Posted at 8:30 a.m. - Tuesday, October 7

Following up on my interview with TNA Wrestling founder Jeff Jarrett, I have a conversation with Alex Shelley of the Motor City Machine Guns tag team.  The MCMGs are part of the promotion’s ‘X-Division’, where wrestlers excel with spectacular moves in and above the ring.  Alex and his partner, Chris Sabin, will be part of the Steel Asylum Match at Bound For Glory IV, which will be held at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates this Sunday, October 12th.

It was cool to discuss the culture of the wrestling locker room with Alex, and he was pretty open and happy to satisfy my curiosity about why some wrestlers insist on being called by their ‘stage names.’  He even agreed to take the GNAT (Geek Nerd Analysis Test) to see if he was either a Geek or a Nerd, and I thought he had some pretty well thought out rationales as to why he made each pick:

Geek To Me: So, what on your Wikipedia page is absolutely wrong?

Alex Shelley: Oh, I haven’t looked at it in some time, but I’m sure quite a bit of information on it is wrong.  I remember Chris Sabin checked it out and it said that we did a move called ‘click click boom boom’ which I’d never even heard of before.  I just think people [who edit the pages] add their own personal touches.

Geek To Me: So, outside of when you’re in the ring, do you go by your wrestling name or your birth name?

Alex Shelley: I was taught to introduce yourself by your wrestling name.  [I was told] when you’re working with someone, they don’t need to know your real name. People who I’ve known for a long time, who I’ve worked with for a while, they call me by my real name, Patrick.  Otherwise, I go by Alex.

It’s funny, but to some guys wrestling is their life and they only want to be called by their wrestling names, which is silly when you consider what some of the names can be.  We have one guy who goes by the name 'Homicide'. You could see how funny it would be if he insisted on being called 'Homicide' all the time.

[Image courtesy TNA Wrestling]

G2M: What’s the difference between wrestling in the US as opposed to over seas.

AS: Wrestling overseas, those wrestlers are far more skilled.  It’s not as easy to get into pro wrestling [in Japan] as it is here.  Here, there are kids who are wrestling three months after getting started. That wouldn’t happen in Japan.

G2M: What about the fans?  Is their perception of wrestling different?

AS: I would say so.  I would definitely say it is.  You can’t blame the public [in the USA] because of the way the product is presented here. There [in Japan] the storylines are not so comedic and soap-opera like.  In Japan, wrestlers are considered superheroes come to life.  If you tell a wrestling fan there that wrestling is ‘fake’ they’d say you were ignorant to say such things.

G2M: How much input do you have in putting together the angles/story lines?

AS: Maybe some of the top guys have input, but as for me, absolutely none. I can suggest an idea and maybe they’ll use it.  We are given total freedom in the ring, which is great because they trust us to put good matches together.

But as far as the story lines, absolutely none.  That’s the writer’s job.  Our job is to wrestle, the writer's job is to write.

G2M: What do you think about the current angle going on with Jeff Jarrett saying that the older wrestlers are holding back the younger ones?

AS: The only business I keep track of is mine.  I don’t fault any of the older guys for holding on to those spots as long as they can. Yeah, if some guy was holding me back, it would suck, but that just means I need to work harder.  I hope that when I get older that I can hold on to my spot for as long as I can, but as for now, it’s my job to do the best job that I can.  And like I said, the only business I keep track of is mine.

G2M: Who were some of the wrestlers that you liked working with?

AS: The Briscoe Brothers are some of the best guys I’ve been in the ring with. I really enjoy wrestling against Japanese and Mexican wrestlers...there's this team called Speed Muscle. Jerry Lynn (who left the promotion a year ago) was pretty good to work with. Terry Taylor is a supercool guy, who’s wrestled everywhere. Disco Inferno is a really cool guy to work with. He always has ideas on how to present yourself.

G2M: Does Disco Inferno insist you call him by his wrestling name?

AS: [Laughs.]  No, his real name is Glenn Gilberti.  He isn’t one of those guys.

G2M: Who would you like to do a program with?

AS: I would like to do a program with the Rock n' Rave Infection, Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave.  I think they’re a really good team and would mesh really well with us.  I think we’d give the fans some good matches and something they’ve never seen before.

G2M: So the front office tells me that you’re a bit of a geek.  In fact, (TNA Publicist) Steve Godfrey called you ‘geek chic’.

AS: I’ll take that as a compliment.

G2M: [Laughs] So, what comic books do you read?

