The Death Figher AKIRA recently appeared on Fightfu’sl Overbooked’s Indied podcast, where he spoke in great detail about working with the legendary Raven in MLW. Check out what AKIRA had to say about the ECW/WWE/IMPACT alumni in the interview highlights below.
On working with Raven in MLW:
Raven is really like the crazy uncle that you like to see at family reunions. So, obviously, if he fucks with you, he’s really cool with you. I didn’t know how he was going to perceive me. He told me on the first day, he was like, ‘You have a cool look, you’re here, you’re willing to listen, you already have all the tools. Your body’s gonna get better, your work’s gonna get better.’ This was in January, February, whenever he debuted. When he’s there, it’s like sitting there with an uncle. He talks, he tells jokes, some of them are corny, but we laugh. He’s also very wise, we all know he’s wise. He’s been put through the ringer in wrestling, but you can see him when he has a really smart idea. He’s sitting there and he’s looking up. Not to ignore you, but he’s grasping the idea he’s going to give you and he’s gonna tell you and you’re gonna go, ‘Oh shit, that’s so smart.’ He’s been hit a lot, I’ve been hit a lot. He’s one of the smartest guys but you’ve gotta be patient with him because when he’s thinking, he takes his time and when he does get that idea for you, you’re gonna feel like it’s going to get you to the next level.
Says Raven and Rickey Shane Page have been helping him with his promo work:
We sat there and we cut promos in the back. We’ve all seen my work, I’ve always been much of a work rate guy, I’ve never been a big promo guy. This year has kinda changed that because I’ve been cutting promos and people go, ‘That was really good.’ Thanks Raven, thanks RSP because I went into MLW knowing I have to cut a promo. I’m elegant, I know I can talk, but it’s different in terms of illustrating that in a professional wrestling sense. When you listen to CM Punk talk, CM Punk has a cadence in a way. He’s not blurting out a ton of information, he slows down, he gives stops where people can stop and think about his words. Love him or hate him, when he came back to Collision, tell me when I’m lieing. That was the key phrase of the entire thing. It sticks in your head and I realize to, by listening to him and Ricky talk, I don’t like hokey pro wrestling promos. Nothing against them, I don’t like cutting them because I feel gross when I cut them. I feel like an 80’s corporate tool, what the fuck. But when you listen to guys like Kingston talk, when you listen to guys like Bret Hart talk. People will shut on Bret Hart’s promo work, but when Bret Hart talked, it felt real.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)
