{"id":138558,"date":"2020-12-21T21:05:11","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ec3-on-covid-19-gut-punch-roh-future-post-wwe-narrative\/"},"modified":"2020-12-21T21:05:11","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:05:11","slug":"ec3-on-covid-19-gut-punch-roh-future-post-wwe-narrative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ec3-on-covid-19-gut-punch-roh-future-post-wwe-narrative\/","title":{"rendered":"#EC3 on COVID-19 &#8216;gut punch,&#8217; ROH future, post-WWE narrative"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#EC3 on COVID-19 &#8216;gut punch,&#8217; ROH future, post-WWE narrative<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>What was supposed to be EC3\u2019s \u201ccoming out party\u201d delivered another cruel twist to his roller-coaster 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The former WWE performer, who was released in April as part of cuts made because of the coronavirus pandemic, had just logged off a Ring of Honor video conference \u201csuper fired up to go to work\u201d for a match against Jay Briscoe that was supposed to h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en at last Friday night\u2019s \u201cFinal Battle\u201d pay-per-view. The promotion then called him and told him he had tested positive for COVID-19 and the match was eventually pulled from the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> was a gut punch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt sucks,\u201d EC3 said in a phone interview. \u201cI guess my initial reaction was, I kind of laughed. Like you\u2019re kidding me. The theory, the way I look at it, the entire year of 2020 for myself as a person and a character started with COVID, so 2020 might as well end with COVID. Only coming out of this in the end can I be a better version of myself, so it kind of fits. It\u2019s kind of serendipitous in a way. It sucks, but serendipitous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 37-year-old from Willoughby, Ohio experienced some inconsistent symptoms \u2014 \u201cbreathing fire\u201d one morning and stomach discomfort that led to a \u201cnine-minute fart\u201d \u2014 but other than that has been fine quarantining with his parents, who have come to visit. EC3, who has also worked in NXT and Impact, isn\u2019t certain how he got the virus but noted he works out at a gym and had business meetings with people who had been on airplanes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can either come out of it better, stronger or worse and you\u2019re nothing,\u201d he said of tough situations. \u201cI always chose the former.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Narrative (Extended) | Full Film | EC3 vs Moose\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/urwlirR1ouA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>He\u2019s applied a similar approach to being released from WWE after a little more than a year stint on the main roster that never got any traction creatively and was then hampered by a concussion that lingered for months. He has said WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon didn\u2019t want him doing promos after seeing one he deemed too over the top.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI tried to fight to speak, nobody went to bat for, \u2018He\u2019s a decent enough talker and maybe he can have some character development and depth and the Universe will know who he is if he does speak,&#8217;\u201d EC3 said. \u201cIt was just kind of thrown away. Yeah, it sucked. There\u2019s nothing more I can say about it. \u2026 I never want to come off as this super negative, \u2018They never gave me a chance, they never did this.\u2019 I\u2019m so sick of that story. It sucked and whatever, it\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>EC3 said he was planning on asking for his release from WWE around the time he was let go. It left him feeling differently when it happened, even with the uncertainty of when other wrestling promotions would start running again because of the pandemic. He doesn\u2019t rule out returning to WWE, but said it would need to be a \u201cunique circumstance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a sense of relief that this thing that had been hanging over me like the Sword of Damocles for so long [was gone],\u201d he said. \u201c It was hurting me every single day and I don\u2019t have it anymore and I\u2019ll be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>EC3 chose to completely change his character and his lifestyle when it was time to reemerge onto the wrestling scene. Gone were the fancy suits, slicked hair and arrogance that came with a character deemed part of the top one percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What we see now is a persona he had hoped to try in WWE that is edgier and more of a cult leader. EC3\u2019s head is shaved nearly bald, he wears hoodies, work pants and boots and wants his followers to \u201ccontrol your narrative,\u201d just like he is trying to do.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" alt=\"EC3\" class=\"wp-image-16857090 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/12\/MGC_6895.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/12\/MGC_6895.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/12\/MGC_6895.