Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on Brian Underwood, ASWF Wrestling’s Austin Lane.
Brian Underwood's decision to remain at home was validated when he began to work for Aaron Polston and the All Star Wrestling Federation (ASWF).
"We moved here to Tuckerman, which was a great move. It provides good, quality, family entertainment to Jackson County," which was something that was important - and personal to Underwood.
"I talked to Aaron and Rickey (Rowland) at the time and said, 'there needs to be something in Jackson County.' Because too many times I've seen people with all kinds of talent end up getting arrested and going to jail instead of going to college and making something of themselves. We needed to do something to get these kids off the street so when the opportunity came up to come to Tuckerman I said, 'let's take it, let's do it.'"
It was his way of giving back to a community who had supported him on the pursuit of his dream.
"I love this hometown and I love this area. It has given me so much and now it is time for me to give back. I've done that for years and I plan to continue to do that."
He does that by making sure that every fan at a show where Austin Lane is on the card leaves knowing that they got everything he had.
"I re-injured my arm recently and it has some calcium deposits in it and lots of pain but I still come out and bust my butt every week because there may be people in those stands who don't make great money and they are spending $25 or so to bring their wife and kids to see me."
"They could have taken that money and spent it for groceries or something but they spent it to watch me wrestle and that is when it hits you. You never know, some of those people may not have much but they come out to see me, that is why I love it here. It is a great atmosphere, the guys bust their butts - they love wrestling - and the fans are the greatest in the world."
Although he understands that some may think that is a bit of home cooking, Underwood's fans can be found near and far.
"Last year, we did the Batesville show and these teenagers who I had never seen a day in my life had this sign that said, 'Austin Lane, the Best EVER,' and they had ever underlined and in capital letters. I've never met them and they are telling me how I'm their favorite wrestler and how I've touched them and that I'm the best ever and that means a lot."
While that kind of attention has caused problems for many a public figure it has only served to help keep Underwood grounded.
"Heroes in my book are cops and firefighters, these kids, when they come up and say that I'm their hero, it means something to me. It means that hurt or not, they bought a ticket to see me and I'm delivering."
He added, "Growing up my dad and mom, Glenda and Johnny, were my heroes. The stuff they were able to accomplish in life with what little they had to start with meant so much to me."
His respect for the fans and the business pushes Underwood to trudge on despite the constant struggles of a professional wrestler.
"You have to be dedicated to it. I work out every day," he said, "I work a regular job too, five days a week, because I want to support my family."
"It is a constant struggle to get up early, to do some cardio, your worn out from work and then you feed the girls and help them with their homework and give them baths and put them in bed, it is real hard to say, 'okay, I'm exhausted and ready to go to bed, but I've got to work out now.'"
"It is just a constant struggle because you have to push yourself to go do it. There are a lot of sacrifices. There is the life of a wrestler and the life of a regular person, it is two different things, it is just two completely different lifestyles. But when you are a wrestler with a family there are a lot of sacrifices you have to make. The weekends doing shows, workout time, sleep - I sacrifice time with my family all the time but they love you and support you and they are there with you every step of the way."
Underwood is a doting father and husband, proud of his family and anxious to be there for his two children, Magan and Destiny.
"Every chance I get I take my girls to the park and play or just spend time with them. I've never been to Disneyland my whole life, my girls have already been twice and are going again next year. I'm always going going to be a father that is there for my kids."
It was his family which helped turn a very promising 2009 into a very fulfilling one.
The indy circuit superstar received a call from the WWE wanting him to work a Monday Night Raw in Little Rock and also a Friday Night Smackdown taping in Tulsa, Okla. His pursuit of his very own Promise Land had come to fruition.
"I stepped into the arena out on the stage and said, 'I've finally made it.' There is 30,000 people and you are like, 'wow.' I did the show on Raw, I was an extra. I was part of Cedric the Entertainer's entourage and then the next night we went to Tulsa, Okla. and I was a Druid for The Undertaker."
"Having grown up watching it on television it was awesome. He walks up backstage and looks down and says, 'My Druids,' and I'm looking straight up and said, 'yes sir.' That man is huge and one of the smartest men in wrestling and nice. That was cool, walking down with The Undertaker's music playing."
