Kevin Blackwood talks his match against Masato Tanaka.
Prestige Wrestling's Roseland X event was originally supposed to feature a match between Kevin Blackwood and Josh Alexander. Notably, this was set to be Alexander's final match on the independent scene for the forseeable future.
Alexander was unable to make the event due to travel issues, prompting Masato Tanaka to step in and face Blackwood instead.
While chatting with Fightful Overbooked for a new interview, Blackwood talked about the match change, saying that he knew a few days ahead of time.
"I knew that it probably wouldn’t be Josh around Tuesday. There was behind the scenes stuff that I’m not fully understanding, but Josh said there was a good chance he wouldn’t be there and he apologized and said he’d make it up to me. With [Calvin] Tankman also being out, Will [Quintana] asked me, ‘Do you think if I make it you vs. Tanaka, you can do that?’ [Nods head]. I know there is an expectation of Masato Tanaka so they want a hardcore aspect. I know I can do that, but I can also do it in the realm for a good Japaneese-style wrestling match. When Tanaka-san got there, we were talking, and I could tell he didn’t necessarily want to do a lot of chair and table stuff. ‘You put me through a table. You hit me with a chair. I’m totally fine with that, and we’ll put together a really cool match.’ When he found out he was wrestling me, he had seen me in Japan because he was at Korakuen Hall when Chigusa Nagayo did her 60th birthday show for Marvelous. Tanaka-san was on that show and there was a monitor playing the show. Tanaka and Kota Ibushi were watching the whole show. I was not very sure if he had watched my match, but Will showed me screenshots, ‘Hey, you’re going to be wrestling Kevin Blackwood,’ and Tanaka is like, ‘Can I handle his movements?’ ‘He’s great, he’ll take care of you.’ Tanaka was like, ‘He’s amazing.'"
Blackwood will get the chance to face Shelton Benjamin during WrestleMania weekend, as he'll take on the AEW star at Pandemonium Pro Wrestling's The House Always Wins event on April 17. Stay up-to-date with the promotion by clicking here.
Furthermore, fans can check out Fightful's full interview with Kevin Blackwood in the video linked at the top of this article.
