This past Thursday at Wrestling Revolver, former MLW Champion Jacob Fatu wrestled his first ever intergender match against former GCW World Champion and Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion Masha Slamovich.
I talked to him after the match about intergender wrestling, the WWE Bloodline story, and more.
WWE Bloodline
Fatu is part of the Samoan wrestling dynasty as he is part of the Anoa’i family. He is the son of Samual Fatu (Tonga Kid) which makes him a cousin of the cousins of Jimmy & Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns.
Given how intricate and long the Bloodline story has gone on in WWE, I asked Fatu his opinions on the popular storyline.
“They’ve been in there, putting in the work. I mean, we’re talking about three years straight with the storyline, but I’m a fan overall. And the crazy thing is just because I’m related to them when I watch, I think I know what’s going on. Then, they always hit us with that twist. So overall, they’re doing good. Shoutout to the Bloodline, shoutout to the Usos, Fatus, Anoa’is. We’re really all one family.”
I asked Fatu if we perhaps might ever see him get involved in the story.
“In due time, it could be there, it could be anywhere. Like I said, leave it in God’s hands. If it happens, it happens.”
He went on to say that he’s very proud of his family and recalled Wrestlemania 39 being one of the exciting moments seeing the Usos, Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns all part of the night.
Intergender Wrestling
At Wrestling Revolver on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California, Fatu wrestled his first ever intergender match against Masha Slamovich.
When I asked Fatu his thoughts on intergender wrestling being a controversial topic, Fatu said that “first and foremost, women make the world go round.”
“I got seven kids. I got girls. And my girls are the toughest right. And not only that, but for real when it comes to matches like that, it’s like, the girls are on the road just as much as I am. You know, we’re all in the same boat so it ain’t nothing but respect.
They feeding their family, taking care of {things} like they know the ins and outs. So but not only that, like, it’s not just a random person. We talk about my son, you know, so absolutely it felt good. It was good opportunity. But to be in there, I was very, very excited today for my first inter-gender match. And it was good.”
Fatu then gave credit to Slamovich for being able to build a platform for herself and said he had “goosebumps” following the match and that the match felt good.
Atlantis Jr. is the son of legendary Mexican wrestler Atlantis. The young luchador is currently following in the footsteps of his father and working alongside him at CMLL.
His father, Atlantis, has worked with CMLL for his entire 40-year career.
Atlantis Jr. made his wrestling debut in 2017 and started his career with CMLL in late-2018. Since then, he has gone on to win La Copa Junior in 2022, and is currently both a CMLL Trios Champion with Star Jr and Volador Jr., and the current NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Champion in his first reign.
Just last month, Atlantis Jr. teamed up with his father to celebrate his father’s 40 years in wrestling on the NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed card. It was an eight-man tag team bout that saw father and son team up with Mistico and Hiroshi Tanahashi in a win over Rocky Romero, Tiger Mask, Soberano Jr., and Adrian Quest.
Here are some highlights from my conversation with Atlantis Jr., conducted in Spanish and translated by Luis Pulido.
Teaming with his father
Atlantis Jr. has been lucky enough to team and travel with his father numerous times — a number he estimated as well over 200 times.
“It is a great privilege because there are a lot of Juniors that do not have the opportunity to share the ring with their fathers, so being able to have that opportunity is a dream come true because ever since I was a child, I wanted to be like him.
I am about to celebrate five years as a professional wrestler and I have teamed up with my dad for over 200 matches and I am honestly very happy. I am more connected with my dad because we work together, we travel together, we share hotels together, and we are now more unified than ever because of it, so that is something really cool and I learn a lot, too.
My dad has lived a lot in wrestling and he knows all the tricks from number one to infinity, and I think he is the best counselor and best guide. The man that has been able to guide me to be a better professional has been my father.”
He explained that when his father has his mask on, he is brought back to his childhood admiring him. However, when he has his mask off, he is simply his dad.
“I want him to scold me if he has to in order to keep growing and to mature as a professional wrestler. When he takes off the mask, that’s my dad. It’s completely different. We enjoy it 100%. We go out to eat, we go shopping, we do whatever. So, I really enjoy it a lot.
As soon as he starts to get dressed, he puts on the mask, I am like a little kid again with my eyes wide open, my mouth, my mouth open in awe because he still imposes. So, I think he is a gentleman. He is an incredible father, and as a wrestler, well, I think I have also told him that he is the best Mexican wrestler.”
Of course, being the child of anybody who is great at what they do comes with pressure. He agreed that he had pressure pursuing the same career his father had done exceedingly well in.
“So obviously, the pressure was on but since that chip entered my head and I said, ‘Let’s see. I have to focus on my career, My father already did his thing, that’s the character. Now I have to focus on my career, on what Atlantis Jr is.’
I have to take advantage of the opportunities, whether it’s a tournament, whether it’s a mask, whatever it is, I have to take advantage of it. And thanks to that, believe me, today I’m more relaxed, I enjoy it 100%, I have more fun, I’m more focused.
Nowadays, many people tell me that yes, it weighs me down. The truth is no, the truth is that I enjoy it 100%. I am now calmer. I think I have had opportunities, I have taken advantage of them, I have had falls, but as they say, from falls you learn and you have to get up stronger.”
The AEW/CMLL relationship
He spoke on the newly-announced partnership between CMLL and AEW, saying that he doesn’t want borders and wants to wrestle all over the world and be recognized worldwide.
“I don’t want Atlantis Jr. to have borders. I want to go all over the world and I want it to be recognized worldwide and, well, if CMLL has an alliance with AEW, believe me, it would be awesome.”
He mentioned Adam Copeland as somebody he would really like to wrestle in AEW.
“(AEW) also has wrestling legends like Edge (Adam Copeland) which would also be an honor to face him or be with him sharing the ring.”
Additional names he mentioned as dream opponents included Tetsuya Naito, Will Ospreay and Sting.
On June 6, 2022, Kamille defeated Serena Deeb for the NWA Women’s Championship, ending her reign of 222 days.
Since then, she has held onto the gold for well over 700 days, successfully defending against the likes of Chelsea Green, Leyla Hirsch, Melina, Kylie Rae, KiLynn King, Taya Valkyrie, and others with 36 defenses.
Her last came at last weekend’s Crockett Cup when she bested Natalia Markova.
I recently caught up with Kamille for a conversation about her career and her historic reign as champion which you can watch on YouTube above.
Here are some highlights:
When she won the championship, Kamille had only been with the NWA for a short time and wrestled just a couple of matches. However, when she won the belt, she had secretly hoped that she would hold onto it for a year – a personal goal that she didn’t tell anyone about. Then when she surpassed the first year, she did not see an end in sight.
Now, she has a new goal in mind: to surpass June Byers’ 760-day title reign.
“…That will put me in the top five all-time NWA Women’s Championship reigns. It’s crazy to think about,” she said.
Saying that she was only used to having squash matches, she knew her style had to change and that once she won the title, she had to run with it, “and either I am gonna slip and drop the ball or I am gonna keep carrying it and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
While she considers herself still new to the business, her success as NWA Women’s Champion has all come to down to confidence.
“I am not saying I am a veteran by any means. I am still very new to the business. But when I first started, I felt like I needed help being carried through a match, stuff like that. Now, I am at the point where I can carry others through a match, I can be that person. I can be the leader in the ring. Being able to transform in that way has been really cool.”
On last Thursday’s Impact Wrestling ahead of last Friday’s Under Siege, we saw the return of Rosemary’s alter ego Courtney Rush.
Death Dollz tag team partner Jessicka was being attacked in a post-match angle by The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) when viewers saw a hourglass run out on the video board, followed by Rush coming to her partner’s aid.
At Under Siege the next night, Rush and Jessicka, former Knockouts Tag Team Champions, teamed up to defeat current Knockouts Tag Team Champions Wilde and King in a non-title match.
In 2016, Rosemary debuted in Impact as part of Decay. Since then, “The Demon Assassin” has remained a focal point on the roster, winning the Knockouts title once and the Knockouts Tag Team titles three times.
I spoke with Rush about leaving her Rosemary persona behind and transitioning to who she is now. Clearly, Rosemary still makes the decisions because according to Rush, Rosemary was always in the driver’s seat.
“Your guess is as good as mine. The last time I was aware of anything, as per mine and Rosemary’s agreement, she got to be in the driver seat and do whatever she wanted. I got to play video games on Twitch and live in an e-fed. It was great: seven years of bliss and now all of a sudden, I’ve got responsibilities again.”
Rush, went on to explain that even though she’s a wrestler and used to be in theatre back in college, she has always had stage fright. However, she explained that the Rosemary persona was her “confidence” and that she didn’t know if she could have ever competed in Impact without her.
However, not being that character is “very scary. She’s the one that knows this world, not me.”
Denise Salcedo returns on this FRIYAY night for another episode of Speak Now Pro Wrestling! Today she runs down the April 14, 2023 edition of WWE Smackdown!
