Daniel Garcia recalls competing in the Continental Classic.
Throughout the duration of the tournament, many fans were disappointed in Garcia's performance, as he lost his first four matches against the likes of Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston, Andrade El Idolo, and Claudio Castagnoli.
In his final tournament match, Garcia shocked the world, as he picked up a major victory over Brody King. Since then, Garcia has started to build some momentum, picking up wins over the likes of Buddy Matthews and Shane Taylor.
While speaking to Fightful's Grapsody podcast for a new interview, Garcia talked about going through the losses in the tournament and how he felt empty and exhausted.
"I remember after the Continental Classic, those couple of weeks, I was so exhausted. It wasn’t even like a physical exhaustion. It was an emotional exhaustion. I remember going to producers; Zane is one of the camera guys for AEW; he does a lot of the backstage stuff and is super talented. He told me, ‘You’re so exhausted because you’re pouring your heart out after every match for the past five weeks.’ That’s not something that clicked in my head, but I remember feeling so empty and exhausted. It was emotional because of those promotions. A lot of those times during the losses and during the times you keep losing, you have to have faith in yourself and belief in yourself that I’m going to overcome all of these things. These losses do not define me. That’s the biggest thing. I never strive for perfection, I think imperfection is beautiful and what makes us humans different and what makes every individual special. I never strive for perfection. If you win all the time and you’re perfect, that’s boring. I don’t want to be boring. I want to be imperfect. I want to be beautiful. That’s what losses represent for me."
Garcia then went on to talk about being able to tell a story in the tournament and how he felt blessed to wrestle on television for multiple weeks in a row.
"It was such a blessing. I keep saying blessing. I live a very blessed life. Blessing is my favorite word. It’s amazing. Being able to wrestle on TV for that many weeks straight, in such a packed locker room where so many people are fighting for opportunities every single week and a lot of people, who maybe are deserving of opportunities, sometimes don’t get it because we have such a crowded locker room. I can’t describe the feeling that I felt when they told me, ‘You get to wrestle every week for the next five weeks.’ It was amazing. In hindsight, I miss it so much. I still wrestle a lot now. That tournament was a real turning point for AEW and Daniel Garcia. It’s something people are going to look back at a long time from now; it’s a really special thing. The Continental Classic is even more special than anybody realizes right now. People will realize it the next couple of decades, just how important that tournament is. In a way, it still feels very nostalgic. I’m nostalgic for that time. It’s really weird."
Elsewhere in the interview, Garcia talked about his upcoming match against Christian Cage at AEW Revolution. Fans can learn more here.
Fans can see Fightful's full interview with Garcia in the video linked at the top of this article.
Furthermore, check out more of Fightful's recent interviews by visiting our YouTube channel.
