By Anthony Rosas of UPW.comWhat else can be said about Frankie Kazarian that has not already been said. He is on the cusp of accomplishing a lifelong dream of becoming a WWE superstar. He is the Future of professional wrestling, and everyone knows it. Even the legends of wrestling acknowledge the talent Kazarian possesses as he was recently awarded the Future Legends Award at the Cauliflower Alley Club, an award that fellow WWE stars Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle have received. Kazarian comes across as a confident star when at home in the squared circle, and outside of the ring, he is one of the nicest and most personable wrestlers you will ever meet. He has remained grounded throughout all of his successes and now will embark on a journey that will take him from superstar status to that of a legend. Frankie Kazarian is the Future, and as he says ever so often, “The future looks good!” Hear it straight from the Future himself in this candid conversation. The full interview can be found at www.upw.com which includes the Big 25, a word association game in which you will see Kazarian’s thoughts on Triple H, PWG, and Jeff Jarrett, and current champions of the WWE; Batista and John Cena among many others!
Why did you want to be a pro wrestler?
Ah, how every interview starts. Basically, it was something I loved since I was 7 years old, when I first saw it, it was WrestleMania 1 actually. It was the only thing that every really interested me.
Who were some of you influences then and now?
Back then it was Ricky Steamboat, Tito Santana, Hulk Hogan, and wrestlers like that. As I got older it became wrestlers like Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, and Davey Boy Smith.
What was it like training with Killer Kowalski?
It was awesome. I went up to Massachusetts and just enamored myself in professional wrestling. It was the best training I could have gotten anywhere in the country, so I went there and I am grateful to have been trained by him.
What brought you out to California and UPW?
Well I lived in California originally, but moved to Massachusetts to train. When I came back with UPW around early 2000, they were a growing promotion and using a lot of good local talent. They were also getting a lot of good looks from WWE, Japan and places like that. I just wanted to be part of it.
What are your thoughts on your run with Nova (Simon Dean)?
We had very similar styles, and I learned a lot from him. We had a really good tag team, it was cool as we wrestled all over the world together. I am grateful for that time, I learned a lot.
How did you feel winning the UPW Lightweight title and your long title reign?
I won it in a triple threat match with B-Boy and Spanky. It was an honor to win the belt. I did have it for a long time because UPW has not been running shows frequently in the last couple years. I wrestled everybody in the cruiserweight division and OI am really happy to have had a title run that long.
What is it like working WWE dark matches?
To me, it is just like working a regular mach, just in a WWE ring and with more people.
What brought you to TNA, and what was the atmosphere like?
TNA brought me in a couple years ago, summer 2003. I had some friends wrestling there and knew some people, Scott D’Amore, Disco Inferno. The atmosphere was awesome, I loved TNA. I still watch and support it. It was a great place to work. TNA really helped me get my name out there.
How did you feel about your push right away?
It was just cool being in there with the X Division talent, like AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Michael Shane and other guys like that. It was a cool and different style, very unique. I had a great time there.
Describe the Ultimate X match and how it felt to be a part of something new.
It was cool being a part of the first one ever. It was a totally unique concept. With Michael Shane and Chris Sabin, it was awesome. It was kind of scary, as we didn’t really have any time to go over anything beforehand. We went in blind, but it was cool, and I’ve been in a couple of the other ones. It is a cool match, I just think it is overdone these days.
How did it feel to be the internet darling for a couple weeks prior to signing with WWE?
I didn’t know I was an internet darling! I don’t know, I felt regular. I don’t pay attention to anything like that.
Do you feel being the first major name to go from TNA to WWE will have any long term impacts on the world of wrestling?
I hope so, we will see. I guess I am the first person to leave TNA specifically to go to the WWE. I hope TNA is around long enough for it to actually mean something to both companies.
What brought you to WWE and who do you want to work with?
It was basically what I always dreamed about doing, wrestling in a WWE ring. It was ultimately where I wanted to go. I really enjoyed my time in TNA but it was my dream. As far as working, I want to work with everyone in WWE, absolutely everyone. All of the cruiserweights, Shawn Michaels, I would love to wrestle him; Triple H, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, the list goes on an on.
Which wrestlers have taught you the most throughout your career?
Me, no other wrestler can teach you about your own career. Only you can teach yourself, you can learn from others, but about your own career you have to do it yourself. You get pushed down and have to get back up yourself and learn from your own mistakes.
What is your frame of mind regarding your career at this point in time?
I am very happy, I am exactly where I want to be. I just can’t wait to get going. The next chapter is WWE.
How do you feel being among Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit winning the Future Legends Award at the CAC?
It was really an honor. It was totally unexpected. It was really a cool honor to be recognized by legends, people who paved the way for guys like me, and who I don’t think they get enough respect. I couldn’t be happier and more honored.
THE BIG 25
WORD ASSOCIATION
1. UPW—Independent wrestling promotion in Southern California
2. WWE—Best wrestling there is
3. TNA—Up and coming company that has some tremendous talent, and hopefully the talent will reign supreme over the booking
4. PWG—Best independent federation in California
5. WrestleMania—An event that takes places once a year put on by WWE
6. Ring Of Honor—A federation based in Philadelphia
7. Frankie Kazarian—A wrestler based in Southern California
8. Chris Benoit—One of the top 5 best wrestlers that have ever lived
9. Shawn Michaels—The best wrestler that ever lived
10. Jeff Jarrett—A nice guy, and good wrestler, and needs to lose about 10 pounds
11. X Division—The best and most unique wrestling going on is being completely overlooked
12. Batista—Great champion, awesome look; a new breed of wrestler
13. John Cena—A good friend, he is where he is because of his attitude, and just an all around great guy
14. Vince McMahon—The Godfather of the whole industry, and is the reason professional wrestling is as popular as it is
15. Rick Bassman—A good guy, good friend; a successful promoter and successful businessman
16. ECW—A promotion that I wish was still around, and had the most innovative wrestling ever
17. Killer Kowalski—My mentor, one of the best heels ever, one of the best wrestlers period, I love him with all my heart
18. Triple H—He was a great champion, and a very accomplished wrestler. He gets hated way to much by people who just don’t know
19. Kowalski’s best graduate—Frankie Kazarian
20. SoCal Wrestling—Hit and Miss, there are a couple of feds out here that are good, there is a lot of talented wrestlers. Sometimes a lot of the shows are not booked as smart as they can be but overall I think we have a decent product
21. Best Wrestler—In my opinion Shawn Michaels, but you could make a case for Bret Hart and Ric Flair as well
22. Chris Daniels—One of my best friends in wrestling, one of the best wrestlers going today. His matches are always crisp, they are always good He is a fine human being
23. The Future—Looks good
24. Success—A word used to describe Frankie Kazarian quite often!
25. Sports Entertainment—A fancy way to say professional wrestling.
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