TAMA WILLIAMS - AIR NEW ZEALAND
**Interview from Issue 11 of Westside Pro Wrestling Newsletter - July 2010**
Tama Williams is a rookie with a bright future ahead of him, already getting bookings throughout the county and recently making his mark in NHPW right here in WA. Tama has already picked up two NHPW Match of the Month awards as voted by WPW readers.
WPW: Your profile on the AWF website lists you as hailing from Taupo, New Zealand. Did you live there for long before moving to Australia. What was Taupo like?
TAMA: I spent most of my time living in Taupo. I was born there and practically all of my family come from there. We moved also to Matamata and Te Puke, which was where I lived before moving to Australia in 2002.
For those who don’t know Taupo is the lake in the middle of the North Island. It was a fun place with obviously a lot of childhood memories. I moved to Australia when I was 12 years old so it was definitely a big change of scenery, but it’s been really good to me.
WPW: Which wrestlers inspired you growing up?
TAMA: Definitely the Rock without a doubt. I don’t have to explain what made him as good as he was, but having that Samoan background I could relate to him. So growing up as a fan of wrestling I thought if a Samoan could make it to the top, then so could a New Zealander. That’s how I saw it and it’s what drove me to this day.
WPW: Did you wrestle for any other company before you joined the AWF and how did you get involved with the company?
TAMA: No. AWF will always be my home and it was there I took my first training session in February 2009. Before then I lived with my Dad in North Queensland in a town called Ingham. I knew I had to at least try and follow my dreams of being a professional wrestler, so I contacted Greg Bownds who runs the AWF School of Pro-Wrestling in Sydney.
I had been searching on the internet for wrestling schools in Australia and I thought Greg had a very impressive wrestling career already, so I knew AWF was the place I wanted to train at. From there I gave up everything I had in Ingham and moved to straight to Sydney. I had never been there, I didn’t know a single person in the entire state and I didn’t have a job there. It was a tough decision, but I knew it had to be done.
WPW: What was it like training at the AWF dojo?
TAMA: It was hard work. When I started training I was so intimidated by the all the wrestlers I wouldn’t say a word all session. The training itself was well put together and I was lucky in that I managed to pick up everything fairly quick. I made sure I wouldn’t miss a single training and would stay behind to get some extra training and I would make sure I went home and studied what a had learned each week.
I quickly realised when I started that professional wrestling wasn’t all what I had imagined and there was so much work to be done. I trained as hard as I could and it wasn’t until October 2009 that I debuted on shows, so still to this day wasn’t long ago. I truly believe that the AWF has one of the best wrestling schools in Australia and highly recommend it for anyone anywhere.
WPW: In your short career so far you have wrestled names such as Sinn Bodhi (WWE’s Kizarny) and Colt Cabana. What has it been like for you to have wrestled such names so early in your career?
TAMA: Amazing. You know I'm so grateful I've been able wrestle these guys so early and it's something I'll never forget. It's fairly rare for International talent of that standard to wrestle in Australia, so to be able to say I've wrestled two already means a lot to me. They were both great guys and both great matches so I can't ask for much more.
They're two guys that made it to WWE, regardless of how long they were there for, they still made it. Sinn was my only my 4th match, so you could imagine how nervous I was. They were great to me and wrestling those two guys, as I said, I'll never forget.
WPW: Who do you like on the Australian scene and who would you like to wrestle?
TAMA: Any chance I get to wrestle TNT is such an honour. I’ve already wrestled him a couple of times and our matches are better and better every time. He’s a guy I look up to and respect highly.
As for others, I think "Mint Condition" Mick Moretti and "Iron Jay" Ben Coles are both well rounded wrestlers and great to watch. Also, Percy T is someone else to look out for in WA, who I think has a bright future.
WPW: You recently had a shot at Powerhouse Theo’s AWF Commonwealth Championship but unfortunately came up on the losing side. Was this your first big chance at a Championship?
TAMA: I had wrestled for both the AWF Tag Team and Young Lion’s Championship before, but unfortunately was the same result. The Commonwealth title is something that means the most to me and representing New Zealand it’s something I’m always going to be chasing to bring home. At the moment Powerhouse Theo has held it for 14 months and I know firsthand he’s a very tough guy to beat, but I promise you it won’t be the last he sees of me.
WPW: You’re currently teaming on occasion with the Samoan Warrior in the AWF, how is the team coming along?
TAMA: Warrior and I make up AWF’s Island Tribe. We started the training the same day and we have a close connection being from New Zealand and Samoa. Even though we’re not always on the same page, we got each other’s back. We’re looking to continue our team throughout winter and looking towards those tag team titles.
WPW: Do you have any plans to showcase your talents overseas in the near future?
TAMA: If all goes to plan I'm hoping to be training at the Wild Samoans Training Centre in 2011. It’s produced the best in Island wrestling and its success stories speak for themselves. I’ve been gathering information from past graduates and that’s my short term goal at the moment. And from there...who knows.
WPW: What are you hoping to achieve in NHPW? Were you surprised by the reception you got from the WA fans?
TAMA: Definitely. It’s always nervous wrestling somewhere new and thinking how they’ll react. I had a really good response and feedback from the NHPW and WA fans. They’ll definitely be seeing a lot of me in NHPW in the future and hopefully I can make New Zealand proud and the Maori people proud. NHPW is an honour to be a part of, but I can tell you I have plans of making a big impact this year. That’s all I can give away at the moment.
