Joe Hitchen kennen wohl die meisten Fans als Joe Legend. Bei WWE sah man ihn vor einigen Jahren als "Just Joe". Er war auch bei TNA zu sehen, heiratete eine Deutsche Frau, lebt heute in der Nähe von Hannover und ist stolzer Vater von Zwillingen. Er erzählte WrestlingFever.de exklusiv am 11.03.2011 warum er sich für Europa, Deutschland entschieden hat, seinen Werdegang, Kanada und auch seine persönlichen Ansichten im Bezug auf  aktuelle Geschehnisse in der Welt der pro Wrestling und vieles mehr.

WF. Hello Joey, how are you doing?

JL: Doing my best to stay busy with work while making sure to have time with my kids.

WF: What is pro wrestling for you and how would you explain your profession to someone, who has never heard about it?

JL: For me it's simply a fun way to make a living and see the world. I guess I'd describe it as (in a perfect world) a thoughtful, dramatic stunt show... with the occasional hot chick!  lol

WF: You are from Canada. Did you watch Stampede Wrestling as a kid or later?

JL: I did watch Stampede Wrestling on TSN (The Sports Network) as much as I could. I`m from Toronto so there was NO WAY I could go live since Calgary is about a 4 or 5 hour flight from Toronto. But I enjoyed the product and got to know and become friends with many of the talents I used to admire on that show.

WF: Can you tell our readers more about your first steps into the wrestling business and your trainer?

JL: I had 10 years of Karate and Kung Fu training (4 black belts) which was cool, but as I told my friend Keiths mom when she came to see us training one day, I didn`t see a real future being able to beat up everyone in the unemployment line! So since my dad used to take me to see local wrestling in Scarborough (the district in Toronto where I grew up) and then to WWF shows at Maple Leaf Gardens, I felt like I could follow through with a career that was physically demanding, performance based and FUN.

I looked around and found Sully`s Gym in downtown Toronto where Ron Hutchison and Sweet Daddy Siki had pro wrestling classes on weekends and got myself involved.

I try to keep up with them to this day and get more of a chance to woth Ron as he`s easily found on FaceBook and is just genuinely one of the best people I know. Siki was wonderful to me too and I`m grateful to both of them for taking the extra time and kindness to ensure I knew what I was doing before I got out in to the ACTUAL business to perform.

I live in Germany now as a direct result of wrestling here. If I hadn`t been shown the correct ways to do things, my whole life would be different and probably much worse.

I wouldn`t have met my wife.

I wouldn`t be a father to my twin sons.

I wouldn`t have had a TV show in the UK

I wouldn`t have had the experience of having a contract with WWF.

I wouldn`t have had the misfortune of a contract with TNA (but got to be friends with some great people and great talents there)

The list goes on and on but the catylist for the whole thing is the kindness, generousity, caring and genuine good intentions Ron Hutchison and Sweet Daddy Siki showed and gave  me and I`m forever in their debt.

WF: Do you remember your first match and what was it like to wrestle in front of an audience for the first time?

JL: My first match was against Johnny Destiny (a great friend named Keith Assune who is now an actor of GREAT talent) and it was his first match too. It was for an Indian festival and booked by legendary wrestler Tiger Jeet Singh (who has shown me such generousity as well and got me my first few gigs in Japan. I owe him and his family as well) and had something like 10,000 Indians in attendence.

It was outdoors and due to weather, Tiger went on early to beat the rain... so Keith and I got the Main Event!! (honestly, Tiger was EASILY the main event but we got the final match of the day so I`ll "big myself" and brag about my debut being the main event!  lol)

 I was the babyface and I was TERRIBLE at it. My wrestling was sound and the match was solid, but I had NO IDEA of how to involve an audience at that time. I still have it on tape somewhere and every now and again I break it out for a good laugh at myself.

WF: Joey, you've been wrestling since 1992. In your early days were in a tag team called Sex And Violence with Sexton Hardcastle, who later became Edge. How did you came together and would you share some memories with us?

JL: I had been wrestling away from the gym for about a year but still training on the weekends when Adam (Edge) joined the gym. He picked things up fairly quick and since he and I were the tall guys at the gym, Ron and Siki felt it would be a good match. So, for the first while of Adams career, he worked me most of the time.

We became friends and he had a real itch to be a heel (same as me, for the first few years I HATED being asked to be a babyface, though now I really enjoy it) so I came up with the idea of a team called "Sex & Violence".

The real gag is that Pro Wrestling Illustrated really liked us as a team and wanted to do a feature on us being a big "up and coming" deal but had an issue with the "S&V" name as it was "too suggestive" for the business!! 

Clearly, ECW wasn`t a factor in the business at this point!  lol

Anyways, we eventually got our article and got working fairly regularly around Ontario and Michigan with regular tours of the Indian reservations in Mannitoba. But it wasn't until we did our big "anti American-pro Canadian" angle as Thug Life that we really started hitting our stride in getting VICIOUS heel heat during shows. 

I would do the mic work to set the tone and then we'd pull some stunt like beating up Santa Clause in the audience during December or burning the American flag in the ring to really rile the crowd up.

