It’s probably safe to say that 2019 was a controversial year for ACH.
The former NXT superstar went from being one of the top prospects in the black-and-gold brand by winning the 2019 Breakout Tournament, to trashing the entire company due to a T-shirt that resembled black face.
Granted, ACH had a right to speak out about the shirt; however, many feel that the 32-year-old over reacted to the situation and looking back, the former NXT superstar agrees with the assessment and sincerely regrets the entire incident (Transcript courtesy of Fightful.com):
"It wasn't even a wrestling matter. 'ACH is upset because he wasn't booked right.' This was some serious shit," ACH told Submission Squad. "I honestly wish I did things differently. I had people trying to tell me to use 'mental issues,' not as an excuse, but say it was the thing. 'You're depressed right, that's why you're out lashing out.' I was angry. I'm not gonna be like, 'Sorry, mental illness.' That's a serious issue.
I'm not gonna say things like that to smooth things over. I had a meltdown in front of the entire world. I broke down in front of the entire world. I said so much stuff and if I was to go back and take it all back...it really sticks to me. I went from working my dream job, providing for myself. I was finally at a space in my life that I worked for to where I was starting to feel comfortable. I've sacrificed a lot of pro wrestling, and I don't expect anything back, but I made a lot of sacrifices. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm embarrassed. This is something that I'll never be able to shake. I know I embarrassed a lot of people. Most importantly, I embarrassed myself. I'm just not used to this type of negativity and attention. Waking up angry for no reason, mad at the world. Truth be told, it's all my fault. I'll take the blame for this. I could have put the phone down and deleted my Twitter app."
Ultimately, ACH cites his lost passion for wrestling as one the main reasons for his outburst late last year. The Texas native isn’t excusing his behavior, though, and apologized for letting the people that supported him down:
"I want to apologize. I know I could have handled myself correctly toward all of that. I could have been more intelligent and I could have stopped myself. I'm sorry. I feel like I let a lot of fans and people down that supported me. I know I let a lot of people down. That hurts the most. I'm truly sorry."