June 6, 2003
Normally, I try to avoid looking back in these ramblings, but for whatever reason, I feel the need to do so and I think by doing so, it will put the future in a better prospective. In the wrestling business, especially at the "indie" level, most of the activity in fairly negative. The events aren't drawing. My push sucks. The guy I worked was the shits. Not enough work. Not enough pay. Not enough publicity and so on and so forth. I try to remember back to when I first wanted to become a wrestler and can't, it was so long ago. I wanted to be a wrestler since I saw Bob Backlund pin "Superstar" Billy Graham for the World title when I was three. My desire was reinforced as I struggled through grade school and daydreamed about being Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. I was never very big, so I thought dreaming was as close as I would ever come to being a professional wrestler.

Then one day, just as I was ending my junior year of high school, I turned on wrestling after school like I always did on ESPN at 4 o' clock , expecting to see AWA or WCCW. Instead, it was a new promotion called the Global Wrestling Federation and I saw the wrestler that would give me the confidence to give wrestling a shot. That wrestler was The Lightning Kid(aka X-pac). The dives and style that he employed were unheard of in 1991 and suddenly, I was looking at wrestling as an option.

I started following independent wrestling through the magazines and going to as many events as possible. Eventually, through the patience and generosity of Rick Tango (for which I will be eternally grateful) and several others, I was able to fulfill my dreams of being a professional wrestler. In an era where most guy's "careers" consist of a half dozen matches or less in their hometown, I have been truly blessed in that I have been able to travel quite a bit.

Wrestling has given me the opportunity to meet, share locker rooms and at times the ring with many wrestlers that I have looked up to and been inspired by, such as Mick Foley, Big John Studd, Bill DeMott, Jim Neidhart, Jimmy Snuka, Ivan Koloff, Jimmy Valiant, Ricky Morton, Stan Lane, Buddy Landel, Masked Superstar, Greg Valentine, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Demolition Ax, Luna Vachon, Bam Bam Bigelow, Honky Tonk Man, Shane Douglas, Sgt. Slaughter, Raven, The Sandman (my tag team championship partner!), Marty Jannetty, Virgil, Goldust, George Steele, Headshrinker Samu, Tom Brandi, Headbangers,Hacksaw Duggan,Randy Rose, Van Hammer, and a ton more names I'd like to drop but can't remember at the moment. I have had the pleasure of seeing guys evolve from "indy worker" to National TV and PPV Superstars. In the "I knew them back when" Dept. ., I can place Steve Corino, Julio Deniro, Balls Mahoney, Gillberg, Axl Rotten (who was on that first GWF broadcast back in 1991), Bilvis Wesley, Crowbar/Devon Storm, The Blue Meanie, Christian York & Joey Matthews.

One of my favorite memories is teaming with my best friend, DOA, in front of over 2000 fans in our hometown to win the MDW Tag Team Championships. I got to become friends with, wrestle against, and team with one of my favorite indy wrestlers from my "fan years";Jimmy Jannetty. I had the bittersweet honor of promoting "The DOA Memorial: A Night To Remember" and am still in awe that not only many wrestlers, including ECW superstar Julio Deniro and future CZW star Hurricane Kidd volunteered their services to the cause, but also that the card featured the last teaming of The Goodfellas-Romeo Valentino & the late Dino Casanova (my favorite indy team) as they went against future CZW stars Adam Flash and Ruckus. It was truly a show of respect, that even though, no one made a dime off the event, everyone gave a 100% I have a million great memories from road trips to matches to just hanging out afterwards. I look forward to gaining a million more.

Just writing this, I feel eager to face the future. I hope to expand and travel beyond where I have already been. I have met a lot of good guys are the last years that have the potential to be the next wave of National TV Superstars. These are guys that not only have talent, but are extremely down to earth, cool guys, who are fun to be around. Brock Singleton, Sasha, Doug Delicious (who I have known for 10 years), Zubov, Quinn Nash, Cabbie, and Murder Inc. all fall into that category. If I am correct and these guys are the future of our sport, then the future looks bright and I hope to be a part of it, because they remind me of why I wanted to be a wrestler in the first place and why I am still living out my dreams.

Until the next time, support your local wrestling promotion, because quite frankly, we need the money.
"The Golden Phoenix" Tommy Hawk

February 21, 2003
Sorry, it has taken so long to get around to a new "Hawk's Eye View", but with the winter storm that has hit the East coast, I have finally found the time to do so.

One thing that has been on my mind lately, as well as almost everyone else, is the situation going on in the Middle East and to a lesser extent North Korea. Now, I am not going to turn this column into a platform for my political views (not yet, anyway), but with all the turmoil, conflict and danger that Americans face each and every day around the world, shouldn't we be making a conscience effort to get along with each other better. Petty disputes arise between us each and every day. While driving, someone cuts you off and your middle fingers goes up in the air and obscenities flow out of your mouth. At work, a coworker doesn't do his share of the work and it escalates into a fist fight in the parking lot. At your kid's youth league game, you and another child's parents get into an altercation over playing time, unnecessary roughness or wearing the wrong color shirt. Hitting closer to home, a dispute over a girl results in a shooting at a bar, as a friend of mine is accused of. (Guys-Trust me, there are more than enough girls to go around. There is no need to sweat one.)

Don't even get me started on the bickering, backstabbing, and childish behavior in professional wrestling. Sometimes I sit back and shake my head at some of the goofball antics I have seen in the last 10 years and wonder if a gas station or restaurant owner would tear down flyers and sabotage the guy who just opened up a similar business down the street.

