TNA Reaction: Sit-Down w/ The Returning Kiera Hogan

0:00Profit ball is back. Trager predictions on Kowshi. America's number one prediction market platform. New England is currently trading at 39% to beat Seattle, meaning a $100 trade pays out $245 if they win. Download Kowshi. Use code FAL to get $25 when you trade $25. KALSHI. Kowshi. Trade on anything. 18 plus only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Kowshi products are not available on your restrictions. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see kowshi.com slash regulatory. My day kicks off with a refreshing Celsius energy drink. Then straight to the gym. Pre-camp pickup, back home to meal prep. Time for my fire session shift. One more Celsius gotta keep the lights on. When the three alarm hits, I'm ready. Celsius, live, fit, go. Grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate now at Celsius.com. What's up everybody? You're listening to Busted Open. It's Denise Salsado.

1:00And today I sat down with Kiera Hogan to talk about her return to TNA Wrestling. This is the Busted Open Podcast. Please welcome Kiera Hogan Kiera. Welcome. How are you? What's up? I make her a three time champion. I mean, my third ring right now. Damn right. Exactly Kiera. It's crazy how fast things fly by. Like you came back to TNA. You and Ali captured the tag team. Well, already tagged team chancepins, but you filled in for Rosemary. And now that this is happening, you are once again a champion in TNA. Let's go ahead and kick it off right there. How do you feel being back with the company and instantly, obviously, getting some gold? Man, honestly, I feel like I'm home. I feel like TNA has always had my heart no matter how far I went. I feel like it was always there for me, no matter what.

2:00And they truly came together and made that a thing. Like they made it into a whole full circle moment. Me coming back to TNA and winning gold. I've been a cloud not in honestly since locked down. I feel like I haven't come down. I feel like after being away from wrestling for so long, I've had four matches in my first week. I think I'm also a hot stock. Oh my god. Okay, so you were gone for a rest from wrestling for almost a year. Yeah, I think like almost a year, right? A little bit more. No, it was a year. A year. Yeah. A little bit more than I care, you know. Okay. And when you are away from something that is so physically demanding and was such a huge part of your life, at what point did you start to prepare to come back? Or was it something that you always kept doing off to the side? It was something I was doing kind of off to the side here and there. Being gone for so long, honestly, was very hard. I had a lot of thought in my mind about if I could even return to wrestling, if I could still do it,

3:04watching from afar was something I was so forward to. This is my first major injury. I had to get surgery on my shoulder. And being away from wrestling for so long was honestly pretty sad. Because it's been a part of my life for 11 years, maybe a little more. So it's all I really had. It's provided me so much happiness, so much joy, so much creative outlet because I am a creative. It was taken away from me by force. And I never thought in a million years that an injury would take me out. But that's we have to give it to the game. That's part of being a wrestler. That's part of being in a contact sport, being an athlete. And before I was in wrestling, I wasn't athlete. So it just, it comes apart of the game. But like I said, it's just, it's full soul, full circle. And when I was cleared about seven months after my surgery, I got back in the ring. I went to my trainer, Mr. Hughes in Atlanta, for the first time when I got back in the ring. And he worked me for two and a half hours. I was like, oh my god, I don't know if I can do this.

4:05But I kept pushing, I kept pushing. And lo and behold, TNA gave me a ring. And was like, hey, you want to come back? Oh my god. So they reached out to you, right? Yes, they did. They did. What was your reaction? Because you know, you're doing your thing, you're getting back into it. You've been away for a long time. But did you even think that they would, you know, bring you up and be like, hey, there's an opening for you here? Are you interested? Absolutely not. I was just happy to, at least, beginning back to wrestling. I booked my first Indy show before TNA even called me. So when they did it, I was like, it's actually funny. I'm taking my first Indy show exactly a week after lockdown. So yeah, I'm ready to go. I've been training, I've been preparing, but I really, it really kicked off the preparation. Like, I feel like I was kind of slowly getting back into it. But I feel like that just ignited me. I was like, oh, I got to get ready. Come on, Kier.

