Speaking to Antelope Valley Press, Christopher Daniels says his heel character in TNA Wrestling is based off his real-life personality and therefore easy for him to portray.
“I’m a bit of a (smart-aleck) in real life and so the character I’m doing now, especially on television, is that character amped up to a degree where you would want to see me getting smacked in the mouth. But that’s part of the fun of it,” Daniels says.
“It’s a lot easier being the villain, especially for my style of wrestling. It’s a lot easier for me to be the foil than to be the dynamic focus of attention.”
In the nearly 19 years since Daniels has been wrestling, he feels the biggest change has been how accessible wrestlers and wrestling is now to fans due to the internet. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow wrestlers to instantly connect with fans.
“One of my favorite things now is to get on Twitter and just say something ridiculous and just gauge the response,” Daniels said “I get people just so upset.”
Technology has also been huge boon to wrestlers looking to get noticed.
“Back in the day, if you wanted to be seen by a promoter and you wanted to get work, you had to send them a tape,” Daniels said. “There were many long hours of having two VCRs, one connected to the other, and making your own tape — record, stop, record, stop. Now, you email a YouTube link to a guy.”
He continues, “As a wrestling fan, it’s so much easier to see all of this stuff. “In turn, it sort of makes it easier on the wrestler, depending on who you are to be seen or to sort of spread your signature to the wrestling public.”
Daniels can’t pinpoint what’s made him successful in the wrestling business, but he’s hoping it continues for several more years.
“I wish I could say that there was one specific break that put me over the top, but it was a bunch of little breaks that sort of led to having a schedule where I was doing this for an actual living rather than just weekend fun,” he said. “Hopefully, I keep going. Keep those small breaks going.”