I had a great run with WWE. WWE gave me great visibility. I met my wife there, and I got paid a lot of money; it was just my time to go. I sensed it. I was smart enough to leave. That's the bottom line.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
WWE is a space where I thrived, and I loved, and I still do. I love connecting with an audience; that is the greatest thing about going back to WWE.
I know my way around the WWE. I know at least a little bit about everything and our business model, and I feel comfortable there, although I still learn every day.
My main reason for leaving WWE was to heal up my body - to give it a rest - and to spend time with my wife and my kids.
My life is with WWE.
Being part of WWE is beautiful. You're on the biggest stage of them all. You're living well; you're making good money, and the only flipside to that is that you're on the grind, and you've got to be committed. You've got to make sure to understand what being on the grind is.
Pro wrestling was there, and I was good at it, thank God. I started getting a lot of offers, but unfortunately, at WWE I was under a tight leash. I think it had a lot to do with The Rock making the transition, and me possibly being the next guy - you know, the company didn't want to lose another top performer.
I love wrestling, and I think there was something in me that needed to come out, and I was very fortunate to allow it to come out in the WWE and make a living doing that, and I enjoyed every second of that.
I've worked my entire career to try to broaden the perception of the WWE. A lot of folks think because we're so entertaining and oftentimes have such wild and well-defined characters that it's all we are. It has kind of been my life's work to tell the public that's not true.
By the time I got to WWE, I had a lot more confidence and willingness to speak up.
I made good money at WWE and traveled the world and interacted with my fans, but I missed a lot of family time. That really hits me.
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