Creative Control With Joe Feeney

On episode 66, our guest is Wild Bill Wiles, also known as Bilvis Wesley of ECW fame. Bill is best known for his days as a member of the New Dangerous Alliance with CW Anderson. That tandem is responsible for some of the most memorable moments of the latter days of ECW, both on their television shows and on PPV. Bill talks about being a fan of wrestling when he was a young man, as well as his close friendships with Balls Mahoney and Chris Candido. From there, we cover the gamut of his ECW days including, dealing with Paul Heyman, his hand in the creation of the "Justin Credible" gimmick, working with guys like Danny Doring and Roadkill, "Nova" Mike Bucci, Chris Chetti, and more. He also tells stories about being in the ring with legendary figures like Dusty Rhodes, Bam Bam Bigelow, and New Jack. Bill also talks about his televised role in the infamous September 1997 in ring angle between Steve Austin and Vince McMahon, and what is was like to participate as an extra in a WWE angle in those days. We also conv

On episode 65 we talk to one of the most respected and most highly regarded indy talents of the past ten years, "Greek God" Papadon. We start by talking about his fandom and experiences as a young man, and what led him to be trained by Homicide at the famous "Doghouse." We talk about his early days working for JAPW, in the tag team "The Solution," and working in the ECW Arena in 2001. We cover more of his tag team days, including a couple of matches at NWA TNA, wrestling James Storm and Chris Harris for CSWF, losing their CSWF tag titles to CM Punk and Julio Dinero, and more. I ask Papadon if he felt at that time, that Punk would ever make it to the levels that he did. Papadon ventured into more of the singles wrestling waters in 2006, and found himself at WLW working for and in front of Harley Race, and how that led him to a stint in England with Nick Aldis (Magnus.) We cover his experiences in the ring with Bryan Danielson, Tony Nese, and Alex Reynolds for NYWC. We move onto the ECWA where Papadon ruled the

On Episode 64, we talk to the author of "Titan Sinking," "Titan Shattered," and the forthcoming "Titan Screwed," James Dixon of whatculture.comJames and I do our best to fit in all the major questions about the WWF/WWE from 1995-97 (the periods the books cover.) We talk about the major personalities of the time including Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, and many more. We talk about Nash's WWF title reign as Diesel, and the influence the Kliq had on Vince back in those days. We cover Vince's attempt to make celebrity the draw at Wrestlemania XI, with the Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow main event. We discuss the disastrous King Of The Ring win and main event run of Mabel, as well as the birth of Nitro and the jump to WCW of Lex Luger. When we cover 1996 we talk about the Iron Man Match between Hart and Michaels, the return of the Ultimate Warrior, the debut of Vader, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall's jump to WCW, Hulk Hogan's heel turn, the emergence of Psycho Sid as a main eventer and World

On Episode 63 we speak to Pat McNeill of the PWTorch about WWE Extreme Rules, and the fallout the following night on Raw. Topics include Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler and where his career has gone, Anderson & Gallows vs. The Usos, Rusev vs. Kalisto with John Cena's return looming, The New Day vs. The Vaudevillains, and WWE's usage of NXT talents. We also talk about the excellent four way match for the Intercontinental Championship between The Miz (c), Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Cesaro, and what the future holds for the four of them, especially as it pertains to Money In The Bank. We discuss the Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose "Asylum" match and muse over what went right and what went wrong, Jericho's "bucket list bump," and Ambrose's potential as a heel and a top guy. The Women's Championship match between Charlotte (c) and Natayla is gone over, including Dana Brooke's role now that Emma is injured, Ric Flair's role after last night's vicious Charlotte promo, and when, if ever, WWE will finally throw Natty a

Episode 62's guest is someone who is and will be fondly remembered in WWE lore for decades to come, and that is Santino Marella. This episode is a real treat, as we get a look at more of the man than the character, getting into Santino's legit past in MMA, and find out how he made his way down to OVW where he was trained, and signed from by WWE. He mentions the trainer who he learned the most from, as well as what he thought about working under Paul Heyman with a very different gimmick than what he eventually debuted as. Santino Marella is, of course, that gimmick, and we discuss his big debut in Italy, beating Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship. Shortly thereafter, he lost the title back to Umaga, and eventually turned heel. He talks about how and why he believes the original way the character was portrayed didn't get over with the audience, and briefly covers working with Maria Kanellis. From there, Santino always seemed to be in the mix with big name returning stars, and celebrity guests, showing