Tama Williams is a rookie with a bright future ahead of him, already getting bookings throughout the county and recently making his mark in NHPW right here in WA. Tama has already picked up two NHPW Match of the Month awards as voted by WPW readers.
WPW: Your profile on the AWF website lists you as hailing from Taupo, New Zealand. Did you live there for long before moving to Australia. What was Taupo like?
TAMA: I spent most of my time living in Taupo. I was born there and practically all of my family come from there. We moved also to Matamata and Te Puke, which was where I lived before moving to Australia in 2002.
For those who don’t know Taupo is the lake in the middle of the North Island. It was a fun place with obviously a lot of childhood memories. I moved to Australia when I was 12 years old so it was definitely a big change of scenery, but it’s been really good to me.
WPW: Which wrestlers inspired you growing up?
TAMA: Definitely the Rock without a doubt. I don’t have to explain what made him as good as he was, but having that Samoan background I could relate to him. So growing up as a fan of wrestling I thought if a Samoan could make it to the top, then so could a New Zealander. That’s how I saw it and it’s what drove me to this day.
WPW: Did you wrestle for any other company before you joined the AWF and how did you get involved with the company?
TAMA: No. AWF will always be my home and it was there I took my first training session in February 2009. Before then I lived with my Dad in North Queensland in a town called Ingham. I knew I had to at least try and follow my dreams of being a professional wrestler, so I contacted Greg Bownds who runs the AWF School of Pro-Wrestling in Sydney.
I had been searching on the internet for wrestling schools in Australia and I thought Greg had a very impressive wrestling career already, so I knew AWF was the place I wanted to train at. From there I gave up everything I had in Ingham and moved to straight to Sydney. I had never been there, I didn’t know a single person in the entire state and I didn’t have a job there. It was a tough decision, but I knew it had to be done.
WPW: What was it like training at the AWF dojo?
TAMA: It was hard work. When I started training I was so intimidated by the all the wrestlers I wouldn’t say a word all session. The training itself was well put together and I was lucky in that I managed to pick up everything fairly quick. I made sure I wouldn’t miss a single training and would stay behind to get some extra training and I would make sure I went home and studied what a had learned each week.
I quickly realised when I started that professional wrestling wasn’t all what I had imagined and there was so much work to be done. I trained as hard as I could and it wasn’t until October 2009 that I debuted on shows, so still to this day wasn’t long ago. I truly believe that the AWF has one of the best wrestling schools in Australia and highly recommend it for anyone anywhere.
WPW: In your short career so far you have wrestled names such as Sinn Bodhi (WWE’s Kizarny) and Colt Cabana. What has it been like for you to have wrestled such names so early in your career?
TAMA: Amazing. You know I'm so grateful I've been able wrestle these guys so early and it's something I'll never forget. It's fairly rare for International talent of that standard to wrestle in Australia, so to be able to say I've wrestled two already means a lot to me. They were both great guys and both great matches so I can't ask for much more.
They're two guys that made it to WWE, regardless of how long they were there for, they still made it. Sinn was my only my 4th match, so you could imagine how nervous I was. They were great to me and wrestling those two guys, as I said, I'll never forget.
WPW: Who do you like on the Australian scene and who would you like to wrestle?
TAMA: Any chance I get to wrestle TNT is such an honour. I’ve already wrestled him a couple of times and our matches are better and better every time. He’s a guy I look up to and respect highly.
As for others, I think "Mint Condition" Mick Moretti and "Iron Jay" Ben Coles are both well rounded wrestlers and great to watch. Also, Percy T is someone else to look out for in WA, who I think has a bright future.
WPW: You recently had a shot at Powerhouse Theo’s AWF Commonwealth Championship but unfortunately came up on the losing side. Was this your first big chance at a Championship?
TAMA: I had wrestled for both the AWF Tag Team and Young Lion’s Championship before, but unfortunately was the same result. The Commonwealth title is something that means the most to me and representing New Zealand it’s something I’m always going to be chasing to bring home. At the moment Powerhouse Theo has held it for 14 months and I know firsthand he’s a very tough guy to beat, but I promise you it won’t be the last he sees of me.
WPW: You’re currently teaming on occasion with the Samoan Warrior in the AWF, how is the team coming along?
TAMA: Warrior and I make up AWF’s Island Tribe. We started the training the same day and we have a close connection being from New Zealand and Samoa. Even though we’re not always on the same page, we got each other’s back. We’re looking to continue our team throughout winter and looking towards those tag team titles.
WPW: Do you have any plans to showcase your talents overseas in the near future?
TAMA: If all goes to plan I'm hoping to be training at the Wild Samoans Training Centre in 2011. It’s produced the best in Island wrestling and its success stories speak for themselves. I’ve been gathering information from past graduates and that’s my short term goal at the moment. And from there...who knows.
WPW: What are you hoping to achieve in NHPW? Were you surprised by the reception you got from the WA fans?
TAMA: Definitely. It’s always nervous wrestling somewhere new and thinking how they’ll react. I had a really good response and feedback from the NHPW and WA fans. They’ll definitely be seeing a lot of me in NHPW in the future and hopefully I can make New Zealand proud and the Maori people proud. NHPW is an honour to be a part of, but I can tell you I have plans of making a big impact this year. That’s all I can give away at the moment.