Big Damo On His NJPW Debut: I’m ‘Delighted’ For The Opportunity, I’ve Been ‘Obsessed’ With Japanese Wrestling

Big Damo, formerly known as Killian Dain, is hitting the ground running now that he can wrestle in the United States again, as he’ll be in the spotlight when he faces John Skyler at NJPW Strong Style Evolved on March 20.

This bout won’t be Damo’s first match stateside since his WWE release last year; he recently faced Eddie Kingston at DEFY Wrestling’s Defyant Nights, and the powerhouse was also in action at the Control Your Narrative show in Orlando earlier this month. Still, Damo’s NJPW debut offers him the chance to compete on an absolutely star-studded show for a company whose style he has appreciated for a long time.

In a new interview with WrestleZone, Damo previewed his match with Skyler and discussed his previous experience working with NJPW wrestlers at a RevPro show. He recalled how he shared the ring with three of the promotion’s top stars in Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Shinsuke Nakamura.

“You know, I’ve been very blessed,” said Damo. “In my early career, I managed to work with a lot of the New Japan guys with RevPro over in the UK. It was like New Japan versus The World, and I got the chance to get in there with Ishii, Tanahashi, and Nakamura. So I’ve been obsessed with New Japan or Japanese wrestling for the best part of 20 years anyway. And I remember like I watched the G1 25 climax and it was Tanahashi versus Nakamura, it was this incredible match. And I find out that I’m wrestling the two of them, and I’m like, ‘Oh for god’s sake [laughs].

“But like that was a really good opportunity for me, especially like you know, Tomohiro Ishii’s one of the most incredible talents, so it was great to get a chance to get in there with him, especially with his experience.”

Damo went on to several years with WWE; he signed with the promotion in 2016, and he competed on the NXT brand until his release, which came during a wave of budget cuts, in June 2021. Several months into the next chapter of his career, Damo now has the opportunity to wrestle for NJPW, which will allow him to reunite with several of his friends and compete alongside a roster that features remarkable talent from all over the world. While the card for Sunday’s show is filled with exciting bouts, Damo fully intends to deliver an outstanding performance.

“I’m gonna be wrestling for New Japan here in America, and I’m delighted because it’s one of the companies I had to reach out to because I absolutely love what they’re doing there,” said Damo. “I’ve actually got a lot of great friends who are there right now, and I’m delighted to get a chance there. I know they’ve got this incredible stacked roster. They’re using people from all over America here and Australia and everything else.

“So [I’m] obviously delighted to get an opportunity there and it’s gonna be great to get in there with John Skyler, who’s a journeyman himself. So the two of us are gonna be in there to try and prove a point, get everybody looking at us. So it might be a hell of a card for March 20, but we’re gonna do our very best to steal the show.”

On the card for NJPW Strong Style Evolved, Damo joins JONAH (Bronson Reed), Shane Haste (Shane Thorne), Buddy Matthews (Murphy), Swerve Strickland (Isaiah Scott), and Blak Christian (Trey Baxter) as former WWE Superstars who were released due to budget cuts last year. When asked whether NJPW STRONG is a chance for these talented individuals to have a “coming out party” after their releases, Damo explained that any high-profile match is a chance to do so. He noted that, along with the rest of the group, he’s looking forward to taking what he learned in his WWE career and using it to thrive from here on out.

“I think for a lot of us, like pretty much every opportunity we have outside is that advertisement that you want to put on for yourself and showcase yourself to the world,” said Damo. “But absolutely, something like New Japan STRONG gives you the opportunity in front of anybody who’s watching New Japan World and then anybody who’s at all a fan of Japanese wrestling, they’re gonna tune in.

“But for us personally, myself, Shane Thorne, Jonah, guys like that, who have left the company in the last year, the realization that like it’s all on you, it’s all on your shoulders, like there’s no restrictions and the beauty of it is, you get to go in there with what you’ve learned, what you’ve taken from the company, with what you know and what you know works, and you have to put it all together, and that’s what has been really exciting for me, personally, and I’m sure it’s gonna be the same for them. I’m very excited to get in there and I think for all of us, I think we’re all gonna try to go in there and put on a hell of a show.”

If Strong Style Evolved is the first of multiple NJPW shows for Damo, he has several dream matches on his list; he described how he’s hoping to face KENTA and get another chance to wrestle Tanahashi. The powerhouse also expressed his interest in potential bouts with Kazuchika and Will Ospreay, two of the best wrestlers in the world. These are just a few of the many possibilities that would be available to Damo; he admires the “stacked” roster and believes that it’s unmatched in its depth of talent. “The Beast of Belfast” ultimately made it clear that he would eagerly capitalize on any opportunity to wrestle for NJPW again, just as he’ll aim to make the most of his spot on the card on March 20.

“There’s just so many right now, including the legends and everything else,” said Damo. “So listen, I don’t think that there’s ever been a stronger roster either stateside or in Japan so for me, personally, there’d be a lot of huge matches and if the opportunity comes up, I’ll take it with both hands, and that’s what’s gonna happen March 20.”

Fans can catch Damo’s match with Skyler on a future episode of NJW STRONG; Strong Style Evolved will air on the show over the next several weeks. The card is as follows:

• Hikuleo vs. Andy Brown
• Big Damo vs. John Skyler
• Josh Alexander vs. Karl Fredericks
• FinJuice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) vs. Jonah and Shane Haste
• STRONG Openweight Championship: Tom Lawlor (c) vs. Clark Connors
• Fred Rosser and Eddie Kingston vs. Fred Yehi and Daniel Garcia
• Buddy Matthews vs. Yuya Uemura
• Rocky Romero and Wheeler Yuta vs. JR Kratos and Black Tiger
• Jay White’s U-S-of-Jay Open Challenge: Jay White vs. Chris Sabin
• Shane “Swerve” Strickland vs. Blake Christian
• TJP vs. Mascara Dorada
• Jay Lethal vs. Ren Narita

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