Hammerstone On What He Has Enjoyed During Pro Wrestling's "Pandemic Era"
MLW Openweight Champion Hammerstone made his return to The Wrestling Inc. Daily recently. Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman asked Hammerstone where he sees MLW in the next few months, as many more people are getting the COVID vaccine in the U.S.
"Obviously, I have limited knowledge," Hammerstone admitted. "I'm in the dark just as much as a lot of our fans, but I know from what I want and from a couple discussions with the office, it's kind of been reciprocated, we really wanted to minimize how much product we're putting out without fans because pro wrestling is very much driven by the fanbase. It's very much not meant to just be observed. It's meant to be an interaction.
"That being said, I think, knock on wood, hopefully, fingers crossed, moving forward, the plan is to get things going with some limited audience shows moving forward in the next couple months, and once the ball is rolling, once we get going, my impression is that now it's going to be back in motion, back to a little bit of normalcy, a more regular schedule, but if you would have asked me back last March if we'd still be in a situation like this, I would have never guessed. I don't want to predict anything, but from the impression I get, the plans are being set in motion to get things moving back in a little bit of a more regular fashion here in the pretty immediate future."
Hammerstone also reflected on the "pandemic era" of pro wrestling. Hausman asked Hammerstone if there are any positive takeaways that he will keep after things open up more.
"The big one for me is just the fact that I was able to heal a lot of injuries, and then as I've kind of gotten back into wrestling, honestly, this is so weird because I spent so many years of my life just on the go, non-stop every weekend," Hammerstone explained. "I was getting on planes or getting in cars, on hotels and everything stopped. I didn't travel for months, and months and months, and then I got to the point where I started traveling again, I get travel anxiety. I get a little bit nervous, and I wasn't scared.
"I'm not one of those people who's scared about the current situation, I would just think I was forgetting something, or feel a little bit homesick or not having my comforts, my gym, my own house, my kitchen, my dog [and] my girlfriend. I just feel anxious about it, and I've never gotten that before. What I'm trying to get at is moving forward, I've kind of gotten to a place now where I don't feel like I have to constantly be taking every single booking that comes my way.
"I definitely feel I've gotten an appreciation for letting my body rest, letting my mind rest, and enjoying some time at home. I'm finally at a point now where I'm just as happy to see a weekend full of bookings as I am to see a weekend off of bookings. Moving forward, I think I've grown a little bit of an appreciation and respect for the fact that I'm over 30 years old now, and my body is not going to last forever. So I can't be as reckless with it, and I need to appreciate the time I have to lay around in bed for a couple of extra hours."
You can follow Hammerstone on Twitter @AlexHammerstone. You can find the full audio and video from Hammerstone's interview below: