Josef Samael on the Growth of CONTRA Unit, Their Plans to Conquer Once MLW Returns to TV

In a recent exclusive interview with the 411 Wrestling Interviews Podcast, MLW wrestler and CONTRA Unit member Josef Samael discussed the growth of CONTRA Unit, the goals of the stable and more. Below are some highlights and audio from the interview:

Josef Samael CONTRA Unit holding the World Heavyweight title with Jacob Fatu: “Absolutely. Whoever holds the gold in any organization basically controls the organization. So yeah, it’s a big deal having Jacob Fatu. Me and Fatu have been together as a team for probably about five years now, something like that. Maybe a little less, maybe four years. I can’t remember exactly, and yeah, I’ve always held a top spot in wrestling wherever I was. I was trained in a certain way by certain people. The art of manipulation in wrestling in front of a camera, behind a camera, so I’m able to position myself in ways and perform in ways that allows me to have spots and allows to earn spots in that sort of way. And CONTRA Unit is by design one of the most powerful things to ever happen in professional wrestling, definitely in the last couple of decades. I’m really enjoying being part of it. All the pieces that are coming together and all the pieces that will come together in the future and all that, it’s going to be something really amazing to watch for a long time to come, and it’s something that I can transition — as I transition out of the ring, I can transition fully into a managerial role, which I do outside of the ring with this organization, with my own organization, with multiple other things I manage, shoot manage wrestlers, so it’s a really cool time for me.”

Josef Samael on plans for CONTRA Unit to take the tag titles from The Von Erichs: “Yeah, CONTRA Unit, we are targeting everybody. It’s no secret. We have taken over the league. We have taken over the championship. We’re going to take over the tag team championships. We’re going to take over every title that’s in that company. And that’s just the way it is.”

On his training in various forms of combat and CONTRA Unit’s secrets: “I am an expert in beating the hell out of people. Everything about CONTRA is shrouded in darkness. Everything about CONTRA is behind the curtain, so it will come to light as we move forward. And I’ve been around this business for 22 years, and I’ve picked a thing or two. And I know a thing or two about a thing or two. And it’s working right now.

On adding new members to CONTRA Unit: “Yeah, well we do have many members, but they all haven’t been shown. So, you’ll be seeing multiple members of CONTRA Unit when the time is right.”

Josef Samael on CONTRA Unit’s goal once everything is back up and running: “Well, CONTRA Unit has taken over MLW. We have seized MLW headquarters, and we’re not gonna let up. We’re not gonna relent. We’re gonna move forward with that, and we’re gonna take every championship in MLW. And we’re gonna rebrand it in our name, and there’s nobody and nothing that can stop that. So, that’s really the goal. That’s really the purpose. And I have other things in my back pocket that I won’t discuss because I’m not gonna open my playbook, but it’s basically the same thing: Conquer. And that’s what CONTRA Unit’s been doing from the very beginning. At first, we weren’t really taken seriously. We walked in the building, and we showed ’em real quick we were to be taken seriously. And then we started to dismantle everybody. Nobody took heed to that, then we just dismantled everybody. Then, we set our sights on the championship, nobody said nothing. We took the championship. Then, everybody started noticing, and then started to destroy Salina [de la Renta] and all of her stuff. We started to destroy LA Parks, started to destroy The Von Erichs. Now, we’re going to take over the league. It’s going to be a lot more of the same.”

In the full interview, Josef Samael talks about MLW’s new deal with DAZN and a possible MLW/ESPN deal, CONTRA Unit’s goals in MLW, working with Jacob Fatu and his rise to the top of MLW, Court Bauer expanding MLW’s distribution during the pandemic, the possibility of new members in the stable, the secret to generating heel heat and more.

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0:00: Intro
1:35: On MLW’s new deal with DAZN, what it means for MLW and CONTRA Unit
3:05: On Court Bauer expanding MLW’s distribution during the pandemic
4:16: On the pandemic resulting in MLW’s shutdown, feeling better than he has in some time and being ready for MLW’s return
7:02: On CONTRA Unit holding the MLW World Title via Jacob Fatu, what statement it makes for the group
9:04: On if CONTRA Unit will be targeting the Von Erichs and MLW Tag Team Titles
9:45: On his combat style, CONTRA having more yet to reveal
10:52: On Jacob Fatu’s growth and rise to the top of the MLW roster
11:48: On the possibility of an MLW/ESPN deal and the prospect of bringing CONTRA to ESPN
13:34: On if he’s considering adding some new members to CONTRA, the possibility of an alliance with someone like Tom Lawlor or Dominic Garrini
14:36: On if he feels the need for CONTRA to get more revenge on Los Parks
15:12: On the group’s ability to draw heel heat, the importance of making the fans believe in heels, true heels being a lost art
17:16: On Court Bauer refusing to bring MLW back until crowds can safely be in attendance
19:38: On CONTA Unit’s goal once everything is back up and running of a complete MLW takeover
22:20: On where to find him online
23:13: Outro

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