WRESTLER SPOTLIGHT: Before Paragon returns to EMERGE Wrestling at Back In The Saddle, Jamie St. James discusses the evolution of his wrestling persona, his unexpected start in comedy and the connection between controlling a wrestling crowd and winning over an audience.
Some wrestlers create a character by inventing an entirely new personality. Jamie St. James built Paragon by amplifying the qualities and abilities he already possessed.
St. James is more than a professional wrestler. He is also a comedian, singer, rapper, writer and impressionist. That versatility has gradually become part of Paragon’s presentation, allowing the character to evolve alongside the person performing it.
The earliest version of Paragon looked considerably different. St. James entered professional wrestling with long hair and a presentation rooted more heavily in traditional wrestling imagery. Today, he enters wearing a luxurious robe, occasionally returns to a singlet and confidently calls himself “The Coldest Of All Time.”
“My whole presentation is different, even the way that I refer to myself. I’m the coldest of all time. A lot of people claim to be great. Everybody tries to be the best, but ain’t nobody as cold. That’s what I like to present.”
The nickname is not simply another way of claiming to be the greatest. For St. James, it represents something more distinctive. Plenty of wrestlers call themselves the best, but no one else can present the same combination of wrestling, music, comedy, impressions and writing that he brings to Paragon.
That range has helped make Paragon one of the most recognizable personalities on the EMERGE roster. In our first Road To Back In The Saddle promotion spotlight, one of EMERGE’s owners described Paragon as someone with enough personality to talk people into the building.
A PROMISE TO BECOME A WRESTLER
St. James’ decision to pursue professional wrestling was connected to one of the performers who first captured his imagination as a fan.
He remembered being fascinated by someone whose personality could make him feel like the largest person in the ring, regardless of who stood across from him. The performer’s character and in-ring work felt inseparable.
When Eddie (Eddy) Guerrero died, St. James made a personal commitment.
“I told myself, ‘I have to be a wrestler. I want to be a wrestler one day.’ The day that he passed away, I looked up to heaven and I made a promise to him.”
That promise eventually led St. James into professional wrestling and, after years of experimentation, to the fully developed version of Paragon seen today.
His development did not only occur inside a wrestling ring. One of the biggest influences on his ability to perform in front of a crowd came from an entirely different kind of stage.
AN ACCIDENTAL COMEDY CAREER
St. James did not begin performing stand-up comedy because of a carefully constructed career plan.
It began with a joke he told to another performer. St. James initially believed the other man was laughing, but the conversation suddenly became serious.
“He gets really quiet after a while and says, ‘I need you to get on stage.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? I don’t do comedy.’”
St. James resisted the suggestion. Eventually, he agreed to find an open mic and perform once, mostly to prove the other person wrong.
“I went to the open mic with the mindset that when I’m done with this, I’m done with this. This is just a one-off thing. I was doing it to be petty and out of spite.”
The plan to perform once and walk away did not survive his first appearance.
After leaving the stage, audience members assumed they had watched an experienced comedian.
“When I got off stage, I was asked, ‘How many years have you been doing comedy?’ I said, ‘Today.’ They said, ‘No, seriously, how many years have you been doing comedy?’ I was like, ‘I’m telling you, this was my first time ever doing stand-up.’”
One audience member visiting from England asked to take a photograph with him.
“I was like, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because I want to be able to say I was there when you got your start.’ That’s when I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I should try this comedy thing some more.’”
Early in his comedy career, St. James finished second in a competition against veteran comedians who were already respected throughout his city and state.
What started as an act of pettiness became another creative outlet. Although he has stepped back from performing stand-up regularly, St. James has begun transitioning toward sketch comedy and producing material for YouTube.
Fans can watch one of his performances from the Columbus Funny Bone on YouTube.
READING THE ROOM
Professional wrestling and stand-up comedy may appear to require completely different skills, but St. James sees a significant connection between them.
Both require a performer to understand the difference between an audience that is already interested and one that still needs to be convinced.
“There are audiences who came to laugh, and there are audiences who came for you to make them laugh.”
The same distinction exists in wrestling. Some fans attend an event specifically to see one wrestler. Others may not know everyone appearing on the card, leaving each performer responsible for earning their attention.
St. James believes wrestling prepared him for that challenge before he ever stepped onto a comedy stage.
“I feel like wrestling has prepared me for that because there are so many fans who go with somebody on the show. They’re there, but that doesn’t say they came specifically for you. You just have to be there, and then there are people who came to see you.”
“Wrestling teaches you to understand your audience, understand what they like, understand what they came to see and learn how to take back an audience.”
That ability to recognize what a crowd wants has become central to both sides of his career. A comedian must know when to stay with prepared material and when to respond to the room. A wrestler must understand when the audience is engaged, when it is losing interest and what will bring it back.
For St. James, both forms ultimately come down to the same responsibility: making people care about the person standing in front of them.
PARAGON RETURNS AT BACK IN THE SADDLE
Paragon will return to EMERGE Wrestling as part of EMERGE 98: Back In The Saddle on Saturday, August 1, 2026.
He will join Christopher Moore and Alacon Jerome Howse as Money Power Respect in a six-man tag team match against Lord Crewe and the No Limit Demons, Matt Diesel and Nikeem Avent. EMERGE has promoted the match as one of eight contests scheduled for the company’s return from a two-month hiatus.
For anyone discovering EMERGE through this series, Paragon represents one of the clearest examples of the variety the promotion wants to offer.
He is a wrestler who understands physical presentation, a comedian who understands timing and an entertainer confident enough to call himself something no one else can claim.
He is not merely trying to be the best.
He is trying to be the coldest.
EMERGE 98: BACK IN THE SADDLE EVENT INFORMATION
- Date: Saturday, August 1, 2026
- Venue: Bartholomew County Fairgrounds in Columbus, Indiana
- Doors: 18:00
- Facebook Live match: 18:45
- Bell time: 19:00
- Tickets: $10 in advance or $12 at the door
- Online Family Four-Pack: $30
- Tickets: EMERGE Wrestling ticket store
- Website: EMERGEProWrestling.com
- Facebook: EMERGE Wrestling
- YouTube: EMERGE Pro Wrestling
This interview was conducted exclusively for WrestlingHeadlines.com.
