I met James Dijan AKA Malta The Damager about 20 years ago after the Benetos family (Chris from Fit Of Anger, Everybody Gets Hurt and Nick from Coldfront, Fit Of Anger) moved to my town (College Point) from Astoria. Basically we had a group of at least 20 nuts who were into the hardcore scene and we instantly became friends with the Astoria Park South kids including James’ older brother Mike (Crown Of Thornz, Breakdown and now Sai-Nam), AJ Novello from Leeway and their entire group of friends. Trouble seemed to find James (or the other way around depending on who you talked to) as he is a very imposing figure (6 foot 10 and 265 pounds). It was almost a natural fit that he would end up doing something like being a pro-wrestler down the line. Tying in with my idea of doing non-band related interviews from time to time here is a short chat with Mr Dijan AKA Malta The Damager. 

IE: So Malta, how long have you been wrestling for now and where did you get your start as a pro?

MTD: I started pro wrestling in 1996 at a place that at the time was in Ozone Park Queens called The Doghouse Wrestling School run by Bobby Lombardi with guys like Homicide and Lowki and Grim Reefer. After that I traveled to Pittsburgh PA to train with my mentor Baron Scicluna. After that I returned to NY and I hooked up with Northeast Wrestling School in the South Bronx and worked out and trained students there. After that a wrestling gym opened in the Astoria Sports Complex called Gladiator Championship Wrestling where I trained for about 2 years. After that I trained in Lake Hiawatha New Jersey for Gino Caruso in East Coast Pro Wrestling. I have also trained as a guest in Johnny Rodz's Gym in Brooklyn and have done wrestling training seminars with Tom Prichard of the WWE and Paul Roma in Connecticut. 

IE: Where did you come up with the idea for the Malta The Damager persona?

MTD: My name Malta The Damager was giving to me by friends from the New York Hardcore scene who used to check me out slam dancing. I am of Maltese descendant and that in itself is pretty obscure.  At shows I had a rep for making huge holes in giant mosh pits and never backing down from a fight. Thus Malta's the name and damage is what I do. Don't get me wrong, I did not go to shows to start fights, I would go to shows to slam. Slam dancing is how we showed our appreciation to the band. However if someone wanted to start some shit? I would be happy to CRUSH THEIR SKULLS!!!! Mind set of 90's hardcore. Many crews battled for dominance in the mosh pit and in the scene. DMS came out on top as the Grand Poobah's of the NYHC scene and have a syndicated radio show as well as the  Black N Blue Bowl. My long time friend Lord Ezec,  now known as Danny Diablo pioneered DMS out to California and lives in Los Angeles. He opened up Ill-Roc Records and basically runs shit out there. I am inspired by hardcore music and hardcore bands such as Show Of Force, Fit of Anger, Crown of Thornz, Cold Front, Leeway, Sheer Terror, Madball, Kraut, Bad Brains, Everybody Gets Hurt, 25 Ta Life, Fahrenheit 451, District 9, Outburst, Raw Deal, SubZero, Breakdown, No Redeeming Social Valve, Billy Club Sandwich, Murphy's Law, Sworn Enemy, H20, Vision of Disorder , Gilligans Revenge and early Cro-Mags  My wrestling persona is basically I am a crusader from Malta that is here to right all the wrongs in pro wrestling. My finishing move is called The Maltese Cross it's a combination of two moves…the Razors Edge and a seated Powerbomb that I developed. It's one of the most feared moves in pro wrestling. No one has ever kicked out of my finisher. I am always trying to redevelop moves to make them my own.

IE: You recently broke your ribs during one of your last matches. Can you tell us how that happened and who were you fighting? What other kinds of injuries have you had in your career?

MTD: I was injured on February 25^th at FWE “No Limit” when I went 1 on 1 against Big Daddy V (Viscera) in a tables match. Viscera who stands at 6feet 8 inches tall and weighs 467lbs put me in a Ghetto Drop (Modified Samoan Drop) through a table. He came down all on one side with my weight (265lbs) on top of his weight which crushed my ribs breaking two ribs and punctured my right lung. For those of you who know me and want to see me wrestle and have never been to a show? Don't miss my rematch against this mammoth Big Daddy V in a steel cage. No Holds Barred! For more details go to www.fwewrestling.com.  

As a former street fighter and full contact fighter for Sitan Gym and Loupakis School I have never sustained the injuries I have received as a pro wrestler such as a torn hamstring, teeth knocked out, broken collar bone in two places, broken elbow, and now broken ribs and a punctured lung. You always hear people say that wrestling is fake. My answer is wrestling is fake because murder is NOT legal. If I were to come out and pile drive my opponent on his head and kill him, I would go to jail and you wouldn't bring your nine year old out to the show to come see me. We walk the line of becoming a paraplegic every time we step through the ropes and that's what the fans RESPECT! The injuries are VERY REAL!  

IE: What kinds of activities or workouts do you have to do to stay in wrestling shape? 

