Davey Richards, who was recently revealed as Major League Wrestling's new signee on their recent 2021 MLW Open Draft, appeared on the All Real Wrestling Podcast, where he talked about why he and his past tag team partner Eddie Edwards chose to sign with IMPACT Wrestling over the WWE.
Davey Richards said:
“We had an offer from both WWE and TNA/Impact.” “We went down to the WWE training facility in Orlando and they were very kind to us, they were very nice. I mean I didn’t have anything and Eddie’s very Boston and you just have to understand his family’s all from there. He was not digging moving to Florida to and I’m from Washington State; I can barely take St. Louis."
“So Florida’s like… ‘oh god I’m gonna die’ and just living down there, that would have been a little rough for us to commit to that at that point. I was also finishing up my paramedic school so I really wanted to work as a paramedic in addition to wrestling. And then TNA / Impact, they came along and they offered us a good deal. Their schedule was more conducive to both our desires at that time so that’s how the whole thing started.”
Richards then talked about the one match he and Eddie Edwards had in WWE, which was a tryout match in NXT against The Ascension, a match they were named Derrick Billington and John Cahill as The American Pitbulls.
Davey Richards said:
“Yeah the match didn’t go smoothly.” “There was a miscue, a missed timing which thankfully I walked away from. Our opponents felt horrible and you know it’s one of those things where it’s no one’s fault. But the crowd was awesome, (it was) a really, really fun, really great atmosphere. You know backstage and out there in the ring. But I just don’t think it was meant to be."
“And I’ve always said, and it was never meant with any disrespect WWE, it just wasn’t a big goal of mine. I didn’t grow up watching it. I didn’t watch Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart unfortunately. Bret has subsequently become one of my favorite wrestlers but I just didn’t see that growing up. So absolutely no disrespect but that was just never a prime target of mine. That’s why it was just better for both parties that we didn’t work together in the future.”
Richards then talked about choosing to come back to wrestling and sign with MLW over other companies.
Davey Richards said:
“You know it’s funny because I never wanted to be the guy that was on the tail end of his career, broken down, who couldn’t go anymore.” “And then finally I get the hint that maybe I should leave. To me, match quality is the most important and if I ever got to that level (where I couldn’t perform) I would have been really embarrassed. So I’m glad that I left when I was on top, but I just got to a point where it was just one of those things."
“When I came back, I can’t name names but I had a few different companies reach out and MLW was just amazing. I watched their product and the way we spoke and corresponded was just like ‘man this is awesome, this is great.’ This is what I personally think wrestling should be. That’s not a knocked to other companies, it’s just everyone has their own taste. And I just think I really made the right decision signing with MLW. I can’t tell you how good I’ve been treated and how excited I am for joining them.”
You can check out Davey Richards' comments in the video below:
