Indie wrestling star O’Shay Edwards recently spoke with Post Wrestling’s Andrew Thompson about a variety of subjects, including what his experience was like in the ROH Bubble and why working the GCW For The Culture event was important. Highlights are below.
Discusses his experience in the ROH bubble:
“One thing I tell people all the time is people liked to crap on Ring of Honor for a while because it was the cool thing to do. ROH was never the joke, it was never the butt of the joke, never will be the butt of the joke and it’s proving it week after week with the Pure Title tournament, with the way it’s been handling its COVID protocols, with the way that it’s been handling just everything in general. It’s just one of those things where like it’s never been the butt of the joke, it never will be. People just do it because it’s the cool thing to do. But with that being said, being in the bubble was dope dawg! Yo! It was so dope. Yooo! Let me tell you man, they put me in like a hotel, was just like, ‘Stay here, we’ll come and get you.’ I brought some food, brought my XBOX and I was chilling man! Dude! Great! Can’t wait to do it again!”
On joining Shane Taylor promotions:
“Well actually it was Shane [Taylor] who got in contact with me and me wanting to work with Ring of Honor was literally because of guys like Shane, Kenny King, Jay Lethal and now guys like Jonathan Gresham. So, you know, the fact that Shane even knew my name, blew my mind because I work with my head down a lot. Like I just grind, grind, grind, grind, grind and then when somebody’s like, ‘Hey, get your flowers.’ Huh? What? Get my flowers? I’ve got work to do. Put ‘em over there, I got work to do, and so he approached me about what he wanted to do and he approached me about what he wanted to achieve and this isn’t so much just a Ring of Honor thing. This is something he wanted to put together, this is something he wanted to expand farther than just…This is a brand. Just like Nike don’t do just basketball, Under Armour just doesn’t do football. No, it goes, and he was like, ‘Hey man, this isn’t — I don’t want you to think this is anything where you’re gonna get signed to Ring of Honor’ but he’s like, ‘I see what you’ve been doing and I believe what you’ve been doing and what you’re trying to accomplish lines up to what Shane Taylor Promotions is all about and if you want, [you] don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do but if you want, opportunity’s on the table for you to be a part of it.’ I said yes. Hands down. That is it. All I needed was an opportunity so it was just one of those things where you know, Ring of Honor or not, I get to hitch my wagon to Shane Taylor Promotions. Hey man, are you mental? Yeah dawg. Yeah. I didn’t even let him finish. I was like yes.’”
On the importance of the GCW For The Culture Event:
“For The Culture was special. While people might have had their problems with other stuff that once again [is] outside of my control, I knew what it was and I knew what it could be, and I wanna be a part of it. But to be a part of that show, one, to be a part of it was humbling. Even to be asked was humbling. But then get a chance to sit back and watch it was amazing. I can’t even do that justice and put it into words, but to see AR Fox and 2 Cold Scorpio man, I called my dad and I was like, ‘Aye, old man, 2 Cold Scorpio’s wrestling right now in front of my eyes.’ My dad was like, ‘Yo, I remember watching him when me and you were watching TV.’ I’m like, ‘Dad, –’ he’s like, ‘He’s old.’ I’m like, ‘Yo, he’s killing it right now. He’s flipping everywhere.’ He’s like, ‘What!?’ I’m like, ‘Dad, you have no idea how it’s all come full circle to me.’ I was able to talk to him after and stuff. I’m like, ‘Hey man, I’m just a young dude trying to shake a legend’s hand.’ I told him, ‘Man, me and my dad used to watch you wrestle and I told my dad and he was in awe that you were still doing it at such a high level,’ and he looked at me and he was like, ‘Hey man, I appreciate that, I appreciate you.’ He goes, ‘Man look, I just wanna wrestle, go back to my room, smoke a little bit and chill’ and I was like, ‘My man.’ But, being a part of that show was great. It shed a light on something at least for everybody on that show [that] we already knew. We’re stars, regardless if you know who we are or not. We are your favorite wrestler’s favorite wrestler regardless, even if you have a shirt of [theirs] or not. We are just as good as everybody else, regardless just because I’m not on TV. I don’t need someone to tell me I’m elite to know that I’m elite. I know who I am, I know my worth and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let someone else take that from me.”
Full interview is below.