TJ Perkins Reveals What Triple H Whispered To Him After CWC Win, Recalls Being Homeless, More

– TJ Perkins spoke with USA Today’s “For The Win” talking about his Cruiserweight Classic victory and Championship win and more. Some highlights are below:

On the struggles of his early life: “I’m not a terribly sentimental guy, but I kept a lot of old stuff from that time in my life. I have my food stamps card from when I was homeless. I also have the key to the first place where I got evicted from. There were many places where I got evicted from, but I still had that first key. It was a simple reminder for years of the places I couldn’t go back to. The further away it’s gotten, the more motivating it became to me because I didn’t have to go back there. I didn’t really think about it until I was in the ring after the match. That was the first thing in my mind: I don’t have to stay at that key.”

On his thoughts after being approached with the concept of the Cruiserweight Classic: “Personally, I never really have expectations because I don’t like there to be a level where the bar is set, generally speaking. It prevents you from reaching well beyond what you expected and great circumstances that you think you can’t reach. I try to keep an open mind and that’s’ what I did with this. It came at a time when I was a free agent. It had been a long time since I had the freedom to do what I wanted where I wanted. I had a lot of opportunities on the table to return to Japan or return to Mexico and domestically as well. This was an opportunity that was just that — an opportunity. I don’t think the administration had any idea how far this could go and how well it could go. I felt like this was like a time to better myself. I stuck with it with no expectations and it’s all happened so fast. Before I knew, here we are.”

On what Triple H whispered to him after he won the Cruiserweight Classic: “He told me that a lot of people believe in me and that I fulfilled this and had success for a reason – because of who I am and what I do. That’s a big deal when it comes from somebody who is one of the most accomplished superstars of all time. He’s seen everybody and has such an incredible eye for talent. For someone who’s done what he’s done and seen what he’s seen to say that to me and believe in me is big.”