Last Man Standing :: Spirit of ACW :: Andrew Sharp

w/ the winner of the 2005 Rising Star Mark Award, the first Spirit of ACW and ACW’s last TV Champion Andrew Sharp of All-Star Championship Wrestling

Russel David: Why, Andy why? *awkward pause* Okay okay, honestly though, because you already answered that first question yourself on ACW‘s show Courage… what drew you to become a member of the Blue Rouges?

Andrew Sharp: Well, Russel, the way I look at it, it was simply a matter of 'right place, right time.' My stock had already grown with the win of the Television Title, no matter how 'marred' or 'undeserving' people out there thought it was. Everywhere I turned, people wanted to face me. At first, I was more than happy to oblige. I took on the biggest of stars to the stupidest of ACW's useless jobber clan and beat them all. But soon, one might say that maybe I cracked under the pressure. Slowly, over time people said they noticed some changes in me. Well, to them, I say 'BULLSHIT.'

There was no devolution. It was little Andy Sharp realizing his true potential, Russel. He got tired of being picked on by jealous old veterans whose best years went out with Pog. So he fought back. That's when I met up with Allen Speck and his Rogues. Our goals and my goals coincided with one another perfectly. They sought somebody -- that missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle. They needed somebody to bank on; I am that person. Now, they did ask me before and yes, I did turn them down...but that temptation to fight back was too great.

For too long, I played by everybody else's rules. The rules of lucha libre, the rules of standard wrestling while everybody else had no problem with slamming my face into steps or hitting me with chairs or conspiring against me. So, the way I see it, I'm doing no wrong. I'm fighting back.

RD: And for the readers of the Mark, out there, who might not know all that much about the Blue Rouges, how about a sound-byte on the stable? I know you aren‘t the leader, per say, but if there isn‘t a true mission statement for the group, what‘s the message you‘re trying to get across, in your own words? Uncensored.

Sharp: To every last person that tries to hold us down. To every last person that wants me to stifle my athleticism and my greatness just so they can sleep a little better at night. And to every man, woman, and child that thinks that they are going to control the way we think anymore...FUCK YOU.

RD: A choice swear or two is always a good use of no censorship. Stepping back from all the current happenings in your life though, I’d like to give you a broader question. Let's say what if you've got all the power in the universe, what do you do with it?

Sharp: Ooooh...good question. Well, the first thing I would do is do away with all this homeless nonsense...Seriously, if you can't afford a house or some nice Burberry or Haute Couture for yourself, then you need to throw yourself in the path of a speeding bus. Plus, the way they ask for MY hard-earned money on the street?

These fine manicures and stylish haircuts I sport nowadays don't pay because I stand outside with a sloppy appearance and a tin cup. I worked hard to get where I am and now, I'm finally able to enjoy it. Second of all. Bush? He's out. Anybody that keeps an American idiot like Cheney in office, I don't want anything to do with. I got away from Canada to explore the US a bit, but keep that shit away from me. Third? Do away with god-awful RPG video games. This is the 21ST CENTURY. Final Fantasy is so second-rate, it's not even funny.

Well, it is when you're out with your posse crusing the streets in a big stretch limo to stop and laugh at some little fatass coming out of a Gamestop or an arcade. Seriously. Kids like that need to hop their happy asses right back on a treadmill to lose those love handles. I didn't work this hard to look this good by sitting in my mother's basement to find out where that door leads.

RD: Okay, I was going to save this question, and I will get into a little more later, but I have to touch on it now… seeing as you seem to be steering things in this direction, if you don‘t mind me noticing. From your point of view, what happened to the friendship between you and ACW World Champion, Seymour Almasy?

Sharp: My point of view...*laughs* Oh, where do I begin? Well, as it's bene well-documented, Seymour's one of the few roster members that's been in ACW longer than I. We were both new rookies to the sport and as the story goes, we became fast friends. We fought the same battles and we had the same enemies, but we had each other's backs. Then he became more popular than I. I am certainly not afraid to say it. Seymour went on to win titles in other places like GW in between shows as Emoticon. Competing here, there, everywhere. But somehow still, the little bastard wins the End Game 2005 match, then goes onto Legends and wins the title.

