Meow. Meet Tigre Battlecat. This hunky Canadian masked wrestler is quickly amassing fans that are eagerly following his journey in the world of professional wrestling. Find out how he got his name, his future goals and more, in this fun interview below.
1. When did you first become a fan of professional wrestling? What wrestlers were you a fan of growing up?
Tigre: "At the time when I was a young kid, pro wrestling was still the big rage. This was back when wrestling was on TV Saturday mornings, hand and hand with cartoons. At that era it was truly like cartoons. I started watching it when I was 6. Everything about it was impressive to me, and it was so much fun. This was the time when the Hart Foundation was going strong. It was a year or two before the Undertaker made his debut. Brutus Beefcake had his barbershop segments. I was a Hulk Hogan fan at first, then it was Bret Hart. Rowdy Piper. Tatanka. Legion of Doom. The first time I saw a masked wrestler... I can't remember who it was, it was some WWF jobber, but seeing him trigger something big in me."
2. How did you get your start in wrestling?
Tigre: "In my late teens I dreamt of being a pro wrestler. Unfortunately I lost interest in actually watching wrestling after my teens, around the time WWF became WWE, WCW became defunct, and I didn't find it fun to watch anymore. Years go by, I move to Ontario, and met people that got me back into watching wrestling again, then started going to live shows, something I did not grow up with. I then meet Scott McEwan, who thought I should be wrestling. He gave me lots of coaching and helped me get my feet on the ground with training, giving me a good foundation to start with wrestling."
Check out more of the interview after the jump!
3. How did Tigre Battlecat come to be?
Le Tigre: "I knew that I wanted to be a lucha style character. While my interested in American style wrestling was going away, I become very interested in Lucha Libre. I loved the style of characters, the masks, weirdness, and the almost religious status of luchadores in Mexico. I have also flirted with the furry scene a little, and developed a "Le Tigre" lucha character and an original costume. When I became much more serious about wrestling, I developed my character to more than just a costume. I thought I needed a (adjective) Tigre name. Then I decided to actually make a last name instead. I was thinking, something in the lines of Fightcat... then thought... Battlecat! Cool. THEN I realized that Battlecat was He-Man's tiger, I didn't know because I didn't watch He-Man growing up. At that point I realized how appropriate the name was. Then I redesigned my gear... and presto, Tigre Battlecat came to life."
4. What other current masked wrestlers do you enjoy watching?
Tigre: "There's a few I do enjoy. El Generico is the big stand out of indie wrestling to me, for a few reasons. He's pretty damn good at what he does, and always fun. I like that he wins people over that are skeptical about the Lucha Libre style of wrestling. The Super Smash Brothers, though Player Dos ditches his skull protector, at least he's easy on the eyes. I like a few wrestlers from Chikara. Dasher Hatfield is fun to watch. Jigsaw. Green Ant. Lince Dorado (formerly of Chikara). There's also Samuray Del Sol, I like have he works, very smooth. I recently started following So-Cal luchador El Mariachi, his character is a total standout for me, and his hard work shows."
5. What advice would you give to anyone thinking about getting into wrestling?
Tigre: "I find you need a few traits to be a wrestler. You really need to be comfortable in your own skin. You have to actually like working out. You have to accept criticism from your trainers. You do need an artistic edge as well. Also, be prepared for the amount of work, hard work. If you have training available to you in your area, go do it. The worst that can happen is it doesn't work out for you as a wrestler. But there are other ways to get involved in wrestling. You can train to be a referee. If you are a loud mouth, be a ringside manager. Volunteer as ring crew. Perhaps the best piece of advice is to keep asking for advice. Pro wrestlers are great people that want to see others do good. They aren't the assholes that they play to be in the ring."
6. You've amassed quite the fan following through social media and with your website. Does your following surprise you at all? What's it like being seen as a sex symbol to so many of your fans?
Tigre: "The odd thing about the whole social networking thing is the ego you can develop without actually doing anything in the flesh. I'm still haven't gone live, yet this small fan base has developed. Its both a good and bad thing. It does give me a source for character development and gives me a chance to share media and ideas and bad jokes on Twitter. But I do have to be real and back up the stuff I Tweet about. Plus I have to be careful and not accidentally unmask myself like I seen many luchadors do. Does the fanbase surprise me? A little. Its flattering but I take it with a grain of salt, considering how easy it is to friend people on Facebook without being legit friends. And being a sex symbol? It great cause wrestlers are sex symbols, wrestling is sexy. I do believe many wrestlers are aware of the gay fanbase they have, I do believe many (not all) are just fine with it. I'm totally fine with being one, I am comfortable in my own skin, and in my gear. And if sex appeal puts people in seats, or at least gets them interested, great. And if it sells merchandise, thank you in advance."
7. What's next for you? What are your goals in wrestling?
Tigre: "Nothing is immediately next, just focusing on training hard and working out, focused on going live and having fun with how I wrestle. My goals? To get other gay guys wrestling legibly. I do believe so many of them are being told to stay in the closet and stick to bedroom wrestling, when really they can do the wrestling that they were fans of. If I can do it, they can do it too. Believe me, I had the hang ups as well. I do have the long term goal of putting on a show, I don't want to discuss too much yet, I have much to accomplish yet."
Random Rapid Fire Questions.
1. Favourite song to workout to? Atlas by Battles. Its my jam.
2. How often do you workout? 3 to 5 times a week.
3. Best thing about being Tigre Battlecat? Being mistaken for a Thundercat. The worst thing is being mistaken for Spiderman.
4. Boxers or briefs? - Briefs. True champions only wear briefs.
5. Strangest request from a fan? - I did have a guy that was insistent that I take a picture of me sticking a full beer bottle up my ass and pouring it in there. He done it more than once. He got blocked.
6. Dream tag partner? He-Man
7. Dream opponent? Cassandro El Exotico
8. What do you get nerdy about? Total Lucha Libre nerd.
9. Place you go to clear your mind? Home, with my guy and my kitty.
Big thanks to Tigre Battlecat for the interview! He's definitely one up and coming masked wrestler that you're going to want to keep an eye on. Follow him on Twitter @TigreBCat and check out his official website: http://www.tigrebattlecat.com.
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