Some wrestlers have been given “The Butcher” as a nickname, but Alex Hammerstone used to be one.
Hammerstone spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of his match with Satoshi Kojima at MLW’s Azteca Lucha event. The former MLW World Champion left via free agency in 2024, but ultimately returned to MLW as a surprise entrant at Battle Riot VII in April. He spoke highly about maintaining a solid relationship with MLW owner Court Bauer and shared how they hashed out some of the details about his position in the company.
Hammerstone credited Bauer for wanting more feedback from his performers. Hammerstone said he’s fine with a promoter telling him the destination, but he wants “to be able to choose what path I take to get there.” He pointed out that he left a situation in TNA where there was a lot of uncertainty with his creative direction, but touted the investment that MLW makes in talent.
“I feel like if the company doesn’t have a direction for me, and if the company doesn’t care about my creative, then it’s hard for me to get excited about it and contribute. How am I supposed to take this ball and run with it if like you’re not telling me where to run, you know? It’s selfishly, just go on the field and try to knock everybody over. But then I might just look like a big asshole. So, that was kind of the conversation we had.
“The first time we talked about Battle Riot, he’s like, ‘Here’s what we want to do at Battle Riot, and then here’s how it would go into Chicago. And then, here’s how it would go into New York.’ And it was just like, ‘Oh! Wow! You thought this through.’ And I haven’t even agreed to anything. So, it just goes to show that there’s a mental investment there.”
Alex Hammerstone looks back on his last ‘normal job’ as a butcher
Hammerstone agreed that it’s nice to have both sides reciprocate the same feelings and attitude. He used one of his past non-wrestling jobs to highlight how involved putting together a pro wrestling match and storyline can be. Hammerstone worked as a butcher and could do the monotonous tasks without issue, but pointed out that successful wrestling isn’t the same.
“The last ‘normal person’ job I had was I was a butcher. And I would go to work at 6:00 AM. I’d have a certain amount of stuff I had to get done. And I would get it done. And I could do that mindlessly. At some point, my boss started talking to me like, “Hey, like, you’re really a smart guy. I want to start training you on these other positions. I want you to stay later, maybe start training to potentially move into management one day.’ And it was like, ‘No. I’m wrestling.’ Because that was a job that I could just go in, put my headphones on, do my job, and leave.’ And then the rest of the day, I didn’t have to think about it. I didn’t have to worry about it, I didn’t have to have text with anyone or come up with ideas.
“But with pro wrestling, you can’t do that. You can’t clock in, zone out, go through the motions for eight hours and then be done. You have to be excited, you have to be interested, you have to have a fire lit inside of you. Because like, there’s so many people doing this at such a high level. Like, how are you going to stand out? And you are not going to stand out by going, ‘Okay, yeah, let’s walk up and I’ll give you a shoulder tackle and then I’ll hit my comeback.” And no, like, you have to be like, ‘Okay, here’s what I want to get across in this segment.’ Like, I have this idea that you have to be excited about it. And if you’re not, it’s like, ‘Good luck!’”
“It was like a complete 180”
Hammerstone is a pretty intimidating guy already; has he ever considered using a butcher gimmick in the ring?
“You know, it’s funny, when I worked at that job, I started as a barback. And it was like a hipster restaurant so, I’m wearing these super tight clothes and everything bulging out, and this is when I had the long hair too. I was much younger and prettier back then, so all the girls at the restaurant would flirt with me. And then, I switched over to being the butcher, so I’d just be in the cooler all day. [I wore] a giant sweater and this big bloody apron, and had a cleaver in my hand. I’d walk out and it was like nobody knew me anymore. [laughs] Just a complete 180.”
MLW’s Azteca Lucha takes place on Saturday, May 10. The event will air live and free on YouTube. Check out our full interview with Alex Hammerstone below:
