I think, for many people, they think there's one giant promotion, and that's all that there is. It must be the best. But as they expand their palate and their horizons, they realize that, oh, there's other wrestling out there. They might not necessarily like it more, but it's an option now.
The problem with Deep South to me is that there was a group that were tight with the boss, and they would always go out and drink and have barbeques. Then, when WWE would say, 'Who should we look at?' Bill Demott would say, 'Oh, look at this guy and this guy.' Of course those were his buddies.
I don't want people to look back at my matches and say, 'When you did that move, it was good, and I liked it because it was cool.' I want people to sort of remember a rush of images and the emotion that they felt when they saw it. That's when I think you have a real masterpiece in your hands.
A lot of people, especially performers in wrestling, feel that winning the title is the only statistic that matters, but it's always about the journey. If you don't have the people behind you, believing in you, and the start of a new chapter after winning the title, then you don't have anything.
I have a vision for what I want wrestling to be, and I was fortunate not just to have the opportunity to show my talents at the right time, and not just to have the right opponents, and not just to have the knowledge that the front office has faith in me, but also the good fortune not to get hurt in the middle of all this.
Pentagon not only has the untrainable 'It' factor but also the rare ability to adapt and succeed wherever he competes. He has a unique charisma about him that fans connect with, and regardless of where he competes or what style is prominent, he seamlessly blends in - yet stands apart from everyone else on the card.
I only ever get to work with Naito once a year. I'd love to wrestle him again. Yeah, he's good, for sure. The person I've never worked before in a New Japan ring - and I'd be happy to get the chance and show the difference of styles - is Zack Sabre, Jr., so that'd be another one. Yeah, he's one of my favorites.
There's a certain kind of wrestling fan that will only like a certain style. They think that's the right way, and that's okay, but I'm not trying to impress those people. Those people are already kind of set in their ways. I'm trying to open the world to a different style, what pro-wrestling has the potential to be.
I don't like to risk - I'm actually not a tough guy at all, make no mistake about it, so I'm not going to do something that I'm scared of. So, if something looks dangerous, at the time I didn't think it was, because I'm the first person to cower away from a risk of injury if there seems to be one.