JARRAD SLATE - MILITANT LEADER
**Interview from Issue 5 of Westside Pro Wrestling - January 2010**
Westside Pro Wrestling’s Tez catches up with the most experienced wrestler in Southern Hemisphere Wrestling Alliance and the leader of the Muscle Militia.
WPW: Welcome to Westside Pro Wrestling, Jarrad.
WPW: When did you decide Pro Wrestling was something that you wanted to become involved in and who were the wrestlers who influenced you?
SLATE: A long time ago, a friend of mine was a huge wrestling fan and one day I was over his house playing games when he decided to show me a WWE pay-per-view. He was ranting and raving about this match that was so insane that I had to watch it.
I hadn’t seen wrestling before, so I gave it a go and it just so happens that my wrestling match I saw was, the hell in a cell with The Undertaker and Mankind. What a way to get introduced! From there on in, I was a huge wrestling fan and a Undertaker fan. I just loved the entrance, the character and his wrestling style.
Then when I was 15, I went on a family trip to America and wrestling was huge over there. Everywhere I went, I saw wrestling. That’s when I decided to become a professional wrestler.
WPW: You first became known on the West Australian scene as Sypher in NSWA-e. Do you have fond memories of your early years?
SLATE: I have a lot of fond memories from NSWA-E. NSWA-E gave me, my first performance in front of a live crowd. I made a lot of friends there, as well as it was lots of fun, cause the company was like a family.
One of my favourite moments was when I wrestled a guy called Presto, I set him up on a table, then I climbed up the 15 foot wall and splashed Presto to win the match. What a adrenaline rush. The crowd went nuts and I’m scared of heights, so it was a huge thing for me.
Also being able to wrestle guys like The Wraith, Pain, Demyze and Jake Paragon was a cool thing as well. It was good to see them return to the ring, further down the track.
WPW: When NSWA-e closed it’s doors in early 2007, you moved to AAW, became Jarrad Slate and made your pro debut. Was it difficult for yourself to integrate into AAW?
SLATE: It wasn’t too difficult, cause the guys down there were really nice and fun to be around. The hard part was learning how to run the ropes and use the ring. I hadn’t been in a professional ring before, so it was difficult to start off with, but then it became second nature to me. It was easy to pick up everything cause guys like, The Shark, Xander (Sebastian Sander) and Captain Awesome (Alex Kingston) took me under their wings and showed me the inside and outs of professional wrestling.
WPW: In late 2007, you had a three month run as AAW Independent Champion. What was it like to win your first pro championship after only being with the company for about 6 months?
SLATE: I was stoked. They really must of seen something in me, cause I hadn’t been there that long and there they were giving me the opportunity to gain my first wrestling championship. It was awesome.
WPW: You spent some time at the Storm Academy training with The Shark and Garry Schmidt. What was the experience like and do you have any stories you can share?
SLATE: My time in Canada was the greatest time of my life so far. Be trained by Lance Storm was even cooler. I was staying in the same house with Shark, Garry Schmidt, Carlo Cannon and Tennille Dashwood, there were a lot of Aussies in the house, so we got up to a lot mischief.
This one time Carlo, Schmidt, Tennille and I has watching TV and Schmidt was sitting there eating ice cream out of a tub. He got up and went to the toilet, so Tennille hid the ice cream. When he came back, he looked everywhere for the ice cream, we then kept saying to him that he wasn’t even eating any ice cream. We said it so much that he started doubting himself, it was so funny.
WPW: The birth of SHWA must have been in the works for sometime. Can you elaborate on the beginnings of SHWA?
SLATE: Well it all started when a couple of wrestlers came together and started talking about a third wrestling company in Perth. I got interested cause it was going to be based somewhere closer to were I live. I live in Toodyay, so going from there to Rockingham was becoming quite the burden. But the clogs started rolling, when more wrestlers started getting on board the plan and here we are today.
WPW: You have taken part in some big matches over the past year, including bouts against Chris Masters, Sonjay Dutt and an ICW Championship match against Cannonball Kris Taylor. What has been your favourite match for 2009?
SLATE: Hands down, my favourite match so far, has been my match with Chris Masters at Breaking Ground. The guy was really easy to work with and he was a really nice guy. The atmosphere of the match was awesome and even though a lot of people were going for Chris, there still a lot of fans going for me.
WPW: The Muscle Militia have been the centerpiece stable of SHWA since midyear. The group has not only the WPW WA Manager of the Year, Ebenizah J. Klaus, but the WPW/SHWA Wrestler of the Year in yourself. How much more dominant can the Militia become?
SLATE: Well… The Wraith didn’t win against Mike Massive, so the SHWA championship belt did not come to the Muscle Militia. I guess that is how we can become more dominant, if we get our hands on the belt.
WPW: TNA’s Maximum Impact Australian Tour is coming up in March 2010. Do you feel like you’re in with a good chance to be part of the Perth show, as your video was posted on the competition website?
SLATE: Well I didn’t know that my video was posted on the site until you asked me. I don’t know, its hard to tell cause not all of the videos are posted up there, but it is cool to see mine up. It would be awesome to be a TNA star for one day, just to get a taste of it.
WPW: What are Jarrad Slate’s goals for the future?
SLATE: I’m looking to start traveling around Australia more. I love wrestling for other companies and to learn as much as I can. I’m also saving up to head for America as well to roam the independent scene. I want to take a crack at making this my career.
