Hey SCU peeps, this is Mike Draven & I’m very fortunate to be able to post a second interview in the same week for SoCalUncensored.com. My next interview is with a man who’s has a outstanding career in Pro Wrestling, dominating wherever he goes in Southern California & having some unbelievable matches that’s been talked about for years. He is the Punk Rock Powerhouse..this is Brawlin Bo Cooper.
1. First of all, how are you & how are you feeling today?
BC: Good thanks, a little tired and booze ridden but the suns almost out so I will sleep soon.
2. Do you remember the first time you saw a wrestling match & if so do you remember who was wrestling?
BC: I believe it was Hillbilly Jim vs. some Jobber
3. Who was your inspiration to get into the wrestling business?
BC: I always was a huge fan of it since I was a very young kid. My mother and family would always go to the local LA WWF house shows when they were in town and one day I arrived to the LA sports Arena early at the age of like 12 and saw the wrestlers walking in to the building, I yelled out to all of them asking for them to come over and say hi.. one did, I told him I wanted to be a wrestler one day just like him. he smiled looked at my mother and wrote down a phone number for me to call when I got a little older. So to answer your question Louie Spicolli would be since he was the one that first gave me the contact to Bill Anderson and Jesse Hernandez.
4. What was it about pro wrestling that made you decide that this was the thing you wanted to do?
BC: Well having a wrestler who worked for WWF and all over Mexico at that time & to take the time out of his schedule to write down a wrestling schools number for me definitely helped motivate me even if I was so young. Then years later, I heard a wrestling public access tv show called “The Shadow Man ” where he mentioned a wrestling school out of San Bernadino, Ca. called The School of Hard Knocks. I gave them a call, went down and showed them a piece of paper that a young wrestler gave me years before that was the same number. Louie Spicolli actually came in that same day I started training and said he remembered me, so I paid my money and from there I knew that this was my calling.
5. Where did go for your training & who were your instructors?
BC: School of Hard knocks with Jesse Hernandez & Bill Anderson, there was alot of in ring help as well with guy’s such as Bobby Bradley, Louie Spicolli and Chris Daniels who were fresh to California from Chicago which all took the time to beat my ass and teach me how to hang. In 1998 I did go to the Malenkos School of wrestling for 6 months in Tampa, FL as well.
6. How do you feel about where you trained to be a pro wrestler? Where your teachers a positive influence on you?
BC: I couldn’t of asked for a better school to have been broken in by than there. I mean, I started my training at 14 years old and was hanging with some of Southern Ca. finest and always came back for more.
7. Who were some of the other students in your class & do they still continue to wrestle?
BC: Some of the students along side with me included Suicide Kid Mikey Henderson, The Haystack Brothers, Iceman Jhon Black, Cruiser Eddie Williams , Mick Turney, Tim Patterson ETC. All those guys made a young kid like me really think twice about if this was the right career for me, but like I said I hung and after a certain amount of time I think they knew I wasn’t going any where.
8. How long did you train before you had your first match?
BC: 2 years.. started training in 1994 and had my first pro match in may of 1996 if front of 500 people at the old San Bernadino boys and girls club
9. Exactly how long have you been wrestling?
BC: Haha, I am very bad at math but let’ see, I believe 1996 to 2013 is what ? 16 years?? I could be wrong.
10. I know i’ve seen you wrestle for MPW but is there any other promotions you compete for currently? If you do compete for other promotions, do you have a favorite & why? What were the promotions in the past you worked for & do you wish there were still around?
BC: Being around the Ca scene, I have pretty much worked for the best and the worst of promoters, I am a former EWF world champion/tag team champion, AWS/tag team champion Battle Ground champion/tag team champion, HWR hardcore champion, APW CC champion, CWA hardcore champion MPW champion probably couple more if I really thought about it.. I have slowed down alot. the 2 main feds I work for now are MPW and Vendetta Pro.. both 2 great company’s with a huge strong fan base.
11. Have you or do you want to wrestle in other countries?
BC: I have been all over the USA. only time I traveled out side of the country was to Mexico and Tijuana.
12. Please tell me about Brawlin Bo Cooper & how that came about?
BC: Well my first gimmick was under a hood known as the Hangman, I used that for about a year to break myself in, I always had a babyface so I think they didn’t want to expose that to much, and my second gimmick was Bo Rotten which everyone including big stars such as the Late great Luna Vachon said I looked like a member of the Rotten family at the time. I had long blonde mohawk style hair & after that EWF was running TV out of the Antelope Valley at a little tv studio which I helped promote and I was living in Palmdale at the time so I labled my self the AV Brawler Bo Cooper, which if we ran in any other city I would just use Brawlin Bo Cooper, so it stuck.
13. Tell me about the early days of Brawlin Bo Cooper, were you part of any factions?
BC: Not really, I mainly was just a singles competitor and was used in different ways by different promoters.. but was mostly the same guy anywhere I went but currently I’m a member of Creepshow in Vedetta Pro.
14. Has Brawlin Bo Cooper changed over the years? Meaning did you start your career with a different style compare to now?
