Fight Talk Podcast: Brett Ison Interview

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Brett Ison is an independent professional wrestler and the current SUP Bonestorm champion. I caught up with Brett on the Fight Talk Podcast to discuss what winning the title means to him, breaking into the business at the age of 15, his upcoming match against Nick Gage, his favorite matches, and much more!

Here are some highlights from our conversation on November 30, 2018:

SJ: What does it mean to you to hold the Southern Underground Pro Bonestorm (Heavyweight) championship?

BI: Many different things. For me, it was a personal goal. When a company puts a championship on you, it means that they trust you and believe in you. It’s a really big confidence boost for myself and proof of all the hard work that I’ve put in over the past four years. It just means a lot.

I claim four years just because I got into the business when I was 15 years old. I was in and out a lot. I was in a band and dislocated my knee playing a show in 2014. I came back into wrestling full-force shortly after that and got out of music.

 

SJ: Back when you were 15, where did you train at?

BI: Me and Jesse Butler (Righteous Jesse) and a couple other guys backyard wrestled. At the time, we knew a girl whose cousin was dating an independent wrestler in the area, so he came out to one of our shows. He picked the five of us that he thought had the most talent to train with him. I was one of them, Jesse was one, and we were all trained in his front yard. We worked outside in the sun, in dead summer. So, it was hot and miserable. As soon as you bumped, you got right up because laying on that mat just wasn’t an option because of how hot it was.

 

SJ: You have a long history with Jesse inside and outside of the ring. What’s it been like knowing him for so long and what’s it like actually wrestling him? Because you guys had a brutal match against each other that turned out to be one of my favorites in SUP history.

BI: 15 years of friendship. He’s my brother. Best friend. I’d kill somebody for him without hesitation. But as far as the match goes, we understand that the line needs to be blurred. That’s my whole thing, I like to blur the line.

 

SJ: You had a feud in SUP over the past year with The Carnies. What was it like wrestling those guys and essentially destroying them one-after-another?

BI: I’ve known Kerry Awful way longer than a lot of people because I knew him before wrestling. We actually used to go to metal, hardcore, and punk shows together. That’s how me, him, and Jesse all met. But it was awesome getting to work with those guys on a bigger scale than just a local show like in Tullahoma or Lewisburg. SUP is local for me just because of the distance, but because of all of the eyes that are on SUP now it meant a lot. I know that we told a great story and there was very real hatred there, because the history is there. I love those guys and they’ve helped me more than they’ll ever know. Kerry is always helping people. When they call him the “heart and soul of Tennessee wrestling,” it’s true.

 

SJ: What are your thoughts on wrestling B-Boy this Sunday?

BI: Kerry just brought B-Boy in for a seminar at Crux Wrestling. Benny (B-Boy) is a good dude and very down to earth. I learned a lot of shit that I didn’t know and learned a lot of stuff that I wanted to know. It was one of the better seminars that I’ve done, for sure. He’s one of my heroes.

 

SJ: You turned on your longtime partner O’Shay Edwards right after winning the SUP Bonestorm title. What was that all about?

BI: If you listen very carefully to what he says when he’s giving that heart-to-heart brother speech, the last line he says is: “If there’s anybody out there that deserves this more than you, then fuck ‘em.” O’Shay is my dude, and he understands that he deserves that belt as well. So, I fucked him.

 

SJ: What’s it like knowing that you’ll be wrestling Nick Gage at SUP in January? Have you ever wrestled him before?

BI: I haven’t. I’ve only had the pleasure of watching him on DVD and streaming sites. That’s it. I’ve never met the man. Heard a lot about him obviously. He’s actually one of the guys that’s on my bucket list. I know that it’s going to be violent and very, very real. I’m looking forward to it.

 

SJ: Gage has a ton of buzz online right now coming off of the match that went viral against David Arquette.

BI: That’s for sure. My dad texted me the morning after that match to ask me, “Hey… Aren’t you working Nick Gage?” I responded, “Yeah, in January”. He was like, “Okay, I trust you.”

 

SJ: What are your thoughts on what happened during that Gage vs. Arquette match?

BI: He (Arquette) got in there on like three days’ notice. I don’t think he knew everything that was going to happen. Him panicking, if that was the case, I can understand. Especially with him bleeding that much. Because if your heart’s pumping more, then your blood’s pumping more, which causes you to bleed more. That could cause him to “wig out” more. He came out and apologized for it and took full blame for it. Which I appreciate because death match wrestling gets a bad wrap anyway and it shouldn’t. When it’s done well, just like with everything within wrestling, perception is reality and art is subjective. Some people are going to like it and some won’t.

 

SJ: What’s your personal opinion of David Arquette being involved in the professional wrestling business as an active independent wrestler?

BI: I really don’t care because what he’s doing doesn’t directly affect me, although I’m pretty sure he’s STAB, haha. There are a lot of people that come into this business for the wrong reasons. I believe that he actually loves this business so I don’t mind him being in it. Whether he sucks in-ring or not, if this was his dream then he should for sure do it. Who’s to say that we can do it and he can’t?

 

SJ: One of the things I’m looking forward to most in 2019 is watching the continued growth of SUP. What y’all have been able to do and the crowds that you’re drawing in such a short amount of time is incredible.

BI: Yeah, I don’t want to say that it’s “mind-blowing” because the talent and everybody behind the scenes has that “one vision”. I didn’t think that it’d take off as much as it has. But I can sure-as-fuck tell you that I appreciate all of the support we get. Getting compared to the old ECW is one of those things you wanted to hear as a child. It’s very well done. I love the DIY feel that we have. It reminds me of the old hardcore, punk, and metal shows I used to go to. I don’t want to say that our crowd isn’t a wrestling crowd, but they aren’t the “normal” wrestling crowd to me.

 

SJ: The SoBros Network recently started selling your merchandise. What’s your relationship like with them and how did y’all link up?

BI: I knew John Mosley before he joined with them. So, I met all those guys through him. They literally just made me a shirt with a graphic that I designed and brought it to me. Those gentlemen are all lovely, lovely human beings. We talked the numbers and came up with an agreement. I like them because they’re local boys, they know what they like, and they support what they like. I appreciate any help I can get in this business. I was really slacking on merch and I know in this day-and-age it’s important. I used to like to “keep it heel” and not bring merch with me.

 

SJ: What’s your favorite match of all-time as a fan?

BI: From a child standpoint, The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian in the first tag team ladder match from No Mercy 1999. From a more recent standpoint, probably Eddie Kingston vs. Mike Quackenbush from Chikara High Noon.

 

SJ: What’s your favorite match that you’ve been a part of?

BI: I hold my dog collar match against Righteous Jesse at SUP’s “Headwalk Among Us” real close because of how personal it was. I’ve wrestled Tatanka at ASW in Lewisburg, and that was really cool. My match with Marko Stunt is probably my favorite right now, because of how special that moment of winning the title is to me. Marko is so different. He has something that others don’t. Marko, if you’re listening to this, I love you dude and I hope you get better soon.

Fight Talk Podcast Archives

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Stephen Jensen is the host of the Fight Talk Podcast and covers social media and news for MMA On Point. You can follow him on Twitter: @FightTalk_, Twitch, and of course, hit up the Fight Talk Shop on What A Maneuver!

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