Week In Wrestling: AJ Styles prepares for Payback

The Week in Wrestling covers AJ Styles title shot at Payback, reDRagon’s feud with The Young Bucks and the loss of Chyna.

SI.com’s Wrestling Week in Review is published every Wednesday and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.

News of the Week

AJ Styles will not win the WWE title on Sunday – but he is receiving something far more important.

The creative powers in the WWE are going all in with Styles. His upcoming feud with Finn Balor, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson should allow viewers to fully embrace and invest in his character. If that works, Styles’ slim odds for a title reign increase exponentially. The WWE has a certain mold for a champion – think John Cena and Roman Reigns – and Styles does not have the size or stature, nor is he a homegrown talent. But the fact that WWE is highlighting Styles in the main event – and in the angle with Anderson and Gallows – has this optimist with experience cautiously optimistic about the future of the “Phenomenal One.”

Gallows foreshadowed his upcoming turn when he said, “This friendship of ours is forever” on Monday. The road to the WWE championship is narrow, but with the upcoming storyline, Styles is being given a golden opportunity to shine.

Chyna, who passed away last week at age 46, was scheduled to break down the women’s title match at WrestleMania 32 for SI.com, but we decided to hold off and instead agreed upon an upcoming feature story. Chyna was a major player in the Attitude Era, which is the greatest renaissance in the history of the business, and she forever changed the role of women in sports entertainment. WWE delivered a touching tribute to her on Raw, and though it is extremely unlikely that she will ever enter the Hall of Fame posthumously, we can say with certainty that her candle burned out long before her legend ever will.

In other news…

• All hail Samoa Joe. The new NXT champion is only the eighth in company history, dethroning Finn Balor last Thursday after his record-breaking 292 days with the title. Based on the list of former champs–Balor, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Neville, Sami Zayn, Bo Dallas and Big E–the well-traveled Joe has the chance to be the most dominant NXT heel champion of all time.

• Shane McMahon looked extremely comfortable in his segment with Stephanie on Monday. Considering he’s been a big brother since he was six, the interaction was natural. Very curious to see the Shane-Triple H feud play out, but McMahon needs more mic time to be ready for “The Game,” who is arguably the most polished interview in the business.

• Jake “The Snake” Roberts was not the ideal roommate during his WWF run in the 1980’s. Roberts ran with “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, but he roomed with Duggan–until nature intervened: “Hacksaw and I made a lot of road trips together,” offered Roberts. “We shared a lot of hotel rooms together, too, until one night when I pulled his covers back and pissed on his leg. Then he wouldn’t share a room with me anymore.”

New Japan legend Hiroshi Tanahashi wants Ring of Honor world title

​• I watched ShinsukeNakamura and Asuka last Thursday at the NXT house show in Lowell, MA. Nakamura danced with the extremely green Elias Samson in a slow, dry match, and Asuka defeated Alexa Bliss in a mat-based, headlock driven affair that was even booed by the hardcore crowd. The matches reinforced the lack of depth–beyond Asuka and Bayley – in the NXT women’s division, and served as another reminder that Nakamura belongs on the main roster.

• Last Friday’s AXS TV viewing of New Japan Pro Wrestling featured AJ Styles’ final title defense of the IWGP championship from last July. KazuchikaOkada ended Styles’ reign at 144 days on July 5, 2015 in Osaka-jo Hall. AXS aired the 26-minute affair in its entirety, and the match built logically and sequentially to the climax in the final two minutes–which included Okada’s Tombstone piledriver, Styles’ Pele kick, as well as two attempts at the Styles Clash–and ended in spectacular fashion as Okada hit the Rainmaker to regain the title.

• Ring of Honor’s upcoming “Global Wars” pay per view–which takes place on May 8 and will be the cherry on top of a very happy Mother’s Day for about six women in the world–features a tag team match between HiroshiTanahashi and Michael Elgin against Okada and Moose. The chance to watch two legends in Tanahashi and Okada square off in an ROH ring is going to be the highlight of the show.

• RIP, League of Nations: 2015-2016. Looking forward to the DVD.

• Great to see Big E chant along to Enzo and Cass’ S-A-W-F-T. Remind me again why Big E–who has talent, charisma, and can work effectively as a heel and a face–isn’t competing for the world title?

• I’m surprised Machine Gun Anderson and Doc Gallows were booked cleanly over the Uso’s in their first match, but I was not surprised to see Roman Reigns clobber them both after the match on Raw. Welcome to the WWE, boys.

• Last week’s TNA main event between Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy could have highlighted any WWE pay per view not named SummerSlam, WrestleMania, or Night of Champions. Jeff Hardy admitted during the Jim Ross show during WrestleMania weekend that his return to the WWE is “inevitable.”

Weekly Top 10

1.) AJ Styles, WWE

Styles did the unimaginable on Monday, making a match with Sheamus compelling, and has his date with destiny this Sunday in a title match against Roman Reigns.

2.) Kevin Owens, WWE

I wish WWE had used this buildup for Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 32, but I am excited for their match this Sunday at Payback.

3.) Dean Ambrose, WWE

Ambrose still has yet to recover from his match at WrestleMania with Brock Lesnar, but he lost his momentum the moment he lost cleanly to Triple H at Road Block.

4.) Kenny Omega, New Japan Pro Wrestling

Much to the dismay of wrestling fans, “The Cleaner” is not currently scheduled for the Ring of Honor “Global Wars” pay per view a week from this Sunday.

5.) Chris Jericho, WWE

Jericho brought out a far more intense side of Ambrose on Monday, and I am curious to see how this program builds after Sunday.

6.) Roman Reigns, WWE

The end of Raw was a perfect juxtaposition between Reigns and Styles–Styles continued to sell the effects of the Superman Punch, while Reigns’ most glaring weakness is his inability to sell.

7.) Doc Anderson and Luke Gallows, WWE

The duo is the most intimidating force in tag team wrestling.

8.) Jay Lethal, Ring of Honor

Lethal defends his Ring of Honor championship this Saturday in Rhode Island in a “Local Underdog Championship Challenge” against Vinny “INKsanity” Marseglia.

9.) Sami Zayn, WWE

The ultimate underdog is very quickly making his presence felt on the main roster.

10.) The Young Bucks, Ring of Honor

Nick and Matt Jackson square off against the All Night Express this Saturday in Rhode Island.

Imagine a faction of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Chris Hero?

The three were nearly the original Shield.

“Before the Shield was even a concept, there were a couple guys in mind to put with [CM] Punk,” said Hero, who sat down for an interview after his Facebook Live session with Extra Mustard on Sunday. “Punk said Ambrose, Rollins, and [Kassius] Ohno [Hero’s name with NXT].”

Reigns replaced Hero on the list, and he then watched as Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns reached the top of the company as the Shield.

“They were already planning on bringing in Roman at some point,” explained Hero. “And they just thought that was the perfect spot for him.”

Despite Reigns’ success, the 36-year-old Hero does not keep himself awake at night wondering what could have been had he been placed in that role.

“I don’t ever think, ‘What if?’” revealed Hero. “I don’t have time for that. We have our own paths for our own reasons.”

If WWE ever signed Hero, the 6’4” Ohio native would have a tailor-made storyline with Reigns.

“That would be such an interesting match,” said Hero. “I did get the opportunity to work with Roman a couple times in FCW and NXT. He may not even know it, but there is such a cross-section of my fans who are very present with him.”

Reigns is constantly criticized for his lack of creativity on offense, which is one of Hero’s strongest talents as a wrestler.

Evolve’s Gabe Sapolsky discusses Paul Heyman, Daniel Bryan, WWE

​“People think they know what they’re getting when they see me, but every now and again I slip something in, and it’s like, ‘Oh sh--!’” said Hero. “I’m the elbow guy, I’m the boot guy. Well, guess what? I do piledrivers, too. And I don’t just do piledrivers–I do every kind of piledriver you could ever imagine from any type of situation. That’s what I did with elbows, that’s what I did with boots, and that’s what I’m doing with piledrivers. I’m just trying to bring something new.”

Hero broke into the business with the Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, where one of his biggest rivals–and closest friend–was CM Punk.

“If you look at our starts, his wrestling was more about emotion and mine was about creativity,” said Hero. “I was always looking to come up with new moves, I was always looking to figure the thing to hit for me. I was like the wrestling technician learning this style and that style, and he was the guy grabbing the microphone and making people love him or hate it. That’s why we gelled so well. What he wasn’t doing, I was–and what I wasn’t doing, he was. We made a really good pair that way.”

Punk and Hero wrestled their first match–which lasted over 45 minutes–in 2001.

“It was awful,” admitted Hero. “We had been on shows maybe six-to-nine months together, and we’d become friends, and we were so excited to have a match that we wanted to do everything. We just did not have the chemistry yet. Our first match was probably over 45 minutes, so that was a harbinger of things to come. It took a good nine months for us to develop the chemistry to have decent matches at the time. I was 21, and he was maybe 23. These were in the barn in Charlestown, Indiana and Indianapolis, and we eventually wrestled each other all over.”

Hero takes pride in his unique skillset, displaying traditional power moves as well as psychology and moves from his years learning luchalibre.

“I spent three years training pretty regularly with a guy named Skayde–Jorge Rivera,” said Hero. “He was the head trainer of the Ultimo Dragon gym in Mexico. Ultimo had hired to teach his guys the llave style, which is the style of wrestling of holds and counterholds. Llave means key, but it can also mean lock, and it’s the extravagant twists and holds. One guy comes up in a crazy submission, and then he rolls and twists the guy into a pin–I learned that directly from Skayde.

Former WWE star Chyna found dead in her California home

​“Wrestling came naturally to me. Nothing else ever came naturally to me, but pro wrestling did. I was already pretty good with moving my body around the ring, and I was working on moonsaults my first couple weeks of wrestling training–not that I should have been, but I thought they were cool and I wanted to do them, and I loved the Great Muta’smoonsault. So I started learning these techniques, and I was learning how to manipulate my body. I learned that a lot of luchalibre–a lot of the dives, a lot of the fakes, a lot of the catches and take-downs–were just technique oriented. So once I knew how to control my body, I could go running and flip over the top rope with my head touching the apron for a split second and land on my feet. I’ve never fallen, ever. I don’t even worry about it. I won’t try it if I don’t have a big apron, but it’s things like that that I’m able to do with that training. And I love doing it. I’m not going to do a whole match of it, but I like breaking out stuff here and there as a surprise.”

Hero is currently wrestling in three different tag teams. His partners include Colt Cabana in Big in USA, as well as with JT Dunn in Death by Elbow, and Tommy End in Heroes Eventually Die.

“Working in three different tag teams forces me to be creative,’ said Hero. “And that forces me to work on my chemistry with multiple people.”

Currently one of wrestling’s biggest names on the independents, Hero would be willing to sign a contract with a promotion if the timing and the terms were right. Until then, he is grateful to make his living following his own path.

“If there’s an offer, if there is something tangible for me to consider, I’ll consider it,” said Hero. “I’ve had a couple different contracts with Ring of Honor, and I had a contract with WWE. The stability is nice, and the assurance you’re going to get paid whether you work or not is awesome. Now I just accept the fact that, if I’m hurt, I won’t be able to work. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. The whole making a living part of wrestling is secondary. I’m fortunate to do it, and I appreciate the fact I’m able to do it so frequently. I do have to be smart, and I do have to take care of myself, so every now and again I take an inventory of how I’m feeling and a look inside my head and my heart.”

Facebook Live

Courtesy of The Young Bucks

The Young Bucks are the featured guests for our next Facebook Live event. The interactive chat begins at 5:30pm ET this Saturday, April 30, and can be found through the Extra Mustard page on Facebook.

reDRagon Redefining Tag Team Wrestling

Courtesy of ReDRagon

Although Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly are currently focused on their singles careers, reDRagon is never far from their mind.

“The team will always be there, and I think that’s what people want to see,” said Bobby Fish. “The cliché in wrestling is that there is always a Shawn [Michaels] and there’s always a Marty [Jannetty]. That’s not even a fair shake. When you think back to when the Rockers were really humming, God damn, Marty was not, by any means, an anchor. I don’t like to use that metaphor but, for lack of a better term, Kyle and I both feel like Shawns. That’s what makes the team so dynamic, and that’s why we don’t feel the need to split and feud.”

Both still take pride in their singles wrestling, and each has a match at ROH’s upcoming “Global Wars” pay per view on May 8th. Fish has a shot at TomohiroIshii’s Television title, while O’Reilly is pitted against IWGP champion TetsuyaNaito, but the plan is always to reunite reDRagon.

“I love being a tag team wrestler,” said O’Reilly. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. When we got into negotiations here with Ring of Honor, it was as a package deal. We want to stay as a team. We believe in the team so much.”

