“I wrestle every day like it’s my last.”
Will Gray from Botched Spots and Chair Shots got to sit down with former X-Division champion Jake Crist and he did not pull his punches in reference to the business, its fans, or a certain former ECW star. “The ‘Born to Die’ Jake Crist, isn’t just a gimmick.” Crist was adamant about his passion for the business, whether it be where he is wrestling, who he is wrestling, or who is watching him wrestle.
Wrestling East Coast vs. West Coast
“The west coast is the best coast, down South they like to be heckled, but the east coast is the worst coast.” The reason for this objectification stems from his early days in the business. The east coast brand of wrestling especially the hardcore antics of Extreme Championship Wrestling, left a certain taste in the mouths of wrestling fans. Crist would go on to say that “on the East coast where I cut my teeth in the business, in Combat Zone Wrestling and the early Ring of Honor days, you could literally set yourself on fire and not get a reaction from the fans.” This desensitization came from the hard-hitting antics of Rob
Van Damm, Tajiri, Rhyno, and Sabu all extreme legends so to speak on the East coast. Because of everything they did then in the late 1990s and according to Crist “they did a lot of crazy things” the fans on the East coast have a reputation for wanting this same style of wrestling to this day.
With the lavish productions of wrestling on TV and the nature of the product the fans want to see, Will asked about the difference between sports entertainment and pro wrestling or if there is even a difference anymore, Crist laughed and said he felt they had always been synonymous. “Even if you think of the WWE commercials in the 1980’s you would see them call themselves sports entertainers.” Jake would explain that even after his first trips to Japan as a professional he was shocked to see on his visa the word entertainer. “I’ve always said since I was an entertainer.”
Jake Crist on His Wrestling Style
Jake Crist prides himself on being a jack of all trades style worker in the ring. He says that he wants to adapt his style to fit in all over the world. “I really do it all. I really do death matches, I do Lucha libre, I do strong style or pure wrestling. I paint with a very wide brush in the world of pro wrestling.” This includes his time with IMPACT Wrestling where he is a former X-Division champion and tag team champion with his brother, Dave Crist. When asked what it was like to get the call that he was the guy for the X-Division and he was getting the strap, he said he was in shock. At that point in Impact Wrestling, the X-division was the “working man’s division” the people who were the hardest workers and would take the next step to put on a great match, and Crist was that guy. He said it was an honor to
be trusted with that championship when he got it.
Crist strives to be the kind of wrestler fans want to go back and watch. He said during the interview he will still go back and watches Eddie Guerrero’s last matches and he wants to be that person for someone, “You’re always going to go back and watch your favorite’s last match.” Crist stated.
Issues With Ian Rotten & Burning the IWA Titles
The wrestling business has its ups and its downs. Recently Crist had his fair share of those with IWA Midsouth promoter and former ECW star Ian Rotten. The drama dates back months in this saga but Crist explains that Rotten owed him money. “I’m a big believer in you give people second chances, and that’s exactly what I was giving Ian.” Crist thought that he was going to change but Rotten continued to grow distant. “There were shows where I forfeited my entire pay to make sure the younger guys got paid or got a little extra, so they could get gas or food for the road.” This wasn’t a one-time thing though, Crist
went on to say that “There were a few times where I felt bad for him and give him my payday because there were no fans there and I literally felt bad, so I gave him my payday.” Jake would say he was at a position in his life where he didn’t need it as much, but now fast forward “times are hard for anyone and everyone, he owed me my house payment, literally my house payment, so I mean I had to do what I had to do.”
Jake went on to say that it would take him about a month to finally get a response from Rotten saying that he ghosted him. He then went to Twitter and made a Twitter post about the transgressions between himself and Ian, and still nothing. “Once he backpedaled and took that away from the relationship he and I had, I knew he was going to continue to give me the runaround.” This led Crist to take matters into his own hands and on June 13 of this year Jake posted a video on his Twitter page saying since Rotten had burnt this bridge, Crist had some burning of his own to do and proceeded to light the IWA Midsouth World Heavyweight and Jr. Heavyweight titles on fire live on camera.
Although Jake Crist is a madman who will light your titles on fire if crossed, he is a passionate worker who wants nothing but the best for the business and the people coming up in it.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
