In a recent interview with Les Anti-Pods de la Lutte, PCO discussed several topics including his negotiations with IMPACT Wrestling, his decision to leave the company, being a free agent soon, his future plans and more.
Highlights of the interview are below:
On negotiations with the company and talks breaking down over recent weeks on a new deal: “The company began approaching me in White Plains on the weekend of September 8th and 9th, they said they wanted to re-sign me, that they wanted me to stay and all that and that it was important for the company. I asked if they could increase my salary, and creatively speaking, if I could get more involved with my character. The next day, I thought we were going to agree on terms, it came close twice, then it drew on a bit, then I was told that we had to reach an agreement, at least on the phone before Memphis, which was the 22nd or 23rd, in order to know how to book Memphis and Bound For Glory. On Saturday, no news, no phone calls, radio silence in a sense, there are a lot of people around me in the locker room who have not been renewed yet and who finished on the 22nd, so I figured I wasn’t going to stretch it until Bound For Glory since my contract finishes on October 30th. I felt negotiations were tough, so I decided to control how I was going to leave. I think that’s part of the negotiations too, when there’s radio silence after they tell you we want you and we will sign you, there’s like some kind of a war of nerves that is being played, who will break first. If they show too much interest, they know you’re going to ask for the moon, but if they show less, they think you’re going to feel less important, the goal is to find the right balance.”
On whether the recent WWE releases may have had an impact on negotiations with IMPACT Wrestling: “Of course it did. Already, there were names mentioned by people close to the office, the names that were circulating were Riddle, Ziggler and Mustafa Ali, these are the three names that supposedly IMPACT would try to sign.”
On testing free agency: “There has been some kind of a movmeent since I submitted my resignation, it seems that everyone has realized that PCO is leaving, it reopened the discussions a bit, therefore it puts me in a position where I can take the best offer possible. There are many things to consider, how are you going to be used, how much are they willing to invest in a character like mine, which is a character that’s extremely expensive, because sometimes it takes pyrotechnics, sometimes it takes a coffin, sometimes it takes a hearse, it takes a lot of creativity, it would take me the equivalent in another company.
On the potential of appearing as part of AEW’s debut in Montreal this December: “I’m sure that if I’m on the shows, I would sell tickets, we could do a lot of promotion, a media tour, conventional media and then explain what All Elite Wrestling is. I think it could make a big difference, because we see it when Kevin and Sami come to Quebec, the Quebecers get behind us in a strong way.”
The full interview is available at this link.
