Well, w Dan and Mike the Mark coming up w some good stuff lately, its time for Ghost to return w interview number 43, w New England star Dan Freitas. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and thank you for all your support, and special thanks to Dan. More interviews to come in 08..Stay tuned.
1. When did you first become interested in pro wrestling as a fan? Who were some of your favorites at the time?
I grew up in a house that was in love with professional wrestling. I lived in a 3 tenement house with my grandmother & uncle on the 1st floor, another uncle & my aunt & my older cousin on the 2nd floor and finally my mom & myself on the 3rd floor. When I was little either my Uncle from the 2nd floor or my grandmother would babysit me and there would always be wrestling on to entertain me. So I guess you can say I was a fan before I could really remember. So when I was old enough to understand what I was watching, I loved it. Some of my favorites were obviously Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Macho Man Randy Savage and the British Bulldogs.
2. Was there one particular moment/person that made you finally decide to become a pro wrestler, or was it a gradual thing?
When I was about 3 years old, one Saturday morning I was watching wrestling and my mom was lying on the floor reading the newspaper. Out of nowhere, I jumped off the couch and landed right on my mom’s ribs. She looked up at me once she caught her breath and asked why I did that and all I could say was, “Body slam mommy”. I would tell her all the time that I was going to be the next Hulk Hogan! But it wasn’t until I was 19 that I found out about Independent wrestling. One of my uncle’s had seen a poster promoting an event at the P.A.L. Hall in Fall River. The Main Event was a barbwire match. He asked if I wanted to go so I said yes. Not knowing anything about how the wrestling business worked, I actually thought the show was great and I wanted to go again. Finally when I turned 21 I found out that the company that I was watching every month had a training facility in New Bedford, MA. so I went to check it out and see what training was like. Once I walked in the door I was mesmerized. I saw about 10-15 guys working out in a ring. I was hooked and asked where to sign up.
3. Who did you do your training with and what was your first match? Did you self critique the match afterwards, take advice on how to improve, etc?
I started training with Top Rope Promotions (formerly Yankee Pro Wrestling & South Coast Championship Wrestling). I had a few different trainers but the main one was Brickhouse Baker. My first match came a week into my training. I was asked to participate in a 2 ring Battle Royal. My first singles match didn’t come until a few months later, when I was much better (so I thought). I had gear before I was even put on events. I had boots, custom tights, and a singlet top…pretty much an entire gimmick I had made up. I was told to just come to the events and bring my gear because you never knew when you would get an opportunity. Finally one Saturday, YPW had an event in New Bedford and I just showed up to help if they needed it or whatnot. A wrestler named Tex McCoy told the booker that I had gear and wasn’t bad. So the booker came up to me and asked me if I wanted to wrestle that night and I said, “Sure”. I was excited and nervous at the same time. So I went into the locker room and changed into my gear. I got compliments from many of the wrestlers. I had no idea what I was doing or who I was wrestling, so I asked Brian Nunes (of all people) how do I find out. He brought me over to the sheet that had the matches on it and my name was put at the very end in the Main Event against none other than my trainer, Brickhouse Baker. Needless to say it went as good as to be expected and I kept wrestling after that day. Afterwards a few guys critiqued me and gave me advice on how to do better and not be so nervous. I started self critiquing once I bought a video camera and had my mom start taping my matches so I could watch them later on.
4. What would you consider to be your biggest break in your early years of being a pro wrestler?
My biggest break would have to be the day that Brian and I debuted in New England Championship Wrestling. After 2 years of wrestling for Yankee Pro Wrestling things got stale and myself and a few others needed more. We needed more training, more opportunities and more room to grow (all things that we weren’t getting any more). After splitting with YPW we went to SlamTech Wrestling University and Bob Evans for training. Bob was obviously the owner and head trainer but his assistants were equally as helpful. There was “Revolution” Chris Venom, Michael Sain and K.L. Murphy. Three different styles but all great at what they did. It got to a point where Bob took over the booker position for NECW and told Brian & I that he couldn’t use us unless we reinvented ourselves. At the time Brian and I were known as Milton Cas (M.CAS) and Sigmund Alexander Tribek (S.A.T.), the Score. His reasoning for this was that Brian and I just didn’t fit the mold of what our gimmick was supposed to be. We were supposed to be 2 preppy kids from Harvard University with a 4.0 intellect. Now we are smart kids. I have an Associates degree in Electronic Engineering and we both have well paying jobs but the fact that we wore ear rings, had tattoos and talk with slang just made it obvious that the gimmick didn’t fit. At first we thought he was silly and we kept on doing the gimmick. The day it really hit home was our first meeting with former WWF/WWE announcer Kevin Kelly. He told us the same thing that Bob had told us months prior. At that moment PRIDE was born. The brain child of Brian. I liked it and decided to give it a shot. We morphed from 2 Harvard grads into 2 tough street kids from Fall River who hold their Portuguese heritage close to their hearts. After the transformation Bob decided to book us for NECW. Our debut was a run-in on what we thought was one of the best tag matches we had ever seen, Brian Fury & Chris Venom (Adrenaline) vs. D.C. Dillinger & Eddie Edwards (Sabotage) for the NECW Tag Team Championship. Once the match was over and the new champions Adrenaline were left in the ring, Brian and I started the PRIDE ball rolling.
