February 6, 2025 • 26 mins
The Pro Wrestling Wire exclusive interview with soon to be free agent Josh Alexander.
“The Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander joined Pro Wrestling Wire’s Lewis Carlan to discuss numerous topics including:
His upcoming free agency, If he has an idea where he’d like to end up. If he would remain with TNA if Scott D’Amore was still in charge. How the WWE/TNA partnership compares to the TNA/AEW one. Why a match with Kenny Omega never materialized despite the tease of a feud. If Mike Santana can fill the void he would leave if he departs TNA. JBL calling him one of the best workers in the world. If his decision to stop taking indy dates means he is WWE bound. Plus so much more! Here is the full Pro Wrestling Wire interview with Josh Alexander
You can follow Pro Wrestling Wire on X at @pwwire and on Facebook at The Pro Wrestling Wire. You can follow Lewis Carlan on Twitter @ShootingUpNorth.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pro-wrestling-wire-radio--4256199/support.
“The Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander joined Pro Wrestling Wire’s Lewis Carlan to discuss numerous topics including:
His upcoming free agency, If he has an idea where he’d like to end up. If he would remain with TNA if Scott D’Amore was still in charge. How the WWE/TNA partnership compares to the TNA/AEW one. Why a match with Kenny Omega never materialized despite the tease of a feud. If Mike Santana can fill the void he would leave if he departs TNA. JBL calling him one of the best workers in the world. If his decision to stop taking indy dates means he is WWE bound. Plus so much more! Here is the full Pro Wrestling Wire interview with Josh Alexander
You can follow Pro Wrestling Wire on X at @pwwire and on Facebook at The Pro Wrestling Wire. You can follow Lewis Carlan on Twitter @ShootingUpNorth.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pro-wrestling-wire-radio--4256199/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Hello, everyone, Welcome to the Pro Wrestling Wire Interview. I
am your host. Lewis Carlin. Joining me today is one
of the best professional wrestlers in the world. Today, on
February fifteenth, he becomes a free agent, has a big
decision to make. Very happy to welcome the Walking Weapon,
Josh Alexander. Josh, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Man, Louis pleasure as always.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Pleasure is all mine. Pleasure is all mine. Hopefully we
can get this work in this time. So let's get
right into it, man, Let's get right into it. Everybody
wants to know what does the future hold for Josh Alexander. Well,
what's happening your free agent February fifteenth? What does the
future hold?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I mean, hopefully fingers crossed. Come February fifteenth, I'll find out,
you know, what offers are on the table, and I'll
find out where I'm going. You know, it's a big
decision to make. It's nerve wracking, it's exciting, it's all
these things. But you know the future is that you're
going to see Josh Alexander wrestling for years to come.
I just don't know where yet.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Okay, are there any offers on the table, you're not
you're not sure yet.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, I have agents for this very I'm very lucky
have representation, you know, people that have dealt with these
companies around the world that you know, and this business
and stuff like that, and they keep this stuff very
close to the best. They treat it like pro sports.
I'm not a free agent until, you know, midnight of
February fifteenth. So I'm just waiting to get a call
at midnight on that day and we're going to figure
(01:32):
it all out and then I have some decisions to make.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
So all right, so Valentine's Day, and then when that's over,
it's your You're a free agent. So do you think
you're gonna be a free agent for long? Do you
think you're going to make a relatively quick decision, or
you're not sure?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I mean, it all depends on the offers and stuff
like that. I'll have to fit down with my wife
and discuss because everything, you know, every company has different stuff.
You know, if it's new to Japan, you're talking about
doing you know, several week tours. If it's aw it's
you know, once or twice a week, it's doud to
be it's it's a harsher schedule if it's CNA. You know,
we're very used to that already. It just it comes
(02:08):
down to all that, and it comes down to dollars
and cents at the end of the day. As you know,
I'm you know, I'm not in the twilight of my career.
I think I'm in the prime of my career. But
I can definitely see the end of it coming, you know,
the end of it's more far closer than the beginning
of it. And I have to think about when I'm
done in the ring and how I'm going to support
my family and stuff like that. So dollars and cents
do matter, which is a crazy thing to say, you know,
(02:29):
coming from somebody who over the last these last twenty
years has not valued money whatsoever in this pursuit of
passion and love for pro wrestling. Like I've done this
because it makes me happy for twenty years and now,
you know, I've been very lucky to be able to
put myself in a position where, you know, I can
think about putting away money so that I can support
(02:52):
my family forever and not have to go back to
a construction job, so that that'st theff all factors in.
It's just going to be you know, like I said,
nerve wracking and exciting all at the same time. But
it's going to be a decision to make for me
and my family.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
So when you were doing construction and you were wrestling,
I was really you would get up at two o'clock
in the morning to work out and then go to work.
Had like what times you go to have been.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Well, that was a rough year, so it was okay.
The last year before COVID hit, I think that's twenty nineteen,
I had opened my own wrestling school, So yeah, yeah,
I would. At that time, I was waking up at
three thirty in the morning. I'd go to the gym,
get my hour in at the gym, drive straight to
the job site, do the job site till three three thirty,
(03:38):
take off, come home, spend you know, a couple hours
with my kids, and then I have to go off
to the wrestling school till ten o'clock at night, and
I drive home, fall asleep and reset that. And then
it was leaving on Thursdays or Fridays to fly out
to wherever, to fly back on Sunday and Monday morning
just to do it all over again and stuff. So
that year really burnt me out, but you know, it
(03:59):
was a reward an experience too, having a resting school
and stuff at the same time, just the juggling act
of all of it. Like, I'm a guy that sleeps
like four five hours a night anyway, and I'll be fine.
I've always kind of been like that. But yeah, with
construction and everything else, and when I had a family,
like just wanting to spend time with my kids and
prioritizing that I had to do the gym in the
morning so that I would have just a couple of
(04:21):
hours with them before I do in the resting school.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Do you think you would open up another wrestling school
in the future, Like when when when wrestling is done,
would you open up another school?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
No? No, one hundred percent. No, Okay, I'm I'm awesome.
You know, I'm great at coaching. I love coaching. The
business aspect of running like a business of the school
and stuff like that, I have no interest in doing
that again. It's just so stressful and I don't like
chasing people for money and all these other things that
go into it. I like, I'm not going to say
(04:51):
I have a big, big heart, but maybe it is
It's just I sympathize too much with other people's situations
financially to be like, you owe me this contract every
month on the first, and if they don't pay me
because of whatever excuse, like I just feel like I
felt for them too much and I'm not a good
business stand in that sense.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
So okay, all right, man, fair enough. You mentioned New
Japan par wrestling is the g one still goal.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Absolutely, that'll be a goal forever until it never happens,
and then it will be a regret forever. But you know,
just keep your fingers crossed and hopefully it can't transpire
one day. But you know, it's one of those things
like when I jokingly say regret, but like, if it
doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. It just wasn't meant to be.
Like I've come to a point in my life where
I understand that everything happens for a reason. I'd been
(05:37):
very lucky and grateful along us not so if that
doesn't happen, I can be very happy about many other
things that have occurred in my life and career.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
All right, So when I ask about TNA, if you
decided to stay with TNA, what would be the immediate goal.
What would be your media goal or your goal for
twenty twenty five if you if you return to TNA.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
It'd be the same thing that it was when I
came back from my tricep terre, just to regain the
TNA World Championship and finish that historic ragin I was
on because I you know, it didn't end the way
I wanted to. I had to give it up. I
had to relinquish the title because they tore my tricep
and that was not the way I wanted that to end.
I don't think it's the way anybody wanted to end.
And I just I never got it back in that
(06:22):
year and a half after coming back from injury, and uh,
it's something that you know is certainly a disappointment, But
the rustling business is the resting business. It ain't just
about me. There's a ton of moving parts and there's
a ton of people in that company that are so
over and so talented and you know, deserve that championship
along the way. It's just, uh, it's just it didn't
end the way I wanted it to. So that's something
that'll lead away.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I mean, see, you have the longest reign as Impact
TNA Slash to Impact are saying Chip World World Champion.
You think anybody ever break that record?
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yeah, I could certainly see somebody breaking it, and it's
just there's there's tnas like like WDV they just had
like a what a three or four year reign with
runner rains or something like that.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, which is you know.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Nearly unheard of in this day and agent for wrestling
for like the last twenty five years, you know, So
you're talking going back to the days of like Hull
Cooke and Brunos Sanmartino and all these rains that went
on for years and years. But uh, you know, to
get a year, I think that's possible. And I was
just shy of the year by like a couple of weeks.
So you know, that was my goal when I started
inching towards it, and we just didn't get there because
(07:28):
of the tricep Tara obviously, just like I said, it
wasn't meant to be. So I definitely think somebody can
beat it, and.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Don't Jordan Grace was asked this question recently, and I'm
going to ask you if Scott de Moore was still
a TNA. Would that make it an easier decision to
remain with TNA?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
No? No, you know, I developed a great relationship with
Scott over the years, and it's all due to like
the respect I have for him from what I saw
him put into that company both you know, physically, emotionally,
you know, mentally all this stuff. Like I said, I
worked twenty plus hour days every day trying to just
do a little bit of everything to make sure everything
(08:06):
went right because he had such a passion for those
three letters TNA, and you know, I just had so
much respect for him. But like when we signed my
last contract, my three year deal, you know, he told
me at the time, he was like, you know, at
the end of this contract, either will have enough money
to pay you what you're worth because like for market
(08:26):
value at the time, he's staying in TNA. I could
have gone and got more money elsewhere. But I wanted
to stay with TNA and I had unfinished business. I
had things I still wanted to do, and I felt
like I got to do a lot of those things
in the past three years. So it's you know, now
it's time to think about, you know, making money to
support my family. When I'm done in ring, and it's
(08:47):
also time to think about what stories I can tell
moving forward if I stay with TNA, Like I can't
just work with Moose again, or you know, rehash the
same feuds because the roster, you know, turnover has to
has to be there for that kind of excitement and draw,
so you're not rehashing new stories along the way. So
I think it's time. I think I've done everything there
(09:09):
is to do with TNA longest runting Tag Team Champion,
longest running World Champion. I won the exhibition title, and
I'm very proud of like the matches and ring and
I had with that, like the TNA run man, like
it's a dream come true. You think about my six
years there and you look at the body of work
that like I put out with the opportunities I was given,
like it could not have gone better, and I'm so
(09:29):
grateful for it. But on the other end, I need
to get excited about what's going on moving forward, and
I think, you know, maybe a change of scenery, maybe
some new opponents, maybe some stuff like that will do that.
And that's where I say nerve wracking and exciting all
the same time, you know, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Dave Meltzer actually said that it's going to come down
to with for you, it's going to come down to
WW or ae W and he said he did say
New Japan caressing might be a player. Is he on?
Is he right on with that or is he off?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I mean, other than CNA, those are the three top
companies in the world I'd be thinking about, you know,
New Japan. That's just me. Wrestling in Japan has been
something that's been a goal forever. Like when I wrestled
in Japan last October or sorry two octobers ago. It
was against Tana Hashi O kata Hi and after the match, Tana,
(10:22):
you know, he's just like you, You're the perfect strong
style wrestler, Please come to Japan more. And I was
just like, I'm blowing away because this is the ace,
you know, saying something like that. And now he's the president,
so like, you know, it's just cool stuff like that.
But like when you break it down, like the top
two companies that can pay wrestlers the utmost they can
make our WAW and those are two companies that have
(10:44):
like a lot of spotlight on them where you can
go and make a bigger name for yourself to support
yourself for years to come after you're done in rings.
So I don't think Dave's off that's all with those,
you know. I'm just I'm just very grateful to be
in the conversation to have offers and interest from any
of these companies, because that's something like if you asked
me six years ago, I'd be like, I'm not even
on the radar.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
So yeah, well it's it's well deserved. You definitely earned it, Josh,
You definitely earned it. Man. So back to TNA for
a second. The main difference with Scott the Moore left.
What are the main differences between Scott the more in
charge and the new management? Are there many differences?
Speaker 2 (11:21):
I mean, Scott had grown up in the wrestling business
for thirty years, and like Anthony and Aria Book coming in,
they were both more corporate guys that didn't have a
lot of wrestling experience in like the sense of running
a wrestling show. Anthony had dealt with, you know, negotiations
with WB over the years, with the Score and stuff
like that, like he was the guy that brought WB
to the Score and as a Canadian we know like
(11:42):
all about that, and like the Revolutionary things he did
with programming just for their sports broadcasting, the stuff that
I'm a huge fan of. So like there's things people
can offer other than like the day to day of
running a wrestling show, for sure, But it was just
it was just a change up of the kind of
the culture of like this is a pro wrestling you
(12:04):
know company, through and through to this is an entertainment
media company that puts on pro wrestling at the same time.
Like neither one is wrong. Like obviously TNA has done
amazing things this past year. It just you know, there
wasn't like that figurehead on and off camera, like you
have the Scott where you know, you go there and
(12:24):
the buck stops immediately. That's just kind of what I found,
all right.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
So there's a partnership everybody knows, I'm sure of course,
you know WWTNA they form the partnership. How do you
think that's going to compare to the TNA A e
W partnership.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I mean we saw it a little bit already in
the past, you know, year plus with the partnership already,
I just think you're gonna see more crossover possibly, Like
the AW crossover wasn't very much. I wrestled Christian. I
think like when Kenny had developed, there was a few matches,
but there's very little on the aw programming side. I
(13:04):
think you're getting more with this partnership, uh, with you
know TNA guys being plarsco on the ww networking and
branding and stuff as you've seen with you know, Joe
Hendry coming out a number fifteen in the World Rumble
and stuff to an enormous pop for seventy thousand people.
That stuff's amazing and like just like be able to
feature the Rascals and Hammerstone and all these other people
on actual NXC on Tuesday nights. That helps cross brand
(13:26):
and stuff like that. And hopefully, you know, there's bigger
and better things, you know with this partnership that nobody
knows about. Like we're all crossing our fingers hoping aj
style stuffs with the TNA again.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
I think, yeah, that be awesome. That'll be awesome. So
so when you see Joe Hendry, you know, walking down
in the looking down the aisle of the Royal Rumble,
do you think yourself, Man, I would like to get
a piece of that. I like to be a part
of that, like part of the Royal rumble. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Oh yeah, Well there was ever any suck at list
goal that I've had since I was a child, it
would be to be in a like it's never been
the main event wrestling, he or anything. Royal Rumbles the
one show that I watch every year, regardless of anything
that's going on. Uh, you know, I watched it Saturday
night with my family, Like it's it's my favorite show
always to watch. I just I find so much excitement
(14:16):
in it, and uh, that's definitely something on my bucket
list I would love to do before you know, I
hang up my boots. But like to see Joe come
out and to get the pop that he did with
the TNA Championship around his waist, that's something that you know,
like I was very proud watching it, like that's that's awesome,
Like he's and like just to know the guy that
Joe is and how he's built himself up to that
(14:36):
moment where he got that, Like he's busted his ass
to get there, and it's.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
How come you haven't crossed over? Well you did they ever?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
To?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Have you been spoken? Did they speak to you about
possibly crossing over? There?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
There was one nft T and a crossover thing that
you know just uh like it was offered to me
and it just it wasn't the right timing and stuff
for it to happen, and so it had to be
turned down. And you know, you've heard rumblings here or
there like this might have happened or this was supposed
to happen, or they wanted this to happen, blah blah blah.
(15:11):
But like obviously nothing transpired, and like there's no hard
feelings on my end or anything. It would have been
cool to do it to see how like that whole
side of everything works and stuff like that. But uh yeah,
like I said, everything happens for a reason.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Man, if you go to the wwe WW, could we
see a reunion with Ethan Page? What would you rather
be an opponent of Ethan Page?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I mean either or the chemistry works both ways. I
think you know, I think the North on you know,
Raw or Snackdown, or you're talking about some tag team
rivalries and matches that you know, I could get very
excited about. If you're talking about you know, NXT me
coming in and having a problem with Ethan Page, Page
on a problem with me, I think that could do
an amazing business given given our histories over the last
(16:01):
fifteen years and stuff like that together, So there's a
lot of meat on the bone there.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
So yeah, now I just want to go back. You
mentioned Kenny Omega. There was a when when Kenny Omega
was a was an Impact World champion. There was a
backstage segment you guys crossed paths kind of teasing a
match or a few that never materialized. How come that
never materialized? Was? Is there a reason for that? Because
I was expecting a match between you and Kenny Omega
(16:28):
and it never happened.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
So, like, you hear things, but like I don't know
what's true. For you to get those answers, you have
to talk to Don, Scott, Kenny and Okay, all right,
you know what I'm saying. I've never heard from any
of their nots, but I I remember when it happened.
I was just like, why are we doing this? And
we're working and they were just like, no, not yet,
and I was like okay, and it was just like
the climate seeds. I'm like okay, and so we do
(16:51):
like the little thing and I'm like, well, that'll be
cool if it happens. You know, that'd be a mad
step up from where I was at the time. You know,
Exodion Champion was granted. But like at the time, Kenny
Omega just like the pinnacle of for wrestling, So yeah,
you know, and two Canadians obviously somebody have looked up
to and followed his career for a very long time.
But like I had heard, Kenny wanted to work with me,
(17:12):
and it was just like he was so beat up
at the time that it never got to happen because
he was dealing with like a few injuries at the
time that I think obviously he's fixing. The diverticulitis came
afterwards as well.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
So all right, man, so let's just just move on here.
I know your your time is precious. I know we
had a little trouble at the beginning. So we're gonna
a few more questions and we'll wrap this up. Man.
So many fans have speculated that since you stopped taking
indie dates, that you go into the WWE. Because in
the WWE you can't take indie dates. What do you
(17:49):
do you have any comment on that?
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I would say that that's best to say no comment
on them.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Okay, we'll leave it at that. We'll leave it at
that what do you miss the most and the least
not working on indie dates.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
I missed the fans and the wrestlers. So like I've
been just a guy who gets in his car and
drives eight hours, ten hours to a show and drives
straight back. And it's something that you know, I didn't
really enjoy when I first started doing it at the
tender age of twenty years old, but okay, you know
now like fifteen years later, like it's something that I enjoy.
(18:25):
There's something peaceful about it. There's something that I'm very
used to and like programmed into me to do. And
you know, I enjoy the traveling. I enjoy going to
a show and meeting new people and watching, Like I'll
watch every indie show I'm on, no matter where it
is around the world, just to see talent. Like that's
how I discovered Leon Slater. I watched the whole show
(18:46):
before my match for a soft pro show in the
UK and Manchester, and I remember calling Scott to Moor
as soon as like I got to my hotel that
night and being like this kid, you need to sign,
you need to look at them. I don't care. I
know I told you about ten other people you decide
and you've ignored me. This is when you cannot ignore.
