Davey Richards Explains His Emotional Connection To Professional Wrestling

Davey Richards addresses his return to professional wrestling, his storyline with Angelina Love, and the inevitable return of The American Wolves.

Recently, Davey Richards announced that he would be returning to professional wrestling after several years away. This return will be highlighted with Davey Richards joining Major League Wrestling at the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 10.

In a series of tweets, Richards tried to address why he left the industry, talking about the injuries he suffered and how glad he was to be making his return.

Now, in a new interview with Eric Novak from the ALL Real Wrestling Podcast, Richards opens up about the escapism that wrestling provided for him and why he feels like wrestling is the last connection he has to his family.

“Thankfulness, definitely thankfulness I didn’t cherish the gift that I had in pro wrestling but one because it happened so fast and I think two I can see now that wrestling was a drug for me because my childhood was pretty messed up my mom was in prison for drugs and my dad wasn’t around and then both my grandparents like the night I won my first title for TRW wrestling in Abbotsford British Columbia. I was so excited to come and show my grandfather that I’d won a title you know it’s a little plastic title but, I won a title and he died on the way home and then when I was in Japan when I was living in Japan for Pro-Wrestling NOAH, my grandmother died so I didn’t fall into drinking or driving or any of that stuff but to numb the pain of Wes’s (his real name) I lived in Davey’s.

“I lived his days because when people are chanting your name and you’re the best wrestler in the world you don’t have to feel that, there’s plenty of times I would have matches that people remember like my five-star matches and go home and just go back to the hotel and just cry yourself to sleep because your hurting inside so I had to step away to actually deal with that and face that and now I want to return to wrestling for not because I need to but because I want to so that’s why I say wrestling is emotional for me it’s very very deep it’s not a job first it’s not a career first it’s family first because that’s my last connection to my family.”

In one of Davey’s final storylines in IMPACT Wrestling, he would turn on his partner Eddie Edwards and begin a feud alongside his wife at the time, Angelina Love, against Eddie Edwards and his wife Alisha Edwards.

While Richards did enjoy the angle, he does admit that it was difficult for him to watch the mother of his child take so much physical punishment.

“I hated it, I was so worried about her because she was the mother of my child. Angelina is so talented and so professional but, the wrestling got a little too real if that makes any sense. Me and Eddie actually were talking about this and its business, but when you see someone that’s the mother of your son you’re like, ‘be careful.’ Obviously, Eddie and Alisha are just true professionals but it was hard to watch. You’re like, ‘Oh, you sure you want to keep doing this wrestling thing?’, because you don’t want to see them get hurt there’s one part in the match where we get hit. We have the garbage can over our heads and you kind of see me give her a little pinch and I just say ‘Are you okay?’ The match and the angle was awesome, such a good story.”

Davey Richards also commented on the potential return of he and Eddie Edwards’ tag team, The American Wolves, to which he said the return was inevitable. Eddie Edwards recently spoke to Sean Ross Sapp about Davey Richards returning to the ring. Learn more here.

You can learn more about Davey Richards signing with MLW at this link.

Credit to Eric Novak for sending along the above quotes. You can check out the full interview here.