His appearance on Raw, the longest running weekly show in the history of television and cable's highest rated show, as well as My Network TV's top rated show (Smackdown) and one of the Top 10 Most Watched shows coincided with an appearance of a different sort on another highly watched program.
"I got a call to do the Jerry Springer Show," said Underwood. "They called me up and said, 'we want you to do the show, it is going to be you, a girl and the girl you are cheating on her with,' because it is a story they are trying to tell also."
He convinced the staff of the iconic pop culture show to let him bring his wife to join him.
"I told them I would do it but I wanted my wife to come too. We got this other girl who was friends with us, she is another wrestler, but we went up and did the show and it was great."
The show put Underwood's face in front of nearly 10 million people in a three-week period.
His reputation as a respectful, hard-working professional continues to provide him opportunities to work with the "big boys."
"I've talked with TNA, WWE has called me and they want me to do another shot when they come back to Little Rock so I am going to do that again."
He added, "Of course, Springer has called us back and wants us to do it again, but I've been kind of hesitant. I had fun doing it and it was a blast but...everyone that knows us knows that it was fake, it was acting."
In addition to his worldwide television appearances, he also captured four awards: Wrestler of the Year from WrestlingNewsCenter.com which covers the entire south and northeastern part of the United States; and Match of the Year with Eric Wayne; the Horizon Award; and the MVP Performer of the Year from RasslinRiotonline.com.
"Downtown Bruno, who is Vince McMahon's concierge, referred that match and he told me that it was the best match he had seen in 20 years in the wrestling business and he works for WWE, mind you. He refereed Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at Hell in the Cell but he told me it was the single greatest match he had seen in 20 years."
"I also won the Horizon Award which is the guy most deserving of a wrestling contract and I won the MVP Performer of the Year which meant that from bell-to-bell, between the ropes I was the single best performer around."
Coupled with the fact that Nikki was named Female Wrestler of the Year, he seemed to be on top of the wrestling world and on his way to fulfilling everyone's dream.
"Last year, 2009, was a big, big year for me. I've won awards before, Match of the Year, Wrestler of the Year, and those are the things I'm proud of but, my mom and dad, my grandmas, my wife and kids, they have always supported me."
However, his two-day run with WWE, the pinnacle of his professional career, left him conflicted.
"Everyone has their Promise Land and the way I see it is that is when you know you've made it. I was coming home from Tulsa, Okla., I had just done two shots with the WWE counting Little Rock."
"It was Tuesday night, we filmed Smackdown and ECW in Tulsa and I was driving home and I guess I had an epiphany. I missed my kids and I missed my wife, I missed my family, I realized something that night."
He added, "I realized that for a lot of guys in wrestling, the Promise Land in wrestling is the WWE or TNA, I've done both. I realized that that was not my Promise Land, this is. My kids being proud of their daddy, my wife supporting me and going to every show that I did. A community that stood behind me. The whole time I've been chasing this dream to make it to the WWE and I just went there and I realized that is not it. Your dream is what makes you happy. Wrestling makes me happy but my Promise Land is Newport."
He finally understood where his dream stood. "My wife, my kids, everybody, I realized that I really have made it. I've done things that people only dream about. I've lived the lifestyle. I've flown in jets, I made the money, I partied all night long and I realized that night coming home that I already had it."
"Guys like Cody Murdock, David Walls, X-Kaliber, Eric Wayne, the guys in the back, when you walk back there and they show you the respect and they respect what you've done and they appreciate you. That was my Promise Land. I spent all this time chasing the dream and I was living it all along."
He admits that the realization of having achieved his dream has made it a lot easier "to go out there every night and perform."
"I realized that I'm just as happy right here, right now. Saturday nights at Tuckerman could not be better. I can touch stranger's lives on tv, I've done it, but how many times do you get to touch the lives of people you see every day?"
"It makes it real easy to tape it up, lace up those boots and come through that curtain because not many people can say that they have done what I've done, can say that they have lived their biggest dream of all time."
The television side of big time wrestling is about having a look and "knowing the right people," according to Underwood, while the indy circuit is completely different.
"On the indy side, it is not about the person, is is about the passion, the wrestling, the love. Guys on this level it is more about ability."
He said, "Just look at the guys around this room. Cody Murdock is a huge guy but he is so athletic. I would take him over most of those guys in the WWE because he is so athletic. He is so good in that ring. The guys out here is about the love of wrestling, busting their butts and bringing people in. It is about the show."
A wrestler, any wrestler, has to stand out among thousands of wrestlers around the world just to get noticed. Then after getting seen, "more people there have to want you there than don't want you there, that is the key," according to Underwood.
"I'm lucky that people that I grew up watching, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Jimmy Valiant, Jerry Lawler...I've wrestled Jerry Lawler dozens of times, Bill Dundee they all know my name."
One of those legends, "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant, spoke to the Newport Independent in 2008 about our local legend.
"Austin Lane is a very talented kid. He has a great attitude for the business and I know that he is a tough, tough kid. He really can do the job on either side. Just like myself or Jerry Lawler, we were like Austin, bad guys and people booed us but we were doing our deal, but then when we became fan favorites brother it was just good also."
Valiant continued, "Either way we are just out there doing our deal and the thing with Austin is that he has everything that it takes to go all the way to the WWE. He could get in there with anybody. I know Ric Flair just retired and everything but he could get in there right now with Ric Flair today and tie up and they would have a fantastic match. They could get there, get their stuff on and go straight to the ring and tear the house down. That is what this kid is about, he's ready and he's now really a veteran. He's really a hot item and he is the franchise."
Those words by the WWE Hall-of-Famer touched Underwood greatly.
"I read the quote from Jimmy Valiant and I cried. Wrestling to me is not about championships it is about performing for the fans and Jimmy Valiant has been around forever. He has seen everybody and for him to say that I could come off the street with anybody and put on a great show is something I take pride in."
Underwood added, "When my music hits, no matter who they are, being able to go out there and make them look good and them make me look good and have all those people cheering for you and realizing that you just tore the roof off the place is one of those moments."
"To be able to go out there almost every single week and have those kinds of barnburners - those that put you on the edge of your seat with the crowd going crazy - to realize that I can take them on an emotional ride with me. I can make them cry, cheer, laugh and all these other emotions in a 20-minute period means so much to me, especially when you realize that you just stole the show."
While hard work and desire have carried Underwood to great heights he is quick to point out that he is not alone every Saturday night.
"I'm proud of the fact that "Handsome Jimmy" thinks I can take that guy off the street and put on a great show, but I'm lucky enough up here that I've got guys like (Cody) Murdock, X-Kaliber, Eric Wayne, Seth (Sabor) those guys are good. They are every bit as good as I am and it just makes it so much easier to steal the show."
The entertainment side of wrestling does not prevent the occasional injury, Underwood is currently wrestling with a legitimate arm injury.
"I know people think that when I wrestled Eric Wayne that night that it was part of the 'storyline' but its not. I've got a bad knee, a bad back and a bad arm. But it all goes away when the music hits and this place erupts and 500 people explode out of their seats it makes it all worth it, the pain goes away."
"You have to be able to flip a switch. I was back there a couple of weeks ago hurting, nearly in tears, then I heard that music hit and pulled myself together because it was showtime. When it is showtime it is time to step it up."
He added, "They always tell you that it is time to step up or shut up and fortunately I've been one of those guys to step up. I was fortunate to work with and learn from a lot of great people and so far every time I've had the opportunity to step up I have."
He also hopes that his ability to "step up" carries over to the rest of the roster.
"I want people behind that curtain to say, 'oh, Austin is wrestling tonight, we better have a great match or he is going to make us look dumb out there because he is going to have a great match.' I want everybody to step it up."
That ability is something he is most of proud of in his connection with ASWF.
"That is the good thing about Tuckerman, the guys here give their heart and in the ASWF it is about the heart. They put on a great, entertaining show. They tell a story and just like the WWE you can see it every week but you can see it live, you can be intimate."
Underwood, like many of the famous trailblazers before him, has put Jackson County on the map of their professional careers.
His charisma, coupled with the courage it takes to perform, have established him as a "main-eventer" on wrestling cards around the world. His drive and determination will keep him there.
"Courage isn't what you do in the place of fear, courage is when you get beat by that fear and getting back up and facing it again. But, whether there is two people here or 20,000 people here I'm going to give them my best."
