Christopher Daniels Talks TNA's Situation With Spike TV, Leaving TNA, If He Is Welcome Back
CBS Cleveland WOIO-TV entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet spoke with Christopher Daniels yesterday before AIW's "Failure By Design" show in Cleveland, OH. During the interview, Daniels talked about his feelings on never winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, putting over young talent and which Simpsons character inspired one of his signature moves. You can watch the full interview above, here are some highlights:
Leaving TNA:
"It wasn't a decision that I made. They decided that once my contact expired they weren't going to renew and they decided to go in a different direction with their talent roster so it left me in the position of looking for a new home. They made mention that if circumstances changed, I was welcome back in TNA but at the same time I feel like letting me leave makes me think that they aren't interesting in using me. And I don't want to work for a company that is not fully invested in working with me. I don't need charity, I'm still one of the top workers in the world and if they're not interested in using me then I'm not really interested in putting 100% of my time into them. Ring of Honor, however, has decided to go 100% in my direction and I feel that if a company is 100% devoted to working with me, they will get 100% of my focus and time and energy and that's how I feel about Ring of Honor at this point."
When he plans to retire:
"Well I'll probably pass away in the ring. So that will probably be a decision that I won't actually make as much as it will be made for me. I always said that if I couldn't perform at the top level or if I wasn't having fun anymore I was going to get out. And despite whatever hardships I had whether it was with TNA or on the independent scene or wherever I was still having fun. Once the bell rang and the actual match started I was still having fun."
TNA's current situation with Spike TV:
"I heard the news and I think it's still sort of in negotiations. As someone who has a lot of friends in TNA I certainly hope that something gets resolved in their benefit as soon as possible. It's never good when any company closes down, especially one that has been as proficient as TNA — a nationally televised show, a touring company and Pay-Per-Views. If that goes away the ability to earn a living goes away for a lot of guys. I'm certainly not rooting for them to fail. I want them to do well even though I'm not there anymore."