Since his first appearance on WWE as the leader of the Nexus, I’ve been following Stu Bennett‘s career. With its brutal travel schedule and physical demands, life as a wrestler can envelop a performer outside of the ring as well. I had a chance to speak with Stu about his feature film I Am Vengeance: Retaliation (out now on VOD) and talk to him about his transition from wrestling to action star and the road ahead of him in film and television.
Since this has all gone down, I can honestly say I’ve missed NWA Power.
Me too! It’s a real tragedy. We were supposed to have our biggest show in its modern history, which was The Crockett Cup. We were right on track for that and had really big things planned with some Ring of Honor talent, like Marty Scurll. It was a real shame it got shut down, but it’s the safest and the smartest thing to do. Hopefully, when all this moves past, we can get back to some sort of normality and then get back to producing the show.
You lost Ricky Starks to AEW too.
That’s right. It’s inevitable. In all honesty, part of the deal of NWA is they are very supportive. If offers from other companies come in giving you the kind of money or exposure you want, that’s great. NWA is very open to not having contracts that pin people down for life, like with Ricky Starks. Look at Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins; he’s the owner of the NWA. In his career, as a performer, he’s been tied to record deals and realizes how bad it can be with a stifling contract that holds performers down. I’m sure he’s aware of that. He’s very good to his talent and the people who work with him. So I’m very happy to be working with him.
I love NWA as an alternative to WWE. I imagine everything is just wait and see right now?
Yeah. There’s nothing solid yet. I know Billy and David were both very vocal when this will all happened that under no circumstances would they be filming NWA Power without fans. Until it’s safe to allow fans back, they’re not going to be shooting anything. We’re still waiting at the moment. I know states are starting to open up. NWA Power is filmed in Georgia, which I believe is one of the earliest states to do so. I’m concerned because reports are coming out of Florida now of spikes and all this stuff.
I think it’s a case of, “Okay, it’s opening, but we’re not going to jump straight away and start filming. We’re going to see how this plays out. Let other people open up first. If it’s bad and we get shut down again, we’re not planning and putting people in danger too early.” So yeah, I don’t think it’s going to be anything in the next month or two, but hopefully certainly by the end of the year, we get something going. But again, it’s not my decision. I’m not involved in that process at all. I’m like everyone else wanting to come back and get working again and producing content.
