Hammerjack & Charming Charles

On a chilly March night, the NWA Main Event's Hardcore legend in the making, Hammerjack, and the manager of the millennium, Charming Charles, decided to step outside to talk. This interview goes into how much it takes to get to the top. In this candid interview, these two strong-willed men tell their story. Check out this interview. Stop over at Charming Charles's Website at CharmingCharles.com or at NWAMainEvent.com to get some great information. Without further ado, Hammerjack and his manager, Charming Charles.

Lekisha Oliver (LO): Let's get the introductions going.

Hammerjack (H): [I'm] Hammerjack, the Disciple of Pain.

Charming Charles (CC): [I'm] Charming Charles, the manager of the new millennium.

LO: How long have you been managing him?

CC: It's been five years now.

H: Five long years.

CC: We've seen a lot of bodies crumble and a lot of bodies fall, and a lot of bodies in the future that are ready to fall.

H: A lot of bodies in the parking lot. (Laughs).

LO: (laughs).

CC: That's a lot of bodies. Come here body. (GraLOed me for a hug.)

LO: How long have either one of you been in the business?

CC: I've been in it going on ten, and he's been in it going on ten, too. We arrived at the same time.

H: Right.

LO: Ya'll get trained by the same people?

CC: I'll let him talk.

H: I was trained by the legend Gypsy Joe, the hardcore champion.

LO: Where did you get trained?

H: Madison, Tennessee, unfortunately.

LO: Like being from a little town south of here. What about you?

CC: I was trained by a guy named T. J. Weatherby and then I was helped by a masked guy by the name of Damien.

LO: Damien?

CC: Damien. He helped me a lot and he helped Hammerjack a lot too. He was also a student of Gypsy Joe's.

H: I think I owe a lot of my training of Gypsy Joe, Tony Falk. Then after, I worked with a few matches, Boogie Woogie Boy Garry Valiant, Rick Reynolds, Ben Jordan. Ben Jordan helped a lot.

CC: There are a lot of guys that guided us through. Ashley Hudson was one that taught me a lot, not about wrestling par say, but a lot about the business. How to conduct yourself in a formal manner; a professional manner.

LO: You do very well; work that crowd very well. Especially you.

CC: Well, thank you. You gotta remember I have been an entertainer for over thirty years.

LO: Really?

CC: Yeah, I'm a musician, and I've played in several bands and I've always like the entertainment business. And when I found Hammerjack, I knew. It's very seldom, especially in the music business, to find the good-looking kid.

LO: He is.

CC: But a mediocre singer, but to find a kid that is a good singer, a good looker and can work the crowd. That's what I saw in him. A good-looking kid who knew what he was doing, but he wasn't polished yet. It's kinda like having a diamond. Now look at him, he's the most feared grappler today.

H: Hardcore. Hardcore. Yeah, Charles found me in the slummiest bar in Tennessee. We've had our hair pulled going to the ring for a match.

CC: Oh gosh, it was terrible. Spit on, knives stuck in our face.

H: Beer thrown in our face.

CC: Bad breath in our face.

H: All we had to do was open our mouth, we'd be half drunk by the time we got to the ring.

CC: It's been a long and winding road. Finally there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is a lot of good things. We're now doing TV in Nashville on Comcast Cable Channel 75.

H: Every Saturday night.

CC: It's the USWO, then Mike Porter has a show running on the same station at 4 p.m., and then there will be one coming out of Alabama. You hear about that one?

LO: Yeah, it's coming out of my neck of the woods.

H: I think we're pretty much stepping up. We're on TV with the CCW in Evansville, Indiana.

CC: With Chris Champion.

H: That will put us in four states right off the bat. That's going into Kentucky and Indiana and Missouri. Five states.

CC: And Illinois.

H: That makes six states.

LO: That's more exposure. The more exposure the better.

H: That's right.

CC: Well, you've gotta be careful because exposure can cause cancer.

H: And in Indiana, exposure can get you thrown in jail.

CC: (Laughs) Yes, it can.

H: We've got a turtle buddy who can tell you that straight off the bat.

LO: Okay, I think I'll leave that question alone. How long have ya'll been with Mike Porter?

CC: Since October [2001].

LO: October.

CC: Yeah, we cam from the CCW, Columbia Championship Wrestling. Worked there for three years, and then we made the switch in October.

H: Actually, I think that gave us a hell of a push in this town. We've really got our names out in Columbia. Now with the NWA having TV to start out, that worked out a lot.

CC: It definitely helped.

H: It worked out a lot. There are a lot of places that we haven't been, that we'll be going soon.

LO: Such as?

H: My goal is Louisville, Kentucky, right now. Whether it's for bigger promotions or not. He's from Louisville and I have family in Louisville, so we could draw a pretty good crowd that.

LO: That's good. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about or say?

CC: Just to all the wrestlers and all the wanna-be wrestlers, we're coming after ya! We're here! And Just Gordon, you're just a thorn in my side, little Osama Bin Laden looking guy. Doesn't he look like a camel jockey, seriously?

LO: (laughs).

CC: And these times of days, he can get his butt, oh I'm going to say it, his ass shot. You know what I mean? He's a rag-head. He looks like a rag-head. We don't like rag-heads right now. I don't like my Twin Towers being knocked down. I don't like it.

H: So to all the rag-heads out there and all the wanna-be wrestler out there, remember, you can't turn your back on the team of Charming Charles and Hammerjack.