Thursday 22 September 2011

Rockstar Spud – The Baby Jesus Of Professional Wrestling By Alex Kirkham

As British wrestling goes, there are many stars who can put their hat in the ring to be the best. But there is only 1 baby Jesus of professional wrestling, and that is of course Rockstar Spud.The young Birmingham native, who has plied his trade in a plethora of wrestling companies, including TNA, PWG & FWA. He is 5ft 3inches of charisma, charm and talent, and has a bright future within the business. He may be considered the smallest mainstream wrestler in the UK, but he sure makes up for it when he steps inside the squared circle.
Spud, who can name Jack Storm, Chris Gilbert & Don Charles amongst his trainers, broke through into main stream wrestling around 2003. After initially competing for a number of independent companies both in the UK and abroad, Spud made his debut for the IPW promotion from its creation in 2004. It was here, where he would start a long and hard fought feud with British wrestling stalwart Jonny Storm, a feud which would help shape modern British Wrestling in my view.
Spud would also become an integral part of the 1PW promotion, where he would notably feud with Independent superstar Stirling James Keenan and the TNA Wrestling monster Abyss. In each feud, Spud would play the role of the underdog, beating the odds to come out on top against the larger athletes. Along with his long time partner Luke Dragon Phoenix, he found success within the tag division, as well as a reign as the open weight champion.
As well as wrestling for IPW and 1PW, Spud also soon made his debut for the FWA into the flyweight division that the company was about to start. He would go on to compete in the inaugural FWA flyweight title tournament and lose to Ross “RJ Singh” Jordan in the final, a match filled with controversy and that would stem into a long lasting feud between the pair within the FWA. What would end up being a 14 month feud would see both men push themselves to the limit in many hard fought contests, resulting in Spud winning a last man standing match at FWA Last Fight At The Prom.
Soon after his feud with Singh, the FWA began a talent exchange deal with prominent US promotion Ring Of Honor. It would see Spud appear on 2 ROH shows, as well as on their 2 UK events of the same year. As well as competing for ROH, Spud would go on to compete for PWG while they toured the UK. Within this tour, Spud was able to gain experience of seasoned independent wrestlers like Excalibur & Joey Ryan, providing him with both big match experience and notoriety amongst a larger audience. 2006 was definitely a standout year in the career of Rockstar Spud, he gained so much experience throughout the year, shaping him to be a batter athlete in years to come. Spud would there after continue to be a main stay in British Wrestling, finding increasing success within the FWA.
But Spud isn’t just a wrestler, he is a classic performer. This was highlighted best when he appeared on the BBC3 show “Snog, Marry, Avoid” where by people with questionable dress sense, are given a revamp and made to look in a sense normal. Spud appeared on the show, in his Rockstar Spud persona, to be “made-under”. It wasn’t as much the actual make under that was important here, it was the way Spud carried his character into a non wrestling environment and kept it believable and entertaining. He showed what a skill he has when it comes to the acting side of wrestling, not just the physical side.
When you look at Spud, from an outside perspective, you see a hard working young guy, who has worked his way up the food chain in British wrestling. His hunger for the business is 2nd to none in my view. A man who is only 28 years old, but is a 16 time multi belt champion, whose career is sure to last many many more years with yet more accomplishments.
As a personal favourite of mine, Spud along with RJ Singh, Zac Sabre & El Ligero are the real future of British wrestling, and i personally can’t wait to see how they help shape the industry in Britain, Europe and the rest of the world.

Hit me up on twitter @WholeKirknShow

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