In our latest interview, we caught up with RWA Wrestling star Big AJ Johnson.
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us.
It’s an absolute pleasure to be doing this interview for you, so thank you.
Firstly, could you give us a background on yourself away from wrestling?
I work as a personal trainer which has it’s benefits when it comes to training for wrestling, aside from that really, I’m just a simple family man and enjoy doing as much as I can with baby AJ.
When did you first become interested in professional wrestling and who were some of your favourite wrestlers at that time?
I was interested and hooked on wrestling from a very young age, for whatever the reason was my household didn’t get sky until what felt like a lifetime after everyone else, my younger years were spent as a WCW kid. I would set my VCR to record on channel 5 at 9 pm to record the weekly episode then wake up as early as possible Saturday morning and watch the episode on repeat most of the weekend! My stand out favourites at this time were Booker T, Sid Vicious & number one being Goldberg.
I got into WWF probably as the Attitude Era started, I was always into the more unusual or masked wrestlers, Goldust being one of my favourites, and still is today. Then The Rock who would be who I imitated when wrestling at lunchtimes in school (don’t do this at home…!), an interesting one, I detested Stone Cold & Shawn Michaels as a young boy and only learnt to appreciate them once I started wrestling myself!
What inspired you to become a wrestler? Was there a particular match or moment or a combination of both?
I think like a lot of young people I had no intention of doing anything other than being a wrestler unfortunately as I got into my later teens I fell out with wrestling and didn’t really get back into it until many years later. There wasn’t really a specific match that made me want to become a wrestler, I remember a friend of mine who I worked with was the one that got me back into wrestling, he then took me to some local British shows before saying “you workout maybe you should give it a go”, so you know who you are and if your reading this I owe a lot to you.
Not really part of the question but a match that has always stuck with me was Undertaker vs Big Boss Man Wrestlemania 15 where Big Boss Man gets hung from the Hell in a Cell, that was damn real for me at the time, I was probably old enough to know better but that really stuck with me. Even watching it now I’m amazed by the theatrics of it all.
How long did it take from having the first thoughts about becoming a pro wrestler to finding a school and starting training? Was RWA always your first choice to start your training?
I’m pretty much an “if there’s something I want I’ll just go get it” sort of man so once the thought came into my head not long at all. I looked into wrestling schools in the North West and was immediately drawn to RWA, with Andy Baker being the first unsigned wrestler to appear on NXT, the prospect of being taught by someone that has been on NXT was amazing. I spoke with Andy who invited me down to come and hang out before fully making the decision, this just so happened to be when Dr Tom was holding a seminar, how lucky was I! I was naturally very nervous at first but one thing that I really remember was every single trainee even though Dr Tom was there came over to introduce themselves and welcome me to the school. Now around two years later, I stand by RWA being a family rather than a school I know it sounds like a cliché but I doubt anywhere is like RWA.
How did your friends and family react when you told them you wanted to train to wrestle?
I’m blessed in this respect, my mother, although I’d not really been into it so much in my older years, was a bit like, well it’s not a surprise really! I lived and breathed it as a kid much like I do now. My wife, although nervous I’d get hurt was behind me 100% and understands how much it means to me so doesn’t get hot when I want to spend an entire weekend wrestling.
How long did it take to debut in the ring after your first training session and what are your memories of your first ever match?
I was very lucky with my debut, I think I had been training maybe two months and one of the ex-trainees who was booked in a six-man tag no-showed. Andy asked if I fancied making my debut in an hour’s time! Obviously, I took the chance, I ended up borrowing Andy’s boots & someone’s under armour leggings they usually wore under their tights (looking back at the pictures is funny!). I remember being so nervous my mouth was dry, I was second-guessing myself and wasn’t sure if I’d make it through the curtain. I was tagging with two brothers The Reillys who were very established and they helped me so much. I had two spots planned including Gorilla pressing my tag partner and throwing them at the heel for a cross body, that was my first pop that I got from a crowd and was addicted from there. Second nod here but boys if you're reading this thank you for getting me through my first match.
Going from your beginnings to a huge title match set for February 10th where you'll be part of a huge four-way match for the RWA Heavyweight Championship which also features Azazel, Disciple and Connor 'The Bullet' Stafford. What can we expect from you in that contest and do you have anything you'd like to say to your three opponents?
