Former WWE star Mason Ryan (Barri Griffiths) recently spoke with WWE.com as part of their ‘Where Are They Now’ series, talking about his role in a current Cirque du Soleil production.
Ryan talks about how he got involved with Cirque du Soleil, his WWE release and wrestling helping him prep for the role, and much more. You can read a few excerpts below:
How did he get involved with Cirque du Soleil’s KA production?
After I left WWE I was still wrestling independently over in the U.K., in Japan and all over the states. One day I got a call from WWE, and they said, “We might have a job opportunity, if you’re interested, with Cirque du Soleil,” which, at that time in my life, seemed like the most random thing in the world, really.
Did he know about the show before being part of the cast?
I had heard of Cirque du Soleil and knew they put on amazing shows, but I didn’t think my acrobatic ability was quite up there for what they did, but obviously I was very interested. So I sent my stuff away to Cirque du Soleil and I got a call a week or two later asking me to go for an audition, explaining that it was for the role of Chief Archer in KÀ. The show is more storyline based and I would be auditioning for one of the main bad guys in the show, which, you know, sounded great with me.
Does he think WWE prepared him for the role?
Yeah, definitely, especially in my role, because it’s more of a character-based role. I’m the Chief Archer in charge of a rebellious gang of archers, so my physical prowess is what makes me the leader. So having that intimidating presence was also part of who I was in the ring and I was able to bring that over.
Does he miss performing on the road with WWE, compared to working in Las Vegas with Cirque du Soleil?
I didn’t think about that, but that’s definitely a big difference. With me, one of my bigger things is my physical presence, so being 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, traveling on the road, eating and finding a gym and everything like that is a challenge, no doubt about it. But, being here, I have my local gym that I go to, I have all my food prepped and it just makes life a little easier.
