Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: Alex Kane
Date: 01/12/2022
Your Host: James Walsh
Alex Kane is one of MLW’s fastest rising stars. Complete with a distinct look and an ability to suplex you from just about anywhere, the “Suplex Assassin” has quickly captured gold in MLW as the National Openweight Champion – A title last held by current World Champion Alex Hammerstone.
Alex Kane is a smart, interesting performer with a great backstory leading to his quick rise to fame in the ranks of pro wrestling. Hear some of that story and his thoughts on his MLW experience thus far in this fantastic new interview!
MLW returns to Dallas, Texas on january 21st. Find out more on how to watch MLW and how to get tickets at www.MLW.com!
To hear this and any of our other 800 interviews, visit us at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com!
ALEX KANE:
On what it is like to be the MLW National Openweight Champion:
“Man, it is a dream come true! I didn’t think my career would take off as fast as it has. It is one of those things where little kid you would be like, “Dude, this is awesome!” Like, this is what you would like to do for your character in a video game. Only, it is real life!”
On if he sees the National Openweight Title as the potential stepping stone to the World Title:
“Most definitely! And, the Intercontinental Title was always my favorite title… Especially the oval one. That was one of my favorite belts.”
On what attracted him to pro wrestling in the first place:
“When I was a kid, I went to this yard sale and I didn’t really have much of an idea what professional wrestling was. But, there was this VHS tape called (WWE) Stone Cold Demolition. I didn’t really know who Steve Austin was. But, the kid selling it gave me the rundown on who he was and what the story of the video was. So, I bought that. I popped it in my VCR and I was just glued to the TV watching Austin, Kane, and Undertaker battle it out. The story of all of that was really dope to me. From there, I got into the video games. My older brother’s friend had (WWE) SmackDown! Just Bring It. I wasn’t really into the wrestling in the ring! I just kept trying to get backstage! And, from there, I got the action figures. I still have a lot of them but I think my nephews might have destroyed most of them by now. I would set up shows in my room (with the figures). But, the first time I ever really saw wrestling was The Undertaker versus Jeff Hardy for the Undisputed Championship on RAW. Undertaker beat the brakes off that man! I looked at my Dad and I said, “This is what I want to do with my life.” My Dad looked back and was like, “Ok, son, OK.” I don’t know if he believed me. But, from that day on, I told everyone that would listen that I am going to be a professional wrestler!”
On coming up with the “Suplex Assasin” name:
“You’re probably expecting a really crazy story. There was this company called EVOLVE and they were coming to town, in Georgia, for a tryout because the area was kind of hot at the time. They came to the training school I was at, AR Fox’s WWA4. They held a tryout there and I had a match with this buddy of mine. There was this guy, Gabe Sapolsky, who was the booker for EVOLVE and he would send down feedback. This man basically crapped on my entire life. He basically told me I suck, I have no charisma, no character… Anything. This was like 2 or 3 years ago now. I was like, “All the other stuff can be fixed. But, I need a character.” I had the amateur background. I had the collegiate background. I wanted that to be in my gimmick. But, I can’t be the “Human Suplex Machine.” That has already been done! So, I got the video game WWE 2K17, maybe 2K18? And, I was trying to create myself in the creation suite. So, I put my name in there, Alex Kane. I liked how that sounded from the announcers. But, I needed a nick name. I definitely wanted “Suplex” to be in there. So, I put in “Suplex” and I saw the word “Assassin.” I was like, “Suplex Assassin! Has anyone ever been the Suplex Assassin before?” I looked it up online! I googled it! I Twittered it. No one had ever been the Suplex Assassin! I was like, that is it! I’m running with it!”
On surviving the initial pandemic as an unsinged wrestler at the time:
“I got laid off from my job at a roofing company – I wasn’t doing the physical roofing. I was working in the office. But, I got laid off from that job and I was collecting unemployment. The pardest part of all that was not being able to wrestle and, for a while, you couldn’t even go to the gym. So, I was in my house doing push ups and sit ups as often as I could to kind of try and keep myself sane. And, play whatever video games I do have. After a while, that gets boring and you get lazy. Then, things didn’t really start to open up but some places started trying to run with no crowd. There was a place called Pro South Wrestling. They would run with no crowd. But, it was just a way for me to get in the ring. I mean, it was like $10 or $15 bucks. They would still pay us even without having the fans in there. It was a way to get in the ring with somebody and keep your body fresh. But, whew. Man, that time? I don’t want to go back.”
On getting signed to MLW:
“Last year, 2021, it wasn’t all that long ago, I made a list of everything I wanted to accomplish and one of those things was to get signed by a major company. And, I had done some podcasts and I said MLW was a place I’d like to go before I go anywhere else. I literally wrote, “Get signed by a major company.” And then, Major League Wrestling contacted me and I was like, “Ah! I guess I wrote that into existence!” To be here after, at that time it had been only 2 years (since I started) when it takes some guys 5, 10, 15 years… Sometimes even longer! It definitely is a blessing. The grind doesn’t stop!”
On being paired with MMA legend King Mo:
“Man, I had seen him on TNA (Impact Wrestling) a few times. I believe I saw him on Belator a few times. But, before we got linked up, I was like, “I don’t know how this is going to go.” But, man, to me, Mo is like the Uncle that you always wanted! He’s the cool Uncle that you always wanted but, at any time, at the drop of a hat, he could knock somebody out for you. He is definitely family to me. He’s always showing me something – A new way to get into something. A new hold to do. He’s always helping me in upping my fight game.”
On if he feels he’s making headway in improving the perception of black wrestlers:
“I think sometimes you see glimpses of it. But, then sometimes there’s flashes of other things. I can remember, a few years ago, a certain company, during Black History Month, all the popular black wrestlers became champions. Then, as soon as Black History Month was over, they all dropped their belts. I feel like that is what some people think we need as representation. But, that is not it. It is the stories! It is the writing! It is having people in the writing room to write for black wrestlers. How can I put this? You need black writers to write for black wrestlers because a black writer is going to understand the black experience. You need somebody in the writing room that looks like you so that everyone else in the writing room knows where you’re coming from.”
On what available talent he would love to see MLW bring in:
“Jonathan Gresham! Shane Taylor Promotions… All 4 of them!”
On his view of the Anti-Trust lawsuit MLW filed against WWE:
“I can’t say anything about it. I can’t discuss any ongoing litigation.”
On MLW’s upcoming show in Dallas where he’ll face Calvin Tankman:
“Man, I’ve never wrestled in Dallas before. I can’t wait for that. I have been torturing Calvin Tankman for months now. The torture is not going to stop! I’m going in with a pretty solid game plan and I plan to execute that game plan. At the end of the night, you will hear Boomaye! You will hear my music. And, you will hear Calvin Tankman choking on a submission.”
