Joel Gertner at 'The Monster Factory' review

I had the distinct honor and pleasure of attending a tremendously informative seminar this past Saturday at the world famous Monster Factory, headed by former ECW and TNA talent, Joel Gertner. Joel is best known for his stint as the manager of the Dudley Boyz in ECW, and his always entertaining, profanity and innuendo laced pre match promos. He was also the commentator on ECW on TNN alongside Joey Styles.

The Monster Factory is an extremely impressive venue, full of wrestling history. I was personally greeted by the owner/trainer, Danny Cage, and each of the wrestlers there made sure to come up, shake my hand, and introduce themselves. Mr. Cage then suggested I take a look around.

There was memorabilia and autographed photos from a veritable who’s who of wrestling history, including the impressive list of the Factory’s alumni. This includes Bam Bam Bigelow, The Big Show, Sheamus, Raven, Chris Candido, Balls Mahoney, and a host of others.

Mr. Gertner spoke to all the attendees for quite some time, ensuring everyone got their money’s worth and more. Subjects he touched upon included, the wrestler personality type, the importance of always being on time, moments when it is worth the fight and when it’s not, the wolf vs. the sheep, knowing your audience, the importance of standing out, protecting your opponent, and getting experience at all costs. He also gave a speech about knowing your worth as a performer, which should be transcribed and handed out to indy talent.

The second part of the seminar involved a crash course in promo work. Mr. Gertner made sure every attendee got a chance to show their stuff, and handed out personalized exercises for each. The highlights included “Good News” Tim Hughes celebrating his fortune as the new #4 contender (in a 7 contender field) and Monster Factory Tag Team Champion Clutch Adams explaining just who he is and what his goals are.

This was worth every penny of the $25 I paid, and more. I would highly recommend Joel Gertner to any wrestling school or indy promotion interested in having him come in for a seminar. Every one of your students and regular performers will come out of that experience as a better wrestler and a better personality.

I would also highly recommend The Monster Factory for any aspiring wrestlers out there. Owner/Trainer Danny Cage, from what I saw, is an excellent teacher, not only in ring, but outside of it as well. I personally saw him advise a student who had a tough choice between working that night, or showing his face at Ring Of Honor, who he had previously tried out for, that evening. He clearly cares about not only making his students better wrestlers, but also better people. His fellow trainers are two ECW Originals, The Blue Meanie, and Bill Wiles (Bilvis Wesley.)

The Monster Factory’s next seminar is a 3 day weekend with legendary trainer Les Thatcher, from September 26th-28th. I am told that free lodging can be arranged for those who are coming in from out of town. In my opinion, this is an incredible opportunity for up and comers to learn from one of the best trainers out there.

They also run events monthly, to get their students experience in front of a crowd. I attended a show back in January that featured Colt Cabana, Cliff Compton, Rhett Titus, and The Blue Meanie. There were a lot of kids in the crowd, and I could see each of them had the night of their life. The guys all interacted with them, while the students shone as well, with their work inside the ring and out. Their next event is this Saturday, August 16th. It will feature both the Monster Factory’s Heavyweight Champion Luis Martinez, and their Tag Team Champions, The Factory’s Finest (Adams & Spanos.)

For more information, please visit MonsterFactory.org.

Source: Joseph