Prior to Alex Hammerstone becoming the imposing man of muscle that he is today as Major League Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion, he was a pencil thin senior at Centennial High School in Peoria, Arizona stepping on the scale for a weight training class. At 6-feet tall, Hammerstone weighed in at a svelte 138 pounds. But as he started lifting and working out, Hammerstone caught the fitness bug. “I remember a time I was working bussing tables, and one of the waitresses was like, ‘Oh, Alex, you look like you’ve been working out,’” he said. “From that moment, I was gung ho about weightlifting.”
Though he always loved wrestling as a kid, the idea to step in the ring didn’t really cross Hammerstone’s mind until he started bulking up. “I thought you had to be a gigantic monster of a man to be a pro wrestler, so it just motivated me that much more,” he said. “I was strict about weightlifting for a couple years before even trying to get into wrestling school. As I got older, it never was a serious career path in my mind or something I was ever gonna try to do, until I graduated high school and was all signed up for college.”
College wasn’t really his bag. After a couple “wild experiences,” Hammerstone had a realization. “I thought, ‘If you want to go after something, and it’s a crazy dream, better to do it now than wait.’ So I dropped out of college and went for it, and the rest is history.” Hammerstone fast turned heads on the independent wrestling circuit. So much so, that he caught the eyes of WWE for three separate tryouts. For the first two, Hammerstone admitted he wasn’t ready. But after the third, it seemed like his signing was imminent. They filmed him for promos and started making plans for his move. Then, everything stalled. In what was an early precursor to many curious WWE decisions, the company informed him they had been signing too many new talents. The news was a huge blow, but thankfully Hammerstone found solace in MLW. “That window is what saved my career where I not only got it back on track, but it rejuvenated my love for pro wrestling,” he told Chris Van Vliet.
Since signing with MLW, Hammerstone was hilariously a member of The Dynasty with Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Richard Holliday. He also captured the MLW National Openweight Championship, and he ascended to the top of the company by dethroning Jacob Fatu. On Feb. 26, Hammerstone will defend his MLW title against veteran Davey Richards at MLW Superfight in Charlotte, North Carolina. The match will air on a future episode of MLW Fusion on YouTube. Recently, Hammerstone talked about working for MLW, his upcoming match with Richards, music and more ahead of his title defense in this Web Is Jericho exclusive.
There’s a lot of options for wrestling fans now. What does MLW bring to the table that maybe some of the other wrestling companies don’t?: “I can’t speak to the way other people are doing things, but I can say in MLW they really try to find how people shine and just let them do it. Whether it’s promos or matches, nothing is really overproduced. You’re not blocked off into a certain set of actions you’re allowed to do or a certain way you’re allowed to talk. So I think it creates an environment where a lot of people are able to shine through with genuine characters and emotion and all these things that as wrestling fans, I think that’s what people tend to gravitate toward.”
I know it’s taken a turn for the worse here lately with Richard Holliday and Alicia Atout turning on you, but what was it like working with Holliday and MJF in The Dynasty? “When my wrestling career is all said and done, The Dynasty is gonna be one of my favorite things to look back on. I still remember getting into MLW and being set up with The Dynasty and not really knowing how it was all gonna go. Once we got our feet under us, it was just the most fun. I loved doing promos and segments, and we just got on very well together, and I think it created some really good television for MLW. And now, in maybe a different way, it’s still creating good television.”
You’re defending your heavyweight championship against Davey Richards soon. What does he bring to the ring, and what are you looking forward to about that match? “You look at what he’s done, and it kind of speaks for itself. He’s one of the most respected veterans on the scene right now. He’s one of the absolute best between the ropes. I’m excited to just wrestle him. I’m excited to get in there and have a match that’s not overly burdened with storyline or gimmicks or anything like that. It’s just two guys that want to go in there and put on a hell of a match and come out the other end with the world championship.”
