Danny Limelight, an award-winning actor, filmmaker, and former Marine, recently joined Emily Mae on The Main Moment Show on WrestlingNews.co’s YouTube to discuss his multifaceted career. Limelight immediately set the tone for the interview by pointing out that his introduction was missing his most recent and important accomplishment. “You forgot to say the current Reality of Wrestling champion,” he stated. “You listed all my accolades except you forgot the most important one”. The title is the top prize in the Houston-based promotion founded by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.
Limelight detailed the circumstances of his championship victory, which came at the end of a long night at the promotion’s Summer of Champions event. After losing a Hair vs. Hair match to Will O’Day earlier in the evening, Limelight saw an opportunity. “I knew everybody else watching at home, everybody in the locker room, they were counting me out,” he explained. He watched as the main event between champion Zilla Fatu and Ryan Davidson devolved into a brutal Samoan Street Fight. Limelight, holding the “Battle to the Bell” contract that granted him a title shot at any time, decided to cash in. “Zilla was barely standing on his feet… It was the perfect time. That’s what being the Battle to the Bell winner gives you. It gives you an opportunity. And I’m an opportunist,” he said.
When asked by May to share his personal “why,” Limelight paused from his brash persona to deliver a serious and motivating answer about his background. “My ‘why,’ Emily? Here’s my ‘why.’ Because I’m a kid from Brooklyn, New York with Puerto Rican descent. My father was a drug dealer, my mom was a college dropout, and I didn’t want any of that for me. I wanted more,” he shared. Limelight cited his military service, becoming a father at 22, and his drive to prove his supporters right as the forces behind his ambition. “I want to prove everybody that believed in me from the beginning right… That’s my why,” he stated.
In addition to his success in Reality of Wrestling, Limelight spoke about his thriving career in Hollywood. He recounted his appearance at WrestleMania as part of Charlotte Flair’s entrance, an experience he called “awesome” and “a moment”. He credited WWE stunt coordinator Carl DeNucci for the opportunity and called Flair “the best women’s wrestler”. Limelight also listed several of his recent film and television projects, including the Lifetime movie The Doctor with Two Faces and The Roaring Game with Mickey Rourke, noting he has done close to ten movies and two TV shows in the last year and a half.
Limelight explained how his acting training has been a crucial tool for his wrestling career and offered advice to other performers. “Take an acting class,” he urged. “Because if you take an acting class or you take an improv class, when you’re breaking down your wrestling character, you could use these tools to understand your character more… you have to understand your wrestling character while you’re telling these stories on TV”. He stressed the importance of knowing a character’s motivation and “why” to stand out in a business where many performers look and sound the same.
During a rapid-fire “Pick Your Moment” segment, Limelight revealed more about his personality and influences. When asked to name a movie or album that represents his life, he chose the song “Juicy” by The Notorious B.I.G. When asked which famous wrestling moment he would want to experience, he named two: Eddie Guerrero’s historic WWE Championship win over Brock Lesnar and the iconic stare-down between The Rock and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8. He said he would want to “feel what that crowd felt like” in those moments. Click here to watch the entire interview.
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