During the packing / unpacking / moving process I stumbled across something interesting. Wrestling is full of lies and deceit. Wrestling is full of dishonest people. Promoters and wrestlers are all a matter of perspective. One wrestler can look at "Promoter Joe" and say he is a "lying, cheating, bass-turd". Another wrestler can look at the same guy and think, "He is alright. He pays me. He tells me what I need to know."

Where is the truth?

A couple of years ago, I spent nearly every weekend on the road. Al B. Damm and I were wrestling one another week in and week out. We wrestled for a half dozen promotions. We tried to keep up with the torrid schedule. We wrestled everywhere and anywhere. Travelling all over the state, wrestling in various rings, you see and hear a lot of things. Most promotions are running on zero funds. They might have a working microphone. They might have a cheap "boom box" for entrance music. If you are lucky the locker room will have electricity. Many indy rings are death traps. There are deep holes to trip the wrestler. There are hard spots that could break bones. As far as getting paid, it was a crapshoot. Many promoters require wrestlers to work for free the first couple of times while they "scout your talent". Then, once you ask for a paycheck - the promoter no longer returns your phone calls or emails.

There was one promotion doing things differently. There was one promotion that was doing it "by the book". The promotion was PCW - powerhouse championship wrestling. They had a promoters license (which is rare) and insurance. They had an elaborate entrance ramp. They had a computerized stereo system that controlled the microphones, music, etc. The ring was solid and safe. PCW paid their wrestlers. It looked like a good place to wrestle. The promotion was run by a family devout Christians. No swearing or vulgarity was permitted. I made contact with the promoter. The promoter agreed to use us. The promoter agreed to our fee.

Al B. Damm and I ventured down the highway to wrestle for PCW. We wrestled for PCW a few times. Things were going well. We were getting paid to wrestle in a nice ring. One night, after small turn out, the promoter paid us with company checks. We accepted the payoff and left happy. I never questioned them.

A month or so later, through some confusion, Al B. Damm and I missed a booking with PCW. I tried to get hold of the promoter. I tried to explain the circumstances. They would not return my phone calls or email messages. I do not regularly miss bookings. This was the first time (and last) I ever "no-showed" an event. I felt bad. I assumed that by no showing, I had burnt a bridge with them.

Fast-forward to March 2003.

While packing up our old house, I came across an old bank statement. I was ready to throw it in the trash. For some unknown reason, I decided to glance at bank statement. The bank statement was from the fall of 2001. The envelope contained a check. I looked the check. It was the check written to me by Powerhouse Championship Wrestling more than 1 prior. A note accompanied the check. The check bounced. The account (PCW) lacked sufficient funds to cover my big glorious pay off. My pay off was less than $100. In fact, my pay off was less than $50. They wrote me a bad check. But, wait! There is more. MY bank charged me the value of the check for their failed efforts. So, the promoter f'ed me over by writing a bad check and my bank f'ed me over by charging me for their efforts. I actually lost between $50 and $100 because I wrestled for a promoter who was doing it "the right way".

Only in the world of wrestling...