I never get complacent with anything.
To a lot of MMA fighters, pro wrestling is a very popular thing and I'm very thankful for them to try and make the transition into professional wrestling. But then they figure out its not as easy as a lot of people think.
I feel like in order for something to connect to an audience there needs to be a form of authenticity.
The whole Aleister Black character is a creation of my influences, Triple H and NXT, and everyone combined.
I think Aleister Black is the most Tommy End name you will get within WWE and NXT.
Was I a fan of WWE? Yeah, of course, but I knew it was not going to be a thing for me, until NXT came to the foreground and a lot of my friends who I was competing against on the independent scene were getting signed.
My mom was Roman Catholic, my dad was part of.
I'm an atheist. I don't have a religion.
The occult stuff, I grew up having a fascination about world religion and that fascination grew into other religions and other things and I kind of dabbled my way into the occult and started reading about the occult.
Everyone's an individual and individuality is such a strong thing in our society so that translates into wrestling.
I was a big fan of the more Mexican-based wrestlers when I started watching WCW, and I saw guys like Silver King, Eddie Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio. And where I come from, we have this European heritage with World of Sport with guys like Johnny Saint, Johnny Kidd, 'Rollerball' Mark Rocco, Robbie Brookside.
I'm lanky and I've always been lanky, but I was a really good athlete. Everything I've ever done in sports, I've done at a high level. I had a passion for what I was doing, and I had to be the best at everything.
I get messages from people telling me all the time through Twitter or Instagram about how my path has inspired their path. It's good for them, for people who have a certain amount of mental problems, suffering from depression or anxiety, being able to have someone who recognises them and helps them.
Wherever Ricochet and myself will go, NXT will forever be our home.
