The Baby Jesus of British Wrestling

Rockstar Spud, real name James Curtin, is now well on his way to becoming a household name in the UK; you guys in the good ol' USA will soon be finding out just how talented this little man is as he has just signed a contract with Total Non-stop Action (TNA) Wrestling. Here I will give you a brief backstory of his career and hopefully give you more reason to love Spud.

Spud was trained by Jack Storm, Chris Gillbert and "Charming" Don Charles and had his debut professional wrestling match back in 2001, aged just 18. Back then he was simply known as "Spud" because he hadn't developed the Rockstar gimmick, in fact he was a baby face underdog. He was generally facing much bigger guys in order to make them look better, which is quite easy when you stand at 5ft 3 and weigh a fraction over 9 stone (130lbs).

 

A short time after his debut he found himself being booked all over the place, with several British wrestling promotions along with US and European promotions taking an interest in him. In Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) he began what was possibly his very first feud with Ross Jordan. The feud started in 2005 in the Flyweight Championship Tournament and Spud and Ross were the last 2 men to remain in the competition. The winner would become the first ever FWA Flyweight Champion, and in the finals that title was awarded to Ross with no pinfall or submission taking place due to the referee stopping the match ruling that Spud could no longer continue the fight because of an injured leg.

 

The feud lasted approximately 14 months and ended at FWA Last Fight at the Prom on 30 September 2006 in a Last Man Standing match. Spud picked up the victory that night. Between the years of 2001 to 2009 Spud held several titles and began to "make it big" in British wrestling. In 2009 Spud decided to change his character, and calling himself "Rockstar Spud" he began to go to the ring with bodyguards, a band and groupies. His new gimmick was a throwback Rockstar with big hair and tight pants. He even had Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" as his entrance music. It was very clear that Spud had thought long and hard about this new venture and planned each part of it in great detail. This attention to detail is probably what has gotten him recognised as one of the greats in British wrestling.

 

Spud stepped outside the ring to appear on the UK TV show "Snog Marry Avoid?" which aired on BBC Three in January of 2011. Generally the show takes girls who wear way too much makeup and general 'fakery' and makes them under. In Spud's case he appeared in character and got a make under, obviously his character didn’t enjoy it and didn’t stick to it.

 

Throughout January 2013 TNA and Challenge TV aired a new show named "TNA British Boot Camp" in which Rockstar Spud was one of the contestants alongside his long-time rival "Party" Marty Scurll, and the pair that we thought would have won the show, The Blossom Twins, Hannah and Holly.

 

Within the show all 4 contestants were trained in several aspects of the wrestling business. First up was wrestling ability, being overseen by the wrestling legend Rockerball Rocco. They were also shown sides of the wrestling business that they may not have seen before as they all had interviews, TV appearances and such. In the penultimate episode of British Boot Camp the contestants appeared at TNA's biggest event of the year, Bound For Glory, and were told that they will appear on screen at some point and for an undetermined amount of time. When they all appeared it was clear that Spud stole the spotlight from the other 3.

 

This brings up to date with Spud; he won British Boot Camp and has appeared on the latest episode of Impact Wrestling (10th February 2013 UK, 7th February 2013 US). What lies ahead for him? Who knows… But I think I speak for most of us when I say we are really looking forward to seeing him wrestling some of the greatest athletes in the world.
 

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