INTERVIEW: Jah-C opens up about BWM Title win, talks JCW, AAW, training with Rollins & Brave

The first-ever Black Wrestlers Matter Champion Jah-C spoke to Andrew Thompson. They discussed Jah's AAW and GCW appearances and more

Photo Courtesy: SP Media Graphics

The month of June 2021 was an eventful one for ‘The Frontman’ Jah-C. His near two-year reign as Heavyweight Champion of the Higher Ground promotion came to an end, he was a part of AAW, Jersey Championship Wrestling and became the first Black Wrestlers Matter Champion by defeating JDX at the Black Wrestlers Matter 2 show in Iowa.

Jah-C comes out of the Midwest and in 2021, he found himself being spotlighted in a variety of different wrestling promotions. I had the chance to chat with Jah and we discussed how he got his start with Game Changer Wrestling, which led to him being a part of JCW. He explained that it was the likes of EFFY, Mance Warner, Nick Gage and Brett Lauderdale who played a role in him coming in.

Jah is hoping to have the same relationship with Jersey Championship Wrestling that CM Punk had with IWA Mid-South.

Absolutely [I got started in Jersey Championship Wrestling through GCW]. Throughout the pandemic, for a lot of people, it was a down time. For me, I used that as thinking time. I used that as plot and I was in the lab and I’ve always been passionate about filmmaking and acting and that sort of thing so I ventured out and I started to produce my own vignettes and my own short films and they garnered a little bit of recognition and the brass at GCW, Brett Lauderdale as well as even S.G.C. [Second Gear Crew] guys, Manders, Mancer, EFFY and [Nick] Gage, they all seen it and it’s cool to have those guys backing me and seeing what I’m doing and wanting to bring me in there. So yeah, I’ve had fun with GCW. Jersey Championship Wrestling has really become my bedroom. Between going toe-to-toe with JJ Garrett and Everett Connors at my most recent appearance and I feel as though I am cultivating the same relationship with Jersey Championship Wrestling as like a CM Punk did with IWA Mid-South back in the day, made it his home, you know what I mean? And that’s exactly by design man. It’s exactly by design because as soon as I heard that Jersey Championship Wrestling was gonna be resurrected and Joey Janela has been extremely helpful with that as well. As soon as I heard that they were gonna be resurrecting this once upon a time dope company, I was like, ‘You know, they’re very, very close with GCW, they’re owned by em. That might be a real awesome feather in my cap if I can make Jersey Championship Wrestling my b*tch. GCW will have to respond by taking me out on a date from there, right? You know what I mean?

Jah-C got his start in AAW in December of 2020. That one spot on their show led to him appearing on four of the promotions ‘Alive’ shows which airs on Twitch. In a recent backstage segment. Jah brought up the Heritage Championship which Myron Reed and Hakim Zane have been feuding over for several months.

He has his sights set on that title and making AAW his home. Jah’s trainers, Seth Rollins and Marek Brave were a part of AAW early in their respective careers and held tag team gold together.

I am [having fun] man. You don’t put a saddle on a stallion, you just let ‘em ride, you know what I mean? And they’ve [AAW] been able to do that for me lately. Since I’ve broke into the business, [I’ve] had my eyes set on AAW as well trying to make that place my home. I was trained and here’s the name-dropping to continue; I was trained by Seth Rollins and Marek Brave who were kind of the cornerstones of building that place, so it’s almost destiny in a way in our world for me to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors and continue the heritage and whatnot. There’s the goal right there, the Heritage Championship.

Continuing on the topic of being trained by Seth Rollins and Marek Brave at the Black & Brave Wrestling Academy, Jah-C explained what he learned from both men during his training. From Marek, Jah said he learned that wrestling is far more than just what occurs in the ring and from Seth, he instills the work ethic, passion and will to grind into his trainees.

From Marek Brave himself, just allowing me the showmanship and reminding me what this is that we do, you know? And so it’s all about putting on these bangers of matches but also entertainment is at the core of what we do and I think that Marek Brave specializes in that in a way that I don’t feel he gets enough credit for and that may be just because his injury took him out of the actual in-ring stuff so early in his life and as far as Seth Rollins man, the work ethic. The work ethic and the grind and the passion and the pride in which I put into my work. I have always had that but it was something that was reinforced sevenfold by that guy and I couldn’t have picked a better Yoda to go learn from.

At the second-ever Black Wrestlers Matter show, headlining was Jah-C versus JDX for the vacant Black Wrestlers Matter Championship. Jah-C walked out victorious and is the first individual to hold the title.

He dove into what the title win means to him and how special it is. Although it was a momentous occasion, he does not want to get ahead of himself because he feels he has a lot more work to put in as far as making the title prestigious by being able to defend it on a consistent basis.

Representing the culture comes with an immense amount of pressure but I happen to perform pretty damn good under pressure. I don’t wanna put the cart in front of the horse quite yet. I have to put the work in. I’ve won the championship, I have yet to defend it although I know that Brooke Valentine is sniffing her nose around my business and to be quite frank with you, I don’t really have interest in intergender wrestling but that’s neither here nor there. That’s not the question you asked me. You asked me what did the match mean and it meant a lot. I have an immense amount of respect for JDX. When you open up the dictionary and you look up the word ‘prototype’ or ‘the blueprint’ or the franchise, that dude’s face is on it. He’s got all the makings to put the company on his back one day and I’ve always known that. You look in his eyes, you listen to him speak, you hear that same fire that I feel that I possess. You see the same vision of what is possible in this line of work in the future and what we want this business and industry to look like and I know that he has a lot that he wants to be and I can relate to that. So being in the ring with him for those 30 odd minutes, beating the living hell out of each other, putting on what I consider to be an Iowa classic. I don’t know how it’ll hold up. It’s incredibly special man. It’s incredibly special. The entire experience, it felt like leveling up. It felt like the actual — it felt like I was no longer the guy that I was last year or the day before the matchup. It felt like growth and the future of me carrying this championship is just going to prove that exact line, when I’m defending it against anybody.

Following up on that, Jah was asked if there are plans in place to have him defend the Black Wrestlers Matter Title in different promotions. While he cannot give out exact details or confirm matchups, there are things in the works as far as him defending his title at some of the independent shows he’ll be working.

Hear me when I say this: I am going to turn this championship right here into that big gold. The same way that the Nature Boy Ric Flair was taking that Heavyweight Championship around the world, proving that he was the man, that is exactly what I’m going to do because I got a whole lot to prove! I got a whole lot to prove. I’m sorry, I get fired up. That’s legitimate. That is not the pro wrestler talk. Everything I do is very real. I’ve got a whole lot to prove and that’s exactly what I’m doing to do. We’ve got some things lined up. I don’t wanna put the cart in front of the horse. I don’t want to speak out of turn but yes, you are going to see that. You are going to see this [Black Wrestlers Matter Championship] everywhere, all over the country and if I can get outside of the country, if the government can get their stuff together and the world will let The Frontman take this on the road, I’m going to defend it and I’m gonna show that The Frontman matters and so do Black wrestlers man.

Jah-C is coming off of the TNT Hall Of Fame induction weekend. He competed on a joint-show that TNT and Impact Pro presented and made it to the finals of a tournament against Jeremy Wyatt.

To keep up with all things Jah-C, check out the following highlighted words for links to his Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About Andrew Thompson 7927 Articles
A Washington D.C. native and graduate of Norfolk State University, Andrew Thompson has been covering wrestling since 2017.