Hey Socaluncensored readers this is Lauren’s Lowdown and I’m here tonight with an interview with one of Southern California’s most popular tag teams PPRAY. Whether it’s their style, their antics, or the entertainment they bring to the ring, PPRAY’s popularity amongst the wrestling community has been sky rocketing. I recently got the pleasure of conducting an interview with them on this, as well as some other things.
1. When you guys first started tagging together did you think that the tag team would have the popularity that it does? The crowd just goes crazy for you guys when you come out.
RR: Well I knew when we started tagging that we were on to something good, something special. We started tagging in Championship Wrestling From Hollywood in the hair vs. hair match which was probably our first official tag match.
PPA: It was kind of impromptu, us getting put together at first. It wasn’t us ever talking like “Hey let’s be a team” and stuff like that.
RR: It kinda just happened it wasn’t something planned and once it happened it clicked together well.
2. Do you think it was the success you guys had as a tag team, the crowd loving you guys, that made you want to continue tagging together?
RR: At the time we were kind of floundering, there was no direction for us.
PPA: At the time we were each kind of out of something. Ray was doing the nut shot gimmick. He was low blowing people and they were putting me over in the stable with Pearce, Aries, Kaos. Yeah we were kind of floundering then they put Ray, me and Rico together.
RR: Then Rico went to Los Banditos, and I was kind of helping Peter with his matches. We were buddying together before we became a tag team. I was helping him in his feud with Taylor, he was helping me with Terex. We had the cage matches…
PPA: Yeah Ray Rosas and Terex was a great one and then myself and Ryan Taylor.
RR: So then our first official tag match was in that gauntlet and then the first official match was The Happening. The rest was history we just took off from that. I wasn’t really expecting to get the reaction that we did.
PPA: It started off just us having fun and then people liked to have fun with us.
3. So you guys like tagging together right?
PPA: I love it!
RR: Oh I do too.
PPA: It’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had in wrestling. I’ve always wanted a consistent tag partner and that’s Ray.
RR: It’s been a highlight for me.
4. You guys work so well together in the Ring what makes each of you a good tag partner to one another?
RR: I think it’s about chemistry. The first time me and Peter ever wrestled was back in 2010. We didn’t really know each other that well but we went in there and wrestled each other not knowing each other but just hearing about each other.
PPA: We hadn’t really spoke at that point.
RR: We had a really good match and people would talk about how much chemistry we had as opponents and automatically it would follow through and carry over as a team. The chemistry definitely was there. Peter and I were born on the same day, we both have the same birthday, we’re both Gemini, so it’s like we’re not afraid to look stupid.
PPA: The stars ALIGN for us baby!
RR: Moon, stars, and charts all align for us.
5. What would you say has been your most difficult match as a tag team?
PPA: I wanted to say the cage because I think that’s a big one for us but I also want to say against the happening.
RR: The happening was a really really tough one.
PPA: That was our first one really.
RR: Yeah our first tag match, we were working the kinks out against The Happening. That one was really tough for us because we were still trying to get acclimated as a tag team. Also another one for me that was really hard was against The Young Bucks.
PPA: Yes The Young Bucks at AWS.
RR: If The Happening was a test for us to see how we do as a team, then The Young Bucks was a test of how we progressed.
PPA: Yes absolutely, The Bucks are one of the best tag teams, probably THE best tag team right now in the world…In a lot of people’s opinions. So to work them was an absolute honor. I just want to say that, thank you to Bart, thank you to everybody. Hell Yeah.
6. Peter how does it feel being a part of the fanny pack nation?
PPA: I love it ,I love it. I love that Ray and I kind of have our own schtick, He comes out and he’s got the fanny pack, I have the jacket and shades. Then we both kind of meet in the middle because we’re both just douche bags and so it worked out. I love being a part of the fanny pack nation.
RR: Lovable douche bags.
PPA: Lovable douche bags absolutely and I love that he gave me a fanny pack and everything. I just love being a part of the fanny pack nation, it’s the best.
7. Ray, I remember the fanny pack just started being a part of your matches, how did this exactly happen?
RR: Well you know I used to carry a fanny pack to the show at all times just to carry my stuff in. If you’re a pro wrestler, you know, you have a fanny pack.
PPA: That’s right brother.
RR: Brother brother…. and I had my red fanny pack that was old and beat up and I was gonna do a run to help Peter in the contract signing. I did a run in and I just left it on and I just started doing cross chops and as we put him through the table and doing the chops the fanny pack was kind of bouncing. It was like, okay well that’s unique and then I used it again when Peter had the match with Ryan Taylor. It was a hardcore match.
PPA: Yeah no falls no DQ.
