Danny Havoc
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Zur Person Name: Danny Havoc Größte Erfolge: |
 screwjob.de: Let’s start at the very beginning. You were born in the “unacknowledged hardcore capital of the world”. Cylinder, Iowa. How is that the hardcore capital of the world?Danny Havoc: Well, I was born there. I would have thought that was enough. screwjob.de: I imagine you’ve been a wrestling fan a long time before you started your career. What got you started? Danny Havoc: I actually didn't like wrestling much at all until I was about 13. I lived on a farm, and my old man hired on a "farmhand" (similar to an indentured servant) named Tony who got me into it. We started doing backyard wrestling and such when we were supposed to be working. He was subsequently fired a couple of years later. screwjob.de: You’ve been “training” wrestling with your friends in your parents’ barn as far as I know. What kind of training was that? Just fooling around, or did you guys actually wrestle back then (a.k.a. backyard)? Danny Havoc: Yeah, my friends and I did a ridiculous amount of backyard wrestling, for about 4 years. I'm actually in the process of going through and editing all of our backyard tapes into a highlight video (primarily just for our own enjoyment), so I'm very well aware of just how goddamn much we did. It's like 36 tapes... screwjob.de: Obviously something got you hooked with CZW. You’ve been there as a fan, but what was it that made you think “I want to wrestle that style”? Danny Havoc: After I got into wrestling, I was a big fan of ECW. I didn't really enjoy wrestling itself so much back then...more or less, I just enjoyed violence. So when I became aware of "Japanese death matches," I went online and sought them out. Thru this I discovered BJW, and subsequently learned that Kasai was working for an American company called CZW. I ordered "UnF'nBelievable," and I was hooked. screwjob.de: Eventually you got into CZW sometime around the beginning of 2005. Since details are pretty sketchy, please tell us what exactly happened. Danny Havoc: Um...I'm not sure what details are sketchy, but sure. I graduated high school, said "fuck college," married my girlfriend, and moved to New Jersey to start training. John Zandig ran me thru a tryout, I survived, and the rest is history. Really uninteresting history. screwjob.de: Did you actually move to Philly and train at the so-called CZW Wrestling School? If so, please tell us something about that. Danny Havoc: ...See, I keep answering the questions ahead of time... One question at a time, that's all my chairshot-damaged brain can remember. I trained in Jersey/Philly (they're pretty close, for those of you who don't know American geography by heart, which I'm assuming is most of you) under DJ Hyde/Sabian/Jon Dahmer, and then later under Chris Hero and Mike Quackenbush. I hated training. Not that it was unreasonably hard, mind you, but I'm in really lousy shape and I'd sooner take a blowtorch to my own penis than do cardio. screwjob.de: I think back at that time CZW was still associated with CHIKARA. Did you notice a drop in quality after that alliance was finished, or was it just as good or bad as it was before? Danny Havoc: Breaking with CHIKARA was definitely a loss for all students involved. Unfortunately, that's just the way things go in this business. They had their cons, too, but Mike and Chris were excellent trainers. screwjob.de: Then it was time for your first official match, you were part of the Student’s Battle Royal at TOD V. How did you feel going into this match? Danny Havoc: Stoned. screwjob.de: During your first year with CZW you feuded with DJ Hyde. In the end he threw you off a balcony in the New Alhambra and you did not come off very “feud-winning”, despite winning your final match against him. Your thoughts about that? Danny Havoc: Sigh. I love the way this company is booked. Really, I do. screwjob.de: Afterwards you were kind of hung in the air in CZW, but in 2007 you won the Jr. Heavyweight Title. Always a good question, how much does a title mean to you as a wrestler? Danny Havoc: Titles are cool. I've only ever held three, so I don't have a lot of experience with it. I'd much rather put on a good match than win a title, but it still feels pretty damn cool to get one. Unfortunately, I only held the Jr. Heavyweight title for a month, out of which I only saw it for about 3 days, because my friend borrowed it to attempt to get laid at college and ran off with it for some time. The IWA deathmatch title doesn't really exist (there's no belt), so that was kind of a bittersweet victory. And now I have the UVU title, but I didn't actually win it. So, while I like titles, I kind of have a shitty experience with them. screwjob.de: Also in 2007 you were part of CZW’s TOD, the KotDM, the IWA EC’s Masters of Pain and IWA DS’s Carnage Cup. You were the new deathmatch sensation along with Drake and his group. How do you guys get along? Danny Havoc: Drake is one of my favourite people in the world. No lie. I would actually consider myself pretty good friends with at least 3/4 of the main American deathmatch/hardcore guys. A really good crew, on the whole. screwjob.de: When you and the Naptown Dragons emerged some people called your style “hybrid”. I guess JC Bailey (what’s