WWE Cruiserweight Classic competitor Ariya Daivari was the latest guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show, and below are some interview highlights.
Daivari credits the Attitude Era as being one of the pivotal moments to engage him as a new fan. Interesting, he stated that he was a bigger fan of WCW at the time, with his favorite wrestler being Rey Mysterio.
“We had the masks,” said Daivari. “We had a trampoline in our back yard and we’d put the masks on and do back flips. He was obviously a smaller guy, so as a kid you can relate to that a little bit more. As a kid I thought, ‘Hey. He must be a kid too or something,’ so it just made it that more fun.”
After nearly ten years in the business, Daivari was chosen to be a participant in the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Classic. He noted that Canyon Ceman was the person who reached out to him for the spot, and he felt confident that he would make the best of it.
“It was a good feeling , because I know I accomplished it through hard work. I didn’t just get emailed for this out of the blue. I’ve gone to do extra work every time Raw comes to the midwest, Minneapolis area. You have to do tryout matches while you’re there. So I think I’ve done that like six or seven times. I wrestled a dark match with a local wrestler here, we tagged in a handicap match against the Great Khali. I did an NXT tryout; I was at the one that Kevin Owens was at, and a few other guys. So I’ve been on their radar.”
Daivari is appreciative of his opportunity to compete in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. Recently, Stephanie McMahon announced that Raw would exclusively hold a cruiserweight division on the three-hour show. Daivari was asked if his match in the CWC was a one-off deal, or if he has talked to WWE about having a spot on Raw.
“As far as I know, it seems like a one-time thing. I don’t know what their plans are. A lot of people assume they tell us everything. The cruiserweight division being exclusive to Raw was a surprise to me. I didn’t know that, they didn’t tell us that. They really just tell you things as they go. I would like to think, or at least hope, that at some point maybe I’ll do something else. But, as of right now, as far as my knowledge goes, it’s just that one match.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
