A wicked enforcer has joined the ranks of the WWE Performance Center.

Christopher Girard, an eight-year veteran of the independent circuit from Walpole, Mass., reported to Orlando, Fla., in September. His arrival could spell bad news for many Superstars in NXT.

Exuding an Arn Anderson-like, scary-cool composure peppered with volcanic outbursts, Girard — who wrestled as “Biff Busick” on the indies — appears unflappable inside the ring. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 205 pounds, he overwhelms lesser opponents with wrenching takedowns and suffocating holds, trapping them like a boa constrictor squeezing life out of its prey. He can also tune up men twice his size with the meanest European uppercuts this side of Cesaro.

As a young man, Girard heeded Horace Greeley’s time-tested advice and traveled west, trekking to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to train under Lance Storm, before moving south to Texas to learn from Sho Funaki. Nicknamed “The Manliest Man,” he has accumulated titles across the United States, had his gear repped on Instagram by fellow New Englander Sasha Banks, and even survived a run-in with acclaimed UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey en route to becoming NXT’s next hard-nosed Superstar. As he now adjusts to a full-time training schedule at the WWE Performance Center, Girard talks to WWE.com about what it means to finally sign with the recognized leader in sports-entertainment.

Photos: Biff Busick in the indies |   Watch NXT on WWE Network

WWE.COM: How has the transition to the WWE Performance Center gone so far?

CHRIS GIRARD: Oh man, it’s just happened so fast. A month ago I was in Boston, just being an indie wrestler, not making much money, just trying to get by, and now I’m down here in Orlando. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s happening so fast, it’s insane.

WWE.COM: You’ve been wrestling since 2008, but it seems like the buzz surrounding the name Biff Busick picked up in a big way in the past year or two. When did you realize WWE was interested in you, and what do you think put you on their radar?

GIRARD: It’s funny — I had quite a long history with WWE. About three months into my training was the first time I was booked as an extra [in WWE], and I had no idea about anything. I had a couple more runs with WWE, every couple months when they were in town. The one time I lucked out, about nine months into my training, I was chosen to wrestle The Great Khali on SmackDown, and I had no business being in the ring with Khali whatsoever. It was about an 11-second match  – which I lost, unfortunately – but it was just a surreal experience. After that moment, I realized I had to get out there and get more experience to be ready for the next time WWE called upon me.

From there, I traveled the country to learn from as many people as possible. I went to Lance Storm’s school in Calgary, which was an unbelievable experience. That was three months in the ring with him pretty much every day. Then I moved down to Texas, and I trained with Sho Funaki, who is another guy that has a wealth of knowledge. Training with those two guys really gave me the confidence and experience I needed to do much better. I think WWE started to catch on with me working more high-profile matches in more high-profile promotions, and it just took off from there.

WWE.COM: That path you took isn’t really common, is it? Was it a conscious effort on your part to become a student of the game and learn from as many teachers as possible?

GIRARD: At first, I wanted to be just that, a student of the game. But it’s funny how things work out. It costs a lot of money to become a student of the game. For example, I wanted to go to Lance Storm’s school right away, but it was expensive and being from Boston, I couldn’t afford to fly all the way to Calgary, so I had to work for a couple years to save up the money to do that. Then once I finally accomplished my goal and saved up enough money to go to Calgary to train, it was an amazing experience. But for the three months I was there, I didn’t work one day, so I was completely broke.

Fortunately, my brother, who is a police officer in Texas, was like, “Come live with me, get back on your feet and we’ll see if you can get some work down here.” Dallas, Texas, has a great history of wrestling, with the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling, so I thought it’d be an amazing experience to go someplace different. And I was completely broke, so it was a good opportunity for me to get back on my feet. I just happened to stumble upon the fact Funaki had a school down in San Antonio, which was a five-hour drive south. My brother was cool as far as helping me out with gas money to get down there and take advantage of training with Funaki.

Watch WOorld Class Championship Wrestling on WWE Network

WWE.COM: Now you’re at the Performance Center with coaches who have wrestled all over the world. Is there anyone in particular you’re especially eager to train under?

GIRARD: All the coaches here are amazing. I’m a fan of each and every one of them. I’m a huge fan of the British style of wrestling, and Robbie Brookside is one guy I followed since I started. Getting to learn from him will be unbelievable. Matt Bloom, I was a huge fan of his in WWE, but also over in Japan, where he was part of a great tag team called Bad Intentions. Norman Smiley — a lot of guys don’t know this, but back in the day he was a wrestler in [Japanese organization] UWF, where he wasn’t so much in the entertainment side but more of a technical grappler. I loved that, though I’m also a huge fan of the” Big Wiggle.”

I watched Sara Del Rey on the indies. Her wrestling is amazing. Terry Taylor, I was a fan of The Red Rooster as a kid. There’s something to learn from all the guys here. The coaching staff here is so phenomenal, and they bring so much to the table and so many different aspects of wrestling to learn. I’m overwhelmed by all the knowledge and taking it all in is a lot, but I’m super-excited for it.

WWE.COM: How would you describe yourself to someone who has never seen you wrestle? Who were your influences?

GIRARD: I’m such a fan of all wrestling. I go through phases. When I first got into wrestling, my favorite wrestler was “Ravishing” Rick Rude. I just thought he was the quintessential bad guy wrestler and I wanted to be just like him. I spent $800 on exact replica boots of what Rick Rude wore at SummerSlam [1990] against The Ultimate Warrior. I still wear them to this day. Going from there, I saw a DVD of Lance Storm against Daniel Bryan. I had never heard of Bryan, but when I saw him, it opened my eyes to an amazing style of wrestling that not a lot of guys were doing.

I would say my style is a blend of everything. I created my own. But I’m a huge fan of Daniel Bryan, a huge fan of Mr. William Regal — he’s a guy who has influenced me a lot — but also guys like Ultimate Warrior, Rick Rude. I’m just a huge fan of wrestling, and I think you might see different aspects of every style in my style. 

 

A wicked enforcer has joined the ranks of the WWE Performance Center.

Christopher Girard, an eight-year veteran of the independent circuit from Walpole, Mass., reported to Orlando, Fla., in September. His arrival could spell bad news for many Superstars in NXT.

Exuding an Arn Anderson-like, scary-cool composure peppered with volcanic outbursts, Girard — who wrestled as “Biff Busick” on the indies — appears unflappable inside the ring. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 205 pounds, he overwhelms lesser opponents with wrenching takedowns and suffocating holds, trapping them like a boa constrictor squeezing life out of its prey. He can also tune up men twice his size with the meanest European uppercuts this side of Cesaro.

As a young man, Girard heeded Horace Greeley’s time-tested advice and traveled west, trekking to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to train under Lance Storm, before moving south to Texas to learn from Sho Funaki. Nicknamed “The Manliest Man,” he has accumulated titles across the United States, had his gear repped on Instagram by fellow New Englander Sasha Banks, and even survived a run-in with acclaimed UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion  “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey en route to becoming NXT’s next hard-nosed Superstar. As he now adjusts to a full-time training schedule at the WWE Performance Center, Girard talks to WWE.com about what it means to finally sign with the recognized leader in sports-entertainment.

Photos: Biff Busick in the indies |   Watch NXT on WWE Network

WWE.COM: How has the transition to the WWE Performance Center gone so far?

CHRIS GIRARD: Oh man, it’s just happened so fast. A month ago I was in Boston, just being an indie wrestler, not making much money, just trying to get by, and now I’m down here in Orlando. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s happening so fast, it’s insane.

WWE.COM: You’ve been wrestling since 2008, but it seems like the buzz surrounding the name Biff Busick picked up in a big way in the past year or two. When did you realize WWE was interested in you, and what do you think put you on their radar?

