Jim Cornette, former manager of The Midnight Express, has come out in praise of current MLW World Heavyweight Champion, Jacob Fatu.
One of the most dominant and impressive talents in the world today, the leader of MLW’s Contra Unit has been a force to be reckoned with every since he set foot on the company’s stage.
From crushing the roster to chewing up and spitting out anyone who opposed him, Fatu soon rose to the heady heights when defeated ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor to lift the company’s top prize on July 6, 2019 at MLW Kings of Colosseum. Ever since, the Samoan marvel has held the company hostage.
Now, Jim Cornette has sat down on the latest episode of his Jim Cornette Experience Podcast to speak of highly he thinks of the talent and why he is one of the best in the world today:
“When I did MLW commentary in 2019 I’d never seen him, never heard of him, didn’t know he existed on this planet. It’s not often I’m at a show where I’m doing announcing or I’m involved in the programme but I’m in the same boat as the fans in the building in that this is the first time that all of us are seeing this guy. So obviously I had a minimal idea of what he was going to do, the fact they were going to hit and make a big stir, but I’d never seen him. Talking to him is not the same as seeing this guy when he’s on. Probably, he got over better in front of a live crowd, cold, that had not seen him before than anybody I’ve seen in the last five years – more. He’s an animal, he has the f***ing animosity coming off of him, he looks like a big badass that can kick the s**t out of you but then he does that amazing, supernatural Samoan s**t to where he does athletic things that it just looks so bizarre. Like the Crusher Blackwell dropkick or somebody body slamming Andre the Giant. It doesn’t look visually like it computes. Like it shouldn’t be happening and that’s even more impressive.
Not only the moonsault he has. It’s a springboard moonsault where he jumps up on the rope then jumps on the rope again and then spring off, and nails it in the middle of the ring. This is a f***ing full-grown Samoan beast doing this out of nowhere perfectly. But he gets over and he can talk and he’s not a guy that needs to do three or four minute promos that doesn’t fit his gimmick. But he can be that burst of badass you need him to be and in the group he was in that’s what they needed. He’s got a worker’s eye to, ‘How do I work with this guy but still keep myself the way I need to be’, and sell accordingly so he’s just got it.”
Jim then went on to mention, in a dig at AEW President Tony Khan, that if he had a billionaire’s budget he wouldn’t be playing around with the smaller talent in the wrestling pool and would be snapping up men like Jacob Fatu.
Finally, the topic turned to the reason why the star has yet to be signed by WWE even though his relatives are on the company’s main roster. For Jim and his co-host Brian Last – who orated that he was told it was the reason – Jacob Fatu’s criminal record is the main crux of why he hasn’t hit a WWE stage:
“I can only assume that the WWE…and I’m not saying he was a bank robber but he looks like the kind of guy that’s probably kicked the s**t out of a few people, but there’s something in his personal profile that the WWE may have possibly been skittish about. I remember the old Bam Bam Bigelow thing of, ‘He can’t go to Canada’.”
While Jacob Fatu undeniably belongs on a worldwide stage, currently he’s content reigning over the MLW roster who he will remain with until 2025 after signing a new deal at the conclusion of 2019.
Credit for the interview: The Jim Cornette Experience