Konnor Reveals Legendary Tag Team He Wanted The Ascension To Form A WWE Stable With
Former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion Big Kon (fka Konnor of The Ascension) returned to The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast ahead of his Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling tag team title match against The Headbangers on February 19th. Big Kon noted to Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman his own personal history with The Headbangers as well as his idea at one point to form a faction with them.
"It's really cool too because I've known Chaz (Mosh) since 2003," Big Kon said. "So we have some history, and of course, back in 2017 they came in. We actually tried to pitch a faction with them because we were unsure if they were going to be with us at time or not. I love both of those guys. They're really tight with my family.
"For me, it was a no-brainer, and so I was kind of like, 'Man, we should try to talk to the writers and pitch angle where it could be some mosh pit or something like that.' Sometimes if it makes sense, it just doesn't make sense to them. So it's going to be exciting. When I heard that this match at ARW was going to happen, I was stoked man. I was like, 'This is going to be awesome.'"
The Headbangers made their WWE return in 2016 making a few sporadic appearances. Big Kon recalled coming up with the idea for The Ascension and The Headbangers faction.
"I started back in 2000. So for me, I was a sponge around him, and I would try to learn as much as I could," Big Kon recalled. "And we were on shows regularly down in south Florida. You just build an organic relationship. So eventually what ended up happening, of course, I got hired in 2005, and I hadn't seen him since.
"And then all of a sudden in 2017, he comes rolling in with with Glen (Thrasher), and I'm like, 'Oh my God, it writes itself. It's so good. How could you not want to do something with this?' So we had pitched an idea to where we built a faction with them, and I told them that later on, of course, at ARW actually.
"I just thought it writes itself. It's cool, and like I said earlier, I'm tight with them. And I love those two. So for me, it was like why wouldn't I want to work with them? But nothing came of it and it's kind of one of those things where if it makes sense, maybe it's just doesn't make sense."
Hausman asked Big Kon what the reaction backstage was. He said that no one knew about it as he recalled that was the time when The Spirit Squad returned to WWE as well.
"So nobody knew. If you recall, The Spirit Squad was there too, and so no one knew what was going on, but it was refreshing," Big Kon noted. "The audience liked it. The fans of the older generation liked it. I loved it because I have a history with all those guys. So for me, it was great to have them in the locker room period."
The upcoming match between The Awakening (fka The Ascension) and The Headbangers, Hausman noted, is a generational battle of sorts. Big Kon discussed learning from The Headbangers whenever he can.
"I think it was just territories back in their time, and so anytime you can get knowledge and people that have done some pretty cool things and been around some pretty big names, you're kind of an idiot if you don't absorb anything off of that," Big Kon pointed out. "You should always be a sponge around guys like that. So for me, I was ecstatic just to have them around for my own personal selfish reasons,"
Big Kon also discussed the future for The Awakening. He noted that the pandemic makes things difficult, and he also stated his commitments to not only with the wrestling school he's working with but also his family.
"We've been in contact with a couple of companies," Big Kon stated. "Obviously, with the whole COVID thing, everything's real iffy right now just because of the testing and things like that and you want to make sure that when you bring talent in — they don't know us personally.
"So it's like, 'We want to bring them in but things are kind of weird right now. So we're just going to wait till things slow down a little bit,' but there are two specific companies, and Vik and I have also talked about heading out to Japan as well.
"We'd love to get out there, but right now, for me, it's just been about the wrestling school that me, and Jay Lethal and David Mercury are doing. We've got over 40 plus students that are just hungry. They're ready to learn. So that's just been my big thing right now is the school and my family. It's Tampa Bay Pro Wrestling. All we ask is bring in a good attitude and a want to learn."
The Awakening (fka The Ascension) battle The Headbangers for their Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling Tag Team Championships on Friday February 19th. You can find more info by following ARW on Twitter @WrestlingAtomic.
Konnor's full interview aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.