TJ Perkins Discusses Cruiserweight Classic, "Monday Night Raw"

WWE superstar TJ Perkins recently sat down with ESPN and discussed a number of topics. Winning the Cruiserweight Classic, debuting on “Monday Night Raw,” and how he got to where he is today were all topics that were talked about.

Below are some highlights from the interview:

On the Cruiserweight Classic and ‘staying in the moment:’

“I try to stay in the moment,” Perkins said in an interview shortly after his CWC win. “At the Cruiserweight Classic finale, I said … I don’t know if people had looked it up, or if they had heard it before, but it was an old Zen proverb. ‘Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, you chop wood, carry water.’

“It can be interpreted a lot of ways, but for the most part it’s about staying in the moment.”

On being on “Monday Night Raw:”

“Things will come and go, and your life will go on, but you don’t want to get too ahead of yourself,” Perkins said. “I used that as a way to view each round of the Cruiserweight Classic so I didn’t get ahead of myself and stayed in the moment. I see it the same way, in terms of the opportunity to go to Monday Night Raw. I’ll take each moment as it comes, and I’ll wait for the bridge before I have to cross it.”

“It’s really exciting to be able to represent the cruiserweights and go to Monday Night Raw. I grew up watching Monday Night Raw, and it’s really a big dream of mine to perform on that stage,” Perkins said. “The talent there is so incredible. I’m in good company, and I’m excited for it.”

On his journey to WWE:

“Someone had said to me before I was going out for the finals, they said, ‘You don’t look nervous at all.’ And I don’t get nervous over things,” Perkins said. “The thing is, being homeless makes you nervous. Struggling like that, that hardship, that makes you nervous because you don’t know if you’re going to get over that. This? This is not hard. This is fun. I’m in heaven now.”