WZ Daily regular Alfred Konuwa recently interviewed Ring of Honor star Christopher Daniels for Forbes.com, and below are some interview highlights:
ROH paving the way for smaller, independent wrestling talents to be WWE main eventers:
“I certainly think that ROH was a little bit ahead of the curve when it came to the changing of the perception of what constitutes a main event star. You can argue WWE has always been the land of the giants, and it is still, but at the same time you talk about men like CM Punk, men like Daniel Bryan, men like Seth Rollins who all came through Ring of Honor and conceivably 10 years ago wouldn’t have been in the WWF range in terms of what they look at as a top-level guy. So as the perception changed, as what is considered a main event star became more of an athletic thing rather than a size thing you had guys like Daniel and Seth and CM Punk, AJ Styles is another example, these guys who are a little bit smaller but wildly athletic.”
The success of Daniel Bryan:
“Once he got there [in the WWE], the ball was his to drop of to run with and every time he got in the ring, he delivered, connected with the fans. Obviously there wasn’t preferential treatment, it wasn’t like they protected him specifically, they let him go out there and rise or fall on his own merits, and that’s what he did.”
Re-signing with ROH and transitioning to a behind-the-scenes role in Ring of Honor:
“Ring of Honor has always been a home to me, like when I needed a place to wrestle, they opened their doors to me. So I felt like at this point in my career, in addition to what I do in the ring, Ring of Honor gave me an opportunity to sort of help behind the scenes as well.
“And this is an opportunity for me to not just continue performing at a top level in front of the fans, but for me to help build what can be considered the next crop of great talent that you’ll see in a Ring of Honor ring. And if I can do that, that’s a small repayment of everything ROH has done for me over the course of the 14 years that they have been in business.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
