Sandman, a long time wrestler for Extreme Championship Wrestling, is officially headed to the upstart Main Event Championship Wrestling organization.
“Somebody (Indiana lawyer John Collins) came up to me and said they had a lot of money to back it,” he told SLAM! Wrestling during an interview on Friday in Winnipeg at Jabroni’s Wrestling Store.
Sandman, real name James Fullington, will also act as head booker for the upstart federation. He has been influential in bringing in a lot of talent to MECW, including Curt Hennig and Tracy Smothers. “They’re all hand-picked by myself,” he said.
Sandman plays to the crowd at Jabroni’s Wrestling Store in Winnipeg. — Photo by Jon Waldman
Many of the workers contacted for jobs with MECW are wrestlers from ECW who have not signed with the WWF. Another name that is being mentioned is Randy Savage. “We have talked with Randy Savage, but we’re not exactly sure what we’re going to do yet,” he said.
Sandman, 38, is best known for his work with ECW, where he was a five-time world champion, as well as a one-time tag team champion with 2 Cold Scorpio. Sandman looks back on his time with ECW with fondness. “ECW was great, the locker-room was great, the camaraderie with the guys,” said Sandman. “ECW was by far the best to work for.”
He has also spent time with World Championship Wrestling and Xtreme Pro Wrestling.
Sandman’s gimmick reflects his own personality. He received advice from former boss Paul Heyman on what to do with his gimmick. “The cigarette smoking and the beer drinking, Paul E. just said, ‘go out there and be yourself,'” he explained.
The addition of the Singapore Cane came as a result of the caning that American Michael Faye received in Singapore after spray-painting cars. “It was stuff that was in the national news, and we took it right out of the national news and brought it into the wrestling ring.”
During his career, Sandman’s wife, Lori Fullington, has participated in several angles, including taking a piledriver from the ring apron through a table that left her seeing the chiropracter for a month. Sandman recognizes his wife’s desire to be a part of wrestling, and trusts the guys who work with her in the ring. “She wants to be a star just like anybody does, and she’s willing to do what it takes to be one,” he said. “She knows those risks involved.”
Sandman is optimistic about MECW’s chances, and feels that the product will be really strong. “I think we’ll be the second largest wrestling company in the United States come September or October,” he said.
“Watch out for Main Event Championship Wrestling.”
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