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http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/sports/article/0,1651,TCP_1154_2182106,00.html

By ALEX MARVEZ
August 14, 2003

Charles "Konnan" Ashenoff has good reason to wonder why more Hispanics
like him haven't assumed top spots in U.S. wrestling promotions.

Census Bureau figures released earlier this year revealed Hispanics
are now the nation's top minority group with 38.8 million U.S.
residents, which translates to 13.5 percent of the overall population.
But in World Wrestling Entertainment, only 6.5 percent of the talent
roster (six of 92 listed employees) is believed of Hispanic origins.

The only prominent Hispanic performer on WWE's Monday Night Raw (9
p.m. eastern, Spike TV) is ring announcer Lillian Garcia. Eddie
Guerrero and Rey Mysterio are fantastic on Smackdown (8 p.m.
Thursdays, UPN), but both remain mired in mid-level roles.

WWE did recently sign Carly Colon, whose father Carlos Colon has
headlined in Puerto Rico for decades. But barring an unexpected shift
in the promotion's matchmaking patterns regarding smaller grapplers,
Carly Colon (who was renamed after his father by WWE officials) is
expected to assume an undercard role when called up from Louisville,
Ky.-based developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling.

"It's hard for a Caucasian who doesn't speak the language and
understand the culture to give a damn about Latino wrestlers," said
the Cuban-born Ashenoff, who currently works for Nashville-based
National Wrestling Alliance/Total Nonstop Action. "They don't know how
to write for them or what the Latino audience really wants.

"They don't promote to Latinos. They hope Latinos happen to be
watching their show. Why would you watch their show in English when
none of the Latinos that are out there, and there aren't that many to
begin with, aren't perceived as superstars?" Although he believes
NWA/TNA executive Dixie Carter is trying, Ashenoff said the promotion
has done a poor job catering to Hispanics. Like WWE, NWA/TNA does have
a Spanish announcing team of which Ashenoff is a part for its weekly
Wednesday night pay-per-view telecasts.

But Ashenoff - who was a major headliner in Mexico before joining
now-defunct World Championship Wrestling in the mid-1990s - is the
only NWA/TNA performer pushed as a Hispanic star. Other well-known
Mexican wrestlers like Super Crazy and Juventud Guerrera were beaten
upon their NWA/TNA debuts and quickly left the promotion.

Ashenoff said some excellent young wrestlers of Hispanic origin like
Paul London, Low-Ki and Amazing Red have downplayed their backgrounds
because of a negative stigma within the industry, which seemingly
stems from how poorly talented Mexican cruiserweights were promoted by
WCW.

"This is how bad racism has gotten in wrestling," said Ashenoff, who
remains influential in getting Mexican performers booked in the U.S.
"Latinos now won't use a Latino name if they think they can use an
English name and get further. They think showing your ethnicity is not
a real good thing."

With Census Bureau figures from March 2002 showing one in every three
Hispanics is under the age of 18, Ashenoff believes wrestling
promotions eventually will be forced to change as the population does
the same. Mexican wrestling promotion Asistencia Asesoria y
Administracion (AAA) - whose telecasts airs as part of a weekly "lucha
libre" wrestling block from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays on Galavision -
also has found recent success on limited forays into the U.S.

"Once Latinos start seeing Latinos on TV not only used right but using
Latino names and being proud of it, (change) will start to happen,"
said Ashenoff, who was raised in Miami before moving to Chula Vista,
Calif. "They (Promoters) will have no choice."

As for his own career, the 38-year-old Ashenoff is currently limiting
his in-ring work because of back problems. But Ashenoff has emerged as
a prominent part of NWA/TNA programming as a member of 3 Live Crew
along with Ron "The Truth" Killings and Brian "B.G."
James, who was
known as Road Dogg in WWE.

The trio has made racism in wrestling into a lowbrow parody through
vignettes that spoof stereotypes about Hispanics, African-Americans
(Killings) and, as Ashenoff jokingly describes him, "white trash"
(James).

"I said (to NWA/TNA promoters), 'You've got three guys you don't know
what to do with. Put us together and let's see what happens,'"
Ashenoff said. "We started doing vignettes. Some have not been good,
but some have been hilarious. People are starting to get into them."

X . . . X . . . X

Booker T's back problems are so severe that he dropped WWE's
Intercontinental title to Christian last Sunday on a non-televised
show in Des Moines, Iowa. To show how unplanned the switch was, WWE
didn't have cameras at the event or even acknowledge Christian's
victory on its web site until after this week's Monday Night Raw
telecast. It's unknown when Booker T will return to action.

X . . . X . . . X

Q: Whatever happened To Perry Saturn?

- Donald McReynolds, Lauderhill, Fla.

A: Adding even more tattoos isn't the only thing Saturn has done since
leaving WWE last November. Besides his work for independent
promotions, Saturn (real name Perry Satullo) has wrestled for NWA/TNA
and toured with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

More of the Charles "Konnan" Ashenoff interview can be found at
www.wrestlingobserver.com.

(Questions can be sent to Alex Marvez c/o the South Florida
Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301, or
e-mailed to amarvez(at)sun-sentinel.com. Please include your full name
and city of residence. Because of volume, no phone calls will be
accepted and letters will not receive a written reply.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com)


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