Former TNA Champion Magnus Talks Leaving TNA, GFW, Mickie James - James Storm Storyline, More

I had the opportunity to speak to former TNA World Champion and recent departure Magnus recently, who was very candid about his TNA career, Global Force Wrestling, and the controversial storyline with Mickie James and James Storm. We'll also have part two for you this week, where Magnus talks about WWE, Ring of Honor, and other promotions.

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Was the decision for you and TNA to depart your call, or were you let go?

"It was my decision. The way my contract was structured, without getting too detailed, they couldn't release me. There was something in there that prevented that, which was nice. It was due to roll over at the end of June. At the beginning of June I decided to give them notice that they hadn't contacted me regarding anything. It was structured that if they hadn't made contact about it a month out, I had the option to end it.

"There was a brief conversation, it was really friendly. I think they knew how I felt, and I knew they were in a position financially where it was getting difficult for them to honor contracts like mine. Not trying to disclose too much, but I got it on pretty good authority from the office that I was in the upper echelon as pay is concerned. I knew they weren't in a position to offer the same structure. A year ago I had made peace with the idea of leaving. I always delivered everything they gave me whether I liked it or not.I knew in my gut a year ago I wasn't going to stay."

Is the door still open for you in TNA? You just signed with Global Force and we saw Jeff Jarrett show up in TNA.

"I was completely unaware of the whole Jeff thing to TNA. I know that seems completely bizarre to people on the outside. I had no idea about that. As far as I'm aware, that stuff all happened very quickly. Obviously Jeff and I weren't having a lot of conversations prior to me becoming a free agent because it would have been interference. We're friends, and Sonjay Dutt and I are very close. Obviously there were conversations going on, but never about any details. When I'd made the decision, out of loyalty to the people who have been paying me for six years, I said I would finish up at Slammiversary. Then I reached out and spoke to Jeff, and he was very receptive. But I didn't know he was going to be at that show.

"I'm still technically a free agent. I'm obviously working with GFW and I'm very involved in a number of things for Jeff. I definitely closed the book on my TNA stuff in a respect, but I didn't walk away like 'I'm never coming back.' I certainly didn't think I'd spark things up again soon. Things are very friendly, I left on very good terms. By the end of it, Dixie and I had a conversation where she already was talking about what she hoped would happen down the road. That's obviously a good place for me to be as an independent contractor. Business is tough."

You mentioned Sonjay Dutt. Is he involved behind the scenes at Global Force?

"I don't want to speak for someone else, but Sonjay is definitely dealing with more responsibilities than that of a talent. He's a very capable guy. He's working in a lot of talent management side of things, travel and bookings and things like that.

"I always thought he was a tremendous talent anyway, but after working with him in India on Ring Ka King, what an asset he was. That whole thing probably wouldn't have worked without him. Jeff knows that of course, and that's why they're sort of in the position they are."

Is Mickie James also done with TNA?

"She was never actually under a contract to TNA during this last run. In that respect, I guess she is, that's certainly the way we look at it. We taped some shows that will air over the next weeks that set up a mixed tag. She's kind of in the same position I am as a free agent, where she's working where she wants and seeing what opportunities become available."

You've been pretty outspoken about the now infamous Mickie – James Storm storyline. What went through your head when such a hot angle had something like that interjected into it?

"I don't know if I was outspoken, I just told the truth. The reality was that I had already been a little hesitant about going straight into the angle with James. I think he's a great talent?dynamite on the microphone, not given enough credit for what a good promo he is, and I've always had great chemistry with him in the ring. My thing was after the Bram angle?which I really loved?I had made the point early in the discussions that I was okay with this. TNA gave us a lot of say due to the nature of the storyline. I just said if we're going to do this personal stuff, which I'm on the fence about, we can't run it into the ground. Fast forward a few weeks, and I don't know if was the network or whoever that said they really liked the angle. Then it was 'James Storm is going to come down and be involved in your final match with Bram, that leads into you and James.' Honestly, from a business standpoint we accepted it because it meant more income for us.

"I didn't see it as very objective creative management. I don't know a single person who liked that idea, and it went ahead and happened. It shows that the person who's idea it was, wasn't objective. They didn't take it around the horn, they just went with it. I've always been of the school of thought that you shouldn't just say no, you should come up with an alternative. I know for a fact that James, I, Mickie and several other talked about several other options to get to the same flashpoint."

Was that something that was just shot down?

"Yes. That happens. I'm never offended when I pitch an idea and they don't go with it, but I'm always flattered when they do go with it. A lot of the Bram stuff I pitched. Even the more dramatic stuff, I wanted it to be believable. That's a big thing for me.

"I believe there's a bit of a disconnect in wrestling. Because the cat's out of the bag so much, some of the people in creative think because everyone knows that it's not real anyway, that let's not even care about that. I'm completely 180 degrees in the opposite direction, you have to work even harder to get people to suspend their disbelief. If they're investing in your product, or spending money for a ticket, or taking time to watch a show, they're asking you to help them suspend their disbelief. When it came up, my gut said that it wouldn't get the desired result. There's kids in the audience, and when I get ideas like that I think might me hokey, I step back and ask 'what would 12 year old me think of this?' You have to have objectivity, it's a show for everyone."

Where can the fans follow you on social media?

"At the moment my Twitter handle is still MagnusOfficial, that may change. My official website is NickAldis.com.