Matt Taven Talks ROH Best in the World, NJPW, and the Conspiracy

Matt Taven joined us to discuss the upcoming ROH Best in the World Pay-Per-View, his career, and the conspiracy to keep him from the ROH World Championship.

ROH Best in the World can be viewed on Pay-Per-View and through HonorClub (free for all VIP members, and 50% off for all regular members) on June 29th at 9 p.m. ET. For more information about HonorClub, including how to subscribe, head here. Matt Taven and the rest of the Kingdom will be wrestling Los Ingobernables de Japon for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championships.

Matt Taven talks His Wrestling Fandom and Early Career

Josiah MacDonald: Hi Matt, thanks for taking the time out of your day for this interview.

Matt Taven: Thanks for having me!

JMD: A few weeks ago I had the privilege of interviewing Vinny Marseglia. He’s a fellow member of The Kingdom, and he mentioned that you both came up through the same training school. Could you tell us if you were a wrestling fan growing up, and about your early career and how you got your start?

MT: I was a wrestling fan from when I was 5 or 6 years old. The first time wrestling really caught my attention was when my great uncle Joe was over, and he wanted to watch wrestling. We found it on the TV, and one of the first things I saw was The Ultimate Warrior. I remembered all the colors, the lights, and the pageantry, and it was what I wanted to do. I remember going from the cartoon phase with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles right into wrestling. I’ve been a fan my entire life.

It was one of those things where my parents weren’t the biggest wrestling fans. They never really understood the wrestling thing. Obviously, they’re big supporters of me now. I remember begging my parents to go to a show at the Boston Garden, and afterwards they would say, “You really like this? You want to go back to this?” So, it was one of those things that was always there growing up. Any time I talked about wanting to be a pro wrestler, my dad would say, “You’re going to go to college.”

I always thought about it and wondered about it, and it wasn’t until after I graduated that it happened. When I was working in the front office of Kraft Sports Group for the New England Patriots, one of my buddies that I did backyard wrestling with was doing indie wrestling in Massachusetts, and I thought “Yeah, I can do this. I’m better than all these guys!” First day, you hit the ring, and you’re like, “Oh! That’s what this is really like?” I just remember that it was one of those things I wanted to do since I was a kid, and I just decided to jump in with two feet and joined the circus.

The first time I met Vinny was probably that first day of training. I’ve known him since day one. I started dipping my toes in independent wrestling, and someone told me to train with Spike Dudley. When the option was given to me and Vinny, we jumped on it. We always had each other in class, and after class we’d do the mark things we wanted to do growing up. After class, we’d say, “Do you want to try the Swanton off the top?” Me and Vinny have loved wrestling forever and always wanted to do it. We found our calling. We had no idea what the outcome would be, and our characters have changed so much, but it was obvious that me, him, Jimmy Preston, and a couple of other guys training with Spike Dudley definitely had a future in wrestling.

JMD: Vinny told us the training with Spike was really great and highly recommended it.

MT: You know Spike Dudley the character, but you didn’t know Spike Dudley the human or what his wrestling knowledge is. You think you’re smart to wrestling, and you get there, and you find out that Spike knows everything about wrestling, and I knew nothing. It was a big reality check. Spike is so talented. I wish people knew how great Spike Dudley is. He was a fantastic trainer. It was through Spike that I met a lot of people, including Mike Bennett, who had a big influence on my career. You knew you were going in the right direction training with Spike. All the guys who stuck around and learned under Spike Dudley speaks for itself with the type of success they had.

Credit: RING OF HONOR/James Musselwhite

Winning the IWGP Tag Team Titles with Michael Bennett

Josiah MacDonald: You got to spend some time working in New Japan Pro Wrestling with Michael Bennett, taking The Kingdom to Japan and winning the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Could you tell us a bit about what that time was like for you?

MT: At the time you don’t really appreciate it, but you do when you look back on it. Me and Mike don’t see each other as much as we used to, but when we do meet up, we say, “Remember when we did this? That was cool.” Looking back on it, it was more other people’s reaction too. You’re going so much in professional wrestling that you don’t really have a chance to smell the roses. It’s go, go, go, and worrying about making your career progress forward.

I remember it like it was yesterday, after it happened, even with the 13-hour time difference between here and Japan, our phones were blowing up and people were making it into a big deal for our career. That’s when it set in, and I thought, “We did do this.” I grew up knowing about the IWGP Tag Titles and all these tag teams like The Road Warriors and seeing the titles on WCW as a kid. My name is on that list. I’m sure I don’t appreciate the magnitude of it today, but when wrestling is all said and done, looking back on my career, winning the IWGP Tag Titles in a sold-out Sumo Hall will be one of the stories I tell to my grandkids.

JMD: Speaking of New Japan, could we ever see you appear in a tournament like the G1 or The Kingdom make an appearance to go after the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles?

MT: One of the big things about this match coming up at Best in the World is that we’re facing the former NEVER Openweight Six-Man Champs. Once we win, because that’s what the Kingdom does, I want New Japan to recognize it. I want the Ring of Honor Six-Man Champs against the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Champs. Let’s go to Mexico too. Let’s go to CMLL, and let’s find out who the best trio is in the world. I’ll put The Kingdom against any trio out there. If New Japan wants it, so do we.

https://twitter.com/WildHorseTKO/status/1012007110266310656

The Rebirth of The Kingdom in Matt Taven’s Image

Josiah MacDonald: October 1st, 2016 was a very important date for The Kingdom. The Matt Taven led Kingdom debuted in Ring of Honor. I spoke to Vinny about this, but I was wondering if I could get your perspective on that day.

Matt Taven: It was a crazy day. It was my goal while rehabbing my knee injury was to be back by October 1st and make my comeback at Lowell, Massachusetts in front of the hometown crowd. Out of nowhere, CMLL asked me to come down to Mexico and do a tour. So, being a fan since I was a kid, and someone told me I was going down to Arena Mexico, of course I said, “Yup.” I ended coming back almost a month early and rushed my rehab to make sure I was down there in Mexico. It all happened so quickly, one second I was setting up my rehab, to all of sudden you’re packing your bags, and then walking down the ramp at Arena Mexico with a knee brace you never used before. Your head is spinning.

When I got back home, October 1st was here, and I didn’t really have a chance to process it all. That’s why I was so grateful for Vinny and TK O’Ryan to be by my side and have their support and have them to lean on if I was second guessing anything concerning my knee when I came back. They were a big crutch for me, and even though I was back and felt good, you think “I feel good,” it’s nothing like being in the ring for the first time. No training in the world can prepare you for how your knee is going to react to things in the ring. To have them there was a huge bonus for me, and I’m very thankful for them.

Credit: RING OF HONOR/James Musselwhite

It’s a Conspiracy! Matt Taven on Not Getting His ROH World Title Shot

Josiah MacDonald: The Kingdom has been the victim of a conspiracy as of late. Would you care to comment on this, and address the ROH World Champion, Dalton Castle?

Matt Taven: The ROH World Champion? Huh. I seem to think that I’m the real ROH World Champion, because I am the #1 contender to the world title. For some reason I still haven’t gotten my title shot. It’s not even happening on pay-per-view. Two other Melvin’s are getting the shot I deserve on pay-per-view. It goes back to TK getting hurt and coming back. We don’t get our championship rematch (for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles)? Have you ever heard that happening in history?

JMD: No, I have not.

MT: I’ve never heard of a champion, other than one getting up and leaving the territory, that didn’t get his championship rematch. We’re the first people ever for that to happen to. It took a year before we finally got the rematch we deserved. Actually, on the same day, I was supposed to finally get my shot at the ROH World Title. A title that I only had 2 shots at in 5 years, both matches with interference, but who’s counting? Ring of Honor never did anything about that.

Now I finally get a shot in my home town, drawing the biggest house that ROH has ever had in Lowell, bigger than The Bucks vs. The Addiction vs. the Motor City Machine Guns in Ladder Wars, and I don’t get the title shot I deserve? It’s mind boggling to me. The fact is that it still hasn’t happened, that it hasn’t been made up to me. I’m sitting here as the #1 contender. Every title they have given me a chance to win, here, in New Japan or Mexico, I have won. They refuse to give me an actual shot at the title I deserve the most.

JMD: I remember that show in Lowell, and you ended up winning the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles for a second time. I’m also perplexed by ROH not giving you the title shot.

MT: It was quite an accomplishment to win the Six-Man Tag Titles, and in our minds, if TK never got hurt, we never would have lost them. But, two wrongs don’t make a right. They screwed us out of a title shot for a full year, and now we finally get it. But they screw me out of a World title shot. Did you just give me the Six-Man title shot to appease me? They knew I was going to win it the whole time, but they made me sit and wait until a time like this when I deserve a world title match. It’s very perplexing. It’s almost a conspiracy.

Credit: RING OF HONOR

The Kingdom vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon at ROH Best in the World

Josiah MacDonald: This Friday, June 29, The Kingdom defends their ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championship against Los Ingobernables de Japon. We’re seeing one of the top groups in ROH take on one of the top groups in NJPW. Do you have any words for your opponents?

Matt Taven: I’m glad you guys got a trip in the early summer to the United States. I’m sorry that it’s to Baltimore. I wish it was a better location. I hope you enjoy the food, and I hope you take tons of pictures and have a splendid time at the harbor. You guys are going home with a message attached to you. You are going back to New Japan and you are going to let them know that the Kingdom deserves their shot at the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles. That’s the whole goal for this weekend. I’m sorry that you had to come all the way here to do it for us, but we’re going to send you back with a bit of a message, and we appreciate you spreading the word for us, LIJ.

JMD: Finally, do you have any social media, merchandise, and upcoming dates that you’d like to plug?

MT: I’m easy to find if you know how to spell Taven. It’s Taven. Not Tavern. Learn how to spell. T-A-V-E-N. If you can spell that, congratulations, you can find me at any social media platform. Matt Taven at Pro Wrestling Tees, on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The Matt Taven on Instagram because some Melvin stole my name. Wherever Ring is Honor is, you’re going to find Matt Taven, because they always fall back on me. They need the MVP of ROH. If you go to ROHWrestling.com, any of their upcoming dates, you’ll see my smiling face at an arena near you!

Next: NJPW Kizuna Road Results: Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado

JMD: Best of luck at Best in the World. Thank you for your time!

MT: Thank you! Let’s do it again sometime.

It was a great pleasure to interview Matt and talk about the upcoming ROH Best in the World Pay-Per-View! It will be a can’t miss show. You can check it out over on HonorClub. Best in the World takes place on June 29 at 9 p.m. ET.