JD Griffey reflects on his match at ROH Final Battle and discusses joining Shane Taylor Promotions.
At the pay-per-view on December 10, Griffey teamed up with Shane Taylor to face Swerve in Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland). Lee ultimately scored the victory, though Strickland walked out on him during the bout. Their feud has continued in recent weeks, and Griffey teases that there's more to come on his end.
In a clip of his appearance on Knockouts and 3 Counts, Griffey commented on his decision to join Shane Taylor Promotions. He noted that he and Taylor have been friends for a long time, and by aligning with the powerhouse, he's hope that he'll be able to "drop bodies" where they need to be dropped.
"I just needed to wait on the ink to dry because the thing that’s been different here in Shane Taylor Promotions that I will say is Shane and I have been friends forever, but the thing with Shane is like, when I signed on with Shane Taylor Promotions, I had already been dropping bodies left and right. I was like, ‘Why is this not manifesting the way that I want it to? I’ve racked up stats, I’ve padded my stats in the indies. What the hell, man?’ Some of it is just like, are you dropping bodies where they need to be dropped while the right people are watching? That’s what Shane Taylor Promotions offered me, and not only is Shane at the facility, preparing me, helping me prepare. Not only is he making sure the management and promotion team making sure that my bouts and the bouts that he and I have together are promoted to the highest of their ability. Not only are we chopping it up on the phone. But even at the point when it’s time to go into battle, guess what Shane’s doing? He’s lacing his boots to go into battle with you," Griffey said.
Griffey went on to reflect on his match at ROH Final Battle, and he described the complex dynamics within the match. He noted that he, Taylor, and Lee have plenty of history, and Strickland's decision to walk out of the contest changed the match in a way that they weren't prepared for. Griffey also pointed out that it felt like Lee was holding back, but he still packed an incredible punch.
"We went into that with Keith as the adversary. Keith was the [opponent] going into the match. It was really weird for Keith and I because he and I train, and we’re at the same camp. He’s a part of my MMA team now, so needless to say, that made training awkward, and holidays were a little awkward [laughs], just a smidgen. But the thing with Shane and Keith, between the three of us, we’ve been close. Going into it, it was very adversarial, but in the middle of the bout, Swerve just kind of leaving him hanging, and you prepare for it, right. I don’t want to say we were treating the dub as a foregone conclusion or anything. But we were kind of like, ‘Look, these guys can’t coexist. These guys can’t coexist.’ There’s no version of Keith that’s gonna take the low road. So once Swerve tries to take the low road, we got them. I didn’t think Swerve would just up and leave. So when Swerve up and left, the dynamic of the match changed. You saw the fight. There was parts where there was a bit of restraint in Keith and everything Keith did. He wasn’t slamming us as hard. You know, he can take something off a punch and you gonna get CTE [laughs]," Griffey said.
Griffey continued by describing how Taylor and Lee have a competitive relationship, as Taylor is always determined to be the best. Griffey compared the dynamic to having two older brothers, and he's in a situation where he's often caught in the middle. He then teased that they're coming for revenge after Strickland unveiled Mogul Affiliates and attacked Lee on the December 21 episode of AEW Dynamite.
"I think the bout got really muddy, and I think I took my eye off the ball. I know there was a lot of conflict with Shane because for every battle, I always feel like the youngest brother, and your two older brothers are always at odds. Shane and Keith, they’ve always had that [rivalry]. It’s weird. I think, for Keith, it’s never intentional. It’s just Keith being Keith. But I think for Shane, he has this desire to be the best, and we all do, at least between the three of us. It’s just one of those things where it’s like, Keith is my brother, Shane is my brother. I try not to let it get adversarial. It’s like, I’m not the op. I think when you have a group of friends who are efficient and competitive, our paths are gonna cross in an adversarial way at some point. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. I think with how we handled it and how Swerve handled it afterwards, with what he ended up doing on Dynamite with Rick Ross and stuff, even Rick Ross coming at me on Twitter. I’m like, y’all got it coming, bro. Mogul Affiliates, they got it coming," Griffey said.
The full interview will be available on January 10 at 9 p.m. ET.
Griffey previously stated that the ROH locker room is ready to get busy. Check out his comments here.
Shane Taylor recently discussed his goals in the new ROH. Click here to see what he had to say.
ROH has relaunched HonorClub, and Tony Khan said it will be the home of ROH's TV show. More information is available here.
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