By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Former TNA wrestler Jay Lethal was interviewed on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show earlier this week discussing his return to Ring of Honor this Sunday at the "Best in the World" Internet PPV. The ROH p.r. interview did not include discussion of Lethal's recent departure from TNA.

During the interview, Lethal took a slight dig at TNA when asked to describe his thoughts on re-joining the ROH roster after an absence of more than five eyars.

"Even without me on-board the roster, Ring of Honor sets itself on the map because of one single word, and that word is wrestling," Lethal said. "A couple of companies have taken wrestling out of their programming. A couple of companies out there have come up with slogans to hint that 'we are all about wrestling,' but it still doesn't come to fruition. But, Ring of Honor has always 110 percent been about wrestling, and that is definitely what draws the fans. The fans know what they want, and Ring of Honor definitely delivers."

Lethal discussed his TNA program with Ric Flair that was ongoing this time last year and how he felt honored to work with Flair.

"Much like the 'Macho Man' (Randy Savage), he (Ric Flair) helped shape my love for the business. I've been so lucky in this business, and it's been unreal," Lethal said. "Honestly, if Ric Flair doesn't want to do something, he's not going to do it. I don't know if it was Ric Flair telling the office he wanted to to do something with me, or the office came up with it. Either way, it has to go through his hands. He has to go with it, or he could decline. Thankfully, he agreed to it. It was possibly the greatest night of my life."

After checking off Ric Flair on a list of fantasy camp dream matches he'd like to have, Lethal said his top three dream matches would be against Chris Jericho (a definitive #1 in Lethal's book), Kofi Kingston, and Bret Hart.

At the end of the interview, Lethal was asked to address his fans and unspecified "critics" of his work. Lethal said, "I honestly still consider myself very green and young into the business. I still consider myself sometimes still a kid who doesn't know anything in a locker room with guys who have wrestled ten, eleven years. Sometimes I do doubt myself. To the fans who have supported me, I can only say, 'Thank you.'"

Link: Lethal's interview picks up at the 1:18:00 mark on Monday's edition of Monday Night Mayhem at mondaynightmayhem.com.

Caldwell's Analysis: Similar to Lethal's interviews last year promoting his program against Flair, Lethal came across like he's been given a ticket to fantasy baseball camp interacting with his favorite players from the past rather than seizing a business opportunity. It's odd Lethal's departure from TNA didn't come up, but this was a p.r. interview for Ring of Honor, so the focus was mainly on Lethal's return to ROH this Sunday.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

We suggest these recent related articles...

TV RATINGS: TNA Impact & ROH TV viewership - Week 19 on Dest. America - Impact surges post-BFG, ROH draws big audience

TV WRESTLING VIEWERSHIP - Week of Sept. 28: Full Break Down of last week's Pro Wrestling TV with DVR viewing

TNA NEWS: TNA announces TV tapings on January U.K. Tour