Reborn Matt Sydal VS Drake Maverick

[Benito]

Match 1: Reborn Matt Sydal VS Drake Maverick

The New Era of CCW starts off with two veterans of the sport. Matt Sydal, a daredevil that will throw caution to the wind and, in recent times, has found a new calling in life. He will take on the always scrappy Drake Maverick with his English style of wrestling. Who will get the upper hand in the first-ever opener?

Word Limit: 1,500 Words

[rd]

             


    

[Voice over ]Matt Sydal: I never know how to define where I really started as a wrestler. I believe I was born a wrestler, if you believe in destiny. There's so many factors really:

destiny

opportunity

coincidence

luck

My main goal has always been to be a pro wrestler, at 13 I really was getting into being a big nerd for it, I did taekwondo and gymnastics earlier but what really was the starting point was at 13 I used my Bar Mitzvah money to buy a trampoline to get comfortable in the air, went into backyard wrestling and eventually got even build a ring in my backyard with tools from a metal shop  I was working , at 14 I was recruited to the high school wrestling team, I only did a short time but was freshman wrestler of the year. By 16 I wanted to  become actually trained, I was going to run away to be a luchador in Mexico or go to Canada to work with Stu Hart at the Dungeon but my parents calmed me down and I found a local promotion that trained me.

There I was humbled a lot, I knew moves but not the technique that well, I was eager to learn. When they taught us how to properly bump I was exciteable " can I do it faster, harder. Flair flop, Bret Hart corner style. Let's do it!" I was young too 17 and the locker room was trained guys but they weren't super safely trained so I took many non-concussive blows , given my athletic background and this natural energy I've always had I was resilient to take this punishment. First fans didn't really believe in me, they called " thumbtack" but soon I got their attention. I became this prodigy type and was treated as if I was a lot younger than I was, I was 17 and I looked like I was 9.  Kid Kash came in a couple years later and he beat the crap out of me in the ring and was pretty tough on me, he told me I had to stop being a big fish in a small pond so I would travel  from Missouri to Tennessee and Indiana and Philadelphia  that's where I met the best of the best in the early 2000's independent - CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Austin Aries, Seth Rollins, Ricochet, AJ Styles. That was right place, right time just to join and become a part of that era , that generation and we have changed the industry today. We fought against the stereotype of what a wrestler should look like, we were influenced by others who worked internationally and honed their craft until they made it big when they were young veterans like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero , Rob Van Dam who also had to fight the same stupid stereotypes. Look at my opponent this week, Drake Maverick he's even smaller than me, he's dealt with it too.

Brian Kendrick was really inspiring in how he would say to people " this is what a wrestler looks like nowadays, get used to it". You travel, you go to the airport they ask where you are going, what you are doing. You get to the hotel you check in and they say the same things " wow you're so small, are you a referee?" You get to the building and they actually think you are there as a referee or backstage interviewer  it's exhausting. 

Go out there, deliver and you keep coming back, go through the same BS, the same question and smart ass comments.
The ring is my temple, it's my home away from home. 23 years of rings from old , rusty and gross where you risk ring worm, to brand new .

California is an amazing place for wrestling, like my hometown of Missouri and Drake Maverick from the UK, all three are hotbeds of the industry just like Texas, Georgia, Japan, Mexico. In the past couple years I've actually been going to new places to wrestle, to learn their unique styles Peru and Egypt.


Matt Sydal on his spiritual rebirth:

I dealt with a lot of self confidence issues for most of my career, the first 15 years. You have to be confident but not arrogant, I was often too humble for my own good. I had some professional mistakes that led to me being suspended twice, which I was fortunate for some reason didn't ruin my reputation with veterans and people I impressed but still egg on face moments, on my 29th birthday I got this motorcycle and got in an accident breaking my foot permanently in several places. The weekend of my release from WWE I went to the Peruvian jungle to spiritual retreat, got medicated legally from gurus , now for 7 years I've made it to that other side. You have to lose to gain.

 This isn't a religious thing, it's holistic for sure and this doesn't make me invincible , it gives me what I was missing to keep pushing forward.
Instead of being just " aw shucks, win some lose some. "  7 years ago I would say " Sure, i'm one of the  best." Now I can say honestly, without ego , just factually " I am the best American Super Junior " on this planet and many dimensions.

I am a proud highflier but I am not just a dare devil, fearless but never reckless. A dynamic dynamo, I have mastered 3 styles and I am learning 3 more. I'm adding to this arsenal I've curated and created over two decades. Moves I've innovated have even be imitated but never duplicated by the likes of The Miz, Melina, Liv Morgan, Rich Swann.

   Open your third eye, find me if you want to be found and come see what I'm saying!