Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: Larry D
Date: 02/09/2022
Your Host: James Walsh

Larry D took a leap of faith and bet on himself in requesting his Impact Wrestling release a few weeks ago. Now available for bookings, the dapper Lawrence D himself steps by the Epicenter to discuss his reasons for leaving Impact and covers a variety of other topics as well. 

Below are some highlights. To listen, visit www.WrestlingEpicenter.com.  To book Larry, email [email protected].

LARRY D:

On how Impact Wrestling impacted his life:
“Before I get into that, I want to first say how grateful I am to Impact Wrestling. They changed my life on December the 19th at Pro Wrestling Revolver. They allowed me to not only believe in myself but also realize that I can provide for my family through professional wrestling. I would have never gained the confidence to just leave my regular job if not for Impact Wrestling. I’m forever blessed and grateful for the opportunity that they gave me while I was there.”

On requesting his release from Impact:
“As far as requesting my release, it had got to the point where I had to believe in myself and bet on myself. There were times I was sitting at home and I see other opportunity around and some I felt I would do well at. And, once Acey (Romero) asked for his release, I had never had the word “release” on my mind. The couple times they used Larry D outside of Wrestle House (after Acey left), I started to see the writing on the wall that there was nothing there for me or they just didn’t care to write for me. That is fine. For the first time in over 20 years, I realize it is nothing personal and that business is just business. And, it was just business for me to kind of pick my pride up a little bit and see what else might be out there for me as Impact didn’t really have anything for me at this time.”

On the crowded field of free agents in wrestling right now:
“Well, I’ll tell you. There is not only a lot of talent to snatch up but there is a lot of great matches to be had. Just because we’re labeled free agents doesn’t mean we have to be signed somewhere to get work. I think taking someone like me and Keith Lee who is a free agent (was at the time of the interview) or me and Jacob Fatu, Alex Hammerstone… I think we could do great business. Anyone on the AEW side of things, I would love to get in there and prove I’m still one of the best wrestlers in the world. I want to prove I can be part of the team.”

On being paird with Acey Romero:
“I loved working with Acey. I wish we had known each other better personally before being paired together. I think if we had, we would have had far more success. I had known Acey a little bit from seeing him in the Mid-West area. We were always cordial. But, I wish we had known each other better. From my understanding, it wasn’t supposed to be a pairing. During that first set of TV tapings, we were walking to the ring and, love his heart, D’Lo Brown was on commentary and he goes, “They’re 3 times the size of their opponents! They’re three times the size of any man across the ring from them. It is like they’re Triple Extra Large! I think I’m going to call them XXXL!” That kind of stuck and it hit and went from there. We got to do a lot of great shows and got to get in the ring with a lot of great talent. It is unfortunate as I feel we could’ve had a much better run in Impact Wrestling. But, it just wasn’t in the cards.”

On the move to empty studio/arena shows adue to COVID nd if that was difficult:
“It was difficult, at first. But, we’re all professionals. I feel Impact really took care of us during the pandemic and I know we are still in a COVID era. But, you’re speaking of when everything was shut down and air travel was limitted. I have to say Impact went above and beyond to make sure we had people where they needed to be. As for the empty arena shows, I think that was a great opportunity for me to really prove myself and prove my hard work. I think I have recently, as well, with my weight loss.”

On becoming almost an actor for Wrestle House:
“Wrestle House was scary because it was something that I had never done before. But, once we got there and we started doing it, the Lawrence D character, it allowed me to show that I do have range. It allowed me to show I’m more than just a big, burly, long haired performer with a heavy right hand. It allowed me to show a more comedic side. It helped me, in professional wrestling and as an artist, show my range and helped me do more than I ever imagined I could in my life.”

On if Lawrence D had creative legs:
“I feel if Lawrence D had been properly written for, Lawrence D could’ve been a real big asset to Impact Wrestling. “

On if Kylie Rae, one of the focal points of Wrestle House, leaving abruptly caused the angles to be dropped:
“I can’t say that I agree with that. First, I’m so happy for Kylie. She is one of the top tier talents in our industry and I’m so happy to read her updates and see that she seems to be happy with her mental health situation. As far as her leaving having an impact on the talent in Wrestle House, I don’t think it did. Every show that was on TV at the time was an empty arena based product. Wrestle House was a way to give it a different flavor. I’m sure at first, people saw it and were like, “Ah, man. What is this?” But, in the end, they really loved it.”

On his brief program with Tommy Dreamer:
“I loved working with a guy like that. Not only a great wrestler but also one of the greatest minds in terms of how to put together a match. All I could do is soak up knowledge! But, he was one of those guys you had to have tough skin with. If he was doing your match, you had to have tough skin. But, I did know for a fact that whatever he was telling me was for the betterment of myself, my career, and my match.”

On if the door is open for an Impact return in the future:
“I would love to come back to Impact someday. But, if the door is open to me somewhere else, I felt that was my best option right now.”

On if he felt Acey Romero leaving was good or bad for his position in Impact:
“I thought both sides, to be honest. Creatively, I knew I was in shambles. But, at the same time, I knew I had put in a lot of work to get in good physical shape for me and was getting complimented for how hard I had worked all the while knowing I was waiting for my turn… My turn never came around.”

On the wrestling landscape:
“That was ultimately the determining factor. MLW, that door is always open – I want to walk through it. AEW… You’ve got Dark, Rampage. I’m ready to show the world what I can do. NWA, same way. They are looking for talent, I’m looking for work. Let’s do it! Everything starts to add up and I hope I will be able to prove my worth to all of those companies.”

On the Thanksgiving Wrestle House 2 special:
“Those were long days! It was a lot of fun to do but those were 12, 13, 14, 15 hour days. Most of us had flights out early the morning after filming and most of us were up at 1, 2 in the morning filming our final stuff. Impact took care of us. That was the standup thing to do. But, those were long days!

On if being a big man in wrestling today is harder:
“I don’t think so. I think it opens the door for a lot of Davey versus Goliath type battles. I love those. I also love to do big Hoss battles as well. That is my specialty. But, I do think I really shine if it is myself versus Rich Swann or somebody

On if it was scary to request his release:
“Oh, man! Absolutely. But, I feel it was time for me to bet on myself!