Moose made an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet to discuss a wide range of topics. Here are some of the highlights:
How he was given his name:
“Michael Vick actually gave me the name I think. It stems all the way from my rookie year when I was in Atlanta. There was a guy that was called Moose a few years before I got there. I guess I looked like him so that was how I got the name. I hated it at first. I wanted to be called Tank, because everyone called me that in high school, but the rule in the NFL is you don’t get to pick your nickname, so it just stuck with me.”
Why he signed with Impact Wrestling instead of taking WWE’s offer for ‘Tough Enough:’
“I remember doing the try out, and they were like, ‘Hey, we really like you, but all we can offer you is a shot on ‘Tough Enough’. For me, I was in the position where Moose was going to be a household name. I didn’t want to stop everything and start fresh. I was set to sign back with Ring of Honor, and I got hit up by Impact. They told me they would pay me 4 or 5 times more what I was going to be offered for my 3rd contract. To me, I looked at Ring of Honor, no disrespect, as a big name indie. I saw TNA as an actual wrestling company because of all the history they had. This was my chance to go and play with the big boys, so I joined TNA, which is now Impact Wrestling.”
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription