WWE released Big Damo, formerly known as Killian Dain, on June 25, and at the time, Damo stated that, due to his departure, the “chip is back on my shoulder.”
In a recent interview with WrestleZone, Damo emphasized that he’s just getting started; as soon as he’s able to, he wants get back to work. Damo noted that he has “reignited” his work as a trainer since his release because he has been doing his best to stay active despite the work visa issues that are preventing him from working professionally.
“One of the most exciting parts about this journey that I’ve had so far is that I’ve been able to get to so many places in the world, but there’s still places I want to go to, there’s still places I want to see, there’s people I want to wrestle,” said Damo. “I kinda have the, almost no excuse in so far as to do a lot of things.
“I’ve been making sure to be as active as possible and then obviously with the world about to reopen again, touch wood as best I can, then it’ll be a lot easier for me. But my main issue is I’m a foreigner living in the USA so there’s still legal hurdles I have to make before I can get anywhere. That could be sorted within a week, it could be sorted within a couple of months and sadly that’s the reality of the situation. I’m here legally, but I won’t be able to work legally just for a little time yet, and that is something that we’re hoping to get sorted ASAP….I’m really excited for what’s next.”
Damo then made it clear that he’s looking forward to returning to Europe, something he hasn’t been able to do due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and visiting the wrestling scene over there The landscape has changed a lot since his last visit, and he stated that he’s eager to meet the new crop of talented European wrestlers.
“When I am able to get out and start doing this professionally again, I’m very excited to see who I’m gonna meet and who’s the next crop of talent coming through,” said Damo. “And that’s one of the things I’m really looking forward to about getting back to Europe is seeing all the guys who were there when I left and who’s coming through next and who’s got the determination to get the next level. So I’m really excited about that aspect of it, and I’m kind of champing at the bit to get going because there’s a lot of things I want to do.”
As for how he’ll present himself as a character moving forward, Damo stated that while he enjoyed playing stoic tough guy in WWE, he want to do something entirely different once he can wrestle again. He described how he appreciates having this challenging opportunity to reinvent himself.
“In so far as what my character’s gonna be after this, it’s gonna be my invention, and that’s gonna be fun because one of the hardest parts about being in this is, we’re characters in their soap opera,” said Damo. “And it’s a lot of fun a lot of the time she there is a lot of freedoms in different ways but realistically, the emphasis is gonna be on me to come up with something that people are gonna be interested in seeing and that’s what I’m excited about the challenge.”
Damo then noted how, years ago, he found a character/persona that worked for him as “The Beast of Belfast”; being a hairy monster helped him stand out in a wrestling world where nobody else looked remotely similar to him.
“The journey it took me to even figure out that I wanted to be ‘The Beast of Belfast’ took me years and years and years,” said Dain. “It was, I’d been wrestling eight years or nine years by the time that I really figured out that I wanted to be the monster. Before that, I was just a clean-cut guy. I was into powerlifting and that was it. That was the only thing that made me different at all to anybody else.
“[But being called ‘The Beast of Belfast’] was the click that I needed. I grew out my body hair, my hair, my beard, all these things that nobody was doing at the time. And I was able to find a part of the market that thankfully was lacking, and it worked for me then.”
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But the exciting thing for me now is a lot of people are hairy and are bearded and all these things and I have to start thinking of something that’s a little bit different, a little bit more unique. Going forward, I have to take a long look at myself in the mirror and figure out what or how I want to present myself. Because you need to stand out again and that’s one of the scariest but most exciting parts of the next chapter, the next step is like there is no excuses, it’s all on me. And that is one of the coolest parts about this industry. The coolest part is for me is I get to go and find this all over again and fall in love with it again.
The full interview is available here:
