Wrestle Talk with ArabbidB3aver welcomes Cabana Man Dan tonight!
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Wrestle Talk with Arabbidb3aver has the flip flop wearing , high flying Alabama Legend is here tonight to talk about everything from New South Pro Wrestling to his early days in the business, strap in get shot off and lets get slammed!
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Wrestle Talk with Arabbidb3aver has the flip flop wearing , high flying Alabama Legend is here tonight to talk about everything from New South Pro Wrestling to his early days in the business, strap in get shot off and lets get slammed!
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00:00wearing the hi-fi and extremely exciting Cabana Man Dan
00:03from New South Pro Wrestling, Forever Pro Wrestling
00:06and Pro South Wrestling and many, many more, CMD.
00:11Thank you, sir, for being here with us tonight.
00:14How are you doing?
00:15I am doing good and your introduction has fired me up, baby.
00:22I'm sitting here in the Spartan Wrestling Arena
00:24where they're doing training classes in another room.
00:27So you might hear some people getting bumped around,
00:30but I'm trying to be in a locker room backstage
00:33ready to rock and roll with you, Rabid Beaver.
00:37And I appreciate you inviting me onto the show.
00:39I mean, we got a lot to talk about.
00:41I mean, Alabama legend.
00:42I mean, you know, Mike Jackson's still out there.
00:44So, I mean, I'm always gonna be chasing his coattails
00:46as far as Alabama legend,
00:47but I appreciate the nod for sure.
00:50You're very welcome.
00:51First off, thank you for agreeing to be here.
00:52My fans and myself have some questions for you.
00:55We would love to get into that.
00:56Are you ready, sir?
00:58Oh yeah, I am.
00:59Let's go.
01:00All right.
01:01So let us get to know you, Cabana Mandan, a little bit more.
01:04The fans wanna know and have asked me to ask you,
01:07how did you get the name Cabana Mandan?
01:11Well, it rolls off the tongue.
01:13A name for a wrestler is always super important.
01:15You always need something memorable for the most part.
01:18I mean, you know, there's some people
01:20with kind of generic names that get over huge,
01:23but I always wanted to be more of a character since day one.
01:26This is actually the same name I backyard wrestled as,
01:30Cabana Mandan when I was 15 years old in the late 90s.
01:35So it's always just been my character.
01:37I always wanted to be the Islander character.
01:38I always wanted to tap into the Filipino heritage,
01:43and that's just who I have been.
01:44I was a big RVD fan,
01:46and I liked having the three initials
01:47because you can get the crowd to sing along.
01:50So, you know, C-E-M-D is a really good chant
01:53when you're getting your ass kicked,
01:55and it really fires you up.
01:56So that's just the way it's been.
01:58It's a really good chant when you're winning too.
02:00I mean, you can tell the crowd is behind you
02:03because they're going C-E-M-D, C-E-M-D.
02:05I mean, they definitely want to hear it and see it go on.
02:08So we got to see you a few weeks ago
02:10at one of the shows that New South was holding,
02:12and also at Forever Pro Wrestling.
02:15We are extremely excited to have you here.
02:17Can you tell us what it's like to be Cabana Mandan?
02:22It's very busy right now.
02:25You know, wrestling since 2001
02:27with a six-year break in between.
02:29I've been back on the Indies since 2016,
02:33and it wound up being busier this part of my career
02:36than it was the first nine or 10 years
02:39where I just pretty much just stayed in Alabama and Georgia.
02:41But, you know, it's just really busy.
02:45You know, I try to stay focused
02:47primarily on New South right now.
02:49That's my home promotion.
02:50I'm really in the trenches with these people behind the scenes
02:56and in front of the crowds, you know.
02:59It's just where a lot of my time is prioritized,
03:02helping them get as many butts in the seats
03:07and making towns and doing deals
03:10and all that kind of good stuff.
03:12And I'm with Forever Pro.
03:14I don't wrestle a whole lot of places,
03:16but that's somewhere I try to make it
03:18because I've known Kevin Ryan for a long time,
03:21and he's always been a good dude to me and vice versa.
03:26So I've got a lot of time for Kevin.
03:28And, you know, when he asked me to be part of his show,
03:30it's hard to resist.
03:32And, you know, I like to not just be at one place,
03:35but at least I got somewhere else
03:37where I can kind of do my own thing
03:39and just go to the show as a wrestler only,
03:43and I can just wear my wrestling hat,
03:45wrestle a dude, and go home, you know.
03:49It makes it so much easier when you're able to do that
03:51instead of having to focus on all the back scene stuff,
03:54all the drama, things that happen in the wrestling business
03:57that we all know of, but nobody really wants to talk about.
04:00And Cabana Man Dan, whenever you broke into the business,
04:04you know, it must've been hard for you.
04:06Who trained you?
04:07What was the journey and how's it look like today?
04:10Oh man, kids today have it made in the shade.
04:14You have schools you can go to, there's social media,
04:18you can do your own video and photo editing on your phone,
04:21you can put yourself out there in a snap.
