Josh Barnett posted his latest “For The Win” article this morning for USA Today. This week he chats with WWE RAW Superstar Karl Anderson.
You can find some excerpts from the interview below. The full interview can be found HERE.
Related: Karl Anderson on Hardys Revenge
Q: This is your first run through WWE, but Gallows had been with the company before in another role. Did his experience with the company help you?
A: I think it absolutely helped. When we first got there, we both were nervous, but then we realized that we knew a lot of people. I knew more people than I thought. He’d been in that system and had a lot of old friends that he’d lost touch with. He ran into people who he knew who became my friends by way of association. … If you know Luke Gallows, he’s somebody that everybody loves. If you have something bad to say about Gallows, you’ve probably got your own enemies somewhere else.
Q: You had some great singles matches in New Japan, especially a run with Shinsuke Nakamura. Why has tag team wrestling been your thing?
A: I had some opportunities in Japan to do singles matches. I think I did well and proved that I can do it. … Whatever division we’re in, we want to be at the top of, but right now, it’s best for Gallows and I to be a tag team. .. I love doing singles matches and I think when the opportunity comes to get a big singles match, I’ll take it and step up to it. But I love working with Gallows and I love tag team stuff. I grew up on the Four Horsemen and the Rock n Roll Express and the Midnight Express and I enjoy doing it.
Q: Despite all the rumors, no one knew for sure that the Hardys were coming back for that match. When did you find out?
A: We found out a couple of hours before we had to work. We had some kind of expectation because the rumors were flying for a couple of weeks. The day of is when we got word they were coming. We were all very happy with it.
At the end of the day, Jeff and Matt Hardy helped make the WWE tag team division what it is. The ladder tag team matches they had at WrestleMania in the past made those matches famous. Being in there at WrestleMania with Matt and Jeff Hardy was an honor in itself. It was a great moment to be part of and I’m glad we got that.
