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Ten Years Later: The Compound And Mom's Pasta Salad

Posted: Nov 10th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Today there is a company called Compound Pro Wrestling. People often ask about the odd name. There have been / and are still some really terrible fed names out there. Not hating on the current ?SRPW? but ?Steel Rage? makes absolutely no sense and to this day no one has explained how that name formed to me.

I can tell you the origin of the Compound name. The ?Compound? was a behind the scenes group in Oklahoma. It was a group based on loyalty to Rocco Valentino, the man who gave most of us our jobs. Early in my career, Rocco and I became friends. Russ ?Romero? Ronning, Drew ?Sonny C? Joels, Mitch Carter, Kitty, Brian Lakewood, Butch Dalton, Karl Davis, AWOL, Splash Jackson, John Davis, and Rick Styles were all part of a group of guys (and girl) who were thankful to Rocco for years of opportunity and stuck by him, even though we couldn?t stand how John Crow was operating OCW back in 2003. Out of loyalty to this group, Rocco came out of retirement to promote wrestling again after the death of OCW.

Why were we all so loyal to him? Well, Rocco is a great salesman and he attracts people to him. You can?t teach charisma. The man has had success in whatever he put his mind to, be it as a pilot, a father, a DJ, a body builder, a pro wrestler, a promoter, an actor, a teacher, or a wrestling coach. Success draws people in like nothing else will. Now Rocco is not without his faults. He can be kind of egotistical at times. He can be very stubborn. He can even be a little manipulative when it comes to getting what he wants. But these are traits you find in leaders.
Personally, knowing Rocco led to many opportunities for me. Rocco got me cast in a local movie called ?Prize Fighter? made by Mark Mason (aka the biological father of Max McGuirk). He got me in a tough man boxing contest he promoted in front of a couple thousand spectators at the Creek Indian Festival. He got me a part time job as a DJ for his company. He got us ringside for MMA matches because of his connections. When I was laid off from my job as a supervisor for Data Exchange, he got me hired on at his friend?s bank. He went from a guy I knew from wrestling to a mentor and eventually a great friend. And like every good friend, I betrayed Rocco?s trust once. The details aren?t important but let?s just say it involved a girl. Rocco could have just beaten the crap out of me. He could have shunned me for the rest of my life and kicked me out of his compound. Instead, he looked me in the eye, asked me to man up for my mistake, he accepted my apology, he forgave me, and he never spoke of it again. This is the kind of character trait that inspires people to follow you.

Around this time Rocco?s ?R? Shaped mansion was where we hung out most weekends when we weren?t wrestling. Rocco is a great cook and we would all bring some food and beers and spend most of the night drinking and reliving wrestling stories from the past. This is where my mom?s pasta salad was introduced. My mom's pasta salad became an obsession for all of us, especially Russ and Kitty. I am still petitioning Oklafan to give my mom's pasta salad its own bio. Well, someone got the bright idea to start bringing tents so we didn?t have drive home after drinking at these parties. Rocco eventually put a fire pit out in his backyard and Rocco?s Campground was officially opened. Rocco?s on again off again girlfriend Jenna Love made the comment that Rocco?s Campground was more like David Koresh?s Compound, because we were all so loyal to him. The name stuck.

Years down the road, when Rocco decided to get back into the promoting game, we were stuck on a name. Originally he considered ?Fury Pro Wrestling,? but I jokingly said why not just call it ?Compound? since it was just going to be Compound guys. Thus began Compound Pro Wrestling. Still, one of the highlights of my career was when Russ, Rocco, and I formed a three man tag team called the Compound Varsity in the early days of Compound.
Today, sadly, none of the original Compound faction is involved with the company. Rocco, Splash, Rick Styles, Brian Lakewood, and Butch Dalton are retired; Sonny C was forced to quit wrestling over a back injury. Russ moved away and when he came back he just didn?t have the wrestling bug anymore. Honestly, despite appearing on nearly every card for the first several years, I have just not been asked back to Compound.