r/SquaredCircle • u/JonBarberCHIKARA • Dec 23 '15
I'm Jon Barber.
My name is Jon Barber. You may know me as:
- a referee for CHIKARA, CZW, or WWN's China tour
- doing behind-the-scenes work for Extreme Rising, Urban Wrestling Federation (There's some great UWF stories.), CHIKARA, PWG, Highspots, Kayfabe Commentaries, World Wrestling Network, and more
- the co-creator of Botchamania
- being featured in the book "Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide & Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death"
- or you may not know me at all.
Probably the latter.
I have multiple people who I don't like and who I really do like a lot.
You can find me on twitter at @csapservice.
Please support chikarapro.com, chikaratopia.com, highspots.com, highspotswrestlingnetwork.com, wwnlive.com, dgusa.tv, and kayfabecommentaries.com.
Ask me anything!
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u/Maffewgregg Dec 23 '15
How did you get into Chikara and become a ref?
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u/PsychoSidSoftball Dec 26 '15
He pays to train as a ref (lol). Won't be fired until tuition is paid.
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15 edited Dec 23 '15
A lot of things fell into place that had no business falling into place. I met a relative of Mike Quackenbush, who introduced me to Mike, who just so happened to be accepting students at the Wrestle Factory, which just so happened to be near me.
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u/Aqeelk Dec 23 '15
The Urban Wrestling Federation was one of the most bizarre and amazing things to happen in wrestling, could you share some stories from your experience with them?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
Haha! The first time I met Steve Karel was bizarre. I had heard so much about him, but had never met him in person, so I didn't know what he looked like. At the Hammerstein Ballroom, I would go up to anybody who looked important and introduce myself, and none of them were Steve Karel. Finally, I'm standing around the ring and a bodyguard shouts at me in a deep voice, "You! Come here!" I couldn't make this up if I tried. I point at myself and he nods "Yes," so I go over to him and he says, "Mr. Karel will see you now." I'm thinking to myself "What the fuck?" Then he calls over another guy and we are both led up the big steps of the Hammerstein Ballroom into a shower room, a.k.a. Steve Karel's office. He proceeds to look at us and tell us to do this and this. Then he says, "Go to Staples and get a bunch of water bottles." He is silent then for a few seconds. To break the awkward silence, I say "Yeah, I passed that on the way." He looks up at me and says "Can I speak without you interrupting me?" I just stare at him and he says "Thank you." Fast forward to the next tapings in December, which I was in a bad mood for because I had been on the road already for four days of CHIKARA JoshiMania and hadn't been home in more than half a week. Steve walks in late and all the wrestlers suck up to him. "Mr. Karel, it's so nice to see you." "Mr. Karel, how are you?" Then he gets to me: "Hi, Steve." He looks at me like I have four eyes.
Later in the talent meeting, he proceeded to say something like "When WE were doing ECW, we did" this, this, and this. Joker was right next to me and he scoffed at that. Steve shows a video that looked like it was made by a third grader and I shit you not, it has testimonials about how awesome the UWF was from...nobody's. The most famous person was Bryan Alvarez. Everybody else was just posts on their facebook page. I'm shaking my head at how pathetic his intro is.
Also, Tony Mamaluke looked younger then than he did in ECW 10 years ago.
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 24 '15
One more thing about Urban Wrestling Federation. That was my best payday. I got triple digits for ring crew.
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u/RefDan Dec 23 '15
Hi Jon, it's Dan Yost.
Do you miss Thr Barber Shop as much as I do?
Hope you're well!
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
Hey yo, Dan. Good to see you at Beyond the other month. Hope all is well.
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u/Maffewgregg Dec 23 '15
What was your contribution to the Benoit book?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
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u/Maffewgregg Dec 23 '15
I don't understand.
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
I was the first person to trace the IP address of the suspicious edit to Stamford, home of WWE.
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u/chiiild Dec 23 '15
Question for anyone: Did they ever solve that whole Wikipedia edit thing, or is it still a weird mystery?