GIRARD: It’s funny — I had quite a long history with WWE. About three months into my training was the first time I was booked as an extra [in WWE], and I had no idea about anything. I had a couple more runs with WWE, every couple months when they were in town. The one time I lucked out, about nine months into my training, I was chosen to wrestle The Great Khali on SmackDown, and I had no business being in the ring with Khali whatsoever. It was about an 11-second match  – which I lost, unfortunately – but it was just a surreal experience. After that moment, I realized I had to get out there and get more experience to be ready for the next time WWE called upon me.

From there, I traveled the country to learn from as many people as possible. I went to Lance Storm’s school in Calgary, which was an unbelievable experience. That was three months in the ring with him pretty much every day. Then I moved down to Texas, and I trained with Sho Funaki, who is another guy that has a wealth of knowledge. Training with those two guys really gave me the confidence and experience I needed to do much better. I think WWE started to catch on with me working more high-profile matches in more high-profile promotions, and it just took off from there.

WWE.COM: That path you took isn’t really common, is it? Was it a conscious effort on your part to become a student of the game and learn from as many teachers as possible?

GIRARD: At first, I wanted to be just that, a student of the game. But it’s funny how things work out. It costs a lot of money to become a student of the game. For example, I wanted to go to Lance Storm’s school right away, but it was expensive and being from Boston, I couldn’t afford to fly all the way to Calgary, so I had to work for a couple years to save up the money to do that. Then once I finally accomplished my goal and saved up enough money to go to Calgary to train, it was an amazing experience. But for the three months I was there, I didn’t work one day, so I was completely broke.

Fortunately, my brother, who is a police officer in Texas, was like, “Come live with me, get back on your feet and we’ll see if you can get some work down here.” Dallas, Texas, has a great history of wrestling, with the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling, so I thought it’d be an amazing experience to go someplace different. And I was completely broke, so it was a good opportunity for me to get back on my feet. I just happened to stumble upon the fact Funaki had a school down in San Antonio, which was a five-hour drive south. My brother was cool as far as helping me out with gas money to get down there and take advantage of training with Funaki.

Watch World Class Championship Wrestling on WWE Network

WWE.COM: Now you’re at the Performance Center with coaches who have wrestled all over the world. Is there anyone in particular you’re especially eager to train under?

GIRARD: All the coaches here are amazing. I’m a fan of each and every one of them. I’m a huge fan of the British style of wrestling, and  Robbie Brookside is one guy I followed since I started. Getting to learn from him will be unbelievable. Matt Bloom, I was a huge fan of his in WWE, but also over in Japan, where he was part of a great tag team called Bad Intentions.  Norman Smiley — a lot of guys don’t know this, but back in the day he was a wrestler in [Japanese organization] UWF, where he wasn’t so much in the entertainment side but more of a technical grappler. I loved that, though I’m also a huge fan of the” Big Wiggle.”

I watched Sara Del Rey on the indies. Her wrestling is amazing. Terry Taylor, I was a fan of The Red Rooster as a kid. There’s something to learn from all the guys here. The coaching staff here is so phenomenal, and they bring so much to the table and so many different aspects of wrestling to learn. I’m overwhelmed by all the knowledge and taking it all in is a lot, but I’m super-excited for it.

WWE.COM: How would you describe yourself to someone who has never seen you wrestle? Who were your influences?

GIRARD: I’m such a fan of all wrestling. I go through phases. When I first got into wrestling, my favorite wrestler was “Ravishing” Rick Rude. I just thought he was the quintessential bad guy wrestler and I wanted to be just like him. I spent $800 on exact replica boots of what Rick Rude wore at  SummerSlam [1990] against The Ultimate Warrior. I still wear them to this day. Going from there, I saw a DVD of Lance Storm against Daniel Bryan. I had never heard of Bryan, but when I saw him, it opened my eyes to an amazing style of wrestling that not a lot of guys were doing.

