Here is our exclusive interview with Scar, one of the stars of the new film 'The Backyard' which follows the careers of several Backyard Wrestlers. The interview took place on Tuesday 13th July 2004 and was conducted by Smackdown5.com's webmaster Mark O'Connell.
M (Mark): Tell me about the documentary The Backyard?
S (Scar) The backyard is pretty much a kick ass documentary about the inside world of backyard wrestling and what goes through our minds when were wrestling. Its also very entertaining and shocking after you see some of the movie; you just wonder why we do this, so this film will give you a good idea how and why it happens.
M: How did you get involved with the project?
S: Well, first I heard from Ryan aka Chaos from HIW that some film maker was coming to Tucson to film HIW for an upcoming film, so I emailed the filmmaker and told him about me, so he was interested in meeting me in Tucson since I live in Phoenix. So when I got to Tucson and met him, he was very interested about getting to know more about my life and why I do backyard wrestling.
M: Do you think Director Paul Hough has depicted a fair representation of the sport?
S: Oh yeah, I dont think he was bashing backyard wrestling at all, he just wanted to make a film that stayed true to the topic which was backyard wrestling. Overall I think hes a cool guy to hang out with and an excellent filmmaker.
M: Who or what inspired you to become a wrestler?
S: Probably Sandman from ECW or Tommy dreamer from ECW. Well I wasnt really inspired by a lot of wrestlers I guess I would say ECW inspired me to do all this.
M: How did you come up with your wrestling gimmick?
S: Easy, I was myself; I had scars all over my bodies so I decided to call myself Scar.
M: What is your favourite kind of match and weapon of choice?
S: Anything that involved something in the match, I never liked plain single matches, I would always love to be involved 3 way, 4 ways, tag teams, ladder matches, death matches, etc. Just about anything that would pop a crowd and I would do so well at it.
M: What is the worst injury you have ever sustained in the ring?
S: Well this past February of 2004, I broke my back after trying to do a 450 off a ladder but the ring was so bad and the ladder was so terrible, so s**t happens. I landed right on my lower back and ended up getting 10 hour surgery. A 16 inch metal rod is in my back thats never going to be taken out, and has pretty much ended my career. But I dont think this metal rod will stop me, I promise myself I would get back in the ring one more time.
M: Why do you think Backyard Wrestling has become so popular?
S:Because its just so damn fun, whats not to like? Getting together with your friends every week or every month, away from your jobs and drama, and just having some good old fun by beating the crap out of each other but you know you dont really mean it, youre just having fun.
M: What is your advice to those wanting to try Backyard Wrestling in their own homes?
S: If you want to damage your body, beat the c**p out of other people, or get together with friends every week, then by all means whos stopping you? You cant like say oh Im not going to do that because its dangerous if its not dangerous to you then do it, its your call, not mines.
M: Have you had the chance to play the Backyard Wrestling video game?
S: For like 3 minutes, its f**king terrible.
M: Due to the high risk nature of the sport, would you like to continue as a Backyard Wrestler, or venture into a sports entertainment federation such as WWE or NWA: TNA?
S: I would always stick with the backyard wrestling because if I worked for wwe, nwa, tna or whatever, they would need me full-time and my body cant put in full-time. Id rather wrestle part time.
M: The Backyard has been praised by critics and won numerous awards. Were you surprised by how well it was received by the mainstream media?
S: Oh yeah, I didnt think it was going to be that big, but it won so many awards and I get a lot of emails from fans around the world saying how much they loved the film. So I think its pretty cool to be in a documentary and be heard about all around the world. I mean wouldnt you?
S (Scar) The backyard is pretty much a kick ass documentary about the inside world of backyard wrestling and what goes through our minds when were wrestling. Its also very entertaining and shocking after you see some of the movie; you just wonder why we do this, so this film will give you a good idea how and why it happens.
M: How did you get involved with the project?
S: Well, first I heard from Ryan aka Chaos from HIW that some film maker was coming to Tucson to film HIW for an upcoming film, so I emailed the filmmaker and told him about me, so he was interested in meeting me in Tucson since I live in Phoenix. So when I got to Tucson and met him, he was very interested about getting to know more about my life and why I do backyard wrestling.
M: Do you think Director Paul Hough has depicted a fair representation of the sport?
S: Oh yeah, I dont think he was bashing backyard wrestling at all, he just wanted to make a film that stayed true to the topic which was backyard wrestling. Overall I think hes a cool guy to hang out with and an excellent filmmaker.
M: Who or what inspired you to become a wrestler?
S: Probably Sandman from ECW or Tommy dreamer from ECW. Well I wasnt really inspired by a lot of wrestlers I guess I would say ECW inspired me to do all this.
M: How did you come up with your wrestling gimmick?
S: Easy, I was myself; I had scars all over my bodies so I decided to call myself Scar.
M: What is your favourite kind of match and weapon of choice?
S: Anything that involved something in the match, I never liked plain single matches, I would always love to be involved 3 way, 4 ways, tag teams, ladder matches, death matches, etc. Just about anything that would pop a crowd and I would do so well at it.
M: What is the worst injury you have ever sustained in the ring?
S: Well this past February of 2004, I broke my back after trying to do a 450 off a ladder but the ring was so bad and the ladder was so terrible, so s**t happens. I landed right on my lower back and ended up getting 10 hour surgery. A 16 inch metal rod is in my back thats never going to be taken out, and has pretty much ended my career. But I dont think this metal rod will stop me, I promise myself I would get back in the ring one more time.
M: Why do you think Backyard Wrestling has become so popular?
S:Because its just so damn fun, whats not to like? Getting together with your friends every week or every month, away from your jobs and drama, and just having some good old fun by beating the crap out of each other but you know you dont really mean it, youre just having fun.
M: What is your advice to those wanting to try Backyard Wrestling in their own homes?
S: If you want to damage your body, beat the c**p out of other people, or get together with friends every week, then by all means whos stopping you? You cant like say oh Im not going to do that because its dangerous if its not dangerous to you then do it, its your call, not mines.
M: Have you had the chance to play the Backyard Wrestling video game?
S: For like 3 minutes, its f**king terrible.
M: Due to the high risk nature of the sport, would you like to continue as a Backyard Wrestler, or venture into a sports entertainment federation such as WWE or NWA: TNA?
S: I would always stick with the backyard wrestling because if I worked for wwe, nwa, tna or whatever, they would need me full-time and my body cant put in full-time. Id rather wrestle part time.
M: The Backyard has been praised by critics and won numerous awards. Were you surprised by how well it was received by the mainstream media?
S: Oh yeah, I didnt think it was going to be that big, but it won so many awards and I get a lot of emails from fans around the world saying how much they loved the film. So I think its pretty cool to be in a documentary and be heard about all around the world. I mean wouldnt you?
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interview MUST be credited soley to
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be duplicated without permission.
interview MUST be credited soley to
www.Smackdown5.com and may not
be duplicated without permission.
Exclusive Photos!
Ric Flair and Mark O'Connell Figure-Four hand lock
The interview takes a turn for the worse... The Nature Boy's Autograph!
All Images copyright 2004 Mark O'Connell. May not be reproduced without permission.
