The father-son duo of Luke Hawx and PJ Hawx, collectively known as Hawx Aerie, will aim to win the NWA USA Tag Team Championship at NWA 74. In doing so, they hope to prove that they’re one of the best tag teams in the business.
The NWA is bringing back the NWA USA Tag Team Championship at the show, and it will hold a battle royal at the pay-per-view to crown the new champions. They will face duos like The Fixers, Gold Rushhh, and The Miserably Faithful. The winner of the bout will join the titles’ impressive linage, which include legendary pairs like The Steiner Brothers and The Midnight Express.
In an interview with WrestleZone, the duo previewed the match at NWA 74. When asked what winning the titles would mean to him, he emphasized how it would help cement their status as a duo that’s more than just a father-son pairing. He noted that other fathers have formed tag teams with their sons, but it’s still special to them, and they’re focused on standing out by being a genuinely excellent unit.
“It’s not just with those tag team titles, I think with the NWA titles in general, I feel like it’s just another step further into our career of solidifying how good we are as a tag team and being the first original father-son full-time tag team and carrying that legacy over,” said Luke. “Because when we started that, obviously within about a year of doing that, several others started popping up and kind of doing the same thing. Why wouldn’t they, right, because it’s a wonderful thing to be able to do, so I do commend it, although at first I was a little like oh, man. We started this thing, and we’re gonna run hard with it, and then I started seeing others start to do it, and not that I got upset about it. I just wanted it to be something special between him and I. Then I had to think back, it’s still special between him and I. Just because somebody else is now doing it doesn’t mean that it takes away from the specialty that we have involved in it.”
“So I’ve also been criticized a lot as a tag team, as [in], I hear a lot that we move as a cohesive unit, you know. ‘You guys don’t really come across as father and son. You come off as a really good tag team.’ And I’m going well, that’s kind of the point because we are a really good tag team. We shouldn’t have to dumb it down because we are father and son. We both have strong work ethics. Perry’s a multi-time state champion amateur wrestler. His amateur skills are highly credentialed and he works really hard at it still. We’ve seen the physical changes in me over the years and how long I’ve been around, the things I’ve done throughout my career, so we go back to adding tag titles like the NWA titles, man, that just solidifies how good we are as a tag team and how far we’ve come and how far we can push it.”
Luke went on to explain that he doesn’t think he’s hit his prime yet, and PJ is still in the relatively early stages of his career. He stated that teaming up with his son is something that he takes a lot of pride in.
“I obviously want to be the best and be the top in the business, and so does he, and we have a long way to go,” said Luke. “I’m only 41 years old, I feel like I haven’t hit my prime yet, and I’m still stretching to get better and better. He’s 23 years old and to be able just to do it together and it’s special, so we just want to come in, do the best we can, and not only just be a father-son tag team, but we want to be a great tag team where you go, ‘Those guys are a tag team. They move as one.’
“Not just, we’re father and son. Not just experience versus, I don’t wanna say inexperience because he’s not inexperienced. He’s been wrestling over five years now, and he’s had a ton of tremendous matches, and we keep getting better and better, but that’s part of the game. That’s how I feel on it. It’s one of those things where it really touches me, and it’s one of those things that I really take to heart and take a lot of pride in.”
PJ agreed and expressed his hope that they could start their own family tradition by winning the gold.
“I have to agree on that,” said PJ. “I mean, for me, I think everything comes in due time, but at the same time, this would be a nice notch to add to our family legacy. NWA’s all about tradition. This could be the start of a tradition for us, winning the tag titles helps write our name into one of the best wrestling families of all time hopefully, eventually.”
Luke also made it clear that it’s impossible to accurately describe how much teaming up with his son and chasing greatness together means to him.
“We’re coming out, we’re not just trying to be a father-son tag team,” said Luke. “We are trying to be the, one of the greatest tag teams. That’s where my focus is, and I love being alongside him doing it because he’s my son, he’s my flesh and blood. I’ve raised him, I’ve grown up with him. I’ve personally grown up with him. I was a kid with I had him. So I’ve matured, I’ve improved, and to able to do it with one of the people that I love the most in life like my other son, you cannot put in words how special that is.”
Likewise, PJ stated that he views teaming with his father as a blessing and a pleasure, and he called Luke both his hero and his inspiration.
“I mean, I always say, it’s a true pleasure and a blessing that I get to be able to do this with my dad,” said PJ. “I can remember, my earliest wrestling memories are three, and I’d always go to the matches and I’d just be there with him. I always remember, if he lost, he’d come pick me up over the railing and I’d be crying and I’d just be like, what happened? He was a young kid just trying to make it. It always just stuck to me. I always loved it. I always just loved watching him, and he was my hero. He still is, he’s my inspiration, he works hard and he helps push me, and I try to do the same thing for him. It’s just a true blessing to be able to do it with him. We get to work together, we get to travel together? Who can say they get to do that with their parents? Not a lot of people. So I look at it that way. It’s a blessing.”
Watch our full video interview with Hawx Aerie at the top of this post; the updated card for NWA 74 is available here.
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