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JAY LETHAL TALKS ABOUT WORKING WITH RIC FLAIR AND HIM COMING OUT OF RETIREMENT, HOW IMPRESSIONS HAVE ADVANCED HIS CAREER, HOW HE EMBRACES THE TERM "WRESTLING" AND MORE

Newsday's Alfonso Castillo has just posted an interview with Jay Lethal on his blog at newsday.com/steelcage.

Here are some excerpts.  In the rest of the interview, Lethal also talks about the ill-fated “Black Machismo Ivitational” angle, how he developed his Flair impression, his favorite Flair matches and moments, the departure of Consequences Creed and more.  You can read it at the link above.

On the memorable “dueling Flairs” segment on Impact a couple weeks ago:

“…It was probably the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Second of all, it was definitely, definitely a little nerve racking – especially when you get to the building and you find out that you have to go back and forth with the master of the interview, the master of promos – Ric Flair. So right away, I was nervous. Right away, I couldn’t think of anything. ‘What am I going to say?’ And, of course, Ric Flair is one of those guys that you can’t talk about anything with unless you’re out there. He’s the type of guy that, if the microphone is in his hand, then there’s no going over what he’s going to say. Everything he says he comes up with right then and there. So then, I have no choice but to react to what he’s going to say. There was no pre-planning of anything. He’s that kind of guy. He just has to do it out there.”

On the first time Ric Flair heard his impression of him:

“Oh, he absolutely loved it. As a matter of fact, he had a couple of people here with him, and they weren’t around the first time he heard it. But he made me do the impression for them a good four or five times that day. And everybody who he was with, he brought them each individually to me and made me do the impression for them. So it was pretty funny. He got a huge kick out of it. He loves it.”

On getting pushed because of his impressions:

“Honestly, if I couldn’t do these impressions – especially the one of Ric Flair – I do not believe for a single second that I would have the chance to be in the ring with him. I honestly think there would be a chance that I’d get lost in the shuffle here on our roster. So the fact that I can do these impressions has stood out in a lot of guys’ eyes. I think it’s one of the main reasons why I’ve been given the opportunity.”

On working with Eric Bischoff:

“…One of the things I’ll never forget, one of the first times Eric was here, he actually pulled me aside and he told me he was one of my biggest fans. He gave me his number and told me to call him whenever I had a question. He gave me his email address. I’ll never forget that. This guy, I used to watch him on TV. I can probably say I’m one of his biggest fans, and he’s telling me he’s a fan of mine. I don’t think there’s any way to describe what happens inside a person when they hear that.”

On how doing impressions have helped him develop his promo skills:

“…I find that the impressions actually help me come out of my shell. When I first got here to TNA five years ago, I was a little nervous – especially when I had to do an on-screen interview or promo, or whatever you want to call it. I do remember being really nervous, and having to do more than one take and jumbling up my words. But we’ve done a couple of them since, and I feel like the Macho Man and the Roc Flair impressions, they’ve help me come out of my shell and be more comfortable with the camera and with myself. I think it’s helped great.”

On WWE shying away from the term “wrestling”:

“… Actually, I love the term ‘wrestling.’ When I was growing up, all I knew was wrestling. All my school reports were on wrestling. And that word just does something to me inside when I hear it. So I’m a big fan of keeping that word, ‘wrestling,’ alive. I love it… It will always be wrestling to me.”

On criticisms of Flair coming out of retirement:

“I’m sorry for the people who look down upon it. But looking at it from my point of view – I’m living my dream. I’m about to step foot in the ring with Ric Flair. It doesn’t get any better than that. And right now I don’t want to spoil it. I don’t want to ruin it for myself by thinking about what some of the people are saying, about some of the guys who look down on it – the fact that he said he retired and now he’s coming back. I can’t do that because then the greatest moment of my life will mean nothing to me. So I’m trying to think about any of that. All I’ve go tin my head is that I’m about to step foot in the ring on pay per view with the Ric Flair.”

 

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