Summary

Leon Slater has been in love with wrestling for as long as he can remember. The 21-year-old TNA standout, who joined the promotion in October 2023, recently sat down with SunSport to talk about his lifelong connection to the sport. Slater traces the obsession all the way back to age three or four, when trips to his cousin's house meant hours spent with action figures, replica belts, DVDs, and video games. When his cousin eventually grew out of wrestling, Slater inherited the whole collection and never looked back.

He began formal training at nine years old, giving him well over a decade of in-ring work before turning 21. That early foundation is a big part of what has allowed him to hit the ground running inside TNA.

Quote from Leon Slater

Speaking with SunSport, Slater put his passion into his own words:

"I can't remember a time in my life where the wrestling bug wasn't in me. I think I must have got into wrestling around three or four, because my cousin used to live next door to us. He had all the action figures, the replica belts, the DVDs and the video games, so I would always be at his house playing with it. So I think when the time came for him – as like a lot of young guys do – when he kind of grew out of wrestling, I was the one to get all his hand me downs, so I got all the action figures and so on. From then I was just in love. I've never wanted to do anything else with my life, so I think I've had the bug since day one. I always tell people I slid out of the womb and took a back bump straight there. I was born with the bug."

What Slater's Early Start Means for His TNA Future

Starting at nine years old gives Slater a decade-plus of ring experience at an age when most wrestlers are still building their fundamentals. That head start is already paying off in TNA, where he has been a fixture in the X Division and competed for the X Division Championship against Eric Young at TNA Sacrifice. At 21, he still has years of development ahead, which makes his current TNA positioning only the opening chapter. Separately, Slater has also spoken about making appearances for WWE, a sign that his name carries weight beyond TNA's own roster.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.