Brandon Prophet Interview.

By P.Staniforth 2006.

In recent years, I've got a little choosier over who I interview. Brandon Prophet has caught my attention in recent months though, and with special thanks to my good friend Zack McGuire, here's what Brandon had to say when I asked him about life, wrestling, and more!

Peter) : Hi, and thanks for making the time for this interview. Tell us a little about your childhood.

Brandon) : Well, I was born in Houston TX, and I moved a lot between Texas, California, Rhode Island, Indiana, and Arkansas until I was in high school; it was rocky. My mother was a single mother with no fatherly help, and she worked incredibly hard to hold things together. I was involved in football, wrestling, track, and baseball.

Peter) : When did you first view wrestling?

Brandon) : The first wrestling I remember seeing was a house show in Indianapolis, IN. I remember cherring for The Genius because no-one else did and I felt sorry for him. My mother and step father took me, and I remember it was so packed in there, it seemed like there were an infinite amount of people there; it was nuts.

Peter) : Did you know then you wanted to be a wrestler?

Brandon) : The first time I ever wanted to be a wrestler, was the day I got my 'IWA King Of The Deathmatches' and 'Best of ECW Volume One' tapes from RF Video back in 1995. I loved the grittyness of it, and although I was a big fan of wrestling before, that's what made me need to be a wrestler.

Peter) : How did you get your first break in the business?

Brandon) : I had been around for a few years, and then in 2003 I was given the chance to wrestle Necro Butcher in IPW in Indianapolis. I was like the fourth choice, and was only given the shot because I was the only person who actually wanted to do it. It was rough, and I got my ass kicked, but I went out there and took everything Necro threw at me and I won him over. I consider that my first break, because it was from that point on that a lot of name value guys started kind of taking me under their wing and really teaching me some things about the business.

Peter) : Who trained you to wrestle, and what were your first matches like in your view?

Brandon) : I was initially trained by James Raffordy. My first matches were awful. I think I wrestled for about three years before I started having matches I felt good about, and even longer than that before I had any matches I was proud of. I started out not doing hardcore at all, but rather doing lucha based stuff. I know it is kind of hard to believe my fat ass flying around, but back then I was much much smaller. They were definitely less painful times, but also much less quality times.

Peter) : How would you describe yourself as a wrestler for those who may not know you?

Brandon) : I guess that I'm the guy that is so obsessed with being anything more than a normal person, that I am willing to go to any lengths to achieve my end. I'm extremely proud, pride is the basis of everything that I do, and I'm as tough as nails. I'm no Dean Malenko, but I have all the heart in the world.

Peter) : Which to me, means you'll achieve whatever you want to. What is your favourite match that you've been involved in so far, and who have been your favourite opponents?

Brandon) : I think my favourite match to date was perhaps my match with Diehard in Indianapolis, in a promotion called ESE. There were probably fifteen people in attendance and we literally went balls to the wall. It was the day I really decided to try to be a deathmatch worker. Diehard and I have always had great chemistry together, and rarely put on a bad match together. I am also really proud of my match at the 2005 King of The Deathmatches with Corporal Robinson and Necro Butcher, as I think people really expected me to fail, and I think that I proved that night that I was amongst the toughest in the business. I guess those are the two matches I'm the most proud of. My favourite opponents are probably Necro Butcher, Diehard, and Toby Klien. I'd love to wrestle them non stop if I could. I also had a lot of fun in the bit of a tangle I got in with Tank down in IWA-MS. I'm interested in seeing more of what he has, and also hopefully my first one on one encounter with JC Bailey.

Peter) : Who are your better friends in the business?

Brandon) : I'm good friends with Mike (the promoter of Insanity Pro Wrestling in Indiana), and I met my best friend/tag partner/manager/roommate Dayton Suave through wrestling. Other people in the business I really like I'd say would be Chuck Taylor, Ricochet, Jake and Dave Christ (Crazy J and Lotus), Diehard, JC Bailey, Necro Butcher, and Delirious.

Peter) : What would you consider your lowest and highest points in wrestling so far?

Brandon) : My lowest point would be the fact I did a lot of stupid stuff when I was new to the business and didn't understand how things worked. I took a lot of bad advice, and worked hard to get myself out of the rut it put me in. My highest point was probably having Ian Rotten put me over in the locker room at the 2005 King Of The Deathmatches. It really meant a lot to me to have a hardcore legend like Ian, who I grew up idolizing, say in the locker room where I knew it wasn't a work; that he was legimately impressed with my toughness and thought that I could really be a star in the business.

Peter) : What do you like to do in your spare time?

