JONAH is often considered to be one of the most impressive big men in the wrestling world today. Naturally, he’s been inspired by previous greats, such as Bam Bam Bigelow and Vader, who was recently announced as a WWE Hall of Fame inductee.
During an appearance on IMPACT Wrestling’s “CALLIHAN UNCENSORED“, JONAH described how he’s aiming to be a modern-day equivalent of the the two powerhouses, as he feels that the wrestlin business is currently missing a must-see big man.
“Right now in my career, that’s sort of what I’m trying to embody myself off of, is Bam Bam Bigelow or Vader. So to have those comparisons, it means a lot to me. And that’s what I’m trying to do, and I’m hoping that I can bring that back to professional wrestling. I think there are definitely some very talented big men in this sport at the moment, but maybe not ones that have that vibe, that have that little something about them that makes you have to watch them.”
When Callihan noted that it’d be great to see JONAH wear Vader-like shoulder pads and pay tribute to him through a special entrance, the former NXT star explained that he had plans to do just that during his time on the brand. He recalled how Vader’s son sent him one of the legend’s masks, but the tribute ultimately got nixed.
“So no spoilers but I am working on something in that same vein,” said JONAH. “But also if you did watch my time in NXT, I did a tribute to Bam Bam Bigelow and that’s sort of what I do now still. But I was supposed to on Halloween Havoc do a tribute to Vader and right behind me is an actual Vader mask that his son sent me to wear. Yeah, he sent me that, I was gonna wear that and someone in NXT knew the whereabouts of the big Mastadon helmet gear. So I wanted to, I was ready to do, and they nixed it a few weeks before. So you never got to see Jonah-Vader. But maybe in the future.
JONAH also teased that he could still utilize the Vader tribute at one of IMPACT’s upcoming pay-per-views, like Rebellion.
“We got some big pay-per-views coming up with IMPACT,” said JONAH. “Rebellion is soon. That seems like a good place to do it, right?”
Regardless of tribute costumes, JONAH continues to honor Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow every time he steps into the ring.
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