Wrestler PB Smooth chats with Scoop B Radio about his journey. Photo Credit: Twitter
Rising wrestling star PB Smooth chats with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about his career in wrestling and steps he’s taken to get to the next level on Scoop B Radio. Press play below to listen.
Paul Bilbo has always been a fan of professional wrestling.
He even pursued a career in it. A division 1 hooper at Hofstra University who later finished up his career at division 2 Mercyhurst College, Bilbo is currently rising up the ranks in professional wrestling.
A Long Islander, the Hempstead, NY native helped St. Dominic High School to a 52-24 record over his final three seasons.
While there, he also earned All-Nassau County honors as a junior and won the school two Class AA championships.
After school, Bilbo dared to dream. Many dream to play hoops like he did, but how many actually pursue a career in wrestling?
Being a fan of it is one thing. But actually becoming a hooper? That is truly a horse of a different color.
In a recent Q&A on Scoop B Radio, Bilbo, known to his growing fan base as the 7 footer, PB Smooth, discussed how good habits like eating the correct things and utilizing his height to crash the boards has given him a head start in professional wrestling ranks.Press play on the podcast above and read the Q & A below.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: As far as the process of making the jump from indie wrestler to major pro wrestler what do those guys have to go through to get to the point that their names are in lights? You’re going through that process right now.
PB Smooth: It’s just a grind in the beginning, you start out not making much money and you’re just traveling on the road, trying to get your name out there, helping set up rings, training whenever you can and networking. The business is really about networking because you get to meet certain wrestlers in certain places and meet new promoters and when they give you a shot you have to take advantage of the opportunity and the more you work the more people will notice you. It’s just about grinding and getting out there, taking your time and making those sacrifices.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: You’ve wrestled in multiple cities around the country tell me about some of your matches early on because you have a unique story tell me about some of the different leagues that you’re currently wrestling in independently.
PB Smooth: I started for Pro Wrestling Rampage in Erie, PA and the thing about that promotion was that when I trained there we only got to get in the ring once a month, because they didn’t have a regular training facility so I would train once a month, setup for the show and tear it down after the show. I got lucky enough to get hooked up with Johnny Gargano and start training at the Absolute Intense Wrestling School in Cleveland, Ohio and it’s about a two-hour drive from where I live but it was worth it because I got a chance to get in the ring every week and start progressing and they really took an interest in me and noticed my work ethic so they started putting me in big matches in the beginning. I wrestled against Eddie Kingston, Braxton Sutter and Matt Justice just to name a few. Getting trained by a current WWE superstar was just one of the greatest things that could have happened for me, just getting that experience and learning from one of the top vets that was also independent for ten years.
Mercyhurst’s Paul Bilbo, right, takes a shot in front of Bowie State’s Najee White during the first half of the game at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Dec. 17. Photo Credit: Janet B. Kummerer
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: You look at the Rock and he played football for the University of Miami and you played basketball at Hofstra and finished at Mercyhurst College how much do you think basketball helped you prepare for the wrestling ring?
PB Smooth: It’s helped a lot just playing at Hofstra we had to do a lot for preseason. Conditioning at 6 a.m. and then class from eight to ten and then going back to lift and then going to class again just to come back and do more workouts it’s just being in a constant grind and always having someone on your back it just teaches you how to do that second nature wise. I feel that’s what separates me from a lot of people because without having a coach or anyone behind me I still get up at four in the morning and go to the gym I’m still very disciplined about my diet and everything else just having that instilled in me from the college level and then learning how to do all these different plays it transfers over to wrestling because you have to learn how to do different techniques and rules and stuff. From a cardio standpoint I still do a lot of things I learned to get in shape for basketball because it can transfer into a wrestling ring and you have to be in shape for this business especially to be really good because people are trusting you with their lives when you perform certain maneuvers and if you’re tired and you have to life someone at the end of the match it can become a safety hazard so you just have to be ready at all times.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: When I was younger and was watching the attitude era of wrestling with Jeff Jarrett and Razor Ramon, my mom would say that wrestling was fake. But as I look at it now that I’m older, it is kind of like synchronized swimming to me.
PB Smooth: I got larger respect for people in the wrestling business after I got started. Taking a bump is never fun to just land on your back in any degree some people don’t even land on their backs they land on their sides or their front so it’s very technical you have to know the techniques to do things so that it may sting or hurt but you don’t injure yourself per say you know like a lot of fans react to people getting chopped in the chest because it’s something that they know doesn’t feel good but if you do it correctly it will hurt but you won’t kill somebody so just being a professional and knowing how to throw strikes the right way and knowing how to slam people and things like that it is very important to get those techniques down because if you’re not safe to work with in the ring word will get out and people won’t want to use you anymore
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: When you’re doing wrestling training for a move like a jack knife or a powerbomb, what kind of things do you have to be mindful of when you’re getting those maneuvers done on you?
