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| “Sexy Baby” Jamie Jackson. Courtesy RWA. |
By JOHN M. MILNER — For SLAM! Wrestling
“Sexy Baby” Jamie Jackson may not a household name…yet. However, that will all change if Jackson has anything to say about it. “I want to take this as far as I can. This right now, it’s not a hobby, it’s a job. My goal is to be making this my profession.”
Jackson was in action in London, Ontario at a Renegade Wrestling Alliance card at the Memorial Boys and Girls Club this past Sunday. Originally, Jackson was set to take on legendary WWF star, Tito Santana, but that match was changed to a tag team match pitting new RWA Champion Pete Rokk and Santana against Jackson and tag team partner Stunning Sean. Jackson and Sean had no one to blame but themselves. After Santana defeated Sean for the RWA title on Friday in Cambridge, Sean and Jackson attacked Santana during Saturday’s title defense against Rokk in Brantford . After Rokk won the belt, the pair attacked him, too. Rokk and Santana, upset at having their match spoiled, challenged Sean and Jackson to a match in London to gain revenge. The pair, members of the RWA’s “Hollywood Hunks”, accepted the challenge.
While he may appear cocky, in the locker room prior to Sunday’s bout, Jackson admitted to having “a nervous feeling”. “He’s obviously a big superstar, but I’m going to give it to him tonight. I’m going to give him 110-per cent. Me and Stunning Sean, we’re going to go out there and we’re going to lay the boots to him.” Despite wrestling a star like Santana, Jackson promised that “I’m not going to baby him at all. We’re going to go out there and we’re going to have a good match and when it’s all said and done, the Hollywood Hunks are going to prevail.”
“You have to prepare a little differently” when facing someone like Santana, Jackson explained. “You have to know what he’s going to do and what he’s capable of doing so that we can be on top tonight.” Later, he said, “I’ve been in the ring with names before, Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, so I kind of know what to expect from one of the former WWF guys. I know how to prepare a little bit more.”
Jackson stopped just short of proclaiming this to be the biggest match of his career, saying “I’ve also wrestled Greg ‘the Hammer’ Valentine in a singles match. I’ve had Jimmy Snuka as a referee in one of my matches, so this is definitely right up there.” He did, however, add, that “if we win tonight, scoring a win tonight over Tito Santana…would skyrocket me to the top. To be able to say that I defeated Tito Santana would definitely make an impact.”
Jackson started his career four years ago, when he met RWA promoter Steve Buckley. “I was always interested in wrestling,” Jackson remembered. “and it just went from there.” Learning that Buckley had a ring, Jackson decided to try his hand at wrestling and learned he had a knack for it, “excelled at it, I felt. It was more than a hobby, and became something a little more serious.”
When asked about his influences, Jackson cites Shawn Michaels and “a lot of the cruiserweights, for example, from WCW…Rey Mysterio, Jr. , Chris Jericho, Juventud Guerrera…love those guys. They put on some good shows! I look up to them when it comes to wrestling, because I think they have a lot of talent.”
He started his career as “Wildcat” Jamie Jackson, and was a fan favourite. With the fans behind him, Jackson wrestled his way to three RWA World titles, between August 1995 and May 1997. However, the relationship soon soured. He grew “sick of the fans. They didn’t follow me; they didn’t clap for me. I did all the work on my own; they didn’t do nothing for me. They were just there, and I got sick of it.” Jackson has since aligned himself with the Hollywood Hunks, a rulebreaking stable that includes Stunning Sean, the Custom Made Man and valet, Raquel, in what he calls “the greatest force in the RWA.” “We’re going to hold all the gold, “Jackson promises, “and we’re unstoppable.”
Jackson and his partner, Stunning Sean entered the ring with a sound strategy. “Whether it be Pete Rokk or Tito Santana, we’re going to cut the ring off, keep him in the ring, beat the hell out of one of them, “Jackson explained. “The other guys not even going to get a tag. We’re going to wear him down, hopefully it’ll be Tito Santana. Wear him down, beat him to the mat, pin him.”
Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out that way. Despite some solid team work (a.k.a. illegal double-teaming behind the referee’s back) and interference from Raquel and the Custom Made Man, the team of Tito Santana and Pete Rokk got the win. As Jackson went for a bodyslam on Santana, Rokk entered the ring and dropkicked the pair. Jackson went down with Tito Santana falling on top of him. Santana made the cover, the referee made the count and Jackson came out on the losing end of the match. Afterwards, Jackson and the rest of the Hollywood Hunks took their anger out on a very pro-Santana crowd. “You’re all crap,” Jackson spat.
A temporary setback however, as “Sexy Baby” Jackson has only one thing on his mind, as far as his future goes: “Wrestling, wrestling, wrestling”. “I am going to do everything in my power to make this a career.” Jackson vows. Wrestling, to Jackson, is a job “but it’s an enjoyable one. Something that satisfies me. Going out there with the people and putting on a show. That satisfies me. Unbelievable.”
