I/V:
Henry "Lobo" Jones, by Mike Altamura
On
The Mike: Interview with Australian superstar Henry
Lobo Jones
By
Mike Altamura
Henry
Lobo Jones (not to be confused with CZWs
Lobo) has long been considered one of the premier
wrestlers on the Australian wrestling circuit. Throughout
his 5 ½ years in the wrestling business, hes
earned the respect of his peers and moreover, the
fans, through riveting exhibitions of hardcore and
pure wrestling. Jones is credited with introducing
the ladder match to Australia, and also participating
in the first-ever barbed-wire match down under against
Mad Dog McCrea at PCW Carnage last September.
Jones is known for his work ethic and undeniable love
for the business, and his dedication to the business
has seen him wrestle for countless promotions across
the country.
Jones
is a seasoned pro and knows the Australian wrestling
scene inside out. Recently, the Argentinean born wrestler
(now based in Melbourne, Victoria) spoke at length
with Mike Altamura about wrestling in Australia, his
experiences working with a former ECW performer, the
highlights of his wrestling career, the negative media
attention that followed the Carnage barbed-wire
match, politics in the wrestling business, and the
toll the sport of professional wrestling has taken
on his body.
FACT
FILE
Real
Name: Henry Jones
DOB: 24/05/1977
Hometown: Melbourne, Victoria
Years wrestling: 5 ½
Height 511
Weight: 202 lbs
Federations hes wrestled for: HRCW, AWF, PCW,
UCW, ACW, UWA, ASW, and
virtually every other Australian promotion over the
past five years.
INTERVIEW
Mike
Altamura) What inspired you to be a wrestler?
Henry
Jones) Well, I always was a fan, no doubt about that,
I suppose
most wrestlers are. I dont think it was one
particular thing that inspired
me to do it, but I remember when I used to watch wrestling
as a fan and there were people like Ricky Steamboat
and Cactus Jack and I used to enjoy their styles and
their matches. I always had this funny feeling that
if you could somehow incorporate the two styles into
one thatd be something people would enjoy and
remember. Probably those two boys, amongst other things
of course, but mainly Ricky and Cactus were the two
that inspired me the most to get into wrestling and
give it a go.
MA)
Who were some of the other wrestlers you idolized
growing up?
HJ)
Who else did I enjoy? Sabu I used to enjoy. I used
to always like
the cruiserweights, like Jushin Thunder Liger when
he first broke into WCW I still remember him
and Pillman at Superbrawl 1, no 2 sorry I think it
was they tore the house down. Classic match.
Sting, I was a big mark for Sting. I thought he was
the greatest wrestler in the world. I think if you
want to watch a type of match where people still believe,
Starrcade 92, Sting vs. Vader in the king
of the cable tournament in the finals. Those
two proved that every now and again you can still
make people believe that there is a little bit of
magic and realism left in wrestling, and thats
a classic example. I look at matches like that and
I still hold onto hope that there are some people
out there that still believe in the wrestling.
MA)
Who were you trained by and who impact have they had
on your career?
HJ)
I was trained by probably, in my opinion, the number
1 trainer in Australian wrestling, George The
Hitman Julio. As for impact hes had on
my career, he was probably the man that taught me,
besides the actual fundamentals of wrestling, the
respect for the business and taking pride in what
you do and doing it well, and also being respectful
to other wrestlers and so on and so forth.
So,
in many respects, I dont want to sound corny
and say hes been like a second father figure,
but hes definitely someone I look up to, definitely
someone I think very highly of, and that if, god willing,
Ive spoken to him about it before, if and when
he decides to retire Id like it to be his last
match against me. I think thatd be a tremendous
honor for me.
MA)
When was your first match and what do you remember
from it?
HJ)
My first match, I dont exactly remember the
date or anything, too many hits over the head I think.
