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Our audio interview with Austin Creed, AKA Rasheed Lucius Consequences Creed, is available here
©2007 Combat Hooligans. Duplication of the content from this website without permission by its author(s) is prohibited. Any news, reports and commentary used from this site must be accompanied by a link to www.combat-hooligans.com
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ECW FOUNDER TOD GORDON EXPLAINS HIS THEORY ON WHY VINCE MCMAHON DILUTED THE ECW NAME
By WorldWrestlingInsanity.com
Pro Wrestling Unplugged Owner and ECW Founder Tod Gordon joined James Guttman on ClubWWI.com today for a massive 70 minute shoot interview. During the discussion, the man who introduced you to ECDub and continues the Unplugged tradition today talked about a wide variety of subjects related to the wrestling industry.. Topics included the story behind Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA Title, Joey Styles in his underwear, PWU Surge TV, Eric Bischoff's statements on ECW, PWU's Commissioner Idol, Suing WWE, One Night Stand, Sting and Vader in ECW, and much more.
One topic that came up in the ClubWWI.com talk was "The New ECW." James says that while Vince McMahon has every right to do it, it never made sense to give his new brand the initials "ECW." Guttman says it's like starting a boy band and calling them Pantera. Gordon said he had a theory on the reason why it happened:
"I can't tell you what's in (Vince McMahon's) mind, but there is a theory that I have had in the last year or so. He always hated the fact that at his shows, in front of 20,000 people, as opposed to the thousand or two thousand that we would run in front of, people would yell ECW when they liked something. That became synonymous in this business with saying, "We like this." Not just a hardcore spot. Anything. It was off-the-charts different. Whenever they'd yell "ECW, ECW," it made Vince crazy. Because we were like the so-called innovator back then and he hated the fact that everyone in his building, that he paid for, people were yelling someone else's call letters. And no one had ever done that. No one was at anyone else's shows yelling "WWF" or "WCW." They didn't understand what the concept was. They didn't understand that they weren't saying, "Yes. ECW is the greatest thing in the world." They were saying, "We like this. This is good stuff." That was their way of approval… Slowly but surely, you'll notice, very rarely anymore will you be at a WWE show and hear them start yelling "ECW" because of some crazy, sick table spot or fire spot. He's finally started to get that out of the lexicon. It'll always be part of the lexicon…but he made people think that's what ECW is. And why would you want to chant "ECW, ECW" when ECW is all about Kelly Kelly and Miz? It's not what they wanted."
Tod's discussion on this subject also included talk of how ECW tried to copy the fan chanting concept, the first ECW Sci Fi Show, One Night Stand, why it was doomed, and more. His entire 70 minute shoot is up now on ClubWWI.com.
Don't forget, besides Tod, there's 90 other interviews to listen to as well. Among the other interviews available on ClubWWI.com are Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe, Eric Bischoff, Jerry Lawler, Vince Russo, Nick "U-Gene" Dinsmore, Christian Cage, Sycho Sid, , Diamond Dallas Page, La Resistance, The Steiner Brothers, Tammy Lynn Sytch, AJ Styles, John Heidenreich, Demolition, Paul Bearer, Bobby Heenan, Ted DiBiase, Road Warrior Animal, The Iron Sheik, Rhino, Tito Santana, Earl Hebner, Charlie Haas, Christy Hemme, Chris Daniels, and many more. Plus audio shows from D-Lo Brown, Bull Buchanan, Kevin Kelly, Orlando Jordan, and Dr. Tom Prichard.
©2007 Combat Hooligans. Duplication of the content from this website without permission by its author(s) is prohibited. Any news, reports and commentary used from this site must be accompanied by a link to www.combat-hooligans.com
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By Neal Jones
IYH Percy Pringle III aka Paul Bearer Interview Recap
by Neal Jones
Paul Bearer was the guest on the October 23rd edition of the In Your Head Wrestling Online show, hosted by Jack, One Inch Biceps and Barbie Richards at
http://www.inyourheadonline.com
Paul was welcomed back to InYourHead. Paul jokingly gives IYH hell for not bringing him back for over 2 years. Paul tells everyone he is doing well, and
is about have his 2nd grandchild.
