Post by Toom E. Guci on Dec 12, 2010 20:31:06 GMT -8
The man is known to all Impact Zone Wrestling fans as the King of Phoenix. But currently, there is another title he is proud to add to that list: the Piranha Promotions World Heavyweight Champ. And that man is none other then Payed Daily.
Having wrestled for IZW for around 4 years, Daily accomplished a lot in his short career. And when the demise of IZW occurred, that didn’t stop Daily from following in his dreams of wrestling…a dream that dates back to one of his earliest memories, Wrestlemania III. “I remember sneaking away to my uncle’s house to watch it, as my mom didn't like it. Obviously I was a huge Hulk Hogan fan. I remember Wrestlemania III for sure,” described Daily.
And as Daily got older, his passion for wrestling grew. But Daily’s love mostly came from what he saw on television, as he was unaware of independent wrestling, especially in Phoenix. But a friend of Daily’s was aware of it & mentioned it to. “I had a buddy tell me there was local wrestling. I knew nothing about indy wrestling, so I was down to check it out. It was at a place by 35th Ave. and Indian School. It went away and I didn't hear anything until I went to a Sets show. Triple X (Lawrence Tyler) told me to check out the school and I started.” added Daily.
From there, Daily made his presence known amongst the IZW fans. With “Badass” tattooed on his back, the fans often would break out into a chant of “He’s badass!” in honor of Daily. And that chant was definitely a highlight of Daily’s IZW path. But did Daily have a love for the fans? “I don't like wrestling fans in general. Never have! But the IZW fans were cool. Always went above and beyond anytime any of the wrestlers asked them for anything. Can't hate on that. I wanted to take a shot at a few of them from time to time but, all and all, IZW fans were pretty good.” stated Daily.
As Daily’s career took him further in IZW, he was the man to carry several tag teams to IZW tag team championships. In fact, Daily was a three time IZW Tag Team Champion. Teaming up with Jay Garland, then known as Mr. Showtyme, Sheik Samir Hussein, & Lawrence Tyler, tag team gold did not evade Daily at all. But his most notable tag team would be with Hussein, as they were dubbed by the fans "Sheik Got Payed." Many did not know that originally this was not the path Daily wanted to go, as he mentions, “It was fun. I felt bad, cause I wanted to go singles and I was given the choice, and because Sheiky was so into it, I went with it. He is always a blast”
After working with IZW for a couple of years, another independent wrestling promotion came to town. That promotion was Rising Phoenix Wrestling. Daily jumped at the chance to work for a second promotion when he was invited aboard. “IZW was home. RPW was fun and let you do more of what you wanted. I told the RPW guys not to let some of the guys act like mercs or over step there boundaries, and they did,” is how Daily explained his time in RPW.
RPW gave Daily the chance to work with a former WWE & future TNA superstar…Frankie Kazarian. So what was it like to work with Kazarian? Daily explains it best in his own words, as he thought highly of Kazarian, “It was good. Frankie is a great wrestler. He didn't hold back and he blew me up for sure. I would love to do it again!”
But during his time in RPW, Daily was suspended from IZW for reasons unknown to the fans that he would rather not share. And while working a battle royal in RPW, Daily was thrown over the top rope & landed wrong, injuring his knee. After taking the time he needed to rehab his knee, plus his suspension lifted from IZW, Daily would make his return to IZW & face then newcomer, Tyson Tyler. During the match, Daily landed a punch on Tyler with such force that he dislocated his shoulder. After the match in the locker room, Daily, as well as some fellow IZW wrestlers, tried to put the shoulder back into place. After several unsuccessful tries, a decision was made, & Daily was forced to do something no wrestler, let alone a wrestling fan, wants to witness: Daily was taken out of The Sets via a stretcher while hooked up to oxygen. The IZW roster, as well as fans who had witnessed it, were extremely concerned for Daily. But nobody was as concerned as Payed Daily, himself. Daily reflected on his injury, “I finished the match and tried putting it back in when I got to the back. But it was a no go. I had just come back from my knee injury and what I was thinking was ‘fuck this hurts’ and ‘fuck, I hope this doesn't keep me out long.’ A lot of people don't know this, but when I hurt my knee at the RPW show, my family was there. My mom and nieces are the only ones I didn't want to know how bad it was, so I told them it didn't hurt. But right when I pulled away, I broke down and started crying. Not at all from the pain, but because I had just come back from a suspension and it broke my heart that I knew it was gonna take me back out for awhile.”
