NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion EC3 On What He Tells Younger Talent

EC3 is currently the NWA World Heavyweight Champion after paying his dues in promotions like WWE and TNA Wrestling. The former WWE 24/7 Champion also attempted to work on his own project, known as Control Your Narrative, which EC3 says was an attempt to help wrestlers re-invent themselves. While Control Your Narrative didn't work out, EC3 still hopes to help other performers find the best versions of themselves, as explained during a recent conversation with the Toronto Sun.

"What I'm trying to tell young talent is that sometimes who you want to be and what will get you there are two different things," EC3 said. "For example, I'm not Derek Bateman. ... Derek Bateman was an idea and a way to stand out and be different in a certain scenario I was put in to hopefully someday become who I wanted to be, which is variations of EC3."

In other words, EC3 wants younger wrestlers to understand that it takes time to evolve into who they will become, and the journey isn't usually a straight path. The key is to avoid becoming complacent and instead focus on pushing the boundaries of creativity.

"Pure creativity isn't giving people what they want, it's giving people what they didn't know they needed," the NWA star continued. "And sometimes you miss, but when you hit, that's how you become who you're supposed to be."

EC3's Bateman character stems from his early days in WWE, where he worked in the company's developmental system, known first as FCW before eventually becoming NXT. EC3 left the company and made something of a name for himself in TNA, also known as Impact Wrestling. He would eventually return to WWE, retaining his EC3 moniker, but was released in 2020, leading to Control Your Narrative and his NWA run.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Toronto Sun with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.