During a recent interview with Pwinsider, Lee Moriarty commented on his reaction to finding out he’d be facing CM Punk on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite, being introduced to straight edge through CM Punk, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On being introduced to straight edge through Punk: “That’s amazing because you’re right, straight edge lifestyle was introduced to me through CM Punk and it’s something I still apply to this day. And when I started training in professional wrestling, CM Punk was gone, he wasn’t here so the idea of the match happening wasn’t realistic. And as time passed, it became more and more [inaudible 00:01:38] because it didn’t seem like he was coming back. And then this year, everything changed. He joined All Elite Wrestling, I’m signed with All Elite Wrestling and then a possibility becomes a reality. So it’s very cool.”
On his reaction to finding out that he was facing Punk: “I had to have it repeated a few times because I didn’t feel like what I heard or what I saw was right. But once it set in, I was excited, I was ready and I’ve been preparing since then. I’ve been studying his matches since he’s come to AEW, he’s had seven and I’ve watched as many as I can until getting on my flight today. Just preparing. The interesting thing about Punk’s matches is that every single one has been very different. And I think my style is something that’s easily adaptable so we’ll be able to contrast in a way that’s going to be fun for people to watch and also fun to compete with.”
On finding inspiration from Bruce Lee: “So more so than the movies, it was like you were saying that mind and the philosophy of Bruce Lee. Some of the stuff he says lines up with also the straight edge lifestyle, removing the non-essentials from your life to better it and make it more valuable. And that’s why I’m straight edge, I remove these things that I don’t need and it allows me to focus on the things that are more important to me. Bruce Lee has all these different quotes and stuff that have inspired me and one of them is the Be Water quote, that’s something I recite to myself before every match just to calm my nerves.”
