Once upon a time, I liked to call myself 'The Grandfather of NXT' because I was one of the first to come up as I was, from NXT.
Bray Wyatt
I am a well-spoken, educated person, and I'm also an extremely accomplished athlete. For me, it's disrespect and a slap in the face when people say I broke a mold as champion or I don't fit as champion.
I have to sit alone in a room and be alone with my own thoughts. It always starts with an idea, and once the idea grows, I have a concept of what I want to say, and once I go out there and start feeling the energy, that concept grows and becomes whatever it is.
You have to prepare yourself mentally and physically by training and knowing how to take care of yourself the best you can so that you're able to fight and get to where you want to be.
That generic outlook of what a 'WWE champion' should be is a joke to me. The casual fan walks in and expects to see a guy in short trunks with abs and a shaven body. I do not believe in that.
I don't think I think things through like regular people would. I could be a real hateful person, and I also don't really care about my own well-being, I guess. I just kind of have that knack about me. I just don't care.
I don't need anyone creatively to tell me how I'm supposed to be. Only I know the answer to that. Only I know what I would say. That's always been my outlook. I haven't really worried about rubbing people wrong because I only know how to be Bray. And Bray is always going to be Bray.
The first time I fought Undertaker. I remember watching him walk down and having this chill. You know that feeling when you're almost getting into a car accident? It felt like that continuously for 10 minutes. That was a moment.
Since day one, my inception, when I came into the world - I had my eyes on power. The WWE championship is power.
When I say things, when I speak on television, I'm not making stuff up. I'm not, like, sitting in the back with a notepad thinking, 'Maybe this will make them think I'm crazy'. That's how I really am, you know? My views on this and that, which I really don't want to delve into, but my views are that of the real me. There is no character.
John Cena is the man here. He's the Hulk Hogan of our era.
If I was to feel guilty about something, it would be the fact I haven't done enough. I wish there was a million Roman Reigns. So that I could take them all out at once. Then I would feel like I've accomplished something.
Everyone thinks of me as some weird swamp trash pro wrestler, and that's okay - think what you want - but I'm an intelligent person, and I have my own views on the world.
When you go out there, and you're in the ring, honestly, half the time you forget what city you're even in because you're so focused on what you're doing and the task at hand.
There are times where fans don't understand that change is inevitable or that changes are done too fast. They say, 'We like the way you used to be.' Or they say, 'We liked what you did then.' You can't stay the same. As you mature as an adult, you find out you have to keep changing in this business. It's something The Undertaker laid on me.
When you go into a 'WWE' ring, you know you're going to compete. You know that things are going to hurt. It is a dangerous, dangerous place. No matter what people think or say, it's a very, very dangerous thing.
I don't like to think of myself as just a person. I don't think I am. I think I existed before, and I think I'll exist again after I die here, so I don't exactly know what I am. I don't think there is ever going to be an answer. I just know that I'm not like you.
You find inspiration everywhere. The best inspiration is the people you grew up with. Nobody else knows about you than when you were just regular, everyday people. That's where most of it comes from.
I think the thing about keeping your character fresh is, when you change as an individual, you have to flow with it.
If I were Goldberg or Brock Lesnar, I wouldn't want to have to go on after me and Randy. From their standpoint, I wouldn't want to be them and have to go on after us.
School is not for me. I'm volatile and hate being told what to do.
I personally don't like to diet. I think it's stupid. You only live once. I do like to train just because of the simple reason that it doesn't hurt as much. I need to keep myself strong as I can be. That's just who I am as a man, and I think a lot of people have the same idea.
When you watch 'UFC,' there is not a cliche champion who looks the same every time.
The first time you go out and perform at WrestleMania, it's a very challenging thing. It's the showcase of immortals, and you don't know what to expect, and every WrestleMania is different.
Vince McMahon is not a human being. They don't make people like Vince. Vince is Vince. I can't even describe to you what it's like being in a room with Vince McMahon. He is above man. That's the best way I can put it. Like-minded people take over the world, so I've always had a great rapport with him.
I'm not afraid of death. I'm not afraid of anything.
