Vinyl and Vega: Moving Up in the World
by Josh Ray
Owner-Editor
inadvertent.nerd@gmail.com
Lethal Wrestling Alliance's undisputed best tag team, "Spitfire" Davey Vega (back) and "Blackheart" Johnny Vinyl (front).
At the end of October, Missouri Wrestling Revival reported on the emerging tag team scene in the Midwest. There are great tag teams out there that need no introduction in most regions of the MWR coverage area: Northstar Express, Phoenix Twins, Zero Gravity, Windy City Classic and LONRs are a few of the teams that fit in this category. Other strong teams include the Hybrids, Marc Godeker & Steve Anthony, Abuse of Power, Feature Presentation, Midwest Ground & Air, Gentlemen’s Club and Team W.A.R. These teams are a representation of the depth of tag team wrestling in the Midwest.
The real testament to the depth of Midwest tag team wrestling, however, comes in the form of a tag team powerhouse in a promotion with no tag team championship: “Blackheart” Johnny Vinyl & “Spitfire” Davey Vega. As the undisputed top team of the tag title deficient Lethal Wrestling Alliance, Vinyl and Vega have struggled to get the recognition each deserved. That all changed at the end of this past month when not only did they square off against arguably the best team in the MWR coverage area and the entire Midwest, The Northstar Express (Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz), but they managed to defeat them! The victory moved Vinyl & Vega into 9th place in the 2008 MWR Tag Team Wrestling Revival Cup standings.
Earlier in the week, I had the opportunity to sit down with both Vinyl & Vega and talk about the match. We also discussed the LWA and their future. Here is the interview in its entirety:
The Lethal Wrestling Alliance (LWA), Missouri Wrestling Revival (MWR), and even many of the wrestling fans hyped the match between you two and The Northstar Express before the October 24, 2008 face off. Leading up to the match, did you feel it was being overly hyped?
Vinyl: No, I didn’t think so. It was going to be our first opportunity to prove ourselves on a national stage.
Vega: Yeah. On one hand you have the well-traveled tag team (Northstar Express). On the other, an up and coming team that a a few people know about but just needed that one high profile match to step it up.
Vinyl: It was our coming out party as one of the top teams going today, so I felt the hype was justified.
How did you prepare for the match?
Vega: I was in the gym five days a week for the two months leading up to the match. I also trained at Dynamo Pro Gym on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. It was the most I have ever prepared myself for one match. The week before the LWA show I slowed it down a bit so that I didn’t overwork myself.
Vinyl: I did everything I normally do, but doubled it. I don’t lift weights often, preferring a more cardiovascular workout. I turned my cardiovascular conditioning up a notch because I knew Corbin and Cruz were going to be well-conditioned. I wasn’t going to let them wear us down.
What was the atmosphere like in the back on the night of the match?
Vega: I’m not going to lie. I was nervous.
Vinyl: For me it was a mixture of nervousness and being psyched.
Vega: Well, my main goal was to walk out there and have a great match. I wanted to give the fans something to remember. I knew I needed to step up my game to hang with The Northstar Express.
Vinyl: I had full confidence in our team and I knew how good Corbin and Cruz are, so I had no doubt that the match would be good. It was all a matter o just how good. For me, it all just sort of washes away once our music hits, though. When it’s game time, it’s game time.
Did Northstar Express live up to the hype?
Vinyl: In my opinion they did, but that was never a doubt. They are incredibly talented and gave us the fight of our careers thus far.
Vega: They are seasoned wrestlers with years of tag experience under their belts, so of course they did.
Do you feel that this match puts the two of you on the map?
Vinyl: Boy, I hope so. The LWA website (www.lwawrestling.com) said that this was LWA’s best tag team match since the Motor City Machine Guns versus Dingo & Nick Tyson. That’s pretty high praise. I think that if nothing else this match has helped us turn a few heads.
Vega: I don’t think it will immediately pu us on the map, but as people begin recognizing how well both teams performed and that we aren’t a joke as a tag team the we’ll emerge as one of the best in the area.
