The Crystal Ball 10.18.06: Interview With Matt Cappotelli

Ask anyone a couple of summers ago. Ohio Valley Wrestling was the hottest indy show on the planet. Some may even go as far as saying that OVW was better than Smackdown. No matter how you look at it, OVW’s sudden popularity stemmed from a bitter rivalry between two former friends. Johnny Jeter and Matt Cappotelli. After Jeter turned on Cappotelli after Cappotelli broke his leg, Jeter went on to win the OVW Heavyweight Title and began a brutal reign as the OVW Champion. Weeks later after Cappotelli completing rehabbing his leg, Cappotelli returned to the ring and defeated Jeter to become the OVW Heavyweight Champion.

Cappotelli was a great fighting champion. Unfortunately, his fantastic championship run was forced to come to an end abrubtly in late December of 2005. Shortly after getting knocked out by Chris Cage, who had recently turned on Cappotelli as well and joined with Jeter, doctor’s discovered a tumor in Matt Cappotelli’s brain.

Matt came on OVW TV a few weeks later and relinqueshed the OVW Heavyweight title, the ring surrounded by his OVW peers. To this day, there are 3 moments in wrestling history that I feel really touched me as a person. This was one of them. Matt said farewell and said a prayer with the Danny Davis Arena, then embraced Johnny Jeter in the center of the ring, the same man he had such a hot feud with earlier that summer.

This hit OVW fans and Matt Cappotelli fans hard. It seemed as though Matt was finally on his way to the big show on the WWE. A broken leg, a tumor in his brain, all in the same year. Any normal man would give up. Any normal man would pack his bags, submit to his fate and give in.

Not Matt Cappotelli.

Matt has been very actively fighting his cancer and is very determined to make it back to the ring once again. He is also seeing his business, Faith Ink, take off with a lot of success too. This week, Matt Cappotelli took a moment out of his hectic schedule to sit down and answer a few questions exclusively to 411wrestling.com to let his fans know how he is doing and what he has been up to lately.

Steve Sullivan: First off and most importantly, how are you feeling?

Matt Cappotelli: I feel pretty good, God has been good to me that’s for sure.

Have doctors made any progress? What kind of treatments are you going through right now?

Matt Cappotelli: I’m not currently going through any treatments. Doctors have said that treatments would only be beneficial post-surgery.

On a scale from 1-10, 10 being the best chance, what kind of impression are doctors giving you that you will be able to return to the ring?

Matt Cappotelli: Well, i’ve been given everything from a 0 to a 6. some say i should change professions and others give me a slim chance to return actively. either way it’s risky to attempt to go back because you never know what may happen. but that holds true for all of us i think, you never know when something unexpected might happen in our normal lives, let alone wrestling.

Does Vince McMahon keep in contact with you?

Matt Cappotelli: He called me right after I was diagnosed and gave me his full support and said the WWE would stand behind me during this ordeal. I can’t say how much that put me at ease and how fortunate I am to work for a company like WWE.

You recently got married, how’s the married life treating ya?

Matt Cappotelli: Married life is amazing, I have the most beautiful person in the world and I get to wake up next to her each morning. she has kept me strong and centered throughout this.

Do you still live in Louisville?

Matt Cappotelli: Yes, my wife and I bought a house here shortly after we got married.

Do you still watch and keep up with the OVW product?

Matt Cappotelli: Yes, i keep up with all wrestling. I think OVW has alot of talented performers and the TV show is a very good product. It went from Cornette to Heyman to Gagne to Al Snow and Danny Davis. You can’t go wrong with that list.

Who do you see as some of the better up and comers in OVW right now? Would you go as far as to say someone in OVW now could be the next big superstar in the WWE soon?

Matt Cappotelli: I think The Untoucheables have a great gimmick. Deuce, Domino, and Cherry are a great trio and I’d love to see them get to the main show. Seth Skyfire is very talented cruiserweight that I hope gets a shot soon. Fearless Jack Bull is another entetaining gimmick if it’s done right. I’m sure there are more, but that’s off the top of my head.

The feud you had with Johnny Jeter really put OVW on the mainstream map. Can you talk about how that came to be and what that did for both your career and Jeter’s career?

Matt Cappotelli: Well, it’s kind of been the story of my life. Something good always seems to come from something unfortunate. Jeter and I were teaming when I broke my leg. Heyman came in a decided to have Jeter turn on me when I was rehabbing. Jeter won the OVW title and took me out, setting up my comeback and title chase. I had a great time working that angle with Jeter, some of the best times of my career. I think, at least in OVW, this rivalvy really solidfied Jeter and myself as guys who could and were ready to step it up for WWE.

