I'm 99% sure he started saying he stopped watching wrestling well before we ever discovered Champions. IIRC, it was part of him trying to mature because people were making fun of him for being an adult in his 30's that enjoyed wrestling/admitting he didn't realize it was fake until much later in life. A better Philstorian can pull up actual videos where he first started saying it and compare it to when the Champions thread was created.
It's also such a funny defense in general because he says he stopped watching wrestling because of that...but he's also admitted to playing Champions fairly recently, just insisting that he barely spends anything on it. Soooo....apparently the champions conspiracy was so bad it ruined his ability to watch wrestling, but not his ability to play the game.