Hey SCU peeps, this is Mike Draven welcoming you once again & giving you another opportunity to get to know someone who’s living the dream & contributing to the sport that is professional wrestling. Pro Wrestling Coalition debut in 2012 & for being its rookie year, PWC did get notice in So Cal, so please welcome the general manager of PWC, Renaldo Gonzales.
1. First of all how are you & how are you feeling today?
RG: I’m doing great Mike. A little tired from work but other than that, doing well. Thank you for asking.
2. Tell me about the first time you saw a wrestling match? do you remember who competed?
RG: It might seem cliche but one of the first memories I have of wrestling were watching Wrestlemania III. Steamboat/Savage and Hogan/Andre were the matches that stand out the most to me and got me hooked. Hearing Gorilla Monsoon give that line, “The irresistible force meets the immoveable object!” Even now that line gets me.
3. What is it about pro wrestling that made you want to get into the business?
RG: Everything! The athleticism, the action, the way the crowd sounded, the sounds of the wrestlers slamming on the mat, the commentary, the personas of the wrestlers. Everything was enthralling. I wanted to be a part of that.
4. Did you attend a wrestling school & if so who & where?
Was you intent to become a wrestler, referee or manager?
RG: Yes I did. I actually started out at the School of Hard Knocks run by Jesse Hernandez in San Bernardino. I initially started out training as a referee. I wanted to be a ref and get in to the business. I was told that I had to train just like everyone else to earn my place in the ring so I did. Jesse, along with guys like Brandon Gatson, Ryan Taylor, Bino Gambino, Liger Rivera and Dan Kobrick were the guys that all had a hand in my in-ring training. Cincinnati Red, Gatson, Dave Marquez, Vanderpyle, Marty Elias, Larry Pena and Mike Aguirre had a hand in the behind the scenes, announcing and commentary training. It was a great group of guys. I started around the same time as Chris Kadillak, Roger Ruiz and Jeremy Jaeger.
5. Prior to Pro Wrestling Colliation, did you work for any other promotions? If so, who & what was your role in that promotion?
RG: I worked for a ton of different companies in many different capacities. I’ve worked for the Empire Wrestling Federation (referee/announcer/commentator/interviewer), Millenium Pro Wrestling (commentator/announcer), SoCal Pro (commentator), New Wave Pro Wrestling (announcer/commentator), Lucha Libre USA on MTV2 (announcer/commentator/co-host), NWA Pro (announcer/commentator), West Coast Wrestling Company (announcer/interviewer), Alternative Wrestling Show (commentator/announcer), High Risk Wrestling (announcer) and Hybrid Pro Wrestling (referee).
6. So how many years that you’ve been in the wrestling business?
RG: Come this may I will have been in the wrestling business for 6 years. I started in May of 2007
7. Tell me about Pro wrestling colliation? When did it start?
RG: Pro Wrestling Coalition started as a dream and a goal. I wanted to run my own company since I stepped in to the wrestling school for the first time. It officially started in February of 2012 but the groundwork for the company began in conversations between myself and my partner and sponsor. It was something we wanted to do to give the guys a platform to perform, get noticed, help our community and entertain the fans, young and old alike. That’s it in a nutshell. We at PWC love wrestling and the fans and want them to come to our shows, have a great time, leave satisfied and want to come back for more.
8. Since PWC was created in 2012, how many shows took place in its inaugural year?
RG: We ran three shows in 2012. Two at Bloomington High School and one at Grand Terrace High School. We are currently getting our next slate of shows together as well.
9. You are the GM of PWC, what is that role consist of?
RG: As far as the fans are concerned, I’m the GM. Behind the scenes, I am the Co-GM. My partner has an equal say in everything we do. From the venues, to the booking, to the way we advertise, to our press releases, to the floor set up. We run everything 50-50. It’s an equal partnership. We have a very great dynamic and check each other on every point to make sure everything is covered and that we give the fans AND the wrestlers the best experience possible.
10. Have you been involved in storylines since being part of PWC? Tell me about it..
RG:Yes I have, but only to a point. If things get a little too carried away, then I step in. Things with Chris Kadillak and Peter Avalon got a little heated at our last Bloomington High School show and when things got a little too carried away, I made an executive decision that they would settle their differences in the ring at our next show there. The same thing happened with Anchors Away. Mondo Vega also took exception to the fact that he wasn’t on our first show and got a little…physical with me and things still aren’t resolved there so we’ll see what I have to do about that soon.
11. How many stars are on your roster?
RG: Our roster consists of about 20 wrestlers and that number grows with every show. We like to offer our fans a look a different wrestlers and matches so we try and shake things up a bit every show.
12. Have you used or will you use female wrestlers in PWC?
RG: We have not used any female wrestlers in PWC, except for Raze as a manager for Tyler Bateman. As of right now we are not planning to launch a full women’s division but that’s not to say we are not opposed to the idea of utilizing female talent on our shows.
13. Is there any Indy talent in So cal or anywhere that you would like to bring into PWC?
RG: There are always lists of wrestlers you want to use. I would like to have Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, The Briscoes, Ricochet and Sami Callihan and Masato Yoshino. I’d love to have Scorpio Sky, Nick Madrid, B-Boy, Shane Haste and Mickey Nicholls come back. Shane and Mickey had a GREAT match against Anchors Away at our debut event. There are tons of local guys that I want to use as well that haven’t wrestled for PWC, including Mondo Vega, Todd Chandler, Johnny Goodtime, James Morgan, Fresh 2 Death and a ton more. Just because they aren’t mentioned here, doesn’t mean we don’t want them on our shows.
14. Some promotions has brought in some former big name talent, will PWC eventually want to bring in some former big name talent? Anyone in particular you would like to bring in?
RG: It’s been talked about before and it’s something we would like to do eventually. It would all depend on the timing.
15. Even though PWC has had a few shows, do you see any of the talent having the “IT Factor” & can see them making there way to the Big Companies?
RG: Scorpio Sky is by far and away one of the best unsigned talents in the country PERIOD! He is the total package and deserves to be in the big time. Other guys are only like one or two things away from being noticed by the big leagues. Chris Kadillak, Famous B, Jeremy Jaeger, Anchors Away, Peter Avalon, Duke, Ray Rosas, Nick Madrid, Terex, they all have something special about them. Everyone that has been featured on a PWC card has something that we feel is unique, entertaining, engaging and brings the fans an entertaining match every time. Guys like Mondo Vega, who I feel is TERRIBLY UNDER RATED have something that deserves to show cased and that’s something I want to do.
16. Does PWC have any champions? If so, who?
RG: PWC does not have any champions. We felt that the wrestlers and the company should be established before creating championships.
17. Have you had chance to discuss how to crown the PWC champions? Tournament, Battle royal or possible try something outside the norm?
RG: My partner and I have had several discussions as to what we want to do to crown our champion/champions and we are still floating ideas around. We want the process to be fair and entertaining.
18. Since having a few shows under your belt, what do you feel makes PWC stand out from the rest of the promotions in Southern California?
RG:I think that we offer something familiar and different at the same time for the fans. We’ve had the chance to feature matches that have never been seen before. We featured B-Boy vs Jarek Matthews on our first show and that match was done once before in history, and that was in Australia. Aerial Star vs Scorpio Sky was another one of those “first time ever” matches. Jeremy Jaeger vs Famous B was the same thing. We try and bring something fresh at every show we produce. We offer family friendly entertainment and something for everyone in my opinion. We also showcase musical acts at our shows. We had a great band called So Far Left, perform live at our first two shows. They’ve played on the Warped Tour and are in the studio right now working on a new album. We also give back to the community as well. All of the shows we’ve produced have been fundraisers. The first two we did were fundraisers for the Bloomington High School Wrestling and Football Programs. The last show we did was for Grand Terrace High School’s Football program.
19. What do you think of the current indy scene here in So Cal?
RG: I think that the scene is pretty good right now. There is something for everyone out there right now and that variety gives everyone a chance to enjoy something they don’t get with one company or another. I think that all the promoters, for the most part, get along and that’s always a good thing.
20. What do you think makes a good match & why?
RG: I think a good match is one that tells a good story. Wrestling is an art and if you can engage the crowd, get them to believe in the match and the wrestlers, you are doing something right. I don’t think you need a bunch of high spots in a match to make it good. Are they entertaining to watch? Absolutely. The crowd’s reaction is a testament to that. But at the core of everything though, the story needs to be told and if you are doing that, you had a good match.
21. Do you watch WWE, ROH or TNA? If so, what do you think of there product?
RG: I watch WWE, TNA amd ROH. I’ve always watched WWE and I enjoy the product. Like with anything in life, there are things that people would do different but Vince is #1 for a reason. TNA is 50-50 with me. There are something I despise and there something I enjoy. I’m really happy to see some of the the guys that I’ve worked with getting a shot at national TV and I think that, given the right opportunities, they could be superstars. ROH has some of the best most athletic wrestling in the world, bar none.
22. Last Question: Do you have anything to say to the fans of So Cal & to the fans of PWC?
RG: On behalf of the entire roster and staff of PWC, I want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! As cliche as it may sound, we at PWC do EVERYTHING for the fans. All the hours we spend putting shows together, promoting, setting up on show day, it’s all for the fans. We in the professional wrestling business would not be able to do what we love, were it not for them. Thank you so much for supporting PWC and the SoCal scene and professional wrestling in general. Make sure you follow our twitter @JoinPWC and our facebook page www.facebook.com/prowrestlingcoalition and come out to a show and say hi! We truly and genuinely love meeting and interacting with our fans and we thank you for the support and for the chance to entertain to you.
I just wanted to say thank you again to Renaldo Gonzales for this chance to get to know him & to get to know Pro Wrestling Coalition. Please be on the lookout for future advertisement of the first PWC show of the new year. Thank you again SoCalUncensored fans for reading another great interview & keep an eye out for my next interview here on SoCalUncensored. This is Mike Draven signing off until next time.