MTD: After years of training in different styles I've developed my own style “Dijanjitsu”. It's a combination of street fighting, grappling, locks, submissions, striking, Muy Thai and trapping. I have Martin the lead singer of Billy Club Sandwich as one of my students and Justin Dimech former singer of Sexual Suicide and brother of Greg from New Found Hope Records. I have an underground dojo of hardcore where I get down. It's not pretty or for the weak of heart. I have had many who couldn't last one workout. Just too extreme and physical for some. The art of fighting and working out has become a way of life for me.

IE: You grew up in a rough part of Queens called Astoria. Was getting into fights something that was a regular occurrence growing up there?

MTD: Every inner city borough was rough back in the day. Crews and gangs out numbered the cops like in the movie “The Warriors”. You had to fight to come home with the change in your pockets and the sneakers on your feet. Not to mention the birth of crack cocaine. Every six block radius had a crew or group of kidz that were very protective of their area. Graffiti wars, drugs wars, and getting jacked by the police was a part of everyday life. If you couldn’t cope or fight you would quickly move out of the hood! 

IE: I first met you while we were in our early 20s going to hardcore shows. You had your share of fights then and received some criticism after the “Velebit NYHC” documentary came out in which they showed you getting into a fight at a show they were filming. Would you like to comment on that show and time period something like 15 plus years later?

MTD: I was put on notice that day that there was a documentary being filmed and to avoid getting into a fight at all cost for  the sake of the movement. However, when I was dancing for Crown Of Thornz I slipped on the wet floor and some nobody tried to use that moment to make a rep for himself and started hitting me when I was down. Lots of people jumped in the middle to try to separate it and the kid kept standing there taunting me. I threw a push kick at the kid to back him up. Ezec got on the mic to say after the show we can fight and the kid and his little crew quickly disappeared. That was it. No big deal! I certainly didn't like the way it came off in the documentary. The whole thing seemed very ignorant. I am a trouble finisher, Not a trouble maker! If you ask me, that kid got off easy because there were cameras rolling. My bother Mike (Crown Of Thornz) didn't have anything nice to say when asked on the doc about what happened there. When I was young and going to CBGB's matinee shows I got hit and knocked around by the bigger older guys. But, I never complained. It's hardcore for Christ sakes. There is no wining and complaining in hardcore! I used to wear a black eye received in a mosh pit as a badge of Honor. My interpretation of slam dancing is it's a fight dance driven by the music and if you’re good you can control the middle of the floor unless someone with greater skill can get through your defense and box you out. Everyone else watches from a safe distance. Good dancers have a mutual respect for one another. Shit, when I was a teen dude's used to swing chains, hammers and knives in the pit. Most fights were started by bouncers in clubs that didn't understand slam dancing, hardcore, or the music. There is a story at a Cold Front, District 9 show that was outdoors in the South Bronx in a skate park where hip hop kids showed up and didn't know what was going on and tried rolling up on my boy and I basically fought off the crew by ripping out a park bench out of the concrete ground and swinging it on the mob.

IE: Do you still keep up with hardcore bands coming out nowadays? Still make it out to shows? 

MTD:  I do still go to shows when it doesn't conflict with my wrestling schedule or my family time with my wife & kids. I went to see Homicidal and Sub Zero a few weeks ago at Dingbats in Clifton N.J. Surprised at the Jersey scene though. Great bands and not many slamming to show the bands respect. It's like there were a bunch of poser's there with the tattoo's and punk-rock/hardcore style but, they just stood at the bar drinking. Anyway I didn't get it. I do like Truth and Rights which is Eddie from Leeway’s new band. I like Homicidal with members of Crown Of Thornz and Bulldoze. For new bands I like Line Of Scrimmage.

IE: Within the wrestling scene are there any other wrestlers or people involved with it that are into hardcore music?

MTD:  I don't care what other wrestlers are into! Just as long as they show up when it's time to fight!

IE: I noticed that you came out to Leeways “No Heroes” while I watched one of your matches on YouTube. Is that your entrance song for every match? What other songs have you used?

MTD: I do come out to the music of hardcore bands that inspire me to pay homage to my roots! Check me out on my YouTube channel Maltathedamager1.

IE: Can you tell us about the F.W.E, your current league?

MTD:F.W.E is currently the premier dominate wrestling federation in New York City. F.W.E runs on the regular in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Check out the roster,  It's pretty impressive. F.W.E is the place to be in the Northeast US. 

IE: A few years back you had some interesting offers to take your career to a different level, can you tell us about that?

MTD: In 2000 I was accepted into the 1st WWE “Tough Enough” but declined when I found out it was a reality TV show and I would have had to quit my job to do it. In 2004 I received a phone call from Jodi Hamilton, a WWE developmental scout who offered me up to $70K for a 1 year developmental contract with Deep South Wrestling in Georgia. But again I would have had to relocate my family to Georgia and quit my steady union job that was already paying me that much plus benefits. So I declined the offers and continue to wreak havoc on my own terms in the indies.

IE: What advice would you give someone reading this who was interested in taking the same path you have chosen with becoming a pro wrestler?

MTD: Find a reputable trainer and wrestling school to train. You have to pave your own way! It's harder than you can imagine. You have to be willing to give up everything, even your life. Wrestlers have died trying to make it.