Going Broadway 02.07.12: John Skyler’s Journey To Resistance Pro

It was last November. I’m standing in the midst of The Barbarian. The same Barbarian that I grew up watching on WWF Superstars and my taped copy of Wrestlemania 7. He’s got a full wad of dip in his mouth and hell of a lot of story. A great interview. Funny as hell. Completely devoid of ego. This alone would have made the trip down to Charleston worth while.

That’s when I look over to the right, and see John Skyler (real name John Brumbaugh) leaning against a locker in the Goose Creek gymnasium. He wears a ball cap, a flannel shirt, face full of beard, and a smirk right off the cover of Cool Hand Luke.

Since following the trail of independent wrestling in South Carolina, I keep running into this guy at every show. His big feud throughout 2011 being the classic mentor-protege angle with his former trainer, Bob Keller, where he took a page right out of Tom Cruise’s “Vincent” character from The Color of Money by playing the arrogant youth. Skyler won the feud when he forced Keller to retire as the stipulation of their final match. He hasn’t looked back since.

I figure “what the hell?” No need to get out of my hometown so quick. I get to talking with Skyler. I find out he’s had to burn the midnight oil to get from West Virginia to South Carolina for this show tonight. He’s operating on five hours of sleep over the last forty eight and a healthy regiment of energy drinks. But it doesn’t hinder the conversation about how this guy went from soft spoken wrestling fan to arguably one of the biggest heels in the Carolinas.

Skyler started his training back in 2008 under the watchful eye of Keller, who Skyler had actually met as a fifth grader at a wrestling show. It started as the typical wrestler’s training. Lots of bumps, lots of conditioning, lots of dues to pay. Skyler’s dues came in the form of merchandise hawker and ring crew assistant at first. Not hard to imagine his anticipation to finally to get work a show rather than work on a show.

The opportunity would finally come months later, but it almost seemed like a ribbing at the time.

“I remember it clear as day. I’m sitting at the table making a sale on a Taka Michinoku and Ahmed Johnson figure when Bob comes up to me and asks me if I’m nervous. I ask him ‘why?’ He says to me ‘Because I’d be nervous if I had to wrestle Bill Bain.’ Honestly, I thought he was joking at the time.”

It was not a joke. Skyler would begin his wrestling career in a small West Virginia town against Bain. Having had to piece together his wrestling attire from some of the other guys on the card, Skyler quieted his nerves and prepared for an epic baptism by fire.

He was squashed in three minutes.

…

On this night, Skyler has teamed with former WCW superstar Lodi in an alternate reformation of the West Hollywood Blondes (replacing Hollywood with Skylerwood) in a tag match against Barbarian and another local Charleston competitor. It’s a simple match by design. Skyler and Lodi avoid their opponents for a good five minutes before finally locking up.In the meantime, they incense the crowd with the same ambiguous behavior Lodi and Lenny displayed in WCW which churned their notoriety. The Goose Creek crowd eats it up. They even get Barbarian to lead a chant of “You are gay!” Brilliant.

Once they get going it’s an ABC match. Predictably, Barbarian’s team comes out on top in the main event, which is expected for a charity-benefit show.

We spend awhile talking about what the future holds for Skyler. He’s a workaholic when it comes to the road, like a wild west gunfighter constantly looking for new territories to expand to. His resume already includes training with Japanese starts CIMA, Akira Tozawa, and Naruki Doi at Dragon Gate USA, even competing in the NWA Future Legends Cup the last couple of years. Even while we’re talking, Barbarian, who has added yet another pinch of tobacco to the wad in his mouth, leans over and recruits Skyler for a future show. (With only vague details discussed, I’d like to think they’re secretly going to bust Warlord or Meng out of a gulag.)

The last thing we end up talking about is what Skyler’s goal is for the next three years. It’s a pretty dumb shit question, though. What does every wrestler want, including Skyler? To make a living wrestling without having to work any other job to get by. The same thing actors strive for. Regardless, it is not the easiest mantle to achieve without a combination of tenacity and good fortune. You want to think it’s possible. You know it’s possible. That’s how many of our idols in various crafts break through the glass ceiling.

