Kellie
04-04-2010, 03:05 AM
Alfonso Castillo of Newsday in New York has done an interview with ROH Champion Tyler Black in support of tonight' PPV. Here are some excerpts reprinted with permission.
AC: What does it make you feel seeing so many of the people who have worn that same belt move on in their careers? C.M. is a big part of WWE right now. Bryan Danielson is in WWE. Nigel McGuinness is in TNA. Samoa Joe is a former TNA world champion? Is that sort of an added pressure for you - to follow in those footsteps and one day graduate from Ring of Honor and accomplish something bigger?
TB: I love the position I’m in right now and I love being in Ring of Honor. My goal as a professional wrestler is to touch as many people as I can. I want to inspire people the way I was inspired at that age, when I was 16 and younger. I want to inspire kids in that way – to follow their dreams and not let silly things like life get in their way. So if that stage is Ring of Honor, that would be amazing. If I could touch that many people, that’s awesome. But if it’s elsewhere then I just hope for the best. To carry that belt around, I’m very proud of that and hopefully I can have the same success that guys like Punk and Joe and now Bryan and Nigel are having.
AC: What have you thought about what you’ve seen from Bryan and Nigel lately. Here you’re talking two guys – and maybe Bryan is a better example – guys who were at the top of your company, and with Bryan coming in to WWE at sort of the bottom, and being called a rookie on NXT. Do you have any objections to that? Do you think that’s fair, considering how big WWE is?
TB: That’s just how they do their thing. They’re very – I don’t know the word – they’re a very self-centered corporation when it comes to that. They like to think they’re the only thing out there. But the fact is they’re not. And some people might look at the situation and think that Bryan or Nigel - Bryan, as you said, being the better example – is discouraged. But I think he looks at it as more like a challenge. You have to understand that when he was at the top of Ring of Honor, he had reached the pinnacle of that mountain. He couldn’t go any further. So it was like he came to the top of the mountain and he looked over and he saw this other mountain – this bigger mountain that he was able to climb. So I think it’s exciting for him - I know it would be for me - to start at the bottom and work your way up, because the journey is more than half the fun half the time. I really have enjoyed my climb and ascension to the top of Ring of Honor.
AC: Let me ask you another WWE question that relates to Ring of Honor. Recently WWE banned chair shots to the head. As part of their wellness policy now, I guess they could suspend guys for hitting each other on the head with steel chairs. And you’ve seen them move away from that – now mostly doing the chair shots across the back, like they used to do years ago. And that’s one place I’ve heard Ring of Honor criticized – that when you go in that direction of the hardcore stuff it could be pretty violent and dangerous. I’ve seen some of the chair shots and some of the bumps that guys take. Would you like to see a similar philosophy in Ring of Honor, and maybe all of wrestling, where guys are a little more careful with stuff like that?
TB: Yeah, and you know what, we actually, as a locker room, discussed this. And if you’ll notice, on the next set of TV tapings, there’s not much in the way of head shots. I can’t say there’s none, because sometimes Necro (Butcher) is pretty unpredictable. But we pretty much decided as a consensus that we don’t want to do that either, and that’s a great thing. I’m glad that WWE has decided to back to their roots with that sort of thing, because it’s really not safe and it’s causing guys’ careers to be short, and that’s not good for anybody. That’s not good for business, and that’s not good for families and friends in general. Hopefully, that becomes more of a trend and safety in the business becomes more of a trend, because I know over the last decade some of that caution has been thrown to the wind a little bit, as far as head drops and chair shots and guys taking care of each other. So hopefully we can get back to that and we can have longer, healthier careers.
AC: Is it sort of daunting for you being so young in the business and thinking how much there might be left to go? You look at WrestleMania XXVI this past weekend, which headlined with two guys who were nearly 50 years old. You’d have another 20-plus years to go before you’d have that much experience. Are you in it for the long haul and do you see yourself like Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker doing this in your mid-to-late 40s?
TB: You know, maybe. I know I couldn’t do what I’m doing now for that long. But those guys have a little bit lighter schedule, as far as like what they’re doing in the ring. And they’re getting compensated a bit more than I am for their troubles. So I think if I were in their situations, I could probably do it a little bit longer up in to my 40s, and maybe 50s, depending on how my body felt. And that’s something that I would like to do. I said earlier in another interview, we don’t get retirement plans. We don’t have like 401Ks. We don’t get any of that stuff. So we’ve just got to make as much money as we can to try and support our families and give people around us a good life as well. We’re not the only ones involved in this. So yeah, I would love to do what they do and still headlining big shows when I’m that age and making a good living at it. That would be awesome.
AC: Bryan Danielson said in a recent NXT show that his career goal is to headline a WrestleMania. Do you think that’s a good career goal to have? Do you have a similar goal?
TB: As I said, my career goal is really to inspire as many people as I can. I know it sounds a bit hokey, but it’s just that the business touched me in that way and it changed my life. Not everybody has to be a pro wrestler. That’s not going to be their dream. But if I could get some kid to start up a band or do whatever, instead of following a beaten path that everybody tends to go along and hopefully encourage people to follow their dreams and make things happen in their lives, then that would be great. And, you know, headlining a WrestleMania is definitely a good way to start. You know, there were 72,000 people in Phoenix last Sunday, and that’s a hell of a lot of people to touch at one time.
AC: Did you watch the show?
TB: Yeah, actually it was my first live WrestleMania.
AC: So what was it like for you?
TB: It was crazy, man. I’ve never seen that many people in what spot at the same time. I’ve been to some big concerts, but nothing that big. I went to an Ozzfest, where there were a lot of people walking around. But it’s nothing like that, where they’re all just concentrating, watching one single thing. It’s just crazy to have that many people watching pro wrestling, on their feet for every little thing.
AC: Where were you seated?
TB: I was sitting with a buddy of mine. We were probably like 40 or 50 rows back from the ring. It was really cool. We had a nice, nice view.
AC: Did a lot of Ring of Honor guys go?
TB: Not a lot. Maybe a couple of handfuls. Less than a dozen, I’d say.
AC: Were you there strictly as a fan, or did you get to spend any time meeting guys, back in the locker room, anything like that?
TB: No, I just wanted to watch it as a fan. I just wanted to take it in. I was never able to go to one when I was younger, and that was a good opportunity and I figured I’d take it up. It was cool.
AC: What do you think of this new tradition of Ring of Honor running shows in the city of WrestleMania every year? Have you seen that to be beneficial?
TB: Yeah, definitely. I know it’s good for us. We’re sort of piggy backing off of them. There’s no beating around the bush. But it’s good for us, because every year we’re in new markets. We’re in places that we never run, like Orlando, Houston, and now Phoenix. Next year we’ll be in Atlanta. These are places that we never go, just because they’re outside of our realm. It’s difficult for us to promote shows there. But every year those are some of our biggest crowds and our best shows. Every year we get upwards of a thousand people, I think, almost on both nights. So it’s nice, and the crowds are excited and some of the fans have never seen Ring of Honor. Some of them have never even heard of Ring of Honor. So it’s a good thing I think for everybody. They get a chance to have a good time and take in a lot of wrestling. And for us, it’s good for us business wise and it’s interesting, because you have people who come from Europe or Asia and they come all the way here just to watch wrestling. So it’s a good experience.
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AC: What does it make you feel seeing so many of the people who have worn that same belt move on in their careers? C.M. is a big part of WWE right now. Bryan Danielson is in WWE. Nigel McGuinness is in TNA. Samoa Joe is a former TNA world champion? Is that sort of an added pressure for you - to follow in those footsteps and one day graduate from Ring of Honor and accomplish something bigger?
TB: I love the position I’m in right now and I love being in Ring of Honor. My goal as a professional wrestler is to touch as many people as I can. I want to inspire people the way I was inspired at that age, when I was 16 and younger. I want to inspire kids in that way – to follow their dreams and not let silly things like life get in their way. So if that stage is Ring of Honor, that would be amazing. If I could touch that many people, that’s awesome. But if it’s elsewhere then I just hope for the best. To carry that belt around, I’m very proud of that and hopefully I can have the same success that guys like Punk and Joe and now Bryan and Nigel are having.
AC: What have you thought about what you’ve seen from Bryan and Nigel lately. Here you’re talking two guys – and maybe Bryan is a better example – guys who were at the top of your company, and with Bryan coming in to WWE at sort of the bottom, and being called a rookie on NXT. Do you have any objections to that? Do you think that’s fair, considering how big WWE is?
TB: That’s just how they do their thing. They’re very – I don’t know the word – they’re a very self-centered corporation when it comes to that. They like to think they’re the only thing out there. But the fact is they’re not. And some people might look at the situation and think that Bryan or Nigel - Bryan, as you said, being the better example – is discouraged. But I think he looks at it as more like a challenge. You have to understand that when he was at the top of Ring of Honor, he had reached the pinnacle of that mountain. He couldn’t go any further. So it was like he came to the top of the mountain and he looked over and he saw this other mountain – this bigger mountain that he was able to climb. So I think it’s exciting for him - I know it would be for me - to start at the bottom and work your way up, because the journey is more than half the fun half the time. I really have enjoyed my climb and ascension to the top of Ring of Honor.
AC: Let me ask you another WWE question that relates to Ring of Honor. Recently WWE banned chair shots to the head. As part of their wellness policy now, I guess they could suspend guys for hitting each other on the head with steel chairs. And you’ve seen them move away from that – now mostly doing the chair shots across the back, like they used to do years ago. And that’s one place I’ve heard Ring of Honor criticized – that when you go in that direction of the hardcore stuff it could be pretty violent and dangerous. I’ve seen some of the chair shots and some of the bumps that guys take. Would you like to see a similar philosophy in Ring of Honor, and maybe all of wrestling, where guys are a little more careful with stuff like that?
