Meet the wrestler: Paul Diamond

Contributed by: Anthony Welch/YourHub.com on 3/13/2006

Matt Kerstner, 19, has learned a lot about respect having professionally wrestled for 21/2 years.

On one night in particular, Kerstner aka Sensational Paul Diamond, was informed by trainers Billy Roberts and Jeff Michaelis that he would be getting the Fusion Pro Wrestling championship belt

“It was an honor. It showed they had a lot of respect for me, and I have a lot of respect for them,” he said.

Kerstner attended Skyview High School, where he was expelled during his sophomore year for having a knife in his car. He’d always been a huge professional wrestling fan. With the new “free time” on his hands, Kerstner decided there was no better time to give it a try.

Kerstner has excelled rapidly in the sport. He’s wrestled in Arizona, Kansas, California, South Dakota and North Carolina. And, at 5-foot-6, 150 pounds, Kerstner is Fusion’s equivalent of David battling a bunch of Goliaths double his size.

The Thornton man, who works as a dock worker at FedEx, first started training with a “backyard wrestling school” that didn’t even have a ring. The operation was less than professional to say the least.

“I paid $1,500 to wrestle on the grass,” Kerstner said.

Then he discovered the Altitude Pro Wrestling Academy and met trainers Roberts and Michaelis. He was impressed with their professionalism and with the fact that Michaelis had a few World Wrestling Entertainment matches under his belt.

“He kind of already knew how to wrestle,” Michaelis said. “I’ve seen him progress to be more mature than when he first started.”

“There’s a reason why he’s the champion. Out of all the wrestlers in Fusion he’s in the top three. He’s a good leader in the ring,” Roberts added.

The toughest part of a match, according to Kerstner, is just waiting your turn to get in the ring at a show.

“You just have to wait, and the anticipation builds,” he said. “As soon as you walk through the curtain, the nerves go away.”

The other thing Kerstner has had to get used to (not that it’s a chore or anything) is signing autographs for fans. The first time he was approached by a young girl asking for his signature, he was stunned.

“I was kind of embarrassed,” he said. “I was like, ‘You want my autograph? Me?’”

Catch Sensational Paul Diamond in action at Fusion Pro Wrestling’s Ascension on April 8 at the Red Lion Hotel, 4040 Quebec St. For more information, visit www.fusionprowrestling.com.