Frankie Kazarian will make his presence felt at TNA Slammiversary, despite not being booked on the show, Last Word on Pro Wrestling can exclusively reveal.
In an interview with Last Word on Pro Wrestling and WorldWide Wrestling, the King of TNA himself, Frankie Kazarian, discussed various subjects. This includes the upcoming TNA Slammiversary, his legacy, betting on himself, and TNA Wrestling, as well as his decision to leave AEW.
Since his comeback, Kazarian has been chasing the only TNA Championship that has eluded him, the TNA World Championship. This might not happen this Sunday at Slammiversary, but the King of TNA has a goal that he has not decided to let down.
The King Has No Match Yet at Slammiversary
“No, nothing announced, but one of our biggest pay-per-views of the year in one of the biggest markets on earth and one of the biggest buildings we have run thus far. So, no, I do not have a match as of yet. However, being the King of TNA, I 100% will be there and I will make my presence felt. I guarantee that.”
His Opinion on the Slammiversary World Championship Match
“My objective is the TNA World title. So, I’ll be watching this match more closely than any other. It’s anything that happened. Trick Williams is the man. He’s the champion right now. So, he’s a guy that has to be beat. Joe Hendry and Mike Santana have yet to prove they can beat him. Joe Hendry has the fans behind him, but so does Mike Santana, because this is going to be New York City.
“Mike Santana is very hungry. He has a lot of drive and passion. It’s anybody’s match to win, but Trick Williams is the man, and he’s got to be beat. So until one of those two proves that they can do it, he’s the guy that my eyes are on.”
Does the TNA World Championship have to Come Back Home?
“Absolutely. Again, I blame Joe Hendry for losing it in the first place. If I were TNA Champion, I would have never lost the belt, certainly to an outsider. I would have protected it with my life. I would have done whatever I needed to do to keep that title. I’m not mad at Trick Williams for being champ. I’m mad at Joe Hendry for losing the belt to an outsider.”
.@FrankieKazarian TALKS ABOUT The TNA World Championship main event at #TNASlammiversary with @Santana_Proud, @joehendry and @_trickwilliams on The Kings Speech! #TNAiMPACT
WATCH on TNA+: https://t.co/CmnWOUxAeY
WATCH on YouTube: https://t.co/I9HJXD5CRj pic.twitter.com/Nzm2Mfn8zY— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) July 4, 2025
Who Would He Like to Take the Belt Away From?
“That’s a tough question. I like nothing more than beating Joe Hendry up and disappointing his fans. There’s that. I would love to beat Mike Santana again. And I’ve never wrestled Trick Williams one-on-one, so that certainly would be very interesting and intriguing.
“For different reasons, I would like to kind of beat them all. Trick Williams and I have never had a singles match, so that would be very interesting because I know he’s been in the ring with Joe and he’s been in the ring with Mike, but he’s never been in the ring with me, so I don’t know if he would be prepared for what I can bring to the table.”
The Failed Rebellion Cash-In
“I have no regrets (announcing he was cashing in the Call Your Shot). Everybody thought I was going to maybe sneak attack someone at the end of a match or do it at the end of a show as a surprise. I even teased that a few times. I was a man. I called my shot. I told everybody when I was cashing in. I don’t regret it at all.
“But what I do regret is Santino (Marella) getting involved and allowing Ethan Page to be in the match. Ethan Page got beat by Joe Hendry. I did not get beat by Joe Hendry. I got screwed. I should still have that Call Your Shot Gauntlet trophy. I blame the political animal that is Santino for allowing that to happen.”
.@FrankieKazarian turned the Standing Ovation into a Flatliner! @joehendry
Watch #TNAAgainstAllOdds on TNA+: https://t.co/zOTEUV1jQN
Get 1 month of TNA+ FREE with code ODDS25 pic.twitter.com/1Y0FLnS4hg
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) June 7, 2025
Never Winning the TNA World Championship…
“It’s a great question. I’ve accomplished more in my career than I ever thought possible already, but I would be lying if I said that something is certainly not missing from this wall behind me here. I’ve worked very long and very hard to become a TNA World Champion. I am more than qualified to be that guy. That’s my only concern right now. And until I get that title, my only concern is becoming TNA World Champion.”
Betting on Himself While Coming Back to TNA Wrestling
“Like I always say, if you bet on yourself, you never lose. Everything that’s happened since I came back, the success of myself, the success of TNA, the rebranding of TNA, to see the popularity of the company, how everything’s trending upwards, it’s all reassurance that I made the best decision I possibly could have made.
“It’s been maybe the funnest two and a half, three years of my career. I’ve reconnected with a lot of old friends and made a lot of great new lifetime friends. And I’ve done some of my best, probably my best work, and had some of my best matches. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful that I made that decision to bet on myself.”
ICYMI: Watch Part 2 of @MeanGiaMiller's EXCLUSIVE interview with @FrankieKazarian.
HERE!⬇️ pic.twitter.com/N9tbiMOalO
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) May 5, 2023
Being a TNA Original in the 2025 TNA Wrestling
“I enjoy every aspect of what we do. The travel gets to be a bit much at times, but my worst day in pro-wrestling is better than my best day doing anything else. Even doing media and doing interviews, I look forward to it. Getting the opportunity to promote TNA through a charity softball game like we’re doing this Saturday, I enjoy that a lot. Being able to do commentary with Matt (Rehwoldt) and Tom (Hannifan), I enjoy that.
“I’ve been lucky enough to kind of learn every aspect of the professional wrestling business, not just in the ring, but what goes on in the truck, what goes on in creative, what goes on behind the scenes. There’s so many different
facets to pro-wrestling, and I’ve kind of learned a lot about every area of this business, and I enjoy it all.”
.@FrankieKazarian just sent @TheEricYoung CRASHING through a table! #Rebellion pic.twitter.com/x4wXyBvJpW
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 21, 2024
Final TNA Originals
“There was a time that Eric Young and I (the two last TNA Originals in TNA today) came into the company as two young hot shots, just trying to make our name. Now here we are, all these years later, the two old gunslingers that have made our name and are still in town, and everybody knows who we are and knows what we’re all about. ”
“I enjoy being a TNA original. I wear that as a badge of honor. There’s two of us left, and once we’re gone, that’s the last of the TNA originals. What TNA is doing right now, the crop of young talent they have, the popularity, I feel great, I feel really cool. I know the younger people on our roster also appreciate what’s happening right now.
“And as well, they should. They’ve worked very hard to help make it happen. I appreciate it in a different way. I appreciate it from the perspective of being a guy that was there and saw this company in the early days and was a part of this company when people told us, ‘you’re not going to last another week, another month, certainly another year, certainly another 22 years.’ So, it’s all very special and it’s never lost on me.”
Watch the full interview with Frankie Kazarian below:
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