04:25Let me tell you about 2001.
04:27So I was 16 years old
04:29and I went to a movie gallery, video rental store,
04:34and I was looking at wrestling tapes
04:35and the person working there said,
04:36hey, you like wrestling?
04:38There's a show in center Alabama that, you know,
04:41they said they have a training school.
04:42So I go up there, which wasn't really a training school.
04:45It was in the back of an antique store
04:47for wrestling Christian fellowship.
04:49The promoter was Chief Little Lynn,
04:51which is if you're a long time Georgia person,
04:53you might've heard that name back in the day.
04:56That's, you know, who trained me initially
04:59in the back of the antique store
05:00where they had matches on Saturday nights.
05:02And it was like an indoor yard sale type thing.
05:05And I got my start there.
05:08Eventually the show closed
05:10and this is before social media was big.
05:13I mean, there was space or there was my space a little bit.
05:16And it was literally, I had to get word of mouth.
05:18It was like, where do I go now?
05:20So I was literally getting word of mouth
05:22from other wrestlers.
05:23Hey, where can I get wrestling reps at?
05:26And they would tell me and stuff.
05:27And I'd actually have to mail VHS tapes to promoters
05:31and write them letters and emails and stuff.
05:34So it's a lot easier now.
05:37Oh yeah. Long story short.
05:38Especially with the invention of social media
05:41and the invention of putting yourself out there
05:43through the internet and making sure,
05:45like the internet was just in its very beginning stages
05:47when we were growing up,
05:4896 through 2002 was like the very infancy
05:51and it's just flown and taken off.
05:53So I actually started Cabana Man Dan
05:57working in video and video production
05:59for the CW in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
06:01And we were doing church shows
06:03and a little guy came in and he said,
06:05by the name of Harley Race.
06:07And he said, you know, if you'll put me on the show
06:10and if you'll get me a time slot,
06:11I'll pay you every week to do it.
06:14And we had a board meeting about it
06:16and I was the deciding vote for that factor.
06:19And I said, I want him.
06:20I don't care what it costs.
06:21I want this man to be on the show.
06:22I want him to do it.
06:23And we got him locally in this area
06:26at that time that was going on.
06:27It was on CW 53 and it would only air
06:30at two o'clock in the morning.
06:31Now mind you, so he picked like the worst time slot
06:34to be on, but it aired at two o'clock in the morning.
06:37And you know, what happened from there was just a miracle.
06:41So he hooked me up with Dr. Tom Pritchard.
06:43Dr. Tom Pritchard gave me a social media class,
06:46taught me how to use all the tools that we're using today
06:49and what we're doing today.
06:50And then we've just moved forward.
06:51So I know exactly where you're coming from,
06:53from just people walking in with a VHS tape and going,
06:57please, please, can you play this?
06:59Please, can you look at this?
07:00Please just help us to get noticed.
07:02And that was some coming from somebody
07:04who had a huge name in the wrestling business
07:07and they were just so scared
07:09to even give the man an opportunity to get on the air.
07:13So I definitely understand where you're coming from
07:15and how the internet has changed.
07:17The social media market has changed everything.
07:20Today, you can have something go viral
07:21with 1 million, 2 million, 3 million views
07:24in a couple hours if you put it out there properly.
07:27So let's get back to it though.
07:29So recently we know that you had a match
07:32with Roma Miller, a flip-flop on a pole match.
07:35And can you tell us what promotion that was in
07:38and what it was like to finally get your hands
07:40on Roma Miller after all the trash he talked?
07:44Well, it was for Primetime Wrestling.
07:46They're no longer functioning, unfortunately.
07:48That was their last event in Gadsden.
07:51And it was really fun.
07:53I've joked for a long time
07:55that I wanted to do something on the pole match,
07:59like so bad, especially flip-flops on a pole match.
08:01It's just like, we can never make it make sense
08:04anywhere else.
08:05And I mean, we just made it happen at Primetime
08:09and we talked some trash about it for a couple of weeks
08:11and just made it happen.
08:12And it was a really fun and entertaining match.
08:15And I think there was gonna be more
08:18to the program with Roma and I,
08:21but as in wrestling, plans change, pal.
08:25On the fly, on the fly.
08:28And that's the thing that nobody really wants to talk about.
08:30So, and there's another aspect to this too.
08:33We always hear card subject to change, right?
08:36But there comes a point in time where the card is changed
08:39and you've got to let people who are in on the show
08:41know what's going on.
08:42Because if you don't, the wrong things could be said.
08:45You could damage people's reputation.
08:46You could have, especially in the wrestling business,
08:49the wrestling business is so small.
08:51If you just say the wrong thing
08:53about the wrong person at the wrong time,
08:55that could be the difference
08:56from them getting booked 12, 13 shows
08:59to getting booked one show the whole year.
09:02So that's a big thing for them.
09:05So I definitely understand where you're coming from,
09:07where they had the stipulation
09:09and the promotion shut down.
09:11Unfortunately, that's a very unfortunate situation for them.
