"In This Corner" went live on Thursday with hosts, Whicker and the Mechanic. ITC airs live every Thursday night from 9-10 EST and this week, they had Christopher Daniels as their guest. You can hear the interview by clicking here or by visiting WrestlingRadioNetwork.com.
On Destination-X – Daniels said Samoa Joe is the perfect example of “never judge a book by it’s cover”. However, because it is an “Ultimate-X” match, he doesn’t know if Joe can produce like he has in the past, and this Sunday may be his downfall. He also stated that at last year’s “Destination-X” PPV he walked away with the title, and history may repeat itself this Sunday. Daniels went on to say that he was sure that the cables above the ring could support Joe’s weight, saying that there have been three guys on the cable at once, and Joe is no heavier than any two guys in the X-Division.
When asked if the divide between the top three stars in the X-Division (being himself, Joe & Styles) and the rest of the X-Division could be bridged, and if so, by whom, Daniels replied, “I definitely think it could be bridged. As good as Joe and AJ and myself are, there are guys like Chris Sabin, Alex Shelly, Jay Lethal, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Matt Bentley, Petey Williams, that have either held the title before or are in the title hunt now, and it’s just going to take an opportunity… just a matter of time before they break into the “upper level” of the X-Division. In the coming months, the difference between the three of us, and the rest of the X-Division is going to close. I think all of these guys are top contenders for that belt.”
When asked about the possibility of going to WWE, Daniels replied, “I always say never say never, but I also say that I’ll be loyal to the company that’s been loyal to me, and that’s been TNA for the last three years. I can’t see a situation coming around, where WWE will look more lucrative or beneficial to me than TNA does right now.”
When asked about the situation between TNA management and Strong and Aries, Daniels stated that TNA did what they had to do, he felt bad for Strong and Aries because they were in a tough spot, however they made the decision that they made, and it wouldn’t look good to the rest of the boys who did show up a day early to the PPV, if TNA didn’t do something about the fact that Strong and Aries were the only two that didn’t. He went on to say that he has talked to both men about it, and both say that there were no hard feelings between themselves and TNA, that they understand why TNA did what they did, and that they are both looking forward to getting back on TNA television as soon as the storm passes.
When asked about TNA going to Prime Time, and if he felt that TNA’s Booking Committee would give equal weight to both the X-Division and Heavyweight Division storylines, Daniels replied, “I think TNA realizes that this is the perfect opportunity to not just push the guys that have the name recognition (meaning Sting, Cage and others) but begin to build name recognition to the stars that they already have in-house. So far they have done an excellent job as far as the balance between the two, and I don’t really see that changing after the move to Prime Time.”
When asked what he felt the problem was with the WWE Cruiserweight Division never really taking off like TNA’s X-Division, Daniels stated that it’s not the Cruiserweights fault, it’s the company’s fault for not giving the Cruiserweight Division the proper focus. He went on to say that you have to look at the amount of time that the WWE Cruiserweights get on television, and he doesn’t feel that WWE thinks that their Cruiserweights are worth the time or the effort to put a good push behind.
Plus, why didn't Christopher Daniels want to do word association? An awkward moment on In This Corner as the hosts get shot down by Daniels. The irony of this is that Whicker and the Mechanic "never" do word association, but was going to try it with Daniels. Needless to say, they have still never played that with a guest!
You can hear this entire 40-minute interview, along with Whicker and The Mechanic’s thoughts on Chris Kanyon, Marty Jannetty, Francine and much more on the Wrestling Radio Network –
www.wrestlingradionetwork.com – under the “In This Corner” archives. “In This Corner” airs live on the Wrestling Radio Network every Thursday night from 9:00-10:00 EST.