It's round two on Creative Control with the great Les Thatcher! We start by discussing Smokey Mountain Wrestling and that promotion's infamous "Fan Week" conventions, and we go from there to talking about Les' experiences as a color commentator, and his advice for anyone aspiring to be a pro wrestling commentator or announcer today. We go over Dean Ambrose, the WWE's use of him, and how Les and I felt about the Ambrose vs. Lesnar storyline and match at Wrestlemania. I ask Les his thoughts on the current utilization of Roman Reigns as something of a tweener. We cover Jim Cornette's war of words with internet favorites like The Young Bucks, Joey Ryan, and Kenny Omega, and how Les feels about some of their more controversial antics as of late. We talk about what advice he would give to aspiring wrestlers, and what was the best piece of advice he was ever given while he was breaking into the business. And finally we discuss Ryback's newly infamous post about the WWE, the pay scale, and more. Les Thatcher is avail

"The King Of The Mountain" returns to Creative Control! On episode 60, former NWA, TNA, WCW, and WWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett comes on to talk about his baby, Global Force Wrestling and how the promotion is doing headed into the second half of 2016. We talk about GFW Amped, and how some of the WWE and NXT's recent talent acquisitions may or may not affect the presentation of some talents on the show. We cover GFW's working agreements with promotions all over the globe, up to and including England, where Global Force was recently, for a successful run of shows, behind their champion, Nick Aldis and Doug Williams. We talk about GFW's Grand Slam tour, and if there are more shows like that in the works. We go over January's GFW vs. PWS show, and the GFW vs. Wrestlepro show coming up on June 11th in Keyport, NJ. Jeff discusses what he looks for in a potential GFW talent in 2016, and how to reach either himself or GFW, so for the indy wrestlers in our audience, listen up! We also go over Jeff's retur

Episode 59 is a gem of an episode. Do you know who Austin Bradley is? Well you will! Bradley started training right out of high school at 18 with Nick Dinsmore at OVW. Also helping with his training were names like Rip Rogers, and Al Snow. He talks about his training, working for OVW, and his first match, as well as how Rip Rogers hilariously made sure he lost his case of nerves beforehand! He covers working with guys like Rob Terry, Jay Bradley, and King Mo in OVW, and his close friendship that developed with Mo. He goes over his departure from OVW, and calls out someone who claims to have had a hand in his training, but in fact had none at all. He goes over working for D1W and Rick Brady. He discusses meeting Madman Pondo, and how helpful Pondo has been in his career. We touch on his successful tag team #Spotlight/Danger Zone with Kyle Maverick, and working with Tracy Smothers. He tells the story about his first concussion, and about working an IPPV match shortly thereafter with Adam Gooch. Austin has also

It's a guest-less show, that's right, one hour and twenty five minutes of me just ranting and raving. Nah, actually, I am way more level headed than my Post Wrestlemania show, so if you enjoyed all that anger and cursing, there isn't as much here...but there's still some. This episode will go over Payback, all the matches and results. I go over Baron Corbin and the buffonery of having him job on the preshow, after winning the Andre Battle Royal. I talk about Dolph Ziggler's career, and where he could possibly go, and if WWE will ever give him a top chance again. I touch on Kalisto and Ryback's match, and Ryback's uncertain future with WWE. Enzo's injury during the #1 contender tag match is up next, and I go over various ideas behind how it happened. I touch on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, what I'd like to see for them in the future, Zayn's dangerous suplex, and Owens and how WWE likely sees him today. I ponder the future of the IC title, and how Miz and Cesaro fit in. Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose is discussed

"The Southern Stomper" is back and he takes no prisoners! We touch on quite a few questions I didn't get to on his initial appearance. We cover a plethora of things including, the early days of TNA, working for PWU and with Vampiro, his experiences at Wrestling Society X, the "Altar Boy Luke" character, and his feelings on it, XPW and the reunion shows, wrestling Jerry Lynn and appearing on his retirement show, feuding with Matt Hardy, his experiences with PWS as Extreme Rising Champion, Bob Holly, working for Global Force Wrestling, and his views on Tommy Dreamer and his House Of Hard core promotion. Luke also runs Wildkat Sports and Entertainent in the New Orleans area, as well as the promotions school. Wildkat has a show on May 28th in Metairie, Louisiana that will feature Luke, Bob Holly, Bestia 666, Brian Kendrick, as well as Wildkat students, and the top talent in the area. Please check out Luke Hawx and Wildkat Sports & Entertainment on all forms of social media. Please check out the Creative Contr

On episode 56, we talk to independent wrestling's top upcoming ring announcer, Stuart Campbell! Stuart can be seen announcing the matches and revving up the crowd every two weeks at The MFPW shows in Paulsboro, NJ. We talk about his early days as a "Ruthless Aggression" era WWE fan, reaching back into the past and enjoying old ECW TV on the WWE Network, how he entered the business via the WWWA in Pennsylvania, and some of his experiences there. We also talk about his experiences helping at Ring Of Honor shows, some of the most helpful advice he has received at seminars, and who he sees as the up and coming stars in The MFPW. We also talk about the infamous "Chopfest" clip on YouTube that many fans may be familiar with, and if you're not, go to YouTube and search for Monster Factory Chopfest! You won't be disappointed. You can follow Stuart at @stutheannouncer on Twitter to keep up with what he is up to. And check out ProWrestlingTees.com/CCWithJoeFeeney to see the new Creative Control Pro Wrestling Tee's sto

Josh Olsen is our guest on Episode 55. Mr. Olsen is the editor, and was the creative madman behind the pro wrestling anthology book, "Working Stiff." We discuss his wrestling fandom as a child up to today, and the breaks in between. We ALL need a little #Wrestlecation sometimes! We talk about some of his experiences at live events over the years, up until present day. He goes over how much Colt Cabana's Art Of Wrestling inspired his return to being a fan, and how hearing Colt namedrop him and Working Stiff on Art Of Wrestling was such a special moment. And we talk about what Josh and Gimmick Press' next project will be. All that and more on an enjoyable Episode 55!Saturday (tomorrow) April 16th at the 2300 (ECW) Arena, is Collectorfest. It will be a convention for pro wrestling and comic book fans, and some of the guests include Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Bobby Heenan, Animal, The Blue Meanie, Cliff Compton, Abyss, Ricky Steamboat, Stan Hansen, and many more! And Creative Control

On episode 54, Mikey Webb spends some time with us. We talk about how he got into the business, his training, his running buddies like Donovan Dijak and Warbeard Hanson, working with legends early in his career (2 Cold Scorpio, Buff Bagwell, Rikishi, The Godfather, and The Blue Meanie), his experiences in JAPW, Chaotic Wrestling, and the MFPW. He tells us about his experience in the Ring Of Honor Top Prospect tournament, and is honest about what he thought of his performance. We discuss wrestling in singles matches, tag team matches, and multi person matches, and whether he has a preference. We go over injuries and concussions, and what can be done to best avoid them. And finally we go over recent matches of his that created quite a buzz, both for The MFPW, and over the Super Sonic championship. Firstly, a three way dance with Nick Westgate and Anthony Greene, and secondly, his title defense against "LSG" Leon St. Giovanni. These matches were just as good, if not better than any televised wrestling you will s

While editing this podcast, all of us in the wrestling community received bad news, as Balls Mahoney passed away at the age of 44. RIP to Balls, and my condolences to his family and his friends. Joel Gertner returns to Creative Control! "The Quintessential Studmuffin" and I cover a lot in this episode. Joel goes over his managerial influences. He also drops the news that his "Everything But The Wrestling" seminar (which I attended and which helped me with everything I've accomplished so far!) will return this summer. I cannot stress this enough: if you run a promotion or a wrestling school, have Joel in for this seminar. Anyone within earshot will learn more in those few hours than some have their entire careers!We also discuss his infamous promos, as he tries to narrow down a favorite one. We speak about The Dudley Boyz, if Joel was ever scared while managing them due to the Dudleys penchant for creating mayhem, and if he is surprised they are still going strong on WWE programming today. We touch upon a hot

RefereeMike Kehner returns to Creative Control to cover the gamut of his pro wrestling career, as a referee, a wrestler, and a trainer, and we cover the past, the present, and the future. We begin with some ECW stories, including the Mike Awesome situation, and the returns of Raven and Sandman in 1999. Mike goes over ECW's closure, and some of the unsung ECW heroes, both in the ring and out of the ring, as well as the craziest moment he ever saw in the ring, in ECW. He talks about his close relationship with his mentor, former ECW referee John Finnegan, and how much he still enjoy working with him today. We cover his close relationship with Steve Corino. We get into the Philly Wrestling Wars, and how it affected Mike when he wanted to work for the different warring promotions. He tells a few stories about little remembered promotion, MECW, including working with Curt Hennig, Chris Harris, and Buff Bagwell. We also talk about his time working for MLW, including a War Games match in Florida. Mike tells us his t

