WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins spoke with WWE.com about winning the Cruiserweight Classic. During the interviews, Perkins was asked about what he wanted to accomplish when he first started in the Cruiserweight Classic.
“I just wanted to show people who I am. I think everybody knows that we can go out there and rock and roll. I want to represent my Filipino fans and heritage. We don’t have a lot of heroes. We have Manny Pacquiao, and I look up to Batista a whole lot, because of our shared roots. I’d like to represent my heritage because they’re such passionate people. I want to give them a hero that they can look up to on a platform they’ve never seen.”
Perkins explained that he took pride in defeating Kota Ibushi in the semifinals of the tournament.
“I took pride in being a bracket buster, round by round. With Kota, it was special because there was such a social significance among fans for that match. He was such a heavy favorite, and [he] is a performer. It meant a lot to be on that stage, in that position, and to move past him.”
When asked what he thought about when Triple H revealed the WWE Cruiserweight Championship during the finale.
“About the same thing [that was] going through everybody’s minds. I think the whole arena reacted the same way I did, inside my brain. I was wondering if the cameras picked up that I was freaking out.”
When asked about his goals in pro wrestling, Perkins explained that he always wanted to be in WWE and now that goal is complete.
“Every player wants to play for the greatest team in the world. It has always been my goal to do just that. Now that I’ve had the chance to perform on this stage and earned new opportunities, it’s a dream come true, as they say, to put on this uniform and represent this brand.”
Perkins also talked about being on RAW and more. You can read the entire interview here.
