I recently had the opportunity to speak with Ring Of Honor star Flip Gordon ahead of his ‘I Quit’ match with Bully Ray at Ring Of Honor’s Final Battle.
Flip Gordon on how we got to this point with Bully Ray:
It got very personal, it got extreme. He hit me nine times with a kendo stick after repeatedly hitting me in the balls. I figured what’s the best way [to settle this], and he asked me many times if I would quit, so why not just do an ‘I Quit’ match where he can’t just get away with kicking me in the balls and running away?
Does he feel like Bully holds an advantage in their match at Final Battle, or is Flip on a more even playing field?
I think it puts us on a more even playing field because I was in the military, and I went through a lot of brutal military training, and I didn’t quit. I didn’t quit anything in my life, even when he hit me nine times with a kendo stick. It obviously goes in his favor because he’s a hardcore legend; he helped create a company that’s based on extreme rules. It does go in his favor a little bit, but this is war, and no man is going to walk out without injuries, scars. We’re going to get to the bottom of ‘who is the man’. Who is the man’s man, and who is a quitter, who is the coward? I promise you that’s going to be Bully.
Is he preparing for this match any differently than he normally would, given his moveset?
Absolutely. I’m not going to come into this match and try and fly all over the place. I’m going to use my speed to my advantage, but Bully wants to fight, and that’s exactly what I want. I want to fight as well, so I’m going to go in there and we’re going to fight. Like I said, it’s going to be a war.
Does Flip feel like he’s getting enough credit for his toughness from Bully Ray or some fans, given how he’s been portrayed this past year in comedic angles such as Being The Elite?
I think there is a small group of people that might think that. They might only see me on ‘Being The Elite’ and think I’m just this dumb, silly, goofy character. They are going to see a different side of me in this match. I got hit nine times with a kendo stick; if you go watch back that is a different Flip Gordon than you regularly see on ‘Being The Elite’.
I’m going to use my military training, and I’m going to use my past with MMA, with amateur wrestling; I’m going to use everything inside of me in this fight with Bully because I need to win this. I need to make him say he quits.
Going into Final Battle, does his guaranteed title shot allow him to focus more on Bully Ray?
Absolutely. I don’t have to worry about what’s next, because I already know what’s next. I can concentrate 100% on Bully Ray and on this ‘I Quit’ match on December 14th. If anything it gives me the advantage, because he doesn’t know what happens next. What happens if he loses, you know? If Flip Gordon loses—I lost to a WWE Hall Of Famer, but I still get a world championship opportunity. What happens if Bully loses? We don’t know. If you ask me, that gives me the advantage.
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Are you looking ahead at all to the Cody versus Jay Lethal match?
I have just been focusing on Final Battle against Bully Ray. I have been in the ring with Cody, I have been in the ring with Jay Lethal. I know what both of them bring to the table, they are two of the best competitors in the world today. I am focused on Bully Ray.
If you could take yourself out of the mix, or make an observation as a potential challenger, is there one person you’d rather see walk away with the title this weekend?
Part of me wants Jay Lethal to win and retain his title because I lost against him at All In. What better way would it have been to get booked for the show than to become world champion? The better wrestler won, and that was a few months ago, and I think I’ve gone on and learned a lot since then. I’d love to be able to get in the ring against Jay Lethal as champion again and prove to him—and everyone else—that I can beat him.
Even with the decorated year that he had, is there a specific accomplishment Flip wishes he had in 2018?
I wanted to win Best Of Super Juniors. I understand I’m young, it was my first year and I have a lot to learn. But while I was over there I learned a lot in that three weeks span, that I think if I went to Japan—the more I go to Japan, the more I will learn—but that’s not out of the equation. Maybe not for 2019, but 2020; I think that is a goal of mine to someday win Best Of Super Juniors.
Ring Of Honor’s Final Battle takes place this Friday at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The event is available for purchase on FITE and through ROH’s Honor Club.
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