09:14I hope that one day that they will come back
09:17and they will come back strong
09:18and you'll be a part of that in one way or another
09:21when it has happened.
09:22Now let's move on just a little bit.
09:24At Forever Pro Wrestling,
09:26we got to see you a couple of weeks ago
09:27and you had a heck of a competitor in the ring with you.
09:30Can you tell us a little bit about that match
09:31and the rivalry between you two?
09:34If you're talking about the match,
09:36well, let's say I've got two rivalries going on now,
09:38but the match that I had most recently
09:40for Forever Pro was against Kevin Ryan.
09:43And it didn't get too heated.
09:46It was a little silly here and there,
09:47but when gloves came off eventually
09:49and we really had to step it up,
09:51I mean, it was a match that's never happened before,
09:54at least one-on-one.
09:55I think we've been in like tag matches
09:57and triple threats, but never a one-on-one situation.
10:02And it was fun.
10:03It was fun.
10:04It's a match I definitely want to do again
10:06and try to get that win back, baby.
10:09But on the other side of my Forever Pro drama,
10:14the last time they were in Calhoun, Georgia,
10:17I wrestled Sal Rennaro
10:18and the match got interrupted by Sunny Days getting involved.
10:22And then Shane Oakley came out to make a save.
10:25Oh, freaking heartless Shane Oakley.
10:28And I wasn't super familiar with Shane.
10:31That's on me for not doing my homework
10:32on literally every single member of the roster.
10:35And unfortunately, yeah,
10:37he hit me in the back with a kendo stick
10:38and I took the finish from happy madness and lost.
10:43So just announced this week that at Forever Pro
10:47this Friday, September 20th,
10:49I get my hands on Shane Oakley.
10:52Friday, September 20th,
10:53you're going to get your hands on Shane Oakley.
10:55Do you have anything you would like to say
10:57to Shane Oakley right here live, sir?
11:01You messed up, son.
11:05That's great.
11:06Ms. Kassara Hughes has come into the chat box on Facebook
11:09and she says,
11:10does your toes ever get stepped on
11:13when you're in the ring shoeless?
11:15Don't get me wrong.
11:16You're pretty fast on your feet.
11:19My toes get stepped on more
11:22behind the scenes, metaphorically.
11:24No, I really don't.
11:26Maybe like in a battle royal,
11:29they'll get stepped on.
11:31I haven't broken any toes.
11:32I have sprained an ankle once and I have lost a toenail.
11:35So yeah, after 20 years, that's pretty good.
11:38Pretty good run.
11:39You've had a pretty good run with that.
11:41Not to change the subject,
11:42but one of my friends has asked me to ask you
11:45if you're down with evil and Rolando Perez,
11:48or do you think evil sucks?
11:52I don't even know why somebody would waste their energy
11:57typing on a keypad or a cell phone screen
12:01to even think I would care at all about evil.
12:04They can not let the door hit them on the way out.
12:10I've got a long history with one member in particular
12:13and that's Rolando Perez.
12:14We're just like arch nemesis.
12:16No matter where we go,
12:17there's always a little bit of heat there.
12:21As there should be, I do believe Cabana Man, Dan.
12:23I believe that Rolando Perez
12:25has definitely forged his way in the business
12:27and he's got something to prove,
12:28but I believe you have something more to prove
12:30than Rolando has.
12:32And I think that that's where it's coming from.
12:35A long, long time ago,
12:36when Rolando was first breaking into the business
12:39and trying to get his foot in the door at New South,
12:42he got his foot in the door all right
12:44as the fake Cabana Man, Dan.
12:46Now this is before IWTV was in existence.
12:49This is like lost footage almost now,
12:51but for a while he was promoting himself
12:55as the real Cabana Man, Dan.
12:57And he even beat me for a time
12:59to win the character and the name, the likeness,
13:02the move set and the flip-flop chops.
13:05And I was just Dan,
13:07wrestling in black trunks, black knee pads and boots.
13:12That's an atrocity.
13:13So I eventually won all the rights
13:17to Cabana Man, Dan back from him.
13:19But I had people crying in the crowd
13:22because it was so good.
13:23So it was awesome.
13:24It's my favorite story that no one today even knows about
13:27because it's not really recorded anywhere and it's sad.
13:31Well, Rolando wants to relinquish it from history as well
13:35because he wants to keep all the fame and glory to himself.
13:38You know, that glory hog he has.
13:40Such a good man.
13:41It exists on Cage Match.
13:42It's never going away.
13:44That's right.
13:45Not to change the subject,
13:46but what a hell of a match you had
13:48at All Business against Tyler Franks.
13:51A few months ago that you had right there
13:52at the Friendship Lodge at New South Pro Wrestling.
13:55Do you have any words for Tyler?
13:56Are you kind of got some animosity built up?
13:59Is there anything going on there?
14:00Are you going to get another chance at that big belt?
14:03Absolutely zero animosity towards Tyler Franks.
14:06I respect the hell out of him.
