Interview with the Danger City Demons 1/11/2016

PCW fans, for this installment, I’ve interviewed Johnny Danger and Devlin Valek, 2015 PCW Tag Team Champions, The Danger City Demons for their thoughts on the 2016 Tag Team season, the betrayal by PCW promoter Stephen Platinum, their unlikely alliance with Quasi Mandisco, and the future of PCW.

If a fan was completely unfamiliar with PCW, how would you describe the talent, the atmosphere, and the wrestling to them?

Johnny Danger: PCW is perhaps the most varied collection of wrestlers you’ll find, there is something for everyone. If you want action packed, fast moving, hard hitting wrestling, we’ve got Shane Marx, Brian Blaze, the Washington Bullets. If you want to see the most dominant monster in wrestling, one of the best big men I have ever seen, look no further than our PCW champion, Geter. And if you want to see a couple guys who will fight for the people, for our fans, till our very last breath, that’s me and my brother, Devlin Valek. The atmosphere is unique, it’s a family show, but one where anything can happen. Things definitely get a little more intense than they do on Monday nights, if you know what I mean.

Devlin Valek: It’s an intimate environment with loyal fans that aren’t afraid to vocalize how they feel about the action. It’s not without reason that PCW has such a loyal fan base. At a PCW show you’ll see everything from technical wrestling and high-flying to hardcore brawls. There’s a roster of regulars that the fans love to see at every show, but there is always new talent popping in to show what they’ve got to the crowd. You never know who is going to step into the ring at a PCW show.

Johnny Danger, you were trained and brought into PCW by Stephen Platinum. How did his betrayal affect you personally?

JD: Honestly, it hurt. It hurt bad. People who know me real good, and there aren’t many of those, know that I’ve got trust issues going way back. Almost anyone who ever claimed to love me, to support me, you name it…turned their back on me, or stabbed me in mine. I wouldn’t have even BEEN a wrestler if not for Stephen Platinum. Looking back though, I should’ve seen the signs. Steve was always there to celebrate my successes, but never support me during my failures. He came out to applaud when we won tag team season, but was nowhere to be found when a restraining order was filed against me by Quasi during our intense rivalry a couple years ago, that cost me almost a year of my career at PCW, when I was in the best shape of my life, and that sucked. I also think Steve wanted me to only go so far in this business, hell, I’ll say it, he wanted to sweep me under the rug. I was his last student, but I was also his dirty little secret. That’s why I went through the hellacious beatings I took at the Academy Theater, fighting 3 guys twice my size at the same time, being thrown into the crowd by the Jagged Edge…he wanted me to quit, but I wouldn’t. Now look at a guy like Matt Hankins, someone who sees the best in everyone, someone who, if you hold up your end of the bargain, will give you that chance to shine, will truly believe in you….it wasn’t hard to choose a side when it came time. Being associated with Platinum so closely has cost me a lot in this business. A lot of people don’t like the guy. I passed up a lot of opportunities because I was a self-proclaimed “Stephen Platinum Guy”. Let it be known those days are OVER….I’m a Matt Hankins guy, no matter what that’ll cost me.

Do you care to address the appalling remarks he made to your wife at the last show?

JD: I guess it’s a good thing I was completely unconscious at the time, thanks to Jeff G. Bailey and enough Ether to take down King Kong , or else I’d be in jail right now. I was told exactly what he said, though, and obviously I’m angry, but more than that, again, I’m hurt. I had just signed with PCW when I got married and didn’t really know anybody yet, so, Steve was the only “wrestling” person that attended my wedding. He became friends with my wife, we trusted him. That was our mistake. Steve’s mistake was making things personal, by implying he could somehow be the father of my unborn child.. I’ve got a lot of things I could say about Steve, if he wants to go that route. I could bring up his “women’s self-defense” classes, that were just excuses for him to grab on a bunch of females. I could bring up the real reason Ms. Rachael suddenly picks up and moves to Orlando right before the formation of the Cornerstone, cause it damn sure had nothing with her being tough enough for anything, if you catch my meaning. I could say a lot of things…I’m just too damn classy. Oh wait…oops. Like I said last week, Steve, I’m not your “kid” anymore, I’m not that scared little punk who would let you abuse him at the Academy Theater and thank you for the privilege. You’re in the house WE built now, me, Quasi, Matt Hankins, Brian Blaze, Devlin Valek, Geter…and you’ve made it personal. Bad move.

Devlin Valek, many Porterdale fans are less familiar with your career and your origins. How did you get into wrestling and how did you find your way to PCW?

