Matt Cross on How Steve Austin Reached Out to Him After Tough Enough

– WrestlingInc.com recently interviewed former Tough Enough and American Ninja Warrior contestant Matt Cross for the WINCLY podcast. During the interview, he discussed his relationship with Steve Austin following Tough Enough and more. Below are some highlights from WrestlingInc.com.

Cross on his relationship with Steve Austin after Tough Enough: “It was amazing. The biggest, most surprising takeaway is that I’m half friends with Stone Cold Steve Austin. So he called me after the show, which I didn’t expect and I’m sure he wasn’t contractually obligated to do, and was very encouraging. He offered his help and we’re sort of in touch to this day. Anytime I’ve called him he’s answered and I’ve had this open platform to pick his brain.”

On getting recognized for Ninja Warrior: “I just had a high school reunion the other day and everyone was like, ‘Hey, we saw you on TV!’ … I assumed it was from a wrestling thing, but everybody was talking about Ninja Warrior which I did once. I’d love to do it again, it was a lot of fun because I think a giant, adult obstacle course is the coolest thing ever. If you could do it and it wasn’t televised, I’d be all over it. But you have to do it on the show, so whatever.”

On competing on American Ninja Warrior: “As I line up, I’m like, ‘What am I doing? I should be home asleep; I’m an idiot. I didn’t leave one of the most competitive sports to take it easy in wrestling. The guys who have done well in pro wrestling are guys like Kurt Angle whose an Olympic gold medalist. That’s the mentality I wanna carry forward at all times. So taking that into Ninja Warrior, I had the weight of an industry on my back. If I fail, then we all look bad. I wanted to do well so that people would say, ‘Oh, maybe these hokey wrestlers have something to them.'”