As long as you have a strong opinion on Effy either way, that’s enough for him.
Effy was the latest guest on The Sessions with Renee Paquette to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked if he puts thought into turning audiences around on his character after initially being against it, Effy said some of it is intentional.
“It’s a little by design. It’s a little accidental,” Effy admitted. “And part of it I started leaning into the design because [New Japan commentator] Kevin Kelly pulled me aside a long time ago at a PWX show that he was helping agent. And he goes, ‘I like it. I just I’ve never seen anything online of you actually wrestling.’ And I was like, ‘exactly. There shouldn’t be anything online of me wrestling.’ I even did a highlight video that was like the top 12 moves of Effy. And it’s just things I’m saying in between doing moves, being sassy. And so there was this idea sort of that like before you get to me in person, you should have almost a negative thought about Effy. Everyone’s talking about Effy. Everybody loves Effy, this Effy guy! What’s so good about Effy?
“And then you get there in person, and I sort of tried to connect to each room, and this sounds big brain, but it’s really not. I read the room. I check in with people I see who’s at the show. I see what the show has, and I tried to fit in the best I can there. And because of that, like there’s a different mindset that helps me excel versus like, Effy does these four moves. You can reverse this one. This will be my finish will trade for falsies. It’s like maybe that’s not what the room needs right now. Maybe we need something different, and so by reading the room and sort of working with the audience, instead of going like this is what I am, and this is what I do.
“A lot is set in stone. I mean, the entrance is set in stone. That’s me going through rituals to be comfortable in there. But every match to me should feel a little different. And I’ve argued with guys on this because I used to do stand-up comedy, and they would say if you don’t come practice your sets; if you don’t come do the same set. If you don’t do the same set and get it right. And it was like, I don’t need this restriction. In my world, I’m given a task. You have this much time with a person. There’s a person who’s going to win and a person who’s going to lose. Here’s what we would like to see out of it. How best can I use my creative skill to fit that task and to give the paying audience the best version of the show that they need while not detracting from the other parts of the show?
“If I know the finish is a Tombstone for the title at the end, I’m probably not going to spam a bunch of Tombstones, but there’s not a lot of people just stopping in front of someone on their knees. So I’ve usually got the clearance to at least open up the story with that. I want people to have strong opinions either way. You have strong opinions on [John] Cena, on Roman Reigns, on Hulk Hogan; they’ve all made a lot of money. And in my opinion, the bands and albums and music I’ve loved the most, I didn’t really like it at first, and then I got addicted to it. If you have a slight negative [attitude] towards me at the beginning, I’ve got a way bigger chance of swinging you big to my side if you actually come around to it.”
What do you make of Effy’s comments? Do you enjoy the way he portrays his character on the independent scene? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit The Sessions with a link back to this article for the transcription.
