The interview begins with his initial thoughts of TNA were that the idea of the weekly PPV was not a sound business plan and went there because he couldn’t get a job in WWE.
Konnan said he got along with Cornette in TNA. He said he was loud and funny. When asked about Cornette and Russo in TNA, he said that Jarrett and Dutch Mantell acted as buffers between them.
While doing Spanish commentary, Konnan said that he would bury guys he didn’t like and put over guys that he did like.
Konnan said that never say never when it comes to TNA competing with the WWE but does not ever see that happening. He said that Dixie does not put in the time and effort that Vince does with the WWE. He also said that Dixie has the wrong people around her.
Konnan said that both TNA and WWE need to get over the bullshit that you need to be tall and jacked to wrestle and go after guys in RoH and Dragon Gate. He said that if he was TNA, he would bring in Pac and Ibushi, saying that people want to see athletic matches and knows that it is exciting to watch and different. He said part of why he brought Lucha Libre to the U.S. was to counter the slow and lumbering style that the fans were used to at the time.
When asked if Paul Heyman could turn around TNA, Konnan thinks that TNA should have brought him in and let him do whatever he wanted. Konnan said that ECW was cool and different and thought he could come in and change things because he can think outside of the box. He also mentions how he never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Konnan is asked what made him leave TNA. He said the main factor was that he never got a raise as he was constantly told that there was no money, despite being there for five years. One time, he got pissed and did an interview bad-mouthing TNA and after that, Jarrett told him that he wasn’t going to get a raise if he kept acting like that and after that, Konnan brought up to Jeff how he was always told that there was not any money for a raise. He also claims that at one point LAX was selling the most merchandise.
He is now asked to elaborate on the racism in TNA. He recalls a story of how once at a meeting, Scott D’Amore asked to bring in D’Lo Brown and was told by an executive that “you want to go the nigger route.” He also said that Ron Killings was told not to act like an “uppity nigger” and that when Konnan himself missed a show, an executive reportedly said that they could easily replace him with any “drunk Puerto Rican in the park.” Konnan puts over how he never used racial slurs to describe anyone and that in TNA, executives would joke about minorities on a frequent basis.
Up next is Konnan’s beef with Vampiro. He said that they are cool now and that it started when they were top starts in Mexico. Konnan also puts over how Vampiro is constantly full of shit and that he lives on the same planet of oblivion as Juvy, Brian Christopher, and Teddy Hart when it comes to being delusional about the amount that they have with people and the bullshit that they spew.
Konnan also talks about Vampiro’s story about being kidnapped and how he is full of shit. He does this by going over Vampiro’s claim that some guys broke through his front door then knocked on his bedroom door. After that, he jumped through the window and saw some police that were driving by. He also said that he broke his back then two weeks later he said that he was pushing his girl home from school.
Eddie Guerrero’s death is discussed next. He said he found out when he was at the Double Tree Hotel in Orlando when Dixie told him. She asked him if he wanted to take the night off but he said no, that Eddie would have wanted him to work. Konnan puts over how Eddie was being worked to death and was constantly in pain. He also said that Eddie broke down from the stress and that he was always being told by management how he was not drawing.
He is talked about the angle with Randy Orton spitting on Eddie’s low rider after his death. Konnan siad tat he was bothered by that stuff and knows some of the writers that were there and that the wrestlers and even Stephanie and HHH were all against this but that Vince thought it would get heat and work out.
Konnan is asked about Rey’s push. He said that they do not push him right and that he is a draw to kids. Konnan also says that Rey is also hurt because he cannot cut a good promo. He also said that Rey once told Vince that he was quitting then they brought in Stephanie and the writers and Vince told them to do whatever made Rey happy.
Next is Konnan’s hip replacement surgery. He said that TNA refused to pay for his surgery, saying that he came into the company with the injury. Konnan claims that he had a minor injury that got a lot worse over time when he was wrestling for TNA. He said the insurance he had through TNA had him pay for everything up front then he would get reimbursed at 75%. Konnan then said that he had to sign an agreement with TNA that he would payback the $18,000 it cost for his surgery. He then points out how Ron Killings got hurt and needed surgery after he was sent to work for another promotion by TNA and they made him do the same thing but when Scott Steiner got hurt in Puerto Rico, TNA paid for everything. He says he is not saying this crying racism but just wants to know why they paid for Steiner and not for he and Killings.
He then talks about his kidney surgery. He said that when they went to operate on his hip, he was told that his kidneys were failing and that he needed dialysis and could not wait. He said at first, his body rejected the kidney and that he was doing awful. He was in a hospital in Tijuana and then went to another facility that was private. He also said that he was constantly getting mobbed in Tijuana, putting over how wrestling is bigger there than the U.S.
He said that he went to WWE and spoke with John Laurinatis about he LAX gimmick before he pitched the idea in TNA. He said that John told him that he was too old then Konnan said he was the same age as Booker T. He then said that Bruce Prichard hated him because he was mad that when Konnan called, he was under the impression that Bruce knew who he was. Konnan said that he was asked to send in a tape.
Konnan talks about how WWE wanted to buy AAA. He said that Bruce Prichard went down and told them that Vince offered a 51/49 split and when asked why, Prichard said that Vince doesnt like to answer to others. Konnan said he told the owner of AAA, Dorian Roldan,, that what will happen is that Vince will buy the company and slowly get rid of everyone.
When asked about congress ever regulating pro wrestling, he said that they called him after the Benoit tragedy. He believed that it would have been good and though that Henry Waxman originally headed it up but then it stopped.
He thinks that MMA and Wrestling can learn from each other but that the companies are too stubborn.
He puts over AAA for having a lot of talent right now. He also said when he left with the other luchadores for WCW in 1996, they used a lot of cheaper talent that was not as good. He says that now, the storylines are better and that they have agents. He believes that if they come to the United States, they can do well with the Hispanic population.
Konnan said that he now helps with booking, writing, and producing in AAA. He puts over Fenix and Daga, who he calls almost a mirror image of Bryan Danielson, as the two biggest stars for the future.
When it comes to Teddy Hart, he said he wished he was warned about him before hand. Konnan said that he was grateful for Stu Hart when he was in Calgary and always friendly with Bret. He said when Teddy came to AAA, he gave Konnan some pot and asked where he wanted to smoke. Teddy also told Konnan that he had been celibate for over a year and that they had to get rid of him due to all of the crazy shit that he pulled.
He then talks about how the Swine Flu killed the business for a few months as everyone was afraid of catching the illness.
Konnan is now asked about Juvy’s comments about how he only brought in Mexican talents to WCW to get himself over. He talks about how he brought Rey Mysterio, Psychosis, La Parka, and Juvy to AAA. He then said when Paul Heyman asked him about Rey and Psychosis, Konnan said that they can blow away anything else they had in the locker room. Then in WCW, he came in and requested that Psychosis come in and work with him. He then said that he had to really fight to bring in Rey and Juvy. When Rey first got to WCW, everyone laughed and joked that they were starting a midget division. Konnan said that he only saw two standing ovations from the locker room and both times involved Rey. They were his debut match against Dean Malenko and his Halloween Havoc match against Eddy Guerrero.
When asked what the business is lacking today, Konnan said that they should go behind the scenes more like UFC does, when it comes to how hard they train and also to show a little bit of the inner workings of the business. He then puts over how he is a fan of high flyers and good workers and that would help.
Konnan now discusses the impact of the drug cartels in Mexico. He said that it does hurt business because you cannot go into the certain parts of the country. He said that before the new political party took over, the prior party negotiated with the drug dealers so they would not participate in any mass murders or anything else. When the new party took over, they declared war on the drug cartels and from those cartels, some of the younger people split off and went out on their own and started up with mass murders and other violent tactics.
When asked about Hulk Hogan, he said that he never really hung out with him. He always thought his character was cheezy but that Hogan was always cool with him.
Konnan likes Alberto Del Rio and thinks he has a lot of tools. He thinks that Sin Cara should have went to FCW to learn to work and now he is struggling in the ring.
He is asked about overrated/underrated guys. He says that Low Ki and Austin Aries are underrated.
Konnan puts over how he always loved the junior heavyweights and tell a story about how Kevin Nash told him that when they see a guy like Rey Mysterio, their first thought is that they can kick his ass. Konnan told him that when they see Rey, they see a guy who can do cool moves and no one thinks that they can kick his ass because none of it is real.
He says that the difference between fans from ten years ago to today is that they are harder to please and smarter today. In five years, he sees WWE still running strong and that TNA will still be running, stating that if they lasted this long they can maintain the same pace. He also hopes that he can bring AAA to the United States
Konnan said that if he was in charge today, he would let guys go in the ring. He said that a lot of fans are not getting to see what Bryan Danielson is capable of because the WWE is giving the fans the watered down version.
In regards to bringing AAA to the United States, Konnan said that he would also bring in “hot bitches,” midgets, as well as the best workers not in TNA or WWE. He would also show the behind the scenes stuff he was talking about
Final Thoughts: Good interview. Konnan always says what is on his mind and does offer a lot of insight into the business. He also let us know about all of the backstage stuff that happened in the earlier days of TNA, which if it is true, makes it seem even worse than we thought. He looked really bad in this interview, as his skin was discolored and his kidneys were still in rough shape, but at least looks a little bit better today. I recommend this interview, which was a follow up to his first shoot.
This week, I will not put up a poll as next week, due to the amount of requests that I have received, I will be putting up the recap for the 1989 Timeline with Brutus Beefcake