Interview with Adrian ‘Lionheart’ McCallum
The following questions were answered by Adrian ‘Lionheart’ McCallum who as some of you may know and for those of you who don’t; he is an independent wrestler from Scotland. We asked him on his life in wrestling and where he is planning to go with his life now that he has announced his retirement from the Industry.
Firstly, can you tell us how you first got into the wrestling business?
I grew up watching wrestling, and when others grew out of it, I didn’t. Right up till I was around 18 and I decided I was going to try and do this.
So Adrian as an independent wrestler on the England circuits, can you give us an insight into how English wrestling differs from what we see on TV and the American circuit?
I can’t really comment on this aside from the obvious. Television is a very powerful tool and can determine how people are perceived. The British Wrestling scene is no different to any other industry. You have people you like, people you don’t. People you look up to, people you wish would go away.
Haha that is quite a good way to put it! So how did you develop your own character? Is he a spin on you or are you completely different?
My character is really simple. I don’t have an obvious “gimmick” as such; I’m an all-round performer with a fairly charismatic/entertainment persona.
That’s great to hear that you can adapt to different wrestlers and their characters to be an all-rounder! We mostly see the independent guys saying their top dream is to wrestle for the WWE, with the likes of TNA and ROH more prominent in the industry today is this still the way? Or are your dreams different?
I think anyone who is in pro wrestling as an in ring performer and says they don’t aspire to be in one of those places, then they have no business being there.
So what has been your favourite match to date and why?
I’ve had way too many to mention. I have some favourite opponents including Kris Travis, Noam Dar, Joey Hayes, Andy Wild, El Ligero, Martin Kirby… So many
And who would your dream opponent be? It can be anyone past or present.
The Rock
That would be a great match! For the younger generation who are just latching onto the industry, can you give any advice to aspiring wrestlers?
Find a reputable training school. Always listen to advice, keep your feet on the ground, fear nothing, and work hard. There are no guarantees of success.
I think it’s great how grounded you are and with your advice to the younger generation. Do you have any dreams outside of the industry?
When I’m a little older, I want to have a family.
Who currently in the industry do you look up to or as a fan follow?
Again, there is too many to mention. My all-time hero is the Rock but I’ve had several influences over the years.
The Rock certainly did establish himself as a big influence on aspiring wrestlers of the future, as a fellow fan myself I think it’s only right when aspiring wrestlers look up to him. Outside of the industry what are some of your hobbies? Follow any sports such as Football or Formula 1?
Nope. Wrestling is all I know and love
Lastly, we have seen you announce your retirement a few weeks ago, so what’s next for you as a person and a character? And where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
10 years from now I’ll probably still be promoting shows, hopefully have a family and be settled down. When I retire, I won’t have a character, I’ll be done completely aside from perhaps the odd appearance if asked in a non-wrestling role.
Well we wish you all the best of luck for the future and much happiness. Thank-you for your time today in conducting this interview with us and we look forward to seeing what you do next!
Football – Likes and Dislikes!
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I love football. I love the rituals. It’s a dance. It’s geometry and physics and sometimes it’s guts and glory. At its best, it is poetry in motion. I have watched football all my life. Whatever is wrong with the modern game and there is a lot that is wrong, one can’t blame it on the game. It is, after all, people that spoil things, not the sport itself. For me, football has always been the Beautiful Game and it always will be. As for the other rubbish – well, it breaks my heart.
What I Like
Going to Live Games
Saturday is different. Saturday is special. There is the thrill of anticipation. Walking into the ground is like no other feeling. It’s a cathedral. It’s a theatre of dreams.
Sweet Georgie
His image adorned my bedroom wall. He made a lot of other players look like they were still in the 1950s. He was gorgeous. His balance and his ability to go past countless players was a joy to behold. I still miss him.
Glorious Pele
At 17 years old, the Brazilian genius was hoisted on his team-mates’ shoulders, having scored two goals in the 1958 final to clinch Brazil’s first World Cup victory. Scoring unbelievable goals throughout his career, he was a great ambassador for the game. Unfortunately, he was targeted in the 1966 World Cup campaign and literally kicked off the field against Portugal.
