Pro-wrestling star Big Damo (fka as Killian Dain in WWE) recently appeared on the Two Man Power Trip podcast to discuss his stint in AEW, and how much he enjoyed the backstage atmosphere of the company. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
What he thought of the backstage atmosphere in AEW:
“AEW had all the production and pomp and circumstance of WWE. All of the crew and everything they’ve done backstage. It felt very like WWE without the walking on the eggshells and difficulty with everything else. Without the anxiety, which was very unusual and different. It was full of familiar faces. I had a very bizarre…almost every 10 to 20 minutes, I’d run into somebody else who I absolutely adored who I’d met through the Indies before WWE, at WWE itself, or even on the Indies after WWE. It was a very unusual experience, but it was awesome.”
Discusses in detail how his AEW appearance came to fruition:
“It was about a month before, they got in touch and were like, ‘are you going to be free this day?’ ‘Sure, absolutely.’ It almost changed to the week before and then it got changed back to the original date. THe joys of live television, things change here and there with what happens with so many moving parts. I knew a few weeks before and I kept it kayfabe from even my own friends, some of the guys I have many group chats with, I kept it very quiet from them. In this industry, everything changes so much, you’re really not sure one day to the next. You’re kind of guarded in a way and you want to make sure people see you when it’s out as opposed to ‘this might be happening’ and it doesn’t. In my younger days, that would happen a lot. Over the last ten years, things have gotten more professional. You still have that guarded nature.”
Says he’s jealous that the roster gets to experience a hot crowd like that every week:
“I’m almost jealous of the lads and ladies who get to work in front of that every week.”
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)