Warning: strong language and violent content

Our build-up to Rise Wrestling’s Games of Death 2020 tournament continues with another interview with one of its competitors. First was Danny Darko, this time, I spoke with the figurehead of Rise Wrestling, Big FN Joe. Now Joe has become one of the best in the country through his dedication to deathmatches and sheer lack of concern for his own safety. As the creator of Games of Death, I asked him about the tournament, his fellow competitors, deathmatches, and more. Enjoy.

Firstly, tell the readers a little about yourself…

Well, I wrestle as Big FN Joe. I’m mostly known for my deathmatch stuff that I’ve been doing with Rise, which actually got me over into CZW’s Tournament of Death. That’s probably what I’m most known for now. Or, for walking around in a pair of tighty whities. I don’t think I have anything else to add to that… sadly.

What brought you to Rise?

I was friends with Leonardo Darwin, and he needed a henchman. So, he called me because I’d met him on his first wrestling training school and it went from there.

And you brought in Danny Darko…

Yeah, wrestling is like anything else, people try to bring their friends in. It just makes the shows more comfortable to have them backstage.

So, what got you into deathmatches?

I’ve just always loved them really. That was always the part of wrestling, that since I was a teenager, I’ve been attracted to. Then when I got the chance with Rise, because they’re pretty laid back in terms of booking suggestions, not that that means they’ll do what you ask them, but they’re pretty lenient, and they started letting us do more of the crazier stuff.

And so, Games of Death was born…

Yes. It just seemed natural. After doing so many deathmatches and at the time, there were no deathmatch tournaments in England. We had ours planned for a while, but Rise was just beaten to the punch by TNT with their DOA tournament. But yeah, it just felt like a natural progression for us.

What does it feel like to have one of the UK’s equivalents to the Tournament of Death?

It’s good but stressful. Obviously, I’m just a wrestler, so I have no control over the setup, like what weapons will be there and the matches we’ll have, any of that kind of stuff, but as a performer you want it to be the best tournament it can be. So, it’s kind of stressful.

So how do you think the first Games of Death went?

It went way better than I expected. Being hyper-critical, we need more gimmicks. But, it’s a bit harder to do that in England, to get the light tubes, the barbed wire, stuff like that is a lot harder, especially with availability. You’ve also got to rely on a promoter to get said weapons. That’s probably my only tiny criticism of the first one.

How did it feel to perform in? You made it all the way to the final…

It was very cool to do three rounds in one night. It’s a really abstract kind of experience. I mean, how many people do a deathmatch in their whole life, let alone three in one night?

And you got to attack Casanova Valentine with a weed whacker…

Yes, although he’s so fat, I’m not sure he even felt the wrath of it.

Big Joe hitting me with a weed whacker last night at @RISE_ENGLAND G.O.D. Death Match Tournament last night??? pic.twitter.com/awcKmt5To2

— Casanova Valentine?? (@CasanovaVal666) March 24, 2019

How do you feel about the fact you may have to fight him again this year?

I’m always down to fight Cass. I want it to be like the deathmatch equivalent of Abdullah the Butcher and Bruiser Brody.

I can see the comparison…

That’s what I want. There are not enough feuds in deathmatch wrestling. It’s always good to have something you can go back to. How long has deathmatch wrestling been a thing, and there’s hardly any feuds. We’ll do one deathmatch then another with nothing really in between, no storyline in between.

It does seem like that’s trying to change, especially within Rise…

Yeah, but it took fucking forever. There’re so many lost opportunities when it comes to deathmatch. Most of them are just throwaway deathmatches. I’ve been in them, I’m guilty of it, but it’s not up to me to book the shows.

I get your point, it’s almost like how WWE uses their gimmicks (Hell in a Cell) these days…

Now they end up booking them as the first match of a feud. It’s all on the booking like using deathmatch wrestling as a platform, to aid other things, if you had the patience to do it right. Then if you just hotshot it all over the place, it’s hard. I can see from a booker’s standpoint that it is hard as sometimes you need to pop the show a bit by adding a deathmatch, a hell in a cell match, depending on the promotion.

Going back to Games of Death, this year you’ve drawn Tyler Devlin as your first-round opponent, how do you feel about that?

I can’t wait. Me and Tyler Devlin had a match in BWR (British Wrestling Revolution), and he’s just fucking insane, so it’s going to be a good first round. That’s always a fear too, as you don’t always know who you’re going to be facing. You always want to have the best match you can, and I know this is going to be a really good match, so I’m looking forward to it.

It’s a Tacks, Tubes and Tables match, how much fun is that going to be?

Honestly, I can’t wait. Devlin is crazy, and I don’t think enough people have seen him, so it’ll be good for people to at least see him in action. Not that he’s getting past the first round.

When you make it through to the second round, who do you want to face?

I’m not fussed. Obviously, I want to go through each round, and I want to have the best showing every match. I want people to look at the tournament and say fucking hell that was a good deathmatch tournament. Once again, I think it’s harder in England because we haven’t got the gimmicks as often, but we’re starting to step it up a bit. I know what the final is, and I’m pretty sure it’s the first time it’s ever been done in England (Rise revealed it as 200 Light tubes match). It’s been done in Germany in wXw with Iceman and Havoc, but I definitely don’t think it’s happened in England. I just want the tournament to be as good as possible. I want people to stand up and take notice. I think too many people sleep on Rise. Not enough people know. It’s always talk of the same fucking promotions when it comes to indie groups in England. It’s always the same old shit. I want this tournament to put Rise more on the map.

What do you think draws people to Rise at the moment?

I think it’s the characters. It’s just full of really strong characters. You’ve got really good wrestlers that are getting really good pushes like Gene Munny, CJ Banks, just phenomenal wrestlers. It’s got a bit of everything. It reminds me of ECW as a fan. It’s got the best technical wrestling, the best promos, like Leonardo Darwin. The stories are really good, and there’s the atmosphere as well. It’s like a punk rock gig. It’s not full of snowflakes, you know? People are getting fucked up, drinking, people are jumping into the crowd, the crowd is getting in the ring. It’s sort of dangerous, and I’ve sometimes seen people get kicked out of the building. It’s just punk, and I love it.

I can relate, my favourite moment from this year’s DOA was getting hit in the nose by a bit of flying light tube…

Well imagine for Rise, they’re all around the ring. There are no safety rails or anything. There’s a chance you’re gonna get claret just for being so close.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Big FN Joe’s interview.

Find Big FN Joe on Facebook and Instagram.

Find his merch here

Tickets for Games of Death here

Images and videos courtesy of Deathmatch Outlaws, Big FN Joe, Rise Underground, Carl Gac Photography, Casanova Valentine,