Bill and i return to discuss the upcoming Wrestlemania card, and to give our predictions. What does the future hold for both Kalisto and Ryback? Who out of the ten women in the Divas tag team match do we see going on to further success in 2016? What would we like to see the future hold for the Dudleys? Who will stand tall in the cluster known as the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal? Will The New Day fly on their unicorns out of Wrestlemania as winners? Is Alberto Del Rio being underutilized? Who do we see winning the IC title Ladder Match, and who is the shocking favorite on the gambling websites? Where will the Divas/Womens Division go in 2016, and will Charlotte leave Mania with her title, or will Sasha be crowned? Will Bayley's possible debut affect the outcome of this match? Has AJ Styles been used correctly, and will Jericho put him over on the biggest stage of them all? What can be done in the Lesnar-Ambrose match to benefit both guys? Should Ambrose come out on top and get the biggest win of his c

On episode 50, part one, Bill Knight and I discuss the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2016. We talk about each inductee, our feelings on their inductions, and a little bit about each of their careers and their impact on WWE and the pro wrestling world in general. What do we think about the "Celebrity Wing," and Snoop Dogg's induction? Will a certain Celebrity Inductee and Presidential candidate appear on Raw later this year? What about The Warrior Award? Is it what The Ultimate Warrior intended, and does that matter? We give our thoughts on Stan Hansen's career, both stateside, and in Japan. We talk about Jacqueline's impact, not only in WWE, but in WCW and Memphis as well. We talk about The Big Bossman, his humble beginnings, all the way to his runs at the top with names like Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. We cover The Godfather's induction, and how HOF credibility should be measured. We talk about The Fabulous Freebirds finally going in, and whether or not those who are against Jimmy Garvin's induction with the Fr

Episode 49's guest is former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and current Pacific Coast Wrestler booker, The Almighty Sheik. Sheik and I cover a variety of topics, including his youth as a fan of all things Florida Championship Wrestling, wrestling training and how it has changed, working with and learning from guys like The Blackhearts and Kevin Sullivan, his early days as a member of The Market Crashers, working in Florida for and with "Earthquake" John Tenta, working with "Typhoon" Fred Ottman, and how working with the Bushwhackers led him to Puerto Rico. We go over his experiences in Puerto Rico, including dealing with the violent fans over there, and working for and with Savio Vega, Carlos Colon, and Miguel Perez. We also talk about his experiences in Japan as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and working for HUSTLE and Zero-One. We cover the rumors about Sabu granting his blessing over The Sheik gimmick. Sheik and I also talk about his thoughts on working the "hardcore" style, and how his character len

Episode 48's guest is former CZW World Heavyweight and Iron Man Champion, Nick Berk! Nick grew up as a Philly wrestling fan, spending his teens in the ECW Arena before being trained to wrestle at the Hawkins Wrestling Gym by Reckless Youth, Mike Kehner and Don Montoya. He came up through the ranks with the likes of the Backstreet Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere) and Billy Reil. We talk all about his early days as a fan, and then training, and his first match. From there we cover his entrance into CZW, and his thoughts on the Deathmatch and Ultraviolent style they utilized in the old days. We cover the "Philly Wrestling Wars" of the early to mid 2000s, and how that affected young wrestlers trying to make a payday, and also how the closure of WCW and ECW affected wrestlers around that time. We talk about Pro Wrestling Unplugged, how it came about, and his experiences there, including wrestling his trainer Reckless Youth, and his close friend Trent Acid, as well as his interaction with legends like Jake "

Episode 47 sees the return of former WCW TV and Cruiserweight Champion, as well as a former WCW and TNA Creative Team member, Disco Inferno. Firstly, he and I cover Fast Lane, and the crowd's, AGAIN, negative response towards Roman Reigns, and Disco's thoughts on that. He also gives his thoughts on the current fanbase in general, and the difference between what once constituted entertaining wrestling television, as opposed to how fans think wrestling should be portrayed today. We talk about how he first met Raven, and the birth of the Disco Inferno character. We talk about how he wound up in WCW, and how the fans immediately took to the character. We cover his memorable WCW Saturday Night gimmick, where every week he would try a new variation on his secret "leg hold," and how things that that can be more memorable than actual matches. Disco also discusses teaming with Alex Wright, being on "Public Enemy Duty," and the night the British Bulldog was injured on The Ultimate Warrior's "secret" trap door. Disco th