I am here with the Miami Pound Machine, Rod Steel.  Rod is one of the biggest trash talkers on the Florida circuit.  He has wrestled just about everywhere, and he has a ton of knowledge of wrestling.  Quite frankly, he is a really interesting guy, and we are very lucky to have him “In the Pitt.” 

Can you tell us a little about yourself? What is your name? Where do you wrestle? What basic height and weight or other stats would you like to share?
The Miami Pound Machine, Rod Steel
6′ 205
National Wrestling Alliance Florida Rookie of the year 2001
IPW Light Heavyweight champion
IPW Tag Team Champion (with Mark Zout)
IPW television Champion
IPW World Heavyweight Champion
ACW Cruiser weight champion

How can a promoter book you, and in what areas do you primarily wrestle?
Mostly the Tampa area, but have been on extended hiatus.

How did you break into wrestling? Who trained you, and what was your first year like?
I trained at the Florida WrestlePlex with Jeff Bradley and Navy Seal. It was brutal. It was pretty much a warehouse with no a/c in the middle of the Florida summer.

My First year was great. I caught on fairly quickly and was given a variety of opportunities that most rookies don’t get. IPW was on FIRE, and I was lucky enough to be there for it’s television. Big thanks to the Ron Niemi, Jet jaguar, Mikey Tenderfoot, Aaron Royal, The Marquee Bruce Santee,Mike Sullivan, Seal, Cuban, The Shane Brothers and I’m sure I am going to forget who else, but there were tons of guys that really helped shape me into the wrestler I am today.

Who do you enjoy wrestling the most?
Its a tie, Mikey Tenderfoot (easiest guy I can work), jet jaguar (taught me how to book a match when I was starting out) Bruce Santee (in case I need some sense beat into me) and the Shane Brothers because they can toss me around like I weighed 20 pounds, it’s GREAT

What are the biggest names that you have wrestled?
Spike Dudley, Raven, Jeff Jarrett, Bruce Santee, America’s Most Wanted, The Naturals, pile driven by Jerry Lawler (awesome), Christopher Daniels, the Shane Brothers!

So can you tell us about any injuries you have had that are wrestling related?
Let’s see, broken wrist, 9 concussions, and a torn rotator cuff with a dislocated collarbone. That one hurts as it’s really not fixed. It was a terrible accident that happened in practice. And I was in the middle of a title run, so you can’t call out sick, you got to walk that aisle every night when you’re the champ. Now I’m so used to it, it really only bothers me from time to time.

What wrestlers did you enjoy watching as a kid? Did you use them as role models in your career?
Ric Flair… far and away. Sure, I liked the Road Warriors, the Ultimate Warrior, Savage, etc. The guys that everyone liked. But Flair was by far my favorite and anyone who has seen me wrestle or heard me cut a promo can clearly see it. LOL

Do you have any websites or upcoming events you would like to promote?
Nope.

How about promoting www.Wrestling911.com?  Have you been there? If so, what do you think about it?
I have been and it’s a good site. Full of information and I love that the wrestlers can intermix with fans on their boards or even with promos that get posted there. Good site. I thoroughly endorse this website or event.

Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
Just big thanks to all the fans, who loved or hated me. on The Florida indy scene, the fans are rabid and they don’t allow for a mediocre products and I am very thankful for all of them.

Thanks again for joining us, Rod.  Hopefully we’ll see more of you in 2011.  You bring a lot to Florida wrestling.