AEW star Shawn Spears was on a recent episode of Busted Open Radio to talk all things pro wrestling. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
On television ratings:
In terms of ratings, I’m going to be honest with you, I could care less about ratings. That deals with tens of millions of dollars. That is a network ownership executive vice president conversation that I’m not required to be a part of. My job is to, whenever I have the opportunity to go in the ring, to put on the best in ring performance that I can with the guy I am working with. That is my focus each and every week.
Focusing on the in-ring product:
I’m going to take it back to after almost 19 years. I am going to focus on what I can control. That is the in-ring product. That is the part that I’m in control of. When the bell rings, in between the ropes, I’m in charge. No one can touch me. Behind the scenes, I’m not a politicker. I have a very hard time telling somebody they are right when I feel they are wrong. I have a very hard time telling somebody they are good when I feel they are not. That’s just me. I’m not disrespectful or unprofessional about it, but I’ll always be honest, which is crazy in the wrestling world.
On Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson appearing on tonight’s Dynamite:
Think about how crazy that is for a moment. In 2020, we are going to have Arn and Tully in the ring with the Rock ‘N Roll Express. Where else in the world would that happen? Nowhere. As a grown man, I am going to be a child sitting there. It’s like the older generation with the newer generation. It’s mind-blowing to think about.
On his old-school style:
Tully brought me back to that old school way of thinking. I can do some incredible stuff. I can springboard. I can flips and all of that too. But I’m not going to be able to do that better than Nick Jackson. I’m not going to be able to do that better than Pac. Or, I can slow things down. I can make facial expressions. I can tell a story with a simple little movement. One thing that always sticks in my mind, and Tully actually said this recently to me and it’s something Randy Orton told me. He said you can have 5 or 6 years of making fantastic money and have a broken body and be done with the business or you can make great money for 15, 20 or 25 years in this business, Longevity is a beautiful thing. A lot of young talent doesn’t think about that. I never thought about it until probably when I was in my mid 30’s, but it’s more paramount than ever.
(H/T and transcribed by Wrestling News)