On his preference between playing a babyface or a heel:
“I think for me I am the middle guy a little bit. I think for my character he comes off as a heel but there is still a little bit of me inside there. Me as myself I don’t think is a huge heel. That’s why I have MVP over there running his mouth the whole time and Kenny King causing all the drama. That’s what makes me a bigger heel. I contribute that to the whole group. I’m a baby face in real life in person. I’m not kissing babies or doing cart wheels or jumping up in the crowd. So I’m kind of in that rougher stage where I’m a baby face or a heel. I don’t really care how quick the turn is, I think my wrestling style is going to stay the same.”
On if he feels added pressure being a pro wrestler in MMA and whether there’s added pressure to bring new fans to TNA:
“Hell yeah. That’s just part of the job. If that didn’t happen then there’s no reason for them to keep me around. That’s just me being real and some people they don’t like to be real with things. When I go into a MMA fight all eyes are on me for the wrestling crowd and everything. They want to legitimize pro wrestling and so do I. The minute they go out there and say, ‘Oh Bobby Lashley the pro wrestler’. I go hey man, you don’t understand what we actually do. We’re not just guys that come into this and put a cape on and next thing you know were super heroes for little kids. We have backgrounds you know? I was a three time college national champion, I took second at the World Championships, and so I have a background leading into this. So when I come into this, I say, ‘Hey, I am a pro wrestler, but I’m doing MMA.’ There’s going to be a relation between the two regardless of what I do so I don’t try to hide the fact at all. At the beginning, I wanted guys to consider me a really strong mixed marital artist. Now with my career where it’s at now, I have no problem going out there and defending pro wrestling. If they ask us before the fight what our fighting style is, I let them know I am a pro-wrestler. They kind of chuckle and I tell them to put that down. They can list collegiate wrestling but I have no problem defending pro-wrestling.”
On CM Punk becoming a UFC fighter:
“My jump was after I left pro-wrestling. I still had that competitive edge and felt like I was in great physical shape without too many miles on my body. I felt like I could go through training camps and be able to be healthy. So when I got out I jumped right into it. I think the big factor is getting into a good camp. I was in a good camp where they said, ‘Bobby we know you are a pro-wrestler and now you are in our room. We aren’t going to baby you. We’re going to go after you like we would anyone else’. I think that’s good and it helps keep me honest and humble at the same time. As far as the other side, I have been torn about this whole CM Punk thing. I am getting torn hard both ways. I can understand it from the fighter’s point of view but at the same time I can see it from CM Punk’s point of view. As soon as he did it, I went online and told him, ‘Congratulations and do what you want to do’ because that’s what it’s all about. It doesn’t matter if people think he is ready or not, if he says he is going to do it then it’s him that is going to have to step in that cage. That is where I take my hat off to him and respect him for it. It’s going to be harder for him without having that extensive background to be able to do it. So I take my hat off to him and as a friend, a co-worker, I just tell him to make sure to bust your ass before going out there because once that cage door closes it’s real. There’s so many people that sit off on the side, that armchair quarterback and say, ‘I took a jujitsu class I had a couple fights on the street.’ It is completely different. It’s a physical chess match and you have to have all your pieces of the game intact before going in there. CM Punk is a very intelligent guy and there is no way he would have made it to the level where he is now unless he was a very intelligent guy. This move was very calculated and he knows what the next step is and the one after that. Or if he doesn’t know he is going to have the right people around him to tell him. Man, I am going to tune into that fight and everyone else is so it’s good for everyone. It’s a win-win situation.”
On whether he would face Brock Lesnar in an MMA fight if Bellator signs him:
“Yes. Hell yeah, I would. I’m not one of those arrogant guys that goes around saying I would kick his ass or start trash talking online or anything like that. I’m one of the guys that understands what this business is about and it’s about money. Any fighter at the end of the day that says it’s not about the money is ridiculous. We wouldn’t be training this hard, putting our bodies on the line, and torturing our bodies if there wasn’t a payday at the end of the day. With that being said, if Brock does sign over with Bellator I think one of the biggest fights he could have is me. It’s not a case of this is going to be the greatest fight it’s because we have so many similarities. The crazy part is I have never even come face to face with Brock. I don’t know him and I have never met him. We just have always had a lot of comparison so this time give the fans what they want. Brock and I would beat each other up pretty bad but we will walk away very financially healthy. As far as who would win, of course I’m going to say myself. I wouldn’t take the fight if I thought I was going to go out there and get crushed. Our styles match and we wouldn’t over do the other person since we have the same styles. It would be a very strategic match and I like the match up.”
On his relationship with MVP and Kenny King:
“When they put it together, it was one of those things we all joked about. You know, the obvious reason is there, and we all joked about it going ‘Why did they put us all together?’ Our characters on TV are pretty close to what we are in real life, almost. I’m more the quiet and reserved person but I do the fighting and I’m pretty intense in that instance. Kenny King, his character on TV is him. They put us together and it was pretty organic and just meshed together. I’ve known MVP for a long time and then we put Kenny King in there and just fit like a piece of a puzzle. Since we’ve been together everyone keeps saying there is going to be that time when we need to split apart. But to me, I’m going to do everything I can to keep us together. I think it’s something fun, it’s different, and it works. So I would like to keep it going. Backstage we are all friends and we all mesh really well. We talk to each other outside the shows and strategize on what to do next.”
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.
