Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian appeared on episode 245 of Talk Is Jericho to talk about their time in TNA and more. Here are the highlights.
On when TNA peaked:
Daniels: “I’d say maybe 2005, when we got the Spike [TV] deal, and TNA got the Spike deal, and it had some momentum. It had a ton of guys who’d go on to do other things.”
Kazarian: “I’d say the same,” Kazarian said. “When we first started going down to Orlando [Florida], which was the end of 2004, the crowd was really responsive, and it was just a great vibe to be in The Impact Zone. The Impact Zone was actually cool before the fans became jaded and had seen everything.” Kazarian added, “right around 2005, 2006, there was a big peak, I think. And then, that was when October of that year, 2005, we started with Spike [TV].”
On the beginning of the end for the promotion:
Daniels: “Jeff Jarrett leaving was sort of a red flag for us. AJ leaving was a red flag.” Daniels continued, “I think honestly, when AJ left, it was the beginning of the end for [TNA] and he left literally two months before I did and four months before [Kazarian].”
Kazarian: “For me, [at] the end of 2013, I kind of saw the writing on the wall, and I wasn’t having fun,” Kazarian reflected. “Management, just guys coming in and I always say this: a team is not going to win the Super Bowl if they change head coaches every year or if they change GMs every year. And it seemed like there was just a rotating roster of talent relations or head of creative, so there was no consistency.”
On Kazarian’s run in WWE:
“I signed in February [2005] and then sat at home, sat at home, sat at home. And then, it was to a point when I was calling them, like Johnny [Laurinaitis], ‘hey, I’d love to come [to work]’. They’d put me on some, the first few weeks, dark matches and stuff, but I was hearing nothing, and, like, I was getting almost [to the point where], I don’t want ring rust to kick in. I was just sitting at home and people were like, ‘don’t worry about it. Get paid.’ But you couldn’t tell me that at the time, and, still, I like to work. And so I’m calling Johnny. He’s like, ‘what? Do you want to move to Atlanta [Georgia]?’ And I’m like, ‘no? Not necessarily’, and, so then, they sent me to OVW for one week and I did that, which was cool because I got to do Lance Storm’s last week of training there, so it was cool to learn a little bit from him [and] pick his brain and stuff. And then, they put me on the road. I started doing [WWE] Velocity matches and I was there for a few months doing that.”
Daniels and Kaz also talked about Ring of Honor, WCW, and more. You can listen to the entire interview here:
