Davey Richards Interview: Joining MLW, Opera Cup, Returning To Wrestling & More
What have you noticed have been some of the biggest differences in wrestling landscape from when you left a few years ago and today?
Richards: I think a renewed interest in pure wrestling and technical wrestling. I think the trend when I left was a lot more athleticism as far as aerial stuff is concerned and really complicated high spots. Those guys are very talented, but that's just not me. I'm much more into the technical side of things. I'm happy to see there's still that side of it where there's really great high-fliers and all that kind of kind of stuff and that's awesome, those guys are so talented. There's also another side where guys like me and TJP and Alex Shelley and Jonathan Gresham and Daniel Garcia. I think there's a renewed interest in that, which is great for me because that's what I want to do. It's really great to have fans clamoring for all types of wrestling. There's room for everyone to go showcase their talent in their certain fields.
Were you always of the mindset that you'd return to wrestling eventually, or did you consider yourself retired for good when you stepped away in 2017?
Richards: I didn't know. I guess when I stepped away, I thought it was for good. To me, it was never about fame. I didn't care about that. I wanted to... My biggest thing was wanting to be the best wrestler in the world and I truly feel like in my time, I was. I'm an all-in kind of person. One thing I will never do is have somebody pay to come see me wrestle and they get 40 percent. That's not fair.
When I knew that my interest was dwindling... I amateur wrestled from when I was 10-years-old to 22 and then I wrestled from 23 to 33. I needed a break. I had never taken time off. I became a dad and I really wanted to become a fireman and a paramedic and I really wanted to go to medical school. I was really busy in my time off and then the world stopped. Some things happened that kind of opened the door and made me realize, “Hey, it's time to go back to what I was put on this earth to do and that's wrestling."
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