5. You of course have formed a very successful tag team, PRIDE, w/Brian Nunes. Discuss some of your favorite matches you have had w/Brian, opponents, etc. and also talk about the SCORE some, in the same vein, favorite opponents, etc.
I’ll start with the Score. The Score was a stable in Yankee Pro Wrestling before I joined. It consisted of G.E.D. (Gregory Edwards of the Stroke), S.A.T. (Brian Nunes), I.Q. (Pat Masters) & G.P.A (Guy Alexander). After my first year in the business I broke my collar bone. That sidelined me for 6-7 weeks. In the middle of my recovery Brian and Guy had come to me and asked if I wanted to be a new member of the Score and take G.E.D.’s place as Brian’s tag partner. Brian and I have known each other since we were 16. We worked at the same McDonalds together. Once I started training we became close friends. Since my singles career was going nowhere I figured why not jump on the Score train. It was established and I wasn’t. A year after I joined we acquired 2 more Score members, P.H.D (Referee Rich Bass) & Valerie Dictorian (Natalia). We then left Yankee Pro Wrestling and began to wrestle for any company we could. One of the better companies was PWF Northeast. They really let the Score shine bright and gave us our first shot at trying to be stars. Some of our most memorable matches were the ones we had with the Logan Brothers. On our recommendation PWF brought them in and just let us have at them. Brian and I would go round and round with Matt and Bryan Logan.
When it comes to PRIDE, my favorite opponents are again the Logan Brothers and as of late the Winter Hill Gang. In their own ways, both sets of teams have pushed me and Brian to our limits and forced us to really put our best foot forward. One of my most memorable matches is our very 1st TLC match against the Logan Brothers for NECW in November of 2004. Still one of my favorite matches was TLC 3 against the Hot Shots for EPW in Fall River in 2006. Definitely one of my all time favorite matches was the PRIDE Penitentiary against the Winter Hill Gang for EPW in 2007. If you couldn’t tell I enjoy high profile matches with tons of danger involved. But I can honestly say that in those matches I listed above, when I was asked to do them I didn’t even bat an eye in fear. I have enjoyed going up against those guys and have enjoyed the magic we’ve made (for lack of a better phrase).
6. You of course have worked a lot w/EPW and why would you consider EPW and Slamtech to be good promotions and training for aspiring young wrestlers? In that vein, who are some of the young talent you have seen recently whom you feel could be poised to "break out" soon on the Indy scene?
I have trained with Bob and SlamTech for 5 almost 6 years now. It is by far some of the greatest training I’ve had. I’m not just saying that cause that’s my home and Bob is my friend. I have gone to Cincinnati, OH. to train with Les Thatcher (thanks to Bob) and Les taught all the same ways Bob does. Then Les came up to SlamTech to do a seminar for Bob and again gave us the same things that we were already being taught by Bob. It was refreshing to know that Bob was teaching us the right way. I’ve also done training seminars with Mike Bucci (Simon Dean/Nova) and Terry Taylor and both of them have commended Bob on his training methods and have made it a point to tell us (the students) that we are getting the right training and to continue training with Bob. Some of the younger guys who shine at practice and are really busting their tales to improve and trying to become mainstays on the EPW roster are Ian Conley, Rob “Giant” Aruajo, Owen Graichen and Anthony Pacitto. The 2 guys that I see having a “break out” year if they continue on the road they’ve started to travel are Nick Westgate and Mike Medina (Kongo). All those students are the ones that making training and staying late at night all worth it. They are so eager to learn and hungry for knowledge.
7. What have been some of your wildest matches in your career, as a singles talent or tag team competitor?
The wildest matches have been some that I’ve listed above. A few others would be first a Spanish Harlem Street Fight that featured the Score against a tag team named the Twisted Latin Souls. This match took place for New England Wrestling Alliance. The match was to start outside in a parking lot across the street from where the event was being held and would have to finish in the ring. The match was refereed by Jose Perez and started outside in the pouring rain. In the time that the match spent outside I took quite a few moves onto the pavement. Not exactly the smartest thing in the world. Once the match finally made its way into the building there were chairs, belts, clipboards, all kinds of things that made this one of the wildest matches I had ever been in. Some other wild matches have been the PRIDE Rules matches. One in particular that I remember was a 6 man PRIDES Rules match between PRIDE & Bob Evans against the Hot Shots and Mike Bennett. In the course of the match B.K. Jordan got knocked out by a fans chair. He also got smacked ridiculously hard with a fans imitation WCW Heavyweight title. But the craziest thing was Mike Bennett and I standing on the top rope on a scaffolding ladder and Mike hitting me with his finish off of it onto a piece of fencing being propped up on folding chairs in the ring. But again, my favorite wild match is the PRIDE Penitentiary. It didn’t involve a million weapons or fighting all over the building. It just involved 2 teams with hatred for one another inside a steel cage with barbwire cells inside of it. The elements for danger were there and in my opinion that’s what made it wild.
