Ace Steel says his match against Frankie Kazarian is a “one-off.”
Steel lost to Kazarian in Chicago Street Fight on Thursday night’s episode of TNA Impact. It was his first match in TNA since 2003. However, it will not be a regular thing going forward.
Frankie Kazarian hit Ace Steel with Fade to Black on a steel chair to win the match. He locked him in a chicken wing submission once the match was over. Joe Hendry quickly ran in to make the save. The Scot fought off Kazarian to continue their rivalry, amid their recent NXT appearances.
AEW fired Ace Steel last year, along with CM Punk. He was a key part of the “Brawl Out” incident in 2022, before Tony Khan fired, rehired, then fired him again. Despite signing for TNA, his role will only be outside of the ring, as his match was a one-off.
Ace Steel spoke with ComicBook.com before his match with Kazarian. He noted how the street fight is a speciality match of his, and gives him a good chance of inflicting pain on his opponent.
He then noted how this match was on a “one-off basis”. However, Ace Steel said his fit to wrestle, and has been training wrestlers regularly, so he is in in-ring shape for the bout.
“I have been involved in a number of brawls over the years. Ring of Honor, the cage of death, CZW vs. Ring of Honor, Chicago Street Fights, CM Punk and myself vs. the Prophecy, you name it,” Steel continued. “It’s become a speciality match of mine. Win, lose or draw, we both come out with lumps on our head.”
“I think just a one-off basis. I’m constantly approached to do things and I back off. It’s got to be the right thing for me. This just happened to fall into place and of course I never would’ve thought I’d have the opportunity to be in a ring on a national platform at this stage. I’ve been in the ring training some new up and coming wrestlers. I have a lot of guests that pop in. I’ve been actively working. It’s not like I just decided to put a thousand knee braces on and creak into the ring. I’m very capable of moving around the ring very well.”
Ace Steel spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about how his pairing with Joe Hendry came to fruition. Steel also works backstage with TNA as a producer, but says the on-air pairing with Hendry is based on their real-life relationship.
“How I ended up being Joe Hendry’s coach, so to speak, or his advisor is quite simply, it’s a shoot as we say. I’ve been working with Joe backstage and on his matches, and working on his craft to get him to that next level. None of that is BS by any means,” he added. “But I’ve really been working hard with him, Joe was actually at the [Steel’s The Foundation Of Pro Wrestling] school last week. He came down earlier in the week to work out, honing some skills, working on fine-tuning things.”
Steel prides himself on being a “mechanics guy” and wants to help talent like Hendry reach the next level. He called out some of the mentors that inspired him, noting that he’s there to have Joe Hendry’s back in TNA.
“I want things to look right. I’m really into suspending disbelief. And that, in my opinion, if you look behind me, the people on my wall [points to the photos]. Those guys really suspended disbelief. From Harley Race being my mentor, Terry Funk, the old Chicago posters, Bruiser Brody back there. There are the guys I grew up on,” Steel shared. “And though, we know this industry is entertainment, so are movies. And we get thrown into those and we love ‘em. So, Joe and I have been working really close together. We got a really good bond going on, and it just turned into an on-camera role that I would have his back, as he’s a ‘Lone Ranger’, so to speak, in TNA.”
Watch our full interview with Ace Steel below:
