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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

joe gacy

Rising to the top: Dreams come true in the zany wrestling world

January 14, 2014

IB Green on top of the Xcite Wrestling world.

IB Green on top of the Xcite Wrestling world.

Imagine, if you will, fulfilling your dream.

Maybe it’s not to the level you had one envisioned. But it’s your dream. You are doing something you always believed you were destined to do, even if at a smaller level.

See, when people dream or set goals, it’s often at different levels. For those who dream in the world of professional wrestling, it’s often the WWE — which is the highest level one can go. For others, reality sets the tone.

Rob Cook (IB Green) battles with Joe Gacy during the Xcite Wrestling championship match Jan. 4.

Rob Cook (IB Green) battles with Joe Gacy during the Xcite Wrestling championship match Jan. 4.

Take, for example, Rob Cook.

If one was to look at Cook — otherwise known as I.B. Green in the independent wrestling world — they’d see an average Joe. He’s all of 5-foot-6 and weighs 180 pounds, or so he’s announced at. He might have been wearing his boots and gear when he stepped on the scales.

His size might also be why he never obtained other goals, such as playing shortstop for the New York Yankees or being a surfer (well, the lack of water near Elmira, New York may have played a part in that one, too).

But professional wrestling…

If you passed Cook on the street, it’s a near guarantee you wouldn’t confuse him as a professional wrestler. Behind that small-sized person, however, is a pretty well-known independent wrestler, especially in the Upstate New York/Northeast Pennsylvania area. He’s wrestled for many federations, worked with some top-name talent and had a pretty good run.

Joe Gacy was standing in IB Green's way in the quest for the title.

Joe Gacy was standing in IB Green’s way in the quest for the title.

Heck, he’s even held some championships, but often times, these are used more as props. When a federation throws championships around, it can be for numerous reasons. A lot of times, they aren’t even custom belts, rather ones that are “tweaked” to look like they are. Then there are federations who take the time to create these custom titles, which aren’t cheap, and then make them actually mean something.

Cook is, by no means, a perfect person. He’d even likely be tell you that, if he wasn’t in “heel” wrestler mode. I’ve had the chance to get to know him over the past few years and he’s got his share of stories, but deep down you can tell he cares about the business, especially at the lower and independent levels. I’ve seen Cook wrestle a dozen or two times since I’ve gotten to know him and I can count the number of times I’ve seen him win without filling one hand.

But that’s not always what it’s about.

A codebreaker for the win.

A codebreaker for the win.

He entertains. He does what he has to do to help things along. You can tell — whether he’s the good guy or bad guy — that he has a bunch of fun when he does it, which is good.

And let’s not kid anybody here — Vince McMahon and the WWE isn’t knocking down the door for a 5-foot-6 guy. Heck, most places won’t be. And Cook knows that. He says he knew WWE wouldn’t be reality because he’s too small.

But he’s still had the chance to reach some career goals.

He wanted to be famous and accepted. He wanted to work with his boyhood idols, such as Tommy Dreamer and Tony Atlas. He also wanted to wrestle in the ECW Arena, but that never happened. But the other things?

They’re coming along nicely.

#IBelieve

#IBelieve

One thing, too, is he never wanted to be a guy that crapped on up-and-comers. When he was starting (Cook got started in February 1999), he said he went to wrestling school, got hurt and didn’t go back. Guys he trained with called him a mark (basically somebody who believes in wrestling beyond reality, or believes he is his or her character) and kind of took jabs at him. He swore he would never be “that guy.”

The journey for Cook, who has had countless numbers of cool moments in the professional wrestling world, took a turn on Jan. 4. That’s when he was slated for a heavyweight title match for Xcite Wrestling, a federation based out of Binghamton. Cook had been a big part of the federation since it started (Xcite’s first card was March 16, 2012), despite rarely being on the good end of the win/loss column.

So he got his shot against “Chainsaw” Joe Gacy (readers of the blog may remember his name as I blogged about him in a post about a bloody match in CZW). Gacy had been the federation’s only champion, to this point.

Until this point.

The new champ.

The new champ.

Xcite played it up, too. Hashtagging this match with #IBelieve, and even doing a pretty cool promo package for the crowd with that as well — as wrestlers (including Tommy Dreamer and Steve Corino) and fans talked about how they believed in Rob Cook.

The crowd ate it up.

Cook told me he had always wanted to be the good guy, but worked better as a bad guy. Looks like he does OK as the good guy, too. The crowd was definitely behind him in his quest to overcome the odds and win the championship.

In a pretty solid match, Cook overcame Gacy’s offensive attack, hitting a codebreaker on Gacy as he came off the top turnbuckle. A strong crowd was in attendance and gave Cook a much-deserved ovation as he was handed the Xcite Wrestling championship belt.

Cook’s won titles before, but this one, well, it’s special. It’s a federation he’s helped build. It’s in a place he’s wrestled many,  many times. And, well, he’s the top guy now.

Not too shabby for a 5-foot-6 guy who once just wanted to accepted. In the end, it looks like he got what he had wanted all along.

See below for a video of the match, as well as some post-match comments from Cook and Gacy (as shot and edited by Eric Scheer):

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: My world, Pro Wrestling Tagged With: binghamton, i.b. green, ib green, ib green vs joe gacy, joe gacy, pro wrestling, pro wrestling championship, wrestling wrestling championship, xcite, xcite wrestling

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CZW House of Horrors match lives up to name and then some

October 17, 2013

[NOTE/WARNING: PLEASE DON’T READ OR MOVE FORWARD IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH OR HAVE NO TOLERANCE FOR SEEING BLOOD. IN THIS BLOG POST, THERE ARE PHOTOS OF BLOODY WRESTLERS. PLEASE STOP READING IF THIS WILL MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE. I AM EVEN ADDING THE “READ MORE” OPTION ON THE FRONT PAGE SO PEOPLE CAN CHOOSE! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!]

