THIS IS THE FIRST OF THE "BEST OF CHEAP HEAT" SERIES I WILL BE POSTING HERE WITH MATERIAL FROM MY FIRST YEAR ON HOLLYWOODJIMMY.COM, THIS WAS ONE OF MY MOST TALKED ABOUT, MY INTERVIEW WITH "MR. SENSATIONAL" LESLIE JONES. ENJOY.
GJ: What do you consider to be IWF's most successful angle?
LJ: The ownership angle because it was a true wrestling storyline. It was well thought out and every detail was planned to have the most impact at the right time with the right people. Heck it lasted almost 6 months because of all the twist that were involved. Myself being suspended, me firing Parental Advisory then they come back to a show where they are arrested, My arrival via limo along with the neat production aspects added to the “owner’s” entrance, me firing Vision and telling her she can valet but only had a week to find someone to valet for then she brought out Parental Advisory to make me have the old mud on the face routine. It was a great plot and even was written about in Pro Wrestling Illustrated that year. It kept fans glued to there television sets every week wondering what was going to happen next and when would the IWF owner be revealed.
GJ: If you could go back in time and talk to Leslie Jones in 1998 when you were first starting IWF, what advice would give yourself that would have helped you out back then?
LJ: I hate to say it but do not trust anybody. This business called wrestling is a cut throat business even on a small independent level. I have made many friends over the years but also made a few not so good of friends as well. I am an honest person and a trusting guy and in the wrestling world that is not good traits to have some of the time so I would have told myself to keep my guard up and not be so trusting if I knew then what I know now.
GJ: I know from talking to you personally and also from reading it on the boards, your goal with the IWF from day 1 was to get regional t.v. and to get on t.v. in Memphis, you succeded at both. However what did you hope to obtain from that? Were your hopes fullfilled when you accomplished that, or was it not all you expected?
LJ: I had hoped to accomplish a lot by going on television in Mississippi. I feel that we did. You have to remember at the start of the IWF SLAM tv run wrestling in general was frowned upon by many. WWE was doing some outlandish stuff at the time and many buildings and advertisers, etc. were scared or not impressed with wrestling due to it not being “family programming”. I took a group of young talented guys that could be your next door neighbor or the guy you work with everyday and with everyone working hard IWF put out a product that was entertaining, exciting, upbeat, and family friendly. In IWF programming you did not hear a bunch of cussing and foul language. You also did not see questionable storylines that could be considered immoral or offensive. You did not see a bunch of half naked women that were only there for the T and A factor. You did not see a bunch of so called “superstars” from the past who didn’t want to work or even so called “stars” of today that cost huge amounts of money and really wouldn’t do anything or be interested in helping the show but only be interested in their personal “big payout”.What you saw Gene was workers who busted their asses for the love of this business to put on a great show for the fans who paid their hard earned money to buy a ticket and all of those who watched at home each week. So yes as far as the Mississippi tv run I had all my hopes fullfilled plus some. I feel if it were not for the IWF tv show that many of the fans going to other shows in the North Mississippi area and those fans watching other shows on tv now may not have ever become a wrestling fan if IWF had not help pave the way with our tv show. As far as the short Memphis television run IWF had I was not fullfilled at all with that and in fact looking back on it now it should have never happened. Financially it was a nightmare although it was a ratings winner. The show even airing at an awful time of 1:30 am slot drew huge numbers and Fox was very pleased with the show. However due to lack of management,organization, and lack of finances it was short lived.. But, hey I can say IWF was on Memphis tv and ratings wise it was a success.
GJ: As a promoter, if you could pick ANY wrestler past or present to have appeared on one of your shows, who would that be, and why?
LJ: Ric Flair just because I personally feel that he was a pioneer and even though Hulk Hogan will always be considered to be the guy to put wrestling “on the map” I think that Ric Flair help put the “smalltime/territorial” wrestling on the map back in the early days. And hell man he’s the best talker on the mic in the business
GJ: Knowing what you know now, do you think that it is possible to run a PROFITABLE wrestling promotion on a regional level with no one like WWE supporting you(i.e. Ohio Valley Wrestling)?
LJ: I think it is possible but not very probable. At the height of IWF and the peak of the success of the tv show I held the record for being the promoter in the area who spent the most money in order to put on the best show. Thousands of dollars a month were spent month in and month out on a professional film crew to film the shows and then edit that footage and create the best wrestling show on television. I am talking about an award winning production company that traveled all over the USA doing projects for tons of clients and IWF was the number two client in amount of dollars spent with that company. Hell as many know I had a successful store in the mall in Tupelo and I eventually had to close it due to the fact I drained it dry by spending every cent I had on IWF Wrestling. Therefore I have been there and I tell you Gene it might could happen but it would be tough unless you inherited some money or maybe won the lottery
GJ: What do you feel caused the notorious walkout of the IWF, and did it really lead to it's eventual downfall as some people claim?