Like I was like, yeah, out of it. But like
just being able to like go meeting wrestlers and find
(19:07):
new talent and see people like how like it gets
me excited because these guys are like the ones that
are in the trenches fighting for spots, fighting to get
to the top of the indy car that they're on,
or fighting to try to get noticed by bigger companies
and stuff like that. It's something there's something like really
like that brings me back to like that stage of
my career when I do them, I miss that and
(19:28):
things I don't miss I don't miss, like this year especially,
it was very tough, where like I'm showing up to
shows and I'm for the first time in twenty years,
I'm dealing with promoters being like, oh, I don't know
if I can pay you tonight, and I'm like, I'm
not and I have to have that conversation where I'm like,
I'm not the guy that you don't pay and that's
just not something that happened and I don't want to
(19:49):
be that guy, right, Like it's just it's just like
a give and take right you have. There's so many
amazing indie promoters around North America that I've worked for
over the past twenty years and like and there's just
like two or three bad apples that have just ruined
the experience for me as I get into like my
older age and don't want to deal with these issues.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And you're very dedicated too. Didn't you miss a flight
or a flight was canceled and you drove to the show?
I think it was. I think it was New York.
I believe it was.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah, And I have even worse one than that. I
like two years ago, John Grisham was running a show
in Atlanta, and I think it was this debut show. Okay,
so it was a big deal and he had like
a triller there to do it. He was putting all
the bells and whistles into this promotion. And my flight
got canceled the night before because Atlanta got hit with
(20:38):
a snowstorm. And I was like, I looked it up
and I was like, if I leave right now, it's
sixteen hours, I can get there by ten am the
day of the show. And he was like, you do that,
and I was like, yeah, what else do I have?
To do you know what I mean? And like, so
I just like I packed my bags, I kissed my wife,
and I left at like six pm on a Saturday night, okay,
and I drove to Atlanta to wrestle that show. Like
(21:00):
it's just like, I don't like missing bookings. I don't
like like even if it's four people in that audience
paid a ticket to see my match or paid a
ticket to see me. I don't want to disappoint anybody.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
So you know, all right, man, Like I said, you're
you're really dedicated, man, really dedicated man. So three more questions,
three more questions that wrap this up. JBL referred to
as one of the best workers in the world. When
a legend like that shows you respect, that's got to
be a great feeling. Man.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
It's insane, man. I remember I wrestled Joe Hendry. I
can't remember the name of the papers since September, and
we came to the back afterwards that he grabbed me.
And like ADL is an intimidating figure to anybody, I
don't know even care who you are. Like same thing
with like Lillie Ray and stuff like that. There's just
this aura about them where You're like, do I say hi?
Do I not say hi? You know what I mean?
And like I'd introduced myself to him obviously, but like
(21:50):
he comes up to me and he's just like he
starts shaking my hand, he starts running down like the
stuff I did mat match, he was like so blown
away with some stuff and I was just like, thank
you so much, like what I mean, like, and it
followed on from there. Every time he came to DNA,
he would always like make time to like sit down
and talk to me and stuff like that. And he's
had a high praise. Yeah, there's just you know, fans.
(22:12):
We're nothing with the fans pro wrestlers, but like pro
wrestlers that are in there doing it. There's like this
certain aspect of like when you're good and you know,
like you know when other people are really good and
going above and beyond, you know, to put on their
very best and to get that kind of praise from
somebody that knows those little things that I try to
(22:33):
do every single time. That's the kind of stuff that
like lives forever in my mind.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
You want to take one closed line from from jbl Oh.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yeah, absolutely, I'll kick out of it. I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
You'll kick out, Okay, Yeah, of course you'll kick out, man,
of course you can. So Genesis had a fantastic match
with Mike Santana. Just how good or how good can
Mike Santana become? And if you do leave DNA, could
he fill the void that you'll be leaving there?
Speaker 2 (23:02):
I think Mike is the person that is going to
fill that void. Like that, me telling him is the
standard of TNA. Now was not scripted that, that was
not part of the show. That was you know, he
had the microphone, I grabbed it and I just I
said it because I felt it, And that's something I
felt for you know, a few months now, just watching
(23:22):
him in the ring and watching the things he does
out of the ring, watching the work that he puts in,
the passion he has, the love he has for everything
he does for wrestling, Like it's very like I'm not
going to say we're Ying and Yang, but I'm not
going to say we're exactly alike either, but like that passion,
we are exactly alike and in tune with that, and
we relate to each other so much. And that's what
(23:43):
he's He's one of my best friends He's gonna be
one of my best friends for the rest of my life,
like just because we we vibe on that so much,
and I have so much respect for him, and I think,
you know, if nobody, if you don't think he's the
guy right now, he's going to show you in the
next few months. And if he's not, you know, world
champion by like you know, I don't know, Slimmiversary or
something of this year, I think it would be a
(24:04):
massive disappointment because I think he's putting out the best
stuff with anybody there.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah, he's definitely a fantastic talent and again, fantastic match
of Genesis against them make Santana. Final question, when you're
done with professional wrestling, what do you want the fans
to remember you by?
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Oh that's tough, I always say, Like I used to
read Lance Storm's blogs because he used to write blogs.
These are way back in the day, and he said
the blog that all he wanted was the respect of
his peers after he's done in the ring and stuff
like that. That's what mattered most to him, and it's
(24:42):
something that resonated very highly with me, Like I want
people to remember me fondly as being a professional through
and through, like somebody who goes out whatever you give me,
I'm gonna I'm gonna go out and do the very
best I can with it every single time and try
to blow everybody away, even if what's written down ain't
something that you think is gonna blow anybody away. And
(25:03):
I'm gonna just hope that you know, I have the
respect of my peers when it's all said and done,
like I'm regarded as one of the best wrestlers ever because,
like I said with the JBL thing, like fans, you know,
like the attention span in fans' minds is so so
short these days. I can be one person's favorite one
day and all of a sudden their least favorite the
next for a different list of reasons. But like if
(25:26):
the wrestlers when I hang up my boots, you know,
have respect for me and what I did, and they
noticed the things I did in the effort I put
in to leaving this business better off than when I
found it. That's the stuff that you know, I hope
for the future.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
All right, Well, Josh, I just want to say thank
you so much, not just for today, but for all
the years that you've come on the show and allowed
me to interview you. It means a lot to me.