WPW: Thank you for speaking to Westside Pro Wrestling, Jarrad.
Westside Pro Wrestling’s Tez catches up with the most experienced wrestler in Southern Hemisphere Wrestling Alliance and the leader of the Muscle Militia.
WPW: Welcome to Westside Pro Wrestling, Jarrad.
WPW: When did you decide Pro Wrestling was something that you wanted to become involved in and who were the wrestlers who influenced you?
SLATE: A long time ago, a friend of mine was a huge wrestling fan and one day I was over his house playing games when he decided to show me a WWE pay-per-view. He was ranting and raving about this match that was so insane that I had to watch it.
I hadn’t seen wrestling before, so I gave it a go and it just so happens that my wrestling match I saw was, the hell in a cell with The Undertaker and Mankind. What a way to get introduced! From there on in, I was a huge wrestling fan and a Undertaker fan. I just loved the entrance, the character and his wrestling style.
Then when I was 15, I went on a family trip to America and wrestling was huge over there. Everywhere I went, I saw wrestling. That’s when I decided to become a professional wrestler.
WPW: You first became known on the West Australian scene as Sypher in NSWA-e. Do you have fond memories of your early years?
SLATE: I have a lot of fond memories from NSWA-E. NSWA-E gave me, my first performance in front of a live crowd. I made a lot of friends there, as well as it was lots of fun, cause the company was like a family.
One of my favourite moments was when I wrestled a guy called Presto, I set him up on a table, then I climbed up the 15 foot wall and splashed Presto to win the match. What a adrenaline rush. The crowd went nuts and I’m scared of heights, so it was a huge thing for me.
Also being able to wrestle guys like The Wraith, Pain, Demyze and Jake Paragon was a cool thing as well. It was good to see them return to the ring, further down the track.
WPW: When NSWA-e closed it’s doors in early 2007, you moved to AAW, became Jarrad Slate and made your pro debut. Was it difficult for yourself to integrate into AAW?
SLATE: It wasn’t too difficult, cause the guys down there were really nice and fun to be around. The hard part was learning how to run the ropes and use the ring. I hadn’t been in a professional ring before, so it was difficult to start off with, but then it became second nature to me. It was easy to pick up everything cause guys like, The Shark, Xander (Sebastian Sander) and Captain Awesome (Alex Kingston) took me under their wings and showed me the inside and outs of professional wrestling.
WPW: In late 2007, you had a three month run as AAW Independent Champion. What was it like to win your first pro championship after only being with the company for about 6 months?
SLATE: I was stoked. They really must of seen something in me, cause I hadn’t been there that long and there they were giving me the opportunity to gain my first wrestling championship. It was awesome.
WPW: You spent some time at the Storm Academy training with The Shark and Garry Schmidt. What was the experience like and do you have any stories you can share?
SLATE: My time in Canada was the greatest time of my life so far. Be trained by Lance Storm was even cooler. I was staying in the same house with Shark, Garry Schmidt, Carlo Cannon and Tennille Dashwood, there were a lot of Aussies in the house, so we got up to a lot mischief.
This one time Carlo, Schmidt, Tennille and I has watching TV and Schmidt was sitting there eating ice cream out of a tub. He got up and went to the toilet, so Tennille hid the ice cream. When he came back, he looked everywhere for the ice cream, we then kept saying to him that he wasn’t even eating any ice cream. We said it so much that he started doubting himself, it was so funny.
WPW: The birth of SHWA must have been in the works for sometime. Can you elaborate on the beginnings of SHWA?
SLATE: Well it all started when a couple of wrestlers came together and started talking about a third wrestling company in Perth. I got interested cause it was going to be based somewhere closer to were I live. I live in Toodyay, so going from there to Rockingham was becoming quite the burden. But the clogs started rolling, when more wrestlers started getting on board the plan and here we are today.
WPW: You have taken part in some big matches over the past year, including bouts against Chris Masters, Sonjay Dutt and an ICW Championship match against Cannonball Kris Taylor. What has been your favourite match for 2009?
SLATE: Hands down, my favourite match so far, has been my match with Chris Masters at Breaking Ground. The guy was really easy to work with and he was a really nice guy. The atmosphere of the match was awesome and even though a lot of people were going for Chris, there still a lot of fans going for me.
WPW: The Muscle Militia have been the centerpiece stable of SHWA since midyear. The group has not only the WPW WA Manager of the Year, Ebenizah J. Klaus, but the WPW/SHWA Wrestler of the Year in yourself. How much more dominant can the Militia become?
SLATE: Well… The Wraith didn’t win against Mike Massive, so the SHWA championship belt did not come to the Muscle Militia. I guess that is how we can become more dominant, if we get our hands on the belt.
WPW: TNA’s Maximum Impact Australian Tour is coming up in March 2010. Do you feel like you’re in with a good chance to be part of the Perth show, as your video was posted on the competition website?
SLATE: Well I didn’t know that my video was posted on the site until you asked me. I don’t know, its hard to tell cause not all of the videos are posted up there, but it is cool to see mine up. It would be awesome to be a TNA star for one day, just to get a taste of it.
WPW: What are Jarrad Slate’s goals for the future?
SLATE: I’m looking to start traveling around Australia more. I love wrestling for other companies and to learn as much as I can. I’m also saving up to head for America as well to roam the independent scene. I want to take a crack at making this my career.
WPW: Thank you for speaking to Westside Pro Wrestling, Jarrad.