Axel Tischer returned to PROGRESS Wrestling at Chapter 156: Steal Yourself and the guys at PROGRESS caught up with him in Sheffield to discuss his return from injury, his match with Charles Crowley, his goals in the tag team division with SaNitY and his former stablemate GUNTHER WWE FKA WALTER breaking the Intercontinental Championship record.
Axel, you are back in PROGRESS Wrestling after a broken collarbone. How was it being back and how is the injury holding up now?
I’m so happy and excited to be back in PROGRESS Wrestling. I see it as my home from home and certainly my home in the UK wrestling scene. In terms of my injury I had a recovery window of 3-6 months and I came back in two. I’ve put my injury to the test and had an awesome recovery, researching the injury and surrounding myself with smart people who could make me better in my recovery. In the meantime it meant that I could spend time at my wrestling school in Dresden, but now I’m back 100% and ready to go.
You faced Charles Crowley in Sheffield, who is gunning for the GCW Championship later this month. Have you noticed the change in him since you have been away?
I’m very happy to win the match as I saw a big change in him. He’s called the Spectacular Tw*t and he’s known for being a troll in the ring, but I see that he wants to become more than just a clown. I think he’s a smart guy and the fact he has made it known he wants to become the PROGRESS Champion means he has to start to show a different attitude, so let’s see how he goes on his journey to try and become the top guy in PROGRESS Wrestling.
Your win this weekend leaves you with a record of three wins in your last six matches. Are you finding more of a rhythm again now in PROGRESS Wrestling post injury?
My wins and losses in PROGRESS Wrestling have kind of evened out, but in general I am in this for competition. I want to win. I want to face the best talent possible. I want to be the poster boy. I want to be the guy who represents the company. Whether that’s in singles or tag team competition. The rhythm of success is a better rhythm to dance to than the rhythm of losing – so let’s keep the rhythm of winning going and see where it takes me.
Also on the card in Sheffield was your SaNitY teammate Big Damo. You have exclusively tagged with him in PROGRESS Wrestling three times now since last year. Do you have eyes on the Tag Team Championships?
To this day Big Damo is my tag team partner and I’m super grateful that we can travel together and do UK dates together. We fought in singles action in Sheffield separately, as we both still have goals as singles wrestlers, but yes together we have the goal to clean house in the PROGRESS Wrestling team team division. We want to become PROGRESS Wrestling Tag Team Champions. We want to take the titles around the world. We want to add prestige and eyes to PROGRESS Wrestling by winning those titles and defending them in the UK, continental Europe, USA and Japan. We will do our best in the coming months to win matches and become the #1 contenders.
What is your opinion on Kid Lykos’ #foreveryone movement in PROGRESS Wrestling? Will he be the one to finally dethrone Spike Trivet later this month?
Through my injury I have not been able to witness it live, but following his hero story online, it’s fascinating seeing Kid Lykos getting the recognition from the PROGRESS Wrestling fans. He’s always been PROGRESS Wrestling, he’s an awesome competitor and I wish him all the luck in the world in dethroning the Vulture, Spike Trivet. The movement is great – it always takes a movement to start a revolution and that’s what Kid Lykos is doing now in PROGRESS Wrestling. Even if he is unsuccessful later this month in his title match, he has created something he can cherish forever.
And finally, what are your thoughts on your former Imperium stablemate Günther WWE FKA WALTER breaking the record to become the longest Intercontinental Champion of all-time?
My thoughts on Gunther WWE FKA WALTER is that he is the guy who will always put on the best performance of the night. He will always make the sport a better place for everybody. He has no ego at all, he was just always aiming to represent our beautiful sport in the best way possible. It shows in his success. He’s a true wrestler, a true honourable sports athlete, who represents wrestling and is now in a position to own that record for a truly prestigious belt. He dethroned Honky Tonk Man’s Intercontinental Championship record – which is about time – bringing back prestige to that beautiful title and I’m so happy for him. This is still only the beginning for WWE GUNTHER… the sky’s the limit.
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