On his transition into a top singles wrestler:
“I was a huge tag team wrestling fan growing up and then, even getting into the business, I was a huge tag team wrestling fan. So being a part of a couple great tag teams, Team Canada of course, was what got my start here in TNA over eight years ago and of course Beer Money. That success as a team is something that I’ll never forget and it was a good time while it lasted. That kinda transitioned me into where I’m at now or at least where I was as the World Heavyweight Champion and I started my singles run that way. So it’s been a good ride, and I’m hoping to get that title back soon and start another chapter.”
On the mix of talents on the TNA roster:
“I think our talent list is second to none anywhere in the world in professional wrestling. We’ve stepped up to the plate I guess you could say, the TNA Originals - guys like myself, Storm, AJ and Samoa Joe. We’ve really stepped it up, Austin Aries now obviously as the World Champion has really come into his own and scratched the surface here. We also have big names like Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Sting, Hogan and guys like that. It’s the perfect mix if you ask me.”
On his program with Austin Aries:
“He’s a great talent. He’s had a great past to get to where he’s at now, and he’s got a hell of a future too. I think just chemistry-wise, we’ve had some great matches and we never really, before this program started with him and I, we never touched each other. We never wrestled each other before and I didn’t know really much about him and he really didn’t know much about me. The contrast in styles was something I think maybe people thought wouldn’t work, but I think we changed everybody’s mind. And I think if there’s ever an opportunity for him and I to go at it again, I think we’ll accomplish what we did, if not do things even better. I look forward to that opportunity.”
On why the state of tag team wrestling has declined over the past decade:
“It’s hard to put a finger on it, I don’t really know why. The business has changed, not just in that sense, but it’s changed in every way. I think a lot of people connect more with singles wrestlers maybe, I don’t know. I think, not to toot my own horn here, but I think that’s what Beer Money had that was special. Again you know that we brought to the table in tag team wrestling was we had teams to work with, you know the teams of 3Ds and the British Invasion and of course, the Motor City Machine Guns that really etched our name in some of the greatest tag teams of all time and I think it was the entertainment value as well. People were able to connect with us and what we did and whether they loved us or hate us they were entertained every night. And that’s something that’s important in professional wrestling today.”
