Wardlow got white hot as a babyface in All Elite Wrestling last year. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize it at the time.
Ahead of his TNT Championship match against Samoa Joe at AEW Revolution, Wardlow was a recent guest on Busted Open Radio with Dave LaGreca, Tommy Dreamer, and Mickie James to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about looking to regain his momentum this weekend, Wardlow admitted he didn’t realize how hot he got with the audience last year while it was happening.
“Oh, man. So the unfortunate part of that is it’s kind of wild to hear Tommy Dreamer sit here and tell me I was the hottest babyface in all professional wrestling like we haven’t seen in decades. Goldberg-esque. I mean, that’s just wild to me,” Wardlow said. “And I think the unfortunate part of that is that I didn’t really comprehend it at the time. And that’s something that kind of eats at me, like a lot.
“I’ll admit, I did not comprehend what I was at the time, and I don’t think I ever gave myself credit for it. And I almost feel like it slipped through my fingers without me even realizing it. Not that I’m any less than, but obviously, the steam was at a different level then. And I guess I’m just kind of — my whole goal right now is just chasing that. Like, I want to be that again, but actually feel it and comprehend it.
“So I don’t know what we’re going to do to get there. But I’m ready to win this title, and I’m ready to, unlike last time, I want to defend that title. It’s the TV title; it should be defended on TV regularly. So I want to go back to the open challenge.
“If and when I win the title, I would like to do an open challenge weekly or bi-weekly. And I want to run through this roster. There’s still a lot of people that I have not been in the ring with. There’s a lot of people that I want to prove myself against. And I think now’s the time. I mean, I’m done playing little kid games.”
When asked who he wanted to step into the ring with, Wardlow name-dropped a lot of main eventers like Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and Kenny Omega.
“[Jon] Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Cesaro [Claudio Castagnoli], I got a loss on [Chris] Jericho I’d like to redeem,” Wardlow said. “I got a loss on Adam Page I’d like to redeem. Obviously [Kenny] Omega, PAC, I mean, Malakai [Black], Brody [King].
“I mean, there’s so many people that you — gosh, I haven’t even gotten to beat the crap out of Sammy Guevara yet, and he keeps posting pictures on Twitter with him in the TNT title. To me, that’s like posting pictures with the girl I’m dating; that’s disrespectful. So I’d like to beat some respect into him.”
When asked about current AEW World Heavyweight Champion MJF, Wardlow admitted there’s a lot of history there and can’t wait to get in the ring and defeat him once again.
“There’s a lot of history, and so there’s a lot to be said about Max,” Wardlow admitted. “Because, again, I was steaming hot. And the night after I beat him should have been a huge celebration of me beating him, becoming all elite, and the night was all about him.
“He’s a selfish piece of shit, and I will dance with the devil again. And this time, after I powerbomb the life out of him and pin him this time it will be for the heavyweight title. Yeah, he’s obviously at the tippy top of the list of people I want to murder. It’s funny, he calls himself better than everybody better than you, but I mopped the floor with him.”
READ MORE: Wardlow On His Absence From AEW TV: It Changed My Life, I’m A Different Person Now
What do you make of Wardlow’s comments? Do you think he’ll leave AEW Revolution with the TNT Championship? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Busted Open Radio with a link back to this article for the transcription.
