I had several decorated characters within the WWE that I was really proud of, coats of paint that changed that I could show a different side to the audience, because I've been in front of them since I was 20 years old, and none of them were necessarily the right one.

If you're in front of a Ring of Honor crowd and you suck, they'll let you know.

I love good balance, so being a collector is a fun little thing while we travel this world. I mean, every night, it's something else. The other night, I head-banged a dude on my rental car and drove him through the curtain in my rental car. So some moments are not as good as others, but they are all fun, that's for sure.

One of the last things that my dad and I discussed, and it sticks with me today, is that he no longer believed in the concept of Good Guy/Bad Guy. He believed in the idea that one guy is trying to beat the other. However, he would say, 'You can be a Good Guy/Bad Guy, or you can just be a star.'

Everything in the business is based around the idea of a World Championship. WWE, World Heavyweight Championship, Universal Title, the ROH Title, or the IWGP Title - they are all World Championships. The best of the best.

Nothing has been more exciting for me knowing that Ring of Honor is experiencing their best crowds, their best buy rates, and their best merchandise numbers while I'm the champion.

Some people, they're seeking elsewhere, looking elsewhere. I love WWE, but this is the type of wrestling that I grew up on. And every week, it's bigger and bigger. And these shows are just getting more and more special.

Entertainment is changing so much because of the devices we have at our hands. I'm really proud to be on the forefront of that. You don't have to work one place. It's our generation. As much as we get knocks against us, we don't accept non-quality work in our entertainment. We're no longer force-fed. Wrestling is going through that.

I loved WWE , but in the end, I was unhappy. It was just like planning an escape from a maximum security prison. I'd released a list of potential opponents online, so when the 90-day no-compete clause was up, I had matches booked on good faith. I thought about the follow-up.

I have this little, tiny Dusty Rhodes figure they make in Japan that people always give me in my bag. I set it next to the title and took a picture of it in my bag. That was my big goal in the industry. I wasn't able to achieve that in his lifetime, but he always believed.

It was just my sense being on the ground, doing four unique independents a week and then finally seeing how, at the ROH event, fans react to us as a group. I really see the sport trending upwards.

As we formulate big four matches, there should definitely be a lucha presence involved.

It's kind of a tricky subject because I had a great time in WWE. There were highs and lows, but I cut my teeth there. I met my wife there.

'Final Countdown' would be a welcomed tune, even as a competitor.

I'm in the best shape I can possibly be in, and I'm drug-free. I'm doing what I have wanted to do my entire life, so life is good.

After 10 years of WWE, in a somewhat dramatic fashion, it just didn't feel right, so I stepped out of my contract, and after 10 years of that schedule, I had all this time.

If you ask me what I like about Green Arrow, I can tell you that I read 'Longbow Hunters' years ago and that it's my favorite Green Arrow.

If you're a foolhardy, braggadocio male figure who wants to charge forward in every fight, it has its pros and its cons, that's for sure.

Luke Gallows is now entirely focused with WWE, but he built WrestleMerica, which was very much a Southern-based independent.

I always tried to stand out as a ref. I wore a long-sleeve black Under Armour t-shirt so that you knew I was the cool ref as opposed to the old dude.

My dad had a habit of giving me the Abdullah the Butcher matches as well as the ones with tables and chairs - basically, the matches that went all over the building.

Everytime there's an NXT show, people are like, 'Oh, that's the greatest thing I've ever seen.' It's the greatest show on Earth. One of things that they have going for them is the fact they make you wait. They build to it properly. That's a good way to go at this.

I really got struck by lightning when it came to my decision to leave WWE. If I literally think about that day and who I was then, it's drastic. It almost happened overnight for me.

You go real long in this business, and then you have these light-bulb moments. I just had this fleeting moment of fearlessness and a moment of trust in myself that I'm not going to listen to anyone. I'm going to do it how I want to do it. And how I want to do is what people are going to want to see and promoters want to pay for.

We've been very lucky with the 'Being the Elite' crew that everyone is very passionate about pro wrestling. There's no crooks in the group. Everyone's ideas are valued. And everyone who has something they pick and put on the map, they are fully going to commit to that.