Meanwhile, I beat him. Twice, I'd like to add. Sure, some will tell me quickly I didn't 'earn' those wins, but my new outlook in this business is simple: Nobody is gonna look back on this and remember how I won. The only thing they'll remember is that I WON. Period. But I digress. Going back, he was busy with his title defenses and his little side trips, lusting after Shadow and having his ass whomped on a nightly basis between anybody bigger than him on the ACW roster and Virgil Ambrosi. But while he was doing this, want to know what happened to me? Hound comes out and tells me he was my former trainer and another good friend at one time, Marcus Brown. The selfish son of a bitch gangs up on me with fellow asshole, Max Danger and they beat my brains in for weeks. While this went on, I kept thinking that Seymour was gonna come out and help me, but did he?

Nope.

Not one iota of caring. Phone call. E-mail. Text Message. AIM. A singing telegram, for Christ sake. Nothing. So, I am not in the wrong here at all. He, like everybody else, left me under his memories as a footnote. But...forgive me for quoting a Disney movie here...but now, he respects me because I'm a threat.

RD: In the era of ‘every man for himself‘ pro-wrestling where tag teams are a rarity, especially in an ‘every man for himself‘ fed like ACW where the tag team titles have been retired… you‘ve defined your career so far, by those you have formed alliances with. What draws you to the idea of teaming up with folks like Seymour at the beginning of your ACW run or the Blue Rouges now?

Sharp: There's an old edict: It's not what you know, but who you know. When I set foot into this business two years ago, I had only one thing in mind: BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. I sought out Eli Brown in Pikeville, KY. Man is a legend across the world. Anybody that received training from him had been involved in major success. I knew that was my chance.

From there, we go back to Seymour. My friendship to him wasn't out of my own personal gain. We had a bond and we worked well together in and out of the ring as a team. Neither of us at the time were particularly down with mat wrestling, but that didn't stop us from gaining huge fanbases. I couldn't help it that Seymour had already been popular. Soon, people started asking about that tall Canadian guy he was hanging out with. From there, I built more and more of a fanbase that drew the attention...not to mention the ire of my peers.

Today, with the Rogues, as stated previously our goals are in sync with one another. Now, we're riding higher than ever because both of us found that thing we were looking for. And in a "every man for themself" atmosphere like ACW, one has to remember that while the entire place is like that, nobody said I couldn't scratch a few backs to get ahead.

RD: Touche. Ten count, word association, time. I say a name, place or thing and you say the first word or phrase that comes to mind. First up. Karina Wolfenden.

Sharp: Round 2, wench. Name the place.

RD: Sonny Silver.

Sharp: Not a has-been. A Never-Was.

RD: The Blue Rouges.

Sharp: My homies.

RD: Max Danger.

Sharp: Not a Never-Was. However, his trip to the top HAS BEEN completed.

RD: The Spirit of ACW.

Sharp: Power.

RD: Alias.

Sharp: Backstabber.

RD: All-Star Championship Wrestling.

Sharp: My personal plaything.

RD: Seymour Almasy.

Sharp: Fugly. VERY fugly. Like, 'dear Lord, what did I just step in' fugly.

RD: The World Title.

Sharp: Comin' home to daddy.

RD: Your legacy.

Sharp: To be remembered by all.

RD: Not a bad thing to strive for, not at all. It’s all in how you’re remembered, I suppose. Do you remember the moment that made you think ‘Hey, I want to be a professional wrestler.’?

Sharp: Yes. Absolutely. Back in 95-97, Rob Van Dam put on some great clinics. I also was a fan of High Flyer in the IWO and his wacky antics. Guys like them who were of the risk taker genre were awesome. Sure, technicians and big men are fine and dandy, but flyers are unpredictable...

...At least, the old Andy would say that. As for me? When I realized how much I rocked in that ring, night in and night out.

RD: And I suppose I’ll help in the slow death of the old Andy Sharp, sadly, by bringing the questions back to you and Seymour. You and Almasy have shared a lot of memorable moments. Now, with you becoming the number one contender to his World title, there seems to be even more on the horizon. Thinking back for a moment though, what is the moment that you would say symbolizes the relationship between you and Almasy? Be it the relationship then, or the lack of one now, as you where talking about earlier.

Sharp: Me watching his back. *pause* Say what you want about me, but I'm loyal to those close to me. He was at one point. I've taken many chair shots from him and I'd have taken more, had things not turned out the way they did. Now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to return those chairshots and more. That, my friend, is what we in the business call a receipt.

