My mom was like, 'What did I do as a mom for you to want to become a wrestler?' They just didn't understand, and it's really hard to explain what made me love wrestling so much. There's something about it that made me fall in love, and ever since I laid my eyes on it, I knew I wanted to be a professional wrestler in the WWE.
I did a year and a half of independent wrestling before I got into the WWE. It was nothing really. I didn't make the towns. I don't even say I was an indy wrestler.
In my first fight, I acknowledged it. I'm a professional wrestler, this is who I am, who you know me as. But guess what, I've also been wrestling since I was 5 years old - real wrestling - amateur wrestling, Olympic wrestling.
WWE style is a much different platform than other wrestling companies. Each wrestler wrestles under strict rules that fans never know.
My mom found a wrestling school that was in Maryland, and she told me to go down there. From there, I really got my head out of any negativity, and I focused on trying to become a professional wrestler, living my dream from when I was a kid. Wrestling saved my life.
I have been a fan of wrestling since I was about 8 years old. In 2012, I went to my first WWE show in Melbourne, Australia, and knew that my already existing desire to be a wrestler wasn't going away anytime soon.
I started watching wrestling when I was eight, and I only watched the WWE as a kid.
Triple H is a former bodybuilder. He's all about bodies. He thought that Hulk Hogan was the greatest wrestler in the world. They think Ultimate Warrior was the greatest wrestler in the world because that's what they're attracted to, but he's not really a wrestling fan like I grew up. I was a wrestling fan.
I knew I wanted to be a wrestler, so I became the best wrestler in wrestling history.
I'm a wrestler, a very polished wrestler and some of my best attributes in wrestling are my scrambling ability and my clinch.
As a kid, everyone dreams of being in an All-Star game.
As a kid everyone has dreams of winning their ultimate tournament and being number one in the world.
But I really think wrestling with pure intentions just wrestling to be a better wrestler, eventually you will get there when the time is right.
I busted my tail for so long, I'm just glad it's getting recognized now as part of the WWE. Because let's face it, the WWE is the biggest company out there when it comes to wrestling. I'm just happy that I'm being recognized as somebody who works hard, I guess.
I'm a wrestling fan - before I was a wrestler, I was a wrestling fan. I like watching wrestling.
I remember when I had just left WWE and I was wrestling in England and Germany, I could just tell that this influx of this new wave of wrestling was coming much like it felt when I began wrestling back in '99.