Controversy, Money, Pokémon Cards, WWE and the Logan Paul Balancing Act (Exclusive)

Logan Paul can talk.

Whether it's money, controversy, Pokémon cards, pro wrestling, WWE history, Tom Brady, or his daughter, the guy commands attention while speaking. Not a bad quality to have when your new full-time job is to hook a large audience of raging wrestling fans.

In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Paul opened up on a multitude of topics including the auctioning of a rare Pokémon card, being a student of pro wrestling history, and his commanding presence in the spotlight.

"I realized I'm too good to leave all that meat on the bone," Paul said of why he signed a full-time WWE contract when the part-time deal he had was so friendly. "The WWE needs me. They need me. The audience needs me, because there is no one like me. I needed to inject more of myself in this business that I am so clearly gifted in.

"It took me 27 years to realize, I was born to be a wrestler. And you look at the roster, you got some absolute gangsters in there, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Austin theory, my wise man now, Paul Heyman, but you didn't have a Logan Paul."

MORE: Logan Paul Clarifies Bad Bunny Super Bowl Remarks And Hypes Up Potential WWE Match (Exclusive)

Confidence? Arrogance? Neither. Birthright. CM Punk, John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and others he's wrestled against have tried to find the words to explain why Paul was able to take to wrestling so easily. Paul had an easy answer.

"I was born to wrestle," Paul said. "Every single skill set that I've garnered throughout the entirety of my life has culminated into an ability that is the WWE from from the showmanship to the storytelling to the improv and the intuition that comes with being a wrestler. To the physicality, which almost isn't even first, but after I check all those boxes with big green check marks, finally you get to the physicality. And that's my best."

Logan Paul literally wants to catch them all

Pro wrestling isn't Paul's only passion. A special an impromptu appearance from his daughter showed Paul as a loving Dad and then the topic of Pokémon came up.

"I have one major lifelong obsession, and it's Pokémon," Paul said. "I got Pokémon tattoo before I even knew that the trading card game was still a thing as an adult. I realized that I sit at this interesting intersection (with Pokémon) where I can combine three of my favorite things, which is passion, business, and media. So, it's like the trifecta for me.

"I'm in my bag and so I'm able to go and spend ridiculous amounts of money on these, the holy grail of collectibles, while making compelling content and telling the stories around it. And I'm having so much fun doing it. In my opinion, my collecting content is the best material that I make, because it's like, it's everything I love, all in one."

It's a good thing Paul is a fan of money too. Collecting Pokémon cards is certainly a lucrative endeavor and it's about to be even more so. Paul is auctioning off a prized Pokémon card called the Pikachu Illustrator. The card is worth big time dollars and the auction price is already over $6 million.

Not backing down from Brady

It wouldn't have been an interview with Logan Paul without a little controversy. Paul declared that a potential match between him and Bad Bunny would do epic business for WWE, but he also doubled down on his verbal joust with NFL superstar, Tom Brady.

"I was going back and forth with Tom Brady and we're talking about athleticism and what it takes to be an athlete. And so funny, Tom Brady talking to me about being an athlete. Bro, the worst NFL Combine of all time," Paul gloated. "Okay, you won seven Super Bowls. It's like, seven Super Bowls, six Super Bowls, six seven Super Bowls. It doesn't matter how many Super Bowls you won, how many United States titles have you won? How many subscribers do you have on YouTube? What's your net worth?"

Again, Paul's talking, but he also used the battle to protect WWE and his fellow in-ring brethren.

"If you put any of the WWE Superstars on the roster, including the women, on an NFL team, they would do bare minimum, all right, because these people are athletes," Paul said comparing WWE athletes to NFL stars. "If you plucked 99% of NFL athletes from the team and put them in a WWE ring, they would s**t the bed. They would not be able to do it. It is the hardest thing in the world to do."

The WWE is on the road to WrestleMania and Paul is certainly going to be a part of that journey. On WWE Raw as part of The Vision, Paul has been feuding with LA Knight and it seems like a match involving both men is a potential plan for the big event in April.

Until then, it's Pokémon auctions, Tom Brady, money, and controversy. Logan Paul clearly wouldn't want it any other way.

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