Paul talks about people coming up to him and asking him to do the “Paul Bearer” voice. When wrestling is the furthest thing from his mind, fans will bring
it up.
Jack asks about the urn. Paul says old time managers always need an object to hit someone with. Managers should be sissy’s and need something to hit people
with, plus it feels good to have something in your hand at ringside.
Paul talks about his time in Florida and living with the Freebirds. He and Michael Hayes started as friends before they were in wrestling with Hollywood
John Tatum. They all lived in Jimmy Garvin’s house while wrestling in Florida.
Paul talks about The Iron Sheik, and he was always fun to watch, he never had any problems with him.
Paul says he gets asked a lot what he misses most about being in wrestling. He misses traveling around the world. He still has friends in England who still
email him. He talks about the big Summerslam PPV from England where Undertaker wrestled Kamala. Paul says he loved the food in Europe, and was always a
guy to go site seeing in new countries.
Jack asks about a story from Percy’s site where Kamala’s wife pulled a shotgun on him before he smartened her up. Paul said he would never get near that
woman. He was a long time friend with Kamala and his first manager, they all started in the same territory in 1978.
Paul talks about his “son” Kane and how it is like his sons doing well when he sees Taker or Kane do well. He thought See No Evil was the “f**ing sh*ts”.
Kane wasn’t upset he told him that, he always says what he thinks.
Jack asks if any fans ever tried to get physical with him for being a good heel. Paul says a lot of the hillbilly towns it wasn’t unusual for them to chse
them out of town with shotguns or slash your tires. He never got hurt but was scared many times. People believed then but not now, Paul says it’s more
fun to suspend your disbelief and enjoy wrestling or a movie. Now many fans worry about “work rate” and “drug tests”.
Caller Ashley calls in to enter the IYH contest. She mentions she is 14, and Paul says that makes her old enough for the Jerry “The King” Lawler fan club.
Caller “Swax” asks what Paul thinks of managers today. Paul says there aren’t any old school managers like him, Jim Cornette, Jimmy Hart or Bobby Heenan
today. The only one he can think of is James Mitchell, and he considers him old school.
Paul says just because he has some grandbabies doesn’t mean he isn’t queer. Jack asks Percy if he is a homosexual. Paul jokes that just because you blow
one guy that doesn’t make you a queer. He jokes about all the guys in wrestling do nothing but do steroids, drugs and suck d***. This segment has to be
heard to truly be appreciated for it’s comedy. Paul then says no he isn’t, he’s been married for 30 years.
Jack asks seriously if that is ever a problem, if guys were gay like Pat Patterson. Jack mentions Chris Kanyon recently claiming WWE fired him for being
gay. Percy says he didn’t know that or he would have drilled a “glory hole” in the wall when he was next to him in a hotel. Paul says seriously Pat Patterson
has one of the greatest minds for the business, and is well respected. Paul considers him a close friend. Paul says when people get fired they come up
with excuses, like himself being fat.
Caller Jason says he is a big World Class fan and what was it like the night Paul and Eric Embry tore down the World Class sign in the Sportatorium. Paul
says he was a fan before he worked there, it had such an ambiance in the building. Some of the stories you hear about the Von Erichs is true some aren’t
but he loved the family. Paul says that night tearing down the banner was one of the most emotional nights for him in the business. Jack asks how he would
compare the building to other ones he has performed. Paul says it was so unique even in the way it was built like a pit. Paul says it was brutal in the
summer time because it wasn’t air conditioned, but you got used to it. He says it is sad it is torn down.
Paul says he liked the World Class DVD from Big Vision but there should be much more on it that he would have liked to seen. Paul mentions WWE putting their
own version out.
