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PROGRESS World Champion Walter believes his opponent at Wembley Arena tonight Tyler Bate's time will come... "but not now".

Walter, 31, from Vienna, Austria, is confident he will be leaving the show with his title, despite the qualities of the acclaimed WWE NXT UK star.

'The Ring General' is certainly not overlooking Bate, 21, from Dudley, West Midlands, who he will face in the main event of PROGRESS Chapter 76: Hello Wembley.

That being said, the 6ft 4in powerhouse believes he will retain the gold he won from New Zealand’s Travis Banks at PROGRESS Chapter 74: Midweek Matters in July.

In an exclusive interview with Mirror Sport’s Tony Quant, he spoke about the growth of the European wrestling scene, his success to, rumours of interest from WWE and much more.

(Image: PROGRESS Wrestling)

What does main eventing a show at Wembley Arena mean to you and where does it rank in your career?

It's a very good thing that is happening because it's the biggest show in English professional wrestling for decades. To be the one to lead the company into the big event as champion without being a British wrestler is an accomplishment and I am really looking forward to it. I have many special happenings in my career so far, but it's difficult to rank them as each one is special in itself.

You are defending your PROGRESS World Championship against WWE NXT UK’s Tyler Bate. What type of match can we expect to see on Sunday?

I expect for the fans to see an athletic and dramatic contest. I think it is going to be a classic. Tyler is very talented and has all the talent in the world and carries the same passion for the sport as I do.

(Image: PROGRESS Wrestling)

In a recent interview Bate said he is going to be able to "ragdoll" you around the ring at Wembley. How do you respond to that?

He is very strong for his size and bodyweight. In lifting it's relative to bodyweight. On the other hand, it's different if you have moving weight and a real life opponent and that's where I think there is a big difference. But I am very aware that he may be one of the few that can lift me.

You won the PROGRESS World Championship against Travis Banks at Chapter 74. The reaction to the win was incredible. How did it feel to finally capture the top title at PROGRESS?

I try to stay on the ground as much as possible but the reaction after the three count was very natural. It felt honest too and getting that level of excitement, was one of the better moments of my career. PROGRESS is special to me and has been from the beginning because of the positive vibe and atmosphere that it creates. Being the top guy for them is a big accomplishment.

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As you mentioned, this is going to be one of the biggest professional wrestling shows in the UK in decades. What do you make of the current European scene?

It's exciting, I remember starting in Austria. Then I moved to Germany 10 years ago as the scene was more active than Austria, but nothing to what it is today. When I started I used to wrestle between 30-50 times a year in gyms or rubbish venues with promoters not knowing what they wanted to do.

But it is completely different nowadays. Now we have wXw [Westside Xtreme Wrestling] in Germany and major companies in England running proper event buildings, with professional set-ups. In the last three to four years I have never been to a bad show in England. I think besides from WWE and major TV companies, the European scene is many steps ahead of the American scene right now.

In the last 12 to 18 months your reputation has really blown up across the globe, with you working for most of the major independent promotions. What do you attribute your success to?

I would say it's timing and work ethic that I carry with me. I was always surrounded by hardworking and focused people. When I perform I don't think selfishly, I think about the whole thing and trying to carry that forward. I do my best for company and the fans. It's a big part of what brought me to where I am now.

One match in particular which stands out to many was your bout with Pierre Carl Ouellet over WrestleMania weekend at Joey Janela’s Spring Break show. Going into that match did you expect it to receive the attention that it has?

I just listened to the interview with PCO and Steve Austin actually and the funny thing is that not many people know is that I wrestled him in Germany about eight years ago so I knew what was happening. He has a will to take risks and go all out, all the time. So when I got offered the match, I knew I would already be wrestling about seven times that weekend and the show didn't start until midnight. So I didn't really want to be wrestling a crazy man at 3am in the morning! But you know I agreed and it happened.

I was happy how it turned out and very happy for Carl because since that moment he is everywhere. He might just be the hottest thing on American independents. He is a very laid back, down to earth person and I really respect him. I won't forget that memory because the whole happening was very special.

Your popularity has also sparked some rumours that WWE are interested in signing you. Would you entertain signing with WWE at this stage in your career?

I don’t know if I mentioned this but being a part of the Raw or SmackDown roster is nothing I am interested in. I don’t want to live in the US. I really like NXT though, I think it's a great product, filled with the best talent in the world and is focused on competition in the ring, which is something I enjoy. I don’t want to say it will never happen because in wrestling things change so quick.

(Image: The Head Drop)

One thing that stands out about you is your ring appearance, wrestling in just plain black trunks, which isn’t very common. What made you decide to adopt this approach and as a larger athlete, was it a difficult decision to make?

We don't do bodybuilding, how we look in the end is not important. We have to be in shape to do stuff, but to look good is an add on and not a must. You just have to look believable. If they look at you and think you can beat someone's ass then they won’t think about me having a gut.

All I want my focus to be on is the competition in the ring. I think everything else that I add on would just distract people from that. When I come out from those curtains I want people to know that I am ready to compete and focused on that. In the ring I have black trunks and boots and that is all it needs. Anything else would be in the way.

Focusing back on Sunday, there is a number one contender match taking place on the card, with Eddie Denis taking on Mark Andrews. Do you have any preference as to who you would like to face after Tyler?

Right now I only care about Sunday and I don't care what is after that. I wrestled both Eddie and Mark in America and I beat them both. I am confident enough not to worry about them.

(Image: © WWE)

Do you have any final words for your opponent at Wembley, Tyler Bate?

Tyler is one of the most talented guys I have ever met, but some people if they get success too young, it gets to their head and they lose focus on what is important. If they have time to goof around outside the ring and dress up in stupid clothes, then I am not sure they are responsible enough to be world champion for PROGRESS. Tyler’s time will come, but not now.

PROGRESS Wrestling’s PROGRESS Chapter 76: Hello Wembley takes place at the SSE Arena Wembley on Sunday, September 30.

Doors open at 2.30pm with the pre-show beginning at 3.30pm and the main card at 4pm.

Tickets are available from the SSE Arena Wembley website