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What’s the story?
PJ Black, the man formerly known as Justin Gabriel in the WWE, sat down for an interview to discuss his time with the WWE and Ring of Honor. Black had some interesting words to share regarding the creative in the WWE, along with graphic details on his horrific BASE jump injury from 2017.
In case you didn’t know…
PJ Black left the WWE in January 2015 following creative differences. Black went on to have a few stints with Impact Wrestling, EVOLVE, Pro Wrestling Syndicate, NWA and Global Force Wrestling. Black suffered a horrific BASE jumping accident in 2017, which left his wrestling career in doubt. He made a comeback and signed an exclusive deal with Ring of Honor in 2018 following his recovery.
The heart of the matter
PJ Black had an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com recently, where he discusses his time with the WWE and his current run with ROH. Here is an excerpt of that interview.
Lately, a lot of people has been talking about Jon Moxley's interview where he talked about being frustrated with WWE's creative process. Did you have a similar situation during your time there?
Black: I think everyone has. You get to a certain point when they trust you a little more and you can start writing your own stuff but for some reason, for some guys, it just always reverts back to that, where you have to get stuff cleared and they want you to say stuff line-by-line. And that's where creative freedom comes in.
We've heard you talk about your injury recovery in the past. Do the metal plates and the screws in your leg limit your mobility at all?
Black: Right now, I'm good. A couple of months ago, it was still hard for me to land on my feet if I did a back flip off the top rope. I could do it but I think it was just a mental thing. Physically, I'm good to go. I'm 100%.
What kind of creative freedoms are you given working in ROH?
Black: Just doing the things that I feel comfortable [with], that I think my character needs to be doing and saying and wearing. All the aspects of that and also when it comes together, like by putting matches together and stuff like that. ' No proverbial handcuffs, if you will.
What’s next:
You can catch PJ Black and all the stars of Ring of Honor on June 28th live from Baltimore, MD for ROH’s annual “Best in the World” PPV event!
