#21 If you have to pick an opponent for Wrestlemania considering there is a lot of talent right now in WWE in guys like AJ Styles, John Cena, Randy Orton or even part timers as Triple H, Brock Lesnar, even the Undertaker, who would you choose?
Ugh… It’s hard to say. I mean obviously, with the history I have, if I could main event a Wrestlemania with Kevin Owens one day, like WOW! That would be pretty much as big as it can get considering we’re two guys who started wrestling each other in front of forty people 16 years ago. You know, the journey coming full circle, in a way, I’d have to say, Kevin Owens. But I think there would be a crazy level of electricity in the air if it were like a John Cena or Roman Reigns or something like that. That would be pretty cool too.
#22 You were famous as El Generico before coming to the WWE. Is there a chance that one day El Generico might make a comeback but this time, in the WWE?
Well, I get compared to this El Generico fellow a lot. I can see that there are some similarities, but I don’t know where he is these days so I can’t really say. If he should end up in WWE, I really don’t know. It’s really something I have no control over, especially since I don’t know the guy.
#23 You talked about facing Kevin Owens at Wrestlemania. But if you could pick any wrestler, living or dead, who would you like to face?
Well, if I could go back in time, it would be great to wrestler Bret Hart who was my hero as a kid. Or maybe Hulk Hogan when I was even younger than that. But probably Bret Hart I would say. If I could choose anybody ever, yeah, then probably Bret. Maybe Shawn Michaels too.
#24 Now if you had to make a tag team for Wrestlemania, who would you pick?
If I was going to be in a tag team, right now the landscape is a little tight, so I don’t know. You know one thing Kevin and I used to talk way back when he and I were getting along, we were friends, and we were partners, was one day winning the tag team titles in WWE. If things ever change between he and I, it’s hard to imagine now, but if we could somehow get back on the same page, it would be a dream come true to one day win the tag team titles with Kevin. I don’t know if it will ever happen just because our relationship is so strained now. Same with Neville. Neville would be a guy that I would love to win the tag team titles with. I actually really enjoyed teaming with Dean Ambrose. I feel like I teamed a lot with him last year and I really enjoyed the chemistry we had. So he would be a cool tag team partner if I ever went to SmackDown or he ever came to RAW.
#25 WWE has changed quite a bit in the last 3-4 years. So is there anything that surprised you when you joined the NXT?
I think it has been more of a slow sort of transformation and looking at it now; it’s more surprising I guess, seeing the result all these years later since I signed. I think that has been the most surprising thing and even cool in a way to see all these guys that I came up with in my generation joining the ranks since I signed. From Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, all these guys that I’ve known for years ending up here too. It cool because these are guys, if you look at a show poster of some company like Pro Wrestling Gorilla or something like that from back in 2005-06, then you see all these names, and now we are all in the WWE. So that’s really cool. There is a sense of accomplishment there that we kind of took over. Our generation took over, and I hope it is for the best in the long term for the business. But I would say that is kind of the weirdest thing looking back on it now and looking around the locker room and saying whoa. It’s just crazy.
#26 What kinds of things do you try to do yourself to make your character fit with the theme music and is it possible that the theme music can be more over than the wrestler and vice versa?
Well, the theme music’s job is to basically set the tone for what you’re about to see. The second that music hits, the emotional response that is connected to that wrestler should be triggered. SO that’s really the function of theme music. So I don’t necessarily think that music can be more popular than the performer. I think music is popular because it reminds you of the performer that is about to come out. It reminds you of the emotion of the performer that is about to come out. For example, like Bayley has got a very upbeat song and when her music hits, everybody cheers. They are not cheering the song, but they are cheering the emotion that the music triggers when they think of Bayley. I think it’s very, very important to have music that sort of ties into the character. But having said that sometimes, you know, my music personally is very upbeat, very happy but you know there are times when I’m involved in a rivalry with someone that I’m not happy about or feeling so cheerful or joyful, but that’s the music that is hitting. So it’s kind of funny how that music needs to be all encompassing because nobody is just one thing. You’re not just the happy go lucky sort of bubbly person. A good character has a lot of depth to it. At times he is bubbly, at times is funny, at times is ready to kick some a**. It varies. So ideally the music should be all encompassing for that character. But it’s definitely an important part of the presentation.
#27 What is the one quality that you would like to change about Monday Night RAW? Is there anything that you would do creatively a little bit like presentation wise?