Paul talks about getting the Percy Pringle name from the Great Mephisto, who also started Michael Hayes, Gordy and Kamala. He told Paul to try and get a
job in the office wherever you work. The entire 6 years in World Class he worked in the office.
Jason asks if territories could work today. Paul says he doesn’t know if it’s the old school in him but he thinks they could. Everything would have to be
right though, the money, the station the talent.
Incher asks if Paul has seen Big Daddy V on TV and if he could have a good feud with Undertaker or Kane. Paul says he is a good dude but people wouldn’t
want to pay to see that. Jack asks if people want to see big man vs. big man. Paul says it depends on the big guy. He says what an abortion Undertaker
vs. Khali was. He says it gave him nightmares of Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez. He and Taker were so happy when they finally had the blow off match for
their feud with Gonzalez. Paul says he has asked some folks in WWE and they have said Khali is much better than Giant Gonzalez. Jack asks if Paul at least
liked the Gonzalez was suit. Paul said no, the angle was horrible, the suit was horrible, the matches were horrible the whole thing was the sh*ts.
Barbie asks what would Percy Pringle say to Paul Bearer if they met. Percy would love Paul Bearer for buying his clothes, house etc. Paul Bearer was the
one who made all the money.
Jack asks if the internet fans talk too negatively about wrestling. Paul says yes, but he is aware of how the industry has changed and changed with it.
He believes the internet has it’s place. He says it’s so much fun to just watch wrestling and get into the wrestlers and storylines without dissecting
everything and worrying about drugs etc. Just enjoy it, but that’s the way it is.
El TNA Fan calls from Portugal, Paul corrects him on saying WWE was only in Portugal once. Paul talks about doing 2 shows in Barcelona in the early 90’s.
El TNA Fan asks what Paul thought of Vader. Paul says Vader was “the f’ing sh*ts”, “Giant Gonzalez was the drizzling sh*ts and Vader was the f’ing sh*ts”.
He tells the story of Vader getting arrested in Kuwait. Vader tore the set up when the interviewer asked if wrestling was fake, he was a total idiot and
did bs like that.
Paul says besides WWE, World Class was his favorite place to work, he talks about loving Gary Hart.
OIB asks if Paul is surprised by Kane and Undertaker’s longevity. Paul says if you asked in 1991 he would have been, but after working with him so long
he isn’t surprised.
Jack asks what Paul thinks of people saying Undertaker was just a gimmick. Paul says everyone in wrestling is a gimmick, he’s a gimmick, the IYH hosts are
gimmicks, “Pope Dave Meltzer” is a gimmick. Paul goes on about Dave Meltzer and his Hall of Fame, he says Meltzer can do no wrong, who has he beat, how
many “d****” has he sucked.
Jack asks about the WWE hall of fame and who would he like to induct him. Paul says the Undertaker.
Paul talks about seeing his action figures, and mentions an upcoming Percy Pringle action figure by WWE.
OIB asks about Buzz Sawyer and Matt Bourne. Paul says they were fantastic but all they did was fight ALL the time. If they could have gotten along better
they could have been big stars.
OIB asks Paul what it was like wrestling Mike Von Erich. Paul says he never did, but he helped break Chris in. Paul has a deep respect for all the Von Erichs.
Paul says they were Gods and could walk on water, and maybe that is part of the reason they aren’t here anymore. They were born in the business and lived
their whole life behind that curtain, at teenagers they had all the women they could want. He misses all of them and hopes they are all resting in peace.
IYH fan Mrs. Big Red Machine asks if Undertaker will be retiring any time soon. Paul says when Taker wants to, he doesn’t have the superstar attitude. He
is a first class guy and a dear friend.
Paul says he really didn’t have a problem with Tony Schiavone, that TNA promo was all scripted by Vince Russo. Paul never had a problem with Vince and
knew him since he was a young mark hanging outside in the parking lot.
Paul says most of his and Undertaker’s segments were never written or scripted. Vince believed in them enough to let them do their own stuff. Paul says
that is bad today they script so much. If you are given a gimmick you become that gimmick. Paul tells a story of seeing Ric Flair memorizing a script last
time he was backstage in WWE.
