Christopher Daniels Talks ROH On Destination America, ROH Leading In To Impact, Claire Lynch, More
Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels appeared on the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast and talked ROH's new television deal, and leading in to his former employer, TNA. You can read the highlights below:
The general reaction to the news of ROH TV debuting on Destination America:
"Honestly, I was very surprised. This was all a shock to the entire roster, but a good shock. I feel like one of the things especially since I've come back to Ring of Honor that I hoped would happen is more of a concerted effort to broaden the horizons of Ring of Honor. Being a part of a syndicated show is one thing but as far as syndication goes not every place is going to have it available or have access to that show and now being on Destination America it certainly opens a lot of doors to a new and wider fan base. So it is a great step forward for Ring of Honor and a win-win situation for us as a company and as a brand."
Being the lead in programming to Impact Wrestling:
"To me, it seems like Destination America is building a night of action, like almost a set block of time for professional wrestling. Truthfully speaking the best two options in the United States that aren't WWE are Ring of Honor and TNA so you are certainly covering a broad spectrum of talent and I think it is great for both companies. It depends on what happens in the next couple of months to see how this benefits Ring of Honor and benefits TNA."
The difference in the locker room of ROH from when he left to his return:
"The only difference with the locker room is the people that are in it. There has always been a sense of togetherness and family in that locker room because we have always been striving to make Ring of Honor a better product and that is very similar now to when I left. That feeling of everyone being on the same page and building towards something. It was weird because when I left in 2011 they had just been purchased by Sinclair and were just starting to get their television show off the ground and then I come back in 2014 and the first show that I get a chance to do is the first live broadcasted pay per view that Ring of Honor ever did. So to me I didn't have anything to do with the build of the company from that period they started on Sinclair to now, that was the work of all the guys in that locker room. Guys like Adam Cole and Michael Elgin and Jay Briscoe and Roderick Strong that was something that that locker room sort of did on their own and built themselves up. I feel very fortunate that they gave me an opportunity to return to the company and to bring Frankie (Kazarian) with me. Frankie didn't really have that history with the company that I did and at the same time me having history with that company didn't necessarily warrant me having a spot in the locker room and I understood that and I knew that coming into the locker room I was going to have to do something to prove that I still belong and I could still hang with these guys and be a productive part of the roster. I feel like me and Frankie have done that in the last year and have shown that we are capable of going out there with younger teams like reDRagon, The Young Bucks, The Briscoe Brothers and Matt Sydal and ACH and have quality and productive matches and we've taken that opportunity and have run with it since the first day we got there."
Teaming with Frankie Kazarian & being the ROH tag team champions:
"When we were in TNA as Bad Influence, we wanted to be the kind of tag team that Beer Money was or the Motor City Machine Guns were. That team that sort of made themselves a team and made that the priority. I feel like TNA didn't really put as much effort into us as we did into ourselves and even though that was disappointing that was just the way it went. Now in Ring of Honor there are so many great tag teams and so many teams that are focused on being a great tag team and there is so much talent there that being the champions, to me it means a lot and I am looking forward to getting an opportunity to wrestle against all of these guys as champions and make the story of the tag team titles as important as the heavyweight title and the television title in the fan bases eyes."
The Clair Lynch Saga:
"Things that were pitched to the company and what the company ended up doing with it had some little differences that could have made the story tighter and make a little bit more sense. In the end the two major things that we wanted to get out of that storyline was me and Frankie as an established tag team and as the petty jealous guys that would do anything to get to the top and re-establish AJ Styles as the top baby face. I feel like all the stuff we put him through when he came out of that and came back stronger as a baby face, when he came back he was in the world title picture and I think a lot of that had to do with us putting him through the ringer."
Daniels also discusses his entire run in the first years of Ring of Honor, the early days of TNA's X Division and the vision he saw for it, signing with WCW in 2000, his feeling on working with Vince Russo,CM Punk and his future in the wrestling business. You can download the episode at this link.