Junior dos Santos has hit the ground running in All Elite Wrestling.
“JDS” initially made some non-wrestling appearances with American Top Team, but the former UFC Heavyweight Champion made a successful in-ring debut last week on AEW Rampage.
During a recent appearance alongside Dan Lambert on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, “Cigano” reflected on his first match and expressed his happiness with it by calling it a “great experience.” When asked about how his venture into wrestling began, JDS stated that, once he saw how the competitors “go for real”, he was hooked.
“Dan [Lambert] was the guy who introduced me to that world,” said Dos Santos. “I knew it, you know, but I wasn’t really following it, and as soon as I started to travel for these shows with Dan, man, I said, ‘Woah, these guys, they go for real.’ This thing can hurt very, very bad and they train, they’re well prepared for that. So then I kind of felt like, man, I gotta do this. I told Dan, and luckily we got a great chance for our debut, and it was great.”
“Cigano” went on to describe how he liked the way he felt appreciated in his AEW debut, and he noted how the feeling of genuine excitement reminded him of his earlier days in the UFC.
“I was feeling so excited for this debut,” said Dos Santos. “I was feeling like, long time, I wasn’t feeling the MMA world because all the time, it was a lot of pressure on top of me and people demanding things all the time and not caring about you. And now I was [at AEW], and I was being appreciated to be there again. So I felt amazing, and I said man, this is an amazing feeling. This is something that I felt at the beginning of my career and the middle of my career when I became champion, and it’s great to be feeling again.”
As for his future, JDS explained that he has several options on the table, and he’s trying to figure out his next steps with some representatives. But for now, he’s “in love” with wrestling.
“I’ve been talking about some people,” said Dos Santos. “Actually I have some people representing me and working on that for me. I don’t really know what’s gonna be next. I’m looking forward for the next opportunity, maybe it can be in boxing too, that makes me very happy. So yeah, let’s see what’s gonna happen. But for now, it’s pro wrestling, and I’m in love with that.”
