Eric Santamaria, host
Eric Santamaria is the writer, director, producer, editor, creator & host of The Wrestling Roundtable. He also maintains this website where he reports the news & writes the other sections, posts on the Roundtable's YouTube, Myspace & Twitter accounts in addition to the Roundtable message board, and has had a hand in every aspect of the show, from the logo & theme to booking guests. While the Roundtable would not be the Roundtable without every else involved(and you!), Eric is the captain steering the ship.
Eric started off as a wrestling fan at the age of 8, cheering on Hulk Hogan as WWF World Heavyweight Champion. In the 20 years since, he has amassed a huge library of video footage(including rare and never-before-seen-by-the-public gems!) & tons of other collectibles(which also include several rarities), and has forged close bonds with the friends who have made this show possible, friendships initialized mainly through wrestling. Unfortunately, he barely watches any wrestling at all due to years of what he feels is a steep decline in quality that was avoidable, many young deaths, and wrestling's seeming backward & self-destructive behavior, in-front-of and behind-the-scenes. He still keeps up on the industry he knows well & works in, and was encouraged to start the Roundtable in part as a last resort as a fan to help 'save' the 'sport' he loves before he gives up completely!
Drawing in pen/pencil and painting at a young age, Eric won many local art contests but later on drifted towards video. After taking acting, television, video, film & audio classes throughout high school and into community college, he was certified for video editing in 2002. From there, Eric went on to do freelance videography before hooking up with former WWWF/AWA/WCW ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta to work on the stageshow 'Bodyslams! & Beyond', based on Cappetta's book. Eric edited, directed and announced many performances with Gary, including a presentation during the first Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame ceremony in Schenectady, NY in May 2002.
After several years, Eric pursued his dream to become a pro wrestler, where he did several clinics(including one with former ECW & future ROH champion Jerry Lynn) and had several months of training, which also included ring crew in several states across the country, before being injured. At that point, Eric had started working as a videographer full-time in pro wrestling, editing and shooting shows once again across the country, in addition to many other responsibilities. He is now also a producer along with the aforementioned roles. His work(editing, shooting, voice over, & writing) has appeared on the internet, television, pay-per-view & DVD releases. He hopes more opportunities will present themselves in wrestling and is considering writing a book or two about various topics in the sport.
In his spare time, Eric likes to read, watch movies, play video games, listen to music, go to concerts/shows, volunteer with animal groups, work out, spend time with friends & is considering a career in radio or acting.
He hopes The Wrestling Roundtable creates a community for all wrestling(and now MMA) fans to make positive change in one of our favorite past times, and have fun along the way. He hopes you join us!
Interests : Animals & nature, combat sports(pro wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, etc.), politics/religion, conspiracy theory, cryptozoology, American Indian & medieval Japanese cultures, women/sex, symbology, astrotheology, science (astrology, physics, biology, energy, etc.), history(also archeology, paleontology), cinema & creative arts(music, film, etc.), charity & social causes, badminton
Favorite movies : Star Wars(original Trilogy), King Kong(1933), Rocky/Rocky Balboa, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, The Last Samurai, The Lion King, Immortal Beloved, Blazing Saddles, The Fugitive, Jaws, 2001 : A Space Odyssey, The Princess Bride, the Indiana Jones series, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Carrie, Predator/Predator 2, Universal horror films, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the Back To The Future series, the Ghostbusters series, John Carpenter's The Thing, the James Bond series, Gran Torino, Jim Henson films, The Naked Gun series, Dances With Wolves, early Tim Burton films, the X-Men series, Godzilla movies, many more.
Favorite television shows : Jeopardy!, Night Court, Nature, Planet Earth, Real Time with Bill Maher, 60 Minutes, Nova, Moonlighting, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Married...With Children, Three's Company, All In The Family, The Golden Girls, Animaniacs, BeetleJuice, The Muppet Show, Howard(Stern) TV, almost anything on the Discovery Networks(History Channel, National Geographic, Science Channel, etc.)
Favorite musicians/music : Michael Jackson/The Jacksons/The Jackson 5, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Kid Rock, Neil Diamond, Metallica, The Spice Girls, Alicia Keys, James Brown, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, soundtracks/scores(movies - John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Alan Silvestri, Ennio Morricone, John Barry, James Newton Howard, Danny Elfman, etc., video games - Koji Kondo, etc., wrestling - Jim Johnston, etc.)
Favorite books : Wildelife Wars : My Fight To Save Africa's Natural Treasures by Richard Leakey, Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen, Hitman : My Real Life In The Cartoon World Of Pro Wrestling by Bret Hart, When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden by Bill Maher, Hooker by Lou Thesz, God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee : An Indian History Of The American West by Dee Brown, Positively Page : The Diamond Dallas Page Journey by DDP, Bodyslams! Memoirs Of A Wrestling Pitchman by Gary Michael Cappetta.
