Brian Knobbs On Why AEW Is Good For Pro Wrestling, The State Of Tag Team Wrestling In WWE
Brian Knobbs of the Nasty Boys got his start in Florida Championship Wrestling where he got to be under the tutelage of Dusty Rhodes. Over 30 years later Cody Rhodes is now stepping into his father's footsteps in the role of a promoter with AEW.
Knobbs joined our WINCLY podcast earlier this week to talk about Cody and said he considers him like family because Jerry Sags' wife and Dusty's widow are sisters.
"I told [Cody's sister] Teil that I'm so proud of Cody and that his dad would be very proud of him," said Knobbs. "The Young Bucks ? you gotta give them thumbs up and I'm glad Chris Jericho is joining them because they're getting some of the old school. It's exactly what you need to start a good promotion."
Knobbs said that competition drives the wrestling business and the industry was at its best when you had WWF and WCW going head-to-head.
"AEW will be fantastic not only for the wrestling business but also the wrestling fans. They'll be an alternative for the wrestlers to go here or go there," stated Knobbs. "It will be very good, for not only the boys, but the fans because they'll see different styles.
"I'm very proud of Cody and The Young Bucks and all of those guys. Kenny Omega, what about him? How amazing is he? How huge and famous he is by doing it independently is fantastic and his wrestling is phenomenal."
The Young Bucks say that AEW will put a renewed emphasis on the tag team division and that tag teams will be main-eventers just as singles wrestlers are. Knobbs was asked if he is happy to see this focus placed on tag teams.
"Yeah. It always was. It lost its way throughout the years," Knobbs said of tag teams losing their relevance. "They don't have that anymore and WWE started putting guys together that weren't true tag teams."
He then talked about how he and Sags were a true tag team and never split up. They often main evented house shows with teams like Road Warriors and Hart Foundation and they were selling those shows out.
"I even like the Briscoe Brothers in Ring of Honor. They're a good tag team and have a different style. I love that tag team wrestling is on the upward bound again," stated Knobbs.
The conversation then shifted towards David Arquette who made a return to the ring recently after leaving a sour taste in fans' mouths with his WCW run. Arquette will be a part of Knobbs' Legends of Wrestling show tonight and he admits that he's gotten pushback about including Arquette.
"I'm getting a lot of flack from guys like Ken Anderson who's been in the business. But I know David back to the WCW days and he was always nice to me. Chris Kanyon and Billy Kidman helped train him so it's not like he didn't learn the business. I guess he just wants to prove that he's not a joke and wants to take wrestling seriously," said Knobbs.
Arquette made headlines recently by taking part in a deathmatch against Nick Gage that put him in the hospital. Knobbs says wrestling should never end with someone seriously hurt and that won't take place at his Legends of Wrestling show.
"I don't know if it was an accident," Arquette said of the deathmatch. "But no one in the pro wrestling world should get hurt and be that close to maybe losing your life?.I'm not blaming anybody because accidents do happen, but no one should get injured in a match."
Knobbs then mentioned the crazy spot in the Miz vs. Shane McMahon match at WrestleMania, but also said you try to do that stuff safely.
"Legends of Wrestling is there to show people a good time and have crazy matches. But nobody's getting hurt and having an ambulance take you out," stated Knobbs.
Knobbs then discussed what fans can expect to see at his Legends of Wrestling show this week in Detroit.
"Come on out. You're gonna have a fantastic time and see wrestling at it's best," Knobbs said before adding there is a VIP package that includes autographs, pictures and a Q&A session.
At last year's event, during the Q&A session, an elderly woman asked Ric Flair if she was too old to ride Space Mountain to which Flair replied, "You sure you weren't already there about 30 years ago?"
"It's a lot of fun," said Knobbs. "Bring the family, bring the friends and come out and enjoy wrestling like it always should be. A little taste of old school with new school and you'll have a great time. That's what Legends of Wrestling is all about.
Brian will be promoting and appearing at Legends of Wrestling tonight at the Fraser Hockeyland Arena in Detroit, MI. Other pro wrestling legends scheduled to appear include "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Ken Anderson and David Arquette.
Wrestling Inc's full, exclusive interview with Knobbs was included in a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it Knobbs discusses the WWE roster's reaction to Bret Hart's – WWE Hall of Fame attack, the legacy of The Hart Foundation, Hulk Hogan's road to redemption in WWE, Ric Flair's surprise party, why AEW is good for the pro wrestling business, David Arquette's return to pro wrestling and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here.
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