To me, the more the merrier. The more times I can get in that ring and get in front of a crowd and wrestle, the better.

I'm pretty sure I could beat Tyron Woodley. Nothing against him.

I was probably one of the top three or four wrestlers in the world on the indies, just killing it. Nobody really saw me going to a bigger company because of my past and just how people view me.

I always wanted to wrestle, but when you're a kid, how do you do pro wrestling? For me, it seemed like the easiest way for me was to get into amateur wrestling and go that route because it was a place where I was allowed to go.

Being real in pro wrestling has paid off. Just being myself - that really translated to the fans.

When you have a guy like me who's a former UFC fighter and who is basically a normal guy who can do exceptional things, that connects with people rather than some random Viking who can also do exceptional things.

Promoters saw the potential in me and the value in me. It was because of companies like Evolve, PWG, Progress, and Beyond Wrestling. Those are the big ones that gave me a push and made my name worth something on the indies.

I've always been a bro, and I've used the word 'bro' a lot.

If you train, you work hard, you're actually 110-percent dedicated, you're doing it for all the right reasons, you're probably gonna end up on the top. You know the cream always rises to the top.

I love fighting, but I don't miss waiting months upon months just to fight once in front of people and then have to wait months again to fight once in front of people.

I get more respect doing professional wrestling than I ever did in MMA.

In fighting, if you get hit in the face, you don't show it. You can't show it.

That's why I like the indies: because I like being who I am. I get to be who I am in the ring, on the microphone, everywhere. It's great. I never have to get out of character because I am Matthew Riddle.

With wrestling, everybody always asks what they can do to get signed or how can they get over. There's no right or wrong answers. That's why I think the best thing you can do is be yourself.

Lesnar is a bully. I'd hurt him and show him that he couldn't hurt me. That doesn't sound too technical, but in a fight with Brock Lesnar, you need to go after him.

I try to be as humble as possible, but I'm just on another level. That's all there is to it.

I am not the biggest fan of Dana White.

I always had watched pro wrestling. I happened to be watching the WWE Network one day and started watching differently: I wasn't watching it as a fan, but instead I was watching it as something that I could possibly be a part of.

When I first started, I had a mullet, and I was trying to play a hillbilly persona. While it was fun, it wasn't me.

I think a lot of people are excited that WWE was willing to give me a chance, and they want to see how far I can go with it.

I think with the right opportunity, I can go as far as I want, but you never know.

The more name value I have, the better. The more undeniable I am, the better. Then I can get what I want.

If someone comes up to me and asks for an autograph or picture, who am I to say no?

I want more unpredictability. I want more realism. I think the fans would appreciate that, and that's what I've brought since day one.

If you get Fight of the Night, there's a reason you got Fight of the Night: it's usually because you had that crowd on its feet, going crazy during the fight, almost like a professional wrestling match.

Everybody in wrestling is usually a pretty nice guy, they're all just hard workers trying to get their opportunities.

There's guys like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk that incorporated mixed martial arts submissions and moves into professional wrestling. I feel like the way it was incorporated was really good, but there's not enough people doing it.

I have a lot of options in professional wrestling.

I like to set goals that seem impossible.

Only one person can retire Brock Lesnar - only one person can end his career - and that person's going to be me.

My goal is to change NXT. It is to change every company I've ever been to, and I've changed every company.

Bill Goldberg can't wrestle.

It's almost like my life is a fairytale.

A lot of people don't know who they are as a wrestler. Even people that walk into the doors of the Performance Center. They might be world-class athletes or models, but they don't know who they are in the ring.

The thing for me is - and one of the reasons I was never a fan of Goldberg in the beginning when everybody was like 'Oh, he's so good! - I was like, 'No, he's terrible, he's hurting people,' and there's nothing else. He just has three-minute matches.

You don't pick up things, get to the top of multiple industries and sports without working hard.

I'm happy wrestling.

I have a huge amount of respect for Lesnar. You know, he's done everything since he came into it. He works hard. You don't look like Lesnar without working hard.

I'm a pretty nice guy.

My striking isn't the prettiest, and I hit really hard.

I'm a very aggressive person. I'm really intense.

I got a short - I got a temper. I fight in a cage for a living. There's a reason people like us are wired slightly different.

I'm just not very good at holding on to jobs.

I can handle boos. Boos entertain me.

I heard London is nice, so maybe it is. But I've only been to the armpit of England.

I like to fight. That's who I am.

The bottom line is, I've got a wife and three kids. I've got bills I have to pay.

I will be completely honest: when I fought in Manchester, they were very cruel to me. One fan actually spat directly in my face, and he was lucky enough where it hit my mouth.

I got into the UFC after six months of training. I started doing jiu-jitsu, had my first fight, tried out for 'The Ultimate Fighter,' and got on.

If you're a wrestler in the WWE, then your goal is to be the headliner, main event of WrestleMania.