Corrigan’s Corner: Life On The Indies With Sigmon (Part II)

Ricky Morton, Bobby Eaton, Tracy Smothers…they’ve all tangled with one of the hottest stars of the NWA’s new generation: Sigmon.

A 10-year veteran with a perpetual chip on his shoulder, the Tennessee native has traveled across the country, learning the ropes from legends like Harley Race and Killer Kowalski. As one-half of the NWA United States Tag Team Champions with his Heatseekers partner Elliott Russell, Sigmon hopes to add another belt around his waist as he and Russell challenge the Killer Elite Squad (Lance Hoyt and Davey Boy Smith Jr.) for the NWA World Tag Team Championships in October.

A self-professed “social media whore,” Sigmon is constantly updating his , Twitter () and Instagram @sigmonwrestling.

Here’s Part II of our interview. Click here for Part I.

While you were traveling the country honing your craft, did you also have a job?

Sigmon: “No, I was going to school from 2005 to 2010. That was really tough. I was working six shows a week, Tuesday through Sunday. Then I was taking classes Monday through Friday. I’d hit up the class, then drive to where I was wrestling, try to find a gym, do the show, and then drive back. I didn’t get a lot of sleep in those years. (laughs)

No part-time job, but good support from my family. My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, was very supportive. She put up with the stupidity of the odds and ends of the wrestling business. Just scraping by like independent wrestling.”

What was your major?

Sigmon: “Television production/mass communications. I did a lot of TV, radio, things like that. Family was really pushing for a college degree and that was kinda cool cause I figured if something ever happened, I could take the TV side of things and still have a job in the business.”

That’s a great plan.

Sigmon: “Yeah, I haven’t really used the degree, (laughs) but it’s on the shelf. I encourage everybody in wrestling to have some kind of education because this don’t last forever. I want it to, but you always need a backup just in case. I’m also personal training certified—I haven’t used that much either, but when work slacks off, I can always pick up a client here or there and make some cash.”

Let me ask you about the NWA. I recently spoke with NWA President Bruce Tharpe who said the promotion is on an upswing. As a fan of the NWA during its heyday, how do you view it now as a member?

Sigmon: “You know, in the 80s and early 90s, the NWA was still going pretty strong. Then it died off and over the years, they tried to bring it back but couldn’t do it. Bruce has actually been working very hard at turning things around and getting people to respect it again. He’s had our champions really travel the world, there’s no territories anymore, but having your champions hit all the NWA-associated promotions.

This year it’s picked up as he has a good working relationship with New Japan. We’ve got a lot of good promotions growing across the states. He’s working hard and has a really cool thing going right now with NWA Classics.com.”

Yeah, we’ve covered it at Wrestledelphia. I still haven’t subscribed, but it seems like the perfect alternative to the WWE Network.

Sigmon: “Yeah, it’s got really cool footage of Flair, Bruiser Brody, Rock N’ Roll Express, Harley, Andre the Giant. All sorts of footage that nobody has ever seen before.”

Speaking of New Japan, have you wrestled over there?

Sigmon: “No, not yet. It’s on the bucket list. They sent a lot of good talent over there like Rob Conway, Chase Owens, a lot of good guys. I just got back from a trip to China, though.”

Whoa, how was that?

Sigmon: “It was a test-run and went pretty good. A crew from Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling went over for 12 days. I’m part of a tag team known as the Heatseekers with Elliot Russell and we headed over there with a great group of guys: Barbarian, Chase Owens, Michael Judas, Tessa Blanchard, Barbi Hayden. I traded the Junior Heavyweight title back and forth with Owens. We go back in November.”

Being a kid from Tennessee, what was it like being in China?

Sigmon: “Totally different experience, man. You see on social media and the news how bad it can be over there and how people will treat ya, but we got treated great. Everybody was very friendly and professional. The people over there love wrestling because they’ve not had a chance to really experience mainstream wrestling. WWE doesn’t have a foot in there quite yet. A lot of companies haven’t been able to go over there because they’re so strict with what they allow into the country. We got a lot of media attention and drew about 5,000 people. It was a real good experience and we hope to capitalize on that.”

Do you prefer being in a tag team rather than single’s competition?

Sigmon: “Yes, I was always a fan growing up, and most of my career I’ve been in a tag team. Do you remember David Young?”

Yeah from TNA.

Sigmon: “Ok, well, we tagged for about three years. At the time, he was working with Elix Skipper as the Diamonds in the Rough, but then Elix quit the business so I filled his spot. We ran the gimmick all over the indies. Then David got to a point where he was saying yes, but his body was saying no. He had to step away and tend to knee injuries and back injuries. But yeah, I’ve always tried to stay in tag team wrestling because there’s something different about it, the way you can connect with the people and get their emotions invested.”

You talked about David Young’s health, but how about you? How have you managed injury-wise over the years?

Sigmon: “I’m not gonna lie, I’ve gotten pretty banged up. A couple concussions, right now my left knee gives me trouble, my back is hurting all the time. But nothing too dramatic. A couple broken wrists and just wear-and-tear.”

But there’s a major difference between being injured in a company like WWE and then being injured on the indy circuit.

Sigmon: “Oh yeah, you can still get a paycheck in a major company and be featured on TV doing something else. But on the indies, if you’re hurt and you don’t show up, people forget about you. It’s tough, but I’ve been very fortunate to be in the ring with guys who, protect me pretty good.”

Does your fitness background help you heal quicker?

Sigmon: “You know, I try to be in the gym about four to five days a week, at least. I guarantee you that just lifting in general, building up some of the muscle has protected a lot of my joints and bone structure. I try to take my lifting pretty serious and it helps.

I encourage anybody in wrestling to hit the gym as much as possible not just for health, but to look the part. You want to be able to go out there and wrestle 60 minutes straight if you had to. A lot of guys on the independents that don’t hit the gym can only last five minutes without blowing up in a 20, 30 minute match.”

Do you have a favorite match that you’ve had over the years?

Sigmon: “You know, I’ve got several guys that I like to work with, but I don’t necessarily have a favorite match. Chase Owens and I have had some good ones over the years, and tagging with Elliot, we’ve had some really good matches with the Washington Bullets and Rock ‘N Roll Express.”

What’s one of your funniest road stories?

Sigmon: “You know, we’ve had so many near death experiences just from all the travel, here’s one I don’t think I’ve ever told. Me and Chase Owens wrestled each other hundreds and hundreds of times so we’ve traveled together. He tends to drive in the morning and I’ll drive at night. We were coming back from South Carolina to his place in Bristol, Tennessee. I had been driving all day because we partied pretty hard the night before so he was tired. We got up around Asheville, North Carolina, and it was winter. Snow had been pouring down and I had been driving for eight hours so I told him we’ll have to switch soon because I’m tired and don’t want to take any chances.

He said, ‘Ok, I’ve slept some. Pull over at the next gas station and we’ll switch out.’ So it’s all crazy mountains and ice cold weather with snow everywhere. I get out of the car, he runs into the gas station, I get in the passenger side and fall asleep.

A few minutes pass and all of a sudden, I wake up to the car going ‘boom boom boom boom boom.’ I look and freak out and see that we ran off the road. I say, ‘Chase, you okay?’ He says, ‘Yeah, I must have just fell asleep.’ So we get out of the car and I look back, and I can still see the gas station.
We had not gone half a mile. (laughs)”