Since his time in the WWE, Chris Masters has has evolved heavily as a performer. He recently spoke about this development and the fact that he hasn’t been booked for NWA Hard Times 3. The following are some highlights from Masters’ recent interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston:
If not being booked for Hard Times 3 yet affects him:
“It definitely affects me. You know, anybody who loves — I think most of us who get into this business love it, or have a passion for it. And so for me, yeah it does affect me. It hurts to not be on the card. But also from a standpoint of like, I honestly think I’m one of the best in-ring talents in the game today. You can watch any of my work over the last year and you can see that I’ve delivered every single time when it comes to storytelling, physicality to athleticism. So I mean — and then you factor in everything you just said, the the star power, name recognition. So that’s where at the end of the day I end up having questions. I’m like, ‘Are we not–‘ You know, I can be used to a certain degree as far as my star power in terms of to help sell a PPV or whatnot over other guys.
“So yeah, you know, it is what it is. But to answer your question, yes it does affect me. If it didn’t, then that would be an even bigger problem, I should get out of the wrestling business. Because I think again, all of us loving and having passion for it, but if you watch any of my work over the last year, I promise you I’m one of the best in the business and today. Check out a match and tell me otherwise.”
His evolution as a talent:
“I love NWA and I love what we’re doing there, I love what we represent. And I’ve looked at NWA as a great opportunity for me as a place that I can perform, a platform where I can show the world who I am, who’s a very different performer from the Chris Masters that a lot of people saw earlier in his career. When I was on Monday Night Raw, I was only two years into my experience with professional wrestling. Granted, I was a lifelong fan but this is an art form and it takes years to really master and cultivate that art form, and understand the nuances. So like even to go back to that room, like on that little bit of experience I did pretty well. But you know, you fast forward to now and it’s like, this is a chance to show kind of the world — you know, that was Chris Masters, this is Chris Adonis or Chris Masters 2.0, who is an evolved performer. He’s not just this big brodding powerhouse that throws those guys around. I’m one of the more gifted wrestlers, one of the more gifted sellers, one of the more gifted just performers overall in the ring. And you know, it’s just like night and day, you know what I mean? If you took the work I was doing now and you put it in the body of that 22 year old I was in WWE, I would be a multi-time world champion, I promise you.”
You can watch the complete interview below:
(h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription)