I am in no way presenting myself as the measuring stick of how someone should live their life. Quite the contrary, I am the antithesis. However, I can offer at least one valuable piece of advice. Think before you act. Please.

I have a pretty good run of matches coming up and hope that they will lead to some bigger and better things.

I am pretty lucky to be a part of several promotions that have tight knit locker rooms. These are not necessarily the ones that get all the publicity in the magazines or websites, but they are striving and succeeding quietly in their own corner of the wrestling world.

First is the All-American Wrestling Federation, based in Hanover, PA and run by J.W. Koerner. Aside from having great production values, this promotion has an excellent crew of young guys, who though you may have not heard of yet, you will certainly be hearing about them soon. A few of the up & comers include Shawn Fury,Brayyden Shokker, and Buster Maccabi. On the veteran side of things are Morgus the Maniac, Rikki Lane, and "Mighty" Quinn Nash, among others. For those of you who haven't seen Morgus, I'd suggest you do so. The fan reaction he gets his amazing and it intensifies every time I see him. Rikki Lane, the current AAWF Champion, is possibly the most hated man in Hanover. Period. On top of that, he is a fantastic talent in the ring. Quinn Nash.What can I say about him? Here is a guy that I have the utmost respect and admiration for. He was THE hot independent prospect, before the Internet created stars like Danials, Low-Ki and others. Quinn has wrestled a lot of the big names stars that you see on TV from Booker T to Dean Malenko to Matt Hardy. To be as good as Quinn is, you would expect him to be arrogant or conceited, but those character flaws have eluded him and he remains a class act and a golden asset to the AAWF and the young guys there certainly have a role model to look up to.

Next is Championship Pro Wrestling. When CPW began in 1997 , a lot of people (including myself) didn't give it much of chance at longevity. But with 34 events in the history books (14 of which I have been a part of), CPW keeps proving the critics wrong. On April 5, in Keyser, WV, CPW will celebrate their 6th Anniversary (an admirable milestone for any indy). In addition to CPW stalwarts Shane Shadows, Switchblade, and Brian Johnson, the roster currently boast some other outstanding talents such as Doug Delicious, Brock Singleton, and John Balsamo. CPW has featured many legends over the past 6 years including Masked Superstar, Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Demolition Ax, King Kong Bundy, Buddy Landel, Nikolai Volkoff, Honky Tonk Man, Iron Sheik and CPW favorite Jimmy Valiant. Christian York, Julio Deniro and Christopher Nowinski all made stops in CPW on their way to national stardom. In a business where literally dozens of promotions start up and go out of business ever year, CPW is a refreshing change and I can't wait for the 10th Anniversary Birthday Bash.

I am going to be making my debut in some new promotions over next few months. I hope they all turn out as well as CPW and AAWF.

There are a few other things I would like to discuss, but I have rambled on long enough, so I'll save it for another day.

Until the next time, support your local wrestling promotion, because quite frankly, we need the money.
"The Golden Phoenix" Tommy Hawk

December 24, 2002
Just wanted to take a few moments to wish everyone a Happy & Safe Holiday season. For those that don't know, back in September, I injured my neck and have been out of action since. Thankfully, I am 100% recovered and ready to return to the ring in the new year.

My return will take place on Saturday night , January 11, 2003 in Hanover, PA at 34 Broadway on an All-American Wrestling Federation card. I am looking foward to this very much and I hope that in 2003, some things that are in the works come to fruition.

One good thing that I'd like to touch on is something that I am sure you have already noticed and that is the new look of the website. Much Thanks to Tommy Biggs, who aside from being a great young talent in the ring is very talented with web design as you can tell.

Until my next update, I hope everyone has a very enjoyable New Year and support your local wrestling promotion, because, quite frankly, we need the money.
"The Golden Phoenix" Tommy Hawk

August 4, 2002
Back for another edition of enlightenment. This past Saturday, CPW presented thier annual "Hot August Night" event at DJ's in Keyser,WV and my exact thought on that that event is "bullsh*t". The night started off by Tiffani Monroe making a successful defense of her CPW Womens Championship against Fate, with yours truly at ringside serving as "executive counsel" to the champ.After the match, Fate & Flayre attacked & doubleteamed Tiffani, so although I in no way ,shape or form condone beating women, I , in an effort to defuse the situation, I was forced to use the Tommy-kaze on Flayre. Less than intelligent people claim that this was an underhanded act. Last time, I checked attacking someone after a match 2 on 1 wasn't a brave act. During my match with former Big Japan Jr. Heavyweight Champion Ruckus, after I had beaten him from pillar to post,and was en route to a sure victory, Flayre hit the ring & atacked me in plain view of referee Jack Dunn. While it was more of a distraction than any physical damage, it did allow Ruckus to hit the standing sunset flip & Dunn counted a fast 3. So it took , not 1 or 2 , but 3 goofs to beat me;Ruckus, Jack Dunn, & Flayre. Last time I checked, someone interfering in a match was cause for disqualification.I guess Commissioner Spike Callahan & CPW has different views on that subject. Let's see what they have lined up for me at 'Payback" in Martinsburg,WV on Aug. 17. I may be wrestling a 500 lb Gorilla armed with a bayonet while I wrestle with one hand behind my back. If anyone saw someone who looked like me at the Shannon Lawson/Little Big Town concert in Frederick,MD on Aug 4 wearing a Switchblade shirt,I assure you, it wasn't me. I have a story about a road trip from hell that I will save for another day.
So until next time, support your local indies, because quite frankly, we need the money! TOMMY HAWK