Trey Miguel Recounts TNA Offering Five Free Spots In Gut Check For His Students, Says He Wanted Jason Hotch To Pay Out Of Pocket So Hotch Could Say He Earned Contract By Himself

Trey Miguel wanted Jason Hotch to be able to say he did it solo.

TNA Wrestling has a tryout program for independent wrestlers called Gut Check, and the winner(s) earn a contract with the company.

The winner of the 2022 Gut Check is current TNA wrestler Jason Hotch. Hotch was trained by fellow TNA wrestler Trey Miguel, and while on Busted Open, Miguel put the spotlight on Hotch and called him an unsung hero in TNA.

He remembers TNA saving five free spots in Gut Check for his students, but Miguel wanted Hotch to pay out of pocket for the opportunity so that he could say no one helped him get to TNA. Miguel said he did that because he knew Hotch would win.

“He’s already a champion, but Jason Hotch. I think Jason is just so good. I remember when he came into my training school… this is 2019. I trained him. He did the Gut Check… I never told this story publicly but, TNA gave me five open slots to give to my students so that they could participate in the Gut Check. I told Jason I didn’t want him to get one of those free spots. I wanted him to pay for it so that way when he won it like I knew he was going to win it, no one could tell him that it was given to him, and I remember sitting there with D’Lo Brown, I’m freaking out, waiting for the results, and I finally get the call from another one of my students that Jason had won it. Jason is one of those perfect examples of watching someone go from zero to hero, and the matches he’s put on this year with (Mustafa) Ali especially and the stories he’s learned to tell, on top of the athleticism, I would love to have a World Championship match with him. We did a singles match a couple of months ago. We were in Brampton, Ontario, and we went about 20 minutes. We got two standing ovations, and to do that with my Padawan basically, I thought it was one of the coolest things ever and I think that would be the ultimate thing for me and not just because I personally want it. I do think he has earned this. I do think he deserves it and I don’t think there’s a single person in the locker room that doesn’t enjoy the work that he puts out or being around him. He’s such a good guy, and if you ask him to take a suplex bump from a ring post through a table 20 feet away, he’ll do it for you,” Miguel laughed. “Says a lot about his character.”

Hotch is the current and two-time TNA International Champion.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Busted Open with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.