Sickhouse Means Business

[Mr. Robert Jackson]

Sickhouse Means Business

by

Mr. Robert Jackson

February 10th, 2009...Impact Zone Wrestling live from the Sets in Tempe, Arizona was holding their second annual Invitational Tournament. In the first round, two gentlemen were scheduled to meet to for the first time ever in their career. Their names? Miracle Mike James & Johnny Manson.

Unfortunately, that match never took place, as Manson was attacked by his future tag team partner in a tag team called the BFF Express: Tyson Tyler. Manson was forced to forfeit the match to James. And now, 5 years later, both men travel the roads together as a tag team known to fans as Sickhouse. Currently competing in High Impact Wrestling down in Tucson, Arizona, Honor Pro in Glendale, Arizona, & Lucha Libre P.O.R. in Phoenix, Arizona, Manson & James have been making a name for themselves. And recently, they've added a third member to the Sickhouse team: their manager, the masked Luchadore Sancho Grande.

Mike James will celebrate ten years of wrestling this coming November, having started his training under the tutelage of Arizona veteran Lawrence Tyler. Johnny Manson, on the other hand, started wrestling in 2007, where he originally was trained by Shockwave but perfected his training with another Arizona veteran, Gabriel Gallo. With the only mainstream independent promotion being Impact Zone Wrestling, where both Tyler & Gallo worked & trained up & comers, the 2 met in the locker rooms as well as training classes that would lead down a strong road & a strong bond between the 2. Manson recently looked back at his career & compared it to today as Sickhouse, "I'm actually enjoying what Sickhouse is doing. There are certain aspects about it that are a lot more fun. And, actually being a part of Sickhouse, I'm a lot better of a wrestler then what I was."

Mike James added his input as he looked back at his ten years. "Being a part of Sickhouse, this is definitely some of the funniest times. I've had tag team partners & I would compare this to Skull & Bones (in IZW), in the fact that we wrestle a lot, we're doing a lot, people are taking notice. But the difference between then & now is that I am actually wrestling with a friend, somebody that I can call & hang out with outside of wrestling," added James.

Manson feels that their history of wrestling each other has a big part to do with the creation of Sickhouse. "There's a certain amount of respect you gain from somebody from beating the holy hell out of them with a steel chair with as many times of what we've done. Part of it, also, is that we're 2 guys who love wrestling," as Manson explains what helped lead to the birth.

*courtesy of April Pierson*

"You can only beat up one of your best friends. You can only work a guy so many times to where you can't work him anymore or you do what we did. It's the classic Cactus Jack/Terry Funk. We'll let these idiots beat the shit out of each other, they'll get over, then what? The next logical sense was to form a team," added James.

James also mentioned, "We have an opportunity to make tag team wrestling a thing again."
James feels that he has had far more success in wrestling as a tag team wrestler then as a singles wrestler. Prior to his days in Elite Xtreme Wrestling as a singles star, James has had most of his championship runs as a tag team wrestler. In IZW alone, James has been a tag team champion with Flood as well as Dread Pirate Bernie, plus also had a successful tag team with Payed Daily in both IZW & Rising Phoenix Wrestling. Though, James has had his share of championships, being the NWA Arizona Champion in IZW as well as the TV Champion in Championship Wrestling from Arizona/Future Stars of Wrestling Arizona, as well.

Manson, on the other hand, has only had one official tag team run, as stated earlier, with Tyson Tyler. And the 2 went as far as to reunite one night only in EXW. But, that doesn't take away from the fact that Manson is also a former HIW Heavyweight Champion. And currently with James, the 2 are the number contenders & involved in a bitter rivalry with the HIW tag team champions, Creature Feature.

"One of the biggest reasons, & yes that is a pun considering how fat they are, is the fact that they're actually holding something that we want: tag team gold," Manson explains regarding the rivalry.

Manson added, "It's not to pat ourselves on the back to say, 'Yeah, we did a good job.' We want to actually take tag team wrestling & elevate it again. And that can not be done with Creature Feature."

"You know, it's been said when you want to make a name for yourself, you find the biggest dog in the fight, you take him out back & shoot him in the head, " includes James.

And that's just what they've done. Sickhouse has attacked the Yetti as he attended an Arizona Wrestling Federation show. They've attacked Monster Mayhem as he attended a Titanes Promotions show. And they've beaten Ogre in a Handicapped Match at HIW since his partners weren't there due to the attacks. Now, Sickhouse has a challenge laid out for Creature Feature to put their belts on the line later at the next show Sickhouse attends.

The most recent promotion for Sickhouse to debut in is the newest Arizona Lucha promotion, Lucha Libre P.O.R. Originally debuting for the company under the managerial services of the Perfect Manager, Toom E Guci, Sickhouse reflects on working with Guci. "To his credit, he got us the job. He got us in the door, he got us pay. But, we've never looked back. For that short, little bit everything was cool," says James.

That is, until Guci turned his back on Sickhouse & brought Team Badd Company into Lucha Libre P.O.R. "They say blood's thicker then water. I can't say that I blame him, per say. He had Badd Company, they came in, too. They didn't want us taking their spot, he (Guci) didn't want us taking their spot, either. Can't say that I blame him but, it makes him a pretty big asshole, " is what James had to say of the turn.

Both teams eventually met in a 2 on 3 Street Fight at Lucha Libre P.O.R., in which Guci, who always claimed to be undefeated in Arizona wrestling, was pinned following a conchairto. James reflects going into that match his thoughts, "Loyalty is a big thing to me. I don't like being stabbed in the back. It's one thing if you're playing favorites, play favorites. We don't fucking stab anyone in the back. And we definetly don't stab somebody in the back who likes sharp objects."

The two teams wound up meeting after the Street Fight...only in a Tag Team Gauntlet Match at Honor Pro's show, where the rivalrly continued. Manson discussed their disqualification in that match, "That's why I took Toom E Guci's cane & shoved it right up against Shot Saxon's head!"

James added, "We weren't out there to win a match. We were out there to beat the shit out of guys & we did!"

Sickhouse then decided to add to their arsenal by introducing their new manager, Sancho Grande, to the wrestling world. Not much is known about the background of this Luchadore manager except that he recently competed in a 31 Man Battle Royal for Vendetta Pro's annual Cauliflower Alley Cub Reunion show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sickhouse explained why they brought in Grande. "There's strength is numbers. We don't speak the espanol so great, he knows a little bit. He's got some ins & outs...AMAZING with paperwork!" explained James.

Manson added, "He gave me a taco!"

"Sancho's a man of mystery. Sometimes, he can't be there. He's got things going on behind the scenes but, we trust him. He looked oput for us when we needed him. It's all good, "James elaborated. James added, "He IS a manager. Take away the handing us chairs, splashing dudes, handing Johnny tacos...he is a HELL of a manager! And that's been crucial for us."

Sickhouse continues to look forward to their future in professional wrestling as a whole. Honor Pro is trying to reestablish the tag teams in Arizona with Sickhouse, as well as Team Badd Company, but other tag teams are now coming out of the woodwork. Teams like the Royal Empire, Dark Carnival, & the Disco Machines, to name a few. "We're going to continue to do the same thing in Honor Pro. We're going to continue to beat anybody who gets in our way," Manson states on all the tag teams.

"It doesn't take a magic eight ball, it doesn't take a crystal ball. It doesn't take a soothsayer, fortune teller, for anybody to know what the future holds," James added. "If you've watched us for the last six months, all we have done is dominate & hurt people. We don't lose. We either win of we hurt people. We haven't gone out on our backs this year. I don't EVER plan on going out on my back EVER AGAIN!"