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You mentioned missing TakeOver: Cardiff and you mentioned Tyler Bate's tag team partner... Well, the perfect opportunity to right some wrongs in a couple of weeks.
At NXT TakeOver: Blackpool II, it looks like you're going to be facing Trent Seven!
What are your feelings heading into that? Is it more relief at being back in the ring, a desire to make up for a lost time, or something else completely?
It certainly looks that way!
There's a couple of things, really. Obviously to be back in Blackpool - that's where I had my first TakeOver appearance, which was pretty special.
To be back at a TakeOver as soon as I am after a return from injury is... It's a lot of pressure but it's also a huge opportunity and it's a huge nod, I take it as a huge nod to myself that I'm being put in that slot, and I don't intend on letting anyone down in that regard.
So, it's pressure but pressure creates diamonds, right? That's what we're here for, we live for pressure.
As far as going up against Trent, it's something that I've wanted for years. He's a person who I've never, ever had a singles match within any promotion, on an independent level or at the WWE. If you follow independent wrestling, that's ridiculous because we've worked in the same promotions for years and years, and years. I've pretty much wrestled everybody else, he's wrestled everybody else, on numerous occasions, but our paths have never crossed, up until January 12th.
He's the founding father of the brand and, when I initially started on the NXT UK brand, I said that people like himself, Tyler Bate, Mark Andrews, and Pete Dunne built the brand, but that I was going to take it to another level. Well, January 12th is my opportunity to prove that those were more than just words, I suppose.
It means the world to me to be back in Blackpool, back on TakeOver, back on the WWE Network and getting my chance at Trent Seven.
Now, my favorite thing about Eddie Dennis, aside from the fact that you're amazing in the ring, is that you used to be a teacher!
Are there any similarities at all between both jobs, or anything you were able to transfer across from teaching?
There's a lot of transferable skills! It's not just right hands and power-bombs, you know?
As far as holding the audience's attention, as far as getting someone's attention, those skills are transferable.
When you stand up in front of an audience of 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 people, it's really not that different than standing in front of 700 children with a microphone in your hand - except for the fact that the 3,000 people paid to be there, the 700 children have no interest in being there!
There are definitely transferable skills with regard to that. I'm not saying that every school teacher in the country should go into professional wrestling, I think there are other unique attributes about myself that have made it a seamless transition - but there are definitely transferable skills.
Thanks to WWE, as always, for organizing the interview, and thanks to Eddie Dennis for taking the time to chat with us. You can follow Eddie on Twitter here.
