Ep274 - SAM GRADWELL Interview (WWE NXTUK, William Regal, Ilja Dragunov, wrestling in China, Shawn Michaels & Yogurt, being back on the Indies, Listeners Questions + more!‪)‬ Wrestling With Johners Podcast

In my latest live and exclusive Interview I sit down with one of the very best performers in the UK in 2022, Sam Gradwell.

We discuss his recent return to the UK Indies after a number of years in WWE NXTUK. We discuss his development as an overall performer and how he is enjoying the UK scene after more than 3 years.

We talk about mentors and trainers, such as Marty Jones, Johnny Saint and fellow Blackpool native, William Regal and the relationship he has with those legends of the sports.

Sam discuses his up-coming match for Sovereign Pro against Brady Philips in Feb 2023, and recent matches since coming back onto the scene with Jim Diehard, Priscilla and more.

Sam takes a deep dive into his wrestling fandom growing up and how that led to him getting into the business as a teenager.

We discuss his tour of China in 2015 and the weird and wonderful happenings during that trip.

Sam discusses his memories of the first ever WWE UK Tournament in 2017, in his home town of Blackpool, the WWE Live Shows with the main roster in 2017 and 2018, before discussing the reasons why he was kept out of the business for more than two years until late 2020.

We also discuss some other fun stories from promo class inside the NXTUK PC and using the phrase "Yogurt" in front of a listening Shawn Michaels.

We discuss being a featured performer for NXTUK during the BT Sports Studio Era and some of his classic encounters, including the NO DQ match against Ilja Dragunov in March 2021.

This was an incredibly fun and insightful interview with one of the premier wrestling talent in the UK in 2022 (Duration: 82 mins)