NWA world’s champion Nick Aldis recently spoke with Spencer Love and Love Wrestling to discuss a number of different topics, including what stars he has his eyes on to join the NWA, how Trevor Murdoch has finally been given a place to shine, and plans for his Strictly Business faction. Highlights are below.
On NWA giving Trevor Murdoch a chance to prove himself:
“Well, I’m glad you mentioned Trevor because that’s – one of the things that’s almost really become a calling card of the brand is we’ve taken the guys that didn’t get the chance to really showcase themselves to their fullest potential. Because of the somewhat cold-hearted nature of wrestling, sometimes, it can be kind of like you’re written off. That’s it. If you don’t happen to have the right connections, or you don’t happen to appeal to the right type of fans, it’s like your skillset can be greatly underutilized. That was Trevor Murdoch. I’ve known Trevor since I went to Harley’s camp in 2007, and at the time, he was on the road with WWE at that time. In my mind, I was like, ‘wow, it’s so cool that this guy’s a WWE star, and he’s taking his two days at home off the road to come and help us. That’s so cool.’ To get it to come sort of full circle – we didn’t give him anything. He took it. All we did was say, ‘I think you might be a good fit. It was literally just one of the ‘hey, what about Trevor Murdoch?’ And Billy went, ‘oh, yeah, that’s a good shout! Let’s try him!’ He walked out on that first episode of Powerrr, or I think it was the first episode, and you could just feel the people in the building go ‘oh, yeah,’ because now the shoe fits. Finally, Cinderella found the right slipper. You know what I mean? It’s like they go ‘oh, man, we kind of forgot about this guy, but yes! He’s great. He’s believable. He’s a good worker, and he fits so well in this. It was this sort of double whammy, right, this one-two punch where people went ‘oh, yeah, this guy’s legit.’ And then, they also went, ‘oh, I’m starting to get a feeling of what this show is going to be about, and what this brand is going to be about.’ So it was this kind of one-two [punch]. As much as I represent the NWA in many different ways – a lot of people have been very kind and made some very lofty comparisons, and I won’t share those. But, I try to honor the sort of standard set by guys like [Ric] Flair and Nick Bockwinkel and Harley [Race]. As much as I sort of appeal with that particular taste, Trevor appeals on the type of tastes of people who like Dick the Bruiser, or Dusty Rhodes. That’s really what we’re about. We just want really good pro wrestlers here. Good, solid, believable pro wrestlers, and Trevor, he’s upper echelon now and I’m sure he’s going to prove it as we move forward.”
On Kamille and Tom Latimer developing a real life relationship and how Strictly Business is recruiting:
“Well, look, here’s the thing: Strictly Business was a group that was kind of born out of my real-life friendship with Tom Latimer and, obviously, my association with Kamille. Then, they fell in love and developed their own real-life romance. So, I was like, ‘look at this! It’s worked out great!’ And so, it’s kind of like our whole – I said it makes sense for us to be a group because we all look out for each other’s back. We’re all going to be, and we all know, and I think this is one of the reasons why for the most part I kind of – I think I’d like to say I have the respect of most of the guys on the roster is that I am Strictly Business. If it’s good for the company, if it’s going to help move us along, I’m gonna do it. As long as it doesn’t hurt me, and that’s the that’s okay, too.”
On being an independent contractor:
“I was having this conversation yesterday with a friend of mine who’s in NXT. I said, ‘you know, somewhere along the line, people have sort of manipulated this narrative that it’s wrong to sort of look out for yourself.’ And I’m like, ‘no, it’s absolutely necessary to look out for yourself. That’s why we’re independent contractors.’ I’m not saying you have to be difficult. I’m just saying you have to – of course, you’re thinking of yourself! You’re your business product. I’m in the retail business. My sports nutrition company, my supplement company, LegacySupps.com, we’re in the process right now where we’re having some conversations with some major retailers. At some point, the conversation is going to shift to like, positioning on the shelves, and how you guys gonna put in, it’s like, no one’s sitting there going, like, ‘Oh, he’s not a team player! He’s not just happy to be in the store!’ I’m gonna go there [and say] ‘hey, why is my sh** on the top shelf in the back corner? Put my sh** in the middle!’ You know what I mean? It’s the same. It’s business! Everyone should be vying to be like, ‘I want to be in the main event. I want to be the world champion!’ I’m sitting there going, ‘hey, I want you to try to be in it because it helps make me better because I don’t want you to take over my spot.’ There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not a popularity contest based on like, ‘who’s the nicest to the fans on the internet?’ You know what I mean? Or, ‘who’s the one who deserves it the most?’ The guy who deserves it the most is the guy who’s going to help pull the wagon the best.”
Who else he thinks would do well in the NWA:
“As far as other people? I’ve mentioned a few times that I think that Joe Hennig would be a good fit for NWA. I think he’s a guy that was presented in a way that was certainly not representative of what he offers [and] certainly not representative of his incredible lineage. But again, where we talk about our values [of] legacy, tradition, we more than respect our elders, we revere them. So, for a guy who’s part of one of the greatest wrestling lineages of all time? Hey, man, he could have a jacket. He could earn a jacket. And like, look, let’s talk about Chris Adonis. I’ve known Chris for a long time. I first booked him in India 10 years ago.”
How pro-wrestlers reach the maturity as a performer in their 30s:
“Look at the median age of the WWE roster now. Most of the champions are over 40, which is kind of funny when you consider, you know, Mickie’s release and all that. That’s another story for another day. But, the point is, the maturity as a performer in this business comes [in your] late 30s, early 40s. Throughout history, the best – every now and then there’s an exception. There are major anomalies. The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton. There are others, Shawn Michaels. But, for the most part, the guys are doing their best work in their late 30s, early 40s, because they found themselves, they’ve got respect, they’ve got a gravitas to them, they’ve got a maturity to them, they look like grown men. They’re people that appeal across the board to children and adults alike. It’s the sweet spot for wrestling, and for whatever reason, people have sort of co-opted that and tried to compare it to real sports, like, ‘what’s the big problem? What’s the major problem with the young guys?’ They’re not getting a push, because they’re not ready. They’re not getting a push, because they’ve got three years’ experience. Do you have any idea how much experience you need to be f**king good at this? It’s a lot! I’ve worked with a who’s-who of wrestling, and I didn’t even begin to find myself until I hit 30. And, by the time I hit 30, I’d wrestled Sting, AJ Styles Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode. Kurt Angle!”