There’s been a more theatrical approach to MLW since Cesar Duran arrived. Has that helped you at all as far as promos are concerned? And are you a fan of that cinematic backstage style? “I just look at everything as a new opportunity. For fans, the casual viewer might tune in and say, ‘I really like this. Why don’t they do this all the time?’ Or they might say, ‘I’m not a fan of this. They should do it this way.’ But I kind of compare it to a band that has a setlist. You go to their show, and you want them to play your favorite song, because you only see them in concert when they come to town. But they’re playing every single night and are probably sick of playing that song over and over. So whenever wrestling switches things up and gives us an opportunity to approach things in a new way, it’s always cool. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you’re into it, and sometimes you’re not. But regardless, it’s fun to explore a new way to approach things.”
Speaking of bands, I know you’re a huge music fan, and you also play guitar. Have you ever thought about incorporating that at all into what you do in wrestling? “There’s a lot of people who have joked about that — ‘Play yourself to the ring.’ But I feel like it’s really hard to do that without being instantly compared to somebody else. It’s really hard to do that in a way that doesn’t come off as cheesy or hokey. That said, I’m not gonna rule it out. My friend loaned me a guitar that’s shaped like the United States of America and painted red, white and blue. I’m just waiting for the wrestling promotion that wants me to play the national anthem. But hey, if the day comes where it works out, it might happen, but it’s not in the immediate plans.”
Who are some of your favorite bands? And what do you like to play most on guitar? “I always say my favorite band is The Strokes. In the early 2000s, that was kind of the first band that hooked me. Since then, I’ve gotten into all kinds of styles. I used to be a drummer, and I played drums in rock bands and a ska band and a metal band, so I kind of started appreciating all these different flavors. Anymore now, I’m really into writing a lot of my own music. I like to write stuff more than I like figuring out how to play songs. But nothing is off the table except country music. That’s never been my jam.”
Any plans to put out your own music? And what style is it? “It’s always so hard to label your own stuff. In my head it’s one thing, but then I’ll post a clip of my music out there, and people will be like, ‘I really like that punk rock vibe,’ and I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? I would never call this punk rock.’ I guess the most general veil to put it under is rock or modern rock or alternative rock. Actually, I’ve been in the studio on and off the last couple weeks, so I’m very close to finishing a project, and it might be out soon here.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten from a wrestling peer? “One really good piece of advice I got that really rings true as you get more notoriety and climb up the ranks — and it’s something I have to hold to now that I’m at the top of MLW — is when people tell you, ‘You suck,’ don’t believe it. And when people tell you, ‘You’re great,’ don’t believe it. Because if you go on Twitter and listen to every little opinion, or you start to think your s*it doesn’t stink, you’re on a bad track. It’s best to be grounded and find the people you trust for advice and go to them and not get too lost in all the voices that start speaking up about what you’re doing.”
Do you have a dream opponent in MLW or otherwise? “I can’t say there’s any off the top of my head. A couple years ago, the answer to that question probably would’ve been a lot easier for me, but the last couple years, I’ve really been wrestling a lot of my dream opponents one by one. Some of the guys who began as dream opponents are guys I’ve wrestled five times now and hang out with. I don’t think I can give you a specific name. I think it’s just whatever is gonna produce the best match or the best TV, I’m down for.”
Looking at the future, what are some of your immediate and long-term goals? “Right now, I’m 100% focused on my position as a world champion in MLW and the goals that center around that are about cementing myself in the history books as one of the best champions in the company’s history. Not only that, but I want to continue growing the brand and helping to expand our outreach and our platform. I definitely want to travel some more. Going back to Japan is something that’s a huge goal for me. Not only there, but places like Germany and the UK and Australia. I really feel like I’m just trusting the process right now. Wrestling has really taken me far. I’ve been in the right place at the right time, and things have always worked out pretty dang cool for me. I feel like as long as I keep putting my best foot forward, the road is going to point me in the right direction.”
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