20 Questions for Dr. Luther

Printed originally on http://www.eccw.com in January 1998

QUESTION: How old are you now and ho wold were you when you began qrestling?

LUTHER: I'm 29 now. I was 17 when I had my first match.

QUESTION: Who with, and where was your first match?

LUTHER: I started with Stampede during the time when it was really rocking. It was pretty tough to get in, but I did. My first match was with Kim Shau. It went for 15 minutes and I thought it was a good match.

QUESTION: Do you care whether the fans cheer you or not?

LUTHER: If you want my honest answer, I'll say it doesn't matter whether they do or not. In the old dats it almost wasn't that hard to get people to make a lot of noise. Nowadays people want to see a lot of big moves before they really go nuts. Quiet doesn't bother me though. In Japan the people usually just clap when they see something they like. The only time they'll really yell and scream is when you do a really big move, or especially when you chase them through the crowd. In Canada, when people are quiet, that usually means they're intimidated by something; becuase they really don't know how to react. If fans aren't manking a lot of noise during my matches, it doesn't matter, because I am more used to working in silence.

QUESTION: Do you feel a lot of pressure or nervousness before any of your matches, particularly wit the more dangerous ones? Does who your opponent is have any bearing?

LUTHER: I was only nervous before a match once, but that only lasted four seconds. I was at Kawasaki Stadium in front of 66,000 people. As soon as I headed down to the ring though, I didn't think twice.

QUESTION: Would you wrestle Sabu again?

LUTHER: At the drop of a dime. I would love to.

QUESTION: Have you ever been offered a tryout by the WWF or WCW? Would one of the "big two" be your ultimate goal?

LUTHER: When I was 18, New York (WWF) wanted me to go on a Canadian tour for 18 days or so. I would have been working the Barbarian every night, which would have been pretty cool, I guess. But I was already under contract somewhere else. Yeah I'd like to go to the WWF but I have been talking with ECW more as of late.

QUESTION: What promotions have you worked for?

LUTHER: I started in Stampede. Since then I have worked for WFWA Winnipeg, Rocky Mountain Wrestling, Canadian Wrestling Connection, ICW, WCCW, WCW California, CNWA, and pretty much every other little independent in Canada. I've also worked for Bronco University in South Africa and FMW, WAR and IWA Japan.

QUESTION: What promotions did you enjoy the most?

LUTHER: Going to FMW was a big break for me. I did very well there. AT WAR I got to be with a lot of my buddies like Chris Jericho and others. Pretty much everywhere in Japan was great for me because I was on top of the card, working the best guys in each territory. Right now ECCW is a lot of fun. I'm not just saying that eithers; I really like how I get treated and a lot of people that work there. It's really been excellent. Rocky Mountain was cool too because a lot of good guys were there; Lance Storm, Chris Jericho, Buff Wellington and Johnny Smith.

QUESTION: Do you like the Japanese or the American style of wrestling better?

LUTHER: I like the Japanese more because it's a stiffer style.

QUESTION: What wrestlers do you look up to most? What makes them good wrestlers?

LUTHER: As a teenager in Calgary watching Stampede I really liked Dynamite Kid, because he was real quick and basically just kicked ass. Johnny smith has a great style that I've learned alot from. He's one guy that really should have made it. Jericho has a lot of intensity and always seemed to know what he wanted. I was right there when he broke into the wrestling business and now he has worked his way into WCW.

QUESTION: Do you have any advice to talent who want to travel far internationally in wrestling?

LUTHER: Learn to be a camelion, meaning, learn to adapt to the style of the territory you are in. Each area is different and you need to adjust your own style. I've been very successful at doingthat all over the place. I may not be the master at any one style, but I am good at all of them. There's guys who are on top of the wrestling world in North America that go to Japan and can't fit in because they don't know how to adapt. Wrestling internationally can set you up with good money but you got to be prepared to stay away from home for a long time sometimes. Some guys may not be able to hack that so well.

QUESTION: What are some of your most memorable/gory matches?

