Jay Lethal talks ROH War of the Worlds, TNA takeaways and his world title reign

Ring of Honor star Jay Lethal spoke about his main event match at War of the Worlds, his 400-plus days as ROH World Champion and more.

For the past few years, Jay Lethal has made his mark in Ring of Honor. He became one of the longest-reigning ROH World Champions in company history, holding the belt for over 400 days from 2015 to 2016, main eventing countless events during this time. This also made the former House of Truth member one of the top faces of ROH.

On Friday night, Lethal will take part in the main event of ROH’s War of the Worlds pay-per-view. He’ll contend for his second world title by taking on Christopher Daniels and Cody Rhodes.

Before that, Lethal spoke to FanSided about this match. He also discussed how TNA impacted his second stint with ROH and the best moment from his title reign.

FS WWE: You’re already approaching two decades in the wrestling business. How did you first get started?

I first got started when WWE Tough Enough was popular. I went to a little wrestling show in my area in New Jersey. The promotion at the time was Jersey All-Pro Wrestling. They were having a contest just like Tough Enough at the time, except a lot lower budget and not having people stay at a house. It was a little contest, and they were going to pick three winners. The three winners would be trained for free. I actually entered this contest and my dad took off work, drove me there and sat in the back, so of course, there was extra added pressure during this contest.

I was actually not one of the three winners because I was so young. They made an announcement, at the end as I was doing my walk of shame back to my dad, because I wasn’t one of the winners. They made another announcement saying that we were going to pick him originally, as he’s just too young. But we just changed our minds and we’ve added a fourth winner — and that was me.

That’s how I got into the wrestling business. They trained me. Their school closed down after five or six months, and I trained the rest of the time with Mikey Whipwreck on Long Island.

After you broke into wrestling, was there a moment in your career that you felt like you became a star or was there a specific turning point?

I don’t know. I don’t think I ever thought of it like that. I do remember once I got an action figure, that I could die a happy man. I remember growing up as a wrestling fan, I had every action figure. I had probably one of the largest collections that I’ve ever seen — definitely the largest collection out of all of my friends. So having an action figure was definitely a very big moment for me. I don’t think I thought of myself as a star that made it, but I definitely thought that with an action figure I could die a happy man.

You had a stint in ROH in the early 2000s, but then went to TNA before going back to ROH. Were there any takeaways from your time in TNA that have helped you in this second stint?

Definitely. I credit most of everything I’ve gotten to do is based off that Black Machismo character that I did in TNA. Up until that point, I just wanted to be the badass world champion. I was very one-dimensional and there wasn’t much to me at all. That Black Machismo character actually broke me out of that shell and added so many layers to me, that it only prepared me for everything that I would encounter and go through after my departure from the company. Even my stint with Ric Flair, the Machismo character even prepared me for that.

That was the largest takeaway. Not only did that character put me on the wrestling map, but it actually broke me out of that shell — that shy-guy shell I was in. It really added so many layers and dimensions to me.

Also, when you were in TNA, you worked in a stable called Front Line. Was there anything you saw from that stable that mad you think, “Wow, the future is here” and a great experience for you?

Well, like you said, I was in the group called Front Line — not to be confused with animal products because there’s dog flea medication, which I thought was funny. Anytime I get to stand on the same side of … not the ring, but promo-wise and stand behind guys like Tommy Dreamer. Like I said, that was a time where I was really breaking out of my shell, and I was rubbing elbows with some guys like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Tommy Dreamer and Frankie Kazarian. It was all just a learning experience for me.

Unfortunately, if memory serves me correctly, I wasn’t used much in that storyline. I was only in it for a short stint because I had just come off of my little program with Ric Flair, and the Front Line group was feuding with Fortune at the time. So, I actually wasn’t in it for very long, but it was definitely a learning experience, especially when you look at the amount of experience the other guys in the group had.

It’s been about eight months since your ROH world championship reign ended. Is there something from it you look back on and remember fondly?

