Interview With "Sensational" Sean South
Monday, July 3, 2006
Interview Conducted by E L Farrell
Wrestling Interview With NWA Ireland Wrestler "Sensational" Sean South
Q1:Well for the benefit of fans who don't follow the indy scene, can you give them a good idea of who "Sensational" Sean South is?
I’m an indy wrestler based in Ireland, working primarily for Nwa Ireland, I have previously worked for irish whip wrestling. I’m a technical wrestler mostly but sometimes dabble in submission wrestling, striking,& if the mood strikes me, small parts of lucha! I’m 6’1” tall & weigh roughly about 203lbs, I’m 18 years of age and have been wrestling for around 2 years now! I’m also one of very few lucky European wrestlers to appear on a weekly wrestling show!
Q2:What made you decide to get into the wrestling business and how did you go about getting into it?
I’ve always been a fan of wrestling, as far back as I remember! When I was around 15,I was looking up magazines and the internet looking for places in England and America that would train me, I planned to save up all my money to train somewhere whenever I could. Then one morning I woke up and got a text message from a friend of mine, he said that he found a school in Dublin, I joined the IwW Lock Up a week later!
Q3:Who were your favourite wrestlers growing up?
Growing up my favourite wrestlers were Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Rock, and Billy Gunn(don’t know why!). Though having said that I still have wrestlers that I admire for workrate and creativity, guys like Alex Shelley, Bryan Danielson and Adam Pearce come to mind. I love Japanese wrestling too, I love the competitive style.
Q4:Who was your first match against?
My first match was a tag match against George McFly and Irish Dragon, in the sfx theatre in Dublin. It was really cool to make my debut on the same card as the likes of Jonny Storm, Jody Fleisch, M-Dogg20, Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles! I think the match went very well considering my experience, the only downside was that I injured Irish Dragon by kicking him square in the spine!
Q5:Who has been your toughest opponent or opponents to date?
I’ve had numerous tough opponents so far, The ones that spring to mind are Ballymun Bruiser, Darren Burridge, and of course Paddy Morrow, when you’re the longest reigning champion in Irish wrestling history, you’d want to be a tough opponent!
Q6:Tell us about your life outside of professional wrestling?
I’ve just recently finished my Leaving Cert(Irish equivalent of The A levels or SATs), so my life was on hold for a while because of study!! Outside of wrestling I like average enough things, I like most types of music, enjoy the odd film, and love the hang out with my mates(Casual lads that they are, geddit??). I don’t drink or smoke either so I’m not mad into goin out on the town that often!
Q7:You wrestle for NWA Ireland and recently jumped ship from rival promotion Irish Whip Wrestling. What made you decide to defect to NWA Ireland and what were the circumstances?
Without burying anybody or causing a lot of controversy, let me just say that politics in IWW made it a hard place to stay in! Also I felt that it was in my best interests as a wrestler to leave, the training was sub par and I was in the same old matches on shows. By moving to NWA I got better training and fresh opponents. Also, I’m a new guy in the promotion, so I have to work harder to prove myself to the fans and the lads in the locker room, which will make me a better wrestler!
Q8: Would you ever return to Irish Whip Wrestling in the future?
I try to never say never, but it seems very unlikely that I’ll ever go back there. I can’t think of anything that I’d have to gain from it, unless a massive pay day was on offer ha ha ha!
Q9:Is there any specific indy promotion out there that you would like to work for?
I would love to work for ROH, they are seen by most fans as the promotion that has the best wrestlers and generally puts on the best shows! It would be a dream come true to work in Japan. I’d also love to work for the likes of Chikara and PWG in the states. I’d basically like to work anywhere that has a reputation for quality wrestling, like NWA Ireland! I think when you wrestle for places like that, it shows you’re a good wrestler!
Q10:Who are your favorite wrestlers to work with?
Steve Mulligan may be one of the most versatile wrestlers in Europe, he can wrestle any way you want. Other guys who come to mind are Drew Galloway, Ballymun Bruiser and Bam Katraz! Also Paddy Morrow and AJ Havok are two names who I almost left out, those two truly understand the business and can drag a great match out of anyone!
Q11:What in your opinion is your best match?
That’s a very tough question! I think my match with Vic Viper at gym wars may have been the best match that anybody has never seen. I thought it was great, Vic thought it was great, THE FANS thought it was great, yet we NEVER faced each other one on one again! I think a match I had with Jay Phoenix in iww was also extremely good, when Fergal Devitt tells a wrestler from a rival company that he had a very good match, you know you’re doing something right! I also had a match with Paddy Morrow recently which I thought to be very good, Paddy may be the best all round wrestler in Europe right now, he can actually do it all; insane highspots, great tech, striking & the strength of a bear!
Q12:What sort of reaction do you get from people when they learn you are a wrestler?
At first they’re shocked because wrestlers in Ireland are few and far between, once they get over the initial disbelief they always say the same type of lines: “Ooooooh, I never even knew there’s wrestling over here, is it like the WWF type of wrestlin’ or the English stuff my granny watched??”
Q13:What is your most memorable professional moment?
One that sticks out in my mind was the time IwW ran shows in a holiday camp on the south coast of Ireland, on one occasion it was raining outside and the holiday makers had nothing much to do but watch the wrestling, so about 450 of them pack into the rather small venue, they spillin onto the stage and almost sitting on the ring apron, when I made my entrance they almost deafened me, they were possibly the best crowd I’ve ever worked in front of!!!
Q14:What is your opinion on WWE and TNA?
I don’t watch WWE, and don’t have access to TNA, however I do believe that TNA have the better idea of what to do to attract fans, they run less shows which allows a higher workrate and they allow their junior heavyweights to shine through which keeps the “smart marks” happy. As long as it’s wrestling, kids will watch it, but “smarts” may not watch it, if you want a happy balance, pander to the “smarts”
Q15:Any last comments you'd like to make?
Thanks for reading this, check out www.nwaireland.com for THE BEST pro wrestling in Ireland, if you want to find out more about me go to www.myspace.com/munami, or if you want to read my thoughts and ramblings on whatever, go to http://sean-south.livejournal.com/ , both those sites are full of good old Southern Hospitality!!!
Laters,
South