PB Smooth: Well that’s the good thing about being my size you don’t really take too many of those I’d say just making sure that you land correctly by tucking your chin and things like that I based my wrestling style off of believability and makings sure people see me as intimidating or like wow he can really do this to someone in the street so my wrestling style tailors more to that because that’s the type of stuff I like to see in wrestling but that’s not a knock on anyone else that does different things to each his own at this point. There’s a lot of guys now that do a lot of acrobatic stuff that I can’t do so I just do what I can and I do it to the best of my ability.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: So, what’s next for you?
PB Smooth: I’m just trying to get my name out there, I have two shows that are within a two-hour radius of me that I’ll be working monthly and I’ll also be trying to travel to different regions around the U.S. to hit target markets and try to introduce people to P.B. Smooth. I’m going around the south and the east coast and then I’ll be making my way slowly to the west so that’s the plan.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: For you, you started out playing the role of a body guard how long did it take for you to transition from the role of bodyguard to main attraction?
PB Smooth: Well I’m still working on becoming a main attraction but it took a while when you’re a smaller guy you can go out there and wrestle even if you suck you have a chance to come back from those bumps and bruises in my opinion. When you’re a big guy people expect for you to have that presence already. Playing that body guard role was to help me to get that experience of being by the ring, taking in the crowd, and seeing how things are moving without exposing myself for my lack of experience so being a bodyguard definitely helped I did that for about six to seven months before I actually entered the ring for my first match.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: What do you think it’s going to take for people to take you serious in the big ring?
PB Smooth: Me personally I just believe getting the opportunity to be in front of people I think my work ethic speaks for itself when I step through that curtain I think that people will know that I put in that time and effort to be who I am and I think I just need to one opportunity to prove that and things will take off from there.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: When you let your friends and family know you wanted to be a wrestler what was their response?
PB Smooth: It was quite funny, I was finishing up my master’s degree when I first decided I wanted to wrestle and they immediately all said no you’re going to get hurt, it doesn’t make any sense and I’m like I just played four years of college ball if I was going to get hurt I would have already got hurt. You can get hurt stepping out of your house like you can’t live life in fear and wrestling was something I always loved, I grew up watching it with my dad. Growing up my dad worked four jobs and the only time that we had together was when he would come home at night and Monday Night Raw was on and when my grandma would babysit me I would watch it with he so those two were the most supportive people that I told everybody else blew me off like my girlfriend, some of my teachers didn’t want me to get hurt so to see where I’m at now they’re all really happy for me.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Who were some of your favorite wrestlers growing up?
PB Smooth: Test is one of my favorites, I look at a lot of his stuff and kind of steal it and make it my own, definitely Undertaker and Kevin Nash, I also really like the Hardy Boyz even though their style isn’t where my talents lie.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Yeah, I don’t want to see you flying like that.
PB Smooth: Yeah and in my mind, it wouldn’t really make sense when my style is more towards believability and realism so when you see me, you expect me to beat the hell out of them and toss them around as opposed to someone who does moon saws it’s not really my thing. Some people can do it and it works for them but I like to stick to what works for me and be myself.
Kevin Nash played the role of Diesel, Shawn Michael’s bodyguard. Photo Credit: Pinterest
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: How important is stage presence for a wrestler?
PB Smooth: It’s very important because when we’re out there we’re telling a story and that’s the misconception people think that we’re trying to fully emulate boxing, MMA or UFC but no this is story telling. There’s a reason why the Undertaker was a wizard because you’re out there trying to convey emotions and if people were to watch wrestling the way that they watch a movie they would understand it a whole lot more so being able to have that stage presence and get crowd to react the way that you want them to. If you’re a face you want them to cheer you, if you’re a heel you want them to boo you, being able to control a live crowd is like one of the realest thing ever because it’s not easy and it takes a long time to develop that skill.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: If you had to take you five favorite wrestler personalities and make them your own whether that is style, personality or in ring presence who would you say they were for you and why?
PB Smooth: That’s really tough to say because I really try to mirror my personality from 90’s hip hop culture but if we’re just talking moves, I would say Test because me and him kind of had a similar build and his ring style is very similar to what I do so like I watch guys like him. I started watching Bruiser Brody not too long ago just stuff like that but in terms of who PB Smooth is it’s a reflection of all the things I grew up through with my 90’s culture whether it’s the swag that fab has and the way he dresses which is where I came up with call the coroner I’m fresh to death, and I make sure all my ring gear is the nicest, make sure I have a haircut all the time, sometimes I come out wearing a gold chain or a pinky ring and for the seven foot savage aspect I just try to be extremely intense when I’m facing someone in the ring and I get my intensity from watching Kevin Garnett when he played with the Timberwolves so I just try to use the different things that have been around in my life and incorporate that with what I’m trying to do in wrestling.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
PB Smooth: This is bold because you never know what’s going to happen but I believe in the law of attraction and speaking things into existence so I believe I will be signed to the WWE in the next five years and that’s what I’m going to be working towards.
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