United Backyard Wrestling

In a UBWWrestling.com exclusive, wrestling internet columnist Andrew Sesker “the Smark” sits down with UBW superstar, Big Daddy Dave Johnson.

AS: Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Andrew Sesker, but some of you within the internet wrestling community remember me from my weekly column on PWTimes.com a couple years ago where I was known as Sesker the Smark. Thank you for taking the time to read my first interview today here on ubwwrestling.com. I have interviewed ECW alumni such as “The King of Old School” Steve Corino and ”The Enforcer” CW Anderson, but today I take time to interview former IBW U.S., UBW Hardcore and Midwest, and 4 time UWA Champion, Big Daddy Dave Johnson for some of his thoughts on UWA, IBW, and the newly reformed UBW. Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Johnson.

BDDJ: What is my name?

AS: Big Daddy Dave Johnson

BDDJ: And what do they call me?

AS: The Man Who Saved Backyard Wrestling

BDDJ: Now why don’t you reintroduce me properly?

AS: Ladies and Gentlemen, we are joined today by the man who saved the backyard, Big Daddy Dave Johnson. Is that better?

BDDJ: You gotta love how it just rolls off the tongue. Big Daddy Dave is a busy man, so why don’t you get on with your questions, before I’m forced to slap the yellow off your teeth?

AS: Um, okay. First question: UBW Backyard Brawl 4 debuted on August 31st, 2009 on ubwwrestling.com. What does the reformation of United Backyard Wrestling mean to you?

BDDJ: United Backyard Wrestling. What can you say about that company that hasn’t already been said? It was where I cut my teeth in the backyard and made a name for myself. It was where I had some of the greatest matches of my career. Unfortunately, it was also where politics tended to get in the way of what was truly important: the wrestling. Now as far as the new UBW goes, only time will tell where it goes from here.

Sizzlin' Steve (2004)

AS: Who would you say is your greatest opponent?

BDDJ: I’ve had many great opponents in the backyard, but my greatest opponent to date is Sizzlin’ Steve Anderson. As much as I don’t like the man, I do have an enormous amount of respect for him. From the brutality that was ladder to nowhere, to our dog collar match, to some of our earliest matches in Bondurant, Iowa, I have squared off against the man on many different occasions and I can honestly say that I’ve never had a bad or even mediocre match with the man. No matter what the stipulation or titles at stake, he always brought out the best in me as I did him. Who knows? Maybe if he’s still got the balls, he’ll step up and we can finally put the question to rest: Who’s Better? Big Daddy Dave or Sizzlin’ Steve Anderson?

AS: At the end of the original UBW, you had a bit of a falling out with UBW management and formed the United Wrestling Alliance with the Fallen in the summer of 2005. What are some of your thoughts on UWA?

BDDJ: UWA is my legacy. I won a tournament on the very first show to become the first UWA Champion. I have had some of the most brutal matches in that company’s history. I held the UWA title for 2 years taking on all comers. To say I had an emotional investment in that company is an understatement.

AS: It was during the fall of 2005 that you and several of your UWA associates made your debuts for Independent Backyard Wrestling (IBW). Your thoughts on IBW?

BDDJ: The first thing that goes through my mind when thinking over my IBW days can be summed up in one word: violence. There seemed to be more of an emphasis on beating your opponent to death with weapons than there was on wrestling. I’m proud of myself for being the man that tried to change things up, but unfortunately, the IBW fans were blood thirsty and could have cared less about pure wrestling.

AS: During your second reign as IBW US Champion during 2006, before IBW’s only FPV, Acrimony, where you were scheduled to defend the title against Jack Lasher (who UBW fans know as Big Poppa Peepers) in a 30 minute Ultimate Submission match, you abruptly forfeited the title and left the company. Why?

BDDJ: Every so often, I hear this same rhetoric: Big Daddy Dave ran away from Big Poppa Peepers because he was scared! It’s time to set the record straight. There were a lot of personal reasons surrounding me taking a hiatus from the backyard, not all of which I’m going to go into, but I was burnt out on wrestling during that time and had recently suffered a severe concussion after being suplexed on my head by someone who had no business stepping foot into a backyard in the first place. Am I afraid of Peepers? Absolutely not. I think I have proven many, many times that any time that man gets momentum going, I am his stumbling block. Big Poppa Peepers, no doubt, is one of the most vicious wrestlers to have ever graced the backyard, but he is no Big Daddy Dave. I have proven and will continue to prove that Big Poppa Peepers is overmatched when he wrestles me.

AS: Now it’s no secret that you have been the biggest opponent of the reformation of UBW. Can you give us your thoughts as to why that is?

BDDJ: Plain and simply put, UBW died on March 19th, 2005 at Backyard Brawl 3. Politics and Bullshit killed that company. UBW President, Gregory Stevens came to me and stated he wanted to be apart of UWA because he knew that it was the best product out there. I gave him the insider tip on former UWA owner Johnathan Maximillion selling his stock in the company, with the understanding that Stevens wanted to be apart of something new and fresh. We already had an incredibly successful internet show called UWA Melee and Stevens assured me that all he wanted was to change UWA for the better.

