Six-time X Division champion and three-time TNA World Tag Team champion Frankie Kazarian recently appeared as a guest on 'Fightful Wrestling with Sean Ross Sapp'. The veteran shared his thoughts on various memorable moments from his 25-year wrestling career, including the “Ultimate X Cutter Spot,” the Slammiversary X tag team match against Kurt Angle and AJ Styles, and the partnership between NXT and TNA.
One of the highlights of the 1000th episode of Impact was Frankie Kazarian inducting his wife Traci Brooks into the TNA Hall of Fame after the duo beat Eddie Edwards and Alisha Edwards in a mixed tag team match. Traci became emotional after the announcement as she shared the stage with her son and her husband. Coming from a small farm town in Canada, Traci had a twenty-five-year career in the pro-wrestling business, which was capped off by a Hall of Fame induction.
When asked about how he felt regarding the moment, Kazarian said, “It meant the world to me. Regardless of what happens in pro wrestling, I'll always be grateful to the pro wrestling business because it brought her and I together. Traci was very content riding off into the sunset and becoming a mom, and she's the best mom in the world. But the circumstances were different. There was a storyline in place that brought her back. She got to have one final match with me, and we got to announce her as the next Hall of Fame recipient.”
TNA is famous for inventing the Ultimate X match, which sees multiple wrestlers trying to detach the X symbol or the X-Division title, which is hung fifteen feet above the middle of the ring and suspended in the midst of a cable cross. The catch here is that wrestlers are forbidden from using a ladder to claim the object but can use the cable ropes to grab it.
One of the most famous TNA clips of all time involves Christopher Daniels hanging upside down off a cable cross after failing to balance himself properly while retrieving the X symbol. Frankie Kazarian would leap off the top rope to smack him down with a cutter.
Although Kazarian lost the Ultimate X Gauntlet match to determine the No. 1 Contender for the X Division title at Victory Road 2007, his springboard cutter on Daniels would earn the spot the nickname, "The Ultimate X Cutter Spot."
When asked how the idea came about, Kazarian reminisced, “That was at a time when TNA was fighting to be its own brand. In those Ultimate X matches we were kind of trying to top what the guys had done in the previous one. I remember CD [Christopher Daniels] and I were driving from the airport to the hotel and just talking about ideas and I said, ‘Man, I have a crazy idea about doing a giant top rope cutter. But I need to do it with somebody that can hang upside down.’ And he immediately goes, ‘I can hang upside down.’ I'm like, ‘Okay, then I'm doing it with you.’ There's nobody else I would trust to do that. And I think if you asked him, he would say the same. That's one of those things that if you're a second off or a few inches off, that could go disastrously wrong.”
Frankie Kazarian made a one-off appearance in a 25-man battle royale on NXT in 2024 to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship. This was a result of a crossover collaboration deal between WWE and TNA. Kazarian noted that it was cool to be in a WWE environment after 20 years.
“They really rolled out the red carpet for me and for Joe [Hendry]. That was the first time a male TNA talent had been on their program. It was really cool to just see how that side of the world operates and they were very professional. Both companies were dipping their toes in the water to see what this partnership could be and to see what it is now is really cool because we're in unprecedented times. Five to ten years ago, every company was very very closed. We're living in a time where we got DC and Marvel together. I hope pro wrestling fans don't take that for granted because we're in uncharted waters and it's awesome,” Kazarian shared his views about the partnership.
Frankie Kazarian grew up during the Monday Night Wars and believes that is what encouraged him to continue being in the pro wrestling business for long.
“We came up during that '80s boom period. We all got into the business during that second boom period of the mid-'90s. The nWo, Attitude Era, DX, all of that. So, we came up when wrestling was at its hottest, and then we got into the business when it was at its second peak. The one thing we all have in common—Abyss, Bobby Roode, or Chris Daniels—we're all big fans. We were all at one point, and still probably are, obsessed with this and made this our life. I have always found that the most successful pro wrestlers are the ones who were just super-obsessed fans, and for them, it was pro wrestling or nothing else,” Kazarian elaborated.
Another person whom Frankie Kazarian credits for his success is his trainer, Killer Kowalski. He also encourages young talent to improve themselves by continuing to learn, as there is no age to stop.
“I was trained by Killer Kowalski, and if I had been trained elsewhere, I would not have become the wrestler I am. I think a lot of us were brought in by the right people, with TNA coming together and learning from guys like Jerry and Jeff Jarrett. We're sponges. We're soaking up the knowledge that these guys have acquired for years. I've learned from every single veteran promoter that I've been in the business with. I've been very blessed to continue to learn, and I implore all young talent to continue to sharpen your tools and to get new tools in your tool belt because we're always learning. None of us will ever perfect this,” Kazarian shared.
Kurt Angle has dubbed the tag team match between him and AJ Styles against Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels at Slammiversary X as the best tag team match he has been a part of.
"Myself and CD were firing on all cylinders at that point as a team, and then you throw in AJ [Styles] and Kurt Angle. We would have had to work our asses off to not have a great match, that's just how good those two guys are. We all think very much alike; we all four work for the match instead of for the individual. It was just one of those matches where everything clicked, and when it works, it works. That's a testament to all three of those gentlemen for being unselfish in a very selfish business, and that was a very magical night. For somebody like Kurt Angle to say that it was his favorite tag team match and I'm a part of it, that's a big part of my resume. If you were to tell a 10- or 12-year-old me that, it would be pretty unbelievable," Kazarian beamed with pride while sharing his thoughts about that historic match.
You can check out the full interview on Youtube below