14:09He came back to New South
14:12when he was at a crossroads in his wrestling career,
14:14whether he stick it out with New South,
14:17he stick it out with the wrestling business altogether.
14:19He was, he didn't know his way at the time.
14:23And he talked to general manager Dump Sanders
14:27and negotiated a comeback
14:29if he were to get a championship opportunity
14:31with that comeback.
14:33I mean, he earned it,
14:35but at the same time, it's like he came back
14:37because he was going to get a title shot
14:39and he won the championship on his return.
14:42And he's not even the same Tyler Franks
14:43as he was back in maybe April
14:47when that happened, April or May, I have to check it out.
14:50The dude is better every single time
14:53he steps into the ring.
14:55He's a little bit quicker.
14:56He's a little bit more tan.
14:57He's in better shape.
14:59He's got abs peaking.
15:00He's getting bigger.
15:01He's got the shoulders, got the arms.
15:02And now he's the New South champion.
15:04He's on his way to being the best New South champion
15:07that we've ever had.
15:08And I will say that as the third longest reigning champion
15:12in New South history, he's awesome.
15:14And you do the work, you do the right things.
15:18You don't take shortcuts.
15:20And now he's going to NWA in October
15:25and he earned that right.
15:26You know, he works hard for New South.
15:29He works hard for Retinal Wrestling.
15:30He works very hard for NWA Crossfire.
15:33So, I mean, everything.
15:34And, you know, he started with New South.
15:36He got his initial training in a New South ring,
15:39but that wasn't enough for him.
15:40He went and saw Dr. Tom and went to finishing school
15:43is what I like to call it and became, you know,
15:47on the right path to where he is now.
15:49So, I mean, you know, I'm a big, big fan of Tyler
15:52and he knows that, and we've talked a lot.
15:55So, I mean, anything that he gets, he deserves
15:57and it's all been good this year for him.
15:59So, as far as I know.
16:01That's extremely big coming from you,
16:03especially being one of the longest title holders
16:05in New South Pro Wrestling history, you know.
16:08And for you to give him the torch
16:10and to pass the torch on to him.
16:12And I'm telling you, you had a heck of a match
16:14at the Friendship Lodge and it went so far
16:17that the time limit ran out and they restarted it
16:19just so that you could get the match back in.
16:22And they made sure that you had a complete finish
16:25for that match.
16:26And I've got to say, you know,
16:28there was at one point in time you questioned
16:30hitting him with the bell and you had it in your hands.
16:33And for some reason you dropped it.
16:35I was screaming, do it, do it, hit him, get him, hit him.
16:38You know, I was ready for it.
16:39Not that way.
16:40But not that way.
16:42It wouldn't have been right.
16:43So you absolutely have got it right.
16:45The man is polished.
16:46Like you said, he went on to finishing school.
16:48He went on to polish his craft and to make his craft better.
16:51And that's what we have to do every day.
16:53It's not about where we're at today.
16:55It's about where we're going for tomorrow.
16:57Being better tomorrow in this business,
16:59whether it's through announcing, through wrestling,
17:02through being the best behind the scenes person you can be,
17:06even if you're just carrying somebody's luggage.
17:09Funny story, whenever we first got started
17:12in the business, in the business,
17:14that's what we did is whenever they were holding matches,
17:17we put up the ring.
17:18We took down the ring.
17:19We tore the apron down.
17:20We tore the mats off of it.
17:22We put the boards down.
17:23If it was a steel complex, we moved the steel complex out.
17:26I mean, we did everything that we had to do
17:29to make sure that we were inside the business
17:31somehow, some way.
17:32And eventually over time we gained a reputation
17:36and gained respect and got to where we were going.
17:39I want to say, if you do it the right way,
17:41you work hard and you try to better yourself every day
17:44and you're always looking to better yourself,
17:47and it doesn't matter.
17:48You can learn from anybody.
17:49You can learn from the man who's holding the mop
17:52in the broom, or you can learn from the man
17:53who's inside the ring throwing people around.
17:56You can always learn something from somebody.
17:57Just better yourself every day and you're going to go far.
18:00So-
18:01And that's the more you know with-
18:02Yes sir, go ahead.
18:04And that's the more you know with Rabbit Beaver.
18:06That's right.
18:07And you're absolutely right.
18:08I mean, I still put the ring up.
18:11I still take it out.
18:12I still take out the trash.
18:13You never stop paying dues.
18:14I mean, wrestling has given me a lot
18:16and I'm always continuing to give back to it
18:20one way or another.
18:21And I've gotten to do a lot of really crazy cool things
18:25in the last 20 something years,
18:27but I'm almost convinced that the things that I do
18:31that are the greatest in my career are yet to come.
18:35Yes sir.
18:36I'm always behind the scenes
18:37in the actual business of wrestling, honestly.
18:41And that's not even just like trying to make a match card
18:44or anything like that.
18:45No, that's that, you know, I can help with that,
18:48but I'm more focused on how can we make the most money
18:52because this is a business
18:53and how can we do it the right way by out promoting,
18:57out working and getting an interest
19:00where people know they're going to vote with their wallets
19:03and they're going to come to a New South show.
