AEW superstar Christian Cage was the latest guest on the Talk Is Jericho podcast to discuss all things pro-wrestling, including the main differences between WWE and AEW, how he felt winning a world title, and what was his favorite matchup he’s had in WWE. Highlights are below.
What he thinks are the biggest differences between WWE and AEW:
“WWE has their way of doing things, and it works for them. And I’ve been there for years, and I have nothing bad to say about my time there or what WWE has done for me and put me in the position to do. But [AEW] seems less hectic to me and less frantic in a sense. I felt like the talent were more sure of themselves as performers and what they were going to do. That was my initial thought. Obviously, it’s a very young roster with a lot of thirst for knowledge. I really felt that there was a real thirst for knowledge, and I didn’t even think about it because when I first got there that night, I got there very late on the first night. I showed up and the pay-per-view had already started. I went on a bus, and I was sitting in there. And Cody was in there, and we were talking. He was saying, ‘This is a big deal that you’re here,’ and I was like, ‘Aw, thanks man. I appreciate it.’ He goes, ‘No, not just for fans but for everybody in the back here. You and I, we grew up on [Hulk] Hogan, on Macho Man, on all those superstars like that. Everybody back here grew up on you. They grew up on Jericho. This is a big deal. When you walk through there, watch their jaws drop. That’s what’s going to happen.’ I was like, man, I didn’t really think about it like that. It’s humbling. It really is, so it was a cool moment.”
Reflects on winning a world title in WWE:
“I did overachieve. I take a lot of pride in overachieving. I willed myself into those spots. They weren’t gonna be handed to me or given to me, but you have to get the point where you don’t really give them a choice. Timing is everything as well. [Edge] got injured and was gonna retire, and the feel-good thing to do was to have me beat Del Rio. I get it, but also, everything I’d done to that point, if it didn’t stand up, it wouldn’t even be a consideration. All the things I was doing was equity towards that moment. This is the situation, you make the best of it, and I went in and had the best feud I’ve ever had of my career against Randy [Orton] and proved I deserved to be on that level. That can never be taken away.”
Names his favorite match he’s had in WWE:
“I think probably the Over the Limit match against Randy Orton. It’s so hard to do a babyface/babyface match and have people fully invest in it. I think just the story of Randy beating me after this culmination of me taking 15 years to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and then he beating me five days later for it. This was my first opportunity to cash in and get my immediate rematch. I just remember that building, and it was like a soccer stadium. Half the arena was chanting for him, half the arena was chanting for me. They were on their feet the entire match. To me, that also takes a great match to a different level. I just though the story we told, the pacing, the emotion – the look of just being drained that I left it all out there and it still wasn’t enough. That was kind of the starting point of my heel turn.”
(H/T and transcribed by 411 Mania)
