Earlier today I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Ring of Honor star LSG, where we chatted about his training at the Monster Factory, his character development, the return of the Pure match rules, how he has his eye on a match with Television champion Dragon Lee, and who he would put on his Mount Rushmore of ROH wrestlers. Full video interview is below.
Who he would put on Ring of Honor’s Mount Rushmore:
Definitely have to go with Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, and…I wish I could put the Briscoes as one person.
*we agreed that the Briscoes could be considered as one entity.
I’m going with that then. Briscoes, Jay Lethal Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan.
Says all those men build the foundation and legacy that ROH has:
I just think about the lasting impact they had. The legacy and the foundation that they’ve built. Guys like the Briscoes and Lethal have been there forever. Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan…they set a precedence for what Ring of Honor should be and what it should be like. I love that. Ring of Honor in 2021 is trying to recapture that feeling they brought 15 years ago and I think we’re doing a good job of that.
Talks about his training at the Monster Factory:
I feel like my story can be very motivating. I showed up at the Monster Factory, I had a little bit of experience before that, and I remember Danny Cage saying “you’ll be alright. I think you’ll be in good hands.” Then you fast forward and I’m capturing all the championships there. I’m taking everything I’ve learned at Monster Factory and taking it to places like ROH and traveling the world. So my experience has definitely been different…I’ve haven’t gotten a tryout for WWE or worked for WWE but I’ve taking everything I’ve learned and applied it. So far so good.
Whether he feels like he’s shown fans in ROH who LSG is:
Yeah. I think, especially with the new approach to showcase some talent, and just the way the show overall is produced, I think everyone is getting their voice out there. I think people are finally hearing my story. What motivated me to work for ROH, and what working for ROH means to me now, and how it affects that 15-year old who was going to ROH shows. It’s basically a full circle moment. I think finally after like five years at ROH…people know what I sound like. They know what my motivation is, they know what kind of person I am, and they know what drives me. I think my story is way different than anyone else. I was literally going to every ROH event I could in the tristate area with my brother and my cousins. We would not miss a show. It was one of those things where, “I need to be there. I need to wrestle here at some point.” That motivated me. I don’t think other guys have that same experience or had that same path.
On ROH bringing back the Pure Championship and the Pure Match rules:
I know we use the word foundation a lot and you’re going to hear it a lot coming from Jonathan Gresham. Getting to the foundation and basically going back to the roots of the company as a sport, and treating wrestling as a sport, and the best way to treat it as a sport is to have rules in place. I think that weeds out the people who can’t hang, the people who aren’t cut out for what we do in the ring. The demand for what kind of action and what kind of wrestling we have at ROH is very VERY high. There’s always room for characters things like that but if you can’t keep up in the ring you can’t keep up with ROH, and having these rules in place is like a test I think. You’ve seen all the guys go through the tournament and compete in Pure Rules matches with the foundation guys…everyone is being put to the test. Who can hang, who can stick around and stick with the best. I think having those rules in place…it’s great because it makes us stand out. No one else is doing anything like that. Traditionalists like it…it’s also bringing in new fans.
Which title he has his eye on and why Dragon Lee is one of the very best:
Well right now I’m technically part of the TV championship rankings and I definitely have my eye set on Dragon Lee. That’s a match that I’ve wanted for a very VERY long time. I think we would have a banger of a match and he’s one of the best out there at what he does. I would love to put myself in a position to succeed and test myself against a guy like him. He’s actually one of the guys I’ve never been in the ring with at ROH. I think it would be a fresh matchup, I think it’d be pretty cool. We’ll see. There are other guys in the division like Tony Deppen who I’m wrestling this week, guys like Brian Johnson. They’re all tough…but I think destiny awaits and it’s going to be me and Dragon Lee at some point.
His upcoming events with WrestlePro in Alaska:
We’ve got some awesome stuff coming up with WrestlePro, which is my home company in New Jersey. We’re going to Alaska for our fourth tour. We are doing five events in ten days, all of the events will be streamed live on Facebook for free. So definitely check that out in April. We are going to be in Alaska making history.
