Leon Slater is the current and youngest TNA X Division champion in company history.
While speaking with Adam Barnard from Sportster News, Leon Slater comments on being called the future of pro wrestling by Jeff Hardy:
“There’s almost two sides to it where l’ve been so spoiled over the past year that I’ve got to work with Matt and Jeff so much in TNA that when I hear or see stuff like that, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s cool that Jeff said something nice about me.’ And then I take a step back and I think about who I looked up to growing up, and who was my favorite wrestler, and who I had the most figures of, and who I had all the merch, and who I painted my face just to be like. And I go, ‘Jeff Hardy is saying that about me!’ Which is absolutely insane.
So whether it’s Jeff, Matt, AJ Styles, any of these veterans that I’ve grown up watching, it really spurs me on because it’s a thing now for me of not only proving maybe some people that didn’t think I could make it to where I am and don’t think I can make it past where I am, it’s not only proving them wrong, but it’s proving myself and the people that do believe in me right.
It’s real good motivation for me, and it’s obviously super cool that Jeff thinks of me that highly.”
Slater remains thrilled to bring the flavor of the X Division to new crowds everwhere, and that it’s his responsibility to carry its storied lineage into this new era. He’s determined to make sure his matches, and the division as a whole, stand head and shoulders above everything else you’ll see at a TNA show, and he’s confident TNA will appeal to everyone who loves wrestling.
“I think we offer a very, very unique product at the minute where it’s not completely sports entertainment, if you want to call it that. But it’s also not completely the modern style of wrestling that we see in other places in America. You know what I’m saying? I feel like we mesh the two at a real nice balance at the minute where you have people like the Elegance brand, where you have that sports entertainment feel to it, and then you have the X division, which has that more modern style to It’s a bit, you know what I’m saying? So I think more than anything, what TNA is going to show people when we come to these new towns and territories is that we’re different than anything else that is on the market right now. That’s for sure.”
H/T Adam Barnard from The Sportster.
Leon had a great showing last week, where he teamed with World Champion Mike Santana to take on Nic Nemeth and Eddie Edwards. Santana was pulled away from the match through an attack by Steve Maclin. Moose went after Eddie Edwards, leaving Leon and Nic to battle it out. Leon would come away the victor for their team.
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