Thom Latimer is ready to rekindle his rivalry with EC3.
The pair worked together in TNA but never shared the ring until both made it to NWA. Since then, they’ve had multiple matches that saw multiple championships up for grabs. After competing for the National Heavyweight and World Television titles, EC3 and Latimer finally met at last year’s Samhain for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title. EC3 successfully retained that night, but now Latimer will walk into their next match as the champion.
Latimer spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about his next title defense against EC3. The match took place at NWA Samhain 2 and it will air on Tuesday’s episode of NWA Powerrr. He spoke about the dynamic they share, noting how they’ve continued to cross paths over the years and add a new wrinkle to the story each time.
Thom Latimer on his rivalry with EC3
“We have crossed paths a lot. We have always sort of yo-yoed in and out of each other’s peripheral vision. He is someone that — ultimately when he came into the company, he went straight to the front of the line. And I could be really upset about that or whatever. But ultimately he just came in and he did whatever he needed to do to get in that position and be World Champ. And he was a fantastic World Champion. He is. He ticks all the boxes. And so, there was definitely a sort of maybe a deep down bit of animosity towards him,” Latimer explained.
“But every time me and him get in there, there’s always a new path that grows from it,” he added. “Or there always is some sort of storyline, or something that bridges the gap to the next one. Because when you are doing a super-long storyline and there’s not constantly stuff to fill in the blanks, it’s kind of hard to follow along with. So, I think we also pride ourselves in going into that and going, ‘Okay, what’s the story of the match? What do we need from this? Where are we going to go? What can we do or what can we tweak that we did before, that would tell a story?’”
Thom Latimer sees obstacles as a potential opportunity to do more
Latimer is excited every time he gets to work with EC3. He noted they are both grizzled veterans in a way, which also aids them in working around certain limitations they’ve faced. He pointed to a potential issue with the ring ropes at NWA 76, but said his tenure helped him and maybe they could use it for a future story element.
“There’s always a test too, ‘How can we work around this? How can we work around that?’ And maybe even at ’76 when we got into the ring, the ref turned to me and said, ‘The ropes are knackered. You can’t hit them.’ And I was like, ‘Oh man!’ But knowing that I was in there with him, I knew that we will be able to work around it or do whatever. But that could have been a big Achilles’ heel had it been somebody else, or [if we] had not been wrestling for so long. It was definitely a disappointment but again, that can also maybe be used something in the future for storytelling. Who knows?”
Latimer enjoys the “wackier” theme that an event like Samhain 2 presents. He knows talent can get away with more things than on a typical non-themed wrestling event, which adds another level of excitement.
Thom Latimer on (lack of) plans for themed gear at Samhain 2
Samhain 2023 saw Latimer and his wife, Kamille, cosplay as “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. Kamille has since moved on to working with AEW, but Latimer joked that she still has a considerable influence on his Halloween attire.
“Well, it is funny you would say that. If my wife was still there with me, we definitely would do something probably. But no. I haven’t looked in or thought about doing any of that stuff. Especially now, again I’m still hung up on being a ‘professional’ professional,” he explained. “It’s just because I’m more old school. I did, however, wander into Walmart and I was looking at masks. I do that every Halloween just because I like their Halloween stuff.
“And I picked up this mask and it was quite scary. So, I thought, ‘Well, it’s only $7. I’ll get it. And I took it home and Kailey saw it. She was like, ‘Get that out of the house.’ I think she’d hidden it too. I’d left it in the cupboard somewhere. She hid it since she didn’t need to see it. I guess that’s how horrifying it is,” he joked. “So, I do have a mask. Now, I’m going to bring it. But whether I’m going to come out in it or not, I don’t know. I guess we will see how many other freaks and geeks are on the show. And then I’ll judge accordingly.”
Read More: EC3 On Losing NWA Title To Thom Latimer: I Cultivate Greatness
NWA Samhain 2 will air on NWA’s Twitter/X account on Tuesday, December 31. Watch our full interview with Thom Latimer below:
