Former Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion Jay Lethal recently spoke with SI.com about various topics. Lethal was ROH World Champion for 427 days, but his reign ended on August 19 at Death Before Dishonor when he lost the title to Adam Cole. Lethal explained what is next for him.
“I’m going to keep doing what I normally do. I’ve never come to a point where I thought, ‘I need to change what I’m doing because it’s not working.’ I’m not saying that to be braggadocios, but I’m comfortable in what I can do, and only I know what I can do well. So I’m going to continue doing what I was doing before I had the belt, which is what got me the spotlight to have someone look at me and think, ‘Let’s make him the number one guy.’ I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. I still can’t believe I was ‘The Guy,’ and hopefully I become ‘The Guy’ again. Looking back on it, I had a blast. I still can’t believe I was champion of a company known around the world for its wrestling, which is hard to put into words. I don’t regret anything I did, and I wasn’t super sad about losing the title because the coolest thing is getting it and being the two-time champion, and then getting it back and being the three-time champion. I’ve got to lose it just to get it back.”
Lethal was asked about staying ROH World Champion for such a lengthy time and being compared to other champions in the WWE. Lethal explained that he watches other promotions and see what they’re doing but would not compare himself to the likes of Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and others as WWE Champion.
“I definitely watched what the other companies were doing, one-hundred percent, but I think I would have done myself a disservice and maybe would have mind-screwed myself if I ever tried to compare to any of those guys or compare myself to what they’re doing now. That’s the wrong way to think of it. Everybody brings something different to the table, and there can only be one of you. There is a crazy term in wrestling, ‘Oh, they won’t hire you, they already have one of you already.’ Well, last time I checked, there is only one of me. That comment makes no sense. If I were to have to compare myself to any of those champions, I would have been doing something very wrong. That’s the wrong time to compare yourself to anybody in any other company.”
You can read the entire interview here.
