TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian appeared on “Insight With Chris Van Vliet” to discuss various topics, including becoming the World Champion at the age of 48.
Kazarian said, “Absolutely. I mean, there was a time early on, like 2007-ish, when I was kind of on the come-up as a singles babyface, getting some good matches, and had a lot of good momentum. But just seeing who was above me on the ladder was like, just don’t think it’s going to happen for me. I will say, at the time, from an in-ring standpoint, I think I was a very good wrestler. I don’t think I have developed my personality and promo skills to what you need to be a World Champion. Then years went by, and it kind of became a fleeting thought; it’s just not going to ever happen. But I always like to say this: dreams do not have an expiration date. So, 48 years old or 28 years old, it doesn’t matter. I got the job done.”
On looking better now than he did in his 20s:
“I am. With weight training, nutrition, all of that, and diet, it’s trial and error. Just in terms of how, if you want to be big, if you want to be lean, if you like all of that, and you figure out eventually what kind works for you. Like we were discussing earlier, when I broke into the business to get even looked at by WWE, you had to be big, like, big. I was always told when I would be scouted by WWE, ‘Just put on some size, put on some size.’ I would put on 10-15 pounds, and I just would look soft and kind of dumpy, and I realized that after a while, after a long while, my frame is only going to support so much, so just look like an athlete. It’s better for me. I move better when I’m leaner; when I’m not carrying extra weight, I have a lot more energy and stamina. So yeah, now it’s just a matter of looking as good as I can possibly look, as lean as I can possibly be, and it’s a constant battle, man. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but it’s my lifestyle.”
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