Tough Enough Contestant Not Offered WWE Deal, Blasts DeMott
08/02/2011 23:19
WWE Tough Enough season one contestant Jeremiah Riggs recently did a very candid interview for the Around The Octagon website, during which he reveals that WWE opted not to offer him a developmental deal. Below are interview highlights:
"I was informed yesterday that the WWE isn’t going to use me. Two weeks ago I was invited to go to Tampa to tryout for FCW and from what they gathered they loved my personality but they said I was only average in the ring and said I have a bad attitude and carried myself like I had something to prove.
90% of those guys [FCW wrestlers] are vanilla. They are all the same. Long hair, pony tail, boring as can be. The day I left Tampa I shaved my head because I didn’t want to be anything like them. I’m Jeremiah Riggs from Vicksburg, Mississippi. I’m not going to be a clone. All of their promos sounded the same. They are boring and play it safe. People are afraid of the truth.
What do they want in a superstar? I don’t need a character. I’m Jeremiah Riggs. I don’t need a new name or gimmick. The WWE has a shitty developmental roster. No one stands out. They are all scared of failure and half of them have been there for years. They are all the same and do the same stuff. Sure, they have a few guys that have potential but they are all clones. But I’m not going to be just like everybody else. What are they going to do send me home? You can’t scare someone who ain’t afraid.
Me and Bill [DeMott] were cool on the show. I heard he got a job as a scout for the WWE and I was glad to hear he was doing good for himself. He deserves it after so long in the business. When I was in Tampa doing my match with Orlov, Bill was praising me and talking about how good I was doing.
I was doing stuff that Luke and Andy couldn’t do, on the first try. But when I walked into FCW a few weeks ago he acted like he was too cool to talk to me. He’s changed man. He thinks he is somebody because he was the big man on the show. I guess Hollywood went to his head. Sure he had a mediocre wrestling career and found new life on Tough Enough. I don’t give a shit. I’ll whoop his fat ass." You can check out the entire interview by clicking on the above link.
https://www.aroundtheoctagon.com/?p=11154
ATO caught up with Jeremiah Riggs earlier today and talked to him about what he’s been doing since he was on WWE Tough Enough this Spring. What started out as a routine interview quickly became a platform for Riggs to get everything off his chest about what’s been going on with his attempt at becoming a WWE Superstar.
I was informed yesterday that the WWE isn’t going to use me.
Two weeks ago I was invited to go to Tampa to tryout for FCW and from what they gathered they loved my personality but they said I was only average in the ring and said I have a bad attitude and carried myself like I had something to prove. I told them that if I’m average I’m doing pretty damn good considering I had only done this for two months. If I can get to average in several weeks imagine what I can do in a few months. And of course I’m eager to prove myself. I was surrounded by guys who had done this for several years and they were all wondering who this new rookie was. I had to show them I belonged.
If I’m average the pecking order starts behind me. Compared to me none of those guys are as cut up as me. My physique puts them to shame. Maybe I do have a bad attitude. I don’t give a f–k. I went on their TV show and ran circles around everybody with no experience. Andy wasn’t the star of the show. I was. Hell I won challenges they didn’t even show on TV. I got all the camera time and I got the biggest reaction when I was on RAW. You know why? It’s because I’m me. I’m not a clone or a sell out. People recognize that. That’s why CM Punk is so hot right now. He is his character. He’s just being himself. But I do it and I have a bad attitude.
John Morrison was there at FCW and he walked up to me and shook my hand and told me that he thought I won the show. Just about all the guys said that. Ted DiBiase told me I won it too. His dad, the Million Dollar Man asked me why I wasn’t on TV. John Cena even tweeted me saying he thought I won.
The third day I was there I was doing promos and the only direction I got was to have fun with it and they would send it up to Vince for him to see. One guy did a promo about having sex with a goat and one of the girls was really nasty with hers so I went out there with all guns blazing. I cussed on my first one and said I wish Vince McMahon would’ve slapped me because I would’ve kicked him in the nuts. They pulled me aside and told me I couldn’t cuss. So on my next one I decided to really have fun with it. I didn’t cuss but I did a promo about how I couldn’t cuss and counted on my hand how many words I wasn’t allowed to say as I said them to myself then threw the mic over my shoulder and laughed as I walked off. I thought it was hilarious. All the boys did too. Just about everyone there told me they had never seen anything like that. I was doing crazy CM Punk stuff before he made it cool.
After that I got called to the back and Dusty Rhodes jumped on me and told me I couldn’t do that and chewed me out. He went to walk away and I told him to get back over here because I wasn’t done talking to him. He walked back over and I thought he was going to piss in his pants because he was acting so nervous. I told him that I would do whatever they wanted me to do but no one said I couldn’t cuss or throw the mic. I was just having fun with it and being me. I think it kind of threw him off because no one there stood up for themselves. I wasn’t going to let anyone walk all over me. I said what I had to say and we were cool. A lot of the boys thought I got sent home and were surprised when I came back the following day. They were even more surprised when Dusty went out of his way to walk over to me and shake my hand. I’m going to stand up for myself and I think they are afraid of that.
90% of those guys are vanilla. They are all the same. Long hair, pony tail, boring as can be. The day I left Tampa I shaved my head because I didn’t want to be anything like them. I’m Jeremiah Riggs from Vicksburg, Mississippi. I’m not going to be a clone. All of their promos sounded the same. They are boring and play it safe. People are afraid of the truth. What do they want in a superstar? I don’t need a character. I’m Jeremiah Riggs. I don’t need a new name or gimmick. The WWE has a shitty developmental roster. No one stands out. They are all scared of failure and half of them have been there for years. They are all the same and do the same stuff. Sure, they have a few guys that have potential but they are all clones. But I’m not going to be just like everybody else. What are they going to do send me home? You can’t scare someone who ain’t afraid.
Johnny Curtis told me a lot of the boys didn’t like me because I was doing the stuff they wish they could do but were too afraid because they were all kissing ass trying to get ahead.
The day I got there they pulled me in the office and asked me what I wanted out of the business and I told them I wanted to make money. I told them I don’t have to be in the WWE to be happy. I told them I wasn’t going to kiss their ass and tell them it’s been my lifelong dream because it hasn’t. I want to make money to support my family and give them the life they deserve. I told them I wasn’t here to be at the bottom of the card and make hillbilly money. I would do whatever it takes to get to the top. I looked at it like a week’s vacation in Tampa on the WWE. If they didn’t see it in me I told them I’d shake their hand and leave. And yesterday when I was told the WWE wasn’t going to sign me I thanked them for the opportunity.
By the end of my week there Dr. Tom (Pritchard) liked me. He told me he got it and I’m just being me. He kept saying “I’m Jeremiah Riggs from Mississippi and I’ll whip your ass. I don’t give a f–k.” He’s right. I’m not going to change or be something I’m not. He said he used to be a lot that and saw a lot of himself in me.
I’ve had offers from other promotions and I have had offers to go back to MMA. Hell I turned down a good paying fight after I came off Tough Enough because I wanted to give the WWE a shot. I would like to pursue pro wrestling because I think I showed in the short time I was on the show that I could be very good at it.
I’ve been a fighter and a had a good career. I won 5 straight and fought for Bellator and Strikeforce. I was on the Ultimate Fighter a few years ago. I’ve been on reality TV like David Otunga. I’m marketable. Who has all the Twitter followers? Did you hear the pop I got on RAW during the finale? I got a bigger reaction than Luke or Andy. The Miz told me I hit a homerun when I said ‘I’m from the Dirty South’ in Atlanta when I was on RAW the night the show debuted. Cena even walked up and shook my hand and said ‘Great Job’. CM Punk shook my hand to and said ‘Way to Go’. People know I’m real and what you see is what you get. I’m an entertainer but I’m no sellout. That night on RAW the only guy who got a bigger ovation than me was Steve Austin. He’s a Hall of Famer and I’m just in the hall.
What made Steve Austin, The Rock, and CM Punk such big superstars? They speak their mind and buck the system. I know this may hurt my chances of ever making it in the WWE but what are they gonna do? Fire me? They aren’t ready for someone like me.
It’s all politics at FCW. People are real phony there including the trainers. Me and Bill were cool on the show. I heard he got a job as a scout for the WWE and I was glad to hear he was doing good for himself. He deserves it after so long in the business. When I was in Tampa doing my match with Orlov Bill was praising me and talking about how good I was doing. I was doing stuff that Luke and Andy couldn’t do, on the first try. But when I walked into FCW a few weeks ago he acted like he was too cool to talk to me.
He’s changed man. He thinks he is somebody because he was the big man on the show. I guess Hollywood went to his head. Sure he had a mediocre wrestling career and found new life on Tough Enough. I don’t give a shit. I’ll whoop his fat ass. He’s no better than me. If I was to shoot on him who is going to stop me? Andy sure as hell ain’t. I’ve rolled with some badass heavyweights like Jon Madsen and Scott Barrett. Seriously, what is Bill DeMott going to do to me? All he could do about it is write another chapter in his sorry book about how he got run over by Big Rigg when he gets his arm out of the cast. I lost all respect for Bill. If he only knew what the boys say about his fat lazy ass he wouldn’t even come to work. I’m sure he will read this and put something on Twitter about it. I don’t care. He might have Twitter muscles but I’m the real deal. He said I was green? The only thing green on me was the shit stain on my boot I stuck up his ass.
Hell, Andy the dude that won the WWE contract is a big pussy too. He is still in FCW. He’ll be in FCW the rest of his life. He had a developmental contract with the WWE before the damn show aired. He’s boring and a big f—ing baby. He cried the whole time we were doing the show about his wife and his kid. He did it all for pity. We pity the weak.
I got a little boy at home but you got to make sacrifices if you want to make something of yourself. I thought about my little boy the whole time we were shooting but I didn’t whine about it. I used it as fuel. I want the best for him so I had to step it up and show them I belonged.
Earlier this year my mom had heart surgery. My dad is deployed right now and is overseas so I’m supposed to take care of things on the farm. Her surgery was actually the week before my last fight. I should’ve backed out and stayed at home but that’s not how I do things. I drove to Nashville and trained for a few days before the fight when I should’ve have an 8 week camp and still got the win. I fought on January 29th in Nashville and on February 2nd the people from Tough Enough were at my house in Vicksburg filming behind the scenes stuff. Two days later I was flying to Los Angeles for 5 weeks. Now talk to me about sacrificing.
I’m not trying to run down everyone from the WWE. I have a lot of respect for John Cena, Triple H, the Miz and all the guys who were cool to me and took time to help me out. Hell, Ted DiBiase is one of my real good friends. I really enjoyed working with Dr. Tom and Ricky Steamboat at FCW. Even though Dusty and I got into it I think he’s a legend and a pretty cool cat. Steve Austin is like a big brother to me. Same with Booker T. I love those guys.
Things are still looking up for me. I still get offers to wrestle and fight all the time. People know who I am. If you want to hit me up I’m on Twitter @JeremiahRiggs. I’m maxed out on friends on Facebook but I do have a fan page. If you have interest in booking me hit up my manager allen@mmamonsterfactory.com. The WWE thing was a speed bump. I’m still gonna go 100 miles an hour and you hadn’t seen the last of me. It ain’t personal. It’s all business.
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