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Mike Johnson: You may have, as well you should, because that's your business is how well you look and how well you perform. Now, is there a danger here that no matter what, you're not going to be satisfied, and therefore you're not going to ever find happiness here? Because-
EC3: Whoa, yep.
Mike Johnson: ... most individuals who are driven by creation, whether it be writing or art or performance, what other people perceive as amazing, they will internally perceive as terrible. So you've been talking about creating and finding happiness, but creation and happiness don't necessarily embed themselves in the same DNA. So is that something you're worried about, or are you just confident enough that you will find enough in column A and enough in column B?
EC3: Damn, Mike. Damn. I didn't even think of it like that.
Mike Johnson: I never do give you the easy questions, do I?
EC3: No, you never do. [Laughs] think there is that risk, and that is a danger. I don't know if you saw the little NXT promo I did when I was, "Hey, I might go here. I might go here. I'm evaluating these places," whatever, but there was a line in it that I wrote that's like, "You were happy once," and I was, and things steered me off that path. Doing this further, going further along, I do run the risk of... Because when I do find a moment of deeper satisfaction, you did what you set out to do, cool. It's super hard to rest on it. Then you're just thinking, "Okay, what's next?" That's a terrible, terrible way to live sometimes. So yes, that risk is going to be there. I think this time, I've been through a lot in life and wrestling, just like anybody. I think this time, what's called this third act, and I think I'll get as close to happy as I could be. That's my goal.
Mike Johnson: Before we talk about the future and where you might end up, I do want to ask you to compare the two different WWE runs, because the first time we ever spoke, you were coming out of that initial run on the reality show version of NXT where you had been released from developmental in wake of a number of injuries. You kind of joked that you felt like you were on the psychiatrist chair with me. Then the second run comes, and now here we are again talking about what didn't happen. So before we talk about what the future is for EC3 and for yourself personally, Michael Hutter, how do you compare those two runs? Obviously they're both learning experiences and life experiences that you will take from in the future, but how do you compare that first time period and then the second time period after the Impact run?
EC3: I'd say they're both unsatisfactory for my personal preference. That's pretty obvious. But on the second run, maybe knowing what to do as a professional, like you're willing to do anything for the company, you're willing to give everything you have, you're willing to sacrifice your sanity and your heart and your creative passions to appease others for a paycheck. I don't know where I'm going with that. You can do everything the right way. I admitted to making mistakes, of course, but as far as a professional, nothing I could have done. I've never done anything unprofessional. You know? Knowing that, hey, it doesn't really matter if you're a little bit more unprofessional. Maybe you would have gotten more of what you wanted. But then do I really want it if I'm not willing to do the action, I guess? Comparing the two, when I was a kid, wasn't very confident. I just knew I was a goofy, funny dude with a different look. I worked hard, and back then I didn't have so many knee surgeries, I could do a couple cooler moves. Coming back the second time, seasoned, worked with legends. Shit, you got guys like starting with Matt Hardy enjoy working with you and complimenting you, you know then you can do this and you can do this at a high level. That's all the accolades I really needed was knowing respect from my peers, especially ones that are legendaries, legends in this industry. Coming back with that under my belt, I think, man, the way we're talking, Mike, I feel like getting knocked on the head really just threw me for a loop, because I wasn't the man there I was in Impact when I would be whatever version of a locker room leader I could have been as a young man, and organizing meetings, and watching every match, and helping out in any way. It wasn't that confidence in WWE, because I haven't done anything there. So I didn't have... I don't want to be the guy who's very vocal when you're not contributing at the level you think you should, if that makes sense. So not being that guy that I wanted to be, but man, that second run. But comparing the two, the companies changed a lot. Systems changed a lot. I would say for every vast improvement that was made, there was another glaring hole, and there's a lot of cooks in one kitchen, so to speak, and only one person's insights are truly what matters.
Mike Johnson: So one of the things-
EC3: Was that a good answer?
Mike Johnson: I would say that's a great answer.
EC3: Okay.
Mike Johnson: And a pretty honest one. It's not easy to be honest about oneself. One of the things that you've done in the 90 days is focus a lot doing promos online, releasing a lot of content via social media. This allows you obviously to begin to craft your character, begin to tell your stories in a way that is completely unencumbered by any producers, any other creative forces, and it allowed you to kind of reset yourself. How important has that ability with social media been, in terms of figuring out who EC3 is going forward? Because I've seen you've done a lot of stuff on your Facebook page. Is that something that we should expect more of when you do figure out what nest you're going to land in?
EC3: Yes. I would say to the fans listening, I know Facebook is the mass propaganda tool of social media, and you kind of stay away from it because your grandma's on there, and your mom's sharing dumb posts all the time, so you stay off Facebook. But if you could throw EC3 a like, the real EC3 a like on Facebook, it seems as far as content, it's the best form to at least get stuff out there. So most of it I'll put there. I hate talking about social media, because I'm not a demented narcissist like every other person with a blue check on it. It drives me nuts. I hate the lifestyle. I hate the faux reality of it. I hate people wearing masks and unable to truly be who they are because they feel they have a certain need to act or present themselves when they're in public. But it's also how the world works. So two birds with one stone. Yeah, the 90 days, like I said, I'm going to... Through the 90 days, I can craft something, hopefully, with very limited means through an authentic character that maybe people like, or if they dislike, that's fine, but maybe... What's weird about it I didn't expect how this started and what's kind of it's morphed into is that what I say has resonated with people and is not just a narrow-minded view of, "Oh, I'm looking at my at mentions," or, "I'll check out and see my DMs. People like me. I'm popular." It just seems some things I've done in the past have grab a very interesting reaction, and people finding true inspiration in it, which baffles me, but at the same time, I get it, because I can unapologetically say what I think, and just having the freedom and the power in yourself to put it out there, some people can't do that. I get that, especially in this world. Or if you say, do, sneeze at the wrong time, you're going to face a pyre of outrage, whether you intended to or not. So making mistakes in the public eye is impossible because of the consequences. But if people are finding... I realize now people are finding some sort of value or inspiring things in what I say that I have to kind of take that with a bit of responsibility. So my initial plan was a cult leader, and I don't really want people to do horrible things, so it's kind of evolved. Then I think my partner mentioned it's like kind of a COVID anti-hero, because everybody is on edge, everybody is suffering from mental health now, anxiety, depression, the world, nobody knows what's going on. One thing about this industry nobody's really tackled, is tackling that would kind of put a bandaid on a gunshot, and we're saying, "Look at me." We're plan dancing in cool clothes. Let's bring this to attention, and people resonates with people, cool. If it doesn't, just normal run-of-the-mill wrestling character boo, yay, whatever, that's fine too. But yeah, just wanted 90 days to create something, and then let those chips fall where they may.
Mike Johnson: So with the 90 days expiring, you mentioned getting into a fight on July 18th, which falls onto the evening of Slammiversary, your former home in Impact Wrestling. Obviously-
EC3: Oh, is it?
Mike Johnson: Yes, it is.
EC3: Oh, I had no idea.
Mike Johnson: That's what you get for spending so much time on Facebook. [Both Laugh] So also Impact Wrestling is out there, they're producing content on a regular basis.
EC3: Oh, are they?
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