Fred Rosser On Winning NJPW Strong Openweight Title, ‘Scissoring’ Anthony Bowens

Fred Rosser’s best years as a pro wrestler have come after his high-profile stint with WWE. A highly motivated athlete, Rosser spent little time mourning the end to his WWE run as Darren Young in 2017, and instead moved forward.

He signed with NJPW Strong in 2020 with a clearly stated goal of mastering his craft.

Rosser’s pro wrestling journey has now culminated in his first singles championship win after dethroning Tom Lawlor at NJPW Strong: Collision in Philadelphia on May 15. Rosser considers this win every bit as important as his WWE Tag Team Championship win. For Rosser, what stood out most was the emphasis on the match and the win rather than Rosser—the first openly gay WWE Superstar—making history due to his sexual orientation.

“It was a defining moment for me,” said Rosser in an exclusive interview.

“Because in the final seconds leading up to the finish of the match, it didn’t matter whether I was Black, gay, straight, it did not matter because people in attendance in Philadelphia were rooting for me to win. The reaction was different, it was like a roar from the crowd. It was like a last-second buzzer beater in basketball or a field goal in football.”

Always one to move forward, the proud NJPW Strong Openweight champion continues to move the goal posts as he looks to check off items from his bucket list. AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door came and went with no involvement from Rosser, and looking ahead, he’d like to change that with one particular opponent.

Fred Rosser’s Dream Opponent, The Forbidden Door

“Jon Moxley,” Rosser said without hesitation when asked whom his ideal AEW opponent would be.

“I believe he’d bring the best out of me, and vice versa. I don’t think people would expect us to have a banger match, but I really feel deep in my heart that we would have a banger.”

“Working with Tom Lawlor—a lot of people don’t like competition. A lot of people do not like competition, but I love competition. I take it head-on. I like when an S.O.B. is better than me because it’s going to push me to go further, it’s going to push me to be sharp in the ring and to be in the ring and to be on my game. So I love Tom Lawlor, and I love Jon Moxley so I’d love to share the ring with them. We would both bring the best out of one another.”

“A bucket list of mine is definitely working in Japan, doing Forbidden Door in Japan and maybe someday working with AEW. I’ve made it public that they said no to me, not once, but twice. And WWE also said no to me over 40 times. I did not take no for an answer, I put my head down and went to work.”

Rosser does not feel particularly salty about being left off a crowded Forbidden Door card, however he does seek motivation from his father, who remains supportive of Rosser’s career but is never afraid to criticize and push NJPW Strong’s top champion.

Rosser on his Dad, Potential Match with Anthony Bowens

“You know what motivates me the most? Is, of all people, my dad,” Rosser said.

“My dad is the person that got me into wrestling. I can show you texts messages of him saying ‘why ain’t you signed to AEW? Everybody else is getting signed, you feel small.’ I’m like ‘yo, dad is saying this to you?’ so he was at the ECW arena when I won the championship, and I really wanted to just shove this title in his face and say ‘look, are you proud of me, dad? Are you proud of me?’ But I didn’t. I showed him, I said ‘look, I did it dad,’ and he gave me a hug. My dad’s my biggest hater and he motivates me to push forward. Never settle, never settle.”

Rosser is also open to the idea of what would be a historic match against fellow LGBTQ athlete Anthony Bowens. Bowens has improved and impressed in the ring since his AEW debut. Fresh off injury, he continues to gain popularity as one-half of The Acclaimed. With the inaugural Forbidden Door pay-per-view taking place during Pride Month, AEW’s Anthony Bowens vs. NJPW’s Fred Rosser was a missed opportunity, not only for the civil rights implications but also what could have been an excellent match.

“As Vince McMahon would say, ‘never say never in the World Wrestling Entertainment.’ That’s my worst Vince McMahon impersonation, but never say never,” Rosser said about a potential match against Bowens.

“Anthony, he’s making moves in AEW. I would love him to scissor me, but you’ve got to understand that when he gets in the ring with Mr. No Days Off, I’m a different breed. My style is different. You can’t prepare for me.”

Rosser’s first title defense against Big Damo (the former Killian Dain) set for NJPW Strong’s Music City Mayhem, during SummerSlam weekend, on July 30 at 2 pm local time.