I now get messages from fans from that era telling me how much they miss that and when am I coming back? All very flattering to know my efforts, no matter how mean spirited at the time were and are appreciated. 

WF: In 1997 you were in a stable called Thug Life. Can you please tell us more about this group and its members?

JL: Thug Life was Joe E Legend, Sexton Hardcastle (Edge), Christian Cage (Christian), Rhino Richards (Rhyno) and one other floating member. Kind of like what the 4 Horsemen used to do with Ole Anderson, then Luger, then Windham, etc.

It was just a group of guys who always had a good laugh together and were young and enjoyed the prospect of trying to steal the show every night by giving 100%.

Our belief was that if we could upstage you, then you didn't belong above us on the card. The patriotic angle helped get the ball rolling, but it was passion and workrate that kept getting us booked.

WF: When did you come to Germany for the first time and what did you think about the CWA, the promotion you worked for in these days?

JL: I first came to Germany for the CWA Hannover tournament of 1998. I was a replacement for Marshal Duke (Duke the Dumpster Drose) who was apparently quite popular at the time. But something to do with a legal matter in Florida left him in the States to deal with it and Rhyno put me in for it.

I LOVED it and wish it was still running and thriving. Otto always treated me well and I got to hook up with a lot of great guys and great talents for some great times and great matches. I still see a few of them to this day. Had dinner with Tony StClair and his wife Christiana about 2 weeks ago and he's still the same great guy he was when I met him then. 

WF: Who brought you to the CWA and what did you know about  the promotion before you went there?

JL: See above.

WF: You live in Gabsen near Hannover with your beautiful  wife Svenia and your two sons. How have you found each ans can you spend enough time with your kids? I mean you have to travel a lot as a pro wrestler, right?

JL: Bookings kind of come and go in waves, so you ride them out. I'll take as many as are on offer for as long as they are, but then it will die down a little (especially in December and January) so I get more time at home. I NEVER have "enough" time with my kids as they are my sunrise and sunset, but I probably get more time with them than a lot of dads.

I do travel quite a bit, so my boys are getting a geography lesson every time I hit the airport. The know about Liverpool, London, Tokyo, Toronto, everywhere I go, theyèll get a bit of a crash course.

WF: Why did you decide to live in Germany?

JL: Married a German.

Also, it's nice and centrally located in Europe so I have a wide variety of places to work without a ton of travel. It also helps that each culture has it's ups and downs. If wrestlings popularity wains a little bit in the UK, I can go to France where it's HUGE at the moment. If that slows down, Belgium has a thriving business at the moment.
I always find where the work is popular, be a reasonable airfare away for a promoter to hire me and still maintain a stable homelife for my kids by not having to uproot them and change locals to chase the business.

WF: You told me once, that you wrestled in nudist camp and in a church. Can you tell our readers more abut those and other strange places?

JL:Yeah. A nudist camp in Ontario. (No, I wasn't wrestling naked!!) A Church in Wales. (No, not during mass!!) On top of a 70 foot platform in an arena in Moscow. (No, I wasn't drunk) A street show in the red light district of Hannover where we changed clothes in one of the hookers rooms. (No, she didn't sit in the room with us) In a high end brothel in either Hamburg or Koln. (No, no freebies... not even a coupon!! lol)

Every time I think I've hit a rock bottom in places to work, someone finds a newer basement!

WF: Joe, you worked all over the globe, even in the WWE as Just Joe. Who created that gimmick and what do you think your time with the WWE?

JL: The original gimmick I wanted to do was a cult leader, but Vince thought it went in too much of a religeous way.

(Corporate Ministry, Reverend Devon, Mordecai, Brother Love, Vince wrestling GOD!! WHAT?) So as I said I didn't want to say I WAS God, but rather just delivering his will (but clearly being a villain manipulating people to my own agenda) and being a snake in the grass. He took this, and liked the idea of calling me "The Messenger".

I hated it but figured I was too new to the company to beak off.

Anyways, I was given a mentally challenged, talent vaccum named Jamie as a writer who turned it in to the disaster it became. I tried to get things working in a positive light but he wouldn't listen and it fell apart.

Funny thing is that this geek ended up being fired for incompitence after I was let go. Shame it took that long, but he got what he deserved.

WF: In 2003 you worked for TNA. I liked your run over there, but as far as I can remember, there was a problem with the Founder of TNA Wrestling Jeff Jarrett. Can you please refresh my memory and tell us what happened between you guys?

JL: Really? Been over it a bunch, so if it's OK with you, I'll keep it brief.

Was working steady in Europe and got on board with a BIG tour for a group called WWA around England, Ireland Switzerland and a PPV in Scotland. Had great matches every night with Mike Sanders and met Jeff Jarrett. He asked if I would be interested in coming to TNA. I said I would be, but after the WWF debacle, would he make it worth my while?

He promised up and down that we'd show Vince where he screwed up with me and I guess I just really wanted to hear that, so I was sold.

There were some delays so I went for a run for a few months in Puerto Rico before doing another WWA tour of Australia and a PPV in New Zealand.

Jeff was in for that as well and even had me inolved in the finish to his main event match as he wanted "a talent he could trust to do the work needed".