RD: Right. Receipt, heh. Ahem, on a happier note though, let me be the first to congratulate you on winning The Mark Award for Rising Star of 2005. It seems with all the hype surrounding your last year, that this award would inevitably be yours.

Sharp: Why, thank you, Russel. It's an honor to know that my hard work and my...ah, who the fuck are we kidding. Of COURSE I'm the Rising Star of 2005! What competition is there, against me, anyway? Alex Creed who? Brandon Thomas what? Yeah, exactly. How many others in this business can say that they're headlining PPVs in their rookie year?

RD: Keith Scott Zimmerman? Brandon Youngblood? Rana Ven--

Sharp: Okay, okay...people who MATTER?

RD: Without getting into a discussion of the validity of there rookie years, as all of yours are impressive... yeah, with 2005, your rookie year, now a memory, what do you now hope to accomplish in 2006?

Sharp: Party, party, win titles...and did I mention, large amounts of partying? Seriously. This last year, I've busted my ass. 2006, will be my year, too. I'll turn ACW upside-down and from there, who knows? I've always wanted to try my hand at Hollywood, should something go wrong in the ring.

RD: Party, party, Hollywood, yeah I’m sensing a trend… so to keep you on your toes, a few questions from the readers of the column, and of the site, to yourself. It’s called “Best of Five”, because I’ve picked my five favourite questions. First question is the celeb question of the bunch, from the first to be interviewed for The Mark, and a name you dropped earlier actually, one High Flyer. Who, it turned out to be… was kinda evil there. Yeah. Anywho, he asks "Hey. Isn't the locomotive awesome?"

Sharp: Check's in the mail, J. I've also adapted my own version of the move, in Shining form, The Runway. Check for it in the coming weeks. And to answer, yes. Good move. Kicking people in the teeth is never a bad thing.

RD: The next two questions are from the same random fan, a guy… or girl, I suppose, by the name of Ryan. Both questions actually have to do with employment too. First off “If ACW were to close, what fed would you like to be apart of?”

Sharp: Believe it or not, the fWo. And I'll tell you why: Exposure. Biggest place around here, watched every week by a massive fanbase. Of course, if somebody would put the keys back in the ignition and get that place up and running again, that'd be great, too.

RD: And secondly “If you could hire anyone to be apart of ACW, who would it be and why?” Ah yes, the old trick two in one question.

Sharp: Easily, Kodiak Vic Creed. Gotta admire a guy that just goes where he wants and takes what he wants. Kid reminds me of somebody, but no idea who. Wink. Yeah, I said wink. Get over it.

RD: Jacobias Sagittarius, who’s name I can hardly pronounce, let alone spell without the aid of copy and paste, from Orlando, Florida, asks an… interesting question. “If I where the Queen of England, and you where Abe Lincoln, who‘d win in a bare-knuckle boxing fight?”

Sharp: Bare-knuckle boxing is for queers and hideous people such as yourself that don't know how to write. Next question.

RD: Yeesh. With the mood that last question put you in… I almost dread asking this last question from 11 year old Dan Stewart, and look, it‘s written in crayon and everything… heh… which is a little odd for an 11 year old, but anyway “Why did you let everybody get to you? When other kids pick on me, my mom just tells me to be the best person that I can be and to not let them get me down.” And I‘m thinking he‘s referring to--

Sharp: Yeah, that's enough of that shit. Kid, I AM being the best person I can be. It's just that other people can't accept that. They'll take and take and take. You can only look out for #1.

RD: There‘s something I‘ve been wondering, and I have to ask, with your contendership for the ACW World Championship locked for Zenith… is the Spirit of ACW now your second priority until then? Or do you have something up your sleeve that might use the wildcardness, which is a word now, of the Spirit of ACW?

Sharp: The title is mine. All mine. I am the Spirit of ACW and always will be, whether the title is actually around my waist or not. As for the World Title, that should ALWAYS be your priority in ACW. If it's not, you need to be hit over the head with the heaviest blunt object anybody can find. And after Zenith, I'll be the first-ever holder of the World and Spirit Titles.

RD: Hefty, Naismith-sized, prediction there. With that though, we also wrap up this interview. Any last words?

Sharp: If you can't get yourself some Burberry, you must kill yourself. Here. I'll lend you all some of the ties I've bought from them. *grin*

RD: Shilling, Andrew? Or just showing off your wealth and style?

Sharp: Little of column A, little of Column B.

RD: If you got it, flaunt it, I suppose.