BC: Sure I mean I was always a big boy, at 6’3 285 to 360 & over the years my style and my move set has changed due to my size or in other words I’m getting fatter.. lol but over the years I got more and more aggressive.
15. Throughout your career, how many championships have you won & is there any that means alot to you & why?Any special accolades you’ve recieved in your career?
BC: Well I named alot of the titles that I won over the years earlier but if there was just 1 that really meant the world to me, I guess it would have to be the EWF World Title. I mean it took me 9 years to get that and 75 percent out of my time wrestling was with that company so when the torch was finally handed down it meant alot. Also I won MPW’s Wrestler of the Year & Vendetta Pro’s Match of the year in a Deathmatch against JD Horror.
16. Who are some of the talent you enjoy working with & why?
any matches currently that stand out to you as your favs? What about in past promotions, any matches/feuds stood out & what was about it that made it memorable?
BC: Ah man, there’s been so many matches I enjoyed and tore it up in .. some of the most memorable and fun would have to be with guy’s like Bobby Bradley, Suicide Kid, Joey Kaos, Billy Blade, The Honky Tonk man , SuperFly Jimmy Snuka, Gangrel, Joey Ryan, Necro Butcher to many to name.
17. Is there any talent in Southern California or anywhere that you would like to eventually work with?
BC: There are plenty to choose from but even though I have been on shows with him, I never got the honor to work with RVD. He’s a super cool dude and probably one of the best the ring has ever seen..
18. Do you have any road stories or any fond memories with talent outside the ring you would like to share?
BC: After shows I normally like to go the the bars, so you can imagine some of the things I’ve seen … but just hanging with the boy’s and having fun is always a wild time and if I told you of some of the things we have done I think they could be incriminating..HAHA.
19. What do you think makes a good match in the ring?
BC: Getting the crowd to really hate you or love you.. getting the crowd involved can help evolve a match so much. I’ve seen guy’s work their asses off with moves that would blow your mind & yet the crowds were lost on who to cheer or boo for.
20. Do you watch WWE, ROH or TNA? if so what do you think of the product?
BC: I try and catch all of the above whenever I get the time, WWE is everybody’s dream and there style is the way it is for a reason and still makes millions.. TNA is a fun company that I think gives guy’s either a first or second chances at showing there talent and ROH is the true definition of hard work pays off.
21. Speaking of the big companies, have you had an opportunity to wrestle for them in any dark matches, tryouts or gut checks?
BC: I’ve been backstage 2 times at WWE events doing extra work, had a try out match if front of Bruce Prichard in Bakersfield but those were the biggest opportunities I had the pleasure of getting so far.
22. How do you feel about the current Indy Scene here in So Cal?
BC: I think there are so many feds popping up that I can’t keep tract. Everyone now a day’s are “Pro wrestlers” and “Promoters” some are good & some are bad but times have definitely changed and it’s 100 times more easy to get used then 10 years ago.. seems like anyone who went to wrestling school for couple months are getting the chance at wrestling more than ever now..
23. Some talent has set a goal for themselves saying if they don’t make it, they’ll walk away. Some are in college while wrestling, some have full time careers. So do you have a goal in trying to succeed in the buisness or do you have something to fall back on if things don’t turn out the way you want it? Or will The Punkrock Powerhouse Brawlin Bo Cooper continue to wrestle & enteraining fans for many years to come?
BC: Well I am not going to lie that I’m pretty beaten up, broken down and sometimes ask why do I still do it if its really never payed me the money I should of, could of or would of made if the right opportunity presented itself. For now, I may be slowing down for sure and some may call me a “Hasbeen” but each time I hit the ring the fans are still vocal, involved, and supportive then ever, so I guess it means I am still doing something right? 2012 was a great year for me
24. What do you prefer: Face or Heel & why?
BC: Face…as it’s always nice to make someone else smile
25. Tell me about your “Dream Match”?
BC: Myself vs Bam Bam Bigalow in a Loser Get’s Tattooed match!
26. Last Question: Do you have anything to say to the fans of southern california & especially to the fans of Brawlin Bo Cooper?
BC: Its been a very long ride and to those who have and will continue to support me, I say thanks and if it wasn’t for some of the ones I would have quit a long time ago. To the one’s who haven’t seen me perform due the fact that I only work for a couple of feds now due to my choice, come out and check me out because I won’t disappoint you. And to all the doubters, haters and shit talkers, Remember its a cut throat world and especially in this business every one talks smack once in a while but one day you never know how or who you may have to deal with & the repercussions.. so treat others wisely.
I just wanted to thank Brawlin Bo Cooper once again for a great interview for us here on SoCalUncensored.com, thank you for almost 17 years in the business & here’s to many more years & championships to come. Make sure you get the chance to see Brawlin Bo Cooper along the side of JD Horror & Sledge as Creepshow in Vedetta Pro Wrestling in Santa Maria with their next show on January 25th as well as catching him wrestle for Millennium Pro Wrestling in Simi Valley on Febuary 2nd. Until next time, this is Mike Draven signing off.