But Skyler is also excited about finishing college with his degree in Middle Level Education from University of South Carolina. As much as he loves wrestling, he’s steadfast about having something to fall back on. The thing is, though, you kind of get the feeling he won’t have to.

…

Three months later.

Stale coffee at work.

A quarter short at the vending machine.

I check the Twitter updates on my break. The usual levity. Cranky Vince, Al Snow, and the rants about Pittsburgh sports from Mark Madden. But then I come across something interesting.

Resistance Pro, the promotion fronted by Billy Corgan expanded its roster, and what do you know, but John Skyler is one of the acquisitions. Right on, man.

I instantly start messaging him to not only congratulate him but also get the details about how everything came about with this opportunity.

As it goes, not even a week after when we last talked at the November show, he appeared on a card in Hendersonville, North Carolina that was being evaluated by everyone’s favorite Interim General Manager of RAW, John Laurinaitis. Watching over in his EVP of Talent Relations role, Laurinaitis gave high praise to Skyler, comparing his work in the ring to Chis Jericho and Daniel Bryan. A definite contact for the future.

After a couple more appearances in the Carolinas including Pro Wrestling EVO’s Second Annual EVO 8 tournament, Skyler set forth on a road trip up north with Steven “The Fever” Walters for a show with the New York Wrestling Connection, a promotion that the likes of Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Trent Baretta, Amazing Red, and Matt Striker all came up through.

Ten inches of snow and a hole in the wall hotel are what Skyler had to look forward to in his first visit to the Big Apple. But right there across the street sat Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of professional wrestling. It gave him this moment to take in, as to wonder what was next in his career. It was one thing to talk about making a living exclusively as a wrestler, but to work the Garden, he couldn’t help but think about potentially being apart of the grandest stage of them all.

But ultimately, he was there to work, and the challenge was trying to entertain a critical, rambunctious crowd of 200 New Yorkers used to witnessing high caliber talent. That night, Skyler and Walters got to work Amazing Red and Papadon, and being it was Red’s first return to the area in awhile, the crowd was even more welcoming, even though most of their pops came from Skyler and Walters being on the receiving end of Red more times than not.

Their showing was a success, and the proof was in the high compliments of wrestling veteran Mikey Whipwreck, who runs the school that funnels talent into the New York Wrestling Connection. Their meeting was so fruitful that Whipwreck actually got Skyler his breakthrough to Resistance Pro.

Months previous, Skyler had been contacting the promotion about getting on the card for their first show but had not received any response back. Whipwreck’s high praise put Skyler and Walters over with Corgan and the bookers, which resulted in a timely text message the next day after the two had returned from New York.

“It was very surreal when I found out. I had been coming off the long travel to and from New York, so I pretty tired anyway. I just kind of sat there and let it all sink in. I kept checking back to make sure I was really booked on the show.”

He had made it. Well, sort of, in a way. Resistance Pro, bolstered by Corgan’s celebrity status and noteworthy roster are only new on the independent scene of wrestling, but already have garnered a lot of attention for their solid shows and bullish commitment to wrestler safety in the area of addressing concussions.

A young talent like Skyler will thrive in the bigger wrestling market. But still after everything that’s happened in the way of good fortune, he still won’t leave his southern roots behind. Obviously with a schedule that will direct more of his attention up north, Skyler still looks to make his appearances in the Carolinas in promotions such as CWA and OSCW. But for now, the bigger pictures is centered in the Windy City.

“I have a downtown apartment in Columbia, SC that overlooks the city skyline, and I just kind of went outside and overlooked the downtown area for a few minutes… and then I realized if I was going to Chicago, I better start doing my laundry.”

Skyler will make his debut with Resistance Pro on February 17th at their Vicious Circle event against former CZW Heavyweight Champion “The Ego” Robert Anthony (formerly Egotistico Fantastico). Then, on February 26th, he will return to Charleston to face hardcore legend Al Snow.