Source: DirecTV
Special TNA moments
"I thought when Samoa Joe won the World Title was a special night. That was an instance where TNA sort of got out of it's own way and let the competitors speak for themselves. The build for Joe versus Kurt Angle in the cage was perfect and it was a well-deserved victory for Joe. It was his first world title but not his last, I don't believe. But even if it was, that was a career defining moment for Joe and a really good moment for TNA as a company."
His dream match
"I'd have to say Chris Jericho. He's always been someone I've looked up to as a fan and over the course of my career I've always looked at him as sort of the perfect blend of athleticism and character. I've said time and time again that he was a compelling guy on the microphone and once the bell rang he could get it done. He was that perfect mix of athlete and entertainer."
Daniel Bryan recently calling him a good friend and if he's still friends with guys from his indie days
"Absolutely. First of all, Daniel Bryan is probably top of my list as far as being one of the nicest guys and one of the guys that's worked the hardest. Watching him go from the Texas indies, to the Ring of Honor days, to where he is now – it's just a testament to his desire and his hard work. Then there are guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, both former World Champions, we went through the indies together and Ring of Honor together. Those guys have both worked very hard to reach the top of the ladder. Lo-Ki is another guy I've had extensive experience with in the ring and on the road. And then Frankie Kazarian and I have traveled around together for the past decade and a half honing our craft and now we're the top team in TNA. You build a relationship with these guys traveling around the world, keeping your nose to the grindstone to become better and I think working with such talented guys like that has helped me become as good as I am now."
How did you initially decide wrestling was the path for you?
I grew up in North Carolina watching Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, which then became NWA, and later became WCW. So I watched guys like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Magnum TA and Sting. I had a very big appreciation for professional wrestling as a kid. After I graduated college with a theater degree, I tried my hand at acting in the Chicago area and I decided to give wrestling a try just to say I did it. I wasn’t sure what would happen but I wanted to give it a chance even if I washed out just as an experience I could tell my grandkids about. But because I was so familiar with it from watching as a kid, I went through training pretty easily and once I started wrestling matches, that’s where I learned the bulk of my knowledge. That’s how you learn. On the job. I worked very hard to get as much experience as I could by wrestling as many matches as I could, against as many different people as I could, and for as many promoters as I could. That’s you get to be a commodity. You get so comfortable with yourself that you know that no matter where you go you can get into a ring and wrestle someone you’ve never met or seen before and still have an entertaining match. That’s how you get promoters to start hunting your phone number down to get you working on their shows.
How would you describe your wrestling style?
I feel like I’m a jack of all trades. I do a little bit of high flying, I do a little bit of brawling, a little bit of technical but I’ve never been one over the other. Ive always tried to be more of a well-rounded wrestler and be able to adapt to the person I’m in the ring with. Like if I was in the ring with AJ, I could do enough high-flying to keep up with him. Or if I was in the ring with Daniel Bryan, I could do enough technical work to stay with him. I think that’s what has given me the longevity in this business; being able to adapt to the opponent I’m across the ring from.
What advice you would give someone looking to break into the business?
I would advise them to try and be flexible. Like, if you are a high flyer, you may not get the opportunity to work with someone who works well with a high flyer. You’ve just got to be flexible in your approach to who you’re wrestling. It’s very rare you find someone who is excels in only one facet of the game that also finds long-term success because there’s so many different types of wrestlers out there that sooner or later your going to be exposed as very one-sided very quickly. Even guys like Rey Mysterio, who made a career out of being one of the best high-flyers in the world, he’s also a very good mat wrestler and he can throw hands with the best of them. He may be remembered long-term as a high-flyer but he didn’t just rely on that. When push comes to shove he can do the rest of it just as well.
Who were some of your influences?
My first favorite wrestler was Magnum TA. Coming up during that era, I thought he was really good and had a fire to him that set him apart. Another favorite of mine as a youth was Sting. He was the complete package in my eyes as someone that stood out from the crowd. He had an energy to him that was different than the flotsam and jetsom of the area at that point. When I started wrestling myself, I looked up to guys like Shawn Michaels and Shawn Waltman because they did so much with their careers despite having a smaller physique. When I was growing up everyone was 280, 300 lbs. and being 200 lbs at that point you weren’t looked upon as someone who could be a superstar. And then along come guys like Waltman and Michaels. Those guys showed the world that athleticism had its place in professional wrestling. And I still look up to those guys as people who wrestled smart and had long careers, paving the way for guys like me.
Who has given your best matches in TNA?
The easy answer is AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. Those guys have pushed me to work as hard as I’ve ever had to and have pulled the best matches of my career out of me. Someone else I feel like I’ve had great matches with is Kurt Angle, but I think he does that to everybody. Everybody he’s in the ring with works a little bit harder just to keep up with him and try to prove they deserve to be there.
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Special TNA moments
"I thought when Samoa Joe won the World Title was a special night. That was an instance where TNA sort of got out of it's own way and let the competitors speak for themselves. The build for Joe versus Kurt Angle in the cage was perfect and it was a well-deserved victory for Joe. It was his first world title but not his last, I don't believe. But even if it was, that was a career defining moment for Joe and a really good moment for TNA as a company."
