:: Interviews

KT's "In The Black" featuring Slyk Wagner Brown
By Korbid Thompson

Recently, I had a chance to chat with independent star Slyk Wagner Brown, who has appeared in the WWF, as well as all over the East Coast with his sidekick, former nWo girl, April Hunter. The following is a play-by-play of that conversation...

KT: Slyk, great to have you aboard the Chair Shots website. For starters, I wanted to ask you about growing up in Jamaica. On your website, you mentioned that you have always wanted to be a wrestler. Did you get to see a lot of wrestling in Jamaica?

SWB: There wasn't any wrestling in Jamaica, but since coming to the states at a young age, my passion for wrestling grew. My aunt was a huge wrestling fan, so I watched it all the time.

KT: Are there many Jamaican people who aspire to be in the professional wrestling business? What would you tell those who are?

SWB: Today I would imagine so, because they do get the programming. I would definetly tell them to get here as soon as possible and join Kowalski's(wrestling school) at www.killerkowalskis.com.

KT: As far as your accent goes, when you were on Chair Shots 2 weeks ago, I didn't notice one. Are you able to disguise your accent at will, or it just comes out at any given time? Just from a personal experience that you already know of with me, usually, you can clearly hear the accent when a Jamaican person - especially a woman, is angry.

SWB: That's true, you do hear the accent when any woman is angry, especially a Jamaican woman. I came here at a young age, so I lost the accent rather quickly. I had a difficult time in school, because my accent was very thick and I had to write everything down. I didn't like that feeling, so I worked on impoving my English. Back then it wasn't cool to have an accent, but today it's totally the opposite, women love men with accents.

KT: I know that you came to America at age 10, but when you began your wrestling career, did you have a hard time when you were first starting out, because you weren't familiar with America, and some if its customs and so forth??

SWB: No, I was an amateur wrestler in high school making the switch to pro wrestling after graduation. So the only adjustment I had to make was working the left side of the body versus the right.

KT: Did anyone try to take advantage of you because of your background, and the fact that you weren't born here?

SWB: Not that I can remember, but I'm sure someone tried.

KT: Just to carry that over to your wrestling career, of the African-American wrestlers that I speak to, it's about 50-50 when we discuss if they came across any prejudice in the business. Some say yes, some no. My question to you is, over any time of your career as a Jamaican born wrestler, has anything prejudicial happened with you that has left a bad taste in your mouth about the wrestling business?

SWB: I had one issue with a local company, but I don't really know for sure if it had anything to do with the color of my skin. However, I've moved on and am doing great for myself. You can find the full story on my website www.slykwagnerbrown.net if interested, simply click on the first article, "Don't hate...appreciate!"

KT: As far as April Hunter is concerned, on her website, she mentioned about the two of you being an interracial team. Has that caused any problems with fans/promoters/other wrestlers, etc.?

SWB: Initially we proposed the idea to our previous employer who had us under independent contracts here in New England. However, he wasn't interested in the idea. He was more comfortable working her into an incestuous angle. In my opinion, I think more people, especially in the North, can relate to an interacial couple versus an incestuous one. (Ya think?) So we moved on and established ourselves all over the East coast instead. The fans love it, we try to be heels, but most of the time we somehow manage to come off as faces. The more we hate them, the more they love us.

KT: When you made your initial appearance in the WWF, how would you describe whatever interaction you had with Vince McMahon and Jim Ross?

SWB: I didn't meet Vince McMahon or Jim Ross. I delt with Kevin Kelly, Shane and Stephanie. Everyone was really cool, it's like one big happy family. Everyone works together to produce a great product.

KT: How long were you in the WWF actually, and if you could rate your experience from 1(worst) to 10 (best)?

SWB: I was never contracted, Kevin Kelly contacted me with the proposition of a skit on Smackdown. It was a one time appearance, and I had a great time. If I were to rate my experience, it would be a 10. I did my job, and they took care of me.

KT: You passed up a wrestling scholarship to join Killer Kowalski at his wrestling school. Do you have any regrets, or something you would have done differently during that time?

SWB: No way, whether I make it or I don't. The wrestling business has been good to me, and I'm happy with my decision.

KT: Tell us about your current character/gimmick, if you have one?

SWB: My character is cocky, arrogant, athletic, confident and thinks there's no one on God's green earth that's better than him.

KT: Have you talked at all with the XWF or another organization about possibly joining them?

SWB: I haven't had any talks with the XWF, but I have spoken with a couple others who are potentially looking to start something big in the near future. I can't talk about that at the moment, as they would like this information held confidential. Hopefully, great things will happen for Team SWB & Big Red in the future.

KT: Is there anything you would like to tell your fans about your future plans, whether they involve the WWF or otherwise?

SWB: Keep your eyes peeled for Team SWB & Big Red, that's us! April Hunter(www.aprilhunter.com) and SWB (www.slykwagnerbrown.net) Don't forget to check out our websites and sign up for our free newsletters, take care!

Thanks to: Slyk Wagner Brown