TJ PERKINS

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

www.pwinsider.com/article/99199/tj-perkins-discusses-his-tna-release-whether-he-was-surprised-fans-constantly-expecting-the-death-of-the-company-and-more.html?p=1


TJ PERKINS DISCUSSES HIS TNA RELEASE, WHETHER HE WAS SURPRISED, FANS CONSTANTLY EXPECTING THE DEATH OF THE COMPANY AND MORE
By Two Man Power Trip Podcast on 2016-01-22 09:47:04

Today The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling is packed with a #DOUBLESHOT of epic proportions as we are joined by the founder of Global Force Wrestling and TNA Wrestling, "The King of The Mountain" Jeff Jarrett as well as a superstar who recently departed from TNA Wrestling, TJ Perkins AKA Manik/Suicide. TJP is brutally honest and is able to spin all the craziness of IMPACT Wrestling into an engaging and head scratching but insightful look into his time working for the beleaguered company. But we also get a look into the story of a 17 year ring veteran who is still in his early thirties and has a ton to still offer the wrestling business. Jeff Jarrett joins the program to discuss at length the first ever Northeastern leg of the Global Force Wrestling takeover and how teaming with Pro Wrestling Syndicate helps GFW reach a new audience.

Full Episode Download Link:
tmptow.podomatic.com/entry/2016-01-21T21_00_00-08_00

TJ Perkins AKA Manik On His Twitter Feud w/ Josh Mathews & TNA's Reaction


How his departure from TNA came about:

Basically my contract had come up and there was I believe a company option and basically I was coming up as a restricted free agent (using sports terms) and they had options to retain me for another year. I don't know if its because and I am sure they are probably restructuring their contracts because of the POP TV stuff so I don't know if that maybe part of it. It came up for renewal and they just said that they won't be renewing it and that was it.

Was he surprised that TNA just let him walk:

Not necessarily. It's not like I was expecting it or anything or that I was that shocked but I have a tendency to not really hold expectations I just kind of see it as changes are changes and sometimes stuff like this comes up.

Has the TNA roster been anticipating the company to flounder or turn the corner:

There was never anything like that as far as people being pessimistic for lack of a better term. It's kind of a side note but I feel like people and I think it's a generational thing have a tendency to look at things very black and white and once you've chosen that path it can't be changed and you will live and die by the sword and that's the side that you chose. I feel like people want those things to have been issues and I think that maybe for a few people it could have been an issue but generally speaking it's the same thing I've said the last two or three years, money was always good for me and the people around me and people always seemed generally happy and had fun going to work. At times maybe management could be a little more prideful in the way they make decsisons because it might effect efficiency or some of the rational decision making.

The constant thought that TNA will go out of business:

I feel like this generation now, everything is becoming a comparison. People kind of draw ball lines a lot more than they used to. We kind of live in a revisionist world and no matter what it's always going to be like an undying other side to it. As far as my experiences there was never anything like that. We were never obviously comfortable with the network changes and I don't think anybody would be. I don't really feel like anybody thought things were dire and just went to work and were optimistic about it and it seemed like everybody had fun and a lot of the thing is people from the outside looking in don't understand that we really don't take it that seriously. Even if things were in a worse case scenario that we leave Spike TV and don't find a home and we never work for TNA again. Most of us wouldn't care that much. We would just go on and take our career elsewhere and new opportunities would open up. People debate with each other on the outside and it becomes like a war but us on the actual battlefield playing this game it's never really been that way with us.

