EC3 is slated to wrestle Thom Latimer at NWA Hard Times 3 on November 12.
While speaking Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone, EC3 was asked whether his feud with Latimer is allowing him to do the kind of storytelling he’s looking for.
“Yeah, this definitely intrigues me, and I think Thom Latimer’s… if it’s real, people feel it. If it’s real, we as the talents feel it. I think Thom Latimer’s real story is so intriguing because I’ve known him such a long time, from FCW days and just him pegged as being a top guy in any company. He is a superstar, he low-key has moves, he has work ethic, he has the ability to, like a natural charisma about him. The guy is a first-round draft pick star, and the only thing that ever defeated him were his own demons. So he had a hard time, from WWE to IMPACT, where he battled himself, and that’s been his toughest point [until] me. But I still feel like, now that he’s on this path, he’s happy in life, he’s happy in marriage, he’s happy in his career, happiness can breed complacency, and I think for a guy like Thom Latimer to truly reach his top potential, he has to finally quell every demon he has, and if that takes me to bring them out of them, then that will be the case.”
The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion described how he feels like he’s more of an idea than a wrestler because he wants to help people tell their stories.
“At this point, I’ve become more of an idea than just a wrestler, in my mind. I want to bring people to their best. I want them to control their narrative, to be able to tell their story. The real stories of some these talents I choose are so much intriguing than can be written and produced. Their realities are what make feel emotions and feel something within themselves. To bring their stories to the forefront in a realistic manner, that is the storytelling I’m looking to do. At the same time, I’m going through hell personally, professionally, like maybe I’m projecting my own demons onto a guy like that and using him as an escape from myself. So I think it’s very layered and go a multitude of directions. NWA allows that freedom to kind of let the talent explore their own stories because [NWA President Billy] Corgan as a leader knows we know our own selves better than anybody knows us,” EC3 said.