Hammerstone Heaps High Praise On Former Rival's Work In WWE (Exclusive)

Hammerstone and Jacob Fatu were once blood rivals in MLW, but Hammerstone -- the former MLW World Champion who returned to the company over the weekend at Battle Riot 7 -- had nothing but high praise for his former foe.

In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Hammerstone opened up on Fatu and why he's so great in WWE. He also spoke on their MLW battles and said it's one of his great career memories.

"Jacob was one of my favorite people. When I did NXT, it was a night that he happened to be appearing on the show too. So we got to see each other and catch up. And it was just so great. It's so great to see him and see how well he's doing. And I knew he would. I always said, If WWE just lets Jacob do Jacob, it's going to be crazy. I thought for sure they were going to handcuff him and tame what he's capable of. But from day one, they let him go out and do him. And I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is going to get crazy so fast' and surely it did, just like I thought."
Hammerstone on Jacob Fatu in WWE

Hammerstone continued about his former world champion opponent.

"But the thing with Jacob, he's so good that he's going to have an incredible match with almost anyone. He's that level of talent. At the same time, there was just something special, like the unique dynamic between us. It's an intangible thing. It's hard to describe whether it's the characters, whether it's the wrestling style -- it's just like those matches were just electric. It's the part of wrestling that's unspoken and we just know, and these things are just happening naturally that are just some of the coolest moments. For people to still, years later -- we're almost five years since the Fightland match -- and people still talk about it ... It's gonna go down as some of my best work, for sure.
Hammerstone on MLW with Fatu

Hammerstone recently returned to MLW after a stint last year with TNA at the Battle Riot 7 event. As for Jacob Fatu, he's scheduled to compete in his first ever WrestleMania match for WWE next week.

MORE: Hammerstone Navigated Rocky Free Agent Waters And Tumultuous Times In TNA On The Road Home To MLW (Exclusive)

On Smackdown, Fatu defeated Braun Strowman to earn a shot at LA Knight and the WWE United States Championship at WrestleMania. If Fatu wins, it'll be his first championship since joining WWE last year.

WrestleMania 41 airs live from Allegiant Stadium on April 19 and April 20. Other announced matches for the show include Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship, Jey Uso vs. Gunther for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair vs. Iyo Sky for the WWE Women's World Championship and more.

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