Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to the Busted Open Podcast. This is Dave LaGreca. On today's episode, myself and Tommy Dreamer talk to your TNA president, Carlos Silva, and your TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Mike Santana. Also, I got a little bone to pick with a certain journalist, Rob Parker, who had some interesting things to say about pro wrestling.
Chapter 2: What insights does Carlos Silva share about TNA's current direction?
My retort to him right now on the Busted Open Podcast. this is the busted open podcast carlos silva and your tna world champion mike santana gentlemen thank you so much for the time and and joining us in studio today
Thank you. Great to see you.
Yeah, it's great to be here. No, I'm very happy. And this is such a great time for TNA and what you've done, Carlos, for TNA. And Mike, what you've done for TNA, because everybody who's listening right now has been on this journey with you. You know, I was there for Slammiversary last year in New York where everybody thought that moment was going to happen. It didn't.
But to see this gold around your waist, I know is a dream come true, not just for you, but your fans that follow you as well.
Absolutely. I mean, like you said, everyone has taken this journey with me and I've prided myself on carrying everyone on my back and taking them along for the ride. And, you know, I'm just grateful and humbled by all the support that I've gotten through the years and everything.
What we've all been able to accomplish with TNA and me being at the forefront and being part of this whole new era for the company and being on AMC, it's a huge deal. Yeah, I feel like the best is yet to come.
And Tommy, I know you have questions too, but the one thing I want to say to you, Mike, and now especially that I'm here with you face-to-face, is the thing I admire most about you, not just as a wrestler, but as a man, it's very difficult to be honest, and you are. And I think that's why the fans...
like you and love you as much as they do because they know that there's no bullshit coming out of your mouth when you talk. It's true honesty. And that's really the measure of a man. And I think if there's anybody in professional wrestling that has that high standard, it's you.
absolutely like where I come from and I'm sure you've heard this before all we got is our word and our balls you know and I don't break them for no one and to be honest man like I spent so many years running from truth that now is just like face it head-on you know what I mean and we my dad always used to say we have one life right why are we going to bullshit anyone especially ourselves yeah
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Chapter 3: How does Mike Santana reflect on his journey in TNA?
I mean, Dave, this is hard for me because I'm so close to both people here. But how important it is for you because it's from a different side. You took a weekend off. You went to Puerto Rico with your grandmother, your daughter. And I love it because you also have the ability to take a weekend off. But talk about that and recharging your batteries.
I think it's very important for anyone, especially in this line of work or any line of work where you're constantly on that grind and constantly traveling. One thing I've learned the past few years, especially going through rehab and stuff like that, was...
you have to take care of you right above all and you gotta sometimes put yourself first and I'm never afraid of doing that you know what I mean especially when I need it I'm not afraid to say that I need it but also I've earned it right as you know I've been on the grind for the last two and a half years non-stop and you know when the time comes where I feel like I could take a break I'm gonna take that break and
Spend time with family and Puerto Rico, as you know, Tommy, has always been a place for me where I go. It's my happy place, right? It's a place where I go and I could free my mind and reconnect with myself and my roots and everything. So every time I go over there is to do exactly that. And I'm thankful. I said this last week.
I'm thankful that I'm at a point in my career where I can make those choices. And it's about being able to be selective and not having to do things because you need to, but because you want to. And I'm thankful for that.
You know, Carlos, I got to say, I'm thankful for you. You know, we just celebrated 17 years of Busted Open. So I know how passionate the pro wrestling fan is. And Sirius XM understands how passionate the pro wrestling fan is. You have a new platform and you got a new platform for TNA. So you understand how passionate that pro wrestling fan is. How is that for you to adjust to that?
And did you always know it? And has it been eye opening for you?
It's certainly eye-opening. Been involved in so many big events. I mean, the biggest events, whether it's the Olympics, Super Bowls, World Series. been in the tunnel when Tom Brady's running out for a Monday night football game. I mean, big events, but the thing with wrestling is it's not just the big event, it's every single day in between.
And maybe you put it on the platform with like the NFL, or maybe you put it on a platform like the Olympics where Everyone's so passionate. I remember being in Beijing when I was there for the Olympics years ago and we were in this tunnel and in that tunnel, everyone was exchanging all these Olympic pins. And it was this like crazy fan base that loved it. And it's like wrestling is...
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Chapter 4: What controversial comments did Rob Parker make about professional wrestling?
I'm here, you know, and that night I proved I belong in the main event.
Right. I love how you said you were grounded because I was a single dad and your first priority is your daughter. Like every decision that you make in your life, the first thing you think of is that person that depends on you and everything else. And by the way, there's no bigger kick in the balls. as when they move out. That is the toughest moment. But you're right.
Being a champion, having fans come to see you, that is all awesome. And there's benefits of being an entertainer and having that job. But all that really matters is that person that's sitting at home waiting. And you have to support them. Every decision is based on that.
And I think that's definitely what keeps you grounded is that you know no matter what, good or bad, that person's going to be there for you.
A hundred percent. And also, you know, going back to making that decision and going out on things on my own and, you know, I left a very comfortable situation. Right. And went out on my own. And I always say, like, I knew it was going to happen because no matter what I do, my daughter is going to eat and I'm always going to make sure that she eats. So that was all the motivation that I needed.
Speaking of motivation, and I'm just speaking for myself, this show's been on the air for 17 years. It hasn't always been easy because it was wrestling. Not a lot of people, you don't get the respect that football and baseball and basketball do. And now, thankfully, they do. But there was a lot of time where they didn't believe in me and they didn't believe in the show.
And they kept me on the air, but they didn't believe in it. And that motivated me, that anger. Does anger motivate you? Like, I'm going to show you you didn't use. Well, I'm going to show you. Look what I'm doing here.
100%. And I think for me, like in the beginning, it was a lot of, I need to prove people wrong. And then it turned into, I ain't competing with nobody but myself. Right. And I, every day that I wake up in my life, I look in that mirror and I say, that's the person I'm competing with. Nobody else.
yeah and i mean i've even seen that i've even seen that in mike over you know over this last year coming out of slammerversary and sort of regrouping and sort of you know coming back to himself i mean i love i love every day almost you see a post from mike on on insta or on twitter about you know that he's at the gym and that he's not satisfied and he's trying to push harder and and what's great about it is i think the whole team feels that way and it helps
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Chapter 5: What personal challenges does Mike Santana discuss regarding balancing family and wrestling?
There's always going to, there's always going to be people that humble you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. At some point.
But I love it. I mean, that's part of the journey. That's part of the process, right? Because at the end of the day, those are the things that you learn from the most, right? You can't learn if you're constantly winning. You have to lose sometimes. You have to hit a roadblock. You have to... I never... I put it like this, I never look at it as losses, they're lessons, right?
And I think once you change your mindset and how you look at things, everything around you changes.
Yeah, you have to lose to learn how to win. I know it's kind of cliche, it's in the song by Aerosmith, but it's true, you have to lose. to learn how to win because you have to feel that taste of what it's like to not have it so that when you have it, you appreciate it.
For sure. And for me, especially the last few years, rock bottom taught me more about myself and more about life than anything has. So I welcome all of that stuff.
I've been married three times, so I know where you're coming from. I hit rock bottom not once but twice. Yeah. That's fine.
Look at you now, though.
Yeah, I got somebody who's blind, doesn't actually see who I am. No, I'm joking. But it helps. Carlos, for you, and I appreciate you very, very much because you're somebody that... that loves TNA, loves being a part of this company, loves now being a part of pro wrestling.
You wear the hat and I'm in your corner and I'm rooting for you because of that love and appreciation and knowing that you took a chance. You didn't have to do it and you did it and look how much you've done for the company. You have to be proud. Have you taken a step back?
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Chapter 6: How does Carlos Silva view the evolution of TNA under his leadership?
And we try to do the best to make good when we have to make those decisions. And in the case of of, you know, Nick and Leon and a few of the matches that had to get that had to get shut down. We we tried to make good and and make calls and take care of the business as best we could.
Was it was it your decision to be made? Was it like it was?
Yeah, it was my decision. Yeah, I take take full ownership. Look, I've got a great team and we talk about these things together. But sometimes I'm the guy that has to make that decision. And and then you move on and you sort of, you know, go to work the next day and you work hard again and get stuff done.
And you mentioned there's a lot of shows coming up. We're on the road to Slammiversary. All that is available at TNAWrestling.com. So go to TNAWrestling.com for all ticket information, all merch sales, and of course the lineup. The biggest one is being Thursday nights on AMC. That's the biggest one now. What we've been able to get now here in 2026.
And, you know, if call us for that, I'm sure every TNA wrestling fan is extremely thankful for what you've been able to do for TNA.
I hope so. But again, we'll we'll keep coming to work every week and keep doing the hard work to try and keep bringing great shows to AMC and then great, great pay-per-views with, you know, with Slammiversary and Bound for Glory, you know, coming up.
And Mike, congratulations on all the success. Keep it going. And and you're the people's champion right now. So congratulations on that.
Thank you, Dave. I appreciate it.
Coming up next, my conversation. Not our conversation, but my conversation with Rob Parker. Rob Parker joins us here on Busted Open. Sir, thank you so much for the time and joining us here on Busted Open.
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Chapter 7: What are the upcoming events for TNA that Carlos Silva mentions?
So maybe that helps. The other part I would say about pro wrestling and the real sport element, besides the amount of athleticism that it all goes to, Why fans, and I say this, you know, even if you're a Met person, why we still believe? Because you can say you know it's going to happen, but there's so many times when they don't. And that's why this channel has grown.
That's also the speculation of why and that passion. Before... I saw this man, the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, wrestle. I wanted to be Greg Nettles. He was my favorite player. I'm a big baseball guy. And then just Greg Nettles became secondary to how I saw Dusty Rhodes capture. Because in baseball, you saw it live. the ball between the legs, you felt that energy and that eruption.
In wrestling, we do that every match. And you can feel that passion for your fans and that fan base. So I say, like for me, I've loved wrestling since I'm 10 years old, but I also always say, and I've never grown up, And I like the fact that I still wrestle. But that's the magic of what we do.
And the other part, and I know you know this because you've experienced, but also you write and words are powerful. But I'm sure people have come up to you and said what your words meant to them. And I think that's key with the professional wrestling audience. And I have so much respect for you as well as for even coming on this show with Crazy Dave.
And I'm sure you got a lot of backlash for those comments.
Are you kidding? I mean, I'm still getting backlash. You became the heel.
You became everybody who beat SD Jones. Come on now.
Hey, I get that part. Here's one other part I want to bring up. And... This is where I put wrestling. On ESPN or any sports show, we don't get Washington, we don't get Harlem Globetrotters scores over the Washington Generals, right? They don't give us the score and say, last night the Globetrotters beat the Generals and give me a score and the high scores or whatever because we already know
It's an exhibition. It's pre-orchestrated. So we're not there. Now ESPN is trying to whitewash us, soft soak us, sell us a bill of goods, put pro wrestling on ESPN. next to, on SportsCenter, next to football and Major League Baseball. And that's where I think you're jumping the shark, where you're trying to act like it is a real competition. Pro wrestling has no place on SportsCenter.
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