Gregory Stevens

He said he had no interest in ever becoming UBW again and that UWA is the future. It turns out that the guy did a 180 and killed UWA and made it the launching pad for the new UBW. Am I pissed about it? You bet your ass I am. All of the hard work of the UWA roster was flushed down the toilet due to one man’s ego. We did the work, we made the sacrifices, and we made the company a success, and when UBW was reformed, all that work wasn’t even treated as an after thought, but I’ve to the conclusion that no one appreciates anything anymore. Not the championship committee. Not the fans. And sure as hell, not Gregory Stevens.

AS: Recently, the fans have taken a dislike towards some of your antics. Why do you think that is?

BDDJ: It all stems from the beating I gave Crash Test Dummy. The kid was at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong guy. The fact is, I haven’t changed. What has changed is how people view me. What did I do wrong? I beat up a guy that shouldn’t have crossed paths with someone that has a legacy in the backyard. The fans chose to boo me for no reason other than jealousy. When I chased Peepers for the title, I heard my name chanted from the start of the show to the main event. Now I have to hear chants of “Tater Nuts”, “Mongaloid”, “Big Daddy Dick”, and numerous other chants all because I choose to march to the beat of my own drum, not by what the fans want. They want to be me, but they can’t, so they choose to make me the butt of their jokes. The fact is, I don’t care how much those people hate me, because I am going to continue to do things my way, win more titles, and get in more people’s faces than ever before. If they don’t like it, tough shit.

AS: What are your thoughts on the current UBW roster that you haven’t discussed? We’ll start with The Package.

BDDJ: The guy wrestles with a penis hanging out of his pants. Next.

AS: El Que?

BDDJ: I have a bone to pick with him. That Explosivo Burrito made me sick as a dog. It didn’t even have any cats in it. That son of a bitch owes me a refund.
AS: Billy Joe?

BDDJ: The “Little ‘Retarded’ Engine that Could”, minus toughness, speed, or anything else it takes to become a champion in the backyard.

AS: The new UBW Albuquerque Champion, “The Present” Anthony Perez?

BDDJ: The man gets a few fluke wins over established veterans, and now he’s a big shot? Give me a break. The man is the polar opposite of Big Daddy Dave. With Big Daddy Dave, there’s strength, brutality, experience, charisma, and a mean streak. With Anthony Perez, it’s a little speed and an ability to take punishment. That isn’t what makes a great champion. It’s what makes a spectacular loser.

Pyro

AS: Pyro?

BDDJ: The man has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, potential will only carry you so far, before you have to show you have a set of balls. Until he shows that, he will only be complacent.

AS: The new UBW Hardcore Champion, “Eastside Brickwall” Hugh Flint?

BDDJ: I brought him into the backyard. I trained him. Everything he has and will ever have in the backyard is because of me. He had better stay out of my path or Gino Knoxx overpowering him at Brawl will be nothing compared to the beating I inflict on him.

AS: Josh Burns?

BDDJ: I’m not going to insult the guy. Hands down, Josh Burns is the best stick guy in the backyard today. I look forward to the day when I stand across the backyard from him and show him that while he’s the best talker around today, I’m the best backyard wrestler walking the Earth. Period.

AS: The Fallen?

BDDJ: One of the most talented wrestlers to have ever graced the backyard. I still consider our 2 out of 3 falls match at UWA Battle for Supremacy 2007 one of the finest pure wrestling matches the backyard has ever seen. The guy is an asshole, but no one can deny that he is Hall of Fame bound.

AS: Sgt. Strict?

BDDJ: He seems to be the pet project of the UBW championship committee. They want him to be the guy that carries this company, but in order to step up to that next level, he has to come through me. Strict got a lucky win at Brawl, but all he has done is fueled my rage and now he has to deal with the consequences. I’m going to take my time and torture him, like say the Marines down in Guantanamo Bay torture their prisoners, which some condemn, but I say is perfectly justified to make a point to the world. The point I will make to Strict is simple: If you are going to try to make your name at my expense, be ready to be shipped home in a gunny sack with an American flag draped over you.

AS: Now my final question: What does the future hold for Big Daddy Dave in UBW?

BDDJ: The future for Big Daddy Dave in UBW involves me doing the one thing I have never done in the backyard to make it come full circle. I have one thing left to accomplish in this business, and that is to be UBW Champion. It doesn’t matter who is put in front of me. Before all is said and done, I WILL be UBW Champion.

AS: Big Daddy Dave, thank you very much for your time.

BDDJ: The pleasure is all yours. Welcome to Johnsonville, bitches.

Andrew Sesker, or “Sesker the Smark” as he is known worldwide, is a longtime columnists for various wrestling media outlets.