INDY NEWS
STEVE CORINO INTERVIEW by ALAN WOJICK
Alan Wojcik: The last time we met in person was October 2006 at a Florida event and you were still working for Ring of Honor. But not long after letting Homicide shave your head after a “Fight Without Honor” you stopped working for ROH. What went down with ROH and have you seen their HDNet TV show?
Steve Corino: I was only in for the Homicide feud and mistakenly we all felt like it needed a conclusion before he went on to win the ROH championship. The last match I liked but it was done in the wrong building. It should have been in New York instead of Philadelphia and done AFTER he beat Dragon, but it’s easy for all of us to say that now. LOL. I was proud of it because we once again beat the hell out of each other, like we always did, but the crowd heat was not there. I believe it was ruined because of the promo before and the fact that people in Philadelphia knew there was no way he could lose that close to getting his shot at Dragon. ROH is a great company and they have a loyal base of fans that are passionate about the product. Sometimes too passionate! LOL. No, they are great fans. And their fighters are just amazing. I enjoy watching their product a lot. I don’t have HDNet here in Puerto Rico or I would be glued to the TV.
Alan Wojcik: During 2006-07 you held the AWA World Heavyweight title and partnered with Ricky Landell to hold the World Tag Team championships. Did you think the AWA would attempt to return to the national level under Verne Gagne’s regime and what is its current place in wrestling?
Steve Corino: I don’t think that was ever Dale Gagne’s plan. A lot of people have negative thoughts about Dale but he was always good to me. Is he a real Gagne? I don’t know but honestly that is not my business either. Dale always booked me and paid me on time. I think Dale’s version of the AWA was to be a lot like the old NWA with the territories. And it worked for a while. When I was the AWA Heavyweight champion I traveled all over. Even if hardcore fans don’t want to recognize that the AWA of Verne’s and the AWA of Dale’s are the same (they aren’t), I did a lot (and so did the Japanese) for the AWA name and title value.
Alan Wojcik: You also did some work for Hermie Sadler’s UWF promotion which was rumored to be funded by TNA Wrestling. In your view as a person who has promoted shows, why did UWF work short term but fade away?
Steve Corino: Hermie is a big money guy and I don’t think they needed TNA’s money. I do think it was a possible test run to see if TNA house shows would work. And it does. Hermie Sadler is a great man and his UWF shows were a blast. I think he stopped promoting because he helps TNA with ground promotion (I think) and he is busy working for NASCAR and the Speed Channel. The Sadler family are great people and both CW (Extreme Horseman member CW Anderson) and I had a bunch of fun working for them.
Alan Wojcik: Is there truth to the rumor you were served a cease and desist letter from WWE claming they owned the rights to your monicker “King of Old School?”
Steve Corino: No, not at all. It always makes me laugh when people assume that. The WWE could give two craps about what I do. A lot of the confusion is based around a Japanese magazine that called me "The Trouble King" in early 2007 and I started using that to describe myself. But the "King Of Old School" moniker I hung up for good at the end of 2007 and adopted Mr. Wrestling 3, which if I read ahead, we will get into in a bit.