In  other words, he buttered me up.

Anyways, moved back to Canada (Windsor, right across from Detroit) and started up with TNA.

All went well for the 1st while except the pay was SIGNIFICANTLY less than originally quoted to me. I was told this was the flat 6 match deal as they had to be sure I'd fit in before I got a longer term, higher paying deal.

I had a friend in the office who confirmed this so I signed on with the (false) promise of the TNA office aquiring me extra bookings on the indys to make up for the lack of guarantee.

I did fairly well and then Dutch Mantell came on board (he was head booker in Puerto Rico, so I was hoping I had a friendly face in the booking department) and I found out from Vince Russo that Dutch had been "kinda sour" on me. I asked him about it and asked what I could do to help out and be more of a factor on the show.

I was told I was an assett and they had a big deal in store for me.

What I got was "Red Shirt Security" which was a vehicle for me to do all of the bumping and jobs for a team so they could build up my partner and give him a better grasp of psychology. In truth, I really like Kevin Northcutt and hold NOTHING against him for any of it. But we were given a stupid run of losing almost every week and then somehow won the tag titles.

So they (and ultimately WE) meant nothing.

We lost them the following week when AJ Styles... ALONE... pinned Kevin in a 2 on one match and then had to vacate as he didn't have a partner to defend with.

We weredragged around for a few more weeks until I was given a guitar shot by Jarrett and was told I'd get a nice babyface turn and a run on Jarrett.

Then the geniuses set me hom and didn't bring me back in, even though the contract we were on still had several matches left on it.

I called. I wrote E-mails. I wrote formal letters. As my bank account got hit week after week I tried to get an answer from them about why this was happening and whether or not I was done.

If I walked away, they had it in the contract that they could call me up a day before the PPV and I had to come or it would void my entire contract and I'd lose out on the money they still owed me.

So I couldn't leave and I wasn't working when I stayed.

So I ran out the duration of the contract and made sure they gave me every cent they owed me, then I threw out some fairly strong threats to Jeff and Dutch (had to wait until they paid me or a threat might void the contract) who were to cowardly to just be straight with me.

Over the phone from a different city.

That's when I moved back to Europe and started over.

Again.

Huh. Guess I didn't keep it short after all!  lol

WF: Joe, you're a very respected trainer of talents like Absolute Andy, Alex Shelley, Alpha Female and many more. What does it mean to you to train talents in the art of pro wrestling?

JL: With wrestling as with life, I really just want to make things better than they were when I got there. I want people who I meet and spend time with to feel better than they did before they met me and I want to take the business which has taken a real hit in the past few years by opening it's doors so easily to everyone... with or without proper training... to represent themselves as "Professionals".

I see SO many mistakes that I believe are crucial at making a match better and the business better and they aren't corrected by the "vets" because they risk losing their spot to a younger talent.

Or I see these "vets" (usually a drunk who degrades the business with his presence and "bigs himself up" on line to the point that people start to believe him and his crap) teaching things incorrectly because:

a) it protects their spot

b) they simply don't know how to do it correctly

c) they are marks for themselves and refuse to answer questions of students and instead, scream that the kids don't show proper respect to the vets when they ask a question.

In truth, I believe if you can't answer "why" to ANY question someone asks you about a move, technique or psychological aspect of what you're showing them, then you shouldn't be showing them ANYTHING.

I see too many kids who really want to try and make a go at this game short changed from the start by selfish jerks who are so caught up in their own self importance (they work a handfull of matches in a year, usually off of a favor from a friend getting them booked and continually drop their asking price to undercut ACTUAL pro's who make a living at this, buy their own flights, pay their own hotels and in general, lower the bar for everyone who has actually done their best to build this business up) that they handicap the future of the business to maintain a weak grasp on the present... of which by and large they are not a true factor.

It's this that is my prime motivation in helping the newer crop of students out.

WF: Lets talk about GSW. You know the old and the new GSW and you were a part of their new internet show GSW Courage. What do you think about the new concept of Ingo Vollenberg and his team?

JL: I don't want to bury Ingo as I really like him and it's HIS company, so he should run it the way HE sees fit. But being a control freak like I am, I can honestly say that I would run things VERY differently. Maybe I'd be wrong, but I have a different view of how to book things. Still, I wish him a lot of success.

WF: You wrestled for many promotions in Germany and Austria. Do you think there is any promotion, that has potential to grow?

JL: I think any promotion has the potential to grow, it's just a matter of finding out what your audience wants and giving it to them. You can't fully trust the message boards online as a STUNNING majority of these messages are the actual wrestler under several names, his girlfriend, his brother, his best mates, his family members all doing favors to get him noticed.

These will be people getting free tickets from the wrestler and thus, not who you are selling tickets to.

You need to either go to shows and listen to the crowd reaction before hiring someone, or if you have the funds and time, listen to your own audience and see what makes them buzz.

Give people what they want... don't TELL them what they want and chances are they'll feel a certain loyalty to you. 

WF: Thanks for your time Joe. we'll see you ringside...

JL: Hope to see you there. Check out my columns on the SLAM wrestling website!

         All the best and God Bless.