Especially when you were rising, you would get bigger and bigger,
you still come on the show, and I know Ross
Forman would have to get involved once in a while well,
but you'd still come on the show and it means
(26:03):
a lot to me. And when I said in the
beginning of the podcast, you're one of the best wrestlers
in the world, you are definitely, without a doubt, one
of the best wrestlers in the world. I mean that
wherever you end up, you're going to be still one
of the best wrestlers in the world. And I wish
you nothing but the best of luck wherever you end up.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Man. Thanks, I really appreciate that, and I'll always make
time to support some Canadian content.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
All right, thank you man, I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Again,
good luck wherever you end up, and let's do this
again hopefully soon. Yeah, okay, thank you very much, take
care right, Love
Hello, everyone, Welcome to the Pro Wrestling Wire Interview. I
am your host. Lewis Carlin. Joining me today is one
of the best professional wrestlers in the world. Today, on
February fifteenth, he becomes a free agent, has a big
decision to make. Very happy to welcome the Walking Weapon,
Josh Alexander. Josh, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Man, Louis pleasure as always.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Pleasure is all mine. Pleasure is all mine. Hopefully we
can get this work in this time. So let's get
right into it, man, Let's get right into it. Everybody
wants to know what does the future hold for Josh Alexander. Well,
what's happening your free agent February fifteenth? What does the
future hold?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I mean, hopefully fingers crossed. Come February fifteenth, I'll find out,
you know, what offers are on the table, and I'll
find out where I'm going. You know, it's a big
decision to make. It's nerve wracking, it's exciting, it's all
these things. But you know the future is that you're
going to see Josh Alexander wrestling for years to come.
I just don't know where yet.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Okay, are there any offers on the table, you're not
you're not sure yet.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, I have agents for this very I'm very lucky
have representation, you know, people that have dealt with these
companies around the world that you know, and this business
and stuff like that, and they keep this stuff very
close to the best. They treat it like pro sports.
I'm not a free agent until, you know, midnight of
February fifteenth. So I'm just waiting to get a call
at midnight on that day and we're going to figure
(01:32):
it all out and then I have some decisions to make.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
So all right, so Valentine's Day, and then when that's over,
it's your You're a free agent. So do you think
you're gonna be a free agent for long? Do you
think you're going to make a relatively quick decision, or
you're not sure?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I mean, it all depends on the offers and stuff
like that. I'll have to fit down with my wife
and discuss because everything, you know, every company has different stuff.
You know, if it's new to Japan, you're talking about
doing you know, several week tours. If it's aw it's
you know, once or twice a week, it's doud to
be it's it's a harsher schedule if it's CNA. You know,
we're very used to that already. It just it comes
(02:08):
down to all that, and it comes down to dollars
and cents at the end of the day. As you know,
I'm you know, I'm not in the twilight of my career.
I think I'm in the prime of my career. But
I can definitely see the end of it coming, you know,
the end of it's more far closer than the beginning
of it. And I have to think about when I'm
done in the ring and how I'm going to support
my family and stuff like that. So dollars and cents
do matter, which is a crazy thing to say, you know,
(02:29):
coming from somebody who over the last these last twenty
years has not valued money whatsoever in this pursuit of
passion and love for pro wrestling. Like I've done this
because it makes me happy for twenty years and now,
you know, I've been very lucky to be able to
put myself in a position where, you know, I can
think about putting away money so that I can support
(02:52):
my family forever and not have to go back to
a construction job, so that that'st theff all factors in.
It's just going to be you know, like I said,
nerve wracking and exciting all at the same time. But
it's going to be a decision to make for me
and my family.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
So when you were doing construction and you were wrestling,
I was really you would get up at two o'clock
in the morning to work out and then go to work.
Had like what times you go to have been.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Well, that was a rough year, so it was okay.
The last year before COVID hit, I think that's twenty nineteen,
I had opened my own wrestling school, So yeah, yeah,
I would. At that time, I was waking up at
three thirty in the morning. I'd go to the gym,
get my hour in at the gym, drive straight to
the job site, do the job site till three three thirty,
(03:38):
take off, come home, spend you know, a couple hours
with my kids, and then I have to go off
to the wrestling school till ten o'clock at night, and
I drive home, fall asleep and reset that. And then
it was leaving on Thursdays or Fridays to fly out
to wherever, to fly back on Sunday and Monday morning
just to do it all over again and stuff. So
that year really burnt me out, but you know, it
(03:59):
was a reward an experience too, having a resting school
and stuff at the same time, just the juggling act
of all of it. Like, I'm a guy that sleeps
like four five hours a night anyway, and I'll be fine.
I've always kind of been like that. But yeah, with
construction and everything else, and when I had a family,
like just wanting to spend time with my kids and
prioritizing that I had to do the gym in the
morning so that I would have just a couple of
(04:21):
hours with them before I do in the resting school.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Do you think you would open up another wrestling school
in the future, Like when when when wrestling is done,
would you open up another school?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
No? No, one hundred percent. No, Okay, I'm I'm awesome.
You know, I'm great at coaching. I love coaching. The
business aspect of running like a business of the school
and stuff like that, I have no interest in doing
that again. It's just so stressful and I don't like
chasing people for money and all these other things that
go into it. I like, I'm not going to say
(04:51):
I have a big, big heart, but maybe it is
It's just I sympathize too much with other people's situations
financially to be like, you owe me this contract every
month on the first, and if they don't pay me
because of whatever excuse, like I just feel like I
felt for them too much and I'm not a good
business stand in that sense.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
So okay, all right, man, fair enough. You mentioned New
Japan par wrestling is the g one still goal.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Absolutely, that'll be a goal forever until it never happens,
and then it will be a regret forever. But you know,
just keep your fingers crossed and hopefully it can't transpire
one day. But you know, it's one of those things
like when I jokingly say regret, but like, if it
doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. It just wasn't meant to be.
Like I've come to a point in my life where
I understand that everything happens for a reason. I'd been
(05:37):
very lucky and grateful along us not so if that
doesn't happen, I can be very happy about many other
things that have occurred in my life and career.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
All right, So when I ask about TNA, if you
decided to stay with TNA, what would be the immediate goal.
