ROH World Champion Jay Lethal was recently interviewed by the Ultimate Torrior for the Bear Hug It Out podcast. Lethal spoke about a number of topics, including Ring of Honor allowing their performers to be creative, drinking with Ric Flair, what he learned from Booker T, Marvel vs DC and more. Here are some highlights:
– Lethal agreed that we are in somewhat of a ‘boom period’ for non-conventional looking wrestlers who have a strong work rate. He says Ring of Honor has always been about that, with guys like Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan, but the movement probably went mainstream with CM Punk’s rise in WWE. He likes to think he’s been a part of that movement as well.
– ROH’s partnership with NJPW just ‘makes sense.’ He’s been a huge fan of NJPW’s top stars for a long time and getting to work with them has been a dream come true.
– A big part of ROH’s success is the freedom they allow their performers. With shows like WWE and TNA, most of what you see wrestlers doing on TV is what they’ve been scripted to do.
“In Ring of Honor, they really let you have a lot, and I mean a lot, of creative freedom. I feel like that’s what really brings the best out of a professional wrestler. When it’s an idea that he is currently involved in that was something sparked from his brainchild, he’ll really put his all into it and you can really begin to see what that wrestler can do. But if it’s something that he almost doesn’t agree with, or he’s just kind of ok with and you’re forcing him to do it, that’s when you really see a professional at work. But, sometimes it doesn’t yield the best result.”
Jay Lethal defends the ROH World title against AJ Styles at Final Battle 2015 on December 18th from Philadelphia, PA.