This is going to be the biggest match of my career and my biggest challenge. You can expect me to manhandle my opponents and use my athleticism to bring out some big moves, there may be a move or two that nobody has seen from me yet! What would I say to the other three? Firstly, I’ve got huge respect for each of them, they truly are top talents with very different strengths. They each have held the Heavyweight Title amongst other titles whilst I am yet to win a title. I think for this reason they will underestimate me which isn’t clever! I know the RWA fans believe in me and I believe in myself, it’s time to show everyone who The Supreme Athlete is and win the title!
Are there any matches that stand out in your mind above others from your career so far? If so, what memories do you have of those matches?
There are a couple, obviously the first being my debut which I’ve already spoken about, secondly my singles debut which was shortly after against Mr. Williams who works up and down the country (check him out) was a short but really fun match which ended with a big spin and Mr Williams being too dizzy and got counted out outside the ring. Two more stand out matches, I took a break for around four months due to personal reasons, my first match back was against the bearded Jonathan Alexander and he simply is just the easiest to work with, we called everything on the fly (the RWA/OVW way) and had what I consider my greatest match to date. Lastly for a special mention is a singles match I had with Disciple, another one who is working up and down the country (check him out also) this is a match at the time we felt was awful and got backstage and were probably too hard on ourselves and each other. We both have watched the match back and it was actually pretty decent!
In the past, RWA trainees have been afforded opportunities to learn from some of the greats including Dr. Tom Prichard, Rip Rogers and Dave Taylor. Have you had the chance to learn from them and, if so, what have you taken from them that you have implemented into your ring style that you feel can give you an advantage moving forward?
As mentioned earlier my first ever exposure to wrestling training was with Dr Tom, as this was my first day or just hanging out and watching not a lot made sense, however, he does an incredible Dusty Rhodes impression which I could have listened to for days.
Dave Taylor is a legend and in his last visit spent a lot of time talking about tag matches and running through some tag spots and drills which were helpful for things like positioning, pace & timing.
In fairness Rip Rogers is probably the one that has helped me the most, firstly I was apprehensive and in all honesty a bit scared of Rip Rogers, I didn’t want to mess up and have him tear into me and say I was the drizzling s**ts! How wrong I was, he was amazing, when mistakes were made we laughed about them and most importantly we learned from them. He was always offering advice and different ways to try things. In terms of implementing styles, I think working clever and not taking as many bumps is something I’ve taken from both Rip & Dave. I spent a bit of time at the end of the seminar just chatting with Rip about gym training, being a personal trainer I wanted his insight on training and what he used to and still is doing. He probably has forgotten our conversation but the passion he has for wrestling and gym training is infectious and without sounding cheesy when I’m tired or feeling lazy I think to our conversation and how he would be “hustling” then go on and do the same myself. The funny thing about having Rip teach us is how much you can see Rip’s training when Andy teaches us! Rip if you ever read this thank you!
What's the best piece of advice that you've been given so far in wrestling?
One of Andy Baker's often used sayings, whether you think you can or you can’t you’re right. It’s helped my mindset a lot if you have a negative attitude you will get a negative result. If you go at it thinking you can do it you will.
Who would you say has had the biggest impact on you in life and in wrestling?
Without a shadow of doubt in life, the biggest impact has been my wife. I’m quite a private person when it comes to family so I won’t go on about this!
In wrestling I’d say there are three people that have had a big impact and continue to do so;
Firstly, obviously my coach Andy Baker. He’s naturally taught me so much. He gives up so much to come and teach us four times a week whilst supporting his own family.
Secondly, Matt Fox. Whilst he will hate that I’m writing this about him he is an incredible wrestler but he’s an even better coach. He has spent so much time helping me over the last few years. Aside from Andy he truly is the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to wrestling and has a talent for passing that knowledge on.
Lastly, Jonathan Alexander. I’ve already spoken about our match but he is another guy that if I’m looking for wrestling advice I will go to. I think he’s criminally underrated and could have a great wrestling match with his beard comb…!
Where can fans go to see you wrestling in the coming weeks?
RWA has a show in Winsford 20th January then our biggest show in Runcorn, 'Night of Memories 13' 10th February with the four-way title match.
Lastly, what are your short and long-term goals in the ring?
My short-term goal; I’ve been doing probably the best work I’ve done to date and currently riding a bit of a high, my short-term goal simply is just to keep this up and not let my hard work drop. Long-term would depend on the definition of long-term but it would be to get to a position to take outside bookings however this is something I’m really not rushing into, something Andy Baker believes in which I do to is being over-prepared, I don’t want to rush into taking outside bookings too soon which I think some people do.
Thanks once again to AJ for allowing us to work on this interview with him. Make sure you follow him on Twitter @rwa_aj
Details for upcoming RWA events can be found on their website www.rwawrestlinguk.com
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us.
