In PWPonderings latest exclusive interview, EFFY (@EFFYlives) speaks with Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell) on “Big Gay Brunch 10,” the importance of LGBTQ+ wrestling, his relationship with Allie Katch, Hammerstein, and so much more. Watch the interview in its entirety below.
When you won the GCW World Championship, you made it known that you wanted to defend that championship all over the world. How has your run been so far?
“It’s pretty crazy because I think if we include BZW, the French promotion that helped us put on a show (BZW/GCW crossover, it’s been defended in 10 different promotions including GCW. So getting to bring this belt out and show off everything the indies has to offer, my end goal is you know, I’m not a guy who’s going to be under a contract or on TV. The indies are still the birthplace of where wrestling is happening and where things are going on, and I want to hold us out here to a high standard of adaptability, being able to adapt to opponents, showcase the belt in any scenario in any show. So far, it’s been incredible to see how much excitement there is when the belt comes to another place. I was making kind of a big deal because EFFY with the GCW belt, there are no restrictions on who can challenge for this. You don’t have to be a WWE ID person, an AEW person, Ring of Honor, or TNA, you don’t have to be any of those things. You’re just going to be measuring your merits up against me at that moment. Now they’re saying anyone can win the WWE ID belt too, because that was a little question. You can’t say you’re the best on the independents if it’s out of 12 or 15 people. I think that belt should be put on the line the same way the Game Changer belt is being put on the line. I hope going forward is it won’t be just these exhibition matches, I’d love to get into a program. So far, I’ve had matches with Sidney Akeem, Super Crazy, and a lot of stars on the indie scene like Dylan McQueen, Brother Greatness, and Rico Gonzalez, who is going to be at the ‘Big Gay Brunch.’ Allowing these people to have main event spots and tango with the World Champion has been very fun. Every one of these matches is still very different too. It doesn’t mean I’m meshing into my opponents, but I like showcasing that whether it’s a deathmatch or more of a theatrical affair, in any one of those matches there’s an unpredictability for what you’re going to get with EFFY. There’s always unpredictability too with what you’ll get with Game Changer Wrestling. I think that’s one of the most exciting parts of being on their team for the past five years. It’s very fun, very unpredictable, very wild, and also every different type of wrestling that you could imagine. From your Japanese strong style to your Lucha Libre at the highest level, to deathmatch and hardcore of course.”
What’s your mindset heading into ‘Big Gay Brunch X’ on Saturday?
“I think for the past few months, I’ve done these events a lot. I think it’s very difficult that we’re in a climate where like I recognize the privilege I have as a large white man. I still may be a homosexual, I still may be a gay man, but the large responsibility there is to make sure I’m using that privilege to highlight, spotlight, and put the right people in that position. We’ve had a lot of people come through the doors that I think have increased their value in wrestling and changed locker rooms with how they’re done. We’re not just seeing a here-and-there special marquee queer match, we’re seeing our queer brothers and sisters fitting in. Coming out of Philadelphia, it felt like we were in a place in America where we were going to be a little more accepting and a little more moving forward. Obviously, there are people on both sides who are not fond and trying to take away the rights of our trans brothers and sisters, which I think is a big problem. With Trump being put into office and rights being stripped left and right, and people feeling completely lost and not being able to live as themselves, it’s very very VERY important now to make sure we’re not just putting on an entertaining show, but that we’re using this platform to show you that queer people are not laying down. We’re not to be f**ked with. We speak in a similar voice although we have our differences. It’s been a very stressful thing to make sure this show is done in the biggest capacity I can do it. I think we pulled off a pretty incredible card, and we have a lot of surprises. Being able to also bring a lot of people back to ‘Big Gay Brunch’ that we’ve had on the show before like Jai Vidal who’s coming off a TNA run, Max The Impaler, they’ve been in Japan just tearing it up, and the Joshi scene with TJPW women as well. There are a lot of people who I’m very excited to see what the next step is for them. Sonny Kiss and Abadon, both have a similar history in some of what they’re doing. Now seeing them get to go out there and put on the match they would book, they would agent, and they would have. I hope it just continues to let people know that like just because you may not know all these queer people or have only seen them in certain capacities, these are well-rounded, wild entertainers and characters that can fill a lot of different places and stories. I want our audiences and people outside of our