Ring Rust Radio: Speaking of EC3, it seems that there are some obvious parallels between you guys in terms of having charisma on the mic and excelling at that cocky heel character. Did seeing what TNA did with EC3 with regard to pushing him to the top and making him the world champion so quickly factor at all into your decision to sign with TNA? Did that type of commitment appeal to you?
Mike Bennett: Absolutely. I feel like this past year was my most successful run in wrestling, but it has been in tag-team wrestling. I do love tag-team wrestling and I got to travel the world doing it with my best friend and my wife. We got to win the IWGP tag titles which to me are very prestigious. If you called me and told me at five years old that I would win those, I would’ve said, “No you are wrong. I will never even go to Japan.” There’s something extremely satisfying and tempting and motivating about a company coming to you and giving you the ball and wanting you to run with it. I never got that opportunity in ROH and that’s no one’s fault but my own. I got it in tag-team wrestling, which I am super grateful for, but I never got it as a singles wrestler. I should have done more to make that happen in ROH, but now TNA is giving me the ball to do that. I saw what someone who is hungry enough and talented enough can do when they are given the ball to run with it like EC3 did. To me I’m like, “Give me the ball. I can do this and put the company on my back and let’s roll.”
Ring Rust Radio: Maybe the one negative about your move to TNA in the eyes of many wrestling fans is the dissolution of The Kingdom, which was regarded as one of the top stables out there. Obviously Matt Taven is injured right now, but could you see yourself rejoining forces with him and Adam Cole at some point in TNA, or is it your preference at this point to proceed solely as a singles guy?
Mike Bennett: 100 percent honest, I could see us coming back together in TNA. I put out a tweet today just to tease the fans, and I said, “I feel like Kingdoms don’t die, they expand.” I feel like that’s what the Kingdom is doing right now. We talk about the Kingdom a lot as what we see on TV, but the Kingdom in reality is kind of like what the Kliq was in WWE. The four of us are all best friends, and Marie and I are husband and wife. I have known Taven since he broke in and Cole and I got each other jobs at ROH just through dark matches. We talk on a daily basis and I talk to Taven every day about his knee surgery. The Kingdom is not just what you see on TV, it’s 100 percent real and I think that’s why it works so well. For me to sit here and say, “No that will never happen,” it would be foolish of me. That would be like me saying the four of us will never be friends again. I can 100 percent see the four of us in TNA just run roughshod like we did in ROH. I would be very surprised if you never saw the Kingdom together ever again. I would put money on the fact that the Kingdom would get back together at some point.
Ring Rust Radio: What has the atmosphere been like backstage and TNA compared to Ring of Honor? Any similarities and differences? How have you and Maria been received since coming to TNA?
Mike Bennett: In all honesty, it has been really great. When I got to TNA, I had already known 90 percent of the people since the wrestling world is so small. You just kind of meet up through indie shows or tryouts or hanging out with other wrestlers and having a good time. That’s just how the wrestling world is. To me the biggest thing that stood out is the work ethic of every single guy in TNA. It really is unbelievable. I’m not just saying I didn’t expect that, I’m just saying they really blew me away. To do five shows in a row of tapings is extremely grueling. It’s really grueling for guys who are not only filming Impact matches, but also Explosion matches and One Night Only matches. These guys are killing themselves. Eric Young wrestled like 12 times and he went out there and killed it every single time. Bobby Roode, James Storm, and even to see Kurt Angle go out there five days in a row is inspiring. What I took away from it is the locker room is fired up and trying to be better. I thought there would never be a locker room that could do that besides ROH and New Japan. Then I came here and saw they are the same way. These guys want to kill just like everyone else did. I hate this perception that the morale is down and low. Everyone just wants to go kill it and everyone believes TNA is bringing it. The morale these past five days is just through the roof. Everyone was like, “Wow, we really do have a great thing here, from production value to writers, and let’s go put this on the map. Let’s go show that Pop did invest in the right wrestling company and let’s go kill it.” That’s what I loved about it.
Ring Rust Radio: You and Maria have obviously been vital parts of each other’s characters for quite some time, and a lot of fans are happy to see that it’s carrying over to TNA. Were you two always going to be a package deal, or could there have been a scenario where either just you or just her would have signed with TNA or another company?
Mike Bennett: It was one of those things that we were just taking it as it comes. If you think about it the way we think about it, we are husband and wife first and foremost. That comes first and we are family first. What’s best for me and her is always going to be what’s best. If that meant her going somewhere by herself and me going somewhere by myself, we would’ve done it. If it meant going together, we would’ve done it. If it meant her not working and me just working, we would’ve done it. If it meant me not working, but her working, we would’ve done it. It’s whatever is best for us as a couple. That’s why we always say we are a couple first that just happens to be pro wrestlers. I think every couple has the tough decision where the guy gets a good job in San Francisco, but is it worth to move the whole family out to San Francisco. I think every family deals with that just like we deal with that. If the scenario came where WWE wanted Maria and ROH wanted me, I’d go there. If TNA wanted Maria, and WWE wanted me, we would do that. Just so happens that what’s best for us not only as wrestlers, but as a family, was TNA wanted the package deal. That’s really how we came to our decision.
Ring Rust Radio: I think it’s safe to say most expect you to contend and win the TNA World Championship very soon. Donny mentioned EC3, but the biggest matches I would like to see for you is against Lashley. Is there anybody along the way that you’re looking forward to wrestling against the most?
Mike Bennett: I think one of the most intriguing parts of me coming over was the talent. It’s funny that my pay-per-view debut was against Robbie E and I have literally known him since I started wrestling. So it’s kind of ironic that we got put in that match together. Hopefully it’ll happen, but I doubt it since Kurt’s retiring, but I would love to get in there with Kurt Angle. Solely because he is Kurt freaking Angle and he is the man. I just want to get in there with Bobby Roode, Eric Young, James Storm and all these guys that I think are super talented. It’s funny because Eddie Edwards and I, we literally started training together in Massachusetts, so I have had great matches with him. Since the last time we wrestled, I think I’ve got one million times better, so I would love another match to see what I and he could do. There are just so many guys that I would love to see, but on the top of course is ECIII. Right off the bat, I really think there is something special there.
Ring Rust Radio: Signing with TNA and leaving Ring of Honor was a big move for you and your career. Now that you’re a key building block for TNA, what are your long-term goals with the company?
Mike Bennett: To me, like I said, I want to take the company and put it on my back and say let’s go. I want to be that guy. To me that’s my motivation, and my motivation is the pressure to be that guy. I want to be that guy. I want to be the world champ, and want to be the one the company is built around moving forward. I’ve said this a million times and I hope this gets around; I want to be to TNA what Stone Cold was to the Attitude Era. I know that’s a huge statement and I’m not comparing myself to Stone Cold or anything because he is legit one of the best that ever laced up the boots. I want to be looked at as “the guy.” Like, “This is what happened, then holy cow, Mike Bennett showed up and it was gravy train from here on out.” I want to be that impact player, and I want that pressure and to me, that’s what it’s all about. If you don’t live for that, what’s the point of being there?
Photo Credit: YouTube.com/ImpactWrestling
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
