Andrew Everett On Learning From The Hardys And Staying With Impact After They Left
Impact World Tag Team Champion Andrew Everett spoke with Wrestling Epicenter on winning tag titles, The Hardys, and Impact's creative direction. Here are some of the highlights:
Defeating Scott Steiner and Eli Drake for the Impact World Tag Titles:
"Just to touch on Scott Steiner, like you said, one of the best tag team wrestlers to ever walk on the face of the planet. A legend in his own right. It is weird being in there with a guy that you saw growing up dominate the tag team division. Pulling out a win against someone like Steiner is a big deal! On the other hand, Eli Drake is so damn large and powerful and so damn fast too! People sometimes don't realize ... You've seen Eli do springboard moonsaults and all that. He can go! He can fly! A little bit of miscommunication on their part helped us out. But, you know, we got the win and now we've got the titles!"
How the Z&E team with DJZ was formed:
"Necessity, I would say. We both had similar pasts in Impact. Setbacks with injuries ... I've had three episodes with knee injuries. He almost died last year, ya know, no big deal! [Laughs] Setbacks! We came together and we both wanted to push it even further. Like I said, he's a big inspiration to me. He has no quit. He just keeps going. He comes back from injury and there is no taking it easy. He's 100% out the gate all the time. We tagged at [AAA] TripleMania last year. We tagged in the Lucha Libre World Cup at the Korakuen Hall in Japan. We thought we might as well bring it stateside and see what we can do with it at Impact!"
Getting some training from The Hardys:
"Yeah, they had a hand in training me. People like to say that they trained me, but they had a hand in training me. I was trained by a guy named Jeff Rudd at CWA Mid Atlantic. But, yes, the Hardys had hands in developing who I was. They definitely had a huge influence on who I became and my style. You've got to be crazy not to see the influence they had on me."
Staying with Impact when the Hardy Boys and Shane Helms left:
"I just felt that what I was trying to do wasn't done yet at Impact. And, it still isn't by any means. I've known Shane [Helms] for a long time and he's been very, very, very influential on my career. He is one of the guys who is probably most influential on me. While it was tough seeing them go, it was one of those things where buckling down, put your nose to the ground and power through. That is what I've always done. And, I'm glad that I did. Because, now I'm having some of the most fun I've had in at least a couple of years wrestling. It is tough seeing those guys leave but I still stay in contact with those guys. They're great people."
Impact's latest management and the company's creative direction:
"Finally there is some stability and that is something that we, as performers, weren't guaranteed for a while. It is nice to see and they have thought enough of me and DJZ to let us run with this tag team, let us give the best performances we can, and that they are confident we can. It is a breath of fresh air. It is the most fun I've had in wrestling in a long time!"
Current state of wrestling with so many promotions to choose from:
"I just think this is the most exciting time to be a wrestler since, probably, the Monday Night Wars. You have options to go out and make money now. For a while there, it was just WWE or nothing. I mean, Impact was always around, but with the influx of New Japan becoming more and more popular stateside, It has to be the most interesting time to be a professional wrestler that I can think of. At least in my career, I know that for a fact. All In! They sold out 10,000 seats in under 30 minutes! That's preposterous! It is a sign that – and I think this wholeheartedly – being a professional wrestling fan is becoming cool again."
Everett also discussed being a high-flyer and his wrestling goals. You can check out the full interview in the video above or by clicking here.