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I caught up with 2-time Impact World Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III ahead of and through Impact Wrestling’s tapings in Mumbai, India. One of the coolest guys in wrestling, we spoke about everything from his unbeaten run and his aunt Dixie Carter, to his thoughts about India and his upcoming match with Bobby Lashley.
Q: Is this your first time in India?
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A: No. I was in India in 2015, doing a tour to promote Impact Wrestling.
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Q: What are your thoughts on India?
A: Thus far, my first trip was decent. I got to see a little bit of the country during media tours. This trip has been terrible so far. My luggage has been lost and I haven’t slept in 3 days. Besides that, I’m great.
Q: You won the triple threat match to become the #1 contender for the Impact World Heavyweight Championship. Any message for Bobby Lashley?
A: I don’t know what to tell you. Bobby Lashley and I have had a long epic feud. He’s won a couple, I’ve won a few. He’s the World Heavyweight Champion and I’m the best guy here, I’m the best guy there, the best guy anywhere.
At Slammiversary, I’m going to take the title.
Q: Do you have any particular plans for the tapings in India?
A: Well, we’re in India for the very first time. It’s historic, us filming television in India for the very first time. EC3 is a man of history. I’ve studied many great leaders in history whether it is George Washington or Teddy Roosevelt or Dalai Lama. I’ve studied history and I plan on making history in India. How? You have to wait to find out.
Q: How does it feel to be a part of these historic tapings?
A: It’s a pretty big deal to be an American wrestling company filming television in India for the very first time, but the way I look at it is that everything I do is historical because I’m going to go down in history as one of the best.
The fact that I’m here, blessing you fine folks with my presence means history is being made.
Q: Who are your favourite opponents?
A: I don’t have any favourite opponents because I despise everyone I work with and I despise everyone I compete with. I’m solely in this business for myself and myself alone. I’m here to win and win big. I don’t just win, I collect scalps. So, who are my favourite opponents? There are none because I like nobody.
Q: Do you have any particular favourite match?
A: Yeah, every match I’ve won is my favourite match and that’s pretty much 98% of my matches. If it was any one particular match I had to pick then it’d be the match where I defeated Kurt Angle to become Impact World Heavyweight Champion for the first time.
Q: What do you think about the traditional face/heel dynamic in wrestling?
A: I believe in the battle between good and evil. I believe in storylines. I believe in protagonists and I believe in antagonists. I also believe that in wrestling, your allegiance or your character is truly an extension of your personality so, if people want to cheer me, they can.
But, it doesn’t matter if they cheer me or boo, as long as they’re making noise and as long as they’re vested emotionally. That’s all I care about.
Q: After your debut on Impact, you went on a really long unbeaten run. What are your thoughts on your unbeaten streak?
A: It was a pretty historic run. It was the longest undefeated streak in Impact Wrestling history. I beat a lot of great talent along the way and made a name for myself. I don’t live in the past and that was the past…
(EC3 stops to look at Kevin Matthews cutting a promo on the other side of the room)
Why is this guy yelling? Some good guys and some bad guys don’t need to yell to get the point across. The trick of this industry is to do it subtly and to have a conversation and not to yell all the time and what you hear back there is some amateur bu*****t.
As far as being unbeaten goes, I don’t live in the past. I won a lot of matches and I made a name for myself but I haven’t won the match that I needed to win because that’s the match that will see me become an EC3 time world heavyweight champion. That’s the match I plan on winning at the next available opportunity against Bobby Lashley at Slammiversary.
Q: How confident are you of beating Lashley?
A: 999.8% confident. I should have defeated him at Bound For Glory but I fell short and I fell short because I lost focus, because, at that point in my career, I fell into the trap of not fighting for myself and fighting for others. I fought for the fans. I was the protagonist, people were behind me and cheering me and wanted me to win. But, that made me lose focus on what I do best and I lost.
How confident am I going into Slammiversary and facing Bobby Lashley? I’m extremely confident because I’m doing it solely for myself.
Q: Were there any changes backstage when anthem took over?
A: There have been some changes and some growing pains and some successes and some failures. However, as long as you try to be better, that’s all that matters.
As far as I go, they are well aware of who’s the best guy they have. I’m their highest rated talent. I’m a franchise player and the top man so nothing's really changed for me except that they lit a fire in me to remind me that and I appreciate that they did.
Q: What are your thoughts on Billy Corgan and Dixie Carter?
A: I love Billy C and I had a great relationship with him. I consider him a close personal friend. I hope the best for him and he’s already a world-famous rockstar. He’s my friend and that’s pretty cool. I would have liked to see what could have taken place but I’m not going to live in the past either.
As far as Dixie Carter goes, she’s my aunt and she’s family. I guess you love family, right?
Q: Any message for your fans in India?
A: If I have fans in India then… hey, thanks. If I have people that don’t like me in India… hey, thanks. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m in this for myself. I’m solely in this for me. If you want to jump aboard that plane and ride with me, then that’s cool. If you don’t, then no worries.
As far as India being a great market and Sony Six being a great television partner, I look forward to the business that we’re doing and will do in the future.