LJ: First of all the so called big walkout was nothing more than all of us having our heads up our asses. The success of the tv show made many folks feel they were irreplacable and also made many of us be hardheaded when it came to the creative end of the show. Looking back on it now I just laugh and wonder how we all could have been so damn stupid. Everyone involved then are still talking to one another and everyone has buried the hatchett and we are all friends. The show did take a new direction for a while but to be honest that was the point that financially the show was in trouble anyway so it was not going to be long before televison was going to have to be given up for a while and that is another reason why the fussing started anyway. Stress was at an all time high during that time period. So lack of money to keep up with the cost of production was the so called down fall of IWF tv ,not any one or any group of people not working for the company anymore. And again it was not a “downfall”. It was just the end of the IWF SLAM tv show for a while. I did return later and plan to return again when the timing is right
GJ: What do you think makes you such a target on the message boards for criticism, and being blamed for the majority of negative things posted on the board here at HollywoodJimmy.com?
LJ: I am a target because of one word and when I say this oh the crap it will stir up on Jimmy’s board but it is the truth so here you go ... JEALOUSY. Gene im going to speak from the heart here for a while and I am either going to be classified as the guy who’s wishing I was on DCW tv or be classified as the sonofabitch who is bitter or whatever so I can’t win when discussing this subject matter ,but you know I can tell the truth. The truth is that many people of done lots for wrestling in the area but for now lets concentrate on Tupelo and the North Mississippi area. Moons ago wrestling was in Tupelo every Friday night downtown in the Gardner Watson Ice Building or whatever it is called today. Anyway its downtown. The promoters back then were the first to help wrestling in the Tupelo area. Along the way you had Sammy Hall who ran shows forever it seems then you also had Chris Kilgore both of who ran there version of Bad Boys Promotions ,You had Keely Rhodes who ran SCW. Then you had me and the IWF. Now basically many workers just moved from whatever company to the next whenever someone new opened up. Everyone was one big family and everyone respected each other. Now Keely’s SCW was on comcast channel 9 first so technically SCW did tv first in Tupelo however me with the IWF was the first to put wrestling on in north mississippi on a Regional station which ofcourse was WKDH . At that time( and here comes the first comment I will get slammed for but it is the truth) and even now I feel the IWF tv show was the best. I spent the money to make it have the best production possible. The shows had great plots and storylines which made people want to watch every week. Hands down it was number 1 from a production standpoint and most agree it still is number one today comparatively dealing with that aspect of the show. Lighting, sound, organization, everything dealing with production my show could not and can not be beat. Secondly No matter how big or fancy a building you hold shows in and no matter what so called superstars you book from the present or legends from the past if your show does not have a constant and followable, understandible exciting set of stories then it is lacking something. Just merely bringing in “big names” for one or two appearance may get a few more fans to come out that night but it really does nothing to help build the show long term. For example DCW rented the coliseum and brought in Kevin Nash and yes to some that seems real impressive but look what happened. Nash couldnt even be used on television and from what I understand was not in the ring but just a few minutes. Now did that help or hurt that show. Well it may not hurt it but in my opinion the one thing we did at IWF is we took the “true local talent” and “built” the company around those guys. Hell Gene we had fans wanting to pay there money to see Justin Envy Or Neil Taylor OR House of Pain OR Parental Advisory. The IWF fans could have cared less about a huge building or seeing a former legend or a pay per view star. There passion was seeing folks that with the proper knowledge and proper booking became as big as a star in there minds as any former hasbeen. Therefore in my opinion nobody has come close to duplicating the success IWF had as far as tv goes to this point. No stars, no legends, no half naked women, no huge coliseums...just plain good old wrestling that was fun to see live and great to watch on tv. The success IWF had on WKDH is the reason I get slammed on the message boards all the time. All the troublemakers claim I am jealous or whatever but in reality they know deep down they are the jealous ones because like it or not IWF as far as tv goes in North Mississippi was the first and will always be the standard by which all other mississippi TV wrestling shows are judged. That standard and reputation is a high one to stand up to.
GJ: Seeing as how I've been out of the loop for quite some time, can you explain to me how your former business partner Dwayne Huckabee(sp?) went from being part of the IWF to starting DCW and what are the main differences between the IWF and DCW? Production wise? Booking Wise? Otherwise?