At this point, RPW had managed to make a deal & bring the National Wrestling Alliance into Arizona & this was a big deal for local wrestling, as well as it’s wrestlers. The NWA was well known throughout the world for it’s rich history & prestigious heritage it has brought to the wrestling community. And now Daily would become a part of that history & prestige. “It means allot. Hope I have more history to make. NWA, amongst others.” stated Daily.
But after a while, problems arose in RPW & they were forced to save themselves by merging with IZW. And in doing this, IZW became the Arizona chapter of the NWA. Greg DeMarco credited himself for bringing the NWA to IZW & started a stable to invade IZW & make it all NWA. Daily was the first to sell out on IZW after several years of working under the banner, & he did it for his own personal reasons, as he explains, “Money!!! The NWA is a big deal and I was good with that. I was one of the first to join and was not happy after some of the others I didn't like joined, but it is what it is.”
IZW joining the NWA wasn’t the only new thing in Daily’s life. At one point during his career, Daily decided to make a style change on his part…a change that none of the fans cared for, bleaching his hair. “(Laughs) Thanks dick. For my ‘day job.’ Sometimes you gotta switch it up to lay low and not look like you normally do. Lets leave it at that. I dug it but the black is more me,” was Daily’s explanation for the change.
Another change Daily took was gaining an addition to his name. No more was he Payed Daily, but now he was called “The King of Phoenix” Payed Daily. Funny thing is that there is no royalty in the state of Arizona & the governor can not proclaim one person a king. So who gave Daily his new moniker? “Me! I didn't hear anyone challenge it. Did you?” was Daily’s response.
Then in 2009, things started looking rough in IZW. First their home of 5 years, The Sets, shut their doors with no notice at all. Then after running two more shows in a new location, a meeting was held with a decision that disturbed a lot of IZW wrestlers & fans: cease the bi-weekly shows. “I was one of the 3 or 4 people that were there to make the decision and thought it was the right idea. IZW had been miss handled and allot of the guys were being fucking idiots. I don't know what, if anything, could have saved it,” adds Daily.
So that was it. The end of an era in Arizona wrestling history. IZW was only left to do a few school fundraisers with most of the roster going their separate ways. Daily continued wrestling though. In fact, he aligned himself with Piranha Promotions long before IZW’s decision was made. “I was already wrestling some of the Lucha shows. I have a blast doing those shows. Kinda like RPW. I get more freedom and I love pissing Mexicans off!” describes Daily.
And to this day, not only does Daily continue to work with them, but he is considered the top of their promotion as the World Heavyweight Champion. “They do allot of shows but I mainly do the Sunday shows at El Gran Mercado on 35th Ave. and Buckeye. Check ‘em out. Always fun!” advertised Daily.
And recently in Piranha, Daily reunited with another former IZW alumni…Sergio Vega. Vega & Daily never had a chance to team up in IZW, but both were stable mates in the whole NWA Saga. Daily isn’t to sure though what the future holds between him & Vega, nor if there‘s a tag team future for the two. “Sergio would be a good match with me doing the power and him being the speed. He is really athletic and is a great high flier. Who knows? We don't share the same views on allot of things. I have even had him come out with me a few times (he can't keep up) guess I will wait and see how it plays out,” stated Daily.
So now that Daily has been looking back at his time in IZW with open eyes, the big question is who did he look at in IZW as his top favorite? “Triple X. At his best, no one came close. He trained harder, hit the gym longer, and studied longer then anyone else,” was Daily’s stance on one of his former tag team partners.
When asked about who his favorite opponent was though, Daily has some hard choices to make. It’s almost like asking an average Joe which came first, the chicken or the egg? Daily explains it much better though, “I couldn't pick one. I had so many matches that I loved for different reasons. Like sometimes you have to wrestle someone you don't really like, either as a wrestler or on a personal level, and it turns out really well. Or like I never really did a ‘squash’ match and I was told I was taking on someone that had been doing just that, and I said ‘fuck that,’ and without even having to deal with it, the guy I wrestled wanted me to be his first real match. That meant allot. I loved wrestling Lawrence. Jay Garland was always fun. I always hated hearing I had to wrestle Gallo, but the matches always ended up being fun. I liked all the hard hitters. (Hawaiian) Lion and me had some good brawls. Navajo (Warrior) surprised me and I really liked our singles and tag matches. Kaz was different and a great experience. I could go on and on, and I am sure I would forget people that I should have mentioned.”
