During a recent interview with The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show, indie wrestling Superstars Kenny Omega, Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin discussed a variety of topics including the ROH/PWG relationship, NJPW stars leaving the company, The Bullet Club and more. Here are some highlights:
Elgin on the recent exits of stars from NJPW: “You know anybody who thinks there’s trouble with departures in New Japan, they don’t watch the product because if they watch the product they would understand that four people leaving a company like New Japan is nothing. And I’m saying it’s nothing when it’s guys like A.J.Styles, when it’s guys like Nakamura, and it’s guys like Gallows and Karl Anderson. The talent pool there’s just so deep and they have such good connections here with Ring of Honor, in Mexico with CMLL, they’re working with Rev Pro in the U.K., there’s an unlimited amount of guys and untapped talent that maybe some of the world doesn’t realize is out there that New Japan knows. So, I don’t think there’s going to be ever trouble with New Japan.”
Roderick Strong on PWG and ROH’s relationship: “I think PWG is the rawest form of me. Which is what I’m trying to bring to Ring of Honor now. But it’s something that takes time to develop and fine tune and until I felt like I was as comfortable as I could be with that I didn’t want to do that. You know I think what I’ve done in Ring of Honor will pale in comparison to what I do in Ring of Honor from this point forward.”
“I think in one sense it broadens the Ring of Honor name brand. Based on the fact that some people that don’t necessarily know what Ring of Honor is but follows PWG will get the opportunity because of guys like me, Adam Cole, the Young Bucks, that they hear that Ring of Honor name and the same at PWG. People with no idea what what that is all about get to see guys that do not necessarily work here but maybe one day will. So I mean it’s just great for wrestling overall.”
Omega on his hopes for the Bullet Club: “My hope for the Bullet Club and for The Elite is that going forward we aren’t just the same old Bullet Club trying to pick up the pieces and trying to re-hash the same old ideas. For me to be the new A.J. or for me to be the new Prince Devitt, I don’t want that, I want to be my own person, I’ve always wanted to be my own person. Now that I’m sort of in a position to be a leader and to sort of set the new standard, a new rule, I think it’s just easier to call myself The Elite with the Young Bucks because they’re the ones that truly supported me from day one. They’re the ones that accent everything that I do that no one else can do. We accent each other we help each other. They’re the guys that are always with me in the think tank. They’re the guys that are always striving to push ourselves to be crazy or to be better. I mean yeah we have a Bullet Club, that’s that’s that’s the New Japan thing. We’ve got cool merchandise, people like wearing the design, people like wearing the shirts, that’s fine, but in terms of identity, we want to be known as the Elite.”
