On his current on-screen feud with Hook:
I’m just trying to talk some sense into the kid. I mean that with all due respect because he’s an adult, but you know, everyone’s a me as a kid. Yeah. I mean, when he first started he was staying at my house, you know, ordering his Zoe’s kitchen. And then I don’t know what happened. I mean, he went to Team Taz to go train with his dad. And, you know, they’ve got their little team Taz dojo, which I’ve yet to see. But I know there is one because I have some videos. It might just be another facility. Who knows? Anyway, I do know that his whole mindset has changed, his attitude has changed. And, you know, again, when you win a match, I feel even as mean as I am you can leave the guy alone afterwards. And after he did what he did to Aaron (Solo), I got in there and just tried to talk to him, spun him around, and you know, he got me, I’ll admit it. And then this past week, again, I’m just trying to explain to the audience because the audience is really behind this guy right now. And I can’t comprehend why. You know, he does have really nice hair. He’s got a unique look, he’s different than everybody else. But at the same time, you know, he’s breaking all the rules. And I don’t know if we’re going back to the Attitude Era of wrestling where the bad guys are cool, but I kind of see myself as a bad guy. And every time I go out there, I hear “QT sucks,” and I stop. So I don’t know. You know, I will say this, if I do get the opportunity…I’ve probably forgotten more than he’s ever learned. I mean, he’s obviously doing something right because he looks incredible out there. So it’s just a matter of time. I don’t know if that’s the fish I want to go after right now. I’m just trying to talk some sense you know, and he just seems like he doesn’t care about hurting me.
How Hook’s popularity took off from meme culture:
I think Cody did an interview recently where he, you know, with all respect to Hook, he kind of related it to Fandango. Like Fandango, the night after WrestleMania was the most over guy in the company, right? But, you know, I don’t know what happened there. And I can’t speak to what happened there. I can speak to the ideas and ideologies that I think Hook has for himself and Tony probably has for him, and it’s just about you know, keeping them special. I think that is because he does have something. He’s a good looking guy, like I said cool hair… different. There’s a mystique to him. He’s not all over social media. It’s just all the stuff that intrigues people. And that’s a huge huge thing in professional wrestling. I think the moment you know, we let everyone in on on what’s going on is the moment that they stopped caring. He’s definitely off to the right start.
Getting the chance to work with CM Punk:
Yeah, I mean, I forget where we were the week before, wherever we were. I was getting ready to go out there to do something else. And Tony pulled me aside and kind of gave me the heads up of what was going on and that I had to go you know, do this promo and all this stuff. And I was thinking like Okay, you know, let’s hope, deep down, let’s hope this isn’t what I think it’s gonna be, which is, you know, ding, ding, ding finisher 1,2,3. It’s Punk and MJF. I know I’m just a vessel to kind of continue their story. But I also want to, you know, have fun and prove something because if not, I’m not saying it’s not worth getting in there with CM Punk, no matter how long the match is, but at the same time, you know, that the spot could be given to someone else if that was the deal. It wasn’t the deal, though. We kind of spoke about it. And I kinda understood what the things were that we were trying to get across. And, yeah, I mean, to know that he had to go through the segment before that, which was like 20 something minutes between him and Max. I know, he’s a very old school kind of guy, like, let me just hear what you’re gonna say or do and I’ll feed off of that, and the energy and this, that and the other. And I’m a very old school kind of guy, when it comes to in-ring stuff, especially when it’s my turn to take over. When it’s my turn to take over, I like to just kind of free flow and see what’s out there and see how the fans are reacting and try to bring them up and down as much as I possibly can. It is hard because on paper you kind of know what the outcome is going to be. But it’s our job to try to change that. Right. Like, on any day, anyone could win in any sport, any wrestler match, whatever. So that’s kind of the mindset, I was really proud of that to be able to go out there on live TV. I know he was really happy afterwards. We were able to go out there, do what we do. And both of us were okay afterwards. At the end of the day I know there’s a lot of people that, you know, because I do read Twitter, there are a lot of people that weren’t happy, the fact that we went as long as we did, but at the end of the day, there’s a million people watching and if 100 of them are upset, I don’t care. There’s just a lot of trust that goes along with having that kind of an opportunity. And I think that’s the biggest thing when you get a guy like Punk or or Bryan Danielson or any of these major stars that are coming in, you know, they want to be able to trust everybody because I’m sure in the other place they were at and for whatever reason, trust is a huge thing with these guys. And the fact that I do work with them behind the scenes as well. I think a lot of it were positives for him and he knew but also it was like maybe I could throw him a ball you know what I mean? Because I’m sure I don’t know how it works with him I know how it works for me but I’m sure he probably has a little bit of say in who he gets in the ring with so I think it just goes to show you how much I am trusted just not behind the scenes but in front of the camera in the ring as well.