The opponent was Chucky, I believe people refer to
him now as Chuck E. Chaos. What I remember about the
match; I think for a first match it actually wasnt
bad, its one of those situations where the actual
moment itself overshadowed the quality of the action,
because for me, I think there was only 20-30 people
in the audience, and probably no one remembers except
for my girlfriend at the time. It was one of those
moments that you can never put a dollar value on,
its priceless, and in that respect I treasure
it very much. In terms of the in-ring action it was
very average.
MA)
How difficult was it finding work during your early
days on the Australian wrestling circuit?
HJ)
I was sort of fortunate in the respect that because
of George The Hitman Julio, the gentleman
that trained me, he was so well respected that he
got me work with a federation called ACW and I worked
for them probably the next two years, and a couple
of other feds here or there. It wasnt hard.
It was hard like every young wrestler that you break
into the business and you have certain ideas of what
youd like to do and so on and so forth, and
it was hard to try and influence, what you would call
those with an old school mentality, to
try and do new and different things. But I fully understood
that theres a time and place for everything
and I waited my time and I waited my place. I think
sometimes the young wrestlers today dont understand
that you have to earn the right to ask to do the things
you want to do; you dont just walk up and ask.
I understood that even then, being young and everything,
but no, not a heck of a lot of trouble, I got steady
work from ACW, and even till this day to the gentleman
that owns the federation and still wrestles every
now and then, Super Mario, I say thank you to him.
I hold no grudges, a lot of people dislike him or
bag him, but I wont because he gave me my first
opportunity so Ive got to respect
the man and he always treated me well.
MA)
In 1999 you wrestled on the ill-fated High Risk Championship
Wrestling tour across Australia. How did you get involved
with that promotion?
HJ)
I believe, once again it was a gentleman named Frank
Carpenter some people may know him as The Mean
Machine or The War Dog hes been wrestling
in Australia for like 25 years or so. He was a gentleman
that I think was in the right place at the right time,
and a certain thing happened, I believe a wrestler
got injured from Canada or something, and they asked
him if he knew anybody to go up against a Mexican,
and thankfully it was my name that popped into his
head, or maybe the 20 other names he thoughts of all
decided to die or something (laughs). I dont
know exactly what it was, but I was fortunate enough
to end up in that position and I never put myself
into believing it would lead into anything, I took
it for what it was, and that was a great opportunity
to experience something I never had before. And once
again, to Frank Carpenter, hes another guy a
lot of people dislike and bad-mouth, but I have to
say to him thank you and that I once again wont
ever forget the fact that he gave me the chance.
MA)
What are your memories from your match with Antifaz
Del Norte on the HRCW show in Adelaide?
HJ)
The Adelaide show was different for me. We didnt
gel that night because I was sort of still new to
the game and I didnt fully understand certain
things and I didnt work the way I shouldve
worked, and he was probably rougher on me because
he had been in the game for a long time. Rougher on
me than he shouldve been. He taught me that
one night to have faith in the other wrestler and
to put a little bit of trust in him, which I did.
So the next night at Festival Hall in Melbourne we
wrestled again and it just clicked. Ive never
seen the match on tape or anything, but Ive
spoken to a couple people and they said the match
went over very well. To me it seemed like it went
over very good and that was for quite a while actually
one of the most important matches of my wrestling
career.
MA)
Did you find it difficult at first to adapt to working
with a Mexican?
HJ)
Yes. They not only wrestle on the right side, but
theyre non-stop from bell to bell. I believe
a moonsault is a rest hold for those people (laughs).
He was awesome Antifaz, he did some unbelievable things
in that ring. Id never heard of him before the
tour, but I found out hed done ECW and stuff
like that so the man definitely had the talent there.
Yeah, it was a little difficult, but I think more
than anything it was a little difficult to all of
a sudden put trust and faith in a man Id never
met before, which is something that Id never
really done. On the second night he didnt let
me down, the match clicked well, and I think from
that point onwards I started to learn that given the
right opportunities and the right people if you put
enough trust in them then the match can turn out exactly
how the two boys want.
MA)
What was the atmosphere like backstage during the
shows you worked for them?
