Name: Stuart Rodgers
Age: 38
Hometown: Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom.
Known For: The Indy
Corner podcast & wrestlingslasthope.com
1. When did you first get into wrestling and what was the drew you to the sport?
I used to catch a bit of wrestling on TV in the late 80's,
World of Sport was shown here in the UK and every now and then they would show
a WWF show or match. However, in 1990 we got SKY TV and it was the WWF that caught
my eye and I've been hooked to wrestling ever since. SummerSlam '90 was the
first PPV I saw. I went to video shops and rented VHS tapes of WWF and would
eventually discover WCW on late night TV. From here I wanted to check out all
kinds of wrestling and via tape traders I began to watch ECW and promotions
from Japan such as NJPW, AJPW & FMW.
2. Tell us a little about Indy Corner Podcast and how that came about?
I'd been a fan of indy wrestling for years and after watching
the APW King of Indies show I was into it even more. Following this show ROH
was born. It was about this time in 2002 I'd lost interest in WWF/WWE and
focused mainly on the indies and some of the Japanese stuff. Now, I'd listened
to many podcasts but they didn't fulfill my needs as a fan and much like with newsletters back in the early 2000's didn't, I thought the only way to combat it
is do my own. I'd say it was maybe 2011 when I got The Indy Corner as part of a
British podcast, which basically focused on WWE & TNA but that didn't work
out. Again in a similar vein, I went to hook up with another podcast but for
various reasons that didn't last. I thought, at this point, I'd need to go alone
but didn't have the first clue of how. I got speaking to a guy who ran his own
and was a fan of the indies & the British scene. I was asking for tips etc, and then we agreed we'd do The Indy Corner together. He would produce the show,
you know, do the technical side of things. I was able to set up many
interviews, in one ten day period interviewed for the show was Johnny Gargano,
Davey Richards & 'Prince' Fergal Devitt.
Alas, there was a fall out after a good 6 month run and we
parted ways and I thought The Indy Corner was dead but I got the itch to talk
indy wrestling so looked into trying to do it on my own. And that is where I am
now, 19 episodes in of doing it alone. Every now and then I'll have a co-host
on. So far I have interviewed the likes of Ricochet, Samuray Del Sol, British
workers Grado, MK McKinnan & more.
3. Which indy promotions should we be checking out at the moment and in your opinion which wrestlers are the hottest on the scene right now?
OK in the US, by far the best indy promotion is Pro
Wrestling Guerrilla, they run out of Reseda, CA and never fail to impress. I've
been an avid follower of ROH since that first show in 2002 but sometimes it's
hard. DGUSA will also pop up with some very good stuff too.
As for here in the UK, Fight Club: PRO out of Wolverhampton
are the promotion I put first, but other excellent promotions are Southside
Wrestling, 4FW, Revolution Pro Wrestling, IPW-UK & Preston City Wrestling.
There are a lot of promotions getting off the ground such as House Of Pain:
Evolution, Pro Wrestling Kingdom & Kamikaze Pro which I'm sure are going to
do great things.
As for top guys, it's no secret I'm a big mark for MK McKinnan
as well as Noam Dar, 'Dynamite' Pete Dunne, Kris Travis, Mark Haskins, honestly I
could go on and on, the UK guys right now are unbelievable. Over in the US, I'm
a big fan of Ricochet, The Young Bucks & Davey Richards.
4. What are your Top Three matches of all time?
WOW, such a hard question and I think I'll give you three
from different times. The first has to be from ROH's Showdown in The Sun
between Davey Richards & Michael Elgin. From Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan
Mitsuharu Misawa had a great battle with Kenta Kobashi in early 2003 which I
loved. Many say the 2 guys had better matches in AJPW in the 90's but I loved
this one. And from the WWF I loved the Austin/Hart match from Wrestle Mania 13,
I don't need to say anything about that, I'm sure your readers have seen it.
5. Where can our readers find your work and what have you got coming up?
OK, the podcast can be found over at theindycorner.podomatic.com I've just changed servers so only the last episode can be found there. The show is on iTunes too. Please follow me on twitter @TheIndyCorner I'm always talking indy wrestling and if you can, please LIKE the Facebook page.
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We'd like to thank Stuart Rodgers of The Indy Corner for this fantastic interview.
Also this week: "The Promise" Antonio Thomas!
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