December 23, 2024 • 19 mins
Join us for an exclusive interview with TNA superstar, Frankie Kazarian as he delves into his 26-year journey in the ring. Kazarian shares insights on his most significant achievements, the impact of the SCU breakup—which he candidly describes as a "stupid idea" and his unwavering ambition to capture the TNA World Championship, a goal he is determined to achieve in 2024
Discover how this seasoned athlete adapts his in-ring style to stay competitive in today's evolving wrestling landscape. Don't miss this deep dive into the career and aspirations of one of wrestling's most dedicated performers.
Discover how this seasoned athlete adapts his in-ring style to stay competitive in today's evolving wrestling landscape. Don't miss this deep dive into the career and aspirations of one of wrestling's most dedicated performers.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast. You'll play for all these
pros and exclusive interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Abound stop being.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Once up you guys, welcome back into iHeartRadio official wrestling podcast,
The Battleground Podcast. And it is a great day for
TNA because I mean you look at the schedule for
twenty twenty five, I mean they are all over the place.
Rebellion's gonna be in La Slammiversary in New York. Of course,
tickets for both of these shows are on sell. With
Teenag's big Mega on Cell event and joining us on
(00:46):
the show today, I gotta give him a great entrance
because I can't just be like, oh, it's Frankie Gazarian.
You gotta say the rock icon, the legendary, the man,
the myth, the legend.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Frankie Gazarian joins the show. Frankie, sir, how are you
doing well?
Speaker 1 (01:01):
I like that one man. That's that's that's hype raise.
Thank you brother.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I mean, we the thing is is and I will
tell you we go way back when it comes to this.
The last time we hung out with you was at
a cigar event in Nashville.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
And then fast forward to Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
A few months later, we had you in our old
radio station where you had just became the first A
E W Tag team champions with Scu and it was
you and uh Daniels and Scorpio in our studio. So
a lot of things have changed since those past two
times that we have hung out with you.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
A little bit. Yeah, I think it was was Scott
Hamilton also there that morning.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I think he was, Oh, yeah he was, because we
all ran into each other and it was like this
like cool thing, so you never know who you're gonna
run into.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Right, Yeah, Yeah, that's got that's you know, five years ago,
it seems like a lifetime ago. Really, it's that's crazy, man.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
It's it's it's uh, it's it's been a fun ride
to watch where you were then to where you are now.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
And let's just kind of jump right into it.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Earlier this year, you declared that twenty twenty four would
be your year.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
With just a couple of weeks left.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
In twenty twenty four, how would you assess your journey
so far?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I mean, everything, you know, like a good movie villain,
everything is proceeding just as I planned, you know, kind
of like the Emperor said, Yeah, you know, I think
I've positioned myself to be right where I need to be,
you know, starting with the kind of my mission statement
at the beginning of the year. And I've been able to,
you know, kind of do everything I said I was
going to do. And you know, I really really enjoy
(02:34):
the pardon me, the creativity, the freedom I have at
TNA to be able to, you know, kind of formulate
ideas and stories and be listened to and be heard.
And it's been, you know, by far with the funnest
year of my career.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, and obviously you could tell that you're having a
lot of fun in TNA. I mean, we everybody was
surprised when when you made your appearance. Everybody was very
surprised when you showed up on NXT. And you know,
you look at your career and I mean you've been
doing this for quite some time, and some guys that
have had the longevity of your career kind of hung
(03:13):
the boots up. But doesn't seem like you're stopping anytime soon.
I mean, you're still going with the best of the best.
But looking back, what do you consider your most significant
achievement and what goals remain on your professional horizon.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
It's hard to pinpoint one particular singular achievement. I mean
there's so many, like certain moments that really helped like
springboard me to the next level, you know, whether it
be like winning my first X Division title and that
really put me on the map in a national way
that I hadn't been before. You know, I had some
success in various independence around the country, but being you know,
(03:52):
being anointed as the X Division guy in TNA that
really helps me. And and you know, and again like
you know, me the forming of the team with Chris
Daniels that really, you know, we really you know, awakened
a lot of people to what we could both do
not only in the ring, but like in terms of
on the microphone and the success we had, you know,
(04:13):
the same with the success of SCU and SCORP and
I becoming the first aw tag team champs, you know.