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Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on Brian Underwood, ASWF Wrestling’s Austin Lane.
Brian Underwood's decision to remain at home was validated when he began to work for Aaron Polston and the All Star Wrestling Federation (ASWF).
"We moved here to Tuckerman, which was a great move. It provides good, quality, family entertainment to Jackson County," which was something that was important - and personal to Underwood.
"I talked to Aaron and Rickey (Rowland) at the time and said, 'there needs to be something in Jackson County.' Because too many times I've seen people with all kinds of talent end up getting arrested and going to jail instead of going to college and making something of themselves. We needed to do something to get these kids off the street so when the opportunity came up to come to Tuckerman I said, 'let's take it, let's do it.'"
It was his way of giving back to a community who had supported him on the pursuit of his dream.
"I love this hometown and I love this area. It has given me so much and now it is time for me to give back. I've done that for years and I plan to continue to do that."
He does that by making sure that every fan at a show where Austin Lane is on the card leaves knowing that they got everything he had.
"I re-injured my arm recently and it has some calcium deposits in it and lots of pain but I still come out and bust my butt every week because there may be people in those stands who don't make great money and they are spending $25 or so to bring their wife and kids to see me."
"They could have taken that money and spent it for groceries or something but they spent it to watch me wrestle and that is when it hits you. You never know, some of those people may not have much but they come out to see me, that is why I love it here. It is a great atmosphere, the guys bust their butts - they love wrestling - and the fans are the greatest in the world."
Although he understands that some may think that is a bit of home cooking, Underwood's fans can be found near and far.
"Last year, we did the Batesville show and these teenagers who I had never seen a day in my life had this sign that said, 'Austin Lane, the Best EVER,' and they had ever underlined and in capital letters. I've never met them and they are telling me how I'm their favorite wrestler and how I've touched them and that I'm the best ever and that means a lot."
While that kind of attention has caused problems for many a public figure it has only served to help keep Underwood grounded.
"Heroes in my book are cops and firefighters, these kids, when they come up and say that I'm their hero, it means something to me. It means that hurt or not, they bought a ticket to see me and I'm delivering."
He added, "Growing up my dad and mom, Glenda and Johnny, were my heroes. The stuff they were able to accomplish in life with what little they had to start with meant so much to me."
His respect for the fans and the business pushes Underwood to trudge on despite the constant struggles of a professional wrestler.
"You have to be dedicated to it. I work out every day," he said, "I work a regular job too, five days a week, because I want to support my family."
"It is a constant struggle to get up early, to do some cardio, your worn out from work and then you feed the girls and help them with their homework and give them baths and put them in bed, it is real hard to say, 'okay, I'm exhausted and ready to go to bed, but I've got to work out now.'"
"It is just a constant struggle because you have to push yourself to go do it. There are a lot of sacrifices. There is the life of a wrestler and the life of a regular person, it is two different things, it is just two completely different lifestyles. But when you are a wrestler with a family there are a lot of sacrifices you have to make. The weekends doing shows, workout time, sleep - I sacrifice time with my family all the time but they love you and support you and they are there with you every step of the way."
Underwood is a doting father and husband, proud of his family and anxious to be there for his two children, Magan and Destiny.
"Every chance I get I take my girls to the park and play or just spend time with them. I've never been to Disneyland my whole life, my girls have already been twice and are going again next year. I'm always going going to be a father that is there for my kids."
It was his family which helped turn a very promising 2009 into a very fulfilling one.
The indy circuit superstar received a call from the WWE wanting him to work a Monday Night Raw in Little Rock and also a Friday Night Smackdown taping in Tulsa, Okla. His pursuit of his very own Promise Land had come to fruition.
"I stepped into the arena out on the stage and said, 'I've finally made it.' There is 30,000 people and you are like, 'wow.' I did the show on Raw, I was an extra. I was part of Cedric the Entertainer's entourage and then the next night we went to Tulsa, Okla. and I was a Druid for The Undertaker."
"Having grown up watching it on television it was awesome. He walks up backstage and looks down and says, 'My Druids,' and I'm looking straight up and said, 'yes sir.' That man is huge and one of the smartest men in wrestling and nice. That was cool, walking down with The Undertaker's music playing."
