However, what separates Shelley in my opinion is his non-stop motor between the ropes. Whenever I watch an Alex Shelley match, I'm almost certain to see him break out a hold or manuever that I did not see in a prior matchup. He is constantly evolving, and rapidly becoming a must see performer on any show where he is listed as appearing. In an area of the country where desire counts more than talent, because nearly everyone is a pretty talented performer, Alex Shelley stands out above the rest. They call him "The Next," and he's going to be the next huge name in this business. If you ask me to name top performers to keep an eye on in 2004, he's at the top of the list. Honestly, many of his virtues that I would rave about up here, are covered down below. So, without further ado, from an interview conducted on November 13th of this year, the Famous Last Words Gold Star Interview presents, "The Next" Alex Shelley.
Marcus K. Dowling (MKD): Alex...thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to do this interview. The first question is simple. Who would you say influenced your style, and for someone who has never seen you work before, how would you describe what you do in the ring in ten words or less?
Alex Shelley (AS): As far as influences go, I'm really highly influenced by Art Barr and Brian Pillman, God rest their souls. They were such complete packages. They could heel, face, cut promos, work, you name it. So far ahead of their time, and one has to wonder what their work would've been like had they lived. Other big influences include Eddie Guerrero and Kaz Hayashi. My trainers all have a big influence on my style, with Joe E. Legend having the most. As far as indy guys go, Hero and Sabin, but that's from training with them tons. Ten words or less? Um. To borrow someone elses catchphrase, "Technical excellence from a time forgotten."
MKD: What's the first wrestling match you ever remember watching? Even further, did that match make you want to be a pro wrestler, as it does with some? If not, what match sealed the deal for you?
AS: The first wrestling match I ever remember watching was a British Bulldogs squash match. Nothing too spectacular seeing as how they were roided to the gills and Dynamite had no spine at this point. The match that really made me want to become a wrestler was a Shawn Michaels vs. Kama match from 1995, as weird as that sounds. At least I think it was Kama. Regardless, Michaels had all this cool, fast, athletic babyface offense, and I was just in awe. Skin the cat, flying forearm kip-up, top rope elbow, superkick, it was great. That put the nail in the coffin.
MKD: So, you refer to yourself now as "The Next" Alex Shelley, which is a change from when you were prior known as the "Technical Messiah." What exactly does "The Next" mean, are you leaving that up to the fan to decipher, and, is this some way to differentiate from those who may either call themselves "The Next Big Thing," or "The Future?"
AS: Honestly, I never liked "The Technical Messiah" nickname to begin with. As far as "The Next"? I get ribbed a lot because of it, but really, it's from my first trainer, Bryer Wellington. He was known as "The Next", and then he moved from Michigan down to Florida a few months ago. Before he left, he told me I could use the nickname, and I thought it'd be a cool tribute to him. I'd most certainly like to be the next breakout star though, and there's already enough "Futures" running rampant.
MKD: You just recently won the German WXW Heavyweight title from Chris Hero during day two of IWA Mid-South's Ted Petty Invitational. Is this one of the crowning achievements in your career? And, if so, or if not, what else would you call a career defining moment so far?
AS: The whole TPI was a pretty big landmark in my career, and winning the WXW Heavyweight Title was definiately an honor. I was pretty happy with my overall performance, and flattered that I was deemed worthy enough to hold their title. Other defining moments? Well, there's one that no one's even seen, since it was on a small, untaped show from Michigan. It'll be on The Best of Alex Shelley Volume 1. There was a tables match with myself and Gavin Starr versus Truth Martini and Anthony Rivera from The Yukon Braxton Memorial Show. None of the tables would break, and Gavin and I got pretty wrecked, but it was a good way to remember Yukon. My feud with Jimmy Jacobs, my CZW debut, and working with guys like Nate Webb, B.J. Whitmer, Nigel, just so many guys, all of that has been real memorable.
MKD: Biggest wrestling related mark out moment yet? Biggest non-wrestling mark out moment in life?
AS: Meeting Terry Funk was a real honor. He was such a nice man, and he's done it all. Honestly, it's just cool being able to work with and against guys I watched when I was 16 years old. I'd get tapes from everywhere and watch them, and now I'm working a lot of those guys. Also, everytime I get a "Please Come Back!", "IWA!", "ROH!", whatever chant, that's always a good feeling. Non-wrestling markout moment in real life? One time, I had sex with this girl who looked just like Blondie! She was a total babe. But I dunno, my whole life is a lot of ground to cover. That'd take awhile. Probably when I was 17, I drew this portrait of Ace Face from the cover of Quadrophenia. Took me a month and a half on and off. Anyways, the portrait itself ended up being really good and sold for $500. That kicked all sorts of ass. Maybe I should've went to art school after all.
MKD: Jimmy Jacobs. What's his deal? What's it like to travel with the guy, and how is it working him? Any good (printable) stories?
