Wrestler hones good-guy-gone-bad persona

In the parlance of professional wrestling, Christopher “Fallen Angel” Daniels is a heel.

Yes, he’s the guy who will, and actually has, hit his opponent with a toolbox. He also has used a baseball bat and that perennial favorite, the metal folding chair, to pound the good guys into submission.

It’s anyone’s guess what Daniels will bring to hand Sunday evening when TNA Impact Wrestling World Tour comes to the University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena. Among those joining him on the card will be the Charismatic Enigma Jeff Hardy, Cowboy James Storm, Bobby Roode and the “lovely and lethal” TNA Knockouts.

Away from his alter ego, Daniels is a married father of two and, by all indications, a nice guy. Or, in the vernacular of his profession, a “babyface.”

Actually, he could be called a “tweener,” which is the term for a pro wrestler who is booed and cheered in equal measure. Regardless of Daniels’ often less-than-sportsmanlike antics in the ring, knowledgeable fans admire his speed, agility and gymnastic abilities.

“When I started out in 1993, I was just Christopher Daniels,” Daniels said recently during a telephone interview from his California home. “About two years in, I decided to take a ride on the dark side, and the name ‘Fallen Angel’ got across the idea that I once was good, but now I’m bad.

“Yeah, I’m the baddest of guys, and I’m having a blast. I have a great time getting under the skin of the fans and sort of bait them to see how far they’ll go to watch me get beat up.

“It’s interesting, because the kids are always going to want the good guy to come out on top in the end. But when they become teenagers or get into their 20s, they sort of gravitate toward the evil guy.

“I guess it’s that anti-authority figure, the guy getting away with it, that they then want to cheer for.”

Daniels won’t be wrestling as the Fallen Angel on Sunday evening, but you can bet he’s still going to be the bad guy. And as he pointed out, his guise as the angel who fell from grace made such an indelible mark on wrestling fans that no matter what character he now assumes, he’s still the Fallen Angel to many of them.

Back in the old-school days of iconic wrestlers like Gorgeous George and Haystacks Calhoun, the “gimmicks,” or identifying traits, of the wrestlers were paramount. That’s still important, but these days the “angle,” or storyline, which can play out for months or even years, is often key.

“I tell people that professional wrestling is pretty much the closest you’re ever going to come to real-life superheroes and supervillains,” Daniels said. “We tell stories of good and evil.

“We dress up in colorful costumes and we go and do battle for good or for evil, or whatever our story is. During the past couple of decades, the story has become the main focus for what draws everybody in.

“I feel that professional wrestling is something you get acclimated to as a young child. It’s very rare that you get adult fans who didn’t watch it as kids. The adults who come to our shows are usually fans from way back.”

In the 1950s, when professional wrestling was moving from carnival tents to mainstream entertainment venues, the tricks of the trade were closely guarded secrets. These days, the secrets are better known, and the fans willingly suspend their disbelief just as they do when they watch movies.

The long-running argument about whether or not professional wrestling is “real” has become something of a moot point. With added knowledge, fans came to understand that there’s no cushy way to body slam someone or fake hitting someone across the back with a metal chair.

During his long career, Daniels has worked for every major pro wrestling organization in the world, including WWE, WCW, ECW, Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Having nearly broken his neck when his patented springboard moonsault went awry, he is painfully aware of the dangers inherent to his profession.

“In 2001, I landed on my head really badly,” said Daniels, who is a founding father of the Ring of Honor. “It turned out to be a badly pinched nerve, but I actually fractured a bone in my neck sometime early in my career and didn’t find out about it until I saw a chiropractor who took some X-rays.

“What usually gets you is the wear and tear. It’s very rare that you’re going to get hurt in one specific match or move. But the truth of the matter is, almost every time we take a fall, our necks whiplash.

“Our lower backs take such a beating, as well as our knees. Part of my job is to hit the gym every day and make sure I’m in the best shape I can be.”

Something that pro wrestling and bluegrass music have in common is accessibility to major stars. On the day of the show, fans can follow ring announcer Jeremy Borash on Twitter (@JeremyBorash) to find out the secret “Tweet and Greet” locations of various wrestlers.

Those who purchase a $50 ticket will get to meet the wrestlers prior to the event, which starts at 6 p.m. But everybody in attendance will have an opportunity to meet some of the stars.

“Impact Wrestling has tried to be a very fan-friendly event,” Daniels said. “We set it up so that during the course of the night the fans get the opportunity to meet at least one or two of the wrestlers.

“There will be autograph signings at the beginning, during the intermission and at the end of the night. And there will be one or two of the superstars in the ring so fans can get photographs taken with them.

“After a certain amount of time you realize you’re only as popular as the people who are willing to follow you, and pay that dollar to come see what you do, live. I’m very appreciative of that.

“In the world of social media, you can get feedback instantaneously. So I’m very aware of the fans who are following my career, and I know, if not for them, I’d just be some anonymous slob.”

Daniels is one of the top stars of Impact Wrestling, which airs weekly on Spike TV. Early television helped popularize pro wrestling, and it continues to shape it in interesting ways.

“The attention span of television viewers has shortened,” Daniels said. “So we have sort of trained them to know that anything can happen within a span of a minute or two.

“That’s to keep them involved and glued to the television. So there’s a mentality now that the people who have paid to see us at a live event get a longer show, because they’ve paid to see it.

“They want to see longer matches, and they want to see bell-to-bell action. That means our physical capabilities are pushed to the limit, because you are often wrestling for 20 minutes during a live event.

“The East Coast is a great hotbed for wrestling, and it has always been a place where wrestling has thrived and survived. We’re going to give the fans their money’s worth and make sure they have the opportunity to press the flesh with the guys working that evening.”

TNA Impact Wrestling World Tour will be presented at 6 p.m. Sunday at the University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena. Tickets range in price from $22 to $52. Doors open at 5 p.m.