he up to anyways?) was hybrid before hybrid even existed, but let’s get to the point: How would you describe your wrestling style? Danny Havoc: That's two questions...sadly, JC's still in jail. Looks like it may be a while before we get to see him again. A true shame. As to my "style"...I guess if pressed, I'd describe it as "head-droppy" with a side of "poor high-flying" and more than a pinch of "lucky not to be dead yet." screwjob.de: So 2007 was kind of a busy year for you, and everywhere someone was bleeding in a wrestling ring Danny Havoc was likely to be a part of it. Did you feel famous or as a star at that time? Danny Havoc: I felt good. I'm not going to lie. But "famous" and "star" are usually words associated with people who get paid better than $150 a night and who don't get openly gawked at in public by “normal” people for being a cut-up freak. But yeah, fuck it...I'm a star, bitches. Why not? screwjob.de: If 2007 was a good year for your career 2008 was a blast thus far. You’ve been IWA MS Deathmatch Champion, you won TOD and the Carnage Cup, you’ve been in the finals of the KotDM, and of course your first booking outside the US came along. Actually, how good does it feel to be honoured like that? Danny Havoc: 2008 (outside of CZW) has been a banner year for me. The whole Necro angle has meant that I haven't put on too many exciting bloody spectacles in the Dub, but I hope to make up for that between now and December. screwjob.de: How is it working with John Zandig? The almighty internet has the wildest stories about the guy, and this is our chance to ask someone who knows Zandig first hand. Danny Havoc: John has been very good to me. I'm not going to comment further. I have no problems with the guy, and - god willing - he has no problems with me. That's all you get. Sorry. Remember, I've got to work for the guy. screwjob.de: Many people reduce you to being a “deathmatch guy”. Do you feel comfortable with that? Drake Younger slowly manages to get away from that image for example and is respected for working a normal match here and there, noticeably in CHIKARA. I know you’ve been there for YLC 4, but you’re rarely booked for a normal match. Danny Havoc: I hate working normal matches. I get bored. So yeah, I'm fine with being a deathmatch guy. screwjob.de: Let’s talk about the way you name your moves. As you state on your website you like to use Star Trek references for them (although I never heard any of those CZW commentating dumbasses actually call them). You’re a Star Trek fan? Or did you just do it because it sounds cool? Danny Havoc: CZW commentators rarely bother to find out what moves are named, in my experience. That's why things get called "Havoc Drivers" and such. As far as Star Trek, yeah, I'm a fan. I don't go to conventions and shit, but I have the entire original series on tape somewhere. None of the follow-ups. Kirk is the shit. Fuck Picard. screwjob.de: When you won The TOD earlier this year, your victory speech caused some shockwaves in Germany, as you said “Fuck Steve Venom”, which happened to be the name of a Westside Dojo show that was about to take place. What the hell was that about? Danny Havoc: It was just a running joke that myself and a few very cool dudes from wXw shared when I was over in Germany. In our drunkenness, I promised that I'd take it back with me to the states and find a time to fit it into a promo somewhere. What better opportunity? Apparently, Steve Venom is some German worker (whom I've never met nor seen) who just happened to be the scapegoat of the evening. I hope it doesn't cause him to assassinate me in a blind, desperate rage for ruining his life... screwjob.de: As far as I know your 2 matches in Germany for wXw in April of this year marked your first booking outside the USA. In general, what’s different? Danny Havoc: The fans are nicer. They don't yell as much profanity at you. But the women still don't sleep with me. screwjob.de: Did you like Germany and the way we do wrestling here? Danny Havoc: I had a great time in Deutschland and I can't wait to come back. But your McDonalds sucks. screwjob.de: What do you think about the US deathmatch scene in general? I always think “this can’t be topped”, and I guess each year this will become more and more true. Drake and TJ did their infamous SAW Deathmatch, and even Drake says he won’t do that again. How far are you willing to go for your 5 minutes of fame? Danny Havoc: The deathmatch/hardcore scene in the States makes me sad. There are so many cool guys who are willing to work their asses off to put on crazy, exciting matches...but the fans are jaded, the market's been flooded, and NOBODY's making any money. Well, maybe Necro. Certainly not me. Guys in BJW (as far as I'm aware) do this AS A CAREER...We're relegated to doing it as a glorified hobby and barely able to make ends-meet with it. I wish it were more respected and somewhat more mainstream so it could support better pay and more incentives, but that's just not the way of things. I've come to terms with it, grudgingly. As far as how far am I willing to go? I've gone. I'll continue to do stupid shit until I'm ready or forced to be done, but I've got no real interest in "upping the ante." If I do a stupid spot with something like razors or syringes or something, it's only because I think the spot is so creative or cool that it needs to be done for the sake of my own markdom. I don't have any interest in just bumping on shit to raise the bar. The new guys are going to do that anyway, so let them do it. But if I like them, I try to talk them out of it, too. screwjob.de: The publicity generated from the SAW Deathmatch likely got TJ into the Masters of Pain this year, where he will replace Insane Lane. Obviously a great accomplishment for him, but do you think doing publicity oriented stunts like the SAW Deathmatch are worth it just for more bookings? Danny Havoc: The SAW deathmatch was crazy and sick and there are certainly things that I would've hesitated to do, but it was done as safely as possible by two of the better proprietors of that style, who worked together to keep each other safe and knew what they were doing. Was it sick? Fuck yeah. Was it "too far?" I don't think so. Not that I'd recommend it to everyone...but I know Drake and TJ both fairly well, and they are competent to do something like that safely. I would've done that match with either of them (though probably not very many other people). screwjob.de: I’m sure you know about the legislative problems we have with deathmatches in Germany. We all know that for example CZW can’t do full blown deathmatches in Philly due to the PSAC, but wXw was kicked out of venues for doing what CZW does in Philly now. Does that fit with your opinion about Germany and it’s system of laws? Danny Havoc: One of my best friends in high school was an exchange student from Germany. Your legal system is fucking retarded. So is ours, mind you, but yours seems to be even worse. You have my sympathies. screwjob.de: What’s left for you to accomplish? Any specific goals you have? Maybe working in Japan or something like that? Danny Havoc: Working in Japan would be amazing. Although I'm not sure if my "style" would mesh well with theirs, and I'd rather never go than go and have lousy matches. I don't know what's left to accomplish. I didn't really think about accomplishments when I started this...I just take it one match at a time, and if I like how it came out on DVD, I'm happy. screwjob.de: I guess you knew this one was coming: If you could decide your opponent, who would it be and in what kind of match? Danny Havoc: I want [one of my favourite people] Scotty Vortekz to come out of retirement and wrestle me in a thumbtack kickpads match like we always talked about. I fully intend to nag him until he does that. Other than that, I would love to get to wrestle some sort of crazy match with Kasai or Takeshi Sasaki. Two of my favourites there. screwjob.de: And one more for good measure: Your best match so far in your opinion? Danny Havoc: Well, a lot of them sucked. Kind of hard to say. It would've been me vs. Drake at DVLH if he hadn't gotten hurt and we hadn't had to rush the ending. That was going quite well, I felt. Probably me vs. Scotty at TOD [some number] in the first round. I still love that match. screwjob.de: You’re a part of the “Cutting Deep” documentary about TJ, and the most memorable part including you is a shoot against Trent Acid. Recently hell froze over and he is back in CZW. I guess you weren’t around when the fallout between him and CZW happened, but what was the reaction to him by the older guys that actually were around back then? Danny Havoc: Well, now he's back in jail again, so it's a moot point. He was only back for two months. The only "old guard" guys who are really still around are Dahmer, Gage and Zandig, and they all seemed fine with it. I dunno, I don't have anything to do with it. I couldn't care less, one way or the other. screwjob.de: Speaking of the TJ documentary, did you have a chance to watch it yet? I’m pretty sure something like that has never been done in the States, I’d like to hear your opinion about it. Danny Havoc: I did see it. He sent me a copy, friendly sonuvabitch that he is. I quite enjoyed it. Mondo had a documentary, which was kind of similar, but other than that, it was pretty unique. He was pretty candid about things, which I found rather compelling. All in all, much better than reality television generally is. screwjob.de: Any words about your strange affiliation with Norway? The day you won TOD (May 17th) happens to be the Norwegian Independence Day, that can’t be randomness. Danny Havoc: I don't know that it's strange...I'm Norwegian ancestrally, my grandma came over on a boat, and she raised me, so I'm pretty in-touch with my roots. I knew that it was Norwegian Ind. Day, which is why I wore the flag around my waist to the ring in the first round. As for my winning, apparently Odin was on my side that day. screwjob.de: So, this marks the end of our interview. If there’s anything you want to say, please go ahead. Maybe plug your kickass shirt or something.  Danny Havoc: Buy my t-shirts. Buy my SMV Best Of. Buy my jacket, I'll sell it to you. We'll work out a good price. Don't worry, I'm a haggler. Petition your local congressman (or whatever you guys have over there) and get me back ASAP. I'm bored here. And a sincere thank you to the gentleman who interviewed me, and all of the Deutsch marks (ha ha) who treated me so well when I was over there. Danke meine Freunde. |
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