Independent Wrestler Richard Holliday Preps for ACW Bout Against Andrade El Idolo

Richard Holliday, a leading independent wrestler with multiple championships across promotions, lost the Awesome Championship Wrestling heavyweight title to Killer Kross last month. He ranked No. 112 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's top 500 singles wrestlers in 2021.

The Connecticut native discussed his career in an interview with Fox News Digital. "Richard Holliday is the top independent professional wrestler in the world today," he said. "It goes without saying but I have no problem saying it because it’s true. … In November 2014, Paul Roma and Mario Mancini opened a professional wrestling school legitimately two blocks from my house and at the time I was playing football in college, D-II football for the University of New Haven."

"I always knew I wanted to be a professional wrestler, but at that time I was transitioning out of playing football," Holliday said. "I didn’t want to play football anymore. I wanted to get into the ring. And I don’t know, by divine intervention or just by chance, a school opened up two blocks from my house and it kinda felt like the universe was saying, ‘Here you go kid, now’s your time.’"

Holliday called pro wrestling the greatest form of live entertainment. It lets him display creative skills, athleticism, marketing and management in front of crowds.

"Pro wrestling has taught me so much about myself," he said. "Not in terms of what you see on screen but off screen – managing my own business, being an independent wrestler, being my own boss. So, I manage everything and it takes a lot of skill and a lot of self-discipline in order to do so to make it in this industry. I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else. So, just from a young age, it’s always what I wanted to do."

Billed as the "most marketable man" in pro wrestling, Holliday has thousands of social media followers. He joined ACW after promoters Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins recruited him.

"I’m from Connecticut, and then The Now – Vik (Dalishus) and Hale (Collins) – they’re both New York guys so we’ve shared locker rooms up and down the road for several years," he said. "When they started this venture, I was one of the first people they reach out to. They’re like, ‘Hey man, what you’re doing is awesome, right now, and we want you to be part of Awesome Championship Wrestling.’ It was very apropos."

Holliday faces Andrade El Idolo at ACW Reckoning next week in Poughkeepsie, New York. Andrade holds the New Japan Pro-Wrestling IWGP global heavyweight title and stars with All Elite Wrestling.

Social media has boosted his profile over the past year, he said. Daily posts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok draw new fans to live events.

"Really over the past year I’ve had this rise on social media where a lot of my popularity has been gained through what I post on social media each and every day," Holliday said. "Showing up everyday and having really entertaining things on the platform such as Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and TikTok – things of that nature. And, it’s not lost on me that I gain new fans from social media and a lot of them may not have ever seen me wrestle in person, which is cool because now it allows them to be like, hey, I saw this guy online and I want to go see him wrestle."

He wrestles every weekend but saves marquee matches for ACW against opponents like Matt Cardona, Matt Riddle, Killer Kross and Mike Santana. Past bouts are on YouTube and Triller.

"Now, I wrestle every weekend, but every time I wrestle for ACW, it really seems like these really big, marquee matches," he said. "I’ve wrestled the likes of Matt Cardona, Matt Riddle, Killer Kross, Mike Santana. The matches get bigger and bigger and now I’m wrestling Andrade. So, what I really would love, and I know is going to happen, is if anyone were to tune into my previous ACW matches, go watch the catalog, they’ve uploaded a lot of the library on YouTube or you can go on Triller and watch these matches, is me proving how exceptional of a professional wrestler I am. How truly I am one of the best at my craft."

"So, me and Andrade, is it a clash of styles? I don’t know. Is it a dream match? I’m sure to some people, absolutely," Holliday added. "This is a massive match to go down at the MJN Center, just like every Richard Holliday match that ever happens at the MJN Center. It is going to be one to watch. It is going to be a spectacle."

Ben Bishop, Steph De Lander, Indi Hartwell, Mance Warner and The Righteous also appear on the card.

Holliday praised ACW's professionalism. "It is up and away the most professional independent professional wrestling promotion that I’ve ever wrestled for and I truly mean that," he said. "It is TV quality production. Backstage, everybody gets taken care of. It’s so great from the catering, the locker room is spacious and comfortable and it’s the most professional environment I’ve been a part of on the independent scene. I almost don’t want to put them in the independent category because that’s how much they stand above everybody else."

ACW Reckoning takes place at the MJN Center on May 16.