook. But you can message me through Facebook with any questions, bookings or anything like that.

https://www.facebook.com/ricky.reyes.756

Kayfabe Q&A: Jay Bradley

Weight: 262 lbs.

Height: 6'4"

Debut: 1999

Age:31

When did you decide that you wanted a career in wrestling? 

Early teenage years if I remember correctly, Jr high years. I remember day dreaming in 8th grade about doing it. Soon after I was exposed to Japanese and ECW tapes and it cemented that this was what I was meant to do.

You were trained at Steel Domain in Chicago along with CM Punk and Colt Cabana. What was it like training with those guys, and did you ever see someone like Punk being in the position he's in? 

Not really. Punk, Colt, and myself are all extremely passionate about what we do and very hard working. Yet we are all very different. He dedicated his life to the business, played the political game, sacrificed and did well with the opportunities he received.

Many wrestlers have told stories about the dues that they paid while coming up. What kind of hardships did you experience at the time? 

I don't think I experienced the same level of hardship as the guys who came before me in the territory era. I never had to live out of my car or live off bologna and bread. I was the the youngest of the Steel Domain crew breaking in, so I was often the whipping boy of the group and the target of a lot of ribs and pranks. But I used it to motivate myself to get better and improve.

You signed with WWE in 2005 and got sent down to Deep South Wrestling. But before long WWE ended their partnership with DSW and you were shipped over to Ohio Valley Wrestling, where you stayed until they were also dropped as a partner. What is it like working in developmental, and how did all the chaos that was going on at the time affect you? 

Professionally it was great, I imagine it was a bit like moving from territory to territory years ago. I got to work with new people, learn from new people. I also got chance to wrestle in front of different types of crowds too. DSW was much more in ring training where OVW was ran like a territory with TV. We did TV taping with 3-5 live events a week. I did about a 12 week stint on the road with RAW.

I also made my own little piece of wrestling trivia as I became the only wrestler to hold Heavyweight Titles in two developmental territories and I was the last WWE contracted champion in both as well. Meaningless, but fun bit of trivia. Personally, the uncertainty took a toll on me mentally. I got "the call" that I was going to the main roster 4 or 5 times but things kept falling through. Tag partners would get injured, fired, or suspended. Or other people involved in the plans for me would fall into those circumstances. I got really frustrated.

After almost three years you finally got brought up to the main roster where you competed in several matches on episodes of Smackdown and ECW as Ryan Braddock. What was that like after everything you had gone through to get there? 

When I got "the call" this time I was excited because I was going to debut against HHH. Who better to show the company what I could do then the future boss? But when I arrived at TV, things changed...again. I was debuting against the Big Show, and they had no other plans beyond that. So the frustration set in heavy quick. So I did the best I could with the little they gave me and earned the backing of the agents while on the road.

WWE decided to release you in 2009. A lot of people would've given up at that point, but you didn't. What made you want to stick with it and continue to improve? 

I love being in the ring, it's what I'm most passionate about. On top of that I know I can be a major star if I was given the right opportunity to shine. But after working indies when I was released, I was disappointed in the lack of quality on the scene, so I took about a year and a half off. I kept seeing guys that weren't properly trained getting matches, rings that were unsafe and promoters who weren't promoters of business men. But its been about a year since I started wrestling regularly again and honestly the time away to de-stress, and relax helped me to grasp a lot more of my experience in different ways, so even though I wasn't in a ring, I was improving.

You've been working for Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan's Resistance Pro. How would you compare them to other Indy feds? 

The biggest difference is they run the promotion like a business. They don't do the typical Indy thing of just booking matches that are "cool". They also actually promote the events and run things from the mindset of trying to get more eyes on the product. The TV show is in an infancy stage and the reality show is still in the works. I actually saw the sizzle reel for it and was blown away. This is stuff typical indies just don't do.

Credit: Businessweek.com

You've been actively campaigning for a spot in TNA, and you recently posted a picture of some ring gear that looked an awful like something Aces & Eights would wear. Could we be seeing you in the Impact Zone anytime soon? 

Well you may or may not have seen me in the Impact Zone already. As far as the ring gear goes, its the same style of gear I've been using for years now...OVW, FCW, WWE, Indies etc. So I guess if people connect the dots sometimes it fits, other time it doesn't.

