Posted on 10/10/125 by Colin Vassallo
Nic Nemeth sat down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast
Creative Studio in Hollywood, California to discuss leaving
WWE in 2023 and TNA was the right fit, whether joining AEW
was ever a possibility, wrestling Goldberg at SummerSlam
2019, the infamous Iron Man match against Seth Rollins that
was hijacked by the crowd, the messy New Year’s Eve toast
with AJ Lee, possibly making a return to WWE TV, a
potential Hall of Fame induction, and more!
On why TNA was the choice:
“I didn’t want to sign anywhere because I just got out of a
long-term relationship, and I didn’t want to get out of a
20-year marriage and go right down to being engaged like six
months later. So I really go I need to be able to have the
freedom that I could go to Mexico, I could go to Japan, I
could go to Germany, I could go anywhere, and then not have
to be like, well, it has to be based on someone else’s
schedule. Scott D’Amore was begging me. He’s like, three
years, two years, six months. And I mean this in a very
positive way. He goes, ‘Dude, you’re gonna love it here.
Wait until you see the locker room. You would be a huge
piece here.’ And, I mean begging. ‘Give me something about
where you’re related to this company that we can use, and
it’ll help you and help them.’ He started having a couple of
people text me. He had Roode text me, which is pretty great.
Well, we’re buddies, but it was just like him texting me out
of the group chat like, something important is happening. It
was really funny and I was like, All right, I’ll give it a
shot. I go eight dates, so that way I can still travel the
world and go test myself. One day in, it’s not even fake,
it’s real. I’m like, Oh, this locker room kicks ass.
Everybody is open to creative ideas and they’re really
looking for some little spark just to keep rocking and
rolling along the way. The really funny thing is, the first
taping I was at, I’m like man, everyone’s so great. Locker
room’s ridiculously nice. I know some people. I just see
everybody and I go, Yeah, man, I’m so mad. I’m gonna stay
here. One taping in, and one taping in, Scott D’Amore is
out, my boss, who said, here’s what we’re gonna do, here’s
what we’re gonna do, he’s out."
On whether he was close to joining AEW:
“I wasn’t. I love so many people there. I’ve had a couple of
conversations with Tony in the past, and I rooted for those
guys every step of the way. AEW being a thing helped a bunch
of people out, worst-case scenario, with negotiating and
setting up their career for years down the line. I go if
this ends in two or three years, it helped a bunch of people
out and put some other people on TV, and they’re rocking and
rolling and doing their thing. I watched every Wednesday,
because I have to talk about it on Thursday. And it’s
another one where I gotta watch wrestling. It’s like kind of
a joke, but I’ve like come to learn all the people on the
show and watching what they do. I don’t know if I could do
all the stuff that everyone does. Their top circle, the
whole show, really, it has so many different moving parts
and pieces to it that I don’t know that I could, from my old
style. I can adapt to anything, and I have been, and I even
watched. The 2025 version of me still applies some different
things that I wouldn’t have done a few years ago. But I
don’t know if in a 35-45 minute match, if it wasn’t with me
and Bryan Danielson or Jon Moxley, those guys where I know
what they’ve done, and I can move around and do some things,
but it’s like, if it’s remembering a sequence like I’m
getting 30 guys in Contra every two minutes, I would be more
vacant in the match, instead of like feeling the emotion and
just remembering it. I go, I don’t know how they do it, but
when it comes to those pay-per-views, they blow the roof
off, and it’s incredible. And I just really thought with
TNA, I go, I will never, ever be Kurt Angle. He’s just my
hero, but I know that he did something special with going to
TNA and I go, maybe, just maybe, this guy that a bunch of
people, most people, seem to respect and have been waiting
to see what I can do, maybe me showing up here and being
involved could be another spark that does something, because
they’re already getting talked about and making some moves,
and they’ve been a insane brand for years. But I go, maybe,
just maybe, me being there makes this a bigger and better
place by 1%. Then falling in love with the locker room and
everyone behind the scenes, I just go, this is the fit. I
wasn’t going to go anywhere. I didn’t want to. A couple
dates for somebody and a couple dates at AEW, 100% I would
have done that. But I just go I need to travel the world and
be able to sleep at night knowing that I can go, because I
talked this sh*t for 15 years. ‘No one’s better, no one can
follow me.’ Sorry about the booking, but that’s not my call.
