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UK Wrestling Scene Interviews

Full Pack Interview

Full Pack are one of the UK’s up and coming tag teams. This week I had the chance to catch up with Micky L and Iain Robinson, here is how it went…

Full Pack are one of the UK’s up and coming tag teams. This week I had the chance to catch up with Micky L and Iain Robinson, here is how it went…


Welcome to Wrestling 101 guys, how are you?


Micky: I’m doing all right!


Iain: I’m doing great after our recent Ladder Match!


What have you been up to lately?


Full Pack: We just came off our Ladder match from the Nubreed Exhibition, which thankfully went very well.


What made each of you want to get into pro wrestling?


Micky: I have watched wrestling since I was 3, and I’ve always wanted to be a wrestler, just never thought I’d get the chance; I was a massive fan of the WWF as a kid, pretty much like every wrestling fan.


Iain: I’ve been a massive fan of wrestling since I was a kid, and have always wanted to be a pro wrestler, and then the opportunity came along, so I grabbed it.


Where and who did each of you train with?


Full Pack: We both were trained by Carl Turner (General Trent Steel), Spitfire Tony Warrior and Iceman. We also attended training seminars with The Highlander, Mark Sloan, Alex Shane and Stevie Knight.


Micky: I started training 4 weeks after the wZw training academy opened in April 2003, I had never wrestled before apart from the usual mess around.


Iain: I started a week after Micky. I had also never wrestled before much the same as Micky. Before I tried wZw , I went to Seaburn Leisure Centre to train but when I arrived the school had moved. I was a bit disappointed, but then luckily I checked the internet and found the wZw website and saw they had a training school at the Ray Gray which is near my house, so I went one week to just view the training, make sure it was what I wanted to do, and then 2 weeks later I started training.


For anyone who hasn’t seen you wrestle before, explain your characters and how did you come up with the idea?


Micky: I think it was Gary Graham who called me Micky L for short in a topic on the wzw forums, and since then I’ve been called Micky L. The gimmick of the Backseat copycats was Iceman’s idea though. It was December, I was about to go out for a match with John Britain for the Nubreed Trophy, and I was wearing baggie black cargo pants, Iceman turned around and said Micky, how much do you look like Trent Acid. Then he suggested as a gimmick I become a Trent Acid mark, come down with signs saying Trent rules and stuff, but then the gimmick sort of changed and now we just are copycats. So I’d like to thank Iceman for giving me my gimmick, Thank You Ice.


Iain: Gary Graham gave me the name Xpress, I don’t particularly like it but I go with it. Like Micky said Iceman give us the Gimmick but the way it came about was lucky, Micky looked like Trent and I had just got my silver pants so it was probably fate I would say.


How did the tag team of “Full Pack” form?


Full Pack: We started as a Tag Team pretty much straight away and at first wrestled with our real names. Iain came up with the name Full Pack and our gimmick sort of just happened. Iceman showed us a few cool double team moves for example, the dream sequence, and the more matches we had the more people noticed how much we are like The Backseat Boys. Then Iceman told us about the gimmick idea, and the rest is history.


Which do each of you prefer, wrestling as a tag team or solo?


Micky: I prefer Tag Matches, I like to think Iain and I work well together as a team, and that’s how I’d like to keep it.


Iain: Definitely tag – I love working with Micky, we have become like a unit in the ring, we work so well together and I would love to keep it that way.


In your opinion, which is the premier tag team in the UK?


Micky: The UK Pitbulls and The Natrass Boys are two of the best in my opinion.


Iain: I would have to say the same. The Pitbulls get a lot of grief for their weight and people say they can’t work but they wrestle almost every night so it proves that they have something. We have worked matches with the Natrass Boys and I always enjoy my matches with them.


“Full Pack” has developed quite a following within wZw and within the UK Scene, why do you think that is?


Full Pack: I think it’s because we do everything to entertain people at the shows, we are different and people like to see something different, what other teams in the UK copycat an Indy Team from America?


Micky: We get on very well with our fans too, I have made a lot of friends from just fans who I talk to after shows, and Iain could say the same I think.


Iain: Definitely, the fans are amazing, especially the regulars who go to all the Nubreed exhibitions. They love us too much and I love performing for them.


