Bakersfield, California - Evan Stone won a championship wrestling belt Sunday. Craig Valentine wound up a bloody mess and got kicked out of a Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge, besides. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?
Valentine said there will be more details forthcoming, via a press release, about the wrestling match which featured a 20-man Battle Royal and Tommy Gunn getting beat up in an elaborate dramatic wrestling conceit.
“The crowd went nuts,” laughs Valentine. “Tommy Gunn interfered in mine and Evan’s match.”
“Then we did a big after party- the Fire Dept. showed up, the Police dept., the ABC,” says Valentine.
I wanted to hear about the hotel incident.
Valentine says he got back to the hotel all banged up.
“I get up some time at night- Sean Casey and Buff Bagwell they got back to the hotel and some wrestling fans rented a room over there,” continues Valentine.
“They found out that’s where everybody was staying. So these fans started getting rowdy and you know how kids get. The cops showed up.
“My wrestlers are under strict orders,” insists Valentine.
“If there’s a problem, leave. They don’t fight. Remember, these are WWE guys. They didn’t tell anybody where we were staying. All these guys just want to do is go get food and get some sleep. They were, hey, we’re going to Dennys. So the cops wound up arresting two of the kids for public intoxication. These were school kids doing stupid shit.”
Monday morning, however, Valentine got up and went to the front desk because his room had no towels. He was then told he had to pack his shit and get out. Valentine wanted to know what this was all about. He was told the cops were there. Except Valentine didn’t know about the incident nor was he contacted that there was a problem.
"He was also told the incident was in Room 167 and Valentine explained that was not one of the block of rooms he booked.
“Someone else rented it and said they were wrestlers,” Valentine was told.
“And the front desk manager’s, like, you have to get out, it was your fault. I’m still patched up and my shirt’s full of blood. So I asked can I at least get some towels so I can take a shower. They told me you have to get out that there were people filming porn. I
"I go, excuse me, I’m the only person left from the adult crew. And they weren’t here. The only people that stayed here were wrestlers. Because I own a porn company you think we’re shooting a porn? I think I can do better than a Howard Johnson’s.”
Valentine was also told from now on wrestlers and porn people were being banned from Howard Johnsons.
“You guys have a reputation,” he was told. Valentine says he's been an awards member of the Windham properties and this is the first problem he’s had in six years.
“You know I called the lawyer on that one,” continues Valentine who’s made a deal with Hilton for a discount block of room for future shows.
“No little piss ant front desk manager’s going to tell me,” he says.
Valentine’s laughing about another incident involving Buff Bagwell who went to an El Pollo Loco.
“They were closing and he’s going I’m Buff Bagwell! I’ll give you an autograph picture. I just want to eat chicken! Whatever chicken they were going to throw away he didn’t want it to go to waste. They were coming out taking pictures with him. He also did it with Church’s chicken. He’s worse than Ron Jeremy when it comes to food.”
“It was amazing, though, because we were a hit around town,” says Valentine. “One bar pulled us inside and bought 20 of us drinks and food."
In another incident, some bar patron grabbed a girl’s ass. She cracked him in the face.
“None of the wrestlers did anything and security took the guy outside,” says Valentine.
“But the show Sunday was unbelievable.”
Valentine got 217 paid admissions and there were 100 comps.
“But the energy was unbelievable," he says. "It was on a Sunday and going against a WWE pay-per-view. And a week’s worth of advertising. The next one’s on a Saturday and a month’s worth of promotion. And I got Matt Zane’s band performing there. He sold out the Dome three times already.”
