NWA World Heavyweight Champion EC3 made an appearance on The Kurt Angle Show to discuss a wide range of topics including his wrestling career. Here are the highlights:Â
On whether he got a fair shake during his first NXT run:Â
“And the two-time NXT rookie, four-time 24-seven champion? I mean, where’s my Hall of Fame induction? That was a real loser. The thing about NXT season four was nobody gave a shit about it. We were on the internet. In theory, though, we weren’t just on the internet. We were on international TV and millions of people were watching this horseshit. But the amount of care and priority our agents had, or our writers had or the office had for it was non-existent. So knowing that kind of made us better in a sense that, well, they don’t care. What can we get away with doing? So I think what was fun with that, especially with Daniel Bryan, who, even if it was Raw, wouldn’t care because he’s so nonchalant. But it cultivated a unique culture where we would just do things that were entertaining. And the sad thing was they started to get over and the show started picking up steam. And in classic, as Kurt would say, WWE being relentless fashion, they got mad. It was getting good. You’re not allowed to succeed. We’re trying to bury you. Why? Do you pay? You pay us money. And if we get over, we make you money. I don’t understand the concept, but sure, I will do what I’m told. Thank you.”
On whether he was disappointed about his WWE releases:Â
“No, I mean, of course, disappointed. The way I look at it, though, what changed from 2013 and the NXT run, then being fired to the 2020 run, is that I was able to leave and dare I say, control my narrative. And I went to Impact and I went to TNA and I became who I knew I could be with the ultimate culmination. Whereas in 2020, at the time, I was so checked out mentally and physically that when the call came, I was actually happy. Despite the fact we’re in a pandemic and I don’t know if wrestling is even going to exist, let alone will I ever make money doing this, let alone if the world will work. But it was kind of a relief in 2020. But the disappointment. It’s self-inflicted as it was, you know, passing blame to being underutilized or not booked properly or buried because. What I realized is I never once took it upon myself, perhaps to make myself. Like I never took the shot to sink or swim. Like, put it all out there because Kurt might tell you it’s very easy to fall in line and you very much. You want to be a good soldier. But the thing about the good soldiers is they’re usually the first ones to get shot. So but like going out there and doing what you’re told and you know, you’re, you’re capable of so much more in lieu of either showing them why by putting it all out there, even if that’s against the grain or the script or the white paper I’ve had, or it’s knocking on the door and just I think we talked about it earlier, kicking the door down and telling somebody who the fuck you really are, like, I did not do that. So, the disappointment in myself, not the company. You have to. Because if you don’t take the risk, you’re never going to know. And I would much rather have a third regret. I would have rather taken the risk and got fired on the spot then, you know, executed with 20 other people during a worldwide pandemic.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Kurt Angle Show with an h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