And another, at the time, future TNA superstar would fall in the category of overall favorite match for Daily, but it would still be hard for him to pick just one. “I liked taking on REDRUM/RELLIK. I liked taking on the Ballards, for sure. I couldn't pick one,” added Daily.
But because of his travels in the world, Daily would participate in a number of matches that he felt were the biggest of his career. Although, these matches would fall for multiple reasons he explained, “Depends on what you mean or what you consider big? I would say the shows I do now are big because the crowds are huge, usually anywhere from 800 to 1500 people. That’s a big crowd for indy wrestling. Frankie or RELLIK would be biggest as far as names. Oh I forgot, I had a six man with Gallo, Disco Inferno and me vs Native Blood and K Dogg! (laughs)”
And you never know if a rematch with Kazarian falls in Daily’s future. Especially since Daily is unsure of where his path takes him, as he feels he’s not 100% ready for TNA or the WWE, as he explains, “I don't feel I am at my best and would like to get as good as possible before I step to the WWE or TNA.”
So what does the future hold for Daily? Granted, only Daily knows for sure, yet he isn’t even sure of it. “Who knows, but GREAT things I hope. I had a... let’s call it a forced vacation, and when I got out... I mean back, I was lucky enough to get invited to the WWE Hall of Fame induction by my brother in law, Mike Knox, and I got to meet all the guys that I hadn't already known or gotten to hang out with. So hopefully I can get back to where I need to be and use some of those connections to make things happen,” responded Daily.
But would Daily be willing to reunite with his IZW Family if given the chance for a One Night Only showcase, “Depends, but most likely I would be down.”
And on that note, Daily shows that he is very happy where he is. Daily is not only spotlighting his talent inside Piranha Promotions, but parades around the ring every week, angering all the fans who attend the shows, & shows off that he is the man to beat to be on top. The long road he followed took Daily through happiness & sadness, triumph & tragedy, in good health & in bad health…and today, he learns from his past to make himself better for tomorrow. Daily’s future is far brighter then many folks have expected & he is proud of himself. After all, the best way to describe it is…Long Live the King!
Having wrestled for IZW for around 4 years, Daily accomplished a lot in his short career. And when the demise of IZW occurred, that didn’t stop Daily from following in his dreams of wrestling…a dream that dates back to one of his earliest memories, Wrestlemania III. “I remember sneaking away to my uncle’s house to watch it, as my mom didn't like it. Obviously I was a huge Hulk Hogan fan. I remember Wrestlemania III for sure,” described Daily.
And as Daily got older, his passion for wrestling grew. But Daily’s love mostly came from what he saw on television, as he was unaware of independent wrestling, especially in Phoenix. But a friend of Daily’s was aware of it & mentioned it to. “I had a buddy tell me there was local wrestling. I knew nothing about indy wrestling, so I was down to check it out. It was at a place by 35th Ave. and Indian School. It went away and I didn't hear anything until I went to a Sets show. Triple X (Lawrence Tyler) told me to check out the school and I started.” added Daily.
From there, Daily made his presence known amongst the IZW fans. With “Badass” tattooed on his back, the fans often would break out into a chant of “He’s badass!” in honor of Daily. And that chant was definitely a highlight of Daily’s IZW path. But did Daily have a love for the fans? “I don't like wrestling fans in general. Never have! But the IZW fans were cool. Always went above and beyond anytime any of the wrestlers asked them for anything. Can't hate on that. I wanted to take a shot at a few of them from time to time but, all and all, IZW fans were pretty good.” stated Daily.
As Daily’s career took him further in IZW, he was the man to carry several tag teams to IZW tag team championships. In fact, Daily was a three time IZW Tag Team Champion. Teaming up with Jay Garland, then known as Mr. Showtyme, Sheik Samir Hussein, & Lawrence Tyler, tag team gold did not evade Daily at all. But his most notable tag team would be with Hussein, as they were dubbed by the fans "Sheik Got Payed." Many did not know that originally this was not the path Daily wanted to go, as he mentions, “It was fun. I felt bad, cause I wanted to go singles and I was given the choice, and because Sheiky was so into it, I went with it. He is always a blast”
After working with IZW for a couple of years, another independent wrestling promotion came to town. That promotion was Rising Phoenix Wrestling. Daily jumped at the chance to work for a second promotion when he was invited aboard. “IZW was home. RPW was fun and let you do more of what you wanted. I told the RPW guys not to let some of the guys act like mercs or over step there boundaries, and they did,” is how Daily explained his time in RPW.
