NJPW star Clark Connors spoke with Fightful’s Jeremy Lambert & SP3 on In The Weeds on various topics, including being part of the English commentary team at NJPW’s The New Beginning in Osaka event.
Connors said, “That commentary gig just got thrown in my lap because I wasn’t really doing anything. I decided, ‘I’ll go out there and have some fun.’ I’ll be honest, I don’t watch a lot of wrestling, I do wrestling. Getting out and sitting in the crowd, basically, they are front row seats, and I’m drinking four or five Sapporo’s, just like everybody else at home. Wrestling is fun as hell to watch. When there are stakes tied to it and true emotion tied to it, which is what we hope to have as performers, I got that with [Gabe] Kidd and [Yota] Tsuji. Drilla [Moloney] beating Shingo [Takagi]. Those are the type of emotions that are so easy to lose yourself in the moment a little bit. I only got into a little bit of trouble for saying the F word. I think I only said it four or five times. If you know me, that’s a 100% decrease of what was expected. I was out there saying ‘Holy Moly’ and ‘Geez Louise.’ I was saying some f***ing grandpa s**t. It was cool. I’m not going to want to do that as a career, but it’s fun to be able to go out there and enjoy some wrestling.”
On how he knew he was in trouble:
“I had drank probably five or six beers while I was out there, so I had to take a piss a couple of times. I had to go to the back and I would get a look from a couple of guys in the back like, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ Just to knock it off. Well, what do you expect? I’m not getting paid to do this. I think everyone shouldn’t be afraid to go out there and speak their mind. If you don’t have anything to lose, what’s the problem?”
On being a last minute addition to the AEW All-Atlantic Match at NJPW x AEW Forbidden Door 2022:
“When I started wrestling, my first gimmick on the indies was ‘The Hybrid’ Clark Connors. I could do a little bit of everything, speed, strength, being smart, whatever the fuck it is. It’s always been true. I don’t like to put myself into one box. As a professional wrestler, all the best who have ever done it, are similar in that. They can do a little bit of comedy, they can make you cry in the main event, they can do backflips or power moves. That’s a trait that I’ve always seen myself in any world they need me. At Forbidden Door, when Ishii was out, it was short notice. In that type of match, I’m an unknown versus three of the most established and highest paid stars in AEW. To go in there and get myself over in a certain way or wrestle a certain way to beat those guys, I can find what is needed for any match, any segment, any opportunity. I take pride in that. That’s a mark of being a phenomenal pro wrestler. It’s not just about wins and losses and where you are on the card. It’s about being able to go out there and doing what is needed of you and doing it better than anyone else can do it.”
You can check out Connors’ comments in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
