The OGK (Mike Bennett and Matt Taven) recently appeared as guests on the ROH Strong podcast for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.
During the appearance, the duo spoke about capturing the ROH Tag-Team Championships, how bittersweet the moment was and the company going on hiatus.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview.
Taven on the news about the ROH hiatus: “It’s so hard, so unbelievably hard. I don’t know how else to say it. You wanted something for so long and it happens, but it’s not the way it’s supposed to happen. Since we’ve been back and in the pandemic era, the things that have happened with no crowd. From my own return to Mike’s return, something we had been back door planning for years happened in front of no one. For this to happen in this circumstance, not just without the crowd, but knowing we don’t know what tomorrow brings is a tough one. You want to enjoy these things, you don’t put too much thought into the things online, but everyone questions what’s happening for the future and have their comments to make. That’s been in our minds the whole time. When you’re looking at your suitcase and there’s this big trophy that you’ve been desperate for for almost six years, but when you pick it up, you think of all these uncertain things that might happen, you’re playing with a double-edged sword. It’s been really tough. Personally, I’ve been with the company for so long. People will say whatever they want about me, they always have and always will, but I feel like I’ve given so much and I’ve seen others give so much. There is such a big part of me that I feel so bad for the guys around me, knowing what’s going on. They all have families and real lives and as much as people act on social media and that’s real life, you put down your phone and you have to deal with all these things. It’s tough for all the guys in the locker room. I loved [Honor For All] for what it was for Mike and I and such a long road to get back here, but it was tough because I know how hard everyone works in the locker room, from production to people that set up the ring. I love everyone so much and they are all my family. To see the end of the road coming up sooner than later, it’s tough. At the end of that match, I knew we were one step closer to the end. I have all the faith in the world that all these guys and girls will do great things in this business, but it’s always tough because when someone leaves or goes somewhere else, you don’t see them as much or talk to them as much, you kind of live in this bubble and if someone isn’t in that bubble with you, they are kind of on the outskirts of your life. To think the family that we’ve grown and we’re not in the same bubble anymore, it’s tough. It sucks.”
Bennett on winning the tag team titles: “Matt couldn’t have said it any better about how I’m feeling. He kind of summed everything up about my exact emotion. The only thing I’ll add is the win (at Honor For All), it was the first time in my very long career that, when the three count happened, I don’t remember uncontrollably crying like I did in that exact moment. I didn’t exactly know what I was crying for because the emotions were all so jumbled together. It was this moment of…we set out on something very personal for us, which was regaining the Tag Team Championships because when I left and everything hit the fan, it was the one thing we had in the back of our mind that we had the goal to get back to it. To see the paths that our careers took and to come full circle in the middle of the pandemic and all this crap happening, to once again be on that path and that goal, and then to have the rug pulled out from underneath you, it’s an emotion of happiness, sadness, anger, being terrified, every single emotion when through my body and the only way to handle it was uncontrollably crying. That was the first time I experienced that in a match, but it was a special moment and regardless of my emotion behind it, whether it was sad or anger or pure happiness, it’s probably going to be one of, if not the most significant championship win in my life.”
Check out the complete interview at ROHWrestling.com.
