Elliott Qrow was somewhat conspicuous by his absence from Coastal Championship Wrestling for much of the spring and early portion of the summer.
In a surprise appearance at Bash At The Brew 30 in July, Qrow came unannounced through the crowd and brutally attacked Ozzy Kilmeister. He returned to scheduled action the next month against Kilmeister, utilizing Ozzy’s newly won Coastal Cup as a weapon to pick up the victory. It seems as though Qrow has taken a dark turn since his return and his feud with Kilmeister is likely not over.
In this installment of CCW Spotlight, we’ll learn why he was gone and more about the real life of Elliott Qrow.
CCW Spotlight: Why did you get into professional wrestling?
Elliott Qrow: For as long as I can remember, I watched it with my grandmother. I just remember pretty much every night watching Raw or Smackdown, depending on what night it was. Unfortunately, I fell out of love with it in like 2008 and 2009. But luckily, I have some amazing co-workers and friends who brought me back into it around 2015. Ever since then, I was like ‘This is what I want to do.’ It’s what I wanted to do since I was in second grade and it’s only flourished since falling back in love with it.
CCW Spotlight: Where and how did you begin your professional wrestling journey?
Elliott Qrow: Under Gangrel at Gangrel’s Wrestling Asylum in 2020. The move to CCW was a difficult one after GWA shut down and tried to find a new home. But CCW opening up and taking all of us in with open arms was great, it was amazing. I will forever be thankful for them inviting us into their home, which is now our home. They were the place I had my debut. That’s probably one of my best memories. It was my first time being in front of a live crowd. There were a lot of people there and I was very surprised. It was overwhelming. It was only a five-minute match, but it felt like an eternity.
CCW Spotlight: What wrestlers who you watch have influenced you?
Elliott Qrow: For the past six or seven months, I’ve been watching a lot of Bobby Eaton. I love, love, love the Midnight Express. I love a lot of the stuff they did, but specifically Bobby Eaton. I like how he works, some of the little things about his character. You can probably see some of it my tights and in the style I have. He’s a big influence. Shawn Michaels is another one. Recently, I love Kenny Omega. Also, a lot of the New Japan wrestlers like Shota Umino, who is a real up and comer in Japan. I’ve studied him a lot. Sanada, I really enjoy. And Ishii. I really like Tomohiro Ishii.
CCW Spotlight: Who has played a role in your growth as a wrestler?
Elliott Qrow: Gangrel is a wealth of knowledge. If I had a totem pole of influences on me as a wrestler, he wouldn’t even be on the totem pole. He’s so far above and away, so far on another level that it’s insane. There’s nobody in the business that can tell you the things you need to know or need to learn like he does. He just can see everything differently and knows how to explain … in his own way so that everybody can understand. Other people recently have been Fred Rosser at the (NJPW) LA Dojo. I was over there for three months and it’s a completely different training style and coaching style from Gangrel. Gangrel is very hard, he will tell you what is up. He’s forceful. If you fuck something up, he’ll tell you. Where Fred is there to shine and make you good at what you’re good at, make you a master of what you’re good at and hide your faults. And then Rocky Romero was there too. He taught me a lot about confidence and being confident in myself and taking my time and knowing what to do and when to do it.
CCW Spotlight: Speaking of the New Japan Dojo, what went into your decision to go to California and train there for a few months?
Elliott Qrow: It was a gamble. Me going out there was on a whim. I submitted an application just to see what happens. I got accepted and I was beyond surprised. There weren't words to describe the feeling when I saw that they wanted me to come out there. I was chosen as one of 16 to go. The hardship was just money, just trying to budget. I was told there was a lot of sacrifice when it comes to professional wrestling. I sacrificed anniversaries, I sacrificed birthdays, job promotions, spending time with my family, possible things here in CCW to go out and learn from the people at the New Japan dojo. I don’t regret any of it. It’s something that I will forever cherish because it taught me so much of what I needed and it gave me confidence. It made me realize who I am. That’s all I really wanted was knowledge and finding myself.
CCW Spotlight: What are you like away from professional wrestling?
Elliott Qrow: I have a really, really fun love of Pokemon. I love Pokemon. Give me anything prior to fifth gen or fourth gen, I’ll go on about those. I also like a lot of anime. I love video games. I’m a huge gamer. In my free time, if I’m not at the gym or spending time with family, I’m just gaming. You can probably see me in the locker room. I have a Switch or some other handheld to pass the time. I have also been getting into a lot more TV dramas, because my girl and I need to have more time together. Also, going out to LA brought this out of me, but I like taking hikes. Just going out and experiencing nature. You can’t really get that since I’m a city boy. I grew up in Sunrise, been in Fort Lauderdale, down in Miami and all through there. That’s all I had really been to. Going out to LA and we took a trip to Tennessee, just seeing wildlife and nature, made me like ‘I miss this.’ I used to do it all the time when I was younger, but now it really makes me want to do it more.
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