TNA World Champion Mike Santana discussed various topics with Rob on The Stunner, including the genuine support he receives from fans.
Santana said, “Man, it’s been humbling to say the least. I mean like you said I worked my way up from the bottom, you know what I mean? Literally, rock bottom. And when I first started telling my story, I think I did the first interview with [Chris Van Vliet] and I was open about my struggles with addiction and stuff like that. I was very hesitant to share that part of my story. But I think me sharing it, there was a lot of strength behind that. I think a lot of people resonated with it. And also if you’ve been following my journey in professional wrestling in general, I’ve been doing this since I was young. So a lot of people saw me grow up and saw these different stages that I’ve been through. I’m still processing everything and I’m still living in it. So yeah, it feels good. It feels good to to have the people behind me and for the people to see what I saw in myself.”
On being newly motivated as champion:
“100%. Like before, I used to say this all the time. I had my city, my culture, and my family on my back. And now I have an entire company. And that’s something I don’t take lightly. And being the champion and and being the face of the company, it’s something I take very serious. So yeah, that motivation is is still there, if not tenfold. And I think right now I’m going to put out the very best that I’ve ever put out. So I’m excited. And again, I love the freedom to still be able to do the independents. And it’s something that I came up through and it’s something I always pay my respects to. So, the fact that I still get to do these shows and it’s pretty cool.”
On the only dream match left on his list:
I have one dream match left. I’ve been thankful and blessed enough in my career to have worked with some amazing people. A lot of guys that I grew up watching and idolizing, but the one guy that’s left is AJ Styles. And I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. I want to wrestle AJ Styles one-on-one in a TNA ring for the World Title.”
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(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
