On the latest episode of Something to Wrestle, JBL responded to a recent Great Muta interview covering second-generation talent and old-school training, and agreed emphatically on one point in particular. You can check out his comments below:
On Muta’s point about second-generation wrestlers:
“No, I didn’t know that. I’ve been to Japan I don’t know how many times — 20, 30, 40 times, who knows. I used to go for a month to Japan. I thought I knew it pretty well, but obviously I don’t know it as well as somebody who grew up there and still lives there, like Great Muta does. I thought this was a terrific interview with Muta. What a star that guy was.”
On seeing Muta live:
“I saw him and Tony St. Clair, I think they were in Hanover. Man, what a match. Just unbelievable how good they were. Tony was a legend over there, and they had a way of working with each other. They just felt good working with each other.”
On the cultural difference:
“But I never knew this about second generation. It makes sense now, hearing that. In England it’s certainly not that way. In Europe it’s not that way. But in Japan I certainly take Muta’s word for it, and it makes sense now — you don’t see a lot of second-generation wrestlers there.”
On the training methods:
“I completely agree. I’ve never understood why you had so many guys do so many squats and push-ups and bumps and all that crap. I did it. Now, Brad Rheingans was a guy who knew how to teach — I was very fortunate to have Brad. But you go to other places and guys wanted you to train with someone there, and they say, okay, do 500 squats. Why? Makes no sense to me. You’re either in shape or you’re not. You’re there to learn. I never understood it.”
On what it was really for:
“A lot of it was trying to run guys off. Back in the day they’d bring you in, you did 500 squats, then they’d stretch you and do all this stuff to you. It’s a different world. You’re trying to protect the business, I get all that. But the same thing with what he’s talking about with the bumps — 100%. We used to take so many freaking bumps, and instead of learning how to be safe, you end up getting hurt by it.”
On Big Show’s comments:
“I saw what Big Show had talked about, with guys saying it was old school and just a way of being assholes, and I agree with that. I never thought these guys should beat people up. I was kind of in that intersection where I was still part of the old school when I broke in, then got into the new world. But I never thought that these guys should be mistreated like that.”