Brett Azar comments on Chavo Guerrero training Young Rock actors to wrestle, his thoughts on the first four episodes [Exclusive]
Brett Azar portrays The Iron Sheik in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's new show on NBC - Young Rock. The show reflects Johnson growing up in a wrestling family as he runs for President of the United States in a fictional future.
In Young Rock, many old school wrestlers appear during Johnson's flashbacks, such as Johnson's father Rocky Johnson, family members Afa and Sika, "The Wild Samoans," Andre The Giant, and The Iron Sheik. Actor Brett Azar portrays The Iron Sheik on the show and recently spoke to Sportskeeda Wrestling about his thoughts on training with Chavo Guerrero.
Q: Brett Azar, the show itself only debuted a few weeks ago. What did you think of the first episode?
Azar: "Number one! Number one in ratings! Yes, Baba (in Sheik's voice)! It was more than I could have ever asked. We set records with the premiere. Episode three was a big one for The Sheik, where I had a couple of cool moments in my talk with Momma Lia (Dwayne's Mother), not being allowed to say certain words.
"I got a list of words I'm not allowed to say. They blurred it out, but it was, "no s***, no f***, no Jew." The Sheik called, and he was like, "Why'd they edit it?" I was like, "Sheik. It's NBC."
In Brett's Instagram post above, he says Young Rock couldn't have happened without Chavo Guerrero. Chavo, a former WWE Superstar, helped the Young Rock actors learn the basics of wrestling as part of the production. He was also part of the crew of G.L.O.W on Netflix as a wrestling advisor.
Q: How did wrestling training go for you, for some of the spots on the show?
Azar: "They threw us right into it. We didn't have stuntmen or anything. They brought in Chavo Guerrero, and he was our mentor. He taught us day one, wrestling 101. He made all the guys on the cast do the basics. Bounce off the ropes, take a fall, and do summersaults. I squat 500lbs. I benched 450lbs. I did a summersault. I stood, passed out, and fell; everyone laughed. I did another summersault, passed out. The running joke is, Iron Sheik can't do a summersault. Eventually, I could.
"The little things Chavo was teaching us, like bouncing off the ropes. If you hit that rope wrong, you ended up with bruising, and we were just dying learning the basics. Still, it was the most fun I ever had being able to do an acting role that's so dynamic as The Sheik and to do the wrestling involved with it and bring that whole character together. For me, it's a dream come true."
You can catch Brett Azar as The Iron Sheik on Young Rock every Tuesday at 8 pm Eastern Time on NBC in the United States. Watch Sportskeeda Wrestling's full interview with Brett Azar below.
If any quotes from this interview are used, please link and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling.