Jay Lethal on Ring of Honor, Bullet Club and SoCal Val

Former ROH Champion Jay Lethal was interviewed by the Huffington Post, where he spoke about his time in Ring of Honor, the Bullet Club and on his prior on-screen relationship with SoCal Val.

On the growth of ROH in 2017:

“I’m extremely happy with the progress but that in no way means we’re ready to slow down or stop. One of the coolest parts to me, that proves we’re doing something right, is when other wrestlers want to come here. It’s one thing to have the fans want to show up because our product is cool and interesting. It’s another to have wrestlers from other companies want to come here. That’s when you know you’re doing something on both sides of the curtain very well. Guys like Cody Rhodes, and Bully Ray, right here? We’re definitely doing something right. That’s pretty cool to me.”

On the UK scene:

“The UK scene is booming now. All the years I’ve been coming, I think I’ve seen some of the best wrestlers in the world and the scene has always been amazing. I think the boom is that WWE decided to have that tournament, and everybody started watching and thinking it was new and fresh. But it was the same thing I’d been seeing for years! So sometimes I get a little bit upset, it’s a little frustrating.”

On losing his hair by way of Adam Cole on ROH:

“I’ll tell you the truth! First of all, I was getting tired of the braids. I’d had them for over 13 years and also, braids, they pull your hair out. So I was starting to thin on the top and it got a little embarrassing, especially if I didn’t have my hair re-braided, then you could really tell. So one day I went to the barber, and said it was time to get rid of it. He was saying “noooo” and I said “yep, time to get rid of it”. Before he started cutting it, I said “hold on! Wait a minute! I’ve got a great idea!”. Then we came up with the idea to have my hair get shaved by Adam Cole on Ring of Honor TV, which came out awesome. I saw little kids and women in the audience crying, and holding their hands over their mouth because they couldn’t believe it.”

On potentially joining the Bullet Club:

“What me? In the Bullet Club? I don’t think so, I don’t think so. No, no, those guys are too cool for me…”

On working with SoCal Val:

“I did! I did – and here’s why. I don’t know if many people know it but Sonjay Dutt is my best friend. So any time I get to work with my best friend, it’s a night off for me! So not only was Sonjay my best friend, we did create this very cool relationship with SoCal Val and we’re all very good friends now. So it was just three people who were friends in real life, getting to work together on TV. It was one of my favorite times.”

On what there is left for him to achieve in ROH:

“There’s two things I haven’t done in Ring of Honor, that I would like to. The tag-team titles and the newly made six-man belts. If I could capture those belts that would mean I’ve had every title her in Ring of Honor ever, even the Pure Championship, because I was Pure Champion for a little while too.”

On who his tag team partner would be:

“Who would I tag with? Oddly enough, I’ve feuded this year and gone back and forth with Silas Young, he would make a great partner. I think Silas Young is one of the greatest wrestlers ever, he just doesn’t get what I would call a ‘press’ or recognition for what he does. Because what he does, he does very well. Maybe I could make a few phone calls and get Lethal Consequences back together to do something in the ring and get the tag championships!”

Finally, on his weirdest fan interaction:

“I remember somebody wanted me to sign something but didn’t have anything for me to sign, so they took their shoe off, and had me sign their shoe! The weirdest fan interaction is the fact that people come up to me and they like me! It’s a little weird to me. It makes me smile deep down inside. If anybody, anywhere just wants to say hello to me, they don’t necessarily want an autograph or need to want to buy an picture. Just the fact that they want to come up to me to say hello, I couldn’t ask for anything better than that.”

If you are interested to any degree in seeing a Lethal vs. Silas match, we have provided a popular, entertaining match between the two from ‘Best In The World’ earlier this year down below for you to watch.

ROH Best in the World 2017: Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young

Do you watch Ring of Honor? Do you enjoy Lethal as a competitor? What would you like to see him do?

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