DV: My road to PCW was a lot different than Johnny’s. Years before Johnny had met Stephen Platinum I had pursued wrestling on my own. I was trained by a man from the Orient by the name of Tetchi Makuji. He roughed me up pretty well with his Japanese style of striking and took me on the road with his tag team partner at the time, Mastodon. Collectively they were known as Massive Tsunami, and I learned quite a bit from traveling from town to town with them. I spent a few years wrestling in promotions in South Carolina and South Georgia before going on hiatus to pursue other interest. Once I got word that Johnny had begun wrestling in PCW I made my way to the Atlanta area. We had always had a turbulent relationship, and at the time we weren’t seeing eye to eye. I eventually left PCW for a year after Sacred Ground Chapter 3, but returned when I found out how badly things had been going for my brother. Johnny called me in to help take care of Quasi and his goons, and we were able to form the brotherly bond we never had before. Now we’re sitting on top of the world as the 2015 Tag Team Season Champions.

At 2015’s Sacred Ground Chapter Six, The Danger City Demons proved many of your naysayers wrong by becoming Tag Team Season Champions. Now that you are poised to defend your title, are there any teams you are looking to test yourselves against?

DV: I’d really like to get my hands on any team from the Cornerstone if they deem themselves worthy to compete in this year’s Tag Team Season. I personally don’t think they deserve to be involved so I’m hoping that we can prove ourselves even further this year by competing against the PCW Champion Geter and Brian Blaze. That would be a true test for the DCD if we could get a victory over Big F’n Deal.

JD: That’s the cool thing about tag team season, we busted our asses to win it last year, and that trophy is ours till Sacred Ground Chapter 7, no matter what, no one can take that achievement away from us. But we certainly won’t be taking it easy till then, we’ve gotta fight just as hard to make it to the finals once again. You wanna talk about tests…I’d say the ultimate test is a couple of friends of ours, Brian Blaze and Geter, Big F’n Deal. We never hooked up in the 2015 season, and I’d love a match with those guys. Not many people would voluntarily seek out a fight with those two, but….we do things a little different in Danger City!

PCW fans are well-versed with your storied past with Quasi Mandisco, the Priority Males, your bitter rivalry, and your grudge matches. How is it to be reunited with a common goal?

DV: I showed up towards the end of Johnny’s rivalry with Quasi, so he probably has a much different perspective than I do. My initial instinct was not to trust him. This is a man who put my brother through hell and almost ended his career by causing Johnny a serious knee injury. I’d honestly rather knock his teeth out than shake his hand, but I trust my brother’s judgement. Johnny has done battle with Quasi for years, so that means he knows him better than anyone. If Johnny is siding with him, I’m siding with him.

JD: Honestly, I surprised myself when I came down to the ring to back him up, and we embraced. I took a step back the next day, shut myself off from communication and went into a dark place to be alone and think, and ask myself if I could truly trust Quasi. What I came to was this…yes, for nearly 4 years, we damn near tried to kill one another, but the one thing I can say about Quasi is, he has a certain integrity. He never offered me friendship with one hand, with a snake in the other. When we were at war….it was WAR.  And I realized myself and Valek, we don’t exactly confirm to societal norms, we have our own code of justice…and so does Quasi. At the end of the day, we have given blood, sweat, and tears to build up PCW in Porterdale, and we’ll be damned if Platinum, Rachael, Bailey, Carpenter, or anybody else tears that down, so with that in mind, to answer your question…it feels….right.

Do you see yourselves on the same page with Mr. Mandisco long term? Or is this more of a “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” sort of thing?

JD: It’s hard to say. It’s not something we’ve talked about. it’s hard to even think “long term” right now when the short term is so chaotic. PCW has faced threats from the outside before, I was recruited to the PCW side as a rookie to help fight the EMPIRE….but never have we seen such a threat from within…the Cornerstone is like the Hydra from ancient myths…a multi-headed, snake-like monster…cut off a head, two more grow in its place. Even the mighty Hercules couldn’t kill it on his own…he needed help to cauterize the wounds after he cut off each head, so they couldn’t grow back….so we’ve got to stick together, it’s the only way to slay this monster. After that? Time will tell.

DV: I’m definitely not going to stop looking over my shoulder. After everything he’s done it’s hard to trust him completely. Right now we are getting along and are on the same page. He’ll have to earn more of my trust over time. Bottom line is as long as he does right by the Danger City Demons we’ll do right by him.

What are your thoughts on the PCW Championship title scene now that Shane Marx has returned?

DV: It definitely will make things more interesting. Shane is a multi time PCW Champion so you know he’s got what it takes to get that belt back. We haven’t seen him in a while so only time will tell if he’s going to stick around to go after that belt or where his allegiances lie in this Cornerstone fiasco. If he does stick around I know he’ll be a power player as always. I’m hoping I can lock up with him eventually and I’m sure my brother feels the same. You never know, he may find a partner and throw his name into this year’s Tag Team Season.

JD: I don’t know exactly where Shane Marx’s head is at. He’d been gone since Sacred Ground and hadn’t really spoken to many of us, that I know of. I hope now that he’s back he’ll be the same Shane Marx I know, because we could sure use his help against Cornerstone, if he’s willing to stand against people like Steve and Rachael, who we all know he was especially close to. I don’t even know if the championship is on his radar right now. Like Brian Blaze said, keeping the PCW title out of Cornerstone’s clutches is the most important thing right now, and I think Geter is the best man for that job. Assuming we defeat them…all bets are off. I know me and my brother would both love to hold that title one day. I’ve battled Geter in tag team matches before elsewhere, but never one on one anywhere in the world. If I could earn the shot, I’d love to challenge him. Sure, there’s a…80% chance I’d end up a Johnny Danger-shaped smear on the mat, but…stranger things have happened…

I recently saw on your social media that you created yourself as playable characters in the WWE 2K16 video game. Do you have any plans to create an entire PCW Roster? Is this something fans might have access to?

JD: Time permitting, yeah, I’d love to create the main roster. It’s a lengthy process, I’d say I spent close to 5 hours making myself, and I still am making minor edits to it. I’ll let people know on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/dangerkick) as new characters are available, right now myself and Devlin are both up to download on PlayStation 4 exclusively by searching our names or “PCW”. Come let me know who you’d like added to the game next!

Next week you’ll be facing two members of The Cornerstone. Do you have any comments for The Cornerstone about that match?

JD: Right now, nothing would make me happier than Platinum himself getting in the ring with me. Not that I think he’s got the guts to face us head on, of course, but a Demon can dream, right? Not many people are crazy enough to say this, but I’m dying for another crack at the Carpenter, too. He has yet to be decisively beaten in PCW, but I’ve come closer than anyone else. A few weeks ago, I had him trapped in Shadows of Darkness, my version of the sleeper, and he was OUT. I felt the last bit of life leave his body, then, POW, Bill The Butcher brains me with that damn bat and I’m out cold. So I’d like to finish the job with Carpenter, for sure. Same goes for Trever Aeon, who almost took me out before Sacred Ground, I had HIM beat a couple weeks ago and he pinned me with a handful of my pants then ran like a little….well, you saw it.

DV: We definitely have some unfinished business with Carpenter and Trever Aeon. Trever tried to take Johnny’s knee out….again and our run-ins with Carpenter seem to always end with blood or fire. I just want to squeeze their heads until slimey ooze drips out of their eyeballs. Any opponent from the Cornerstone will satisfy though. We’ve had our showdowns with Bill the Butcher and Dementia as well. A couple of Neanderthals that want to scream and sling chains around. They want to get nuts? The Danger City Demons are nuts, and we’ll get hardcore and kick them in the face if that’s what it takes. Another interesting option would be Platinum and Bailey vs. DCD. Hmmmm now that could be very appealing after what those two did to us on the last show. Ether on a pole match? Doesn’t matter, we’d knock the crap out of them in any match and they know it. We’re ready for the Cornerstone.

What will 2016 hold for PCW and more specifically for The Danger City Demons?

DV: Early in 2015 I knew we were doing something special. No matter how high the odds were stacked against us we overcame them, and the PCW fans latched on to our fighting spirit. It’s because they knew that we weren’t just fighting for us, we were fighting for them. In 2016 they’re going to need us to keep fighting more than ever. The fate of this great company hangs in the balance, and the Danger City Demons vow to defend it to the bitter end. Once we rid PCW of the scum that has infected it, we may just have to rename Porterdale to Danger City.

JD: We’ve proven we are a force to be reckoned with. We’ve proven we are in it for the long haul, and that we deserve our spot in PCW. We’re not just a fly by night tag team, we’re brothers, we are in this together. I’ve permanently inked Danger City on my chest as a reminder of that. We take our spot very seriously, the town of Porterdale cried out for a hero, and out of the smoke we came. We don’t wear capes, but we look better in black, in war paint, covered with twisted metal…and when we help topple the Cornerstone, when we tear down their foundation and watch them crumble, we’re gonna rebuild Danger City on top of the ashes, and it’s gonna be the party of the millennium. Strap in and enjoy the ride.

Danger City Demons and the rest of the PCW Superstars will appear in Porterdale on January 16th. I urge you to come out and see the show and support the Danger City Demons in their fight against The Cornerstone.