Brian Cage Talks Working Wrestle Circus, Kieth Lee, Shane Strickland, More
Ring Rust Radio recently interviewed Lucha Underground star Brian Cage. You can see the full interview at this link, and submitted highlights below.
Ring Rust Radio: In at WrestleCircus: Rise of The Machine, you square off against Keith Lee for your Ringmaster Championship. What are your thoughts on Keith Lee and what can fans expect from this matchup?
Brian Cage: I just talked with Keith Lee and said I was surprised we haven’t worked at WrestleCircus yet and then the next day it was announced that we are working together. Keith Lee is great, man. I remember the first time I worked him in San Antonio, I didn’t know who he was, I saw was the picture on the flyer and thought “Oh ok, a big guy.” My first thought was with me being a bigger guy; I normally get booked by local heavyweights all the time. Unfortunately, most heavyweights that look like myself or Keith Lee, when it comes right down to it, they aren’t very good. So, then I realize I have to work some heavy ass dude, break my back picking him up. So, it was pretty good though. I went out there and had the match with him and killed it. I worked with Samoa Joe the month before and we had an amazing match, but I liked the Keith Lee match ten times more than the match with Samoa Joe. Right away I told him he needs to get out there and he is awesome. Cut a long story short, I’m very excited for this match. WrestleCircus is one of my favorite places to work. I can go out there with Keith Lee and hopefully make something special.
Ring Rust Radio: It’s clear that WrestleCircus has a lot of faith in you after they named this month’s show Rise of The Machine. How does WrestleCircus stack up against some of the other companies you’ve worked for and how long do you plan on holding the Ringmaster Championship?
Brian Cage: There’s a lot of good companies out there right now with wrestling being so hot. WWE is not going anywhere. Everywhere else outside of them is on the rise; companies like Ring of Honor and New Japan, but even all the Indies state side and all over the place. I just worked this amazing show in Peru last night. It’s amazing how overwhelmingly popular indie wrestling is right now. I would put WrestleCircus in my top three for sure. Not only because just how awesome the fans are, but also the overall backstage appeal and treatment and everything that goes into the show that everyone is a part of. From top to bottom, WrestleCircus is top-notch. I’ve called them the Lucha Underground of the independents because it is so much fun to work.
Ring Rust Radio: Your match at Circus Mania against Shane Strickland was awesome and stole the show for me. However, the undercard was very strong too. What is it like waiting until the main event to finally go out to perform, especially when trying to top what everybody already did earlier in the show?
Brian Cage: You know that can be a big challenge. The cards are made to never have a crap match on there and they can go pretty long. Even if the crowd is still on fire, you’re just drained and tired, so it does make it more challenging. To be given that position and to be able to deliver is always an incredible feeling. I think this last crowd at CircusMania was one of the best crowds from top to bottom as far as energy levels. Shane and I had as much energy as they gave for the opening of the card did. It does make it more challenging to get that crowd involvement. They normally do come back a little bit more for the main event. I thought it was easier for Shane and I because it’s really one of the only matches in WrestleCircus history that somewhat had a program built into it. Shane hadn’t been there for a few months, I kept taking shots at him about him not being there, so we had a little story program going into it, and how I won the title from cashing in the briefcase. So, there was somewhat of an angle going into this match which gave it a little more hype instead of just a super-card or super-match which is normally what would take place. I think that’s one thing that WrestleCircus is missing is them incorporating feuds or angles into their cards or matchups.