His appearance on Raw, the longest running weekly show in the history of television and cable's highest rated show, as well as My Network TV's top rated show (Smackdown) and one of the Top 10 Most Watched shows coincided with an appearance of a different sort on another highly watched program.
"I got a call to do the Jerry Springer Show," said Underwood. "They called me up and said, 'we want you to do the show, it is going to be you, a girl and the girl you are cheating on her with,' because it is a story they are trying to tell also."
He convinced the staff of the iconic pop culture show to let him bring his wife to join him.
"I told them I would do it but I wanted my wife to come too. We got this other girl who was friends with us, she is another wrestler, but we went up and did the show and it was great."
The show put Underwood's face in front of nearly 10 million people in a three-week period.
His reputation as a respectful, hard-working professional continues to provide him opportunities to work with the "big boys."
"I've talked with TNA, WWE has called me and they want me to do another shot when they come back to Little Rock so I am going to do that again."
He added, "Of course, Springer has called us back and wants us to do it again, but I've been kind of hesitant. I had fun doing it and it was a blast but...everyone that knows us knows that it was fake, it was acting."
In addition to his worldwide television appearances, he also captured four awards: Wrestler of the Year from WrestlingNewsCenter.com which covers the entire south and northeastern part of the United States; and Match of the Year with Eric Wayne; the Horizon Award; and the MVP Performer of the Year from RasslinRiotonline.com.
"Downtown Bruno, who is Vince McMahon's concierge, referred that match and he told me that it was the best match he had seen in 20 years in the wrestling business and he works for WWE, mind you. He refereed Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at Hell in the Cell but he told me it was the single greatest match he had seen in 20 years."
"I also won the Horizon Award which is the guy most deserving of a wrestling contract and I won the MVP Performer of the Year which meant that from bell-to-bell, between the ropes I was the single best performer around."
Coupled with the fact that Nikki was named Female Wrestler of the Year, he seemed to be on top of the wrestling world and on his way to fulfilling everyone's dream.
"Last year, 2009, was a big, big year for me. I've won awards before, Match of the Year, Wrestler of the Year, and those are the things I'm proud of but, my mom and dad, my grandmas, my wife and kids, they have always supported me."
However, his two-day run with WWE, the pinnacle of his professional career, left him conflicted.
"Everyone has their Promise Land and the way I see it is that is when you know you've made it. I was coming home from Tulsa, Okla., I had just done two shots with the WWE counting Little Rock."
"It was Tuesday night, we filmed Smackdown and ECW in Tulsa and I was driving home and I guess I had an epiphany. I missed my kids and I missed my wife, I missed my family, I realized something that night."
He added, "I realized that for a lot of guys in wrestling, the Promise Land in wrestling is the WWE or TNA, I've done both. I realized that that was not my Promise Land, this is. My kids being proud of their daddy, my wife supporting me and going to every show that I did. A community that stood behind me. The whole time I've been chasing this dream to make it to the WWE and I just went there and I realized that is not it. Your dream is what makes you happy. Wrestling makes me happy but my Promise Land is Newport."
He finally understood where his dream stood. "My wife, my kids, everybody, I realized that I really have made it. I've done things that people only dream about. I've lived the lifestyle. I've flown in jets, I made the money, I partied all night long and I realized that night coming home that I already had it."
"Guys like Cody Murdock, David Walls, X-Kaliber, Eric Wayne, the guys in the back, when you walk back there and they show you the respect and they respect what you've done and they appreciate you. That was my Promise Land. I spent all this time chasing the dream and I was living it all along."
He admits that the realization of having achieved his dream has made it a lot easier "to go out there every night and perform."
"I realized that I'm just as happy right here, right now. Saturday nights at Tuckerman could not be better. I can touch stranger's lives on tv, I've done it, but how many times do you get to touch the lives of people you see every day?"
"It makes it real easy to tape it up, lace up those boots and come through that curtain because not many people can say that they have done what I've done, can say that they have lived their biggest dream of all time."
The television side of big time wrestling is about having a look and "knowing the right people," according to Underwood, while the indy circuit is completely different.
"On the indy side, it is not about the person, is is about the passion, the wrestling, the love. Guys on this level it is more about ability."