AS: Oh, Jimmy Jacobs. Traveling with him is alright. At first, it was fun, and it still is, but now we're like brothers. He, Sabin, and I act like siblings whenever we travel. Working with him is awesome, because he's up for anything, and when he wants to, he has some good ideas. That's why we've done so much different stuff in our matches, because we're both constantly trying to come up with new things. I've got a good story for you too. One time, Zach Gowen, Brian Gorie, Jimmy, Becky Bayless, and myself were all going to Philly. Zach just got his new car, so Brian, Zach, and I rode in it, while Jimmy and Becky took their car. Well, Zach had a small trunk, so we put my bag in the backseat of the car Jimmy had. A few hours later, we stop at a restraunt and argue about why Jimmy was late and how we could have taken one car. I said "We couldn't have taken one, you had to carry my bag in yours!" That got him. You'd think he'd appreciate the alone time with what would be his future girlfriend, but noooo. So he leaves the rest area before us, and leaves my bag out by Zachs car, just sitting there in plain view, where someone could've taken it. So I think "Alright, you slag, I've got you here." I put the bag in the car, and we drive. We call him a few hours later for directions, and he asks if I found my bag. I played real dumb, and got Gorie and Zach to go along with it. He got so upset he thought he caused my bag to get stolen, he called the cops and had them check the rest area. We were about 5 hours away from where the bag was, and he said he'd go back and get it if they found it. I acted distraught the whole way to Philly, including talking about whose gear I could borrow and asking Zach and Gorie if I could borrow money, and they played along. We did it wonderfully. So when we got to the apartment we were staying at, he's walking up all sad, and I just carry my bag up with me like nothing happened. Shows him.
MKD: Moving onward, I wanted to ask you about your time in Ring of Honor. How did your ROH debut come about, and, how do you feel about being in the same area with what many people call the most "star studded" locker room in all of independent wrestling?
AS: Well, Chris Sabin worked for ROH in early June, and they wanted him back in late June for another shot. He said he needed guys to ride with, and they said whomever he brought, they'd give a showcase match to. C.M. Punk heard we were coming, and managed to get us on the actual show in a four way against Tony Mamaluke and B.J. Whitmer. C.M. Punk really tries to look out for Jimmy and I whenever he can, and Sabin's one of the guys we hang around with all the time, so much thanks are owed to both of them. The locker room itself is filled with lots of great workers, but I knew about half of them going into it from working IWA Mid-South or Ohio shows or wherever. It's kind of intimidating knowing there's so many great guys there and seeing how your work will hold up, but that's only good for business in the long run, because everyone busts their asses to do something special.
MKD: When you're not training or wrestling, how do you spend your free time?
AS: Honestly, there's not a whole lot time left, but I like sleeping. I do enjoy going out and partying once in awhile, clubs and that scene. I dig this one club in downtown Detroit, it's a scummy, free, rock 'n roll bar. It's tremendous. I really dig vintage shirts too, so if anyone reading this wants to buy me some, that'd be phenomenal. Also, I wish I had more time to draw and read. I listen to lots of music, and movies kick all sorts of ass. Man, video games are so cool, but I'm soooo far behind the times there. Whatever, old school Metroid is where it's at anyways.
MKD: Onto the Midwest wrestling scene. Besides the guys that we've started seeing on the east coast and west coast now, could you name two guys that you've worked that we should eagerly anticipate seeing footage of, and why?
AS: The first one's easy. Petey Williams. He'll be working IWA semi regularly soon. If you like the way Sabin and I work, you'll like Petey. He trains with us, and he's actually been working longer than myself, he just hasn't gotten out much. He looks like Jamie Knoble too. But he can do all the European stuff, since he trained with Joe, and has a nice variety of flying moves and neckbreakers. The second one's hard. Brad Bradley's a solid power wrestler, but I've never worked him. This Josh Abercrombie kid Jimmy Jacobs is high on could be good. I'll go with Nigel McGuinness or Truth Martini. Truth is injured, but Nigel's really getting out there, and he's like a modern day Johnny Saint, it's great.
MKD: Zach Gowen. I believe you know a thing or two about this guy. How impressive is he, and, are we just seeing him scratch the surface of his ability in WWE?
AS: Honestly, he watered down what he does for the WWE. He's capable of more than what they let him do on TV. It all depends on how they use him if we get so see more. It seems like they may have run out of stuff for him to do at this point, but I certainly hope not. As you can see, his real talent is dying for our sins on bumps. Those F5's into the ring post, no thank you.
MKD: To continue, what was your personal wrestling highlight of 2003, and what does 2004 hold for Alex Shelley?
AS: Some kid out there made a best of Jimmy Jacobs versus Alex Shelley tape. That's a cool thing for me, personally, knowing that someone made the tape and plans on selling it to other people who want to buy it. But dammit, I want some of the money from it. My feud with Jacobs was probably the most memorable thing this year, and really helped springboard me to other places and get me over with people who had never seen me. I really hope I'll get into TNA next year, as that's a place I think I need to go to further myself as a wrestler at this point. Hopefully Europe as well, especially since I'm the WXW champeeeeen now. I'll just take it one step at a time.
MKD: Who are you especially looking forward to working in the future that you haven't worked already?
AS: I want that singles match with Truth Martini. I'd like to work Jerry Lynn, Cabana, and Punk in singles. I'd also really like to have rematches with Nigel and Chad Collyer. There's just lots of guys I'd like to work. More obvious ones include A.J. Styles and Chris Daniels, but those are practically givens, you know? If Robby Brookside is still around, I'd love to wrestle him.
MKD: In ten words or less:
AS: Truth Martini and Joe E. Legend? Awesome trainers, awesome workers, awesome ring names.
The Border City Stretch? Australian souvenier from Sabin and my new finisher.
Detroit Lions? "You still suck."
Emo, punk or hardcore? Punk. '77 style or old school garage punk.
This interview? Groin grabbingly good.
Again, I would like to thank Alex Shelley for giving so freely of his time. For any questions or comments, please feel free to forward them to me at MarcNova21@verizon.net, or AIM me at MarcusKDowling. Thanks for reading!