And then there's been like marquee matches like my first
time wrestling Kurt Angle for the world title in TNA
in two thousand and seven, and a big ladder match
I had with Christian Cage. Those are all, you know,
moments that were important to me because of what they
did for my career and then obviously most recently returning
(04:37):
to TNA two years ago, and you know, basically saying
I left where I was and I'm here because I
want to be here and I want to help TNA
go to the levels that I know we can go to.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Absolutely, And of course you see the levels of where
TNA is heading. I mean again, rebellion in Los Angeles,
You've got Slammiversary in New York. And you know, the
one thing that you've expressed a very strong desire is
to capture that TNA World championship. You know, you stated
that the TNA World title has eluded you and you
(05:10):
won't stop until you win it. How has this ambition
influenced your approach to training and of course in ring strategy,
because everybody seems to want that title, but it seems
like Frankie Kazarian wants it even more.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Well, you know, I pride myself being one of the
you know, i'll just say, elder statesmen in the locker room,
old guys. You know that motivates me right there to
just be in the best shape I can physically and
in terms of in ring shape, and quite honestly, I'm
in the best shape of my lives. I can go
with anybody on our roster, and you know that motivates
(05:46):
me in a whole different way. You know, I'm a
forty seven year old man and I'm in there with
guys that are in their early twenties. So I have
to be on top of my game more so than
anybody else. So I kind of have that edge. And yeah,
you know, look at I want to be GNA World champion.
And when you're a world champion, you are the guy.
(06:06):
And if you're the guy, you got to be able
to go out there every night against anybody on the roster,
and you've got to be able to do media, and
you got to be able to carry the company. And
I welcome that. That's all I've ever wanted and I
that's a challenge that I've just basically staring in the
face right now and can't wait to just kind of
slay that dragon.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Absolutely, And of course, you know, when people come onto
this show, I will tell you that they go on
to win championship gold. You know, everybody from Matt Cardona
to Pco. We had Cardona on right before he went
after that NWA championship. Two days later, after he was on.
He won, so you're in good graces.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
We're gonna say that Frankie Gazarian will be your next
TNA World Heavyweight Champion. And when you win that TNA
World Championship, because we're putting it out in the universe.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Uh, what's the victory cigar that you're gonna smoke?
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Oh? Man? I mean, you know, just for you know,
it's got to be an American rebel that's my cigar.
You know, I got to fire up an American rebel
cigar to celebrate that, just because it's that particular cigar
is synonymous with the pro wrestling fans, because that's the
brand that Cody and I launched, you know, five years
ago at this point long, yeah, over five years ago
(07:27):
and one of my favorites. It's a fine cigar. But
I mean I have there's look at my Humidor. I
got you know, sixty different brands in there. So but
that night, I will be sure to fire up a
a an American Rebel cigar.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
You know what I think you should do is wouldn't
you become the TNA World Heavyweight Champion? You have like
a world champion cigar, and then the the wrap around.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
It should be the belt, the belt.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, you know, that's funny you say that we've actually
discussed that idea in just talking about revamping our logo
and our branding and everything, and that that idea has
been discussed and that would be a perfect tie in
for for for me, you know, representing the TNA World title.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, well we're we're putting it out in the universe.
We're gonna make sure that that happens.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Frankie Gazeria and your next TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Now, you know, we.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Talk about the legacy of Frankie Gazeri and of course
reflecting on your time with SCU, you know, uh, you
had mentioned that the breakup was kind of stupid, and
as wrestling fans, we were like, what is happening?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Like this was a.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Great trio In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
And do you foresee any possibility of reuniting, bringing some
of those guys and maybe doing something in TNA.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Well, Odi, those guys are always giving me. They're always
my brothers and my friends, you know, outside of pro wrestling. Uh,
the real honestly, SCU was never used on the early
aw television to our full potential. And what I mean
is what brought us to the dance, the stuff we
were doing bte and this stuff like our microphone stuff,
(09:02):
and just us as a unit that was never featured
the way I it could have and should have been
in my opinion, in the early days. You know, SCU
got really really hot the last year of Ring of Honor,
the last year we were there in Ring of Honor
twenty eighteen in particular, and you know, our faction was
right up there with you know, the elite in terms
(09:23):
of popularity and rivaling those guys. But for whatever reason,
we were never presented as that version of SCU on television.
