Interviews
Exclusive: Tama Williams Interview
Published December 21, 2011 at 10:53 pm by Marek Indyka
Marek recently caught up with Tama Williams for an exclusive interview. Tama talks about how he got started in pro-wrestling, America, Powerhouse Theo, Newy Pro, Australian wrestling, training and more.
Marek: Tama were you a wrestling fan growing up as kid, if so who were some of your favorites?
Tama: I started watching wrestling when I was about 7 while growing up in New Zealand. I fell across a VHS tape which had a few matches on it and The Undertaker was definitely someone that stood out to me immediately. At the time I thought his character was ‘cool’ and being such a big guy as well he was someone I got behind when I was first exposed to wrestling.
Marek: How did you find training for wrestling, was it something you could handle well, did you catch onto it fairly quickly?
Tama: Well I left home from North Queensland after I finished school and moved to Sydney by myself for the first time and didn’t know anyone in the area or ever been here. I made a big change in my life purely just because I wanted to train to be a professional wrestler. I had done some research and started training the same week in moved to Sydney in Feb ’09 at the AWF School of Pro-Wrestling.
Having gone through this change I wanted to make the most of it and trained as much as I could. I would take notes to go through during the week to work on and stay back if it was possible. That dedication I had early on really helped me in picking up things quick. I also had help from not only TNT but guys like JT Robinson, Kid Dynamite, Steve Ravenous and later on Billy Flyswatt, Jay Law and ‘Scientific’ Robert Barnes. Their advice was definitely things I keep in the back of my head to this day.
Marek: What was is like defeating Powerhouse Theo for the AWF Commonwealth title, Theo had the belt for over a year, what was it like ending such a lengthy reign?
Tama: Powerhouse Theo was one of the top wrestlers in AWF ever since I watched my first show at the AWF Dojo the same month I started training. My 2nd show I attended he beat Roger Ventura for the Commonwealth title. As I trained I watched him successfully defended it against anyone and everyone.
It wasn’t until October ’10, a year since my debut, that I finally got my chance to see if I could be the one and ended his year and a half reign.
That’s definitely a special moment in my short time.
Marek: You currently wrestle for the Pro Wrestling Alliance and formerly with the Australasian Wrestling Federation, but your known to wrestle a lot interstate with NHPW and more recently PROWL. Tell us about your time wrestling in other states and your match with former TNA star Sonjay Dutt.
Tama: I’ve now visited most of Australia which has been great moving from New Zealand for me to see different cities. But I’ve been able to wrestle most places as well. Especially in my first year I was busy travelling but I enjoyed wrestling new faces and kind of give myself more exposure and experience.
I always enjoy Riot City Wrestling in Adelaide which I think have some of the best shows in the country and always look forward to getting down there.
Also New Horizon Pro Wrestling in Perth was somewhere where I was given the opportunity to wrestle some of the best in the world such as Billy Gunn, Headshrinker Samu, Colt Cabana, Homicide and Sonjay Dutt.
Sonjay was my first experience wrestling an international with that high-flying style so it wasn’t something I wasn’t used to. Luckily enough I managed to wrestle him twice and both times I beat him. The first time was a triple threat also involving Percy T and this match was where I won my first title in the NHPW Art of Fighting Championship.
Marek: For me your one of the more entertaining wrestlers in the AWF/PWA in the ring and during your entrance. The intensity you have when you come from behind the curtain just grabs the crowds attention. How did you come up with your character/persona and do you think having a good presence and an understanding of showmanship is just as important as in ring skill?
Tama: I think it’s important to be unique and I always try to stand out from everyone else in wrestling. There surprisingly weren’t too many guys from New Zealand that were wrestling in Australia when I was training so I wanted to take advantage of that. I base a lot of my presence you see nowadays loosely from Mana the Polynesian Warrior. I was huge fan of his look and the intensity you saw in any of his matches so he was a huge influence to my wrestling style.
I think it’s good to have both but your skills in the ring can always improve with training, etc. The way you present the in ring skills to those watching is something completely different and most times comes out through your character. It’s something that comes out naturally and generally separates a lot of wrestlers.
Marek: Who are some of your favorite workers to wrestle against in Australia and who do you think has the talent to make the big time with WWE, TNA or even in Japan?
Tama: I always enjoy wrestling TNT. He’s one of the biggest names in Australian wrestling in the past 10 years and he helped me get to where I am today so I always enjoyed wrestling him. I’ve also enjoyed matches with Powerhouse Theo, Mimic, Concrete Davidson and Mick Moretti just to name a few but there’s a lot of guys out there I want to wrestle and some I would like to wrestle more.
In my opinion I think Jay Law and Jack Bonza are 2 of the best wrestlers in this country. Their skills in ring are amazing and they are both look good so I would say they have the best chance in the country that I’ve seen so far.
Marek: Tell us about your time in America , who you worked for, who did you wrestle against and what you learned from working over in the states?
Tama: A group of us from NHPW-Perth went to Philadelphia and trained with Chikara, CZW and The Wild Samoans Training Centre. Each has their own styles so it was good to experience a mix of wrestling.
My first match in America was for WXW-C4 against Tommy Suede and then I wrestled in Chikara’s King of Trios tournament as a part of Team NHPW Australia alongside Percy T and Kabel. We came up short in round 1 against F.I.S.T with Icarus, Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano.
Marek: How do you prepare for your matches? Do you have a routine to get into the character?
Tama: I think of scenes from ‘Once Were Warriors’.
Marek: What are your thoughts on Australian Wrestling?
Tama: I think it’s one of the most underrated countries in terms of professional wrestling. I don’t think people worldwide realize how good the talent here is. There are a lot of great wrestlers in Australia and I think there are a lot of high hopes for it to further improve. I’ve heard that there has been so many from here travelling overseas to further their training then in recent times. I think that’s an indication of big things to come as a whole with wrestling in Australia.
Marek: You were on the first Newcastle Pro Wrestling show back in October. What are your thoughts on this new promotion and the talent involved?
Tama: Newcastle Pro is something that I’m very honored to be a part of and I think it’s one of the best rosters you’ll find anywhere. The first few shows have been a success and it’s only going to get even better. I hadn’t wrestled much in Newcastle before Newy Pro but it’s something I’m always looking forward to every month now. It has the best group of guys I’ve seen in the few years I’ve been wrestling and some of the best in the country. It’s already had great feedback and they’ve already got a school running at ‘The House of Free Fighting’ which has excellent trainers who helped me along the way and people I go to still to this day for advice.
I’m really excited to see what happens in 2012 at the New Lambton Community Centre for Newcastle Pro and I’ll be looking to make my mark. It’s definitely something special so check out the Facebook page or the website at www.newcastleprowrestling.com.au.
Marek: What are your thoughts on the current WWE/TNA product?
Tama: To be honest, I don’t really pay attention to watch what is going on in either these days.
Marek: You've only been wrestling for a few years here in Australia but already you've made a big impact and I'm sure we can expect to see big things from Tama Williams in the future. Is there anyone you would like to mention that has helped you so far in your career?
Tama: I’ll never forget where I came from and I wouldn’t of made as big of an impact if it wasn’t for both TNT and Mana the Polynesian Warrior. They have given me opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten in any other place and I’m truly grateful for that. They definitely gave my great platforms to excel within the AWF and NHPW respectively and I give them all the credit.
Marek: For fans wanted to get in contact with you,are you on Facebook or Twitter?
I’m on Twitter so feel free to come and have a chat.
