Paul Heyman may have never officially worked for TNA, but the man now known as Roman Reigns’ “Wise Man” played a significant behind-the-scenes role in Ken Anderson’s TNA journey. After his WWE release in 2009, the former Mr. Kennedy debuted in TNA under his real name in January 2010.
Speaking on the Rewind, Recap, Relive podcast, Anderson reflected on his time working with Heyman in WWE, crediting the Hall of Famer for coming up with the “Mr. Kennedy” name. Anderson also revealed that Heyman continued to assist him with promos during his TNA tenure, despite not being affiliated with the company.
“I would oftentimes call Paul Heyman and say, ‘Hey, here’s what they have for me. Can you help me make sense of this?’ And he would fire me off an email and rewrite what they had written for me. So he, in a sense, was writing for TNA at one time.”
Although Heyman never officially joined TNA, his influence extended beyond WWE, helping talents like Anderson refine their craft. Heyman eventually returned to WWE in 2012 after a six-year hiatus, while Anderson remained with TNA, where he became a two-time World Champion before his 2016 departure following a failed on-the-spot drug test.
Today, fans can catch Heyman regularly on WWE television following his return after an attack by The Bloodline earlier this year. Stay tuned to SEScoops for updates on Paul Heyman, whose impact continues to resonate across the wrestling industry.
Former WWE & Impact star Ken Anderson has responded to allegations that he scammed the students Minneapolis-based wrestling school, The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling.
According to Anderson, “nobody has been conned or scammed.” He intends to reopen his school once they can find a new location. He also vows that the students who paid to attend the school years ago will get what they paid for.
The controversy began when one of his students posted a thread on Reddit writing:
“Ken Anderson’s wrestling school has been closed for quite some time now and has not opened or resumed like other gyms and recreational sports.
He’s been taking in new recruits for over a year now during the pandemic with no facility or real date set in place. Not having a facility to train in was not disclosed during the signup process.
He’s gone silent and his only update every 2-3 months is that they’re in talks with a realtor for a new facility but no real progress comes out of it.
Students have now been enrolled for close to two years with no training in sight, not even remote homework like tape study, character development or promos. His official website for the school has since gone down, which doesn’t help the situation or convey a good message.”
Ken Anderson’s Statement
Anderson posted the following statement on Facebook giving his side of the story:
“I feel it necessary, given the nature of the original Reddit post and subsequent articles written about my character and my wrestling school, to address them publicly.
I personally have not been contacted by anyone from the Internet Wrestling Community wishing to ask for my comments on those statements about me. In 2016, my friend Shawn Daivari and I realized we had similar visions for how a wrestling school should be and could be operated. We decided to team up and open ‘The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling.’
Since day one, we were committed to giving everyone that came through our doors an opportunity to learn as much as they could about professional wrestling. From safety to etiquette, from basic holds to exciting high spots, from character development to interview skills, we either covered it or were able to connect our students to resources that did. We’ve hosted some of the biggest names in the wrestling industry as guest trainers. We’ve welcomed over 200 students from all walks of life, foreign and domestic, each with individual goals and aspirations.
Dozens of those students now appear weekly around the midwest independent wrestling scene, some have traveled nationally and even internationally, a handful of our graduates are “on the radar” of the big companies, and a few call AEW their current fulltime employer.
Unfortunately, Covid 19 closed our doors in 2020. I understand that not all will agree with our decision to not re-open and to play it safe (some re-opened almost immediately) as we were hit with variants and waves of infection. I don’t have control over what others choose to do with their bodies or businesses, but I felt it was the right thing to do for the health and safety of our students and their families as well as our own family. Pro -wrestling and social distancing do not pair well. If I had to do it again without the benefit of hindsight I would have handled those unsure times the same way.
As those dates got pushed forward, in the individual correspondence with our students, there was a natural sense of frustration. But each time we expressed our reasons and concerns, we were met with understanding every time, from every student. It was our understanding that everyone was on the same page. In hindsight we recognize that we could have and should have communicated more.
Nobody has been conned or scammed. We remain as dedicated to and excited about re-opening now as we were to initially open our doors in 2016.
We are currently working with a realtor to secure a new location that will meet our specific needs: high ceilings, zero noise restrictions, ample parking for our students, price and location. Two months ago, we had found a great building that met every single one of those criteria, but after discussing it with each student individually, and some expressing concerns over distance, we decided that it wasn’t a fit. We need to do this right the …second time. With minimum 3-5 yr lease terms we cannot get into a building that isn’t going to check those boxes.
We look forward to re-opening. The minute that we secure that building, we will be in touch with everyone including new students, returning students and graduates.In the meantime, our students are encouraged to contact us at any time, with any concerns.
Thank you, Ken Anderson The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling (507)722-2776″
Anderson, previously known as Mr. Kennedy during his WWE tenure, revealed how Vince McMahon informed him how “funny doesn’t draw money” in an interview with SportsKeeda.
He shared how, when he first debuted, he was “over-the-top” and comedic in his delivery. This prompted Vince McMahon to tell him to “[…] stop trying to be funny and entertaining.”
This confused Ken Anderson, who thought “[…] isn’t that the point of what we’re trying to do here, to just be entertaining? He said, with all due respect, ‘funny, doesn’t draw money.”
When confronted with this idea, Anderson pointed to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He argued how The Rock would often entertain the crowd with humor. Vince McMahon allegedly told him how “[…] after Rock cut those funny promos, fans began to expect the same delivery every single night. I understood why it’s really hard to do that [cut funny promos] when you are running 52 weeks a year.”
Anderson confessed that it was interesting advice to receive. He added how comedy characters in wrestling seem to be “secondary” when compared to main event wrestlers.
Ken Anderson recently featured on the second episode of National Wrestling Alliance’s show, Powerrr. He tagged with Colt Cabana, defeating the team of Sal Rinauro and Jordan Kingsley.
In an interview with Fanbuzz, Mr. Anderson opened up about how he ended up appearing on NWA Powerrr, and whether fans can expect to see more of him in the future.
“I have remained friends with Nick Aldis, Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana throughout the years,” Anderson explained. “It was Nick who originally reached out and told me that he was going to throw my name into the ring not only as a talent, but to assist with production. Lagana gave me my very first big break in the business at WWE and Billy was creative on one of my favorite feuds I’ve ever participated in at TNA.”
He promised that he will be back on Powerrr, adding that he will be appearing on their pay-per-view in December.
“Yes, you will be seeing more of me. Currently scheduled to appear on the NWA PPV in December and the following two days of tapings. Dec 14,15 and 16. I had fun tagging with him and think you’ll see more of ‘Cabanderson.’”
NWA’s Into The Fire pay-per-view takes place on December 14th. It will take place in Atlanta, Georgia.
Former WWE and IMPACT Wrestling star Ken Anderson (also known as Mr. Kennedy) recently made an appearance on Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac12360. During their conversation Anderson discussed what it was like working with Paul Heyman when he was in OVW:
“First, when I was doing tryouts, I remember one day we were in the ring working just all the indie guys and the only two people sitting in the front row were Paul Heyman and Jim Ross. Guys were getting in [the ring] doing chain wrestling which was fine, but they just weren’t showing character. I got in there and I started putting heat on somebody, talking smack. Fast forward, Jim Cornette got released from the company and they said Paul Heyman was coming in and he’s gonna run OVW and he’s gonna run all the TV and everything. I remember he came in and said, ‘I need to talk to you.’
“[He] pulled me into a room and said, ‘You’re the next guy up… I have been a fan of yours,I’ve had my eye on you.’ At that point I been there for 6 months and he said, ‘We’re gonna do so much stuff with you on TV here that they’re gonna have to take you onto the main roster.’ Five weeks later Tommy Dreamer called me and said, ‘Hey they want to take a look at you on Smackdown. In that case Paul was correct, and I just continued to be friends with Paul.”
He also revealed that he would occasionally call Heyman for advice during his run in TNA Wrestling:
“After I got released [from WWE] and went to TNA, a lot of people don’t know this, but they would a lot of times hand me a script and I would call Paul and say, ‘Hey here’s what they gave me, I am not digging it, what can we do?’ Almost every week and he would say, ‘Give me a couple minutes and I’ll write something up for you.’ A couple minutes later he would have an email to my inbox. We just kinda collaborated, it was really cool. He’s a great guy.”
Now Anderson runs a wrestling school and enjoys passing on his knowledge of the business to the next generation:
“To me it’s not work, it is fun. I enjoy it especially when the students are really into it and it’s a really good atmosphere and everyone is having fun. It’s not work and I put a lot of time in it. We wanted to have a place that… we sorta designed it on a way lighter budget obviously, we looked at what the performance center is doing and how do we take that to an independent level.”
Molly Holly is a trainer at Anderson’s school and reacted to Holly’s appearance in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match:
“What a huge reaction from the people in the room, when they saw one of their coaches [Molly] come out as one of the entrances of the first ever women’s Royal Rumble. Which I must say, in my humble opinion, that was the match of the night, those women crushed it.”
You can listen to Anderson’s appearance on X-Pac12360 here by clicking this link.
Former WWE and IMPACT Wrestling star Ken Anderson was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Anderson discussed if politics were involved in his WWE release, what The Undertaker warned him about before he switched brands in WWE, and opened up about his Vicodin dependency in the past. You can check out the highlights here:
If politics was behind his WWE release:
“There was [a little bit of politics going on with his WWE departure], but anytime I sit and try to figure out… I want the students [at The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling] to learn from my mistakes as well as my successes and anytime I get a chance to open up and share stuff that I look [at] as missteps in the [pro wrestling] business, I try to share it with them,” Anderson said. “The big thing is that I was getting a really good push and I always tried to maintain that humility, try to be as humble as I possibly could, I know it all could be taken away from me tomorrow, but at the same time, you start to believe your own bulls–t a little bit.
“Chris Benoit, when Chris Benoit did what he did, for some reason, I felt like the entire world needed to know what Ken Anderson felt about that and I went on some news talkshows and things like that. And then, the whole steroids thing, which I felt was a huge misconception. People knew part of the story, but not the entire story and if you tell your side of the story, then you’re being defensive. But if you say nothing at all, you allow those people to fill in the spots.
“That’s what happens. It was that kind of stuff. When I went over to RAW, I sort of for some reason felt like, ‘oh, I’ve already earned that respect. That respect will just carry over with me [from SmackDown]’ and I didn’t take the time to humble myself again and start off as the new guy.”
The Undertaker’s warning to him backstage before flipping brands:
“And my style, I always tried to play it as a real fight as much as possible. If you watch UFC, nobody ever takes a crisp flatback bump. Guys fall into the ropes sometimes. You get punched [and] you land on your ass. You pop back up. I would also cover up a lot. Some of the guys striking me, I wouldn’t just give them the old school, clean punch. And they punch you and you put your head right back in the same spot or if someone chops you, I wouldn’t do that.
“And I remember Taker pulling me aside one day and he was like, ‘keep doing that stuff because it’s unique and it sets you apart,’ but he said, ‘I’m telling you now that you’re going to get over to RAW and there are people that you’re going to come into contact with that aren’t going to appreciate that. They’re going to think that you’re being difficult to work with,’ and instead of taking his advice, I just kept doing what Ken Kennedy was doing over on SmackDown and tried to open myself up. And I think that people, certain people, thought that I was difficult to work with, covering up and things like that.”
His Vicodin dependency issues in the past:
“Yeah, I would say when I was in WWE, I got into the pills a little too much. Yeah. I was really good at keeping it on the DL. Only a certain handful of people knew about it and I was able to keep that really quiet. It wasn’t public knowledge that Ken Anderson was a partier. But, yeah, I did. I regret it. Pain pills. All of it. Mostly the pain pill, Vicodin, was my vice just because I was able to function. You take a couple of ‘vikes’, especially when you’re running that hard that long, on the road five days a week. When it started becoming a problem, my ex-wife came to me with a piece of paper and she said, ‘you’ve spent $35,000 this year on Vicodin.’ No, I’m not kidding you. I’m not kidding you.
“I would order 1,000 ‘vikes’ at a time and I’d go through them in a couple of weeks. I was also giving them out to my friends. I was good at sharing. $35,000. How stupid is that? Do you know what? Interestingly enough, the WWE at one point, I remember I had surgery on my shoulder, I believe, and I was actually, when I came out of that surgery, I was in a lot of people. I could have done with some pain pills and Doc Andrews, he was very conservative.
“He gave me 20 or 30 10s and I went through those in a couple of days. And then, I called him back for a refill. Then he gave me like 10 more. I went through those right away. I went back. I was like, ‘I’ll get one more refill out of him’ and that ‘one more refill’ turned into Johnny Ace calling me. He said, ‘Kenny, they think you’ve got a pain pill problem and they’re sending you to rehab.'”
You can listen to Anderson and Austin’s full conversation on The Steve Austin Show by clicking here.
Former WWE Superstar Ken Anderson (a.k.a. Mr. Kennedy) was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show. During the show, Anderson discussed his frustrations with WWE, the differences between WWE and IMPACT Wrestling, and some advice he received from Paul Heyman. You can check out the highlights here below:
His frustrations with WWE:
“The thing that’s frustrating to me is that it seems to me that guys are told, and girls are told, exactly what to do paint-by-numbers,” Anderson said. “It’s not ‘just go out there and try some stuff and see what works and what doesn’t work’ and it’s just people are handed a script and told, ‘say this exactly verbatim.’ That’s what’s frustrating to me. I wish more people were given the opportunity to fail on their own or succeed on their own. That’s the only thing that really frustrates me.”
The differences between WWE and IMPACT Wrestling:
“When I was at the WWE, it felt like, at least towards the end, that everybody was walking around on eggshells. Everybody was worried that ‘tomorrow might be my last day if I say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, I’m going to get fired.’ When I got to TNA… And I think that’s the sort of management style of WWE. It’s the way they always wanted everybody to be sort of on edge. When I got to TNA, it felt like, ‘go out there and do your job and do it to the best of your ability.’
“Cool. There weren’t any politics or anything like that in TNA and the biggest thing, the biggest difference, for me was Eric Bischoff was a big part of me coming to TNA. Like, and when I got there, he said, ‘I know that they’re sort of hamstringing you, to a degree, in WWE and telling you, ‘this is what you have to say – this is when you say it,’ he said, ‘I’m just going to give you bulletpoints. I don’t care how you get there, just here’s this main point we want to get to. You just figure out how Ken Anderson is going to get us there.’”
Advice he received from Paul Heyman:
“The interesting thing was Vince Russo and whoever else was writing at the time, would hand me a script and a lot of the times, I would call Paul Heyman,” Anderson revealed. “I was really good friends with Paul and I would say, ‘here’s what they got for me, here’s what I’m thinking, what do you think?’ and a lot of times, he would really help me out and come up with a better way to say everything and do it, so Paul actually wrote a lot of my stuff at TNA when I first started.”
You can listen to Anderson’s interview on The Steve Austin Show by clicking here.
Ken Anderson has an interesting new job, one that makes sense considering his old wrestling gimmick. Anderson’s new employer is Top Rank Boxing for ESPN, where he now serves as a ring announcer.
Check out video of Anderson announcing a fight result below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbYwYIEBN32/
Ken Anderson’s Recent Career
Despite his new job as a ring announcer, Anderson is still an active wrestler. He wrestled some matches in Europe back in September and challenged Marty Scurll for the ROH TV title back in April.
Anderson also co-owns and operates “the Academy” pro-wrestling school along with former WWE wrestler, Shawn Daivari.
Ken Anderson recently opened up about the behind-the-scenes power struggle between Dixie Carter and Billy Corgan in TNA. The former TNA World Champion was interviewed by WhatCulture and explained that he wants what’s best for his friends who still work for TNA, and he thinks what’s best for them is if Billy Corgan takes over the company.
“I just want what’s best for my friends, what’s best for the business. I think Billy Corgan is one of the best things to ever happen to TNA in a long time,” Anderson explained.
The former TNA and WWE star continued and shed some light on his time working with Corgan in TNA, revealing that Corgan worked closely with him on his 2015 TNA storyline with Bram. Anderson applauded Corgan for his creativity.
“I personally loved working with him. He was creative, he allowed me to be creative. He was in charge of the storyline that I had with Bram in TNA,” Anderson said. “We all worked together, and we all contributed to that storyline, and I think that’s the way this business should work; how the creative process should work. I hope the best happens, and I think that Billy Corgan being a huge part of that equation is a positive. It’s a good thing.”
You can read Mr. Anderson’s entire interview at WhatCulture.
Ken Anderson says while his time in TNA was “a blast,” there were almost constant struggles with company management. In a recent conversation with The Interactive Interview, Anderson said that every wrestler on the roster “busted their butts” and performed, and he feels TNA’s problems come solely from management.
“Any problems experienced by the company had nothing to do with the talent. There were times where things were going on behind the scenes where it was a miserable existence,” Anderson said. “Guys were late, maybe 3 months on getting paid. I remember at one time, I was owed for like 30 shows. But, the locker room — Everybody still showed up and put on their happy face. We were there to do a job.”
With TNA facing several lawsuits and the future of the company in question, it’s been reported that WWE has expressed interest in acquiring the company. Anderson says that if WWE does buy TNA, or if TNA “goes away” for any other reason, it will leave a void for fans who want something different. Anderson feels that any potential competitor against WWE should produce an edgier show to fill that void.
“I’ve said this for years and Daivari agrees with me. Everything’s PG now. If somebody comes and makes a program that is geared towards adults, I think wrestling takes off again,” Anderson said “I really do. The idea that men and women go out and fight each other and can’t curse — I’ve never been in a bar fight where there wasn’t 57 curse words slung. […] The most successful shows in the past decade have been extremely edge. Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad… Sometimes we insult people’s intelligence. We go for the lowest common denominator.”
You can listen to Anderson’s entire interview here.
Former WWE and TNA star Ken Anderson joined the Jordan Garber NOW podcast earlier this week to discuss his career in wrestling, departure from TNA, and the evolution of his persona for WWE. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Making it to WWE developmental:
“There were up and downs and it took me 6 years of humping it and hustling on the indies to make it to where i got hired by wwe and got a developmental deal. Honestly right before i got signed was the only time where I was like i’ve been doing this for 6 years. This point you got all all your doubters saying “How long are you gonna keep doing this? When are you gonna be successful… When are you gonna hang it up? After awhile it kind of gets to you but i never took my foot off the gas pedal.”
Paul Heyman’s Influence on His Career
“I’ve been floating around OVW for 6 months not really having a sense of purpose. Then Paul Heyman came down… His very first day he pulled me aside and said ‘You’re going to be the first guy out of here I promise you'”
His First Win In WWE:
“I was scheduled to have a dark match with Funaki. He was gonna go over. I was getting ready and Dave Lagana comes by and says I just wanna let you know that we need to change this match. We need a finisher because you’re gonna go over. 2nd this is a televised match and third… Welcome to SmackDown! ”
Jordan Garber NOW airs Tuesday nights at 11:30 PM ET on the VOC Nation Radio Network (vocnation.com)
Ken Anderson appeared on the This is Awesome Wrestling Show podcast, hosted by Glenn Moore Steve Guy. Topics discussed include his recent “F**k TNA” remark, Bobby Roode and Eric Young leaving TNA, the differences between the WWE and TNA locker rooms, Hulk Hogan dropping the legdrop on Gawker, Triple H as WWE Champion and much more.
Here’s what he said about the “F**k TNA” comment and why it was taken out of context:
“It was taken completely out of context, for one. I was working a show in Scotland; it was an adult show. The crowd sorta reminds me of an ECW crowd. For a wrestling promotion called ICW. It’s huge in Scotland. And the crowd starting chanting, ‘F**k TNA’, at the top of their lungs. Five, six hundred people in the audience. And I was playing the role of a heel that night. A lot of times when I go out to the ring, I’ll get a good reaction from the crowd because they know my gimmick and they wanna sing along with it and they wanna do it. And so, I got that reaction when I went out there. And then they started chanting ‘F**k TNA’. So I just said, ‘Well, I don’t work for them anymore, so yeah, f**k TNA.’ At which point, they popped.”
After he made the remark, he then told the crowd, “But your opinion means squat to me, so f**k every each one of you too.” The video that we linked above didn’t include that last part, which he believes changes the overall message of what he was saying.
He also commented on the atmosphere in the WWE locker room, which he hasn’t been a part of since 2009.
“At WWE, I’ve seen guys walk around on eggshells, everybody is worried their going to lose their job tomorrow. You never know. Everybody is on edge. All the time. There’s sorta this jealous type of environment, that I think to some degree is encouraged. Because they want you to be competitive with each other. And at TNA, we are competitive, but it’s like you’re competitive against your own teammates, kind of. Everybody works together and helps each other.”
As for Bobby Roode and Eric Young, he likes both guys and can see them in WWE or New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Following up on earlier report about Ken Anderson leaving TNA, it turns out there’s actually a lot more to the story. Anderson wrestled for ICW in Scotland over the weekend and was met with a “F**k TNA” chant. Anderson told the crowd that he no longer works for TNA and he agrees – “F**k TNA.”
According to a report at Pro Wrestling Sheet, Anderson was released by TNA after failing a drug test and allegedly wrestling while impaired. Anderson worked against Eric Young that was supposed to air on the January 19th episode of Impact. The match was so bad due to Anderson’s condition that the company made the call to edit off the show. When he got backstage afterwards, he was drug tested and subsequently fired.
The situation is reminiscent of Jeff Hardy’s Victory Road 2011 match against Sting, although that match aired live on pay-per-view and Hardy wasn’t fired for it.
It should be noted that Anderson has not yet shared his side of the story, aside from “F**k TNA.”
As reported earlier today, TNA will be taping several weeks worth of Impact Wrestling episodes across the next four days, starting with tonight’s show, which airs semi-live on a two-hour delay from Orlando, Florida.
In the main event of tonight’s show, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line with Kurt Angle defending the title against Eric Young with a former TNA Champion returning to serve as special guest referee of the match.
Unless the former champion is a swerve of some kind, the following are the most likely candidates, according to a report from F4WOnline.com:
– Sting (highly unlikely due to his WWE deal)
– Samoa Joe (possible, but unlikely due to his rumored negotiations with WWE)
– Mick Foley (also seems unlikely now that he just recently taped a highly-promoted special for the WWE Network)
– A.J. Styles (would seem unlikely due to his various commitments, including Ring Of Honor starting next Tuesday)
– Chris Sabin (a possibility)
– Rob Van Dam (a possibility)
– Bully Ray (a very strong possibility)
– Also confirmed for tonight’s Impact Wrestling is a Ken Anderson vs. Ethan Carter III match where the fans get to choose the stipulation (likely an arm-wrestling match or a falls count anywhere match), and Divas action with Gail Kim & Awesome Kong vs. Taryn Terrell & Jade & Marti Bell.
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com for complete results of tonight’s Impact Wrestling, as well as spoiler results of any matches/segments taped for future Impact Wrestling episodes!
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TNA star Mr. Anderson recently appeared on “Ring Rust Radio” to promote his in-ring return at Impact Wrestling, the TNA tour of the U.K. and more. Below are highlights from the interview.
On his in-ring return at Impact Wrestling and the move from Spike TV to Destination America: “Nothing but positivity. At first it went from a network that was pretty large, to a network that was smaller and didn’t have the reach of Spike TV. You’re always sort of tentative and don’t know what the future holds. You look at cases across the board of startup networks and when they get programming that people enjoy, those people call up their cable providers and ask for the packages that include that channel. I’m looking forward to it and it’s a great fit for us. I got a chance to go up to LA a few weeks ago and spend some time with the folks from Destination America. They are phenomenal people and are excited to have us on their network.”
On why he feels TNA is so popular in Europe: “I think the obvious thing is we have a broader reach over there. WWE is on paid TV over there and we are on free TV so we reach more homes. When we go over there, it is my favorite place to wrestle. The crowds are so much fun and so into every match. The last few years we have put on shows that are three and a half hours long, and sometimes that can get tiresome for the crowd. That’s not the case with the UK, they stick with us and it’s a lot of fun. Also I think as far as drawing in more UK fans, the fact we have been doing the British Boot Camp for the past two years helps. Rockstar Spud he is just on fire and the sky is the limit for him. He gets it, he loves wrestling, he is passionate about the business, entertaining, and always coming up with new ideas.”
On if he’s ever considered a career as a commentator: “Yes I have and I actually have my own podcast. I started it about eight months ago on DVMPE.com, ITunes, Stitcher, and it’s called “Push the Button”. The interesting thing about is it’s not about wrestling, it is it has nothing to do with wrestling. It’s the things that interest me outside of the wrestling world. Things like politics and religion, things that are supposed to be the most important things in peoples’ lives but for some reason were not supposed to talk about these things. I always wanted to sort of have an open discussion, be able to talk about them, not get mad or upset, and walk away as friends. My co-host happens to be a Christian and I am not. We talk about and delve into all sorts of different topics.”
