Tom Lawlor wants his respect.
Promotion is everything when it comes to pro wrestling. Wrestlers will often take offense when they are not included on promotional material for a certain event. In the past, some performers have used these types of issues to further a storyline or to even help gain sympathy for their in-ring character.
In a new interview with Fightful, Lawlor went on an expletive filled rant about how his upcoming match with Homicide wasn't promoted by Ian Riccaboni in a preview of NJPW's Battle In The Valley show.
"I’m pissed off because yesterday, I go on Twitter, and there is a big...to me, this is a big New Japan Pro Wrestling event happening this weekend. It is kind of the first show since the rebranding or restructuring of Strong. To me, someone that has been one of the hallmarks of New Japan Strong, it means a lot to me. I go on Twitter, and we have some great staff in New Japan. Great wrestlers, great commentators. Kevin Kelly is awesome, I love Alex Kozlov, Ian Riccaboni, very talented. He puts out a preview of the show and says, ‘Hey, this Mercedes vs. KAIRI match sold out the show and now it’s only gotten better because we’ve added all of these matches. Okada vs. Tanahashi, Clark Connors vs. Zack Sabre Jr, West Coast Wrecking Crew against Motor City Machine Guns, Kratos against Coughlin, Rocky Romero in an eight-man tag, David Finlay vs. Bobby Fish.’ There is one match that Ian Riccaboni doesn’t mention on there, and it’s my fight. The Filthy Rules fight with Homicide coming up. Riccaboni, awesome, talented guy, but I was here, I was in New Japan Strong before he ever was. The fact that, I don’t take it personally, but professionally, I’m pissed off. My name should be up there with the likes of Mercedes and KAIRI, with Okada and Tanahashi, with Clark Connors and Zack Sabre Jr, with all these other names. Quite frankly, I don’t feel like I’m getting the respect I should have for my work the past few years. Maybe that’s just a small microism of it, but the fact that it even happens leads me to believe I have a lot of work to do. I’m not around just to be the best on Saturday at New Japan, I’m not around to be the best at New Japan Strong, I’m around to be one of the best professional wrestlers on this fucking planet. Saturday, against Homicide, the fans of New Japan, who haven’t gotten to see a different side of me, they’re going to see it. Everyone else is going to see it too. What are they going to see? They’re going to see that Filthy Tom is one of the best professional wrestlers on planet earth. Tune in!"
Lawlor has been with New Japan Pro Wrestling since 2020. In that time, he has mainly wrestled for the company’s US based STRONG brand. Lawlor is also a former NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion.
Elsewhere in the interview, Lawlor revealed that he hates himself for watching Power Slap. To learn more, click here.
Fans can see Fightful’s full interview with Lawler by clicking the video linked above.
