Rob Terry on a Potential WWE Tryout: “It’s a Timing Issue”

– Rob Terry spoke with Wrestling Inc for a new interview. Some highlights are below:

On whether he was more of a WWF or WCW fan growing up: “A lot of people ask me that, but I didn’t really watch WCW. I guess me and my friends were into WWF and that was that. I knew what WCW was, but I guess I never really tapped into that. It was just that mainstream WWE, and that was the product I was watching, so when I got into the business it was major catch-up time and I had to watch all of the WCW era, which was cool, and really sad I missed out on that growing up.”

On when he decided to get into wrestling: “I used to play a lot of sports when I was a kid, extremely physical. When I was a teen I was bigger than most men, so it was something I saw bigger than life personalities in and said it was something I wanted to do. I had no idea how I was going to get into it, but I was going to find a way. One day I had the notion to move to America and get into it, I just had no idea how. The way everything turned out, it worked out perfectly. I tried really hard to get into the industry as well, I went to a few wrestling schools, but they weren’t very good at all looking back. I was on the natural bodybuilding circuit and I did really well there. It got to a point where it was just luck. WWE had scouts there and said ‘you’re a big guy, you have a great look, how do you feel about getting into professional wrestling?’ and I said I tried to do this on my own, so let’s to this. It was timing basically.”

On not having much experience before signing his developmental deal: “No I didn’t. I’m from Wales, and I remembered someone told me if I was interested in professional wrestling and a school there was this place, and I went there, and they didn’t have a wrestling ring, they had mats on the floor and I didn’t know any better at the time. I was just like ‘this is wrestling school.’ It was nothing compared to the wrestling training I was introduced to when I came to America. I didn’t know how to get into the industry, and no one said how to do it. I wasn’t on the independent scene in the UK, which I wish I was. The way that everything worked out, I came to America and got trained by the WWE.”

On working with Dolph Ziggler when he first started: “A good guy to be with and learned a lot just being his bodyguard. He was a good guy to be with.”

On signing with TNA: “I got released from the FCW program. I was good friends with Maven, who knew Bubba and D-Von. He said I should go to Bubba and D-Von’s school and carry on up there, and I might have a good shot at getting into TNA. So I went up there. FCW training was extremely hard, but Team 3D Academy took a look at me and saw I was a big guy, they wanted to see if I really wanted it bad enough. They put me through so many training drills I thought I was going to die. It’s the hardest training I’ve done to date. There must have been respect there at some point because they said when I was ready they’d introduce me to TNA and see what they think. Next thing I know, I was appearing with British Invasion and away we go.”

On Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan coming into TNA: “It was amazing. It was great to work with Doug and Nick. They’re extremely talented individuals and I got to learn a lot from them as well. Then Hulk Hogan comes into the company. I thought it was a really cool thing. As a fan growing up, it was a really big deal, so it was great for me to be a part of the organization when Hulk Hogan was there as well…[Hogan] was a cool guy to me. He was sizing me up backstage and stuff. He lives in Clearwater as well so I bump into him from time to time. One of the things I’m extremely grateful for is being from the United Kingdom, so it’s hard for me to stay over here. I applied for residency, and Hulk Hogan, I don’t believe I’d have that status if not for him and a lot of the guys backstage who helped me with that as well. The people who sanctioned the residency probably don’t know who a lot of wrestlers are, but I think everyone in the world knows who Hulk Hogan is. I have a lot of thanks for him for vouching for me.”

On working with Sting: “Again, one of the nicest guys in the world. Always really positive. He would come to me and a lot of the other guys and just coach us. Anything we wanted, he’d be there. He was really supportive and a great person to have on the roster. I wish him nothing but success, and congratulations to him (on the Hall of Fame induction).”

On if there was a lot of concern backstage when Spike dropped TNA: “Yeah, I think there was. I can only comment on the morale of the locker room, but I think a lot of people were questioning what was going to happen. The reality is there’s always going to have a television platform. People were concerned, but I think they knew (TNA) was going to go somewhere no matter what. That’s what happened, and I hope they’ll always continue to go on. People were worried, but they were just hoping for the best.”

On his TNA departure: “It was one of things where my contract was up and I believe that was around the time that the televisions were going to be moved. I decided to go my way, and that was that. We ended on really good terms. If I do return in the future, we’ll see what happens with that.”

On a potential WWE tryout: “I would like to. For me now, it’s a bit of a timing issue. I’m wrapped up until late August with a few projects I have. I would definitely consider it. The wrestling industry is really unpredictable. It’s something I’d definitely be open to.”