Rise of the Villain: Marty Scurll on Ring of Honor and British Wrestling

On Jan. 16, 2016, with news of AJ Styles’ signing by the WWE spreading like wildfire across the internet, British wrestling fans flocked to York Hall to catch one last glimpse of the legendary Georgia wrestler on a small stage, at Revolution Pro Wrestling’s High Stakes 2016. Just a week later, Styles would make his debut at the Royal Rumble. And here, in front of about 1,200 people, he’d go out facing one of the best and most popular independent grapplers in the world, Zack Sabre Jr. It was a farewell dream match.

But for Marty Scurll, the marquee matchup between one of Britain’s best and one of the greatest of all time represented no less than a direct challenge.

“I said to the promoter, ‘I guarantee you I’m going to have a better match than that main event you put on,’” Scurll said. “I wouldn’t say he didn’t believe me, because he has faith in me, of course. But you know—it seemed like it could be quite a farfetched thing to suggest.”

He envisioned greatness, and he didn’t disappoint: What followed was not just the match of the night, but arguably the match of the year. For roughly 30 minutes, Scurll and opponent Will Ospreay made magic, trading blows and near-falls in an instant classic that would spark a year-long feud between the two men.

“With the crazy year that British wrestling had, I’d like to think that match with Ospreay at York Hall really kickstarted it,” Scurll said. “And on a show full of big, imported names, it was two British lads that stole the show.”

There’s no question that 2016 was a breakout year for U.K. wrestling. Scurll, Ospreay and Sabre made names for themselves on the world stage, and helped put eyes on the next generation of British stars, like Pete Dunne and Trent Seven. Such was the impact of independent wrestling in the United Kingdom that it led to the relaunch of the classic World of Sport wrestling program and pressured the WWE into creating its own U.K. Championship tournament.

And in the biggest year in U.K. wrestling since the days of Giant Haystacks and Johnny Saint, it was “The Villain” Marty Scurll who perhaps elevated himself most of all, expanding his brand from Europe to the United States, and collecting accolades while continuing to challenge himself and others.

“A lot changed in my mindset that day,” Scurll says. “I often have a joke now with the Young Bucks, who are two good friends of mine. They kind of said it, and I’ve kind of caught on: ‘Hey Marty, do you want to have a great match, or do you want to revolutionize the business?’

“I’ve got 10, 15, 20 minutes, whatever it is—I don’t want to go out there and just have a ‘this is awesome’ match. I want to go out there and do something that’s going to captivate people and be talked about for a long time, and maybe inspire people and, maybe, change the business.”

Scurll, 28, has been wrestling for more than a decade, ultimately evolving from the babyface “Party Marty” persona into his current “Villain” character, an umbrella-wielding, fur-coat-clad Dick Dastardly type. That the explosion of the British independent scene coincided with Scurll’s growing popularity is no accident: In fact, the match with Ospreay in January was likely a coming out party for both. Hours after the match concluded, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer was already talking about it on Twitter, and later gave the match a near-perfect 4.75 stars.

For his part, Scurll doesn’t disagree that the match had a tremendous impact on British wrestling, but only because it brought more eyes to a scene that was ready to debut on a larger stage.

“I think it’s been a team effort from the U.K.,” Scurll said. “Maybe it’s that chip on the shoulder, maybe it’s a case of, ‘OK, we’re not going to be the bastard stepson of indie wrestling anymore, we’re going to come to the forefront and rule the wrestling world like we once did.’ And I’m glad it’s happening and I’m glad to be a part of it. And it’s only good for the wrestling industry as a whole.”

That match was just the start of a crazy year for Scurll himself, who went on to become the first-ever two-time PROGRESS Champion, before winning the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Battle of Los Angeles in September. Scurll’s pride in the British independent scene is rivalled only by his admiration for PWG, which he calls one of the best promotions on the planet.

The Villain didn’t make any bold predictions for 2016. Instead, he keeps a running list of accomplishments in the back of his mind. It’s a positive mental attitude he believes can help him achieve his goals with the right amount of work.

“I’ve always had kind of big visions in my head, visions of stuff I’d like to achieve. And I kind of felt like if I focused on them enough, it would happen,” Scurll says.

For him, winning BOLA was one of those visions. And so, after beating the likes of 2016 breakout star Pentagon Jr. and former WWE superstar Cody Rhodes, Scurll won the tournament in a three-way elimination match against Trevor Lee and rival Ospreay.

It was an emotional moment for Scurll, and would have marked a successful year in and of itself. But it wasn’t the end: Scurll also signed an exclusive U.S. contract with Ring of Honor, debuting in November and immediately winning the company’s Television Championship.

Scurll says it was he who approached Ring of Honor with the opportunity, and that he sees himself as a major player in the wrestling world that can help bring ROH into the future.

“I’m not coming here to make numbers. I’m coming here to be the top guy,” Scurll said of his ROH contract. “I know I can come to Ring of Honor, and I can bring them up to the next level. Of course I’m going to benefit from being at Ring of Honor, they’re giving me a huge platform to be the Villain, and show the world who Marty Scurll is. But at the same time, I’m going to Ring of Honor because I want their company to grow.”

The future is bright for Marty Scurll. Now a Ring of Honor regular, he successfully defended his Television Championship against Ospreay and Dragon Lee in a show-stealer at Final Battle 2016. This weekend he’ll be defending his title against the New Japan regular Juice Robinson at Ring of Honor’s TV tapings in Atlanta. In 2017, he wants to help put the company on international television and into stadiums. He wants to wrestle in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Battle of the Super Juniors (won in 2016 by—who else?—Will Ospreay.) He wants to become Ring of Honor World Champion.

And as for accomplishments beyond wrestling?

“I want to be the first-ever wrestler to be knighted by the Queen,” he says, laughing but not quite joking. “That’s never happened before, and I feel like that’s something that I can achieve, you know what I mean?”

It’s when talking about the future that “the Villain” doesn’t sound so much like a villain after all. He wants to make wrestling as big as he remembers it being when he was a lad. He wants to make Ring of Honor as big as the UFC. He wants everyone he knows in the wrestling world to become rich, and to become happy.

“I honestly think, with this platform, and with 2017 ahead of us, these are things I can achieve,” he says. “And I’ll tell you why: Because I can envision them. And if I can envision them in my head, then I can make it happen.”