Konnan Opens Up About The Passing Of Silver King, Talks Up-And-Coming MLW Stars
The wrestling world lost a luchador legend earlier this month when Silver King died after collapsing during a match. He worked extensively in Mexico as well as WCW and most recently with Lucha Libre AAA World Wide.
He and Konnan crossed paths on many occasions, and Konnan talked about Silver King's passing when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"Silver King was a guy who at a young age was like a prodigy," said Konnan. "I remember going to Mexico as a fan and there were only two young guys that they used. Back then everyone in the main event was a veteran ? you've been in the business 10 years plus. But there were only two guys that were really young ? Silver King and Eddie Guerrero. That just showed you how great he was.
"Like any brother in this business that goes through the grind that we all go through, it's a horrible loss and very sad. It's very sad."
With his work in MLW, Konnan has had a chance to see Brian Pillman Jr. up close and personal. Konnan knew his father and saw Pillman Jr. for the first time at his dad's memorial show which featured both WWE and WCW wrestlers.
"Then all of a sudden, I met him 20 years later or whatever it was. He's definitely got the Brian Pillman crazy gene. He's a very respectful kid," stated Konnan. "I loved his dad. I laughed so much with him and he was always pulling ribs."
Konnan praises Pillman Jr.'s work ethic and likes that he takes notes when Konnan speaks.
"I go, 'Wow. That's very smart.' It's very easy to forget what I just told you afterwards?A lot of times after we put together a match, guys will leave or use their phone or go to eat and forget what you told them. But he wrote it down and that really resonated because I used to do it back in the day," said Konnan.
"He's another guy that will be a future star without a doubt. Court's done a great job of getting a lot of good, young talent that other people didn't know about or weren't using correctly and done a great job with them."
Another young talent in MLW is Salina De La Renta who didn't even grow up as a fan of wrestling, but is already better than most heels out there.
"She is a rare find. Most people today don't wanna be a heel and don't know how to be a heel. They wanna be cool heels like Hall and Nash used to be. They wanna be over with the fans, but she doesn't care," Konnan said of De La Renta.
"She'll say the raunchiest, craziest, heat-seeking things because she's there to entertain. I think she also has an acting background so that gives her a bit of a jump on everybody else trying to pretend like they know what they're doing.
"She's a prodigy like another kid in MLW, Mr. MJF. I saw video of him on the Rosie O'Donnell Show; that was absolutely brutal. But he's a prodigy too and at a young age he gets it. He ain't afraid to go out and get heat and insult people. Salina, she is a rare find and a gem and is going to get better and better.
Konnan can be seen every Saturday night on MLW Fusion. It airs on BeIn Sports at 9 pm EST and is available shortly after on MLW's YouTube channel.
Konnan's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded player at the bottom of this post. In it Konnan discusses the future of the Lucha Bros in MLW, how AEW's TNT deal affects MLW, Austin Aries signing with MLW, Austin Aries controversial exit from Impact Wrestling, WWE's booking of Rey Mysterio the passing of Silver King and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here.
Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.