How often do people who dream big as children make their dream become a reality? Well in the case of Justin LaBar, he did just that.
LaBar is a professional wrestling fanatic who is the co-creator and executive producer of an Internet wrestling talk show entitled Chair Shot Reality on Wrestlezone.com. On top of that, he writes weekly columns for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and is the host of a radio show on TribLive Radio.
Not only does he get to talk and write about wrestling on a weekly, if not daily basis, he is also a performer for the International Wrestling Cartel. The IWC will host its Night of Superstars 4 in Meadville, Pa. on April 11, which LaBar will be participating in as a manager, but more on that later.
LaBar said he fell in love with wrestling when he was just 3-years old and never looked back. Growing up near DC, he often went with his grandfather who would drive wrestlers from city-to-city. LaBar said among the wrestlers he got to travel with were George “The Animal” Steele and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, who were pretty big names in their heyday. Back before the Internet exploded and made it so fans can get the backstage scoop on what’s happening, it was just good guy versus bad guy. LaBar got to experience the behind the scenes aspect of the business at a young age which is when he knew he wanted to be involved in the business from that point forward.
“As a kid, you just see the good guy and bad guy and now I’m behind the curtain and got ‘smartened up’ so to speak,” LaBar said. “To see the entire entertainment and business side of things, or at least get to see there was such a thing, that kind of locked that I had to be a part of that someday. I knew that my career, my life had to do something with wrestling.”
In 2009, Chair Shot Reality was launched. This show started off in LaBar’s bachelor pad with fellow co-creator, Josh Isenberg. The first episode was watched by roughly 500 people. Now the show gets thousands of viewers per weekend and has 268 episodes. LaBar says a reason CSR was created was because Wrestlezone wanted some video content.
“I did it because Wrestlezone wanted some video content, and I had no idea if it would make it to five episodes or whatever. Never could have dreamed it could have gotten to where it’s at now.”
LaBar gets a ton of feedback from fans all the time, which he says is flattering.
“It’s great to feel important for anything, especially with something you love. People wonder how I can stay so positive and engaged in it; every Monday Night Raw is critical for my work,” LaBar said.
Over the years, CSR has had various guests drop by and give their take on the wrestling business. Some of those guests include former WWE, WCW and TNA writer Vince Russo, Matt Hardy, Rob Van Dam (who was on the debut episode of CSR via phone call, among others. With all the big names, CSR gets added credibility. LaBar says the guest that stands out most is Russo.
“Vince is such a character in every sense of the word and he’s so instrumental. He’s really fascinating because he just has a whole different perspective of thing,” LaBar said of Russo.
LaBar describes building his week like a stand-up comedian would. He watches Monday Night Raw ever week and tweets during the show, then has his radio show on Tuesdays, then writes various columns which leads to the filming of CSR at Point Park University. He says he gets ideas for columns by having conversations with the people who call into his radio show.
“The (radio) show is almost like an impromptu rehearsal of CSR,” said Labar. “It’s great going one-on-on with the callers.”
One of the highlights of LaBar’s career was being able to help recent WWE Hall of Fame inductee, Connor “the Crusher” Michalek, who was the first ever recipient of the “Warrior Award.” LaBar was contacted by Michalek’s mother and through word of mouth and the help of various people, including Brie Bella, Connor got to meet his hero, Daniel Bryan. Not only did Bryan fall in love with the kid, but so did the rest of the WWE locker room.
“It’ll probably be one of the greatest things I’ll ever do. This kid was so full of life for the hand he was dealt to him. It certainly wasn’t all me; it was a giant effort,” LaBar said of what it means to him to be a part of something so special.
Each weekend, LaBar, Isenberg and fellow co-host Brian Gulish give their perspective on what happened in the wrestling week. LaBar describes Isenberg as the “best dance partner you could ask for” and Gulish as the anchor of the show.
Not only does LaBar discuss wrestling on a weekly basis throughout his various platforms, but also steps in the ring as a performer for the IWC. He is the manager of former IWC Heavyweight champion, R.J. City.
LaBar says the crowd is going to see a tremendous show on April, 11.
“Last year was one of the greatest feelings in the world of standing in the middle of the ring, then Bret Hart’s music hit and all the energy in the building was sucked into the middle of the ring and the ring was shaking,” LaBar said of last year’s event in Meadville.
WWE Hall of Famers, Ric Flair and 2015 inductee Kevin Nash will be involved in the show. Flair is hosting a “Ric Flair Invitational Battle Royal” while Nash will be teaming up with Asylum and John McChesney to take on Gangrel, Warchild and Krimson.
Other big names scheduled to appear are Matt Sydal, who used to be Evan Bourne in WWE, Rhyno, who recently has been working in WWE’s NXT, and Tommy Dreamer, who is the current IWC Heavyweight Champion. Dreamer and Rhyno are going to do battle for the gold.
LaBar will be accompanying R.J. City as he competes in a triple threat match against Colin Delaney and Dalton Castle to determine the new number one contender for the IWC title.
LaBar has a simple message for his opponents: “Don’t doubt me. Last year we outsmarted Bret Hart, we can outsmart anybody.”
The meet and greet will start at 4:30 pm and the belltime is set for 7 p.m.
You can keep up with CSR by going to either Wrestlezone.com or CSRWrestling.com. You can follow LaBar on Twitter @JustinLaBar.
Photo credit: Chair Shot Reality
