In PWPonderings’ latest exclusive interview, Grayson Pierce (@TheFamePierce) sits down with Scott Mitchell (@scott44mitchell) to open up about his upcoming six-person tag team match at ACTION Wrestling, working with the likes of The Infantry, Herculon Rage, Lee Johnson, and more, as well as his girlfriend, Corinne Joy, and working at such promotions like TWE and Beyond Wrestling. Watch the interview in its entirety down below.

On Friday night, you will make your return to ACTION Wrestling in a major six-person tag match as you team up with Herculon Rage and Corinne Joy, collectively known as Not Safe For Wrestling, to face off with the ACTION World Champion, Darian Bengston, and The Thirst’s Kelsey Raegan and Ravenna Vein. What is your mindset entering this one?

“I’m just really excited. I grew up on Ring of Honor wrestling, and stuff like that. They were big on six-man tags. Some of the most insane matches you’ve ever seen. I’m in there with not only my best friend in wrestling, but also my girlfriend. We all have a part to play in this match. Darian is known as the best wrestler on the indies right now. I think he got voted that. So, I’m very excited to see what we mix up with that. Kelsey Raegan has been killing it. She’s been around forever. She and Corinne have had some amazing matches. Same with Ravenna. She and Corinne have kind of feuded forever. It’s just all right there. Herculon, he’s in his second year. He and I paired up. I remember when he came in and started training. He and I kind of clicked together. We’ve had matches together, been against each other, tagged. So, it’s really cool to have one of my young boys with me, even though I think he’s way older than me. But it’ll be a really fun match.”

Recently at ACTION, you and Rage have been embroiled in a rivalry with The Infantry’s Carlie Bravo and Shawn Dean. What has it been like to work with them?

“The Infantry. Carlie Bravo, I think he’s only been doing it for like four or five years. Where he’s at is insane to me because I’ve been doing it four to five years as well. He’s just a superstar. He’s a student of the game. He’s super interconnected. As for Shawn, he comes from WWA4. He was trained by AR Fox and stuff like that. He went and got double-trained by Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall. With them kind of finding each other and being a tag team, I remember Carlie wanted to wrestle me in singles. I think people were saying it was a match of the year candidate. It was super fun. It was a random match. Then, he wanted to keep going. Between his mind and my mind, we bounced off each other really well, and then I thought it was a good opportunity to get some tag reps in there and get Shawn Dean in there. I know he really only works AEW, maybe 1FW and a couple of indies here and there. I went to Matt Griffin and was like, ‘I want Shawn Dean, as well.’ That’s when the tag stuff happened. It was so fun, and we learned so much. I love those guys. We beat the crap out of each other, and it was awesome.”

How did you and Herculon Rage come to be as a tag team?

“So, I was kind of doing my own thing at ACTION. But I felt I was in this kind of limbo space where, I’m sure you heard, the gatekeeper of a promotion. The young boy comes in, and the big vet wrestles them to see if they’re ready. I feel like I was kind of the opposite. I was the young boy gatekeeper who wrestled all the vets, and who just wanted to come in and wrestle. I would just get beat. I learned so much, but I wasn’t doing anything. I was just like, ‘Hey, how do you feel…’ I pitched Herculon to be my ‘Diesel’ in a way. Matt (Griffin) always says, I’m like a Shawn Michaels rip-off, and he was like, ‘Yeah, I like that.’ So, we brought Herculon in. One way or another. He actually got introduced as a wrestler a lot quicker than he should have been. I remember the original pitch was that he was just going to be my manager forever, then he’d wrestle. But I’m glad it didn’t work out that way. I’m glad Herculon is wrestling, getting better, and stuff like that. So, it’s just really cool to see his progression, as well.”

Back in January, you wasted little time getting your year underway at ACTION Wrestling, as you faced off with Lee Johnson. What was that whole experience like working with Lee and putting on that match?

“Lee is a monster. Lee is insane. I never met someone who just doesn’t stop. He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t stop moving. Dude is insanely intense. Nicest human being ever. I love Lee Johnson, but he really taught me a lot. I thought I had a good gas tank. I thought I was moving pretty well in the ring. Lee was one of those people who kind of showed me that there are different levels to this. I’ve been in the ring with people like AR Fox, and Fox is insane. But Lee’s explosiveness, the way he moves, the way he calls stuff and wrestles, he just really helped me a lot with, I think, showing me how a true athlete should move and wrestle in the ring.”

You followed that match up in February by defeating Krule for the Undisputed IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship via count out, but didn’t take the title. What was it like to challenge for that title, and just continue to work with Krule, as well?

“I’m a big fan of Krule. He’s one of my best friends. Dude is a monster. He’s shoot; I think he’s like 6’5 or 6’6. He’s just massive. I remember our first match was actually at a little promotion called DWA at a bar show. We easily had match of the night. We just went crazy. After that, he asked to keep it going, and we went to ACTION, then that transpired into me challenging for the IWTV title. Technically, I won. I think I should have gotten a rematch for the title. That didn’t happen. He’s super knowledgeable. I think he’s been doing it for like 10 years now. Krule’s also another one of those guys who I look up to. I call him from time to time to check in. He’s one of my mentors, I’d say.”

How did your mentorship with Krule begin?

“He’s a teddy bear. He’s a teddy bear man. He’s a big, scary teddy bear. I think he saw that I was in this place where I had a lot of skill but didn’t know where to put it. I have a lot of athleticism, and he helped me hone that and showed me a little bit of the storytelling aspect and, ‘Hey, we don’t have to do everything under the sun. We can do a little bit less and get more out of it.’ I still carry that today.”

