Jay Lethal On If ROH Is To Blame For Daniel Bryan's Retirement, Leaving TNA, Wrestling Ric Flair
Recently on WOOOOO! Nation, ROH World Champion Jay Lethal spoke with 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair about Flair putting him over in TNA, why he left TNA, and whether Daniel Bryan's ROH run is responsible for his early retirement from professional wrestling.
According to Lethal, 2010 was his best year in the professional wrestling business because he got to beat Ric Flair on pay-per-view with Flair's own finish.
"2010 was the coolest year for me, wrestling, ever. I mean, it all led to, near the end of the year, me getting to wrestle Ric Flair, live, on pay-per-view. And not only that, I got to win the match with the Figure Four leglock. And, I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of giving too much backstory, but I do remember, and I don't mind sharing this one story, I don't think the original plan was for me to win that match, but Ric Flair actually demanded it."
When asked why he left TNA, Lethal disclosed that TNA did not renew his contract with the company.
"They didn't renew my contract. Right after we wrestled, two months later, they said, 'oh, we're not going to renew your contract.' And I remember it was because you had formed that Fortune group and Tommy Dreamer had come in and he had a rivalling group to your group. And he asked them, 'hey, can we have Jay Lethal in our group because he's in the middle of a feud with Ric Flair and they just had that good match?' And they told him 'no' and then a few weeks later, they let me go."
During the podcast, Flair asked Lethal whether it is true that the injuries Bryan sustained in ROH were to blame for Bryan's surprise retirement. Lethal claimed that the grind of Bryan working his way up to get to WWE is to blame more than ROH.
"I wouldn't say it's Ring Of Honor. Daniel Bryan did many tours of Japan. He wrestled any and everywhere. As a wrestler, we wrestle any and everywhere we can and we put our bodies through everything, just to reach that pinnacle point, which, for most wrestlers, is the WWE. No, I would not say it was from Ring Of Honor. I would say it was from honing his craft to get to WWE is what did that."
In addition to these topics, Lethal discussed his amazing 'Macho Man' Randy Savage and Ric Flair impressions, who he would like to see inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, and much more. Click here to listen to the show. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit WOOOOO! Nation with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: WOOOOO! Nation