community to see how much fun these shows are, how exciting these shows are, and then be able to also say that it’s important that we protect the arts for queer people. Still, it’s even more important that we protect queer people and protect our nature and that we are loud and vibrant. The last thing you want to do is be quiet enough to stay in the background. So, yes, it’s just a wrestling show, but at the end of the day, this is something that’s come out of a place of need. I don’t like booking shows and writing shows. I like being a performer. But with my set of skills and the level of platform I have, it would be absolutely foolish of me to not be able to fight through that door. I do the most matches with a lot of people, but this is a lot of matches I’m having all the time. On top of that to be booking the show and being in the important position to make someone’s career and spot by having them on the show, but you’re also going it’s still just a show. I need to find a balance but I also need people to know that I’m doing this because we have to do this. I’m excited that it’s going to be entertaining and fun and being able to take a load off people being in that space and being with our people. But it also is a trying time and it’s going to continue to be an uphill battle. However, at this point, I can’t stop.”
What goes into booking this type of show?
“I’m very motivated by people who don’t know as much about wrestling. I want people to be able to come into our show whether they have the history and background of us, but they’re able to take this at face value and really enjoy themselves. It’s going to have different moments. It’s going to have moments that are a little more tense, funny, exciting, and uplifting. So booking a show like that, I need to make sure people see the show for what it is. But I also have to honor that these are hardcore wrestling fans coming into town. The show itself has to be very good. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour show. Picking the matches, I wish I could have a two-day festival, but I have to make those choices to bring in fresh faces, and people who maybe the GCW is new to, but then also figure out what will motivate people to come through the door. There are certain people I’ve gotten to watch them grow and change and become a bigger deal. It’s very awesome to be able to bring them back and no we can sell tickets. We have Kidd Bandit coming back. She’s had a few matches already on the comeback, but I think this is going to be a big moment for her. Luckily we were able to secure Zack Sabre Jr. to come back which is just kind of incredible. I’m very excited to see what comes of that. Announcing someone like Kidd Bandit a couple of years ago was like a ‘Hey, come check this person out,’ but now through the way they’ve grown themselves and grown their social media following, and continue to work non-stop, welcoming that person back and people being excited that that person is back, it makes a difference in the event. I originally wanted ‘Big Gay Brunch’ to never be a show that focused too much on EFFY, my name and picture are already on it. My whole idea for the first few of them was to just be a mid-card silly thing, but around the fourth or fifth, we figured out EFFY has to main event. With that, it’s a whole new world of shows named after me, now I’m also the champion and I’m fighting one of my closest friends in Dark Sheik, which I don’t know if I’m dealing with the Dark Sheik who would cut my head off, I don’t really know where it stands. So, there’s a lot of pressure I put on myself at the end of the day as to if I gave them the best show possible and if I paid attention enough to win a wrestling match too.”
How important is it to you to be defending the GCW World Championship at Big Gay Brunch, which is the only time it will be defended all weekend?
“I’ll be there all weekend. I’m going to be attending Spring Break and the Progress show on Thursday night, I’ll stick around for the Clusterf**k show, and who knows what could happen. But this is the show that started in the spot that nobody wanted. That 11 AM on Saturday is something different. To be able to take a tough spot where it’s like ‘Hey it’s Saturday morning,’ they’ve been watching wrestling all weekend, and they have Mania that night, and making a show that’s drawing people in specifically, it’s kind of a crazy thing that we’ve been able to do because I never thought it would work at this level. I never thought I’d be sitting here talking about the 10th one and we’d be doing Vegas. These happening all over the US and all over the world is a very cool feeling. Now to have the understanding and admiration of the GCW people to put enough respect on it to say ‘Hey, EFFY is going to make a statement with his championship and if you want to see the GCW World Championship there’s only one place to do it.’ It’s at Big Gay Brunch, on Saturday morning and even doing the brunch beforehand, where a lot of us are going to be hanging out and doing the early meet and greet. Getting people up at 9 AM in Vegas is a really crazy thing. It is an honor, but I also owe it to myself because this has to be a huge party. After all, you’re waking people up in the morning and you have to give them some wild action.”
How important is growing LGBTQ+ wrestling for you in this current climate?
“It is very important. I’m very impressed with myself. I’m not a person who sits and reminisces on his accomplishments. My hope now is that I’m still just a human, so what we need for this to grow is for more people to step up into the role like I have and figure out ways to continue to get opportunities out to these queer talents. Not me, my cup runneth over, but there’s an old saying that my grandma used to say, ‘If you’re complaining about getting a piece of the pie, you need to start baking pies and sharing them with everyone else.’ If we’re all “baking pies” and putting our time and energy into this scene and not just worrying about ourselves, I hope that people are inspired to lock into their local scenes and support the wrestlers that are at the towns and promotions close to them. For those wrestlers, to kind of figure out, what’s it going to take for my promoter to host an event that will feature more of these LGBTQ people, not just during pride month, what it going to take to request opponents who are LGBTQ-friendly. This is something that we all have to continuously deal with and grow with. For me to say ‘Look how far we’ve come, it’s so incredible’ is stupid. What we need is for people to come out of EFFY’s BGB and want to continue to expand the scene. When we help each other out, everyone kind of wins. I hope that’s what the legacy leads to. More people being inspired to run shows and take on the bigger tasks and not just showing up and having your match.”
What is your goal when it comes to Big Gay Brunch this weekend?
“I very much have my blinders on. I am very focused on my matches being great. When the show itself is happening, I’m not thinking outside of the show. I’m mechanically sticking my head down and doing what needs to be done. I will say, that after the last one we did in Chicago, right after the show we were trending online and starting to pick up, then CM Punk got fired. So all the news was that instead of BGB. I’m just hoping this year, Mania starts at 3/4/5 in the afternoon. Give us a second to get our information over, but I think with the surprises we have planned and the matches we have, the event is going to speak for itself. Especially, after four days of wrestling and with a few shows afterward, this is capping off the weekend for me. Being able to just finish the week and be proud of everyone’s hard work and everything that got done, there’s a real relief that comes through and I can’t wait until after the Brunch when that’s all said and done.”
Are there any matches you’re really looking forward to at Big Gay Bruch, which could very well be a Match of the Week contender?
“I just announced Rico Gonzalez and Aaron Rourke. Rourke is out of Create A Pro and is now under the WWE ID contract. We had a very cool main event there. Recently, I wrestled Rico Gonzalez in Atlanta who’s an AR Fox student. He’s the husband of AC Mack if you remember AC Mack. We had an incredible match. Now, I announced Rico vs. Rourke at BGB. I’m so pumped to see those two go at it. I do have a hoss-fatal four-way that I haven’t announced yet. Zeeko, who is formerly Karam vs. Max The Impaler vs. Parrow vs. Brick Savage. Savage is making his debut on the show. This is a four-way with the four biggest monsters I’ve ever seen. We also have Abadon and Sonny Kiss having another single match. Their first one was at another promotion a while back. It’s been a while for both of them. I’ve gotten to share the ring with both of them, and they’re both phenomenal athletes. Zack Sabre Jr., I can’t believe the former f**king New Japan champion, the former winner of Battle of Los Angeles, is doing EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch. That to me is like the feather in the cap, against Kidd Bandit nonetheless. This match is going to be a show-stealer. There are a few more matches to be announced, and a lot of people will be on the card. A few surprises that you’ll have to wait until show day to see. But, it’s going to be very fun. The energy I think people will get from any of these matches will just be unstoppable. By the time you get to the main event with me and Sheik, I hope we can still captivate your imagination because I have some crazy ideas for that.”