I always looked at 'All In' with the perspective that it's about the present and future of the industry and not really about cheap pops, even though I'm sure they'll be plenty of those on the show.

Whenever they bring out a new Zelda game, I'm there. I don't know if it's Link or if it's Zelda with the pointy little ears. I remember thinking as a kid that she was pretty hot.

One thing I learned from my old man is that people are going to be happy for you, but not too happy. When the tables are turned and you're hanging out on top with a guy like Randy Orton, who is in the main event at Wrestlemania, not all the guys are going to like you.

Pro wrestling is what provided for my family.

My mother stayed at home and raised me and my closest sister, and that meant that the American Dream and what he was doing on television as a character and behind the scenes as a producer was producing for us at home, so it is your life.

At 15, I refereed my first match, and I was training at my dad's school even prior to that, so the only thing that I was concerned about - I guess the only thing that made me reluctant and was the reason I was in L.A. and the reason I went to acting school - was I thought maybe I wasn't big enough - physically big enough - to compete with WWE.

As far as Dustin or Dusty, neither of them contributed to me wanting to be in the industry as far as encouragement. They didn't discourage it, but I think they both were indifferent as far as it had to be my decision.

I had adapted to the blonde. So when they told me I'm going back to do these five episodes of 'Arrow', I was clearly really excited, but when they said I couldn't be blonde, it stung a little.

I think the yearning for a different product is really strong. WWE hasn't had any significant change since, what, 2001 in wrestling? WWE provides so much good content. Just good, wholesome content, but they're still the only one.

I had one of the best matches of my career with Matt Cross, and I'd never met him before, until that day. Wrestling will always be in my heart.

I think it's really exciting for me to see Brandi branch out. Because when you look her up and see her pictures online and see that she was this bikini model, it doesn't tell you that she's got a degree from the University of Michigan or that she attended the master's program and the University of Miami.

I loved the idea that I had an alter-ego but that my true identity was very well known and very much on the surface. I was the only one who didn't know who Stardust really was. So it was very much tied to comics - everything I've done. I did a whole run where I'd wear a face mask when I was on SmackDown, and that was based on Dr. Doom.

My dad was a three-time world heavyweight champion, so I want to be a three-time world heavyweight champion.

Every time someone told me I couldn't, I did. I'm still the same guy who's responsible for one of the better Intercontinental runs of all time and changing that title.

I'm still the guy who shared the ring with The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H when they were still actually active. And I'm aware, as my wife loves to hear. It's not different than any sport in the world where the best wrestlers are gonna get the best spots. That spot is for me, because I've earned it.

The fans never gave up on CM Punk. If CM Punk wants to be part of 'All In,' he can be part of 'All In.' But I am not putting it on him to draw those 10,000 seats. If we did have CM Punk, we would not tell you we had CM Punk - unless we didn't sell any tickets.

I am the best in the world. It's 1: Cody; 2: Kenny; 3: Okada; 4: Charlotte; 5: Cena, with Ospreay creeping up on the list. It's my responsibility with the event to live up to that ranking. I am unbelievably good at this because of hard work and dedication.

As the leader of the Bullet Club, I can't slow down now. I am an example for everybody who thought just slapping the Bullet Club logo on you would define your career.

The Bullet Club keeps New Japan Pro Wrestling in the black. Far in the black. Because of me. I'm a part-timer in that company, and I hold the Tokyo Dome merchandising record and Osaka's. Funkos. Bucks on a career run. This Bullet Club may never be topped.

I live for this. I continue to study. To bump and learn.

Shane McMahon did his own mo-cap. Did you guys know that? He went and did his own mo-cap. He didn't want somebody doing his moves. Shane did his own mo-cap.

Whoever did my mo-cap for Stardust watched my very first entrance and nothing else, because I never did half the stuff ever again, and it's funny to watch. Well, hey, that's what they used, so yeah.

I try to live under a rock when it comes to WWE, but you can't avoid seeing your Twitter feed, people talking about Jinder Mahal wrestling Randy Orton at a pay-per-view.

There is something to not always reminding people of a show they've already seen, but instead embracing the one right in front of him. I am Cody, and I can promise you that the future is going to be even better than the past.

Nobody is keeping me from using my last name.