8. Upcoming, April 4 for EPW, you have the chance to work vs. one of the Worlds best wrestlers in multi time champion Christian Cage. What are your feelings about that match, and do you plan on any special preparation to work w a man of his reputation?
April 4th is going to be possibly the biggest opportunity I’ve had in my 7-8 year wrestling career. I will admit, I’m a fan of Christian. I think he has great charisma and his in ring ability is phenomenal. It is very intimidating knowing that I will go face to face with someone I admire and someone who is where I’d like to be. But on the flip side I also feel that it’s my time to shine. It’s my time to show all the critics who feel that I nothing more than a mediocre tag team wrestler at best that I can hang with someone of his caliber. It gives me a chance to show that I can be equally as talented as a singles competitor as I was a tag team competitor. As far as preparation goes, yes I am doing things differently. I’m tanning, dieting, studying, and basically trying to better myself even more than I usually do. This match has given me new motivation to work harder than before. And that’s not a bad thing.
9. Do you feel that the state of pro wrestling is as strong today, as say five years ago? Do you feel it has a good future, and if you could fix the one thing you feel that is most in need of repair in the business, what would it be?
Do I feel that the state of wrestling is as strong today as 5 years ago? I think it’s stronger and here’s why. There are always going to be scandals……promotions and people who are going to try and be something they’re not. But the ones that are motivated to make their mark and work harder than everyone else are going to make everyone stand up and take notice. I think as long as the main promotions and the main wrestlers always compete and improve and stay away from scandals and bad media then the state of wrestling can always get stronger. With every good there’s bad, I just feel that we’re beginning to make more good. I think it has a great future. I was told that wrestling goes in cycles. So I feel that the things that were liked and popular before will be again and on the other side we will always improve and do bigger and more different things to captivate audiences. I can only fix one thing? There are a few things that I would fix, but 1 of them would be egomaniacs. I think if all wrestlers were TEAM oriented rather than DO FOR SELF oriented, wrestling would be a happier more fun place. I understand that each wrestler wants to make their mark, make their presence felt, get that golden contract. But in my eyes it can be done with a level head. And obviously not forget where you came from and how awful you were when you started.
10. Name one opponent from the Indies, TNA and WWE you would love to wrestle (besides Christian) who you would like to wrestle if you had the chance and why?
Wow, ummm from the WWE it would either be Triple H or Shawn Michaels because I feel that they are the best in their field and it would be the ultimate learning experience. From TNA I would say Kurt Angle. Again, he is at the top of his game and in my eyes the best wrestler in the company. On the Independent level a name that comes to mind is Bryan Danielson. I have watched him wrestle for ROH and many other promotions. He is one of my favorites on the Independent level. I’d like to see what I could learn from him and what a match with him would be like.
11. If you had five minutes to craft a short speech for a wrestler in his first training class, what would you be SURE to include in your speech to the potential pro wrestler?
I don’t think it would be a speech. It would be more like a line of questioning. It would go like this; “Are you willing to train long hours and push your body to its breaking point? Are you willing to drive for hours to events and help with the set up process, wrestle, break down all the equipment for little or no pay? Are willing to devote as much time as possible to better yourself and learning your craft? If not, you’re in the wrong place!”
12. You recently became engaged, and we all wish you the best on that. Do you plan to continue in the business, despite this change in your life, and the toll that Indy wrestling can take on you?
For starters I can’t say enough how happy I am that I made that decision and thank you to everyone for the wishes. They are greatly appreciated by Amber and me. I do plan on continuing to wrestle and work my way towards my goal. When Amber and I first met it was at a wrestling event. Then once we became an item I had a talk with her that any wrestler who is serious about making it should have with their significant other. The talk was pretty much that she had to understand that this is my dream and I wasn’t going to stop until I achieved it. Not that she would be slighted by any means by if I had to choose to either go to the movies with her or travel and wrestle for a reputable company, I would choose to wrestle. She was/is very understanding about this and backs me 110%. She wishes me nothing but the best and is my support system. So that I think makes us a good team!
Thanks very much Dan, and if you would like to add anything that we haven’t discussed, please feel free to do so now...THANK YOU AGAIN
There are just a couple of things I want to add. I read the Burning Hammer on a daily basis and I noticed that my pal Dave Padula and dagdogg inquired about a couple of things. First, to dagdogg….How was I able to keep Amber in the dark about the proposal? I have friends that wanted to see me really make her happy. And surprising her the way I did really did it. There weren’t a lot of people who knew about my plans. I can probably count on 2 hands the number. The ones who did know wanted this to come off as well as I did. And for those who were in attendance I think I pulled it off.
For Mr. Padula….The Score is such a huge topic to tackle. It was one of the best times in my life. To me and many others the Score was more than just a stable of wrestlers, it was a brotherhood (and sisterhood for Natalia) of sorts. We were best friends inside the ring and out. Many people in our past called us a “clique”. Maybe we were. Then again maybe those people were jealous of our friendships and our motivation to get out and tackle bigger obstacles. The Score will forever be a piece of me. No matter what happened in our personal lives that could have sent us in different directions, all the guys & gal will always have a place in my heart. To my brothers & sister in the Score……thank you for the memories!!!
