Cabana Man Dan hit the scene in Southern Underground Pro a little over a year ago. He debuted in the scramble match at SUP’s Achy Breaky Heart, worked his way to a tag team partnership with Marko Stunt, got his first one-on-one win against Zach Thomas, and went toe to toe with “The Bone Collector” Dominic Garrini. That’s quite the trajectory – the master of the Flip Flop Chop is now one of SUP’s mainstays.
After a year’s worth of growth, Dan became one of the six men featured in SUP’s showcase at IW.TV’s Family Reunion during WrestleMania week. That’s not where the bookings stopped for Dan, though – he also mixed it up with Scott Steiner at Swoggle at AIW’s Slumber Party Massacre, and entered the million dollar battle royal at BLP’s Adventures In Wrestling.
Dan was gracious enough to give me some time to reflect upon the biggest week of the professional wrestling calendar and his involvement in it.
Stoney’s Interview with Cabana Man Dan
SK: You’ve climbed through the ranks at SUP over the course of the past year. You’re one of those guys who stole the show in those vaunted SUP scramble matches and parlayed that into a WrestleMania week booking. What has been your most memorable moment in SUP so far?
CMD: I won’t forget representing one of my home bases in wrestling, SUP, at Family Reunion. That was extremely special considering only a couple of true southern promotions were featured the entire week of ‘Mania. It just felt like a really long time coming for me and I was proud to showcase a taste of my abilities to a larger audience. A very close runner-up was getting the hot tag from Marko Stunt against No New Friends. The Basement East figuratively exploded!
SK: WrestleMania week was pretty chaotic for all of us. If I’m not mistaken, you arrived the morning of Family Reunion – how hectic was that? What was your morning like? And, were you ever worried you might miss the bell?
CMD: I only made it hectic for myself after worrying a bit after both O’Shay and Brickster both had delayed flights Wednesday. My morning consisted of finally being done with packing at midnight, wanting to take a 2-hour nap before leaving Alabama. However, I was too excited and just laid on the couch next to my bags. I had a 2-hour drive to Atlanta and nothing was delayed, in fact the flight left and arrived early. I wasn’t worried about missing the bell once BostonNooga/Ben showing up at Newark to pick me up quickly!
SK: This is the professional wrestling mecca – what did this week mean to you? What was your personal highlight?
CMD: It meant so much to me, at a few times, I had to try hard to keep it together emotionally. This starts my 13th year of in-ring competition that started 18 years ago. It felt like it was finally time! My personal highlight was post-match; huddling up with O’Shay and Brickster and sobbing briefly with them and exchanging encouraging words. Those guys have worked extremely hard to be where they are as well and deserved it.
SK: After months of brutality on you and your teammates at the hands Brett Ison and Sadkampf, what was it like to get the pin fall for your team in the SUP six man tag at Family Reunion?
CMD: It felt like a chapter of a book closing. This was something that had been building for months since Sadkampf formed in SUP and since Brett became THE MAN.
SK: Do you feel vindicated in that win? Or, do you think there’s unfinished business?
CMD: I feel pretty great about the conclusion and the moment, however, it would be nice to also give the SUP faithful in Nashville that match as well. I don’t think there’s unfinished business, but I wouldn’t think that any of the six men in that match would mind another brawl.
SK: Your ‘Mania week didn’t end at Family Reunion. At the AIW show later that evening, you showed up and mixed things up with Scott Steiner and Swoggle. How surreal was that?
CMD: Extremely surreal – each time I think about getting involved with Scott Steiner and Swoggle or watch back the videos, I still can’t believe it. That whole match fell onto me at 9pm that night. So I was just going with the flow and it wound up being very memorable! Both of those men are huge stars and Steiner is a damn legend of pro wrestling. It was an honor to be involved.
SK: The next day you entered the battle royal at Black Label Pro’s Adventures In Wrestling – what would you have done with the million dollars had you won?
CMD: I would have done responsible adult things like pay off my mortgage, take my family on a nice vacation, put back some for my daughter’s college fund, live debt free for a while, buy thousands of flip flops so I don’t have to hunt them down in random Hobby Lobby stores anymore. You know, boring stuff.
SK: The Flip Flop Chop has become one of the most feared maneuvers in pro wrestling – we’ve already started the ‘CMD 4 Bloodsport’ campaign for 2020. Do you feel like people sleep on how much of a badass you are because you’re such a fun-loving and energetic guy?
CMD: I think that people do sleep on how tough of a wrestler I can be. I don’t know how I would handle something quite like Bloodsport – I have no formal fight training! I’ve done several styles of matches, including hardcore, strong style, TLC, ladders, tables! Just the weekend of New South’s HOSS tournament and SUP was one of the most brutal weekends of my life. 4 matches with 7 different wrestlers, eating suplexes on entrance ramps, powerbombs in the ring, on the apron, through a table. Dozens and dozens of chops, headbutts, and kicks.
I love being the fun and energetic character people know me for, but I really enjoy brutality, too. Mixing it up with someone like Dom Garrini and Kevin Ku excites me! I can hold my own with just about anyone, anywhere, anyhow.
SK: The floor is yours – anyone you want to shout out after WrestleMania week?
CMD: I definitely want to shout out the SoBros network, they brought The Basement East feeling to the White Eagle Hall and kept all 6 of us pumped up. Speaking of pumped up, I remember when Righteous Jesse was making his introductions he was getting us SO HYPED in the back just listening. It felt like SUP when we walked out. O’Shay & Brickster are brothers in and out of the ring, they have my back and I have theirs. You know when someone has 100% respect to you and it’s given right back to them. Those are grown ass men. Sadkampf and Brett are legit and I want to mix it up more with them. I only had a few moments with Ku and Brett, but I want more.
Thanks to AIW and BLP with very featured spots on their cards for me. Along with SUP/Family Reunion, it felt like hard work paid off and hopefully the momentum keeps moving forward with all of their promotions and new ones who may have never seen me before. Steve McCash is the man, it was great to get to know him more over the week.
All the fans and online friends that I finally got to meet in person! The whole GCW/IW.tv crew for being ironmen and ironwomen getting #TheCollective the stage to show off.
SK: What’s next for Cabana Man Dan?
CMD: You can catch me these upcoming shows: Southern Underground Pro, New South, Sideshow Wrestling, Absolute Intense Wrestling, Black Label Pro, Flying V Fights, and much more I can’t talk about yet! I’m always available for bookings and would love to visit new locations. Follow me at @cabanamandan (twitter), @cabana.man.dan (Instagram), and on Facebook! I’m always up for making new towns, new friends, and flip flop chopping foes along the way. If you find me at shows, please come say hello and take a photo!
MORE WRESTLEMANIA WEEK COVERAGE
AIW: Slumber Party Massacre Recap
BLP: Adventures In Wrestling Recap
Brett Ison: Kill or Be Killed (Interview)
Candidates For Joey Janela’s Spring Break 4
Christos Mini Mart And Pizzeria Review (Jersey City)
Dominic Garrini Had A WEEKEND! (Interview)
IWTV: Family Reunion Recap
Marko Stunt Discusses His Return To Wrestling Last Week (Interview)
Mose’s Favorite Mania Weekend Matches
NXT TakeOver: New York – Results And Match Ratings
Orange Cassidy Is An Elite Master Of Strategery
The SoBros’ WrestleMania Week In Tweets
So I Watched My First Death Match Last Week…
Southern Underground Pro’s Six Man Tag Match Was Over A Year In The Making
Stoney’s Top 10 WrestleMania Week Matches
Who Was The 2019 WrestleMania Week MVP?
WrestleMania 35: Results And Match Ratings
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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