19:05That is my job right now.
19:07And you know what?
19:07You do a heck of a job for everybody that's out there.
19:10I mean, a couple months ago,
19:12you guys were promoting for Princeton.
19:14You guys were in Princeton at the high school
19:16and you guys were out there just doing everything.
19:19I got to see every time that you posted,
19:21every time you put something up for New South,
19:22you and Dump.
19:23Dump Sanders is a phenomenal promoter.
19:27I have to say that first and foremost.
19:29There's lots of people who talk about sharing things
19:32and getting flyers out and sending people tickets
19:35and doing different things.
19:37The man does it.
19:38There's a difference in doing it and talking about it.
19:40And he's just not a talker.
19:42He's a doer.
19:43And you guys just promoted everything that you've done
19:46for the past, you know, even the one year in,
19:48or I believe it was the nine year anniversary
19:50that you just had.
19:51Is that correct?
19:52Nine years that you just had.
19:53The promotions that came out for that,
19:55it was like every other day he was sending me,
19:57he's like, don't forget, you know,
19:58please put it out there.
19:59Please help me.
20:00And you know, that makes a big difference
20:03whenever you're talking about it,
20:04you're getting your product out there,
20:04you're being seen, you're having other people
20:06talk about your product and you're making it work.
20:09That's a huge thing.
20:09You guys do an excellent job on that.
20:12The sky is the limit for New South Pro Wrestling right now,
20:15as long as you stay the course
20:17and you keep doing what you're doing.
20:18I'll tell you that first and foremost,
20:20especially from the sellouts that you're having
20:22in the high schools.
20:23My God, Cabana Man Dan, talk about it.
20:26I mean, you guys sold out over 650 people
20:30at the anniversary show.
20:32The following week you sold out
20:35and then two weeks down the road,
20:36you sold out again in the Friendship Lodge.
20:38You guys have just been selling out everything
20:40that you're going to in every place you're going to.
20:42And you may have had some hiccups along the way.
20:44You might've had some people try to stifle that fire,
20:47but you guys are burning strong.
20:50Right.
20:51And like you said, it's just, you know,
20:52we compete with ourselves, we fight our history
20:56and we had a good showing for anniversary show.
21:00I think we're a little high on your number,
21:02but we wanna get to, we've had 650 at other shows before,
21:08but it was a very, very good crowd for a very new venue.
21:11And the sky is the limit.
21:12We're really setting up an incredible 2025,
21:16especially in the North Alabama Huntsville area.
21:18I mean, we're having new South shows
21:21at the Vaughn Braun Civic Center twice this year.
21:23Yeah.
21:24Or actually by the end of the year,
21:26this will be our third show at the Vaughn Braun Civic Center.
21:31WWE runs there, AEW runs there, GCW runs there.
21:34I mean, we're in the same building as superstars.
21:38Yes, sir.
21:39So we're doing the right things, you know.
21:42Well, you're putting in all the right work
21:44and speaking of putting in all the right work,
21:46I know there's a man
21:47that you've been in the ring with before,
21:49but I have to ask, would you like to challenge one
21:52or be in the ring with one, Mike Quackenbosch?
21:57Well, me and Mike go way back.
22:00We've wrestled before when I was new to the business,
22:02probably in like 2005.
22:05Quackenbosch literally tied me in knots,
22:08but I also got to meet him that day
22:11and get my foot in the door
22:12because without him, I would have not,
22:14if he didn't wrestle Amazing Red for me live
22:17when I went to New Jersey,
22:19that was a match that made me want to be a wrestler
22:21or transition from fan to actually get in the ring.
22:24And then my goal was to make it to Chikara.
22:28I was in Young Lions Cup five
22:30and their last season, I was added to their roster
22:34and was starting to go up there more and more.
22:37And there was opportunities there
22:38with the WrestleFactory as a part-time coach.
22:41You know, things happen, plans change, pal.
22:43But the fact that things were in motion with that,
22:46you know, that just means that my hard work paid off,
22:51but that wasn't the final destination we keep going.
22:54That's right, absolutely.
22:56So with that being said,
22:57would you step in the ring with him one more time
22:59if the opportunity persisted?
23:01Oh, you know, it is possible.
23:04I mean, we have tagged before.
23:06I like it better on that side of it
23:08because he's not tying me up in circles,
23:10but you know, sure, why not?
23:13The reason I'm saying this, Cabana Man Dan,
23:15is because here in a couple of weeks
23:17at the School of Morton,
23:18he's going to be hosting a seminar.
23:22He's going to be having it.
23:24So if you're interested,
23:26you might be able to get your foot in the door
23:28with Mike Quackenbush one more time.
23:32I don't know if he can handle the flip-flop chops now,
23:34but it would have been good,
23:36like maybe three or four years ago.
23:42Let's just leave it at that.
23:43Like three or four years ago,
23:44I was in a little bit more peak performance
23:46and really could give him a run for the money.
