In an exclusive interview with PWPondering’s own Scott Mitchell (@ScottsScoop44), the “Smokeshow” himself, Ricky Smokes (@smokeshow_ricky) talks about getting into the world of professional wrestling, taking over the northeast, training at New England Pro Wrestling Academy, working at Chaotic Wrestling, and so much more.
So, I kind of wanted to start from the beginning. From a fan standpoint, when and why did you really first get into professional wrestling?
“I’ve been into wrestling since I was about 5 years old. I’m the youngest of all my cousins and they were all pretty into it. My older cousins used to beat the hell out of me. I would play Smackdown vs. Raw’s with them and I was always trying to fit in with them. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.”
When you watched it, did you have any favorites or any inspirations?
“I think it sounds generic, but John Cena was my guy, without a doubt. I had a life-size fathead of John Cena on my wall, that’s how much I loved that man. I’m still a big Cena fan. It’s creepy looking back on that, but I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Anyone who comes in the room just knows who I’m about. No doubt he was my guy. I hated Edge and Randy Orton being a kid in that time period, but I always had a big appreciation for him. Randy Orton I just flat-out hated. There was just nothing I liked about him at the time. He was despicable. Now that I’m older, Randy Orton is my favorite. Those are my three for sure. If you didn’t hate them at that moment, you wouldn’t appreciate them now. I remember watching the moment when Randy Orton handcuffed Triple H to the ropes and kissed his wife with one of my friends. His mom came to pick him up and saw that, and his mom just thought I was trouble. He didn’t come over for a long time after that. I hated Randy Orton for that, but all of them you appreciate so much when you grow up. It’s awesome to get cheered, I don’t get cheered very often, which I don’t understand, but those guys that go up against the fan favorites are always underrated.”
I also wanted to talk about the New England Pro Wrestling Academy. They’ve put out some of the greatest wrestlers around today. When and why did you really begin to train there?
“I started at the end of 2018. I had one semester at college, and I had this plan outside of high school. I wanted to stay local just so I could go to the New England Pro Wrestling Academy. I made that plan when I was younger. I remember being like 13 and looking up the best wrestling schools, and luckily it was just in North Handover. You can google everyone who went through NEPWA, and just see how many people went to the WWE, and just wrestle on TV now. Without a doubt that’s where I was going. I picked my college based on that and went to school in Connecticut for a semester, but I decided within weeks that wasn’t for me. I transferred to a college like 5 minutes from NEPWA and spent the next three and a half years there. The day after I came home from my first semester I went to go sign up. I believe it was a Saturday, and I started the following Tuesday. Yeah, I’ve been there ever since.”
Do you have any mentors or anyone who really helped you a lot along the way there?
“Oh, for sure. The head trainers like Chase Del Monte and Max Smashmaster, helped a lot. There are so many people who come to help as well, like Brian Logan and Matt Logan. We have a phenomenal crew there now. I’ve had a lot of people help me who are absolutely brilliant in the wrestling world. Even now, I’m just lucky to have people around me who know what they’re doing and give me a lot of help.”
I did also want to speak about your time with Chaotic Wrestling, so far. For anyone reading/watching this who may not know, Chaotic is easily one of the top independent wrestling promotions. In 2020, you got to compete in the Chaotic Wrestling New England Title Tournament. What was that like for you so early in your career?
“That was really cool. I never competed for any singles titles before that. I’ve competed for and lost shots at Tag Team Titles, but never a singles belt. It was a huge step up. Now, I was going to be in conversation with people of a different caliber. Championships in wrestling are a whole different level. Obviously, I’ve seen Adam Booker before, so that was a very humbling experience working with him. Aaron Rourke, I haven’t seen too much prior, so it was my first time meeting and wrestling him. Even now, we’ve worked together as a tag team so many times, and he’s one of my best friends. He’s genuinely one of the most talented humans I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I got far in that tournament, which I didn’t expect, especially being someone so new. Then, wrestling Bear Bronson. Scary. You look at the dude and he’s intimidating. Looking back on it, I’m really happy about that match. He’s obviously killing it right now and being able to hang in the ring with him gives me a lot of credit, if I do say so myself.”
You also have quite the history with Brad Cashew. From teaming up together to win the NTW Tag Team Championships, to winning your first ever Chaotic Wrestling New England Title from him. What was it like working with him and having that history together?
“I’m going to repeat myself, but that really meant a lot. We trained together, we debuted in the same match, so he’s literally my day one. We’re basically growing up around the same time trying to establish ourselves. To compete with him and constantly challenge each other, then he wins the New England Title, then I take it from him, we’re like a story inter-wined with each other. Maybe that will keep going until we both hold the Heavyweight Title. Remember, he beat me to go get it. It’s working like a pattern, so maybe it’s my turn next.”
Another one of your day ones is Mortar. You two have quite the history together, including an insane ladder match. What’s it been like working with him?
“He broke a record with my belt. That’s another dude I consider my day one. He started a little while before me. He’s someone I’d say I looked up to a lot and taught me a lot. It was like me, Cashew, and Mortar all training together. He was a bit more experienced than us. Now, our stories crossed, and I wrestled him more than anyone else on Chaotic. He’s someone I’m still learning from and trying to keep up with. He’s absolutely killing it. He’s a great dude and going to do great things. If you watch the show, you can see he’s someone I don’t agree with or like all the time, but I have great respect for him. I’ll probably never admit it again, but I have a lot of respect for him. He’s so underrated.”
What’s it like to form ARTE with Ava Everett and Aaron Rourke and take over the independent wrestling scene?
“They’re incredible and I’m so thankful for them. They’ve taken me under their wing. Ava Everett is so smart when it comes to wrestling, she’s so smart at displaying herself and just being memorable on shows. People go to see her whether she’s just talking into a microphone or seeing her wrestle. You’ll remember who she is afterward. She’s not just a character, but just a person to remember who sticks out. And Aaron Rourke is just incredible. I constantly try to keep up with him. He’s also one of the humblest dudes ever, so he’ll never admit it, but he’s one of the most talented dudes ever. I’m grateful I get to hang around with them, and I’m constantly trying to prove my worth. They’re two people who are like role models to me if I’m being honest.”
What is next for you? What future goals or opponents do you have?
“I’m just trying to get out there as much as I can. At the moment, I’m looking for other promotions not just inside New England. It’s hard to just name names because there are so many people I’d like to wrestle with. My main goal right now is to just get out of New England as much as I can. There are people I haven’t competed with but would love to. I’d love to wrestle Cashew and Mortar again one-on-one. I need to wrestle Alec Price again, and Channing Thomas. I want to wrestle the best at Limitless and Chaotic. JT Dunn, that story is certainly not over. Those are genuinely who I have in my mind. Those are the ones I have to finish the story on if you get what I’m saying.”
Looking ahead do you have any upcoming shows coming up?
“You can catch me on Wrestling Open on most Thursdays. That’s a genuinely great show. I’m also on Chaotic regularly. You can see me at Limitless Wrestling, as well.”
Is there a message you can leave your fans reading this at home?
“I could just talk about myself and all my accomplishments for like an hour. But no. As a fan just go to as many shows as you can. I’m sure there are a lot of talented people around you that you haven’t seen or heard of. As a wrestling fan that’s the coolest thing, to discover someone new and become a fan of them. It’s like myself trying to get out there more. As a fan, just go see the world. There’s so much around. Fight Life is a relatively new promotion that kills it every show. Go to Chaotic, go see Limitless, go see Wrestling Open. I’m going to have some great shows coming up. Go check it out, there’s some great stuff to come.”
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