Interview With SL Wrestler Alpin Criss

By Charlotte Williams

Welcome to In Conversation with Charlotte: Beyond the Ring, Inside the Mindset.

I'm Charlotte, and in this series, I sit down with personalities from the Second Life wrestling community to discover who they truly are, what drives them, and the stories behind their characters.

Today, I'm joined by Alpin Criss, a man many consider the Godfather of SL wrestling.

His name has been woven through the history of the industry since its earliest days, through its growth, rivalries, controversies, and evolution. And with recent events bringing old tensions back into focus, this feels like the right time to hear his side of the story.

C: Alpin, welcome to the show.AC: Thanks for having me, Charlotte

C: So we're currently in Season 28 of Overload. At the end of Season 27, TLC refused your instruction to attack The Ace, which ultimately cost him the Heavyweight Championship. Afterwards, you attacked TLC. From your perspective, what caused this breakdown between you and TLC?

AC: First, after all I'd done for him all season long, he had the nerve to turn his back on me. Then he put his hands on me. Nobody turns their back on me, and nobody puts their hands on me unless they're willing to face the consequences, and the consequences are exactly what TLC got.

C:  Wow. Well, if I was TLC, I'd be a bit worried right now. I don't really know what could be happening with him, and I'd guess I'd be watching my back.

So now you're back as an active wrestler. You've returned to active competition. So why now, and what's driving that decision?

AC: Well you see, Charlotte, El Jefe reached out to me and he made me an offer I just couldn't refuse.

I'll lace up my boots for anyone, anytime, if the money is right. But getting some payback on the likes of Vince or some of these other jokers on the Premier roster, well, that's just gonna be icing on the cake

C: Sounds juicy. So speaking of Vince Aftermath, he is the owner and founder of Premier Wrestling, and you've mentioned there's still some unfinished business between yourself and Vince. So now that we're in Season 28 of Overload, how do you see that situation evolving?

AC: Well, Charlotte, I just don't know if there's any business left. I think Vince learned his lesson. When he ambushed me and put his hands on me, he learned exactly what TLC learned, that you don't put your hands on Alpin Criss unless you're man enough to accept the consequences.

Vince got the consequences, and I don't know what was sweeter, the sound of his knee snapping or that stupid Walmart cowboy hat crushing when I dropped my elbow on it.

I don't know, maybe it was the whimpering. I'll tell you what, I knew he was the kind of guy that whimpers. “You don't put your hands on Alpin Criss unless you're man enough to accept the consequences” – Alpin Criss

C: Dare I ask how you knew that, Alpin?

AC: You can just look at some guys. Some guys you know are gonna be tough, and then you look at Vince

C: And what, what do you see when you look at Vince? What does Alpin Criss see when he looks at Vince Aftermath?

AC: I think they say it best in Texas, he's all hat and no cattle.

C: I'm gonna leave that one there. I think that sounds like a Vince/ Alpin issue, so I'll leave that as it is. Maybe Vince will have a comeback at some time. We'll have to wait and see.

C: So, week two of Season 28 of Overload Alpin, TLC had a match against Malice, and you came out during that match. What, what was that about? What was your plan there?

AC: No real plan. You see, Charlotte, I'm a professional wrestler, and I mean professional. These other guys just play at wrestler, but I'm the real deal.

So when I have an opponent that I know I'm gonna end up facing at some point, I'm gonna watch what he does, I'm gonna study him, and I'm gonna figure out every part of his game.

So by the time he steps into that ring, and he goes through those ropes, and he's gotta face me, I'm gonna know every move he's got.

C: So if you had a message for TLC right now today after you've seen, after you've been out during his match, is there a message for him or are we just keeping it a mystery for now until he has to wait to see what, what Alpin Criss brings out to him?

AC: Oh, the message is simple. Alpin Criss is unimpressed

C: TLC, I hope you're listening…

C: So Alpin, you've called yourself the greatest wrestler of all time, a living legend, and I guess this is for the ladies, a real man. When it's all said and done, what do you want the name Alpin Criss to represent in Second Life Wrestling history.

AC: Well, that's a funny thing, Charlotte. The funny thing is, it was all said and done. History was written on Alpin Criss. The book was closed. Then Katherine Blackadder died, and Mad Mike brought me back to SL with that charity show. A one in a million long shot. Now, my place in history is cemented.

Win, lose, or draw, I'm always gonna be Alpin Criss.Now, what does that mean? A guy wins a title and it makes him important. Alpin Criss wins a title and it makes the title more important. You see what I mean?

C: I do, I do see what you mean. So Alpin Criss wins a title, and it makes the title more important. So these guys coming after you today, should they be wanting to beat Alpin Criss, or should they be wanting to have a title that Alpin Criss holds or has once held?

AC: Well, that's, that's just it, Charlotte. It doesn't matter, you know, a guy wrestles me, a Champion wrestles me, anybody wrestles me, and it's something on their bucket list. They can go and say, "I wrestled Alpin Criss."  And that's the difference. You see?

That's what I'm talking about.That's what they mean when they call me a Legend. Everyone else is just wrestlers. Even the Champions are just wrestlers.

But when you wrestle Alpin Criss, you're wrestling a Legend. “A guy wins a title and it makes him important. Alpin Criss wins a title and it makes the title more important” – Alpin Criss

C: So in saying that, Alpin, do you think that's how other wrestlers view you as a living Legend, as the greatest wrestler of all time? Or do you not care?

AC: All I know is whenever I log on to Second Life, whenever I'm in world, whenever I step into any arena in the virtual metaverse, I'm contacted by everyone.

People beg me to have matches with them. People who own feds, people who run feds, people who have been in this business for 15 years, since the beginning, they reach out to me.

They all want a match with Alpin Criss, and that's the difference. That's why I'll always be Alpin Criss, and everyone else will be just everyone else.

C: Alpin, if you could ask anyone in the wrestling, SL wrestling community one question, who would it be and what would you ask them?

AC: You know, I already asked, and El Jefe said the right thing with the right number of zeros behind it.

Now Premier's roster gets to deal with the consequences, and I'm gonna have fun the whole time, and I'm gonna make a lot of money the whole time. Vince has gotta deal with the consequences.

TLC, Ace, Derek, Moe, Chris, Dany, DHA. I don't even know who else is on the roster, but they're all gonna have to deal with it. I can keep going. All I need to ask is, are they ready for Alpin Criss?

C: Are they ready indeed? Is anybody ready for Alpin Criss? It remains to be seen.

Alpin, it has been an absolute pleasure having you here today.

Thank you so much for being in the studio with myself, and thank you for your time.

AC: You are so welcome. Thanks so much for having me, Charlotte.