Pro wrestling star Big Damo reveals why he signed with MLW, being a part of Contra and eyeing Opera Cup

Big Damo has made a big impact since he joined Major League Wrestling (MLW) earlier this year.

Damo, a former WWE competitor, is among the bruisers that litter the MLW roster. The 6-foot-3, 310-pound Belfast native aligned himself with Contra Unit as soon as he hit the ring. He explained to OutKick Dropkick in a recent interview why he joined the company in the first place.

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"Honestly, the major reason was I was struggling with a minor injury and MLW were really, really patient with me and they waited until I recovered and came back to me," he said. "So, I feel like I've got a bit of loyalty there. It's kind of rare in wrestling normally when this kind of thing happens, they have to move on, and I've seen that at different parts of my career. They endeared themselves to me no end. But that they came back after because I had to miss what was going to be an original start day, which would have been January and I had to miss that unfortunately. So, they came back to me a couple of months later and then it was great to get started."

Damo also pointed to the roster MLW has been building over the last two years with recognizable names and the alliances it has built with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, allowing for global superstars to get an opportunity to perform in MLW.

"Also, what really drew me to MLW is, there's an incredible roster there. A lot of colleagues, a lot of people I've wrestled before and a lot of people who I really like and really respect. It’s an amazing roster and all their partnerships across the world whether it's in Mexico or Japan with New Japan, CMLL, everything else. And now, you're seeing you know a lot of the ladies of Stardom and stuff like that coming in. So, It's a very intriguing roster and they're making a big push to bring in a bunch of Europeans and you know there's no bigger European than me."

Damo also pointed to MLW’s distribution deals, which allow its weekly show "Fusion" to be broadcast on platforms like Tubi and Veeps.

In the ring, Damo is one of the handful of big men who have joined Contra – the most evil faction in MLW.

Damo, Brick Savage, Kushida, Ikuro Kwon, Okumira, Josef Samael and Sentai Death Squad are the members of the group eager to dole out punishment to anyone who steps to them. It’s been a while since Contra has been able to get the sense of fear back around them and Damo has relished the opportunity to be a part of that.

"Well, at this point with myself and Brick Savage, I think we could probably run through a brick wall," he told OutKick Dropkick. "So, it probably is the best time to say we're probably the most feared we've been in a long time.

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"Obviously, there's been an incredible roster of people who've come through Contra all through the years, but right now we're looking pretty good. It's one of the coolest kind of collection of wrestlers I think that I've been a part of and now we're in a situation where we're putting the rest of the roster on notice. So, as I said, Brick Savage, a very recent addition, he can literally throw anybody around. So, I mean, he'll make me look good, so that's even better."

Damo said he wasn’t necessarily eyeing gold right away like his teammate Brick Savage is. For now, he has his sights on the Opera Cup.

The Opera Cup is a single-elimination tournament held in MLW. The company revived the tournament in 2019 after it originally was started in the late 1800s. The tournament was discontinued in 1948 after Stu Hart won the trophy.

On "Fusion," Damo will take on Wolf Gang with Matt Riddle possibly waiting for him in the next round.

"Always eyeing gold," he said. "You know, with this Opera Cup, that'll be the first step. I'm wrestling Wolf Gang this Thursday on Tubi. And then I'm looking at the likes of Matt Riddle. I'm looking at the likes of Killer Kross. These are people who I know very well and wouldn't mind a little bit of gold around my waist as well. So, listen, I'm leaving everything on the table, but I'll start with the Opera Cup because the Opera Cup, obviously, is probably the most historic tournament still going in pro wrestling. So why not make history, be the first Irish winner as well."