WWE star Jaxson Ryker was a recent guest on the Wrestling Inc. Daily to discuss a number of different subjects, including Ryker’s brief run with TNA wrestling, and how Terry Taylor was a key component to that happening. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
How Terry Taylor helped get his foot in the TNA door:
“Terry Taylor helped me get my foot in the door [in TNA], I owe a lot to Terry. As a matter of fact, WrestleMania morning I texted Terry and told him, ‘Hey, you’ve been with me a long time, you’ve helped me so much’ and thanked him. But he got my foot in the door in TNA and from there it was really on me. I drove down a year and a half, me and a couple of other guys.They paid us, they paid for our room and board at that time. It was one of those paying dues. I drove down to do a security role, I stood behind Dixie Carter or wherever. It was one of those, ‘I want an opportunity and will do whatever it takes.’ And lo and behold in 2010 I signed the first contract with them and I got stuck with Immortal, Hulk Hogan, and those guys, and built a relationship with those guys. I knew it was my opportunity and given the opportunity I would continue to shine.”
Says he was very thankful for that run with TNA as he got to work with some of the greats:
“I am very thankful for my Impact and TNA run. I got a chance to work with some of the greats. I mean AJ Styles down there at the time, Bobby Roode, the James Storm feud that I still love to talk about. I got to work with Magnus in England, and main event Manchester. Ken Anderson, and Sting, a guy I grew up watching and wanted to be like. Dude, there was just so many opportunities there that landed on my plate there that I know I capitalized on. Just to see where I’ve come from and the guys I got to work with and learn from, it was just a great opportunity and I think it helped build me to where I am now. Because the WWE was always my ultimate goal from day one, and I think a lot of the guys knew that. Like, yeah, I love TNA and enjoyed it, but the WWE has always been the ultimate goal for me. . . That name-building in TNA really helped me a lot, so I owe a lot to the opportunities I was given there.”
How he worked as a cable technician after he left TNA:
“I have worked jobs I hated, that I absolutely hated. When I left TNA in 2015, I had to work for a cable company, because I had just gotten married and just had a daughter. And I worked indy shows every weekend too. So I’m doing that, I’m acting, I’m working at a cable company. So I go from being a wrestler on TV to a cable guy in somebody’s house. It is very humbling. But I appreciate where I am at now. I’m in a guy’s house one time and he’s just looking at me, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ He says, ‘Hey man, you look familiar.’ I say, ‘Yeah man, maybe I got a twin somewhere.’ And he says, ‘You’re Gunner off of TV, aren’t you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I am. Now I’m doing your cable, but I’m here.’ It was humbling, it was very humbling.”