Yeah, it was the day it started. The coolest part to me was having my parents in the crowd. They’ve really been my biggest supporters. For the first five or six years of my career, my dad went to every wrestling show that I had. Even when plane tickets were offered to me, we drove instead. So, he was there the whole beginning run that I had at Ring of Honor; he actually saw Ring of Honor grow from the ground up. So, the coolest part about it was having my parents there because they saw when I first started wrestling altogether, first started wrestling for Ring of Honor and the evolution of Jay Lethal. Now, there’s a company known around the world for its wrestling and I was their world champion. It was an amazing moment, and like I said, my favorite moment was my parents in the crowd.

In one of the closing moments of that title run, you had your head shaved in the middle of the ring. Was that nerve-wracking at all or something you were comfortable with?

I was definitely very nervous. Well, for starters, you’re never going to know what you’re going to look like when your hair is gone. You don’t know what bumps or scars or funky shape is under that hair. It’s terrifying!

Needless to say, I was very terrified. Overall, it worked out great. I think I look good with a bald head — I actually enjoy shaving. To get those braids was actually a process because I always had to make an appointment and the time I needed wasn’t always available, especially when I have a last-minute trip coming up and I need to leave tomorrow. That always made it a bit difficult, but now that I can take care of this on my own, it does make traveling easier, but I do miss my braids. I miss being able to put little beads on it like I did at the end.

Since Final Battle, you’ve been working with Cody Rhodes. What have you seen out of his transition from WWE to competing in Ring of Honor?

Well, the biggest transition is he’s being given a chance to show what he can do here. What I mean by that is he’s getting to show he can have awesome matches and he can wrestle. I don’t know if many people realize it, but with most television wrestling companies, the matches aren’t very long. That’s the cool part of Ring of Honor, as the matches are able to go a bit longer than the other companies allow their matches to go on. So, that’s the biggest part there.

Then, there’s no real change, except for that he’s now able to show the crowd what he can do. I think that’s ultimately what all wrestlers want, especially the ones working for Ring of Honor. We just want a chance to show what we can do, and Ring of Honor has given us that chance.

Speaking of Rhodes, you and him are going to be in the ROH world title match in the main event of War of the Worlds. What are your thoughts heading into this?

Anytime I can main event for Ring of Honor, it’s just not only a humbling experience for me, but an honor to say I’m in the main event. Also, when you look at who is in the main event  — Cody Rhodes — he has wrestled all around the world and is the son of Dusty Rhodes. The Ring of Honor World Champion — Christopher Daniels — he’s been all over the world. He’s taught me more than some people will ever know. My first stint in Ring of Honor, Christopher Daniels was here and I wouldn’t be able to tell you in one sitting all that he has taught me.

We had the makings of one cool learning experience for me, underneath it all. On the surface, it’s going to be one helluva main event, because it has to be, right? You’ve got guys like the Young Bucks and Adam Cole on the show, so you have to deliver. That’s one of the hardest parts about working in Ring of Honor because the challenge is accepted by all the wrestlers. We feel we have the biggest roster in the world, and one of the coolest parts about it is we’re trying to put Ring of Honor on the map and we’re trying to make Ring of Honor No. 1 by going out there and delivering with every match. So, could you imagine having to be the match after the Young Bucks? I would compare them to be the greatest tag team of my generation, so it’s a bit nerve-wracking and you have to go out there, deliver and do what you have to do and that’s one of the coolest parts.

The main event in New York City, all live on PPV. Me vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Cody Rhodes will deliver.

Following this show, is there someone you hope to work with, whether it’s in the aftermath of War of the Worlds or later this year?

No one that I would put a target on, really. I hope to be leaving New York as the Ring of Honor World Champion. As the champion, I accept all challenges. If I had to pick someone right now, I would say I’d love to give Dalton Castle a shot at the Ring of Honor World Championship. I’m a big fan of Dalton Castle. The crowd really loves him, and you can tell when you hear the reaction that he gets in an entrance, which is really cool. I would be willing to work with anybody.

Is there someone coming up the ranks of Ring of Honor who fans should look out for, for the rest of 2017?

That’s a good question. I definitely think — and he’s already making waves now — I definitely think we have to look out for the Ring of Honor Television Champion, Marty Scurll. Someone much younger is Will Ferrara. Maybe those are my two picks.

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ROH’s War of the Worlds PPV will take place on Friday, May 12 at the Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The show can be seen on PPV on rohwrestling.com, and you can also view the show via the Fite TV app.