Wardlow on the fan reaction to his AEW feud with MJF, comparisons between The Pinnacle and Evolution story arcs, the wrestler and movie characters he compares his character to, his original vignettes and the wound on his shoulder

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

CBS Sports interview with Wardlow
Host: Shakiel Mahjouri
Story available via CBSSports.com
Video footage available at SHAK Wrestling YouTube Page

Wardlow on comparisons between Pinnacle and Evolution story arcs: “The crazy thing that we did without even realizing it. We kind of mirrored it in a way. It was very different, but also the same. The crazy thing is this wasn’t my idea. I didn’t have any say so in this. It just organically happened. My career just seems to be mimicking a little bit of a Batista’s. You can compare The Pinnacle to Evolution and you can compare myself and Max to Triple H (and) Batista. It has really unfolded very similar to how that did. It’s a real special thing because we didn’t plan it that way.”

On the fan response for Wardlow vs MJF: “This is the ultimate dream come true. It’s one thing to have your own action figure, to be in a video game, to be a professional wrestler. But for me, the real dream is having an arena full of people chanting my name consistently week after week wanting to see Wardlow. That’s still something I’m trying to comprehend because it’s something that I’ve thought about and I’ve created in my head since I was literally in elementary school. I’ve thought about this.

“So I have to take the time to really sit back and go, ‘This is happening. This is real. It’s happening right now.’ It’s truly the best feeling in the entire world and nothing can compare to it. You know some things are going to work. I always describe what I’m experiencing in life right now as this weird combination of, ‘of course this is happening. I’ve thought about this my entire life. W knew this was going to happen’ mixed with an equal amount of ‘Holy crap, I can’t believe this is actually happening.’ It is a unique mix of emotions.”

Wardlow’s original vignettes and character plans: “So the original plans for my character are essentially still what they are with just a little bit altered with the Max thing. Wardlow is Wardlow. He is Ric Flair meets James Bond meets John Wick. Wardlow is always going to be dressed nice. He’s always going to be in a suit. He’s always going to have a beautiful lady on his arm, and he’s always going to be whooping asses. That’s what you can always expect from Wardlow. Essentially, that’s really where we’re at. We just gave Wardlow the role of the bodyguard protecting Max.”

The wound on Wardlow’s shoulder in early vignettes: “That’s funny, I actually forgot about that. Those were injuries acquired from all of my parking lot fighting. Those were fresh wounds from the date the night before and the fight the night before.”