The Southeast Mouthpiece sounds off about his return & first singles title

Courtesy of Alex Snider  By Ross Blair:  Cornelius Pepperbottom was missing in action for nearly 6 months prior to his surprise return as a ...

Courtesy of Alex Snider 

By Ross Blair: 

Cornelius Pepperbottom was missing in action for nearly 6 months prior to his surprise return as a participant in December’s CEW Casino Rumble. He solidified his return the following month by defeating the dominant (427 days!) Hakeem Young for the company’s Coastal Chaos title. Peps is no stranger to tag team titles, with the famed Exotic Youth stable, but this is his first ever singles belt. Pepperbottom gives us the scoop on the state of his career and more via this telephone interview from his home in Loganville. 

GWH: You just returned from a hiatus. What was going on in your life that took you away from wrestling? 

CP: Well, I started wrestling back in 2019. By 2020, Exotic Youth was up & running and gaining steam. From 2020 up until I took some time off in July, it was nonstop. We were wrestling 3 to 4 times a week for 5 years straight. It's just part of the grind & what wrestling is all about, but sometimes you just get stuck in a bubble and life hits you. By last February, my sister had passed away, along with a handful of friends after that. Then I put my dog of 12 years down. It all just hit me like a truck and, probably for the first time in my life, I kinda had to struggle with my mental health. It got to a point where I was just going through the motions with wrestling because I had so much on my mind. At the end of the day, not only was it not fair to me, but it wasn't fair to guys I was in the ring with -- not giving them my all. So I felt like it was a good time to take a break. Like they say: if you love something let it go and, if it comes back, it's meant to be. GWH: You certainly came back with some momentum -- winning the title from Hakeem Young, the self-proclaimed Forever Coastal Chaos champ. 

CP: That was a really big moment for me. I've had the privilege of holding dozens of tag titles, but this is my first singles title in any wrestling company. Jandemonium was a big night all around, in the sense that I'm back and that any doubt I had in my mind about if I can still do this was assured by everyone in the back, and the fans as well, that CEW and wrestling is where I belong.

GWH: You've got quite a challenge coming up in one Jay Alpha Miller. He's been on the rise as you've been away. Any thoughts that upcoming match? 

CP: Yeah, he's definitely taken the Georgia indy scene by storm. I'll give him credit where credit is due -- he is one heck of a performer. But, like I just said, this is my first ever singles title and I worked too damn hard to get my hands on that Coastal Chaos belt. I ain't gonna let the first person who comes in my way take it off me. 

 GWH: You're a CEW original. What's your thoughts on the company and wrestling in Savannah? 

CP: The first ever Coastal Empire Wrestling show was actually my first ever match. Coastal means so much to me -- not only professionally but personally. All those day one guys and even the new guys coming in — we’re a huge family. It's great to see where it started 6 years ago and where it is now, with the steam it's gained like being named Promotion of the Year at the Georgia History Awards. That let us know that all this hard work is paying off. We have a great crew, from the announcers to the roster. We just gotta get that Simon Sermon outta there. (laughs) Things have stunk up a little bit since he got in charge. I don't know quite how that happened, but it's definitely an obstacle. 

 GWH: What other companies have you worked for? 

 CP: Oh geez...just about every one in Georgia, from Southern Honor to Southern Fried. The furthest I've ever wrestled is Little Rock, Arkansas. I've been to Florida, Texas, and pretty much all of the Southeast. 

 GWH: What's your opinion on the Georgia wrestling scene? 

 CP: I love it, and it's the best I've seen out there. We've got a lot of hungry, talented guys, and it continues to get better. It's great to see how the kids I remember from 3-4 years ago have grown and improved. 

GWH: Is the Exotic Youth stable (Peps, Bryce Cannon, & Zach Mosely) still kicking? CP: We've all been on our own journey as of late, but there’s no ill will at all. We're all still really close, and I consider them brothers. I just tagged with Zach in Action Wrestling against Matt Griffin & Brennen Knight. 

 GWH: What got you into this crazy business? 