How important was Hammerstein to you when you won the GCW World Championship and how special was that whole night to you working with your close friend in Allie Katch and defeating Mance for the GCW World Championship?
“You mentioned Allie and Mance, and I’m such an impatient person. The time that happened between Allie’s injury and my match with Mance was roughly three hours. Having to wait around all night knowing she was messed up and the show wasn’t exactly what I expected, by the time I got out there, there was such a sense of relief. Whatever happens, Allie would kick my ass if I didn’t stay and do the match. Allie would be mad at me if I didn’t stay and finish the job. It was later than I expected and I probably wasn’t in the best mood after the day I had, but the vibe was to let me check on Allie. I made sure her GoFundMe was handled before I put my shirt out or anything. I celebrated myself once I got out of the country. This was sick, this was great. But it was a little strange. Returning to Hammerstein though and getting the ‘You Deserve It’ feel after the debacle with Jeff Jarrett, it felt good. I’m hoping though that we don’t have to do Hammerstein again.”
Whether opponents or teammates with Allie Katch, how important is your relationship with her?
“I sort of get all the reasons she was mad at me. I have to be honest, being on the road as much as we were on the road together for four straight years. You have a weird husband-and-wife relationship. I used to joke with her that we were married in the sense that we don’t have s*x and we fight all the time. But, she’s someone who is a close friend who’s someone I spill to, and having the feud with her was difficult. It’s like ‘Okay, brothers and sisters fight,’ me and my brother used to fight, but at the end of the day, he just found out he’s having another baby. Who cares what we were mad about a few years ago? I honor her frustration. I think I’m frustrated. I’ve joked with people, if I wasn’t EFFY and I was a wrestler, I’d hate EFFY. It seems like no matter what I do it’s going to work, no matter what is planned I’m going to do what I want to do. It seems like keeping up with me sometimes is a nightmare. So for her to need to take that out on me and vent that out on me, good. Luckily she’s going to be in Vegas. We have her on the commentary team, coming to the breakfast in the morning and hopefully doing some other things. I think she has every right to attack me and luckily we’re a forgiving group and hopefully, our relationship can rekindle in teaming maybe down the line. But there are no predictions on what could happen. I care about her very much and I checked on her a lot while she was down. Hopefully, when she comes back we can have some fun again. However, I still have the GCW World Championship so you gotta go handle your own business babe. We had a match a long time ago in Dallas in her grandparent’s backyard in a hometown sort of feel. It was very fun, and I was kind of being the bad boy in that match. I appreciate her being the bad girl, but maybe we have to go back to me being the baddie of the match and being a d*ck. I’m very good at it. If people know me, I think I’m very easy to get along with if everything is going to plan, but if it’s messed up I can be a nightmare and she’s one of the few people to truly know how bad that gets. I’m a moody little boy.”
What are your future goals for “Wrestling Is Gay” and to make wrestling “gayer?”
