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With WWE making its way to Netflix earlier this year, wrestling has become much more accessible than in previous years, with legions of new and returning fans discovering love for the ‘sport entertainment’ bonanza.
For those of a certain vintage, it was the norm to either have to sit up into the wee small hours to see a live show or wait days until you could watch a recorded broadcast, even then top-tier wrestling was restricted to those who had a Sky subscription for the most part.
Following the emergence of Drew McIntyre and Joe Hendry, both Scots who have become mainstream stars of the sport in the last few years, it’s safe to say that their homeland is enjoying its moment in the sunshine.
While most aspiring wrestlers fail to break into main-event scene, the latest Scot planting the Saltire Stateside is Luke Scouler, aka Crixus, with Ohio Valley Wrestling, the promotion responsible for helping launch the careers of the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Batista.
The Scottish War Machine has always maintained that to succeed in the sport, patience, more than fitness, is necessary.
‘For Drew, he had a big advantage with his look and size,’ he says. ‘But even then, most big promoters won’t take you seriously until you’ve done about five years of training.
Scouler, aka Crixus, now lives full-time in Kentucky, having left his job as a carer
The Scot spent nights in his car with his dog, Odin, as he underwent wrestling training
'They call it “paying your dues” - going to shows, helping build the ring, doing whatever needs done, just in the hope you might get a chance at an early match for the experience of a live crowd.
‘I know Drew did that for years, working the holiday camp circuit too, like Butlins and Havens.
'Even then he was released from his first contract, but he came back to ICW and basically started again. I think that was the flip of the switch for him.
‘The real secret is patience, being seen more and more, and giving it 100 per cent whether it’s a crowd of 20 or 20,000.
‘I’m a smartass, cheeky b******, and the accent helps too. Over here in the States, people already think we’re mental which helps. I just turned my personality up to 11.
‘I wasn’t pretending to be someone else - just the version of me you probably wouldn’t want to sit next to in a pub.
'I get to act like an a**** and they still love me. They boo you, but they’re cheering underneath.
‘It’s cool seeing people wearing your shirt in the crowd, or getting random messages because something you said on a podcast or in an interview has resonated with them. Being able to do that, and have a building chant for you, is special. Especially for a wee dafty fae Bellshill.
'I don’t think anyone saw that coming. Certainly nobody I grew up with, in all my good times and bad, is over here doing this. So I feel very blessed I’ve been physically able to, because it’s tough on the body. It really is. But we’re built tough.’
The world Scouler is living in now is certainly a far cry from the one he grew up in.
Having grown up and moved between three different primary schools and then three different high schools - all the while having undiagnosed ADHD until he reached high school - the Scottish War Machine found fitness in his teens before moving into work as a carer.
Now thriving in OVW, Scouler is one of the promotion's main attractions
Though he admits to having loved his time in the care industry, the 33-year-old admits that he was doing too much. From there, Scouler enrolled in former WWE star Al Snow’s London wrestling academy and hit the road with his dog, Odin.
Now fighting in the OVW rings, Scouler is channelling his energy in a positive way and enjoying life once again.
‘I really loved that job,’ he says. ‘But it was tough emotionally. I’ve always had a bit of a Batman complex - I thought I was going to save everybody.
‘I was in a bad place with it. I knew it wasn’t for me and I was burned out.
'I was in a bad place and I remember sitting in my house in Newmains watching TV with my dog, Odin, when wrestling came on and I just thought: “Screw it. Let’s go”.’ Scots have made it big in this business - why couldn’t I?
‘We’ve got thicker skin, especially in Glasgow. You’re battle-ready by the time you leave primary school, so wrestling comes naturally to us.
‘I drove through the night with no plan and no place to stay.
'Me and the dog slept in the car for a bit. Eventually the guy who ran it asked if I was serious. I told him I’d already quit my job and left my house. That was it. We moved into the gym and didn’t go back.’
The Scot would eventually secure his place with OVW in 2019, only to see Covid halt his progress.
But, as with everything in his wrestling journey, the man from Bellshill took the setback in his stride and bided his time, coming through training - belatedly - and has since gone on to become OVW’s first-ever Scottish champion.
Scouler has come a long way from his days growing up in Bellshill, just outside Glasgow
Based in Kentucky full-time now, things are just a little different to when he was growing up, though Scouler faces less sceptics when it comes to the strain wrestling can put on the body compared to when he first started.
He adds: ‘I love it here. It’s worlds apart from home. I do miss back home, but I just love everything about it here.
'The only thing that isn’t as good is the food. And the lack of Irn-Bru.
‘(To the sceptics) I tell them I’ve got two words for them...
‘Nah, it’s not something I really experience. I think most people have heard the “is it fake?” question asked and answered so many times that they know better than to even ask.
'I’ve had a few boxers or MMA guys slate it in the past, but I’ve got a background in cage fighting too so I’m willing to put them to the test if they want. They never do.
‘It can be hard maintaining your fitness goals - well, at least mine. I used to train more in a pumping iron, bodybuilding kind of way my whole life, until I started this full time.
'You pick up injuries, need to recover, and it’s tough. So I’ve had to adapt to lighter weights and higher reps. Which sucks, because it doubles your time in there. But it’ll keep your cardio fit, that’s for damn sure.’
