Chris Hero is looking forward to the future of pro wrestling.
The longtime industry veteran and current AEW producer spoke on this topic during a recent interview on the Wrestling Perspective podcast. Hero begins by talking about how the indie wrestling scene has changed over the years.
It changed because I started back with NXT in January 2017. Then, you know, let go in April 2020. So, almost 3.5 years, and that was when everybody got signed right. Then there was a brand new company, and even more people got signed. It depleted the scene so much, and I’m a firm believer that talent will always find a way. You’re always going to find these generational talents that pop up and people that really love it and want to get good at it; they’re always going to be there, but they just did not have the resources that we had coming up.
Hero has instructed a number of classes and seminars for young pro wrestlers, and touches on how there is a bad misconception about the younger generation not listening, one that he refutes saying that they are just young and hungry.
Wrestlers are young and hungry, and they want to learn. There is this misconception about the younger generation that they don’t listen, right? You will always have that in every avenue of entertainment, sports, or whatever. You will have some talents that are just like that, and they’re fine. You will find people that are so hungry. They’re so thirsty for knowledge. I do some of these seminars, and sometimes there are 35 to 40 people [there], and you’re like, holy shit, is it like a gremlin situation? Did somebody pour water on a wrestler, and overnight they sprouted 20 new wrestlers, right? So, it’s up to us to provide as much information and a much life experience and career experience that one of them, two of them, three of them can latch on to that, and it can take their career and, and places that they didn’t expect and not just them, the people that they influence.
Shifting subjects, Hero discusses the Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega Forbidden Door 2 match, stating that is was the type of classic showdown that will inspire the next generation of young wrestlers.
It’s like you just had that Osprey vs. Omega match, right? There are polarizing thoughts in it, but I guarantee there will be wrestlers that broke into the business, you know, five years from now that, that is the match that they saw that made and think, fuck, I want to do this. We’re not even talking about the wrestlers that are in the locker rooms. Now, we’re talking about the wrestlers that are going to be in the locker rooms, that will be main eventing shows and opening shows, and coming up with new characters and concepts that we probably aren’t hip enough to understand yet. Still, we’re going to try; we’re going to try.
Hero’s full interview can be found below.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)