On if he feels he will return to the world title picture this year: “That is always something in the back of every wrestler’s head I think. I don’t think you should get into this business if it’s not your ultimate goal. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say that, everybody has different goals but that’s always been my goal. I think I went through some transitions in the last few years, and this last year I really focused my energy back into the business. I have done this for 15, almost 16 years now, and you go through those weaning periods. I’ve fallen in love with the business again and that’s definitely on my list of goals to achieve this year.”
On his time as part of the Aces & Eights: “Creatively, you’re dealing with a group of ten guys that all have different ideas, people who are writing stuff behind the scenes, and at the end of the day you all have to agree on certain things. I think in every situation and match I have been in in the wrestling business, I never looked backed and said, “that was awesome, boy I just loved that match I was involved in”. Usually it’s actually the opposite. I ignore all the positive things that happened in the match and focus on the little things that irritate me that somebody else might not even notice. There is certain things I wish I could change. I wish we could of played some things out a little longer, but I also feel at some point the Aces and Eights segments were eating up so much time on TV. That would be my only regret or criticism. We would come out four times a night and it would lose its luster after you already heard the song three times, by the fourth time it means even less.”
On an idea he wanted to do that was turned down: “There was a program I pitched in the WWE for a character idea. It was a heel and had to do with laying guys out back stage with the camera never seeing who it was. I was a baby face on TV but all these people would be laid out backstage. Back in Vietnam, they would lay ace of spades cards on the dead bodies of the killed. It was an idea that was given to me by Steve Austin at one point. So that would be my calling card and then at some point I would come out to make the big save and turn on who I was saving to reveal myself. Throw an ace of spades card on them after. After pitching in WWE it got turned down, so I pitched it in TNA and they liked it but nothing came of it. I try to as much as I can stay out of that aspect of the business. I don’t involve myself in story lines and angles. I take what is given to me and make the most of it.”
On who he has enjoyed working with the most in his career: “Who did I enjoy the most? I enjoyed working with Taker. He was amazing to work with and so helpful. He took MYP and myself under his wings. I always felt like in the WWE that there were two mountain tops. There was the SmackDown mountain with Taker, Batista, Kane, Booker T, and Rey Mysterio on top of the mountain, and they were throwing rope ladders down. Lending helping hands, saying, “Come on up here, the weather is fine, we can all breathe up here, and we can all make money together”. On the other mountain, you had people who shall remain nameless, who were pushing boulders and hot pots of oil down the mountain to get you off. I remember Taker being enormously helpful in my career and really gave me some fantastic advice. Some of it I took, some of it I didn’t. Who would I like to work most with today? In TNA, I have yet to get my hands on Gunner and he is the total package. He has a tremendous look, his work is amazing, what he does in the ring looks believable, great on the mic, and passionate about the business. So I would really like to get my hands on him. I’m getting ready to do something with EC3 that I’m really looking forward to. He has been one of my favorite people to watch the last few years. MVP and I have never had a chance to wrestle each other. We tagged when we were in the WWE and have been friends for several years, but have never had the chance to do anything in the ring against each other.”
On Samoa Joe parting ways with TNA: “Joe was a locker room leader, no question about it. Not a locker room leader that raised his hand and says, “I want to be the leader, I want to be your leader, I want you to look up to me”. People just naturally gravitated to him and his respect is all earned. When a guy like that leaves it impacts the locker room. In the business, we have come accustomed to people coming and going all the time, that’s just how this industry operate. Were still friends and still all connected. You can go five, ten years without talking to somebody, and then bump into them and pick up like it was yesterday. Joe, whatever he does, even if it’s just indies, he will be just fine.”
TNA star Mr. Anderson recently spoke to the local CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. and the topic of people saying pro wrestling is fake came up. “When people found out it wasn’t a legitimate sport, it sort of gained that infamy or notoriety,” said Anderson.
“It’s interesting when people say that it’s fake, yet they’ll go to the movies and watch the X-Men and watch people fly through the air,” Anderson continued. “People get shot with bullets and the bullets bounce off of them. People turn into liquid metal and stuff like that. And they look at that stuff and say that’s cool and that’s entertaining.”
