How pro wrestling star Ben Bishop went from basketball player to ‘Big Trouble in Little China’-inspired giant

“Big Trouble” Ben Bishop is normally the tallest man in the room. He stands at a brooding “6-foot-12” and packs an incredible punch in the squared circle that has made him one of the top independent wrestlers on the scene today.

Bishop is a former college basketball player at the University of Vermont who decided to take a shot at pro wrestling once his collegiate career was over. He explained to Fox News Digital in a recent interview that he wasn’t “in love” with basketball despite loving the team aspect of the sport and Vermont. He stayed active playing Australian rules football.

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It wasn’t until he took in an independent show that pro wrestling piqued his interest.

“I went to an independent wrestling show just as a fan, not even thinking about getting into wrestling, and I was approached by a few wrestlers and the next day I started training,” he said. “And that was that, and now seven years later, here I am. The transition wasn’t super difficult when it comes to the physicality of it. With basketball, forever I was working on my footwork, moving my body in space.

“I think that’s the biggest hurdle for a lot of people getting into wrestling if they don’t have an athletic background – just learning how to move your body in space. And then, of course, there’s a lot more that goes into it when it comes to the psychology of professional wrestling, what happens in the ring, when to do certain things, all that. But picked up the physicality of it and the athleticism of it pretty quick. So, basketball was definitely a huge help.”

Bishop said his gimmick is inspired by Kurt Russell’s character in the film “Big Trouble in Little China.”

“Sometimes, I think it’s harder to explain who I am. Sometimes, I ask myself who I am every single day,” he told Fox News Digital. “Ben Bishop is just me. It’s just me turned up to 11. When I first got into wrestling, I decided who I wanted to be in wrestling. There’s a million big guys and I’m a legit ‘6-foot-12.’ That’s part of my gimmick – ‘6-foot-12, 15% of a metric ton.’ I always asked myself who do I want to be and there’s a million monsters in pro wrestling. The guys who are just brooding, big bad a–  guys. That’s not me. I’m pretty fun-loving. I don’t take myself too serious. I like to have a good time. I thought about it and I really take a lot of my inspiration from the movie ‘Big Trouble in Little China.’

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“I think Kurt Russell’s character Jack Burton in that film pretty much encapsulates ‘Big Trouble’ Ben Bishop. What am I doing here, not taking yourself too seriously, anti-hero type of character. I love to have a good time, promote myself on social media – comedic skits – but you know when it comes down to business in the ring, I get stuff done and everybody’s in big trouble, as corny as that sounds. But that’s kinda me. I always say what you see is what you get with Ben Bishop. I don’t hide anything. I don’t have any ulterior motives, or anything like that. I love wrestling, I love to have a good time and I love to combine the two.”

Bishop has been around the independent circuit for a few years, but has seemingly enjoyed himself at Awesome Championship Wrestling (ACW) as he’s offered support for “The Most Marketable Man” Richard Holliday.

He said he joined ACW after connecting with the tag team duo known as The Now, Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins. He’s set to have a match at ACW Reckoning at the MJN Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, next week. He will also be back in Holliday’s corner for his match against Andrade.

“Myself and Richard Holliday, we’ve decided that we’re teaming up at Awesome Championship Wrestling because we do believe in our hearts, other people believe it too, including WWE superstar Matt Cardona, we are two of the top guys on the independent circuit right now – bar none,” he said. “We are the two guys that gets the most eyes on us. That’s the nature of professional wrestling – getting eyes on you, getting eyes on the product and people in seats. And we’re two of the best at it on the independent circuit.

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“Unfortunately, at the last show, things didn’t go our way back in March. Killer Kross found a way to take the ACW title. All is fair in love and war in professional wrestling. It is what it is. We’re moving on. In about two weeks, Holliday’s got a huge match against Andrade and I have a huge match against Foxx Vinyer. We’re both looking to get back on the right track. Foxx is a helluva competitor. I mean he’s been around for a long time. He’s a staple in the Northeast wrestling scene. But I’m a staple all over the god-dang country. I know Foxx is gonna bring it, but I’m gonna bring it a lot harder.”