Eleven years and two-thousand miles separate the tag team partners. The 39-year-old Fish, who will turn 40 in October, grew up the son of a firefighter in Albany, New York, while O’Reilly, 29, is a product of British Columbia, Canada. Despite the age gap, the two treat each other as equals and work extremely well together in the ring.

Indie wrestling stars the Young Bucks are ready for anything, even the WWE

​“It’s never like there was an age gap,” said O’Reilly. “Bobby is 39 years old, but he’s in better shape than most of the people on the frickin’ roster. He can run circles around me. We get along great, we have a similar sense of humor, and he’s definitely one of my best friends. I look up to him, and doing this wouldn’t be a quarter of as much fun without Bobby–he makes trips to Japan bearable. On paper, it looks like there is an age gap, but there isn’t at all.”

In less than four years working together, Fish and O’Reilly have tasted success in Ring of Honor–winning the tag titles on three separate occasions–and New Japan Pro Wrestling as two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team champions. Individually and collectively, the pair agree that the best is yet to come.

“Ten years ago, if somebody were to tell me that I would be making my living just wrestling, I’d have had a hard time believing that without Vince [McMahon],” said Fish. “But that’s the reality. Obviously the merits of having the [WWE] machine behind you is what it is, but the prototype guy is no longer a shoe-in, either. Then you’re in a situation where you’re trying to shoehorn a guy into it, and that’s what is happening up there [with Roman Reigns]. That’s almost a no man’s land too, so there is no easy route.”

After debuting in 2002, Fish struggled to make his mark in wrestling. A key to finally catching a few breaks was his willingness to sacrifice in order to succeed.

“Sh--, there were a lot more hard times than good at the beginning,” said Fish. “But I had to find my voice, and that was just learning to be myself. I had to figure out how to get that guy out of the locker room and put him in the ring in front of the camera. That was the missing ingredient for me.”

A proud father of two, Fish is slightly older than his brethren in the Ring of Honor locker room. Standing 5’11”, he is also shorter than the vast majority of his colleagues, nor is he the flashiest or most colorful superstar in wrestling. What enables him to make the most of his character is the emotion he draws from the crowd during his matches, and his passion is genuine.

“The passion has always been there, and I have a chip on my shoulder,” said Fish. “I have never not had a chip. I always felt I deserved more. I never felt entitled, but my father was a fireman and he always worked multiple jobs and was willing to show up earlier and work longer than everybody else. I’ve always been that guy, but that guy, traditionally, doesn’t always get the first look.

“I’ve always had a chip because I’ve always thought, ‘You should be f----- looking my way.’ I’ve always got something to prove. I am the five tool guy in this company. I can tell you how good I am and then go out there and show you.”

Fish has fourteen years of experience in the business, but is currently at the peak of his game.

“Given the fact that it’s all a progression and an evolution, I feel like I’m a better athlete right now at 39 than I was at 25,” said Fish. “I’m definitely much smarter. I feel like my 50 is not going to be the 50 people are accustomed to seeing nowadays. I’m continually motivated by that. I’ve got an inner-peace now that I didn’t have, and I’m more open to taking care of myself.”

O’Reilly, who is also 5’11”, traveled a similar stream to success.

Finn Balor discusses NXT, teases Balor Club debut

​“It’s absolutely hard to find yourself in the ring and on the microphone,” said O’Reilly. “It was so hard find my voice for so long, and come out of my shell, and Bobby was a big reason that I did. We helped each other find our own voices. When something naturally, organically happens like that, that’s the best thing in wrestling. Steve Austin–naturally and organically–became the biggest star ever in wrestling because he was himself. You can only hold the true self back so long until it bleeds through.”

Canadian wrestlers always caught O’Reilly’s attention, and he hopes to become the next in the long and distinguished line of greats from the True North.

“Owen Hart was a big influence and one of my favorites,” said O’Reilly. “Growing up as a Canadian kid, I always loved the Canadian wrestlers–Bret [Hart], Owen, Jericho, [Chris] Benoit, Edge and Christian. If they were Canadian, they were my guy, especially Owen. His work is still so highly regarded, and it’s a shame he never had a run with the world championship.”

O’Reilly is also working toward a run as world champion. He headlined Ring of Honor’s 14th Anniversary pay per view in February in a triple threat match with Adam Cole and ROH champ Jay Lethal, and now has an upcoming non-title match with IWGP champ Naito.