Too much to coincidentally be a fake death edit vandalism, from someone who happened to live in Stamford, on the weekend she happened to die?
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u/sl182 Dec 23 '15
The person who did it apologised and said he had heard rumours online that benoit's wife had passed away. It's not like Stamford was the only place these edits were being made from, there was at least one coming from Australia.
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
They solved it. Here is his interrogation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bHmsfSDvUc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLesDwGkeD8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY42VBGh5s0
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u/AllMyOwnStunts Dec 23 '15
What's your favorite Jon Moxley CZW match and why?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
3-way with Gage and Ego.
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
Oh, I forgot to answer the why of the question. It was crazy. I remember them brawling all over the ECW Arena.
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u/TLKiller990 Dec 24 '15
It looks like there is a lot of hate between you and some people around here. I participate in AMAs rarely but your case has interested me. Why so much hateful questions? What did you do to these people? Did you piss in their drinks? What? And why.
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u/perhapsaduck Dec 23 '15
What was doing the WWN China tour like? How were the Chinese fans? Any different from American?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15 edited Dec 23 '15
Me and Larry Dallas both agreed that it was the best week of our lives. Some memories:
Rich Swann singing a"All Night Long" before shows, during shows, and after shows.
"Fourth Gun" Biff Busick (Watch "Best Friends With Biff Busick" for more info.)
"Street Meat" Larry Dallas
The Chinese fans were awesome. Somebody like Chuck Taylor would brag about how he got a Chinese girl's phone number after talking to her for a half hour. I had a cute girl approach me and talk to me IN ENGLISH for like 10 minutes. I couldn't do anything about it because somebody very important was right next to me as it happened. LOL. The Chinese fans seemed to react the same way as the American fans. They were really into everything. AR Fox vs. Ricochet is my third favorite match that I have ever reffed.
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u/BronsonLee Dec 23 '15
Yo, why the hell did you barf in my car on the way to a show
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u/GattonBalls Dec 23 '15
When we first met outside of the bathroom at some King of Trios first you refused to smile for the pic and second we noticed you wandering in and out of the ECW arena bathroom. You Lookin for "d"?
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u/thecodenameduchess Dec 24 '15
Has anyone told you, you look a little bit like a smaller Shaggy from Scooby Doo?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 24 '15
And Screech. Yes.
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u/thecodenameduchess Dec 24 '15
Screech nearly killed a guy, I'd stay as far away from that reference.
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u/Jesse31101 Dec 23 '15
I go to a show in Oakland monthly called Hoodslam that has been described as "R rated CHIKARA", have you heard of it and if so, how do you feel about that description?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
I've heard of it. Steve Rizzono lives in Oakland. I know Brian Kendrick worked there. I've only seen the Steiner Brothers guys and I was entertained.
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u/KyleR007 Dec 23 '15
Hi Jon.
Why is Dan Yost, a quite good referee no longer used by Chikara?
Why is it that in matches wrestlers seem visibly irritated about your poor officiating, including Mike Quackenbush chastizing you at KOT 2012?
Why is it that your story about Botchamania always changes, you were creator, now co-creator, and have no proof of it?
How did Lizzy Borden's panties smell?
Why are you proud of helping X-Pac find drugs during a period where he was recovering from addiction?
Why did Mike Quackenbush lie, and continue to lie about why Chikara was shut down?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
Why is Dan Yost, a quite good referee no longer used by Chikara?
Not sure.
2. Why is it that in matches wrestlers seem visibly irritated about your poor officiating, including Mike Quackenbush chastizing you at KOT 2012?
If a wrestler tells a referee one end to a match and then does another end to a match, it's not the referee's fault.
Why is it that your story about Botchamania always changes, you were creator, now co-creator, and have no proof of it?
Here is evidence that I have always referred to myself as "co-creator" and that referring to myself as "creator" was a mistake: http://klear.com/profile/Maffewgregg/conversations How did Lizzy Borden's panties smell?
I wouldn't know. I've never smelled them, but her v smelled and tasted nice. I would know from first-hand experience. Why are you proud of helping X-Pac find drugs during a period where he was recovering from addiction?
He asked me where he could find recreation and I told him to talk to another person and pointed at that person. I'm not his dad.
Why did Mike Quackenbush lie, and continue to lie about why Chikara was shut down?
That's not for me to answer, and I don't know that he was lying.
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 24 '15 edited Dec 24 '15
About that porn star: Her husband Rob was there. I still have two thumbs and she fucking loved it.
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Dec 23 '15
I'm curious, what do you mean by the last question? Is there a real story to do with the kayfabe closing of the promotion that most people don't know about?
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u/KyleR007 Dec 23 '15
Oh yes there is. There's a lot of underbelly to Chikara that isn't publicly known.
At one point Quack didn't own the Chikara name, the shutdown was in part because he couldn't run shows under that name.
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u/Newishhandle Dec 24 '15
Hey barber, just a quick question. Did it take a while to eliminate all semblance of emotion from your face during a match? It must be hard not to react in any way when high spots are taking place 3 feet in front of you
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 24 '15
There's a middle ground and you gradually learn it. I wouldn't say that you don't show any semblance of emotion. You also don't want to overkill with the emotion.
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u/ILookLikeDrewGulak Dec 24 '15
Well you kind of just stand there with a thousand yard stare every match. I believe that's what he's referring to.
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u/infinitehallway Dec 23 '15
Does it bother you that you've become the new "chew toy" ref in CHIKARA since Sabato's departure?
Did you get any sort of advance notice before CHIKARA "shut down", or was it kept secret from you as well?
Favorite CHIKARA moment?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
Does it bother you that you've become the new "chew toy" ref in CHIKARA since Sabato's departure?
No. And please don't ever compare me that mean-spirited, untrained (by his own admission), unprofessional idiot Derek Sabato (I'm talking Derek the person.). Derek wouldn't know what it means to be a PROFESSIONAL wrestling referee if it bit him in the butt.
Did you get any sort of advance notice before CHIKARA "shut down", or was it kept secret from you as well?
Very little if any.
Favorite CHIKARA moment?
Aniversario 2008 had three MOTYCs in a row. Definitely the highlight.
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u/infinitehallway Dec 23 '15
Apologies, I don't really know anything about him. I meant no offense. I became a fan during the "shutdown" and have recently started making my way back through CHIKARA's history with the streaming service. Since you said ask anything, care to elaborate on why you dislike him so much?
Also, any other people in CHIKARA's history you'd like to enlighten me/other newish fans on?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
Derek Sabato is a mean-spirited, untrained (by his own admission), (un)professional referee who wouldn't know what it means to be a PROFESSIONAL wrestling referee if it bit him in the butt. Derek has never walked a mile in my shoes, but you'd sure think he has from some of the highly exaggerated, mean-spirited things he has said about me on a podcast. I can't fault Derek too much because he was literally handled a referee shirt and told to go to the ring, so he doesn't know what it means to act like a professional. Quack and Claudio taught me the right way about having respect for my peers and not going on podcasts and bad mouthing people you're not crazy about. Just yesterday, I had an exchange with Derek on twitter where he almost came out and admitted that he was mean-spirited. I remember when he gave Gabe Sapolsky a hard time because Gabe told Lince Dorado that tweeting "Tell @BookItGabe to book @Purfect10LD!" was "not the way to get booked." Derek proceeded to drag Gabe into a two hour argument about something that he was never qualified to discuss in the first place, and which Gabe was very qualified to discuss, and in fact, had just tweeted to another Florida independent wrestler about a week or so earlier.
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Dec 24 '15
don't ever compare me that mean-spirited, untrained (by his own admission), unprofessional idiot Derek Sabato
Derek wouldn't know what it means to be a PROFESSIONAL wrestling referee if it bit him in the butt.
Derek Sabato is a mean-spirited, untrained (by his own admission), (un)professional referee who wouldn't know what it means to be a PROFESSIONAL wrestling referee if it bit him in the butt.