23:47And he's still amazing in the ring.
23:50He wrestled in Alabama a few weeks ago
23:52and hasn't missed a beat.
23:55So, I mean, I wish more people could see it.
23:59All right, Cabana Man Dan, we're running out of time,
24:01but I've got a couple more questions for you.
24:02I think we're going to be able to get them in.
24:04All right, well, that's the thing.
24:06I can talk a lot about wrestling.
24:08That's fine, that's absolutely fine.
24:10Is there anything you would like to say
24:12to anyone watching looking to fulfill their dreams
24:14and becoming a professional wrestler
24:16or getting in and breaking into the business?
24:19Yes, because I mean, getting into wrestling,
24:23it's trial and error and it's learning by making mistakes.
24:27And where you are now is not where you're going to be
24:29in the future, like you said earlier.
24:30But one thing I was guilty of
24:33is I lost the enjoyment of wrestling.
24:40Comparison is the thief of joy.
24:42Yes, sir.
24:43Is where I'm getting to.
24:44And you put in the work, you're gone every weekend,
24:48you're sleeping on couches,
24:49you're sleeping in cars at rest stops,
24:51you're flying on the cheapest ticket on Spirit
24:55with one bag just because you're
24:57just trying to get your name out there.
24:58You don't draw a lot of money,
25:00you don't have the name value.
25:01You might have a value here,
25:02but you have to build that value elsewhere.
25:04You have to wrestle so much where people don't know that,
25:07hey, you're an Alabama guy,
25:08or you're not a Southeast guy,
25:10or you're a Midwest guy.
25:11You're just a professional wrestler.
25:13And if you see people getting opportunities,
25:17they probably earned it,
25:19or they had an easier way in than you,
25:22but don't let that discourage you from what you're doing,
25:26because you got to wrestle with blinders on,
25:29because you would see people kind of surpassing you
25:31in your own way,
25:33that you're thinking they're surpassing you.
25:34But at the same time,
25:35there's hundreds of other wrestlers
25:37that think that they're behind you in line too.
25:40That's absolutely the truth.
25:42Absolutely the truth.
25:43You know, if I'm on this,
25:46people don't realize that,
25:47you know, I didn't realize I'm on the come up
25:49that I actually was on,
25:50because you're chasing it.
25:52That chase, that fire,
25:54you just can't let it get to you.
25:56You can't get that why not me attitude.
26:02You know, if that person got that spot,
26:05and they dropped out,
26:06would you be the next person they call?
26:08Probably not.
26:09Probably not.
26:10So you just got to keep the course.
26:14Well, you said something important by keeping the course.
26:16See, Casey Kazana came on a couple of weeks ago,
26:18and he said,
26:19you never know when your number's gonna be called.
26:22You never know what trip it's gonna be,
26:25or who's gonna duck out of what match,
26:27and they're gonna need somebody to fill up.
26:29And he said, if you put on the show of a lifetime,
26:31and you feel like you're doing great,
26:33it's gonna happen for you one day.
26:35Somebody is gonna notice,
26:36the fans are gonna notice.
26:37And he said, if the fans notice,
26:38that's when it really becomes real,
26:40is because it doesn't matter what promotion you're in,
26:42or where you're at.
26:43If the fans love you,
26:44they're gonna love you forever.
26:46So, I mean, that's so true.
26:47So true.
26:49I agree, and you never know,
26:50especially with, like we're saying with social media,
26:53you never know who's watching.
26:56You never know.
26:56Because I had one match with Derrick Neal,
27:02in Tampa, WrestleMania weekend,
27:04at Family Reunion for IWTV.
27:06We had a match,
27:07and later in my DMs was somebody from,
27:11you know, a global company,
27:13you know, wanting more information about me.
27:15Unfortunately, it was how old are you,
27:16and how tall are you?
27:17And I was like, oh shit,
27:18these are my worst strengths.
27:20I was like, I'm 36 and 5'3".
27:23So, it is what it is.
27:25Like I said, I think my career is gonna expand
27:28way beyond the ring.
27:30Whether that's mentorship,
27:32the actual business of professional wrestling,
27:34and expanding it.
27:37You know, it's gonna, the longevity is there.
27:40Yes, sir.
27:42Absolutely, sir.
27:43I would absolutely agree with you.
27:45I think that the sky's gonna be the limit for you
27:46in the wrestling business.
27:48And you're gonna be able to help and mentor
27:50those that want it.
27:51You know, I got to meet Dusty Rhodes before he died.
27:54And the thrill of his life was helping younger people.
27:58Even if they thought he was past his prime,
28:00or he didn't know anything,
28:03he would just wait for somebody to ask him something.
28:05He would light up like a Christmas tree when they did.
28:08And it just, it made the world to him.
28:11And I see that in you.
28:12I know that that's speaking very big,
28:14but I see that in you.
28:16I think that you're gonna light up
28:17like a Christmas tree one day,
28:19and you're gonna wait on these kids to ask you questions,
28:21and you're just gonna explode all over them.