RPW gave Daily the chance to work with a former WWE & future TNA superstar…Frankie Kazarian. So what was it like to work with Kazarian? Daily explains it best in his own words, as he thought highly of Kazarian, “It was good. Frankie is a great wrestler. He didn't hold back and he blew me up for sure. I would love to do it again!”
But during his time in RPW, Daily was suspended from IZW for reasons unknown to the fans that he would rather not share. And while working a battle royal in RPW, Daily was thrown over the top rope & landed wrong, injuring his knee. After taking the time he needed to rehab his knee, plus his suspension lifted from IZW, Daily would make his return to IZW & face then newcomer, Tyson Tyler. During the match, Daily landed a punch on Tyler with such force that he dislocated his shoulder. After the match in the locker room, Daily, as well as some fellow IZW wrestlers, tried to put the shoulder back into place. After several unsuccessful tries, a decision was made, & Daily was forced to do something no wrestler, let alone a wrestling fan, wants to witness: Daily was taken out of The Sets via a stretcher while hooked up to oxygen. The IZW roster, as well as fans who had witnessed it, were extremely concerned for Daily. But nobody was as concerned as Payed Daily, himself. Daily reflected on his injury, “I finished the match and tried putting it back in when I got to the back. But it was a no go. I had just come back from my knee injury and what I was thinking was ‘fuck this hurts’ and ‘fuck, I hope this doesn't keep me out long.’ A lot of people don't know this, but when I hurt my knee at the RPW show, my family was there. My mom and nieces are the only ones I didn't want to know how bad it was, so I told them it didn't hurt. But right when I pulled away, I broke down and started crying. Not at all from the pain, but because I had just come back from a suspension and it broke my heart that I knew it was gonna take me back out for awhile.”
At this point, RPW had managed to make a deal & bring the National Wrestling Alliance into Arizona & this was a big deal for local wrestling, as well as it’s wrestlers. The NWA was well known throughout the world for it’s rich history & prestigious heritage it has brought to the wrestling community. And now Daily would become a part of that history & prestige. “It means allot. Hope I have more history to make. NWA, amongst others.” stated Daily.
But after a while, problems arose in RPW & they were forced to save themselves by merging with IZW. And in doing this, IZW became the Arizona chapter of the NWA. Greg DeMarco credited himself for bringing the NWA to IZW & started a stable to invade IZW & make it all NWA. Daily was the first to sell out on IZW after several years of working under the banner, & he did it for his own personal reasons, as he explains, “Money!!! The NWA is a big deal and I was good with that. I was one of the first to join and was not happy after some of the others I didn't like joined, but it is what it is.”
IZW joining the NWA wasn’t the only new thing in Daily’s life. At one point during his career, Daily decided to make a style change on his part…a change that none of the fans cared for, bleaching his hair. “(Laughs) Thanks dick. For my ‘day job.’ Sometimes you gotta switch it up to lay low and not look like you normally do. Lets leave it at that. I dug it but the black is more me,” was Daily’s explanation for the change.
Another change Daily took was gaining an addition to his name. No more was he Payed Daily, but now he was called “The King of Phoenix” Payed Daily. Funny thing is that there is no royalty in the state of Arizona & the governor can not proclaim one person a king. So who gave Daily his new moniker? “Me! I didn't hear anyone challenge it. Did you?” was Daily’s response.
Then in 2009, things started looking rough in IZW. First their home of 5 years, The Sets, shut their doors with no notice at all. Then after running two more shows in a new location, a meeting was held with a decision that disturbed a lot of IZW wrestlers & fans: cease the bi-weekly shows. “I was one of the 3 or 4 people that were there to make the decision and thought it was the right idea. IZW had been miss handled and allot of the guys were being fucking idiots. I don't know what, if anything, could have saved it,” adds Daily.
