Amazing Red says he still has a score to settle with Malakai Black, and he’s ready to stand beside his cousin, the former Zelina Vega, if she ever needs him. The TNA X Division Champion addressed both while appearing on The Wrestling Classic’s Casual Conversations.
If she does need family, if she does need a lending hand, I’ll be there,” Red said. “I also have a little bit of unfinished business with Malakai Black… because we wrestled in House of Glory and I never got that rematch singles match.
YouTube video
Both names are free agents. WWE released Aleister Black, who wrestled as Malakai Black in AEW, and Zelina Vega in April after WrestleMania 42, and the pair have reportedly drawn interest from several promotions. Vega now works as Xelina and has already turned up at House of Glory, the promotion and training school Red founded in 2014, where her attack on Shotzi Blackheart drew a threat from the TNA star.
“That Came From My Brain”
Red is credited with popularizing the Code Red, a move John Cena added to his arsenal in 2015. He said seeing much bigger wrestlers use it still catches him off guard.
To see a lot of Code Red, for instance, I’ve seen John Cena do it, I’ve seen Sting do it, I’ve seen just multiple big human beings do it, you know? I’ve seen [in] New Japan from the top rope,” Red said. “And it’s like I have to remind myself, yo, that came from my brain. So crazy.
The Cena version is the one his family notices.
Super insane. I get hit up mostly like a lot of my family [saying], ‘Oh, did you see John Cena just did your move?’ I’m like, that’s awesome. That’s freaking great.
A Smarter Amazing Red
Now 44, Red said a pile of injuries forced him to rethink what his name meant.
Definitely smarter for sure. Very smarter. You know, before it was just throwing caution to the wind every chance I got, just trying to live up to the moniker Amazing Red. I felt like I had to do something amazing every time I was out there,” he said. “And later on I found out, you know what, amazing doesn’t have to mean I have to put myself on the line all the time. Maybe amazing in Amazing Red is like how much heart I have, how much I can stay within the fight.
There was countless injuries that kind of piled up where I had to change my wrestling style. I had to come back different and wiser,” Red added. “There’s some of the things I watched that I did back in the day and I’m like, what was I thinking?
His style was built on tape trading. Red named Hayabusa, Super Delfin, Taka Michinoku, Juventud Guerrera, Blitzkrieg, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio among the wrestlers he studied from All Japan, New Japan, Michinoku Pro and WCW.
Their style was like fast, fast, fast, stop, fast, fast, fast, stop. That was my group of guys.
The bigger lesson, he said, came from outside the ring.
Just be a good person, man, and it follows you… We’re in the business, it’s kind of tough. A lot of egos, a lot of people I guess you can say play-hating, blackballing people, but like just be good, man. Just be a good person. Try your best.
