EC3's advice on the EVOLVE NXT angle: Try not 'over-analyze it'

Former TNA World champ Ethan Carter III showed up at the end of Saturday's EVOLVE 61 show to assist the current titleholder, Drew Galloway, in his fight against NXT's Johnny Gargano.

It was even crazier than it sounds - watch it here.

EC3, as he's now known, after being called Derek Bateman while he was still in WWE and a previous iteration of NXT, chatted with Sirius XM's Busted Open Radio about the angle. A lot of people have questions about whether or not he was shooting on Triple H, NXT and other people involved in WWE Developmental. In (kind of) answering those questions, Carter has some advice for fans that would probably serve us well in a lot of situations:

I guess it is sacrilegious, in a way, to take a shot at the King of Kings so - as I‘ve said before on television, altar boy for 8 years - I'd just like to extend my apologies if I offended anybody and the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I took, I guess, other shots. People are assuming who I'm taking shots at. I mean, they don't know. I mentioned the name Bill - I obviously meant Bill Carr, part of Team Tremendous and Evolve star as well. What's cool about what's going on is that nobody really knows what's happening and there's analyzation and there's speculation and there's buzz and those three things equal box office. So, from a wrestling fan's perspective, instead of trying to over-analyze it, sit back. Enjoy the ride. Let a professional like myself tell you a story.

The emphasis there is mine, because that line is, in my opinion, a fantastic piece of business, and a good example of what I love about this angle. It's 'reality' era done right, and heeling via the truth. Would a lot of stories be better if we let them unfold naturally? Probably. But that's not how many of us enjoy consuming the product, and telling us to leave it to the professionals encourages us to dig deeper and gets meta-heat on EC3.

On NXT, he manages to both praise and bury it in the same answer:

There's another perception of what I said, that I took a ‘shot' at NXT. I believe what I said NXT was, was a great show with great wrestling and interesting characters and developed storylines. So is that a shot? Or is that an endorsement from a great wrestling mind like myself saying something is great? I agree, it's a great show. Maybe I took a shot at the way it used to be, but you know what? Nobody else on that show ever had to live through the dark days - the evil, sinister, horrid atmosphere it once was - to enjoy the fantastic product it has become. Think about that. I'm sort of a martyr in a situation like that.

As to what's next for him and EVOLVE... again, his answer doesn't really answer the question - but it does provide some real advice for guys working there now based on his experience, delivered in an arrogant manner that makes you want to see those guys punch him in the face:

If Evolve talent want to pick my brain in the future, I'm not there to be a sole enemy of what they are and what they strive to be. I'm just going to be there to be a reminder of the independence you need to persevere in this business, the independence you need to survive, the way you don't need to coddle to a machine. Find yourselves, man. And yeah, sure, I'll give promo seminars if they want to pay me money for them. That's cool.

More of all this please. Whoever employs him in the future, let's hope this story gets more people to appreciate EC3.

H/T: 411mania for transcription