World Champion Blixx | Son of Smorgas

Published Feb. 26, 2008

Driving to the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Apex on Saturday afternoon, I had a fit of the giggles. In all my years of working with or interviewing interesting personalities—Nicholas Cage, Ned Beatty, Brandon Lee, Magic Johnson, Charlie Gaddy, Rufus Edmisten, Tift Merritt, Mike Commodore, Ira David Wood III, The HBO Crypt Keeper, Miss FIfi, Evan Rachel Wood, Miss North Carolina—I was excited to meet a World Champion. Albeit a wrestler … but still a World Champion. 

Would he try to put me in a half-nelson? Would he quiz me on wrestling personalities or techniques? Would he be in costume? Could I pick him out in a crowd? 

Well, the afternoon was interesting, as was Blixx, son of Smorgas_of_Borg. A regular-Joe kind of guy, with wife and toddler daughter in tow, and no wrestling maneuvers expected on my part. A nice looking, interesting fella. Sweet. 

So here you have it, a one-on-one with Blixx and Wonder Woman, since we’re talking in character. World Champion. 

~~~ 

Wonder Woman: When did you begin wrestling? How old were you?
Blixx: When I was a kid, I loved wrestling. As I got older, I thought I’d give it a try—what could it hurt? When I was 16, though, I broke my back in training and went below radar. Three years later, at 19, I had knee surgery and made my professional debut in the sport as a manager. 

Wonder Woman: Have you always wrestled as “Blixx”?
Blixx: Actually, the federation I worked with during my first year created a character called “Billy McGee.” The creative staff made him Irish. I was only with them for about eight or nine months, and wrestled in three matches. 

Wonder Woman: Speaking of injuries, what was your worst?
Blixx: Well [he laughs], I’ve had staples in my forehead and cheek. I’ve been cut with beer bottles … several times [I gasp]. In my first cage match, my opponent and I fell off the top of a seven food ladder and then fell on a table. During training, when I was 16, I had a hairline fracture of my spine. Oh, I’ve had two concussions, a torn Achilles tendon in my left ankle … shall I go on?
Wonder Woman: Good, grief, no! Can you believe you lived to tell it? [He laughs again] 

Wonder Woman: How did you come across the Micro Wrestling Federation?
Blixx: I bumped into the MWF Web site one night and sent an e-mail to the president, Chris Guyre. I debuted a couple weeks later in Mobile, Alabama. 

Wonder Woman: Tell me about your character, Blixx. What’s he like? Does he have a signature move?
Blixx: Blixx is a lot of fun. He doesn’t laugh; he wears black eyeliner and black lipstick and dresses in all black. He’s pretty Goth. A mystery. I work hard to not break character, but it’s tough sometimes. One night, after a match, a crowd of our regulars started singing, “It’s A Small World.” I had to walk away from my interview and go into the corner to get myself back under control. I thought it was so funny, but Blixx would never be caught laughing. 

My Blixx-Kreig is sort of a variation of the DDT move. I double over my opponent, and then he lifts me so that he’s vertical. The whole time I’m holding his head. Then I swing back and we fall over … 

Wonder Woman: Oh! How do you train—for strength or more for stamina?
Blixx: [Again, he laughs] I don’t train—I have a three year old. Mostly, though, it’s for stamina. I’m a smoker. Plus, I can pretty much tell what I need to work on once I step in the ring. 

Wonder Woman: Who’s your biggest nemesis? Who’s your biggest ally?
Blixx: I don’t really have a nemesis or an ally, but I do like to be in the ring with the owner, Chris, who wrestles as POD (P-O’d dwarf). As a wrestler, you know what looks good, and you develop a comfort level with the other wrestlers. Some matches need to be choreographed ahead of time, and then we need to speak and lead each other a bit on the mat. But with POD we can do quick turnovers, reversing roles for who’s in command. If you watch me and POD in a match, it looks like poetry in motion. We never talk in the ring. Everything moves smoothly. 

Wonder Woman: Is the Micro Wrestling Federation your only gig, or is it just seasonal?
Blixx: Nope, I’m just Blixx. We have matches all year long—sometimes as many as nine in a month. In a typical show that’s one-and-a-half to two hours long, there are three to four matches. Since I’m the World Champion, my match is always at the end and lasts about 20 minutes. 

Wonder Woman: Can you tell me about the belt? Do you hold it in great reverence, like, say, hockey players would the Stanley Cup?
Blixx: This is the only belt recognized as a midget wrestling championship in the world. And until I won it, I had never held it. I honestly believe a championship like this shouldn’t be held until it’s earned. [I got to hold the belt.] 

Wonder Woman: Where does the MWF travel?
Blixx: We travel all over—I’ve wrestled in pretty much every state east of the Mississippi. There are nine wrestlers in the Federation: four in Indiana, one in Illinois, one in Oregon, one in Kentucky, one in Florida, and me, in South Carolina. 

Wonder Woman: Are you recognized in your travels? Are there any perks to being a World Champion?
Blixx: I’m recognized a lot in Vegas at most of the clubs we go to. I never pay for anything—that’s cool.  

Wonder Woman: What’s your favorite crowd?
Blixx: Baltimore, definitely. That’s where the crowd sang to me and made me break character. Plus, we have a great following there. Any time we’re in Baltimore, the same 300 people show up. 

Wonder Woman: Does your daughter like to watch you compete?
Blixx: Oh, yes. My wife, Jamie, lets her watch matches. She can pick me out every time. Ariana, my daughter, is a great fan. 

Wonder Woman: Any parting thoughts?
Blixx: Let everybody tell you no … then prove them wrong.