Some things are just fun to do. Stamp collecting, gardening, fixing cars, they’re probably all good hobbies.
But none of them compares to the rush of excitement of being a professional wrestling manager! Better yet, a heel manager!
Our new game pack, DARK MENACE FORCES, will shine the spotlight on five very deserving wrestlers who have many career highlights of their own but one thing in common—they have worked with the infamous Dark Menace!
It all began for me at the Motor City Con around 2006. Game fan Steve Rutkowski asked me if I’d like to manage his tag team in their title match at a live show at the con. I jumped at the chance and hence was born the Dark Menace; the name came from the book I released in 2005 called The Dark Menace of the Universe.
I wore a suit and sunglasses and a game fan who attended the convention let me borrow what became a great prop, an ornate cane, which I could wield menacingly. I miss his cane but have used several others over the years.
I went to the back room to prepare for the match and visited with some of the other indy wrestlers. I was pleasantly surprised that many of them knew who I was and were fans of Champions of the Galaxy and Filsinger Games. The same thing happened years later when I managed Black Sheep Benett Cole at a wrestling event in Jamestown as he also turned out to be a game fan.
The match was great! I distracted the referee and our opponents and Steve’s team won the tag belts (see accompanying photo above). Hence came my nickname, “Manager of Champions.” Every match I have ever been involved with to this day has been a title match and my wrestlers have either held the belt or won it. WWE and Paul Heyman take note.
The fans in Michigan threw wads of paper and cups at me so I knew the Dark Menace was infuriating them. I loved it and became more obnoxious. I also learned that kids are a great audience, they love to yell and scream at heels and in turn I would gesture violently at them and scream: “Keep quiet you stupid brats and sit down!” Then I’d yell at their parents for raising them badly.
The wrestlers that worked with the Dark Menace at that historic show are included in DARK MENACE FORCES: Rex Havoc, Michael Kai Rayne, and Laura Phoenix.
I worked a few other shows here and there but I’ve become more active lately as local wrestling promotions and wrestlers have vied for the expert services of the Dark Menace. I managed Black Sheep Benett Cole against Brutus the Barber Beefcake in 2012 and tag champs Criminal Justice (Luscious Rocky Reynolds and Benett Cole) as they defended their tag belts at a show in 2013. More shows are on the horizon as local promoter Randy Grey is looking to keep the Dark Menace active on the indy scene. A live wrestling show is planned during GalactiCon 2014.
As any indy wrestler will agree, there’s nothing quite like showing up for an event and preparing for your match. Everyone in New York state (including managers) have to get a doctor’s permission before the matches start to participate in the show. Venues vary dramatically from nice locker rooms (Jamestown Community College) to makeshift areas behind bleachers that have little or no privacy to small rooms that barely accommodate all the wrestlers. It’s like being an unknown rock band on the road and the harder and more uncomfortable it is the more fun and real it is also (for me anyway).
The after-parties are half the fun. When Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine were in Jamestown there was a meet-and-greet at a local bar and remind me to tell you some stories sometime, they’re not fit for a family forum! Let’s just say we were Dark Menaces all.
I’d like to thank everyone on the indy scene that works hard to entertain their audiences. These wrestlers put so much time and effort for their fifteen minutes of being in front of a crowd. They are truly dedicated to their craft. DARK MENACE FORCES is dedicated to indy wrestlers everywhere.
Get ready! DARK MENACE FORCES are coming to invade YOUR promotion! The Dark Menace and his stable will take no prisoners and it doesn’t matter where we go—Ring of Honor, CZW, Chikara, Legends, even Champions of the Galaxy—we’re taking over!
Until DARK MENACE FORCES becomes the new nWo…