Navajo Warrior on his "Last Mile" Tour, IZW MONSTER, Working for WWE 2K Games, Hulk Hogan Being Booed, more

Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: Navajo Warrior
Date: 01/28/2025
Your Host: James Walsh

If you live in the Grand Canyon State of Arizona, you know that the Navajo Warrior is one of Arizona pro wrestling's staples. You don't get to be known for your home region unless you are the best that region has to offer. And, for close to 35 years, that is exactly what the Navajo Warrior has been - The very best of Arizona! 

Having competed for the WWE, worked for 2K Games including currently still working for the popular WWE 2K games video game series, and operating Impact Zone Wrestling which has trained and featured some of the biggest stars in modern wrestling history, the Navajo Warrior has done a lot to earn his rightful place in pro wrestling history. But, after 35 years, he has embarked on his "Last Mile" tour. While he won't call it "retirement", he will be finishing up his full time wrestling career at the end of 2025. The first stop on his "Last Mile" is a familiar one as he squares off with "The King of TNA" Frankie Kazarian on February 22nd as Impact Zone Wrestling presents MONSTER in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Tickets are still available for IZW Monster! You can pick up those tickets at this link. Or, go to the URL below. 

https://izwwrestlingaz.com/

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NAVAJO WARRIOR:

On why he decided to embark on his "Last Mile" tour:
"There are a couple reasons, really.The most important of them is that family comes first. My youngest daughter is starting to embark on her first sport of boxing and with her training, it is starting to take up a lot of my time... And, also, thisyear marks 35 years of wrestling for the Navajo Warrior. So, it is time to scale it back. As you said, I did not use the word "retire." We never retire! There is going to be a day that they will call me and say, "Hey, we're having an event. We want you to be on it." I'm not going to say, "Sorry, I'm retired!" I'm going to say, "Yeah, I'll be there!" (laughs)"

On Frankie Kazarian being his opponent on February 22nd in Phoenix as IZW Presents MONSTER:
"We're calling this my "Last Mile" and who ebetter to be the first opponent on my "Last Mile" than a guy who is making waves right now as the "King of TNA", a guy who was in the original IZW in Southern California, Frankie Kazarian! There are going to be a lot of familiar faces along the way. I won't announce who those will be right now. But, I think you're going to like it."

On the idea behind starting Impact Zone Wrestling in 2000:
"The whole idea of starting IZW was because there was not really all that much wrestling in the valley. There was Western States Wrestling and they ran monthly at the Colosseum in the Expo Hall. The ownership changed and they no longer wanted wrestling there. And, with that gone, wrestling was dry. I gave it some time. I didn't want to run opposition to a company that was so good to me and Western States kept saying they were looking for a new venue. Well, after a year, I got together with Gallo - Gabriel Gallo, and Hollywood Yates. I said, "It has been a year. Lets start running shows." And, we did. We were no longer just a wrestling school. We were running shows. ANd, it took off. Once we went to the Sets (in Tempe) it really took off because we were running bi-weekly! And, with the contacts we had with guys like Rick Bassman in UPW, we had all kinds of guys coming through. It was kind of like a proving ground!  People wanted to come and be seen! We had guys like The Miz, Kenny King, Bryan Danielson, Sara Del Ray, Davey Richards... Youname them. A lot of guys that were up and coming at that time and went on to WWE came through Impact Zone Wrestling! And now, since we brought it back, there are a handful of promotions running and doing well. Some are even run by guys we trained who now are training their guys and running shows also. It is great to see."

On working for WWE for the first time in 1993:
"It was intimidating to say the least. A quick story, I came in to the show and all I was told was what time to be at the arena. I didn't know where to go. So, I went in blind. So, I showed up and basically just found a place to sit. I wanted to see if I recognized anyone to see who I should check in with. Well, the first guy I saw was Rikishi who was Fatu of the Headshrinkers at the time. He said, "Well, have you talked to Tony Garea yet?" I was like, "Oh, is that who I'm supposed to check in with?" He was like, "Yeah." He took me over to the agents, and then he was like, "Where are you going to get dressed?" I said, "I have no idea." He took me over to the locker room and he said "You get changed with us." So, I was there, I went and got some catering. And, I went back into the locker room to get my boots on and Jerry Saggs of the Nasty Boys was there and he was like, "Who the hell are you?" I was like, "Hi, I'm Steve." He wouldn't shake my hand. "Who said you could be in here." I was like, "Fatu." And, he kind of said, "Oh, ok" and stood down. But, that is how they were. They were protective of their locker room. And, I get it. Things are so different now. Now, the local talent have their own dressing area. They don't dress with the main roster talent. They'll find a room for them. Sometimes it is a broom closet. Sometimes it is a pipe and drape. But, they don't dress in the same locker room. But, having Rikishi show me around kind of helped me grow my confidence. So, after they called me back, I started to see guys who looked lost and I started to show them around and pay it forward."