TNA always playing around with taking away his mask as Suicide and Manik:

I never cared if I was in a mask or not or playing a character or not. I volunteered to play the role in the first place. They didn't call me and ask me to be Suicide. I came in at a time when they didn't have a lot of focus on the X-Division and I was just getting out of my Ring of Honor contract. When I came in I did some live events and dark matches and there wasn't really anything for me to do. I volunteered to be Suicide. When I saw the first commercials for it, they just didn't have an idea for it. They were probably going to only have it for one day as far as what Dixie had told me. I volunteered and created a life for that character. Even recently it was never a thing where I needed to be me or I needed to be out of it (the mask), my only motivation was that there was a time when I took over a character that was largely felt as a joke to fans and nobody cared about Suicide. Then they changed the name and took the mask off and it started to lose meaning. So we put the mask back on and you can only have those false starts so many times before fans start to lose faith in the performer. Generally speaking the performer is left holding the bag, so I felt like the second time around with James (Storm) and the group that there is this really cool moment we created where I took the mask off again and people know who I am at this point and where it was; we are going to have what we have been asking for and then it was they wanted me to put the mask back on again. It was like before you guys destroy my ability to be interesting and valuable I think we should find one path and stick to it.

Please subscribe to The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling on iTunes and via YouTube by searching the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling or visit the OFFICIAL Website of the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling: www.tmptofwrestling.com & twitter.com/twomanpowertrip and also now a part of the TopRopePress.com Radio Network.

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2016/0129/607141/tj-manik-perkins-on-if-tna-release-was-over-davey-richards-rumors/






TJ Perkins, f.k.a. Manik and Suicide, joined Ryan Rider on Main Event Radio this week and discussed his departure from Impact Wrestling, his heat with Josh Matthews, and what potentially lies ahead in his future. You can download the interview by clicking here, they sent us these highlights:

What led to his release from the company:

"I don't know if there was any specific thing. My contract was coming up for renewal. And like in sports terms, I was a restricted free agent. They had an option to keep it for another year if they wanted. They're probably restructuring everybody based on the POPTV switch and they decided to go in a different direction and e-mailed me with one sentence to let me know that was I wasn't being used any longer."

Pitching story ideas for his character:

"All that stuff wasn't even created by me. It was sort of a misconception. The fans started all the hashtags and all that, and I just gave them retweets. Its not every day that you get a grassroots promotion started by fans, and #AllWeWantisTJ wasn't started by me but I was trying to reciprocate all the support. It shouldn't be wasted. I have at times always been proactive writing stories and pitch ideas. Even if we're encouraged to do that, they already know what they're doing and they don't want to hear it if you're not part of that."

Disagreement with Josh Matthews leading to Twitter war:

"Going into Bound for Glory, I asked for 30 seconds of John Gaborick's time. We had 5 days straight of tapings. I took my mask off and I wanted to see where we were going forward. Right after BFG, they wanted me to put my mask back on without explanation. I said we should just let the fans do what they're doing and ask for me and we could turn it into something. They didn't want to do that. The alternative was that they wanted me to portray a character with a personality disorder or personality crisis. I told them I wasn't comfortable portraying that as I have a family member with a disorder. I was offended later because they said sure that's fine but that night on commentary they said that that is what I had. On social media I made a point to say that I don't have this and I'm not comfortable with this nor want this portrayed.

"They had Josh [Matthews] relay the message through the creative team and he felt I was undercutting him and he got frustrated. I think he kind of knew that he screwed up the way that he expressed himself because it was not going to look good, and I tried my best to respond in a way that would encourage people to continue their support without making him look bad to the company. That was one of those situations where someone was getting too prideful and taking something too personally."

Would he go back to Ring of Honor:

"Absolutely. When I left it was heartbreaking, it was totally amicable and I never really wanted to leave."

His desire to be in NXT/WWE:

"The system that is part of the flagship of what we do. And probably always will be. They're the Dallas Cowboys of wrestling and who wouldn't want to wear that uniform. I would love to be there, I have a lot of friends there, and the stuff that they're doing is incredible. They kind of lead the curve and create the path that everyone else follows. What they're doing currently is actually shaping the future of the industry. It would be incredibly exciting to be a part of that. Developmental is not a bad word to use for it, people need to open their mind on the connotation of that. It isn't derogatory or a step down; they're developing the future and the current. Sustaining the current path there are not many times in history where the course is corrected sharply in a very specific way that changes what is going to follow it. It is a great time to be a wrestler and even be a wrestling fan."