Brandon) : I make films, I love making them more than anything. I think it is definitely the reason I was put on the earth. I'm working hard on one right now that you'll be able to buy through my website and also hopefully through Smart Mark Video. I also like to do random things for no apparent reason, and figure I need to do as many of them now as I can.

Peter) : What five words would you feel describe you best?

Brandon) : Loyal, passionate, obsessive, driven, and self destructive.

Peter) : What are your main plans for the future?

Brandon) : I plan on keeping my head down, and my nose to the wheel and to hopefully give everyone a few good memories before it is all said and done. I'd like to run my own show when I know enough about the business to put on a quality product, and I'd like to focus on my understanding of the work and putting on good matches.

Peter): What are your thoughts on WWE and TNA, and the indy's?

Brandon) : I don't really watch much WWE or TNA to be honest with you. I think WWE is boring, and feel that they have completely abandoned wrestling as a sport, and that breaks my heart. I think it is a huge disservice to all the amazing work that has been done in this business. As for as for TNA, it is nice to see guys like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, etc, all get the chance they deserve to shine, but guys like Jeff Jarrett are boring to me. As far as the indies, it's really a mix. There are some stellar promotions like IWA Mid South, Ring of Honor, PWG, etc; and then there are some terrible promotions putting on shows as well. I'd definitely recommend that people judge each promotion as their own seperate entities and not lump them all into one as there are some good things happening if you look for them.

Peter) : Who do you like to watch and learn from?

Brandon) : I love to watch guys like Necro, Toby Klein, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, and others. You can really learn from anyone though, whether it be what to do or what not to do. I love 1980's NWA and Mid South wrestling tapes. Jim Duggan, Ted DiBaise, Jake Roberts, Ric Flair - all those guys are just stellar to watch from that period, wrestling was just amazing back then.

Peter) : Where do you see the direction of wrestling going over the next couple of years?

Brandon) : Hopefully more towards it's roots. I'd love to see it go back to being dark and gritty and grimey, that is when wrestling is real. When it's allowed to be what it IS, and not when it's turned into a bunch of circus acts clashing together in a cheesy montage of silliness.

Peter) : Imagine - you're a promoter, what kind of show would you be looking to put on?

Brandon) : I'd want to put on a solid sporting event, where people came to see men do battle with other men. I wouldn't want to insult intelligences, just real life, and I totally believe it could be done again and be done on a large scale if it was done right.

Peter) : How do you feel the business has changed since you first became a part of it, and do you feel your attitude has changed also?

Brandon) : It's definitely not riding the same high as it was when I first started. The crowds are smaller, and the quality of promotions has seemingly gone way down the tubes. And yes, I'd say my attitude ahs changed greatly. I have a much better bearing on how and why things are. It's become more and more of a science to me, though admittedly it must become more so.

Peter) : Where do you think you would be, if not for wrestling?

Brandon) : I'd probably be in an Ivy League school somewhere pursuing some Ivy League career. Ha!

Peter) : And to finish, is there anything you'd like to promote, or anyone you'd like to thank?

Brandon) : Sure, I'd like to have everyone check out www.thefootclan.com where you can see mini films I've made and also download Prophet FM. It's a super funny site, and it's a real good time. I'd also like to thank people like Mike Williams, Dayton Suave, and Robert Rush for always beliving in me, even when I didn't. You guys gave me the confidence to show up some days. I'd also like to thank guys like Necro and Toby for putting me over to anyone that would listen, and of course fans like Marc Fusion, Shotgun Yan, Dr Numani, and Pugzly for making people on message boards nationwide know who I am - you guys are all awesome!

Peter) : Thanks for this interview, it's been a real pleasure, and all the best for the future.

Brandon) : Thank you, Peter.

'The Internet Icon'
Peter Staniforth
ACW Owner
www.freewebs.com/theinterneticon

Peter is a professional wrestling manager, with ACW (www.acwrestling.co.uk), and currently taking indy bookings - please contact at this email address for more details.

Peter is the webmaster for Mana, who's website can be found at www.freewebs.com/manathepolynesianwarrior

Peter is a UK based sports and music journalist, currently writing for www.pwbts.com,www.wrestlingclothesline.com, www.prowrestlingdaily.com, www.jimmyvan.com, www.twnpnews.com, www.mikels.cjb.net, www.jpwwe.2ya.com, is the exclusive WWE writer for www.ukevents.net, and also writes for UK newsletter Piledriver, which can be ordered from www.piledriver.vze.com.

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Peter has written for Bill Apter's "Total Wrestling" magazine, the well respected US based newsletter "Wrestling Then And Now", and has also written press releases for the UK's WWE Euro Shop merchandise company. He was also mentioned on the credits of the cult wrestling simulation game by Adam Ryland - EWR 4.2.

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