Bicycle Kick Goals
When a bicycle kick connects with the ball, it’s a triumph of spatial awareness and timing. When it’s a bicycle kick goal, the wow factor doesn’t get any more wow, as recently exemplified by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal for Sweden against England from 30 yards.
Good Chanting
Good-natured banter gets the atmosphere going. It’s part of the game, along with pie and peas at half time and contributes to the local mythology of clubs. Each generation re-invents their own traditions.
What I Don’t Like
Tuneless National Anthems
National anthems (with the possible exception of the French one and the American one) are completely devoid of a decent tune. How many of these dirges have we sat through. Players half-heartedly mumble along with these apologies for an anthem, without a discernible melody.
Are You Blind, Ref?
Dissent. Aggressively going after the referee / assistant referees. Groups of players surrounding the referee to make their case. We see it every week. It’s bullying in the workplace and we shouldn’t stand for it.
How Far Can I Spit?
Really? Do you have to? Can you not carry a ‘kerchief embroidered with your initials in the corner and gob into it, discreetly?
Going for Broke
Why are clubs allowed to get into millions of pounds of debt? And why do they? A major factor is the wage bill for the squad. Let’s not forget that players in the lower leagues are not millionaires. So, let’s look at the clubs in the higher echelons. Working class fans struggle to afford tickets for a game and the superstars are bathing in champagne. I’m not recommending going back to the days of retired players facing dire straits and having to sell their medals and players’ incomes should reflect a career’s short span – up to a point. The minimum wage was a good idea, but so is a wage cap. It’s gotten out of hand.
Twits on Twitter
Players making crass remarks and comments on social media is getting out of hand too. At least they weren’t doing any harm when they just played golf on their time off.
Dive, Dive, Dive
This is my pet peeve when it comes to actual play. It’s endemic. And you can’t blame referees for getting it wrong sometimes. If the governing bodies and managers wanted to wipe it out, they could do. School kids copy this behaviour and it moves down the generations. Some media pundits give it tacit approval. It’s cheating. And it’s ruining the game.
On the Move
Nobody – not players and not managers – stays with a team anymore or hardly ever. It’s difficult to identify with certain players who keep on moving and it takes away the identity of clubs.
Sorry, We’ve Got Replica Shirts To Sell
The FA Cup is real glory stuff. All footie fans know this. I was disgusted when Manchester United didn’t defend their trophy in 2000, instead competing in some World Club Cup nonsense in Brazil. Was this a football decision? Of course not. It’s called ‘spreading the brand’. Yes, football is a brand now. Just like coca-cola.
Wembley Non-finals
Wembley is for internationals and club finals. FINALS. It’s the national stadium and having semi-finals played there takes away the special nature of finals.
How Many Mascots Do They Need?
When one little boy or girl walked out with the team, it meant something. Now, there is one for each player. That’s a lot of mascots.
Bad Chanting – Hatred, Racism and Homophobia
Chanting that Liverpool fans are always complaining, post-Hillsborough. Chanting anti-Semitic chants at Tottenham fans. The list could go on. Whether it’s one person (on or off the field) or a crowd, it is vile.
Not Having Goal Line Technology
Why don’t we?
So, what are your likes and dislikes? You don’t need to be a football fan to join in. Bring it on!
Christmas – Likes and Dislikes!
What I Don’t Like
Carol singers who only sing a verse and a half and then start banging on the door to demand money.
People who only go to church, once a year, at Christmastime because “the church looks so nice at this time of year”.
Finding myself in a supermarket on Christmas Eve, getting squeezed in the crammed aisles and having to pass jars of cranberry sauce down the line of stressed out shoppers.
Being forced to wear a paper hat.
Someone asking for the one drink I forgot to get in.
Not one decent film on TV that I haven’t seen before.
Office parties. Poor food and poor conversation; so much forced jollity and no one wants to be there.
People who shake presents vigorously, as if that will make them give up their secrets.
Men who only cook once a year, on Christmas Day and think they deserve a medal.
Running out of room in the fridge.
What I Like
Playing with Lego / trains / shiny red fire trucks with small children who don’t mind me playing with them.
