There’s no doubt that Major League Wrestling features some of the most talented individuals in the professional wrestling business, whether it be in-ring workers, agents, producers or managers. One individual that checks all of those boxes and more is Josef Samael, the leader of CONTRA Unit and a veteran of over 20+ years in the industry.
Samael recently joined me to discuss a variety of topics, including CONTRA Unit’s feud with LA Park and specifically his work with Salina de la Renta.
Working with Salina de la Renta
SL: “I bring up the LA Park match and that feud specifically because, in relation to you, I absolutely loved the work that you did with Salina de la Renta. You’ve mentioned her as a student of the game, you’ve brought her up a number of times in previous interviews. What’s it been like to work with her in the capacity you have?
JS: “It’s been very positive. She is somebody that – she’s special. You have these pieces of talent, and, you know, there’s just certain pieces of talent that are just special. She’s incredibly gifted. She’s very young. I believe she’s 22, 23, I mean, maybe 24. I think she’s 22 or (23). But to have the, not so much the knowledge of the business, but the wherewithal. Just – she does the right things without nobody teaching her, you know what I mean? She’s just he’s just natural. She’s very gifted. You know, there’s this old saying in wrestling that you have to believe your own bullshit excuse my language.”
SL: “No worries, you got the explicit rating on podcasts, were fine.”
JS: “She believes what she does, much like myself. There’s something to be said about somebody that can talk in this business. A lot of your money is made with your mouth. Being able to talk in this business is something that – I like to think I can and a lot of people like to say that I can – and it’s something that I think is one of the greatest tools. The matches are always whatever, you know, the finishes I think have to be extraordinary. But it’s the build-up to a match, the talking to people into the arena that I think is just such (an) important tool in our business, and she’s got it in spades. She is – and that comes with believing your own bullshit is the confidence. A lot of times you see people talking and you can see the gears turning. You could see the wheels turning, rather, you understand that they have memorized something. And it just really – for me, personally, it takes me completely out of the story. I like to have points and understand kind of where I’m going, and I like to speak as frankly and as naturally as possible. Salina’s just somebody that delivers promos and lines in just a confident way that every single time I see it, I buy it, and I believe it and if I was a paying fan, I would definitely be paying to see her. Whether it’s her getting beat, whether it’s whatever it is, but she’s somebody that definitely he convinces me 10 out of 10 times.”
JS: “I have nothing but high praise for her. She’s a wonderful piece of talent and I’m really excited to see where she goes from here. Not meaning other places! Not meaning other places, I mean how her character develops because she’s so good now, we can only imagine her in her 30s and 40s and what type of a character she’s going to be. It took me a lot longer to develop into something because I was more involved in the actual wrestling. I always had a good promo and this and that, but I never really had somebody put me through the paces and I never did the reps to where I had TV early on, I would cut promos, whatever, but she’s got so much time put into her, just like I do now. So we’re able to go through the reps now. I wasn’t able to go through the reps as early as she has, so I’m really, really interested to see her in a decade from now. She’s gonna be even more phenomenal.”
Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any transcriptions used.