Anderson concluded, “But when they watch what we do — we’re not trying to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes.”
The TNA stars scheduled for next year’s European tour, which was a solid success for the company earlier this year, are Bully Ray, Magnus, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Ken Anderson, Eric Young, Gail Kim, Gunner, Abyss, Ethan Carter III, Tigre Uno and Rockstar Spud. That would lead you to believe that all of those talents are under contract through the rest of 2014 and into 2015.
In the case of Jeff Hardy, whether he’s under contract or not, he can’t be part of the European tour because of his past drug conviction.
The European tour dates are January 29th in Glasgow, Scotland, January 30th in Manchester, England and January 31st in London, England.
The only show announced as a TV taping is the 1/31 date in London, where two episodes of Impact Wrestling are scheduled to be taped. They’ve also announced an Ultimate-X match for the London show.
– TNA President Dixie Carter announced on Monday night that Lockdown will take place on March 9th from the BankUnited Center in Miami, Florida. She tweeted:
BREAKING: Excited #Lockdown will be taking place on March 9th from Miami, FL. 1st time to bring cameras there. Tickets on sale 1/24
– Mr. Anderson and Bully Ray have been going back-and-forth on Twitter lately in a promotional effort to push their upcoming TNA television match. Below are two of the latest tweets from both guys.
@REALBully5150 while you've been "busting your ass" At sea level, I've been "playing with myself" at 9,000 feet. We'll see how it goes.
– TNA has added the latest edition of the Impact Wrestling podcast to their official YouTube channel. The latest podcast features the following description: “In this edition of the IMPACT Wrestling Podcast IMPACT Podcast With James Storm, JB and Christy Talk First Episode of TNA. Christy Stops a wedding and JB falls off a stage!”
-The TNA Impact Wrestling television taping on December 26th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has been changed to a non-televised live event that will now take place on December 27th.
-TNA has removed both Hulk Hogan and AJ Styles from their official online roster page. Meanwhile, Mr. Anderson has been re-added to the page.
-The following is a new 24/7 video of Dixie Carter and John Gaburick discuss the AJ Styles at TNA World Heavyweight Champion situation. Check it out below:
-The following is a new tweet from the official Twitter page of Matt Hardy, where he comments on his brother Jeff not appearing on Thursday’s live edition of TNA Impact Wrestling:
Not cuz he's my brother, but Jeff Hardy is an integral part of TNA succeeding, IMO.. Jeff should be on all the "live" episodes-HE IS A STAR.
-Mr. Anderson returned at the TNA Impact Wrestling show on Thursday. Anderson, who appeared early in the show and was taken away in handcuffs, was “bailed out of jail” later in the show to ruin Bully Ray’s chances of recapturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from AJ Styles.
-Speaking of Hardy and Anderson, the two are set to work a match for Triple Threat Wrestling this Friday night. The following is a video promo from Matt Hardy about the match:
Many have been questioning whether or not Mickie James and Ken Anderson will be remaining with TNA Impact Wrestling, now that their contracts with the company have expired.
TNA has pulled both the Mickie James and Ken Anderson profiles from their official website, and according to one source, both talents are now gone from the company.
We should have more on this story later tonight, or early Tuesday morning.
-Current TNA Impact Wrestling Knockout Gail Kim, who was recently selected as TNA’s “Knockout Of The Month,” was interviewed by The Miami Herald. Fans interested in checking out that interview can do so online at MiamiHerald.com.
-The following are some recent additions to TNA Impact Wrestling’s official YouTube channel:
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler will be the next guest on the “Steve Austin Show” podcast. The latest edition of the show, which features Shane “Hurricane” Helms and was released today, can be accessed online at PodcastOne.com.
-WWE Superstar William Regal will be holding “An Audience With A Wrestling Villain 2” on Monday, November 11th at The Frog & Bucket Comedy Club on Oldham Street in Manchester at 11:00PM. For more information, visit Facebook.com/ErosComedy.
-30 Rock star Judah Friedlander has signed on to pen the introduction to the Headlocked comic book, which features contributions from pro wrestling stars such as Jerry “The King” Lawler, Rob Van Dam, Shane “Hurricane” Helms, Ken Anderson, Christopher Daniels, Beth Phoenix and others. For more information, visit Kickstarter.com.