Gunner Talks About TNA’s Backstage Atmosphere, Their UK Popularity, Personal Faith & More

TNA Star Gunner recently spoke to Danny Stone and Robert Rams of the Huffington Post UK on a variety of subjects during his UK media tour this past week. Below is a recap of the interview:

The Importance of TNA popularity in the UK:

The TNA fan base in the UK appears to be growing which is great but not only that, my fan base seems to be growing too which is also great. TNA is finally giving me the opportunity to show what I can do. I think wrestling Magnus in Manchester was a real stepping stone for me as it gave UK fans the chance to see that I was the ‘real deal’ or that I can be the real deal. I wish we could come over here more than once I year, I think that would be great but it may yet happen. We’re still a young company and that stuff takes a little time. The fans here are amazing, they always give us 110%. We feel like rock stars when we’re here.

Military background:

Yes! Marine Corps Boot Camp is no joke. Its 13 weeks of brutal hell. Not only that but Parris Island, South Carolina is just a hot box. It’s a swamp. It’s miserable and I think mentally it prepared me for being able to work hard and never give up. There are a lot of days when you want to stop and quit but in reality you can’t because where does that get you? I started wrestling in the independent scene in 2001 and I would often be living pay check-to-pay check or be broke and go unpaid at shows but I was paying my dues and whilst lots of others complain about that, I chose that path and it’s obviously paid off but I think the Marine Corps taught me the required self-discipline and go-get-it attitude.

Things he might refuse to do in wrestling because of your faith:

There are certain things I wouldn’t do – like demean or bash religion, I wouldn’t ever do that. I’ll do whatever’s best for the product as long as I’m not degrading my religion, my beliefs or God. But TNA wouldn’t ask me to do that and usually steer clear of religion in the storylines. They’ve been really professional, everyone backstage knows I’m a religious guy and I’ve never been asked to step outside of my beliefs. Some people call wrestling a religion. They travel for ages and spend money on us. At our ‘Bound for Glory’ Pay-Per-View, there were fans that had come from Japan to see us and have a good time. I don’t know that it’s necessarily a religion but it’s something that makes them happy and creates a positive vibe. My faith has helped me but I never preach to anybody, I always tell them that whatever they believe in that makes them a positive person or gives them ‘drive’ is good. It’s helped guide me through difficult times and it’s what makes me a positive person.

His ‘The Gun Rack’ Submission and ‘Hangar 18′ finisher:

I still do Hangar 18 but I always liked Lex Luger as a kid and it had been a long time since we’d seen a finisher like that. It was something that I thought I could use, given my size. It also looks impressive so I decided to add it to my arsenal. I once had to pick up Luke Gallows (known as Doc in TNA), he’s a big guy and sometimes you think “that’s bad on the back” because your compressing your spine. As for Hanger 18, I always give props to Brock Lesnar because that’s his move and I use the F5 with the utmost respect but that move is rough on your back too.

Backstage Atmosphere in TNA:

Spud’s right. Years ago, I did stuff in another company and it was like walking on egg shells backstage. One of the reasons why I re-signed with TNA is because I’m happy where I am. It is like a big family, everybody’s there for one job and that is to put on a great show. As for the whole Joe pep talk thing, that was blown way out of proportion. It was the end of the tour and we’d all busted our tail for a week, filming various TV shows including an international PPV. Everybody was tired having hardly slept and worked long days but nobody had complained. The “pep talk” was Joe being a locker-room leader and telling us we’d done a hell of a job which showed on the TV product. Next thing we read that he gave us a pep talk! Joe doesn’t speak up often but when he does, you listen and it means something.

TNA’s deal with UTA:

We haven’t heard a lot about it, just a few emails. For those of us that want to push the boundaries, get into acting etc its good. I think it’s also good to branch out from the wrestling world. Other companies have been doing it for years and that’s a positive thing. Wrestling is my number one love but acting is something I’d love to do. Acting’s a hard business to break into. I’ve been going to a lot of auditions and trying to get my foot in the door and I’ve been doing some work with an anti-bullying campaign.

Ribs between TNA Stars:

It’s very true, yeah! I’d have the video to show you but I think Ken (fellow TNA star Mr.) Anderson has it… It was very funny though. I just got in my seat, was looking at Spud and all of the sudden YMCA hits and he strips and one thing leads to another…I’ll have to get Spud back for that one.

Well, me and Ken Anderson like to mess around with (fellow TNAers) Rockstar Spud and Samuel Shaw. We call them the ‘Young Boys’ which is what they call them in Japan. For instance, in the gym, Ken Anderson made Spud get on all fours and then laid on Spud’s back and used him as a bench press! We also made Samuel Shaw do squats in front of a whole restaurant of people in the parking lot. We don’t do anything bad and nothing crazy, we just like to have fun with these guys.