Thom Latimer is excited about the possibilities that await at NWA Samhain.
Latimer spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of his title match against EC3 at NWA Samhain. Latimer and EC3 have known each other for many years. They have also previously squared off six times in NWA, including matches for the NWA TV and NWA National Heavyweight titles.
Now, they will compete for EC3’s World Heavyweight Championship, and Latimer says he’s in a must-win situation.
“Me and EC3 have known each other pretty much since I stepped off the plane and got to America in 2010. So we’ve always crossed paths and always been in the same locker room, whether it was at FCW, NXT or TNA, and now NWA. So, we’ve thrown down quite a few times in all those in all those places, but now he’s obviously the ‘Over Man.’ He’s the man that I need to beat.
“Going into that, knowing that we’re in his hometown, the advantage, you could say, is on his side. But I got my wife [Kamille] with me, so that’s my, not backup plan, but I’m saying, I feel like that helps level out the odds to some degree. My wife wants what’s best for me, what’s best for us. She’s someone that I want to cross, so just knowing the fact that she’s there for me makes me feel better.”
High Expectations
Latimer praised EC3’s creative chops and said he’s excited for the match. This will be EC3’s first major title defense, and there’s a lot at stake for both of them.
“I’m sure that he’s eager to keep the title. I’m eager to get it because I had to beat seven people in a row for this opportunity,” he explained. “I think we both have high expectations and both want to walk out victorious.”
Happy Haunts
NWA Samhain takes its name from the Gaelic festival that inspired Halloween. The phrase is also mentioned in the Halloween film franchise, and was also the band fronted by Glenn Danzig. Thom Latimer said he’s more of a true crime fan than a slasher movie buff, but he likes the spooky elements that Halloween can add to a wrestling event like NWA Samhain.
“There’s a level of you want to be different, so being different is good. I don’t think you want to be so different that you sort of alienate people or have them scratch their heads and wonder what it is. So there’s always that fine line where you’ve got to be careful,” Latimer noted. “Wrestling kind of needs to be A to B to Z, good versus evil, easy enough storytelling things paying off, things making sense, continuity, things like that. So it’s good, but then also like you say, you’ve got to be careful with how wacky and out there you get.
“I think it will be an exciting, fun pay-per-view. I don’t know what’s going on or how it’s going to be presented. But I do hope that it is presented in more of a Halloween-esque fashion,” he pointed out. “I think it’s also a perfect time where you can get away with maybe being a little bit kooky and spooky and people being a little bit more accepting of it. So, I feel like the more we could lean on into that [for the pay-per-view format], the more fun it probably could be. I love a bit of smoke and mirrors and weirdness.”
NWA Samhain takes place on October 28 at TempleLive in Cleveland, Ohio. The event is also available on FITE.
Watch our full interview with Thom Latimer below:
