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PWInsiderElite.com recently sat down with TNA Champion Leon Slater. Highlights from the conversation:
Winning the TNA Championship and the trust the company has put in him: "It was a great feeling, especially from the growth that I've had over the past twelve to eighteen months. Not only as a performer, an in-ring talent, or a professional wrestler, but as a human being I've grown up so much in the past year and a half. Being the cap on that and the start to a new chapter all at the same time is a very rewarding feeling. I've always been gifted in the ring, and that's always been my strongest suit. Over this past period of time, I've worked so hard on my look, my promo, my character, and putting all of these pieces together to be the most complete and well-rounded wrestler I possibly can be. To be rewarded with the opportunity to be World Champion is something I'll forever be thankful for, especially at the age of 22. We're in a new age right now where there is a lot of younger talent coming up and we're getting more TV time, but none of us have really been given the reins yet. I am super proud, and it's a feeling I hold super close to my heart that I get to be that figurehead. I get to be that test to see if this generation can hack it right now because we've been asking for these opportunities. We've been asking for our time in the sun, and I finally got it. All I have to do now is prove everyone that believed in me right, and prove everyone that didn't wrong."
Getting to be one of the rare British talents to hold the title: "It's another unbelievable feeling. I haven't even begun to think about the impact this has made for my country and for my people. Especially being from the north of England and from Bradford, it means a little bit more. A lot of the time we all get clustered into one, and when people think of a British wrestler, they think of someone with a southern or London accent. That's not all of us. Growing up, I never had anyone with a similar accent or from the same background to look to for inspiration. I'm proud and happy that hopefully I can be that inspiration for the next generation."
How he has grown since coming to TNA: "Maturity would be the simplest way to put it. I've been very lucky to always be around older people. The difference in the last year or so has been the caliber of people around me. The quality and quantity of successful people I've been around in the past eighteen months has been a great learning experience. I pride myself on being observant and seeing how people operate in and out of the ring, whether it's how I'm dressing now or how I carry myself in media. The WWE run helped me tenfold just to see how people operate on one of the highest possible levels in our industry. I feel I've grown up a lot as a human being, and a lot of that is attributed to the people I've been lucky to be around."
Facing Trey Miguel at Destination X: "I am very excited. I couldn't think of a better challenger than Trey Miguel. He has been a measuring stick for me during my time at TNA. I remember wrestling him when I first got here, a year ago, and two years ago, and I feel like every time I've managed to close the gap between myself and Trey. It may be a little arrogant of me to say, but with the world title around my shoulder, I feel I've cleared Trey Miguel. I think that's a side of me people haven't seen yet. People have always seen me on the chase, climbing the mountain, but now I am the mountain in TNA, and I am excited to see if Trey Miguel can provide me a challenge in Edmonton at Destination X."
Amazing Red: "The Amazing Red being X Division Champion is very fitting for this time in TNA. There are a whole lot of young guys that are hungry and starving for this opportunity. Red is in a time of his life where he's found that hunger and fire again. It's a testament to him that he's managed to come back after so long away and win the X Division Championship on the same night he's being inducted into the Hall of Fame. That is absolutely legendary stuff. As a young guy myself, I already know the chip that adds on someone like KC Navarro, BDE, Fabian Aichner, or Cedric Alexander. All of these guys are working so hard to get the X Division title, and now there is the extra caveat of beating The Amazing Red if you manage to do it. This version of Red is completely different than the version I wrestled at House of Glory last year. If he ever wanted to cash in Option C, it would provide me a whole new challenge that I'd be more than welcoming to."
Processing live reactions when he's in midst of performing such a high-impact style: "That's the beautiful thing about wrestling, especially the style I wrestle. Because some of the stuff I'm doing is so complex, when that energy matches and the vibration in the room is tangible, you can feel it and feed off it, and it's a beautiful thing to be able to forget about the physicality. I don't have to worry about getting the timing or the pop on my hips right when I hit a Swanton 450. It's a beautiful feeling for your body to just move and be in that flow state. If you could bottle that feeling up and sell it, you'd be a trillionaire. It truly is the best feeling in the world, and it's the drug all professional wrestlers chase, which is why people in their fifties and sixties still do this when they don't need the money or fame. It's that feeling from the audience that keeps us going, and the adrenaline definitely helps."
Matt and Jeff Hardy: "They have been absolutely instrumental to my success and growth over the past three years. It's a position I've been blessed with. Not only getting to learn from them in the ring, but seeing how they operate outside of it and getting to know them personally has been a blessing. As someone who grew up as a huge Hardy Boyz fan—cutting my mom's socks up for arm sleeves and throwing the V1s up my whole childhood—getting to work closely with them has been a dream come true. It would also be a dream come true to face either of them in a one-on-one match for the TNA World Championship. I heard Jeff recently said facing me one-on-one for the title would be on his bucket list, and I'd be more than happy to take that off his bucket list for him. The Hardys have been instrumental, I will forever be thankful for them, and they are absolute legends."
TNA's run on AMC: "It's a great feeling, and it was more of a validation of the way I've been looking at TNA. We always felt we were ready for a platform and an opportunity like this, and we were asking for it. I'm a big believer that when you get the opportunity, you better make the most of it, and I feel we have on AMC. Everybody smashed it, from management to the talent, when it comes to delivering week after week on AMC."
Being in this position at such a young age: "At twenty-two years old, I never thought I would live the life I do. I wouldn't be able to without people like yourself, Mike, and all the fans. I am extremely grateful to everyone who has tweeted, been in the crowd, bought a t-shirt, bought a ticket to a meet and greet, or bought a durag in support over the years. From the British indies to the NXT run, to the TNA run, to the World Championship run now, I am extremely blessed to live my dream life. I can't thank you guys enough, and I will be eternally grateful."
Leon Slater vs. Trey Miguel will headline Destination X on 11/15 on TNA+.
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