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1000 1000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1000px\"\/><figcaption>EC3 attacks Jay Brisco<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Ring of Honor\/Mark Adams<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt was very personal because for a very long time I wasn\u2019t happy with who I was and what I was doing and that\u2019s from a professional aspect and very much a personal aspect,\u201d said EC3, who is also in charge of his \u201cFree EC3\u201d merchandise. \u201cSo as easy as it would be to rely on the past, a past that was very successful and a past that has a lot of miles left on it, there are a lot of places that idea and version of me could go. I think it was very important to take a risk and do something new because it was something I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s applied to his life off-camera also. EC3 said when his wrestling gimmick was \u201cthe top one percent\u201d he was living in a penthouse apartment in downtown Orlando overlooking the city and enjoyed the city\u2019s nightlife. After his release from WWE that lifestyle didn\u2019t interest him anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>EC3 decided to put all his \u201ccool s\u2013t\u201d (like giant flatscreen TVs) in storage and live for a couple of months like a true vagabond out of a suitcase. He bounced around friends\u2019 houses and other places needing to find something outside of wrestling that brought him purpose and happiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that I was making great money sitting at home sad and in darkness with brain trauma to not making nearly as much money, busy for every minute or every second of every hour of every day creating, evolving, doing things, interacting with people, I realized financially happiness isn\u2019t just that,\u201d EC3 said.<\/p>\n<p>What he\u2019s created through his own vignettes and now with Impact and Ring of Honor is a character very different from what we see in wrestling today. It\u2019s one, at the moment, more interesting in his personal journey than winning matches.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During EC3\u2019s program with Moose in Impact, where he had his most professional success from 2015-18, he wanted \u201cto go out on my sword\u201d and destroy what he created in the company in the past. Their cinematic match on the \u201cBound for Glory\u201d pay-per-view was also to show Moose, who holds the defunct TNA world championship, \u201cthe man he truly could become.\u201d At the end of the match, EC3 tells him to \u201cenjoy his narrative\u201d as Moose thanks him before smashing him with the belt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis works in the world of wrestling,\u201d EC3 said of the control-your-narrative theme. \u201cThis works in the current world we have now, with the unfortunate [stuff] like a cancel culture and a toxicity of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> at times. Just being comfortable within your skin. Tell your story and be the person that you should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"EC3 Pushes Jay Briscoe Off The Deep End! ROH Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/arRuTxOWagk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>EC3\u2019s character came to Ring of Honor to find out if \u201chonor is real\u201d by challenging one of the company\u2019s biggest stalwarts in Briscoe. During their initial singles match, his character was more interested in trying to get Briscoe to shake his hand than he was in winning the match.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPersonally, finding out if honor is real is very important,\u201d he said. \u201cThe arc of this story is, \u2018Is honor real?\u2019 Ring of Honor prides itself on being the best wrestling in the world and what happens within this 18-by-18 squared circle, this ring it\u2019s holy. It\u2019s honorable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>EC3 says the journey right now is \u201cmore important than the W or the L,\u201d but that will change at some point. He hopes his character could one day get to work with John Cena because he believes the former face of WWE would have also created something unique if he had been let go by the company prior to finding his Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick in 2002.<\/p>\n<p>EC3 has left himself the freedom to bring his character to numerous promotions by not signing any long-term contracts in the hopes of doing something different and unique. He pointed out that like the current alliance between Impact and AEW we know all these companies exist and wrestlers interact. He hopes to connect them with his own personal narrative and wants to leave the fans not knowing what\u2019s going to happen next. He teased that the end<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> for the character will be \u201cexplosive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world is crazy and different,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think wrestling needs to be cut and dried, white and black. I think shades of gray, intrigue is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hopes to get a chance to finish his program with Briscoe in Ring of Honor and said those talks are going on above him. EC3 has all the intent \u201cto be a huge piece\u201d there. He believes Ring of Honor, like what he is doing, brings more realism to an overall wrestling product that has \u201cgotten childish and corny in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m all in and they have me at their disposal to make it work,\u201d EC3 said. \u201cAnd it will work because I think fans deserve something real and true that they can invest emotionally in and create moments.\u201d\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/12\/21\/ec3-on-covid-19-gut-punch-roh-future-post-wwe-narrative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#EC3 on COVID-19 &#8216;gut punch,&#8217; ROH future, post-WWE narrative&#8221; What was supposed to be EC3\u2019s \u201ccoming out party\u201d delivered another cruel twist to his roller-coaster 2020. The former WWE performer, who was released in April as part of cuts made because of the coronavirus pandemic, had just logged off a Ring of Honor video conference&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/12\/MGC_5117.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[87288,1545,87330,75757,87331,25019],"class_list":["post-138558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-12-21-20","tag-coronavirus","tag-nxt","tag-pro-wrestling","tag-ring-of-honor","tag-wwe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}