Wrestling

Daniels, Kazarian turn friendship into championship in TNA Wrestling

 

Tag team duo wants to regain TNA tag team gold at Turning Point on Nov. 11

Miami Herald Writer

Christopher Daniels and partner Frankie Kazarian have been a shot in the arm to TNA Impact Wrestling’s tag team division.

The former “world tag team champions of the world” hope to recapture the gold against Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez at the TNA Turning Point pay-per-view 8 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 11 at Universal Studios Orlando.

Daniels told members of the wrestling media on a conference call to promote the event that he was thrilled at how he and Kazarian have been able to flourish as a duo.

“When Frankie and I came together and decided to be a tag team, I had no idea were going to get so successful so quickly,” Daniels said, “but because we have been friends for the better half of 15 years, I knew we had a chemistry that would translate well in the ring. No matter what was going to happen, we knew we were going to have fun. Now we are having are having fun and success, and that makes it 10 times better.

“I think we are not just the best tag team in TNA right now, but we are the best tag team in the business. You look around at everyone else in professional wrestling, whether they’re up north or in Japan. I think we are the best tag team in the business right now. We are going to prove it on Sunday when we wrestle Chavo [Guerrero] and Shawn [Hernandez] and get our belts back.”

The Fallen Angel recounted when he initially met Kazarian after he moved to California in 1996 at the wrestling School of Hard Knox.

“It wasn’t until TNA took off in 2002, 2003 where Frankie and I were booked consistently on the same shows, but because we were both southern California guys, we always had that bond,” Daniels said. “Once we started to travel together and doing TNA more frequently, we just became very close friends.”

Since then, the two have shared in each other’s milestones inside and outside the ring. Daniels even served as best man when Kazarian married former TNA knockout Traci Brooks. For Daniels, he and Kazarian have only scratched the surface of their potential.

“When you look back at TNA when the Motor City Machineguns and Beer Money were together and staying together, they weren’t just a team that sometimes tagged and then had singles aspirations,” Daniels said. “They were teams that stuck together. That was when tag team wrestling in TNA was at an all-time high. Same thing with other companies, when you’ve got teams that stick together and make that team their focus, then that is usually when the tag team division is focused upon.

“Right now Frankie and I are concentrating solely on making our tag team the best tag team in the business. I think that right now the more successful we have as a team, the more TNA ends up focusing on our championship reign and the people who are trying to win the tag team titles from us after we win them on Sunday. That is when people will start talking about the tag team division again when Frankie and I have the championships around our waste.”

The heelish duo emerged as the team fans love to hate, and Daniels wouldn’t have it any other way. Their microphone work and little nuances to their personas have gained the ire of the audience.

“All the stuff I do is my ideas,” Daniels said. “Frankie and I come up with our own stuff. The appletini, the scarf, the GFY gloves, those are all things that I try and see if they stick. I can’t go anywhere in terms of live events without someone asking me where my appletinis are. I just want everyone to know that it’s very rare that I drink and wrestle. You really shouldn’t do that, so please don’t. Be responsible in your beverage taking…

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