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 Stuart: Please introduce yourself to New Japan fans who may not be familiar with you. What is your background in professional wrestling up to joining New Japan? Quinn: This is my 12th year in pro wrestling. I started in Chicago, training at Windy City Pro Wrestling. In my second year there I began to train other wrestlers, and one of the first was Christopher Daniels. From there, Chris, and myself formed a group with Ace Steel and Danny Dominion, who eventually opened the Steel Domain. Daniels and I traveled to Puerto Rico and worked down there for awhile. He then moved to California and I stayed in Chicago, both of us beginning our singles careers. In '95 I trained with UWFi (UWF International) at their facility in Nashville, working with the legendary Billy Robinson as well as being luck enough to train with Takayama when he was with them. I traveled back and forth to Puerto Rico again, for two years where I met and began to be managed by Victor Quinones, who is now the owner of IWA in PR. In '97 I began to work in Mexico for CMLL and briefly for Promo Azteca where I teamed with Val Venis, Ricky Santana, Miguel Perez among others. I also worked briefly for ECW in '97, as well as in Europe for CWA. During this time of travelling, Steel and Dominion opened the Domain, and when I was in town I came in to help with the training. I was lucky enough to work with CM Punk, Adam Pearce, and Brad Bradley. Also during this time, I met Amy Dumas (aka "Lita") and helped her initial training, first down in Mexico and then in Chicago. In '99 I was in WWE being part of the Too Cool gimmick, and also training with Dory Funk Jr. Around this time, many injuries began to catch up to me, mainly concusions and a broken neck. I decided to retire, but then moved out to California, working for an indie promotion as a booker and trainer. I opened my own school called Purgatory, where I began to train the Havana Pitbulls, Pinoy Boy, Hardkore Kidd, "Iceman" John Black, John Cena, and others. Samoa Joe and Chris Daniels would also train there with us. I moved back to Chicago in '02, but the Pitbulls insisted on trying to get me back into the business. Stuart: What is your role at the dojo, and what responsibilities come with it? Quinn: My official title is Director of Talent Relations and Booking. As well as Head Trainer. Stuart: What are your impressions of New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a whole? Had you seen any footage of it prior to joining the dojo? Quinn: New Japan is the only company I've ever wanted to work for, ironically I get to once I retired. Everything I did was in hopes of attracting their attention. I am half Japanese, and when I was a child I would go visit family there and spend my time watching New Japan on TV and looking through all of the magazines. Once I started to wrestle, I would ask my cousins to tape New Japan so I could study the style. You see, I'm old and back then there were no websites that sold such tapes, but at least Chris Daniels is older than me! Stuart: For those who may be unfamiliar with the Inoki Dojo, who are some of the young talents on offer? Quinn: The first generation consists of American Dragon, the Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes), Pinoy Boy, "Iceman" John Black, Bobby Quance, and Aaron Agulliera. The second generation has not been announced yet, but will be soon, and we are looking for them to make just as big an impact as the first. Stuart: The Inoki Dojo has been expanding and evolving for a while now. What plans does it have in store for the coming months, and what steps are being taken to ensure future growth? Quinn: First off, of course, is the TV deal we have in place. Our goal is to be a household name in the states. To do this we also need to get in place some working relationships with other promotions and workers. We are open to all ideas at this point and look forward to hearing from workers and promoters around the country. I myself am considering working again so I can see first-hand the talent that is out there, that's if anyone once to take a chance booking a broken old man (as the dojo boys and Samoa Joe like to refer to me as). Stuart: Will we be seeing any Japanese talent from New Japan on upcoming dojo events? Who would you personally like to see make the trip? Quinn: Absolutely. Many on the roster have already expressed strong interest to work any show we put on. Part of out TV deal is to bring in NJ talent for all the tapings. I would love to see Heat, Jado, Gedo, Tenzan, pretty much the whole roster, but especially the spicy one himself, Curry Man! Stuart: Many fans believe the U.S. fanbase is not conditioned to understand or appreciate Japanese styles of wrestling. Do you think this perception can be overhauled, and if so, how can it be accomplished? Will it mean training American wrestlers in Japanese styles, bringing in Japanese wrestlers themselves to display it, or a combination of both? Quinn: Yes, all those things must happen. For it to be embraced, fans must see people they know somewhat from the indy circuit, trying to integrate into their style - such as American Dragon, the Havana Pitbulls, Samoa Joe - with success, then they must also see the workers who have perfected it come here from Japan - such as Heat, Takayama, Makabe, Jado, and Gedo. These two things will be the main components, but so will the continual training of newer guys and the advent of TV for us. It is definitely a style fans will enjoy once they are exposed to it enough and understand what it is. Stuart: Long-term, what do you believe the Inoki Dojo can achieve? Can it help New Japan expand further into America? Quinn: The Dojo is committed to becoming the premiere wrestling training center in the country, if not the world. We are committed to making workers better overall, incorporating weight training with a pro bodybuilder, yoga, jiu jitsu, kickboxing, and of course pro classes that implement all different styles to create a unique brand. Thus far we have focused on experienced workers, but now we are opening "ORIGIN" to train from scratch anyone with the desire and discipline to become a pro. The reason we are here is to help New Japan expand, we will slowly initiate fans to the New Japan style, which will take some time to get used to, but then the doors will be open for them to come in and offer a new direction for pro wrestling. Stuart: As a wrestler yourself, what advice would you give someone wanting to train at the Inoki Dojo or anywhere else? Quinn: Get in shape and watch tapes. Once you start training, we don't want to waste time showing you how to get in shape, we want to focus on wrestling. Watch tapes to get accustomed to all styles and find what you really like. But mainly, don't talk about or think about it, just do it.
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