Professional wrestling has always been very important for KC Navarro.
And it hasn’t always been easy.
Navarro is a star wrestler for Total Nonstop Action, one of the biggest professional wrestling organizations in the world. And now he electrifies fans from coast to coast with his high-flying moves that always make an impact.
Wrestling is a tough sport, but it was even tougher for Navarro growing up because he always had this dream.
He sat alone at lunch because wanting to be the next John Cena or Roman Reigns wasn’t considered cool.
Those bullies would probably look at him differently now, although now if they want to see Navarro, they’ll have to buy a ticket.
“I started when I was 15 years old, I was bullied as a kid for it, but it’s all I ever wanted,” said Navarro, now a 12-year veteran of the sport. “I put in the work to achieve my dreams. It took 10 full years to get a contract in TNA. Now I’m in a very good spot. I face the best wrestlers in the world.”
Navarro has wrestled all over the country, starting off with small independent shows where he honed his craft for nearly a decade before landing a role with TNA.
Since then, he’s been one of the top guys in the sport.
Many of his indie shows were in the Philly area, a place that considers Navarro one of its own. Now he returns to Philadelphia while representing one of the most popular wrestling organizations in the world.
TNA returns to Philadelphia for two nights of television tapings, one live on July 30 and a taping on July 31. The shows will come live from Temple University’s Liacouras Center and Navarro isn’t coming alone.
On the show will be TNA champion Nic Nemeth, who wrestled in WWE as Dolph Zigler; TNA Tag Team champions Matt and Jeff Hardy; Leon Slater; Cedric Alexander; Eddie Edwards; Brian Myers; Moose; Mustafa Ali; A.J. Francis; Elijah; Fabian Aichner; Frankie Kazarian; Ricky Sosa; Rich Swann; The Righteous; and Knockouts Xia Brookside, Ash By Elegance, Tasha, Steelz, Rosemary, Allie, Indi Hartwell, Elayna Black and Mara Sade.
TNA has done nothing but pick up momentum in recent years.
After getting into a crossover feud with WWE’s NXT that put TNA stars on national television, the promotion secured its own television deal with the AMC Network, airing two-hour shows each Thursday night on the popular cable network.
The depth of the TNA roster has helped the promotion satisfy the diehard wrestling fans while the success of the TV show has given the wrestlers a chance to ply their trade in front of bigger audiences.
It’s the best of both worlds for fans, the promotion and the wrestlers.
“I’m blessed to be in this position,” said Navarro, who credits his mom for being his biggest fan and supporter who helps him with anything he needs. “I worked really hard, and to see the TNA rise. In the first couple of opportunities, I was in a different spot. To be back now and to help carry the next generation of TNA talent to bring it to the next level. It’s a spot that I always dreamed of having even when I was out for eight months (with a knee injury), I worked hard to get back, to be in the position.”
He’s happy to be there. And he’s even happier to be returning to Philly, where he’s found so much success and the fans absolutely adore him.
Especially now that he’s a good guy.
“Philly is my favorite, I’ve had so many matches at the 2300 Arena, I just love wrestling in front of (Philly) fans,” he said. “Big matches will always live with me. I have family in Philly, I’ll have a lot of friends. I will have teachers there, probably bullies that bullied me will buy tickets. It’s almost going to feel like a home game for me, it’s such a great wrestling city. It’s going to be a great two nights of wrestling.
“Anything can happen there. I could wrestle for a championship. I could win a championship. Anything could happen. One of my goals is to win a championship in 2026, so I’m focused on that.”
The immediate future is clear, Navarro wants to put on a performance he can be proud of for the Philly faithful. That shouldn’t be too much of a concern, that’s exactly what he does every time he steps through the ropes.
But he’s also in a unique position.
He’s still a young man, he turns 27 this month, but due to his resume, he’s not a respected pro wrestling veteran. He’s still learning, but he’s now in position to show younger stars what it takes to get to this level.
It’s something he’s happy to do.
“You know, it’s a feeling I don’t think I’ll ever get used to, Navarro said. “I’m always learning, I learn every day, I never stop learning. I never feel I’m the top guy. If an extra asks for advice, it’s weird to be that guy. I’m 26 and next week I’ll be 27, even though I’m young, I’ve been doing this for 11 years, in a sense, I’m a young veteran.
“Mike Santana said, ‘I’ll help you and guide you and when it’s your turn, you give back.’ It’s such a cool feeling. I always have people ask me, ‘What’s the best advice you can give,’ at TNA or indies. Mine is always go up to the veteran in the locker room and ask them to watch their match. You can go up to me, Nic Nemith, AJ Francis and Leon Slater. We all might give different answers. You might not agree with all of us but if you take one thing from all of us, you can create the ultimate superstar.”
That’s exactly what Navarro did to create the wrestler he is today.
“It’s me being as real as I am,” Navarro said. “I don’t play a character, I just go out as myself. I’m an open book, I’m very real with the fans. Matt Cardona said it to a lot coming up, the merch table is so important. Even in TNA, I love doing the meet and greets. It’s so important to connect with the fans.
“When I met Roman Reigns in 2016. I’ll never forget it, I told him my story. He sat me down and talked to me. I don’t think if I had that conversation, I would have that drive. He took the time to do that. That’s how I treat fans because I remember how it made me feel.”
For tickets to the show, visit https://www.liacourascenter.com/events/detail/tna-impact-31. ••
