Throughout the years, Pro Wrestling and it’s landscape have evolved, from the independent level all the way to the WWE. How wrestlers are making a name for themselves and building a career has made a full shift. One guy who has been in the business for sixteen years has seen the dynamics change. And they have changed for the better.
Scorpio Sky started off wrestling in the indie scene throughout California, many fans had the opportunity to see him wrestle in places like PWG, AWS, and SoCal Pro. A well-respected, talented individual who was striving and working hard in the Indies. Scorpio has recently seen a shift in his career, he is currently wrestling for Ring of Honor and is an assistant trainer at the New Japan Dojo in LA. Many would say, that Scorpio’s hard work is finally paying off as he continues to reach new limits in his career.
Just a few years back, trying to make it as a Professional Wrestler had its major uphill battles. There were only a handful of promotions where you can make a living, the number one place being WWE of course. However, WWE was only interested in signing former athletes or body builders. So, guys that were smaller in size were getting passed on. Guys like AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens may have never been looked at because of their size. So many talents like Scorpio Sky had a harder time at making wrestling a full-time career.
“I remember the days when I felt good getting paid fifty dollars for a show. Twenty of that went to gas, ten to food, and coming home with twenty dollars in my pocket felt like a success haha. Only to go to my day job the next day and have my manager get mad at me for asking for a day off to go wrestle somewhere. Now all I do is wrestle, I pay all my bills wrestling. I’m far from rich; I mean I’ve got enough money to last the rest of my life…if I died tomorrow haha. In all seriousness it’s been some years since I’ve had to work a day job and that’s a blessing.” said Sky.
Some of the changes that occurred in wrestling to allow for more opportunities include promotions working together, more platforms for wrestling to be seen, and a big one is WWE now hiring guys that have made a name for themselves throughout different parts of the world.
Of course getting to companies like the WWE, New Japan Pro Wresting, and Impact is still no easy feat.
“When you have guys on TV making great money telling you ‘I’m a big fan, man’ or highly respected performers around the world meet you and say ‘I saw you do this in a video and I took it from you’ that’s the ultimate respect. But I don’t think everyone sees it. I’m an OG at this point; I’ve been doing this for a minute. So I’ve seen so many different eras and guys come and go. The only thing I can do is what I’ve always done, keep working and hope for the best.” said Sky.
Ring Of Honor
Clearly, Scorpio Sky’s hard work in the independent level didn’t go unnoticed. And he was able to get signed by one of the most popular wrestling promotions out there, Ring of Honor. Home to guys like The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Jay Lethal. In all walks of life, reputation and having prominent people vouch for you is important. Scorpio had developed a name for himself and thanks to his past work in Pro Wresting Guerrilla with Frankie Kazarian, he had someone within the company openly speaking positively of him.
“The opportunity came for me to go to {Las}Vegas and have somewhat of a try-out in which I wrestled Kushida and Cody. I was happy with both matches and left with no promises. I got called back, and got called again, and again. I had the right people behind the scenes vouching for me and I guess the timing was just right. As a long time ROH fan it was great for me. It felt right as well, I feel like I belong there.” said Sky.
Since being a part of the ROH roster, Sky has teamed up with Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels to form SoCal Uncensored. 
“Having them literally in my corner every night has been amazing. It gave me instant credibility in the eyes of ROH fans because Frankie and Chris are two of the most respected guys in the business.” said Sky on teaming with Kazarian and Daniels.
Scorpio has only been in ROH for less than a year (Sept.2017) and has already been involved in some key programs.
“Honestly I expected to start at the bottom and work my way up. Getting thrown right in there opposite the Bullet Club was pressure but exactly what I wanted. I know I was new to a lot of the fans, some knew the name but had never seen me and it was an opportunity to win them all over.” said Sky.
Many people think that once you get to the top, you have to work less. That your work is cut out for you, but that’s not the case for Scorpio. Being in matches with guys like The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Cody Rhodes one has to hold their own.
