Earlier today I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with former AEW and NXT superstar Bobby Fish, who was kind enough to give me some insight on a number of hot-button industry topics, including his thoughts on Triple H as the head of WWE creative, how The Game gave him great validation during his run in NXT, and how he didn’t feel that same validation from AEW President Tony Khan.
Highlights, including the full video interview, can be found below.
What he thinks about Triple H’s work so far on Raw and SmackDown:
To see him kind of step back into the position he’s in wasn’t a surprise to me. Not because he doesn’t deserve it or shouldn’t be there or any of those things, but just because so much had changed. And it seems like as quickly as it changed, it’s changed again for what seems to be the better. I can only speak from my experience working under the man. I grew up playing football. And I had certain coaches in my time playing ball that, you know, I wanted to play well for myself, but I wanted to play well for them too. So I would sideline and I would look to them, and I would either get words of encouragement, or even sometimes just a look. And the look was enough to be like, “Yeah.” I liken the relationship working underneath Hunter and Shawn Michaels to be in the same thing. When we would come through the back, whether it was us as a group, individually tag match with Kyle and I, or whatever the case, we come back through the curtain. And sometimes it was just a look from Hunter and you knew like, “Yeah we crushed it and it was awesome.” It made you want to perform for them as much as you want to perform for yourself.
Says he didn’t feel that same validation under Tony Khan, even when he felt personally validated, naming his matches with Bryan Danielson and Darby Allin as prime examples:
Personally, no. I felt like I had those instances for myself and thought to myself, like, I know I just had a good one. The one that I had with Danielson. I remember just feeling accomplished. Last one I had with Darby Allen, I mean, talk about a talented kid, and a great opponent, and a great like, I don’t know, I can’t sing his praises enough. That was, you know, the last time I can remember really feeling like, Yeah, we did something cool. But getting that look or that nod from anybody in the back. No, nowhere, nowhere near what I felt the pride I felt working under Hunter.