Mance Warner and Steph De Lander recently spoke with Scott Mitchell of PWMania.com for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling and TNA.
During the discussion, the TNA Digital Media Champion and TNA Knockout spoke about making their TNA debuts together, the TNA and NXT crossovers and the upcoming TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view in Long island, New York this July.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview sent to us by Scott Mitchell directly, where Warner and De Lander touch on these topics with their thoughts.
On making their TNA television debut together:
Mance Warner: “I grew up watching TNA. As soon as I knew I was coming in, I was ready to go. I’ll fight anyone there. I’ll beat anyone there. It just so happens I had my ol’ lady with me.”
Steph De Lander: “It was cool. The last time I was seen on TNA, I was announcing I was having neck surgery. It just so happens that it was in the same venue in San Antonio where I made that announcement, that a few months later I was able to return with Mance to pick up this new storyline. It was a cool little full-circle moment, and I’m so happy to be back in TNA.”
On the WWE NXT – TNA crossover:
Warner: “You know my answer—anyone. If I get a paycheck for beating up someone, I’ll do it. But, there are tons of people. You could throw me in there with any single person. I would love to get a paycheck for punching Lexis King in the mouth—that’d make me feel good. Everyone knows I want to beat the sh*t out of Kevin Owens sometime too.”
De Lander: “For me, and this may be pulling the curtain back a little too much, but I’m interested in what’s going to be a good story and make sense. Is there someone I have history with from the past, or is there something more to this than just a good wrestling match? There are people there who were around when I was at NXT—some I like, some I don’t—and that’s reality. If I were to come back to NXT at some point, there are a couple of people I think would be shaking in their boots, and that in itself is funny to me.”
On competing at TNA Slammiversary in Long Island this July:
Warner: “Slammiversary is a staple of TNA. If you know anything about TNA, you know Slammiversary. For me, I’ve been busting my butt all over, and now I’m here. For the fans that do know me, they know Ol’ Mancer is going to get wild. I’m on that stage at Slammiversary, in front of those fans, I’m going to get wild. The fans who don’t know me yet, they’ll know by then.”
De Lander: “At Slammiversary last year, I proposed. Feeling the energy of that crowd and how awesome that moment was—it was the biggest crowd I’d ever been in front of. Now, I’m sure this year will top it. Whether I’m wrestling or just a part of the show in some way, it’s going to be one of those cool moments. There was a time when a couple hundred people in the crowd would be a good night, and now there’s going to be thousands. It’s a full-circle moment for TNA in general, and I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
