AEW star and former olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo spoke with Wrestling Inc. earlier today to hype this evening’s Double or Nothing pay per view, where Ogogo is set to take on the American Dream Cody Rhodes in a high-stakes grudge match.
During the interview the hard-hitting Brit reveals that WWE actually offered him more money than AEW, but he chose the latter because he believe in President Tony Khan’s vision. Highlights below.
How he gave everything to boxing and ended up blind in one eye:
“I was the first boxer in the world to ever be signed to a long-term deal with Nike. That’s how notorious I was in the UK, in the world. I was signed to Subway for five years. I had some proper top, top brands sponsoring me, and because of that, I have to be the corporate guy. I couldn’t go on Twitter and call this person a c**t because I was representing them as well as myself. And then I did that. And what did I get out of my boxing career? I’m blind in my left eye.”
How he’s going to be his true self:
“I didn’t achieve the things I wanted to achieve, and I left thinking, I should have been me. I was me. I’m nice in many aspects. I’m respectful and polite, and if you respect me, I respect you. If I think you’re an a**hole, then I will treat you like you’re an a**hole. I’m just going to be unapologetically me. I’m getting a bonus career, I didn’t think I was ever going to be a wrestler. I thought I was going to be a boxer. This is bonus for me. I’m going to be me.”
Says WWE offered him more money than AEW but he believed in Tony Khan’s vision:
“That’s why I didn’t go to WWE. They offered me more money than AEW. I didn’t join them because I believe in Tony Khan’s vision. I believed in Cody Rhodes’ vision. I believe in AEW’s vision. I love being a part of AEW. I love how the team give a f**k about their wrestlers. If I’m going through a tough time in a minute, I’m getting texts from the management asking me if I’m okay daily. They care about the people rather than the money. The other place, they seem to care about money first and people if at all. We care about other people first because they know that a happy workplace creates good stuff.”