Tom Prichard Talks Why He Doesn't See AEW Succeeding, Training Vince McMahon To Wrestle, Kane
Dr. Tom Prichard spent most of the last 25 years as a WWE employee in some form or fashion. He was part of two WWE tag teams: The Heavenly Bodies and The Bodydonnas before becoming a WWE trainer for the likes of Kurt Angle and The Rock.
By the late 90s Prichard was the head trainer and that also happened to be around the time Vince McMahon started competing in the ring. Thus, Dr. Tom had the luxury of training his boss in the ring and Prichard talked about that task on our WINCLY podcast.
"For me at that time in my life it was kinda weird," Prichard said on training McMahon. "He and [Tom's brother] Bruce have a different relationship than he and I do. But it was kinda cool because in those training sessions I got to see a different side of Vince [McMahon] that I knew existed because [Vince] Russo told me how he is.
"I was always one of the boys. I was never an office guy and when Vince came to train, he was one of the boys. That was very cool, but at the same time, I knew what I was there for?
"It was weird at times, but then it became kind of cool because if I could do this with Vince, then I could do it with pretty much anybody."
Prichard left WWE in 2012 and in recent years he has trained future wrestlers at his school that he co-owns with Kane. Prichard discussed how the Jacobs-Prichard Wrestling Academy (JPWA) came to be.
"We were having dinner during the [mayoral] campaign and we were talking about the various wrestling schools that were out there," Prichard stated. "Glen said, 'I wonder what we could do here in Knoxville, Tennessee with a wrestling school.'"
Kane then noted that he has a house in Dandridge, Tennessee that's just sitting there and not in use. They talked about making that house into a wrestling school where the garage would be where the training happened and students would then live in the home at the same time. However, they realized that the house was too small.
But Kane and Prichard also had a mutual friend who had a gym and they contacted him about the wrestling school idea. They all agreed that they could convert the gym into a wrestling academy and that's how JPWA was born.
The talk then shifted to upstart wrestling promotions and Prichard weighed in on why WWE will always remain top dog.
"WWE will be the king for years to come just because of the magnitude of what they have," said Prichard. "I mean there are layers and layers of talent at the Performance Center in Orlando. By the sheer magnitude of what they are able to do, I don't see anyone overtaking or even coming close to WWE's success anytime soon."
Prichard then brought up the International Wrestling Association that started in the 1970s. It was founded by a co-owner of the Chicago White Sox and had big stars like Mil Mascaras and Ernie Ladd, however it folded after three years.
Fast forward to today and All Elite Wrestling is supposedly going to be founded by another pro sports owner in Tony Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. While times have changed, Prichard doesn't think AEW will succeed because WWE won't let them succeed.
"Don't get me wrong, the climate has certainly changed and there is a possibility [of AEW being successful]. But in my humble opinion, as soon as somebody gets hot, the WWE is hot enough to say, 'Here's twice as much as you're making there. We're gonna steal you and bring you over here.' Look what happened to Ricochet and a lot of talented guys," said Prichard.
"I understand there is a level of success that these guys have already found? but it takes talent to make a company. You have to have loyal talent, and I'm sure they do, but it remains to be seen."