Global were paying $75 per shot and only running twice a week. There was no way I could live on that sort of money if I had to move to Texas and pay for things like rent. I suggested bringing someone in as my brother who I would dress identically to me and we would call ourselves the Bad Breed, that way we could split the costs of living. Ak liked that sound of that. Oh I loved your gimmick kid, and with two of ya... we got a babyface tag team down here called the Ebony Experience (Booker T and Stevie Ray, who would later go onto become Harlem Heat in WCW) and we aint got no one for them to work with. I told Ak that it all sounded great, then asked him to hold for a moment because my Grandma was calling me. He thought I was away from the phone and didn't realise that I could overhear him talking to referee James Beard who helped him run the company saying, Im talking to that Axl kid on the phone, he wants to come back. He aint got no allegiance to Pedicino. Man, we gotta bring that kid back. He says he is bringing another kid too that looks just like him. We gotta bring these guys down here to feud with Book and Ste, we might just have some money. Think about it, yknow, you got these two big hip-hop muscled guys going against these two British punk rockers. That could be money. Hearing all of that made me confident that I had some leeway with which to negotiate. When I got back talking to Akbar he asked eagerly, Well when can you kids get down here? but I told him that it still wasn't really financially viable with just the two of us. I suggested that he brought in Dave McCallister, who as well as being an announcer was also one of the best referees out there. Dave was someone who never got his big break in the business because he chose to put his family first and opted for a real job in broadcasting instead of pursuing wrestling, but he was good enough for the big leagues for sure. Ak was happy to accommodate Dave, telling me, Yeah, bring the kid, we will use you guys. We will get you guys going down here. With that, I was going back to Global. I now needed to find someone to fill the role of my tag partner. My first thought was to ask a guy called Sexy Steve Valentino, a small and muscular wrestler who I thought I would have a good tag dynamic with, but he saw the light, found religion and left the business, so instead I went with John. I called him and said, Get ready brother, because we are going to ESPN. We are going to national television. John became my kayfabe brother Ian Rotten, and for the role to work he had to become a doppelganger of me. He had only recently dyed his hair black for a new gimmick he was trying called Zach Blades, and now he had to bleach it blonde so it was the same as mine. The dye only really took to his roots and the rest of it ended up a mixture of purple, blonde and black. It worked for the gimmick though. Once John was fitted with a leather jacket which we painted up with anarchy signs and covered with safety pins a pair of my old tights and a Union Jack knee pad he really looked the part.
The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart.
James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.
