Bobby Fish describes what it means to be a locker room leader.
Fish is a veteran in wrestling and has traveled the world, competing for NXT, AEW, ROH, IMPACT Wrestling, Pro Wrestling NOAH, NJPW and more. The topic of a "locker room leader" has become more prevalent following AEW All Out and the altercation with CM Punk and The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks).
Speaking on his Undisputed podcast, Fish gave his thoughts on what it means to be a locker room leader.
"For me, the locker room leader is something earned. You don't just assume it. It's universally earned or else it's not a good thing. If there's division and some people are for it and some people think he's a rat fink piece of shit, it's divisive, so you'd rather not have him. You think about The Undertaker, I wasn't there so I can't speak firsthand. You hear about him being the locker room leader and that's because everybody respected it. Not just him, but that's the role he played. He was tight enough with basically Vince (McMahon) and the office to assume that role and for people to respect it. That's really all that's required, the acknowledgment of your peers, from the boys, it's like being a captain. Sometimes that person isn't seeking it, it gets bestowed on him. I wasn't in all of these locker rooms, but I could see a guy like Samoa Joe being a good locker room leader. It's imperative that you don't just talk the talk, you have to walk it out. People have to see that your actions are the same letter that you're holding them to. If that's not the case, it's divisive. If there are some people you are preferential to, you can't have an agenda. You probably need to be a good worker, do some good business, check all the boxes as far as what we do. You earn that title. It's important to have a locker room leader, but it has to be bestowed on that person by the majority, if not everybody. That's when it works. Otherwise, it can divide the locker room and you have people thinking they are the locker room leader when they're not. Some people are not self-aware. I'm not going to name names, but they are in la-la land," he said.
When asked if he ever considered himself a locker room leader, Fish said, "In wrestling, I think I was not really a locker room leader. I don't think so. There are times in this business when I got so disenchanted with it. Then there are times when I love it. I'm not really good at politicking. I don't politic well. More times than not, if I see something that I don't like and I know it's going to get me in trouble, I still say something. More Dick Fish [his father] than I care to admit."
Fish debuted for IMPACT Wrestling at IMPACT Victory Road and praised the IMPACT locker room for being legit guys. He competed at IMPACT Bound For Glory in the Call Your Shot gauntlet.
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