5:06Get it together. You got to, you got to turn it back on. It's that time you've been waiting. You've been thinking, you've been hoping, you've been manifesting. And now look, we're finally here when you least expected it. So it's time to put up a shadow. And you came in and it was like sink or swim because you came into the match, obviously, you know, in the cage, it's for the championships. You're in there with Ali who you haven't worked with in a really long time. And it was like all of these different variables and things that you haven't been used to in a while. And it was just like, go. Like, this is your, like, this is your return. This is your moment. How did it feel when you went out there? Heard the crowd had the big reveal. Did all of your spots and everything you have to do got the win for your team and held out that, held up that championship belt. Well, from the beginning, I was anxious. One, I'm just like, do people remember me? Do the T&A audience remember me? Like, how much of a mark did I actually leave on the audience when I left? How much of a mark on the audience did I put, like, make even when I was gone and how many people kept up with me?

6:09I just, I wanted to be remembered. I feel like that was my biggest thing. I was like, I just hope that I get a good reaction. I hope that people just remember who I am. So I was so nervous going into the match. I had a lot of people in the back coming down and tell me, you know, your star act like it. This is what you're meant to do. You got the calling for a reason. Put up or shut up, like, show out. Like, this is your time. You've been waiting. So I had a lot of support, you know, throughout the whole experience leading up to lockdown, but actually getting through the match, like hearing the pop. I was just like, oh my god, I feel like I still, like, go through that memory, like, oh my god, I can't believe like what a reaction I got. I was not expecting it. I was hoping it would be good, but I was not expecting that. So it was definitely a good surprise. And it helped fuel me through that match. It kept me pushing. And winning those titles was like, man, I feel like I made it. Like, I feel like I'm meant to do this.

7:09I feel like I finally feel the worth that I feel like I've lost. It just, it all came full circle. It just, it was such a grateful experience. It was really heartwarming and honestly, really sad, because I was just so happy to be in a ring again, to be on TV again. And then to win gold, it just, it says a lot to me, of what's T and A thinks of me. And I appreciate how much worth they put on my name and what I've done for the company in the past to be able to come back and do this. And to do it with Ali, oh man, like, I got teamed with Ali when I first got signed back in 2017. My debut 2018, I was teamed up with her immediately. I did a lot of undead room stuff with her in Rosemary. And this moment is so full circle because I feel like we both have been to Hellenback. And I'm just happy if I was going to do this with anybody who was going to be her. One of the things that you just mentioned right now is knowing your worth. And sometimes when things don't go the way that you always want them to,

8:12you start to question yourself, you start to doubt yourself, maybe lose a little bit of confidence. And it sounds to me like returning to T and A gave you that boost in your confidence again. Oh, absolutely. 100,000 million percent it did. I during my injury, when everything happened and I found out I had to get surgery, it was a blow. Like, I felt like I had taken the cut off and it was time to go into heat. And I didn't know how long I was going to be in heat. Like, I just kept getting knocked down again and again. And it was really a roller coaster ride, especially right out of surgery. I had to be in a sling for six weeks. Like I said, this was my first major surgery. My first time ever going under the knife ever in my life. It was a lot to go through. And I feel like it made me stronger in the end because it kept me pushing as low as I did get. I kept pushing because I saw a goal. I saw the vision. I could see my comeback regardless of where it was. But I was just hoping that I would end up somewhere where they would use me wisely,

9:18where I could be a creative and tell my story and perform the way I want and be who I want. And I'm just happy that it was TNA because they always just let me be myself. Like when I was with Tasha, we were just ourselves the whole time. Nobody told us how to be us. Nobody told us what to say. And I feel like coming back to TNA, I knew I was going to be able to just be me and flourish. However that may be. You mentioned Tasha's steals. And before we came on to the air, I was telling you how you and I had enchanted since your original TNA run. When you guys were firing Flava with yourself and Tasha steals. And I remember when you guys came on, you guys were like so fun. Just having like the best time and I could really see that friendship there. When you look back at that time of a TNA, how do you look back at that time period for yourself? Well, I actually did go down memory lane right before I went to lockdown because I was like, oh my god, what moves do I do? Oh my god, I don't want to do anything to do.

