The time has arrived everyone. After eleven weeks, we have finally hit the finale of School of Roc: Class Wars. The finale is so big it had to spread out
across four nights. Here's what the finale has in store for you.
In Part One, Trash finally gets the match she's been begging for all along. Unfortunately for her, she has to deal with Miss Heidi who as we saw a few episodes ago had men leaving the School of Roc beaten and bruised. Has Trash bitten off more than she can chew?
In Part Two, Logan Williams looks to avenge his friend James Reeves by facing the man who had a part in keeping him out of Class Wars: Luis Rojas. Also, Dale Patricks gets his hands on the man who disgraced the name of his deceased father, Jeremy Hadley.
In Part Three, Nate Stone and Reed Bentley look to settle their differences in an honest to goodness street fight. I don't want to spoil anything, but Bentley takes a nasty looking shot to the head that will make you cringe. Don't miss this match.
Finally, Part Four has what we have been looking forward to all season long: the finals of the School of Roc Cup tournament. “Mr. All Purpose” Remi Wilkins has the biggest challenge of his career as he faces “Big” Sue Jackson with Tripp Cassidy in his corner.
Now that we are at the Finale, it only seems appropriate to interview the fan responsible for making all of this happen: Billy Roc. Billy is the trainer of the School of Roc and also served multiple roles during the course of the show. Billy had quite a career before “retiring” and becoming a trainer. Today, we'll take a look at that career.
KF: How did you first become a fan of professional wrestling?
BR: When I was 7 years old I was flipping though the channels and came across “Rowdy” Roddy Piper cutting a promo in the build up of Wrestlemania 1. I think they jumped some guy to prove a point to Mr. T. I was hooked ever since.
KF: When did you decide you wanted to become a professional wrestler? Was there a specific moment, match, or person that inspired you?
BR: I knew from a young age I wanted to be a wrestler. In High School my dream kind of went away when I realized I was going to grow anymore, but several years later when I found out about ECW and then the Indys, I realized it was now or never.
KF: Where and when did you begin training?
BR: I had some training in Florida in December 2000. Then I went on to a local promotion in Indianapolis. Basically I had about 2 months training total before my first match. It was WAY to early and I would not recommend that for anybody looking to begin a career in professional wrestling. I learned a lot from guys like Billy Bart, Rob Ramer, PT Hussla, D-Von Fury, Kenny Couragous, Shawn Cook, and Guy Lombardo. I also did seminars with Chris Hero, Mike Quackenbush, Harley Race, Terry Taylor, Scott D'amore, Tracy Smothers, and Rob Van Dam.
KF: Most people likely knew you from your IWA Mid-South and IPW days before you really broke out. Where were you wrestling before your reach expanded to the East Coast?
BR: Starting out I only wrestled in Indiana. I guess you can say I was a “40 miler”. I didn't know what I wanted out of wrestling. I was drinking a lot and had some personal problems with my wife because of my drinking. I remember New Years eve of 2005 I made a vow to stop drinking and fully concentrate on Pro Wrestling.
KF: You have said multiple times you feel your breakout match was against Mike Quackenbush at IPW’s 2006 Best of the Super Jr. tournament. What were your thoughts on the match at the time, and did it ever cross your mind that that match would be the one to put you on the map?
BR: I was happy we went out and accomplished what we wanted to do. I didn't really think much of the match when I left the ring, though I was happy at the positive response it garnered from the locker room. I definitely didn't know it would be the match people would start talking about.
KF: That match ultimately led you to CHIKARA, where you competed in a handful of matches in 2007. What did you make of your time in CHIKARA and is there a specific match you had that you enjoyed the most?
BR: I loved my time in CHIKARA! Great locker room. It was nice being in a locker room where everybody wanted to go out every night and do their absolute best. Sometimes on the Indy's you see guys who are just happy to be wrestlers and could care less about how well they do. To answer your secnd question, hands down my match with Chuck Taylor (from “Time Will Prove Everything”). It had a little bit of everything and was an absolute blast. Except for taking the “Awful Waffle”. That wasn't so much fun.
KF: IPW (Insanity Pro Wrestling) seems to have been your home for years, and even when you retired from traveling you stuck to wrestling for them on a regular base. What has IPW meant to you both in terms of your own career, and for giving a platform you to team with and wrestle your students?
BR: I love IPW and Mike Williams. I owe him a lot for the opportunities I have been given. When I say IPW is the best promotion in Indiana, I mean it. I have a lot of good friends who wrestled there and I was able to see so many young, hungry, guys go on and become big names in the Indy's and even WWE. The fact that IPW was confident enough in my training to make sure my students have a home meant the world to me. They really bent over backwards to make sure they all had matches before every show.
KF: The School of Roc school opened shortly after you began to wind down. How has it been for you to make the transition from wrestler to trainer? What motivated you to open the school?
BR: The school started by getting an email from Tripp Cassidy. The funny thing is, he had bugged me a few other times and I flat out said, “no”. I wasn't set up for it. But when he messaged me in the summer of 2009, the timing was perfect. Thanks to Brian Roberts of BMF, they let me use their ring to train at no cost. Tripp Cassidy and Holly Hadley were the first two graduating students. The transition between wrestler and trainer wasn't that hard. The training was a little unorganized the first two years, but myself and the students got through it. I think I have a lesson plan put in place now that makes training very easy for me.
KF: There are many wrestling schools all over the world. What is it about the School of Roc that you think makes it special and unique?
BR: I think what makes my school special and unique is that I really do care about the success of my students. I don't EVER want a student to feel they didn't get their money's worth when they train with me. That is why we are always trying to come up with new ideas to help get my guys exposure. Another thing that I think is special about the school is that we are a family. Do some of us not get along with one another? Do we argue? Yes, I argue with Tripp and Jeremy Hadley all the time (laughs). But, if somebody is in need of help in life or in wrestling, they know they have each other to rely on.
KF: The School of Roc: Class Wars show has been one of my favorite things about wrestling in 2012. Whose idea was it to set the show up? What was the inspiration?
BR: Thank you very much! The idea was pitched to me by Tom Green (of Mike & Tom Present's fame). No, not the comedian. Tom and I have been friends for a long time; he is very creative. I mentioned to him about filming matches to put on YouTube and he came back with the concept for Class Wars. I immediately LOVED the idea. We bounced ideas off of each other and went from there. The filming itself may have been the most frustrating thing I was apart of (laughs). We filmed the episodes in February, and the first 4 episodes were filmed when there was snow on the ground. That wouldn't be a big deal if my building had heat. The filming itself was a very long process too, and trying to get everybody together at one time was a headache. But, at the end of the day, for every “f-bomb” that I dropped or chair that I threw was worth the finished project. I hope the world really gets to see how talented of a writer Tom Green is when it comes to the world of wrestling.
KF: You served as the referee for every match during the show. I don’t think it was an ever an issue, but did you consider that some of the more brash members of your School would claim favoritism if you did not swing the result in your favor?
BR: I wasn't worried about that. I am sure Jeremy Hadley and Reed Bentley would say I was horrible and not fair, but I called everything down the middle.
KF :You had your hands full with some trouble makers (The League, Jeremy Hadley & Luis Rojas, and Trash to be specific). It looks as if you did the best you could to keep them in line. If you had your chance to do it all over again, would you take a different approach to keeping people in line?
BR: Not at all. The unique thing about the matches in Class Wars was when I started to stop doing the standard 5 counts and I just started stepping in if a wrestler was getting out of line with closed fists or chokes. I know I will not see everything, but this approach does take away from the game plan of somebody like Jeremy Hadley, who likes to use the ropes to choke his opponents or how he uses a closed fist.
KF: Now that you have had the chance to watch the series in its entirety, is their a match or moment that sticks out in your mind that makes you proud as a trainer?
BR: The development of Sue Jackson. I think he found himself as a wrestler and can't wait to see where he goes from here. I could watch Remi Wilkins and Reed Bentley wrestle all day long. Though he was only in one match, James Reeves performance in the tag match also stood out to me. I'm amused by the funny things Luis Rojas and Jeremy Hadley can come up with. What they say may not always be nice, but it is entertaining. And how can I forget about Nate Stone coming out of nowhere! During training I didn't know how well Nate would do in the wrestling world. He was a work in progress, but once the camera rolled for Class Wars he was a whole new person. I think we are seeing a star in Tripp Cassidy. He could have really had a small role on the show because of his broken hand, but instead, cut some really solid promos. Even though he is only 19 years old, I think Tripp is going to be a star in about 5 years. He just needs to hit the gym. To me, there were a lot of great moments we got on film.
KF: Is there something about the show you would have changed after seeing the final product? Will we be seeing a second season?
BR: I wish we could have done more with Trash Cassidy. She is to charismatic to just be arguing with me. Will there be a second season?? Absolutely! I think next season is going to be even better than this season. For one, there will be eight new students competing on the show. We have also seen the final product for Season One and now have an idea on what needs to be fixed.
KF: Speaking of pride in your students, you must take a great deal of pride when seeing your students go to bigger and better places. Recently your students have competed in Dragon Gate USA, CZW, IPW, Resistance Pro, and elsewhere. One of the bigger opportunities as of late was Remi Wilkins getting a chance to compete in the Heartland Cup against yourself. When you’re in the ring with a student on such a stage as that, what’s going through your mind?
BR: I am very proud of my students and their accomplishments. They have worked really hard and it is starting to show. Take Remi Wilkins for example. For HWA to use him in what I consider a pretty big tournament is awesome. It meant a lot to me to be in the ring against him in the first round. Whats going through my mind is how can we tear the house down. My job is to show the world these guys are ready for big things.
KF: One of the next big opportunities your students and yourself will get is a big showcase match this Sunday at CHIKARA’s “The Contaminated Cowl” show in Lafayette, IN. I for one am very excited to see you and your students get a chance to showcase your talent in one of the top independent wrestling companies today. Many of your students have said CHIKARA is a place they were hoping to get to and now they will get that stage. What’s the feeling amongst the School of Roc crew as this match draws closer?
BR: This will be the single most important night of the history of the School of Roc. It is time to show the world what my students can do on a larger stage. We want people to take notice and we are not going to let the people down who have supported us. Be ready for a wild ride on April 29th. All six of us are very motivated!
KF: What goals do you have left in professional wrestling? Is there anything you want to do before hanging your boots up for good?
BR: I don't think you ever hang the boots up for good. I have really done everything I ever wanted to do. Right now my concern is building a successful wrestling school. We have big plans on paper and plan on working really hard to make them a reality.
I want to think Billy once again for joining us this week. I am thrilled to be able to have gotten the opportunity to speak with him and to get to know his students better. I hope Class Wars was a huge success, and for all of those who watched, thank you. If you haven't watched the School of Roc: Class Wars episodes, you can find them all on their YouTube Page. You can also follow them on Twitter. Be sure to check their shiny new website as well.
Be sure to check out past interviews I've conducted for School of Roc: Class Wars:
Reed Bentley
Nate Stone
Dale Patricks
Tripp Cassidy
Remi Wilkins
“Big” Sue Jackson
Thanks to everybody who read this weeks interview and all of the interviews over the course of the past six weeks. I hope you will go back and watch the show in its entirety (if you have not already) and continue to follow those involved on their road to success.
