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I had the
privilege of conducting an interview with former WWF and ECW star The Blue
Meanie and his manager, Jasmin St. Claire. They had very interesting
comments to make regarding their past with ECW, Jasmin’s involvement
with XWF and their involvement with the newly formed 3Pwrestling
federation. Find out more about 3Pwrestling by visiting the website at
www.3pwrestling.com. Here is the interview in its entirety:
Steven: Can you tell the fans what the Blue Meanie and Jasmin St. Claire
has been up to these days?
Jasmin:
So far, I have been
involved with XWF and I’m also part owner of another company called
3Pwrestling, Pro-Pain Pro wrestling. We run shows every other month in
South Philly at the Viking Hall, which is the former ECW arena. I’ve
also been busy with my website and I just did a Limp Bizkit tribute album
cover.
Meanie: I have been doing a lot of Independent wrestling and continue to
stay in shape. I’ve lost 150 lbs and it has been a battle keeping it
off. I have also been involved with 3Pwrestling. This federation is
another way of getting wrestlers some work since the Indy scene is pretty
dried up right now. Like Jasmin mentioned, we are running shows every
other month and we will possibly do shows once a month if things pick up.
I’ve also been busy with my website, thebluemeanie.com.
Steven: Meanie, what type of training are you enduring right now?
Meanie: I’m mostly going to
the gym for endurance training. Wrestling is mostly physical and you are
also doing a lot of cardio in the ring. I have been doing a great deal of
training with weights as well. When you are working Indy wrestling, you
may be doing a couple of shows a month. The work is not as steady as it is
with the WWF where you are working at least 5 days a week. So, in between
Indy dates, I hit the gym as hard as I can.
Steven: Since the two of you are heavily involved with 3Pwrestling, can
you give the fans an idea of what they may see when they attend a 3P show?
Meanie: It has a little mix
of everything. When I came up with a name for the federation, I wanted to
come up with something unique. During the shows, we have a little bit of
everything for the fans. We have the cruiserweights, some traditional
style wrestling, and also some hardcore style. We are trying to use some
great talent that no one has been able to see. There is a tremendous
amount of talent who are sticking to the area of the country where they
are located. We are trying to get guys from all over the country to come
east so they can showcase their talents.
Steven: Jasmin, what is you
involvement with 3Pwrestling? Do you strictly manage Meanie or are you
involved with other tasks?
Jasmin: I manage Meanie and I
am part owner as well. I deal with the press and help organize the shows.
I just organized a bus trip for a group of wrestling fans from
Poughkeepsie & Middleton New York. We are setting up a “Meet and
Greet” festivity where the fans will arrive and meet with the wrestlers
before the show. It gives these fans an opportunity to have a great time.
Steven: Meanie, who would you consider the biggest inspiration to your
wrestling career?
Meanie: Well, I broke into
the business with Al Snow. He was my biggest influence. There was also a
woman named Phyllis Lee who was an inspiration to my career. She acts as a
mother figure to a lot of wrestlers. She helped X-Pac break into the
business. She worked with the Malenkos for a while and she helped Raven as
well as many other wrestlers. I still like to go to her for “motherly”
advice from time to time.
When I went to ECW, Tazz and Sabu were big influences. Sabu was
particularly influential when I was working Indy shows in Michigan. There
were a lot of cliques in that area and some of the feds would not use
certain wrestlers. Sabu made a point to use some of Al Snow’s students.
He would use me for shows even though I was not involved with the right
cliques in other promotions. Other guys such as Tommy Dreamer, Paul E.,
Shane Douglas, and the whole ECW crew were very helpful. If one guy looked
good, the company as a whole would look good. No one seemed worried about
just themselves.
Steven: Jasmin, what inspired
you to get involved with pro wrestling?
The first person I ever did anything with in the ring was Sherry Martel. I
was involved in a mixed tag match with Sherry. I have a lot of respect for
Sherry and we are trying to get her to do some shows for 3Pwrestling. I
would love to work with her again. So, that is basically how I broke into
the business. I feel like I was broken in the right way and by the right
people.
Steven: Meanie, how did you
become such a recognizable figure in the pro wrestling so quickly?
Meanie: I consider myself
very fortunate. I started training in March of 1994 and I debut with ECW
around October or November of that same year. Before I debut in ECW I was
working a lot of Indy shows out in the Midwest region of the country. I
spoke with Al Snow and he convinced me to come back to the east coast and
see what it was like to get my name out there and get some recognition.
So, I went back home to New Jersey and started sending out feelers to Indy
federations. I started working Indy shows in Baltimore, New York, as well
as the Michigan area. I was driving hundreds of miles for little or no
money and basically just paying my dues and trying to get some
recognition.
Eventually, I started working for my friend Norm Conners in Pittsburgh.
While working for Norm, I met Stevie Richards and Raven. I had seen the
two of them before but I never got a chance to talk with them. I began
watching Raven’s matches. He is one of my favorite wrestlers to watch
because I think he has a great mind for the business. One day, I was
eating Chinese with Raven and he was telling me about an idea he had for a
gimmick that would be a sidekick for Stevie Richards. He said the guy they
had in mind could not wrestle or take bumps and he wanted to know if I
wanted to take on the role. I happily agreed. Raven then informed me that
I would have to wear a cut off shirt and Daisy Duke shorts. I was so young
and so hungry for work; I told them I would gladly do it. I was willing to
do anything to get my name out there.
