Thaddeus Bullard, otherwise known as the legendary Titus O’Neil, is looking for a lifelong partner in Kings Court. While the WWE Hall of Famer is used to experiencing competition in the ring, nothing in his decades-long career compares to the competitiveness he witnessed among the Queens vying for his, Tyson Beckford, and Carlos Boozer‘s hearts in the new Bravo dating series.

“I’ve never experienced any kind of competitiveness like this,” Bullard told Decider in a recent interview, noting that some of the women “got lost in the fact that it is a competition.”

The Queens Court spinoff introduces the three celebrity Kings to 21 eligible and successful women. As the Kings search for “the one,” they must accompany their potential Queens on adventurous dates before deciding which ones they want to continue exploring a connection with, and which ones they want to send home.

According to Bullard, he originally wanted no part in the series or any type of “ratchet TV,” for that matter. But when producer Will Packer, who also happens to be a close friend of his, promised that he wouldn’t put him in a position that would jeopardize the career he’s built or the brand he’s carved out for himself, he decided to sign onto the show. Bullard also made sure to get permission from his three college-aged kids, who had one request: “Don’t be out there embarrassing us.”

Whether the professional wrestler found his Queen remains to be seen (we’re only two episodes in, after all). But his connection with Arielle in Episode 2 seems like it has potential to be the real deal. “You’ll see throughout the course of this journey that we genuinely connected,” he told us. “We had our tiffs, but there was definitely a twinkle in my eye when I talked about her and talked to her.”

When Bullard stopped by our studio, he also dished on the drama in Kings Court, whether he watches any other dating shows, and why he prefers to have some healthy competition in his relationships. Check out our full chat below.

DECIDER: How was this show pitched to you and what made you decide to sign on?

THADDEUS BULLARD: Originally, I didn’t want to sign on for it. Will Packer, who’s a very dear friend of mine, reached out and asked me, “Hey, would you be interested in being on a dating reality show?” And I was like, “I don’t do ratchet TV.” And he said, “Well, I’m not a ratchet producer.” And I said, “Touché,” which he’s not. He’s one of Hollywood’s only billion-dollar movie producers, but a great human being, too. He knows me on a personal level, so knowing everything that I’ve built from a brand standpoint, as a father, as a philanthropist, and all these things, he wouldn’t put me in a position where any of that would get jeopardized.

He put me on the phone with casting and said, “Just talk to them, no pressure at all, see if it’s something you want to try.” They sent me a few episodes of Queen’s Court and I watched through that. I was like, “Oh, this is not ratchet at all. It’s actually pretty good.” I actually watched it with my kids and then after the last episode, I was like, “So, this is kind of the premise of what they want me to do. I don’t know who the other celebrities are. I don’t know who the women are. But would you guys be OK with me being on the show?” And they said, “Yeah.” And I said, “OK, cool.”

Are you excited to show them how everything played out? Have they seen any of the episodes yet? 

They haven’t seen anything. Nobody’s seen anything. Nobody knows anything, nobody has seen anything.

I’m sure they’re very excited to see it. 

They are. I actually got a text message from my oldest son. I have three kids. My oldest son plays football at UCF. My youngest son plays football at Florida, which is where I played. And then my daughter plays basketball at UMass. So, my son sent me this text. He said, “Hey, Dad. Some of my teammates were talking in the locker room and they were watching Love Island last night and they saw your commercial, and they’re really excited to see your show.” I was like, “Well, if I can get college football players interested in Kings Court, then there’s no reason why the Bravo Universe and everybody else wouldn’t be interested in Kings Court.”

Have you watched any other reality dating shows?

I haven’t, no. I don’t really watch reality TV that much, so I’ve had to actually do a lot of homework in regards to what’s what. But I do know Love Island is killing it right now. All of my kids are watching it. So, I’m gonna have to go back and binge watch up to this point to kind of figure out – I just know the exciting part about what they’re doing right now is that they’re on an island. And I would like to go to Fiji too, if possible. 