And I think hindsight, looking back, things might have been
a lot different if we were and we were given that,
you know, freedom to go out there and be SCU,
But that just didn't happen. And it is what it is.
(09:43):
In terms of getting together, I mean, those guys I
would love I would love that. You know those again,
those guys are my brothers. Logistically, obviously we work in
different companies. It's wrestling and it's the weirdest thing in
the world. So never say never, But you know, we're
SCU will always forever have three members. Man, that's C. D.
(10:05):
Sky myself. Uh, you know, just steal a phrase from
my friend Kevin Nash. When you're SCU your SCU for life,
you know. So uh but we all still get recognized
and acknowledge that that, you know, like people will still
you come up to me and yell SCU in my face.
And I love it. Man, It's uh, you know, that's
a part of me forever.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
And I I know as a as a wrestling fan myself,
I have a collection of wrestling belts and action figures
and funk Co pops.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And all this other stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
And I've got a seven year old who is getting
into wrestling, so we watch it every week. And I
do have a h An autograph Frankie Gazarian AW figure
that's inscribed first AW Champ. It was almost an open
box because my seven year old decided that he wanted
to try to play with that, and I was like,
you cannot touch that one or the other one.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well, we'll set you up. We'll set you up to
get you another one. Man.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I know a guy, I think, yeah, you I know
a guy that could probably get one if case, my
seven year old decides to open it. But of course
the big on sell is going on with TNA, I
mean everywhere. Next year they're gonna be again Rebellion in
La Simmaversary in New York. Tickets on cell, Big Mega
on Sell event, and definitely grab those tickets now. You know,
(11:19):
you look at how things have changed over there. As
a kid, I grew up watching wrestling. I was there
at TNA every Wednesday night at the Fairgrounds. I mean
I practically live there. With the wrestling industry continually evolving,
what do you think is best for like right now,
you look at everything. How do you adapt your in
(11:41):
ring style and persona to stay relevant and competitive in
today's landscape?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
You know, it's interesting. I was talking to Lance Storm
about this the other day, like, you know, just talking
about longevity, which I pride myself on because I see
anybody can get hot for a three to five years period,
but for someone to stay relevant for a long period
of time, that impresses me, you know, Like I don't
you know, maybe consciously or subconsciously or unconsciously, I never
(12:11):
really did anything when I was a say, a twenty
seven year old man that I still can't do as
a forty seven year old man. You know, whether that
was a you know, I was kind of grouped with
a lot of the ex Division guys that were doing
incredible stuff, guys like Amazing Red and low Key and
Eli Skipper, and I certainly wasn't doing the stuff they
were doing. I was just kind of doing my stuff.
(12:33):
But I got kind of grouped in with those guys,
which I don't mind at all, because all those guys
are tremendous talents. But you know, I think what's helped
me a lot is my style. I'm still you know,
there's nothing like, oh man, he used to be able
to do this. No, I still do everything I was
always doing, so that has certainly helped me. But in
(12:53):
terms of adapting, yeah, you know, there is a different
style than there was, you know, twenty five years ago
for sure. And you know, I I roll with the
punches I look at I was my you can call
the ex Division style that was at the time a
new style and now that's you know, the ex Division
has been around for you know, over two decades, so
(13:14):
that's also evolved in what the guys are doing now.
And like I said, I like to you know, pride
myself on being a guy that can go in there
and wrestle somebody like a PCO, you know, or like
a like a Nick Namoth that have a pure technical match,
or Josh Alexander, but also have a you know, just
as entertaining of a match with the Leon Slater, who's
(13:35):
you know, the future of the ex division.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
And you look at the the TNA roster and it's
it's stacked from both the men's roster and the women's roster.
As somebody who has been in plenty of locker rooms before,
what do you think makes this TNA locker room? Uh?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
What it is now?
