img_2592Welcome to Starter For 10. We ask professional wrestlers 10 questions so that you can find out a bit more about your favourite real life superheroes.

On this edition, Leo King answers our questions.

What drew you into professional wrestling?

When I first started watching wrestling on television. I think the main thing that drew me in was the fact that wrestling was an entire different sport to what I had seen before. Specifically I had never seen high flying moves done before in a match or guys putting others in holds to make them submit before. It was all just insane for me to watch and I got hooked in almost instantly. In fact I remember quite a few times my father going into Hulk mode because I had taped every WWE show on the family Sky box and it cancelled most of my fathers Blue Planet recordings.

Who were your favourite wrestlers growing up and who are your favourites now?

I think growing up my favourites had to be Sin Cara (original) as his style and ring gear were quite different, two traits I pride myself on keeping to this day with my own style and ring gear. I was also a huge fan of William Regal as he was extremely detailed in his craft and his character work was second to none. When I finally got to meet him this past August in Florida, it was a great honour and I look forward to hopefully working with him at some point. Today I would say that my favourites would be the likes of Johnny Saint, Marty Jones, William Regal and, of course, my coach Len Ironside as they all are masters in their craft and I still to the day absolutely love to pick their brains whenever I see them.

What made you decide to start training to be a wrestler and where did you start?

I distinctively remember the night that I had decided I wanted to be a wrestler. I was on holiday in Florida and my father and brother had taken me from Orlando to the Germain arena (N.K.A. Hertz arena) in Estero (172 miles), without my knowledge they were taking me to one of WWE’s Christmas live events. As we got into the arena, my father had also got me and my elder brother front row tickets to the live event. That night I got to see Big Show, The Miz, John Cena, Natalya and CM Punk just to name a few. I also remember saying to my dad as we were leaving when the event finished that I wanted to do this for a living and that I was going to be a champion.

I first started my wrestling training at a local wrestling company, I branched out and contacted Len Ironside who is well known around Scotland for being one of the best Scottish technical wrestlers. I have always admired the style and Len gladly accepted to train me at a gym. Three years on, him and I have traveled throughout the world and competed against some of the best with him in my corner.

Who are your biggest influences in professional wrestling, as a fan and as a wrestler?

To be completely honest this is a difficult one. As a fan, Zack Sabre Jr has always been an influencer as his modern take on classic British wrestling is legendary. Pete Dunne is another one as I always admired his brutal fighting technique. But as a wrestler, I’ve had so many amazing coaches who have taught me well. Chris Silvio, Matt Sydal, Johnny Saint, Marty Jones, Robbie Brookside, William Regal to name a few. I think though I will always fall to John Moss as I had a two day intensive training course with him when I was 17 as it was a real eye opener for wrestling to me. I learnt so much from his style and his way of thinking that I have so much respect for the man and I’m really glad that he is now with WWE as a coach as he deserves it more than anyone.

Who has been your favourite opponent(s) and do you have a favourite match?

I think that Dean Ford as always been a good opponent as he was my first singles match opponent and he kept me calm during the day.

I think my favourite match has to have been when I competed in Italy earlier this summer in a street fight match with five different opponents. The spear from Jenna Van Muscles while I was stuck in a trash can had to have been my favourite moment, it did really hurt though.

What has been your career highlight(s) so far?

I think that in 2019 I have been very fortunate to have had a lot of career highlights and record breaking moments.
  • I’m the first W3L Breakout Champion.
  • Going to the United States in April for two weeks to train under Chris Silvio and Matt Sydal was a big highlight.
  • Going to Italy to wrestle in War of the Worlds 2.
  • Partaking in a WWE/Evolve tryout in August at 19 was quite surreal.

Who would be your dream opponent, past or present?

It would have to be Pete Dunne or Zack Sabre Jr. I do think that together it would be a brilliant match as we are all quite technical and it would be a dream come true.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Well as of next year I will be moving over to the United States to work with WWN and hopefully gain a full time contract with them and work on Evolve shows by the end of the year. In 2025, I would hopefully like to still be living in Florida with a NXT contract and living my dream.

Where can we find you on social media?

You can find me on Facebook at Leo King as well as Instagram with @l30_king.

And finally, why do you do what you do?

It’s simple really, for my whole life I’ve lived with ADHD and I want to prove to people that just because I have a condition, it doesn’t mean I can’t be a talented wrestler. I think that’s why I enjoy putting so much detail on my ring gear as well as my technical skills. I just let my brain loose and create something insane.

Thank you to Leo for answering our questions.

 

Photo credit Leo King on Facebook.