Tough career, what made you choose it?
The usual way. I was a theatre graduate and that career wasn’t going so well, so I tried wrestling. I found I picked up things pretty easily. Three months after starting training I was in the ring. Here’s some advice. Don’t mess with a theatre graduate.
Who do you most admire?
There are loads of guys, with Chris Sabin and Samoa Joe among them. My tag partner Kazarian is one hell of a wrestler. You haven’t seen a fraction of what he’s capable of.
If you weren’t a wrestler what would you do?
Beat people up. Not really. Before I got into all this I was a big comic book fan, so perhaps I’d run a comic book store. There are a bunch of comic book fans in this business. Hey, it’s all about superheroes.
How badly have you been hurt?
I mistimed a move in 2001 and broke a bone in my neck. Standard. And I busted the anterior cruciate ligament in my right leg, and a shoulder tendon. I have bits missing.
How badly have you hurt someone else?
I’ve popped guys’ shoulders and that sort of thing. But that’s the equivalent of getting a paper cut if you work in an office. We hardly notice that stuff. If you can get out of bed you can fight. I’d never want to hurt someone so bad their career would be threatened.
What would be your choice of weapon?
I see myself as 100 per cent wrestler and I want to win using those skills. Ok, so I hit AJ Styles with a stepladder. That’s just being flexible. And I’ll swing the odd chair. People aren’t always expecting that.
How do you like to finish them off?
It’s got to be the moonsault, a back flip off the top rope or a ladder to land on the other guy. I just found it was the thing that was getting the biggest response from the crowd. What goes through my head? “Whooooooaaahhh – ouch!”
There are lot of rivalries and vendettas. Ever lose track?
You keep it straight in your head because you don’t want to get in the middle of something by mistake. It probably helps I have an acting background, so I can remember a bunch of story lines. But yeah, it’s a crazy world.
So, tell us about Hardcore Justice.
It’s gonna be brutal. I’m in a ladder match with three other guys including AJ Styles and I want to beat that guy. I think my rivalry with AJ is one of those things that’ll define my career. Aries and Bobby Roode are going to put on a real show. They’re in great shape. They could be in a different shape on the way out.
What’s your favourite cheese?
Swiss.
