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 TJ "Stampede Kid" Wilson is one of the hottest new talents out of Canada in recent years, a graduate of the famous Hart Dungeon in Stampede. He caught the eye of New Japan, and was invited to enter the junior division in November, 2002. Since then, he has returned to New Japan and made a great impression on fans. I had chance to interview TJ about his background, first three tours in New Japan, and more. Special thanks to Dwayne, who operates a TJ fan site, for his help. TJ Wilson: First off I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to interview me. Stuart: Every New Japan fan knows you as Stampede Kid, as that is your ring name while in Japan. But who is TJ Wilson? Give us a brief background on your wrestling career leading up to your first New Japan tour last year. TJ Wilson: Well, I became friends with Teddy Hart when I was 10 years old. I became really good friends with Teddy and his brother Matt. At this point Harry Smith lived in Florida, so I only saw him for a few weeks per year in the summer. In July of 1994, Harry Smith wrestled Matt, Teddy's brother, in the first ever professional kids wrestling match; Harry Smith was 8 years old! I witnessed this match live, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do after that. I started learning how to wrestle with Matt. I was only 14, he was 11. In July of 1995, in Rockyford, Alberta, I teamed up with Harry Smith in a losing effort against Teddy and Matt. The next summer however, Matt passed away of the Flesh Eating Disease. That summer we did another tag match. This time it was me and Andrew Pakarnyk vs. Teddy and Harry Smith. In October of 1996, the WWF, thanks to Davey Boy Smith, let us do a tag team match in memory of Teddy's brother. Once again it was Andrew Pakarnyk and myself against Harry Smith and Teddy Hart. I was 16 years old at this time, Harry was only 11. After that match Ross and Bruce Hart invited us to train in the Dungeon. You see, up until that point we were pretty much self taught. We trained down there for a long time, I still do. I have been down there for seven years now. I had been wrestling for Stampede Wrestling occasionally in 1998. I was on a lot more of the Stampede shows from 1999 to 2000. In 2001, I started working for a teenage based promotion called Matrats. Eric Bischoff became involved in it, but it ended up not working out for some reason or another. I returned to Stampede in mid-2001. I have wrestled constantly for Stampede Wrestling since then. In late April/early May, 2002, I was wrestling a Stampede show and a New Japan scout happened to be there. He seemed somewhat interested in me. So in June I started training with him ocassionally. In August we started training five days a week. He asked me if I was serious about going to Japan, and I told him that I was. He said if I followed him, didn't cheat, and learned what he was teaching me, then I could have a shot at going to New Japan. I listened to him and tried my best, I have never trained so hard in my life. He is the guy that helped me develop my style in the ring and without him I would never have gone to New Japan. Stuart: Who were your idols in wrestling when growing up? TJ Wilson: My idols in wrestling growing up were Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart (they all helped me out with my wrestling in one way or another), and Shawn Michaels. I could spend hours upon hours watching these guys wrestle. Stuart: You trained at the famous Hart Dungeon in Calgary, and I'm sure you have countless tales from there. What was it like, and was the training as tough there as rumors suggest? TJ Wilson: The training in the Dungeon is very hard and very tough. There are pipes that hang from the ceiling, which every guy down there has smacked his head on before. The padding is very thin, and there are gaps in it. My motto about the Dungeon is that if you can wrestle down there you can wrestle anywhere. Stuart: Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Dynamite Kid. Names like these are synonymous with the region where much of your life as a wrestler has been based. Have any of these influenced, directly or indirectly, your career and wrestling style? TJ Wilson: Yes these guys have definitely influenced my career and style. I have worked a bit with Owen, Bret, and Davey Boy, and I have seen many tapes of Dynamite Kid. I kind of took things I liked about each of them and, along with my own style, meshed it together. Stuart: Did you ever get chance to watch Japanese wrestling before debuting for New Japan? If so, which wrestlers and promotions made the most impression on you? TJ Wilson: I did get a chance to watch Japanese wrestling before my New Japan debut. Harry Smith has quite the vast collection of video tapes, including shoot interviews, ECW, WCW, WWE, New Japan, NOAH, All Japan, basically everything. I didn't get a chance to watch too much New Japan stuff however, because I was so busy training. I saw some Kobashi vs. Misawa matches that really impressed me. Stuart: When you received the news that New Japan wanted to bring you in, how did you feel about getting the chance to work in Japan's number one company? TJ Wilson: Truthfully, I was scared. I was also very honored and grateful that they would take a chance on me and bring me in. I hadn't really worked anywhere too big, or built up a name at all at that point. Stuart: Your first tour was "TRIATHON SURVIVOR 2002", but there was very little focus on junior heavyweights, because of the new heavyweight concept. How was the first tour and what was your favorite match? I remember seeing a six man tag from Osaka at the end of the tour, that had the fans rocking. TJ Wilson: The first tour, like I said, was very scary. I had never been outside of Canada to wrestle before, so that was unnerving. As I started to ease in however the tour started rolling along. I actually have two favorite matches from that tour. The six man tag in Osaka I really liked. The fans were into us and I was starting to feel really comfortable; too bad it was the last night of the tour. I also liked another six man tag in Hiroshima. I tagged with Super Crazy and Koji Kanemoto against Liger, Kakihara, and Naruse. Even though we lost, I really enjoyed that match. Stuart: It wasn't until March of this year that you returned to New Japan, for "HYPER BATTLE 2003". The junior division was really heating up around this time, with Kanemoto's reign as champion blooming. You were paired with American Dragon on this tour, and the two of you scored a big win over Jado & Gedo. How did this tour compare to the first, and did you enjoy teaming with Dragon? TJ Wilson: I was much more comfortable, and knew what to expect more on the second tour. I really enjoyed teaming with American Dragon. I think that we have good chemistry as a tag team. I liked my second tour better, but only because I knew what I was getting into this time. Stuart: You were booked in a set of singles matches during your third tour, which was a huge one for you no doubt, as you were invited to compete in New Japan's famous "BEST OF THE SUPER JR. X" tournament. How did you feel about being allowed to enter such an historic tournament? TJ Wilson: This was such a huge honor. I honestly couldn't believe that they wanted me to compete in such a prestigious tournament. A lot of the emphasis on this tour was around the junior heavyweight class. It was almost surreal that I was the only foreigner in the tournament. Stuart: Talking more about your participation in the Super Junior tournament. You had singles matches with Tiger Mask, Jado, Kakihara, Kanemoto, Naruse, and El Samurai. That's quite a list of names, including the three most recent IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champions (one of whom, Jado, you defeated). What was your favorite match out of these, and were you happy with the bouts? TJ Wilson: I was happy with my singles matches on this tour. On the first tour I had only one singles match, and none on the second tour. Every match was a little bit different. With Jado, we were taking it to each other with some "extreme" offense. I splashed him off the top rope through a table. While with Tiger Mask, he had a good technical match, trading holds and counters. I might say my favorite was with Kanemoto. He is my favorite wrestler right now, and is unbelievable in the ring. It was quite a privilege to wrestle him. Stuart: During your three tours with New Japan so far, have you befriended any of the Japanese wrestlers? And what is their attitude towards the foreigners like? TJ Wilson: I haven't necessarily befriended any of the Japanese wrestlers. There is such a communication barrier that it is really hard to get to know them. They treat the foreigners with lots of respect, outside the ring. However, inside the ring they bring it to you. Stuart: Having been backstage in New Japan, how does the atmosphere strike you? What sort of place is it, and how do wrestlers act towards each other? TJ Wilson: The backstage area is very professional, but everyone sticks to themselves for the most part. We foreigners have our own dressing room, so we mostly stick together. Stuart: Any interesting or fun experiences from Japan outside of the ring? TJ Wilson: One day, American Dragon, Dan Devine, and myself went to this museum in Hiroshima. We rented these headsets and were looking at all of the effects of the H-Bomb. It was very interesting to see how so many people were affected by it. The stories were very graphic. Stuart: Who are some of your favorite wrestlers in New Japan right now, heavyweight or junior? TJ Wilson: I think pretty much all of the guys there are really talented. I like Jado and Gedo as a tag team. I am a huge fan of Kanemoto. I like Liger, AKIRA, Heat, and Tenzan a lot. I also really like Yuji Nagata. I enjoy watching most of the guys there. Stuart: If you were able to choose just one opponent for a singles match in New Japan, who would it be? TJ Wilson: If you are talking about an opponent that I haven't wrestled yet I would have to say Nagata or AKIRA. I would like to test my technical ability against them. If you mean anyone, obvious choice for me would be Kanemoto. Stuart: In your time with New Japan, do you think you have improved as a wrestler through the new experiences? TJ Wilson: I would definitely have to say that I have improved as a wrestler. I watch almost every match when I am over there, and learn what I can about everyone's style. Every time I come home the guys in Stampede know that I will have something new up my sleeve. Stuart: You haven't been back to New Japan since June, and the focus of the junior division has been more on the Japanese wrestlers lately. Will we see the Stampede Kid back in New Japan any time soon? TJ Wilson: Nothing has been completely confirmed as of late, but I am hoping that you will see the Stampede Kid back in New Japan sooner rather than later. Stuart: Returning to Stampede briefly. There seems to be a lot of new talent coming out of the area. Dave Swift, who toured with New Japan and made a good impression, is an example, and The Shadow (Apocolypse) is about to tour. Are there any other Canadian names we should look out for, whether it be in Japan, America, or Canada? TJ Wilson: Right now I believe that the Stampede Wrestling talent is very high. I think there are a bunch of guys that could go places at any time. I would say watch out for Harry Smith most of all; he probably has the most options. Teddy Hart, Jack Evans, Johnny Devine, and Randy Myers are vastly improving. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of these guys hitting the scene soon. Stuart: There is a huge fanbase of Japanese wrestling in the western world; America, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and so on. Many collect video tapes to keep up with events. Do you think the cultural barriers could ever be shattered, and Japanese wrestling become a regular fixture on TV in America or Canada? TJ Wilson: I believe they very well could be. If you watch Japanese wrestling you know that these guys give it their all every time. They do some unbelievable things in the ring. I think the western world could become accustomed to watching Japanese wrestling on a weekly basis. Stuart: Last of all, do you have a message to readers of Strong Style Spirit and fans of the Stampede Kid? TJ Wilson: Yes, thank you for your support and cheering for me. I hope to be back in a New Japan ring very soon.
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