Kevin Thorn is best known for playing an intimidating and frightening vampire in WWE’s version of Extreme Championship Wrestling back in 2006. He was one of the featured members of The New Breed stable and picked up major victories over ECW Originals along the way. These days, the professional wrestler is a real life hero with a heart of gold for a child who is fighting each and every single day for her life.
In an exclusive interview with stillrealtous.com, Thorn discussed his involvement in supporting Abby’s Army on May 23rd with his “Arabian Rumble” event and how he approached playing the role of his other infamous character in World Wrestling Entertainment, Mordecai.
“I was presented this opportunity in a weird sort of way. A friend of mine has a son who is part of this radio program at the high school,” Thorn said. He continued, “Well, long story short, they wanted me to take part in a fundraising event for the high school radio program. I got there and talked to the kids. I remember looking at this board and there was information about Abby on there.” Thorn paused before continuing his story. “So I asked, ‘What is that?’ Someone explained to me Abby’s story about battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma and how there was a fundraiser in two weeks,” Thorn stated. The wrestler continued, “Pardon my French, but I asked the high school kids, ‘Why the hell are we raising money for the radio program when we should be raising money for her?’ All of the sudden, they looked at me and said, ‘You know what? You’re 100 percent correct.'” Thorn nodded, “Man, to me — it means so much more when you got a young lady that’s fighting cancer on top of everything. The medical bills start mounting up. Even with insurance, the family would be playing catch up for months and years to come. I was like, ‘Man, if I can use my fame and friends for a great cause then why not?'” Thorn told Still Real To Us that his network of friends were more than happy to lend a helping hand. “Everybody jumped on board and it’s been one thing after another. I’ve been really fortunate and people have been coming out of the woodwork to help support this wonderful cause. I don’t think I’d be talking to Still Real To Us. It’s kind of a pay it forward movement thing for me and it is awesome.”
One of Thorn’s good friends who is helping support Abby’s Army is former D-Generation X member Billy Gunn. When asked how Gunn got involved with the event, Thorn explained, “It worked out perfectly,” Thorn continued to tell stillrealtous.com, “Billy was close in Springfield. He told me, ‘Hey man, I’ll came out in a car and drive over. I’ll stay at your house, no worries. I will help you out on Sunday and Monday. Then I will wrestle on Tuesday and then drive back and fly out Wednesday.’ It really saves that much more money and that money can now go into what needs to be done for Abby’s Army.”
Gunn isn’t the only person who is lending his services to the big “Arabian Rumble” event. Thorn explained, “The clothing line Future Legend is really coming up. You see a lot of the clothing on Impact Wrestling and a lot of the wrestlers are wearing the clothes now. Man, they called me and said, ‘Hey, what can we do to help?’ I said, ‘To be honest, they got these shirts that say ‘Abby’s Army’ on them. Do you want to donate some?’ They asked me, ‘How many of you want?’ A couple hundred shirts are headed our way to sell and to put that much more money towards Abby’s Army,” Thorn smiled. He nodded, “They didn’t have to donate anything. At the end of the day, we are getting a lot of coverage and it is bringing awareness to Abby’s battle.”
When asked what is next for his wrestling career after the “Arabian Rumble,” Thorn told Still Real To Us, “To be honest, I’m just having fun right now. I’m at a place in my life where my wife and I have a farmer’s insurance agency out here in Indiana. Wrestling for me right now is just fun.” Thorn elaborated, “It’s more for me to go out there and see friends and fans. Meet new people. Go on new adventures and do interviews like this. I’m able to give my services away to help other people out. You know, a couple of years ago — I was down in the dumps.” Thorn reflected, “I was depressed, fat and lazy. The reason why is because I didn’t have anything to work for. I didn’t have wrestling and those bright lights to supercharge me again. Now that I’ve gotten back into wrestling, it’s like having a superpower to go out there and perform in front of everybody.”
Having a new lease on life, Thorn recalled a recent experience that moved him. “This past weekend, I got to go to three different elementary schools and talk to thousands of kids. It’s just awesome to be looked at as a role model and hero. My kids are now ten and six years old and they are able to see their dad wrestle,” Thorn smiled. He continued, “They get to see what it takes to get to that top level. You have to work hard. You have to stay respectful. You have to stay honest. It shows them, ‘Hey, if you work hard enough at your goals, you can achieve anything.'” Thorn told Still Real To Us that he wants to continue to make a positive change in the world. “At the end of the day, man, I can look at myself in the mirror and know that I could do everything I could have to better myself and better the world we are living in. That is a cool feeling to have,” he said.
The wrestler then went into extensive detail about what it took to play the Kevin Thorn and Mordecai characters for WWE. In an exclusive with Still Real To Us, Thorn stated, “Both characters are dark and sinister in a way. With Mordecai, it was easy because I grew up in a Southern Baptist house.” He further explained, “I went to a private school and a message that was constantly drilled into my head was, ‘Sin. Sin. Sin.’ I heard it from all the different pastors. I heard the inflection in their voices about the message of fire and brimstone. It was just natural for me.” Thorn then hinted that had things played out differently, Mordecai could have gone on to bigger things. “Mordecai should have done so much more than it did. A lot of it was my fault for being stupid and young,” Thorn explained. He then talked about the character that made him famous. “With Kevin Thorn, Tommy Dreamer called and said, ‘Hey man. We need a vampire character. Do you think you can do it?’ I went, ‘Heck yeah!’ I was into The Lost Boys and the vampire stuff was always just so cool to me. The whole vampire thing really taps into religion if you dig a bit deeper.” Thorn then gave a lesson in folklore. “You talk about a vampire’s obsession for blood. How about the blood on the cross? You think about how Dracula could entrance somebody. Kind of like how a Sunday morning pastor can entrance somebody while gathering for congregation, right? One character, Kevin Thorn, wore black while another character, Mordecai, wore white. For me, I approached it with the same mindset.”
What about those bite clubs that commentator Joey Styles would reference on ECW television every time Kevin Thorn would make his entrance? Apparently, they were real. Thorn gulped, “Yeah man. I’ve heard about those bite clubs but I’ve never been to them. While doing the vampire thing, I had these huge stacks of books that I would read through. I really studied. I watched so many movies too. I kind of learned the style of what goes into being a vampire.” When asked if he ever had any desire to see the inside of a bite club, Thorn had a joke to share with wrestling fans. “From what I know those bite clubs are out there. It would have been cool in a weird sort of way to see them with my own eyes. I don’t know if my wife would have been cool with that at the time,” Thorn laughed. He followed up by stating, “That culture is definitely out there and it is fascinating.”
Before departing, Thorn wanted to let fans know that every day is a blessing in his life. He left telling Still Real To Us, “I keep it light and keep it on a positive note. At the end of the day, I am still blessed to be doing something pretty awesome. I am blessed to still have fans that think what I’m doing is cool. If you see me in a town near you, come see me and say hello. I’m blessed to be 40 years old and still do something that I love.”
You can follow Kevin Thorn on Instagram and Twitter. You can also support Abby’s Army by attending Kevin Thorn’s “Arabian Rumble” on May 23rd at Pendleton Heights High School, Indiana. If you cannot attend the event in person, you can donate to Abby’s medical fund by clicking here.
