Leon Slater Wants Match With AJ Styles, ‘Had No Clue' About TNA Slammiversary Surprise

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5 days ago

Leon Slater is on cloud nine after accomplishing a lifelong goal at Slammiversary.
Slater won the X Division Championship at TNA Slammiversary. With the win, he also became the youngest title holder in TNA history. Slater spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about what the win meant to him, calling it a childhood dream.
'I've been training since I was nine. And I've always wanted to be X-Division Champion. And it's almost like one of them things, people tell you, 'Oh, when you get kids, you are going to love it. When you get married, it's going to be the best day of your life.' And you know it's going to be amazing. But it feels so far off sometimes that you can't picture it being real,' Slater said.
'But now it's finally here, it doesn't feel real,' he continued. 'Because I've been on the chase and now, I've got it, it's like, 'Oh! Well, where do we go from here?' So, it was… To keep it short and sweet, Slammiversary was the best day of my life. Couple days later, I'm still trying to recoup. I'm still trying to come down off that high. But, it feels great to finally accomplish what I've been striving after.'
Leon Slater reacts to AJ Styles' return to TNA at Slammiversary
Leon Slater was also shocked when AJ Styles made his way to the ring after his title win. Styles was advertised for Slammiversary in advance, but no one knew what he was doing on the show. This includes Slater, who had no clue the Phenomenal One was coming to the ring.
'1000% [AJ Styles appearing after my watch was a surprise to me] bruh. I think if I had known it ahead of time, I would have played it a lot cooler instead of jumping around like a little six-year-old,' Slater joked. 'But yeah, man, I had no clue.'
Slater grew up a TNA kid and AJ Styles was his favorite wrestler. He won the title, had Moose put him over after the match, and didn't think it could get any better. However, Styles' surprise appearance only added to his night.
'[I thought] 'Man, I don't know if it could get any better.' Then, I remember, I was on my knees looking at the belt, I was like, 'We did it, we did it, we did it.' And then, Get Ready to Fly hits, and I hopped onto my feet, and I was jumping around, I am running around, I'm losing my mind, just like everyone else in the building. Looking back on it, I'm really glad I had no clue. Because I think that genuine reaction, topped with what everyone else in the building was feeling. And yeah, AJ coming out was a huge surprise and it's something that I am never going to forget.'
Leon Slater on how much he knew heading into his match at Slammiversary
Slater confirmed that he didn't know anything about AJ Styles' appearance. He knew his family would be involved in the celebration, but he didn't know anything else, including Moose paying him respect and putting the belt around his waist.
'No. So, literally everything like all the… I suppose the drama and antics after the match was completely out there. The only thing that I knew that I was going to do was run to my family. Because obviously, they made the trip over from the UK and I feel like, with the story that we have told, family was a big part of it. So, I knew that the production team would want a shot with me and the fam,' Slater explained. 'So, I definitely knew I was going to run over to them and get that shot. But once we got past that point, I was walking through it blind, man. And it worked out for the best. So, I am super super grateful.'
As for what's next, Slater has a few opponents in mind. That also includes AJ Styles.
'…Any of them boys want to step up, I'm more than happy to take challenges from there,' Slater said. 'Or even if you think you are 'Phenomenal' and you want to step to the boy, I'm here for it too, man.'
During his speech at Slammiversary, Styles mentioned he would 'get back to' talking about another match in TNA once he addressed Slater. Pritchard pointed out that Styles didn't address it again that night, but Slater seemed keen to make it happen.
'Maybe so. Maybe so. I mean, the first X-Division Champion versus the youngest ever, definitely sounds pretty cool to me at least.'
Leon Slater's first official appearance as X Division Champion will take place on TNA's live broadcast of Impact! on Thursday night. TNA will be live from the Ryan Center at the University of Rhode Island on Thursday, along with a TV taping on Friday night.
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