Speaker 1 (13:58):
I mean just the work ethic and you know, the
the the everybody's striving for that common goal of you know,
the and that goal being the success of t and A. Yes,
we're all looking to achieve individual success and individual goals
and accomplishments, but we all want what's best for the
company legitimately. Uh. And you know, tremendously talented locker room
(14:23):
full of knockouts, tremendously talented locker room full of tag
teams and extra vision guys and and heavyweight wrestlers, but
we all truly do want what's best for the company.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
And and more importantly than the entering stuff, just a
great group of people, just a lot of very hard
working human beings, a lot of people that are just very,
very dedicated to the same cause. And that I think
our locker room is our biggest strength. I've said that
since I came back, and that rings true now more
than ever.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Absolutely, And you can you could definitely see, uh, you know,
watching the product on TV and the and of course
having some of the locker room and the roster on
this show, you can legitimately see that it's not me, me, me,
me me when it comes to everybody.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
There, it's we we we and everybody else.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Yeah, I'm the only selfish one there.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
So well, I mean you're you're allowed to be. I
would say, when you when you get when you.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, there's no there's no egos in our locker room
other than mine.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
So because I mean, when when you think about tn A,
I know a lot of people like to say who's
the flag bear of TNA and everybody likes to say
Eddie Edwards or Sammy Callahan. But can we be honest
here for a second, Uh, the real flag bear the
real face of TNA.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It's got to be Frankie Gazarian, right.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I appreciate that well. I mean, you know, uh, I
predate anybody in the company. That's one thing I've been,
you know, I was there before anyone else. But then
you also got someone like Eric Young, who's you know,
he and I are the last of the ogs. And
the guy that you mentioned, Eddie Edwards. He's kind of
the guy that really held it down, you know, in
the that period, like after all of us AJ, Joe CD, myself,
(16:04):
all of us left, and he's been He's been the
concept man and he's you know that dude does not
get half the credit he deserves for being the incredible
in ring guy that he is.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, I mean Eddie, Eddie has has put in his time,
and I will say, like you said, you know, he's
been there after you guys left. And when I think
of TNA, you know, the O G TNA, like you said,
those names that you mentioned, when you think of the
the impact TNA, it's it's Eddie Edwards is right up
there with the flag bear.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Now.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
I know your your time is very precious being the
rock icon and the.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Superstar that you are so real quick before we let
you go.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
We always have a little fun at the end of
these interviews where we go to chat GPT because that
seems like to be the big topic thing chat GBT
drones and AI technology and whatnot. So we let our
computer asked Frankie Gazari in a question, and well, the
computer wanted to know if you could form a tag
team with any Figtion character, cartoon, movie, video game, or musician,
(17:06):
who would it be and what would your team name be?
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Oh? Man, what a what a question? God, God, I
have so many answers for so many different reasons. I mean,
I'm a big horror movie fan, So I think me
and Michael Myers would be a good tag team because
I could, uh, you know, I could stand on the
apron let him do all the work.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
You'd be undefeated. You wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah. Gee, uh, there's God, there's I mean, got it.
You know I would have I would have liked to
have been a tag team, uh with with Lemmy Killmeister
from Motorhead, But I would probably spend a lot more
time at the bar than we would in a ring,
So I don't know how well that would function.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Hey, it worked out for you know, James Dorn and
Chris Harris, so.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, but this, this would be much This
wouldn't be playing drunks on on John Camra. I'd probably
have to Yeah, well I could. I couldn't. I couldn't
keep up with Lemmy. I'm I'm silly to even put
myself in the same category as him. Maybe Clark Griswold
from Christmas Vacation, that'd be a good one. Uh, you know, maybe, uh, God,
there's there's there's so many that's that's a real question.
(18:10):
That's a real good question. I would have to sit
and really really think about that for a while. I'd
love to team up with James at fild from Metallica.
You know, I would just uh, I would volunteer to
do all the work and do uh and to uh
take all the ass beatings just for the honor of
getting to sit and converse and pick his brain. Because
I'm not a I'm not a guy that really fanboys
(18:30):
or marks out for anybody. But that's one dude that
I would that I would certainly uh want to spend
some time with the Talk and Sylvester salone. There's another
one because I kind of, oh, my career in a
Rocky three, that's kind of the gateway that got me
into pro wrestling, and Sylvester Salon and like Arnold did
those guys, but that those movies have meant so much
to me. I would I think. I think. I think
(18:52):
the King of TNA and the Italian Stallion will make
a hell of attag team.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
That's that's that. I mean, that's solid. That's that's how
we're gonna end it.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
So before we let you go, anything you want to
say to people watching or listening to this right now.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Uh, to all the fans of the fans of TNA,
the fans of Frankie Kazari and fans of pro wrestling,
you know your loyalty means the world to me, to us,
and you know, if you saw what TNA did this year,
I welcome you to roll with us next year because
it's going to be bigger and better and onward and upward,
and we're going to shock you and blow you away,
(19:29):
just like we did this year.
