Matt Taven Says NXT Is ROH Lite, ROH Is Ignoring Talent To "Kiss That A- Of The Bullet Club"
Matt Taven appeared on Interactive Wrestling Radio to discuss his match against Cody at the ROH 16th Anniversary PPV this Friday night, March 9th. You can check out the full interview by clicking here, they sent us these highlights:
NXT being WWE doing an ROH-style show:
"I couldn't agree more. Our touring schedule and their touring schedule is starting to cross paths to where maybe they hit a market a week before we hit that market. That is on purpose. Taking talent from Ring of Honor? That is all on purpose. I basically look at NXT as ROH Lite. I wish for every wrestling company to be as successful as possible. There is something that ROH is obviously doing right if the top dog is trying to hurt them. That is something that they've (WWE) has tried to do a few times. It just lets us know that we (ROH) are doing something right. And, ROH has been resilient. I first started working here in 2009 doing stuff. I started working more consistently in 2012. But, in my 9 years, wow I feel old saying that, in my 9 years, I've seen them come and go. And still, ROH continues to get bigger and continues to grow and grow and reach broader audiences. As much as I love my buds, it shows ROH is doing something right if WWE is trying to bite their style so much."
If he's excited about facing Cody at the 16th Anniversary PPV:
"Of course I am. People sing the praises of this guy. For what reason? Because he hit the genetic lottery and his dad was someone? I cannot wait to get on pay per view, show everybody what a Melvin he is, and at the end, take the ring, shove it against his face and he'll know who the King is!"
If this match with Cody establishes himself back on top of ROH:
"I've always felt I deserve to be there. This Kingdom conspiracy thing, it is not just me putting stuff online. I truly believe that. There is a movement against me and the Kingdom in general. I mean, I've won every single title Ring of Honor has had to offer. In the 5 years I've been with Ring of Honor, I've had 2 World Title shots. Two of them! One ended with interference from Truth Martini. The other had interference from Frankie Kazarian. What has Ring of Honor done about it? Absolutely nothing. They're so, so (kissing noise) making sure to kiss that ass of the Bullet Club, Ring of Honor is letting guys like me fall to the wayside. They give title opportunities to guys like Cody Rhodes come in here, think that he is someone for no reason. It is a shame. It is a conspiracy like I've said. But, live on pay per view, I get to embarrass that bleached blond doll and let everybody know that if Ring of Honor continues to hold me down, it is obvious this company has a bias against me and is obviously pushing this Bullet Club agenda."
The Jay Lethal / Dalton Castle title match:
"I'm not looking past Cody but I'll always have my sights set on the World Title. Jay Lethal is getting a World Title shot 2 months after I beat him right in the middle of the ring on Ring of Honor TV. I'm not sure why that shot isn't for me. But, I'm not looking past Cody. Embarrassing Cody Rhodes is that next step towards proving Matt Taven is every bit as good as he says he is and there's a reason that I am the King. This is the launching pad that puts me right in the #1 contendersip for the World Title. I deserve a World Title shot anyway. But, to beat the former champion and then move on to a title shot, you couldn't write a better story than that."
What the 16th Anniversary of ROH means to him:
"To be a cornerstone of this company for the past 5 years, it is a sense of pride and a badge of honor. A friend of mine, actually my girlfriend, said to me something the other day that really put things in perspective. She was like, 'I remember you doing your first pay per view.' That was in 2014 and now we're going into New Orleans, already over 5,000 tickets have been sold. Like you said, that Nashville taping. It just keeps growing and growing and growing. And even though there are things that people think will deter us, it hasn't stopped us at all. There is obviously a sense of pride. We want to be on that level where we're as big of stars as everyone else in the wrestling world. Until we're there, we're not going to be satisfied."
Make sure to check back here this Friday night for our live ROH 16th Anniversary pay-per-view coverage.