This weekend, “The Mecca” Brian Johnson held an open challenge on ROH Wrestling. (Watch the replay on FITE TV tonight at 7 p.m. EST, or check out our play-by-play coverage of the show.)
Before his latest match, Johnson spoke with WrestleZone and explained that he wants to be an all-time great in a company that has launched the careers of Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, and countless others. With such a prestigious history, Johnson has his work cut out for him, but “The Mecca” described how consistency has been, and will continue to be, the crucial component of his success.
“I think the biggest key to any great, in any sport, is consistency,” said Johnson. “You think of all the all-time greats of all time, they were consistent. Whether they were consistent at winning, or putting in the work, or being a teammate, or being a leader or making a shot or hitting a pitch or sinking a putt, whatever it is, the all-time greats were consistent. I’m gonna be consistent as the day is long.
“Do I bang the ROH drum a little louder? Yeah, you’re darn right. Because that’s my company, my flag. I want my flag to swing and fly higher than everybody else’s. Because then everybody makes more money that way, and that’s the name of the game. Being the best means you get paid the most. And I know that I am damn good. And how do I keep on doing [that] is being consistent. I’ve worked my ass off, not that everybody else hasn’t. I’m not asking for credit, I’m not asking for a Barry Horowitz, I’m not asking for that. What I’m saying is just give me the freaking opportunity and I will the ball down their throat, I will hit a home run, I will score the game-winning three, I will sink the winning putt, it doesn’t matter.”
“The Mecca” acknowledged that he’s finally getting the opportunities he has been asking for, but he emphasized that his recent success is just the beginning of his “Mecc-ade” of excellence.
“I am finally being given a chance because a damn pandemic happened,” said Johnson. “A global pandemic silenced, the damn near wrestling world almost went away. And that’s when I got a chance. I’ve been doing this crap for years, just no one listened or paid attention. And now that they are, I’m gonna be the most consistent pain in their ass because I’m gonna shove it down every single person’s throat that doubted me or didn’t mention me to begin with.
“My voice is gonna be louder, longer and the most consistently heard thing in professional wrestling for an entire Mecc-ade as I run through people.”
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While the completion of Johnson’s ultimate goals might be off in the distance, one of his objectives is seemingly in his grasp. He explained that first and foremost, he wants to win the Ring of Honor World Television Championship. Despite his loss in a title match to then-champion Dragon Lee earlier this year, “The Mecca” remains focused on the title that has been held by greats like Jay Lethal and Adam Cole, among several others.
“Short-term, I’m gonna be the Ring of Honor Television Champion,” said Johnson. “I am third in the rankings, and the only reason I’m not two or one is the three guys above me are hot-potatoing it all around. Well listen, if they want to pass off the carbohydrates, I got no problem putting them in my back pocket. I will take the hot potato and run all the way back to the supermarket, return it and shove it up some guy’s behind.
“Because I want to be the Ring of Honor Television Champion. Those guys want to worry about faction warfare and all that crap. I don’t need no faction. I don’t have any friends, I’m not in some stupid group because I need to watch my back. I have two eyes and they’re right here. And they’re staring down the pike at the Television Championship. And if people don’t realize that, they will soon enough.”
The full interview is available here:
