NJPW star TJP shocked the world when he turned his back on his former tag team partner, Clark Connors, to join United Empire with the likes of Will Ospreay, Aussie Open, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Francesco Akira, Aaron Henare and Gideon Grey late last year. Now, he’s elaborated more on that decision while speaking to Wrestling Republic’s own Eric Novak on the All Real Wrestling Podcast.
“For more than anything, I needed a change of pace. It’s not that I’m always not myself. But there’s a lot of mental energy that goes into trying to get people to like you all the time. I think there’s a natural disposition about me that it’s better if I’m not aiming one way or the other. In a lot of ways, as my nickname reigns true, sometimes it’s better to allow people to dislike you. It was a way to change the pace for myself and kind of write a new chapter and be somebody new and to give myself a free pass to let people to decide whatever they want to think about me as a performer because it’s hard to follow certain rules, and right now I don’t have any rules.”
TJP elaborated on the bond that the group has and opened up about the relationships he’s formed with the other members.
“All of the guys get along, and you don’t see that with a lot of teams. It’s not that guys don’t get along. They’re not pretending. But like the Bullet Club members, not all of them hang out together. Suzuki-gun, CHAOS. They’re not like us. We have a group chat – a United Empire group chat. This is real. When one guy wins, we all win. When we see any of the guys win, we jump on the group chat and message. When we’re traveling, we ride together. What you see on camera is what we’re like in real life.“
TJP discussed the history that he has with Ospreay and how he convinced him to join the group.
“There’s something really freeing about being around somebody like that (Will). Internally it’s more in line with how I feel. But I’m just a more calm and laid back person. With that comes a certain amount of calculation. I have a high IQ for all this and I tend to analyze that stuff well. On that note, Will was also somebody I had given advice to on many occasions. In many ways I was like his big brother. A lot of why I like this team right now with Akira is because he reminds a of Will. I don’t have to guide Akira that much. But at times, when I do as the older partner, it does remind me of times where I would help Will out with something. And he has an incredible toolbox that if you help him unlock something, he’ll just do something incredible. So, it was kind of a no brainer.”
TJP also revealed whether or not he’s been in talks with any promotions about a contract and his thoughts about working the independent circuit.
“You can turn your brain off when you have that kind of job security (of a contract). Sometimes I’d rather somebody tells me: here’s 50, 100, 150 shows that you’ve got to do for this year. Just be there at the right time. And then there’s other times when I feel like I could be making more money than whatever I’m on is, and then you do want the freedom. But it is a double-edged sword. I’ve chosen not to have those (contract) conversations (with different promotions).”
Watch the full interview below:
Photo Credit: New Japan Pro Wrestling
