Marty Scurll Explains His Outfit & Why He Carries an Umbrella

– Marty Scurll recently spoke with njpw1972.com, here are the highlights…

On The Difference Between He & Will Ospreay: “There is a difference between myself and Will Ospreay. Will is obviously a hell of an athlete, can do things in the ring no one else can do, and is an out-of-this-world talent. In that sense, I respect him. But at the same time, Will is not a great representation of my country. I may not be able to do half of the things he can in the ring, but the truth is, if the fans are given the choice to watch Marty Scurll or Will Ospreay, they’re going to choose to invest in me. Because I am authentic, real, organic. Those words I mentioned before about New Japan are also true for The Villain. When they see me, they know what they see is what they get. Do I have a chip on my shoulder? Absolutely! But people like that. With Ospreay, once you get passed how amazing and athletic he is in the ring, there’s not a lot of substance or depth. But with The Villain, there are a lot of layers. New Japan fans are just starting to see it now.”

On UK Wrestlers Coming to Japan: “Britain has always had amazing wrestlers that have gone on to make a name for themselves. Especially here in New Japan, there were guys like Dynamite Kid, Steven Regal, and the original Black Tiger, Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco, who actually had a hand in training me. They made a name for themselves here because they excelled in that European style, which no one in Japan had seen before. But British wrestling went into a slump for a while when it was taken off TV. It’s taken a long time for the previous and current generation to build it back up to what it is today. I’ve wrestled in front of 10 to 20 people for very little money [Laughs], so I’ve seen it all! That’s how I started out. So it’s very humbling for me to be given such a platform here at New Japan to do what I love.”

On His Outfit & Umbrella: “The umbrella is a token of my country, which I am always proud to represent. If you look at Will Ospreay’s gear, or especially Zack Sabre Jr.’s gear, you’ll see they’re covered in the Union Jack, the British flag. I didn’t want to be as obvious as that, I wanted to be more subtle. Just like my whole approach to wrestling, I wanted to be different. To do things others haven’t. So as you may know, the weather is pretty miserable in the UK, as it often rains. The umbrella is a nod to that, and it allows me to remind people where I’m from. The masks on the other hand, started off as a representation of my ‘Demon.’ I often say, ‘If I got rid of my demons, I’d have no angels.’ Meaning, that despite my struggle in professional wrestling, it was all necessary to get to the point I’m at now. You can’t have success without hard times, or achievement without struggle. It didn’t come easy to me…I didn’t make it into New Japan because I could do amazing flips. I didn’t have some magic connection I called that got me in just like that. I had to work hard to get here and be a part of this company. And the mask is a good representation of those struggles and demons, but it’s something I’m proud of and like to put on display. I like explaining to people that nobody’s perfect, but you can still go on to find happiness and substance in life.”