Sunday, May 19, 2013

On the Beat with Dennis Stamp at Resistance Pro Wrestling's "Back for the Attack"

Dennis Stamp made his wrestling debut in 1971.  He had a lengthy, solid career, including holding several titles.  He also appeared in Paradise Alley and Beyond the Mat.
Stamp was a special guest of Resistance Pro at "Back for the Attack" last month.  Although soft-spoken, Stamp is very engaging.  He has stories upon stories and they are all gold.  We approached him for our interview and he immediately went into a few.  I had to stop him and ask that he hold them for the interview. I did not realize that he had enough to fill hours of interviews!  From wrestling Terry Funk in Funk's hometown to drinking with Andre the Giant, each story was fascinating, as JohngysBeat.com's Scott Beatty (lead interviewer, music historian, comics master, all around big shot and wrestling guru) lead him from topic to topic..
Stamp talked to us about his collection of short stories.  He bristles at writing an actual autobiography.  He'd rather tell interesting short stories, than recite facts and dates.  Unfortunately, for now those stories are unpublished.  The publishing world is hard (and often cruel).  I have learned this by talking to so many authors over the last few years.  Stamp is not alone in his struggles to find an outlet for his stories.
Truthfully, I would love to read his stories.  Biographical info always pales in comparison to the stories behind the events.  I could feel Stamp's emotions as he retold some of his stories to us in the interview and after.
Stamp also has written poems.  He was selling some of his poems at the show.  He even recited I'm Not Booked during the show and part of Andre during our interview.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were and how much heart he poured into them.
After the show, I talked to many members of the R Pro family, as well as fans.  Everyone walked away so impressed with Stamp.

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