The Corino Chronicles/My 2 Cents: Life Changes & Random Complaining
I feel the need to apologize for the lack of updates to www.WorldOfCorino.com over the last few months. Life changes, OOTP Baseball obsessions, and work outside of the pro-wrestling world took over.
As most of you know, on March 8th I married the love of my life. Well, actually the ceremony was on the 8th. We officially got married in our county on February 15th. The reason I say this will make sense later!
Months of work and stress go into a wedding and although I always had the mindset that it was only "just a day", this day turned out better than I could ever imagine. Perfect would be cliche, but it really was perfect.
My best man and son, Colby, roasted me in the best man speech rather than toast me (which got a standing ovation from the wrestlers in attendance!) and my groomsmen were just awesome. I was so honored Colby, Michael Kehner, Adam Cole, and Cary Silken were able to stand up there with me as I gave the rest of my life to Jordan. My only regret was that Kevin Steen could not be there, but he was there in spirit.
As a person that has basically makes a living by using the microphone and doing promos, I was speechless when I saw my Belle walking down the aisle and people actually said that they couldn't hear me when I said my vows. I was just in awe at her beauty and the anxiety went through me like lightning how someone so beautiful could love a beast like me.
The reception was a party that we still laugh at even months later. The sight
of my father-in-law dancing off with Adam Cole, Mark Briscoe and my 4-year-old niece, Kendall dancing, my buddy Rick Miner and his brother's band, the candy bar, "Wonderful Willie" Bill Apter singing Barry Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You" to my mother, Jimmy Jacobs dancing with my mom, Rob Dimension crashing the reception, and so much more.
Thank you to everyone that could come and share our special day with us!
Now back to the reason I mentioned the two different wedding dates. Months ago, my mother-in-law made me promise that Belle and I would be married before we started a family. Well, technically since we were married officially on February 15, I didn't go against the promise. I am so thrilled to announce that my wife is 11 weeks pregnant!!!
She is due November 20 and I can't tell you how excited we both are. Even Colby, who has two brothers and a sister on his mom's side, is excited for the addition to our little family.
And being the businessman that I am, anyone that wants to bring baby clothes to Indy shows that I am on will get a free color 8x10! Lets see how much stuff Baby Monster C gets!!!
--------------------------------------
Now onto some random complaining. Well, not really complaining. More like, life lessons for people that just don't get it.
You'll have to bear with me a bit. I jotted down most of these on my iPhone note pad, haha.
Most of it revolves around Social Media and the idiots that use it as a way to just be negative all the time. Unfortunately, its not really the fans, its the 40 milers.
40 milers is a derogatory term (I stole it from PG-13...and their cut off spot too) that basically describes an independent "wrestler" that believes that they are super duper, even though they are the shits and only get booked in a 40 mile radius of their home.
These are young kids that will try and blast you online, but will kiss your ass if they are lucky enough to see you in a locker room. If you are offended by these last two paragraphs, then you are probably one of them!
Pet Peeves
"School of Hard Knocks"
If you put this as your school on Facebook, then you are a total idiot. And if you do have this, I want you to do a search of who are your "classmates". Other turds that think they are funny. But you're not. Leave the funny to the comedians.
Me, I have a fake college on my Facebook. If you look, I say that I graduated from "West Texas State" with a "Broadcast Journalist" degree. You see, that goes with my ROH character, not because I think that I am witty.
If you are from the "School of Hard Knocks", why not go total dipshit and say you are from "Parts Unknown"?
Be smarter. You are trying to sell yourself as an entertainer, not a turd. You wonder why fans shit on wrestling and you? Start with your Social Media.
"Trained By A Dead Wrestler"
I get at least two emails a week from some kid, that writes in all lower case and uses worse grammar than me, telling me he is like 20 years old and was trained by a wrestler that has been dead for over five years.
I may scratch my ass, but that doesn't make me an asshole. I'm not that stupid.
