John Hennigan on being nervous for boxing debut, training with Josh Barnett

John Hennigan has had a long list of names in working for every major wrestling promotion out there including WWE, AEW, Impact and others.

However, he's adding a new bullet point on his lengthy resume outside the wrestling ring and in the boxing ring instead. On Saturday, April 15th, Hennigan will have his first officially sanctioned boxing match at Creator Clash 2 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Hennigan will be facing Harley Morenstein, a Canadian actor and host of the YouTube show Epic Meal Time. Morenstein took part in the first Creator Clash event and successfully defeated Arin Hanson via TKO. 

Creator Clash 2 features YouTube influencers taking part in boxing matches for charities such as the Paralympic Sports Association, The Longest Day Alzheimer's Association, American Kidney Fund, The National Alliance on Mental Illness, and several others. 

Hennigan has been a fan of boxing for a long time but says he never thought about doing it. The whole thing came about because he attended the first show, cornering fighter Nathan Barnatt.

"At the time, I didn't realize how big the event was gonna be, but I was excited to watch him fight in his first fight. When I went and saw how well he did and how excited everyone was...all the influencers who fought in Creator Clash 1 had a really good time," he explained.

It was when the showrunners were putting together the card for Creator Clash 2 that Hennigan was asked if he would take part in it. 

Hennigan said he felt additional pressure to win the match given that he is a wrestler, especially from his wife, Taya Valkyrie.

"My wife (said) if I lose, expect to get knocked out twice on April 15th because she's gonna knock me out," he joked.

Hennigan said he's been training with former UFC heavyweight champion and fellow pro wrestler Josh Barnett for the fight and also shared the very honest thing Barnett told him beforehand.

"When I asked him to train me, he said, 'Sure John, I'll train you but just so you know, boxing is your worst thing,'" he laughed. "He's not wrong. I was like, 'Josh, I know it's my worst thing. That's why I need you train me." 

Hennigan describes training with Barnett is like "trying to box a grizzly bear."

Hennigan feels he is getting better, but know he has a long way to go. Regardless, he hs is having a fun learning new skills for a different type of performance.

"It's been fun: not just learning a new skill, but being under the gun, being forced to learn. I forced myself (into this) by putting pressure on myself by taking this fight which I feel is kind of a fun thing to have this crazy goal and this date hanging over my head which makes me extra motivated to train every day," he said.

Because this is an entirely new sport for Hennigan, he said he is more nervous for this fight than any of his recent wrestling matches. 

"I think I am more nervous for this than I have been for a wrestling match in a long time because when I wrestle, I am very confident in my ability. I don't have that confidence yet since I am just learning this craft. It's fun and I like learning," he said.