RR:Yeah and I was handcuffed to Terex and I had to find a way to immobilize him so of course I had the salt in the fanny pack and from then on it had to be part of the character. From my mind I was an okay wrestler and okay character, probably like a Chris Jericho rip off but then when I got the fanny pack it kind of brought me to a different level and added a different dimension to the character. So I’ve just been riding it out, who knows how long it will stay with me.
PPA: Keep it going as long as it’s going.
8. What is your biggest competition to date as a singles competitor?
PPA: Just one? Damn that’s the thing I’ve never thought about putting them in order of my biggest things I just have big times wrestling certain people or winning certain championships and having certain matches. Teaming with Ray is an absolute highlight, each cage match that I’ve had, the bucks have a been a highlight, wrestling guys like Kevin Steen and Colt Cabana stuff like that.
RR: For me it would have to be the record breaking Anarchy Championship Reign. I think it was officially 511 days.
PPA: Yeah I think so.
RR: I was having a lot of really good matches, a really good series of title defenses. That for me was probably one of the biggest things as a singles competitor. I’ve had a lot of really good matches recently with Drake Younger, BBOY, Joey Ryan, Tyler Bateman. I’ve been getting some good tests as a singles competitor.
PPA: Hell Yes.
RR: I love tag matches.
9. I remember Peter that awhile ago you had that hair match against Ryan Taylor, do you ever miss the hair?
PPA: All the time and it’s not even just me that misses it.
RR: I miss the hair.
PPA: 95% of the locker room is like “Your Hair”
(laughter)
PPA:I do miss it here and there.
10. What is something that either of you wish to accomplish in the ring?
PPA: My number one is just to make a living doing it.
RR: That’s a tough one…I just want to be known as the best, undisputed best…That I go out there and have the respect of the fans and my peers and universally just be known as the best.
PPA: Hell Yeah man.
RR: That’s all I want.
PPA: Can’t you make a living off it too? No cause you are dude, you’re on your way you’ve been having some incredible matches. Lately especially.
11. If one of the promotions that you wrestle at came to you and said we need you to create a title for the promotion, it could be anything, that everyone could fight for…What would it be?
PPA: A championship belt? Man I got to think back to when I was playing fire pro and creating my belts and stuff. I guess it would be like the best looking and I would have to win it every time.
SCU: I think you might have Ricky Mandel fighting with you over that one.
RR: He’s such a beautiful man.
PPA: That’s all I got…The beautiful belt.
RR: I think it was a company in Japan that had a comedy belt and have a funny or bad match and the fans would decide who the champ was by crowd reaction. Something similar to that would be good where you have a match and then the fans would decide who the champ is.
PPA: That would be dope.
RR: So you would legit be the real people’s champion.
PPA: (laughs) I like that a lot.
12. What’s the worst injury ever sustained in the ring?
RR: My torn meniscus that I got back in 2010, and it still affects me to this day. I was supposed to get surgery but I didn’t because I’m stupid.
PPA: I broke my right radius, lower towards my wrist…
RR: All technical…
PPA: I know I got to be technical, there’s two bones in the arm. I was training actually it was near the end of 2007 I want to say, I did a frog splash off the top and smashed it and had to have surgery and a metal plate put in and taken out and all that…I have it on my key chain.
13. Does that ever affect you wrestling today?
PPA: No it’s just the scar there as a permanent reminder.
14. I know you guys have wrestled at numerous promotions, is there any favorites to wrestle at?
RR: I love AWS.
PPA: Yes absolutely.
RR: The fans are so great they really made us here, Bart really built us here.
PPA: Yeah.
RR: He made us work for those belts.
PPA: It’s my home. When I came back from that injury I started training at Bart’s, then EWF here and there with Jesse but it was always back at Bart’s training with different people…Johnny Paradise, Ballard Brothers, Raven was there once. I was there all the time wrestling on Bart’s shows. He used me very early on. I had the opportunity to hold the lightweight championship in only my 6th match ever. I beat TJ Perkins so AWS has just been behind me since the birth of Peter Avalon. I love Bart for that and I appreciate that.
RR: Another one of my favorites is IWL. I love that promotion and I’ll do damn near anything for that promotion because I feel like they’ve really allowed the Ray Rosas character as a singles competitor, the really evil diabolical Ray Rosas, to really flourish and evolve to what I really mix in with everything else. I feel like I rule IWL.
PPA: Yeah man you’re the real world champ there.
RR: Not even anymore.
PPA: Oh uh you were, you were.
RR: Bummer, Bummer.
PPA: You’re still a champ to me though, I still assumed you were the champ, Sorry Drake.
15. Speaking of going to a lot of promotions, what would you say is the worst neighborhood you’ve ever had to wrestle at?