On being a "local talent" and if that was a role he was comfortable in:
"I knew what my role was. My role was to make them look larger than life. And, that is what I did. But, I also knew that if I did my job well, there might be opportunities for me sinc I was young. And, that came to be. Chief Strongbow called me up and they were going to use me for when the WWE started up their light heavyweight division. When they ahd used me at first, I was like 230 pounds. So, he was like, "Are you still skinny?" I was like, "Well, I'm about 265 now." He was like, "WHAT?" (laughs) But, they still brought me in. But, i was too large for that division. I was like, "Damn, why did I put size on?" (laughs)  But, they did still did bring me in to take a look at me."

On Howard Finkel giving him his ring name by accident:
"I worked a WWE dark match and I was wrestling as the Navajo Kid. I wasn't sure how long I could pull off being the "Kid." Well, I won the match and Howard Finkel said, "Here is your winner, the Navajo Warrior!" And, I was like, "Wait! Wait a second!" (laughs) To have Howard Finkel give me that name in that way is a great story!"

On if he ever worried about using his Native American lineage as a persona:
"No, not at all. When I got into wrestling, I wanted to be a larger than life character like the guys I grew up watching. Why not use my lineage with the bright colors and the wolf skins and stuff like that. And, being honest, that is what helped me get a lot of my bookings early in my career - Me being Native American. And, legends like the Honky Tonk Man and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine would always pull me aside and give me tips on how to improve the gimmick. Because, they wrestled them all! They wrestled Tatanka. They wrestled Chief Jay Strongbow! They wrestled Wahoo McDaniel! They wrestled them all! They knew how the gimmick worked. They would say, "Wahoo would do this." All the advice, it was always cool! And, I was taught how to do the Indian Death Lock by Adnan Al-Kaissie wo was Billy Whitewolf! He was like, "D you know how to do the Indian Death Lock?" i was like, "I do not." He said, "Let me teach you!" And, I think that was amazing."

On his work with 2K Games especially WWE 2K:
"My title is Licensing Manager. I handle the licensing of the WWE games. But, my role is kind of jack of all trades. I handle scheduling and recording of voice over sessions with commentary and announcers. I handle the wrestlers when they have voice over lines. I handle the scans.. I handle the assets for the reference photos for the gear that the wrestlers wear in the game. When there is marketing, I am there to make sure the talent has everything they need. It can depend on the time of year as to what I'm working on. Right now, I'm gathering scans for the DLC content for WWE 2K25. 

On if he plays the games once they're released:
"You know, I try. (laughs) But, I can't get past the first match. Like, there is stuff I want to get to and I can't because I just can't get beyond the first match! My youngest daughter will help me, "Here Dad! Here's what you wanted to see!" (laughs) But, my favorite was 2K16 for the odd reason of.... Well, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was on the cover. You would play through key moments in his career and one of those was against Shawn Michaels with Mike Tyson as the special referee. Well, that year, Mike Tyson had signed on to do the UFC game. Mike Tyson could not be licensed for the WWE 2K16 game. So, instead of Mike Tyson, we had what we called the Special Enforcer Referee. And, we scanned me! So, I'm actually the Special Enforcer Referee! Yeah, I'm Mike Tyson! (laughs)"

On pro wrestlers getting smaller over the years:
"I think there are a few reasons why. One reason is I think humans are getting smaller. I mean, I don't see a lot of 6'5 guys around anymore. Another reason is that if you're an athlete, you're going to gravitate towards wrestling. And, with the athletic style, you are seeing a lot of smaller wrestlers that are 210 ponds, 205 pounds - 205 Live! So, the wrestlers are a lot smaller. But, the things they do in the ring are amazing!"

On Hulk Hogan, one of his biggest influences, being booed at RAW last month:
"I was in the building for that Netflix premiere. I went out into the arena when I knew his segment was coming up because I wasnted to feel that feeling, feel the energy of the crowd. And, I saw a friend of mine and we were standing there filming when he came out. And, we looked at each other and he, a long time fan, said, "I cannot believe they are booing." There were some cheers. But, nah, they were being drowned out. It was heartbreaking. I'd like to think he can come out of it. But, it depends on what he does. If he is brought back out and pitches his beer... Nah, it is going to take a while."

On why he thinks he was booed:
"I think it has a lot to do with social justice warriors and cancel culture. But, Hulk took it in stride. I saw him backstage after it and he wasn't bothered by it. He was talking and taking pictures with people like Rey Mysterio. He seemed fine."

On what you can expect from IZW Monster onFebruary 22nd:
"You can expect a night of great wrestling action! Monster is like our Royal Rumble. We start out with 2 guys in the ring and we introduce new people every few minutes and we go until number 13. You can expect a great night of action especially in the Monster match itself. You've got 13 of the best wrestlers in the world and the winner gets a shot at the World Championship We will have at least 2 women's matches on the card. We will have our new Tag Team Champions in action. Our 3DSports Championship will be on the line which is something different, normally you have guys call out the champion but with the 3DSports Championship, the champion can call out their opponent instead. That is something we came up with that is a little different. And then, of course, you've got myself and Frankie Kazarian which is the best of Arizona against the King of TNA!"