"The Golden Greek" ALEX ARION
by Shellie Lepere

The number one seed of New England Championship Wrestling has long been "The Golden Greek" Alex Arion.  The now former champion "Brutal" Bob Evans had cursed Arion's chances at gaining the title with one-sided victories, disqualifications and political manuverings.  In past Evans vs. Arion bouts, Arion has suffered a concussion, has been bruised, bloodied, and put out of commission entirely with a broken ankle.  Regardless of the abuse his body has taken at Bob Evan's hands, it has not prevented Arion from being a world class wrestler.  Having competed in Puerto Rico, Ohio Valley, and Memphis to name a few, Arion's experience and determination contributed to him capturing the title at NECW's Meltdown.

It was an intense evening.  "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes made his NECW debut via videotape to talk about Ring Warriors and mentioned what a tremendous contender Arion was.  "It was a cool feeling having The Dream (Dusty) talk about me," says Arion.  Brutal Bob and Alex fought an incredible match.  "He's tough and talented, but I'm tougher and a little more resilient," says Arion about Brutal Bob.  "He can knock me down, but I'll keep getting right back up." 

Immediately after Alex beat Brutal Bob with a pin, the NECW locker room ran into the ring to congratulate Arion.  "It’s a great feeling knowing everyone respects me," says Arion.  "Not only do I have the respect of the fans, but the respect of the wrestlers."

From watching Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and "Heart Break Kid" Shawn Michaels as a kid, Alex has known that his future is in wrestling.  He has never wanted to do anything but wrestle.  Instead of pursing his dream, Alex opted to attend college, an experience which he hated.  "I never thought of anything but wrestling," says Arion.  In 1996, Arion became a student of WWF Superstar and Tough Enough trainer Al Snow.  At Lima, Ohio's Bodyslammers Wrestling Gym, he trained in the same fashion as the original cast of Tough Enough.  He says that watching Al Snow training on Tough Enough was like déjà vu.

Upon returning to Manchester, Alex met Steve Bradley.  Steve, who will be making his WWF debut in the immediate future, became Alex's training partner.  He then hit the road, wrestling anywhere he could to help further his career and learn different wrestling styles.  He's also had a lot of guidance from longtime wrestling veteran Jeff Costa.

As the new NECW champion, Alex has a great feeling of relief.  He says "Its been so long, it was like, yes, I finally did it!  The countless hours of work paid off."

His next step is to be the best in NECW, representing the company to the best of his ability and to help bring it to the next level.  He's especially pumped to be a part of Ring Warriors, and says of NECW, "They definitely have the best talent in the area, consistently good shows, and I feel like I am part of something special."

 © Copyright 2002, New England Championship Wrestling