_________________________________________________________________ Q U E S T I O N S F O R T H E P R O S: With The Lethal Litigator _________________________________________________________________ [Interview conducted by Tony D. on May 29, 2000] TD: What's your real name, and what gimmicks have/do you use? LL: Real name is Stephen Scarborough. I'm the Lethal Litigator, which means I am a wrestling lawyer. I cut long promos, and hit people with briefcases. I do the stupidest move in wrestling, the "Man on the Moon" Legdrop. My promos have a catchphrase of sorts, which is to do a variation on the "from" "weighing" stuff. Example: From a much better town than the one you live in, weighing signifigantly less than your mom, put your unwashed hands together for the most dangerous lawyer in the country, the Lethal Litigator! TD: What height/weight are you? LL: I am 6' tall, 215 pounds. TD: What circuits do you currently wrestle in? LL: I wrestle exclusively for the CWO (Central Wrestling Organization.) We use all in-house talent (from the Slam City Wrestling School in Denver, CO.) Which makes for great shows. We bring in outside talent sometimes, (like Ann-Marie known as Midnight in WCW, Sonny Ono) but for the most part it is all unknowns. TD: What circuits have you wrestled in? LL: The CWO only, but I have been a plant for some smaller indys. (i.e. obnoxious fan who gets decked by a chair.) TD: What titles have you held? LL: None, though I did get to the semi-finals in a tournament we had for the CWO tag titles (our team and the other was counted out when I put one of their guys through a table.) TD: When did you decide to become a wrestler? LL: When I went to interview the CWO guys. It looked great, so I signed on, handled my try-out just fine, and found I had a gift for promos and taking bumps. TD: And how did you get started? LL: I got thrown into the deep end of the pool early. Within about three weeks of training, they put me on the commentating mic. The CWO has the commentators talk over the PA system during matches so the fans can know what is going on. I did that, as well as wrestle a short match with a great vet in the CWO called Cisco Valentino. TD: Who has been the biggest influence on your career? LL: Probably Ric Flair. His promos and ability to make his opponent look good is what I try to emulate. Also, he showed that you don't have to be the biggest to get heat, just do your job well. TD: What has been the greatest moment of your career? LL: Getting a whole place to chant that I suck, and the cheers I heard when I was put through a table. They really dislike me...I am an unabashed heel, none of this tweener or "cool heel" stuff. TD: Who are/were you trained by? What kind of athletic background do you have before you became a wrestler? LL: I was trained and still am trained by Dan Magnus, who runs the CWO and Slam City Wrestling school. He was a world kickboxing champion, and is a great businessman too. I played football and baseball as a youngin'. I used to help with the wrestling team in high school, and I keep in shape mostly by running. TD: Who is your favorite wrestler to work with in the ring? LL: This guy Hannibal in the CWO...we put on a show with a lot of high spots (me getting cross-bodied off of the top rope onto the arena floor, taking a legdrop from the top rope, chair shots) flawlessly. He takes any bump you want to give, as do I, so we could plan the match without worrying about what the other wouldn't take. It was great. TD: Any major enemies? If so, who, and why? LL: Ringside Ryan Andrews, one half of the tag champs now, is my partner commentator. He is also with the Prophecy, the group that feuds with the Family, the group I am in. We are both commentators, so we turned it into an angle. He is the one I put through a table with my finisher off of the apron, and he is the one who put me through the commentator's table at the end of the show. TD: In which promotion are you the most over? LL: The CWO...though when I attended an AWA show in Denver, fans knew who I was and came up to me. TD: Do you ever consider working in the WWF, WCW or ECW if they are interested in your talent? LL: Sure! I don't have delusions...it would be in the capacity as a manager or a commentator but hey, whatever they want. TD: If you had to pick WWF, WCW or ECW? Where would you go? And why? LL: WCW I think...ECW is basically handled by the WWF, plus their checks bounce. The WWF couldn't use me. WCW is on the upswing, and could use my creative help the most. Plus I like La Parka a lot. TD: Do you have a computer? If so, what do you think of the reporters and sheet writers on the internet? LL: I am a columnist at a number of sites...for the most part I think they are fine, but being a wrestler gives me insight and a diplomat's edge that most of the youngsters on the internet lack. It's a lot harder to do than talk about, guys. TD: Do you have a college degree or any other higher education? LL: I have a Masters in English, and am currently going to law school and finishing up a Ph.D. I am not kidding on this. TD: Any advice you'd give a wannabe wrestler? LL: Backyard stuff is okay, but you are only teaching yourself stuff that you are going to have to unlearn when you go to wrestling school. And you will have to go. Feds want workers, not superstars. If you can't take bumps right and can't deliver moves safely and correctly, you'll be stuck in the lower tiers of the sport your whole career, if you are even that lucky. That, and get huge. Feds want "the look" and the look has a lot to do with size and muscle. TD: Any final comments for the readers? LL: Support the indys...and encourage them to work out good shows. The CWO gets 600-700 fans a show on average with no-named talent because we give the fans what they want, plot lines, characters, good wrestling action with some hardcore stuff. We can't do anything, nor would we want to, without fans. Indys are the foundation of wresling and should be supported. Thanks for the interview, and thanks to anybody reading this.