– WWE Superstar Alex Riley recently spoke with The Miami Herald to promote Sunday’s Capitol Punishment pay-per-view. Here are some highlights:
WrestleMania 28 in Miami:
“I expect to be in it. The Rock is going to be in it. I’ve already been fortunate enough to be in the ring to work with The Rock, work with John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Roddy Piper. I have a long way to go to becoming one of them, but I want that.”
What he loves about WWE:
“What I love about WWE? This is the only company in the world that allows you to be a total package entertainer. I get up everyday, and everything that I love to do in my life parallels to what I need to do to be successful in this company. I love working out. I love lifting weights. I love running. I love playing basketball. I love talking and trying to be entertaining with a microphone. I did consider being a sports broadcaster before, but why go anywhere else, when working for WWE is the all-encompassing job. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to do wrapped up into one. I can take a microphone and talk. I can be an entertainer. I can be athletic. So I love being in WWE, and I’m going to try and do this as long as I can stand on two feet. Once I can’t, if somebody wants to put my in a wheelchair, I’ll sit behind a desk and sports broadcast. Maybe.”
Developing in WWE:
“It’s all development. That’s the greatest part of this job. On a football field or a basketball court, you are pretty much who you are. You can get better, but if you can beat the other guy to the line, if you can out-run a guy to the end zone, or if you can shoot better, you’re gonna play. That’s not how this is at all in WWE. You need to know yourself. You need to develop. It’s an art, and it’s a craft, and there is athleticism. So when you see someone [from his first match in FCW] to Carson Oakley [his first character name] to Alex Riley, it’s a true testament to how hard this job actually is and how attentive you need to be to detail over a long time. That was three, four years ago. It’s fun seeing that guy or coming across that name [Carson Oakley], and knowing I’ve come that far.”
His match against The Miz at Capitol Punishment:
“It’s an amazing opportunity. A year ago, if you said I would be starting my WWE singles career in Washington D.C., which is near where I’m from, at The Verizon Center, in front of 20,000 people against my former boss, I’d call you crazy. I think it’s going to be the best match on the card. I think you’re going to see two guys who truly cared about each other at one point, but egos got in the way on Miz’s side. So you’re going to see two brothers who finally had enough of each other, trying to prove who is the better one with me being the younger one and the more talented one. It’s going to be great.”
