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Add FightsATW on GoogleIn today’s short-attention-span society, entertainment is a never-ending battle, yet pro wrestling still breaks through as one of the most popular forms of sports entertainment. Beyond the matches themselves, the wrestlers’ stories matter even more in today’s content-driven society.
When you dig deeper into wrestling, you’ll find that the stories of those on the independent wrestling scene need to be told, as they grind toward the day they get the chance to perform in front of thousands. That’s the case for Ryan J. Mathias, who goes by the wrestling name “Mathias.” As he politely explained, only his mother calls him by his first name.
Early Life
The 34-year-old Mathias from Grass Valley, California, an area famously known for the Gold Rush of 1849, grew up with three brothers. Although a household of four boys sounds like a handful for any parent, Mathias explained that it was quite the opposite because of the rule his father set in place.
“My dad had this one major rule in all of our lives, and that was brothers don’t fight,” Mathias told FightsATW. “No matter what, brothers don’t fight. Now, if one of our brothers is fighting, then we are all fighting together. It wasn’t that extreme, having four boys in the house.”
Although they didn’t fight, Mathias found himself always competing with his brothers, even though they were much bigger than he was. As a child, he admitted that wrestling was intriguing, but a particular WWE storyline hooked him for life because it mirrored his childhood upbringing.
John Cena and The Great Khali began their story in May 2007, and it was built like a “David vs. Goliath” rivalry. The Great Khali was 7’3”, 420 pounds, while Cena was 6’1”, around 250 pounds. The size difference was significant, so how Cena prevailed when they met a month later inspired Mathias.
“It was a short one-month span that made me believe, ‘Hey, this is what I want to do with my life,’ and that was the storyline of John Cena vs. The Great Khali,” said Mathias. “In my eyes, I was John Cena, and my brothers were The Great Khali because I’m always looking up to these giants growing around me.”
Mathias added, “That’s the storyline that really caught my attention. This was the story of my life. I was living it through him, and it motivated me to do cool things in my life.”
Mathias debuted in 2022, and while most guys and girls would be a nervous wreck in the back, he stayed calm and focused because the martial arts training he did early in life helped him get through those potentially nerve-racking times.
“A lot of people get really nervous before they do matches,” he said. “Some people throw up before a match. I don’t really do that. I get really focused. It may have come from the martial arts from the past because when you’re doing martial arts and fighting, you don’t have time to be nervous. You have time to react and get focused. I always focus on the task at hand and kind of let what happens happen. I already know what I’m going to do for the most part. I just have to go out there and do it.”
While Mathias’ pro wrestling career was moving along, the entrepreneurial side of things began to take off as well. In 2016, while in college, Mathias started a website that is still active today: mathiasmethod.com. He wrote blog posts and sold merchandise on the site while in school, eventually earning his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. He designed the website to help people with workouts in areas where he had struggled, so they wouldn’t have to. The website kept Mathias busy until one day someone recommended something that would be a game-changer for him.
“Someone then gave me the idea, ‘You have all this information on your website; you know, you can put it in an e-book, right?’ No, I didn’t know that. Now I do.’ So I had a whole new set of information that I created, and I started with the “Daily 30,” which I had people do every day, and it helps keep you mobile, loose, and fit.
“I just wanted to help people get stronger and use my degree for a purpose. I knew I wanted some passive income so I could just do professional wrestling instead of what I got my degree for.”
Mathias has written 11 fitness books and makes them available in digital and hardcopy formats on Amazon.
Red Carpet Rumble
It was on Sunday, August 9, that I saw Mathias in action for the first time, facing United Wrestling Network world champion Maximillien. That match stood out to me and motivated me to interview Mathias. Although he didn’t get the clean pinfall victory, he had his hand raised nonetheless and got a rise out of the people when he power-bombed Jordan Castle twice.
“That was one of my best performances that I have done in my career,” he said. “I always try to have that happen for every new match that I have. That was quite a great storyline that I’m still working on with Maximillion, and I’m still coming after that title. He might have won by count-out by being locked in the cage, but I’m still coming after it. I really loved that day and match.”
SoCal Pro Wrestling ‘Super Clash’ Main Event: Mathias (c) vs Ricky Mandel
On Saturday, September 19, at the Vista Boys and Girls Club, SoCal Pro Wrestling hosts “Super Clash,” headlined by SoCal Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Mathias taking on Ricky Mandel. It’s a big event for the promotion and for Mathias, who will face a veteran like Mandel in the main event.
“I never faced Ricky before,” he said. “When I first started, he was there for the first couple of months, and he had been there years before me. In the promo video I did, I read a list of his accomplishments. He is probably one of the most accomplished people in SoCal Pro Wrestling history. He still got it.”
“I expect it to be another one of my best performances and matches ever, and I know I’m going to win. Look at me. Do I look like I lose?” Mathias says with a smile.
2026
As we approach the end of the year, there are three months left to make the most of 2026. For Mathias, this year has already been successful, as he’s accomplished more than in the year prior. He is grateful for the accomplishments but doesn’t see it as a complete success until he’s made it to one of the top wrestling promotions.
“Sometimes we get kind of comfortable with where we are at,” said Mathias. “You are getting steady bookings, selling some merchandise at shows, and getting crowd reactions, but is that really enough? Is this really what you want for the rest of your life?
“Indie wrestling is great, but I didn’t get into professional wrestling to become an indie wrestler, Mathias said. “I got into this to be at the top, whether that’s TNA, AEW, or WWE. I got into this for a reason, and that hasn’t been accomplished yet, so to me, I wouldn’t say it’s a year of failure if I don’t get a contract this year or next. As long as I’m moving forward, that’s a successful year.”
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