Shinsuke Nakamura Quotes

I'm not as extreme in real life as I am in the ring or on television.

I think Finn Balor is more about confidence, a smarter version of Prince Devitt. Otherwise, they have the same core values, same techniques, and the same heart.

When you see me on TV as Stone Cold Steve Austin, that's definitely a part of my personality.

For the majority of guys, their character is just an extension of what they are really like. I'm generally a pretty nice guy but I'm a bad guy in WWE. So I always say it's like an extension of my dark side.

For me, I was really struggling because I was Scott Hall in the gym and Scott Hall in the grocery store and in the ring. Until I got a gimmick, a look, and got to be a character, that's when I started making strides. As Scott Hall, I didn't have a gimmick, so I didn't know what to do.

There's not too much Edge in Adam Copeland, but there's a little bit of my sarcasm and my sense of humor, I guess, but I'm not a sleazy, raving maniac like the character of Edge could be.

My wife would say I'm more Hyde than Jekyll!

The most important thing about being in wrestling is that you have to connect with the crowd, connect with the fans, and you either want them to love you, or to hate you. Either way, so long as they're reacting to what you're doing.

So, there's plenty of good heels in the business. I don't see guys who can get fans to rally behind them like I do. It's hard. It's the hardest job in the business and I'm doing it every single night.

I think The Miz can be a terrific heel. Miz enjoys being a heel, and I think he's actually very good at it. People look at him and want to hate him. That's what you want.

You have to have a character; you have to build your character. If you understand the pro wrestling scheme of things, then you understand what the promoting is. These guys are friendly backstage, but as soon as the cameras turn on, it's a whole different story: you become that character.

I loved wrestling, and I wanted to go out and entertain people and all that stuff, so I get trained, and when they decided, 'Hey, you're ready for a match, and you've got to start thinking about a character,' I was thinking this guy and this guy, and they go, 'No, no, no - you're a Muslim. You've got to be a bad guy.'

Modern day wrestlers are fans of the performance of wrestling instead of the concept of wrestling.

I remember always loving the bad guy Shawn Michaels. Everyone else always hated when he played the bad guy, but there was just something about that character I connected with.

My whole idea, to me, is if you're a heel in wrestling, you should not having a band playing for when you come out and people will react in a positive way.

They say the best wrestling gimmicks are a heightened version of yourself and that's me!

We didn't roll credits after 'Monday Night Raw.' You know, it didn't say, 'Stone Cold Steve Austin played by Steve Austin,' so all of a sudden people think that's who and what you are 24/7, you know, 365 days a year.

I walked into Eddie Graham's office, he took one look at me and said, 'You look a lot like Sam Steamboat. We're going to make you his nephew - Ricky Steamboat.'

When I was young, a lot of the guys could sell themselves to me on the way to the ring with the way they acted and their mannerisms. Guys like Shawn Michaels, who I loved growing up. They were just loud. They didn't even need to say a word because they came out and had this crazy ring gear on.

I really think that some of the best heels are also those people that can really get reactions as babyfaces, too.

I guess what Kenny Omega is, even though the image is something that was given to me by New Japan and then tweaked by me, it's just me, Tyson Smith. Yeah, that's me, just a guy that likes to joke around when he doesn't have to be serious. And when he has to be serious, he's really serious!

Wrestling ultimately comes down to what happens when the bell rings, and it comes down to athleticism, storytelling, and characters - and what we're doing in 'Lucha Underground' is the highest-quality wrestling out there.

I think one of the things that really endeared me to people was that people got to view more aspects of my personality than most because of the different things that I did within WWE.

I learned in TNA that I needed more than just a good match - I needed a character. That's how I became the 'Rainmaker.' It was good for me.

I think it's hard to differentiate between your wrestling character and your real character - you kind of end up being both. I've always been my wrestling character in and out of the ring and in and out of the dressing room, and I was always really respected in the dressing room by the other wrestlers.