EC3 (@therealec3) is a professional wrestler and the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion. He is also known for his time in WWE and TNA. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at Blizzard Brawl in Milwaukee, WI to talk about winning the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, retiring Tyrus, working with Billy Corgan in NWA, his relationship with Dixie Carter, would he want to return to WWE, the status of Control Your Narrative and much more!
Quote I’m thinking about:
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
Sponsors:
BETTERHELP: Get 10% off your first month with the code INSIGHT at http://betterhelp.com/insight
MUDWTR: Get 15% off with the code CVV15 at http://mudwtr.com/cvv
MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off with the code CVV at http://magicspoon.com/cvv
ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv
FITBOD: Get 25% off when you use the code INSIGHT at http://fitbod.me/INSIGHT
MYBOOKIE: Bet on WWE! Get up to $200 cash bonus when you use the code CVV and sign up at http://mybookie.ag
BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com
GHOSTBED: Get 40% of your purchase with the code CVV at http://ghostbed.com/cvv
MIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to http://TryMiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF
PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at http://plunge.com
BONCHARGE: Go to http://boncharge.com/CVV and use coupon code CVV to save 25%
On wanting to be uncomfortable:
“You have to suffer to succeed. And so I’ve actually started making sure I put myself in situations that will be kind of uncomfortable, or I don’t want to, for example, our interview, super uncomfortable right now. No, but like in a social setting and conversations meeting what would make me just feel awkward, so I can get out of it, or at least challenge myself to enjoy it. So I do do that. So yeah, uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is comforting.”
On Control Your Narrative:
“And I think too first off, what is a professional wrestler’s number one job? This is an Al Snow question. So I don’t know if he said it on your interview. But to get attention, right, so getting attention. And like, yeah, there’s good attention, and there’s bad attention. It received bad attention. But the bad attention was all based on fruitless lies, and people trying to sabotage something before it even started. Because in theory, we did make some strong waves and provided something unique, where once you become a threat in the industry, you’ve sought to be destroyed before you grow.”
On banning moves in Control Your Narrative:
“That it is still the most genius concept to have. Because if on the surface, you’re overreacting to something where you don’t understand or haven’t seen the context develop. It’s probably my fault. You don’t understand because the content wasn’t readily available. But I banned superkick, suicide dive, and the Canadian Destroyer. And the reasons were, because those moves are so cool, but they’re so overdone, they’ve lost their meaning. So if you watch our CYN show in Dallas, we have this big kind of multi-man match, where somebody who does a super kick was out of position or like thought about it couldn’t do it. Something happens, their instincts kick in, they hit the super kick, boom, nails somebody he’s out, that dude gets disqualified. So as he’s getting thrown out of the building, another guy comes in and pins him, because the super kick was so effective. It left that man devastated. So it wasn’t like to hate superkicks it’s just we’re doing them so much. They have so much value if we do them, right. Same thing with a suicide tope. Why did I do that? We had a really good reel where I went over every move you’re allowed to do, you just can’t do this one. You can go over the top. You go through the bottom rope, you can do a moonstone You can do a front flip, you can do a quadra breeder, you can do a lion. So you can do an Asai moonsault, you can do a backflip off the top rope, you can do a shooting star off the top rope, you can do whatever you want, just don’t go flying through the middle rope. But then the idea of that too, was I had somebody go for it. They missed. And they got stretched out of the building, because it’s so devastating that they didn’t hit it. That was the point. And then as far as the Canadian Destroyer that was all me leading up to getting a Canadian Destroyer from Ricky Morton and getting pinned by his son. That was my idea. So that’s why I banned them for long-term storytelling, which all these fans claim they want. We want long-term stories. We want context. You have to let it develop sometimes if I gotta ruffle a few feathers to get there so be it.”
On NWA now controlling his narrative:
“Are they though? NWA has provided me the freedom to control my narrative and here I sit as the NWA world’s heavyweight champion narrative controlled, which is another thing I’ll get online, how’s Control Your Narrative going? I control my narrative, I became a world heavyweight champion, I’m a sexual stud. I’m physically perfect. I’m mentally acute. I’m super happy. I’m doing well financially. It worked out pretty well. Thank you for asking, like controlling your narrative, the concept is to tell your story. That was the concept. And that was a story for each and every talent that wanted to come there those that need to be discovered, those that want to be reinvented, I’m giving you a platform to tell your story. And the whole thing started because when I would be in WWE, or even Impact, TNA Ring of Honor, when we’re looking at the camera, and when the red light would come on, people would play what they think they should be. Cut, you have a conversation with them, dude their stories are amazing. They’re super intriguing people, they’ve had these ups and these downs in life that I’m like if you can tell that to the world, we’re all like becoming stars because people can resonate with your truth and reality. As opposed to you think you have to do something you don’t like Control Your narrative was a test to be an individual and self-realised, self-actualized performer.”