You and Corinne have gotten to team up quite often in the early going of each of your careers; what has it been like to see her growth in her own right, as well as work with her?

“I remember her first day. Watching her growth from the first day of training to watching her wrestle in front of crowds of hundreds of people has been amazing. She understands what wrestling is about. She understands less is more. She understands the movements. She understands the theatrics. I can admit, I’m someone who struggles with some of that stuff. I’m more of a ‘Let’s go crazy and do our fun stuff.’ In this past year, she has helped me kind of calm down, show this, tell stories, and all these things. It’s fun because we have such different ideologies of wrestling. The first wrestling she ever watched, I make fun of her for this, was Netflix Raw. The first wrestling match I ever watched was, I think, WrestleMania: Shawn vs. Razor. I’m not that old, but it was the first match I ever watched. It’s just crazy because we grew up on such different wrestling, and we get to bounce different things off each other. She has such an amazing mind for this, and I cannot wait to see her future.”

You guys got to take part in the TWE Cupid Cup back in February, defeating Ravenna Vein and Shean Christopher in the Finals. What was it like for you guys?

“Stressful, fun, and exhausting because we had to wrestle two tag team matches, back-to-back. It was really getting to stand in the middle and hold up the little heart that we won and still chew out TWE because we wanted more. It ultimately backfired because we had to go wrestle The Coven Of The Goat and we got our asses kicked. So, it was awesome.”

Speaking of which, you and Corinne Joy will be teaming up this weekend at Pro Wrestling Symphony’s big event, “Heroes & Villains Vol. 2,” to face off with Jazzy Yang and Terry Yaki. What is your mindset entering this one?

“Terry, for me, was one of my mentors coming into wrestling. So, it’s a good full-circle moment. We haven’t wrestled each other in probably six, seven, eight months now, maybe even a year. Jazzy and I only ever had one match. It was a tag match at Classic City. It’ll be good to mix it up with them again. Especially with Corinne. This is a first-time-ever matchup. Her and I versus Terry and Jazzy. Especially a pretty big promotion like Symphony. I think we’ll have a pretty awesome tag match. There’s no way it won’t be.”

It was also announced you will be making your return to TWE to face off with Damon Stryker. What is your mindset heading into this one, and how do you prepare for Damon Stryker?

“I’ve only wrestled at TWE a handful of times, and 90% of the time it’s me wrestling Damon Stryker. I don’t know what TWE’s obsession is with two bad guys having a dick-off, but I guess we’re doing it again. I can’t wait… It’s normally just who’s more of a dick. Really. Who can get booed more. Damon and I think similarly. It’ll be a fun match. We’ll ultimately just be two assholes to the crowd and be an asshole to each other. So, it’ll be fun.”

We saw you post on X/Twitter, teasing a return to Beyond Wrestling. While we may not know what/when yet, what can you tell us?

“So, hopefully I can make that show. There are some complications. If it all works out, you’ll see me there. If it doesn’t, you’ll see me soon.”

How much fun is it to wrestle at Beyond and ‘endear’ yourself to the fans up here?

“It’s always fun going to a new promotion and getting to show off what I can do. I’ve wrestled at Wrestling Open twice. If I do get to make this next Beyond, it’ll be my second Beyond show ever. I know Corinne has wrestled on Beyond twice as well, and she’s wrestled on Wrestling Open twice. We always love making our way up there. Super complicated travel-wise. I know y’all are big on public transportation. We are not, in the South. We’re big on getting in a truck and driving. In Atlanta, I just drive an hour to Atlanta every day and just sit in traffic. Not having my car and having to navigate trains and buses is the most complicated thing for a southern mind… ever. So, that’s probably my least favorite part about going up there. But I do love the crowds. I love the wrestling. From the outside looking in, the North is covered from head-to-toe with amazing wrestlers. So, I love going up there. I always get to mix it up with different styles, thought processes, stuff like that.”

Do you have anyone specifically in the Northeast you’d like to mix it up with?

“My favorite person I ever mixed it up with was Dustin Waller. We had a match. It was my first time going up to the North, and we murdered it. That’s someone I’d like to have a rematch with, for sure. I’ve been seeing JULEZEE. He’s pretty sick. TJ Crawford is another one I love to watch. Ichiban is awesome. But nobody else off the top of my head, really.”

Looking ahead, what are your future goals?

“I’m big on trying to travel more. Maybe get up to the North like what we’ve been talking about. Pretty big on that. I do want to try and wrestle on national television soon. Maybe make it out of the country within the next year or so. I don’t know how to navigate that, but that’s where I’m sitting right now. Just, kind of expanding my reach to other regions, you know?”

Any future opponents you’d like to face off with?

“I have a pretty big list. Dustin is one of them. Ichiban. I talked about some of them. The North. A couple of guys come to mind: Flyin’ Ryan. I’ve seen Sal Mistretta. Then, KJ Orso is another one I’d like to get in the ring. Richard Holliday. Surprisingly, a lot of people in the south I haven’t wrestled. Tim (Bosby) and I haven’t really wrestled on a stage. We wrestled at a Hot Sauce Festival once. Tim Bosby’s sick. Marko Harris is another one I’ve mixed it up with a bit. Honestly, I don’t think we’ve had a large enough stage to show what we can do. Darian Bengston is someone I’ve only wrestled a couple of times but would love to wrestle more. I’d love to get that match against Gresham one of these days. He’s a big one for me. That’s pretty much it off the top of my dome.”