Season 8, maybe. 

I don’t think I want to be a member of the cast.

You can come as a guest to host a challenge!

I’ll come as a guest and rough some people up, figure out who’s doing what, something like that. But yeah, definitely not as a cast member. 

I imagine that dating in the public eye is super hard. Would you say you have a pretty good gauge on who’s genuine and who’s just in it for clout? 

Yeah, I think I have that gauge not just with dating, but with people in general. I think I have a very good spirit of discernment. The problem is that so many people have been able to put great representatives up front and personal for the first few weeks that you don’t know what’s what until later on down the line. With some people, you can see it immediately, and with some people, you cannot. For the purposes of the show, I love the fact that there were 21 very educated, smart women that come from various backgrounds all over the country, and it gave us a plethora of personalities. For me, I’m big on personality. That’s going to draw me first. Personality and confidence are two things that draw me in because I’m a competitive person so I need you to know that if we’re gonna play ping pong, I’m purposely gonna be trying to whoop your ass.  So, if you’re not trying to do that with me, don’t go. Because I’m gonna talk trash to you, I’m gonna make you feel bad during that, but it’s all in competition. 

They have to give it right back.

Yeah. I think a lot of times people have this persona or they put up this front like they’re so tough and they’re so caring and all these things. They want honesty. They want transparency. But then when they receive it, [they’re like], “Oh, could you say it like this?” Or, “I just didn’t like the way you said it.” Instead of looking at the messenger and the delivery, let’s look at the message. The message is the same no matter what. Honestly, transparently speaking, throughout this journey, I’ve even learned for myself, sometimes I can be a little coachy, because that’s the environment I came from. I have to recognize that even as a coach, different players respond to different types of coaching. You might be able to yell at one person, and then the other person might just nod their head and be like, “I got you, coach.” It’s the same way for me in relationships, trying to figure out, No. 1, is there even an energy that would make us compatible? And then the second thing is, I’m not looking for a companion. I have five dogs at home. I can go to the movies with anybody. I’m looking for a partner.

In order to have good partnership, I need to be able to know that I can be vulnerable with you and that it’s not gonna get weaponized back against me when you get into your feelings, because women, y’all get into your feelings … and totally disregard facts. “So you’re saying that… I just feel like you’re saying…” And I’m like, “OK, I don’t need you to feel like I’m saying. Hear what I’m saying.” Because if you hear what I’m saying, much like if you say, “Hey, you said this or you did that, Thaddeus, and it made me feel this way,” I can apologize for that. I can hold myself accountable for that, but I can’t hold myself accountable for what you feel like I did or what you thought I said. I think a lot of times for me in the past, in dating, it’s almost like I want to grow too, but I can’t grow with this person because they take everything personally. The first question I will ask anybody if they’re dating me is, “Do you think I’m a great person?” Then, “Do you think I wake up in the morning and I’m like, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m gonna see how I can mess with her today.’” Like, “What way am I gonna make her lose her mind today?” I’m gonna make you lose your mind without trying. It’s not intentional. But it is difficult sometimes being able to receive that genuine, true, unconditional love. I don’t think I’ve ever been in love my entire life. And I’m looking to be in love with my partner. 

You touched on it a bit before with the competition and competitiveness. You come from the professional sports world. How would you compare the competitiveness among the queens to what you’ve experienced in the ring? 

