In an interview with Main Event Radio, Magnus spoke about his growth as a performer over the years. Here are highlights:
On TNA’s new Canadian TV Deal with the Fight Network: “It’s great news. We’ve always been grateful for our fans in Canada, with the long rich history of wrestling. Bret Hart was my first real idol in the business; he was my hero as a kid. The Canadian wrestlers have always resonated quality and the market needs to be catered to.”
On how he’s evolved over the years: “I signed at the tail end of 2008 and debuted in January 2009. My mindset has completely changed. I was thrown into the deep end and it was a sink or swim situation. I was fortunate to be put right from the start with the British Invasion, Doug Williams, and work with Bobby Roode and James Storm [Beer Money]. Bobby for me is the measuring stick in our company and Storm is so good on the microphone. It was a learning curve and you had to keep up with those guys or get left behind. You learn from osmosis. You’re only going to really get good enough to connect with an audience if you work with people who know how to do it. I was fortunate to work with Kevin Nash who spent a lot of time with me early on, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Scott Steiner. Then from an in-ring standpoint I learned a lot from AJ [Styles], Samoa Joe, Motor City Machine Guns, Doug Williams, Jay Lethal. I knew I had to get better and I had that self awareness to improve quickly and I think it showed.”
On Samoa Joe departing TNA: “I was very disappointed to see him go – I was devastated. I refer to him as my big brother, a mentor to me. We tagged together and then as opponents he was a big supporter of mine internally and in public. I can’t say enough good things about him and he’s a guy who can be a star anywhere that he goes. He was somewhat of an authority figure and he was a guy who didn’t demand respect, he just got it by who he was and what he represented.”
On Bram’s arrival to TNA: “I spoke up on his behalf when things didn’t work out for him elsewhere. He’s a great talent, great intensity, and there are very few people like him. Our feud has easily been one of the best things in my career and that TNA has done in recent memory. He’s got so much charisma and so much energy. His enthusiasm is unparalleled.”
