Scorpio Sky is a podcaster and professional wrestler signed to AEW. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about Double or Nothing, full capacity crowds returning to All Elite Wrestling, the break up of SCU (SoCal Uncensored), partnering with Ethan Page, his sense of style, the biggest influence in his career, his Mixed Martial Arts career and much more!
On what’s changed the most for him as a person:
“I think I have grown as a performer. I felt like I was a very good performer heading into the beginning stages of AEW. But I’ve learned a lot from Ricky and Chris. Now I’ve been able to work with guys like Dean Malenko and Jerry Lynn and Arn Anderson. And just performing, you’re going to learn so much by just getting out there and performing. I have grown so much and I still have a long way to go.”
On what he applies to every match:
“They talk about it a lot in basketball, when things start to click, the game slows down for them. That’s how it is for me in wrestling. It’s slowed down a lot for me, you can just see things coming. It’s like in the fight game you can see punches coming and you can slip them. Now I’ve become so calm in the ring, there’s no jitters. I don’t really get nervous before I go to the ring. There are times where I will fly into the town and head straight to the building. From the time I am walking onto the ground at Daily’s Place, I might be in the ring 15-20 minutes later. Sometimes there’s no warm up you just jump in. But I am so calm with myself and the people that I am with that I don’t really worry about it at all.”
On how excited he is to have fans back for Double or Nothing:
“Almost as excited as I am to leave it in July. I’m very happy with Daily’s Place, it has been a great home for us. But I’m very excited to get back on the road and fill some arenas like we used to. That’s why I got into the business, to put on the kind of shows we put on before the pandemic. But Double or Nothing is going to be awesome, it’s going to be great to fill that place up. I can’t imagine what that will look like filled up. I’ve gotten so use to pandemic wrestling. I keep looking ringside and seeing Austin Gunn. I’m very excited to not see Austin in the front row.”
On praise for AEW fans:
“A lot of people forget that one of the best things about this company was the fanbase. It was the reason why this company started. The fans have such a passion and a fire. It’s exciting to get back in front of them. I can’t say enough how exciting it’s going to be.”
On his partnership with Ethan Page:
“I don’t know if its because they decided to put the two best dressed guys together [laughs]. But we bounce off of each other well. The funny thing is he has his style and I have mine. They are different but at the same time they go together. We don’t plan it, we just wear what we wear and stand next to each other. It all just falls into place, we have this weird chemistry I didn’t see coming. People didn’t get it when they put us together. But it’s working. Sometimes magic just happens.”
On being a heel:
“It’s so much more fun being the bad guy. People look at me and think ‘Oh he’s such a nice guy, he’s a natural babyface.’ But everyone has different sides to them. I am a legitimately a nice guy, which makes you a bad guy in this day and age. People don’t like the nice guy. It’s very easy for me to go out there, smile and be like I’m a better athlete than most the guys I am in the ring with. The fans will look for reasons to down play my talent, but I’m going to out perform everyone.”
On mainly being complemented for just being a good athlete:
“They tend to describe black performers in sports as great athletes. I don’t take that as an insult, I believe that is a great compliment. But that’s not all we are. I will read tweets and things that people write from time to time. I don’t want to be just known as a great athlete, people already know that. I’m also a great wrestler and great performer, it’s just one of those things. When they write about Adam Page, they will say he’s got a lot of charisma. It’s never just he is a great athlete. That’s a narrative I want to call attention to and start changing. We are more than athletes.”
On the shift to MMA:
“It was always something I just wanted to do. I always loved MMA as a kid and martial arts in general. I always wanted to fight, but I got so wrapped up in wrestling. So I’m like let me do this before I get too old. That’s when I started, I got linked with a great team who I am still close with. I’m really competitive, there’s nothing like going out there and stepping into a cage. Even training for the fight and earning it. I can’t tell you what the rush of winning is like. It’s like a drug without putting anything in your body.”
On possibly continuing a MMA career:
“It’s not a likely chance I will fight again but if the right opportunity comes along I will. I had multiple fights lined up that guys pulled out of. That was one of the things that frustrated me about the sport. You take the fight, train for 6 to 8 weeks and a week before the guy pulls out. They won’t say why he pulled out and there isn’t a replacement. So then it’s like can you go up 2 weight classes and fight someone that is 50lbs bigger than you. That happened to me a lot. I had 2 or 3 fights that fell through. There was that and trying to refocus with wrestling, it is impossible to try and train for a fight while you’re on the road.”
On his goals to be champion:
“If you don’t want to be a champion then what are you doing. I get that winning a championship in NBA is different to winning a championship in professional wrestling. It’s like getting an Emmy, it’s an award. It’s also that the company has their trust in you. Also, people will not see you as a high level performer until you are a champion.”
On what he is grateful for:
“My health, that I am able to live the dream and the people around me.”
Scorpio Sky can be found on Instagram here.
Featured image: Instagram
