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 IWC:
Tell us about how IWC got started.
Bubba: Jim Miller had lost Turner's and had
no where to show the PWX/PWL product. I had secured the Emerald Room in
McKees Rocks. Quinn Magnum and I had many talks over the prior six
months about how unhappy many of the wrestlers were with the
"situation." At that same time I was a developing a TV show with RTN
studios called "The Echo Lounge." Jim Miller talked to them about doing
a wrestling show. He was really pushing the NWA name to RTN since he
was on the board of directors at that time. They did not want to use
the NWA name because they wanted a name that they could own. Drew
Martier at RTN sat down with me one day when I was in the office and
told me that he did not have time to develop the wrestling show because
he was so busy with other things. He asked me if I would head up the
wrestling developement. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity
for a great wrestling show since Jim and I had worked together for
years. RTN did some research, and came up with the name "International
Wrestling Cartel." So I called Jim and told him how excited I was
because we would be working together on the project and that we would
not have to get approval on things, because I was the final say. That
did not sit well with Jim because he did not like the fact that, in the
chain of command, I was ahead of him. The rest is history.
IWC: Whatever happened to the original IWC TV
tapings?
Bubba: It's funny, I think I have the only
copy of the fully edited "IWC Uncut" one-hour TV show. We did tapings
at the studio, and another at the Pepsi Roadhouse. RTN was in
negotiations with the Man Channel on the Dish Network, and some things
went wrong for their business and wrestling was no longer a priority.
Somewhere there is about seven hours of unedited IWC television.
IWC: IWC's first summer had a lot of shows, could
you talk about them?
Bubba: I think we were a pretty hot product
right out of the gate. Quinn was the head booker and was doing a really
good job. Our shows had a lot of anti-PWX sentiment booked into them
which, at that time, was a hot subject. We got a ton of paid shows that
summer. I think we did about a dozen paid shows.
IWC: What happened to Quinn as the head booker?
Bubba: Jim asked him to come back and take
over PWX. I told him that he had to do what was best for his family.
The RTN deal was still in the works when that was going on, and we were
still trying to develop the TV show. I told RTN about Quinn going back
to run PWX, and they said they did not want him to write IWC television
if he was writing for another wrestling organization.
IWC: How did Norm Connors become the head of IWC?
 Bubba: I broke my hand in October of 2001. It put me
out of commission, mentally as well as physically. Norm was running the
IWC shows in Monroeville, and it was just a natural progression for him
to take the ball and run with it. Although I have to say, that the real
person that is running IWC is Shirley Doe, and that is the real reason
I agreed to this interview.
IWC: What do you mean?
Bubba: Shirley Doe has a great mind, even if
it is convoluted and sick. But, don't ever think that he is not SMART
as hell! When I broke my hand, Norm started getting shows, but behind
the scenes Doe was getting more and more power. I came to a show after
my hand had begun to heal. When I walked in that dressing room, Doe's
eyes burnt a hole straight through me.
IWC: Why do you think that is?
Bubba: Because he knew that I knew of the
underground power that he was gathering. Norm was so concerned about
getting shows, he never saw what was happening behind the curtain.
IWC: But, you did not come back right away, was that
because of Doe?
Bubba: If you think that I would make even
one life decision because of Shirley Doe, you have another thing
coming. I was in the process of building another business, and at that
moment, I just did not have the time for wrestling.
IWC: Bubba, then why is it when you came back into
IWC you did not go right after Doe?
 Bubba: It was always the unspoken between us. We both
knew that we knew what the other was doing, but we never spoke about
it. I wanted to come in and re-establish myself, and I had some heat
with Jimmy Vega$. I figured I could work through that situation, and
keep my eyes and ears open and listen and learn.
IWC: What finally happened that made the first match
between the two of you at Northgate High School?
Bubba: The whole Raven deal. Who was Doe to
book Raven? He started to buy his own publicity and felt he could do as
he pleased. That caused Norm to cancel all future shows. After
everything that IWC and myself had been through, there was no way in
HELL I was going to let Doe's power put an end to the IWC. That was the
one thing that Doe wanted. He wanted complete rule! I had enough!
IWC: Do you think Doe's power over wrestlers is
going to continue, or have we seen everything he has up his sleeve?
Bubba: He's got that "X" character, and then
Keenan jumped ship. Who knows who could be next? Here is a message for
any IWC wrestler that is listening to Doe's rhetoric. He is full of
shit. Doe is the Minister of Misinformation. He is fighting a war he
cannot win, and joining his axis of evil would be a huge mistake.
IWC: Are you ready for your big tag match with Super
Hentai against Doe and Keenan?
Bubba: No doubt. Hentai has been put through the grinder by Doe, and I
can tell you that I will have his back Saturday night.
 IWC:
Are you afraid that Doe will just push the
envelope of pain further than you can handle?
Bubba: Are you kidding me? How soon we
forget. I was the most hated man in wrestling in this area during my
days at PWX. Ask Brandon K what it felt like hanging from a noose from
the ceiling of the old Wrestleplex. Pushing the envelope... you think
I'm afraid... pushing the envelope... shit... let him push the
envelope, because I'll just be the postal service and grab it and mail
his ass to HELL where he belongs! You want to talk about crazy... crazy
is getting into a ring when your right hand is rebuilt with titanium,
and knowing that your next match could be your last. Do you think I'm
afraid of Doe? Do you? I guess we will find out Saturday night!
IWC: Bubba... Bubba?
- Editor's Note: there is actually a Hell,
Michigan.
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