PPA: I haven’t had a lot of those…Oh I wrestled in the rain. I don’t want to say the place because I really like the place and I’ve had good matches there. They ran at a baseball stadium and there’s nothing wrong with that but it happened to be raining really hard. I was wrestling Scorpio Sky and I was slipping and sliding around the ring so any time that Sky would hit me I would get knocked down because I’d slip and the one thing that stands out in that match is how dangerous it was slipping and sliding. He scoop slammed me and laid me down and went for a Hulk Hogan leg drop and just kicked all the dirty water into my mouth.
RR: You weren’t thirsty no more.
PPA: Nope I hated everything.
RR: I’ve wrestled for a lot of lucha companies that are based out of South LA and Central LA that are pretty ghetto but I can’t think of any off the top of my head that were dangerous cause I’m a man.
PPA: Nobody messes with Ray Rosas!
RR: Yeah I’m not scared of anybody!
16. What is the best thing a fan has ever done for you?
RR: I got a pretty bad ass painting.
PPA: That is a dope painting dude, you got it posted up don’t you?
RR: It’s actually my twitter avatar.
PPA: I mean like in your room.
RR: Oh yeah it’s hanging on my wall, it’s one of the coolest things, I’ve got a lot of cool stuff from fans though
PPA: One of the coolest things I think, is kind of sappy at the same time, I was going through a break up when Mach1 was still around and one of the little fans that was a kid found out about it and brought me an angels rally monkey and gave it to me and said “I know you’re being sad I hope this helps you feel better.” I was blown away, I was almost in tears thinking this kid is incredible. It’s really cool so that’s probably the nicest thing a fan’s done for me.
17. So you’re an Angels fan?
PPA: Well I’m not so much a baseball fan, Sorry Joey.
RR: It was the thought that counts.
PPA: Yeah it was the thought that counts, his name is Scott, good kid.
18. Do you guys have any advice for those aspiring to be wrestlers?
PPA: I’m gonna leave this one to Ray first cause he’s been helping Kaos run some of the students at Santino Brothers so I wanna see what he has to say.
RR: First off make sure you have a job to support the habit. Make sure you have something to fall back on just in case because only about 5% of the people who start training make it through.
PPA: Plan B man, need that plan B.
RR: Be prepared for a life of pain. I mean I got a lot of stuff now that’s hurting that wasn’t 4 years ago when I started. If this is what you really want don’t give up because believe me cream will rise to the top.
PPA: Absolutely, I don’t want to interrupt but I have to put this in there, I was reading Stone Cold Steve Austin’s AMA on reddit, ask me anything, and someone asked him what his Plan B was and he said that he had no plan B. He was either going to make it or he was not so…You just got to want it like Ray is saying.
RR: You know if you want it you’re going to go get it. There’s been times I’ve wanted to give up but I couldn’t allow myself to do it because this is all I’ve ever wanted to do. Now that I’m doing it I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and it’s a hell of a rush. Once you get out there you get addicted to it. Oh and most importantly take care of your injury’s when they happen. R.I.C.E… Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Do it right away, don’t be like it will be okay in a couple of days and then end up with swollen knees after every match.
PPA: Absolutely right take care of your body. Epsom salt baths, massages therapy, things like that because it’s the truth.
RR: I keep a sponge in my gear bag, for two reasons: To help with the moisture because we’re sweating and all our sweaty gear is in there, but also, Kaos is the one who told me this, but to remind yourself to keep your mind like a sponge. To always absorb knowledge and always learn something because you’re always going to keep learning. That’s an old cliché from pro wrestling “you’re always going to keep learning” but that helps. I keep that sponge in there and give sponges out to a couple students that I deem my boys. Just go out there and wrestle your heart out man.
PPA: Wrestle your heart out like Ray said, keep your eyes and ears open at all times. In wrestling there’s always a learning opportunity, ALWAYS whether your in the back or in the ring…Always. Whether your with someone who’s an international superstar or your first match ever. You’re going to be able to learn something regardless of who it is, when it is, where it is…whatever.
19. I like to leave with this, any words to your fans/supporters?
RR:Thank you!
PPA:Thank you!You named us PPRAY. So thank you, we owe everything to them. The fans are what made PPRAY…PPRAY.
RR: They made us both individually and collectively.
PPA: All Day.
20. So I’m assuming there’s more to come from you guys as a tag team?
PPA: I hope so!
RR: We’re just getting started.
PPA: AB-SO-LUTELY we got The Young Bucks down, we got Rocknes Monsters down…There’s a lot of top tag teams that need to be put down Ray Rosas. I guess it’s good to leave it at that.
I would like to thank PPRAY for taking the time out of their schedule to answer my questions and give us all some insight into their world. If you’d like to know more about them or follow them on twitter feel free to check out their twitters and facebooks.
https://www.facebook.com/RRRRROSAS?ref=ts&fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/PeterAvalon
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this interview or check out the site in general. Your appreciation is everything!