I’ve never experienced any kind of competitiveness like this. Sometimes I think people got lost in the fact that it is a competition. We don’t have a whole lot of time to figure out who’s got a connection with who, and who might be a good fit for who. I think for some women, being in that environment, they didn’t come in with that thought process. They thought, “I’m gonna be the top dog.” It’s like, “OK, you might be, but you also have to go on a date with two other people with this one guy at the same time.” So, they’re fighting for attention and trying to figure out where they fit in, where they don’t fit in. “Well, I thought I had a connection with him, but then this person…” And you’re sitting on the sideline and you’re thinking, “What is she doing that I’m not doing?” Now, it’s either envy or jealousy or whatever resonates instead of competition. For those that were staying on this journey the longest, it was really about them looking at it for what it was. We got three eligible, good-looking guys that are successful, that are looking for love. It’s their decision at the end of the day, but it’s my decision to put myself in the position to let them know, “Hey, I am interested. This is why I’m interested. Yeah, I’m a fan of what you do, or a fan or where you come from, but I’m really more interested in getting to know you.” I think that that’s the secret sauce to the entire show. People at home will recognize right away who’s there for a good time, and who’s there to get their Instagram followers up, and then who’s there genuinely looking for a partner. 

Episode 2 brought some tense conversations for a couple of you. Carlos was forced to address his infidelity after Lexy ran a Google search. What did you think of that?

I think it’s very distasteful that Lexy did that. Nobody that was in that house, out of the 24 people that were in that house – the three kings or the 21 women – came in there with no past history. We’re not talking about the past. We’re trying to figure out where we want to move forward with finding love for our future. I thought that Lexy doing that showed that she’s dangerous, in my opinion. It goes back to the whole competition thing earlier. All of a sudden, you get this person getting attention, that person getting attention, “Oh, let me figure out something to make myself relevant.” Carlos has been very open and honest about his infidelity, as have I in my regards to my divorce. And Tyson has been open with his past situation. So if anything, they opened up an opportunity for us to actually show the world, “Hey, this is what recovery from trauma and tragedy looks like, and making bad decisions in our younger life.” If you Google something from anybody, from 20 years ago to now, nine times out of 10, they’re gonna be a different person. The other thing that I felt was very distasteful was the fact that, OK, that happened, but he and his ex-wife are best friends – both of his ex-wives. He’s an amazing father. His kids are flourishing. He has a great relationship with them. We’re talking about a guy that literally, just like myself, is on FaceTime and on the phone with his six-year-old, his 18-year-old twin boys, he’s going to games. It’s like, why would you try to discredit somebody with their past when we’re sitting right here in the future?

Lexy definitely brought drama to the house, especially she stormed off calling everyone old and bald.

God bless her. She’s got her things to deal with. I don’t want to trash anybody in any way, shape or form. I just feel like I’m glad that the world saw who she was for what she was and what she was trying to do. Whatever the Internet does – hey, y’all, do your thing. Be fair. Because if I do something on the show, give it to me. If somebody else does something on the show, give it to them. And I hope you all give it to Lexy. 

Switching gears a little bit, I really love to see you connect with Arielle, especially after she opened up about being a single mom to an autistic son. What can you tease about how this connection will play out this season? 

I really have a great connection with Arielle and her having a child didn’t bother me at all. Parker is his name. He’s a six-year-old child with autism. To me, that was never going to be a deciding factor as to whether or not I was going to pursue a relationship with her or anybody, whether or not they had children. The thing that would have derailed me would have been if she wanted to have more children. And the fact that she was OK with not having any more children made that connection even stronger. You’ll see throughout the course of this journey that we genuinely connected. We had our tiffs, but there was definitely a twinkle in my eye when I talked about her and talked to her. 

You could definitely see the spark there. You can always tell when people immediately connect, as opposed to when something’s isn’t quite meant to be. 

Yeah, it’s a little awkward. She snuck a kiss, though. You see it in the teaser. My whole thing when I talked to my kids was, “Don’t be out there embarrassing us.” There’s a kiss on the teaser and everybody’s texting me and saying, “Oh, how many people did you kiss?” And so I was like, “First off, I didn’t kiss her, she kissed me.” I didn’t not like it, but it caught me by surprise. I think I even said at that time, “So you’re just going to steal a kiss, huh? You’re just gonna take one from me.” But yeah, I had a lot of fun with Arielle.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

New episodes of Kings Court air Sundays at 9p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.