Ace Austin is grateful he’s had Tommy Dreamer in his corner.
During a recent interview with WrestleZone, Ace Austin was asked about what it’s been like being able to evolve and have somebody like Tommy Dreamer see his progression along the way. Austin got his start in the business by making appearances for companies like CZW and House Of Hardcore, the latter of which was owned by Tommy Dreamer.
Austin said that he’s been grateful that he got to meet his heroes because they’ve since become his peers and friends.
“My first big match against ‘name guys’ was me and this guy AJ Evers versus Danny Doring and Nunzio. It was at this local indie show in Pennsylvania, I think it was August 2016. I had this match, and afterward Danny Doring came to me in the back and he said, ‘You know what, man? I don’t really like doing a lot of indie shows, but you like I had a lot of fun tonight, so thank you for that.’ He was like, ‘I’m going to tell [Tommy] Dreamer about you because we do this House of Hardcore thing in Philly and yada yada.’
“He’s the first person to drop my name to Dreamer, and then Dreamer kind of had his eyes on me after that. Then when I built my relationship with Sami Callihan out in the Midwest, that was just kind of him and Sami have this connection. So it almost made it, it elevated me in Tommy’s eyes that I was getting over with Sami, and then Tommy finally gave me opportunities out with House of Hardcore, and it all just worked out really well.
“Tommy’s been one of the longest consistent peers I’ve really had to look to for so many years now, and it’s awesome getting to speak to him on like a person-to-person level is really kind of unbelievable, especially looking at it from a perspective of being a kid, being a fan. But yeah, he’s been pivotal. He’s always been a great source of knowledge and, and advice. So definitely always, always been helpful.”
