Cruiserweight Classic star TJ Perkins is set to face Kota Ibushi in the Cruiserweight Classic semifinals next Wednesday and recently appeared on the TJRWrestling Podcast to talk about competing in the tournament. WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is now a coach at the WWE Performance Center and was helping talent at the last Cruiserweight Classic taping.
“It was good to be able to spend some time with him in a working environment where I could work with him on stuff from a philosophical point of view. It was great to get advice from him, to see how he operates and it’s incredible. It’s also encouraging because there’s a lot of like-minded philosophy and when that comes about, you get to a point where there’s no advice to be given because you guys are thinking on the same rhythm, then it encourages you because your education is better than you think it was. It was awesome to be in that environment. I wanted to tell him the whole time that my Mount Rushmore is your face four times (laughs)…or maybe three times and then Eddie (Guerrero) on the end. There’s not a lot of people that I would hold in the same regard. It was so cool that he’s in that environment and doing that. If you were to put people in tiers, he’s above every tier.”
Perkins commented on wrestling Ibushi in the Cruiserweight Classic semifinals. This will be the first time that they have wrestled each other.
“We’ve never wrestled before and he’s amazing. He’s world class – an elite guy. It is the biggest situation I’ve ever been in mostly because it just seems unwinnable for a guy like me because he is who he is. It’s the biggest match I’ve been able to be a part of because of the social significance among wrestling fans.” That’s just a sample of what he discussed. Other topics involved what’s it like working with Triple H, who he’d like to work with on WWE’s roster, his weekend shows with Evolve that are his last bookings with the organization, some of the NBA style taunts he does in the ring and plenty more.”
You can listen to the entire podcast here:
