Brian Cage Says WWE Didn’t See Him as a Star, Talks Lucha Underground & More

– Brian Cage spoke with Channel Guide Magazine for a new interview. Some highlights are below:

on working in Lucha Underground: “The people at Lucha Underground have treated me very well. It’s good television. We have kept really strong. It’s a blast to perform in front of such an awesome crowd in that arena. They interact and you can really feed off the crowd. I feel spoiled in that you don’t get this kind of atmosphere everywhere.”

On WWE not seeing him as a star: “I feel like when I first started out I was similar size and felt I was good. I felt like I looked like a star from the get-go and worked pretty well. I feel like even when I was in developmental with WWE they never saw me as a star, so I would always have to put everyone over. People say wins and losses don’t’ matter. Yeah, they kind of do in a way because Hulk Hogan wouldn’t have been Hulk Hogan had he lost all his matches. You’re not going to be selling a lot of merchandise if you are losing all your matches. So it kind of irritated me that someone would think I wasn’t capable of the job. Now I’m getting this time to shine and let loose.”

On Tim Wiese having ‘The Machine’ gimmick: “He is not at even close with what he looks like and does. I don’t know the guy. I know he was this soccer player on the German team. Cool. Whatever. No disrespect to him or hard feelings or ill will. But even when I was in FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling), I wasn’t thrilled with hand-me-down contacts. The former MMA guy, the former NFL player, guys come in and get a contact and get paid more than all of us right out of the gate. At the same time, the real boys bust their asses and fight to be there their entire life. Many walk in unappreciative and say their sport was a real sport. They come in and get shocked. They don’t learn the business. They don’t learn their craft and don’t want to learn. They don’t’ last, and they don’t’ get ‘it.’ They get fired or let go. I’m thinking that is pretty much 97 percent of them.”