For starters, I think the fact that there are three hours really changes the game. Three hours vs. two hours is very, very different. So the show is going to have an entirely different feel. I don’t know; it’s easier said than done. Everybody can complain and say that this sucks and that sucks or why are they doing this or whatever, but it’s pretty hard to write a three-hour show every week for the last twenty years. It’s hard to do, and I don’t know if I was at the helm of it and in charge of it, it’s hard to say what I would do differently. If there is one thing that I would like to see more of really, it’s not even in the way that the show is presented so much. I would just bring out the personal aspects of these rivalries. Because I find that it’s almost in the world in general, like these wars that are fought you know, you look at the wars in the Middle East; you don’t even know what they are fighting about anymore. They have just been fighting for so long. And sometimes I feel like on WWE RAW you kind of see that happen. You’re not even necessarily attacking someone for the root of the issue. You’re just doing it because he did something to you last week, so you’re doing something this week, so he does something to you next week, and then you go to a pay per view which is fine and makes sense of how you tell a story. But at times, I find the root of the program, the root of the rivalry is sometimes lost in a ‘You did this, so I’ll do that.’ I’m the kind of person that likes to see the more personal, more emotional aspects of the rivalry. I like to see more of that brought to the forefront. It’s all there already, for me it needs to be highlighted a little more. I would highlight a little more emotion and you know, personal sort of grit. I would like to see that highlighted a little more. All things considered, I think the show is pretty good.
#27 What are your thoughts about Fastlane, not just your match but about the whole show?
Well, I have, to be honest, I didn’t get to see the whole show. After my match, I had to ice my back, and I had to do some things. So I didn’t get to see the whole thing. I got showered up. I was planning on watch it last night on the Network which is one of the great things about the Network, you can watch stuff the same night but I kind of fell asleep, so I didn’t get to see it all. I’ll probably watch a little bit of it today backstage at RAW. They usually have a monitor where you can see it. But what I did see was I saw the main event, I saw Roman Reigns with Braun – that was really good. I saw the girls’ match. I thought what I saw was pretty decent. It was good, and the main event was certainly interesting. Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman was really good. I heard Neville and Jack Gallagher had a really great match. I can’t speak about the whole pay per view, but I have to imagine that it was pretty good.
#28 When Mick Foley said that he saw himself in you, did you feel the same way?
Definitely, because Mick Foley was one of my biggest inspirations to actually becoming a wrestler. Hulk Hogan when I was a kid and Bret Hart when I got a little older, those were my inspirations, those were my heroes. But then as I got old enough to where training to become a wrestler might actually be a possibility and really having that desire to one day become a wrestler, I think Mick Foley inspired me more than anyone else. So to say that he saw a lot of myself in him, first of all, it’s an honor, and also I feel the same in return, no doubt about it.
#29 Kevin Owens was the Universal Champion, and Bobby Roode is the NXT Champion. Can you tell us what is the secret of the Canadian wrestlers to have such success?
I don’t know. I was thinking about it not long ago. I don’t know what it is. I just know a lot of great wrestlers have come from Canada. I don’t know what it is about it; I don’t know why but it’s just the way it is. A lot of great wrestlers have come from the states too if you really add it up, probably more so than Canada. But I don’t know, Canada has just produced some really, really great wrestlers. I really don’t know what to attribute it to. I feel like maybe it goes back to the days of Stampede Wrestling. You know, I really don’t know. Maybe Canadian guys coming out of that territory in those days, it was a bit more gritty, hard nose style and I think they popularized that and the Canadian wrestlers that were successful from that area kind of embodied that hard-hitting, gritty style. So the Canadian wrestlers that followed those wrestlers kind of carried on that tradition of quality story-telling and hard hitting action. I think maybe that is what it is; I don’t know. I just think that we do have a very strong sense of what makes this business great and we try to embody those things to the best of our abilities.
#30 What would you say to those fans who are putting SmackDown over Monday Night RAW?
That’s fine. As long as they are enjoying the show, good for them. I just appreciate you guys supporting WWE, I really do. I always feel like any show I’m on is better because I’m on it. Actually, I have felt like that my whole career. Even when I was wrestling in little shows in front of a hundred people, I always thought, “Well this is the place to be because I’m here.” So, I feel like RAW is ‘The Show.’ I don’t really watch SmackDown. If I were on SmackDown, then SmackDown would be the show. That’s the way my brain has always worked. But if you prefer SmackDown, it’s fine. Just thank you for the support, either way.
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