“I think the hardest part for me right now is my biggest weakness is continuing on as a full-time pro wrestler. There are so many things I’m good at. I used to work in the moving industry, moving furniture and managing a business, but I think once I decided I had enough of the glory, I could be a really dangerous figure as far as producing and doing my own shows and own bookings and knowing how to properly run this show in a way that other people are going to want to follow the footsteps. I’ve always said that you don’t convince these big companies to do things the way you want them to, by telling them to do it. You show them that there’s a profitable way to do it and that there’s money in this form of entertainment. I think getting away from wrestling as much as I am, will keep helping me to make wrestling more gay. I don’t think that’ll be any time soon. I feel in great physical health and I’m 35 in June, but I’d trade being 35 and feeling how I feel right now to any feeling I had in my 20’s you know? I know my body now, I know what I’m capable of, and I know what I need. Having that kind of schedule where it’s 100, 120, 130 matches a year, holds me back from a lot of other things I want to get into. I work on the “Wrestling Is Gay” stuff a lot. Not to make it political but tariff’s wise it’s very difficult to make merch right now for anyone. It’s very difficult right now to do these items. The Chinese market, even if they were bringing stuff into America, is going to be very hard right now. So, I think just trying to spread that energy and keep the action. EFFY has been on the lips of most people in wrestling before. Now, I want to figure out how to get people in the LGBTQ+ community who aren’t familiar with wrestling and still think of it as this backwoods, republican, dirty, offensive, misogynistic thing and show them that yes it can be, but there are a lot of us who are busting our ass who care about the art form and care about the physical improv and being able to tell these stories in our way with our tricks and our magic that this is something that exists out there. I think a lot of people, especially coming out of COVID, being in a live audience where you can scream and let things out, there’s nothing more healthy in my mind at least than to just scream ‘Let’s Go (whoever)’, if having these sort of group events as a community and making these people who aren’t on board with wrestling, see what we’re about, I want to expand that part out. If that means getting in front of schools or getting in front of communities and not using my ability as a wrestler but also as a teacher to bring people to our world, that’s how it’ll continue to change. We’re in charge of what wrestling is. Nobody knows what’s going on. This is where they tell me to shut up. If anyone was as over as they wanted to be they wouldn’t be worried about other wrestlers or competition. If everyone was making as much money as they wanted and making as much on ticket sales and inventory coming in, they wouldn’t be mad at each other. Since it’s not perfect and we’re mad at each other, I just want to have so much bounty and so many ways to bring people to wrestling, it’s still wrestling. If they paid to to see EFFY at The Philly Special, they still get to see Jonathan Gresham too. There’s this magic of if I can sell you on one part of the event and get you to our show, there’s so many other things that I think will hook you back in. If anyone needs to see LGBTQ power fighters, it’s LGBTQ people. They need to be unafraid, not scared to stand up, not scared to put their bodies into it and be physically a little bit threatening because the world is ours. We have to keep letting them know not to be stepped on. We’re not lesser than you, and we have a form of this entertainment that you thought was one thing but that we’ve turned completely into our own thing.”
What are your hopes for the future of professional wrestling?
“It’s not a dark time for professional wrestling, it’s a dark time for sort of everything. Physically, I’d like to be able to be done with wrestling and be able to live my life. I think that’s something that a lot of us take for granted. As fans, it’s easy to take for granted that every single movement as a pro wrestler could lead to a lot of dangerous injuries. We just saw Cole Radrick have a knee injury that was probably exasperated by the wrestling. I just want to leave with my physical body intact. But for the rest of wrestling, I’m just going to make sure that no matter what the outcome is, I’m putting forth a positive effort, whether I’m annoyed by it or not, to continue the scene and make it happen. At the end of the day, I only have so much time in my life and in my career, the fact is I’m going to do the best that I can do. I’m going to do everything in my power to hopefully make it easier for future people coming into the industry to be themselves and make their mark. But, I’m also not going to be mad at myself when my time comes and if my time comes, I know that I put everything into making wrestling the version of wrestling that I think it should be morally, for the safety of the performers and for the acceptance and safety of our fans who are coming in spending money and time, to forget a little bit about how the world is. I leave that with as much possibility of a positive future as I can and to not beat myself up for the rest of my life. I’m not there to try and police and fix pro wrestling, pro wrestling is going to do what it does, all I can do is my best and leave a blueprint on how I think it should be done.”
This week, you can find EFFY at WrestleCon on Thursday and Sunday, challenging for the Progress Proteus Championship at Progress Wrestling on Thursday night, defending his GCW World Championship against Dark Sheik at Big Gay Brunch 10 on Saturday morning, then rounding out his WrestleMania weekend at the Clusterf*ck Forever event on Saturday night.
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