{"id":125053,"date":"2024-06-20T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=125053"},"modified":"2024-06-20T00:04:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T04:04:01","slug":"indie-watch-the-concrete-dragon-tristen-thai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/06\/20\/indie-watch-the-concrete-dragon-tristen-thai\/","title":{"rendered":"Indie Watch: &#8220;The Concrete Dragon&#8221; Tristen Thai"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>MLW<\/strong> Wrestling star <strong>Ikuro Kwon<\/strong> aka <strong>Tristen Thai<\/strong>, has developed a reputation for being a hard hitting competitor. To the Shaolin Kempo black belt, fighting is more than a gimmick, it\u2019s a way of life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tristen Thai recently <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/6hbVvKab_CM\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sat down again<\/a> with <strong>Will Gray<\/strong> of <strong>Last Word on Sports<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Origin Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After finishing high school Tristen Thai would attend college and receive a bachelor&#8217;s degree. With the support and love of his mother he would decide to go to wrestling school. The trainer he chose, <strong>Conno Cappuccia<\/strong>, only had one student. It was Thai.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cWe both had something to prove to ourselves, and to each other.\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These personal training would give Thai a self-admitted advantage. The relationship he had with Conno was like a member of the family and more than a teacher student relationship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cWhen he\u2019s my trainer he\u2019s my trainer\u2026 when we\u2019re hanging out, he\u2019s my boy\u2026 When he\u2019s giving me advice, he\u2019s my brother. He wears a lot of hats in my life.\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>MLW, Winning Gold, Above the Rest<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KNAg8Kv61NE?si=laXNZ3X6r8HPyob9\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early in his career Thai was a regular in <strong>CZW<\/strong>. Around 2019 he would join with <strong>Gabe Skye<\/strong> and <strong>Above the Rest<\/strong> was born. \u201cWe weren\u2019t even supposed to be a team.\u201d Tristen would say. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>ATR (Above The Rest) vs Dante Drago &amp; David Graham<\/p>\n<p>Tickets\u2b07\ufe0f<br \/>\n\ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f-Remarkablewrestling.com <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/P0mkNtIIf4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/P0mkNtIIf4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 REMARKABLE WRESTLING (@RemarkableWres) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RemarkableWres\/status\/1760430711079612799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 21, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The relationship would grow and allow both wrestlers to have singles success beyond just a tag team. As a team Above the Rest are the reigning and defending <strong>Remarkable Wrestling<\/strong> Tag Team Champions. ATR is also a regular in the tag team division of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/01\/16\/wrestling-meccas-the-white-eagle\/\" target=\"_self\"><strong>BEYOND Wrestling<\/strong><\/a>, and have had huge rivalries with <strong>Miracle Generation<\/strong> and <strong>MSP<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H0yEWdvLlLw?si=INKJxm1CtP_Yx7A_\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Ikuro Kwon, he has had three successful runs inside <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/02\/26\/mlw-and-its-transitional-phrase-the-implications\/\" target=\"_self\">MLW<\/a>. During this time, Kwon would learn the importance of \u201cmaking every move matter\u201d and learning what it means to be a television ready wrestling star. His most recent run in MLW finds him as the technician in Contra. Learning under the wing of <strong>Minoru Suzuki<\/strong>, Kwon had this to say,<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where you wish you had a reason to pick someone\u2019s brain that you look up to\u2026 Now I get that with Suzuki.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Kwon would also discuss the importance of him and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/04\/17\/indie-watch-akira\/\" target=\"_self\">AKIRA<\/a> <\/strong>being the first pair of Korean Americans to compete in the Opera Cup.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Betting on Yourself<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tristen would put a huge emphasis on betting on yourself and having honest and true relationships inside the business. He would explain what it means to bet on yourself and for a company to see your worth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cI was a foot soldier\u2026 Now I have more confidence, being asked to come back. They came to me.\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2024, Tristen Thai and above the rest have a lot going on. Aside from a steady booking schedule as an MLW star and a red hot tag team, Thai is also a partner in Remarkable Wrestling with his former trainer. He would talk about wearing multiple hats and seeing the business from a different perspective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cI could buy a supermarket, but until I get in there and push a cart, do I really know what\u2019s going on?\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thai would tell LWOS that they are planning what will be the very first elimination chamber match on the independents. The structure itself requires its own box truck for transportation to and from the event site. Matt Tremont will be headlining the event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout his career in real life and in the ring, Tristen Thai has proven time and time again. He is a real fighter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The full interview can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/botched-spots-and-chair-shots\/id1561502956?i=1000659562183\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>. If aggregated, please credit Last Word on Sports.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/h3>\n<div class=\"td-post-content tagdiv-type\">\n<p><em>Header photo \u2013 MLW \/ X (<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Tristen_Thai\/status\/1800921124152480232\/photo\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tristen_Thai<\/a>) \u2013 Stay tuned to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MLW Wrestling star Ikuro Kwon aka Tristen Thai, has developed a reputation for being a hard hitting competitor. To the Shaolin Kempo black belt, fighting is more than a gimmick, it\u2019s a way of life.\u00a0 Tristen Thai recently sat down again with Will Gray of Last Word on Sports.\u00a0 The Origin Story After finishing high [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4168,"featured_media":125065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5283,2192],"tags":[8924,8926,8925],"class_list":["post-125053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlw","category-wrestling","tag-ikuro-kwon","tag-remarkable-wrestling","tag-tristen-thai"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}