In an interview with Ryan Rider of CJAD 800AM prior to TNA Slammiversary, TNA Wrestling’s commentator Mike Tenay commented on the company’s 11 years in existance, joining the company and much more.

On TNA’s 11 Year Anniversary: “It’s hard to imagine that 11 years have passed. To see the strides that our company has made is truly amazing. From the weekly PPV’s in Nashville to the Impact Zone in Orlando. The Fox Sports and Spike TV contracts, it really has been fun.”

On how he joined TNA Wrestling: “I was still under contract to WCW for a year, year and a half. I received a phone call one day from Bob Ryder and he said, “we’ve come up with his idea”. Bob and Jeff Jarrett were involved in the early stages and invited me to come on board and we haven’t looked back since.”

On the tough times in the early stages of the company: “We had just a few shows under our belt when they decided to take a break and decided to have “Best of” shows. I wondered if we would ever come back live and since then we haven’t missed a beat, it’s been a tremendous experience.”

On going live and leaving the Impact Zone: “From a company standpoint, absolutely fantastic. The opportunity to take the product live, allow the fans to come out and see the people they see on TV each week. A party atmosphere with the Impact shows that we have and another big step for the company. I also love the idea of the 4 PPV’s a year, the four big events, supplemented by the “One Night Only” PPV’s. It’s a really good mix. From a TV standpoint, to be able to build for those 4 big PPV events rather than 12, it’s a huge advantage for us and makes our TV program more interesting.”

On his favorite memories to date in the company: “I think back to the early days and the ability for us to take these young talents, the X-Division talents in the early days of the company such as AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn, Low Ki, Amazing Red, Kid Kash, I could go on and on and on. The X-Division put us on the map, it gave us longevity. It led us to that bridge where we were able to acquire a talent like Sting, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan. Without those guys in the early days, I don’t think we would be here today. When I think back as far as my favorite times, those early X-Division matches were not only great to announce, but for the importance of the company going forward, it was huge. It’s just so great to be able to see guys like Petey Williams come back, to see Chris Sabin come back. For about a year, year and a half period, we didn’t have the depth that we need in the X-Division, now we have it.”

On the differences working with Don West and working with Taz: “Totally different. Don was originally brought in to be the voice of the fan. That infectious enthusiasm that Don had and what he brought to the broadcast table was just great. One of my great friends in all the years I’ve been in professional wrestling. I still stay in touch with him today. At the same time, when the transition was made to Taz, you went from the fan now to the former wrestler. It gave a totally different perspective for the viewer. A more expert analysis in terms of holds, in terms of mindsets that he has brought to the table the last few years. Don was just such a natural at promotions, that’s why he was so good when he worked at the merchandise department.”

On Todd Keneley: “Todd has just come in and has just done a great job. He’s a real student of the game. There’s not a bigger fan of professional wrestling than Todd and it really shows in his work. He’s been really fun to work with the last few months.”

On his past and his future: “It’s kind of up to TNA and Impact Wrestling what my future holds. At Slammiversary, an anniversary event, it is that opportunity to reflect. I think back and say wow, 11 years here and before that, 6 or 7 years on-air for WCW and before that, I worked on the WCW hotline and did wrestling radio. After 20-plus years of it, it’s just been a fantastic ride and I’m here for as long as they’ll have me.”