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast. You'll play for all these
pros and exclusive interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Abound stop being.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Once up you guys, welcome back into iHeartRadio official wrestling podcast,
The Battleground Podcast. And it is a great day for
TNA because I mean you look at the schedule for
twenty twenty five, I mean they are all over the place.
Rebellion's gonna be in La Slammiversary in New York. Of course,
tickets for both of these shows are on sell. With
Teenag's big Mega on Cell event and joining us on
(00:46):
the show today, I gotta give him a great entrance
because I can't just be like, oh, it's Frankie Gazarian.
You gotta say the rock icon, the legendary, the man,
the myth, the legend.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Frankie Gazarian joins the show. Frankie, sir, how are you
doing well?
Speaker 1 (01:01):
I like that one man. That's that's that's hype raise.
Thank you brother.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I mean, we the thing is is and I will
tell you we go way back when it comes to this.
The last time we hung out with you was at
a cigar event in Nashville.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
And then fast forward to Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
A few months later, we had you in our old
radio station where you had just became the first A
E W Tag team champions with Scu and it was
you and uh Daniels and Scorpio in our studio. So
a lot of things have changed since those past two
times that we have hung out with you.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
A little bit. Yeah, I think it was was Scott
Hamilton also there that morning.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I think he was, Oh, yeah he was, because we
all ran into each other and it was like this
like cool thing, so you never know who you're gonna
run into.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Right, Yeah, Yeah, that's got that's you know, five years ago,
it seems like a lifetime ago. Really, it's that's crazy, man.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
It's it's it's uh, it's it's been a fun ride
to watch where you were then to where you are now.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
And let's just kind of jump right into it.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Earlier this year, you declared that twenty twenty four would
be your year.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
With just a couple of weeks left.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
In twenty twenty four, how would you assess your journey
so far?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I mean, everything, you know, like a good movie villain,
everything is proceeding just as I planned, you know, kind
of like the Emperor said, Yeah, you know, I think
I've positioned myself to be right where I need to be,
you know, starting with the kind of my mission statement
at the beginning of the year. And I've been able to,
you know, kind of do everything I said I was
going to do. And you know, I really really enjoy
(02:34):
the pardon me, the creativity, the freedom I have at
TNA to be able to, you know, kind of formulate
ideas and stories and be listened to and be heard.
And it's been, you know, by far with the funnest
year of my career.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, and obviously you could tell that you're having a
lot of fun in TNA. I mean, we everybody was
surprised when when you made your appearance. Everybody was very
surprised when you showed up on NXT. And you know,
you look at your career and I mean you've been
doing this for quite some time, and some guys that
have had the longevity of your career kind of hung
(03:13):
the boots up. But doesn't seem like you're stopping anytime soon.
I mean, you're still going with the best of the best.
But looking back, what do you consider your most significant
achievement and what goals remain on your professional horizon.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
It's hard to pinpoint one particular singular achievement. I mean
there's so many, like certain moments that really helped like
springboard me to the next level, you know, whether it
be like winning my first X Division title and that
really put me on the map in a national way
that I hadn't been before. You know, I had some
success in various independence around the country, but being you know,
(03:52):
being anointed as the X Division guy in TNA that
really helps me. And and you know, and again like
you know, me the forming of the team with Chris
Daniels that really, you know, we really you know, awakened
a lot of people to what we could both do
not only in the ring, but like in terms of
on the microphone and the success we had, you know,
(04:13):
the same with the success of SCU and SCORP and
I becoming the first aw tag team champs, you know.
