From The Dark City
Interview by Jamie Dobson aka Springfield

What made you decide on a wrestling career?
I grew up on Pro Wrestling. My Grandfather was a huge fan and passed it down to me. I can remember racing home after church Sunday mornings to watch National Wrestling Alliance during lunch. We had this big, old wooden knob television that seemed to weigh a ton that we had to turn toward the kitchen since my grandmother wouldn’t allow anyone to eat in the living room. It was Summer Slam 1992; Bret Hart vs Davey Boy. I remember watching that match and being in awe the entire time. Soon as it ended I turned to my friend and told him I would be a wrestler and his mom in passing, without hesitation told me I’d never be big enough. She has since been proven wrong….

How many years have you been at it?
8 years

What’s the story of how your ring name came to be?
I was born with it, figured that I have had the gimmick so long there was no reason to change it.

What is your finisher – how did you come up with it or who inspired it?
My singles finisher is called 3 seconds around the world. It’s a spinning, sit out torture rack powerbomb. I started doing it one day in training when a dude I was working with kept trying to squirm out of a torture rack. Watched a bit of Adam Pearce to study and tweak it and added the spin as my own personal touch.

Are there any colors of gear you refuse to wear?
Not really

Over the years is there any gear you wish you had left in the closet?
Jeans and air force ones…. I was just breaking in and didn’t know any better.

What is your most memorable in ring moment?
I have 2. 1) Working an ECW show in October 2008. It was nothing big, but it was the last time my grandfather saw me before he died. And for him to know that he was the reason I was in there meant a lot to both him and I. 2) Dark City vs American Wolves from ROH Pick your Poison in Dayton, Ohio. We were asked to tear the house down and I feel we did just that. Standing ovation and ROH chant means something coming from the most critical crowd in wrestling. We left it all in the ring, the way it should always be.

Do you have a Funniest moment?
I was working for Dory Funks !Bang! television against a guy by the name of Johnny Magnum. He is local guy from Ocala and has a lot of very vocal family and friends there. During the course of the match, I may or may not have use a despicable tactic to gain an advantage and upon doing that one of his fans yells “oh no you didn’t” to which I naturally reply “oh yes I did”. More fans pick up on it and we kept on back and forth for the remaining 15 or so minutes left in the match. Even after the match the argument continued…. good times had by all.

What has been your most memorable or worst fan interaction?
There was an INSANE night after a show in Georgia once, but kids might read this…..

Who has been your toughest opponent to date and would you face him again?
As far as my singles career goes, I would first say that I have had the privilege of stepping into the ring with some of the toughest men in the world, much less wrestling. But if I had to place someone at the top of the list I would say that his name is Bruce Santee. We have gone at each other with everything we had over and over and over, and each time he has gotten stronger, faster and harder to keep down for 3 seconds. He gets better every time he breaks the curtain, and for as long as he has been in the business that is a scary thought.

If you could go back in time – what message would you tell a younger version of you?
Talk to the vets more when you’re around them. Make more connections and get on the road sooner.

Is there a ritual you do before matches or a lucky charm you bring to the ring?
I carry a gold chain, a white hanky and a toy bean with me to every show. They all have sentimental value to me and I try to look at, at least one before each show.

Are there certain Indy Feds you would like to work with but haven’t had the opportunity?
PWG and National Wrestling Alliance Hollywood out in Cali, and anywhere overseas. Those are the main, but I would love to get more work in the Midwest as well.

Who has been your biggest inspiration in life?
Hands down my Grandfather. He worked his ass off and sacrificed a lot to take care of a wife and two grandkids and never once uttered a complaint. He never met a stranger and was well liked everywhere he went and positively affected a lot of people during his life. The day I lost him was easily the worst day of my life and I think about him every day. He is the reason I am who I am and the reason I am a professional wrestler. If I can be a third of the man he was I will have truly achieved something.

Who has your biggest feud been with?
Hard to say, I’ve had a few tough ones, but I feuded with both Vordell Walker and Bruce Santee at the same time for two years and I’m sure my life is shorter because of it.

Do you have suggestions to promote Indy wrestling or the business in general?
Yes I do. PROMOTE INDY WRESTLING AND THE BUSINESS IN GENERAL. It seems like Indy wrestling has gotten really “me, me, me” in recent years, which is a bad thing. A lot of people claim to love the business and few these days seem to show it. It’s about UNITY people, for the business to grow everyone needs to put the egos and personal agendas and differences aside and help it get back to where it once was.

If you had to do it all over – would you change anything?
I wouldn’t. Everything that I have done has led me to this point. Each failure has made me stronger, and each victory and accomplishment has made appreciate my chances to rise each time I fall.

What effect has wrestling had on you and your life?
Wrestling IS me and my life.

Do you prefer Heel or Face – Have you been mainly one or the other?
I am a wrestler. I do what I feel I need to do to secure victory. If you chose to cheer me, great; If you chose to boo me, that works too.

How often or how difficult is your training routine?
Often and very intense. If you don’t push yourself as hard as you can you’ll never know how hard you can actually push yourself.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
On top.

Do you have a message to your peers?
Thank you. There are many guys in this business who have been influential and put their name on the line for me to get a shot with no reason other than they saw something in me and believed me when I told them I wouldn’t suck. I am by no means a superstar, but I owe what little credibility I do have to you. There are two in particular and you know who you are as I have told you both on a couple of occasions. But the thank you goes to everyone I have ever wrestled, worked out with in the ring or even talked to about the business. I have learned from you all and am grateful to have had a chance to do so.

Do you have a message to upcoming new wrestlers?
Shut your mouths and learn. Appreciate the chances you receive and expect nothing. The men and women that came before you paved the way and have contributed a vast majority of their adult lives doing so, so if a vet offers advice at least listen. Keep it in the back of your mind even if you don’t use it because you never know when it’ll come in handy. Study EVERYTHING. Art imitates life, and few times will it hold truer than pro wrestling. Stay humble, hit the gym, buy gear, and work as hard as possible any time you step between the ropes.

Is there one thing you want everyone to know or remember you for?
Hard work and dedication. Intensity in the ring and an unstoppable drive to be the best I possibly could at the sport I love.

~Special thanks to Jon Davis for taking the time to do this interview with me!~