I recently had the distinct pleasure of speaking with MLW heavyweight champion Alexander Hammerstone, who spoke with me about a large number of topics throughout his career, including his thoughts on his early days with the promotion, getting to represent MLW in Pro Wrestling NOAH’s prestigious N-1 Victory tournament, and how it felt to be back in front of fans after a long period of empty arena shows due to COVID-19. Highlights, including the full video interview, can be found below.
Calls his time with the Dynasty (MJF and Richard Holliday) the most fun he’s had in wrestling:
From the time I stepped in, I was just really excited. I knew it was a big opportunity to start proving myself and right off the bat I got paired with the Dynasty, and I remember at the time being kinda like, not into the idea that just because, you know, I was like, oh, man, I’m gonna be this big breakout singles star, you know, and then it’s like, okay, well, you’re this faction of guys. But it turned out to be like the most fun I’ve ever had in wrestling. I never really kind of took my character on its own natural path, you know, because I just started kind of being myself and really having fun with the promos and stuff. And I think the dynasty became one of the hottest things on the show for a long period of time. And I attribute that as kind of a really good launching pad if you will.
What his experience was like working Pro Wrestling NOAH’s N-1 Victory tournament:
It was not my first time but it was like the first extended time I’d spent out there. I’d only been out there for less than a week at a time. So to do an extended tour like that was definitely a little bit of a culture shock and then also just like you said…grueling is a good word for it because we’re on tour and it’s night after night after night, you know? Bus to a new city, get your hotel, go to the venue and wrestle, get on a bus drive to new city so it was pretty intense and just kind of getting thrown into the fire of working with their top guys right off the bat right from the get go. My first night there I think I was the main event against Go Shiozaki. So it was definitely a very interesting experience and something I look back on as probably one of my favorite experiences in pro wrestling just because it really is kind of a trial by fire to have to be thrown in there and work with the best in the world with a language barrier. You don’t have the comfort the machine of your company behind you per se or the comfort of your own fans. So it was definitely a test and I like to think that I kind of passed it.
Whether it was nerve-racking to wrestle in front of fans again after the long period of empty arena shows due to COVID:
Definitely not. If anything quite the opposite. It’s kind of nerve wracking to wrestle without fans, to portray that same energy and that same excitement and to convey all the emotion without having any fans to kind of bounce it off of. I guess there was a small level of nerves as far as wondering what kind of reaction you are going to get. I know they’re gonna be there for me but there’s a little bit of you worry like “how big is this pop gonna be?”