Man Like Dereiss has been on fire for quite some time. Whether it’s been as a tag or singles competitor, the man from 0121 has been wowing fans both sides of the pond, recently returning from a solid stint at both GCW and JCW.
Now, back on home shores, and whilst preparing for a big match against Yoichi at PROGRESS Wrestling’s upcoming show, Chapter 163: Twisted Metal, PWMania.com‘s Lee Tarrier (@leeseedub) got the chance to speak to Dereiss, asking him about his career so far, the big match at Chapter 163 and his hopes for the whole of 2024.
You can check out the complete interview below:
The year has started of very big for you with appearances across the states for promotions like GCW, you’ve got some dates with SovPro and Kamikaze and of course, a big match at Twisted Metal against Yoichi to come on Feb 25th. How do you feel 2024 has begun for you?
I’m very happy about with how it has gone, because I remember I said to Sha Samuels last year when we was grafting and training, that this may not all pay off right now, but it will pay off in the future and now I think it is and the wheels have been in motion for some while now.
I also think this has been my best tour of the USA so far 100% I was there for Mania week last year, but it was so chaotic. It was great in November and I thought, how could I top that, and I think I did. I just had great times and I met loads of people and had great opponents in Chris Bey, Sam Stackhouse, Masha Slamovich. I felt like I was able to really let the USA know who I am and make my mark.
There’s been great success in tag team wrestling, with Dan Maloney, Leon Slater to name just a couple. But it feels like you have a real strength in singles wrestling. Is that where you see yourself going forward?
I’d like to be ready for any scenario that is put in front of me. I like to think of myself as a versatile wrestler. I’ve wrestled wrestle in tag and singles divisions, I’ve wrestled at big indie shows, on the camps and in front of the hardcore and the families. So I’d like to be versatile and do it all.
I love tagging with Leon and Dan. So I wouldn’t want to say I want to move away from that. But at the same time, I want to win singles championships. I want to win tournaments. I want to just get as far in this as possible, in any way possible.
I’ve had some great trainers to help me and to guide me and teach me along the way and I think from 2021 onwards, I’ve really been able to grow, learn and do so much. I just want to keep going now.
Being part of many promotions up and down the country, what state do you think British Independent Wrestling is in at the moment?
I feel like it’s definitely on the way up. There was obviously the big boom period in like the late 2010s and then we had like, a lot of people went on to big international companies. So I feel like at the start of 2021, all the rest of us came out of the pandemic and Speaking Out and we got back to basics again, even though we had a good foundation to build on.
So I feel like we’ve been working relentlessly to bring the same feel back to British wrestling, people like me, Dan Maloney, Leon Slater, Omari, Young Guns, Sunshine Machine, Millie McKenzie, I’ll be here naming names all day.
But for the guys who were here at the start of 2021, the grafters, we know who they are, they know who they are and there is a lot of respect out there for them all for working so hard.
It’s been great to be part of the PROGRESS rebuild. It reminds me of when Wenger left Arsenal. We are getting the parts all back together to make something big. I really, really start to feel like things are falling into place now and we’re ready to get this as far as possible. I feel like we’ve got the ingredients. Now we just need to cook up a storm.
What do you know about Yoichi going into the big match at Twisted Metal and how do you think things will play out?
I want to wrestle the best wrestlers on the planet. I’ve had the chance to take on some great names. Luke Jacobs, Matt Cardona, Swerve Strickland, Lio Rush, who was the reason I wanted to get into independent wrestling.
They are the names I want to keep competing against. Serious wrestlers. And Yoichi is a serious wrestler. He’s real, he works hard, he’s in good shape and he wants it a lot like me. For me to keep continuing to take on those big names I mentioned, I got to beat serious opponents like Yoichi, so I look forward to it.
Dereiss is one to watch on the independent scene for sure. He has the qualities to go to the very top and we can’t to see how the next stage of his career pans out, starting on Sunday Feb 25th at PROGRESS Chapter 163: Twisted Metal.
Tickets for the show are available at https://progresswrestling.com/tickets/
