Jordan Samson – A Humble Giant, With Or Without His Hair
As I approach west Melbourne’s Kindred Bandrooms for DMDU’s “Philadelphia&Chicago&Tokyo&Footscray” show I find myself slightly terrified. I’m meeting a huge, intimidating often-deathmatch wrestler named Jordan Samson for an exclusive interview; a man named “The Brick Shithouse”, which is only slightly less intimidating than the man himself.
The first thing that strikes me is that he is in fact huge. The second thing that strikes me is how handsome Jordan is!
But fortunately for me, the next thing that becomes obvious is that, despite his propensity for wielding light-tubes and being smashed through boards, he might be the most relaxed guy I’ve ever met. He’s not going to kill me for being late!
“I’m usually pretty chill. A lot of times I’ll have a nap before a match” Jordan tells me. He’s not exaggerating, nor did he need to tell me – if he were more laid back he’d be lying down.
I start by asking Jordan what brought him to wrestling. A former Victorian K1 Heavyweight champion, Jordan “fell out of love with it. If you’re not into it, don’t be in it. It gets dangerous, bad things can happen.”
It’s an attitude that immediately strikes me as being equally relevant to deathmatch wrestling. “If you’re not into it, don’t be in it. It gets dangerous.”
But Jordan was into wrestling after a trip to Wrestlemania 34 and jumped feet-first into it. Bare feet in fact. After being introduced to APW through a friend, he trained for around five months before debuting and having eleven matches pre-covid break. In early 2022 he found himself working scramble and tag-team matches in DMDU, up until “The Great Emu War Games.”
“A year ago deathmatch wasn’t even an idea” Jordan tells me. “I was a WWE baby.”
That first deathmatch was against York and Xavier Black, and there was no dipping the toe in the water. It was a “F**kery Boards Deathmatch.”
With that said, Jordan could’ve dipped his toe in some water if he wanted to, choosing to retain his barefoot look for his first deathmatch. When asked about wrestling deathmatches in bare feet, Jordan jokes “I’m a f**kin’ idiot!” and then goes onto blame York and Joel for the decision to wrestle barefoot. I’m not sure whether he’s joking, and I’m too scared to ask.
“(ICW commentator and current ICW Champion) Brandon Kirk hates it! On the Australian ICW shows there are comments during the match with Xavier (Black) about how much he hates it!” I remembered this comment later on in the day as Vixsin began inserting tacks into Jordan’s feet.
This match at the War Games show was a turning point in his career. Following an incredible match against York and Xavier Black all three were immediately offered a spot in DMDU’s 2022 DREAM deathmatch tournament.
“The most pain I’ve ever been in was at DREAM in Light Tube Lunacy. Camby (Crawford) gave me a Russian leg-sweep into the chair with tubes on it, the tubes stuck up and stabbed me in the back.” It was a performance that immediately preceded Jordan’s first overseas tour, joining York and Joel Bateman.
“We drove ridiculous hours in a car, slept in a car. It was a road trip over 10 days with 4 matches across the first weekend.” The road trip Jordan describes is one that you hear about when old-timers are telling their stories, but it’s a trip that sounds like it appealed to Jordan’s laid back nature.
In the midst of long miles and car sleeps, Jordan wrestled at ICW No Holds Barred 32 against deathmatch legend Casanova Valentine in a star-making performance for Samson. Taking everything Valentine had – including some gruesome weapons – Jordan left the ring to passionate “please come back!” chants.
“I would love to go back to ICW. It was such a cool atmosphere” he tells me in one of the biggest understatements of our whole interview – the crowd loved Jordan. “Cas was such a great learning experience. It was only the fourth deathmatch of my career!”
When I ask Jordan about any plans to go back, he tells me he would love to, but not in the short term, with Jordan and his wife having immediate plans to start a family. “I’ll have a few shows off, but then I’ll be back into it.” A man who clearly understands his priorities, “I wrestle for the fun of it – (I) don’t take it too seriously.”
Jordan’s dedication not just to deathmatch, but also to the fun of wrestling is reflected in his first major DMDU accolade, the Mat Earth Title. No ring wrestling, set in bars, “Mat Earth shows are some of the funnest to be at as a fan and worker. The atmosphere is special cos it’s so close.”
To a fan, “fun” seems a contradiction with some of the savage deathmatch spots that Jordan has been involved with, but it’s great to meet a wrestler who has so successfully balanced fun, overseas opportunity and family, all while remaining one of the more humble people you’ll meet.
I ask Jordan what winning the DMDU Deathmatch Title would mean to him. He seems almost surprised by the question. I don’t think he’s being typically modest, I think he’s just so relaxed that he hasn’t thought that far ahead.
“Winning it would be my biggest achievement in wrestling.” In another wild understatement he tells me “(deathmatch) turns out to be something I’m pretty good at.”
In talking about the reigning champ, her challenger is lost for words. “The chance to wrestle Vixsin… it means a lot.”
In a way it sums up the man. Humble, respectful, and a great attitude to wrestling. It meant a lot to Vixsin as well. Following their title match later in the day, Vixsin would congratulate Samson for the war, and invited him for a re-match “anywhere, anytime.”
“I don’t really set goals, I just want to wrestle as much as I can. I’m happy to wrestle anywhere!”
It’s hard to imagine a friendlier guy in wrestling who is more deserving of the opportunity.
Thanks to Jordan Samson for his time. You can follow Jordan on twitter @jordansamson95
Thanks to Deathmatch Downunder for helping facilitate this interview. You can follow DMDU on twitter @dmdownunder
Jordan’s info:
Age: 27
Debut: 2019
Height: 185cm
Weight: 130kg
Companies: Deathmatch Downunder, Adrenaline Pro Wrestling
Titles: Current DMDU Mat Earth Champion, former APW Breakout Champion
Matches to check out:
Jordan Samson vs Casanova Valentine – ICW No Holds Barred 32
Jordan Samson vs Camby Crawford – DMDU DREAM 2022
Jordan Samson vs York vs Xavier Black – DMDU The Great Emu War Games
Jordan Samson vs Vixsin – DMDU Philadelphia&Chicago&Tokyo&Footscray*
These matches are all available on IWTV.
* This show is likely to be available in 3-4 weeks.
