Frankie Kazarian reveals how close he came to signing with WWE after leaving AEW
During an interview with Chris Van Vliet, TNA Wrestling world champion Frankie Kazarian commented on how close he came to signed with WWE after leaving AEW…
“There were conversations, but logistically, it probably wasn’t gonna work. I wasn’t a signature away, but there were a lot of really good conversations.”
“After that, check my phone as we do, because we’re all marks and we want to see what people are saying. I got a text from Triple H saying, like, you know, ‘Hey man, I know things didn’t work out and that’s cool. I look forward to you kicking ass. And you know, when it’s time for us to do business together, let’s do it.’ And I’m like, he didn’t have to do that. He didn’t have to. He went out of his way just to say like, ‘Hey, cool.’ It’s a [Killer] Kowalski guy too, so — but that holds a lot of weight with me.”
Kazarian discussed his brief run with WWE in 2005 and why it didn’t work out…
“They put five matches on television. They put me on the road immediately, just to let me get a little bit of money and some reps. So I went on the road the first couple weeks and did some more matches, and then went home, and they’re just like, ‘Well, when we have something for you, we’ll call you.’ Because I wasn’t on a developmental deal, was just a deal. And then it was like, I’m not doing indies or anything. So time is going by and going by. I would call them like, ‘Hey, can I do something?’”
“At one point they said, ‘Well, do you want to move to Atlanta?’ I’m like, ‘No, I don’t want to move to Atlanta. I didn’t sign a developmental deal. But, if you want me to.’ But it’s no, just hold tight. We’re working on stuff. I got called again, like, ‘Why don’t you go to OVW for a week?’ They sent me and Kid Cash to OVW for a week, which is cool. Trained under Ricky Steamboat, one of my heroes, awesome master class. Had a match, looked great. Everything’s great still.”
“And then finally, I get a call from one of the writers. He’s like, ‘Okay, we got something for you. We’re gonna start you. We’re gonna call you The Future Frankie Kazarian.’ I’m like, it’s brilliant. I’ve been calling myself that for the previous five years, but I’ve been sitting at home for months, and that’s what you came up with? It’s befuddling.”
“But anyways, yeah, you know, the whole premise of even signing me was they’re revamping the cruiserweight division and this and that. And when I got there, I kind of saw the writing on the wall very early on. Look, I was not ready to be there. I was physically ready. I was ready as a pro wrestler, but I didn’t have the business mentality. WWE is a business, and before I got there, it was just my passion, and I was having fun.”
“You know, TNA was a business, but there was a lot more freedom. WWE is a very structured environment, and I just was not ready. I was not mature enough, just as a man, to be there. It just wasn’t my time.”
Thanks to ChrisVanVliet.com for the quotes.