He said, "Just look at the guys around this room. Cody Murdock is a huge guy but he is so athletic. I would take him over most of those guys in the WWE because he is so athletic. He is so good in that ring. The guys out here is about the love of wrestling, busting their butts and bringing people in. It is about the show."
A wrestler, any wrestler, has to stand out among thousands of wrestlers around the world just to get noticed. Then after getting seen, "more people there have to want you there than don't want you there, that is the key," according to Underwood.
"I'm lucky that people that I grew up watching, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Jimmy Valiant, Jerry Lawler...I've wrestled Jerry Lawler dozens of times, Bill Dundee they all know my name."
One of those legends, "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant, spoke to the Newport Independent in 2008 about our local legend.
"Austin Lane is a very talented kid. He has a great attitude for the business and I know that he is a tough, tough kid. He really can do the job on either side. Just like myself or Jerry Lawler, we were like Austin, bad guys and people booed us but we were doing our deal, but then when we became fan favorites brother it was just good also."
Valiant continued, "Either way we are just out there doing our deal and the thing with Austin is that he has everything that it takes to go all the way to the WWE. He could get in there with anybody. I know Ric Flair just retired and everything but he could get in there right now with Ric Flair today and tie up and they would have a fantastic match. They could get there, get their stuff on and go straight to the ring and tear the house down. That is what this kid is about, he's ready and he's now really a veteran. He's really a hot item and he is the franchise."
Those words by the WWE Hall-of-Famer touched Underwood greatly.
"I read the quote from Jimmy Valiant and I cried. Wrestling to me is not about championships it is about performing for the fans and Jimmy Valiant has been around forever. He has seen everybody and for him to say that I could come off the street with anybody and put on a great show is something I take pride in."
Underwood added, "When my music hits, no matter who they are, being able to go out there and make them look good and them make me look good and have all those people cheering for you and realizing that you just tore the roof off the place is one of those moments."
"To be able to go out there almost every single week and have those kinds of barnburners - those that put you on the edge of your seat with the crowd going crazy - to realize that I can take them on an emotional ride with me. I can make them cry, cheer, laugh and all these other emotions in a 20-minute period means so much to me, especially when you realize that you just stole the show."
While hard work and desire have carried Underwood to great heights he is quick to point out that he is not alone every Saturday night.
"I'm proud of the fact that "Handsome Jimmy" thinks I can take that guy off the street and put on a great show, but I'm lucky enough up here that I've got guys like (Cody) Murdock, X-Kaliber, Eric Wayne, Seth (Sabor) those guys are good. They are every bit as good as I am and it just makes it so much easier to steal the show."
The entertainment side of wrestling does not prevent the occasional injury, Underwood is currently wrestling with a legitimate arm injury.
"I know people think that when I wrestled Eric Wayne that night that it was part of the 'storyline' but its not. I've got a bad knee, a bad back and a bad arm. But it all goes away when the music hits and this place erupts and 500 people explode out of their seats it makes it all worth it, the pain goes away."
"You have to be able to flip a switch. I was back there a couple of weeks ago hurting, nearly in tears, then I heard that music hit and pulled myself together because it was showtime. When it is showtime it is time to step it up."
He added, "They always tell you that it is time to step up or shut up and fortunately I've been one of those guys to step up. I was fortunate to work with and learn from a lot of great people and so far every time I've had the opportunity to step up I have."
He also hopes that his ability to "step up" carries over to the rest of the roster.
"I want people behind that curtain to say, 'oh, Austin is wrestling tonight, we better have a great match or he is going to make us look dumb out there because he is going to have a great match.' I want everybody to step it up."
That ability is something he is most of proud of in his connection with ASWF.
"That is the good thing about Tuckerman, the guys here give their heart and in the ASWF it is about the heart. They put on a great, entertaining show. They tell a story and just like the WWE you can see it every week but you can see it live, you can be intimate."
Underwood, like many of the famous trailblazers before him, has put Jackson County on the map of their professional careers.
His charisma, coupled with the courage it takes to perform, have established him as a "main-eventer" on wrestling cards around the world. His drive and determination will keep him there.
"Courage isn't what you do in the place of fear, courage is when you get beat by that fear and getting back up and facing it again. But, whether there is two people here or 20,000 people here I'm going to give them my best."
