Rockstar Spud – A Larger Than Life Personality
By: Gary Kevany
Rockstar Spud may not be the biggest or most-built wrestler in the industry yet he remains confident and has embraced who he is Following on from winning the TNA British Bootcamp competition in 2013, earning a TNA contract in the process, Spud is still assertive with a fitting mantra and ethos for all walks of life writes Gary Kevany.
“I never shied away from being the height and build that I was, if you’ve got Chicken Mock you’ve got to make Chicken soup out of it, that’s how I looked at it, I didn’t let it into me or had an ‘Adonis’ complex, I’ve always embraced who I was. I never let it affect who I am or what I wanted to be, I kept plugging away and I think that’s what you’ve to do.”
Commenting on, in this writer’s opinion, his three stand-out matches during his TNA tenure, versus Kurt Angle, the ‘name versus career’ match with Austin Aries and the ‘hair versus hair’ match against Ethan Carter III, Spud concurred but stated that many of his personal favourites will never be viewed by a wider audience than those who were in attendance on the night.
“Those three matches allowed me to show that I’m actually able to put on an entertaining wrestling match and showcase my abilities. I love professional wrestling and so, I must be doing something right.”
Like many athletes, Rockstar Spud is also very considerate of his fan-base and gives as much back to the community and charities close to his heart as he possibly can. Starlight are the British equivalent of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, granting wishes to terminally-ill children across the United Kingdom.
“As an ambassador for Starlight, it’s great to be able to give back to the fans and young children. Meeting my childhood hero in Hulk Hogan, being given the opportunity to perform, being given that opportunity through my TNA contract and getting to do something I love for a living. Ten years of hard-work went into that’s why [being given a TNA contract] was so rewarding and so emotional for me.”
Spud defines himself as a ‘Student of the Game’ who watches as often, and learns as much as possible, when he can. Citing Spike Dudley, Shawn Michaels and the aforementioned Hulk Hogan as inspirations for him along with other greats of the industry it’s clear to see why Spud defines himself in such a way.
When pressed on when he came to the realization he could, and wanted, to be a professional wrestler, Rockstar Spud responded with:
“Could was always the issue but I always wanted to. I don’t why I do what I do but I just know that I have to. I wake up every day being thankful for what I get to do in life. We have one of the most demanding rosters on the planet and just being able to do what I’ve done for the last four years is a blessing in itself.”
With the success of so many of the Hunter’s wrestling school in Birmingham, including Rockstar Spud, it’s of little surprise that Spud was full of praise for his peers.
“There are a lot of talent coming out of Birmingham, you could say we all learned the same style, you could say we all trained together. Birmingham produced World of Sport Champion in Dave Mastiff, Trent Severn, Pete Dunn, Tyler Bate and so many others. Essentially, for the UK especially, Birmingham and the surrounding area is a hotbed for wrestling talent.”
Spud also commented on the TNA All Access which launched earlier this month.
“It’s 2017 and one of the main complaints our overseas fans had was that the show would often be spoilt for them with TNA not being shown at the same time as in America. The TNA All Access app removes that problem and whether people want to watch it live, or in the morning, or on their way to work the TNA All Access app gives them that chance so I think it’s great, both for TNA as a company and for our fans. And at £4.99 per month it’s a steal! Not only do they get live TNA broadcasts fans can also watch all the One Night Only PPVs and every TNA PPV that has every broadcast.”