I would say my style is a blend of everything. I created my own. But I’m a huge fan of Daniel Bryan, a huge fan of Mr. William Regal — he’s a guy who has influenced me a lot — but also guys like Ultimate Warrior, Rick Rude. I’m just a huge fan of wrestling, and I think you might see different aspects of every style in my style. 

Page 2: What happened when "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey met Girard?

 

WWE.COM: You gained some notoriety last year when a video clip showing  Ronda Rousey chopping you at a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show went viral. What was that like?

GIRARD: PWG is such a crazy atmosphere; sometimes when you’re there, you just don’t know what’s going on. I remember I was outside the ring and my opponent,  Tommaso Ciampa, opened me up to a fan and unfortunately, I have to admit I did not recognize it was Ronda Rousey at first, because she was kind of incognito. And then I heard somebody say, “That’s Ronda Rousey.”

Right as she was rearing back, I realized who it was and I was like, “Oh man, this girl … I hope I don’t get knocked out and totally embarrassed in front of this crowd.” She hit me hard, but fortunately it wasn’t on the chin — it was more of the throat area. I got a little choked up but thankfully she didn’t knock me out. It was insane, man. At that point, I guess I was just an independent wrestler, not too popular, but the exposure that I got from that was overwhelming, which shows the popularity of Ronda Rousey and what she did for me. Getting beaten up made me more popular than anything else I’ve done in my career. It was pretty wild.

WWE.COM: How did the tryout with WWE come about earlier this year?

GIRARD: I did a tryout in the first week of June. I was booked as an extra. I was able to have at tryout match at one of the live events. I’ll never forget: I was in California for PWG and I got a call from WWE before the show offering me a deal. It was surreal. I can’t put it into words. It’s something you work your whole life for and then it finally happened. I can’t do it justice by telling you how it felt.

WWE.COM: I take it that making it to WWE has always been the end game for you?

GIRARD: Absolutely. When I was, like, two years old, my older brother Steve loved WWE, and he was a huge fan of The Hart Foundation,  The British Bulldogs. Some of my earliest memories in my life are of old WWE wrestling. Definitely, from a young age, it’s always been my No. 1 goal to be in WWE.

WWE.COM: Is it fair to say you don’t necessarily look or wrestle the part of stereotypical Superstar? Was there ever any trepidation that your look or your style wouldn’t get a chance in WWE?

GIRARD: That’s a good question. My whole life, I never wanted to be like the norm. I never fit in with the normal crowd at school or wore the same clothes that everyone else wore. I’ve always done my own thing and with wrestling, I always wanted to be different. I love all styles of wrestling, but at the same time, I think the style of the mat-based grappling, the striking, there’s something rugged about it and different. People either love it or they hate it, but I love it and I appreciate it. That style always pulled my heartstrings. I love doing it.

WWE.COM: You’ve crossed paths with some NXT Superstars previously. Taking a look at the NXT roster, who are you excited to wrestle for the first time?

GIRARD: There are a lot of them. Right now, the No. 1 guy is Finn Bálor, since he has the NXT Title. I’ve been watching him for years. Other than him, you’ve got Hideo Itami, who I’m also a massive fan of. One of my favorite wrestlers of all time is Kenta Kobashi, and Itami was under the Kenta Kobashi learning tree, so to be in the ring with a guy like that just gives me chills right now thinking about it. I definitely want to get in the ring with Itami and, of course, Sami Zayn, who I never got a chance to cross paths with on the independents. There are so many guys — Solomon Crowe, “Prince Pretty” Tyler Breeze — the list is very long.

WWE.COM: Do you have any words for the fans who have followed you up to this point, or to fans who will see you for the first time when you debut in NXT?

GIRARD: For the fans who have been with me, I just want to say thank you so much for your support. Without you guys, there’s no possible way I’d be here. And for the NXT fans and the people that haven’t seen me yet, I look forward to showing you what I can do.