On Braun Strowman’s return:
“He controlled his narrative into a nice contract. You start something new, the growth seems to come. I started in sort of an off-kilter kind of way while still working with Ring of Honor at the time. And then with NWA, but like it was always off-brand, I would call it subsidiary content to the wrestling lore, you know, whatever is happening within wrestling. This is off the side, it’s supplemental material, its shadow of empires to the Star Wars trilogy. That nerd reference. But like, then the growth happens, you attach a fairly big name to it. There’s some intrigue. Next thing, you know, there’s, quote, television, and there’s quote, agents involved, there’s quote, people are, like, see a financial endgame, where a lot of things are offered. But at the end of the day, the the foundation is me and my MacBook at a coffee shop. And I’m like, Well, there’s a lot to do, and I need help doing it. And so when you bring on talent to that’s come through them the system of the WWE, their job is to perform, their job is to be their character. Their job is to have the itinerary somebody gives them to do this, this and this. And so when you’re starting something new, you have to do everything. And it’s hard. So at the same time, if you’re going to walk back into guaranteed money, I was totally fine with it. But you have to go back.”
On still keeping in touch with Dixie Carter:
“Yeah, I text her once a month. We have a little exchange. It was pulling teeth to get her on that OVW show. But we did it was cool. That was Al Snow and I were helping her produce it because she was filming it at home. And like it was just like old times micro-managing and analysing things that don’t matter. Like all you have to do is just show up and say hi and just have fun with it. She said I don’t know if this is the right tone. I said, just have fun. That’s what this sh*t is supposed to be. And I think that’s what she never really got to experience because she jumps into the business in the deep end to like, you know, the competitive, Shark filled waters of the professional wrestling world where a lot of people are utilising her and probably manipulating her and trying to get money and this and that. I don’t know if she ever just had to have fun. She got to have that fun that this is the reason we do this.”
On Tyrus:
“I grew this industry with him. So we’re, you know, very close. And at the end of the day, in the concept of what we do as a business, he did me a huge favour, passing that torch, his career, bestowing me to be the one to take him out which one day I will bestow upon somebody and that’s how we grow the business and we try to leave it better than when we found it. But yeah, I mean, partly because he’s in a political atmosphere. So he’s going to alienate 50% of people. And partly because he’s been around for a while. People don’t like big men. In reality, he’s huge, He’s a dominating figure, that match too was one of my favourites by no means is a, quote, good wrestling match. But what I wanted it to be was a Greek tragedy. And I think I accomplished it, so I owe him a lot. And that probably does help why I’m a protagonist because I defeated him. But also I’m pretty good too.”
On a WWE return:
“I’m so thoroughly content with building what we’re building right now. And I’m very on board. And I feel very much I could be a gear in the strongest machine possible. Or I can sink or swim being a catalyst to build something for the future. And so it’s how much are they paying? No, what we’re doing. I believe in what we’re doing, I believe in WPC. They put me in a great position, not just champion, but sort of like, I don’t know, I guess I’m a locker room leader and things like that. And being able to help cultivate the future intrigues me greatly, especially because I’m still in my prime, and I could beat everybody.”
On Dean Ambrose interactions:
“I didn’t have any [momentum]. I think it was a weird spot because Dean has been on top Shield, awesome, loved, adored, whether they’re protagonists or antagonists, they’re ingrained in the culture. Also, at the same time, he’s publicly announcing I’m bucking the system. I’m out of here. I love the dude. But like, when you have the freedom to like, it doesn’t matter what I do. Like he did like that promo was great, because he’s just feeling it. Usually when you don’t give a shit. Sometimes it’s when your work is the best. That was scripted, I think. I believe so I just know that. Every time I’m going to speak, I get cut off. So does that kill the momentum? A bit, unless we delivered something in the back end. So the match, a decent little match. It’s a TV match. And I think I won like with a roll up, as opposed to I don’t know, should I have just beat the dog sh*t out of him? Or like what would have made me keep the momentum but then the momentum was killed the next week anyway, so didn’t matter. And I think partly the reason that was killed is because we were working the live events together. So Dean and I, we would have these really good live event matches, you know, eight minutes, like third on the card, they’re solid little, you know things. Right Place Right Time. He’s the antagonist. I’m a protagonist. But he’s getting cheered, and I’m getting booed. So in the middle of that match, I’m like, this is exactly where I want to be. If I can garner the sort of push of I’m a baby face, but people generally don’t like me. That’s Roman, Cena level, I can get to that. Like, that’s where I need to be because I’m a sh*t baby face. So like, we’re working these matches, and I’m working to baby face and my comebacks, getting booed and his, you know, he’s getting cheered. And like, I’d slip over and slip over and slip over on the last night, because we’re really good professional wrestlers and tired of like always doing the same thing. We’re in the middle of the match. And they’re really anti-me. And they’re really for him. I think he has me in a hold. He’s like, you switch it up? Well, yeah. And so in the middle of the match, I take over and now I’m playing kind of the bad guy, and I’m, you know, beating the sh*t out of him. And now he’s fired up, and he’s making a comeback. And same finished, like, whatever. But like, we went about it a different way. Apparently, that got back to the office to Vince, perhaps I don’t know for sure. But, like, when you buck the system, you’re spitting in his face sometimes. So it’s like a power play. So the next day on TV momentum is cut. And then it’s just nothing after that. I mean, the point of what we do is to garner the reactions that people are feeling and getting so like, by doing that, I think that’s the right move is a pro for a wrestling show without any context. It’s a live event. People are there to have fun cheer and boo and see a good show. But then, at the end of the day, you know, wrong place wrong time.”
What is EC3 grateful for:
“The opportunity to have poignant conversations, the opportunities that my work has provided me and what I can do in the position I’m in.”