And then there's been like marquee matches like my first
time wrestling Kurt Angle for the world title in TNA
in two thousand and seven, and a big ladder match
I had with Christian Cage. Those are all, you know,
moments that were important to me because of what they
did for my career and then obviously most recently returning
(04:37):
to TNA two years ago, and you know, basically saying
I left where I was and I'm here because I
want to be here and I want to help TNA
go to the levels that I know we can go to.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Absolutely, And of course you see the levels of where
TNA is heading. I mean again, rebellion in Los Angeles,
You've got Slammiversary in New York. And you know, the
one thing that you've expressed a very strong desire is
to capture that TNA World championship. You know, you stated
that the TNA World title has eluded you and you
(05:10):
won't stop until you win it. How has this ambition
influenced your approach to training and of course in ring strategy,
because everybody seems to want that title, but it seems
like Frankie Kazarian wants it even more.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Well, you know, I pride myself being one of the
you know, i'll just say, elder statesmen in the locker room,
old guys. You know that motivates me right there to
just be in the best shape I can physically and
in terms of in ring shape, and quite honestly, I'm
in the best shape of my lives. I can go
with anybody on our roster, and you know that motivates
(05:46):
me in a whole different way. You know, I'm a
forty seven year old man and I'm in there with
guys that are in their early twenties. So I have
to be on top of my game more so than
anybody else. So I kind of have that edge. And yeah,
you know, look at I want to be GNA World champion.
And when you're a world champion, you are the guy.
(06:06):
And if you're the guy, you got to be able
to go out there every night against anybody on the roster,
and you've got to be able to do media, and
you got to be able to carry the company. And
I welcome that. That's all I've ever wanted and I
that's a challenge that I've just basically staring in the
face right now and can't wait to just kind of
slay that dragon.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Absolutely, And of course, you know, when people come onto
this show, I will tell you that they go on
to win championship gold. You know, everybody from Matt Cardona
to Pco. We had Cardona on right before he went
after that NWA championship. Two days later, after he was on.
He won, so you're in good graces.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
We're gonna say that Frankie Gazarian will be your next
TNA World Heavyweight Champion. And when you win that TNA
World Championship, because we're putting it out in the universe.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Uh, what's the victory cigar that you're gonna smoke?
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Oh? Man? I mean, you know, just for you know,
it's got to be an American rebel that's my cigar.
You know, I got to fire up an American rebel
cigar to celebrate that, just because it's that particular cigar
is synonymous with the pro wrestling fans, because that's the
brand that Cody and I launched, you know, five years
ago at this point long, yeah, over five years ago
(07:27):
and one of my favorites. It's a fine cigar. But
I mean I have there's look at my Humidor. I
got you know, sixty different brands in there. So but
that night, I will be sure to fire up a
a an American Rebel cigar.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
You know what I think you should do is wouldn't
you become the TNA World Heavyweight Champion? You have like
a world champion cigar, and then the the wrap around.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
It should be the belt, the belt.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, you know, that's funny you say that we've actually
discussed that idea in just talking about revamping our logo
and our branding and everything, and that that idea has
been discussed and that would be a perfect tie in
for for for me, you know, representing the TNA World title.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, well we're we're putting it out in the universe.
We're gonna make sure that that happens.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Frankie Gazeria and your next TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Now, you know, we.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Talk about the legacy of Frankie Gazeri and of course
reflecting on your time with SCU, you know, uh, you
had mentioned that the breakup was kind of stupid, and
as wrestling fans, we were like, what is happening?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Like this was a.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Great trio In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
And do you foresee any possibility of reuniting, bringing some
of those guys and maybe doing something in TNA.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Well, Odi, those guys are always giving me. They're always
my brothers and my friends, you know, outside of pro wrestling. Uh,
the real honestly, SCU was never used on the early
aw television to our full potential. And what I mean
is what brought us to the dance, the stuff we
were doing bte and this stuff like our microphone stuff,
(09:02):
and just us as a unit that was never featured
the way I it could have and should have been
in my opinion, in the early days. You know, SCU
got really really hot the last year of Ring of Honor,
the last year we were there in Ring of Honor
twenty eighteen in particular, and you know, our faction was
right up there with you know, the elite in terms
(09:23):
of popularity and rivaling those guys. But for whatever reason,
we were never presented as that version of SCU on television.
And I think hindsight, looking back, things might have been
a lot different if we were and we were given that,
you know, freedom to go out there and be SCU,
But that just didn't happen. And it is what it is.