HJ)
A little bit, for me, a little bit edgy. Maybe the
other boys being bigger names and more experienced
and that were probably pretty laid back and so on
and so forth. For myself, very nervous, very afraid
of
screwing up a tremendous opportunity, but it was a
pretty good atmosphere.
The
boys that I met, like The Headhunters and The Pitbulls
were very approachable men. I never thought that the
Pitbulls were the greatest wrestlers in the world,
but I actually watched them those 2 nights and
the one thing they did impress me on was their ability
to work the crowd. I tried to watch, even like John
Kronus, he had a match against The Giant [Primo Carnera
III] at Festival Hall and the match was quite average,
but the way he worked the crowd was absolutely beautiful.
It was something that I watched and I thought to myself,
this is the way to work. Try to get the
crowd into your story so that when you do the big
fancy moves you have them even more so because youve
taken them into the story and its emphasized
even more, all the crazy stuff you add into the match.
And The Headhunters, they were always happy, always
joking and laughing and stuff like that, and for those
guys, the size they were, they were also unbelievable
workers.
MA)
How would you describe your style as a wrestler?
HJ)
Uh, my style as a wrestler - the best way to describe
that is that we as wrestlers have spent the good part
of the last 10-15 years telling everybody the secrets
to a business that we supposedly love and supposedly
want to make a go of and so on and so forth, that
its gotten to the point now where people dont
watch a match for the story or for the realism, they
watch it for the athleticism or for the crazy spot
or the next big bump.
When
I got into wrestling I believed the only way you could
try and get people to believe again was by having
your matches as realistic as possible. They needed
to put the man who would come with his girlfriend
on that night to pick apart wrestling, the matches
needed to be where hed actually say to his girlfriend,
I dont know. That actually looked real,
and if you can do that then you come a little way
to bringing credibility back to wrestling. So my style
is very hard hitting, very realistic, my attitude
to selling is that theres no better way to selling
than actually being hurt but I mean hurt in
a good way, not a bad way where you cant get
up. In a stiff manner, if that makes any sense. And
all-out, Im old-fashioned, I respect that people
have paid their money and made the effort to come
out on the night and watch the show, and the least
I can do as a wrestler is give them every cent they
paid for, and give them their moneys worth.
Its 100% repertoire and style, its definitely
head down and not worry about the after affects, which
sometimes are very bad and very heavy, but I dont
have any regrets, Ive made all the choices myself
in wrestling, and every single thing I ever did I
take pride in the fact that the people that have spoken
to me and stuff about what theyve seen from
my matches seem to have enjoyed it and got something
from it.
So,
its a long winded answer to your question, but
its a realistic style, and the best way to associate
it with certain wrestlers, say, two gentlemen I spoke
about before, Cactus Jack and Ricky Steamboat, a little
bit of both I always try to incorporate in my matches
to cover all bases.
MA)
In the late 1990s there was word going around
that you were a shooter someone who stiffs
his opponents when they didnt give you anything,
and quite a few wrestlers were scared to wrestle you.
How did that reputation come about and how much truth
is there to it?
HJ)
I honestly dont know where that came from. Maybe
it came from the fact that in the locker room I can
sometimes be just a little to myself, not that Im
being disrespectful or rude, I shake everyones
hand when I turn up to a show. I know the way things
should be, and Ive always treated everyone the
way Id like to be treated.
I
think that, like I said, that has more to do with
the fact that sometimes people misread me. Ive
never been stiff, but on the other side of the coin,
when you wrestle me, I believe everyone in Australian
wrestling understands that youre in for a hard-hitting
match, youre in for hopefully the best match
of your career; if the guy can tell me that at the
end of the night, it means more to me than anything
in the world. So yeah, am I a hard-hitting guy? Very
much so but give me back as much as I give if not
more because thats the way I like to wrestle,
thats the way I believe it should be, but also
the two boys should leave that ring, go to the back,
shake hands, give each other a hug and say thank you
very much, so its everything within reason,
but Ive never heard of anyone actually being
afraid to get in the ring with me. To be honest, not
to go off on a tangent or anything, Ive only
ever had trouble with two wrestlers in my wrestling
career and thats a pretty good average considering
all the different types of guys that Ive wrestled.
