TNA's Magnus Talks Dixie Carter's Table Spot, If He'd Ever Go To WWE, His Forthcoming Book

Nick Aldis, better known to TNA fans as Magnus, recently spoke with WrestlingINC.com regarding a variety of subjects. In the third and final portion of our interview, he discusses the controversial spot in which Bully Ray put Dixie Carter through a table, whether or not he'd ever consider working in WWE and his forthcoming book, The Superstar Body.

You can read the first installment of our interview with Magnus at this link and the second installment at this link.

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Dixie's table spot earlier this year garnered mixed reactions. Some people saw it as the logical end to the story, some folks just liked the image itself of seeing her crash through the table and other folks thought it went a little too far. What was your opinion of how it all worked out?

I didn't think it was going too far. Look, she was willing to do it. She is the most invested in the company; she owns it. She thought that was the right thing to do for business and she did it. And I have to say she is not in any way, shape or form a trained athlete or even a performer of any kind, really. That's a hellacious bump to take. And she did hurt herself a little bit on that. Luckily, she wasn't severely injured but she did hurt herself. Everybody, regardless of any opinion they may have had of her, or what she said, or what she has done in her public persona or as Dixie Carter herself?and I know there is not much of a distinction between the two but there is? I'm telling you that there is, actually in real life?everybody should respect the fact that she was willing to do that and place her trust in Bully Ray to do that. But I thought it was good. Any time you can create a moment, that's what you're supposed to do, right? And I thought it was a moment. It did get people talking. I don't think it was one of those things where it's like half the people loved it and half the people hated it. I think overall it was just a moment. it was one of those things that people talk about and that's really what we're in the business of doing if you've got a two-hour show. You've got to try and create those memorable moments.

The big question that people invariably come to with big names from the indies, ROH or TNA that haven't made it to WWE is, do you want to work there? What do you say to that? Has it ever been on the table? Do you consider it a possibility in the future?

This is one of those really awkward questions that you get asked publicly and there's no way I can completely answer that question without it being misconstrued or without being difficult. I don't mind that response being out there, though.

For example, I was asked this question once before, a long time ago (at a London comic con)?like, back when Eric Bischoff was running things?and I found out months and months later that he was pissed off about it because I had basically said, 'Obviously I'm under contract with TNA right now but if that was to change?' To anyone from my generation who grew up in the U.K. , WWF was the be all, end all. That's the reason I got into the wrestling business; it's the reason I got into sports entertainment; it's the reason that I persevered at a young age to lift weights and to better myself and to work on my acting? all of those things. I was inspired by what I saw on their television show. It's always been a dream of mine. Whether or not it happens?

It's like somebody saying, 'I decided to get into acting because I saw a James Bond movie, then I took acting lessons and got into showbiz and now I'm this big star on Broadway? But I don't think I'm ever going to get cast in a Bond film!'

It's funny because the wrestling business is so unique. 'Sports entertainment is really the perfect term for it because it's somewhere between sports and entertainment. Sometimes when it suits them, they make constant comparisons to the NFL or the NBA. But then it's really not like that because to get into the NFL or to get into the English Premiere League or to get into the NBA, you're purely judged upon your performance in a legitimate sense. It's not subjective. If you go out and score 50 points every game in college, you're going to get drafted. But it doesn't work like that (in wrestling) because there are a million other factors that come into play. And I'm fully aware of that.

Let's put it like this: If the opportunity arose, I would absolutely love to try. I would love the opportunity. But at the same time, I'm not going to be sitting around? It's not taking anything away from what I have done or what I continue to do in my career.

How about work out of the ring? A lot of fans might not know about your television career and your work in theater. From time to time, you do some writing about the wrestling business, as well. Can you talk a little about these endeavors and tell us what kind of projects you're working on at present?

A great deal of fans are familiar with the fact that I got a really good break at 21 by being on (the British TV show) Gladiators and I did two seasons. That really opened the door for a lot of things for me, including TNA. I used that?I thought, quite wisely?as a springboard.

Through my relationship with Sky and Challenge programming and all the rest of it, I was able to host a a couple of seasons of and I quietly started with TNA. They actually wanted me to start in November of 2008 but I couldn't because I'd already agreed to perform in a play; to be in a stage production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and that was at Theatre Royal. Then I took some time out from TNA in 2012 to go back and be The Genie in Aladdin, which was phenomenal; a big payday, and in fairness to TNA, they still paid me the whole time, too. It was very generous of them. It was great. We set box office records at Theatre Royal and it got very good reviews. It's not like it has opened a ton of doors for me. You know, I audition for what I can. I've been looked at a couple of times. I won't say they're looking for a part for me because that would be arrogant. But I've definitely been looked at more than once by producers at AMC for TURN: Washington's Spies. Obviously, my physique doesn't really fit the Revolutionary War era. There weren't a lot of guys walking around that were 250 pounds and all muscle. But it's to cultivate relationships.

Outside of that, my major thing I'm working on right now is my fitness book. I signed a publishing deal last year with Pitch Publishing and my book is truly a fitness book. There will be a few wrestling stories in there that kind of pertain to what inspired me to want to change my body, because when I was younger, I was very skinny and had a negative body image and wrestling was my vehicle and inspiration to change that and it became a passion by itself. So I'm writing a fitness book. I'm qualified and trained. I got that qualification a while back. The unique thing about the book is it's going to be for everyone. It's not just for guys who want to have abs or this or that. It's for guys and girls and the reason I call it The Superstar Body is because it's for making you feel like you look like a superstar. Whether you want to be big, small, thick, thin. And basically, I'm pulling from a lot of different people who are writing guest paragraphs in the book. It's ranging from physique competitors to Olympic medalists and it uses models, athletes and all kinds of different descriptions. I'm not arrogant enough to think that I have enough knowledge to tell every single person in the world how to change their bodies. But I know enough people to where I'm guiding you though it and I'm giving you the real-world techniques. I'm telling you, "Look, you don't have to sit at home every day and eat plain chicken breasts and rice and sweet potatoes and drink protein shakes and live like a monk." I don't do that. I won't do that. But it's also like: "Hey, look at David McIntosh. He's got a ridiculous physique. Do you want to know what he does? Here you go." Or "Have you seen the ass and legs on Brooke Tessmacher? Well look, she's going to tell you what works because it didn't happen by accident. She got it by working out and here's her workout routine."

It happens to me a lot?I'm not bragging about it?and it happens to a lot of guys: "Guys will walk up in the gym and say, "Hey man, what are you doing? What do you eat? What do you take?" and it's like, "I don't have enough time to tell you." But the book is basically a lot of people with very good bodies of different shapes and sizes and forms?not just aesthetically but in functionality basically going, "This is what I do. This is what works for me."

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Nick's book The Superstar Body will be released later this year.

You can follow Nick Aldis on Twitter via @MagnusOfficial and visit his personal website at www.nickaldis.com.

Please check out the first installment of our interview with Magnus at this link and the second installment at this link.