Raven then pitched the idea to Paul E. Dangerously and that is how the
Blue Meanie character developed.
Steven: Jasmine, have you considered becoming more active in the ring like
we have seen from Trish Stratus and Stacy Keibler who were better known
for accompanying wrestlers to the ring?
Jasmin:
I have always done
work in the ring with ECW, but ECW did not have the lengthy run it should
have. If the XWF were to give me an opportunity to be more involved in the
ring, then I will take them up on it.
Steven: Meanie, what would
consider the best moment of your wrestling career so far?
Meanie:
I have had a few
favorable moments, but I don’t think I have reached the best moment yet.
One highlight that stands out is the success of the BWO. (Blue World
Order) That was my brainchild. It started out as a joke between Al Snow
and myself. I mentioned it to Al and he suggested I take the idea to Paul
E. After that, it seemed to take off with the fans.
Another highlight is when I got to work with Mick Foley during his
farewell appearance with ECW. It was very flattering that I was included
in his farewell because I always looked up to Mick. Having the opportunity
to work with the WWF was tremendous as well. I would definitely consider
that a highlight.
Steven: What do you consider
your worst moment so far?
Meanie: I try not to dwell on
that stuff too much. (Laughs) I guess I would have to say the traveling.
Spending 13 hours in a car driving from one show to another. Then, having
your car break down on you in the middle of nowhere. I look back on some
of the bad stuff and just laugh about it. All the bad things that happen
are just things to build upon. When I look back, I don’t have one
particular memory that stands out as the worst moment. You have to crawl
before you can walk. If the good things come too easy, then it isn’t
worth it.
Steven: I know at one time Lou E. Dangerously labeled you “the biggest
sex symbol in wrestling”. How did you acquire that title?
Meanie: (Laughs) I did an
interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated and they asked me the same thing.
I asked them where they were when I was in High School. (Laughs) It’s
cool though. Honestly, I do not think about that kind of stuff. I go about
my business and continue to train and keep the weight off.
Steven: Do you see yourself getting involved with the WWF again in the
future?
Meanie: Well, you can never say never. I talked to Bruce Prichard and he
let me know that he really enjoyed working with me. So, who knows what may
happen in the future. I just want to work, be productive, and be the best
at what I do.
Steven:
A question I like to
ask everyone I interview is where do you see wrestling in the future? Will
it continue to grow, will it dwindle, or will it cease to exist?
Jasmin:
I believe it will
grow, but if I could predict that, I would go out and buy a lottery ticket
right now. (Laughs)
Meanie:
Wrestling is well
known for having its down cycles. You had the big explosion in the 80’s.
During the late 80’s and early 90’s, it seemed to dwindle a bit. Then
along comes Steve Austin and it’s big again. He took it to a bigger
level than the Hogan era did.
While working in the WWF, I talked to people who had been there during the
Hogan era and they say the Austin era is much bigger as far as the
success, the traveling, and the notoriety that comes along with the
business. I would say wrestling is experiencing a little bit of a downside
right now. Just like everyone else, wrestling fans can be fickle at times.
All it takes is that one little spark to get their interest going and
wrestling will be back on track again. Wrestling isn’t going anywhere.
It will be here for a very long time.
Steven: What goals have the
two of you made for the rest of your wrestling career and what steps are
you going to take to obtain those goals?
Jasmin: I would really like
to see XWF take off, as well as 3Pwrestling. The first 3P show went very
well and I’m looking forward to more shows. I want to be one of the best
managers in wrestling and do well with anything else I’m involved with.
I would like to add to a previous question you asked about Trish Stratus
and Stacy Keibler. I was doing the things in the ring they are doing now
way before they were. I was also doing on my own time. No one told me I
had to wrestle. I chose to wrestle. I was paying for my training and it
was worth every penny. It pays to be brought into the business the right
way. When you are training on your own time, it seems to mean a great deal
more to you. It really shows that you want to do it instead of having
someone to tell you need to do it. Because of my size, I’m usually used
as manger, and that is fine as well. Managers play an important role in
wrestling.
Steven: When both of you exit the world of wrestling, how do you want to
be remembered by the fans?
Meanie: I would like to be
remembered as someone who gave his all to entertain a crowd. I know I’m
not the next coming of Chris Benoit, but I have my own style and hopefully
the fans like it and are entertained by it. I am a fan of wrestling just
like everyone sitting in those seats every week. You have to love what you
are doing. If you don’t then you might as well leave the business. So
far, being a wrestler has not become a job to me. It is something I love
to do. I like to refer to it as being in the MOB; once you are in, you can
never get out. (Laughs)
Of course, I’m heavily involved with 3Pwrestling. In my eyes, it is my
first step towards my post-wrestling career. I know my body is not going
to last forever. Hopefully, I can give back to the business that has given
me so much.
Steven: In closing, is there anything you would like to say to your fans?
Meanie:
I love being able to
talk to the fans and interact with the fans. I try to keep my website,
thebluemeanie.com updated with news about myself so the fans can know what
is going on with me.
Steven: I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules and
sitting down with me today.
Meanie & Jasmin: You’re welcome. It is no problem at all.
Please visit the 3Pwrestling website at www.3pwrestling.com.
Check out the dates for upcoming shows and find out which Superstars will
be wrestling.
You can also visit
The Blue Meanie’s website at www.thebluemeanie.com. |