Did you go into this match 100% sure of a victory?
Vega: If you haven’t noticed, Vinyl and I are very confident individuals. We go out there every time with the attitude that we are going to win.
Vinyl: There weren’t going to be any free rides in that match for the Northstar Express.
Have you received any more interest from outside promotions since your victory over Corbin and Cruz?
Vega: All American Pro Wrestling (AAPW) has a poll on their site (www.allamericanprowrestling.com) for the fans to vote on who they want to wrestle the LONRs for the AAPW Tag Team Titles. I’ve heard that we are ahead in the voting.
Vinyl: I’ve never worked for AAPW and Vinyl has only worked there once. I can only assume that some of this notoriety is from our victory over Northstar Express. I would love to work for AAPW because they have a great tag team division and the audience is radically different than what I am used to with LWA. It would be fun.
Vega: Outside of AAPW there hasn’t been much interest, yet. I think the shock will need to wear off from our big win and then more offers will roll in.
What are your thoughts on the LWA creating a tag team championship?
Vega: There have been some talks about tag titles in LWA for a long time, so hopefully it comes to fruition soon.
Vinyl: What would be the point in the LWA creating a tag team championship when there is only one team with the talent to hold it?
Vega: The belts already have a place reserved around our waists.
Where do the two of you go from here?
Vega: I plan on continuing to improve and make my name, no matter what it takes. I’ll take whatever challenge is set before me, so any company looking to book me can reach me at daveyvega85@gmail.com or http://www.myspace.com/daveyvega for booking information.
Vinyl: There is a list of companies we’d love to work for, like CHIKARA, IWA Mid South, American Luchacore, All American Wrestling, All American Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Phoenix, 3XWrestling, and more. If we continue to have matches like this past one with the Northstar Express, then we’ll be wrestling for them all sooner or later.
Any words for tag teams in the MWR coverage area?
Vinyl: I think the Midwest right now is in a strange state. We have one of the most shallow single wrestler pools, yet the tag team pool is very deep. We’d love to get in the ring with the LONRs, Phoenix Twins, Hybrds, Zero Gravity, B.A.B.E.WATCH, Osirian Portal, Cheech & Cloudy, Windy City Classic and anybody else we haven’t faced before. We’d love to keep wrestling talented teams like Northstar Express and Ego Express. If you’re a fan of tag team wrestling and you live in the Midwest, I believe right now is an exciting time and it’s only going to get better.
Vega: I can’t really add much else other than to say that I look forward to stepping in the ring with any tag team in the area.
Vinyl: Oh, and for more booking information for me go to http://www.myspace.com/bncjohnnyvinyl.
Hollister had one of the toughest schedules of all wrestlers in the Midwest for the month of May. It all started with a tough tag team loss (with Bryce Benjamin) to the Motor City Machine Guns in AAW. It was all good after that, as he followed the loss up with a victory (although tainted) over Egotistico Fantastico in a hard-hitting affair, the closed out the month by defending his Scott County Wrestling Title not once, but twice in one night. He retained the title after defeating Danny Daniels and Marek Brave. It was a successful month for Shane Hollister, as he wrestled some of the best in the business and came out on top in three out of the four encounters.
The Phoenix Twins continue to impress wrestling fans across the Midwest. This month, Tweek and Dash won two non-title matches against current tag champions in SCW and AAW. They also each competed in singles matches as part of “Best of Three” series of matches with members of Zero Gravity, splitting the contests and inching closer to being the number one contenders for the SCW Tag Team Titles. For 2008, Tweek and Dash have set the bar very high. It often seems as if they are the only tag team that can surpass this high standard..JPG)
Stacy O’Brien has emerged in the second quarter of 2008 as the premier female wrestler in the Midwest. She currently owns the World League Wrestling and MMWA-SICW Women’s Championships. She defeated Ms. Natural and Alexis Lightfoot for each belt, respectively. In yet another month where female wrestlers have been inactive, Stacy is a step in the right direction.
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