These days former United States Champion MVP is enjoying life outside of professional wrestling. The former WWE and Impact Wrestling star had a brief stint with Ring of Honor earlier this year by being the surprise partner for Kenny King during the Crockett Cup Tag Team tournament. The duo would eventually lose to PCO & Brody King in the semi-finals.
Other than his surprise ROH return, MVP has made sporadic appearances throughout the indie circuit and the former two-time United States Champion isn’t afraid to share his personal experiences throughout his career. MVP spoke about his decision to leave the WWE and go to New Japan Pro Wrestling back in 2011. Before the former WWE star’s departure from the company in 2010, an incident occurred with an executive of the promotion, one that helped prompt his decision to finally leave:
"He came out of his mouth to me, sideways. I told him, 'Man, you don't talk to me like that.' He told me to go f*ck myself. At that moment I decided OK, I'm done here. I said, 'No, you go f*ck yourself.' He stood up and he stammered, 'I’m not afraid of you.' I leaned in and said, 'Man, do you want to do this here in front of your coworkers or do you want to go outside and do this like men?”
“He didn't want to fight. He wasn't expecting me to respond that way. Because of his position, he was thinking that I was just going to say 'OK' like so many guys do, but I was done. Mentally, I was done. I asked to be released so that I could go follow my dream in Japan. I always wanted to wrestle in Japan, and I expressed that. They said, OK, we'll give you a release. Come back in a year, two years, and the door is open. You'll be a bigger star when you come back, and I never made it back."
MVP was always a fan of Japanese wrestling, which is why he first went to New Japan Pro Wrestling following his time with WWE. The former United States champion would enter the IWGP Intercontinental championship tournament to crown the first-ever champion and he ultimately won the prestigious belt. MVP would leave New Japan two years later, citing that he wanted to be closer to home and recharge his batteries after his stints in WWE and New Japan.
Check out his full interview with
VICE on how his stint in prison got him a job in the WWE and much more.