THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
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Kenny King is one of the brightest young stars in TNA. Having began his grappling career on reality TV show, WWE Tough Enough, King is now X-Division champion in TNA. The 31-year-old from Queens, New York talks to Josh Modaberi about getting to wrestle his boyhood hero RVD, taking Impact on the road in America, his lofty ambitions and much more... Q. You began your wrestling career through reality show WWE Tough Enough. What was that experience like? I actually transferred from the University of South Florida to UNLV to play football in my junior year. I remember watching the first series of Tough Enough when I was in Florida and I was thinking 'man I could do that'. I've been a wrestling fan my whole life. When I walked on campus at UNLV, I saw an advert in the student paper for WWE Tough Enough. I had two days to send my tape in and I managed to get it in at the last minute, not thinking that I would hear back. A few weeks later I got the call and was asked to do it, and that show changed my life. Q. What was it like working with the Tough Enough trainers Bob Holly, Ivory and of course Al Snow and Chavo Guerrero, who are also in TNA? It definitely kind of bugs me out at times when I walk past Chavo and Al, also when I walk past Matt Morgan who was in my series of Tough Enough; these are people I was with day in and day out all day long. It has gone full circle with all of us being in TNA now and it really helped me settle in when I got here seeing those familiar faces. Q. When growing up, who were some of the wrestlers that you enjoyed watching? I was a big fan of Demolition, I always preferred Demolition to the Road Warriors or Legion of Doom. Mr Perfect. I loved Curt Hennig - everything about him was just amazing, as well as Rick Rude, The APA were just so hard hitting as a tag team, and of course The Rock was amazing. It’s no secret that I loved watching RVD when growing up; I loved that whole ECW era really. Q. This is your second spell with TNA - you worked with the company between 2005 – 2006. What was your first spell with the company like? That first spell was a learning experience, on one hand I wasn’t used to very much but I got a chance to step in the ring with guys that I looked up to and respected, like Ron Killings, Monty Brown, Abyss, and Lance Hoyt. It was cool; I was on the first ever episode of Impact on Spike TV. I would say it all definitely helped me in the long run. Q. You’ve also spent time in ROH (Ring of Honor), and been in the ring with guys like Daniel Bryan, El Generico, Jerry Lynn, Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin. What were those experiences like? It was amazing, if you look at some of the guys you’ve just mentioned, a lot of those names have either been in WWE or TNA already, or are now in WWE or TNA. My time in Ring of Honor was very special and all I wanted to do was wrestle and get better. My time there was very instrumental in terms of the wrestler that I am today. Q. You returned to TNA last year. What has it been like since your return and capturing the X-Division title? I've never thought once that I’ve made the wrong decision; it’s just a great atmosphere here and that's what you need to have great wrestling. Everybody seems to be on the same page and understands the goal of the company. In the locker-room we all want the product to be the best it can be. As for the X-Division title, to have a number of matches with RVD was awesome and to beat him to capture my first title in TNA is just amazing. Q. After a great series of matches with RVD, who else are you looking forward to getting in the ring with? I can't wait to do something with AJ Styles. His athleticism matches my own and I think we will be able to have some great matches together. At some point I want to step in the ring with my buddy Austin Aries; there is some history between us from our time in ROH, and that could add an extra spice to our matches here in TNA. Q. You were part of the recent TNA UK tour, how did you find it? I loved it, I thought it was amazing – the energy from the fans, the energy in the arenas. I had an amazing time and I'm looking forward to going back over to the UK again next year. Q. TNA are leaving the Impact Zone and are heading on the road on a permanent basis, is that something you’re looking forward to? I really am. I think that it’s the next logical progression to start taking Impact on the road. I think that the confidence has kind of stemmed from the support we got in the UK and if we can have that in the UK then we should definitely be able to have that throughout the fifty states. Q. What can we expect from Kenny King for the rest of 2013? After capturing the X-Division title I have very lofty goals. I want to continue to elevate the X-Division and set the standard there. Then I will be setting my sights on cashing in the X-Division title for a shot at Jeff Hardy’s Heavyweight Title. You can catch TNA Impact Wrestling every Sunday night on Challenge TV at 9pm GMT. You can follow Kenny King on Twitter @KennyKingpinAnX |
