Al Snow Talks TNA's Future, Wrestling's Waning Popularity, WWE & TNA Name Changes & More
Pro Wrestling Illustrated contributing writer Brady Hicks, DJ and Anthony Sarlo were joined IN THE ROOM by former WWE and ECW star Al Snow. Here are some highlights, you can listen to the full interview by clicking here.
How TNA is Positioned For the Future: "I can tell you this ... I have been impressed with just how hard everybody seems to work there. It's just impressive. From the talent down, everybody really busts their hump and really puts in the time and the effort and the passion when it comes to those TV shows and pay-per-views ... Sitting in those meetings, nobody ever says 'Let's just do this.' Everything is agonized over. Every single person works really hard, I couldn't single one out."
On WWE and Impact Wrestling's Recent Name Changes: "WWE taking it out? I don't care. They can call it whatever they want. They can call it farming. At the end of the day, it's professional wrestling. That's what they're selling. Tell me one completely brand new thing that is now fake that is different or unique from TNA, from Mexico, from All Japan Pro Wrestling, from New Japan Pro Wrestling, wherever."
The Difference Between Setting Up Independent Shows and Doing Similar Work for TNA: "How is [anything] different than TNA? Not really. Different perspectives or ideas, different talent, and that's a BIG thing ... Wrestling as a whole is and should always be entertainment. The reclassification that it's no longer wrestling and that it's entertainment is really just an attempt to say they reinvented the wheel and made something different. But I was there for 13, 14 years ... and when the pyro stops, the music ended, and the bell rings, I'm really curious about what is done different in the one place than in the other."
Why Wrestling Has Become Less Popular: "Everybody has played other sports growing up. You connect to it. That's why hockey has got a bigger following in Canada, more people have played it. That's why soccer is more popular in the rest of the world, everybody has played it. That's why it's going to continue to grow in the US, more kids play it. That's why more men like sports than women. What happens with wrestling is that people are attracted to the characters and to the personalities. The only thing that has changed between 1911 and 2011 is that the crowd has gotten more sophistocated."
On His Mondo Wrestling A Go Go Show: "It's an adult circus, that's the best way to describe it. It's a combination of burlesque, aerial acts, circus acts, fire dancers ... drag queens, drag KINGS – the lesbian equivalent of women that dress up as men – ..., got a guy who has a fire whip ... very intriguing, and then wrestling matches, the way I can best describe it is very old-ECW-like where the referees are just there to count the fall."
Snow also compares wrestling to the UFC, gives his thoughts on Tough Enough (and compared it to The Ultimate Fighter), Brock Lesnar, the future of Impact Wrestling as it continues to grow, and recreating territories. You can check out the full interview by clicking here