WWE superstar Chris Masters ‘had a chip on his shoulder’ wrestling in Preston

Chris Masters travelled the world with WWE, but it was a nightclub in Preston that gave him some of his best memories.

The 43-year-old star, who debuted on Monday Night Raw as the bulked-up Masterpiece in 2005, spent his early WWE career wrestling his heroes like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair, and performing at WrestleMania.

However, after his second WWE release in 2011, Masters found himself honing his skills on the independent scene, which brought him to the UK.

Speaking exclusively to Metro before he returns next month for a three-date tour with GrandSlam Wrestling, Masters said: ‘England, specifically PCW, that whole time period, was kind of that perfect storm of all that for me.

‘Of going over there, having the right opponent, being at a point where I was ready to show the world, “Hey, this is what I can do now. And I had a chip on my shoulder, so to speak.’

Masters described that period as ‘one of my favourite times’, and recalled how special the UK scene was.

‘We just had so many cool things that happened at Evoque [in Preston] specifically,’ he smiled. ‘But the whole territory/region was just off the hook at that point.’

It’s no surprise Masters, who has also worked for Billy Corgan’s National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) since leaving WWE, is so excited to be back in the UK for Grand Slam.

‘A lot of the influence you see on the modern wrestling fans started in that region in terms of the chants, the singing, and all of that,’ he explained.

‘I just identify the UK as a place where they have some of the most fun and outspoken and loud wrestling fans. Quite honestly, it’s a travesty and a crime and an abomination that Saudi Arabia is getting a WrestleMania before you guys!’

It’s not all one-way, as the UK adopted Masters as one of our own, particularly during his feud with the late Kris Travis around 2013/14.

‘Kris Travis was a really special guy, just period. But obviously a phenomenal talent,’ Masters said of his friend, who died aged 32 in 2016 from cancer.

He recalled how their match was originally meant to be Travis versus WWE alumni John Morrison, but plans changed.

‘I think there was a small part of him that was a little disappointed because he probably had a lot of ideas and probably figured that he would be able to do a lot more with Morrison,’ Masters admitted. ‘I think once we got out there, we had just such great timing with each other and chemistry.’

For Masters, his work with the likes of Travis, Dave Mastiff and Dave Rayne was a chance to prove just how far he’d come.

‘Around that time, a lot of people just hadn’t known that I had gotten much better in the ring,’ he pointed out. ‘You had to be watching Superstars while I was in WWE, because that’s where most of my work was happening, on the B-show.

‘But for the people who saw, they kind of had an idea, and then so when I would be able to go to places and actually get an opportunity with a guy like Kris Travis in a place that had a good environment for it, I could go out there and really surprise people and kind of tear the house down a bit.’

Masters has continued to work on the independent scene after leaving NWA in 2023, and he doesn’t think he’ll get another shot with the likes of WWE or AEW before he hangs up his boots.

‘I’m at a point now where I’m trying to think of what I can do beyond wrestling. Just because I don’t know if I have any big opportunities coming at me,’ he admitted candidly.

‘I mean, there was a while I hoped for it, but now I just don’t even factor it. Part of me thinks I’ve been blackballed a bit, so I just approach it from a place where I’m probably going to wrestle for, about, at least five more years I would imagine.’

Masters referenced a ‘disparaging’ post he wrote on X about WWE producer Michael Hayes back in the early 2010s, which he feels ‘terrible’ about, but hasn’t been able to apologise for.

With the door seemingly closed on a WWE comeback, Masters acknowledged there is a financial strain as an indie wrestler, and it would be ‘helpful’ to have another source of income.

”I’m open to producing and even running wrestling school or classes. I wouldn’t want to open my own school and have all the stress of that,’ he added. ‘I’d rather be a part of somebody else’s school that’s running it.’

As for when he hangs up his boots, Masters noted everything is still up in the air.

‘I don’t have to necessarily stay in wrestling, but it’s almost a shame to have that level of expertise and then be like, “Okay, see you later, let me just go do something else,”‘ he said.

‘That’s the part that makes me think, okay, maybe I will be involved in wrestling in some form or another for the rest of my life. But I just don’t know for sure about that yet.’

Chris Masters will be appearing for Grandslam Wrestling in Brent London, Taunton and Basingstoke from August 6-8. Tickets are available now.