MLW star Alexander Hammerstone was recently the guest on Conversations with Love. Here are some highlights….

On COVID-19:

“It’s been an adjustment, that’s for sure. Not wrestling is rough, (and) not having access to a gym is rough, but luckily I’m making the best with a little home gym setup and I’m playing a lot of Halo.”

“I was never a gamer; for year, I haven’t even played games, but this current situation is letting me dive in. The bonus is, because I’m so far behind, the games I’m buying are only like five dollars because they’re so old!”

On his match with Laredo Kid in Tijuana:

“The whole experience was wild, just because we were on barely the cut-off of the whole pandemic. Leading up to that week, when the news was just really starting to hammer home (of) what was going on, we didn’t know if the show was even going to go through the day before. Actually, I think, once we got into San Diego – because that’s where the crew flew into to film all of our pre-tapes and stuff like that – Court Bauer, the president, sent all the guys a personal message letting them know that if they had any concerns or if they didn’t feel comfortable going across the border and going to perform for such a large group, they didn’t have to. So, then, you’re sitting there thinking ‘should we not?’ But, I mean, I’m hard-headed and I’m going to – I would perform tomorrow if I could.”

“So, it was crazy in that aspect, and then Tijuana’s always a crazy crowd, (because) they can fit five thousand in that arena. Then, I wrestled Laredo Kid, of course, who is one of the absolute best luchadors in the world right now. So I really lucked out, because I saw Mance Warner in a half-Mexican Death Match getting stabbed in the face and people getting lit on fire. That’s not my cup of tea. I got to have a great wrestling match with a great wrestler, so I was happy.”



On why he chose to sign with Major League Wrestling:

“Realistically, there were some options on the table. (With) MLW, we kind of have the image where I don’t think anything’s tarnished the companies image. I think we’ve been on a steady climb, and people see us as that alternative that’s continuing to grow. So, from one aspect, we have a good look. There’s nothing bad tarnishing the company. There’s no this, that or the other. There’s no black eyes. But, besides that, when they approached me it was much less ‘hey, here’s a number, I think maybe we want to sign you. You seem like a guy we might be able to do something with.’ It was a ‘hey, we want to sign you, we want to start you on this date, do you want to do it? Because we have some plans for you.’”

“That’s what I wanted to hear. I’m the type of guy who wants to dig my teeth into something. Especially (with) where I was at with pro wrestling, I’d been doing it for so long, and I’d kind of gotten to a point where I was feeling stuck and I was feeling like ‘oh my gosh, give me something. Give me a ball and let me run with it, and if I fall, then fine,’ but I’d rather do that than just pick up bread crumbs and be collecting a paycheck. I wanted to do something, and I think it’s paid off huge. The last year, the difference in name value that I have is incredible, and it’s a huge part thanks to MLW.”

If signing with MLW was the right decision:

“Oh yeah. One hundred percent. It really comes down to where I think we have a company where they’re looking for who’s going to step up (and) who’s going to kill it. If they could put you in a situation where you’re wrestling great matches with the talent on the roster, then they send you to Japan and you wrestle great matches in Japan, you wrestle great matches with luchadors. I’m not trying to toot my own horn and say I always have great matches, but I think I’ve stepped up to the plate in that regard.”

“Not only that, but from a behind-the-scenes standpoint, people who are going to be on time for their pre-tapes, who are not going to miss flights, who are going to do media, who are going to do all the things that some of the fans don’t always see. It really is a company where I feel like you have the chance to grab the brass ring, and it’s very, very obvious that there’s no one holding you down, there’s no politics in the locker room. It’s really come and take it and you’re going to get it.”

On what differentiates him in MLW:

“One thing some people might not realize is I’ve been doing this a little bit longer than some. I’m not some 20-year veteran, but I’ve been (wrestling) about ten years, whereas some of the guys on our roster are closer to three, four, even five (years). That difference in time gives me a different perspective on things, a little bit more maturity. And, not to say in the sense of being immature, but maturity of my vision of the business and how to conduct myself and how to play certain situations.”

“Not only that, just the way I was trained was a little bit old-school. But, I really thing I’m seeing how the new age of pro wrestling works, too, as far as carrying yourself on social media, interacting with the fans in the right way, engaging in the right way, but still maintaining those old-school qualities in the ring and in my promos and things that fans can relate to. Some guys are old school, but they’re not resonating with the fans of today, and then some of the new age (wrestlers) are doing all the cool stuff, but they have no substance to what they’re doing. I think I’m finding a good job, hitting my stride blending those two things together.”

On how he feels pro wrestling has changed:

“It’s hard to pin down. There’s definitely a sense of the young kids – not even the young kids, just wrestlers have this ‘okay, boomer’ (mentality), where they would get anyone old and say ‘oh, you’re just saying this because of this, or that,’ but it’s like, no. There are a lot of things in wrestling that it really is, like, I could tell you the stove’s hot, but you still have to touch yourself and burn your hand. Those old vets, yeah, some of them didn’t move on to WWE and some of them didn’t do all of this and that, and some of them are bitter and mean, but with all that time comes wisdom and knowledge. A lot of people don’t listen to any of it, but I’ve been lucky enough to have some really good mentors to help me.”

“I’m not going to say things are changing for the worse, it’s just changing. You can’t argue it. A lot of people like to act like pro wrestling is changing, but it’s not pro wrestling, it’s the world. It’s music. Is current music worse than the Beatles? It’s very easy to say of course it’s worse, but it’s all subjective. It’s all down to taste. There’s a business for it. There’s money in it. There’s fans in it. It’s just a constant changing thing, and for you to try to fight the change is a battle you’re going to lose.”

On how MJF’s departure will affect the Dynasty:

“Obviously, to an extent, Max had a lot of eyes on him and a lot of people with the perception he is what he is just because he’s on a competitors show. So, there’s some people who were watching specifically for him and being like ‘ooh, he’s the star, and these guys are with him.’ I do think MLW and just the way we made sure we came across from the get-go was very much (that) we stood out in our own way.”

“When the Dynasty first started, I was concerned about it hindering me in that regard (of) ‘is this going to steal my thunder (and) steal my spotlight?’ I’ll be honest. I’m a selfish guy. I want the biggest piece of the pie. I want to stand out. I want to be the top guy in the company. But as we got rolling, I didn’t feel that at all. I didn’t feel like it was chaining me down, I didn’t feel like it was holding me back. I know we were a group faction, but I feel like we all found our ways to stand out on our own.”

“With Max gone, I think to some fans the perception might be me standing out more, but that’s all it is. I don’t think it’s anything other than fans are going to perceive things the way they perceive them. The way it is is I’ve been a singles champion having big-time singles matches and big-time main events for months now, so regardless of Max’s position, it is what it is.”

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