10:21So I'm like, I forgot my own moveset. Oh my god, I literally was like, let me YouTube myself and see what moves I do. I'm telling you, this is no lie, this is 100% honest, I swear. So you know, I hopped on the TNA plus app and I was like, TNA 2020 and I literally just went back on how me and Tasha got paired together and like our whole story and us finally like becoming a unit. Like it was just so beautiful to experience and like watch back like and I told Tasha, I was like, man, we were really something like we were really something special during that time, especially when the world was shut down and people didn't really have sources of entertainment. I feel like we really brought joy to a lot of people. I feel like we made people smile and just forget for just a second when we were on TV. I love tagging with her. Like that was such a fun time and I just, I've always wanted the best for Tasha, like with everything because she deserved it.

11:21Like even when she came in the TNA, I was like, man, I feel like we will be the tag team. I feel like we will play really good off of each other and I feel like there's nobody really like us on TV. So it just again, it was just it was meant to be and I'm just I'm excited to see maybe in the journey what happens because you know, I'm back. So fire is here and Flake was over there order four right now, but we'll see. Coming up next, we continue the conversation with Kiera Hogan. The fastest growing pro wrestling show on the planet. Fuzze! Fuzze! Fuzze! Busted open every day, 9th Stunistern. Profa ball is back. Traeger predictions on Kowshi. America's number one prediction market platform. New England is currently trading at 39% to beat Seattle, meaning a $100 trade pays out $245 if they win. Download Kowshi, use code FAL to get $25 when you trade $25. KALSHI, Kowshi, trade on anything. 18 plus only, restrictions and eligibility requirements apply.

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14:35ESPNF Every game day you show up for your team. Now it's your time. Ask your prescriber about Wigovie, some Maglatide Injection 2.4 milligrams, a GLP 1. Call 1-8334 Wigovie or visit Wigovie.com to view the Medication Guide and to learn more about Wigovie. Why wait? Me, go. Me. I'm dying when you said you had you in and you looked at your videos and remembered when you were trying to dip. That's probably the most honest, most funny answer I've ever heard whenever when someone says they're coming back. But me, yeah. I didn't watch wrestling. Like I feel like watching wrestling made me sad at one point. So I just, I would look at it every now and then, you know, I would see things on YouTube, but it wasn't like up front me watching wrestling.

15:35So when I finally dig into a point where I was like, okay, I'm coming back, I should probably like figure out if I'm one I like change my moves and do something different or whatever, but like then like I said that T&A called me and I was like, oh my god, what do I do? What do I do? What are my moves? Oh my god, like what can I do in this match? I don't know what I'm going to do in this match, but honestly like it went so smooth. Like I couldn't have had a better experience, honestly. Like it was picture perfect. How did you feel when you saw yourself from way back then? I feel like that girl was trying to find herself at that point. She was trying to be comfortable in who she was and at the beginning I could see myself kind of holding back a little bit and then eventually I could kind of see myself just let go and flourish and be myself. And it was a really beautiful evolution and like I just feel like at that time there were so much happening and I was just one of the people that was like, I'm going to go to work.

16:38I don't care when anybody says I'm going to work and I'm glad that I did just take the chance and be determined to go to work and be on TV because look what happened. Like I would have never expected that any of that happened and to just watch back was like, wow, you really did that girl. Like you are really tired. Like don't act like you haven't done things in this business. Don't act like what you've done doesn't matter. Like you have actually made a very big mark on people on the company, on the wrestling world period. Like walk like it. Act like. Talk like it. Like I just, I keep reminding myself like be confident in who you are. You know who you are. You know you're a star. Act like it. Yes, exactly. All of that. I love that you saw that in yourself and I think that was exactly what you needed to see right before the big return because the big return, everyone knows whenever you're getting into the ring, you not only is it like a physical thing, but it's a mental thing as well.

17:38You got to be mentally prepared to go out there and do a very physical sport, but you got to believe in yourself so that the people believe in you too when you stepped back there to that TNA locker room. And I'm sure you saw a lot of new faces, but some familiar faces as well. Tasha steals being one of them. What was that reunion like and how did it feel stepping back into that locker room? I miss my girls. Like I just missed them so much. Like even though the locker room has changed a lot, there are still very familiar faces. Alicia Edwards is one of my best friends. I absolutely adore her. Like from my very first, even before TNA, like we've been friends a very long time and I miss her so much. That is my rough. That is my ride or die. Gia Miller is another one that I love. Of course, Ali, people in production, some referees, like it's just so nice to see so many people. Even the guys, I feel like TNA is the locker room is very family oriented, is very family forward.