Clarifying the rumors of him having heat with Davey Richards over a comment he made about his wife, Angelina Love:

"No, because those comments aren't real. They come from someone on Twitter who usually messes with Divas and Knockouts and Vince Russo, always photoshopping horrible fake things about them. I told him I don't want any part in it and then this comes out. I talk to Davey all the time, he's one of my best friends in the world. It's not real. The problem is being a public figure, when people do stuff like that for attention, the only solution is to ignore it. There's no winning in this situation, you just let go."

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2016/0131/607201/manik-talks-about-getting-cut-by-tna/

Manik Talks About Getting Cut By TNA, Locker Room Environment, TNA Playing With Taking His Mask




Former TNA star TJ Perkins, who wrestled as Suicide and Manik, spoke with the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast recently. You can check out some highlights below, and the full interview at this link.

How his departure from TNA came about:

"Basically my contract had come up and there was I believe a company option and basically I was coming up as a restricted free agent (using sports terms) and they had options to retain me for another year. I don't know if its because and I am sure they are probably restructuring their contracts because of the POP TV stuff so I don't know if that maybe part of it. It came up for renewal and they just said that they won't be renewing it and that was it."

Was he surprised that TNA just let him walk:

"Not necessarily. It's not like I was expecting it or anything or that I was that shocked but I have a tendency to not really hold expectations I just kind of see it as changes are changes and sometimes stuff like this comes up."

Has the TNA roster been anticipating the company to flounder or turn the corner:

"There was never anything like that as far as people being pessimistic for lack of a better term. It's kind of a side note but I feel like people and I think it's a generational thing have a tendency to look at things very black and white and once you've chosen that path it can't be changed and you will live and die by the sword and that's the side that you chose. I feel like people want those things to have been issues and I think that maybe for a few people it could have been an issue but generally speaking it's the same thing I've said the last two or three years, money was always good for me and the people around me and people always seemed generally happy and had fun going to work. At times maybe management could be a little more prideful in the way they make decsisons because it might effect efficiency or some of the rational decision making."

The constant thought that TNA will go out of business:

"I feel like this generation now, everything is becoming a comparison. People kind of draw ball lines a lot more than they used to. We kind of live in a revisionist world and no matter what it's always going to be like an undying other side to it. As far as my experiences there was never anything like that. We were never obviously comfortable with the network changes and I don't think anybody would be. I don't really feel like anybody thought things were dire and just went to work and were optimistic about it and it seemed like everybody had fun and a lot of the thing is people from the outside looking in don't understand that we really don't take it that seriously. Even if things were in a worse case scenario that we leave Spike TV and don't find a home and we never work for TNA again. Most of us wouldn't care that much. We would just go on and take our career elsewhere and new opportunities would open up. People debate with each other on the outside and it becomes like a war but us on the actual battlefield playing this game it's never really been that way with us."

TNA always playing around with taking away his mask as Suicide and Manik:

"I never cared if I was in a mask or not or playing a character or not. I volunteered to play the role in the first place. They didn't call me and ask me to be Suicide. I came in at a time when they didn't have a lot of focus on the X-Division and I was just getting out of my Ring of Honor contract. When I came in I did some live events and dark matches and there wasn't really anything for me to do. I volunteered to be Suicide. When I saw the first commercials for it, they just didn't have an idea for it. They were probably going to only have it for one day as far as what Dixie had told me. I volunteered and created a life for that character. Even recently it was never a thing where I needed to be me or I needed to be out of it (the mask), my only motivation was that there was a time when I took over a character that was largely felt as a joke to fans and nobody cared about Suicide. Then they changed the name and took the mask off and it started to lose meaning. So we put the mask back on and you can only have those false starts so many times before fans start to lose faith in the performer. Generally speaking the performer is left holding the bag, so I felt like the second time around with James (Storm) and the group that there is this really cool moment we created where I took the mask off again and people know who I am at this point and where it was; we are going to have what we have been asking for and then it was they wanted me to put the mask back on again. It was like before you guys destroy my ability to be interesting and valuable I think we should find one path and stick to it."