TB: Yeah, and you know what, we actually, as a locker room, discussed this. And if you’ll notice, on the next set of TV tapings, there’s not much in the way of head shots. I can’t say there’s none, because sometimes Necro (Butcher) is pretty unpredictable. But we pretty much decided as a consensus that we don’t want to do that either, and that’s a great thing. I’m glad that WWE has decided to back to their roots with that sort of thing, because it’s really not safe and it’s causing guys’ careers to be short, and that’s not good for anybody. That’s not good for business, and that’s not good for families and friends in general. Hopefully, that becomes more of a trend and safety in the business becomes more of a trend, because I know over the last decade some of that caution has been thrown to the wind a little bit, as far as head drops and chair shots and guys taking care of each other. So hopefully we can get back to that and we can have longer, healthier careers.
AC: Is it sort of daunting for you being so young in the business and thinking how much there might be left to go? You look at WrestleMania XXVI this past weekend, which headlined with two guys who were nearly 50 years old. You’d have another 20-plus years to go before you’d have that much experience. Are you in it for the long haul and do you see yourself like Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker doing this in your mid-to-late 40s?
TB: You know, maybe. I know I couldn’t do what I’m doing now for that long. But those guys have a little bit lighter schedule, as far as like what they’re doing in the ring. And they’re getting compensated a bit more than I am for their troubles. So I think if I were in their situations, I could probably do it a little bit longer up in to my 40s, and maybe 50s, depending on how my body felt. And that’s something that I would like to do. I said earlier in another interview, we don’t get retirement plans. We don’t have like 401Ks. We don’t get any of that stuff. So we’ve just got to make as much money as we can to try and support our families and give people around us a good life as well. We’re not the only ones involved in this. So yeah, I would love to do what they do and still headlining big shows when I’m that age and making a good living at it. That would be awesome.
AC: Bryan Danielson said in a recent NXT show that his career goal is to headline a WrestleMania. Do you think that’s a good career goal to have? Do you have a similar goal?
TB: As I said, my career goal is really to inspire as many people as I can. I know it sounds a bit hokey, but it’s just that the business touched me in that way and it changed my life. Not everybody has to be a pro wrestler. That’s not going to be their dream. But if I could get some kid to start up a band or do whatever, instead of following a beaten path that everybody tends to go along and hopefully encourage people to follow their dreams and make things happen in their lives, then that would be great. And, you know, headlining a WrestleMania is definitely a good way to start. You know, there were 72,000 people in Phoenix last Sunday, and that’s a hell of a lot of people to touch at one time.
AC: Did you watch the show?
TB: Yeah, actually it was my first live WrestleMania.
AC: So what was it like for you?
TB: It was crazy, man. I’ve never seen that many people in what spot at the same time. I’ve been to some big concerts, but nothing that big. I went to an Ozzfest, where there were a lot of people walking around. But it’s nothing like that, where they’re all just concentrating, watching one single thing. It’s just crazy to have that many people watching pro wrestling, on their feet for every little thing.
AC: Where were you seated?
TB: I was sitting with a buddy of mine. We were probably like 40 or 50 rows back from the ring. It was really cool. We had a nice, nice view.
AC: Did a lot of Ring of Honor guys go?
TB: Not a lot. Maybe a couple of handfuls. Less than a dozen, I’d say.
AC: Were you there strictly as a fan, or did you get to spend any time meeting guys, back in the locker room, anything like that?
TB: No, I just wanted to watch it as a fan. I just wanted to take it in. I was never able to go to one when I was younger, and that was a good opportunity and I figured I’d take it up. It was cool.
AC: What do you think of this new tradition of Ring of Honor running shows in the city of WrestleMania every year? Have you seen that to be beneficial?
TB: Yeah, definitely. I know it’s good for us. We’re sort of piggy backing off of them. There’s no beating around the bush. But it’s good for us, because every year we’re in new markets. We’re in places that we never run, like Orlando, Houston, and now Phoenix. Next year we’ll be in Atlanta. These are places that we never go, just because they’re outside of our realm. It’s difficult for us to promote shows there. But every year those are some of our biggest crowds and our best shows. Every year we get upwards of a thousand people, I think, almost on both nights. So it’s nice, and the crowds are excited and some of the fans have never seen Ring of Honor. Some of them have never even heard of Ring of Honor. So it’s a good thing I think for everybody. They get a chance to have a good time and take in a lot of wrestling. And for us, it’s good for us business wise and it’s interesting, because you have people who come from Europe or Asia and they come all the way here just to watch wrestling. So it’s a good experience.
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