Phil Heath discusses joining TNA

Bodybuilder Phil Heath, whom appeared at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view event, recently spoke with Lee Sanders of the RCWR Podcast. Here are some highlights.

On how long he has been following TNA: It's been most recent. In FLEX Magazine we had a couple of girls (from TNA) in there that were featured in the FLEX Magazine and I was like, wow, they actually work out. Let me see these guys and stuff too and I started seeing some of the guys in other magazines and I thought, ha, I wonder if there's a way I can go and watch this and guys from Weider, FLEX Magazine, they managed to organize that first appearance that I did and let me tell ya, I mean, I'm a fan of what they do in that ring, I mean it's incredible. And I got to live the dream. The first wrestling match I ever went to was at The King Dome in Seattle, Washington, back in the early nineties. I get to see Andre The Giant go against Ultimate Warrior, Koko B. Ware ware go against Honky Tonk Man, Hercules go against Virgil and Rick Flair, I mean, all these guys you know, Super Fly, Jimmy Snuka and all that stuff and I just thought it would be really cool if I can one day see that really up close and I had that opportunity a month ago. To be in it, even talking to you guys, I can only imagine what the future lies ahead and I just hope that in some capacity I can be involved and have some fun and increase my likeness as well, you know? A lot of my fans are cross-compatible, from body building to pro-wrestling. I met some pro-wrestling fans just the other night that said to me, "are you going to be involved in the script, are you gonna be involved?" I said, "man, let's just cross our fingers and see what happens." But I can tell you this, it won't be the last time you guys see me. The guys at TNA are just amazing, they've been very hospitable to me and the guys at FLEX Magazine and it's been a great partnership.

On having any interest in being a pro wrestler: I would give a strong consideration to it primarily because I have seen what these guys have done and I'm just huge into fitness and huge into the excitement. It like you wanna be a part of it. Like for me to be ringside and to be with the Bro-Mans and watch what they do, I just thought to myself, how can I get into this, how can I get into this? So, as of right now, I have my own industry to hold as being an ambassador of bodybuilding, that's a huge responsibility. So for me to drop that and go right into pro-wrestling would not be wise as of right now, but it doesn't mean that I can't have some nice small cameos and maybe get involved a little bit, you know. I'm not too sure if my sponsors will allow me to do a few bumps, but maybe there's something else I can get going, you know? I wouldn't mind getting hit in the face by one of these guys or me tackling another dude. Outside of that ring I can help the Bro-Mans win again, make it a controversial win or something, who knows, maybe I can hit someone with a chair, you know, but, the sky is the limit. I'm open to any suggestion and any opportunity. I'm not gonna turn my head and say, you know, I'm just a bodybuilder. You know, I'm always going to be Mr. Olympia, but you know there are always other things that strike my interest and this is one of them.

On whether he would choose TNA over any other promotion: I mean, obviously there are other federations and stuff and it still early to even digest that, let alone make a decision cause there's really no offer on the table at the moment, to be honest. So just like any business deal I have ever done, the best is to weigh all the options out, but I can say that I'm one of those guys that's pretty loyal so the people that get at me first are usually the ones that I end up with because they show the interest and they show the excitement and I can tell you that the guys over at TNA have been, open arms with me. They are like, you got a home here you know, come hang out with us and stuff like that and I thought, why wouldn't I give that high consideration? Lets just throw it out there. If WWE call tomorrow, I'd easily just listen and see what the best move for my life would be but at the same time I would definitely be loyal to those guys over at TNA because they've been nice to me and I really value that. But, who knows, like I said before, I'm up for anything and every opportunity presents itself for a reason and I can tell you this, regardless of where I go I'm gonna do my best to give the fans a good show and that's what it's all about. To give these fans something special and keep flexing my biceps in a different way, Hahaha.

If he had any dream matches, who would it be against and why: That tough man. Well, the fans have seen me and The Rock go back and forth. The Rock has actually hit me up on Twitter a couple of times just wishing me luck for the Olympia. And everybody has asked me would you actually go up against this guy and I say, man why can't we just go together and beat up on somebody else, you know? And I would totally do that but if it came down to it I'd get in the ring with him even though he's a lot taller than I am, we'd have to figure out a way to make that even but, I think John Cena would be amazing to go against because of his name and because of what he stands for. I don't know how I would be a bad guy going against him but I could obviously figure that out. But someone like him, because I know that he has a strong weight lifting background, it would be a true test of athleticism and strength so I'd definitely, I'd say I'm shooting high here folks. If you're listening you're like he's going right to the top. So, those two, and the third one's pretty tough...why does Sting wind up being in my mind? I don't know why but I think he's just a mysterious character and I've been a fan of his for a long time. Who knows, but that would actually be pretty neat