411 Interviews: Green Ant of Chikara and Wrestling is Fun!

Grent Ant, the Resilient Rookie of Chikara, is a very successful member of the Chikara roster and 2011 was an especially great year for him. He was a part of the 2011 King of Trios winning team (with Fire Ant and Soldier Ant), he made the finals of the 9th Young Lions Cup, and he traveled to Japan to compete for the Osaka Pro group. Green Ant will be competing against his trainer, Mike Quackenbush at the Season 11 Premiere, The Thirteenth Hat on January 28th in Easton, Pennsylvania. You can read the full card and buy tickets for this event at the Chikara Events Page .

TJ Hawke: At Chikara’s Season 11 Premiere, The Thirteenth Hat, you will be taking on the founder of the Chikara Wrestle Factory, Mike Quackenbush. You have lost to Quackenbush twice before in singles contests. What makes you think you will come out on top this time?

Green Ant: Mainly, I’m riding a pretty huge wave of momentum right now, so I feel like I could take on the world. Also, I’ve evolved quite a bit since the last time I faced Mike Quackenbush. I’m bigger, sharper, smarter, and stronger than I was then. Plus, I’ve got plenty of new techniques, which means more ways for me to win.

TJ: At the Season 10 Finale, High Noon, you finally conquered the giant, Tursas, in an one on one battle. What did you think about that match, and what did you think about your feud with Tursas overall?

GA: My prolonged war with Tursas went from being the most frustrating experience of my career, to one of the most rewarding experiences. For months and months, every time I was about to get the upper hand, I would have the rug pulled out from under me thanks to some underhanded tactic from Jakob Hammermeier or Tursas himself. It’s very difficult to be at your best and have a good showing with that kind of thing going on, not to mention that Tursas probably weighs twice as much as I do. However, my victory at High Noon made all that strife worth it. Tursas and I both went into that match knowing that it was what really mattered. Despite everything I had to go through all year, it was that match that would decide who wins the war. Of course, there are always things that I can look back on and nitpick about the match itself, but the outcome was the most important part, and I can’t complain about that. That rivalry also definitely helped me step my game up, since I knew that every time I was going to step in the ring with Tursas, I would have to hit him harder than I’ve hit anyone before.

Note from the Author: Check out how Green Ant defeated Tursas at High Noon on this episode of the Chikara Podcast-A-Go-Go

TJ: Several elements of your feud with Tursas resembled moments of Lex Luger’s battles with Yokozuna in the WWF. Lex Luger actually made a cameo appearance in a Chikara video to tell you that he believed in your ability to conquer Tursas. What did it mean to you to have Luger participate in this feud?

GA: That was a huge deal! It was really cool to know that I had his support, since he definitely inspired me to overcome the odds against a huge, angry opponent. His participation added another level of depth to the rivalry between Tursas and myself. Plus, he came bearing gifts!

TJ: Back in August, you participated in CHIKARA’s ninth Young Lion’s Cup. You defeated Kobald, Robbie Eagles, Will O’ The Wisp II, and Jakob Hammermeier to reach the finals, but unfortunately you lost there to the Osaka Pro star, Tadasuke. What did you think of your performances in the tournament? Is winning the Cup back from Tadasuke a top priority for you in 2012?

GA: That was such a crazy day. With Hurricane Irene approaching, the weekend tournament had to be condensed into one day, and that really turned all the participants on their heads. I was really psyched about my showing in the 4-way eliminator. It was a big deal to eliminate every other competitor in the match. Then, things got ugly in the semi-final round when Tursas got involved in my match with Jakob, injuring one my ribs in the process. However, I do not blame that injury for my loss in the finals. That is the nature of a tournament. People get injuries and you just have to continue on and do your best. I hit Tadasuke with some of the hardest headbutts I have thrown, and he hit me with some of the hardest punches I’ve ever taken. He’s an extremely strong competitor, and I hope to get a rematch some day for the Young Lions Cup. As far as a top priority? I’d say going back to Osaka Pro is my top priority for 2012.