Derek has never walked a mile in my shoes, but you'd sure think he has from some of the highly exaggerated, mean-spirited things he has said about me
he doesn't know what it means to act like a professional
yet
Quack and Claudio taught me the right way about having respect for my peers and not going on podcasts and bad mouthing people you're not crazy about
You don't seem very respectful. Seems like you're doing a lot of bad mouthing.
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u/luchador_84 Dec 23 '15
Seems like you're not a Sabato fan. Hypothetically tho, if a wrestler were to tell Sabato one end to a match then do another end to the match, would it be Sabato's fault?
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u/hey333 Dec 24 '15
You're seriously mad that Sabato referred to you as "odd" and told the story about Lizzy Borden's panties?
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u/ExplainsYourShitpost Dec 24 '15
I feel like I might be needed here, but I only have my apologies - I'd have no idea how to explain any of this.
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u/MrHoarr Dec 23 '15
LFC sent me a Bret Hart book without any actual talk about myself being a fan of his or CHIKARA -- is he really a nice guy in real life or is there some sort of long con in play here with him?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15 edited Dec 26 '15
LFC is really a nice guy. He always favorites anti-Jon Barber tweets. I do not know what that's about, but he's nice to me.
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Dec 23 '15
Is it true that you sell puro DVDs to people that have jizz on them?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
No. Post the screenshot. The screenshot showed that it was some other guy totally unrelated to me. You would think that the person who took the screenshot would have been smart enough to edit out that part, but they weren't.
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u/Maffewgregg Dec 24 '15
I've seen a lot of posts and details about the XPW book...was it ever released?
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Dec 23 '15
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
Get real.
Pillman making Heenan say the "F" word on camera.
Pepsi
I sure hope so and I know that they are open to deals.
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Montreal so that Bret didn't get screwed.
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u/tomgraham98 Dec 23 '15
hi! if a wrestler forgets to kick out do you stop the count or count to 3 (inlight of the Eva match)
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u/shinelamont Dec 23 '15
Are we gonna see a lot more intergender matches in Chikara?
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u/JonBarberCHIKARA Dec 23 '15
With Kimber Lee as champion and Heidi Lovelace active, I expect that there will be plenty.
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u/Maffewgregg Dec 23 '15
Alright, what happened with the Pinkie Sanchez vs. Juan Francisco match recently? His shoulders were up DAMMIT.
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Dec 23 '15
Hi Jon, Merry Christmas.
Who do you think on the current CHIKARA roster will make a big impact on the industry outside of the company?
Do you guys have more plans to visit Europe?
Who are you best pals from CHIKARA or outside of it?
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u/harpoonfans Dec 24 '15 edited Dec 24 '15
Aren't you the troll from the Socal Uncensored Message board who was working on that XPW video?
Guess you are. You haven't come a long way since calling people faggots on message boards
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u/XPacEnergyDrink Dec 24 '15
Have you ever refereed a match wherein a participant pooed or peed in the ring?
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Dec 23 '15
What part of being a ref did you find the hardest and what is something we as fans dont recognise as a referees role?
Thanks! Enjoy your stay here!
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Dec 23 '15
What are some stars in CHIKARA right now that would become big in WWE in 3-4 years?
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u/KyleR007 Dec 23 '15
Jon.
What is your opinion about promoters that lie to wrestlers, are they good for business or bad for it?
How about Promoters who underpay their talent and keep far too much money for themselves?
How about promoters that lie to their fans, justifying it as good for their company?
How about wrestling trainers who are not trained to wrestle, but still insist on training talent anyway?
Why would you brag about licking Lizzy Borden's pussy?
Why, just Why?
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u/sl182 Dec 23 '15
Do you not sense any sort of irony in being an anti-piracy consultant for Chikara whilst also claiming to be the creator of Botchamania?
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u/infinitehallway Dec 23 '15
Is Quack the sole creative force in CHIKARA, or do guys like Bryce and LFC have input too? Or the wrestlers?
Thoughts on some of the more notable departures from CHIKARA, like Donst and Jigsaw?