Al Snow Compares AEW Factions To Mid-90s WWF
On today's episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily, multi-time WWE Champion and OVW owner Al Snow sat down with Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman. During the Attitude Era, Snow led the JOB Squad amidst many other groups like DX, The Corporation, The Brood and the Ministry of Darkness. Entities like The Kliq and BSK formed due to many of the members being close friends, and Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman asked if that was the same case for the JOB Squad.
"No, it's not real," Snow said while chuckling. "That's why I made it was because guys were making up real gangs in the locker room, and I'm like, well then I'm going to make up mine. And I'm going to show them how ridiculous this whole thing is, so I'm going to put everybody together that gets beat on a regular basis or semi-regular basis. We'll see who holds the real power in the locker room."
Recently in AEW, two new factions in The Pinnacle and The Factory were formed, and some fans have questioned the number of factions in AEW. Hausman asked Snow, who once lead the JOB Squad, about AEW's use of factions.
"It's like prison," Snow described. "I can see them at catering trying to shank each other. It can be very interesting because it could be a very interesting dynamic that leads to creating great storytelling, and that's all that really matters as long as you use it in the right fashion. Listen, within the realm of professional wrestling, because this is what it is, it's an art form of physical storytelling within the context of a competitive situation. That's the key. That's the logic within it.
"That's what allows an audience to follow it because without the context, without the framework for any type of story, then it's just a bunch of random directions and no real character development, but you need that context, that framework of a competitive situation. Always in those situations, you have to ask yourself, if it were real in the context of professional wrestling, you're a prize fighter. You're trying to make a living. You win, you make more money. If you lose, you don't make as much or not at all.
"It would behoove you, to benefit you to get people that would be willing to protect your back and watch a match, and at some point, maybe intercede on your behalf and ensure the fact that you're going to win. Now, if there's a group that starts doing that, i.e. the heels start doing that, of course babyfaces would want to band together to make sure that the odds were even that they were now watching each other's backs because the other guys were as well. You can tell some great stories that way, and you can build to a jumping off point that takes the brand, the promotion in a whole new direction."
Snow is also the owner of the clothing lines Powerbomb and Collar x Elbow. Snow noted that wrestling fans can get mocked for liking wrestling once they are seen wearing a t-shirt, but he explained a lesson on t-shirts that he learned from WWE Hall of Fame Steve Austin.
"I think I learned that lesson from Steve Austin because besides him just being monumentally over in the ring, if you were not even a wrestling fan, the shirts he sold were cool," Snow noted. "He had a smoking skull on the front of his shirt, and you wanted to wear that and the average person wanted to wear that. And that taught me a valuable lesson. I did very well with the JOB Squad shirts, but when I went back to WWE, they wanted to take advantage of that.
"They licensed the JOB Squad from me, and then they couldn't do anything with it because they kept trying to figure out how they could sell that to the common, average everyday person who wasn't a wrestling fan. And meanwhile, I did an incredibly well with the t-shirts. I sold a really astronomical number through a very limited means in a very short amount of time. But meanwhile, Steve Austin's t-shirts were in, quite literally, every store in the mall. They were at carnivals and fairs. They were at flea markets. They were at Walmart.
"They were at Target, and I tell young wrestlers all the time, you're a product and you've got to make the decision. It's all success, but do you want to market yourself, like the JOB Squad, just to a wrestling audience, or do you want to be Steve Austin and market yourself to Mr. and Mrs. Walmart, who are the largest percentage of the population in the United States. The money lies in the fame, and the opportunities lie with Mr. and Mrs. Walmart. Endeavor to be person that markets themselves to that."
Snow spoke more on Powerbomb. He explained why he decided to launch the new clothing line.
"I wanted to start another project and wanted it to be a little different. Different designs, different take [and] reach a different audience within the wrestling community with a different vibe and a different feel. It's no different than Heinz that has two different brands of ketchup. It's kind of like that.
"I'm trying to create as much as I can in different ways and different manners, so that I can reach a broader audience. The designs are a little more to the degree spoofs through professional wrestling on modern pop culture. I know we've got one design out that's already kind of reminiscent of The Office. They're a lot more kitschy I'd say, and they take a lot of a lot of pop culture references as well."
You can follow Al on Twitter @TheRealAlSnow. You can find the full audio and video from Al's interview via the embedded The Wrestling Inc. Daily audio player below: