by GENEVIEVE PAIEMENT

"The bleeding stops in half an hour--it's not like you take out a knife and stab the guy!" Triple X Sexxxy Eddy is shedding some light on the ultra-violent, grotesquely comic (and sometimes bloody) pantomime "sport" that is extreme wrestling. Sexxxy Eddy, aka Eddy Dorozowsky, is a wrestler and co-founder of the local WWS (World Wrestling Syndicate).

It all began back in '96 when Eddy and a buddy were radio DJs at Dawson College. They started an on-air war, continually threatening to kick each other's asses, back and forth on their shows. What started out as a private joke culminated in a very violent wrestling show at an annual Dawson campus barbeque, where they smashed beer bottles on their heads because they "didn't want it to be boring."

Needless to say, they were not invited back the following year. But the show was videotaped and passed around from friend to friend, and the rest, as they say, is WWH (World Wrestling History).

Montreal's WWS models itself after the American ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling), a lower-budget cable and pay-per-view wrestling federation that uses weapons and is aimed at the 18-34 demographic. The WWS is about as low budget as it gets. The matches so far have been fought in a makeshift ring at Wally's Pub with baseball bats covered in barbed wire, metal garbage cans and ladders to smash each other's heads with.

Razors, ravers and world domination

So what's the secret to keeping nick-free when your partner is swinging a homemade medieval-style torture instrument at your head? "Actually, wrestlers have a kind of magician's code of ethics--we can't reveal our secrets," Eddy asserts, expertly deflecting my prying questions.

However, Nixon Stratus, aka Nick Patterson, another WWS co-founder/wrestler, relents and reveals a trick of the trade to induce bloodshed: some guys will hide a small razor blade in an armband and lightly slit their forehead when they're on the ground, supposedly writhing in pain from a particularly savage blow.

But how does one act out such ultra-violence and keep from really getting hurt? "I've had concussions from skiing and football and a broken nose from rugby. I've never been hurt while wrestling," Eddy boasts.

So you think you got what it takes to be a pro wrestler? Watching a lot of wrestling on TV will be a big part of your training--that's where the guys of the WWS started. "But you can't just get off your couch and start wrestling," Eddy warns. "You may not have to be Mr. Olympia, but even the fat guys in the WWF do cardio." So, step two: be marginally in shape and/or big enough to crush your adversary by sitting on him.

While Olympic-style, Greco-Roman wrestling courses are widely available, preparing for the showstyle circuit demands taking expensive training from an ex-wrestler who is willing to work with a dedicated few. Eddy trained in Olympic wrestling for three years before working for several months under a former pro. Eddy says his pro coach was sadistic, having made him learn to fall on a cement floor, and that he's learned more on his own. In fact, he claims that many pro trainers are bogus.

"A lot of these guys are washed-up athletes--they'll teach you how to do the moves and how to fall but they can't teach you charisma and how to entertain," says Eddy, whose opening shtick involves inviting a woman from the crowd to lie down before him while he does a strip-tease and simulates humping her.

According to Eddy, the best way to find a pro wrestling coach (if you must) is to go to the shows, get to know the wrestlers and find out which association best suits your tastes. The other Montreal wrestling organizations are francophone: the NCW (Northern Championship Wrestling), ICW (International Championship Wrestling) and Quebec wrestling royalty, the Rougeau family's Lutte International 2000. If they see that you're devoted and serious, they'll point you in the right direction. The WWS is also open to training anybody who's serious about devoting time to practicing and shows--for free!

As for any impending plans of WWS world domination, wrestling fans and ravers(!) take note: the WWS is planning an all-night multimedia "wrestling rave" extravaganza encompassing live wrestling, light shows, DJs and video projections to take place in the coming months at an unconfirmed large venue. So keep your eyes peeled and watch out: it's gonna kick your ass! For more info call 486-0804. H