Exclusive: Beer City Bruiser Reveals Why He Picked ROH Over WWE Deal, Details Talks

Beer City Bruiser, WWE star? It could have happened.

It was rumored last year that Ring of Honor’s Beer City Bruiser had garnered interest from WWE. It wasn’t rumor, according to the man himself. He had conversations with WWE, and heard them out. Bruiser indicated to Fightful that the discussions were strictly as an in-ring talent, too.

“I was approached by them. They sent feelers out. With our contracts, there’s only so much you can talk about. I ended up going to an NXT show to meet with them. We had conversations and I was open with Ring of Honor. The conversations were just in-ring. As far as I’m concerned, I do want to transition to a coaching standpoint. That never came up with them, but it came up with Ring of Honor. I’ve actually said to them I’d like to do some of that. We’re in the process of working things out,” Bruiser told us. 

Picking Ring Of Honor over WWE isn’t a light decision, but it’s the one that Bruiser made. He told us he’d be willing to relocate to dedicate his life to training wrestlers at the ROH Dojo, but also expanded on what all went into his choice to stay with ROH. 

“I decided to stay with Ring of Honor, for one — Brian and I had just started tagging. I felt really good about the tag team, and I liked the offer ROH gave me better, I liked the schedule better and the money better. WWE said okay and they’d see what was up when my contract is up. I love Ring of Honor, I love the schedule, I love the creative freedom that we have. With Brian and I tagging, it lit a new spark under me. I love tag team wrestling, but I really love it when you have chemistry with a guy,” said Bruiser, also citing his excitement about a program with Kingdom.

Bruiser confirmed earlier this year that he’s with ROH until at least the end of the year, where he and Milonas continue to make an impact as The Bouncers. In addition, Bruiser also has his own line of cigars, which you can learn about here.

You can see our full conversation with Beer City Bruiser above. You can see him weekly on Ring of Honor TV, which you can also check out on HonorClub. The company is set to tape television in Philadelphia on June 29, which follows their Baltimore Best In The World PPV on June 28.