And it’s like, now it’s like, back it up or don’t. And I had
to, and I would have gone almost anywhere for a few dates
just to check it out, but TNA was the fit. I would have
watched their progression from the outside if I wasn’t
there, but I’m rooting for all those guys and girls.”
On a possible WWE return:
“Maybe, but I really love what I’m doing. I really, really
love what we’re doing as a company, and what I get to do on
my free time, plus with the company. So sure, possibly
something. [But it would still be with TNA?] Yeah, and
that’s fine. I’ve said this since they started talking
together and making things public about everything with
WWE’s relationship, I said, if I can help TNA get something,
I will be there. If it’s to go to NXT and have a match, I’m
not interested. I’ve done everything I could possibly do in
NXT, and if it’s to do something with someone that I worked
with, like Randy or Cody or Seth or something, I would be
open to it if it helped TNA do something, or make a stride,
or just get some kind of box checked to help us out. But I
otherwise, I will be cheering along on the outside.”
Why not NXT?
“I don’t think there’s anywhere for me to go there. I was
the champ, and if I went there and was in a battle royal and
lost, what am I doing? That doesn’t help TNA get on the map
somewhere. Now, if it’s come fight our champion and because
of this, we’ll have someone come to TNA and do something.
Please use me to negotiate, because I want what’s best for
TNA, and there’s some things there. But for the most part, I
would much rather NXT, especially what NXT is, let’s get
Leon Slater there. Let’s get some people who are young, up-
and-comers, who get a piece of that. And then maybe the eyes
of the boss of instead of just Shawn Michaels, maybe Triple
H goes, ‘Who the hell is this guy? Who is this girl? Oh, my
God. Okay, we can bring them up and do something with them.’
That’s what I would much rather see. We have an insane
talent roster, guys and gals that some I’m just getting to
know, but some I’ve been locked in and following, and that
would be great for them. I don’t think me being there helps
TNA. And if it does, you bet your ass I’m there.”
On the infamous Iron Man match with Seth Rollins:
“This was at the time where, no matter what you think of
Roman now, he’s amazing, 11 out of 10. But at the time, he
was being forced on people to constantly be the guy, and
he’s great. But just at the time, he was force fed nonstop.
Vince goes, ‘This is gonna stick one way or another, whether
it takes 6 years or 10 or whatever.’ They’re like, God,
we’re so sick of this, the same guy every time he’s in the
main event, and he’s out. They go, God, I wish the guys
fighting for the Intercontinental title would be out there.
I wish Seth would be in the main event. Wish Dolph would get
it. We got it. We got a shot. Finally, against the boss’s
maiden wishes, we’re going to main event this pay-per-view,
Intercontinental title is in the main event. It’s an Iron
Man match. Seth, who you love, Dolph, who you mostly hate,
and are good wrestlers. The guys that you are begging for,
the workhorse guys, to get a shot. All the stars align.
Vince still says no, and we talk him into it. We’re main
eventing the show, and like three minutes in the crowd just
starts doing the clock. I just put a hold on. I’m like, man,
what is happening? And they’re not even doing the clock
right, so it’s kind of screwing me up. Then I missed
something, because they’re going, ‘7,6…’ and it’s like 10 or
something. I’m like, what? It’s not even a countdown. It’s
just the time. And then a third of the way through they go,
‘Don’t worry, don’t worry, we’re taking it off the screen.’
I go, ‘No, no, don’t do that.’ They take it off the screen.
So the crowd just starts going ’10, 9…’ every 10 seconds.
It’s not even every minute now, they’re doing it every 10
seconds. So now, instead of the last 10 seconds of every
minute, it’s every 10 seconds. They’re just counting down.
And now I don’t know what time it is, and now, most
importantly, they’re not paying attention to the match. I
go, man, that’s on us to get them back. We tried, and it
wasn’t my best night, because I was a little out of it,
because I was trying to do something on the fly that would
change. But I’m trying to express that to Seth, while we’re
going to these pieces that we got to get to every certain
amount of minutes. And it’s just yeah, the crowd, internet
crowd, live crowd, they begged for a shot for the IC title,
for Seth, for myself, anything but Roman, they got it, and
Vince went, ‘See I was right, you’re all wrong.’ And then it
was out. So thanks a lot.