Q&A: Marc Hauss Talks Life On The Indies

Marc Hauss was banned from watching wrestling.

His parents didn’t want him seeing the violence and they definitely didn’t want him involved in it. On his 13th birthday, however, the Rochester native had a slumber party and ended up staying awake all night, an opportune time to catch ECW at 3 a.m.

His parents gave up.

Now a 13-year veteran of the squared circle, Hauss has wrestled in Germany, Mexico, Canada and primarily along the East Coast. He’s bodyslammed friends in the backyard and pummeled the “Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander around a horse track. Inspired by Gangrel and Goldust (two characters he’s always loved), Hauss has developed a reputation for entertaining New York crowds at Upstate Professional Wrestling, Xcite Wrestling and Warriors of Wrestling.

On Friday, August 19, Hauss aims to take over Brooklyn at Pro Wrestling BAM, a cavalcade of Northeast wrasslin’ promotions showcasing their top athletes.

He teams with Jasin Karloff to battle Vinny Pacifico and AJ Evers in what’s sure to be a “vulgar display of brutality.”

“It’s a great platform for me to be seen by a lot of people,” Hauss said. “I’ve had many matches with AJ Evers, but haven’t seen him on the independent scene in a few years. What a homecoming it is for him to come into my house and take a beating.”

Pro wrestling is just one facet of Hauss’ life, you see. He’s truly a hustler.

Outside the ring, he works as a customer service manager at EarthLink. He also runs Unlikely Games, a board game company in the process of creating a Magic: The Gathering-style pro wrestling card game.

“We’re going to be one of the first companies that allow you to fully customize a collectible card game that you’ll be able to order online. You can pick a style of wrestling, a class of wrestling, custom artwork, and have it made to order to your house.”

And when he’s not selling dropkicks off the turnbuckle, he helps with the marketing of clothing line American Villain and Dappers Not Dead, a Rochester-based barbershop outlet selling shirts, accessories and pomade.

“My biggest goal is to be able to wrestle full time and support myself and live comfortably without having a nine-to-five job,” Hauss said.

You can follow Marc Hauss on and .

takes place August 19 at 138 Bay 20th St., Brooklyn, NY.

Show starts at 5:30 p.m. Admission: $5

John Corrigan: What was it like being Brooklyn Brawler’s first opponent since his release from WWE?

Marc Hauss: “Interesting. He was a nice guy. It was a very simple, straight by the book match. It was a lot of fun. It was nice to work with somebody who had the longevity that he’s had and hear the stories and learn things and really pick up stuff wrestling him.”

JC: How have the independents changed since you started?

MH: “It’s a lot easier to get in now. Not saying that people are succeeding at the level they used to, but it’s not as difficult to find somebody who knows somebody to get in. Unfortunately, it’s made the independent scene watered down. There are so many people who come off the street thinking they can be professional wrestlers. They sign up for a school that’s not really credited or is run by people who don’t know how to train. They just take anybody’s money. When I started out, they really weeded people out. You really had to work at finding a school that would teach you how to wrestle.”

JC: Most wrestling fans only know Colin Delaney for his brief stint on WWE’s version of ECW. What was he like as a mentor?

MH: “The sad thing is, like you said, the general public knows him for ECW and only knows him as a fall guy. He is an amazing wrestler. He’s head and shoulders above most of the scene nowadays. He’s incredibly smart and knows how to captivate a crowd. I was able to go on the road and be his right hand man in terms of traveling with him for three or four years. I owe a lot of my career to him.

If anyone has a chance to see him, they really should. WWE didn’t really have anything for him and I get it—he’s a smaller guy and he didn’t have the typical look or whatnot. But on the independent scene, man, he’s special.”

JC: Why did you change your ring name from Marc Krieger to Marc Hauss?

MH: “As Marc Krieger, I was the generic Rick Rude-esque character. I was floundering, just trying to figure out who I was. Then I went to one of the Ring of Honor camps and ‘Brutal’ Bob Evans said, ‘Your last name is house. Why are you not using your real name?’ From that point forward, I went as Marc Hauss and people liked it.

It’s not a gimmick. It took me a long time to learn that unless you are 100% gimmick and over the top, it’s better to just be yourself turned up. As a babyface, it’s the Hauss Party: going out for a good time and relating to the fans. As a heel, it’s Marc Hauss: Whose house? It’s mine. Outwrestle me? You’re not going to. Force me out of my ring? You’re not going to.”

JC: It’s a brilliant idea for independent wrestlers to attract publicity by getting sponsors. How did your deals with American Villain and Dappers Not Dead come about?

MH: “I had a manager at the time whose name was ‘Mad Dog’ Bobby Rogers, who knew a guy who knew a guy who ran American Villain. The owner came to all the wrestling shows and said he wanted someone to be the face of his brand. ‘I want the biggest, baddest heel I can find in the area.’ So Mad Dog recommended me.

People think they can get a sponsorship and that the company will just give them stuff. That’s not how it works. You have to be of value. One of the people that I started watching to figure this all out was Colt Cabana. We, as people, are creatures of habit. We like that security of knowing no matter what is going on in our lives, on a certain day at a certain time, something will be there. Colt releases his podcast at a certain time on a certain day each week. If you create a schedule that people can follow, they become accustomed to it.

Monday I’ll post flyers. Tuesday I’ll post a promo. Wednesday I’ll post my matches from the week before. Thursday I have a video plug. Friday I do my live podcast and a contest giveaway. Saturday I do a Facebook Live that sets up the next week’s contest. I do that every week without fail and it creates a nice community. It’s important nowadays to create that brand and push yourself as an independent entity.”