(09:43):
In terms of getting together, I mean, those guys I
would love I would love that. You know those again,
those guys are my brothers. Logistically, obviously we work in
different companies. It's wrestling and it's the weirdest thing in
the world. So never say never, But you know, we're
SCU will always forever have three members. Man, that's C. D.
(10:05):
Sky myself. Uh, you know, just steal a phrase from
my friend Kevin Nash. When you're SCU your SCU for life,
you know. So uh but we all still get recognized
and acknowledge that that, you know, like people will still
you come up to me and yell SCU in my face.
And I love it. Man, It's uh, you know, that's
a part of me forever.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
And I I know as a as a wrestling fan myself,
I have a collection of wrestling belts and action figures
and funk Co pops.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And all this other stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
And I've got a seven year old who is getting
into wrestling, so we watch it every week. And I
do have a h An autograph Frankie Gazarian AW figure
that's inscribed first AW Champ. It was almost an open
box because my seven year old decided that he wanted
to try to play with that, and I was like,
you cannot touch that one or the other one.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well, we'll set you up. We'll set you up to
get you another one. Man.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I know a guy, I think, yeah, you I know
a guy that could probably get one if case, my
seven year old decides to open it. But of course
the big on sell is going on with TNA, I
mean everywhere. Next year they're gonna be again Rebellion in
La Simmaversary in New York. Tickets on cell, Big Mega
on Sell event, and definitely grab those tickets now. You know,
(11:19):
you look at how things have changed over there. As
a kid, I grew up watching wrestling. I was there
at TNA every Wednesday night at the Fairgrounds. I mean
I practically live there. With the wrestling industry continually evolving,
what do you think is best for like right now,
you look at everything. How do you adapt your in
(11:41):
ring style and persona to stay relevant and competitive in
today's landscape?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
You know, it's interesting. I was talking to Lance Storm
about this the other day, like, you know, just talking
about longevity, which I pride myself on because I see
anybody can get hot for a three to five years period,
but for someone to stay relevant for a long period
of time, that impresses me, you know, Like I don't
you know, maybe consciously or subconsciously or unconsciously, I never
(12:11):
really did anything when I was a say, a twenty
seven year old man that I still can't do as
a forty seven year old man. You know, whether that
was a you know, I was kind of grouped with
a lot of the ex Division guys that were doing
incredible stuff, guys like Amazing Red and low Key and
Eli Skipper, and I certainly wasn't doing the stuff they
were doing. I was just kind of doing my stuff.
(12:33):
But I got kind of grouped in with those guys,
which I don't mind at all, because all those guys
are tremendous talents. But you know, I think what's helped
me a lot is my style. I'm still you know,
there's nothing like, oh man, he used to be able
to do this. No, I still do everything I was
always doing, so that has certainly helped me. But in
(12:53):
terms of adapting, yeah, you know, there is a different
style than there was, you know, twenty five years ago
for sure. And you know, I I roll with the
punches I look at I was my you can call
the ex Division style that was at the time a
new style and now that's you know, the ex Division
has been around for you know, over two decades, so
(13:14):
that's also evolved in what the guys are doing now.
And like I said, I like to you know, pride
myself on being a guy that can go in there
and wrestle somebody like a PCO, you know, or like
a like a Nick Namoth that have a pure technical match,
or Josh Alexander, but also have a you know, just
as entertaining of a match with the Leon Slater, who's
(13:35):
you know, the future of the ex division.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
And you look at the the TNA roster and it's
it's stacked from both the men's roster and the women's roster.
As somebody who has been in plenty of locker rooms before,
what do you think makes this TNA locker room? Uh?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
What it is now?
