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Josh Alexander has nothing but kind things to say about Mike Santana.
At TNA Genesis, Josh Alexander clashed with Mike Santana in an “I Quit” Match. They battled it out in a hard-hitting match, and in the end, Santana made Alexander quit by threatening to stomp him onto some steel steps. After the match, Alexander “quit” the company and shook Santana’s hand, passing the torch as the heart and soul of TNA onto him. This is something he did with great joy, being a good friend of his for the past decade.
Josh Alexander spoke with Straight Talk Wrestling where he talked about passing the torch to Mike Santana at TNA Genesis.
Josh Alexander On Mike Santana
Alexander opened up about the moment and noted that it was not scripted. He stated that he said it because that’s what he truly believed.
“It’s super special, and it’s even more special because that was not scripted whatsoever. That was all my own doing and all my 100% beliefs that I just put out there live on pay-per-view for the world to hear. And if you don’t agree with me, too bad because it’s out there now and I said it. If it meant anything to you that I was regarded as the standard, you know, for me to say that he’s the standard, it’s because I 100% believe it. None of that was storyline, none of that was scripted.”
“He grabbed the microphone, asked me to shake his hand and all this stuff. I grabbed the microphone, said, ‘Yeah, man, I’m a man of my word, I quit tonight, I’ll shake your hand.’ And I just said it because I believed it so strongly in that moment. It wasn’t even like I thought about saying it; the words just came out of my mouth without effort.”
“From the moment I have known Mike Santana for 10 years, you know, LAX in the north, we worked together a lot before he went off to AEW, and now he’s returned to TNA. He’s come back with this fire inside him that I’m very happy to see because I’ve always known he’s capable of this. He’s spoken about his addiction issues and all this stuff that he’s overcome, and I can’t be more proud and more happy for somebody turning their life around.”
Josh Alexander: If I Retire, I’m Proud Of My Career
Josh Alexander continued speaking about Mike Santana. He also added that he is proud of his career so far and would be okay if didn’t sign anywhere after he left TNA.
“Being a babyface in professional wrestling is extremely difficult. I lived it for a long time, and being a babyface champion is a million times more difficult because it’s all about the chase. Once you get the belt, how are you going to impress me now? I was lucky when I had the championship, I would go into most matches with a lukewarm reception, wrestling another babyface or wrestling Eric Young in his hometown of Nashville, or something like that. But by the end of the match, through my wrestling, I would get the crowd back on board with Josh. They’d say, ‘Josh is really good. Josh is the champion. We like Josh again.’ It was an ebb and flow the entire time.”
“To see Mike, he’s such an organic babyface because it’s just real. And he calls himself ‘the realist,’ but it’s completely genuine and real the entire time. To be able to go out, wrestling one of my best friends on that Genesis pay-per-view and putting him over. Putting over my other best friend Steve Macklin on the way out at Turning Point as well. It’s a storybook ending for my TNA career. If it all ends now, and my career is over, and nobody signs me after February 15th and I go back to construction. I’m very proud of everything I’ve been able to do.”
Josh Alexander: Mike Santana Will Show The World
Josh Alexander added that he thinks Mike Santana is going to be a big player for TNA going forward. He said that the roster needs to watch out as he is setting the bar for excellence in the company going forward.
“I need Mike to know that he is the standard. He’s the guy setting the bar for the rest of the card from here on out. I think he’s going to take it seriously. I think the entire roster is in for something because that guy’s gonna show up every single night. Whether it’s pay-per-view or TV—and he’s gonna show the world.”
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