AR Fox is one of the many homegrown and rising stars with Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE. This coming weekend Dragon Gate USA presents three events in Florida as a part of what is widely considered the biggest wrestling weekend of the year. Thursday, in Hollywood, FL "Heat" is a DG USA/CZW co-promoted show and then Friday and Saturday DG USA returns to iPPV on WWNLive.com for the first time since January with the special $1.99 priced Open The Ultimate Gate 2012 featuring Fox vs. Uhaa Nation as part of "Stable Shoot Out" and the first time ever meetings of Low Ki vs. PAC and an Open The United Gate Tag Title showdown with The Spiked Mohicans of CIMA & Ricochet defending versus Ronin members Chuck Taylor & Open The Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano. Saturday will feature Mercury Rising 2012 for the price of $14.99. Fox gave Two Spot Monkeys a few minutes of his time and we are now happy to present his edition of "13 Questions..." Enjoy!
1. What are some of your first memories of professional wrestling and how did it all lead to you starting with training?
Fox: My first memories of pro wrestling are being around 12 years old and watching Raw every Monday night. The Rock was feuding with Steve Austin at the time. Soon after, I found ECW and the RVD vs. Jerry Lynn feud and matches are embedded in my brain forever.
2. Prior to DG USA/EVOLVE where did your start and how did you hook up with DG USA/EVOLVE?
Fox: I got my start at the WWA4 wrestling school in Georgia and mainly worked their shows ( and still do) and smaller "rasslin" shows. After that it I had opportunities with CZW out of Philadelphia and IPW out of Indianapolis.
3. Just over one year ago you made your Dragon Gate USA debut and your EVOLVE debut was a few months ahead of that. How did you get hooked up with those promotions and how did you feel about your early matches in each promotion? How big of an opportunity did you view it as?
Fox: I got hooked up with Dragon Gate USA and Evolve of course through Gabe. He must have seen me at the Arena and was impressed, which was a huge compliment on its own! Also, after a CZW show Chris Hero worked he asked me for my e-mail info. The very next day I had an e-mail from Gabe. I was pumped! My early matches were huge in my eyes and I know debuts are really impactful so I wanted to do best. In my Evolve debut I had one of the biggest crash and burns of my career yet.
4. The first half of 2011 in DG USA saw you get many opportunities, but perhaps your breakout occurred in June against Akira Tozawa. What were your thoughts on that match as a possible breakout against a Japanese Dragon Gate talent and to impress the Japan Office?
Fox: My match against Tozawa is still probably my favorite match ever. At the time, it was the biggest challenge I ever had and was pumped to take it on.
5. Gabe Sapolsky and Dragon Gate USA officials gave you the label of a “#1 Overall Draft Pick” around that same time. What did that mean to you personally and professionally? Did you feel pressure by being give such a strong compliment?
Fox: I loved the label "#1 draft pick." It sounded cool to me and it did add pressure to really try to be number one, along with keeping me very motivated especially in Dragon Gate USA.
6. In EVOLVE beginning in April, you had a series of buzzworthy matches against Rich Swann (EVOLVE 7) and then by winning the Style Battle Tournament (EVOLVE with big wins in one night over Rich Swann, Jon Davis and finally Sami Callihan. What reflections do you have on that night and those matches?
Fox: “Wow” is my reflection on those matches and that night. Me and Swann have a lot of fun in the ring and he is one of my favorites to wrestle. I learned from wrestling and being in the ring with Jon Davis. Finally, working with Sami only fuels my fire to get better & better and tougher so everytime we meet it will end like Style Battle: Me, victorious.
7. Your second half of 2011 for DG USA was dominated by your feud with The D.U.F. of Sami Callihan, Arik Cannon & Pinkie Sanchez. It seemed ready to conclude with the “Extreme Warfare Match” pitting you with Sabu & Jon Davis at Freedom Fight 2011, but instead concluded with Sami Callihan smashing a beer bottle over your head. Where does your battle with Callihan and the rest of The D.U.F. go from here?
Fox: I have no idea where my feud with Sami Callihan is going to go. I do know it is far from over and that I have a ton of payback I owe him!
8. 2012 kicked off with you continuing to have standout matches, but on the losing end (Jigsaw, first loss in EVOLVE at EVOLVE 10 & Sami Callihan, at Open The Golden Gate in an Anything Goes Match) of them. I am sure it wasn’t the way you would have liked to begin the year, but what do you take away from those matches?
Fox: I actually learned a lot from Jigsaw in the ring and also to weaken my opponent more before attempting Lo Mein Pain. I didn’t learn much from my match at Open The Golden Gate with Sami and it just intensified that I hate him!
9. Your match with Sami Callihan was very brutal and carried on the tension between the two of you from the end of 2011 and through EVOLVE 10. How did you feel after that match and how does that motivate you headed into the upcoming Florida tripleshot during WrestleMania weekend?
Fox: I was pretty beat up after that match but like I said before all this is just fuel for the fire for me to kick Sami's ass when i get my hands on him. I was glad I got to choose his opponent one night, so I picked BxB Hulk. I want Hulk to kick his head off!
10. You are currently scheduled to face PAC on Thursday, Uhaa Nation in a “Stable Shoot Out: pick from Sami Callihan on Friday and Arik Cannon on Saturday. How do you prep for three different, talented opponents over those three nights?
Fox: I train seperately for each opponent: Speed for against PAC, as well as work on new high flying moves to keep up with him. Also, I try to build and add as much strength when I wrestle a bigger opponent like Nation or Cannon, so that they can’t easily do what they want to me or at least as easily as they might like.
11. Dragon Gate USA is offering a $1.99 iPPV on WWNLive.com on Friday. This is their shot to not only capture new fans for a great price and a great event, but also to reward fans who have been active and supported them to get to this point. With the chance that fans who have never seen you before, how does that change the way you view the show (if any) and what do you want them to remember AR Fox for when the show concludes, especially with the Stable Shoot Out being a major part of it?
Fox: With the iPPV being $1.99 it ups the ante like crazy! There is just so many eyes that are gonna be on us. I am ready and hope to make a crazy first impression on any fan seeing me for the first time and Dragon Gate USA.
12. What are the future goals for AR Fox?
Fox: My future goals are to be on TV or a “Grand Stage” somewhere, anywhere making money and doing what I love!
13. How can fans keep up with your schedule, catch you live if there is a show near them that you are on or get any merchandise from you?
Fox: Fans can keep up with me and any shows I am on through my Facebook page. I do not have a personal website yet, sorry.
Thanks again to AR Fox and Dragon Gate USA/EVOLVE officials for setting up this opportunity. If you will be in Miami, check these shows out this weekend! You can also create a WWNLive.com account and order the shows, including the $1.99 Friday event, right here: http://www.wwnlive.com/signup.php?id=219.
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