The House of Horrors match.

I’ve seen a lot when it comes to professional wrestling.

There have been wrestlers sent through flaming tables. There’s been bloody battles. There have been hardcore matches.

Back in the day, I saw several of the original ECW shows, back when tumbling down a set of bleachers, fighting outside the building and using unconventional weapons wasn’t so normal.

Matt Tremont and Joe Gacy prepare to go at it in the House of Horrors.

There’s been “Stone Cold” Steve Austin spraying Vince McMahon with a beer truck (in Albany), or John Cena as a bloody mess, losing the WWE title when Edge cashed in Money in the Bank (also in Albany).

The Royal Rumble. Titles changing hands. Crazy and intense crowds and small crowds sitting on their hands.

Yep, I feel like I’ve seen it all. Until this past Saturday.

Visiting family in South Jersey, I opted to see if there were any wrestling cards in decently close proximity. I saw a handful, but the one that stuck out to me was Combat Zone Wrestling, also known as CZW. The federation is well-known among independent wrestling fans as having some of the best action out there, with a mix of great wrestling and some extremely hardcore and crazy matches.

As a fan of all aspects of wrestling, and having seeing several CZW wrestlers elsewhere, I thought it would be good to see them in their glory. Off I went.

[Read more…] about CZW House of Horrors match lives up to name and then some

Filed Under: My world, Photography, Pro Wrestling Tagged With: blood, blood in wrestling, chainsaw joe gacy, combat wrestling zone, czw, flyers skate zone, hardcore wrestling, house of horrors, house of horrors match, joe gacy, matt tremont, new jersey, voorhees nj

17 Comments

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The normal look after ice cream. #goldenretrieve The normal look after ice cream. 

#goldenretriever #dog #dogsofinstagram #tongue #icecream #pet #fun #iphonography #photography
Where do you wish you could be? Winning the lotto Where do you wish you could be? Winning the lotto would allow me to live near the beach … would love to be back there now!

#beach #sand #sun #goldenretriever #outside #dogsofinstagram #dog #love #iphonography #picoftheday
A sunrise before we leave this morning. Until next A sunrise before we leave this morning. Until next time … 

#sunrise #nature #water #ocean #love #photography #photooftheday #avalon #goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #iphonography
Beach therapy. #beach #water #sun #bonding #gold Beach therapy. 

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#photography #photo #photooftheday #iphonography #iphoneonly #nature #flowers #tulips #color #pinhole #pinholephotography
Saturday was Harper’s birthday. Not sure what li Saturday was Harper’s birthday. Not sure what life would be like without her!
Last Saturday was the first mow of the year. Last Saturday was the first mow of the year.
Got the ball! #goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram Got the ball! 

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #mydogharper #photography #iphonography #photooftheday #chuckit @chuckitfetchgames
She was so still for this photo. Make sure you f She was so still for this photo. 

Make sure you follow her on Instagram at: @harper_dublin !

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #goldenretrieversofinstagram #harper_dublin #akc #photography #photooftheday #love #mydogharper #harperdublin #instagood #happy #picoftheday #fun
Life is good. #goldenretriever #dog #bestfriend Life is good. 

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After a nice snowy walk! ❄️❄️❄️ #gold After a nice snowy walk! ❄️❄️❄️

#goldenretriever #snow #winter #dog #dogsofinstagram #photography #photooftheday #ınstagood
Harper is counting down to Santa Paws! You know, Harper is counting down to Santa Paws! 

You know, of course, Santa Paws travels with Santa Clause, making sure to find treats and toys for all the good little doggies! (We know they are all deserving, right?) So, Harper put out some milk for the big guy, carrots for Rudolph and the reindeer, and special cookies for Santa Paws! She is ready! 

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One of the best parts about having Harper as my be One of the best parts about having Harper as my best friend… ❤️
Couldn't resist stopping on the way to work to sna Couldn't resist stopping on the way to work to snap this shot. The colors in the sky were fantastic and the scene was nice looking (though, to be fair, I drove by what I think would have been a better scene -- the valley and hills full of snow etc.)

#Snow #Winter #Sky #Color #InstaLove #photooftheday #picoftheday #iPhoneography #nature #love #instalove #photography #happy #smile #photo
The best of times??? 🤪🤪🤪 The best of times??? 🤪🤪🤪
Just a break on our morning walk … #goldenretri Just a break on our morning walk …

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Tired. Tired.
Harper is ready for tonight! Let’s go Phillies! Harper is ready for tonight! Let’s go Phillies! 

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I look at her and sometimes still can’t believe I look at her and sometimes still can’t believe I have her. It’s been a year and four months and she makes me smile and laugh more each day. It’s amazing how much a dog changes your look on life, and how much joy they can bring. 

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I’ve recently realized how many photos I have to I’ve recently realized how many photos I have to post here, as well as on Harper’s (@harper_dublin) account). So, as I start to transfer photos, I’ll try and catch up. So photos coming could be from all seasons and who knows when. 🤣

This one is recent from the courthouse square in Delhi. We had some pretty good fall colors this year. 

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A video looking at my first year and a half of owning a golden retriever, my first dog. It's had its ups and downs, but I've truly loved the ride and look forward to the future. 

Music: Happy before we get old by Michael Shynes via Artlist. 

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I hate being in front of the camera, but also realize sometimes it's not the worst thing in the world. So, I'm getting better with it. Week 4's theme was all about us and having us in front of the camera, so I tried to come up with a creative way to do it. 

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