I took a friend of mine to his first indy show back in December. After the intermission, the song “Baddest Man Alive” began to play. My friend snorted, “Baddest Man Alive! Is this guy really the baddest man alive?”
Considering what he’s been through the last year, yeah, he just might be.
Aaron Williams is one of the most athletic and exciting wrestlers in the Midwest. The Cincinnati native was one of the featured wrestlers on the cover of Eat Sleep Wrestle. He is a regular at Rockstar Pro in Dayton and recently participated in CZW’s Best of the Best 14, one of the premiere tournaments for rising indy stars. But from October, 2014 until April of this year, he was working injured.
“I was attempting to execute a moonsault off the top rope,” recalls Williams. “My target moved, but not quite far enough. I ended up hyper extending my knee. I couldn’t hear it due to the noise from the crowd. But I was later told it sounded like a gun went off when it happened.”
Despite the seriousness of the injury, Williams continued to work another seven months before having surgery. Wrestling isn’t a second job for Williams; he’s one of the few proudly doing it full time, which made taking time off very difficult.
“Surprisingly I experienced a lot of emotional ups and downs during my down time. Didn’t expect it but it was a rough time that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
Williams took advantage of the time as best as he could. “I learned more then I can say really. Months of sitting and watching match after match, promo after promo you kinda can’t help but learn something.”
So can fans expect any changes from Williams when he returns? “I think it’s safe to say that I have changed. I think people will see a new me to some extent. Some of it may surprise people but at the end of the day I still be the Baddest Man Alive.”
Williams’ return will be a welcome one for the fans, if not his opponents. He’s rested, restless, and ready to resume his career. “My biggest goal is to do everything I can to get past this set back. I feel like I was on the rise before I couldn’t put off the surgery anymore. Now I have to get the road under me and back to moving forward again.”
Welcome back, brother.