Paul says Ric Flair was the epitome of a world champion. If he wants to keep going more power to him, if he wants to quit he deserves it. Paul isn’t sure
if Ric Flair as world champion would work today, none of us are what we were 15 or 20 years ago.
Barbie asks if there is anyone he managed as Percy that would have been better with Paul Bearer. Paul says that is interesting, he isn’t sure.
Paul talks about his territory Gulf South Wrestling he ran for 2 years.. He ran several shows a month, then had the opportunity of going back into the
funeral business full time. He runs a “Wal-Mart” of death care. He still does some Indy shows when he has time, and his son DJ Pringle wrestles and is
doing well. Paul says he has a good time working Indy shows here and there that are close to home.
Paul talks about his wife’s breast cancer coming back a year ago. Paul reminds everyone this is Cancer Awareness month, he lost his little brother a year
ago this week. He tells everyone to please take their monthly breast exams or to remind their wives or girlfriends to do so. Paul says catching it early
is a matter of life and death.
Brian Jones asks for Eric Embry stories and how did he lose all his weight. Paul says his surgery saved his life, he was up to 525 lbs at one time. He has
lost almost 240 lbs. Paul says Eric Embry was a character and is well known for his big member between his leg. Jack asks Mick Foley talked about that
in his book, Paul says if you saw it you’d talk about it too. Paul doesn’t know how Eric wrestled with such a large member, how he put it up in his tights.
He thinks Eric rolled it and put a rubber band around it, Eric is a blessed man. Paul says now he is a good family man and lives in a small town and ran
for Sheriff. Brian says Eric Embry’s feud with Skandar Akbar was very memorable. Paul says his time with Eric was his first time as a baby face. Paul is
naturally a heel, he had to work at being a baby face.
Paul brings up he is going to be managing The Honky Tonk Man this Saturday. He hasn’t seen Honky Tonk Man in years and is looking forward to it. Paul says
it is a lot of fun doing the small arenas because there is no pressure, and he can just relax.
Jack asks about Wrestling Fan Fests. Paul says he has fun doing those, but he can’t do too many because he can’t travel around too much. Paul mentions having
a picture there with Sherri Martel he took at the Capital Legends Fanfest.
Paul talks about all the lost brothers and sisters. He praises Vince McMahon for reaching out and helping those who need it now and offer rehab. Paul says
he partied and was not a saint but he never got hooked on anything.
Jack asks what changed with WWE or Vince McMahon to recognize the past now with WWE 24/7 and the Hall of Fame. Paul says back when he started they never
acknowledged anyone’s past in any other company, you only mentioned WWE. Jack asks if WWE being the only company left is the reason they try to keep an
archive of all the other federations. Paul talks about his memorabilia he has kept through out the years. He says he isn’t close to Jim Cornette though.
Barbie asks if any wrestling fans have come into his funeral home and just thought they were out of their minds. Paul says all the time. Down south many
people are or were wrestling fans. Paul says he gets recognized all the time and he will get “I can’t wait til I get home and tell everyone Paul Bearer
buried grandma”. Paul says it helps make it easier, since it’s such a heavy business and people know him.
Paul tells a great story about a young man of 29 who was dying of cancer and his wife setting up his funeral arraignments. His wife asked for an autograph
for Doug who was a huge wrestling fan, Paul signed a picture for him. A few days later Doug died at home, when Paul got there to pick up the body Paul’s
picture was at the bedside table. Paul says that was pretty heavy. Doug’s widow told Paul he was so happy, he called his friends laughing that Paul Bearer
was making his funeral arrangements. Paul said in his business as a wrestler if he could put a smile on someone’s face it made him a success, and in the
funeral business if you can ease the pain you are a success.
Percy thanks the IYH guys, and tells everyone to check out his website http://www.percypringle.com
You can listen to the full-length 90 minute interview at
http://www.inyourheadonline.com
and new live episodes on Wednesdays at 8e/11c PM including this week with Chris Jericho. Plus FREE Rey Mysterio masks all October long.
