Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJP was a recent guest on ’80s Wrestling Radio. During the interview, TJP talked about his memories watching wrestling, breaking into the business himself, career highlights and more. You can read a few highlights and check out the full interview below:
His earliest memories watching wrestling:
“Maybe I was like two or three watching Saturday Night’s Main Event. I remember the old show opening with the logo flying over the water. I want to say this was WrestleMania 3 time, around then, that’s when I started. The first feud I was invested in, around Mania 4, was those early Jake ones. Him and Rick Rude, eventually him and Earthquake. I was always drawn to Jake because, even to this day, he’s got one move and that’s his put-away thing and everything is so economical with him, I love it.”
On starting wrestling at 13:
“When I first started, I was 13 years old. Most of the guys were 25 to 30. These guys were twice my age, they had houses, mortgages, wives, stuff like that. I had homework and Super Nintendo, that’s what I had. It was weird, that was 1998, cell phones and social media didn’t exist. I would be going to shows, these guys would be going to bars and strip clubs after. Sometimes they’d even get me into these places, it was the wild west. I’m just trapped in this car listening to the business, listening to their lives. In a way, I got forced to grow up real fast. I’ve been spending the last twenty years trying to catch up and grow up in ways that I didn’t have a chance to when I was younger.”
“The first few years, most of the time I would be writing with The Havana Pitbulls. Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes, they’ve gone on to New Japan and Lucha Underground respectively. We all went to New Japan together when I was 18. Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, these were the guys I tagged along with on the way to shows.”
Related: TJP On His WWE Gamer Gimmick: ‘I Wanted The Aesthetic, It Was Never Meant To Be A Character’
TJP on his favorite career memories so far:
“A lot of stuff for me came really fast. As far as bucket list goals, I went to New Japan at a young age, I went to CMLL at a young age. Some of that was some of my fondest memories. I did the Tokyo Dome at age 18. To this day, I think I’m the youngest American to have done it. I main evented Arena Mexico when I was eighteen. That was a pretty big deal. Some of that sticks out in my mind because I remember thinking at the time “There are so many heroes I’m not going to meet, there are so many places I’m not going to go.” When I knocked off a bunch of them right away, I was in heaven. I was having the time of my life.”
Related: TJP’s First Post-WWE Booking Dates Announced, IMPACT Announces Philadelphia TV Tapings
