Wrestling Epicenter recently interviewed Impact Wrestling’s Abyss.
Some highlights have been transcribed below. The full interview can be heard in the embedded player at the top of this post.
On why wrestling companies are looking to India:
Well, I mean, it is such a large market! If I’m not mistaken, there are close to 1.3 billion people in the country of India. There’s 300 million in the United States, so it is 3 times larger than the United States population wise. It is a great market! The fans are hungry for wrestling there, I really believe that! I believe it has been underexposed there. The fans love it and it shows and you’ll see it in our shows. It is an important market to Impact Wrestling. To develop that market. …Sony 6 has been such a great partner there. They’ve done a lot for us. We’re excited for that relationship and making it stronger as we go forward and making Impact Wrestling a big part of India!
On Dutch Mantel giving him the name, “Abyss”:
He not only had a hand in it, he was the hand in it! I can’t say enough about Dutch and what he did for my career. I started in 1995 and until 2002, I wrestled on the independent scene in the Northeast, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, New York. Dutch gave me my first break ever. If it wasn’t for Dutch, I would have never had the success I’ve had in my career. He gave me my first opportunity in IWA Puerto Rico. That was my first opportunity to experience wrestling on a full-time basis in a territory kind of feeling wrestling four nights a week. He did come up with the Abyss name. But, that’s just a scratch on the surface. He really did teach me all the steps I needed to take to move forward in my career. Dutch, he is one of the smartest guys in wrestling. He had a hand in Glen Jacobs (Kane) and some of the stuff with The Undertaker. He’s had a lot of influence on this business over the last 25-30 years. I’m honored to call him a friend. We worked together in the IWA, we worked together in TNA, in TNA Impact together, and now we’re back together again. I’m pretty happy about that. He’ll always have a dear place in my heart.
On working with Rosemary in Decay:
Incredible! She’s incredible! She’s such a piece of young, aggressive, passionate talent. I enjoyed being around her. …That goes for Steve as well. But, Rosemary, she was so motivating, so exciting to be around and do the Decay thing. She’s only getting started. She’s only scratched the surface. I think you’re going to see some big things from her in the future at Impact. I was very fortunate. …I was kind of the old dog of the three. Those two being kind of younger. It was great. They helped me out a little bit, I was able to help them out a lot.
On comparisons to Mick Foley:
I was super excited when Mick came to Impact. I’ve always looked up to him and I have been compared to him a lot, the similarities. I kind of take that as a honor. I’m honored by that. I’m not insulted by that by any means. When he came in to Impact in 2009, I had the opportunity to work with him on a pay-per-view, I think it was Bound for Glory in Irvine, California. …It was great, man. I just enjoyed getting to sit with him and talk to him and I did learn a lot from him. He really taught me a lot about keeping it a story and making everything mean something. That is a lot of what I took from being around him and working with him. I’ve always heard the comparisons to Mankind and to Mick, Kane, and Undertaker and so forth. I think there are definite elements. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to do something original. But, I also think with Impact Wrestling, I’ve been able to do things to make the character stand out on its own and give it its own unique features and characteristics as well.
