“The Future Legend” DJ Pringle; Talks about the Business, Father Paul Bearer, The Undertaker More
Posted by: Wrestling-Radio.com Interviews
Hello readers, my name is Marguritte Tackett and I’m going to be conducting a series of interviews with various people in the wrestling community from indy wrestlers struggling to make it to the big time to hopefully established stars.
For my interview I will be speaking with “The Future Legend” DJ Pringle. For those of you not familiar with him, he is the son of the legendary manager Percy Pringle III aka Paul Bearer and he’s also an up-and-coming wrestler on the GulfSouth scene.
Marguritte Tackett :It’s nice to speak with you Mr. Pringle
Q. May I call you DJ?
A. LOL Yes you can and it’s a pleasure speaking to wrestling-radio.com
Q. How long have you been in the business DJ?
A. I’ve been in the business going on 5 years now. I made my debut on Oct 25th 2004 in Hattiesburg, Ms for SWA Warzone. I wrestled a guy by the name of Pat Patera.
Q. Who trained you?
A. I was trained by Percy Pringle III, my father and Southern legend “Marvelous ” Marcel Pringle as well as Aeon Flexx and Ricky “The Rocket” Roberts at Gulf South Wrestling. A lot of stand out southern indy stars came from there like “Brutal” Joe Gibson, Nathan Crown, and Josh McKain
Q. What’s it like growing up in the shadow of your legendary father?
A. It’s really hard having your father on the road all the time. My dad was on the road almost 365 days a year so it was difficult for us just as a family. We either had to be on the road or be at home without him so it was difficult at times but he’s been a big influence.
Q. Has it helped or hurt your career by having him as a father?
A. It’s definitely helped my career in some ways but it has it’s low points too. Some people think that I’d rely on my fathers name for bookings but that’s something I’d never do. I want to earn my spots , I got trained the right way, I didn’t get trained in the backyard,. I got trained by a real trainer, in a real wrestling school, the proper way.. I don’t go into companies saying book me because I’m PP3’s son, I want to be booked on my own merit.
Q. What promotions have you worked for?
A. Gulf South Wrestling, SWA out of Ms, XW- 2000 out of Fl (Run by Hall-of-Famer
Sika) , Ultimate Wrestling, Dirty South Wrestling, Culture Shock and All American Pro just to name a few. I’ve also done a show for Booker T’s PWA in Tx. I work all over the South but would love to expand even more.
Q. Do you have a website?
A. www.myspace.com/ gswsheepster68
Q. If people are interested in booking where can they contact you?
A. [email protected] or through the above myspace
Q. Where you born when your father worked for World Class and if so what was it like being among such great wrestlers as the Von Erichs and the Freebirds?
A. I was born in Dallas Tx. My dad and Rick Rude started working in World Class around 87. It was a great experience, a lot of people in the business say they aren’t really friends in this business but to get a chance to sit down with a legend and get the chance to learn from them and to understand where they came from or what they were about was awesome.
Q. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A. I really don’t know, I’m not going to jinx myself and say I’m going to be in TNA ,WWE or ROH. It’s just whatever the business brings me. If I don’t make it by then I’ll try even harder to get to where I need to be..
Q. Who were your biggest influences growing up?
A. The Undertaker of course was a big influence but Ric Flair is my favorite wrestler of all time and not many people know this but a lot of the stuff I do I modeled after Flair. I got trained old school style, I wrestle old school. I’m a mat wrestler first and foremost, I’m a throwback to the olden days.
Q. Did your family support your decision to be a wrestler or did they try to discourage it?
A. I started training when I was 16, my dad never forced anything I just thought it was my destiny, it’s in my blood, it’s tradition. No one held me back everyone in my family has something to do with the business whether it’s behind the scenes or something more prominent, like I said it’s in our blood.
Q. Would you allow your future kids to be wrestlers?
A. I definitely would, I wouldn’t dare to try to stop someone from doing what they love.
Q. What’s it like working in the Gulf South area?
A. It’s really hard, there is not as much work here as there is in certain areas, you have to travel a lot. There’s a lot of independent companies that would book Joe Blow, some guy basically trained in a backyard ( not properly trained either), without a gimmick , in street clothes because they work for less.
If you are going to be in the business then get proper gear , get a gimmick- actually have a character. Wrestling is entertainment but it’s also a sport . If you don’t believe it hurts then just get in there for 2 min. with a real wrestler and see what it feels like.
Q. What do you think is the biggest difference in Southern wrestling and Northern wrestling?
The audience, I’ve wrestled up in Memphis for Jerry Lawler the crowd was between 2,000-3,000. A lot of the times I’ve worked for crowds that have 15-20 people for local shows. . It just depends on the area and how well it’s promoted. It takes time to grow a fan base.
Q. If you could work for 1 promotion TNA or WWE who would you choose and why?
A. I would pick TNA because you can get a better spot a lot quicker , you don’t have to go here and there, back and forth between all the developmental areas over and over again. You are more likely to get there quicker through TNA and hopefully that’s something I’ll be accomplishing really soon.
Q. What indy promotion would you want to work for?
A. I look forward to working with Booker T’s PWA promotion again, it’s really well-put together and I enjoyed myself while there. Also I’d love to work FIP in Florida.
Marguritte Tackett: Well thanks, DJ it’s been nice getting to know a little more about you and hope to see you on television one day soon.
DJ Pringle: I’d like to give some advice for guys wanting to break into this wonderful business and that is:
Make sure you get proper training, work out every day, stay away from steroids, do it the hard way. If you earn everything you get, then you will appreciate it more. Also learn the history of this sport, and honor those that went before you.
Marguritte Tackett
Source: Wrestling-Radio.com Interviews