CP: I was a freshman at Kennesaw State University and quickly realized that college wasn't my thing. (laughs) At the same time, I got back into watching wrestling. Really into it. That's when I started discovering Ring of Honor and all these indy shows. I dropped out, moved home, and started waiting tables. I was talking to a coworker about wrestling when a guy in a booth overheard me. He hired me to work security at a show. I met another guy that put me to work setting up rings. Then I met a wrestler, Dorian Crowe, who invited me to train with him up in Douglasville with Robert Gibson of the Rock & Roll Express. One day I decided to make the 2 1/2 hour drive after work, and I was hooked the instant I walked in. I told Robert I wanted to wrestle. He immediately put me in a shoot headlock and said (in a grizzled voice) "You think you got what it takes, kid?!", and I never looked back. I trained there 3 days a week after work for about 3 years. Zach Mosley was a fellow trainee there, and Bryce came around as well. A lot of big names came through that building. 

GWH: What are you passionate about outside of wrestling? Like hobbies or things you collect. 

CP: I've got quite a bit of Back to the Future memorabilia. I'm really into vintage figurines, including a plethora of wrestling figures as well as Batman stuff. I'm also really into Magic the Gathering. 

 GWH: What do you do when you're not wrestling? 

CP: For my 9 to 5 job, I'm a screen printer, which I do at home as well. I've done quite a few shirts for Bryce, The Wall, Chad Skywalker, and a bunch of others. If anybody out there ever needs a bunch of shirts made up, I'm your guy. I also work seasonally as a mascot for the Gwinnett Stripers, the Braves minor league team. It’s like wrestling but without the bumps: crowd working, entertainment, and putting smiles on faces…and you don't get hurt doing it. 

GWH: You were an extra in one of my favorite television shows, "Heels". How was that experience? 

CP: I was just sitting on my couch one weekend that I wasn't booked, and I got an email from their casting department saying "if you're available, show up in Atlanta by 3:30 for a spot as an extra." It was 2 o'clock, so I made the drive and that turned into a 7-month long, nearly everyday production. It was great. My most famous scene was with CM Punk, who I spent nearly every day with. He was my favorite wrestler as a kid and a hero of mine, so getting to work with him in a casual setting for 6-7 months was quite an experience. My 11-year-old self was going crazy! I worked with a lot of great people there, like Aron Stevens from the NWA and Stephen Amell from the Hollywood side of things. Fingers crossed for a season 3! 

GWH: Do you have a favorite match from your illustrious career? CP: I'd say the recent match with Hakeem Young was a highlight. That was a big rivalry, a big story for me. Going back a little bit, we wrestled Japan’s Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate tag team champions "Natural Vibes", Kzy & Big Boss Shimizu, back in Alabama. We got to hang out with them the whole weekend -- drive them around and getting to learn about each other's cultures. That was great, and I learned a lot from those guys. We've gotten to wrestle the Good Brothers. My very first match was against my trainer, WWE Hall of Famer Robert Gibson, which was an absolute highlight. 

 GWH: What are your future wrestling goals? 

CP: Well, let's see...what did Hakeem get? 427 days? So I’d say at least 428 days as champion. (laughs) I'd love to work some shows in the Northeast and maybe the West Coast. Mainly just to have fun with it now and be able to tell good stories. Now that I've got my head on straight, 2026 looks like it's gonna be a busy year for the Southeast Mouthpiece, and I couldn't be happier. 

[Writer’s note: This is my first in a planned regular interview column. I’m excited to join the GWH crew, and I’m looking forward to exploring an outlet where we all can learn more about the players in our favorite pastime — Georgia indy wrestling. I’m new to the site but not to the world of journalism , as I’m an award winning newspaper writer in Savannah. I’m a regular attendee of CEW, as well as the occasional Atlanta area show when I feel up to the 4-hour commute.] 

Have a comment or a suggestion for a future interview? I can be reached at rosswblair@gmail.com. Special thanks to Alex Snider for the super cool art/graphic at the top of this article.