LUTHER: I've had a lot of really good matches that I won't forget for different reasons. I won the AWA Championship for FMW which was cool seeing as it was a recognized world championship. My first barbed wire match was in FMW against Onita and Tarzan Goto, the most notorious barbed wire guys in the world. In South Africa I worked against the country's top guy, "Tornado" Steven Debbs in the first ever barbed wire lumberjack match in South Africa in front of something like 8,000 or 9,000 people. The fans hated my guts so much and I felt it was an excellent match. When I went back to the dressing room I was just thinking it was a perfect match. My first tour with FMW was great because I had never experienced anything like it. Thousands of people were chanting my name when I walked to the ring and that's not something you while working in Canadian indepedents. One of the coolest places to work was Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, which is kind of like the mecca of wrestling in Japan. All the big promotions seem to try to start or end a big tour there. It only holds around 3,000 people which is smaller than other places we had shows, but it has a lot of history and sells out every time. On that first tour I beat Onita and I spent a lot of time working in tag matches against the Sheik and Sabu. I've also beat the Great Sasuke at a big show in Osaka. I spent three years straight in Japan working bloody, gory matches full time. I haven't decided to go to Japan for quite a while now, but I would like to bring more of their sytle of matches to ECCW.

QUESTION: What's your thoughts on ECW?

LUTHER: I've barely seen it, but I've heard lots from talking to Sabu and Chris Candido. I'd definitely like to go there because I figure it really is the best stepping stone to a good contract. It sounds cool.

QUESTION: Who are some of your favorite tag team partners and/or alliances?

LUTHER: I really like my followers in the Army of Darkness. I like having my own flock who share my beliefs and will listen. Chris Jericho has been a good partner and friend and a great opponent. I enjoyed working with Freddy Kreuger (Doug Gilbert) in Japan. Brett Como was probably the best all around partner. I travelled with him all over Manitoba and through several Canadian independent territories battling Chris Jericho and Lance Storm somewhere around 1991 or 1992. The four of us had some great matches.

QUESTION: How did you and Incubus team up?

LUTHEr: He's been one of the members of my flock who finally earned his wings. I chose him as one of the Army members who would assist me in taking over this territory. We already took the tag titles our first time out. He suffered a mild concussion during the match with the BBC but he is ready for more if it means accomplising our goals. The Army grows daily.

QUESTION: What's the future of Dr. Luther and the Army of Darkness in ECCW? Do you have personal title aspirations?

LUTHER: We've already proven we have the ability to take the tag titles. We will prove we have the ability to take any title we want. However, the titles are really of little concern for the Army. We will continue to grow until we take over ECCW completely. We're always looking for new members. You never know, you could be the next one.

QUESTION: Who's Leviathan?

LUTHER: One of the first things one must do before dedicating their life to the Army is to denounce their Christian name and we adopt a new identity. Leviathan is a member of my flock whose name was Paul Lazenby. He's gone to Japan four or five times for Pancrase. He's been in world strongman competitions, wrestled at Bronco University in South Afruca during the same time as me and has competed in various fighting and powerlifting tournaments all over the world. If you looks his name up, you can find out who he once was but no one will really know who who he is and what he will do now - for the right purpose - until they see him as a member of the Army. Mr. Lazenby is a changed man. Avidon is anxious to come but I feel like he's not ready to spread his wings yet. Soon. He'll have to wait his turn. The army continues to grow.

QUESTION: As one of the tag team champions, what's your perception of the BBC and other tag team competition in ECCW?

LUTHER: Randy Tyler and Mike Roselli are very talented wrestlers. They are good together because they specialize in different areas: Opie is a good technical wrestler whereas Forrest has tremendous power and strength. Generation X are fast and use a lot of dangerous moves. I haven't watched them much, but I've heard a lot of praise for them. The New Moondogs are big, strong men that may be worthy of notice someday. The thing that each of these teams have to realize is if they're not with us, they're against us. I would welcome any of them into the Army. They have many talents that could help us fullfil our goals, but first they need to declare an acceptance of our kind invitation. Nothing compares to the Army. If you're not with use, you're against us and that means we'll kick your ass the first chance we get.

QUESTION: What do you perceive for the future of ECCW?

LUTHEr: New West fans are great, they really get into things. They have a lot of great things going which I think could grow to be pretty big. It would great if they'd take a leap to a full-time schedule. I've worked all over Canada and I definitely say that ECCW is the most extreme wrestling in the country.

QUESTIOn: What's your thoughts on the Tyson/Austin angle?

LUTHER: What happened there? I don't watch a lot of wrestling, I mostly just ask around about what's going on if I'm talking to one of my buddies. Based on what you've told me it sounds pretty cool. Tyson's a big name and I hope Austin kicks his ass. I like Austin a lot because he goes in to do his job, primarily, to kick someone's ass. I feel like I do the same thing. Personally I know my purpose when I go into the ring is to hurt people. I don't think Tyson will ever be able to box again. I would love to have either man, Tyson or Austin, in the Army; or likewise, I would like to fight either man. If you're not with us, you're against us and that includes Tyson, Austin and you.