It's an honor and privilege to interview Robby Douglas. Robby runs several social media accounts (YouTube, Instagram, X and a Facebook group) under the name Indie Fan. Robby's an articulate guy with strong opinions, so this will make for an intriguing interview.
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1. I'm always curious how people get into pro wrestling. Who were your favorites when you first got into wrestling?
My parents never really cared for pro wrestling. I first fell in love with wrestling when we would visit one of my grandma's... my mom's mom... twice a month. I'm in my lower 40's. So when we would go over for visits in the late 1980's, she would always have the TV tuned to NWA/WCW Saturday Night on TBS. Now, I will say... even though my parents never really liked wrestling... because I was lucky enough to be growing up in what some call the Golden Age of pro wrestling... we would still usually catch the WWF Saturday Night Main Event on NBC as well. So that's how I first became a fan. My favorite wrestlers when I was a kid was all of the popular good guys of the day: Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Koko B. Ware, Sting, "Flyin'" Brian Pillman, "Z-Man" Tom Zenk, Ricky Steamboat, the Rock & Roll Express, and The Rockers. And honorable mention to The Bushwhackers.
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| "Z Man" Tom Zenk & "Flyin'" Brian Pillman |
2. Did you wrestle friends or join an amateur team?
Me and a cousin, who is 3 years younger, used to do some occasional backyard trampoline wrestling when we were teenagers. But nothing too crazy or dangerous. We weren't powerbombing each other through flaming tables or whacking each other with fluorescent light tubes, that's for sure. And obviously there was nothing sexual or kinky involved. And no, I've never had private matches with anyone from any of those meets sites in my adult life. I've primarily just been a fan who enjoys watching on TV or online.
3. When did you realize you were turned on by wrestling? Was there a specific moment?
Such a simple question. Such a complicated answer. My parents had me slightly later in life. They're boomers. I was raised to be straight, and believed that I was until I was in my early-to-mid 20's. Looking back, I struggled with bisexual thoughts even in my teens. During that time... we're talking mid-90's at this point... I remember starting to take interest in 1-2-3 Kid, Marcus Alexander Bagwell, and Alex Wright. Geez, did I have a crush on Alex. Looking back, Alex was a perfect trifecta for me: cute face, hot body, and... at least in his first few years when he was still a good guy... he suffered so well. Alex was probably the first pro wrestler that I "got off" to. So, I'd say that time period of my teenage years was when I first started to realize that I was turned on by wrestling. Although it wasn't until around 10 years later that I really started to accept it and come to terms with it.
4. I'm just curious, were you a fan of the wrestling magazines? For me, magazines we're a big part of my fandom back in the early days.
Oh yeah. In the mid-to-late 90's, I loved reading Pro Wrestling Illustrated and WCW Magazine. Still wish I had some of those issues.
5. Obviously, you're a big fan of Indie wrestling. Do you prefer Indie wrestling to mainstream wrestling (WWE, AEW etc.)? If so, why?
I don't think I've watched an entire WWE Monday Night Raw since 2018... 2019 at the latest. I finally got tired of their shows being 2/3-3/4 promo based, with actual wrestling matches comprising the least amount of programming. I was a huge fan of NXT when it first came out, and of AEW. For various financial reasons, I have not had cable or satellite for several years. So I can't fully and fairly comment on the current product of either.
6. The quality of Indie wrestling tends to vary wildly. There's so many promotions out there it's hard to know where to look. What are your go-to Indie promotions?
I actually don't have any go-to indie promotion favorites. I tend to have favorite wrestlers, and try to follow them wherever they go. Now, I'll provide one example as neutrally as I can. There's bigger indie promotions out there, unofficially known as "super indies." I'll use GCW (Game Changer Wrestling) as an example, but this example is NOT exclusive to them. Do I think they book good wrestlers? Absolutely yes. But more often than not, their shows seem to be spot-fests. I generally hate breaking kayfabe, but for this example, I almost feel like I have to. Granted I've never watched one of their shows from start to finish, I'll admit. But based on highlights I see online... it's one highspot after highspot. And the old-school traditionalist in me hates that. I see their highlights and think to myself, "do you guys (promoters) intentionally ban any scientific wrestling and wear-down holds and/or scientific holds?!?" But again, I'm just using them as an example. I've seen that trend across the indie wrestling spectrum, as far as the super-indie feds go. I guess it's a result of us living in an ADHD society.
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| Ashton Day |
7. You're a big fan of the wrestler Ashton Day. You give him a big push on your various platforms. Why is Ashton so compelling to you?
On my various social media platforms, I try to feature as many indie pro wrestlers as I can. From Maine to California to the UK. But yes, I'll admit, I probably have some accidental favorites and biases. Which I would honestly argue that most wrestling bloggers and group moderators do, even if unintentional. I can't count the amount of posts I've seen, especially on X/Twitter, featuring Finn Balor, MJF, and Austin Theory. (Not that I'm complaining). So we all have our favorites, whether we bloggers and group moderators want to admit it or not. That disclaimer and justification aside, hahaha... if we're excluding WWE/AEW, and excluding underground wrestlers... yes, Ashton Day is one of my current favorites on the indie scene. As for why? Similar to what I mentioned about Alex Wright previously. Ashton, in my mind, is a great combination of a guy with good looks and also great selling ability. He's not always a babyface/good guy... but when he is... he can visually and... for those turned on by grunts, groans, moans, and whimpers... vocally/audibly suffer as well as any indie wrestler out there today, in my opinion. Related side note: Ashton, for better or worse, quite often has a beard. But if you compare the beardless Ashton to actor Tom Cruise, their faces are almost identical. Just some food for thought.
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| Ashton Day is helpless against Turbo Lover. |
8. Aside from Ashton, who are some of your favorite Indie wrestlers?
As for other indie wrestlers I like? That list would be almost endless. Like, there's probably at least 100, if not 200, that I like. In short, three UK wrestlers actually quickly spring to mind: Chris Tyler, Nathan Angel, and Danny Isit. As far as here in the US? Geez. Now that Sammy Guevara, Adam Page, and Adam Cole are in AEW, I guess we can't consider them as indie wrestlers anymore. Umm... I'll say... in no particular order... Mikey Montgomery, Marino Tenaglia, Adriel Noctis, Matthew Jaeger, Myron Reed, Justin Xavier, Matt Brannigan, Percy Drews, and more. Again, that list could go on and on.
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| Matthew Jaeger is a familiar face to underground wrestling fans. |
9. I don't follow Indie wrestling too closely but I tend to like the presentation of British Indies more than the US Indies. My reason is there tends to be a more old-school vibe in the UK. How familiar are you with British Indie wrestling?
I agree wholeheartedly. Now, there are times when BritPro annoys me. I've seen some shows in which the referee is also doubling as the ring announcer. I've seen some other shows in which the ring announcer is virtually telling (begging?) fans who to cheer for. But that aside, I greatly appreciate the work of various British promotions. Using WrestleForce as a positive example, they try to appeal to a modern crowd while still holding to traditional values. It's a tough tightrope to walk, but I feel they do it pretty well.
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| Chris Tyler as LDN Champion, 2023. |
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This is the end of part 1. In Part 2, we discuss a little more Indie wrestling as well as custom videos and underground wrestling.
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