Last week I had the opportunity to interview AWF wrestler Nic Hardy, Nic wrestlers in the United States on the Indy circuit. Nic is a young up and coming star and I wanted to interview him because I see him making a good bright future in the squared circle, and wanted to be one of the first to get his story and then in a few years time be able to say I got the story first. Nic goes under the name Psycho and a great young talent. So without delay lets go to the interview.

When did you decide to become a wrestler?

I've known that I wanted to become a wrestler since I was 12 years old. I had been a fan of wrestling for a few years before that, but at the age of 12 I just knew that this is what I wanted to do. Nobody thought I would even make it this far.... so for me to even be where I am now is a huge accomplishment for me, and I have no plans on stopping here.

What other organizations apart from the AWF have you worked for?

I started out in a very small promotion that was just trying to get started called the WASATCH Wrestling Association, also located in Utah. It has since folded. They did one show. It came to a point where it wasn't even fun wrestling there. And there are a lot of things that I could say that I can't here, about the WWA's promoter. It just was very poorly run. Me and 3 other wrestlers from the WWA had finally had enough in October of 2000, and we decided to leave there in favor of the AWF. The WWA is where I got my start though, and Marcus Tyler trained me very well. I owe a big thank you to him.

Tell us a little about the AWF?

The AWF stands for the American Wrestling Federation. Steve Gatorwolf, who used to wrestle for the WWF in the 1980's, runs it. The environment here is so much better than the WWA's, let me tell you. It is a very professional place to wrestle and the shows are run a whole lot better. If you work hard for the AWF then you become a bigger part of the show. In the WWA, it didn't matter how hard you would work, it was a very close-minded place, and with no room for advancement I felt. The AWF puts on one hell of a show too, and if anyone ever gets a chance to see one of our shows, it is well worth the time and money.

What wrestler would you like to get in the ring with for a bout?

Anybody. I'd like to wrestle everybody. There is nobody I wouldn't like the chance to work with. Everybody has a different style to work with, and the more styles of wrestlers that you work with the better you can adapt to anybody's style. That is a very good thing. However, for people that want names of wrestlers I've thought about wrestling, here are a few names: Dean Malenko, X-Pac, Chavo Guerrero Jr., and Eddie Guerrero.

What's your view on the state of ECW?

I am really hoping that they survive, even though it doesn't look like they will. ECW is the place I wanted to wrestle for and probably the place I had the best chance of working for out of the "big 3". I don't think that ECW is in bad shape because it has lost fan interest. I think what it comes down to is that ECW made a couple of bad business choices, and it has really hurt them. I also think that when you do as well as ECW has done; it poses a threat to the WWF and WCW. And for anyone that says that the WWF and WCW weren't threatened by ECW's product, consider the facts. Both WWF and WCW took ECW's style of hardcore and tried to put it into their programs. ECW made stars and then WCW and WWF offered them contracts. ECW has had a major impact on the wrestling industry as a whole, and it's just sad that it has to end like this. But ECW's place in history will always be felt.

Which organization in the world would you most like to wrestle?

Well, I would have liked to have wrestled for ECW...but I also have a dream of competing at Wrestlemania, so one day I'd like to wrestle for the WWF.

Vince McMahon or Eric Bischoff who is the best of the two and why?

I think they both have their strengths and their weaknesses. I also think that they both have an idea of what they want the wrestling business to be like. I'm going to go out on a limb here though and say Eric Bischoff, because everybody knows the WWF, but think of how much harder it is to take a company a lot of people didn't recognize and make it the #1 wrestling company in the world. So for that reason, I choose Eric Bischoff.

What was the most memorable moment in your career?

The first day I wrestled in front of Steve Gatorwolf and I was finally appreciated for my hard work. Before that moment I had forgotten what it was like to have fun wrestling. I was told shortly after that match by one of our wrestlers that it was the first time they had seen me smiling in regards to wrestling.

Where do you see your self in the next 12 to 15 months?

Realistically, I see myself as one of the top guys in the AWF within the next year, possibly even main eventing for the AWF. Anything above that would be an appreciated surprise.

Any last comments for the readers of Talk Wrestling Online / Wrestling 101?

This has been a lot of fun to do this interview. I expect big things from me in the future and you should too. I hope I've let you all know a bit more about me by doing this interview and I hope you all decide to check out my site at http://nichardy.cjb.net/

On behalf of all the staff and readers of Talk Wrestling Online / Wrestling 101 I would like to wish you luck in your future.

Thank you and I hope we can do this again soon.

Anyone interested in learning more about Nic hardy and news about his career should visit his website. I hope Nic keeps us all up to date in his career and hope to speak to him in the future.

Aaron Spencer