The King of Taunts, The Jewish Cannon, The Product, whatever you call him he believes he is your favourite wrestler's favourite wrestler and the way things are going he may be correct. David Starr is the one-man talent band hitting the independent wrestling scene harder and faster than a Braun Strowman powerslam. Well known from high profile appearances for CZW and matches for Impact wrestling, this bright star(r) is not just making a name for himself in the USA but tearing up the UK as he wrestles across the country. We managed to grab hold of Starr when in London for the wonderful What Culture Pro Wrestling. As regular readers will know, WCPW is dominating the UK scene with its masterful youtube presence and now events which draw the biggest stars. You can catch WCPW's debut in Canada on 14 May, its Japanese qualifier for its World Cup in Stretford UK on 7 July and a return to Edinburgh at the end of May. Keep an eye out for future WCPW events because we expect David Starr will be back and you will want to check him out. After all he is, as we say, your favourite wrestlers favourite wrestler....
You studied amateur wrestling from a very young age. How important is it for professional wrestling?
It definitely helped me with my toughness and it beats you to keep you humble. When I first started I was told that my amateur background wouldn't help me at all. I didn't really start implementing it much until I started training at the CZW school under Drew Gulak, DJ Hyde and Masada. They opened my mind to non-typical pro-wrestling. I think my amateur background helped tremendously with controlling some of the body, manipulating somebody to go where you want them to go and stuff like that. So I definitely think my amateur background helped.
You mention Drew Gulak and we read you trained with Samu? Do you have any good training stories?
Samu, yep, I first trained at the Wild Samoan Training centre with Sam Anoa'i. I was there for about a year and then I went to the CZW school with those I mentioned. At the Wild Samoan Training Centre they trained me old school. You'd have to do 500 squats before you do anything at all. They beat me up pretty good and I was a small man at a big man's school, so I took a lot of punishment. I took a lot of moves from a lot of big dudes who were trying to practice stuff and I got the hell beat out of me but it was the right way to do it. The Wild Samoan Training Centre is one of those places that still has that old school spirit to it, so it was the right way to do it. I think and it was all worth it.
How would you explain David Starr for those that don't know you?
Well the one nickname that describes it is the "King of Taunts". I'm the Apollo Creed of professional wrestling, the physical embodiment of charisma - that's another one. I like to be seen as a legitimate athlete but I've always been a fan of guys like Floyd Mayweather, Conner McGregor, I love how Ronda Rousey would act - all of that, Muhammad Ali. That's the sort of athlete that I like. The way Brock Lesnar was in UFC. I like guys who talk a big game and back it up too. That's kind of what I like to do - to be seen as a legitimate competitor when I'm in there wrestling but at the same time I don't want to lose the personality of who I am.
You have so many nicknames - The Product, The Jewish Cannon - what's with all the nicknames?!
That's the Apollo Creed thing, I love Apollo Creed!
You experienced antisemitism when performing for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and posted about what happened. The reaction appeared to be an outpouring of love. Was that the case?
Yeah, it was. For the most part, other than the ones who actually were mostly responsible for it. I confronted him [the antagonist] on facebook with messages. CZW handled it great. They had my back and supported me, everybody I spoke to - and there was a lot of Retweets [of Starr's statement]. So It was cool. I'm not afraid to put my message out there or be the one to be vocal speaking out against antisemitism or discrimination of any sort. I don't have a problem doing it, someone's got to step up and say something and if they don't then bad things happen - you have to speak out. It was pretty positive and I was pretty pleased with the way people condemned it.
On happier experiences, how was it wrestling for Impact?
I did a One Night Only, A TV taping and a dark match with them. I had a great time there, everyone in the locker room was really cool and everyone seemed to have a good camaraderie. It was fun! You have some of the best minds in wrestling that are there. Its great to be around that and surrounded by it. I had a great experience.
It fed into a year where you've done so much! Endless matches against top talents, defending the WXW title all over the world - what happened?
I don't know. I could tell when I went back home to the states after the end of the year tour that I did in Europe, it seemed like there were more students or new guys that seemed like they were looking up to me a little more and it just felt - that just felt different. I think I got a little ahead of the curb in terms of coming to Europe as an American because this past year was when European wrestling really blew up and I happened to be right there as it was happening, so that was convenient and worked out as a matter of circumstance and I was very fortunate to benefit from it. I feel really good, I'm just trying to get better and better every day - that's all I can do and I guess its being seen.
Is WWE the future for you?
You never know. Every kid dreams of being in the main event of Wrestlemania probably, right? Once you get out of that mindset you realise that you're in a business. As long as I can pay my bills, provide for myself and my family and hopefully by the end when I'm done hanging them up I don't have to work anymore - that's really all I want to do. So right now I'm saving, saving, saving. If WWE is the future then great. If not that's OK too as long as I'm happy and having fun and am able to support myself financially that's all I can ask for.
What's your best rib story?
The first thing that's popped into my head is a rib that didn't happen but was planned and was going to be played on me but I found out about it. One of my original trainers Tommy Suede, he was one of the trainers at the Wild Samoan centre and a WWE developmental talent from Deep South, He wanted to crush up a Viagra pill and put it in my water when I was getting ready to wrestle and then he wanted me to get caught with a nasty boner in the middle of my match. I found out about it though and in hindsight it's hilarious but I think I'm saving that one for someone down the road.
It may be a funny story but Starr is no joker. He is a serious talent with a bright future. Make sure to keep posted to WCPW for news of when you might see him again. You can follow Starr on Twitter,Facebook and PWT here.