It’s an absolute pleasure to be doing this interview for you, so thank you.
Firstly, could you give us a background on yourself away from wrestling?
I work as a personal trainer which has it’s benefits when it comes to training for wrestling, aside from that really, I’m just a simple family man and enjoy doing as much as I can with baby AJ.
When did you first become interested in professional wrestling and who were some of your favourite wrestlers at that time?
I was interested and hooked on wrestling from a very young age, for whatever the reason was my household didn’t get sky until what felt like a lifetime after everyone else, my younger years were spent as a WCW kid. I would set my VCR to record on channel 5 at 9 pm to record the weekly episode then wake up as early as possible Saturday morning and watch the episode on repeat most of the weekend! My stand out favourites at this time were Booker T, Sid Vicious & number one being Goldberg.
I got into WWF probably as the Attitude Era started, I was always into the more unusual or masked wrestlers, Goldust being one of my favourites, and still is today. Then The Rock who would be who I imitated when wrestling at lunchtimes in school (don’t do this at home…!), an interesting one, I detested Stone Cold & Shawn Michaels as a young boy and only learnt to appreciate them once I started wrestling myself!
What inspired you to become a wrestler? Was there a particular match or moment or a combination of both?
I think like a lot of young people I had no intention of doing anything other than being a wrestler unfortunately as I got into my later teens I fell out with wrestling and didn’t really get back into it until many years later. There wasn’t really a specific match that made me want to become a wrestler, I remember a friend of mine who I worked with was the one that got me back into wrestling, he then took me to some local British shows before saying “you workout maybe you should give it a go”, so you know who you are and if your reading this I owe a lot to you.
Not really part of the question but a match that has always stuck with me was Undertaker vs Big Boss Man Wrestlemania 15 where Big Boss Man gets hung from the Hell in a Cell, that was damn real for me at the time, I was probably old enough to know better but that really stuck with me. Even watching it now I’m amazed by the theatrics of it all.
How long did it take from having the first thoughts about becoming a pro wrestler to finding a school and starting training? Was RWA always your first choice to start your training?
I’m pretty much an “if there’s something I want I’ll just go get it” sort of man so once the thought came into my head not long at all. I looked into wrestling schools in the North West and was immediately drawn to RWA, with Andy Baker being the first unsigned wrestler to appear on NXT, the prospect of being taught by someone that has been on NXT was amazing. I spoke with Andy who invited me down to come and hang out before fully making the decision, this just so happened to be when Dr Tom was holding a seminar, how lucky was I! I was naturally very nervous at first but one thing that I really remember was every single trainee even though Dr Tom was there came over to introduce themselves and welcome me to the school. Now around two years later, I stand by RWA being a family rather than a school I know it sounds like a cliché but I doubt anywhere is like RWA.
How did your friends and family react when you told them you wanted to train to wrestle?
I’m blessed in this respect, my mother, although I’d not really been into it so much in my older years, was a bit like, well it’s not a surprise really! I lived and breathed it as a kid much like I do now. My wife, although nervous I’d get hurt was behind me 100% and understands how much it means to me so doesn’t get hot when I want to spend an entire weekend wrestling.
How long did it take to debut in the ring after your first training session and what are your memories of your first ever match?
I was very lucky with my debut, I think I had been training maybe two months and one of the ex-trainees who was booked in a six-man tag no-showed. Andy asked if I fancied making my debut in an hour’s time! Obviously, I took the chance, I ended up borrowing Andy’s boots & someone’s under armour leggings they usually wore under their tights (looking back at the pictures is funny!). I remember being so nervous my mouth was dry, I was second-guessing myself and wasn’t sure if I’d make it through the curtain. I was tagging with two brothers The Reillys who were very established and they helped me so much. I had two spots planned including Gorilla pressing my tag partner and throwing them at the heel for a cross body, that was my first pop that I got from a crowd and was addicted from there. Second nod here but boys if you're reading this thank you for getting me through my first match.
Going from your beginnings to a huge title match set for February 10th where you'll be part of a huge four-way match for the RWA Heavyweight Championship which also features Azazel, Disciple and Connor 'The Bullet' Stafford. What can we expect from you in that contest and do you have anything you'd like to say to your three opponents?
This is going to be the biggest match of my career and my biggest challenge. You can expect me to manhandle my opponents and use my athleticism to bring out some big moves, there may be a move or two that nobody has seen from me yet! What would I say to the other three? Firstly, I’ve got huge respect for each of them, they truly are top talents with very different strengths. They each have held the Heavyweight Title amongst other titles whilst I am yet to win a title. I think for this reason they will underestimate me which isn’t clever! I know the RWA fans believe in me and I believe in myself, it’s time to show everyone who The Supreme Athlete is and win the title!
