Wrestling: JDX talks Black Wrestlers Matter, headlining with ACH, and more

JDX recently spoke to Philip Lindsey of Daily DDT in an exclusive interview where he talked about the impact of Black Wrestlers Matter.

During SummerSlam weekend, “The Real McCoy” JDX headlined Black Wrestlers Matter with ACH. The Chicago-native was one of the highlights of the show along with many other up-and-coming Black independent wrestlers. If Jon West’s hope was to spotlight lesser-known performers, then he succeeded as JDX will be a name to keep an eye on.

Black Wrestler Matters was JDX’s first match since March because most promotions canceled their shows due to COVID-19. His last appearance was a match with Rylie Jackson for F1RST Wrestling in Rosedale, Minnesota. He briefly talked about what it was like to come back to such a unique experience and how it compared to other locker rooms he has been in.

“To be honest, it was very different,” he said. “It’s like being in a locker room is always, you know, you always carry yourself a certain way, like, you’re respectful. You know, you pay your dues, and you do what’s right, and you shake hands, and kiss babies, and yada, yada, yada.”

“This past weekend, like, it was just more so relaxed. You know what I mean, like, you can be yourself. Not that you can’t be when there’s a diverse locker room, but there is the extra sense of relaxation that goes into the knowing that you’re with everyone who shares the same cultural background if that makes sense.”

“So, like, I think a lot of that may actually have to do for me personally, it might have a lot to do with, you know, the George Floyd thing, the Breonna Taylor thing. Everyone is speaking out and no longer are we like biting our tongues as African American athletes and just African Americans in general. I think it’s safe to say when I return to a ring or a locker room, I’ll be just as comfortable, but I know with this being my first show back in five months in the locker room it was an ultimate, like all time, high of comfortability and that was awesome.”

Fans rarely get to see two Black men compete in the main event of a wrestling show. So, JDX vs. ACH immediately stood out among all of the other events during SummerSlam weekend. “The Real McCoy” discussed what it was like to headline Black Wrestlers Matter with someone as highly regarded as ACH.

“It was humbling. Like, it was super humble and not only because like I’m a huge fan of ACH, but it’s like something that I never thought that would happen, you know what I mean? Especially on the indies. Like, I’m not going to sit here and lie like I never thought I would face ACH, but definitely not as soon and definitely not on the indies, you know what I mean? One of the stories I told back in my promo for the build-up or whatever I was saying like a year ago back in October or wherever it was, September, back when he was down at NXT. I was sitting alone like for extra work and he came up to me was like ‘yo you’re the only one sitting here. They got you sitting here all alone.’ He said something like ‘my brother’ or something like that. You know how we talk like we talk to one another and said, it was, something, basically, for the culture or whatever it was. To think full circle, like, now I’m headlining an event that’s for the culture, that’s Black Wrestlers Matter, that’s like a roster full of Black guys, against ACH. It was surreal. It was humbling like it just doesn’t get any more surreal.”

As he said, JDX did some work as an extra last year for NXT. He also worked a match as Justin Xavier against Kassius Ohno on an episode in October of 2018. This was during his first year as a professional wrestler. He’s approaching his third year now with a lot of buzz and a high-profile match under his belt. Initially, JDX wasn’t supposed to wrestler ACH though. He was actually in line to be the first Black Wrestlers Matter champion.

“So actually, it was originally supposed to be Jon [West] and I for a belt of some sort. I’m not sure what happened to the belt. Maybe at Black Wrestlers Matter 2, we’ll see the unveiling of that belt and I call first dibs on that. Yeah, originally, I was supposed to be in a battle royal I believe. And I believe that was supposed to unfold into a match with me and Jon for the belt. And I think we were supposed to be the main event, and I guess he acquired ACH. Unless he was working me the entire time bro I’m not sure.”

