Former TNA X Division champion DJ Z sat down with Ring Rust Radio to discuss a number of topics. Among those discussed were his close call with cancer and the future of Impact Wrestling with reports and rumors on TNA’s television deal with Destination America.
On His Cancer Scare: “It was just crazy. I was not sure for about five or six months whether or not I had cancer. When your alone with your thoughts, when you’re unsure, it’s scary. It changes your perspective and your outlook on life. I wasn’t sure how much longer I had to live. I thought if I had cancer, I might have a year or two then I will probably die. It definitely impacted me in many ways inside if wrestling and outside of it too. I thought to myself, what did I want to accomplish still in my life? Music was a really big thing that I wanted to learn and get trained at. I took a lot of time when I was on the injured list and dove into that passion to try and learn it since I didn’t know how much more time I had to live.
I remember having a nearly maxed out credit card, and I told myself, ‘you know what, let’s just buy some music productions software.’ I didn’t have the money to do it so I maxed out my card completely. I got the software because that’s how bad I wanted to learn it. Just like with wrestling, I was sitting there and not sure if I ever would wrestle again. It was depressing and made me appreciate and love wrestling even more. Then when I got healthy again, I was able to come back to wrestling with a reinvigorated passion for it. I was just grateful to be able to do it again when I wasn’t sure I ever would. I’m thankful that I am healthy today and cancer free.”
Thoughts On The Future Of Impact Wrestling And Negative Rumors: “I think what sucks is that fans seem to be very concerned with these inner workings of TNA when there is a great show we are putting out every Wednesday. The show itself is taking a backseat to the controversy and negative reports out there. Don’t worry about that, just watch the show and enjoy it.
Wresting is interesting because it’s not like you have passionate fans of TV shows like the Walking Dead being super concerned about the behind the scenes of the series. Only in pro-wrestling, do you get fans that are so interested in the behind the scenes aspect as much as the stuff you see on TV. It’s interesting in that way, but I think it sucks since the show is really strong right now. We have a lot of hungry wrestlers giving it their all every week and there should be more emphasis on that instead of the behind the scenes stuff.”
