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Madman Fulton admits "it was tough to gain respect" after leaving NXT but he's back on track with Impact Wrestling.

The 29-year-old was a member of the WWE NXT roster from 2012 to 2017, when he most notably joined the Sanity faction alongside Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe and Nikki Cross.

But after suffering a torn pectoral muscle, the star then known as Sawyer Fulton was replaced by Killian Dain and not long after was released by WWE in late 2017.

After spending some time working on the independent scene, he was bought in to Impact Wrestling in March 2019 and joined up with fellow Ohio natives, Sami Callihan and the Crist Brothers, to form the Ohio Versus Everything (oVe) stable.

In this exclusive interview with Mirror Sport's Tony Quant, Fulton - real name Jacob Southwick - talked about his amateur wrestling background which saw him share the mat with Brock Lesnar, learning promos from Dusty Rhodes, meeting Callihan for the first time and much more.

Can you talk to us about how you fell in love with wrestling and what performers did you like growing up?

Me and my older brother, who is two years older than me, had to sneak out to dad's barn to watch wrestling. Not to hide it, but because we had a really bad signal where we lived and that TV was the only one that picked up wrestling.

My brother's favourite wrestler was The Undertaker and so naturally as his brother I had to do the complete opposite to him. So I was a big fan of Kane. The more I watched him I got to realise that he is absolutely amazing. He was on top of the card for 25 years and was able to reverse his character from a dentist to a monster and he's now a mayor! The more I watched him the more I look up to him.

Before becoming a professional wrestler, you spent a lot of time on the amateur scene. Did you wrestle any other recognisable professional wrestling names during your time on the mats?

Yeah so I actually met Kurt Angle a few times, my coach in college knew him well. When I was 16 I had just got my licence and there was a heavyweight camp in Iowa, which was about an eight-hour drive, and Brock Lesnar was the guest trainer for a day.

We wrestled as a group and the winner of the tournament they put on got to wrestle with him. I made sure I did everything to win that tournament and I got to wrestle him. And he beat the hell out of me! You would have thought that as a high school kid he would have wrestled on my level, but when he wrestles you, he wrestles you the same way as if you were a grown man.

(Image: WWE)

I read that Bobby Lashley had tried to get you on to the US Army wrestling team. How did that come about and do you keep in contact with him?

Yeah, so just before I signed with NXT, I was offered the chance to join the US Army wrestling team and had been endorsed by Bobby Lashley. We met in person a few times, but when this was happening it was all through emails. Lashley had come from the US Army wrestling team himself so it was great that he had supported me.

So what was the main decision behind moving on from amateur wrestling to professional wrestling?

Professional wrestling is the only thing I have ever wanted to do with my life. I started amateur because I thought that when I got to the gym there would be a ring there. It has always been my goal to become a professional wrestler. When I left college I had the offer to either go train with the army or go and join NXT. It was never in doubt, NXT was the clear path for me.

(Image: Impact Wrestling)

What was the biggest adjustment you had to make turning professional?

For me, I am not a naturally charismatic guy and amateur wrestling definitely takes that away from you even more. When you are drilling you have to stay low and not show your opponent that you are hurt. You have to stay stone faced. Whereas in professional wrestling, it's the complete opposite of that. So even just adjusting to standing up and keeping my head up was difficult to master.

How did you get on learning how to cut promos, which I suspect was all new to you also?

I mean I got very lucky as when I was in NXT, Dusty Rhodes was still running the promo class. Admittedly I sucked and was pretty bad at them, I was trying to be something I wasn't. I think I probably had a bit of an ego because I had been such a good amateur wrestler and so I had to work hard.

It took a lot of talking with Dusty to bring that charisma out. At the time I didn't like Dusty, I just thought he was out to get me. But later on, the more I think about the lessons he taught me, I think he was just playing me the whole time. He knew if he p***ed me off enough I would try my hardest to stick it to him and that would bring out the best in me.

(Image: Impact Wrestling)

Was it during your NXT time that you first met fellow oVe stable mate Sami Callihan?

I had met him a few times in Ohio before NXT, we talked, but not as close friends. I remember at the time I was living in an apartment in Orlando and I had a crush on a girl in an apartment across from me.

So one day I was walking my dogs at the same time as her and we had a great conversation. Then out of nowhere Sami appears and runs over and bear hugs me and carries me away from this girl and throws me in the bush. So after all this time of trying to chat to her she leaves but I gained a best friend!

Was it daunting after leaving NXT and going back to the independents? How were you received by the locker rooms on the independent shows you worked?

I think the hardest thing with leaving was all of those bonds you had built with the people there. Then once you left you are out of their lives and I was just sat there alone. The transition was tough, obviously at the Performance Centre there is a way that you learn and they look after you, but it wasn't until you get out and realise that the cheque isn't coming and your ability to eat and live rests on how well you do in the ring.

There are certainly some of your peers who are looking at you having come straight from NXT and are just collecting cheques, while in their eyes they have been busting their asses every night. It was tough to gain respect back from the boys and girls, for sure.

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So fast forward to the start of 2019 and you are now with Impact Wrestling. Are you contracted with Impact as I know you are still working various independent shows?

Yes, I am under contract with Impact Wrestling. There are different types of contracts and I am on the one which allows me to take independent bookings and I think that it is a good place for me right now. I am able to go out there and hone my craft in front of live crowds and then make sure that my work comes across even more crisp and ready for when I am on TV for Impact.

One of the biggest talking points at Impact Wrestling recently was when Tessa Blanchard became world champion, defeating your friend Callihan. What are your thoughts on her winning the title and intergender wrestling?

I think that it is awesome that Tessa won and I respect any girl who is willing to get in there with anyone who is bigger than her. She brings it in every single match and she is different and unique. What matters to me is the craft and the art that we bring to the table and men and women both do that.

I definitely think there is a place for intergender wrestling. It is something that Impact can claim we do better than anyone else, I don't even view it as intergender wrestling, it's just wrestling to me. I would love to have a match with Jessicka Havok, equally I would love to team with her. I think we would have a great run at the tag titles and me and her versus The North would be a great battle.

(Image: Impact Wrestling)

I believe one thing you are really keen on is wrestling in Japan. Do you have a dream opponent in mind if that opportunity arises?

Well I worked with Kenta in NXT and he actually helped me learn Japanese, I began speaking and having small conversations with his children. Me and him had a few scuffles in NXT and now he is out and in his own element, I think we would have a great match and would love to have that match.

I also understand you worked in a Zoo during your time in NXT! Is that something you still do now? And what was your favourite animal you looked after?

Yeah so that place was a privately owned zoo in Orlando and I only left because I had to move. It was an amazing job and I loved every second of it. But it wasn't the be all end all. I actually spoke to the owner recently and they have just had some baby sloths and lemurs.

It's hard to pick one animal, I honestly am a huge fan of just about any creature. I loved the lemurs though because when you look at them in a pack they all look vaguely similar. But when you get in the pen and get in there with them, you get to learn their individual personalities and how they act differently towards each other and it's really cool to learn about them.

Madman Fulton can be seen on Impact Wrestling on Fight Network UK (Sky 192/Freesat 161/TVPlayer.com and app) every Wednesday at 9pm, with a repeat on Sunday at 9pm and also on 5Star on Fridays at 11pm.

Impact Wrestling's There’s No Place Like Home takes place at WrestleCon in Tampa, Florida on April 3.