New Interview With Pro Wrestling Riot's Sedrick Strong

Courtesy of Alan J. Wojcik:

This interview was done before night one of the 2008 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup and then finished after Sedrick competed in a WarGames match on night two. To make a donation or purchase merchandise, log onto http://jpc2008.com

Sedrick Strong
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 195
Hometown: Tampa Bay. FL
Pro Debut: 2001
Where Have You Seen Him: IPW Hardcore, NWA Florida, Pro Wrestling Riot, Pro Wrestling Warfare, American Combat Wresrling (defunct), FPWA, SCW Florida, No Name Wrestling (defunct), 2003 ECWA Super 8 (lost to Chance Beckett), 2003 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup (lost to Reckless Youth in finals), 2004 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup (lost to Roderick Strong in 1st round)
Championships Held: IPW World Tag Team champion (w/Roderick Strong), NWA Florida X Division champion, ACW Tag Team champion (w/Joshua Masters), Pro Wrestling Warfare Heavyweight champion

Alan Wojcik: We never got do to something like this during your two entries in the 03-04 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup. What did being part of those events mean to you and please share any memories you have of Jeff.

Sedrick Strong: Jeff was on the first indy show I went to. He was the smallest guy by far, but he still stole the show. What he lacked in size, he made up for in personality, heart and raw talent. I had always wanted to wrestle, but I was young and figured I was too small. Watching Jeff shine made me realize that I should pursue my dreams regardless of the obstacles that stood in my way. Because of this, Peterson Cup has always been huge to me. Not only was Jeff an amazing guy that should be remembered for his achievements and dedication to the sport, but I may not have ever become a wrestler if it weren't for him.

Alan Wojcik: Let's talk family for a question or two. You and Roderick reunited at the 2005 (vs. Erick Stevens/Steve Madison) & 2007 (vs.The New Heavenly Bodies) Peterson events. Was this just for the Peterson or could we ever see the Strong Brothers reunite on a full-time basis?

Sedrick Strong: It was definitely just for Peterson Cup. We both have our own things going on. And to be quite honest with you, I don't think either of us really want to be tagging with each other anymore. We had a Hell of a run when we were younger. But now that we're older we have different respnsibilities to take care of. It's just not in the cards for us.

Alan Wojcik: This may be a dumb question but I will ask it anyways. Are you happy with Roderick's success in Ring of Honor and other indy promotions?

Sedrick Strong: No. I wish he'd fail miserably... That's a stupid ass question Alan. He's blood. Of course I'm happy for him. The kid's a stud in the ring and he has earned every single thing he's ever gotten. I wish him nothing but the best. And I hope he continues to make a ton of money, travel the world and chop people until they're bleeding from their nipples.

Alan Wojcik: After working for several promotions it seemed you made ACW your home promotion. What made you become part of the ACW roster?

Sedrick Strong: There were a few things that I loved about ACW. First and foremost, I had the freedom to do what I wanted to do and say what I wanted to say. The crowds there were my type of crowd. They reacted to every single statement and move I made. And they appreciated every single match that was had there. They were rowdy, loud, creative, funny and responsive. They were everything you could have asked for. I also loved helping the new guys grow. ACW gave me the opportunity to teach, coach, excite and grow some of Florida's future talent. Matches were fun. Atmosphere was great. And the freedom was all that I could ask for... Plus it was extra money in my pocket every week. That's kind of important too.

Alan Wojcik: You and Joshua Masters formed Delta Iota Kappa under the guidance of Fetish. What made the team work and thoughts on your rivals Dogmatika (Dany Only & Sideshow) who fought you for months over the tag titles.

Sedrick Strong: On our very first show, Josh and I actually tagged together. We had no idea about each other. But we had fun. 7 years later we worked because we were on the same page. We wanted to win, we knew what he to do to win and we were fighting people that weighed half of what we did. We could have sucked shit and killed most of the teams there. It didn't hurt having Fetish to choke a bitch when we needed a little extra help either though. Dogmatika was just another team in the way. They were the stereotypical cast outs that people picked on in high school. I always figured they would be cutting themselves instead of taking their aggression out on others. But I never did understand that whole emo/punk rocker mentality anyway I guess.

Alan Wojcik: What were your feelings when ACW ownership sold out to Florida Championship Wrestling and what made you say yes to being part of Pro Wrestling Riot?

Sedrick Strong: Simply put, Ralph Mosca can eat my ass. That's all I have to say about the fucking sellout... RIOT is a great company with great talent and great backing. Why wouldn't I want to be a part of that? I get to fight top talent like Jon Davis, Kory Chavis, The Shane Brothers, Shawn Osborne and some other guy whose name I can't remember. I saw him on the news looking like a douche the other night though.