Speaker 1 (13:58):
I mean just the work ethic and you know, the
the the everybody's striving for that common goal of you know,
the and that goal being the success of t and A. Yes,
we're all looking to achieve individual success and individual goals
and accomplishments, but we all want what's best for the
company legitimately. Uh. And you know, tremendously talented locker room
(14:23):
full of knockouts, tremendously talented locker room full of tag
teams and extra vision guys and and heavyweight wrestlers, but
we all truly do want what's best for the company.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
And and more importantly than the entering stuff, just a
great group of people, just a lot of very hard
working human beings, a lot of people that are just very,
very dedicated to the same cause. And that I think
our locker room is our biggest strength. I've said that
since I came back, and that rings true now more
than ever.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Absolutely, And you can you could definitely see, uh, you know,
watching the product on TV and the and of course
having some of the locker room and the roster on
this show, you can legitimately see that it's not me, me, me,
me me when it comes to everybody.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
There, it's we we we and everybody else.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Yeah, I'm the only selfish one there.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
So well, I mean you're you're allowed to be. I
would say, when you when you get when you.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, there's no there's no egos in our locker room
other than mine.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
So because I mean, when when you think about tn A,
I know a lot of people like to say who's
the flag bear of TNA and everybody likes to say
Eddie Edwards or Sammy Callahan. But can we be honest
here for a second, Uh, the real flag bear the
real face of TNA.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It's got to be Frankie Gazarian, right.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I appreciate that well. I mean, you know, uh, I
predate anybody in the company. That's one thing I've been,
you know, I was there before anyone else. But then
you also got someone like Eric Young, who's you know,
he and I are the last of the ogs. And
the guy that you mentioned, Eddie Edwards. He's kind of
the guy that really held it down, you know, in
the that period, like after all of us AJ, Joe CD, myself,
(16:04):
all of us left, and he's been He's been the
concept man and he's you know that dude does not
get half the credit he deserves for being the incredible
in ring guy that he is.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, I mean Eddie, Eddie has has put in his time,
and I will say, like you said, you know, he's
been there after you guys left. And when I think
of TNA, you know, the O G TNA, like you said,
those names that you mentioned, when you think of the
the impact TNA, it's it's Eddie Edwards is right up
there with the flag bear.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Now.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
I know your your time is very precious being the
rock icon and the.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Superstar that you are so real quick before we let
you go.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
We always have a little fun at the end of
these interviews where we go to chat GPT because that
seems like to be the big topic thing chat GBT
drones and AI technology and whatnot. So we let our
computer asked Frankie Gazari in a question, and well, the
computer wanted to know if you could form a tag
team with any Figtion character, cartoon, movie, video game, or musician,
(17:06):
who would it be and what would your team name be?
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Oh? Man, what a what a question? God, God, I
have so many answers for so many different reasons. I mean,
I'm a big horror movie fan, So I think me
and Michael Myers would be a good tag team because
I could, uh, you know, I could stand on the
apron let him do all the work.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
You'd be undefeated. You wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah. Gee, uh, there's God, there's I mean, got it.
You know I would have I would have liked to
have been a tag team, uh with with Lemmy Killmeister
from Motorhead, But I would probably spend a lot more
time at the bar than we would in a ring,
So I don't know how well that would function.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Hey, it worked out for you know, James Dorn and
Chris Harris, so.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, but this, this would be much This
wouldn't be playing drunks on on John Camra. I'd probably
have to Yeah, well I could. I couldn't. I couldn't
keep up with Lemmy. I'm I'm silly to even put
myself in the same category as him. Maybe Clark Griswold
from Christmas Vacation, that'd be a good one. Uh, you know, maybe, uh, God,
there's there's there's so many that's that's a real question.
(18:10):
That's a real good question. I would have to sit
and really really think about that for a while. I'd
love to team up with James at fild from Metallica.
You know, I would just uh, I would volunteer to
do all the work and do uh and to uh
take all the ass beatings just for the honor of
getting to sit and converse and pick his brain. Because
I'm not a I'm not a guy that really fanboys
(18:30):
or marks out for anybody. But that's one dude that
I would that I would certainly uh want to spend
some time with the Talk and Sylvester salone. There's another
one because I kind of, oh, my career in a
Rocky three, that's kind of the gateway that got me
into pro wrestling, and Sylvester Salon and like Arnold did
those guys, but that those movies have meant so much
to me. I would I think. I think. I think
(18:52):
the King of TNA and the Italian Stallion will make
a hell of attag team.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
That's that's that. I mean, that's solid. That's that's how
we're gonna end it.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
So before we let you go, anything you want to
say to people watching or listening to this right now.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Uh, to all the fans of the fans of TNA,
the fans of Frankie Kazari and fans of pro wrestling,
you know your loyalty means the world to me, to us,
and you know, if you saw what TNA did this year,
I welcome you to roll with us next year because
it's going to be bigger and better and onward and upward,
and we're going to shock you and blow you away,
(19:29):
just like we did this year.
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