“Hard work will never be denied,” said O’Reilly. “The best wrestlers in the world are in Ring of Honor, and that’s why I strived to make it here. I started by working dark matches, got thrown a bone here and there, and signed my first contract in 2010. There has been a lot of growth in my six years with Ring of Honor, and I have found myself as a performer.

“I’m glad to have a job in Ring of Honor, glad to go to Japan thirteen weeks out of the year, and I’ve reached that point where I can pay my bills and make my living off of pro wrestling. It’s been so good to me, and I’m extremely grateful.”

Both O’Reilly and Fish have a background in mixed martial arts, which O’Reilly believes adds another element to the team’s unusually high work rate.

“The MMA background meshed so well with my style,” said O’Reilly. “It helps my foot work and creates an easy style for my body. I can keep throwing submissions on my opponent, so it’s good for him, too.”

Every great tag team needs an equally great opponent, and reDRagon has its foil in the Young Bucks.

“There is a certain charm to how obnoxious they are, but at the end of the day, they are still definitely obnoxious,” said Fish. “At times, Kyle and I can veer in that direction, as well. Of late we’ve had less freedom with that. Sinclair and Ring of Honor is a TV product, and you can’t always go as far you want to, but with us and the Bucks, that’s a feud that I don’t think fans want to see go away. I personally don’t want to see that go away.”

O’Reilly complimented the Bucks as great workers, but also reiterated that reDRagon is the greatest tag team currently walking planet Earth.

“The Bucks give us something to react to,” said O’Reilly. “On paper, our matches with the Bucks are a complete clash of styles. But the dynamic works so well.”

The Bucks cost reDRagon the IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team titles this past January, and then repaid the favor a month later as the Bucks dropped the belts.

“Me and Fish are going to keep gunning for those Junior Heavyweight tag team titles, and maybe we’ll go for those heavyweight tag titles too,” said O’Reilly. “As far as Ring of Honor, we both have our sights set on singles gold, as well, with Bobby and the TV title and me and the world title. That doesn’t mean we’re going to stop tagging together, because we’re brothers for life and we wouldn’t want it any other way.”

reDRagon is signed with Ring of Honor until the end of the 2016.

“We want to continue with the tag team, so I would not be happy moving away from that entirely,” explained Fish. “It needs to be a piece of the puzzle, but there is still room for Kyle and I to grow and do more as singles guys. For me, this business has moved into a place–because I’m able to make a living doing it – where what’s going to be fun is what I want to do. If you’ve got a plan that sounds interesting and is going to be fun, especially with people–like Kyle and the Bucks, especially when they’re obnoxious–that’s what wrestling is, it’s playing off one another. It’s a dynamic between people. It’s not about the person. When it’s about the person, that’s when it sucks. It’s about the synergy you can create between two, four or six people, and that’s where the story is told. That’s when it is fulfilling for the fans and for us as the performers.”

Even though the interviews took place separately, O’Reilly and Fish were always united in their answers–except for one area. The two disagreed over their opponents in a dream tag match.

“Hands down, the tag team that influenced me the most when Kyle and I started tagging together was Tully [Blanchard] and Arn [Anderson],” said Fish. “As a kid, I couldn’t tell why I was so drawn to them, but I was. The wrestling that really influenced me was the Crockett years, ‘88-’90, and the NWA. There wasn’t as much glitz, but you had Arn, who was a guy who could look into the camera and f------ steal your soul. Arn looked like somebody’s dad you wouldn’t mess with, and they’d go over on us. I’m such a fan, and they were such an influence on early stuff, I’d have to put them over.”

Blanchard and Anderson had tremendous matches in the WWF against the Rockers, who were (one of) O’Reilly’s choices.

“We’ve had great matches with the Young Bucks, and a lot of people see them as this generation’s Rockers, so maybe us and the Rockers could be great, too,” said O’Reilly. “I’d also love to wrestle the British Bulldogs. Dynamite [Kid] doesn’t come without his controversy, but his body of work and just how ahead of the time he was makes him always one of my favorites. That would be an awesome dynamic, or the Hart Foundation.”

Despite the creative differences in dream opponents, reDRagon remains on the same page when the subject is pushing one another to succeed.

“Every wrestler wants to be the star, but a successful tag team should have two equally compelling parts,” said Fish. “For now, we’re doing some other things, but we never want to the team to go away.”