So that was it. The end of an era in Arizona wrestling history. IZW was only left to do a few school fundraisers with most of the roster going their separate ways. Daily continued wrestling though. In fact, he aligned himself with Piranha Promotions long before IZW’s decision was made. “I was already wrestling some of the Lucha shows. I have a blast doing those shows. Kinda like RPW. I get more freedom and I love pissing Mexicans off!” describes Daily.
And to this day, not only does Daily continue to work with them, but he is considered the top of their promotion as the World Heavyweight Champion. “They do allot of shows but I mainly do the Sunday shows at El Gran Mercado on 35th Ave. and Buckeye. Check ‘em out. Always fun!” advertised Daily.
And recently in Piranha, Daily reunited with another former IZW alumni…Sergio Vega. Vega & Daily never had a chance to team up in IZW, but both were stable mates in the whole NWA Saga. Daily isn’t to sure though what the future holds between him & Vega, nor if there‘s a tag team future for the two. “Sergio would be a good match with me doing the power and him being the speed. He is really athletic and is a great high flier. Who knows? We don't share the same views on allot of things. I have even had him come out with me a few times (he can't keep up) guess I will wait and see how it plays out,” stated Daily.
So now that Daily has been looking back at his time in IZW with open eyes, the big question is who did he look at in IZW as his top favorite? “Triple X. At his best, no one came close. He trained harder, hit the gym longer, and studied longer then anyone else,” was Daily’s stance on one of his former tag team partners.
When asked about who his favorite opponent was though, Daily has some hard choices to make. It’s almost like asking an average Joe which came first, the chicken or the egg? Daily explains it much better though, “I couldn't pick one. I had so many matches that I loved for different reasons. Like sometimes you have to wrestle someone you don't really like, either as a wrestler or on a personal level, and it turns out really well. Or like I never really did a ‘squash’ match and I was told I was taking on someone that had been doing just that, and I said ‘fuck that,’ and without even having to deal with it, the guy I wrestled wanted me to be his first real match. That meant allot. I loved wrestling Lawrence. Jay Garland was always fun. I always hated hearing I had to wrestle Gallo, but the matches always ended up being fun. I liked all the hard hitters. (Hawaiian) Lion and me had some good brawls. Navajo (Warrior) surprised me and I really liked our singles and tag matches. Kaz was different and a great experience. I could go on and on, and I am sure I would forget people that I should have mentioned.”
And another, at the time, future TNA superstar would fall in the category of overall favorite match for Daily, but it would still be hard for him to pick just one. “I liked taking on REDRUM/RELLIK. I liked taking on the Ballards, for sure. I couldn't pick one,” added Daily.
But because of his travels in the world, Daily would participate in a number of matches that he felt were the biggest of his career. Although, these matches would fall for multiple reasons he explained, “Depends on what you mean or what you consider big? I would say the shows I do now are big because the crowds are huge, usually anywhere from 800 to 1500 people. That’s a big crowd for indy wrestling. Frankie or RELLIK would be biggest as far as names. Oh I forgot, I had a six man with Gallo, Disco Inferno and me vs Native Blood and K Dogg! (laughs)”
And you never know if a rematch with Kazarian falls in Daily’s future. Especially since Daily is unsure of where his path takes him, as he feels he’s not 100% ready for TNA or the WWE, as he explains, “I don't feel I am at my best and would like to get as good as possible before I step to the WWE or TNA.”
So what does the future hold for Daily? Granted, only Daily knows for sure, yet he isn’t even sure of it. “Who knows, but GREAT things I hope. I had a... let’s call it a forced vacation, and when I got out... I mean back, I was lucky enough to get invited to the WWE Hall of Fame induction by my brother in law, Mike Knox, and I got to meet all the guys that I hadn't already known or gotten to hang out with. So hopefully I can get back to where I need to be and use some of those connections to make things happen,” responded Daily.
But would Daily be willing to reunite with his IZW Family if given the chance for a One Night Only showcase, “Depends, but most likely I would be down.”
And on that note, Daily shows that he is very happy where he is. Daily is not only spotlighting his talent inside Piranha Promotions, but parades around the ring every week, angering all the fans who attend the shows, & shows off that he is the man to beat to be on top. The long road he followed took Daily through happiness & sadness, triumph & tragedy, in good health & in bad health…and today, he learns from his past to make himself better for tomorrow. Daily’s future is far brighter then many folks have expected & he is proud of himself. After all, the best way to describe it is…Long Live the King!
