Name: Darkside
Federation: Elite Backyard Wrestling Alliance
Age: 20
Entrance Music: Crawling-Linkin Park
Finishing Move: Dreamseeker (variation of swanton bomb)
Personal Style: technical and brawler
Wrestling location: homemade ring, matresses and ground

How did you first get interested and associated with backyard wrestling?

Well in all honesty my cousins had a fed when I was about 8 or 9 and I joined as a tackeling dummy basically. From there my love of this sport grew and I started my own fed.

Do you feel backyard wrestling has to be hardcore, or have plenty of high-risk spots to be entertaining? (and why)

Not at all! When you do all hardcore people are not watching for talent they are watching just to see if you get hurt. For a show to be entertaining it has to have a mix of hardcore, technical and all other aspects of wrestling.

What do your parents and family think of you backyard wrestling?

Well, I am 20 so they can't really stop me but they have always supported me in what I loved and they know that when I get into something neither heaven nor hell will take it away from me.

Describe the gimmick you use:

Darkside is a heel that has suffered a lot of emotional pain and the way he ratifies this pain is by inflicting it on others. He is actually an extension of myself. I went through a divorce and suffered extreme depression much of my life so Darkside is actually just me playing off my inner demons.

What do you feel are the three most important parts in making a backyard wrestling match work?

Chemistry is a big thing. You got to work well with your opponent. In ring communication is also important. Let your opponent know what is gonna happen next. The third thing is talent. 1 talented wrestler up against an untalented one will make for a bad match. Both wrestlers need to have talent, and this talent comes from practise!

Why has backyard wrestling became so popular?

With the bore of WWF and the lack of a real entertaining show in most areas; BYW has come out of it's previous shadows and become a mainstream attraction. Popularity of BYW is mainly in bad publicity and off beat documentaries that showcase the darker side of the sport.

In your opinion, what will happen to backyard wrestling in the next few years?

It will grow more mainstream but will still suffer the slings and arrows of media and talk show scrutiny. BYW has only one way to go and that is up but the glass ceiling for BYW is made of stainless steel so it will take a lot of work to break that image we have been cast in.

Closing statements

In everything you do give it your all and never give up. Don't listen to slanders on what you do. Be proud of it and take it to the level you want. We are the future of wrestling and we are the next real thing. Thanks for your time.