Growing up, Kelly Sixx – real name Josh Wall – had one dream: to be a professional wrestler. From wrestling in the backyards of Southampton, he now performs in some of the most historic arenas in Japan.
As far as professional wrestling is concerned, Japan is arguably the mecca of the sport. Regarded as one of Asian country’s most popular sports, Japan is where many of wrestling’s biggest stars end up at one point or another.
Like many British wrestling fans, WWE was Kelly’s introduction to sports entertainment. Eventually, he would soon be exposed to other promotions such as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that showcased a slightly different style of wrestling, not necessarily geared towards the same younger audience that WWE’s content is aimed for.
“TNA was my first non-WWE interest,” Kelly told Fen Regis Trophies. “It got me into a different style of wrestling, and that’s what pushed me to want to do it myself.”
Beginning Training
From discovering TNA and falling in love with a new style, Kelly sought out training sessions where he could step inside a squared circle for himself. As wrestling schools aren’t quite as common in England as grassroots football clubs, he had to travel across to Portsmouth’s FWA Academy, which has produced talent, including former WWE champion Drew McIntyre.
“The first time I ever trained I was 14,” he said. “I was late getting into it. I just went for a couple of training sessions.
“It just wasn’t for me at the time as it was a very serious training school…at the time, I just wanted to turn up and do random famous wrestling moves.”
“I would thrive in that environment now,” Kelly added. “I went back there about six months to a year later, and stayed with them until they closed (in 2007) and switched to a bunch of different training schools.”
Whilst at FWA, Kelly was trained by Justin Richards, a notable name on the British wrestling circuit, and would follow the veteran when he opened his wrestling school.
“He was a fantastic trainer,” Kelly said of Richards. “He was the first trainer I remember staying for.
“When he opened up his wrestling school in Essex in 2010, I trained under him for a year until he moved abroad.”
Big Break and Japan
Officially, Kelly’s first match came in Extreme World Wrestling (EWW) in 2011 while still performing under his real name. If you ask the ‘The King of Performance’ what he considers to be his first match, he believes that did not come until 2015.
“The lines are blurred,” he said. “We did backyard wrestling and it was a very different level.
“We would give each other feedback and things like that…I went from doing that to doing live shows, with the same group of people, but doing for a live audience.
“I don’t count those. I only count from when I started getting paid, in 2015.”
In 2018, Kelly’s career took a seismic turn as, through a mutual friend, he was allowed to go out to train in Japan at Taka Michinoku’s Kaientai Dojo.
“I took myself out there,” said Kelly. “That first time was a case of me sorting my own flights out and the idea was just to go and train.
“If they liked me, they would put me on shows and they put me on shows the first day I arrived because they saw me and liked me enough.
“For that one, it was just me that funded it. They paid for all my accommodation and food, so I didn’t have any expenditure, but I had to get myself there.
“I would train for six days a week and wrestle on the seventh. That opened the door [for going out to Japan again] and making it an actual business transaction.”
Kelly, a former Defiant tag team champion with Ashley Dunn, believes experiencing Japanese culture has helped to push him to the next level.
“It was honestly just the biggest culture shock,” he admitted. “It wasn’t just the training, because there was so much more to it.
“You get up at 6am and you are not done until 3pm, and you are knackered…I remember every day in that first week just falling asleep as soon as training was done.
“I didn’t have the energy to do anything, but it gave me the most incredible gas tank where I could go for days.”
Returning to Japan
Having experienced Japan and everything that comes with wrestling and living in the country, the Southampton performer admits that he dreams of making the move full-time. For now, he is taking things as they come.
“We are talking about a return to Japan,” Kelly revealed. “That’s where the balancing act comes in because I need to see what opportunities are here and what’s there.
“I want to come back (to Japan) but I need to be making more money. I can get by with what I’m on at the moment, but I never want to be stagnant.
“Out there, it’s just a different world and I enjoy it more.”
While a permanent move to the Land of the Rising Sun may not be on the cards quite yet, you get the feeling that it probably won’t be too far away for one of British wrestling’s highest-rising stars. If you want to experience Kelly Sixx’s high-octane in-ring performances, while you still can in the UK, make sure to check his socials for where he will be performing.
By Aaron Gratton
