Sean Waltman Talks "All In" Fans Possibly Turning On AEW, Omega Vs. Tanahashi At Wrestle Kingdom 13
All Elite Wrestling is no longer just a pipe dream, it is a reality. Cody and The Young Bucks are signed on to the fledgling promotion as executive vice presidents and it has the backing of the billionaire Khan Family that also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Those in charge at AEW have gotten advice from everyone from Eric Bischoff to Bully Ray, and Sean Waltman is the latest to give his two cents. On his X-Pac 1,2,360 podcast, Waltman actually gave advice to fans and urged them to support AEW in the best interest of pro wrestling.
"One minor [thing] and I don't know if it's a concern: does it lose some of that punk rock feel? You get what I am saying? The do-it yourself, we gotta get behind this [mentality]," said Waltman. "But I hope the enthusiasm stays because everyone complains that we need another major player in the industry, so please support it."
Waltman is worried that fans who loved All In because of its independent feel may turn their backs on AEW because it has gone mainstream.
"Don't all of a sudden 'oh, it's not the cool thing because everyone else is getting to see it too.,'" stated Waltman. "It's not as much of underdog when you got millions [of dollars] behind you? And it's not like 'we're just gonna start this company from scratch and all of a sudden here it is.' There is this history, and all this work that was done? And now you see everyone like okay headline, 'Davey Boy Smith Jr. signs with MLW, so and so signs with Impact, so and so this.' Everyone is staking claim: we're gobbling up the guys that we want specifically on our team...
"One thing I gotta say about this, about All Elite Wrestling is so many people in the industry that are sure they know how it's done are all jumping in. I see so-and-so's advice, this person has advice? As nice of you and your advice but these guys have come along because they kinda went their own way. Not that you don't want to take advice, but filter it, it might be sound advice for somebody but somebody else?. Just wish them well and get the f*** out of the way [laughs]."
Someone who Cody and The Bucks joined forces with in the Bullet Club was Kenny Omega and he also has a big month ahead of him. He won't be a part of AEW, but Omega will be headlining Wrestle Kingdom 13 tonight.
Waltman discussed Omega's ongoing feud with Hiroshi Tanahashi which will culminate in a match for Omega's IWGP Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom.
"They both need [the IWGP Heavyweight Championship]. And I see this, when you look at that video, Kenny's Quest, if you don't know that much about this whole thing, it kinda explains a lot," said Waltman. "This is a generational thing, the father loves Tanahashi, and the little kid is a Kenny Omega fan, so that's kind of what we're talking about here. I love the style of sh-t-talking those two did back and forth with each other about styles and the philosophies of wrestling.
"It's fascinating to me how they talk about wrestling and 'my style is better than your style.' I love that. I f—ing love that."
Sources: X-Pac 1,2,360