Why TJ Perkins thinks Raw’s newest additions stole the show

TJ Perkins is no stranger to fans of independent wrestling.

However, to general audiences, the smooth, stylish veteran is as new as the rest of the men from the Cruiserweight Classic whom he bested for the right to the returning Cruiserweight Championship.

Also read: Cruiserweight Champion: TJ Perkins' road to the belt

In this segment, Perkins talks about the return of the cruiserweights to Raw, why he believes giving his colleagues the limelight that night is what’s best for the division, and what it feels like to make his debut for Clash of Champions.

The self-labeled Wrestling Yoda also shares how it feels like to represent the division that the men who inspired his career headed years ago and to share the stage with a lot of the guys he worked with on the indies.

Perkins rounds it out with a short, hilarious anecdote about a few junior heavyweights he worked with during the Best of Super Juniors.

What's it like to debut as the man on top of a division that men like Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko once represented?

It’s amazing. I always feel a lot of pride when I’m able to do the things that my heroes did. Guys like Eddie, and (Chris) Jericho for example, they would be in the Super J Cup and they would do all these things in what a lot of people consider the original cruiserweight division when it was just being exposed to casual fans back in WCW.

Whenever I get the chance to do some of the things like my heroes, it’s humbling and it’s motivating at the same time. To be able to do this, to be the first to do something that’s going to define a generation, there’s almost no word to describe it.

Being able to go to the big stage and to Monday Night Raw is an amazing opportunity and I look forward to leading the way for all the guys that put everything on the line in order to show what we can do and make sure that we stick around for a long time.

Speaking of Raw, a lot of people were hoping that you would debut on Monday, but you didn’t. What happened there and what did you think of the Cruiserweights’ debut?

Well, there’s one part of me being champion—I had a lot of interviews and I took part in the Raw pre-show to help kick everything off. Which is really cool, to be able to do that sort of thing. And Mick Foley said I was present for the entire evening.

I think part of me feels like when I was a fan and I would see something new like the cruiserweight division or like a new performer coming in, and there was a mystique about them ‘cause you don’t get to see them right away, like Rey Mysterio was or other guys before me. I think even at this point, the fan inside me is like, man, I can’t wait to see TJ!

It was really cool to be there and I think that it was nice that the rest of the team and the other competitors got a chance to go and put on a performance on the stage without having me hanging over them or be around them. And I think they really kinda stole the show. They had a great debut and showed just a little bit of what the Cruiserweight Division and- I’m (happy) for every single one of them, you know, Cedric (Alexander), Rich Swann, and (Gran) Metalik, and of course, Brian Kendrick, who I’m meeting in Indianapolis this Sunday.

You’re making your debut at Clash of Champions, and aside from your stint as JT Quinn on ECW, how does it feel to finally perform for the main roster?

It’s amazing, seeing some of the video vignettes and things that have demonstrated where the Cruiserweights are coming from and things that have highlighted me and introduced people to me so far.

And the interviews and things that I’ve done has been incredible, and to think about the show that I’m going to debut on, and to come in as the champion, as the number one draft of the division- and the other matches on the card- the show has “champion” in the word, so it’s pretty big.

I’m gonna be sharing the stage with Kevin Owens or Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns vs Rusev, and the Women’s Champion Charlotte with Sasha and Bayley, the tag team champions, and everything is on the line and some of the other matches—Sami Zayn vs Chris Jericho, even Alicia Fox and Nia Jax in the kick-off match. Cesaro and Sheamus, finishing the best of seven series—I mean, it’s such a cool night to come in and be a part of all that is pretty amazing.

What does it feel like working with the same people you worked with in the independent circuit in the WWE?

We’re taking over from the inside, I don’t know. The inmates are running the asylum now, I guess. I mean it’s one of those things you don’t really see it until it’s already there. I was present for TakeOver, and SummerSlam, and Brooklyn. And like I’ve said, I was at Raw this past week and in the midst of doing my interviews and things like that, (I’m) taking note of all my peers and people that I’m working with and seeing them. It was really kinda funny to look around and see that my friends are really killing it up here, these guys that I came up with. Seth, and Kevin, and Sami, and all these guys; these are dudes who were grinding it out before they got here in the same post that I was. We all kinda ended up in the same place and it’s really cool.

There was a picture of you, Taka Michinoku, Kenny Omega, and Kota Ibushi on Twitter and a story about how Ibushi cut Michinoku’s bangs off.

So Best of the Super Juniors, this famous cruiserweight tournament over in Japan, and I was in the same tournament as Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega and also former WWE stand-up Taka Michinoku.

I guess they were horsing around and a little crazy one night and I witnessed it, but also didn’t witness it, and at a certain point, Kota took the scissors from the table- we’re at a barbecue place, a Korean barbecue place, so they have scissors to cut the raw meat into smaller pieces—and he took it and started cutting the trademark bangs at the front of Taka’s hair.

So the next day, Taka had uneven bangs for his match, and we all laughed. — AT, GMA News