What would be your media goal or your goal for
twenty twenty five if you if you return to TNA.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
It'd be the same thing that it was when I
came back from my tricep terre, just to regain the
TNA World Championship and finish that historic ragin I was
on because I you know, it didn't end the way
I wanted to. I had to give it up. I
had to relinquish the title because they tore my tricep
and that was not the way I wanted that to end.
I don't think it's the way anybody wanted to end.
And I just I never got it back in that
(06:22):
year and a half after coming back from injury, and uh,
it's something that you know is certainly a disappointment, But
the rustling business is the resting business. It ain't just
about me. There's a ton of moving parts and there's
a ton of people in that company that are so
over and so talented and you know, deserve that championship
along the way. It's just, uh, it's just it didn't
end the way I wanted it to. So that's something
that'll lead away.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I mean, see, you have the longest reign as Impact
TNA Slash to Impact are saying Chip World World Champion.
You think anybody ever break that record?
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yeah, I could certainly see somebody breaking it, and it's
just there's there's tnas like like WDV they just had
like a what a three or four year reign with
runner rains or something like that.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, which is you know.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Nearly unheard of in this day and agent for wrestling
for like the last twenty five years, you know, So
you're talking going back to the days of like Hull
Cooke and Brunos Sanmartino and all these rains that went
on for years and years. But uh, you know, to
get a year, I think that's possible. And I was
just shy of the year by like a couple of weeks.
So you know, that was my goal when I started
inching towards it, and we just didn't get there because
(07:28):
of the tricep Tara obviously, just like I said, it
wasn't meant to be. So I definitely think somebody can
beat it, and.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Don't Jordan Grace was asked this question recently, and I'm
going to ask you if Scott de Moore was still
a TNA. Would that make it an easier decision to
remain with TNA?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
No? No, you know, I developed a great relationship with
Scott over the years, and it's all due to like
the respect I have for him from what I saw
him put into that company both you know, physically, emotionally,
you know, mentally all this stuff. Like I said, I
worked twenty plus hour days every day trying to just
do a little bit of everything to make sure everything
(08:06):
went right because he had such a passion for those
three letters TNA, and you know, I just had so
much respect for him. But like when we signed my
last contract, my three year deal, you know, he told
me at the time, he was like, you know, at
the end of this contract, either will have enough money
to pay you what you're worth because like for market
(08:26):
value at the time, he's staying in TNA. I could
have gone and got more money elsewhere. But I wanted
to stay with TNA and I had unfinished business. I
had things I still wanted to do, and I felt
like I got to do a lot of those things
in the past three years. So it's you know, now
it's time to think about, you know, making money to
support my family. When I'm done in ring, and it's
(08:47):
also time to think about what stories I can tell
moving forward if I stay with TNA, Like I can't
just work with Moose again, or you know, rehash the
same feuds because the roster, you know, turnover has to
has to be there for that kind of excitement and draw,
so you're not rehashing new stories along the way. So
I think it's time. I think I've done everything there
(09:09):
is to do with TNA longest runting Tag Team Champion,
longest running World Champion. I won the exhibition title, and
I'm very proud of like the matches and ring and
I had with that, like the TNA run man, like
it's a dream come true. You think about my six
years there and you look at the body of work
that like I put out with the opportunities I was given,
like it could not have gone better, and I'm so
(09:29):
grateful for it. But on the other end, I need
to get excited about what's going on moving forward, and
I think, you know, maybe a change of scenery, maybe
some new opponents, maybe some stuff like that will do that.
And that's where I say nerve wracking and exciting all
the same time, you know, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Dave Meltzer actually said that it's going to come down
to with for you, it's going to come down to
WW or ae W and he said he did say
New Japan caressing might be a player. Is he on?
Is he right on with that or is he off?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I mean, other than CNA, those are the three top
companies in the world I'd be thinking about, you know,
New Japan. That's just me. Wrestling in Japan has been
something that's been a goal forever. Like when I wrestled
in Japan last October or sorry two octobers ago. It
was against Tana Hashi O kata Hi and after the match, Tana,
(10:22):
you know, he's just like you, You're the perfect strong
style wrestler, Please come to Japan more. And I was
just like, I'm blowing away because this is the ace,
you know, saying something like that. And now he's the president,
so like, you know, it's just cool stuff like that.
But like when you break it down, like the top
two companies that can pay wrestlers the utmost they can
make our WAW and those are two companies that have
(10:44):
like a lot of spotlight on them where you can
go and make a bigger name for yourself to support
yourself for years to come after you're done in rings.
So I don't think Dave's off that's all with those,
you know. I'm just I'm just very grateful to be
in the conversation to have offers and interest from any
of these companies, because that's something like if you asked
me six years ago, I'd be like, I'm not even
on the radar.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
So yeah, well it's it's well deserved. You definitely earned it, Josh,
You definitely earned it. Man. So back to TNA for
a second. The main difference with Scott the Moore left.
What are the main differences between Scott the more in
charge and the new management? Are there many differences?
Speaker 2 (11:21):
I mean, Scott had grown up in the wrestling business
for thirty years, and like Anthony and Aria Book coming in,
they were both more corporate guys that didn't have a
lot of wrestling experience in like the sense of running
a wrestling show. Anthony had dealt with, you know, negotiations
with WB over the years, with the Score and stuff
like that, like he was the guy that brought WB
to the Score and as a Canadian we know like
(11:42):
all about that, and like the Revolutionary things he did
with programming just for their sports broadcasting, the stuff that
I'm a huge fan of. So like there's things people
can offer other than like the day to day of
running a wrestling show, for sure, But it was just
it was just a change up of the kind of
the culture of like this is a pro wrestling you
(12:04):
know company, through and through to this is an entertainment
media company that puts on pro wrestling at the same time.
Like neither one is wrong. Like obviously TNA has done
amazing things this past year. It just you know, there
wasn't like that figurehead on and off camera, like you
have the Scott where you know, you go there and
(12:24):
the buck stops immediately. That's just kind of what I found,
all right.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
So there's a partnership everybody knows, I'm sure of course,
you know WWTNA they form the partnership. How do you
think that's going to compare to the TNA A e
W partnership.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I mean we saw it a little bit already in
the past, you know, year plus with the partnership already,
I just think you're gonna see more crossover possibly, Like
the AW crossover wasn't very much. I wrestled Christian. I
think like when Kenny had developed, there was a few matches,
but there's very little on the aw programming side. I
(13:04):
think you're getting more with this partnership, uh, with you
know TNA guys being plarsco on the ww networking and
branding and stuff as you've seen with you know, Joe
Hendry coming out a number fifteen in the World Rumble
and stuff to an enormous pop for seventy thousand people.
