AEW star and pro wrestling veteran MVP appeared on the Huge Pop podcast to discuss various topics, including giving advice to top AEW star Will Ospreay.
MVP said, “Me and Will talk. I told him, ‘That bump card is a real thing. I understand your exuberance and desire to go out there and do all these amazing things all the time, but you can’t. It’s not sustainable. It’s not physically sustainable. Go out there and give them a great show, but hold back a little bit and save some of that stuff for the pay-per-view. Save some of that stuff for the important moments.’”
On Ospreay’s attitude:
“Will has such a great attitude. Despite his incredible talent, he really is a humble kid. I met him on the indies back when I was doing a UK tour years ago when he was just a skinny little kid. ‘This kid could actually be something.’ Throughout the years, we stayed in touch and I’m proud of his success.”
On his attitude toward veterans as a younger wrestler:
“Everybody has to come into it at their own time. I remember being a younger wrestler and having to work with older veterans and being like, ‘This guy is going to be lazy. Ah man.’ At this point in my career, I get it now. The other part is, you have to know your audience. You have to give your audience the match they want to see. If people show up to your restaurant for Italian food, and you’re serving Chinese, ‘Well, this isn’t what I came here for.’”
On knowing your audience:
“You have to know your audience and be able to perform for your audience. You can get into your tribalism with that about what’s right and wrong, but I came on the end of one generation and did the crossover into the new generation. I would see a lot of the old timers, ‘Look at this idiot flying over the top rope. Anything to get over. You don’t need that and all this ECW junk. What are you doing all those flips for?’ As I recall, Karl Gotch or Lou Thesz called Harley Race a spot monkey. I’ve heard that.”
On how every generation thinks the other one is doing it wrong:
“It’s all generational. Every generation is, ‘You’re doing it wrong.’ If people are showing up to buy your content, then you’re doing something right. Even though I have my own criticism of certain styles of working and how people do it, I’m from that generation of, ‘Hey, slow down, make it count.’ There are some people who want to see flip, flop, and fly. ‘Don’t stop, don’t take a break, don’t sell, don’t grab a hold. Keep going. That’s what I want to see.’ I’ve always felt that professional wrestling is a buffet and there is a little bit of everything for everybody.”
You can check out the complete podcast below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
