The names Dux and Bloodsport go together like peas and carrots. So why hasn’t Canadian wrestling icon Tyson Dux made an appearance under the Bloodsport banner?

As the Canadian icon has mentioned in previous interviews, his moniker was adopted from that of Frank Dux, a martial artist who served as the inspiration for the Jean-Claude Van Damme film Bloodsport. It’s ironic, then, that one of Canada’s top in-ring technicians wouldn’t be invited to such an event to this point, especially considering his famous last name.

“How in the hell is there a Bloodsport event that hasn’t featured a Dux yet?!” I asked him half-jokingly as part of our recent chat for Love Wrestling.

“I do not know, and honest to God, I’m baffled by this as well,” Dux laughed. “I see that [Josh] Alexander got on for Bloodsport, which is great. That’s awesome that he got on to do this.

“I can work this style, by the way,” Dux emphasized. “I have worked a couple of shows now for WXW in Germany where they do the shoot-style, the battle art style. So I’m like – I wonder why!”

“Frank Dux, my uncle would be very impressed if I got to do a Bloodsport thing. You know what I’m saying?” he laughed. “He’d be very impressed with me. Several generations later, right?”

Even outside of the irony of his name, the Bloodsport environment is one that seems tailor-made for a wrestler like Dux. The knockout-or-submission-only event is certainly not your traditional wrestling show, but Dux’s proficiency in a vast array of styles of wrestling bodes well for his success should he ever earn an invite.

“Are there any styles that you would say that you can’t work or can’t work particularly well?” I asked him to conclude our interview. “Or, do you feel confident in working pretty well any professional wrestling style out there?”

“Without a doubt,” Dux replied before revising his answer slightly. “Okay, yes, there is one style that I can’t work. It’s not because I can’t work it, it’s because I choose not to work it. I won’t do the hardcore stuff anymore – no, there’s a couple, then. There are two. So I’m not going to do hardcore stuff anymore because, to me, I’m a true – I’ve said this, with this coming year that I want to be known as the modern-day Lou Thesz.”

Dux, evidently noting my interest in his final statement, elaborated.

“I want to bring wrestling back because there’s such a – we’re so off-kilter with balance, where we made everybody part of an inside joke and it’s not even a funny joke,” he explained. “It’s like guys are doing really, really silly stuff or really over the top, very dramatic with no reality base to it at all. They just do (it) because they can. I don’t want to do that anymore. So going forward, it doesn’t matter what anybody else does, I’m not gonna yell at him, I’m gonna never shit on this stuff. They want to do whatever they do, that’s fine. That makes them money, so be it. But me going forward, I’m going to be strictly professional wrestling the way wrestling was intended to be.

“So like anything with four ways and three ways and all that stuff, I say no,” Dux continued. “Anything with hardcore, I say no, because that’s not wrestling to me. That’s, you know, you’re just smashing up lawn furniture. I’m not going to do any of the silly comedy stuff. I’m not going to be a part of it, I’m not going to be a part of anything that feels as though it’s damaging the integrity of professional wrestling. Because there’s been countless guys that are in the grave now. We’ve got countless guys that have come and gone and been in the grave that put their whole life and body and limb and everything on the line, and the more we make it into a silly, silly joke, we take away the fact that these guys are risking life and limb every time for your entertainment. There’s guys out there that are really busting their ass that are taking major, major risk where they could be hurt severely and not only not wrestle anymore, but maybe not walk anymore, and then we make light of it because we can. Silly spots where guys have remote controls and slow down the action stuff. In the past I might have done it, but going forward, with the balance being so off and everything needs balance, I’m pulling back the reins on it.

“I’m bringing back grappling and professional wrestling the way it used to be.”

Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any of the above quotes used.

Like many professional wrestlers, Tyson Dux is itching to get back inside the wrestling ring following what we hope is the worst of the COVID pandemic. However, Dux has kept himself busier than most despite the lack of wrestling, utilizing the down-time from international travel and wrestling events to grow elsewhere, building a successful YouTube channel and his own clothing brand, Hammerlock Apparel, to keep him occupied throughout the pandemic.

Motivation was a theme throughout our recent conversation for Love Wrestling, and as both Dux and I chatted about how various professional wrestlers have used the pandemic as an opportunity to grow, he took the opportunity to give his thoughts on both his own motivations as well as some of his peers who have spent their time wisely over the past eleven months.

The topic began with an offhand comment on my part.

“You can tell who gave a shit to actually workout and stay prepared and maybe get in the ring when they had the opportunity versus the people who really didn’t over the last little bit,” I commented to him in the midst of our chat.

“And that’s great!” Dux replied enthusiastically. “That’s what’s great about social media is if you’re not being inspired or at least driven by like, ‘oh, that guy’s getting ahead of me? No way!’ That’s the great thing about it.”

Dux was quick to use the opportunity to credit a few pro wrestlers that he believes have made the most of a terrible time in the world.

“A lot of people, we get negative on these stupid platforms, unfortunately,” he continued, “but if you take away the good and the positives – like if you see Josh Alexander, Walking Weapon squatting non-stop all the time, or you see [Mike] Bailey doing matches or you see Ethan Page (who) has completely, completely transformed himself over this COVID thing.”

I nodded in agreement as Dux continued.

“And Tyler Colton! Think about Tyler Colton in Winnipeg, who just won a strongman competition. If these guys are in the middle of COVID-type things, and they’re still pressing forward – Tarik, too. I’m going to throw Tarik in there, too, because I watched Tarik finally (get) back to the gym and he’s more jacked and swole than ever. So, that really goes to show that guys that really want to go for it, go for it. The ones that don’t just have excuses why.

”

However, with social media sometimes being as negative as it is, I commented to him, where does he continue to pull consistent motivation from?

“It’s all internal,” Dux replied. “My father was always told me I’ve always had to work harder than anybody else. I’m not athletic by nature, I’m just a studier.

I’m a hard worker, and I’m a studier. I’m a learner. It’s also repetition that I have become who I am. With that said, I press harder now at 42 because of my mind. The first thing that will go is your mind saying ‘ah, just take today off,’ or ‘oh, you’re sore, or your knee hurts, take today off.’ That’s the first sign I know that once I have those thoughts creep into my brain, I go three times as hard. So I’ll be in my gym and for the first time in my whole professional wrestling and my boxing career and all the stuff that I’ve done over my tenure as an adult, I’ve never pushed myself harder to the point where I was almost sick, like puking sick, because that’s the mentality. At this age, if you’re not willing to give it 1,000%, what’s the sense, right?”

““You’re your own deterrent,” he concluded emphatically. “You have the key – you have the keys to the castle, and you get the keys to the kingdom, man, and if you press forward, you can’t deny hard work. You cannot deny it, so just be harder working.

And, if it falls back and you think you failed at it, then it’s time to work harder. It’s real simple. It’s a simple philosophy, but it’s it’s kept me around very, very long time. I’ve been very successful with it.

“I’m like, so happy with even through this rough period of time, it’s been almost like – it’s been rough, but we’ve still been able to do things. We’ve still been able to be more self-motivated and self-driven. So it’s good.”

Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any of the above quotes used.