December
Wrestler of the Month...

Brian
"Al Katrazz"
Fleming

by Les Honig

Playing a hardened criminal in the ring might be a challenge to most guys, but for Brian “Al Katrazz” Fleming the creation has evolved effortlessly and not without a healthy dose of pure enjoyment. While different elements of his own San Diego life story have all blended to create this new and very popular persona, the price he paid with personal disappointment in his late teens came with a definite cost.

Probably on his way to a major league baseball career, (he was scouted by the Minnesota Twins as a Vista High School senior), he strayed off the path of a childhood that saw him and his brother pursue an active athletic agenda; only to drop out of college when his grades faltered and he fell in with the wrong crowd.  “It was the typical case of too much drinking and too much fighting”, he recalls now; all the result of joining a neighborhood low-rider car club and mixing many times too often with the negative element that belonged to it.

His girlfriend’s subsequent pregnancy and his dissatisfaction with opportunities being missed caused him to finally look himself in the mirror and soon he decided that a better future was definitely needed. Securing a job with a leading manufacturer of golf equipment, he faded out of that scene and into a more positive one where he could provide for the newborn child and begin building a career for himself.  

A fan of pro wrestling only since the age of 18, (“my folks wouldn’t let me watch it because they thought it was too violent”), Brian’s love of the sport continued to grow and it was while attending a local WWE wrestling house show that he picked up a flier for the now-defunct California Championship Wrestling fed and headed off for their school. (He was to also meet B-Boy and Matrix there; both trainees and future UPW superstars).

Told from the start that his bald-headed and tattooed hardcore appearance was definitely marketable, it was local indy talent (and former UPW light show performer) Kevin Salsbury (aka Rick Rolex/Chip Adams) who gave him the specific idea for his future Al Katrazz gimmick.  “I remember appearing in those first shows with just a tank top and jeans; but then I found the orange jump suit and it was time to take this concept to the next level and run with it.” Chuckling that he must be a “bad heel” because fans from the start have cheered rather than booed his rough-edged persona and tactics, he attributes the fans’ approval for his character to his being a “Stone Cold kind of guy; a take-no-nonsense persona which today’s viewers really dig.”

A big success in CCW immediately, becoming that federation’s champ four times, he was soon being discovered by then-Ultimate University director Big Schwag who encouraged him to start participating in light shows and continue his training at our respected training facility. Quickly becoming an in-demand weekly fixture on those famed L.A. Boxing Saturday night events it wasn’t long before he was teamed at his first Galaxy supershow with the late-great Bad Boy Basil to form the original and highly successful Definition of Pain.

“Many people think they know what Basil was really like but working with him gave me an insight that few others had.  He was obviously a major talent, being signed to a WWE developmental deal, but after that deal was cancelled, I could see the deterioration taking place and it was quite sad.”

Still some of Fleming’s fondest memories were with his past partner and their classic encounters against the Ballards, Hardcore Inc. and his very first Galaxy match against Tom Howard and Hank Hill’s Big Time.

“Most of my experience at Ultimate U has been with Tom as instructor and so wrestling against him was such a treat. I can’t tell you how much knowing him and learning from him has made me grow in this business. I have had to go back and really learn everything about how to put together matches from scratch, but thanks to him I have done that and have become a whole new and fresher wrestler as a result.”

Now striking out on his own as a solo talent, Al Katrazz has found equal gratification whether it be against the wacky and unpredictable Drunken Irishman or in his series of “falls count anywhere” encounters with Hardcore Kidd.

“Kidd is amazing and a true genius as a wrestler in making his matches tell a story. While I normally don’t enjoy hardcore matches, these have been so much fun and so creative. I really look forward to future work with him.”

Such future contests might be possible, too, as there were hints of the pair possibly settling their feud and even forming an alliance on upcoming mega-shows. Yet whatever the future holds, Brian Fleming is totally convinced that his decision to join So-Cal’s most exciting federation has been a totally wise and enriching one.

“There are so many ways I have changed and grown as a pro wrestler since coming here,” the orange-clad grappler admits.  “UPW has been so terrific because it has allowed me to work every possible kind of match and learn while doing so.  Whatever the future brings, and I hope it brings a lot, I know that some of my best years will have been spent here and for that I thank everyone associated with the company and particularly the fans. Without them Al Katrazz would never have lasted and become so amazingly successful.”

Predator