Rey Calitri has a business-only mentality heading into his next match.
WrestleZone spoke with “The Shining Star” Rey Calitri ahead of his appearance at ISPW 25 this weekend. Calitri will defend his ISPW Tri-State Championship against Crowbar on the show.
“One thing that I’ve told myself is I can’t do what everyone else does when they go face him. From what I see, what everyone does when they go face Crowbar is they get star-struck immediately, which, as they should. Like you just said, dude’s been around everywhere. He’s a living legend, hands down, 30 plus year career. He’s done pretty much everything in and out of the wrestling business. But in my head, I’ve taken that element out and I’m like, ‘I can’t be a fanboy right now’ because this is business.
“It’s me versus him, and he’s trying to take something that I worked so hard for to obtain at ISPW’s 25th anniversary show. Am I looking forward to the match? Absolutely, 100%. Am I going to be like fanboy? No. If anything, I’ll do the fanboy stuff after. But the minute that I step into the ring, into the building, into the venue, into everything, it’s all business.”
Calitri said he expects the match to put a lot more eyes on his work and he can’t wait for it.
Adding A Little Twist
Rey Calitri was also asked if there are any other legends that he gets feedback from. Calitri cited Gino Caruso from ECPW for giving him his footing in the business, adding Val Venis and Tommy Dreamer to the list of those who offered tutelage as well.
“When ISPW had the 80s WrestleCon, I grabbed Val Venis and me and Val Venis were just talking. He found out that I went to Mexico and we started sharing stories about traveling in Mexico and wrestling in Mexico. I just take like bits and pieces from every person that I cross paths with. I just try to listen to them and I’m just like, okay, because the business is completely different from of course the 70s and 80s and 90s compared to now. So, I just listen to everything,” he explained.
Calitri said he likes to add his own twist to things so it’s not an exact replica from the past.
“Tommy Dreamer and I had a very good conversation. [He said], ‘I see this in you. Try this instead of that.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, cool.’ So they told me that and I’m going to try that, but add a little twist to it. I really don’t have a specific name that I latch on to, but I just take a lot from everyone.”
Stay tuned for our full interview with Rey Calitri on WrestleZone! ISPW 25 takes place on Friday, September 29th at the Totowa PAL in Totowa, New Jersey, with a bell time of 7:30 p.m. More event information can be found here.