Alan Wojcik: Is it weird to be teaming with Sideshow after trying to end his career in the violent matches you had in ACW?

Sedrick Strong: It actually is a little bit. He and I have never really seen eye to eye completely. We agree on some points yes, but there's always something that we butt heads over. Overall, he's just not my type of person. I tolerate him because I have to. But he's not guy I would associate myself with outside of the ring.

Alan Wojcik: There have been some internet rumblings of an ACW reunion style event. What have you heard of it and would you participate if asked?

Sedrick Strong: It's coming back. I don't know in what capacity. And I don't really care. I was asked to participate. But I think you can refer to the aforementioned eating of my ass by Ralph Mosca to find out if I would wrestle for them or not.

Alan Wojcik: Speaking of reunions, you have been part of the IPW Hardcore reunion events the past couple of years. Would you like to see IPW return on a full time basis and would it be able to compete in the already saturated Florida indy scene?

Sedrick Strong: I would LOVE it to return full time. Who in their right mind wouldn't? We had some of the greatest matches in Florida history in the tiny sweatbox that was the Wrestleplex. IPW could compete on any level. Something about that company made us want to kill ourselves to keep it afloat. Countless stiches, stables, broken bones, black eyes, tears shed, rings built, rings broken, careers made, careers killed, hearts filled and hearts broken were all due to IPW. It was the single greatest wrestling company I was ever lucky enough to be a part of.

Alan Wojcik: At the Saturday evening of the Peterson you "the Marquee" Bruce Santee, Sideshow & The Black Market (Joey Machete' & Shawn Murphy) entered the WarGames taking on 911 Inc. ("Hardcore Giant" Mike Shane, Francisco Ciatso & Shawn Osborne) My question is did all of you go completely insane!! WarGames is going to brutalize all ten of you, making you bleed from places no one knew was possible.

Sedrick Strong: You have to do what you have to do Alan. Things have been building for an entire year now. And it's time to end it. They've had their say, taken their cheap shots and spilled our blood. It's time to shut them the fuck up and move on with our lives. And I guarantee, after WarGames, they're mouths, eyes, noses and ears will all be swollen shut. (Interviewer note: Strong and company won the WarGames match)

Alan Wojcik: You are no stranger to cage matches. One of my favorite IPW Hardcore matches was when you and Roderick lost to Naturally Marvelous ("Black Nature Boy" Soot Andrews & "Marvelous" Mike Sullivan.) That match is still talked about today as the best & bloodiest cage match ever. Is there one match from your career you would say, "that was my best match?"

Sedrick Strong: Who knows? A lot of different matches meant a lot to me for a lot of different reasons. Every Peterson Cup match to me was important because they were for a great cause and a great person. One of my matches with Mike Sullivan was important to me because it got me into the Super 8. The TLC match at the IPW Anniversary Show was one of my favorites because we all worked so hard and killed ourselves. The cage match with Scoot and Sulli was a big deal to me because I still wear the scars as a badge of honor. The cage match with Bruce Santee at the IPW Reunion show was a blast because he's one of my best friends and we literally were trying to knock each other unconcious for the entire match. I could go on forever Alan. I've wrestled for over 8 years now. There's no way to pick out just one match.

Alan Wojcik: The good news is you and your partners won despite 911 Inc. buying off a referee and trying to injure JPC referee Jet Jaguar. But after the match you and Sideshow seemed to have some left over anger. What happened and how does his sister Danielle fit into things?

Sedrick Strong: Like I said before, Sideshow and I have never seen eye to eye. He's just not my type of person. And apparently I'm not his either. His sister hugged me. That's it. I didn't kiss her. I didn't grope her. He didn't walk in on me having her bent over the kitchen sink talking about how I'm the greatest and... Well let's just leave it at that. We were celebrating a hard fought win and for some reason, an innocent hug bothered him. I could go on and on about how childish he acted, or how stupid he looked, or how I could have done way worse to his sister... and mother... But I won't. He's upset. If he apologizes for acting like an idiot, we can move on. If not, well I guess we'll see.

Pro Wrestling Riot's next show is their 1st anniversay show called "Road to the Gold Part One" on October 18th. The event is held at the New Lakes in Regency Park Civic Center in Port Richey, FL. They are heading to the crowning of inaugural PWR Heavyweight and Tag Team champions. Log onto www.prowrestlingriot.com for event info, ticket info and merchandise like shirts and DVD's.