Norine Stice Interview

WUOnline.com contributor, Norine Stice.

Patch: Welcome to a new edition of Patch’s Place. This edition we are going to talk to a young lady by the name of Norine Stice who is a writer for WUOnline, http://www.wrestlingupdateonline.com.

Patch: Norine, could you tell us how and when your love of professional wrestling started.

Norine Stice: My entire family watched wrestling out of St. Joseph, Missouri, every Saturday afternoon when I was growing up. Gust Karas was the promoter and Bill Kirsten was the announcer. I believe they started out as All Star Wrestling and later changed to the name to Central States Wrestling.

Patch: Growing up who were some of your favorite pro wrestlers?

Norine Stice: THE favorite was, is and always will be Handsome/Mad Dog Harley Race. But, I cannot tell a lie, I also liked Bulldog Bob Brown, Bob Geigel, Sonny Meyers, Pat O’Connor, and Cowboy Bob Ellis.

Patch: When did you begin writing for WUOnline?

Norine Stice: In 2008 as a writer. Then Michael Weaver, Jr., the site owner, gave me the title of Independent Federations Editor and I said “Oh yeah! I can do that!” And took it on a worldwide scale, finding out as much about the indys as I could.

Patch: Have you ever written for any other magazines or sites? If so, what?

Norine Stice: I started writing right after the Chris Benoit disaster for Wrestling Bodyslam but mostly about WWE and TNA. Then I realized that I was never writing anything positive. It was always negative. I wrote for Pulse Wrestling but again it was more about WWE and TNA and less about the indys and that’s where my loyalties lie. I grew up in an era of territories and kayfabe and I miss that. I miss the action and the real feel of wrestling. WWE and TNA doesn’t have that.

Patch: I know that you favor the heels in professional wrestling. What makes you like them over the faces?

Norine Stice: I laughed out loud at this question. I was not a “heel” fan until Harley Race appeared on my television screen. He was the most amazing wrestler I had ever seen. He was methodical and precise and did what he had to do to win. He had tattoos, bleached blond hair, and was hated by everyone. His promos were like no other. His voice and face would change…his voice went from normal to a gravely, murderous sound. I was hooked. I don’t think Mr. Race ever worked as a face. Fans wouldn’t allow it. He was heel. I do like some faces but I think that often heels must work harder to draw the audience in, to generate the heat. I respect them for the work they do. A professional wrestler is the only one who would ever want the fans to literally boo him or her. Everyone else in pro sports lives for applause.

Patch: Ever thought of stepping in the squared circle to wrestle? Why or why not?

Norine Stice: I would have loved to have worked as a wrestler. When I was of the age to actually be a wrestler, I was too small and underweight. (5’2”, 105 lbs.). I also had a problem with extremely fragile bones. I would have spent more time in casts than I would have in the ring. There were no “divas” at that time. There were female wrestlers. I still have issues with “divas”. If you can’t wrestle and you want to be nothing but a Playboy pin up, go do that. And stay away from the ring!

Patch: When you’re writing for WUOnline, how do you go about choosing someone to interview?

Norine Stice: I just wade through the rosters of indy promotions and try to pick out someone who is interesting and entertaining and knows their wrestling. When I started the 10 Questions With…it was with the roster of RXW in Panama. No one, including myself, seemed to know there was wrestling in Panama. From finding out about Panama, I discovered wrestling in Ecuador, Chile, and most recently, the Dominican Republic. I initially intended for the 10 Questions With…to be only about wrestlers but it has grown to include ring announcers, ringside announcers and promoters.

Patch: If you were to step into the ring yourself, who would you most like to wrestle and why?

Norine Stice: My two favorites…Betty Nicolli and Jean Antoine. I watched these two face each other more than once and loved every match. Nicolli worked heel and Antoine worked face. They didn’t hesitate to go all out for the fans. And either one could most likely still beat me in under 5 minutes!

Patch: Norine, in your opinion has wrestling changed for the better or for the worse?

Norine Stice: I have to draw a line here between wrestling and “sportz entertainment”. Anyone who grew up on a steady diet of WWF/WWE has no idea what true professional wrestling is about. I don’t disagree that quite a few of the workers in WWE or TNA paid their dues in the indy circuit before they made it, but if you have never seen them work outside the “big two”, you have no idea what they are capable of in a wrestling ring. Not having wrestling in an area that used to have great wrestlers makes me believe that it has changed for the worse but I like to stay positive and the more I find out about the indy promotions, the more I like what I hear.

Patch: You say you prefer writing about independent wrestlers/wrestling. Why? What makes them better to you over say the WWE or TNA?

Norine Stice: I find the creativity, the style and the heart of wrestling in the indys. They have the ability to put on a show that has a little bit of humor, a little bit of story line and a whole lot of rasslin’! I feel that professional wrestling is a team sport and you are only as good as your opponent allows you to be. The fact that indy workers can put together the matches they do and sacrifice their lives to be on the road, sometimes for very little in the way of compensation, proves that they love what they do.

Patch: Any final thoughts or comments?

Norine Stice: Please support your local indy promotion. If there isn’t one close to you, check out the DVDs most indy promotions have for sale or find them on YouTube. If you are looking for more information about the indys, please check out Wrestling Update Online and read up on the promotions, check out the 10 Questions With…and the columns written by indy workers. You can find me on facebook, MySpace, and WU Online. If there is an independent promotion I have missed, please let me know.

Thank you so much for asking me to do this interview and giving me the chance to promote independent wrestling.

Patch: Norine, thank you so much for joining us today.