Former WWE and TNA star Ken Anderson was recently a guest on the This is Awesome Wrestling Show, with Glenn More and Steve Guy. Below are some interview highlights:
Saying f**k TNA in front of indie crowd in Scotland:
“It was taken completely out of context, for one. I was working a show in Scotland; it was an adult show. The crowd sorta reminds me of an ECW crowd. For a wrestling promotion called ICW. It’s huge in Scotland. And the crowd starting chanting, ‘F**k TNA’, at the top of their lungs. Five, six hundred people in the audience. And I was playing the role of a heel that night. A lot of times when I go out to the ring, I’ll get a good reaction from the crowd because they know my gimmick and they wanna sing along with it and they wanna do it. And so, I got that reaction when I went out there. And then they started chanting ‘F**k TNA’. So I just said, ‘Well, I don’t work for them anymore, so yeah, f**k TNA.’ At which point, they popped.
And then I said, and this was mysteriously left out of the video. First of all, whoever posted the video posted, from what I hear and I haven’t watched it, but I hear it’s about eight seconds long or something like that. And it looks like I’m on a soapbox. ‘Yeah, I’m Ken Anderson. I don’t work for TNA. F**k TNA.’ Well, I wasn’t that at all. It was, ‘Yeah, you guys say F**k TNA. F**k TNA.’ And then I said, ‘But your opinion means squat to me, so f**k every each one of you too.’ Of course, they left all of that too. I’m a heel and recognizable that they have seen me on TV before. One of those situations where you give it to them and then you take it away from them. That’s all I was doing. It was spur the moment thing. It wasn’t a planned thing.”
On the WWE and TNA locker rooms:
“Pretty much anywhere you go, the locker room is a great environment. That’s been my experience. All the boys in the WWE were fantastic. Now, when I got there, things were at a tail end of an era of guys that policed their own and there was a lot more hazing that took place. Fortunately, I was never really hazed. But I was witness to some stuff, like grown men crying, things like that.
But for the most part, everybody is cool. Especially at TNA. At WWE, I’ve seen guys walk around on eggshells, everybody is worried their going to lose their job tomorrow. You never know. Everybody is on edge. All the time. There’s sorta this jealous type of environment, that I think to some degree is encouraged. Because they want you to be competitive with each other. And at TNA, we are competitive, but it’s like you’re competitive against your own teammates, kind of. Everybody works together and helps each other.
It’s really hard to get any type of heat in the TNA locker room, because everybody gets along with everybody. I had so much fun in the TNA locker room; no stress.”
Surprised that Triple H is current WWE World Heavyweight Champion:
“No. I mean, I think it’s him giving someone a rub. I honestly don’t think Triple H is sitting at home with Stephanie and saying, ‘I’d love to be champ one more time. I just gotta have one more run.’ I don’t think that’s his mentality. I think it’s a giving thing.
He’s been a significant player in the WWE. One of the top tier players ever in that company. And he’s gonna pass that on to someone else. I think it’s more that scenario.”
On Eric Young and Bobby Roode leaving TNA:
“I see a role on Raw or Smackdown for those guys, I really do. They are tremendously talented in the ring. They are good guys behind the scenes. They will be liked by everybody. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anybody say anything negative about either of those two guys. They are great guys, great performers. They can go anywhere, whether WWE or New Japan.
I don’t know their situation, and I can’t speak for other people, but I think those guys have been there a very long time and it’s probably just time to go. Just time to give something else a shot.”
On a possible WWE return or if will he continue to work the indie scene:
“I wouldn’t rule any of that stuff out.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