That stuff's amazing and like just like be able to
feature the Rascals and Hammerstone and all these other people
on actual NXC on Tuesday nights. That helps cross brand
(13:26):
and stuff like that. And hopefully, you know, there's bigger
and better things, you know with this partnership that nobody
knows about. Like we're all crossing our fingers hoping aj
style stuffs with the TNA again.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
I think, yeah, that be awesome. That'll be awesome. So
so when you see Joe Hendry, you know, walking down
in the looking down the aisle of the Royal Rumble,
do you think yourself, Man, I would like to get
a piece of that. I like to be a part
of that, like part of the Royal rumble. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Oh yeah, Well there was ever any suck at list
goal that I've had since I was a child, it
would be to be in a like it's never been
the main event wrestling, he or anything. Royal Rumbles the
one show that I watch every year, regardless of anything
that's going on. Uh, you know, I watched it Saturday
night with my family, Like it's it's my favorite show
always to watch. I just I find so much excitement
(14:16):
in it, and uh, that's definitely something on my bucket
list I would love to do before you know, I
hang up my boots. But like to see Joe come
out and to get the pop that he did with
the TNA Championship around his waist, that's something that you know,
like I was very proud watching it, like that's that's awesome,
Like he's and like just to know the guy that
Joe is and how he's built himself up to that
(14:36):
moment where he got that, Like he's busted his ass
to get there, and it's.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
How come you haven't crossed over? Well you did they ever?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
To?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Have you been spoken? Did they speak to you about
possibly crossing over? There?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
There was one nft T and a crossover thing that
you know just uh like it was offered to me
and it just it wasn't the right timing and stuff
for it to happen, and so it had to be
turned down. And you know, you've heard rumblings here or
there like this might have happened or this was supposed
to happen, or they wanted this to happen, blah blah blah.
(15:11):
But like obviously nothing transpired, and like there's no hard
feelings on my end or anything. It would have been
cool to do it to see how like that whole
side of everything works and stuff like that. But uh yeah,
like I said, everything happens for a reason.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Man, if you go to the wwe WW, could we
see a reunion with Ethan Page? What would you rather
be an opponent of Ethan Page?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I mean either or the chemistry works both ways. I
think you know, I think the North on you know,
Raw or Snackdown, or you're talking about some tag team
rivalries and matches that you know, I could get very
excited about. If you're talking about you know, NXT me
coming in and having a problem with Ethan Page, Page
on a problem with me, I think that could do
an amazing business given given our histories over the last
(16:01):
fifteen years and stuff like that together, So there's a
lot of meat on the bone there.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
So yeah, now I just want to go back. You
mentioned Kenny Omega. There was a when when Kenny Omega
was a was an Impact World champion. There was a
backstage segment you guys crossed paths kind of teasing a
match or a few that never materialized. How come that
never materialized? Was? Is there a reason for that? Because
I was expecting a match between you and Kenny Omega
(16:28):
and it never happened.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
So, like, you hear things, but like I don't know
what's true. For you to get those answers, you have
to talk to Don, Scott, Kenny and Okay, all right,
you know what I'm saying. I've never heard from any
of their nots, but I I remember when it happened.
I was just like, why are we doing this? And
we're working and they were just like, no, not yet,
and I was like okay, and it was just like
the climate seeds. I'm like okay, and so we do
(16:51):
like the little thing and I'm like, well, that'll be
cool if it happens. You know, that'd be a mad
step up from where I was at the time. You know,
Exodion Champion was granted. But like at the time, Kenny
Omega just like the pinnacle of for wrestling, So yeah,
you know, and two Canadians obviously somebody have looked up
to and followed his career for a very long time.
But like I had heard, Kenny wanted to work with me,
(17:12):
and it was just like he was so beat up
at the time that it never got to happen because
he was dealing with like a few injuries at the
time that I think obviously he's fixing. The diverticulitis came
afterwards as well.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
So all right, man, so let's just just move on here.
I know your your time is precious. I know we
had a little trouble at the beginning. So we're gonna
a few more questions and we'll wrap this up. Man.
So many fans have speculated that since you stopped taking
indie dates, that you go into the WWE. Because in
the WWE you can't take indie dates. What do you
(17:49):
do you have any comment on that?
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I would say that that's best to say no comment
on them.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Okay, we'll leave it at that. We'll leave it at
that what do you miss the most and the least
not working on indie dates.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
I missed the fans and the wrestlers. So like I've
been just a guy who gets in his car and
drives eight hours, ten hours to a show and drives
straight back. And it's something that you know, I didn't
really enjoy when I first started doing it at the
tender age of twenty years old, but okay, you know
now like fifteen years later, like it's something that I enjoy.
(18:25):
There's something peaceful about it. There's something that I'm very
used to and like programmed into me to do. And
you know, I enjoy the traveling. I enjoy going to
a show and meeting new people and watching, Like I'll
watch every indie show I'm on, no matter where it
is around the world, just to see talent. Like that's
how I discovered Leon Slater. I watched the whole show
(18:46):
before my match for a soft pro show in the
UK and Manchester, and I remember calling Scott to Moor
as soon as like I got to my hotel that
night and being like this kid, you need to sign,
you need to look at them. I don't care. I
know I told you about ten other people you decide
and you've ignored me. This is when you cannot ignore.
Like I was like, yeah, out of it. But like
just being able to like go meeting wrestlers and find
(19:07):
new talent and see people like how like it gets
me excited because these guys are like the ones that
are in the trenches fighting for spots, fighting to get
to the top of the indy car that they're on,
or fighting to try to get noticed by bigger companies
and stuff like that. It's something there's something like really
like that brings me back to like that stage of
my career when I do them, I miss that and
(19:28):
things I don't miss I don't miss, like this year especially,
it was very tough, where like I'm showing up to
shows and I'm for the first time in twenty years,
I'm dealing with promoters being like, oh, I don't know
if I can pay you tonight, and I'm like, I'm
not and I have to have that conversation where I'm like,
I'm not the guy that you don't pay and that's
just not something that happened and I don't want to
(19:49):
be that guy, right, Like it's just it's just like
a give and take right you have. There's so many
amazing indie promoters around North America that I've worked for
over the past twenty years and like and there's just
like two or three bad apples that have just ruined
the experience for me as I get into like my
older age and don't want to deal with these issues.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And you're very dedicated too. Didn't you miss a flight
or a flight was canceled and you drove to the show?
