CJP (F.K.A. CJ Parker) spoke with Wrestledelphia.com about his release from NXT, his future, and much more in a two-part interview. Below is the final part of his conversation with Mark Whited.
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Mark Whited: When you noticed the plateau you mentioned, were you open to tweaking your character? Was the company?
CJP: “You know, I was starting to get away from the world stuff, and focusing on myself more. I started leaving the character and being myself. I was kind of doing that without even really asking. Less stuff about the world; more stuff about me. That’s kind of what I ended up doing, but then I needed to step away from that and find myself more. Maybe come back with a fresh coat of paint, you know?
“They’re cool about that. They’re open to things. I could have went to them and talked about changing the character—totally starting over—and I’m sure they would have been up for it. At the end of the day, they want to have a good TV show and make money. So if you give them a great idea, they’re always open to it.”
MW: You wrestled Kevin Owens in his NXT debut match. You were involved in that famous moment, where you connected on a Palm Strike to Owens’ nose and broke it. What was the in-ring interaction between you and Owens at that moment?
CJP: “Me and Kevin both knew we had to make an impression. He was coming here with a lot of hype with his vignettes and popularity, and we hoped we were going to be put together. We’re friends, and he’s someone that I really, really look up to. We knew we had to start it off with a bang.
“We knew we were gonna do his greatest hits. Come out with guns blazing. So as I’m in there, and when we were putting the match together, I knew I had to Palm Strike him hard. I knew it had to be very stiff and laid in there. The only problem was that I didn’t want to hit him in the nose.
“Of course, I didn’t wanna break his nose. We just joke about it now, about how when the excitement went up, my accuracy went down. He caught a boot in the corner, threw it down, and I caught him with a palm right between the eyes. I hit him and he goes downmand says ‘I think my nose just exploded.’ As I was hitting him, I just thought ‘oh, brother.’ But let me tell you something about Kevin Owens. He’s as tough as they come. He’s a tough son of a bitch, and he’s happy that I did it. That’s the kind of guy that Kevin Owens is. He knows that the blood made it a moment. It made it special. It made him the badass that everyone was talking about.
“But it split my palm, to the point that the white meat—the fat in my palm—was coming out. It was a freaky thing. But looking back now, we still just laugh about it.”
MW: What was the backstage reaction like?
CJP: “Obviously, everyone knew it was an accident. But they’re smart, and were probably like ‘oh shit. That made it better.’ Like putting salt and pepper on a good steak. It was a good match, and anyone watching knew that was awesome. The fact that he wasn’t seriously hurt and could work the next night was great.”
MW: When Owens’ signed with WWE and went to NXT, it was right around the time that Hideo Itami and Finn Balor signed. There was a photo of Triple H and the three making a “Too Sweet” gesture, and it led to speculation that there might be a preference that Hunter has for them over the rest of the guys in NXT. What’s your opinion on that?
CJP: “I’m not sure about the picture. I’m guessing it’s the “NXT Five” that people were talking about? But I get it 100 percent—those guys are stars. Those guys are awesome and deserve every single thing that they’re getting. I don’t look at it as they came here and jumped ahead of people. I look at them as guys who have busted their ass for 13-15 years to get here. They went all over the world and made a name for themselves. They’re right where they should be. I never think like that. I should have went that route. It made them better performers for going through all that. As for Triple H, when he is here, and he puts his hands on somebody, they turn to gold. That guy is the man.”
MW: One of the companies a lot of those guys worked for is Combat Zone Wrestling. You’ll be entering their annual tournament, Best of the Best. How’d that come about? Did you contact CZW owner DJ Hyde? Did he contact you?
CJP: “It was a mutual thing. I’ve always known CZW as a great place to work. I have a lot of friends who have come out of there and at NXT right now who have worked with DJ Hyde. So someone asked me and I said yes. You know how those things come together. I wanted to work there, they wanted me to work there, and we made it happen.”
MW: Now that you’re working the indies, do you think your time in NXT will help you get into places that you might not have otherwise?
CJP: “I mean, I think so. NXT is a huge platform. To be on that show is an incredible opportunity for the world to see you. The more people who know who you are, the more doors that are open.”
MW: Have you had conversations with Ring of Honor or New Japan Pro Wrestling?
CJP: “It’s only been a couple days, so I haven’t touched base with a lot of people. But I’m open to anything and everything. As of right now, nothing is set in stone. I’m just looking towards Philadelphia and Brooklyn right now. I’m hoping to do a good job and take things one day at a time.”
MW: There’s been things said about former NXT head trainer Bill DeMott. He’s been accused of being abusive. Only one can speculate, and I’m not one to trust everything I read. But you’ve been there. What’s your take on Bill DeMott?
CJP: “My take on Bill DeMott is that you can say whatever you want about him, but that man is super, super passionate about NXT. He’s the first one in every single day, and he’s the last to leave every single day. He’s put his heart and soul into the Performance Center and he was proud to be our head trainer at NXT. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.”
MW: We’ve talked about a lot, CJP. But is there anything you’d want to let fans know, that I haven’t already touched on?
CJP: “I just wanna say that sometimes we forget how big NXT really is. It’s not just a WWE Network thing. It’s on in other countries. WrestleMania 31 really opened our eyes to that. People watch us on a weekly basis, whether it’s at home or overseas. Sometimes we forget.
“Monday through Thursday, we’re at the Performance Center—lifting weights, cutting promos, in the ring—and it becomes a grind. For all those people who let us know that they appreciate us, it really makes us realize what we have. It keeps us fresh.
“I want to thank everyone who has supported NXT and myself. Hopefully, there will be more to come. I think there is.”
Missed out on Part One? Click here to read CJP’s thoughts on his release, his early years, and more.
Wrestledelphia.com editor Mark Whited can be reached at . Follow him on Twitter at or .
Mark Whited
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