For my birthday my wife bought me tickets to my first Independent Wrestling show. Props to her for providing me with one of the most fun nights of my life. I had a feeling Jewish wrestler Colt Cabana would be there in his hometown of Chicago. But then came out this wrestler who ran down a list of his nicknames (part of his gimmick). One of them was “The Jewish Canon.” I looked at my wife who braved out the experience and said “I have to meet him.” After the show I was speaking with Colt Cabana (checkout his new book on ColtMerch.com) and he introduced me to The Jewish Canon, David Starr. Starr was one of the highlights of the show for the promotion AAWrestling. After reading his twitter feed I saw how proud he was about his Judaism and we got to talking. TGR fans I want to introduce you to Your Favorite Wrestler’s Favorite Wrestler, the King of Taunt, the Product, the 104 Minute Man, the Cream in Your Coffee, Mr. Americanrana, The Jewish Canon; David Starr. (Photos by John Moss).
1) Tell TGR about yourself.
I’m a 26 year old professional wrestler born in Philadelphia. I’ve been wrestling since I was 7 years old all the way through University at Elizabethtown College where I studied mathematics and now as a professional.
2) When and how did you get into professional wrestling?
Started professional wrestling when I was 20 in January 2012. I had my very first match the day before my 21st birthday after becoming the fastest graduate in the history of the famed Wild Samoan Training Center (Allentown, PA) on February 18, 2012.
I loved pro wrestling since I saw Wrestlemania 12 in 1996. I became a passionate fan and eventually garnered up the courage to really think about it as a career following the CM Punk “Pipebomb promo” on June 27, 2011.
3) You are from Philly. Do you still wrestler there and whats the Philly wrestling scene like?
I rarely wrestle locally, other than for Combat Zone Wrestling (located in South Jersey). Philadelphia is the best place to be for pro wrestling. Between its history, passion and centralized location between major wrestling hot spots Philadelphia is the place to be.
4) It seems you are very proud of your Jewish heritage (you wear a Star of David on your trunks, your in-ring name, etc). What was your Jewish life like growing up and today?
I’m extremely proud of who I am. Jewish life was pretty good for the most part. There were obviously plenty of times where people looked down on me because I wasn’t Christian like most the other kids and families, but overall I didn’t truly suffer from discrimination until I was exposed to the real world after high school. When I was in college, at a private mostly white Christian school near Hershey, PA, I received death threats and hate mail because of my Judaism. Luckily my true friends had my back and I had a good support system at home as well.
Today it’s still mostly good, even in the scary troubling times that we are clearly in. As much as Anti-Semitism and hate groups in general seem to be emboldened these days, there’s also a good group resisting it.
5) Have you been to Israel? If so, when and if not do you want to go? Have you ever wrestled there?
I was in Israel for wrestling in July 2017. It was the time of my life. I stayed in Tel Aviv and went to Jerusalem. It was amazing. I hope to go back someday soon!
6) You are vocal on social media against antisemitism. Is that a big issue in the wrestling world? In the locker room or fans?
Wrestling seems to allow more prejudice and discrimination because throughout the history of the sport, we have aimed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. I feel that in all walks of life we do not need to perpetuate negative stereotypes towards any group of people. What’s the point in that? Why accept that in any form? It’s not like a majority of wrestling fans are bigots, but there’s still an overall acceptance of that culture. That’s what I believe needs to end.
7) You were recently on a show with Colt Cabana, who also talks about being a Jewish wrestler. Have you two ever tagged together?
We have never worked together in any capacity. I respect Colt as a performer and as a businessman. I’ve been fortunate enough to share many locker rooms with him and pick his brain on multiple occasions. Great guy.
8) Speaking of Jewish wrestlers are you more of a Macho Man, Goldberg or Paul Heyman Guy?
All the above!
9) What are your goals in Professional Wrestling?
To be happy, have fun and to continue to be able to support myself financially.
10) Where can we find you on social media and anything you want to plug?
@TheProductDS
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