On what led to his signing:
“William Regal came to a wrestling show I was taking part in in California almost a year ago exactly, I believe it was Aug. 31 of last year, and it was for PWG, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. The match I had that night, I think did a lot. I had never met William Regal before; I didn’t know him at all. I had great respect for him already; he’s actually been one of my favorite wrestlers for quite some time. To have him watch my match and take the time to tell me what he thought and give me advice was already great, but then a couple days later, I was contacted to see if I wanted to be part of a tryout camp. Just to have somebody like William Regal have enough esteem for me to go as far as to actually recommend me for a tryout meant a lot. Then I went to the tryout camp and I got through it, and what made me stand out were the promos, where we basically had to sell ourselves verbally. That’s always been one of my strong suits — the way I talk and what I say. I make it count, and I think that went pretty far in getting me to where I am now.”
On meeting Stone Cold and his advice:
“I don’t think I would’ve had the success I’ve had if I hadn’t met him. I mean, I may have figured it out on my own eventually, but him telling me that in 2005 really put it into my head. And then I realized it made sense, because if you look at “Stone Cold” or The Rock — you know, the biggest WWE Superstars there have ever been — at that time, in 2005, they weren’t full-time actors, but they were still the biggest names in wrestling. Steve Austin was my favorite wrestler from the moment I saw him. When he came into WWE at the time as The Ringmaster, I was already sold on him.”