The smell of a real Christmas tree.
Lying on the sofa munching mince mobile casino pies and drinking mulled wine in front of an open fire.
Watching someone else do heaps of washing up after Christmas dinner.
Hearing The Pogues on the radio and their Christmas classic, Fairytale of New York, knowing that lots of people have never bothered to actually listen to the lyrics.
Listening to Christmas carols (even though I’m an atheist and, of course, I don’t join in).
Bread sauce (okay; that’s a weird one).
Watching someone’s kid play with the box after opening a very expensive toy.
Christmas pudding and custard (or rum sauce or brandy sauce).
Santa
Jesus (even though I’m an atheist – he was pretty cool).
Reading about the World War I Christmas truce when both sides dropped their guns and played football on Christmas Day.
Woolly jumpers with reindeer on, or snowflakes or Santa.
Eating up Christmas leftovers for an entire week (this means minimal cooking required).
So, what do you like / dislike about Christmas? Come on, let’s start a national debate!
Video of the Week: Giving Kids Bad Christmas Presents
Dallas without J.R.?
Following the sad news last weekend of the death of Larry Hagman (23rd November 2012) following complications from throat cancer, it has been announced that the TV series he helped turn into a global phenomenon will continue without the character that he became known for. What’s that? I hear you cry. Dallas without J.R? Are they sure? Is that possible? Wouldn’t that be like Othello without Iago, Harry Potter without Voldemort, The Three Little Pigs without the Big Bad Wolf?
The original series of Dallas ran for 357 episodes from April 1978 to May 1991 and in all that time, the character of John Ross Ewing, Jr. was at the show’s heart, essentially giving it a life-force, a reason for being. He seemed to give motive and motion to everyone else on the show. It’ll come as no surprise therefore that he was the only character to appear in every single episode and a quick study of the list of these episodes reveals that pretty much every plot and subplot included J.R. in some way, shape or form. Either he was scheming against somebody or somebody was scheming against him. He quickly became so important to the show that without him, the producers realised there would be no show. Indeed, during the summer of 1980 when the world was gripped by “Who shot J.R.?” fever, Larry Hagman threatened to leave the show if the producers would not meet his demands for a substantial hike in salary and realising his worth, they relented and made him one of the highest paid stars on television.
Whether or not you were ever a fan of the show (and for me growing up it was essential prime-time viewing – at least until the scriptwriting became notoriously lame), you cannot deny the iconic status that J.R. Ewing attained. He was the epitome of Mr Nasty, the greediest of all tycoons and one of the greatest fictional villains of all time and yet Hagman – who in real life was said by all who knew him to be the complete opposite of his alter-ego – portrayed the scheming oil-baron with such conviction and charm that he was a man we all loved to hate. He was the reason we tuned in each week, millions of us sharing a fervent loathing for this Machiavellian Texan who, let’s face it, was borderline psychopathic. When he was shot, we rejoiced en masse but not one of us wanted him to expire. It’s a credit to the actor to be able to pull this off, to be so despised and yet to be so admired and adored at the same time.
I groaned (maybe you did too) when the new series came out earlier this year that introduced a new generation of Ewings to the world but curiosity urged me to check it out. Yes, the originality was missing and the younger actors seemed no different to the tidal wave of actors playing characters we’ve seen in numerous shows over the past decade or so but it was great to see those original cast members again and to reacquaint ourselves with their character’s lives after twenty years in the wilderness. But for me, the main man was the only reason to watch. J.R. was now an octogenarian and he was frail but he was still consorting with the devil and he was still great to watch. There were a few scenes that I suspected Hagman to be reading his lines from a cue card but even then, and overall his performance was still magnetic, his lines still delivered with the character’s trademark amoral charisma.
The truth is, Larry Hagman was the reason I endured the sensational, silly, convoluted ten episodes of Dallas 2012 and now that he has passed away taking J.R. Ewing, Jr. with him, I’ll probably not bother tuning in to the future goings-on at Southfork.
Larry Hagman will undoubtably be missed by many but he has cemented his place in the annals of TV history for ever by giving the world J.R. Ewing and I think I can say with the utmost confidence that there will never be another character quite like him.