Magnus Talks Jeff Jarrett in TNA, The Locker Room and Leaving The Company

Former TNA star Magnus, who recently left the company after several years, was interviewed by Rolling Stone to talk about his departure. Below are highlights from the piece.

Magnus spoke about Jeff Jarrett suddenly showing up in the IMPACT Zone right as he was set to leave to sign with GFW:

“There is something I have to clear up. It’s not so much that I’m leaving TNA for GFW, that’s just a coincidence that I’m going there immediately. I had let TNA know that I was going to leave on June 30, and we left on good terms. We agreed to wrap things up the right way, and I loved the way that we did. Then Jeff showed up on TV, and I looked at him and just said, ‘What the hell?’ I was backstage at the TV tapings, and little Kody [Angle] came running up to me and gave me a big hug. I didn’t put two-and-two together, because I thought maybe Kurt had the kids. Then I saw Jeff’s kids, and then I saw this SUV. Suddenly the window rolls down and Jeff is there. I just told him, “I don’t even want to know.” I had no idea he was going to show up, and I’m still not sure what is going on completely.”

He talked about what the TNA locker room was like in his final months:

“To be honest, it was very turbulent. I’m sure you’re aware of the conference call that took place not too long ago. There were things said in that conference call that were a long time coming. I’m not about to throw any talent under the bus, but there were certain things that I heard in that conference call, like talent saying, ‘I’m disgusted by this’ or, ‘We have a right to know.’ Anyone that’s been involved with TNA knows that at times, I’ve been very outspoken. There was a point where I just sat there and thought that what everyone has to remember is that as an independent contractor in wrestling, nobody owes you a living. You don’t have a right to be guaranteed a living just because you signed a contract somewhere. Most contracts, with exceptions, can just be canceled anyways. I just kind of went, ‘Nobody owes you a living.’ Every day that I get to put on a pair of tights and boots and get to feed my son, that’s a good day.”

Magnus also discussed leaving TNA:

“You’re not going to find me saying anything but positives about my time in TNA. They have given me everything up to this point. I’ve earned it, and sometimes I’ve made my mark in spite of their decisions, but they gave me the platform and the income, and I made something of myself with them. That being said, I have to tell the truth. When I gave my notice, and had a conversation with John Gaburick – ‘Big,’ as people like to call him – by the time we got off the phone I felt like a 100-pound weight had been lifted off my back. There was always something. Every week there was a new rumor. I do sometimes think some of it was unfair to TNA. It became en vogue to just rip on TNA. If some of those things that had been reported about TNA had been reported about, say, Ring of Honor, everyone would have just talked about how much it sucks for them. But because it was TNA, it turned into how terrible they were and how they were run by about a bunch of idiots.”