TJ: Speaking of Osaka Pro, this past fall, you got to travel to Japan to compete for that prestigious promotion. Was this your first overseas wrestling booking? How did it compare to working in America? Did you have a match from your time there that you were most proud of?

GA: Indeed, the tour of Osaka with Fire Ant and Eddie Kingston was my first wrestling tour overseas. Wrestling in Japan for Osaka Pro-Wrestling was the best experience of my career. Everybody in Japan treated us really well and we were all so grateful for their hospitality and generosity. Fire Ant and I were very proud to challenge for the Osaka Pro Tag Team Championships, and it’s always great wrestling Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada. Also, we enjoyed teaming up with Ultimate Spider, Jr. The food and atmosphere of Osaka were also awesome. Being there inspired me to improve and step it up.

TJ: I would be remiss if I did not ask you about The Colony winning the King of Trios 2011. That tournament and the whole weekend was a really great weekend in the professional wrestling world last year. How did it feel to win a tournament of this importance so early in your career? Besides winning the tournament, was there a moment or match in that tournament you were most proud of?

GA: Winning that tournament definitely meant a lot to me. That moment is right up there with the Osaka tour as one of my proudest moments in wrestling. There’s no higher accolade for a trio team in the United States, possibly the world. Aside from winning the finals, I was proud of what went down on Night 2 when The Colony stomped all over the BDK’s team and sent them home embarrassed.

TJ: For this section of the interview, I was hoping that you could share your thoughts on some of your most recent prominent matches:

Never Kneel at the Alter of Conformity 2009: The Colony vs. The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple

GA: Oh man, my debut! It was a big deal for me to be debuting in the main event of a CHIKARA card. Needless to say, this match was not one of my best performances, but we did win and it did set the stage for The Colony’s future.

King of Trios 2010: The Colony vs. Team Osaka Pro

GA: This was my first big victory in a trios match, and it was also one of only three times The Colony has ever hit the Super Antapult Splash AKA Super Holy Diver. As I said before, I always like wrestling Kotoge and Harada. This was also the first time I got to square off with Tadasuke, another opponent I respect. I liked this one!

Young Lions Cup 2010: Green Ant vs. Akira Tozawa

GA: This is one of my matches that I would love to re-do nowadays. When I had this match, I wasn’t fully educated on who Akira Tozawa was and just how good he was. This was also my first time wrestling a Japanese-speaking opponent. In this match I learned that Tozawa hits hard, doesn’t get tired, and yells constantly.

Wrestling is Fun! Debut Event: Green Ant and Soldier Ant vs. The Batiri

GA: Oh boy! I hated wrestling these guys because I would keep forgetting that they wear that face paint, so I’d grab them by the head and face, getting it all over my hands. After this match, my wrestling gear was covered in their paint. So annoying! At least I won.

TJ: Thank you so much Green Ant for taking the time to do the interview. Is there anything you want to plug, while you are here?

GA: Thanks a lot for having me on here! I appreciate it. I’m on Twitter , and you can find info about me and everything going on with CHIKARA at ChikaraPro.com and the Chikara Youtube page . Our Season Premiere is on January 28th in Easton, PA. I’m wrestling my trainer, Mike Quackenbush one on one! Catch you later!

More Chikara information can be found at their Twitter and Facebook .

Chikara and Wrestling is Fun! DVDs can be picked up at SmartMarkVideo.com

411’s Kevin Ford also has two great Chikara resources that you should check out: The Chikara Special Blog and a Chikara Tumblr

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to Twitter or at my email address: [email protected]. If you are a wrestling personality who would like to be interviewed by 411mania, you can also contact me in either of those ways.

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Be sure to check out some of my past 411 Interviews

Kevin Steen Part 1 & Part 2
Eddie Edwards
Johnny Gargano
Mike Quackenbush
Nigel McGuinness
Lance Hoyt/Vance Archer/Lance Archer
Adam Cole
Gran Akuma

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