LJ: As far as Dwayne and my partnership stuff is concerned, Gene I tell you that is still a bit of a mystery to me as well. We agreed to put IWF on Fox13 in Memphis last fall. It should have never happened due to lack of financial backing with sponsors but we were both hardheaded and went forward anyway. Now I think we both had different ideas on what direction the show should go but we did agree that giving Memphis Wrestling some competition was the main goal. I know from the start Dwayne was real big on bringing in “names” for example we brought in Iron Shiek and like I said above what good did that do? Not a damn thing except cost 350 bucks and a hotel room. Dwayne was also big on the women. I necessarily was not against that but I felt some of the asking prices of the female workers was too high. He must be getting a better deal now that he books 6 of them a show. So the show even at 1:30 am which is a terrible time and only being 30 minutes long drew absolute great ratings. Heck we even beat Memphis wrestlings numbers a week or two. However finding advertisers was impossible. Hell me and Dwayne and an advertising company were all working on it and it just did not ever happen. Therefore the money issues became very stressful. Every week we had to meet or talk for hours on the phone about what can we do. Dwayne as most know is a very laid back person and thats ok but me on the other hand I want to get problems solved when they occur. Anyway this money problem plagued us from the start. Finally we did get behind with Fox and they said “ pay up or else”. Well Dwayne said he had no more money and I said I didnt have any more money so then Dwayne said lets see what they mean by “else” and I said they mean “sue” us. He said let them sue. I said no I will take care of it somehow and that night the decision was made for us. No money means NO show. I paid the remainder of the contract buy out to Fox which was two weeks. It was over. Now then only a couple of months later Dwayne starts up DCW and is spending money out the ass on workers, buildings, and tv deals so yes I was a little bewildered so I went to Dwaynes first show in Ripley and he said no big deal, he had no heat with me, and all is cool. I took him at his word and told him I had no heat with him and wished him the best. He claimed he even wanted to work in my Mr. Sensational character into the show and I said thanks man ill be here when youre ready for me. Well after months passing by with only a couple of phonecalls I guess Dwayne just doesnt want to have dealings with me and thats fine. I offered to help out with the show especially in Tupelo because face the facts folks what better person than me to help DCW grow in Tupelo. My offer received no response from Dwayne although some folks on the DCW roster agreed I could be an asset to the show but listen I have no hard feelings and no regrets. I think Dwayne is a nice guy. I still don’t really understand why he never really man to man told me he did not want to be partners or work together anymore but since he is so laid back maybe he tries to avoid problems and conflict where I like to take on problems and conflict straight on and get it over with.. I am not jealous of anyone or anything although it is obvious that DCW is doing everything possible to follow in the IWF’S footsteps. Thy are running the Salvation Army in Tupelo, a building the IWF made famous and just recently they asked Kimble to announce Again following in my footsteps. Do I get mad or jealous about that kind of stuff? Not really cause I take it as a compliment and also I take it as proof positive of what I said earlier . IWF was and is the number one tv show and always will be and for DCW or anyone else to even come close they will have to do the things I did years ago and DCW is doing that by working former IWF guys ,using Kimble, Jimmy, Al Hall,and running shows in my old building. But folks even by doing all that I was told by someone that was there the other night that DCW only had about 80 or so at the Salvation Army for there show. Not bragging but I could come back to Tupelo without tv and not having been around for almost two years and draw that well. That proves my other point I said earlier. Where was any of those supposed 1600 coliseum fans at the other night at the army building? They were at home cause there wasnt a “name” there. If DCW had the local guys being the names like IWF did then more of those supposed 1600 from the coliseum would have been at the Salvation Army. Denise and Wayne and Tony with MUWA and Floyd with DWA are proof that if a show is run with the emphasis being placed on local talent and if good storylines are booked then the fans will show up .Heck DWA and MUWA are still using many of the old IWF crew and to this day even years later both MUWA AND DWA are out drawing DCW on a consistent basis. That proves fans want excitement more than they want names and more than they want the possibility of an WWE developmental deal. I know that possibility is there for DCW but it is a losing proposition for the fans either way. If DCW gets the deal then DCW will become an even staler less exciting show with all the muscled up guys headed to the bigtime and there will be no local presence just like what happened to the guys like Danny and Rocker in KAW a few years back. So the fans lose that way tv wise and as far as live shows wise they want get to see all this talent DCW has been bringing in no matter what they say. If DCW becomes on Vinces payroll then DCW will be run Vinces way and if Vince says no more local yocals they they are gone...end of story. And I hate to say it but it is true and its about business not friendship .If Dwayne is offered the deal and he refuses it cause he cant keep his buddys on the roster then he is an idiot. The guys may not want to admit that but they think that too even if they lose there spot. If Vince shows up asking then DCW should say yes even if every person currently on the roster has to be let go. It is about business here and not friendships if DCW is offered the developmental deal. So in review as of now I feel that MUWA and DWA are tied for number one when it comes to promotions in North MS. They both use local guys and put on quality shows and do it consistently without the hype of “ stars” or “fancy buildings”. There hype is what the sign says...wrestling. I would rank DCW number two or three overall and of course if me and the IWF should show back up sometime in North Ms. Then the rankings might change a little. (LOL)
GJ: There's an old saying, "there are no true friends in wrestling", Would you agree with that statement?
