Johnny Knockout Talks Approaching Vince McMahon Backstage At RAW, Scripted Promos, Past WWE Match

I recently interviewed Johnny Knockout, who garnered some notoriety for wrestling Strowman this past August. During the interview, Knockout talked about wrestling Strowman, working for WWE in the past and if it has changed, scripted promos, approaching Vince McMahon and more. You can check out the full interview in its entirety below:

You’ve wrestled for WWE before right [before your match with Braun Strowman in August]? That was in 2009?

“It was 2009 actually, It was around this time maybe in November.”

What was that experience like? From how you remember it.

“Man it was great. My first year, it was my first year in professional wrestling. Ya just had the opportunity to work with WWE, I mean I reached out for a tryout and I wanted to get trained with them. And they ended up responding and asking me if I wanted to work when they’d be in my area. First time I ever worked with WWE was in Madison Square Garden. Being from New York, looking up and seeing the overhead skybox and all that at MSG was just fantastic. The next day was at the Wachovia Center, well now it’s the Wells Fargo Center, it was a great experience. And the match was televised.”

So you’ve been wrestling really since then, right?

“Ya just as much as possible and as often as possible.”

So how did the WWE gig come about this time around?

“I’m a pest(chuckles). I go down to Orlando, Winter Park at Full Sail for NXT once in awhile. And of course with Takeover coming back to Brooklyn, doesn’t it make sense? I mean I see these guys pretty often, I says ‘would it be possible — I know you guys got your own thing going with Takeover but you never know you might need somebody. And if you might need somebody who better than J KO right?’ That’s not how I described it in talent relations, cause that’s not going to get you the right response. Ya and then a friend of mine reminded me that WWE is in town for SummerSlam, RAW and SmackDown. I’m like ‘yeah that would work too’. So I put my name in the hat and it worked out.”

How much had it changed backstage since you were last there?

“I don’t know if it changed much other than improved. It’s very professional, very business oriented work place. Everybody is very super professional and respectful, and not blowing smoke. That’s really the way it’s like, at least my opinion. It’s just a very good setting, everybody is happy to be there, everybody is excited. And your expected — it’s like a sink or swim — a little bit of guidelines you just gotta know how to carry yourself. Me, I mean I know how to carry myself. It’s professional, basically like I said, sink or swim. I’m a swimmer. I wouldn’t say it changed so much other than it’s just improved, the setting, the TVs, the cameras, the stage, the lights, the this the that. You got filming for this, filming for that. It’s just nice man, it’s good. That’s how my mind works, I got a lot of stuff going on.”

Who are some of the people you interacted with backstage?

“Take your pick man. I had some Booty O’s with The New Day. I thought they were ribbin me at first, I was like ‘Ah okay, what you got Cheerios or something?’ And Kofi was a little bit like thrown off, he was like ‘Oh okay no Booty O’s? Okay.’ I was say ‘Listen, no no that’s what I do.’ I got dirty hands, I’m shaking everybody’s hand, I don’t want to put that in the box right? Put some in my hand, look down at my hand, and there’s a damn marshmallow unicorn. He says ‘nah it’s the real thing.’ I said ‘really?’ My friend’s daughter just got a box in the mail the other day, but just the cardboard with the T-shirt. I was bragging to her that night. But anyway I got some and my hand starts shaking and I says ‘Kofi, yo it’s working.’ Seeing the referees, Rod Zapata. I trained with him in FCW in Tampa, he was a big part of that and it was good to see him. Prior to my match I got some advice from AJ Styles, who by the way is the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion right? So he’s a cool dude.”

Did you get to see Vince McMahon or Triple H at all?

“I did, over eight years of trying to be in the right spot at the right time and say hey to this guy, and say thank you, you know for everything that he’s done for wrestling in general. And the fact that I’ve been able to work with him for a few days. I was getting ready for my match with Braun, and I was just kind of hanging backstage, just going through some of my stuff in my head, and he’s walking with Triple H and Stephanie. And the coolest thing because — in wrestling you gotta wait for the eye contact, at least that was I was taught, we both kind of went in and …

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