In an interview with PWR Slam, former TNA Wrestler Jesse Neal commented on his time in TNA Wrestling, why he’s now working at Wal-Mart, his opinion of Bruce Prichard and Dixie Carter, possibly joining the WWE and more.
Jesse said that he’s not doing the interview with PWR Slam for the money or publicity or to further himself in professional wrestling and just wants to set the record straight, noting that he’s working at Wal-Mart and said that when he was spotted by a fan working there, a few hours later it went viral and said that he’s not ashamed of working the nightshift at Wal-Mart, because it pays him better than what TNA Wrestling ever did, plus the fact he does landscaping during the day, so with two full-time jobs, he wants to do whatever he can to provide for his wife and daughter and doesn’t get why people make fun of wrestlers working real jobs as everyone has to make a living.
Jesse said that he barely made money in TNA Wrestling and the idea that the company pay big money to talent is ridiculous as he turned down going to Ohio Valley Wrestling, due to the fact that he was offered less money for more work and didn’t want to be stuck in Kentucky sleeping on someone’s couch with 5-6 other wrestlers when he was supposed to have had a TV deal for a big time promotion. Jesse noted that Bruce Prichard was a piece of s*** and said that himself and Shannon Moore were getting over big with Ink Inc, the office liked them, fans liked them, however Prichard had a hand in demanding that they split and that Jesse should go back to Ohio Valley Wrestling for more training. Jesse then noted that he had good personal interactions with Dixie Carter, but did hear stories about her being two-faced and false with wrestlers and noted that he would work for Jeff Jarrett’s new promotion if Jarrett came calling and thinks anything Jarrett does with Global Force Wrestling will be money.
In regards to the WWE, Neal noted that the company has a great medical team, pays for the best surgeons and takes care of their wrestlers, because they know the wrestlers are the show and value them, however TNA Wrestling doesn’t and said that the company has a terrible attitude when people have medical issues, as on a TNA pay-per-view, he broke his neck badly with torn ligaments and could barely move for days after and was in complete agony and that TNA’s doctor just told him to go home and rest and didn’t offer much help beyond that. Neal said that he doesn’t know if professional wrestlers need a union or not, but thinks that they need some basic protection, while he also likes the “fight for your own” mentality that comes with not having one and thinks that it encourages people to work harder.
Jesse said that Dixie Carter and TNA Wrestling should act like WWE and 100% take care of in-ring injuries and said that if he gets hurt working at Wal-Mart, then Wal-Mart would pay for it, so he sees it as ridiculous that a company like TNA refuses to. Neal noted that he didn’t have a second job in TNA Wrestling, but knew of people who did and thinks if the company wants its wrestlers to be big stars, then it has to pay them decently and treat them like stars and said that his history with concussions wouldn’t be a problem if WWE came calling, as he previously went through all that and passed their medical tests with flying colors.
The interview is available in full at this link.