28:23And they're not gonna know what to do
28:24with the knowledge you're giving them,
28:26but they're gonna try to apply it the best they can.
28:28And you're gonna show them how to apply it.
28:29And I really believe that,
28:32from the bottom of my heart, Commander Mandanda,
28:33I think that you're gonna be there in that position one day.
28:37So you just keep working, and you just keep doing it.
28:38And you're gonna get there, sir.
28:40You get the thumbs up from WrestleTalk.
28:42Appreciate it.
28:42You're welcome.
28:43That's why I like being early on the cards,
28:46because I will be done early, and I just sit.
28:48I don't watch in the screen.
28:49I don't look through the curtain.
28:51I sit down with the people in the crowd,
28:53and I watch the show.
28:55It makes a difference when you do.
28:56I want that experience.
28:57Like, I'm part of the fans now, when I sit down.
29:01And I wanna take in, I like taking in wrestling.
29:03You know, I don't like to stand in the corner.
29:05I like to sit in a chair, as a fan,
29:07and watch the rest of the show,
29:08and try not to bother anybody.
29:11Well, you know they say, if you make work work,
29:12it's always gonna be work.
29:14But if you make work fun,
29:15and you make sure you're having fun at work,
29:17it's always gonna be fun to you.
29:18And that's why we got into this,
29:20is because we wanted wrestling to be fun again.
29:23We wanted to be able to travel, and have fun, and record.
29:26Even though it's work, it's not really work,
29:28because it's fun for us to be out there with you guys,
29:31and haggling, and recording, and having fun.
29:33Well, Cabana Man Dan, we're almost completely out of time.
29:37But I have to ask you, before we let you go,
29:41where are your next bookings at?
29:42And is this gonna be one of those places
29:45that you're gonna be at?
29:46I think I see you right there.
29:49The old Alabama Jam gonna be taking place
29:52with that Fatal 4-Way number one contenders match,
29:54that tag team match, I should say,
29:57right in Gadsden, Alabama, Saturday, September 21st.
30:00Tell us just a little bit about it, Cabana Man Dan.
30:02Alabama Jam is a huge stack card.
30:05Like you brought up, the Fatal 4-Way tag team match
30:07for the number one contendership to the tag team champions,
30:1010 championships held by TNT.
30:12You got the Dumpster Divers.
30:14We are the first ever New South tag team champions.
30:17We had a nice run with those.
30:18It'd be nice to shine up those belts one more time.
30:21You got Annihilation, which they're brand new to New South,
30:25and they're fairly new to the scene.
30:28I don't know if you're familiar with Demon Master One,
30:31a long time Georgia legend wrestler,
30:33blowing the fire with the face paint.
30:35Yes, sir. And all the leather.
30:36Yeah, that's his sons, and they're big boys.
30:41And I see something good in them,
30:42and I wanted to bring them into New South.
30:44Unfortunately, now I got to wrestle them.
30:45So we'll see how that goes,
30:47alongside the Cortez with Esteban Diaz, Zach Johnson.
30:52So, you know, Tony Evans is going to be aloof somewhere.
30:55And then also you have Evil,
30:57and you never know which one of Evil you're going to wrestle,
30:59whether it's Rodney Rockchild, Negatively,
31:01Rolando Perez, or Marcus Dillon, if he's healthy.
31:04So that's a good one.
31:05I absolutely despise Negatively, and I don't know why.
31:08There's just something on the inside of me
31:10that irks every time he talks.
31:13Do you have that same feeling?
31:15He is channeling the ghost of Percy Pringle
31:19every time he opens his mouth.
31:21It's like, I love it, and I hate it.
31:23So it's a weird feeling.
31:24Better words have never been spoken over somebody.
31:27Yeah, I mean, he is channeling Percy Pringle III
31:30every time he opens his mouth now,
31:32and it is the most entertaining,
31:34and you want to see that guy get his ass kicked.
31:36So it's great.
31:37Every time, and it's not even a question of when,
31:41it's just, come on, please do it, please do it,
31:43please do it.
31:45Tell us about your other bookings
31:46that you got going on besides the Alabama Jam.
31:48What's going on with Cabana Mandan?
31:50Well, like Friday I said,
31:51I'll be at Forever Pro against Shane Oakley,
31:55and then I've got a week off somehow,
31:58the last week of September, no shows,
32:00but we're coming back strong October 4th and 5th
32:05at the Von Braun Civic Center for Kamikon,
32:08the Huntsville anime invasion.
32:10We got two days of wrestling,
32:11one hour on Friday on the evening,
32:14and then Saturday we've got a two-hour show block
32:17in the afternoon with special guest,
32:20former WWE star Matt Riddle will be in action.
32:24Nice. So that's huge for us.
32:25That's really huge for you.
32:27So that was, I mean,
32:28everybody wants to see Matt Riddle versus Cabana Mandan
32:31because they want to see two barefoot guys
32:33wrestling it up,
32:34but I think I'm going to have a bros back that day.
32:38Absolutely. I think you will too, sir,
32:40to be honest with you.
32:41Now, before we let you go,
32:43we've already talked about your bookings.
32:44What about your t-shirt sales and merchandise?
32:47You got any merchandise that's available
32:49through Pro Wrestling Tees or anything?
32:51That is right, my friend.
32:52You can go to prowrestlingtees.com slash Cabana Mandan.
32:56There's about a dozen shirt designs on there.
32:59You can get any kind of shirt you want,
33:01whether it has sleeves, no sleeves,
33:02long sleeves or a hoodie, I believe.
33:04If you see me at shows, I also have a plethora,
33:08a plethora, I'm sorry, a plethora of photos,
33:12eight by tens, buttons,
33:14and all sorts of knickknacks at the table.
33:18So.
33:19Absolutely, sir.
33:21And for anybody watching that would love to book you
33:24that has not seen you perform or wants to see you perform,
33:27how can they do so, sir?
33:29I am on all social media platforms, way too much.
33:33Facebook, Cabana Mandan.
33:35I'm on X Cabana Mandan.
33:37Instagram, TikTok is cabana.man.
33:40Or cabana.man.dan.
33:42And email is cabanamandan at gmail.com.
33:44Hit me up.
33:45I've wrestled in 17 states over the past 20 something years
33:48and a consummate professional wrestler.
33:52You tell me what to do, I'll go do it.
33:53I'm gonna show that directly off of your Facebook page.
33:56If you'll give me just a second to get there,
33:57I was trying to look to find it.
34:00As you see right here,
34:00he's got cabana.man.dan Instagram, X, Twitter,
34:04sorry, TikTok, YouTube,
34:06and he's got beacons at cabana.man.dan.
34:08It's beacons.ai forward slash cabana.man.dan right there.
34:12And then as we were talking about your t-shirts,
34:14I know that they're on here somewhere
34:16because I passed them earlier.
34:18There they are right there.
34:19So you can see it right here at prowrestlingtees.com.
34:22That's mydan.html is what it's gonna be.
34:26That's hyphen my hyphen dan.html, correct?
34:32Well, if you just go to prowrestlingtees.com
34:35slash cabana.man.dan, all of them will be there.
34:38The that's my dan shirt kind of had a resurgence slightly
34:41and got wound up on the best sellers
34:43or the hot sellers list somehow.
34:45So that was cool.
34:46That's awesome.
34:47Yeah, next to Joe Hendry.
34:49It's like, come on.
34:50He's like the most overgrown wrestling right now.
34:52How did you perform that?
34:53How did you do that?
34:54Let me head over back to the live scene.
34:56It just loaded up for us.
34:57So they can see that.
34:58That's my dan's shirt right there.
35:00It's $19.99 guys, plus shipping and handling.
35:03So you guys definitely get on that.
35:04Make sure that you've got your sizes.
35:06Your sizes are available directly right here.
35:08Goes all the way to a 5X.
35:12So he's got you covered no matter what you want.
35:14Now there is some extra charges
35:15on the ones that are a little bit above.
35:17They start at $350 and go all the way to $475
35:19plus shipping and handling, just so you know.
35:21But he's got you covered on all your needs
35:23for merchandise and more.
35:26So Cabana Mandan, thank you so much, sir, for being here.
35:29I have to tell you, it's been a pleasure to have you.
35:31I'd love to have you back sometime.
35:33I hope that you'll come back.
35:34And remember-
35:36We have just scratched the surface.
35:39This is just the tip of the iceberg.
35:41I got all sorts of stories and interactions over the years.
35:44So, you know, maybe even after a forever pro show.
35:49Yes, sir.
35:50Absolutely.
35:51It'd be my pleasure to do that with you, sir.
35:53If you guys don't remember anything,
35:56remember to go out and check out Cabana Mandan.
35:58He is super exciting to see.
36:00If you don't believe me,
36:01just check out my reels on Facebook at Joseph D Hughes
36:04and also my rice reels at Cassara Hughes.
36:07You can check them out there or also on his Instagram,
36:10his TikTok and everywhere that Cabana Mandan is.
36:13You definitely want to check it out.
36:15New South Pro Wrestling,
36:16all the video footage that's out there.
36:18I believe that you had a TV taping here recently.
36:21Who was it with?
36:22I want to say it was IWTF,
36:24but I don't believe that was correct.
36:26IWTV.
36:27IWTV.
36:28All of our shows get taped to go up on,
36:32full shows go up on IWTV.
36:34And then after a while, we clip the matches out,
36:37put them up on YouTube.
36:38We take all the copywritten music out
36:40and you can just go straight to the matches on YouTube.
36:43Whether you watch on IWTV, YouTube, or anywhere else,
36:46if it's New South or it's Cabana Mandan,
36:48it helps us make some of those sweet pennies.
36:52Absolutely.
36:53Thank you so much for being here, Cabana Mandan.
36:56It's been a pleasure having you on the show.
36:57And I definitely want to have you back sometime.
37:01All right.
37:02Thank you, sir.
37:03You have a great evening.