If you have never left Texas, how in the fk did Playboy Buddy Rose train you?
"Overuse of the term 'Bro'"
I am not your "bro". Are you so dumb and out of English words that you can't use anything else? You know who is allowed to say bro? Hawaiians and Samoans. If you are just another idiot that can't think of anything else to say, just don't say anything at all.
Is "Hey Steve, how are you?" so fkn difficult? Apparently it is.
"The Invite"
One of the major reasons that I have unfriended over 2000 people on Facebook is that I am so sick of the "invite".
I don't want to go to your shitty show 4000 miles away, play a Facebook game, or like your fkn fan page after you have had seven crap-filled matches. STOP. Its rude and pretentious...and lazy.
Want people to get into your shit? Put it in your status. If I am interested, then I will read it. And maybe put it over in my status. Don't be a spammer.
It is a shame that some people just don't get it. And its not the fans anymore. It's the "rasslers".
If you are an indy guy and your dream is to one day perform at WrestleMania, why the hell would you bury it online? Because you paid for it? That's a cop out.
You know where you bury it? To your buddies that you watched it with. Not in a public forum. Think people above don't read what you write? You are wrong. I did a shoot interview with RF Video with Terry Funk, and in the video I make a crack at my tryout with the WWE in 2007. I wasn't being negative, just funny, and people still bring it up to me...that work for WWE! And if a booger picker like me can be confused for being serious, how do you think you look when you are really burying the product?
Indy guys, pro-wrestling is ENTERTAINMENT first. Hate to tell you that there is no Santa Clause fellas, but pro-wrestling is entertainment first. Does it sting to read that? Of course it does. Took me a long time to accept it too because I grew up in the 1980's when wrestling was protected. But those days are over. The WWE, TNA, New Japan, and even ROH is about television first. Hell, I love nothing more than a five star match, but pro-wrestling has become about the "moments" not the "matches". Am I wrong? Please prove it to me.
If you want your "real pro-wrestling" fix, there are many groups out there that give wrestling first. PWG, Chikara, CZW, AAW, Japanese companies are out there. But if you want to make a living out of pro-wrestling, I'd suggest watching what you say publically. It will ALWAYS come back to haunt you. You don't think people in the office will look you up after your tryout? Then you must be from the "School of Hard Knocks".
OK, fans its your turn to hear it! Haha
I am a heel/rulebreaker/bad guy/scumbag/rudo/whatever in pro-wrestling. But pro-wrestling is not my life 24/7. It is my job. I never understood the mindset of a fan that thinks that it is all right to shit talk you on Social Media.
But worse than that is the fan that can dish it out but can't take it. Why do you think that you can insult me, or for that matter any entertainment figure, and us not shoot back? I don't go on your Social Media outlet and shit on you do I? Do I tweet you personally out of the blue to crap on you with mundane stuff? I don't.
I love to bury Chipper Jones. I hate him only for the fact that he played with the Atlanta Braves his whole career and they are rivals to my Philadelphia Phillies. Do I tweet him directly to shit on him? Of course not. That would be childish and stalkerish.
When that happens, I used to tell you to kill yourselves. Do I really want you to kill yourself? Of course not, but doesn't it hurt to know that I care that less about your life? Words hurt people.
Now I just block you. You need to realize that when I block you, I can't read what you write next. And to be honest, I don't care. I am lucky enough to have over 23,000 people follow me. I may block 2-4 people a week for dumbness. Was getting all huffy and puffy to write that hateful stuff to me worth the two seconds it took me to block you and go on with my life? Be smarter about your Social Media.
And if I do block you, do NOT write me on Facebook or email me to try to explain and complain why I did it. I don't care. Once you are blocked, you are a distant memory of a person that must hate themselves so much that they have to write hateful stuff. There are no second chances.
My job is to entertain people at a wrestling event, not read dumb shit that you write to me on Facebook or Twitter. That is what message boards are for. Go to www.ROHWorld.com and complain about me there. That is the proper way to do it. If you want to be a dick, then buy a ticket and do it there. You will actually get a reaction from me then.
99% of the fans out there are great. Even the people that hate me. They know we bust our asses to entertain them. Wrestlers would be stupid to believe that everyone is going to like them or their characters. Its that 1% that don't get it. If you are offended by that, then you are probably in the 1%...and from the "School of Hard Knocks".
Matt Hardy
People go way too far with Matt Hardy. I don't get it.
I have known Matt for almost 18 years. And for a few years, he had some MAJOR issues. I get that. He wasn't the Matt Hardy I knew in the OMEGA days. I think anyone that knew him would say the same thing.
Addiction and demons are a mother humper. They make you do things and think things that are irrational to us, but normal to them. I have seen it too many times with guys in pro-wrestling. For a while, I thought Matt was beyond fixing. It seemed like every week he was getting into trouble for doing something that the old Matt Hardy would never do. He had more TMZ photos than promo photos. He screwed up.
I used to consider him the "Charlie Sheen of Pro-Wrestling". He was on a collision course with disaster.
But he smartened up. He finally accepted that HE was the problem. Not his friends, not the wrestlers, and not the fans. He got rid of the enablers in his life and went back to being Matt Hardy.
And just like Charlie Sheen, Matt Hardy is getting his life and career back in order. He is the Matt Hardy I knew and am honored to know.
OK, I get what you are going to bore me with: "But you guys are heels in ROH, why are you defending him?" It's because I feel the fans go too far with Matt.
"Fatt Hardy"
"Die Hardy Die"
"Feed Matt Less"
Yep, Matt Hardy has a bit of a belly. So do I (I will get into that in a bit). Is that so wrong? Should he jump on the gas and get into WWF 2000 shape? Should he take diet pills? Did you ever think that Matt is OK with himself finally? Just because a wrestler has a bit of a weight issue does not mean that they don't train hard.
And it kills me that 85% of the people that bury Matt for being heavy are heavy themselves! Its the pot calling the kettle black people. It makes no sense.
Matt has over 725,000 Twitter followers. And if I have 2-4 assholes spewing hate a week and I have 23,000 followers, imagine what he has to put up with? It's sad really. Some of the stuff he has to read everyday from fans that have no idea what he has been through and the recovery he is in.
If this was messed up Matt Hardy, I'd say "Let him have it.", but this is the old Matt Hardy. The one that cared about his friends, pro-wrestling, and especially the fans.
Fans gave Charlie Sheen, Scott Hall, and Brittney Spears a second and third chance. Why not Matt Hardy?
Now back to the weight issue.
I fight the weight issue EVERY DAY. You have no idea.
When I graduated high school, I weighed 155 pounds. A bean pole.
Two years later when I had my first match, I weighed 165 pounds. In fact, I wore TWO shirts to overcome my lack of mass.
When I won the ECW World heavyweight championship in 2000, I weighed 202 pounds.
Less than two years later, I was 230.
In 2009 when I had given up on life in Puerto Rico because I was miserable and WWC was so far behind in pay, I weighed 263 pounds. I was super fat.
When I won the ROH World tag team title titles with Jimmy Jacobs this past September, I weighed 229 pounds.
As I write this, I weigh 239.
I fight this issue EVERY DAY.
Let me know fill in the blanks for you a bit and maybe you can understand the real Steve Corino, not the wrestler Steve Corino a bit.
Did you know that in 2000-01 that I was so broke and in debt that sometimes I would have a spoonful of peanut butter a day? I was a single father, behind in bills due to the ECW crisis, and feeding my son was more important than feeding me. I don't want your pity.
In 2002, when I got my full time job with the old ZERO-ONE (Hashimoto's company), I was told to gain 30 pounds and it didn't matter if it was fat or muscle. I was making GREAT money and promised myself that I would never go hungry again. I learned how to lift hard and eat even harder. I put on 30 pounds in less than three months. I got my first belly. I don't want your pity.
This past November when Belle and I got engaged, we wanted to pay for half our wedding ourselves. Belle deserved the wedding that she dreamed about as a girl.
I had a choice. We could either rack up the cost of the wedding on our credit card or I could go out and get two jobs to go along with wrestling so that we would not force ourselves into debt.
Most people didn't realize that for months I would work for my father and deliver lost airport luggage from 10am-6pm/7pm and then be a clerk in a local mini-mart from 10pm-5:30am. I would get done on a Friday morning at the store and drive to the airport and fly to the next town I needed to wrestle in. It was brutal. My sleep habits, workout schedule and more so, my diet, took a beating.
I went from feeling the best I ever did in the ring, to feeling like I was dying on my way to the ring. But I had to do what was best for my family at the time. My weight went up because of me. And I don't want your pity.
Will I get back to 230? Yeah, of course I will, but it will be for me. Now, a few months after the wedding, I am back to a normal workout schedule and I am working on the diet. It's hard though. I LOVE food. I'm Italian for God's sake, lol, and we like to eat (It's the only time I admit to being Italian). One day at a time.
Like I said, I don't want your pity, but maybe you have a better understanding why I look/looked the way I did over the last few months. Think I enjoyed waking up to chronic black eyes and a Santa belly?
To some of you, it may seem like this blog is the "bitter vet" spewing his bitterness at Indy wrestlers and fans, but you couldn't be any more wrong.
On May 2, 2013, I have never been happier with my career and life. At almost 40 years old, I am easing into a position in ROH that I am excited about, and still able to make a good living out of professional wrestling.
I don't believe in a God, but if blessed is what I am, than I am the most blessed person I know. I have a beautiful wife, an amazing son, a great family, wonderful in-laws, real friends that I never thought I would have, and a baby on the way. Life is not only good, but great.
If you are a fan that has supported me or the companies that I work for, I want you to know that you are appreciated. I am lucky to have you as a reader, follower, and fan. For the haters, I hope you find the peace that you are looking for, because there is so much more to life than being negative to people that are trying to entertain you.
Before I end this long blog (maybe my longest in a few years), I want to give another example on how life is so good.
WrestleMania weekend not only did I get to be a part of the great ROH events in New York City, but I attended a Leonard Cohen concert with Cary, Nigel McGuiness, and Jimmy Jacobs. Story lines and awkwardness aside (Nigel doesn't like me in real life either...true story I think.) Wow, what a concert! If you are not a Cohen fan, you are missing out on one of the best song writers of our time. And Cary worked us all telling us that the tickets were in the nose bleed section, all the while they were second row!
These are times that I will not only cherish, but will remember forever.
Well, that is it for me. I apologize if it took you multiple poops to read my dribble. But if you did, thank you. I hope it doesn't take months to write another!
Stay tuned for the plugs
Due to the influx of invites and other crap (see above), I am no longer accepting requests from people I do not know. BUT, you can join the Steve Corino "King Of Old School/Mr. Wrestling 3 Fan Page". Click that nice logo that I stole off of Google Images.
 |
| www.FaceBook.com/ForeverHeel |
While you are following the Fan Page (and yes, Mr. Wrestling 3 will be coming back soon. Come to PWX on May 26, but I can't confirm it is me under the mask), follow me on Twitter @KINGCorino. That is my ONLY Twitter handle (is that a term?). Any other one is a fake.
 |
| www.Twitter.com/KINGCorino |
If you are a baseball fan and want a baseball game sim to play, but don't mind being obsessed, you have to order OOTP 14!
And watch ROH TV in your local area. If you don't get it, please STOP going on the ROH Facebook and making yourself look like an asshole and saying "Is ROH on in __________?". If it isn't a Sinclair owned station, it isn't on. Sooooooooooooooo, watch it online at the ROH site. Stop being lazy!
