Big Damo is ready to become NJPW STRONG.
Big Damo, formerly known as Killian Dain in WWE, is excited to test himself in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and will be up against one of the toughest competitors in New Japan History on April 10 at NJPW STRONG: Mutiny in Tomohiro Ishii.
Speaking with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, Damo praised Ishii, saying that no matter the challenge, the Stone Pitbull does his best to suplex his way through.
“Honestly, I think with Ishii, you put any challenge in front of him and he’s going to do his very best to suplex it. He qualifies on that alone,” said Damo.
Speaking more broadly about the opportunity to compete for NJPW, Damo says he always believed that NJPW would be a perfect promotion for him to compete in giving his background in the industry.
“Honestly, I always thought it was one of those perfect places for me because of my background with RevPro and ICW and all these things,” he said. “Then WWE and whatever else, right? I was always a huge fan of Japanese wrestling and I got very blessed, very lucky that I was able to wrestle a huge chunk of the lads as they came over to Europe and things like that. I know I was watching Strong come together as a bit of a super indie. Almost everybody from every corner of the world, every great company is represented there. It was hard not to look. I know so many of the guys on the roster.
“Literally the first opportunity I had to get in there, I had to take it,” he added. “I was very blessed to get the opportunity recently to get in there with IMPACT’s John Skyler and I’m returning against one of the New Japan legends, Tomohiro Ishii. So for me, it’s going to be incredible. I got to wrestle Ishii in 2015. It helped launch my career, and pretty much put me on a different path. I’d love to get that opportunity all over again. I’d love to skin him alive just like I did back then. So it’s going to be an interesting experience for me because, listen, Ishii is one of those guys who has been in there with everybody across the world. He’s unbelievable at what he does and he’s not afraid of anybody, any size, whatever else.”
In the end, Damo is looking forward to the chance to prove himself in NJPW STRONG.
“But at the end of the day, for me, it’s another opportunity to prove myself and there’s nothing I love more than proving myself. I’m a bit of an idiot when it comes to what I do in the ring. I put my own body on the line every time I get in there and I’d be more than happy to do it all over again. That’s what I’m really excited about in Hollywood, at the Vermont for New Japan Strong. As I said, it’s a bit of a super indy, there’s gonna be people from all over the world there and I can’t wait to put myself as part of it.”
Rocky Romero has been a liaison helping to bridge the gap between promotions in the industry. This has led to a stronger NJPW in the West, being featured prominently on AEW, GCW, IMPACT, and more.
Commenting on when he first met Rocky, Damo recalled Rocky having a great match at a RevPeo show with a young Will Ospreay. Now, he is grateful that Rocky got in touch with him and gave him the opportunity to compete in NJPW
"I met Rocky many years ago with RevPro. I was telling you off the air he stole the show with a rising Will Ospreay at the time. I remember thinking, ‘I had a really good match that day,’ and I’m like, ‘Uh, okay. Thanks for that, Rocky.’ No, honestly, it was cool to reconnect with Rocky and it was great when an opportunity came along. He got in touch with me and I was delighted because, listen, it’s an incredible roster. It’s stacked to the gills. For an opportunity to come along, I was delighted. Two weeks later, here I am again. It’s one of those things, you get a bit of luck and you have to grab it with both hands and smash it into oblivion. That’s exactly what I’m hoping to do,” said Damo.
You can check out the full card for Mutiny, which will go down on April 10 at the Vermont Hollywood and feature names like Alex Zayne and Christopher Daniels, here. We will have full spoiler results once the event concludes.