Wrestle Zone Wrestling has established a training facility under the “Nu Breed” banner, could you explain what it’s like there, and why do you guys think it’s so important to get professionally trained?


Micky: wZw’s Nubreed training academy is great, and a lot of people will back me up on that one, anyone who has been to other training schools and then come to wZw see the differences, at wZw we are like a family and everyone try’s to help each other to get further in their wrestling ability, from trainers to trainees, I learn a new thing every week, and every week is different, at the Nubreed academy we are taught everything we need to survive in the wrestling business. I believe it is very important to be professionally trained, because if not I don’t think you could survive in the wrestling business, it’s a crazy thing.


Iain: In my opinion, it’s the greatest wrestling school in the world. I love training there. There is always a great atmosphere and everyone gets along, we are like a family. We learn so much that you don’t realize straight away. Being professionally trained, without a doubt is important, I hate backyard wrestling. People don’t realize how hard we train and how long it took to get where we are and we are still rookies. It isn’t easy and when people wrestle untrained, they make people think anyone can do it and that’s when people get seriously injured.


In the North East there seems to be some animosity between rival federations, do you think that this is necessary, or is it affecting the image of promotions?


Full Pack: We do not think its necessary at all, we mean a little competition is always good but there is no need for us UK promotions to be fighting, if we want to get UK wrestling back on its feet we need to work together. There is too much backstabbing going on right now in UK wrestling in our opinions.


In each of your opinions, which is the premier promotion in the UK?


Micky: FWA at the moment simply because of its better production values than any other UK promotion, its TV deal and the big stars it has over from the US all the time.


Iain: I also think FWA for the same reasons but I also think that we (wZw) and other promotions in the UK are not too far behind them wrestling wise.


In terms of your wrestling, where do each of you see your career in 5 years time?


Micky: if I stay on track, hopefully me and Iain will still be tagging but will have been places like the US, and a dream come true would be to go to Japan, I think that’s a great country for wrestling and would love the opportunity to go and work over there.


Iain: I also hope Micky and me will still be tagging and would have begun wrestling around the world by then.


Looking at the UK wrestling scene, what are your thoughts of it?


Micky: I think its getting better, FWA being on TV is great for British wrestling in my opinion, because at least it will let people around the UK know that there is British wrestling, I think the more promotions that can get TV deals and even little TV spots to promote, the better.
Iain: I think it is getting back on its feet especially with the wrestling channel starting but if there was more British promotions on I think that would be much better for the UK scene.


Many people talk about the “Glory Days” of UK Wrestling, with the likes of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, do you think that UK Wrestling can ever reach that popularity again?


Micky: I don’t see UK wrestling ever competing with the big promotions in the US, but with a lot of work from all UK promotions and workers, I think UK wrestling could be big again.


Iain: Personally, no. The US scene is far more superior and more entertaining and as far as WWE, we don’t have a chance.


FWA and The Wrestling Channel reached an agreement to coincide with the channel’s launch, in which FWA would control UK Wrestling, do you think this is fair for smaller promotions such as wZw?


Full Pack: No, It’s a bit greedy in our opinion, but we don’t blame them, they are a promotion trying to better themselves and the TV deal is a great thing for them. The FWA took advantage, we guess they see it as if people think FWA is the only promotion good enough to be on TV then it must be the best.


Do you have any up and coming bookings?


Full Pack: On Saturday the 19th June we are in Hartlepool at the Belle Vue Sports centre for wZw’s Path of Destruction and we are booked on BCW’s No blood no sympathy part 2 which is a whole weekend of shows in Scotland so try and come to the shows to see us and other great wrestlers.


Any final comments?


Full Pack: We’d like to say thanks and hello to all are fans who help and support us, without them we are nothing really, so thank you, like to say thank you to anyone who has helped us so far in are wrestling careers, especially, Iceman, General, Spitfire and Gary Graham.


Micky: I’d like to say an extra thank you to my mum and dad who support me and are at all the shows.


Iain: I want to thank all of our trainers (GTS, Spitfire, and Iceman) and Gary for giving me the chance to live my dream, thanks. In addition, of course Micky for putting up with me and being a great friend as well as a tag partner, cheers bud!


Once again, many thanks for your time,


Micky: No Problem, was fun, cya lay’er!!!


Iain: Cheers, CYA FTA!


Dan