10 Things We Learned From Speaking To Lio Rush

9. His Childhood Hero Was Jeff Hardy

lio rush interview
WWE

When asking Lio Rush about who the guys and gals were that first drew him towards professional wrestling as a youngster, without missing a beat the Man of the Hour swiftly responded with the name of Jeff Hardy.

Discussing the Charismatic Enigma, Rush enthused, “He was like a superhero to me. I definitely wanted to go on that same path as him.”

Unfortunately for Lio, he’s never had the chance to step into the ring with Hardy. When talking about that regret, the former Cruiserweight Champion explained how, despite that fact, he’s still enjoyed spending some time with Jeff.

“That really eats at my soul,” Rush explained, “Luckily, I was on a few shows with him during his time on the indies. I also was in the locker room with him every week when I was on 205 Live, because we would tape the same day as SmackDown. It was cool just to be able to share a locker room with him, but I do wish I was able to work with him in the ring.”

Given how Lio Rush is still only 25 years of age, there’s still plenty of gas left in his particular tank. Whether or not he is afforded the opportunity down the line to work with Jeff Hardy, that remains to be seen.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.