Leaving WWE for TNA in 2005:
“I did go to TNA when I left WWE briefly in 2005 for three years. When I went there, it was solely to prove to myself, even if it was on a smaller platform that I could carry main event matches, programmes and promos and be the face of a show. I needed to do that. I needed to gain that confidence and go back and be able to do it. It happens for different people at different times, you just have to be confident in your ability.
“I always said to myself when I walked into the arena ‘today they’re going to know how good I am’ and that was the attitude I carried with me every single time and just felt like at the end, you can’t hold talent down. If you have it, eventually it’s going to shine through and you just have to keep pushing.”
Advice for WWE stars considering a jump to AEW:
“I would say… I would never want to steer anyone in a certain direction. If they asked me for certain advice I would tell them. I would put it on myself. What I needed to do was I needed to take a chance on myself. I needed to bet on myself. And if you’re willing to bet on yourself then sometimes it works out and if you believe in yourself and your abilities that will be the case.”
The future WWE Hall of Famer previously revealed having met with one of AEW's owners, claiming that the 36-year-old, who also co-owns the Jacksonville Jaguars, is probably a bigger wrestling fan than he is of football.
“Well, I’ve met [Tony Khan] a few times,” he said last month. “I met him, strangely enough, through Chris Nowinski, actually. And, yeah, I had a little meal with Chris Nowinski and Chris brought him and he was telling me about stuff in matches that I had that I don’t even remember happening.
“I mean, that’s how big of a fan he is and he just wanted to talk to me about wrestling. And I was kind of more interested in the football side of it, so I was talking to him about football and he kept trying to switch the subject back to wrestling, and I kept trying to switch it back to football.
“Anyways, at one point in the conversation, I tried to talk him into firing his GM and hiring me as the General Manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yeah.”