I think it was. I think it was New York.
I believe it was.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah, And I have even worse one than that. I
like two years ago, John Grisham was running a show
in Atlanta, and I think it was this debut show. Okay,
so it was a big deal and he had like
a triller there to do it. He was putting all
the bells and whistles into this promotion. And my flight
got canceled the night before because Atlanta got hit with
(20:38):
a snowstorm. And I was like, I looked it up
and I was like, if I leave right now, it's
sixteen hours, I can get there by ten am the
day of the show. And he was like, you do that,
and I was like, yeah, what else do I have?
To do you know what I mean? And like, so
I just like I packed my bags, I kissed my wife,
and I left at like six pm on a Saturday night, okay,
and I drove to Atlanta to wrestle that show. Like
(21:00):
it's just like, I don't like missing bookings. I don't
like like even if it's four people in that audience
paid a ticket to see my match or paid a
ticket to see me. I don't want to disappoint anybody.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
So you know, all right, man, Like I said, you're
you're really dedicated, man, really dedicated man. So three more questions,
three more questions that wrap this up. JBL referred to
as one of the best workers in the world. When
a legend like that shows you respect, that's got to
be a great feeling. Man.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
It's insane, man. I remember I wrestled Joe Hendry. I
can't remember the name of the papers since September, and
we came to the back afterwards that he grabbed me.
And like ADL is an intimidating figure to anybody, I
don't know even care who you are. Like same thing
with like Lillie Ray and stuff like that. There's just
this aura about them where You're like, do I say hi?
Do I not say hi? You know what I mean?
And like I'd introduced myself to him obviously, but like
(21:50):
he comes up to me and he's just like he
starts shaking my hand, he starts running down like the
stuff I did mat match, he was like so blown
away with some stuff and I was just like, thank
you so much, like what I mean, like, and it
followed on from there. Every time he came to DNA,
he would always like make time to like sit down
and talk to me and stuff like that. And he's
had a high praise. Yeah, there's just you know, fans.
(22:12):
We're nothing with the fans pro wrestlers, but like pro
wrestlers that are in there doing it. There's like this
certain aspect of like when you're good and you know,
like you know when other people are really good and
going above and beyond, you know, to put on their
very best and to get that kind of praise from
somebody that knows those little things that I try to
(22:33):
do every single time. That's the kind of stuff that
like lives forever in my mind.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
You want to take one closed line from from jbl Oh.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yeah, absolutely, I'll kick out of it. I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
You'll kick out, Okay, Yeah, of course you'll kick out, man,
of course you can. So Genesis had a fantastic match
with Mike Santana. Just how good or how good can
Mike Santana become? And if you do leave DNA, could
he fill the void that you'll be leaving there?
Speaker 2 (23:02):
I think Mike is the person that is going to
fill that void. Like that, me telling him is the
standard of TNA. Now was not scripted that, that was
not part of the show. That was you know, he
had the microphone, I grabbed it and I just I
said it because I felt it, And that's something I
felt for you know, a few months now, just watching
(23:22):
him in the ring and watching the things he does
out of the ring, watching the work that he puts in,
the passion he has, the love he has for everything
he does for wrestling, Like it's very like I'm not
going to say we're Ying and Yang, but I'm not
going to say we're exactly alike either, but like that passion,
we are exactly alike and in tune with that, and
we relate to each other so much. And that's what
(23:43):
he's He's one of my best friends He's gonna be
one of my best friends for the rest of my life,
like just because we we vibe on that so much,
and I have so much respect for him, and I think,
you know, if nobody, if you don't think he's the
guy right now, he's going to show you in the
next few months. And if he's not, you know, world
champion by like you know, I don't know, Slimmiversary or
something of this year, I think it would be a
(24:04):
massive disappointment because I think he's putting out the best
stuff with anybody there.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah, he's definitely a fantastic talent and again, fantastic match
of Genesis against them make Santana. Final question, when you're
done with professional wrestling, what do you want the fans
to remember you by?
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Oh that's tough, I always say, Like I used to
read Lance Storm's blogs because he used to write blogs.
These are way back in the day, and he said
the blog that all he wanted was the respect of
his peers after he's done in the ring and stuff
like that. That's what mattered most to him, and it's
(24:42):
something that resonated very highly with me, Like I want
people to remember me fondly as being a professional through
and through, like somebody who goes out whatever you give me,
I'm gonna I'm gonna go out and do the very
best I can with it every single time and try
to blow everybody away, even if what's written down ain't
something that you think is gonna blow anybody away. And
(25:03):
I'm gonna just hope that you know, I have the
respect of my peers when it's all said and done,
like I'm regarded as one of the best wrestlers ever because,
like I said with the JBL thing, like fans, you know,
like the attention span in fans' minds is so so
short these days. I can be one person's favorite one
day and all of a sudden their least favorite the
next for a different list of reasons. But like if
(25:26):
the wrestlers when I hang up my boots, you know,
have respect for me and what I did, and they
noticed the things I did in the effort I put
in to leaving this business better off than when I
found it. That's the stuff that you know, I hope
for the future.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
All right, Well, Josh, I just want to say thank
you so much, not just for today, but for all
the years that you've come on the show and allowed
me to interview you. It means a lot to me.
Especially when you were rising, you would get bigger and bigger,
you still come on the show, and I know Ross
Forman would have to get involved once in a while well,
but you'd still come on the show and it means
(26:03):
a lot to me. And when I said in the
beginning of the podcast, you're one of the best wrestlers
in the world, you are definitely, without a doubt, one
of the best wrestlers in the world. I mean that
wherever you end up, you're going to be still one
of the best wrestlers in the world. And I wish
you nothing but the best of luck wherever you end up.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Man. Thanks, I really appreciate that, and I'll always make
time to support some Canadian content.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
All right, thank you man, I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Again,
good luck wherever you end up, and let's do this
again hopefully soon. Yeah, okay, thank you very much, take
care right, Love
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