TNA Champion Frankie Kazarian having ‘way too much fun’ to retire right now
A lot of his peers are stepping away from the ring, but TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian has no plans to retire right now.
The 48-year-old Kazarian told Insight with Chris Van Vliet that he still feels great physically and believes he is currently doing the best work of his entire career. He’s having a ton of fun in TNA, so he’s not ready to put any kind of timetable on how much longer he has left as an active wrestler.
“I get asked that a lot, especially now because my peers and my friends are [retiring] or already have retired. Christopher Daniels isn’t doing this anymore, which is still blowing my mind, you know? Because he’s a little bit older than me, but he still looks incredible and he was still working at a high level,” Kazarian said. “Old pal John Cena’s had maybe the best run ever and he’s finishing up. AJ [Styles] has made it known that he’s finishing up.
“When this all started to happen, I started to think like, ‘Man, is my hourglass — how’s it looking?’ But, dude, I feel better than I have any right to feel. I’m in the best shape of my career. And I think I’m having the very best matches of my career. And I’m on top of my game from a character standpoint, and I’m having way too much fun. So, you know, I can’t really put a timetable on it.”
Kazarian said he does intend to retire when he’s no longer capable of delivering the type of matches that he’s always been able to have.
“I do want to get out once I start slowing down, once I can’t be Frankie Kazarian,” he said. “One thing I’m very proud of right now is that I’m not not doing anything that I did 20 years ago. I was always very smart about having a style that could be sustainable. So like, when you see Frankie Kazarian, it’s not a parody of what I was doing in 2003 in the X-Division. I’m still doing that same stuff.”
It’s an important time for TNA with Impact set to debut on AMC on Thursday, January 15. Kazarian won the TNA World Championship from Mike Santana in November and is now champion heading into this new era.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.