18:39I feel like we all look out for each other in different ways because we all want the product to be good, not just for our individual selves. Like I feel like people are selfish in TNA and that's, I feel like a huge thing that people don't realize and wrestling. It's not just the youth sport. It's an everybody sport. We have to work as a team. We have to move like a unit. We all have to be on the same page and I feel like TNA, the locker room, the production, the camera guys, creative. We all are a unit and we all want the product to be great. So to be in an environment like that again, it just, it feels so good. I'm just like so warm inside. I get so happy going to work. I'm just excited to see what's going to happen with the story lines where they're going to go. Like it's, it's very exciting. And being back on the road too, especially when you're so used to like having a totally different lifestyle when you're not in wrestling. Like I'm always amazed by the, all of the wrestlers and any promotion that go out there and it's like every week you got to leave your house and depending on your schedule, sometimes you'll eat more than that. Yes.

19:40Oh my god. I'm getting back on the road was a big thing too. Like I was like, oh my god, I have to make sure I have everything. I'm an overpacker. I'm a Virgo. So I pack for everything. I don't care if it has nothing to do with me. I'm going to have it for somebody else. And I'm that girl in the locker room like, X the girls, I have nail glue, I have powder, I got a curling iron. What do you need? I got hair clips. I got the odorant body lotion, whatever. You need it. It's in my bag. I'm sure. But I think packing was like my biggest anxiety and like, you know, not missing a fly. Or, you know, making sure my bag isn't too heavy. Like I have to kind of get back into that mode of like traveling every week. I will say the TNA schedule was a little bit lighter. So I like that, you know, I only have to pack for a couple of times a month and not every single week. But once I start taking more independent bookings, it's definitely going to pick back up. But I'm ready. I feel like I've gotten the hang of it. I literally live right around the corner from the airport. So it's not like I have to drive 30, 40, 50 minutes away. I feel like I've gotten back into the swing of things, but that was definitely a big

20:44like trigger, like anxiety trigger for me because the airport is just so like, it's a lot. You know, it's just a lot. It is. It can be real. It's kids like a hectic place, but sometimes it's pretty fun though. And it's good that you live nearby. But here you, you mentioned that you're going to be taking obviously indie bookings and all of that. Given, you know, the time that you spent away from wrestling, how important is it for you to make sure that not only are you doing T&A and all of that, but that you're also taking those indie bookings? I mean, indie bookings for people, I feel like on TV, especially people that are allowed to do independent bookings, it helps with reps. Like it keeps us sharp. We get to try new things. We don't necessarily have the time to try on TV. You meet new people. You make new connections. You meet new fans. Connect them so that they can watch you on TV. I feel like the independency is very important. I started out on the Indies. I was grinding every single weekend. I was going through a shoulder injury pretty much my entire career, but because I was so

21:47busy, I didn't want to take time off. I was like, oh, let me pop my shoulder back in and keep it moving. Like this money got to be made. These shows got to be accounted for. So I feel like it definitely does like help when it comes to just getting your reps in and being sharp. And honestly, the first indie match back, I went to my home promotion at Lina Wrestling Entertainment and I wrestled Ruthie J and the match was amazing. It was so amazing and I was so nervous for nothing, but I feel like because I had locked down in the TV in Canada, it prepared me for my first singles match back. So I felt like I was a little bit calmer when it came to just the preparation of the match. But it was so good. It was so fun and easy and I feel like it's kind of eased my anxiety when it comes to TV wrestling and Indie wrestling. I feel like I'm starting to find that perfect little middle ground. Yeah, because obviously Indie shows, they're a lot more grittier, right? In the sense that you have terrible locker rooms, you never know what craziness is going

22:48to happen. It's always a crazy world in the Indies, right? But it's like that anything can happen mentality, but at the same time when you are in television and that world is so controlled, it's chaotic, but it's controlled, I feel like if you can survive in either of those elements, it prepares you for that other place as well, even though they're totally different. Absolutely. Like I said, it's just, it's finding the happy medium. Like, you have to remember on TV, we do have like, we have strict times, we have to be out by this time. Like, you have to be very self aware on TV. And I feel like on the Indies, you can be a little bit more relaxed, but you have to, like I said, you just have to find that happy middle point of being able to be yourself but also being controlled and self aware of what's going on in the cameras and the fans and the, you know what I'm saying? So I feel like, yeah, the independentist just, it really does help us on TV, at least for me. And I feel like I can speak for a lot of people who do the Indies. And like I said, it's just, it's fun to connect with fans on that level.