Favorite video games : The Super Mario Bro.s series, The Legend Of Zelda series, the Street Fighter series, Resident Evil 4, Tetris, the Mario Kart series, WWF No Mercy, the Star Fox series, GoldenEye 007, the Killer Instinct series, TMNT arcade games, Super Castlevania 4, Contra 3 : The Alien Wars, Endless Ocean, the Maniac Mansion games, Wii Sports/Fit.
Eric started off as a wrestling fan at the age of 8, cheering on Hulk Hogan as WWF World Heavyweight Champion. In the 20 years since, he has amassed a huge library of video footage(including rare and never-before-seen-by-the-public gems!) & tons of other collectibles(which also include several rarities), and has forged close bonds with the friends who have made this show possible, friendships initialized mainly through wrestling. Unfortunately, he barely watches any wrestling at all due to years of what he feels is a steep decline in quality that was avoidable, many young deaths, and wrestling's seeming backward & self-destructive behavior, in-front-of and behind-the-scenes. He still keeps up on the industry he knows well & works in, and was encouraged to start the Roundtable in part as a last resort as a fan to help 'save' the 'sport' he loves before he gives up completely!
Drawing in pen/pencil and painting at a young age, Eric won many local art contests but later on drifted towards video. After taking acting, television, video, film & audio classes throughout high school and into community college, he was certified for video editing in 2002. From there, Eric went on to do freelance videography before hooking up with former WWWF/AWA/WCW ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta to work on the stageshow 'Bodyslams! & Beyond', based on Cappetta's book. Eric edited, directed and announced many performances with Gary, including a presentation during the first Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame ceremony in Schenectady, NY in May 2002.
After several years, Eric pursued his dream to become a pro wrestler, where he did several clinics(including one with former ECW & future ROH champion Jerry Lynn) and had several months of training, which also included ring crew in several states across the country, before being injured. At that point, Eric had started working as a videographer full-time in pro wrestling, editing and shooting shows once again across the country, in addition to many other responsibilities. He is now also a producer along with the aforementioned roles. His work(editing, shooting, voice over, & writing) has appeared on the internet, television, pay-per-view & DVD releases. He hopes more opportunities will present themselves in wrestling and is considering writing a book or two about various topics in the sport.
In his spare time, Eric likes to read, watch movies, play video games, listen to music, go to concerts/shows, volunteer with animal groups, work out, spend time with friends & is considering a career in radio or acting.
He hopes The Wrestling Roundtable creates a community for all wrestling(and now MMA) fans to make positive change in one of our favorite past times, and have fun along the way. He hopes you join us!
Interests : Animals & nature, combat sports(pro wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, etc.), politics/religion, conspiracy theory, cryptozoology, American Indian & medieval Japanese cultures, women/sex, symbology, astrotheology, science (astrology, physics, biology, energy, etc.), history(also archeology, paleontology), cinema & creative arts(music, film, etc.), charity & social causes, badminton
Favorite movies : Star Wars(original Trilogy), King Kong(1933), Rocky/Rocky Balboa, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, The Last Samurai, The Lion King, Immortal Beloved, Blazing Saddles, The Fugitive, Jaws, 2001 : A Space Odyssey, The Princess Bride, the Indiana Jones series, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Carrie, Predator/Predator 2, Universal horror films, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the Back To The Future series, the Ghostbusters series, John Carpenter's The Thing, the James Bond series, Gran Torino, Jim Henson films, The Naked Gun series, Dances With Wolves, early Tim Burton films, the X-Men series, Godzilla movies, many more.
Favorite television shows : Jeopardy!, Night Court, Nature, Planet Earth, Real Time with Bill Maher, 60 Minutes, Nova, Moonlighting, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Married...With Children, Three's Company, All In The Family, The Golden Girls, Animaniacs, BeetleJuice, The Muppet Show, Howard(Stern) TV, almost anything on the Discovery Networks(History Channel, National Geographic, Science Channel, etc.)
Favorite musicians/music : Michael Jackson/The Jacksons/The Jackson 5, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Kid Rock, Neil Diamond, Metallica, The Spice Girls, Alicia Keys, James Brown, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, soundtracks/scores(movies - John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Alan Silvestri, Ennio Morricone, John Barry, James Newton Howard, Danny Elfman, etc., video games - Koji Kondo, etc., wrestling - Jim Johnston, etc.)
Favorite books : Wildelife Wars : My Fight To Save Africa's Natural Treasures by Richard Leakey, Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen, Hitman : My Real Life In The Cartoon World Of Pro Wrestling by Bret Hart, When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden by Bill Maher, Hooker by Lou Thesz, God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee : An Indian History Of The American West by Dee Brown, Positively Page : The Diamond Dallas Page Journey by DDP, Bodyslams! Memoirs Of A Wrestling Pitchman by Gary Michael Cappetta.
Favorite video games : The Super Mario Bro.s series, The Legend Of Zelda series, the Street Fighter series, Resident Evil 4, Tetris, the Mario Kart series, WWF No Mercy, the Star Fox series, GoldenEye 007, the Killer Instinct series, TMNT arcade games, Super Castlevania 4, Contra 3 : The Alien Wars, Endless Ocean, the Maniac Mansion games, Wii Sports/Fit.
