After his defeat of Volador Jr., Ring of Honor’s Matt Taven became the second person ever to win championships in ROH, CMLL, and NJPW. The new NWA World Welterweight champion ended his most recent tour of Mexico on a high note, winning the title in the main event of CMLL’s biggest show of the week in the famed Arena Mexico. Despite his recent success, he is not currently on ROH’s Supercard of Honor due to some differences of opinion with ROH’s current authority figure, Bully Ray. ROH World got a chance to chat with the newly crowned champion ahead of the event, talking about his time in Mexico, his historic victory and his new travel blog series.

ROH World: What was it like being in a one on one main event title match in Arena Mexico?

“It’s definitely one of those things that you don’t realize at the time that you’re doing. I guess a couple of the guys in the locker room were like ‘wow, great house’. I’ve been to Arena Mexico for some big events and big crowds but to sit back and think you’re the main event, you’re the title match and this is the crowd showed up for it- it’s one of those things that in the moment I definitely didn’t realize it, but on the flight home looking at the pictures and videos and looking at how big the crowd is. It’s a time to pat yourself on the back-not right now but looking back years down the line I’ll look back and realize that I did it. It’s one of those things that still hasn’t really sunk in. The title win itself was a great accomplishment and something that I can really be proud of in the moment. But to be in the main event, on a Friday night and have the kind of crowd and it is not an anniversary show or another show that they have marked on the calendar is an accomplishment that is going to take a little while to sink in. It’s all kind of been a blur from the beginning of the tour to the end and leaving with the title-it’s all happened so quickly, not leaving a lot of time to think about what I accomplished.”

RW: Arena Mexico seemed to be especially full for the show. Was that one of the largest crowds that you have wrestled in front of?

“I would have to say so. Último Guerrero and I wrestled [at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas] and that was a pretty big crowd. Sumo Hall was sold out when me and [Michael] Bennet won the tag titles, so that crowd is up there as well. So I don’t know if it’s the biggest crowd, but it is definitely up there. The thing with Arena Mexico is, the fans are really passionate, so it might not have been the biggest crowd, but it was definitely one of the loudest crowds, especially in terms of the hatred I was getting-it’s definitely on the list.”

RW: You normally seem to wrestle as a technico down there, but this time around you were a rudo.

“Yeah, I think that’s because of the last time I was down there wrestling in the Gran Prix. Going down there sporting the red, white and blue to support the country I was representing and being on the opposite side of the Mexican team. But at the same time, I go down there and it’s pick your poison. I don’t really change what I do- there’s a part of the crowd that really seems to get behind that and another part of the crowd that is really against it. It’s a bit of a mixed reaction. But when you go against Volador Jr. in the main event on a Friday night while he’s wearing his Mexican gear and you’ve got Sam Adonis in your corner, you know what side you’re on.”

RW: What is it like being on CMLL Informa? You had an interpreter there, but it seemed like some things were lost in translation.

“Well, that’s the funny thing-I can understand some Spanish, but I can’t speak it back fluently. It’s funny because sometimes the interpreters are spot on, but other times I listened to what they are saying and I know it’s half of what I said. Or even when they asked the questions, I understand what they are saying in Spanish, but in English, it isn’t the same so it’s kind of hit or miss. It’s a strange situation to be on a show when you can’t speak the language and you’re trying to figure out your way through the interview as it goes. But luckily, the people are very forgiving. The Informa crowd is usually women and kids during the day and that seems to be my audience there and they have always been forgiving. Honestly, I really just need to get the courage to speak more Spanish and learn more before I go down there.”

RW: Volador Jr. was champion for 1,337 days. ON CMLL Informa this past week you said that you love being down in Mexico, but that your ROH commitments keep you from being down there more often. How will being a champion impact your schedule moving forward?

“I would assume that there are plans for me be down there longer. Again, with my ROH schedule, that’s my top priority, so making it back and forth is going to be a little bit of an issue. It is about plotting out when I don’t have ROH commitments so that I can send a significant amount of time down there. But at the same time, with more CMLL guys coming up to ROH and the triangular partnership between ROH, NJPW, and CMLL, it’s one of those things that I am sure that there will be title matches in ROH or elsewhere. Defense of the title is going to happen one way or the other.”

RW: You’ve recently begun a new concept, Travel Taven on your Youtube channel. What inspired you to do so?

“This is actually something that has been talked about for a little bit now. The real inspiration for this is referee Todd Sinclair. We usually fly together out of Boston and are on the same flights. One time when I was first starting out he wasn’t flying back with me because he was staying to go to an NHL arena in the town where we had been. He told me that he had decided that he was going to sue all the different places that we were in to try and attend every single NHL arena in the league and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I am someone who is always looking for the next adventure. We are so blessed that we get to travel all these places that not a lot of people get to travel and see as much as we do. Instead of being one of these guys that are like: here’s the airport, the hotel, the venue and back to the airport, I always try to visit spots that are interesting. I am a big conspiracy theory guy and I am interested in the mysterious or the macabre, so I like to find unique places that along those lines.”

RW: How creepy was the Island of the Dolls in Mexico?

“It was one of those places that if you look up in top ten creepiest places in the world, it always popped up. So going down to Mexico as often as I have been, it’s always been on my list. So the Travel Taven series is something that I have talked about for so long. And when I was down there and had a little bit of free time and felt it was the perfect way to spend the day and to start the series. It was kind of a hassle [thought], finding the Island of the Dolls in general if you don’t know about it you’re not going to stumble across it. SO even the people from the CMLL office who were helping to get me there had no idea where we were going. There’s a fake island that they take the tourists to, but I knew exactly where I was going and said absolutely not. I told the tour guide that I knew the real deal and convinced him to take me to the real island. It’s definitely a place that if you’re interested in the macabre or any kind of haunted area it’s a place to mark down on your list.”

RW: What was it like taking the title back home after your win?

“Being in Mexico and everyone being Lucha fans, as soon as they saw belt come through the scanner it was funny because they guy pulled my bag and I said yes it is a wrestling belt and I think that made him want to check my bag even more. Usually they open the bag and put your wand over everything-this kid opened the bag and saw the belt and was like ‘wow’/ He looked at the belt for a while, put it right back and didn’t check anything else, couldn’t have cared less about what else was in the bag beside the bag and let me go on my way. Then again I’ve got this giant knee brace and a walking stick-I stand out like a sore thumb going through TSA. Luckily in Boston, I fly out of the same gate so often they’ve kinda let me slide at this point. But it’s always a hassle going through other airports, so I assume with the belt I’m going to have to plan some extra time to be stopped by TSA.”

RW: Do you believe that winning the NWA World Welterweight title will change how ROH and particularly how Bully Ray views you?

“I think it’s going to change ROH’s perspective on things because it makes them look really dumb that a guy is an international champion is getting into-I don’t want to say altercations, but interactions with Bully Ray that are led to a suspension from Supercard of Honor. How ridiculous does that look when I go down to Mexico when I go down and do what I do down there. I’m bringing the title with me to Supercard of Honor. We are going to protest outside of the University of New Orleans this upcoming weekend. It just adds more fuel to the fire and lets me shove another thing in their face and showing them that they are holding one of their top stars in ROH down and that I can go elsewhere and do exactly what I always say I can do in Ring of Honor. And if they don’t see that and don’t appreciate that, maybe that’s exactly what will happen.”

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