EC3 Talks Vince McMahon Watching Him On Impact, If WWE Called Him Up To The Main Roster Too Soon

As seen above, former WWE star EC3 recently appeared on the WrestleTalk Podcast to discuss his future in the world of professional wrestling.

EC3 has been appearing on Impact Wrestling over the past couple of weeks, and he seems to be excited to shed his past persona for the new character he's created on their show. He actually told a story on the podcast about Vince McMahon watching him during his first run with Impact Wrestling.

Vince apparently didn't recognize EC3 despite the fact that he was previously signed to Florida Championship Wrestling as "Derrick Bateman".

"I think he had no clue [who I was]," EC3 explained. "I actually heard one time that there was a meeting and they were watching Impact, and I came out and – I don't remember who even told me this. I think it was somebody in creative. But [Vince goes], 'Who is this guy? We should get him.' They go, you know, 'That's Derrick Bateman'. [And he goes], 'Who?'"

EC3 took some time explaining certain things that happened in WWE that killed his creative spirit. He notes that "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt unexpectedly losing to Goldberg at WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia was something that completely turned him off from WWE's product.

"I watched The Fiend versus Goldberg in the Saudi show. And Bray is one of the most creative guys I've ever met, like, you can tell when it was his," EC3 said. "How much work, and effort, and all of this creativity he had put into it, and how great it all worked out. He was on to something we had never seen – it was special, it was amazing. And then how quickly you throw it – like, you threw it away for that? So, that was just the final creative straw where I didn't know if I wanted to do this as a creator."

EC3 also opened up about his time in NXT, noting that it would have probably been a better choice if he were kept in developmental longer. Now he looks towards the future and tries to leave the past buried behind him.

"Yeah, [I wish I spent some more time down in NXT]," EC3 admitted. "Okay, EC3 doesn't live in regrets and the past, now I guess he talks in third person. But like, regrets – a lot of this character that's true to me is destroying the past, your past and not other peoples' pasts. Like, you're forgetting about what doesn't matter once you realize the past is a story, it has no power over you.

"So there are regrets in a sense, I think. The call-up came out a weird time. I didn't fully explore what I wanted to there," he continued. "I mean, I enjoyed my time thoroughly. I enjoyed working with Shawn Michaels and Terry Taylor as coaches, especially Terry Taylor was my songbird singing in my ear."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit WrestleTalk with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.