Zack Clayton might not have an All Elite graphic yet, but he says he is working with AEW full-time.
Clayton wrestled his first televised match on the August 19 episode of AEW Rampage, where he unsuccessfully challenged HOOK for the FTW Championship.
In an interview with WrestleZone, Clayton looked back on his TV debut, and his subsequent match with HOOK, and noted that it was a great way to introduce himself to the wrestling world.
"I’m feeling good, man. It’s obviously a good way to debut. I had two good promos on national TV, so it’s a good way to come out and make yourself known to the world and the wrestling universe of AEW. So I’m feeling good about it," Clayton said.
Clayton then confirmed that he is on the road full-time with AEW. He also stated that he has good relationships with Tony Khan and QT Marshall.
“I was at the Dark tapings in Orlando. I don’t know what the date is gonna be for that airing, but it’s gonna be soon. I have several more. I’m booked, I’m on the road full-time with AEW. I am booked until something happens [laughs]. But the point is to be on the road full-time, and I have a great relationship with Tony Khan, QT Marshall, and we’ve stayed close in conversation. There’s plans ahead, so we’re gonna have to keep watching for that. But working tight with the people backstage and just on different creative direction is really what I’m focusing on," he said.
As a reality TV star, Clayton has a platform that he can use to potentially bring more viewers to AEW, and that's what he's aiming to do. Moving forward, he'd like to make AEW more mainstream.
"I do have a crossover because I am on other networks and other TV shows. Obviously MTV is a really big platform. We’ve done several integrations with AEW and MTV in the past. They’ve gone over very well. Tony Khan’s very happy about how those played out on MTV. We’re looking to do more of those in the future. A goal of mine personally is to help AEW become mainstream, and I’ve said that before. Not everybody knows what AEW is yet, as opposed to other companies, people know that they are. So you get a comparison, but AEW should be able to stand on its own, and I wanna help be able to do that," Clayton said.
When asked to elaborate about his status with the company, Clayton said, "Right now I’m full-time on the road. I’ve been for the whole month of august, and for the foreseeable future. So we’re gonna see what the plans are moving forward."
Speaking of the crossover between MTV and AEW, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino previously helped Clayton defeat Serpentico. More information is available here.
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