Leon Slater’s biggest moment at TNA Bound For Glory didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling. After defeating Nic Nemeth in the October 11 main event to become the new TNA World Champion, Slater stayed in the ring, grabbed a microphone and delivered an emotional message directly to the fans in Tampa.
Slater had just completed the biggest win of his career, surviving Nemeth’s Famouser, sleeper, multiple superkicks and the Danger Zone before finally putting him away with a Swanton 450. Once the broadcast was over, though, Slater wasn’t interested in talking about moves or match strategy. He was trying to process the fact that something he had chased since childhood had finally happened.
“I supposed to be like the big world champion now? I don’t hear my words right now man. I mean I’ve been chasing this, I’ve been training for this, I’ve been working for this since I was nine years old. Oh I am. Oh I have in this game progress in life.”
From there, Slater turned the speech away from himself and toward anyone who has ever been told they were too young or didn’t have enough experience. Standing there with the TNA World Championship after cashing in his Option C opportunity, Slater made it clear that those same doubts had followed him long before he reached the top.
“Appreciate that I’m sure a lot of people in here from the land we’re always told that we’re too young we’re always told that we’re not experienced enough but yet they won’t give us the experience.”
Slater then got even more personal, recalling the days before wrestling became his life when he was applying for regular jobs and kept running into the same wall. Employers wanted experience, but nobody wanted to give him the chance to actually get it.
“I remember a time before this before I was lucky enough to live the life I do I was applying for jobs left, right and center Every single time it saved me on your application was great experience. Now I’ve got a big.”
That frustration became the setup for the final part of his message. Slater widened the speech beyond wrestling and told everyone in the building, no matter their age or stage of life, that they still had the right to chase whatever they wanted.
“I say to everyone in here young, middle aged, old, baby pensioner, retired, If you can see it in here and you can speak it through here, The world is yours.”
That was the real final scene of Slater’s Bound For Glory night. The television audience saw him beat Nic Nemeth and capture the TNA World Championship, but the fans who stayed in the building got a much more personal moment from the new champion as he talked about rejection, experience and chasing something since he was nine years old.
Slater could have spent his first off-air promo as champion bragging about beating Nemeth or calling out his next challenger. Instead, he used the moment to speak to people who have been told they are too young, too old or not experienced enough, and that message carried a lot more weight with the TNA World Championship sitting right there in his hands.
What did you think of Leon Slater’s off-air message after winning the TNA World Championship, and did his speech make the title win feel even bigger? Leave your feedback in the comments and let us know what you think.