Are there any matches that stand out in your mind above others from your career so far? If so, what memories do you have of those matches?
There are a couple, obviously the first being my debut which I’ve already spoken about, secondly my singles debut which was shortly after against Mr. Williams who works up and down the country (check him out) was a short but really fun match which ended with a big spin and Mr Williams being too dizzy and got counted out outside the ring. Two more stand out matches, I took a break for around four months due to personal reasons, my first match back was against the bearded Jonathan Alexander and he simply is just the easiest to work with, we called everything on the fly (the RWA/OVW way) and had what I consider my greatest match to date. Lastly for a special mention is a singles match I had with Disciple, another one who is working up and down the country (check him out also) this is a match at the time we felt was awful and got backstage and were probably too hard on ourselves and each other. We both have watched the match back and it was actually pretty decent!
In the past, RWA trainees have been afforded opportunities to learn from some of the greats including Dr. Tom Prichard, Rip Rogers and Dave Taylor. Have you had the chance to learn from them and, if so, what have you taken from them that you have implemented into your ring style that you feel can give you an advantage moving forward?
As mentioned earlier my first ever exposure to wrestling training was with Dr Tom, as this was my first day or just hanging out and watching not a lot made sense, however, he does an incredible Dusty Rhodes impression which I could have listened to for days.
Dave Taylor is a legend and in his last visit spent a lot of time talking about tag matches and running through some tag spots and drills which were helpful for things like positioning, pace & timing.
In fairness Rip Rogers is probably the one that has helped me the most, firstly I was apprehensive and in all honesty a bit scared of Rip Rogers, I didn’t want to mess up and have him tear into me and say I was the drizzling s**ts! How wrong I was, he was amazing, when mistakes were made we laughed about them and most importantly we learned from them. He was always offering advice and different ways to try things. In terms of implementing styles, I think working clever and not taking as many bumps is something I’ve taken from both Rip & Dave. I spent a bit of time at the end of the seminar just chatting with Rip about gym training, being a personal trainer I wanted his insight on training and what he used to and still is doing. He probably has forgotten our conversation but the passion he has for wrestling and gym training is infectious and without sounding cheesy when I’m tired or feeling lazy I think to our conversation and how he would be “hustling” then go on and do the same myself. The funny thing about having Rip teach us is how much you can see Rip’s training when Andy teaches us! Rip if you ever read this thank you!
What's the best piece of advice that you've been given so far in wrestling?
One of Andy Baker's often used sayings, whether you think you can or you can’t you’re right. It’s helped my mindset a lot if you have a negative attitude you will get a negative result. If you go at it thinking you can do it you will.
Who would you say has had the biggest impact on you in life and in wrestling?
Without a shadow of doubt in life, the biggest impact has been my wife. I’m quite a private person when it comes to family so I won’t go on about this!
In wrestling I’d say there are three people that have had a big impact and continue to do so;
Firstly, obviously my coach Andy Baker. He’s naturally taught me so much. He gives up so much to come and teach us four times a week whilst supporting his own family.
Secondly, Matt Fox. Whilst he will hate that I’m writing this about him he is an incredible wrestler but he’s an even better coach. He has spent so much time helping me over the last few years. Aside from Andy he truly is the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to wrestling and has a talent for passing that knowledge on.
Lastly, Jonathan Alexander. I’ve already spoken about our match but he is another guy that if I’m looking for wrestling advice I will go to. I think he’s criminally underrated and could have a great wrestling match with his beard comb…!
Where can fans go to see you wrestling in the coming weeks?
RWA has a show in Winsford 20th January then our biggest show in Runcorn, 'Night of Memories 13' 10th February with the four-way title match.
Lastly, what are your short and long-term goals in the ring?
My short-term goal; I’ve been doing probably the best work I’ve done to date and currently riding a bit of a high, my short-term goal simply is just to keep this up and not let my hard work drop. Long-term would depend on the definition of long-term but it would be to get to a position to take outside bookings however this is something I’m really not rushing into, something Andy Baker believes in which I do to is being over-prepared, I don’t want to rush into taking outside bookings too soon which I think some people do.
Thanks once again to AJ for allowing us to work on this interview with him. Make sure you follow him on Twitter @rwa_aj
Details for upcoming RWA events can be found on their website www.rwawrestlinguk.com