“I never wanted anyone to look at a match and think everything was great about that except Scorpio Sky haha or have someone say ‘Well you could have put anyone in his place and the match would be the same.’ I’ve worked hard to carry my own and prove I belong there.”
And the ultimate test of proving one’s self came during Wrestlemania weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ring of Honor held their Supercard of Honor show for their biggest crowd in the 16 year history of the company, with close to 6,000 people in attendance. And if that wasn’t added pressure, ROH was going head-to-head with WWE’s NXT Takeover. Which has proven to be a tough show to follow, since the NXT guys give it their all and more to prove themselves to the WWE Universe.
“I got to the building that day extra early. Just looking at the arena and set up, and trying to think ‘was this going to be the biggest show of my career?’ Oddly enough I wasn’t nervous though. I felt good, excited, and ready to put on a hell of a show. I knew all the guys in the match would bring it so there was nothing to be nervous about. The idea of going head-to-head with NXT was fun. ” said Sky.
And to make things even more interesting, SoCal Uncensored took on the team of The Young Bucks and Flip Gordon in a ladder match, meanwhile NXT Takeover also had a ladder match scheduled on their show. So not only would the shows be going head-to-head so would the ladder matches.
“I remember earlier in the week of the show a fan asked on Twitter ‘what ladder match do you think will be better’ and every single reply said the NXT one would be better. That lit a fire under me. I talked to Frankie {Kazarian} about it, he had seen the same tweet and we just thought okay let’s show them. They both ended up being great matches so all the fans got a show.”
New Japan Pro Wrestling
In recent years New Japan Pro Wrestling has increased in popularity in the states. In fact, the company has run two shows out in California in the last year and is planning an upcoming show in San Francisco at the Cow Palace. And in addition to that New Japan has also opened a dojo in Los Angeles. Scorpio Sky is an Assistant Trainer at the camp alongside Katsoyuri Shibata.
“When they chose me I was almost as surprised as I’m sure many others were when the news broke. But I was honored. New Japan is such a tremendous company and they take wrestling very seriously. At the same time I had the responsibility to push guys and get the most out of them. I have truly enjoyed the experience.” said Sky. 
New Japan is known for having some of the most difficult training in the world and those that have come out of the New Japan dojo go on to be great wrestlers.
“The groups we’ve had come in all worked SO hard. Over the course of those 5 days you see them in their weakest moments; bleeding, sweating, sometimes almost crying. I look them in their eyes and tell them to ‘keep going if you really want it.’No matter how hard the workout is, I guarantee you’ve gone through something in life harder than this. Use that and push through it.’ Both groups left everything they had in the gym and I couldn’t be happier with them.”
Sky also had the chance to work one-on-one with Shibata. “Shibata is amazing! Not only seeing his attention to detail and how he’s able to get the best out of these guys but out of me as well. He has been generous enough to stay late many days to work out with me one-on-one. Showing me his techniques and helping me with some of my own. He’s one of the best at what he does, a legend, and anything I can pick up from him is welcomed.” 
Of course this begs the question, will Scorpio Sky join New Japan? He already has a working relationship with the company and is garnering a higher level of attention through Ring of Honor, so will he? And if so, who should he work a program with? The possibilities are endless.
“I am all about calling my shot these days so I wouldn’t say IF but WHEN. There are a lot of guys I’d like to get in the ring with there. Rocky Romero a few more times. I’d like to face the Bucks in New Japan. Kushida, Zach Sabre Jr. Okada of course. I’d get up for any of it.” said Sky about his future with New Japan.
What the future looks like for Scorpio Sky is unknown. But what we do know is that Sky will continue to make a name for himself. Sky will also be facing Jay Lethal and Flip Gordon at Ring of Honor Bound by Honor on April 27th.
Make sure to check out Scorpio Sky across all social media for updates, upcoming shows, and more!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScorpioSky
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scorpiosky/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scorpioskydotcom/
Pro Wrestling Tees: https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/scorpiosky
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