AS: Any of the X-Men titles.  I’m really lucky that I have guy at Marvel who sends me tons of free comic books.  I got back into reading them again and it was nice to get caught up.  I read a lot of the graphic novels, 100 Bullets, Preacher…

G2M: How about Watchmen?

AS: Oh yeah, Watchmen.  I think the movie is going to be really cool. 

G2M: What kind of music do you listen to?

AS: The Jam, old british punk bands, Sons and Daughters.  The Stooges.

I just saw The Darjeeling Limited with Jason Schwartzman and I forgot that he had a band, so when I got home I started listening to Phantom Planet.

G2M: What are you reading?

AS: I just read Max Brooks’ World War Z.  Chris Sabin LOVES reading Chuck Palahniuk. And I’m reading How To Learn Easy Japanese.

G2M: Do you speak Japanese?

AS: Oh, I speak very little.  I know some short phrases, just enough to say something polite or cute.

G2M: What do you think makes a successful wrestler?

AS: Part of it is just understanding your audience. If you just go in there and wrestle for yourself, people can see that.  If you go in and have fun and not force things people can genuinely see that.  I say: You get what you give.

G2M: What makes a good character?

AS: Try to find yourself and be comfortable. The greats, like The Rock and Hulk Hogan integrate aspects of their personality and amplify them a bit.

G2M: What’s the difference between Alex Shelley the wrestler and Alex Shelley the real-life person?

AS: Outside of some of the things the writers might ask me to do for a story, there isn’t much difference between Alex Shelley the wrestler and Alex Shelley the person (laughs).

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We concluded our interview with Alex taking the GNAT (Geek Nerd Analysis Test) which you can find here.  The following are his answers along with his reasoning:

When given a choice between ‘hanging out on the Millenium Falcon with Han Solo’ or ‘with Jean-Luc Picard on the Starship Enterprise’ Alex chose the Enterprise due to its ‘sleek design.’  He adds ‘I’m gonna go with the one that has less risk.  Not a ton of fighting.’

When I mentioned that the Enterprise often finds itself dealing with The Borg he responded, ‘Han solo was a rebel, right? He was always making trouble. I’d rather be part of the established program.’

But no, Alex wouldn’t want to be part of the Evil Empire.

Given a choice between hanging out with Hobbits or Timelords, Alex chose Hobbits. ‘From what I know about hobbits, they lead a pretty relaxed lifestyle, they have food right?’ he asked.

Choosing between a wand or a tricorder?  ‘I’d take the magic wand if I could learn how to use it.  I’ve got a Nintendo Wii, which I guess would help me get the hang of it.’

What about choosing between a trip to Comic Con International or the International Space Station? ‘The International Space Station is in space, right?’ he says.  ‘I’ve been to comic conventions. If someone else is footing the bill, I’d rather go into space, 6 days a week and twice on Sunday.’

How about choosing between Superman’s dog, Krypto and Dr. Who’s robot dog K-9? ‘I’m a big fan of robots and zombies, but in this case I’d rather have a real live breathing dog.  I’m glad it’s not a cat or dog question cuz I’d take the dog robot or not.’

And finally, I asked if he’d prefer to travel by broomstick or Stargate. ‘The Stargate sounds good but those things need maintenance right? I just wouldn’t want to be responsible to maintain it.  I love going to Japan, but the worst thing is the 13 hour flight.  I could fly a broomstick, but it would still take me hours to get there.  I like the idea of using the Stargate to get to Japan, so, I’ll take the Stargate if I don’t have to pay for fixing it.’

Alex’s final score in the GNAT determined that he was a geek, who ‘prefers comic books to text books.’

‘I agree with that part,’ he says, ‘I would take comic books over text books.’

Don't forget to check back because later in the week, I'm going to have more interviews and video!  I plan on being at the Fan Interactive Event, so if you can't make it to the event and there's anyone you'd like for me to interview let me know who it is and send me your questions and I'll try my best.

If you plan on attending Bound For Glory, or the TNA Fan Interactive Event, drop me a line!  And don't forget to upload your photos to the Geek Gallery!

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Good stuff. I think Shelley could be a really big star someday.

Thanks Jason, Hope you had a chance to check out the video piece the MCMGs did with me. It was a lot of fun and they were really cool to talk to. Alex and Chris have a great sense of comedic timing and had me in stitches before we even started recording. They totally owned the Steel Asylum Match at BFG too.

Elliott

Yes, it will be him and sabin VS the world the Guns are AWESOME!

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