Jax Dane is primed for the Dane Event.
NWA National Champion Jax Dane spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of NWA 74, where he will defend his title against Cyon on night one of the two-night event.
In addition to the National Championship, Dane held three other NWA titles prior to Billy Corgan buying the promotion. One of his title wins is notable for historical reasons, as his reign as NWA World Heavyweight Champion was the final one before the ownership change.
“Having an opportunity to represent the NWA as champion and Billy Corgan is a pretty cool deal as a former World Heavyweight Champion, Tag Team Champion, North American and National in the previous ownership. So to be elevated to the National Championship in the Billy Corgan era, it’s a pretty cool deal and I’m really grateful for that.”
Asked what the biggest change that he’s noticed was under Corgan’s direction, Dane said it’s good to be able to show more of a creative side.
“As a wrestler generally? Having Billy [Corgan] really has allowed me to tap into some of my creative side and get outside of the box that I had traditionally been in as a professional wrestler. Billy gave me the confidence, and I guess you might even say the courage to be a little bit more of my true self in my characterizations. [He’s] given me more confidence in my promo abilities and my ability to talk to fans. The new leadership, what I really appreciate about them is, is they give you a direction, but they don’t tell you how to get there. Right? They say, ‘hey, this is where we want to get to, but it’s up to us to tell the story on how we get there.’ I like that freedom, and it’s allowed me to be a little bit more of my true self.”
We don’t get paid by the hour … #PopTheTrunk #GodDammitMan @nwa @FiteTV @TheChrisSilvio @Billy pic.twitter.com/Q9XyVIoyiP
— THE DANE EVENT (@TheJaxDane) June 25, 2022
Dane will face off with Cyon at NWA 74, but his opponent is backed by a legend in Austin Idol. They’ll be on opposing sides of the ring on Saturday, but Dane noted that he’s learned from Idol, who is also the first-ever National Champion.
“If I’m not mistaken, historically, he was the very first NWA National Champion. So this match means quite a bit to have the very first guy and the current guy out there, right? Austin Idol was a fantastic professional wrestler in his day and currently as a great professional wrestling mind to have in your corner. If Cyon’s got not an advantage, but if there’s an upside for Cyon, it’s that he does have somebody as crafty and as talented and as experienced as Austin Idol is in his corner. I mean, that’s a threat in itself. But at the end of the day, [I’m] six foot four and 300 pounds, it’s a pretty big mountain to climb on. Like I said, I don’t get paid by the hour.
“My contract’s the same,” Dane added, “whether it’s 30 seconds or 3 minutes or 30 minutes, right? So I don’t intend on being out there very long, I guess you might say.”
NWA 74 takes place on August 27 and 28 at the Chase Khorassan Ballroom in St. Louis, Missouri.
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