LJ: Gene, if you find a true friend in the business called independent wrestling then hold onto that friendship cause ...yes ...they are hard to find. I am lucky to have many who I consider friends that I met with IWF and even though we may not all agree all of the time they are still friends
GJ: What do you feel is the biggest misconception people in the wrestling business have about Leslie Jones?
LJ: The biggest misconception is that some think I am this jealous, bitter, trouble making guy and the reason they think that is simple. They mistake my honesty and my pride and the fact that I feel IWF is the best for those other things. If someone doesnt like someone elses views then does that automatically make the person giving his opinion an asshole or jealous? NO!! IT JUST MEANS THAT PERSON IS NOT AFRAID TO SAY WHAT’S ON THEIR MINDS EVEN IF SOME OTHER FOLKS MIGHT NOT LIKE IT. SO GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON!!
GJ: Years from now when people look back on Leslie Jones' IWF, what do you think it will be remembered for most? What would you like it to be remembered for most?
LJ: It will be remembered as being the forerunner for wrestling television programming in Mississippi. I t will be remembered for the being the best wrestling tv program North Mississippi ever saw.(up until something is better and nothing has been yet) It will be remembered as a family show where parents could bring the entire family and be entertained and have a good time and see the best indy wrestling available Personally. I would like it to be remembered for the reasons I just mentioned
GJ: To go through all the ups and downs and invest all the time and money you've had into wrestling, you had to have loved it, After everything(and everybody) you've dealt with in the past few years, do you still love it?
LJ: Yes I sure do still love it and as you can see by my long answers to your questions I still have the same passion I had for it when I started out years ago. What I do not have the patience for anymore is all the fighting and backstabbing and lying and jealousy that goes with it these days. I wish everyone could be man or woman enough to post there real names when they write on the message boards. I wish everyone would not be so damn defensive when someone else may give a negative opinion or give constructive criticism about a show or federation. I love Jimmy Blaylock to death and consider him a great friend but I’ve noticed even Jimmy will erase post on his board if they talk negative or criticize DCW. I feel that is wrong and each person is entitled to their own opinion good or bad. AND LATELY why is it that anybody with a thought about DCW that is not positive is automatically characterized as a jealous worker or promoter THAT IS “WISHING” they were a part of DCW. People can talk bad about DWA or MUWA on the boards and you rarely see any response because they are PROFESSIONAL and don’t act like a spoiled 3 year old with a bunch of nonsense responses. Hell I know me and IWF have taken our fair share of smartass comments and putdowns over the years and I am sure there will be many regarding this interview but I’m not crying. Heck let them put me down because I know in my heart what is true..So yes I still love it ....but I do not love the way people act on here sometimes. Promoters and wrestlers should focus there energies and concentrate on one thing...making there show/federation better. They should not be on a message board putting people down and calling people jealous and etc. and using foul language That kind of stuff looks bad to the fans and without the fans what are any of us? NOTHING!! That’s what. An example of that is folks running up votes for IWF, DCW, MUWA on this dang poll Jimmy has going and then trying to get all of us to argue about it. Just is what I call P.D.I. -Pure Damn Ignorance!! And it all should stop!! So with all that being said Gene I still love it and in fact ,believe it or not , I have been approached by some businessmen to develop a show for them . We had a meeting on it a couple of weeks ago. They approached me with the idea they said because they knew of my passion for the business, my ethical attitude, and my vast knowledge of how to produce a successful television show. It is an interesting proposal but I told them the money had to be there, the sponsors had to be signed up, and there would have to be an organized dedicated hard working effort put behind it or I was not interested. We are meeting again the first week in September and at that time I will come on board with the project or wish them luck. So Gene, you may not have heard the last of good old Mr. Sensational Leslie Jones. And I can promise you you have not heard the last of IWF . I am in the middle of planning a huge IWF show that I guess some might refer to as a reunion show. It should be a blast! More info to come soon on that!!
GJ: Is there anything not covered in this interview that you'd like to get off your chest?
LJ: Yes...Finally lets not all forget about the troops fighting for our freedom to let us put on out little wrestling shows. In good faith why cant we just all try to get along and if you disagree with someone’s opinion be mature about it and post mature replies about it if you post on the internet. Remember it is America. Thats why we can all have an opinion on what company is number one or anything else we feel like talking about. Just cause it may not be your opinion does not mean the other person does not have the right to give it. GENE thanks for the forum man. I am sure it will get some attention. Take care and God Bless You And God Bless America!! Oh yea 1 more thing... IWF WRESTLING..........NUFF SAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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