Steve Corino was a guy I met before I got into Ring of Honor. I got to work with Steve, and he kind of took me under his wing and really helped me.
Fortunately for me, I discovered Ring of Honor. And I saw guys who were much smaller in stature but were putting on these amazing matches that I had never seen in WWE before. So I thought, at the very least, I'd love the chance to be able to wrestle in a company like that someday.
When you look back at the former Ring of Honor world champions, whether it be Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuiness, the list goes on and on. These are the guys that built the lineage and importance of the Ring of Honor world championship.
I got signed to Ring Of Honor because Jim Cornette happened to be paying attention to something I was doing.
Regardless of who leaves and who stays, Ring of Honor is going to continue to be a healthy, growing, successful pro wrestling promotion.
Seth Rollins was just leaving Ring Of Honor when I was coming in, so I've heard him say very nice things about me in interviews and stuff. I always say nice things about him because of that respect I have for him. I watched him when I was working the independents while he was wrestling at Ring Of Honor, and I used to be blown away by his work then.
For me, it's always been a financial kind of scenario. I was actually the first one who signed the 'exclusive to Ring of Honor' contract. I was the first guy who ever signed one of those contracts. That was tough for me because I had no one to talk to. I had no examples to go on. I was the guinea pig.
I think Ring of Honor is becoming a legitimate threat in the world of pro wrestling. To say that Ring of Honor would be WWE is getting a little bit ahead of yourself. At the same time, I think Ring of Honor can definitely be a place where guys can make a living.
I'm really, really close with Kevin Owens. We talk practically every day. He was a guy who really, really helped me, both in Ring Of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.
The first time I won the Ring of Honor World Championship, I was a kid - I was 23 years old.
