IMPACT Wrestling X Division Champion Ace Austin recently was a guest on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. They discussed winning the X Division Championship and meeting AJ Styles. They also discussed his goals for the future, working at Hot Topic and much more. The most notable quotes can be found below:

On Winning the X Division Championship for a second time:

“It definitely does feel different. I’ve been telling this full circle story about that match at Sacrifice. It was a total coming around of my IMPACT Wrestling career, and I’m seeing it as that next launching point into making up for what I consider my greatest failure, which is back then. In the beginning of my career, I was undefeated for 4 months. TJP re-debuts and just smokes me. We have a rematch a week later, it’s very competitive, but he taps me out in the end. So TJP just really upset me in the beginning. We never came back around to that match. 4 months later, Bound for Glory happens and I win the X Division Championship. My career takes off, I dye my hair purple, and everything went great from there. I had an incredible run as X-Division Champion, as soon as that ended I went into the World Title picture. Slammiversary main event, huge deal. That moment was my greatest career failure. When that didn’t happen, I went into the Tag Team division, and that rolled into Bound for Glory. After that, stalemate for a while, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. All of a sudden it came full circle, I beat TJP for the X Division title.”

On future goals in IMPACT Wrestling:

“I haven’t taken my eyes off of the World Title since Slammiversary. When I ended up back in the X division picture, I have option C. I knew that becoming X division champion meant that there was a sure fire way I could get a title shot. After Rebellion, who knows what that might mean?”

On early loves of wrestling and a potential different Christian name:

“Besides that connection itself, I just knew I wanted to be a wrestler from the time where I was 4. My family were wrestling fans before me, and my mom had taken us to some live shows when we were babies. When I was 4 was when I made the connection of Austin and Stone Cold. In my school there were also a lot of people called Austin too. My name was actually almost Jericho, my mom nearly called me it. I don’t think she had Chris Jericho in mind, but it was destiny.”

On meeting AJ Styles and training:

“For $20 I got a photo of me and AJ Styles in the ring when I went to an IMPACT Show in 2014. I had never been in a ring before that. As soon as I stepped on the canvas, it was like nothing I stepped on before. I lost my balance, total fail. That was January 2014, May I started training and in September The Wild Samoans were doing ring crew for a TNA show in Bethlehem, PA. I went as a student, I did ring crew, saw the backstage set, it was crazy to see. I was helping take tables from under the ring and saw Jeff and Matt Hardy show up. I said hello and asked for some advice on what to wear on my ears when I wrestle. That year was such a fast track. April 2015 was when I debuted. In Pennsylvania, I couldn’t perform until I was 18, so I didn’t have a choice. I was told I was ready for matches in 4 months, so I was just doing training matches every week until I turned 18. After that, I was doing a lot of stuff.”

On his music tastes:

“Guns N Roses is my favourite bar none. I got a lot of different experiences in music from different parts of my family. My brother was into classic rock, my sister punk, my mom country music. I used to go line dancing every Tuesday with my mom. Working at Hot Topic opened up the floodgates too though. But I love show tunes too, Hamilton gets me amped!”

On who he would like to face in AEW:

“I know the Twitter-verse wants to see me and Sammy Guevara. That’s a match that has never happened one on one. We did have a triple threat once for XWA with Anthony Henry. A lot of people want to see me and Darby too. PAC also for sure, we are both ultimate athletes. But Kenny Omega, that is inevitable”

On where the inevitable gimmick came from:

“That was born out of my greatest failure at Slammiversary. I was so confident that I would win, because that’s how I have been my whole career. I made my destiny a reality and expected nothing less. When I lost at the pay-per-view, it was pretty devastating. When I took some time to self reflect after that, do I need to change something or not? I decided everything I was and am was going to make it happen, and it is going to be inevitable. I might be inaccurate about the time, but if I want it to happen, it will. I am also a big superhero mark, so Thanos.”

On how he got in amazing physical shape:

“I have been following the same sort of diet plan since 2018 probably. Originally I was in a wrestle house and the leader got a bodybuilders plan. I just got this slow cooker and thrown chicken breasts in there. I prefer the leaner cuts of meat. Breakfast, 2 chicken meals, beef/turkey meal and a protein shake. I think it was around 3,500 calories, maybe a little more. I was eight training every day, wrestling training twice a week and doing shows. I’ve gotten a lot of knowledge from people on YouTube, like Greg Doucette. I bought his cookbook, because I was interested in his idea of low calorie dense foods. When I started learning more about how calories work, it isn’t as complicated as you think. All I did leading up to Sacrifice was cut out one of the meals.”

On what he is grateful for:

“My career, all the people I’ve met and my grandmother may she rest in peace. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have gas money, a car or to get to training.”

Ace Austin can be found on Instagram here.

Image credits: Instagram

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