news-engine

TNA International Champion Jason Hotch revealed that spending two years with and around Mustafa Ali helped him break down his psychology and dethrone Ali to become the TNA International Champion. At TNA Lockdown, the Steel Cage rematch is set, but it’s another Jason Hotch who will enter the cage this Sunday. Mustafa Ali targeted Hotch’s family two weeks ago. This time, things are getting personal. In an interview with Last Word on Sports Pro Wrestling and WorldWide Wrestling, TNA International Champion Jason Hotch discussed various subjects. This includes becoming TNA International Champion and, so, one of the company’s “flagbearers,” the future of his team with John Skyler, Mustafa Ali’s mentorship, and more. Jason Hotch, #AndNEW TNA International Champion “At one point in the match, we did a superplex to the floor. I was pretty rocked afterwards, coughing up a little blood. I had my family right there, actually like right next to me, so that was kind of a little extra motivation to, “hey, I gotta get back up, and I gotta finish and whatever happens when I’m behind the curtain, so be it.” “Having a little momentum towards the end of the match, I felt like I was going to put it away, and I’m going to actually do it. Once the bell rang, I turned around, and I saw my wife and daughter on the apron. It was kind of like I could finally breathe. It was very special to be able to share my biggest moment with the two girls that I love the most.” A Steel Cage rematch at TNA Lockdown “Going into the main event of TNA iMPACT on July 30th, I knew I was going in there against one of the best in the world. I had to try to slay the dragon, and I did. But then, it could have stopped there. Ali could have been proud of me as any mentor should be, but he can’t have anybody better than him. So then he proceeds to make it very personal and kind of taunt and threaten my wife and daughter, which, if you want one way to get under my skin, that could be it. “Being a part of TNA Lockdown, it hasn’t had a Lockdown pay-per-view in over 10 years; that’s an honor. I’m very thankful to be a part of this event, but it’s very personal to me. So, really, as soon as that cage door shuts and the bell rings, I’m bringing the fight to Ali, and I’m not doing this just for me. I’m doing it for my family too.” Mustafa Ali’s mentorship’s helped Hotch defeat him “I spent almost two years with Mustafa Ali. Just being around him, listening to the way he thinks about things, just being able to break down his psychology has helped me tremendously. And big thanks to TNA for giving me this shot. Thanks to the TNA locker room for voting me in to be Ali’s next opponent. “I think the locker room kind of saw that he’s having all these International matches and he’s winning. And he’s winning because he is one of the best to do it today. But if anybody knows Mustafa Ali best, it’s going to be me because I’ve been working hand in hand with him. I knew it was going to be a tall task, slaying the dragon. “That kind of opened my eyes. I can stand on my own two feet, and I can do this thing alone if I need to. But now, everything is very personal to me. So, I’m walking into Chicago, Ali’s hometown. I have nothing but love for Chicago. I know I’m the awaited one. I know he’s the hometown guy, which, to a degree, might put more pressure on him. What if he loses in front of all his friends and family, in front of all his fans? The pressure is ultimately on him. “My wife and daughter, they’re going to be there. Those are the two people that I’m worrying about. He has friendships, connections, relationships with a lot of people in that building. So, how is he going to feel if he loses? It’s a completely different perspective this time around compared to that main event on TNA iMPACT.” His tag-team partner, John Skyler “I would love for John to, not necessarily follow me, but have enough courage to leave the group. I didn’t really ask him. I just kind of said, “I’m done with Order 4. I’m no longer in Order 4.” And I told John to follow me. We were figuring out our way before Order 4, and we can do it again. He told me that he needs this job. If I had it my way, John Skyler would be my right-hand man. He’s my best friend, a guy I look up to for the way that he works and the way that he loves the business. “He and Tasha Steelz are all kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. So, I don’t know what’s in store for the Great Hands. I just hope that John eventually opens his eyes and realizes. I think he’s got the hots for Mila Moore. I hope he just understands who truly cares about him. And I can say with 100% certainty that I’m the one who cares about him. And I just hope he sees that.” Champion means TNA’s “flagbearer” “There is pressure that comes with it. I’ve always loved being in pressured situations. I talk about it all the time. When I played college baseball, I wanted to be the one who’s up, two outs, bottom of the ninth, chance to win the game. This is why we get into wrestling; we all want to be a Champion. We all want to be featured on the show every week. Everything that I’ve kind of gone through, everything I’ve done in my career, I feel like I’ve done it to my absolute fullest potential. “I feel like the reward of just treading water, being able to say that I’m a TNA Gut Check winner, and looking at the lineage and the history of Gut Check winners, it’s not overwhelmingly positive. To be able to say that I won the Gut Check and that I’m now TNA International Champion is really cool. I haven’t fallen in that black hole that seems to swallow up the Gut Check winners. Ultimately, this is what I’ve wanted for a while. I’m just embracing it to the fullest and trying to make as many connections as I possibly can.” TNA Wrestling’s path “As far as TNA, I feel like putting me with a guy like John Skyler who’s been wrestling 10 years more than I have. He’s 18 years in; I’m eight. Being able to learn from John, and then obviously develop this friendship and this brotherhood, I feel like they’ve just done nothing but put me in positions to kind of get better. I know when we first got together, it was pitched, “You’re going to be in a tag team. You’re going to be the Good Hands. You’re not gonna win a lot, but you’re gonna be featured just about every week. “At that point in our career, where we were in the company, that’s all we could really ask for. So, them slowly giving us more and more exposure, eventually giving us a tag title match Against All Odds two years ago. Then, Ali comes, and we get put with one of the best wrestlers in the world, and we get to learn under him. So, I get Tasha Steelz, who’s been there for a long time; I get John Skyler, 18 years. And then I get Ali. So I’m like constantly learning every day that I go to work. I feel like this company’s really put me in the best possible situation to get better and learn.”