Five Questions with… Robbie E

Courtesy of Robbie E

TNA’s Robbie E is seeking his third run as tag team champion. The 32-year-old native of New Jersey started with TNA in 2010. Now one of the company’s veterans, he also appeared on The Amazing Race with Brooke Adams, and he spoke about the future of TNA, his career, and the goals he is still pursuing.

SI.com: What is the future of TNA? And do you think the company should be rebranded with a new name?

Robbie E: The future is unknown, but I don’t stress things. People have been saying TNA is going to close, and they’ve been against TNA for fourteen years. Yet they’re still here, and Dixie Carter loves the company. I don’t think she’s ever going to let it close. I’m pretty positive that TNA is going to stay. If I got scared every time someone said something bad about TNA, I’d be living like that all the time. That’s all some people want to talk about.

[Regarding rebranding TNA], it could go either way. It could work if they changed the name. It certainly wouldn’t hurt, but no matter what, people who have a negative opinion are still going to have a negative opinion. Some people are just looking to find something wrong. TNA has always produced talent, and they’re showing that now with all the guys who have gone onto do great things who started in TNA. Look at AJ Styles–he is a really good human, a really good person, and he is phenomenal in the ring. I’ve been wrestling for over sixteen years, and I’ve been in the ring with a lot of great guys, and he definitely is the top of my list.

SI.com: What goals are you still looking to accomplish in TNA? Are you proud of how your Robbie E character has evolved?

TNA’s Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett team up in face of uncertain futures

​Robbie E: Although my character still has shades of where Robbie E started, it has evolved. I was overly Jersey Shore with Cookie, then I was more of a club guy when I had my bouncer Rob Terry, and then the BroMans was a little different. It was the first time two reality stars teamed in one tag team. Then we broke up and I went more serious in singles, which reminded people I could actually wrestle. And now Jesse and I are back together as fan favorites, which is a different version for us. I am changing, and when you really look back to 2010, there are different versions of Robbie E. I’m a former Television champ, X Division champ, a two-time tag champ, and I’m only 32. At some point, I would like to be added to the list of Grand Slam champions and get the world title. I still have goals, and I’m still learning and learning and learning. Experience makes you able to story tell so much better.

SI.com: Were you on board to reunite the BroMans with Jessie Godderz? And, past or present, who is the team you would like to face in a dream matchup?

Robbie E: Me and Jesse just got back together, and you’re seeing a new version of the Bro-Mans as fan favorites. I would like to be a three-time tag champ, and we do have our eyes on the tag titles again. As time goes on, we’ll go our separate ways again and give singles wrestling a try. By then, being in the company so long and being respected more by the fans and getting the fans behind me will allow for opportunities for bigger matches.

As for the perfect opponent, because our finisher is the BroDown, which is a version of the Hart Attack, I’d love to face Anvil and Bret. We could go finisher vs. finisher to see who could do it better.

SI.com: How did your run on The Amazing Race come together?

Robbie E: I was in touch with people from the Race and they were interested in having wrestlers on the show. We nailed the interview and were cast on the show. I’m glad we went all the way to the finals. A lot of people can’t say they did that, and it was pretty crazy traveling the world and living out of a backpack for the 32 days of filming. Being used to no sleep and travel definitely helped the situation. It was new to a lot of people that were on, but for me, it was an easy part.

SI.com: What is your proudest achievement with TNA?

Robbie E: I started with TNA in 2010. We started the BroMans in 2013. I started wrestling when I was sixteen, and now I’m 32, so I’ve been wrestling half my life. I can count on one hand the people who have been at TNA longer than me, so I’m kind of a young veteran there. It’s crazy, I’m starting to feel old. When you go year to year, in my six years, there have been so many changes with agents, producers, behind the scenes but I’ve stuck through it all. I’m still surviving, and I appreciate where I am.

A lot of people are quick to forget why they are where they are, and without TNA, I wouldn’t have had the Amazing Race. I wouldn’t have traveled around the world. I wouldn’t have been on worldwide television as much as I have been. No matter whatever happens, I can’t forget the opportunities that they’ve given me. I’m grateful, and I’m living my dream. I wanted to wrestle for a living and travel the world, and I do. I can’t ask for a better life.

Tweet of the Week

John Cena on WWE, crossing over to Hollywood and why his life is "one continuous dick joke" https://t.co/0wd761eCux pic.twitter.com/Nl4siDulC0

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) April 21, 2016

John Cena came off petty by criticizing his own father in this Rolling Stone story, which is a side of the 15-time champion we rarely see.

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.