Q - First things first - how old are you and where are you from?
B - 23yrs old, star sign Leo, born in Chesterfield, now living in Harrogate.
Q - Who is Brandon T and where does the name come from?
B - At first I was called Tom Savage, a name I wasn't too happy about but stuck to it for a while, while I was starting out for a small promotion called SWWA in Birmingham. This is way before I was trained. Unfortunatly, it wasn't until much later that I went to school. Later I wrestled at a Festival called the "Bulldog Bash." As a rib one of the guys announced me as "Brendon Fraser" because he thought I looked like him! Then later I had a squash match for the WWE and they wanted a name, so I thought Brendon sounded good but changed it to "Brandon." [November 15, 2005--WWE RAW Taping: Snitsky & Tomko defeated Chris Gray & Brandon T in a dark match in Sheffield England].At wrestling school there were two Toms, so I was named T. I put the two together and that was that!
Q - How did you get started in wrestling?
B - I got started by hearing about someone from school doing it, then on New Years eve (possibly 2002) I bumped into him at a night club and he agreed to get me started. I started out refereeing shows then and, without any prior training started wrestling. As you can imagine I was horribly rotten!
Q - Who trained you?
B - I made it to a school after moving to Harrogate, first at a grotty gym in Pudsey (Leeds). No ring or anything just a few crappy mats on a floor, the best way to learn! The school was run by two "World of Sport" legends, Sir Jeff Kaye and someone infamous from Scotland but we'll leave it at that!
Jeff Kaye in World of Sport ring actionQ - Tell us more about your trainer and some of the important things he passed on?
B - Without him I really had no hope of wrestling or getting my foot in the door. He showed me the British way of wrestling, which blew me away because I didn't really know anything about it. Jeff's knowledge is immense and he's a fantastic trainer. He's wrestled all over the world and both wrestled and refereed for "World of Sport." He was also in a tag team with Ian Gilmore called "The Barons" and toured later with World Wrestling All-Stars. He's trained a lot of wrestlers including new talents like Tommy Taylor and Chris Grey ("The British Lions") who where with WWE until recently.
Q - Did you grow up watching wrestling, and wanting to be a wrestler?
B - I didn't really know it existed. We didn't have Sky (cable TV) and I wouldn't have been allowed to watch it anyway. But one day at school (I was possibly 12) we were waiting outside Maths, and my friend started supplexing his bag. I had no idea what he was doing. Later I found "Wrestlemainia 8" at my grandma's house. Someone had taped and lent it to my grandad, which is funny because he hates wrestling! I watched Sid v Hogan and was captivated. Later, I later got my hands on "King of the Ring 1998" and that's when I got hooked.
Q - Who have been some of your early inspirations in wrestling?
B - Anybody who had stylish and flashy moves and looks, probably Shawn Michaels, then later Jeff Hardy.
Q - How would you describe your current wrestling persona? Are you a natural heel or face or do you aim to be versatile?
B - That decision generally rests with the promoters. I don't mind either way. It helps me become more versatile if I get the chance to do both.
Q - What is your gym/training routine?
B - My gym routine is generally
Monday- quads, calfs, abs
Tuesday- chest, tri
Wednesday- cv and abs
Thursday- back, bi
Friday- shoulders, traps
Saturday- cv, abs (depending if I'm away wrestling)
Sunday - off
Q - Any special dieting or just good genes that let you eat anything?
B - Unfortunately I have terrible genes so I have to clean eat all the time! My diet at the moment is quite low carb. It includes brown rice, rolled oats, broccili, turkey mince, egg whites, almonds, cashews and cottage cheese and that's about it. Not great because of nutrients but it does the trick. I also take cod liver oil, multi vitamins, zinc, vit b6, glucosamine, glutamine, amino acids and protien powder. As well as tons of water!
Q - What are you plans for the next few years?
B - My plans for the next few years are to keep training hard, eating well, to try and stay healthy and wrestle as much as possible. I'd like to take this as far as it'll go and most importantly, enjoy it!
Kevin Stevens writes - "My favourite SCW match to watch would have to be the match between Samhain and Tom Savage (aka Brandon T) ..... Tom usually referee's matches and had refereed all mine and Lee's matches in our feud. I didn't think he could wrestle, and then I saw his name on the card against Samhain. We were all making jokesbefore-hand with him, that Samhain was gonna eat him alive. I watched the match and Tom was outstanding. He reminded me of Jeff Hardy in there, with the look and style he had. I was pleasantly surprised, and the match was really entertaining. Whenever a match makes me mark out, I like it. It pulled me in, and that's why I liked it. Samhain writes : At a show I gave a guy, by the name of Tom Savage (Brandon T), who I’ve trained, his debut, and I was proud the way he hung in there, and gave it all he had. We will be seeing a lot more of him, as there’s no doubt the guy has what it takes. Brandon T on WWE programming - WWE HEAT November 27, 2005: Survivor Series Match: Cruiserweight Champion, Juventud Guerrera, defeated Simon Dean...Carlito Carribean Cool defeated Taylor Phoenix...Gene Snitsky and Tyson Tomko defeated Brandon T and Chris Chaos...Viscera defeated Lance Cade. Impact Wrestling reported - Snitsky and Tyson Tomko vs. Brandon T and Chris Chaos The match starts off quickly with Tomko mauling his opponent into the corner... Quick tag in to Snitsky who slaps on a big bearhug, and rams his opponent in to their own corner, also knocking the partner off of the ring apron. Another tag, and a right hand by Tomko sends his man down. A series of vicious knee strikes to the head by Tomko. A tag in to Snitsky. A punch and a kick followed by a big body slam and elbow. A pin attempt is broken up, as the partner double stomps Snitsky in the back, and hits Tomko on the apron. Snitsky grabs him by the throat and throws him in to the corner. Irish Whip by Snitsky, sends his victim towards Tomko who connects with the big boot, knocking the man unconscious. Snitsky grabs the other opponent, and sets him up for a sidewalk slam. Tomko runs off the ropes, and uses an elbow drop double team with Snitsky’s sidewalk slam for the win. Note to indy guys that will be getting matches on WWE programming. Wear something with your name on it, as the WWE isn’t going to do anything to promote who you are on their show. Winners: Tyson Tomko and Snitsky by pinfall |
