As a wrestler, he combines size, power and finesse in a manner resembling ECW legend Balls Mahoney with a look like a member of the band Disturbed. Make no mistake, Malus is intimidating. But beneath the surface lies, dare we say it, a promoting genius.
"I'm not a promoter," Malus insists multiple times in our conversation. But what he has done, if not as a promoter, is create a unique wrestling following that has not been prevalent in Columbia, South Carolina for many years.
Having worked many shows in South Carolina under the promotions of CWA and OSCW, Malus definitely had his name circulating around the southeast wrestling landscape, which led to a chance telephone call.
The Loose Cockaboose, a restaurant/bar in direct proximity to Williams Brice Stadium has been a frequent stop for the Gamecock faithful on football game days. What Malus found was that the establishment was looking for something a little different than what they used to getting with local bands and collegiate sporting events.
"They wanted to put together a wrestling show, but the thing was none of them had ever put together a wrestling show or had any experience in the wrestling business. I was given a budget of $800 and one month to put together a show. That was in the spring of 2010."
With the time and money constraints working against him, Malus envisioned a tight five match card to maximize the budget he was given with high quality talent. Again, Malus found his plans altered.
"The venue wanted a seven hour show; kind of an all-day wrestling event. I knew it was impossible to have a card that filled an entire seven hour slot. So I worked it out to have local bands play in between blocks of matches."
In the end, Malus had six intermissions between sets of two wrestling matches a piece. The crowd was mostly sparse throughout the show. It was a learning experience for Malus and for the Cockaboose.
If there is one thing Malus is adamant about (besides not being a promoter) it's about evaluating and recruiting good talent. He quotes Dustin Rhodes, whom he cites as one of his favorite wrestlers to work with and talk to. "Dustin told me simply, 'If you're good at something, never work for free.'"
Malus saw by having to fill a large time slot with only $800 that he had to recruit a lot of local wrestlers who were more than willing to work for free just to get on a card. Unfortunately, and it was no strike to their effort, a lot of the talent was not seasoned enough to put on a good show.
But Malus and the venue were committed to putting on a second show. A better show than the first.
That would take place in the fall, aptly named Fall Brawl 2010.
The second show from Malus and the Cockaboose featured a budget double the size of the first show and a lot more planning before hand, not to mention a lot more trust in Malus' ability to find high quality talent to feature on the card. "For the second show, we brought in twice the number fans as the first. The signature of the card was bringing in Gunner from TNA."
With a certain amount of success derived from Fall Brawl 2010, Malus stepped up his game in putting together the show this past spring. He scored a coup by booking Bill DeMott, who at the time was garnering huge ratings as one of the trainers of the rebooted Tough Enough for WWE.
Again, the turnout was greater than the previous two shows.
Now with the pressure of topping himself again, Malus has pulled out all of the stops in putting together Fall Brawl II, which is slated to take place Saturday, October 22. To change the format of the show, he is introducing a throwback to the classic days of WCW: The Lethal Lottery.
Back in 1991, WCW introduced Battlebowl as a part of the Starrcade pay per view, which combined elements of the WWE's Survivor Series and Royal Rumble gimmick matches. The idea was to have randomly created tag team matches (of course pairing faces with heels at some point) and have the victors compete in a battle royal at the end of the night to declare one undisputed winner.
In creating his Lethal Lottery, Malus has assembled quite the collection of wrestlers, with over twenty competitors from nine states. The rules will be consistent with the classic Lethal Lottery rules, with the winner being declared the first TLC Lethal Lottery Champion.
'Timber and I have been working the Carolinas for years, but we've never wrestled each other on the same card. That's something I'm really looking for ward to. That's why I love an event like this."
And Malus doesn't skimp on other perks to spending five dollars for his wrestling show. Along with having a burgeoning card of quality talent and matches, fans will also have the opportunity to attend a meet and greet with the wrestlers performing as well as receive autographs starting at 3pm with the actual bell time slated for 5pm.
When asked about what he envisions for his show next spring, considering the amount of size and effort put into Fall Brawl II, Malus merely laughs. "I'm not going to lie, I've been thinking about it. But it's going to be really hard to top this."
The Loose Cockaboose Sports Bar & Grill
936 South Stadium Road
Columbia, SC
$5 Admission
Superstar Meet & Greet: 3pm
Bell Time: 5pm
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