23:51It's a little bit more intimate. And you know, you have more time with them and at least them to become a fan of you and then they can see you on TV. Exactly. No, I always love whenever talent goes to the Indies and has the matches that they have and they work with different talent. And I just think it just makes you like better across the board. Kiera, for you, you know, for people, there's a lot of new people that are just watching TNA for the first time that maybe haven't seen you. There's people that, that I've been missing you, your fans and people that haven't seen you in a minute. What do you want your fans and those new viewers to know about Kiera Hogan? That I am the hottest flame and I'm just her and I really just want them to feel my star power. I want you to feel my aura. I know we're a skirt and I'm very regal and luxurious because I want you to be able to feel my worth. I kind of want to exude it. I feel like I've been hiding for so long or like holding back like now I'm just like,

24:51bam, like you get it all in your face and this is what you get. Like I just want them to feel the heat off of my body. Like I feel like that's why I want to just be flame because I want you to feel my energy. I want you to feel my like star power and my athleticism and my personality and just, you know, I just want to give it. I want it to give luxurious. I want it to give star. I love that. No, it's funny because like when you came in and I was looking at you and I was like, dang, I need to ask her what her like beauty routine is because your skin is glowing and I was thinking about it the whole entire time. I was like, I need to know what she does because I can feel like already I can feel the beauty coming in this direction. The luxury, the glam. I see. I do my own hair and makeup. Like I've always done my own hair and makeup. I'm so into makeup like I'm such a girly girl. Like I'm very like I said, I'm a work on very tedious. I'm a perfectionist especially when it comes to my appearance and even when I started

25:53off in the indies, like I was very like meticulous about how I looked even on indies because I just I want people to know who I am and I like feeling put together and I like a lot of makeup and dramatic and glitter. But yeah, I love makeup. I do my own hair makeup for everything that anybody really sees unless I've tagged a separate makeup artist but I'm very particular. I'll hold touches my face. But I do a lot of skin prep and I do a lot of skincare. Like skincare is where it starts. Like you have to have a good like solid skincare routine and lately I've been to I've been into Korean beauty. So I've been using a lot of like anewa and metacube and honestly my skin is glowing. Like so Korean skincare is worth it. Yeah, I was about to say I'm going to need the links to that because I noticed it right away and I was like, damn, she looks good. I was like, is it water? Because they say you got a drink water and I'm like, I was going to go chug a gallon of water right now. Yeah, see I appreciate those kind of compliments because you see the detail.

26:54You understand. Yes, it's not easy. Okay, it's very it's not easy. You've also mentioned Virgo season. We're in Virgo season right now. Your birthday September 16, a couple of days from 13 days away. Now, do you got any big birthday plans? Well, my beautiful fiance bought us tickets to go see Rosalia. That was back in June. The cancer got rescheduled and we're going to see her two days before my birthday on September 14 in Miami. So I will be in Miami for my birthday. I don't know what I'm doing. I just know I'm going to this concert and maybe like a dinner or something like honestly. Now that I'm like in my 30s, I turned 30 a couple years ago and I went to Italy for my 30s birthday. The fiance surprised me and took me to Italy and honestly, that was the best birthday and nothing can talk that. Like, I don't know what can talk that, but I think I'm good with keeping it to like at

27:54least for the next couple of years. Hey, as long as you got good people around you and good food and good vibes, it's all going to work out, you know? Catch the full three hours of busted open every day of the week at 9 a.m. Eastern on WWE Radio on Sirius XM Channel 156. Every game day you show up for your team, now it's your time. Ask your prescriber about Wigovie, some Maglatide Injection 2.4 mg, a GLP 1. Call 1-8-3-3-4 Wigovie or visit Wigovie.com to view the Medication Guide and to learn more about Wigovie. Why wait? This is Madelo with Cessio, a full flavored golden logger, crisp and refreshing from start to finish, brewed with time, effort and determination to get the balance right. Madelo with Cessio, the model for every day be here.

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