As far as campaigning for TNA goes, I'd say I'm just campaigning for Jay Bradley in general. I honestly feel I am the best unsigned talent on the scene. I have the intangibles, the talent, the passion. I have the resume and the experience to back it up too. I want fans, promoters, major companies to know I'm here, I'm available. I know I can be a star at every level, I'm just looking for the right opportunity. So if WWE calls, sure I'll go back...but I'm not interested in sitting on the bench or hanging around in Florida again. If TNA throws a contract, sure I'll go. Same if any of the Japanese companies want to bring me back over there.

Photo tweeted by Jay Bradley on October 13th 2012

Do you have any upcoming shows that you would like to plug? 

I'll be at Extreme Uprising on 11/17 outside of Pittsburgh, PA and on Ippv.

11/24 I'll be at Pro Wrestling Blitz in Joliet, IL.

11/30 I'll be at Resistance Pro's 1st Anniversary show in Chicago, IL.

12/1 I'll be near Milwaukee for GLCW's annual Blizzard Bash convention and show.

Plus a few other things I may not be able to mention ;)

How can people get in touch with you?

Facebook.com/jaybradleypw & on Twitter @jaybradleypw

TNA Impact Wrestling Review 11/1/2012

1. Joseph Park being back was a plus. I enjoy his schtick, and it gives his body a rest after all those years of destroying himself as Abyss.

2. Joe is gonna kill Magnus at Turning Point. 'Nuff said.

3. When I saw Wes Brisco in the backstage segment with Hogan, I popped huge. It's no secret that he is the member of Aces & Eights with the long blond hair, so the internet wrestling SMARK in me was grinning from ear to self important ear. Never trust the random guy who shows up out of nowhere to help fight your cause. Did they forget to read the manual?

4. Daniels and Kazarian's new music is groovy as shit. I almost jumped off of the couch and embarrassed not only myself, but my entire family during their entrance.

5. Chavo and Hernandez do nothing for me as Tag Champs. They quite frankly bore the shit out of me. Chavo has only ever been pushed as anything special because of who his Uncle is, and it pisses me off.

6. Christian York did well for himself during his Gut Check match with Zema Ion. He's put on a lot of muscle since the last time I saw him in ECW, or even his one time in TNA a decade ago. The added muscle weight might have actually slowed him down a step or two. But it was still a very impressive outing.

7. All is right in the world now that Austin Aries' short run as a face is over. Much like CM Punk in WWE, the guy is a natural heel. Now all TNA needs to do is put the belt back on him...

8. Speaking of guys who shouldn't be faces, WTF Bully Ray? Probably one of the top three heels in the business and they feel the need to have him be apart of the fight against Aces of Anarchy? Please just have him pull the swerve already!

9. I skipped right through ODB vs Tara's man-thing. I have no time for shit like that.

10. When they switched announce teams in the middle of the show I was a bit bummed. I dig Borash and whoever the fuck that was. They almost give TNA a Mike Goldberg/UFC sound to the presentation. There was no characters, just two dudes calling some wrestling. I enjoyed the hell out of it.

11. I skipped through the Hardy/Robbie E match as the outcome was never in question. But the stuff after the match was pretty cool. Hardy challenging Aries to a ladder match, presumably with both TNA World Title belts hanging above the ring Wrestlemania X style, was awesome. I'm looking forward to this match, but now I doubt TNA is planning on giving Aries back the title. Oh well, at least he's still the Greatest Man To Ever Live.

12. It's sad that TNA will never give AJ Styles another run on top. It's been over two years since he dropped the belt and was put into mid card feuds. The guy is amazing in the ring, and deseves better than the shit they give him. At least he's in the number 1 contender Triple Threat for the World Title at Turning Point, he aint winning, but at least he's there.

13. Joey Ryan does not need Sterling Golden...I mean Matt Morgan. I know that the bodygaurd routine helps to get personalities like Ryan over, but they are better when they stand silent and menecing in the background. I would perfer that Morgan never speaks, but that's not where they're going. And are they trying to build to a Morgan/Hogan match? For the sake of all things fuck don't let that happen!!!

14. I'm digging the build toward an eventual Bully Ray/Devon match, unless it's all a swerve. From what I've read, at Turning Point it's set to be Devon vs Kurt Angle, so maybe Bully joins the group that night.

15.  And finally, Luke Gallows being revealed as a member of Aces of Anarchy was much needed. It's about time they progressed this storyline, and much like Wes Brisco, it's no secret that he's been under the mask. I've always liked Gallows. He was great in the Straightedge Society under Punk, and he can be equally as great here.