Brian Myers (@Myers_Wrestling) is a professional wrestler signed with TNA and previously competed in WWE as Curt Hawkins. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Indianapolis, IN to discuss being a veteran in the TNA locker room, wanting to become the TNA World Champion, his WWE losing streak and why he didn’t want it to end, the origin of the name Curt Hawkins, having his own wrestling school that trained MJF, his short-lived stripper gimmick in WWE, training The Rock for his in-ring return, the best person he has been in the ring with, and more!
At what age did you seek out a wrestling school?
“So I was, I’m still am such a wrestling nerd. I read something, an interview with Bret Hart where he said, don’t backyard wrestle and apply yourself to sports in school until you are of age. So I knew I couldn’t do anything until I was 18. I took that advice to heart. So football, wrestling, baseball, straight through and high school and all throughout, growing up. And then as soon as I turned 18, I just went after it. In New York, where I’m from, you can’t wrestle unless you’re 18. So that kept me grounded a little bit.”
Now that you’re in your 40s, do you think about how long you want to do this?
“More than ever. Yeah, it’s crazy how much it’s been [on my mind]. I’ll be 41 in a month. Ever since I turned 40, it just feels like, oh man. I always say father time is undefeated, and an injury could stop me. I just want to be the best version of myself, whatever that takes. We talked about Brock earlier, just taking care of yourself and staying healthy. Just because doing this is such a privilege to me. Like I said, when I have my last match, I’m gonna cry like a baby, because I just love it so much. It’s been such a part of my life. I’ve been doing it more than not at this point. So I think about it constantly. But then there’s people who are real motivations to me, like Edge and Christian and Chris Jericho. I see them still doing at a high level, and they’re much older than me. I’m like, okay, sh*t, they’re doing it. Even guys like Frankie Kazarian and Eric Young at work, like they are in the best shape of their lives, still having incredible matches, and they’re a little bit older, and I’m like, okay, like they keep me motivated to stay on the ball.”
At what point do you feel like you became the veteran, like you are very much the veteran in TNA, like the locker room guy?
“Yeah, I don’t know. It depends. Sometimes I feel like people don’t even see me that way. They don’t go out of their way to ask me for advice or things like that. Not always, you know. So it depends on how you visualise me. Some people are so young, they see me as the losing streak guy, and they don’t even think my opinion is worth a damn, you know. So it is what it is.”
I’ve heard you talk about the fact that you didn’t want your losing streak to end. At what point was it gonna end?
“I was gonna beat Heath Slater on Main Event because we were in Brooklyn, and Vince was just like, oh, it’s Hawkins’ hometown. Let’s give him one. Then the writer came from the meeting to tell me, I was like, No, that’s a terrible idea.”
How many losses did you have at this point?
“It had to be100 something at this point. Because when the article came out, I embraced it and I was like, oh, that’s kind of cool. That’s like, see what comes to this. So I was beating Heath, no offense, it’s gonna be forgotten by tomorrow by everyone. I was like, let’s see where this goes. I’m sure a lot of people in WWE don’t politic to lose. But I was really trying.”
When you were at that point of the losing streak, did you have a vision for where, when this might possibly end?
“I tried to not even think about it, because I think it would drive me nuts. It was more productive to come into work and be like, what’s your finish? Great. I can’t wait to take it the best I can. That was instead of thinking maybe I’m gonna roll Braun Strowman up today. I didn’t want to drive myself nuts doing that every day.”
You broke the streak at WrestleMania 35. Did you have a WrestleMania moment up to that point?
“I mean, that was another thing, Matt and I were very spoiled that first one. We ran in the main event of WrestleMania 24 and attempted to attack the Undertaker. I think we were 22 years old, it’s a wild way to start, you know, and then you come down. The next year, Matt says it all the time. He’s like, just assuming we’ll probably have a three-way with Edge next year, and we’ll be like who’s breaking up and stuff, and we were like, anonymous lumberjacks or something on a pre-show. So it didn’t really turn out like that.”
How’d you come up with Curt Hawkins?
“With the Majors, they didn’t want Matt to be Matt Brett. He was Brett Matthews. They made him Brett Majors, and I was Brian Majors, and they just didn’t want us to be brothers. Then when we did the reveal with Edge, Vince thought we were real brothers, apparently, and it came up in the meeting, unbeknownst to us. So we debuted with Adam at Armageddon, that was Sunday Night. Raw, we don’t go do because we’re SmackDown talent. This is Tuesday, so we show up Tuesday and they come out of the meeting like, ‘You guys need new names. You need them now. ‘Then there was, of course, the WWE clusterf*ck sh*t. I remember, Johnny goes, ‘No, you’re with Edge now, you need cool names, like razor and slash.’ And we’re like, Oh, okay. So we were really brainstorming, oh sh*t, that’s not what we’re thinking. Then Michael Hayes, we see him later today, goes, ‘That’s not what he said. He wants to just have, real believable names.’ We’re like, okay, that’s completely different, because at one point we were going to be Kedis, and Cobain. we’ll tie it in with Edge. A rated R rock star? Then we went and saw Vince, and we clarified. He said, No. So just regular names. And then Curt Hawkins is from Curt Hennig, one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. So it was a little tribute, and I was a fake Edge. So Taylor Hawkins always looked like Edge to me. I would tell Adam that. He’s a big [Foo Fighters fan].”
When you got released from WWE the first time, did you think there was any path for you to go back?
“Yes, one of the best days of my life. Because I was so young, they weren’t using me for, at that point, almost a year and a half. That’s why I started the school, because I was just miserable. They would not call me for two months, three months at a time, and they’d be like, You’re not coming to Raw. It just wasn’t comfortable. Plus, when you love something and you’re being paid to not participate in it, it’s just not a great feeling. So I was thrilled, I got fired on Thursday, I wrestled Friday, Saturday on these shindies in New Jersey, and I couldn’t have been happier. That said, my goal was to get back, and I did it two years to the date, I want to say it was.”
How did you become the guy that The Rock trusted to train when he came back?
“I think Hunter and Johnny hand-picked me and Joe Hennig for that.”
So this is before Rock came back for Rock Cena one, right?
“He hosted the Mania, and he was around, but then he was gonna do that tag in The Garden, and they said he wanted to train. Johnny Ace called me on a Wednesday, and I’m like, oh, I’m getting fired, this is it. Then they were like, ‘Please hold for Joe Hennig.’ I’m like wtf? It was the weirdest. I actually was on the train going with who would become my wife, like, one of our first dates. So I was all like, what is happening? And then Johnny is like, ‘Yeah, Rock wants to train, and we picked you guys.’ It was an unbelievable experience, because, obviously, Dwayne’s schedule is something else, and we were his personal little crash test dummies. You just never knew. A couple times I flew to Miami in the morning, train with him in Miami, and then flew out of Miami, like my commute was Miami and back in a day.”
Were you training in his house?
“No, they would set up a WWE ring wherever he was filming whatever, in all these different spots. We did New Orleans. We did Miami. One time he couldn’t make it, and me and Joe Hennig had a honeymoon on Bourbon Street. Because they got us there. We’re supposed to be there for like, the weekend. Maybe TV was like a drive. So they were like, just stay. And they paid for this beautiful hotel on Bourbon Street, me and Joe, and we just went out every night. It was unbelievable, but he couldn’t have been cooler, man. He’s one of those people, I was around him, and you’re like this is why this guy’s so successful. You just see it. You just see it in him, the way he treats people, the way he carried himself, the things he cared about. I just saw it. It was really, really cool.”
What have you seen in Matt Cardona’s journey to get back to WWE?
“I mean, the same goal. I was so happy for him. He was so focused on that, that it finally turned a goal into a reality. That’s a cool thing. When the news broke, obviously, I was in the know of what was going on. But once it became a public thing, I put a tweet out that, go find it. It was just everything I wanted to say about this, what he did has never been done before, and it should be studied and appreciated by workers of all ages and shapes and sizes and it’s the real deal. It was a hell of an accomplishment.”
Do you remember the first time you met MJF when he came to your wrestling school?
Yeah, I’ll never forget it. It was very early on, probably the first four months of Create A Pro. It’s kind of funny, because it’s a very similar mentality, he committed to something in college football, but he really had his heart set on wrestling. I think it kind of hit a wall with what he was doing and what his parents wanted him to do and what he wanted to do. I was in a very similar situation, because when you tell people you want to be a wrestler, it’s not really that believable. His dad came in with him, and it almost felt like, here he’s your problem now, this is what he wants to do. I was like, let’s go. So pretty early on, we did a promo class where he just murdered this kid, and I was like, okay, and there’s something about this guy.
Do you want to have your wrestling school forever?
“Yeah. I mean, it’s been such a passion project. Pat Buck and I do not get rich off Create A Pro. I mean, we almost make no money. But it’s not this carnie cash grab, it’s this place where we just generate this amazing culture. If you’re a sh*thead or a bad person, we literally tell you, hey, we don’t want your money, you can go. It’s just people who work hard and love professional wrestling and be a good person. That’s all we ask, and that’s how you stay. And it’s been a proven formula. No one’s gotten rich off it, but I’ve made a lot of memories and a lot of friends, and it’s cool. I’m still selfish about because I train there, I think that’s helped me. I need a place to work out and stay in ring shape. So it goes both ways.”
Who’s the best person you’ve ever been in the ring with?
“Oh, man, I hate saying this, because he’s gonna see this, or someone’s gonna tell him I said this, but it’s probably Christian. I just remember being in the ring with him and being like this guy’s a lot better than me. That hasn’t come up, I’m more of a f*ck you. I can be on your level. But back when I wrestled him for the first time, I think in 2010 we had a two-segment match on Superstars, I’m just like, Shit, this guy’s a real deal. I gotta step my game up.”
What is Brian Myers grateful for?
“My wife and 2 kids.”
Please support our sponsors:
HELIX SLEEP: Flash sale! Go to https://helixsleep.com/cvv for 27% off sitewide!
COZY EARTH: Go to https://cozyearth.com/CVV for up to 20% off!
BETTER WILD: Get up to 40% off your order at https://betterwild.com/cvv
FAST GROWING TREES: Use the code INSIGHT for 20% off your first purchase at https://fastgrowingtrees.com
AMERICAN FINANCING: NMLS 182334, nmlsconsumeraccess.org. APR for rates in the 5s start at 6.196% for well qualified borrowers. Call 866-721-3300 for details about credit costs and terms or visit https://americanfinancing.net/Chris
BEAM: Go to https://shopbeam.com/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT for up to 40% off Beam’s Dream Powder
PRIZE PICKS: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT to get $50 bonus credit in daily fantasy lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!
DELETEME: Use the code INSIGHT to get 20% off your DeleteMe plan at https://joindeleteme.com/INSIGHT
LEAN: Get 20% off with the code CVV at https://takelean.com
FACTOR: Get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year with the code INSIGHT50OFF at https://factormeals.com/INSIGHT50OFF
PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/cvv
SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount
NORDVPN: Exclusive deal! https://nordvpn.com/cvv Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
CALDERA LAB: Go to https://calderaLab.com/CHRISand use code CHRIS for 20% off your first order.
PRIZEPICKS: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT to get $50 bonus credit in daily fantasy lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!