Chandler Hopkins: The Rollercoaster Ride of Being An Indie Wrestler

The Oklahoma native has lived it, but he’s not jaded. In fact, he still gets those butterflies in his stomach before his music hits and he makes the walk, whether in front of 10,000 people or ten.

“I’m always nervous,” said Hopkins. “There’s not a time I have a match that I’m not nervous. For me, it’s a mentality that you care. So, for me to go out there and be able to do it, I do it at the caliber that I can do it at and display great storytelling. It’s a lot of nerves for me. But I’ve got a lot of experience and nine years to really figure out how to use those nerves the right way. I think nerves can be used in the right way. I believe nerves enhance your reflex time, and I think it keeps you on guard enough.”

And if the old adage, “never let ‘em see you sweat,” is real, Hopkins is the living embodiment of it, because when he’s in the ring, you wouldn’t detect an ounce of the jitters. That certainly comes with experience, especially since he was thrown into the deep end of the pool when he started competing in the ring, making it a true sink or swim scenario.

They should make one of those wrestling for dummies books that teaches you everything,” Hopkins laughs. “But honestly, I don’t think there is a how-to. And, for me, when I first got started, I was with a company that was doing it all for me, and I didn’t even really know what an independent company was. I knew what WWE was, WCW, of course, and I had watched TNA, but I didn’t know what independent wrestling was. And so when I first started indie wrestling, when I got picked up in late 2016, I thought I was only allowed to work for that specific company. But it was over time that I kind of figured that out.

“And of course, whenever you’re with a company that’s wrestling every single weekend from the very start, I was very spoiled. I do believe from the beginning, because I’ve seen what a lot of people wanted to have. I got to wrestle every single weekend. I worked my way up in the company, and within a couple of months, I was their champion, and two years straight, I was one of the main guys.”

Obviously, talent, hard work, and athleticism allowed Hopkins to move quickly, but it didn’t hurt to have some respected veterans around to help show him the ropes.

“I got to work with guys like Chavo (Guerrero) and MVP, I got to tag team with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, I’ve been in the ring and done things with the Von Erichs and their dad, with Sting. I wrestled just at that one company, and I wrestled so many starter names that helped me get to a point that most people don’t get to until three or four years into the business.

“Can you imagine six months into your wrestling career, Chavo Guerrero and MVP walk in the door and go, ‘Oh, hey, by the way, we’re going to be the two new regulars for the next year or so and we’re going to be here every single weekend and we’re going to be teaching you guys how to do this the right way. That’s what I had. That was the fast-track education that I had. I didn’t ask for it. I got lucky, and I stepped into it. Now, once I left that company and I realized, hey, I can go work wherever, and they didn’t want me working for other people, well, at that point it was like, well, I still have to build an independent career for myself because you’re not paying the bills.”

So off he went, and today, he keeps a busy schedule, working as often as he can while being open for new opportunities on the rare weekends that he’s not on the mats. It’s not an easy gig, but nothing worth working for ever is. And despite his experience in the business, if the WWE calls on Monday, he still doesn’t know how he’d react.

“I don’t think anyone’s actually truly prepared for that,” said Hopkins. “I’d love to sit here and go, absolutely, that’s what I’ve been waiting for. But, in that moment, there are a lot of things that start running through your head, and there’s a lot of things that start happening in your mind, and you go, holy s**t, this is the big call. I would love to get that big call. Am I ready for it? Like I said, I’m not going to say that I’m ready for it because I don’t think anyone’s truly ready. I think the pressure cooker is what makes you ready. You get put in that pressure situation, and it tests you, and it says, yes, you’re ready. Because anybody can go say, I’m ready, and then go out there and completely flop.”

That’s the voice of experience talking. And you get the impression that when the big show does call, Hopkins will be ready and he’ll deliver. And as far as he’s concerned, he’s still got plenty left to give to professional wrestling.

“I got to do a lot of cool stuff and I don’t think where I’m at in my nine years is where I expected it to be whenever I first started,” he said. “But I think it’s the perfect place for me now because let’s say I get signed within the next year, I still have 10 years that I know that I can really put in some really good stuff and I could have a good wrestling career on whatever platform I get to go to, and then really set some roots for the aftermath of wrestling.

“So do I think I’m where I wanted to be when I started, no, but am I getting closer? Absolutely. Some of us get it really quickly, and it’s crazy. Someone gets a viral clip, and the next thing you know, they’re signed within two years, three years, and they’re off to the races. It just wasn’t the path for me, that I’ve got to live so far. But it’s coming. A lot of cool things are on the horizon. I’ve just got to stay the course.”