What do you think about Jeter’s Spirit Squad gimmick? Were you ever contacted about possibly being in that?

Matt Cappotelli: I think the gimmick is great. I enjoy watching them every week since they debuted. No, i was never contacted about being a part of the spirit squad.

What do you think about the WWE having 3 brands now?

Matt Cappotelli: I think it’s great for the workers, it opens up alot of jobs for guys and gives another place to work on TV.

Do you keep in contact with Chris Cage? How is he?

Matt Cappotelli: Yeah, I see Cage all the time. He’s doing well, working the Indy’s and trying to get back with WWE.

Let’s talk about Tough Enough. How did you hear about and get involved with that?

Matt Cappotelli: Well, i watched the first two seasons on MTV. I missed the deadline for the 2nd season and told myself I would try out if they had a 3rd season of it. I had no idea how else to get into the business, I never knew Indy’s existed or that there were wrestling schools out there. Needless to say, TE has a 3rd season and I sent in my video. I almost missed the deadline again and had to overnight my video to get it there on time.

What do you think about some of the other guys who were on Tough Enough that are on the WWE Roster? (Johnny Nitro, The Boogeyman,anyone I’m forgetting)

Matt Cappotelli: Nitro has taken the balll and run with it. It’s awesome to see how well he is doing and how far he has come as a worker. Marty Wright (The Boogeyman) is one of my good friends as well. He’s a very creative, hard working man, who has put so much into his character. The sky is the limit for both those guys.

Who did you learn the most from on the show?

Matt Cappotelli: That’s too tough to answer – I learned so much from so many people. If I had to pick, I’d say Al Snow. He’s been there since day one and has continued to be there for me outside of wrestling. I’ve learned alot from him and respect him more than I can put into words.

Who were some of your favorite wrestlers growing up?

Matt Cappotelli: Piper, Jake , Rick Rude, Superfly, Bulldogs, Hogan, the list goes on.

If you could wrestle any superstar on the WWE roster, who would it be and why?

Matt Cappotelli: HHH as a heel. I think he’s one of the best ever and can obviously make young talent.

WHEN you do return to the ring, if you had to be put in a gimmick, what could you see yourself playing and why?

Matt Cappotelli: It wouldn’t be a gimmick, it would be real life. The cancer survivor who overcame all odds.

What’s the best gimmick that’s not on WWE TV right now?

Matt Cappotelli: From OVW: Fearless Jack Bull – it’s really entertaining if done right. The Untouchables in OVW

Are you close with Shawn Michaels? Is he involved in any of the messages you bring?

Matt Cappotelli: I’ve become friends with Shawn over the past couple years. He’s an inspiration to me and we have alot of common ground regarding our faith. He’s helped me with Faith Ink. – my faith-based clothing line.

You have your own business now, Faith Ink, tell us a little about that, how it came to be, etc.

Matt Cappotelli: Faith Ink. actually developed before wrestling, but it wasn’t until I was diagnosed that I moved forward with it. We make faith-based apparel that speaks the explicit truth of Christ. you can check out our stuff at www.faith-ink.com

If someone wants to support Faith Ink, what do they need to do?

Matt Cappotelli:Check out the website and order something or simply tell a friend, family, co-worker about Fatih Ink.

Is there anything else going on in your life that you want your fans to know about?

Matt Cappotelli: Nothing more than that, I appreciate the continued support from everyone and want to say thanks to all of you who have supported Faith Ink. by purchasing something or spreading the word!

I want to give a very special thank you for Matt Cappotelli. Matt has been a true inspiration for many people, including myself. Matt’s positive attitude should be something we should all learn from. While many of us complain about debt, or about relationships and consider it the end of the world, guys like Matt Cappotelli, whose problems are ten fold most of ours, maintains a very positive attitdue and a determination to make his life better.

So once again, thank you Matt.

I also urge you to support Matt’s business, Faith Ink. I know everyone is not a Christian and I know many of you practice different religions, but for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, this is an awesome opportunity to pick up some threads that spread the good Word.

That’s going to do it for this edition of The Crystal Ball. This was huge to me. I want to hear what you think. I’ll be talking about this interview a bit more down the road. I’ve got several interviews in the work for you, including next week, where there is a great chance we will talk with OVW future standout Boris Alexiev.

Also, The Crystal Ball is turning 1 year old in a few days, so be sure you check out my 1 year anniversary edition soon! Until then my friends…

Quit Staring At My Ball!