RYAN STEVENS: I'd like to welcome former NAPW World Champion, Tag Team Champion, and current Commissioner of NAPW Donovan Astros. Thanks for joining me for this interview, Commissioner.
DONOVAN ASTROS: Anytime, Ryan. It's always a pleasure for me to speak to NAPW's fans.
RYAN STEVENS: That leads into my first question for you... what changed? You were easily one of the most loathed men in NAPW history and I think the feeling was mutual from you to the fans. Why does Donovan Astros care about the fans now?
DONOVAN ASTROS: It's pretty simple from my point of view. I'm a businessman. In the ring as a wrestler, here as a commissioner, or as a promoter. What's best for NAPW, which is getting seelout crowds every show, getting DVDs out to the public through NAPW-Online.com and on store shelves, getting people talking about the best promotion in independent wrestling, and rewarding the fans for their loyalty to us and our product for over three years... that's what's best for me now. If I ever step back into the ring again, what's best for me there is being the best wrestler in the world, and fans can be jealous of success. Look at what used to be Dirty Money, the Faces of Death, Demo-Man, The Outlaw, they're all damned good at what they do, and the fans don't always like that.
RYAN STEVENS: All of those men you just mentioned have been subject to your authority in various fashions since you came on board. How are you able to remain unbiased when some of the wrestlers in the company number among your most heated enemies, including Dan Ryan and Bruce Richards?
DONOVAN ASTROS: Who said I was unbiased, Ryan? Everyone who is in a position of power has their biases. It's the people that can't deal with them *cough, Terry Brandon* that are doomed to fail. I've had my problems with Dan Ryan, Bruce Richards, Ravager, Jake Phoenix, Chris Casino, D!, etc. I could be biased against all of them and it'd work out. But once again, I'm looking at my goals, and that's NAPW's livelihood, and those goals are best served by fairness, not bias.
RYAN STEVENS: The question NAPW fans want answered: how DID you end up in the commissioner role? We all remember Astros coming out at Black Thursday IV and suggesting he should be in charge, but nobody thought it would actually happen. How did this situation come to be?
DONOVAN ASTROS: "Wahoo" Bobby Winchell's a very astute man, and he knows a good business and marketing opportunity when he sees one. Donovan Astros, Commissioner of NAPW? That headline was across all the dirt sheets the moment it came out. I'm known as a loose cannon, a bit of a wild element and having that sort of personality in charge of your promotion gets you attention, even if that sort of personality ends up being level-headed, responsible, and thoughtful, you keep getting attention, because everyone keeps asking themselves, when's Donovan Astros going to go off the rails?
RYAN STEVENS: Who contacted whom between you and Winchell?
DONOVAN ASTROS: I contacted Mr. Winchell two days before Black Thursday, purchased the time to appear on the show, and laid out my proposal.
RYAN STEVENS: What was his initial response?
DONOVAN ASTROS: You know Mr. Winchell, he's a little colorful with his language sometimes. There was a lot of laughing, a lot of "are you *BLEEP*ing kidding me?", but after we talked, and talked again following BTIV, he came around.
RYAN STEVENS: Were there any conditions placed on your taking the job?
DONOVAN ASTROS: A lot. Most of my decisions have to be cleared by Mr. Winchell beforehand, until I gain his trust. Also, I'm under probation so that if there's any sort of impropriety like we saw with Terry or Rex or Joey, I'm gone.
RYAN STEVENS: Fans have commented that despite heavy early skepticism, many feel that you have been fair and have succeeded in bringing order back to NAPW. Your thoughts on the fans understandable distrust of you?
DONOVAN ASTROS: I wouldn't expect anything less. The guy that pissed everyone off for months and months, stole a steel cage match from them and ran out under cover of darkness on the promotion? Hell, I'm pissed at me for that, Ryan. All I can do is my best to repair that trust while I'm in this position.
RYAN STEVENS: What goals did you set when you took the job, and have you accomplished them to your satisfaction?
DONOVAN ASTROS: Goal one was to get NAPW back to being a wrestling promotion first. A lot of the things that were going on between the Faces of Death, Dirty Money, and the III were turning this place into a parody, into something like REBEL where people are just beating up on each other in and out of the ring, everyone's having to watch their back, and there's chaos everywhere. I think after WarGames, that all will settle down and NAPW can focus on the wrestling again, something we do better than anyone else in the world. Goal two is to increase NAPW's exposure to the wrestling world, drive more fans to our product, and get more opportunities for the guys in the locker room. That's going slowly but surely. At one point while I was wrestling in the promotion, NAPW had the highest rated show and the most reviewd show on fWrestling. That's not the case now, but we'll be there again. Goal three is to make this job so easy that someone else can do it so I can get back in the wrestling ring. I'm at 100% now and ready to come back, and I want to come back for NAPW. But I'm needed more as a commissioner right now, so, that's where I'm at.
RYAN STEVENS: I wanted to ask you about your health. We all know you suffered a serious injury in your unsanctioned match with Dan Ryan, an injury many thought left you unable to walk without assistance. Are you truly 100%? How were able to recover so quickly? Was the initial diagnosis mistaken?
DONOVAN ASTROS: The injury was not as bad as I had feared. I did lose a lot of strength in my lower body after the neck injury, but all I had to do in my life at that point was rehab. Work and work and work to get better. I'll never truly know how well I've recovered until someone comes at me and knockes me down full speed and my neck hits the mat again, but outside of being commissioner, all I've done is go to physical therapy, work my ass off, and get better.
RYAN STEVENS: What changes do you intend to make to NAPW in the next few months, if any?
DONOVAN ASTROS: Ryan, I've talked with a lot of fans that grew up watching wrestling in Alberta, people that even saw Jack "Attack" Jones wrestle, if you can believe that. And they reminise about things like "Wahoo" Bobby Winchell in Indian Strap matches, bloody cage brawls, Texas Death matches... matches that really stick with you, something that takes more than a guy just falling off of high places. And you're gonna see more of that in NAPW in the weeks and months to come. You don't need barbed wire or tables or flaming baseball bats to make an impression on the fans' minds. You need two guys with a reason to fight, two guys that don't like each other a lot, and you take those guys and they settle their score in the ring like men.
RYAN STEVENS: Sole Survivor is NAPW's biggest event every year. Previous editions have usually featured some surprise appearances. Any plans this year to bring in some former or outside NAPW talent for the event?
DONOVAN ASTROS: I've got phone calls in to a lot of places, Ryan, and while I don't want to tip my hat about all my surprises for Sole Survivor, I hope to make it just as memorable as last year's, if not more so.
RYAN STEVENS: What do you think about Jake Phoenix stating his goal of becoming NAPW World Championship in the wake of his record-setting Heritage title run?
DONOVAN ASTROS: Jake's a tough, tough guy that just has had that World title a little out of his reach, whether it be against Lloyd Rees or myself. I'd be shaking in my boots if I was KRENSHOV or the Outlaw knowing that a monster like that is gunning for you.
RYAN STEVENS: Any last words for NAPW wrestlers and fans?
DONOVAN ASTROS: Yeah. For the fans, buy more DVDs, tell your friends, get the buzz going about NAPW both here in Alberta and across North America and the rest of the world. I'd love to take this show to the US again, they loved me in Australia when I was there... I wouldn't do the China trip again, but hey, a check's a check. Support professional wrestling, support NAPW. As for the wrestlers... I haven't gone off the rails yet, but expect the unexpected. NAPW is going to be a very interesting place over the next few months, whether I'm running it or wrestling in it.
RYAN STEVENS: Thank you, Commissioner
DONOVAN ASTROS:
It's been your pleasure.