Frankie Kazarian Loves Getting Hate For His TNA World Title Win, Why Now Was Right Time For Him

Frankie Kazarian’s TNA World Title win over Mike Santana angered a lot of fans, and he enjoys that people are angry over it. Kazarian won the title back in November after then-new champion Mike Santana was attacked by an invading group from NXT. He remains the champion and will defend it against Santana on the first episode of TNA Impact on AMC.

The decision to take the title off Santana so soon inspired a lot of criticism from TNA fans. Kazarian reflected on the matter in an appearance on Rewind Recap Relive noting that he likes it because it means people care. He also spoke about why now was the right time for the “stars to align” and make him champion. You can see the highlights below:

On How It Feels To Be World Champion:

“I’m getting used to it. Yeah, it’s really cool, if I’m being honest. This is something that I had always dreamed of and something that kind of felt like it was in my grasp, and at other times felt like it was kind of just a pipe dream. But to actually be the guy — especially right now, leading TNA into this new era on AMC as the World Champion certainly isn’t lost on me. It’s very, very cool. And you know, I only wanted to always represent this company to the best of my ability. And being able to do that as World Champion is something that’s very very special to me.”

On Why Now Was Right For Him To Win the Title:

“You know, I think the work I’ve done the last couple years as a villain, I think has really solidified my spot as a guy that can be relied upon to carry the company as a World Champion. In terms of somebody that can go out there and not just get the job done in the ring, but can tell stories on the microphone and carry segments and things like that. Things that I was probably admittedly missing back in the mid-2000s when I was doing a lot of good work as a babyface, but not really necessarily as a complete character.

“I think now the company has the utmost faith and trust in me to go out there and be able to get a guy over as a villain. And you know, make somebody or make a segment or make people care, make people hate me. I know that trust is there and I think it all just culminated last November with me becoming TNA World Champion for the first time.”

On The Reaction From Fans To His Title Win:

“Nope, I love it. Again, people are angry, people are upset. People are sending me nasty, vile, threatening posts, which warms my heart. Because it means they care, you know. If people didn’t care and were sitting there on their hands and there was indifference, then I would be concerned. The fact that people were so angry means to me that they’re invested in what Mike did, and they’re invested in the fact that I took that from him. We’re telling stories and that is great for me.

“You know, had I won the title as a good guy when I first came back? That’s a whole different story. But I think now the work I’ve done and winning it the way I did, it was perfect way for this character to win that title. To you know, take out a wounded animal and really light a fire under Mike Santana to want to get that redemption and that revenge.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Rewind Recap Relive with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.