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2016/0213/607600/manik-talks-about-his-tna-release/


Manik Talks About His TNA Release, How The Locker Room Looks At TNA, Losing His Mask, TNA Business


TJ Perkins, who performed as Manik for TNA Wrestling, recently spoke to the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast. You can see highlights below, and hear the full interview at this link:

tmptow.podomatic.com/entry/2016-01-21T21_00_00-08_00

How his departure from TNA came about:

"Basically my contract had come up and there was I believe a company option and basically I was coming up as a restricted free agent (using sports terms) and they had options to retain me for another year. I don't know if its because and I am sure they are probably restructuring their contracts because of the POP TV stuff so I don't know if that maybe part of it. It came up for renewal and they just said that they won't be renewing it and that was it."

See Also: TJ 'Manik' Perkins On If TNA Release Was Over Davey Richards Rumors, NXT, Josh Matthews Heat, More

Was he surprised that TNA just let him walk:

"Not necessarily. It's not like I was expecting it or anything or that I was that shocked but I have a tendency to not really hold expectations I just kind of see it as changes are changes and sometimes stuff like this comes up."

Has the TNA roster been anticipating the company to flounder or turn the corner:

"There was never anything like that as far as people being pessimistic for lack of a better term. It's kind of a side note but I feel like people and I think it's a generational thing have a tendency to look at things very black and white and once you've chosen that path it can't be changed and you will live and die by the sword and that's the side that you chose. I feel like people want those things to have been issues and I think that maybe for a few people it could have been an issue but generally speaking it's the same thing I've said the last two or three years, money was always good for me and the people around me and people always seemed generally happy and had fun going to work. At times maybe management could be a little more prideful in the way they make decsisons because it might effect efficiency or some of the rational decision making."

The constant thought that TNA will go out of business:

"I feel like this generation now, everything is becoming a comparison. People kind of draw ball lines a lot more than they used to. We kind of live in a revisionist world and no matter what it's always going to be like an undying other side to it. As far as my experiences there was never anything like that. We were never obviously comfortable with the network changes and I don't think anybody would be. I don't really feel like anybody thought things were dire and just went to work and were optimistic about it and it seemed like everybody had fun and a lot of the thing is people from the outside looking in don't understand that we really don't take it that seriously. Even if things were in a worse case scenario that we leave Spike TV and don't find a home and we never work for TNA again. Most of us wouldn't care that much. We would just go on and take our career elsewhere and new opportunities would open up. People debate with each other on the outside and it becomes like a war but us on the actual battlefield playing this game it's never really been that way with us."

TNA always playing around with taking away his mask as Suicide and Manik:

"I never cared if I was in a mask or not or playing a character or not. I volunteered to play the role in the first place. They didn't call me and ask me to be Suicide. I came in at a time when they didn't have a lot of focus on the X-Division and I was just getting out of my Ring of Honor contract. When I came in I did some live events and dark matches and there wasn't really anything for me to do. I volunteered to be Suicide. When I saw the first commercials for it, they just didn't have an idea for it. They were probably going to only have it for one day as far as what Dixie had told me. I volunteered and created a life for that character. Even recently it was never a thing where I needed to be me or I needed to be out of it (the mask), my only motivation was that there was a time when I took over a character that was largely felt as a joke to fans and nobody cared about Suicide. Then they changed the name and took the mask off and it started to lose meaning. So we put the mask back on and you can only have those false starts so many times before fans start to lose faith in the performer. Generally speaking the performer is left holding the bag, so I felt like the second time around with James (Storm) and the group that there is this really cool moment we created where I took the mask off again and people know who I am at this point and where it was; we are going to have what we have been asking for and then it was they wanted me to put the mask back on again. It was like before you guys destroy my ability to be interesting and valuable I think we should find one path and stick to it."