Exclusive Interview With "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels

On Character Development

AS: What more would you have liked to have done with the Fallen Angle gimmick? Did you want to start a cult? You€™ve mentioned David Koreseh in the past as a character type. Was there a stable of guys you wanted to be with you? CD: Not specific guys, but yeah, that was the plan I always felt, I knew I wasn€™t going to be physically imposing, because I'm as tall as I am and I weigh what I weigh, so I never thought I was going to be the physically intimidating character, but I felt like I could be a leader of men and be that sort of intimidating, vocally, mentally intimidating. So I had planned on being the mouthpiece for guys that needed it and I thought that was something I had pitched a couple times in a couple different places. That never really materialized. We did it a little bit in TNA with the first year of me being on my own. I had my own little acolyte crew. That was short lived and they got rid of it pretty quickly. It never really materialized the way I wanted it to. I feel like the stuff that I wanted to do with The Fallen Angel, it went about as good as it could have been because that character, I could have gone to the extremes with it, but i feel like it might have been more offensive than controversial. And that might have hurt me in the long run, so it probably worked out for the best. I did it to the extent that I did and never went any further from it. Now I€™m out of that mindset, and I feel like what I€™m doing now, the stuff I did with Frankie in Bad Influence, I feel that, that€™s more my mentality, you know it€™s much more entertaining at least. I€™ve been entertained doing it and the fans embraced the stuff I€™ve being doing the past couple years more than anything. AS: The past couple year have definitely been an interesting switch in your character. Did you ever see yourself becoming what you€™ve become? CD: Well I don€™t know, man after a certain part of it might have just been frustration with not getting different opportunities and things, but at a certain point I just feel like 'well the heck with it' I€™m just going to go out there and be entertaining, and be the thing that people talk about at the end of the day, at the end of the show. And I slowly but surely started doing different things, whether it was mispronouncing guys€™ names on purpose or drinking the appletinis, or wearing the scarves with the t-shirt. It was just me just trying to get people to notice, and then when Frankie became involved, he and I shared that same mindset of getting people to talk. And out of the two hours of a show, be the thing they remembered most of all when the show was over. AS: For some reason, this was hilarious to me...I remember one time you attacked RVD backstage and then you push over a bunch of chairs and then run off into the distance. CD: Yeah, just different stuff like that. I did one thing with AJ and I ran away and the writers latched onto it and we want want you to be this cowardly dude. And I was like all right I can do that. So we did a couple things with a guy walked up to me I would scamper off like I was on Scooby Doo or something. It was just different things like that I would try and make noticeable and stand out.

On TNA

AS: A few years ago there were big rumors that Paul Heyman was going to come in and take over creative. Would you have liked to have worked with him and seen what he would have done with your character? CD: Yeah, that would have been cool. I think Paul is really creative obviously, and I think it would have been a neat opportunity to pick his brain and see what he would have done with TNA. But I mean it€™s sort of like as soon as the speculation started it flashed out. Almost at the same time. Because whatever decisions were made, were made so I mean it never really materialized past speculation. AS: So did anyone in the locker room think that he was coming in? CD: I don€™t think so. I don€™t think anyone thought it was going to be a done deal. I think they heard the rumors. Some people thought it might be good. Some people thought €œoh that might not be good€ but I remember thinking that might not be a bad thing, a good shake up. Get everyone sort of motivated, but soon after it fell apart. AS: What were your thoughts about the Fortune stable? CD: I actually pitched being a part of it early on. Because A.J. and I being pals at that point, and I didn€™t really have anything going on for me. So I thought it would be a good fit for me, but it wasn€™t that long after that I was released. When the Fortune thing started, they put Bobby (Roode) and James (Storm) in it, I thought they did really well, though. I was surprised that they didn€™t do more with them especially once they turned babyface, because I felt there was a lot of opportunities to make those guys the standard bearers of the company. Especially with four guys who were basically TNA originals. They had a run, but I think they could have done so much more with them in that role and they decided to split everybody up. You know, split Bobby and James up and turn me with AJ when I came back. So it just worked out the way it did.