The grizzled veteran looks to continue to add on to his already impressive resume'.
This Saturday at Ring Of Honor Supercard Of Honor XII in New Orleans, Jay Lethal will team up with seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi as the two men will have an opportunity to win ROH World Tag Team Title gold as they challenge The Briscoes. Prior to the match Lethal spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News and pulled back the curtain a bit about his storied pro wrestling career.
“I was the world champion of Ring of Honor, a company known around the world for its wrestling,” Lethal said. “I got to wrestle Ric Flair, I got to hang out in a bar and wrestle with the likes of Kevin Nash. I met and worked with Hulk Hogan. I wrestled Kurt Angle live on pay-per-view. I've gotten to do so many things that some people only dream of. So why wouldn't you be smiling constantly?”
Lethal shared that although it will be an honor to team with a Japan wrestling legend such as Tanahashi, he would love to wrestle the "Ace Of The Universe" one-on-one.
“It's an honor to team with Tanahashi but I would really love a singles match with Tanahashi,” said Lethal. “The New Japan wrestling fan in me would really love a singles match with me and Tanahashi. Deep down inside, I want to wrestle anybody.”
With the influx of talent that Ring Of Honor has produced and continues to present, the growth of the company has been difficult to miss. Lethal gave his take on the growth of ROH from his perspective within the company.
“When I was here before, we had great wrestlers like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Nigel McGuinness, Samoa Joe,” said Lethal. “These guys are amazing. You look now and we still have amazing wrestlers. The Young Bucks are incredible, Jay Briscoe is one of the best wrestlers in the world as a singles and when you put him with Mark Briscoe, his brother, he's one of the greatest tag team wrestlers in the world. Ring of Honor has always done a great job of having, whatever time period you look at, one of the greatest rosters in the world. When it comes to the roster, sure, the names are different but the talent is still there.”
A story that has shaken the wrestling world is the clearing of Daniel Bryan for a return to in-ring competition. Bryan & Lethal both have held the ROH World Championship and Lethal stated that he hoped Daniel Bryan's contract with WWE expired so that he could have the opportunity to wrestle Bryan, but nonetheless is happy for the leader of the "Yes" movement.
“I got to tag with him years ago,” explained Lethal. “I had my fingers crossed that his contract with WWE would expire and somehow we'd scoop him up. You know deep down inside he really wants to wrestle. I was kind of hoping and I think some of the other guys in the locker room kind of had their fingers crossed that could potentially happen, and who knows. I would love that opportunity but I'm leaning more towards it probably won't happen.”
The former two-time ROH World Television Champion also discussed why he never signed with WWE, the launch of the 'Honor Club' streaming service, and more. To read the remainder of Jay Lethal's comments, click here.
