Current TNA Commentator Taz spoke with Busted Open Radio and down below are the highlights:
On Vince Russo: “I didn’t know he was gone from TNA until some followers tweeted me that he was gone. Anytime someone loses a position in any kind of company, you don’t want to see that happen to anyone. There’s nothing good that comes from it. I don’t want it to happen to anyone. I considered Vince a good friend of mine. Vince knows my stance on why we don’t talk anymore. It’s private and I’m not going to share it with the public, but him and I texted each other a few times back and forth talking about why I said the things I said on Twitter. My point was I think that anyone on Twitter should promote themselves and make money. He’s promoting his podcast, his site, etc and that’s fine. Some followers of mine were confused because I had him on my show recently, and all I have to say is sometimes stuff happens. Abruptly. That’s exactly what happened with him and I. He did some things I was not happy with and I thought was bad, and I’m still pissed about it.”
On Vince Russo accidentally revealing his creative role to the press: “I’m just trying to be cool about it and some of his fans are coming at me about it. He’s got a family and he’s got bills to pay. I believe you need to be accountable for your actions. Life isn’t like baseball. Sometimes it’s one strike. I worked at a place where if confidential information was shared, you’re gone. Instantly. You can’t do that. There’s more to the story that I’m not going to share right now, but that day was very weird. Mike Tenay and I were in a studio suite doing lines for international stuff and I got an email, Mike didn’t and everything blew up. Vince was a little confused as to why I would blindside him and why I would say nasty things about him and unfollower him. What I said to Vince was he went public with his business which effected my coworkers and where I make my living so if you’re going to air your laundry, I’m gonna air mine. 2 wrongs don’t make a right though and in that case I was wrong (tweeting his anger). I was extremely angry, and it was unprofessional.”
On TNAs ratings and TV deal negotiations: “A very prominent figure in the business told me ‘The ratings TNA is getting is nothing to sneeze at. You’re building a lot of momentum and the shows have been awesome. You have money right there. You can feel the difference in the type of shows.’ and this wasn’t some nobody. This was a very known very big figure not in TNA that told me and I don’t feel comfortable giving out his name. When he said that to me, I agree. WWE have a built in audience. They are giving you 52 weeks worth of 5 or so hours a week of programming. We in TNA are giving you 2 hours of programming 52 weeks a year with a built in audience. There’s no one else that I’m aware of in the business that does this besides us. We’re the red headed step child of the wrestling business. We are always getting killed by fans. I’m looking at the hate from fans that are tweeting me that they’re happy that people are going to be out of work. I can’t believe that. I don’t want to see anybody whether they make 10 dollars or 10 million dollars a week lose their job. Even Russo. Anyone to tweet that they’re happy that people are losing jobs I just don’t understand how you can be happy about something like that.”
On what if TNA gets dropped from Spike TV and can’t get a new deal: “I think TNA gets a new network. I’m not gonna say there’s no concern. Of course there is a concern. I believe there is a confidence that the company is putting on a great product and we have the fans to thank that have been supportive of the company. In a nutshell, I’d be shocked if the company didn’t end up on another network if Spike doesn’t work out. I’m not in the loop and I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m sure Spike will work out.”
