I think people know that every time I go out there, I leave it all in the ring, regardless. So I think there's a certain respect with that and I think that's just grown over the years because I feel like over the course of my career... people know that I never take a night off.
Christian Cage
I think that if you challenge yourself, then you're going to get your best performances, and every time I go out there, I challenge myself to be better than I was last time.
People don't realize what a hard job commentary is. It is so hard and one of the hardest jobs in the industry. I would never say never to anything, but I would need a lot of reps to be good at that job.
It's cool to talk to the fans and get some one-on-one time and shake hands, sign autographs, take some pictures and have conversations with people.
For me, whenever I got into this business, I wanted to be the very best that I could be.
I always said when I was wrestling that you have tunnel vision because it's all consuming. It's hard to focus on anything else other than what you're doing. When I stepped away from that, I wanted to have my hand in a lot of different pots.
When I moved to Tampa, Florida I remember going to a Kid Rock concert and I was in one of those sky-boxes. When I walked into the sky-box I didn't know he was there, but I hear a, 'Hi, brother!' I turn around and it's Hulk Hogan. I just got 'brothered!'
Wrestlers are very protective and care about what we do and we're always fighting for credibility.
I am in my own hall of fame, that's all that matters.
One of my earliest memories was watching Ken Patera and Big John Studd cut Andre The Giant's hair. That was the first thing that had a serious effect on me emotionally. I was just moping around the house all day. I couldn't believe they did this to Andre The Giant.
Tag team wrestling is what put myself, Edge, the Hardys and the Dudleys all on the map. It made us into WWE superstars, and without that, I don't think that my singles career would have gone to the places it went to.
I never looked at being second banana to anybody, I never felt that way, ever. If other people did, that's the way they looked at it, but I never did.
Having a long career with real lasting power has always been a goal.
People seem to want to know stuff that's going to happen before it happens sometimes instead of just enjoying it and following the ride and just seeing where it takes you.
You have to look at your situation, and 'how do I make the best of my situation every single night?' That's what I looked to do.
I believe I am one of the best and I work to prove that every night I go out there.
One day, I was flipping through the channels and I happened to flip the channel onto wrestling. I had never seen it before; I didn't know what it was. I was hooked instantly.
The cool thing about this business is taking the knowledge you've gained that people have passed onto you and then you pass it along to the next generation.
I needed to bet on myself. And if you're willing to bet on yourself then sometimes it works out and if you believe in yourself and your abilities that will be the case.
When I left I knew I was gonna go back to WWE. But I needed to go because whatever I was doing wasn't working. I needed to take a chance on myself and get better. The only way to do that was take some risks and go somewhere.
I think the free agent process is a little bit different because other major pro sports like the NBA or NHL, you're looking at 30 teams. You have 30 options. You don't really have that in this industry. There is one name that stands above all else, and that's WWE. So to really be on top, that's where you have to apply your trade.
Obviously, there's nothing like being in front of a live crowd. That's what makes a wrestling show - getting that instant feedback and taking them on an emotional journey through what you're doing in a ring. Nothing will ever replicate that.
There wasn't a huge focus on tag team wrestling when it was Edge and Christian v The Hardys v The Dudleys, but we forced it. We went out there with something to prove every single time and forced everyone to see that we needed to be on the show every week.
Wrestling used to be land of the giants and I think MMA has opened he door for smaller, more athletic competitors to climb up the card in wrestling and be top draws and main event.
I retired when I was 40. I started when I was 19. I never wanted to be a guy who was a shell of his former self and have people say, 'He's not as good as he used to be.'
It's funny, I do think I've been somewhat overlooked, but I've always viewed that as a challenge. Everyone else seems to get more upset about it than I do.
I had worked with The Shield quite a bit, live events and things like that so we had good chemistry in the ring.
For me, tag team wrestling will always hold a special place in my heart and I do wish it could have been highlighted more.
We dreamt of that as kids growing up. Like, main eventing, being world champion, walking down that aisle at WrestleMania as the last match, as the main event, as the headliner.
TNA has been great as far as allowing me to have more input creatively on my character and the direction of my character and promos.
Growing up, we were pretty much focused on becoming WWE superstars.
If I had a nickel every time someone asked me if I was going into the Hall of Fame, then... I could buy a lot of stuff.
I never doubted that my talent would shine through in the end, no matter what.
The word dream match is thrown around quite a bit, and I mean if you think about it. There's all these possibilities, like what if Edge could face Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins? Or, a guy like AJ Styles.
I think I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, but I think that's good.
I always said to myself when I walked into the arena 'today they're going to know how good I am' and that was the attitude I carried with me every single time and just felt like at the end, you can't hold talent down. If you have it, eventually it's going to shine through and you just have to keep pushing.
Guys like The Revival have this chip on their shoulder and I think that's what you have to do.
I lived my dream and I was able to accomplish my goals.
We all get into wrestling to go out and perform for our fans.
WWE was great to me. I felt like I gave the company everything I had. And they allowed me to live my dream, which was wrestle in WWE.
I'll always be a wrestling fan.
When I was a kid, the guy who was Intercontinental champion was the guy who was next in line for the World Heavyweight championship.
I have talked about this before, I have always been bad at saving memorabilia.
First time I met Hulk Hogan, I had a life-sized poster of him in my room and I idolized him as a kid.
You look at a guy like Drew McIntyre, right? He was released and it actually helped him.
I'm definitely a veteran. No question. And it always makes me laugh when the younger guys tell me they remember where they were when I contested a certain match. It makes me feel old, but it's cool to hear that.
When I left WWE, I always knew that I wanted to come back when the time was right.
I think one of the things that the people, the fans, know about me is that every time I step in the ring, I give everything I have to entertain everyone that's spent their hard-earned dollars on a ticket for a WWE event. I think that's apparent.
When you're working with somebody, you work to their strengths. Do you know what I mean? It doesn't matter who it is, whoever you're in the ring with.
If you're in the ring with somebody that doesn't throw good punches, guess what. Don't have him throw any punches. You work to their strengths. It's really not that difficult. You don't try to get them to do things that are out of their realm or whatever. It's not hard. It's not rocket science.
