You’re facing fellow Hammerlock alumni Zack Sabre at ScrapperMania 4. What differences have you noticed from your training there when you deal with wrestlers from other backgrounds?
The Hammerlock style of training is very based around technical wrestling, chain wrestling, catch-as-catch-can and shoot wrestling. I find when I meet people from other schools how much more character work they have and their talk and promo skills, whereas you see wrestlers that have come from that school like myself, Fergal Devitt, Zack Sabre Jr, I would say that we were not really strong in the character department, or certainly weren’t when we were coming up, whereas we’re all quite proficient technically in the ring. I notice that difference when I meet people from other schools, that the technical attributes wouldn’t really be up with the Hammerlock training, but the character stuff and other aspects of the in-ring persona stuff are way more polished.
I’ve always found that [shoot wrestling experience] was a major attribute to have in the ring, that whatever position you end up in, you know a [realistic] counter to a move or if it was a case that you’ve lost where you are in a match, you can shoot for a hold and it looks believable and legitimate and then you can get back to where you need to be in the match.
How much input do you want from promoters in the match, and is having former wrestlers as match agents useful?
I don’t mind if a promoter has a long-term plan for me or an idea and it’s going to get a storyline across, then they have a little bit of input into the match. But if it’s just for a one-off match I don’t really like being told how to wrestle. It doesn’t even have to be an agent, even if it’s just the referees, they’ll know the finishes of the matches they’re [assigned] to and make sure there are no clashes of the planned finishes, that’s really helpful.
How has wrestling more regularly changed the way you think about and plan matches? Presumably you’ve got less time to build up a specific match in your head?
To be honest with you I think it’s polished me up as a performer, you have a chance to do a series of moves or sequences in a match one week and see how the fans reacted to it and see if it flies, and then you’ll get a chance to do it the next week and see if you can make it better and better and finally if you have a big show at the end of the month, hopefully by that stage you have all the bits that went down well leading up to it in the match and it’s a good ‘un.
How do you approach a match differently when it’s a first-time appearance at a venue as opposed to being a regular?
When you are introducing yourself to a new crowd, if you’re a good guy you want do all your flashy stuff, all your impressive moves, try and get that stuff over, whereas if you’re in the ring and in front of a crowd that you’re a regular for, then during the match you can tease finishes that you couldn’t do in front of a new crowd that wouldn’t know what your moveset is.
What tips do you have for wrestlers when there’s a late change of plans or a substitution, so they have to plan a match on short notice?
It happens quite a bit. You need to develop a moveset and know your stuff and know what parts of your moveset goes at what point in the match. A lot of times when you have to plan something very quickly, the more experienced person in the match will say “OK, we need a comeback from you [here]” and it slows down the planning of the match if the guy that you’re trying to get some information from doesn’t know his own moves. Try and find moves that fit your character and what you’re trying to get across in the ring and then just stick with them. Have a moveset, have some signatures that you know you can fall back on when you need them.
How do you approach planning a main event differently to when you were lower on the card?
To be honest with you, I find doing the main event matches both easier and more fun to do, the more time you’re given the easier the story that you’re trying to get across is to tell. When you’re only given 8 to 10 minutes there’s not a lot you can do in terms of storytelling to get the fans invested whereas when you’re given a good 20 minutes you can slowly build the story you’re telling and bring the fans along for a little bit of a journey with you and then pay it off at the end.
You’ve more time for everything the longer you’re given, so you can let everything mean something, register more, sell more, then build up to the eventual finish a lot more methodically than you can do in the opening match.
How important is it to think of your role in the overall show rather than just your own match?
It’s a pitfall I see a lot on most shows these days. I know that everybody wants to have a match of the night and make a name for themselves and have the best match possible, but I think there’s also a lot of merit in doing your job and being good professional and fitting in with your spot on the card as well. I was at a show recently and I think there was literally three apron bumps in the first two matches and it doesn’t leave lot out there for the guys in the main event who have to follow that. So I would just say to them maybe if they have an idea for something that might be a bit too much for the first or second match, run it by the promoter and then if the promoter says “Yeah, go for it” the accountability’s off [you].
It’s quite… not frustrating, but off-putting if you’re in the main event and you’re waiting to go out and warming up and you’re hearing the crowd go absolutely bananas for the second match and you ask what’s happening and there’s been a superplex or three double-downs and it gets the fans up for the first or second match but there’s not a lot left to motivate them for the main event.
I try to keep an eye on the matches as they progress throughout the night, if not the whole match then certainly the finishes just so I don’t have any repeated spots or if there’s a ref bump or whatever in the second half, you don’t want to do it again in the main.
How can young wrestler balance putting forward ideas for matches without wanting to be overbearing or seem like they aren’t respecting the hierarchy?
Any good pro will want to have the best match possible and if somebody comes to you with a good idea, you’re going to want to do it. So I wouldn’t dissuade a young wrestler from putting forward ideas for the match, but by the same token if you put forward an idea and someone that’s way more experienced than you thinks it might not fly and you still want to put it in the match, then maybe you need to be ready for a bit of a bollocking when you come back through and the more experienced guy is proved right. I’d be malleable and I’d be open to pointers, but I wouldn’t be put off by people coming to me with ideas.
