On January 4th 2001, Robert Hanley hooked up with his good friend Colt Cabana to do this interview for PWRHotline.com. No portion may be reprinted without permission. [Robert Hanley:] When and where did you get your start in pro wrestling? [Colt Cabana:] My first match was in July of 1999 for Randy Ricci's NAWF. NAWF runs basically Southern Wisconsin. I wrestled "Doink the Clown" under a hood as part of the "Goon Squad". [RH:] Who trained you? [CC:] I was trained by, in my opinion, the two best current talents in the Midwest, "Sexy" Ace Steel and Danny Dominion. They run a school in Chicago called the Steel Domain. It's by far the best training facility in the midwest, if not one of the best in the country. Give em a look at SteelDomainWrestling.com and check out the training section. [RH:] What made you decided to get into pro wrestling? [CC:] I've always been a natural athlete. Everything I did as a kid I was great at. I picked up and played every sport. I wasn't really dominante at one particular sport. Although I did go on to play some D1 college football, I wasn't an all american, or even a starter. I've always said that pro wrestling was the SPORT for me. Even as a fan, I knew once I got properly trained, wrestling was gonna be the thing I excelled at. Being a fan since I was about 3 helped too. [RH:] You wrestle for Mid American Wrestling in West Alice, WI. How do you like wrestling for them? [CC:] I started the year of 2000 wrestling for MAW. I had my second match for them ending the year of 2000. I'm also booked for some upcoming shows. I really haven't lived MAW to the fullest yet. From the opportunities I've had so far though, it's everything I can ask for in a promotion. [RH:] How is the talent in Mid American? [CC:] The current roster is almost perfect. I've seen some old results and some old shows and I honestly thought it was mediocre. Carmine has now brought in the best young talent to fill in his undercards and has the biggest ass kickers to do the hardcore mainevents. I think it's a perfect mix. [RH:] You also wrestle for Ian Rotten's IWA. How do you like working for them? [CC:]I love working for IWA. It's a good 5 hours from my home, 5 and a half from school. So that makes it hard to go down there on a regular basis. Ian is a class act, promoting and wrestling. Some of my best memories come from heading down there this summer 3 times a month, sometimes more. Ian has awesome young talent that go unrecognized due to IWA being known as a Hardcore promotion. [RH:] Compare the action of Mid American to the IWA? [CC:] Both promotions have a rarety on the independent scene. They have dedicated fans because they run the same building on the their same regular basis. This makes working for a promotion more beneficial. The fans get to know you as a wrestler and a person. It's a lot more fun to work with different gimmicks and play around with things you're unsure of. Talent wise...again with the unrecognized talent. So many young guys who bust their asses everytime out and know how to wrestle, and do it well. [RH:] Is your wrestling suited better by catch-as-catch-can or hardcore wrestling? [CC:] First off, my wrestling style never has been or will be hardcore. I'm not ripping on hardcore at all. I work for two promotions that use hardcore as the basis for their fanbase. I just happen not to be a hardcore wrestler. What I am is a 235lb Heavywieght who moves around in the ring. Like I said, I'm an athlete. I love the tradition of a match while putting newschool twists to it. I like to get active in the ring while at the same time having everything make sense and come out clean. [RH:] Who came up with the "Goldbond Mafia" gimmick? [CC:] I'm known as the "Don" of the Goldbond Mafia. Why? I'm the "Don" because I've introduced Goldbond to the independent wrestling scene. Some people thought GB was a rib at first(PEARCE), but it's a shoot. Here's the tip...you take GB, put it on your nuts, and it makes "them" tingle and feel OH SO GOOD. The MAFIA was formed in a the ring after rebelling against a shotty promoter who can't have a laugh. The whole story is told in depth at www.goldbondmafia.com. [RH:] Tell us about your relationship with Dave Prazac. [CC:] I have a good relationship with Dave Prazak. Dave is one of my good friends in this business. He's dedicate the last five years of his life to this sport and he's appreciated for that by many. Dave, along with the rest of the Mafia, have basically complilied the road trips for the last 6 months. He's also my manager in IWA Midsouth and very good at it. [RH:] How much of a problem is it for you traveling from event to event? [CC:] I have no problem traveling from event to event. I don't think a lot of people can do what I do though. Durning the school year I'll put many miles on my car. From WMU to St. Paul is 8 hours. WMU to IWA, 5 1/2 hours. WMU to MAW, 3 1/2 hours. I'll do these three at least once a month. This doesn't mention all the other shows inbetween including PWF, AWA, IWF, and many others. I love road trips though. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to do them alone, but time flys when your on the road with guys like Prazak, Chuck Smooth, and CM Punk. These are some of my best friends and there's true bonds (no pun intendend)made from making all these trips. [RH:] What was the toughest match you have been in? [CC:] Toughest match has a lot of meanings. Physically exhausting is probably the match I had with Bull Pain about a month ago. It was back and forth beating the shit out of each other. On the other hand, CM Punk has given me my toughest matches interms of all out balls out wrestling. Punk and I have wrestled many times and unlike a lot of fueds around the indy's, Punk and I NEVER HAVE THE SAME MATCH TWICE. [RH:] Namewise, who has been the biggest wrestler you have faced in the ring? [CC:] A lot of people don't know this about myself. I wrestled King Kong Bundy in my fifth match for AWAsuperstars in Ionia, MI. Bobo Brown was in the crowd at the time and they need a tag partner for me, so they asked him to be my tag partner. We got squashed, but I took the avalance and the 5 count. I've also worked DOA Skull/Harris brother in an 8man tag. [RH:] You are scheduled to meet Reckless Youth in a match coming up next month. How do your skills match up with his? [CC:] To be honest, I'm not too sure if this match will take place. If it does come off I'm looking forward to represent the Midwest in a match against the "East Coast's Finest". Even though I out weigh Youth by about 50 pounds, I think we have similar game plans. Very oldschool, but when it comes time to fly and run, we're both down like duckfeathers. Obviously he's more recognized for it. [RH:] In a dream match, past or present, who would you like to face? [CC:] I don't really dream of working too many guys. I think it would have to be a baby Ric Flair though. I'd love to put something together with Flair (past obviously). It would be a learning orgy, but I wouldn't be affraid to get my shit in and add my portion to a great match. [RH:] Finally, knowing you are a former football player, did Miami get screwed out of playing Oklahoma for the national championship in the FedEx Orange Bowl? [CC:] I used to love sports. I just don't have anytime to be truthful. I spend so much time working out, wrestling, and going to school that all I have time for now is sitting on the internet. Steve Williams would've came back and kicked ass anyways. Please fell free to roam around my website...www.coltcabana.com. Thanks a lot Boss!