Moose has become one of the top stars in Impact Wrestling as he won the Impact World Champion and the TNA World Championship. Considering his NFL background, Moose (whose real name is Quinn Ojinnaka) has done something only one only pro wrestler has done in history. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Moose talked about himself and WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg being the only two former NFL players to become world champions in pro wrestling.ย
“Pro wrestling was always the goal for me, even before my NFL career, so I’m very excited that I have accomplished something that only other person has done is Goldberg,” Moose exclusively told PopCulture. “Just to be named in any category with him is definitely a blessing.”
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Moose played in the NFL from 2006 to 2012 and then made his way into pro wrestling. Before joining Impact, Moose competed in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling along with smaller promotions. He made his Impact debut in 2016 and became the fourth Black person in Impact history to win the world title.ย
“I mean, it was always something I had goals to do and I’m the type of person when I set a goal that I might drive this to accomplish those goals or why do you set them, right?” Moose said. ย “That was my plan of doing it and you’ll have to actually see with that. So now I’ll accomplish more goals, maybe to be X Division Champion or Tag Team Champion.”
Moose and the rest of the Impact stars will be in Atlanta this weekend for two events. On Friday, Impact will host Against All Odds and it will air on Impact Plus and YouTube for Impact Ultimate Insiders at 8 p.m. ET. On Saturday Impact will present Southern Hostility, which will air on an upcoming episode of Impact on AXS TV. Both shows will take place at Center Stage in Atlanta.ย
“I’m just going to tell you, this venue that we’re going to be at, Center Stage, it’s my first time here,” Moose said. “I know it has a lot of tradition for pro wrestling in Atlanta so I’m definitely excited for that. I’m excited to be back home because I did live here for a majority of my adulthood and I’m just generally excited.”