“I know like 34 days out he messaged me and he was like, ‘yo, change of plans; like change in plans with your match at BWM. And I was like aww damn what’s going on? What now? And then he dropped the bombshell on me that I was going to be working ACH and dude like, I was at work at the shoot and I just hopped out of my truck and I just like lost it. It’s kinda like when I found out about how I was going to be on NXT, Not on NXT, but going down to NXT. I was in a restaurant with my then-girlfriend, and I just like walked out of the restaurant. I just like had to take a lap around the block in the heart of Minneapolis downtown. So, it was kinda like that, a little bit less dramatic, but like still dramatic, nevertheless. So, he told me 34 days out, and then yeah, it was very nerve-wracking, to say the least. That’s just like almost like Black Jesus that I’m going to be wrestling. For a guy like me who looks up to a guy like ACH, it was like, oh my God, this is man, like LeBron playing Michael Jordan. I’m not LeBron obviously, but you know what I mean, playing a guy you idolize and look up to; that you pattern your game after.”

“The Frontman” Jah-C tried to steal the show in the opening match of Black Wrestlers Matter with Air Wolf. He certainly made a name for himself at the event. In the days that followed, Jah-C and JDX got into an exchange that could possibly lead to a match in the future. “The Real McCoy” welcomes the challenge at the next show.

“Oh, hell yeah,” he said. “Hey man, like I said Black Wrestlers Matter 2, we gotta make it happen. It’s gotta be The Frontman versus me or as I like to call him the front boy cause he swears he’s the man and it’s like, dog if you’re the man then what am I? I don’t think I’m holier than thou, but sometimes he likes to call himself God. If you’re the man, dude, then, what the f*ck am I then?”

“No, seriously though. On a serious note, I love Jah-C. He’s awesome and like you said he definitely stood out. He damn near stole the show in the first match, him and Air Wolf. I’m just like, yeah, you put them first? Follow that. I knew that was gonna happen regardless of whether we did intermission and no intermission. I knew wherever they were placed they were gonna be hard to follow.”

JDX and Jah-C have had two singles matches together. Their first encounter was for JDX’s AWF title in Minnesota. He successfully retained but he lost to “The Frontman” in their second match for Showtime Championship Wrestling. So, it might be the perfect time for a rematch but the list of people JDX would like to work with doesn’t stop there.

“I would love to wrestle Wolf, both Wolves actually. I was specifically talking about Stephen Wolf, but Air Wolf, I’ve had my encounters with him. That’s one of my good buddies; one of my homies, man. So, against Stephen Wolf, Angel Dorado, Kal Creed. Devon Monroe, we were actually supposed to freaking face each other up here for one of the promotions that I’m a champion at, and we were supposed to have like 20 minutes. I was so excited dude because it was our first time facing each other, and I had it all planned out, like, kinda like Air Wolf. That dude loves to like, he gets so excited for matches, and he, like, has ideas like, a month out, that’s how it was kinda when it came to me and Devon. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen because of COVID, but yeah, I would love to face him.”

“Shane Foster, Kenny Alfonso, Alpha Omega. Those dudes are tight. Yeah, there’s plenty of guys, like me and Kenny Alfonso have wrestled before, but that’s low key one of my favorite matches because we didn’t think it was going to be like all of that before we locked up and stuff, but it ended up being one of my favorite matches at least just because of those expectations. Like, we knew we respected each other going into it, but it was just like the time constraints and stuff sometimes. Sometimes, you never know how much chemistry you’re going to have for the first time wrestling a guy, but we hit it off really well. Dude is like super smooth.”

Lastly, JDX discussed what he thinks the impact of Black Wrestlers Matter will be when all is said and done.

“Shout out to Jon [West] for putting a spotlight on us and, you know, taking a chance and all the sponsors and stuff like that. Hopefully, it’ll be like, it just shine some light on that Black wrestlers are able to hold it down. You know what I mean?  We can put on an entertaining show like it doesn’t have to be, I’m all for diversity and everything, but the fact that we put on a show where it was predominantly African Americans that should speak volumes to people. I believe it was entertaining from what I saw like all the matches, all of the feedback, and it was for a great cause, you know what I mean?

“The unity, the movement. It was just a great experience all around and then the funny thing is, man, I kid you not, like, it wasn’t even that many Black people in the audience. It was predominantly Caucasian people. That goes to show that we can draw even in a pandemic, even in a situation like this. You know what I mean. That shows that we are a draw; that we got what it takes to put on a good show.”

JDX has a showcase of champions coming up called Legacy Championship Wrestling in Wisconsin on Saturday, Sept. 5. Be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Jon West also announced that Black Wrestlers Matter 2 will take place at Wooly’s in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, June 19, 2021—Juneteenth.