Wrestling Legends Quotes

When I was nine years old and dreamed of being a pro wrestler, the thing I was most fascinated by was how much love the wrestlers got.

I grew up in Tampa, Florida, and St. Pete, Tampa, the Tampa Bay area, and that was the home of Championship Wrestling from Florida with Gordon Solie, Dusty Rhodes, and it was just... I mean, for storylines and angles and promos, it was second to none.

I'm still a wrestling fan: That's how I started out, that's how I will end the day.

I have a lot of respect for the folks over at WWE, and I have a ton of respect for what they've accomplished within the industry.

When I started, I just put my nose to the grindstone, had great trainers and opponents like Fit Finlay, Arn Anderson, Booker T, Umaga and Bob Holly, and good things started to happen.

I'll never forget the reaction the WWE Universe gave me at 'WrestleMania 33' and my return - it was truly one of the greatest moments of my career.

You look at John Cena - whether you love him or you hate him, he always gets a reaction. Roman Reigns has that same aura, that same ability.

I remember when I was a kid that the only way to see Hulk Hogan wrestle was you'd have to go to the live shows. He was never on TV. So I thought "Why not do the same thing?"

Professional wrestling was almost like a secret society when I started, like a Mafia, and it would destroy the Sheik to see how much that has changed.

Growing up, I idolized Big Boss Man and Bam Bam Bigelow just because they were big guys who could move and were tough. I felt like they both rode motorcycles. And Bam Bam had his head tattooed. Those are the guys who really got me into wrestling.

The Hardcore Championship is still probably my favorite title of all time.

Triple H is a former bodybuilder. He's all about bodies. He thought that Hulk Hogan was the greatest wrestler in the world. They think Ultimate Warrior was the greatest wrestler in the world because that's what they're attracted to, but he's not really a wrestling fan like I grew up. I was a wrestling fan.

I listened to the veteran wrestlers that had tons of experience, like Leo Burke.

As a kid, growing up, my heroes all had the Intercontinental Championship. Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Mr. Perfect, Ric Rude, all of them. And they were the people I looked up to and wanted to be like.

It's no easy job being a World Heavyweight Champion; these guys like Cena, Sheamus, these guys are modeled around that and are champs for a reason.

I loved reminiscing with my dad about his matches with the Bulldogs and his partnership with my uncle Bret Hart as the Hart Foundation.

I was a Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes guy. Ric Flair continues to be my favorite wrestler of all time. I loved Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel and all of those guys, but I'm a big Flair guy.

The NWO was one of a kind. It was led by three mega-superstars. They knew how to work the business, especially Kevin Nash. He was literally the brains behind that machine.

I still recall the first time I laid eyes on Ric. Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch were wrestling, at the time, in Minnesota, and they took a liking to this kid who'd been hanging around the matches. That kid was Ric Flair, and they brought him to my ranch in Amarillo, Texas.

Growing up, I wanted to be in WWE because of watching characters like Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman. They just are such incredible storytellers, such incredible, compelling characters.

Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Shawn Michaels, The NWO, The Invasion, the wild stories, and the Attitude Era. All the crazy stories - you love them, and you get addicted to them and the lifestyle. But you have to separate them and toe the line and separate yourself from what is real and what is not.

I was six years old watching wrestling on TV. I was eight years old watching Ultimate Warrior run to the ring at WrestleMania. I was eighteen years old starting out on a journey in the U.K. wanting to be a professional wrestler.

I've been talking to certain wrestlers on the phone lately, and certain female wrestlers that were huge stars ten years ago, and the first thing I ask them is 'do you still want to work?' Do they want to talk, or do they want to wrestle or do something else in the business?

Pro wrestling has always been ingrained into American culture. It was one of the first things that was ever on television, so everybody watched it. Countless people tell me, 'I got into wrestling because my grandfather watched it.' It was always there.

I think, in general, when you talk about great wrestling towns in the history of the world, I think Memphis kind of shoots up there into the top three if not the top two.