So yeah, if I had trouble with wrestlers, they never
said it to my face. Ive always gone out of my
way to take care of the boys I work against, and I
think I can safely say with the exception of a couple
of injuries, like a broken nose that was an accident,
no one could say that they never left that ring on
their own two feet so that probably is one of the
most important things in the world to me.
MA)
When and how did you get involved with AWF?
HJ)
AWF I did a show in Adelaide in 2000
I did a ladder match, first ladder match in Australian
wrestling against Matty Rott, who if hes reading
this or listening to this or whatever, Id like
to say hello, I havent seen him
in a long time. We did a match for UCW there and it
was a good show and everything and Id been in
contact with a guy named Greg Bownds, some people
will know him as TNT, and for years wed been
exchanging tapes between us but wed never met,
and that night he happened to be on the show, and
I dont remember who he wrestled against, but
it was the first time we actually met.
A
tour was being planned later that year and I think
he was going to bring over 2 Cold Scorpio, Psychosis,
and Blitzkreig, and I mustve done something
that night in that ladder match that he liked and
he got in contact with me and that relationship lasted,
well sort of till this day, I just dont get
a chance to work there anymore because of other commitments
and that, but yeah, I for a long time called Greg
a friend, we had a couple of instances where we might
not have agreed on certain subjects but I wont
hold that against him because he doesnt share
my opinion or vice-versa. But yeah, thats the
way it pretty much panned out, he mustve saw
something he liked, and he gave me a lot of opportunities
and he gave me as they say, opportunities to run
with the ball and Id like to think I didnt
let him down. Thats basically it.
MA)
When did you start working for PCW?
HJ)
PCW was, when was it 2001. I think the first
match was June 2001 against a gentleman called Sabotage.
MA)
What have your experiences been like with the promotion
so far?
HJ)
Um, theyve been very good. Very good and very
positive. I see PCW and see the workers that it has
and I say to myself Australian wrestling in finally
on the right track. The talent in PCW, I dont
care what anyone says, is second to none. If anyone
says any different, theyre just fooling themselves.
You have not only talented wrestlers, but you have
boys that respect the business, respect each other,
and respect the people who have paved the way for
themselves and the future of wrestling. Theyre
a great group of guys, probably the best group of
workers Ive ever had the pleasure of knowing.
MA)
Besides wrestling, what are some of the other roles
you take on within the promotion?
HJ)
I dont have an official role or anything, Ive
always sorta been the in between in between
the wrestlers and so-called management. The wrestlers,
probably because Ive been around and Ive
garnered a certain amount of respect, people come
up to me and, you know, say they wanna do certain
things and ask me for my input, my ideas, and also
to ask management for permission to do stuff. Sometimes
a lot of the young boys, they want to try things that
theyve never done before, and they know Ive
done probably everything you could do wrestling in
Australia, and they come to me, and I value that very
highly. Its a tremendous honor that I have a
lot of people that respect my opinion, and Ive
always done my best to go out of my way to offer what
little knowledge I have. I learn myself everyday when
it comes to wrestling, and so its something
I really appreciate very much the fact that
I have a lot of the wrestlers coming up to me and
asking for my opinion and out of everything, this
is probably what means the most to me.
MA)
Over the past 1 ½ years you and Spike Steele
have put on some amazing displays of wrestling, both
pure and hardcore that have captivated fans across
the country. Why do you think your styles gel so well
together?
HJ)
Hard to say exactly why sometimes you click with a
certain guy and other times you dont. With Spike
in particular, youd probably have to say that
taking everything about him, youd have to admit
that hes probably the most naturally gifted
wrestler in Australia at the moment in the respect
that he does things which you couldnt train
a person 10 years to do. When you step into the ring
with someone that does things naturally, and doesnt
need them to work it but actually theyre just
doing it and it comes across that way you probably
find yourself maybe being a little like that and hence
the match comes across as realistic, as natural, as
not a work, and its hard-hitting. The matches
with Spike have always been hard-hitting, and Ive
done some things in those matches Ill probably
never do again.They still stand up there as some of
the greatest matches Ive ever had. I have the
greatest respect for the guy, and hes right
up there in the top 5 guys Ive ever wrestled.
Its an honor to have a match with him and always
definitely something I look forward to. The matches
were always special to me, and I told a few people
recently that when we wrestled at PCW Risk [2002],
the ladder match, he broke his nose in the first 2-3
minutes, and we went nearly 24-25 minutes, and for
someone to do that and not miss a beat in
their match and not complain and not say lets
go home early or whatever, I dont care who you
are, you cant help but respect that and you
cant help to say that guys got it. If
anyone in Australia has it, its
definitely him.
MA)
Which match with Spike would you rate as the finest?
HJ)
Probably the best of the 3 that we have done is probably
Risk [2002]. Ladder matches just seem to be popular
with people because I think theyre spectacles
people will always enjoy spectacles. A ladder
match to me, I would liken it to a car accident, everyone
complains about it but everyone slows down to get
a good look, because to see one live is so different
and confronting and thats probably whats
most memorable to people.
MA)
In September 2002 you wrestled against Mad Dog McCrea
in the infamous PCW Carnage barbed-wire
match. Were there any elements of fear going into
the encounter?
HJ)
Very much so. Scared of a lot of things, and scared
most of all is that we advertised the match as being
a big deal which it was, and a big crowd turned up
to see something theyd never seen before in
Australia and possibly will never see again live.
So, I think that the biggest fear was letting them
down, screwing up and having people once again say,
what a letdown Australian wrestling is.
That was my biggest fear, but Ill tell you now
I was also worried about my safety and that of Mad
Dogs because of the element of danger in the
match.
There
was a moment just before the match where everything
was going on in my mind as to what we were about to
do and so on and so forth, and then, all of a sudden,
for whatever reason, I just had a moment of well,
you might call clarity, and I said to myself fuck
it and I did, and Mad Dog did very much so.
We just let it all hangout and I think it shows on
tape, and those types of matches I think are notorious
for being violent but still not telling a story, and
I think we told a story in the mix of a heavy and
violent match, and definitely one of the highlights
of my wrestling career. No doubt about that.
MA)
What are your thoughts on the outcry and negative
media attention that followed the match?
HJ)
Well the negative media attention only came from the
fact that you had a couple dickheads who went to the
media. You know, I dont remember channel 10
hanging at the front there saying, we gotta
catch onto this, this sounds like its gonna
be crazy and that. I think a couple people saw
a good opportunity to put their face on TV and put
themselves over, and they took it with open arms.
And funnily enough some of the people that actually
had something negative to say had been part ofso-called
barbed-wire angles in the past, but those matches
were letdowns, they were disappointments, and the
people who had an opinion on it, I dont respect
them so their opinion doesnt bother me.
The
match itself was important to me, it was important
to people at PCW, and it was important to Mad Dog.
You also cant forget the fact that 800 or so
people turned up because it was important to them.
And I take the opinion of 800 people or so that came
and watched it and from what I understand were blown
away by what they saw.
Was
it too violent? Probably yes. If that makes sense.
It was supposed to be; there was barbed-wire, there
was 40,000 thumbtacks, there was glass, there was
a chair set on fire. We pushed the envelope and then
some, but if you know me, you know that in any atmosphere
Im going to push the envelope, and in an atmosphere
like that if you come and you see something violent,
youre a clown if you complain about it. If anyone
knows me, they know that I shine in situations which
are on the borderline of insane and stupid maybe,
but yeah, those people that spoke about the match
didnt even see it before they actually went
on the news and complained about it.Bulldog OReilly
(Australian wrestler) got on there and said that the
wrestlers punctured themselves and stuff
like that. Once again, a wrestler giving away the
business, a business that he clearly doesnt
respect because if he respected it, he would have
had the decency to walk away from it when he realized
he couldnt work. And I say that because I actually
like the guy, but the guy couldnt work, and
if the best he had to contribute to Australian wrestling
was to knock it when two boys put their neck on the
line, if thats the best hes got, then
do us all a favor and never appear on another Australian
wrestling show again. People like Mad Dog, Spike,
and Rave, they put their necks on the line because
they respect and value the business, and the least
you can do, if you cant match it, which he obviously
cant, is shut your mouth.
MA)
How much has wrestling taken out of you physically
over the years?
HJ)
Its been a huge toll in the respect that Im
26 and my day job is a pretty heavy lifting job, and
Ive always had those blue-collar type jobs so
over the years its made it very difficult for
me to make a living and so on and so forth. My body
is in a broken down state of sorts. I have bad knees,
a very bad lower back, amongst other injuries of course.
Going back to what I said before though, I have no
regrets because everything I ever did I made the choice
to do those things, and if I had to do it again not
one thing would be changed. Its taken a huge
toll on me and that, but because there is no money
in Australian wrestling, because there is no fame
or anything, the only thing that is there is the history.
The history of your matches, the history of your reputation,
and Id like to think that even though I paid
a heavy toll physically, the history of my wrestling
career will be a positive one and something that people
talk about for a long time to come.
MA)
What are the best and worst aspects of professional
wrestling?
The
best aspects are when you and the other boy are in
that ring, the bell goes, and it just clicks, and
the crowd that is there that night just clicks with
you. They are moments, like I said before, for a few
minutes
there, the crowd might actually still believe that
its all real, that its not a work. When
those moments happen they are priceless. That is the
best aspect of the wresting, basically when you step
through those ropes. If it wasnt for those moments
I wouldnt even be part of the business. They
mean the world to me those moments.
As
for the negative aspects: egos how can I say
it, uh, inflated heads. People who love to knock but
based solely on the fact that they cant match
what theyre knocking, so because they cant,
the best theyve got is to knock it. In some
respect that could be classified as jealousy. Theres
a lot of aspect to it that you dont like. Theres
a lot of backstabbing, theres a lot of, as its
referred to by a lot of people backstage politics,
and it is a very political game. Ive never played
it and I never intend to. To me its a very simple
question; when the bell goes can you go, and if you
can then do it, and if you cant then dont
be part of this. Do everyone a favor, including yourself,
and walk away with some pride intact. And I wish some
people would listen to that, because not that Im
knocking anyone in particular or anything, but there
are some people that still wrestle to this day, and
you look at them and you think to yourself, why?,
because its not there, it never was there, and
by the grace of God itll never be there. So
yeah, thats some of the negative aspects of
the business.
MA)
Is your family supportive of your wrestling career?
HJ)
Uh, yes and no. No because of the fact that obviously
we hurt ourselves and no family ever enjoys seeing
someone else hurt themselves. I dont think my
family ever envisaged I would do as well as I did
in the wrestling because I remember saying to them
as a young kid I wanted to do it, and they sort of
laughed and joked about it. My parents have been there
for a lot of matches, even the barbed-wire one, even
though my Mum threw a huge fit, and my dad actually
got into the ring and everything. But like it or not,
it probably added to the atmosphere, it added to the
mystique of the match because it was not a work. Theyve
always stood by me, but also in some respects there
are times in the near future where Id rather
them not there because I dont want the added
pressure of worrying whether theyre upset and
so on and so forth. I think in the future what Ill
do is, as much as it might disappoint me, I might
just do my time in wrestling pretty much by
myself.
MA)
Which match from your career so far would you rate
as your best?
HJ)
I dont have one particular. Ill name names
as in the ones I had matches with that mean the world
to me. People like Spike, Mad Dog, Rave, Enforcer,
Jason Helton of Course, John Simmons, Thug Thomas,
Foxx, even a couple matches I had with TNT. Basically
those matches against those people, and Ive
wrestled most of them on a number of occasions, those
are the wrestlers that stand out in my mind. Theyre
matches that have made me glad that I chose wrestling
as a hobby basically.
MA)
Which international wrestlers would you like to work
against?
HJ)
If it was a dream match, where I could just pick anybody,
itd probably be Cactus Jack or Sabu. The fact
is, Cactus Jack probably doesnt have it anymore,
and I say it with the utmost respect for him, and
Id probably have to say the same for Sabu. But
if I could somehow go back to their heyday I wouldve
loved to wrestle both the boys in their prime. To
be honest with you, Id love to wrestle any international
guy because every time you wrestle someone you get
the rub and that can mean a lot to a wrestlers
career. As long as its a known name, Ill
work against him any day of the week.
MA)
What are some of your interests outside of the wrestling
business?
HJ)
Movies. Im a huge movie buff. I love all movies,
and have for years. I have a huge video collection,
as well as my wrestling video collection. Mainly movies,
because wrestling takes up probably like 90% of my
hobby time and so I dont have much time for
other stuff.
MA)
What would you rate as your favorite film?
HJ)
Oh Jesus, favorite film. I can never answer that.
I have favorite types of films. For instance, I think
Paul Newman in The Verdict is the greatest court-room
film of all-time. I think a film like Predator is
one of the greatest sci-fi thriller films of all-time.
I cant sorta say one particular film that I
love; Ive got a huge number of favorites though.
Ive got two favorite actors: Marlon Brando and
George C. Scott. Two guys who definitely knew how
to act, and any film involving those two men I definitely
consider a favorite.
MA)
Time for the name game. Well be
focusing entirely on Australian wrestlers. First one
is Mario Milano.
HJ)
Legend.
MA)
Chuck E. Chaos
HJ)
A world of potential; I wish hed listened to
me because he had a lot more ability than people gave
him credit for. I still believe he has the potential
to be one of the main guys in Australian wrestling;
he just needs to grow up a little more. I actually
think he has in some respects and I wish him the best,
I hope it works out for him.
MA)
Mad Dog McCrea
HJ)
Probably the craziest guy Ive ever wrestled
against and I mean that in the respect that hes
insane in a good way. He still worries about the quality
of a match and the safety of the boys involved, and
he reminds me of a younger me, just probably more
athletic though. One of the boys that 5 years from
now people will be talking about in Australian wrestling
as one of the top workers.
MA)
Rave
HJ)
Actually, even though I said Mad Dog was like a younger
version of me, Rave is even more so. He reminds me
an awful lot of me in the start of my run in the wrestling
business. I have the world of respect for him. He
has tremendous potential which I hope he realizes
one day Im sure he will. I had one of
hte greatest matches of my career against him, and
also, the same that I said about Mad Dog, one of those
people that if he sticks with it and keeps his head
on straight and stays out of trouble, hell be
one of those boys that you see him in the ring, you
see him on a show, and you make an effort to go to
the card because you know hes gonna bring the
house down.
MA)
Enforcer
HJ)
Enforcer is the most athletic wrestler Ive ever
been in the ring with possibly. A tremendously gifted
performer. The two matches I had against him: the
ladder and straight match we had (both in PCW), are
right up there as 2 of my greatest matches of all
time. A world of respect for him. I cant say
enough about him. He probably should be a lot better
than what he is, and probably isnt based solely
on the fact that he doesnt give himself enough
credit. If I can do anything in this business before
I leave it, its to make him realize he should
be a lot further along in this business than what
he is. A great, great wrestler.
MA)
Foxx
HJ)
Foxx is probably in the top 3 Cruiserweights in Australian
wrestling at the moment. A tremendous young man, a
respect for the business which you just dont
come across with the young guys these days. With what
happened to his dad, passing away recently, that affected
him and I usually dont get emotional but it
affected me too, because like I said, I think very
highly of him. I didnt know his dad well, but
I had met him, and I hope he has a tremendous wrestling
career, Foxx, because the guy has the qualities and
love you need to succeed in this business, and I wish
him the best. I think hes another one of those
boys that 5 years from now everyone pays to see.
MA)
Mark Mercedes
HJ)
Cant say a lot about him because I only met
him once. Came across as being a little standoffish,
but then again, he might say the same about me. But
he seemed like a nice guy when I actually got to talk
to him a little bit. I saw him work for the first
time that night at the [Australian] Supershow [in
December 2002], and his offence was very convincing,
he seemed to be quite a solid worker, and I have nothing
negative to say about him. I have heard that a lot
of people think of him as one of the top guys in Australian
wrestling and that, and I would need to see more of
him before I offer a more detailed opinion on him.
MA)
Jason Helton
HJ)
Like a brother. Like a brother to me. Probably one
of the most giving wrestlers Ive ever worked
against, and two of the greatest matches Ive
ever had in my wrestling career were against that
gentleman and I have him to thank for that, for not
only working with me but also just being so easy to
get along with. I would have to say hes the
most respected man in Australian wrestling and rightfully
so. When he retires itll be ones of those instances
that the entire business will be worse off for it.
MA)
Do you ever see Australian wrestling expanding and
going mainstream?
HJ)
Weve got a very long way to go before that happens.
Sometimes Australian wrestling still falls back into
the old mentality of, you know, Ill go
out there, give you a punch, youll give me a
dropkick, well work the crowd and people will
come. The wrestling has changed, the whole business
has changed, and what people want to see is hard-hitting,
realism, over-the-top, and extreme elements of wrestling.
It can get there, but everybody, all the boys and
girls involved need to realize that they need to put
the business first in front of themselves, because
its a forgotten thing of wrestling that it takes
two to make a match. The other thing that people forget
about wrestling is that they used to call it professional
wrestling, and sometimes people forget the p
word there. It could get there, but a lot of things
need to change, and more important than anything attitudes
need to change. If that was to happen, then I could
definitely see it going, maybe not mainstream, but
itd definitely be a positive step towards making
it a money-making business again.
Ma)
What do you wish to accomplish in your wrestling career
before you retire?
HJ)
I got into wrestling with a set of goals and Ive
achieved almost everything Ive set out to do.
Ive got a handful of things to do still and
Id like to think over the next 12 months or
so that Ill achieve those
things. More than anything though, when its
all said and done, I just want people to say that
I did everything I could to help the business along,
to help the wrestlers, and to make my matches every
night as best I could. I never set out in wrestling
to work Wrestlemania against Hulk Hogan. I never believed
that was the pinnacle; for some people it is and for
that, the world of respect to them, but to me I had
not smaller goals, but just things that meant a little
more to me. I believe Ive come close to achieving
them and when its all said and done, I will
have achieved those things.
MA)
How much longer do you see yourself in the business?
HJ)
Well its funny you should ask that because I
said to some people recently that unless anything
drastically changes or anything, probably thisll
be my last year. Ill take it as I find it in
December, see how I feel physically, see how wrestling
is, and definitely see how PCW is. If the body is
not feeling 100% and a couple other issues, then I
think this could be my last year. If thats the
case, itd be a hard thing to just say, this
is all Ive ever done well and just all
of a sudden walk away from it. But Ive always
understood that theres a time and a place for
everything, and if thats the case it might be
my time and place to walk away from the business.
MA)
Thanks for your time Henry, I wish you the best of
luck in the future.
HJ)
Thank you very much.
Henry
Lobo Jones doesnt have an official
website, however for booking/interview purposes and/or
fan mail, he can be reached at henrylobojones@hotmail.com
Mike
Kryptonite Altamura can be contacted via
email at icemanalt@aol.com
or totalwrestlingma@aol.com
Editors
note: Thanks to Mike Altamura for granting us permission
to re publish this awesome interview. Greg Tingle.
|