His dream match
"I'd have to say Chris Jericho. He's always been someone I've looked up to as a fan and over the course of my career I've always looked at him as sort of the perfect blend of athleticism and character. I've said time and time again that he was a compelling guy on the microphone and once the bell rang he could get it done. He was that perfect mix of athlete and entertainer."
Daniel Bryan recently calling him a good friend and if he's still friends with guys from his indie days
"Absolutely. First of all, Daniel Bryan is probably top of my list as far as being one of the nicest guys and one of the guys that's worked the hardest. Watching him go from the Texas indies, to the Ring of Honor days, to where he is now – it's just a testament to his desire and his hard work. Then there are guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, both former World Champions, we went through the indies together and Ring of Honor together. Those guys have both worked very hard to reach the top of the ladder. Lo-Ki is another guy I've had extensive experience with in the ring and on the road. And then Frankie Kazarian and I have traveled around together for the past decade and a half honing our craft and now we're the top team in TNA. You build a relationship with these guys traveling around the world, keeping your nose to the grindstone to become better and I think working with such talented guys like that has helped me become as good as I am now."
How did you initially decide wrestling was the path for you?
I grew up in North Carolina watching Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, which then became NWA, and later became WCW. So I watched guys like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Magnum TA and Sting. I had a very big appreciation for professional wrestling as a kid. After I graduated college with a theater degree, I tried my hand at acting in the Chicago area and I decided to give wrestling a try just to say I did it. I wasn’t sure what would happen but I wanted to give it a chance even if I washed out just as an experience I could tell my grandkids about. But because I was so familiar with it from watching as a kid, I went through training pretty easily and once I started wrestling matches, that’s where I learned the bulk of my knowledge. That’s how you learn. On the job. I worked very hard to get as much experience as I could by wrestling as many matches as I could, against as many different people as I could, and for as many promoters as I could. That’s you get to be a commodity. You get so comfortable with yourself that you know that no matter where you go you can get into a ring and wrestle someone you’ve never met or seen before and still have an entertaining match. That’s how you get promoters to start hunting your phone number down to get you working on their shows.
How would you describe your wrestling style?
I feel like I’m a jack of all trades. I do a little bit of high flying, I do a little bit of brawling, a little bit of technical but I’ve never been one over the other. Ive always tried to be more of a well-rounded wrestler and be able to adapt to the person I’m in the ring with. Like if I was in the ring with AJ, I could do enough high-flying to keep up with him. Or if I was in the ring with Daniel Bryan, I could do enough technical work to stay with him. I think that’s what has given me the longevity in this business; being able to adapt to the opponent I’m across the ring from.
What advice you would give someone looking to break into the business?
I would advise them to try and be flexible. Like, if you are a high flyer, you may not get the opportunity to work with someone who works well with a high flyer. You’ve just got to be flexible in your approach to who you’re wrestling. It’s very rare you find someone who is excels in only one facet of the game that also finds long-term success because there’s so many different types of wrestlers out there that sooner or later your going to be exposed as very one-sided very quickly. Even guys like Rey Mysterio, who made a career out of being one of the best high-flyers in the world, he’s also a very good mat wrestler and he can throw hands with the best of them. He may be remembered long-term as a high-flyer but he didn’t just rely on that. When push comes to shove he can do the rest of it just as well.
Who were some of your influences?
My first favorite wrestler was Magnum TA. Coming up during that era, I thought he was really good and had a fire to him that set him apart. Another favorite of mine as a youth was Sting. He was the complete package in my eyes as someone that stood out from the crowd. He had an energy to him that was different than the flotsam and jetsom of the area at that point. When I started wrestling myself, I looked up to guys like Shawn Michaels and Shawn Waltman because they did so much with their careers despite having a smaller physique. When I was growing up everyone was 280, 300 lbs. and being 200 lbs at that point you weren’t looked upon as someone who could be a superstar. And then along come guys like Waltman and Michaels. Those guys showed the world that athleticism had its place in professional wrestling. And I still look up to those guys as people who wrestled smart and had long careers, paving the way for guys like me.
Who has given your best matches in TNA?
The easy answer is AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. Those guys have pushed me to work as hard as I’ve ever had to and have pulled the best matches of my career out of me. Someone else I feel like I’ve had great matches with is Kurt Angle, but I think he does that to everybody. Everybody he’s in the ring with works a little bit harder just to keep up with him and try to prove they deserve to be there.
We are looking for News, Results & Colunms Reporter, If interested email me at this link
Go Check out all of our social media
– You can now follow me (Andy) on my Twitter account is at https://twitter.com/AR_Official_94
_ You can like me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/AR_Official/244148072390274
- Pro Wrestling Unleashed Facebook Page
- Follow Pro Wrestling Unleashed On Twitter
- Official Youtube Channel
- Alternative News Talk Facebook Page
- Alternative News Talk Twitter
- NGWS official wrestling facebook page
- Follow NGWS On Twitter
- You can listen to Our WWE, TNA & UFC Previews/ Reviews. As well as NFL, Nascar Weekly Radio Show at this link