AKIRA talks about his plans in MLW and offers some insight into his mindset as he enters a new chapter of his career.
Major League Wrestling recently signed AKIRA to their roster. The well-traveled veteran of the independent circuit had previously wrestled in GCW, Beyond Wrestling, ICW: No Holds Barred, and elsewhere.
In an interview with PWMania.com, AKIRA described what fans can expect from him in MLW. He made it clear that he’s coming to fight everyone, and he’s ready for any challenges that may come.
“I’m not here at MLW to waste my time,” He said. “I’m not here at MLW to you know, just ‘oh, I signed a paper. I did it Mom and Dad. That’s cool.’ You know, it’s great. You know, the young guy from Indiana that everyone wrote off, you know, then he became a death match guy. Everyone said, that’s all you’re ever going to be. I signed a paper. I did what a lot of other people said I would never do or what a lot of death match guys would never do. That’s great. It’s wild. I want to go in there, look everyone in the eye and have them know I’m coming for your spot. I’m coming for your head. If you’re complacent, and if you’re lazy, I’m going to run you over because my mind is going at 100 miles an hour.
“I can see the cracks and I can see some people that are happy to be there. Or they think that this is the pinnacle. Or, you know, they think their sh*t doesn’t stink, because they’re at MLW. They see a guy like me and they think ‘oh he’s death match guy from the Indies.’ Guess what? One of the most diverse fighters on the independents, been traveling around the world and I didn’t need a company to fly me. I just did it. These places flew me themselves. No, no dime out of my pocket. I’m coming to MLW to fight all of you and get to the top of the pedestal and look down and smile. I’m coming to look down at you and smile at all of you and say, come take it from me. Which I doubt many of you can. Now there’s of course there’s people once again, Davey Richards, who can easily kick me and break a rib.”
AKIRA went on to emphasize that he has been through hell, and he noted that he will dare his opponents to try and take him down. He stated that he is determined to prove that so-called “death match guys” deserve the same opportunities as everyone else.
“I know that I’m not going in so cocky as to think I’m immune to damage,” he said. “I’m immune to the challenges that other people are going to pitch to me. But the fact of the matter is, I’m ready. I’ve been through hell, I’ve been thrown on concrete. I’ve been kicked in the dome by some of the best in the world. Trust me, Speed Ball Bailey kicks really hard. But the fact of the matter is, I’m gonna look you in the eye, and I’m gonna say ‘try to take me down.’
“My goal, my mission, my motto, my creed has been for four years ever since I was labeled as a death match guy, has been to show that we are the best in the world, that we deserve the same chances that everyone else does. Just because you think all we need is glass, we need barbed wire, we need a gusset plate. We don’t. That’s my objective. If it’s to shame all of you, because I’m putting in the work and you’re not well, that’s not my problem. That’s my mission in MLW. I’m going to expose the cowards. I’m gonna expose the phonies, and I’m going to expose people that are just playing out complacent.”
MLW Underground will premiere on REELZ on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. WrestleZone will have coverage of the show as it airs.
