TJ Charles: It Wasn’t Luck That Zozaya Got Signed, He Put In The Hours And It’s Completely 100% Deserved

TJ Charles says that Zozaya has earned his way to signing with WWE.

Earlier this year, prior to WrestleMania, WWE would host European tryouts in London that featured several pro wrestlers. Coming out of the tryouts, several talents were picked up with the company, including Spain’s Zozaya.

While speaking to Fightful in a new interview, TJ Charles was asked his thoughts on Zozaya being signed by WWE following his tryout, with TJ noting that it wasn’t luck that he got signed.

“Honestly, we all know him very well over here. Like you said, I’ve worked with him, but he’s always been around all of the shows. Even sometimes when he’s not working on them, he comes around to hang out with guys. He’s great. We think everyone’s delighted for him because it’s hard work, basically, has gotten him to where he is. There’s no, oh, it was luck. It wasn’t luck. He put in the hours. He put in what’s needed to do to get where he’s going. And it’s completely 100% deserved. It’s amazing to see it. Obviously it’s a bit emotional for us all, you know, like he’s a friend. So like, it means that we’ll see less of him in wrestling and just in real life. So, there’s a sadness to it whenever someone leaves and goes off to, as you said, greener pastures. But yeah, I mean, getting to work with him was a pleasure, getting to say I did that with someone who’s now gone off to do something bigger and better. It’s crazy to me. Like, did I know this guy? You know, like when I see him in RevPro, like wrestling Zack Sabre Jr. and stuff, I’m like, I know that dude. Like, what the fuck? It’s really surreal, honestly. But I think everyone here is completely over the moon for him. It’s the seeds of his labor. He’s put in all the work he’s needed to put in, and now he’s seeing the result of it. It’s been quite a, I’m sure you know, a really crazy, meteoric rise over a year and a half ago. Not to say he was nobody, but compared to where he is now, he was very much a hidden diamond, hidden gem, however you want to word it. Then just through exposure and NOAH with RevPro and these kinds of things, it’s crazy how quick things have changed. But yeah, I mean, just to go back to like getting to work with him, like just to give him the props he deserves. Like even back then when people say he was quote unquote green, he definitely wasn’t like he was greener, but like, even then, like when he was like a person who needed experience, like he was incredible. Like he’s just always been a very naturally gifted guy. I mean, competing with the Spanish team, the Spanish Olympic team. He wasn’t making it to the Olympics, but at that level, being able to compete on the national team as a legit wrestler and then transition into a professional wrestling career and just excel at it. I mean, again, he was always tremendous. Even when he was a kid, like 16, 17, he could really go. He could always really go. I think that was just due to his background, his experience, and again, you can’t really replace the hard work and effort he put in. Very, very well deserved.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, TJ spoke about what was hardest about being an Irish talent being based out of Spain. You can read more about that here.