- Bron Breakker went viral after his spear on IShowSpeed generated over 400m views
- Breakker isn’t ruling out a return match with the YouTuber
- WWE Intercontinental Champion names his WrestleMania 41 dream matches
Bron Breakker doesn’t like wasting time. In three-and-a-half years the 27-year-old has evolved from a second generation greenhorn in WWE’s NXT developmental territory to becoming one of the focal points of the company’s weekly television, carrying their historic Intercontinental Title along with him. It also took Breakker only a matter of seconds to become a viral sensation at this year’s Royal Rumble.
Even if you have never registered the mildest passing interest in professional wrestling, you will have likely seen Breakker – all 6ft and 250 pounds of him – cannonballing across the ring as if Juggernaut from X-Men had just inhaled an Olympic swimming pool full of espresso, before taking the soul from YouTube streamer IShowSpeed with a gargantuan spear.
From every angle, the footage is as terrifying as it is devastating. Speed puts up about as much resistance as one of the first two Little Pig’s houses does to the Big Bad Wolf. And few in modern day WWE come as big or bad as Bron Breakker.
Over 400 million social media views and counting. More than 300m of which came within 24 hours of the event itself.
Eager to discuss his social media shattering spear, his Hall of Fame family lineage, his newfound success as a Netflix star and his dream title defences for WrestleMania, Pubity caught up with the Intercontinental Champion earlier this week for an exclusive chat.
“It was a great moment,” Breakker remarks about his coming together with Speed, “and it got out there and went viral. It’s a number him and I will probably remember for a long time for different reasons.”
Discussing how the spot between himself and Speed was prepared ahead of time, Breakker explained, “Everyone was aware of where we were going to go with that segment. But some of that stuff, you can’t teach or go over or rehearse or none of that. Sometimes you just gotta let people go. And that was one of those scenarios where you just have to let talent go be talent and go and execute. The objective was to have a viral moment, to have a moment that gets out there and people talk about and we did that.”
And has Breakker spoken to Speed since breaking his mind, body and spirit?
“No.”
But while Breakker may not have paid any attention to Speed in the wake of his Royal Rumble destruction, the Intercontinental Champion is still more than willing to do business with Logan Paul’s WrestleMania run-in buddy in the future.
“I think we would welcome him back with open arms. I think if the situation was right he would come back as well, just because of how much attention that small segment drew. So if he wants to come back and try and get revenge on me or whatever the scenario might be, I’m sure we would welcome him to do that.”
Breakker’s near half-billion view bothering escapades in Indianapolis with Speed earlier this month are just the latest in an increasingly long line of ‘can’t miss’ moments the former NXT champion has catalogued in his short career. Barely a week goes by where WWE’s Instagram and X accounts are not sharing Breakker’s almost unsettling propensity for high velocity destruction. In an industry where naysayers often critique “well, they know how to fall”, it is near impossible to see through Breakker’s offence.
This is unsurprising, really, as the former Kennesaw State Owls running back is the son of Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner, a pair of brothers who formed a Hall of Fame worthy tag team that have gone down in the annals of pro wrestling history as one of the hardest hitting and influential duos of all time (“they keep me grounded. They keep me locked in. They’re extremely important in my day-to-day” Breakker remarks when their names are brought up). The Steiner brothers made their names in the late ’80s and early ’90s in the United States and Japan in World Championship Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and, briefly, WWE. They collected titles, accolades and broken victims in every town, city and country they stepped foot in. Now Breakker is doing the exact same thing.
As Intercontinental Champion, with a lot of pressure on his vast shoulders, Breakker recognises that he must carry himself appropriately.
“There’s a certain pressure that comes with being the Intercontinental Champion. I’m always looking for more. I’m always looking at how I can get better. I’m a firm believer in the championship’s not going to make me, I’m going to make the championship. It’s the workhorse title, so I’m always ready to get out there and showcase the Intercontinental Championship.”
With this desire to go out and ‘make the championship’, Breakker revealed who his dream opponents would be to defend his title against at WrestleMania 41, which takes place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 19 and 20.
“This year, with the way things have been going recently here, I think AJ Styles would be a great choice for me. I think Penta is another one who, if him and I had a match I think we would do some great things. There’s a lot up in the air right now as to who I could face at WrestleMania. Drew McIntyre’s another one, where we could do something. We’ll just have to see.”
Of course, it is impossible to discuss Breakker’s ascent into the stratosphere since his move from NXT to Monday Night Raw last spring without referencing Sami Zayn. Breakker’s programme with the Underdog From The Underground last summer propelled him to IC Title glory and undoubtedly advanced the youngster as a worker, giving him some of his most memorable matches and moments. Zayn has long been held in high esteem by locker rooms across the world of professional wrestling and Breakker admits he owes a lot to the former Intercontinental and Tag Team champion.
“I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sami. I couldn’t have asked for a better superstar to be in there with to get me going as a main player on the main roster. He’s extremely knowledgeable and influential. His career speaks for itself. He’s done so many great things, it’s crazy. I’m extremely thankful for that opportunity that I had with him because, y’know, it’s Sami Zayn, you’re gonna be in there and you’re gonna be learning a lot. He has great matches with everybody. Super cool, man. If I ever get that opportunity again, it’ll be a great thing.”
Breakker must now shift his focus from newfound viral fame to the Road to WrestleMania, which will take in a lengthy European tour in March, across nine countries in two-and-a-half weeks. The tour will include Monday Night Raw emanating from Brussels, Glasgow and London, while SmackDown will come live from Barcelona, Bologna and London.
As for ‘Mania itself, whoever Breakker ends up facing, whether it’s a WWE or streaming superstar, it could well be the last time for a long time that we see him outside of the main event at the Grandaddy of ’em All.
Expect more spears and many, many more views along the way.
WWE is available to watch on Netflix in the UK, including Raw, SmackDown, NXT, all Premium Live Events and the WWE archive.
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