©2007 Combat Hooligans. Duplication of the content from this website without permission by its author(s) is prohibited. Any news, reports and commentary used from this site must be accompanied by a link to www.combat-hooligans.com
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Jay Reso a.k.a Christian Cage joined Mauro Ranallo on Fight Network Radio this past week. Catch Fight Network Radio everyday on Hardcore Sports Radio at
3pm EST and archived at
www.hardcoresportsradio.com
Mauro: I’m very happy to have live and in living color the original man of the peeps, the head of the Christian Coalition now known as Instant Classic,
Jay Reso aka Christian Cage. The former NWA world heavyweight champion from TNA who’s in Toronto to promote a movie, Christian welcome to Fight Network
radio my friend.
Christian: Hey thanks for having me, I appreciate it.
Mauro: Wow, first off here I am been a long time fan of yours but you come in the studio and blow me away recalling the days of Moron Renerdo what was that
all about?
Christian: Mauro the mouth Ranallo. It’s like I told you, one day I was, a few years back when I was sitting back watching some Pride fighting and I saw
you pop up on the screen and they put your name on the bottom. I said “Mauro Ranallo, where do I know that name from?” Then it hit me, Mauro the mouth
Ranallo, B.C. All Star Wrestling. Can you get me Mojo the B.C. Hulks autograph?
Mauro: See there we go, this is the beauty about professional wrestling, no matter if your in front of 25 people or 25 000 people there’s that 6 degrees
of separation. What’s it like to be back in Hogtown?
Christian: It’s always great to be back, you know, I love Canada. I love the people, you know so anytime I get to come back its special and its fun. I always
get a chance to come back and see family and friends and some things like that but it is always never long enough.
Mauro: Yea, definitely and obviously you’re here for business reasons, you’re appearing in a new movie called Dark Rising. It’s gonna be screened tonight
at the Scotia Bank theater in Toronto at 7pm, it will be available on DVD on Tuesday October 30th. Tell us a little bit about this movie. Can wrestling
fans expect a super dose of Captain Charisma?
Christian: Yea, you know it’s basically my first; it’s my second movie that I had a chance to do but my first sort of big role. I basically play the best
friend of a lead character, it’s kind of, it was a real fun character to pay. It’s a fun movie you know, like I said it’s a smaller budget movie but I
think everything was kind of magical about this movie. From the casting to the way the cats gelled to the way the director put the film together. There
was something about this movie right from the start and we al had a blast doing it and I am really proud of it. Like I said it’s just one of those movies,
you go in there and it is what it is. You go in there and it’s a fun movie and everyone will laugh and I think will enjoy it.
Mauro: Are you a protagonist or antagonist in the flick?
Christian: I’m a little bit of both, I’m kind of the guy that always, the best friend that everyone always has. You should hate him but there’s something
about him that makes you like him and he always puts his foot in his mouth so it was real fun to play.
Mauro: Is it a romantic comedy, an action flick, what is it?
Christian: It’s sort of, it’s more, it’s kind of….Sort of a campy kind of horror movie and comedy all rolled in to one. It’s a fun movie for sure.
Mauro: Alright well it is going to be screened tonight at the Scotia Bank Theater in Toronto. A lot of people say that professional wrestling is the worlds
biggest acting school. How did you find going from what is really live theater in a way to being on a movie set? How much did it help you and how much
is it different?
Christian: It’s different in the sense that you don’t get the immediate reaction that you get from fans; like you said it’s more of a live theater, like
a stage production. Where you’re in the ring you get that immediate feedback. Where as with movie acting, your on the set and there are long days or long
nights, as we did for this movie. We were 7 at night till 7 in the morning some times. It was all outside in September so it was freezing. Sometimes you
have to do the same scene but you have to do different camera angles and different takes and “Oh maybe that didn’t work so well, try it this way.” So there’s
more of a net to work with in the respect and it’s more tedious as far as getting the right camera angles and the right shots the director is looking for
so. They have their similarities but they have their differences and I definitely think that wrestling is a great platform to learn acting. Especially
add libbing and that sort of thing so in that respect it helped me out a lot. I don’t think wrestling gets enough credit for being, you know you see a
lot of basketball players or other athletes or baseball players having a chance to do movies, even rappers and things like that, I don’t think any of those
are as good of a training ground as being in the ring and being in front of a live audience wrestling and doing the back stage vignettes and things like
that. I don’t think that platform is as good as the one we have to train to act.
Mauro: You have always had unique chemistry with anyone you’ve worked with. I know you and Edge of course, your long time Canadian friend Adam Copeland,
you grew up near each other.
Christian: Saw him last night, had coffee last night.
Mauro: Oh really, obviously he is scheduled to make a return to the WWE, do you know when?
Christian: Yea, I think if he’s not cleared he’s about to be cleared.
Mauro: He’s looking good?
Christian: Yea, he looks great and he’s chomping at the bit to get back for sure.
Mauro: Now you went from WWE where you held many tag team titles with Edge to, TNA. Talk, just quickly about the reason you left, you were involved in what
I thought was going to be a great feud with John Cena. At the time there were some very incredible promos going back and forth, what happened? Why did
the rug get pulled out from under you there?
Christian: I’m not sure. You know I have speculated about it a lot and tried to play it over a bunch of times in my head and I can never figure it out.
You know I just didn’t see my role there changing and I think I have always been under the belief that you let the people decide what they want. I think
it was pretty apparent that they wanted to see me at another level and stay at another level, not moved up or down or stay at certain level. I think at
the time I just didn’t see that changing. You know I was kind of worn out and burnt out from eight years straight on the road. With all that factoring
in and other things and my contract coming up I just decided that maybe it’s time for a fresh start somewhere else. There are no hard feelings; I have
nothing but good things to say about WWE. I know a lot of people that work there; I mean I don’t want to be the bitter guy. “Oh I hate that place, I hate
everybody there, blah, blah, blah.” I don’t wanna be that guy because when it comes right down to it I had a great career there, made a lot of money so
I mean what really do I have to complain about? You know it was just time for me to move on and I saw an opportunity in TNA to be able to step in right
away and when we talked about the possibility about working together that is what they made me feel. That I could step in right away, be a factor, be one
of the main guys and to really help this company to grow. Since I have been there the 2 years it has grown leaps and bounds so it’s exciting to be a part
of something that’s growing.
Mauro: Were you ever cognizant of the fact that the so called smart marks in the pro wrestling media thought that when Edge and Christian would end that
Edge would become Shawn Michaels and Christian would become Marty Jannetty. You really, obviously have grabbed the bull by the horns and become a huge
commodity in the business but was there ever that danger, even being in WWE, did you feel that you were not going to be given the respect?
Christian: Sometimes you hear rumblings or people say stuff like that but I mean I always knew….
Mauro: Did that motivate you more?
Christian: Everything motivates me; I mean my biggest fear as a performer is failing. I never want to put myself in a position to fail and that is more
than anything else I’m scared to have a bad match. I’m scared to have a bad promo, that’s the things that drives me most to be the best is that I don’t
want to fail.
Mauro: I think that’s why you are successful because of that fear of failure. Once you become complacent, once you say “I’m the man, I’ve made it.” That’s
when shit starts to happen.
Christian: Yea, I mean I still right before I go through the curtain no matter where it is, I still get nervous and to me that’s a sign that hey I don’t
want this to go bad. You know what I mean? Once those butterflies and that nervousness goes away maybe it’s time to hang it up. But the thing is if I did
hear any of those things, yea I heard it a little bit here and there but I mean I always knew what I could do. There was never a doubt, I never doubted
my own abilities or the confidence I had in myself. I always knew if you’re going to open the door a crack for me, I’m gonna kick it open.
Mauro: TNA obviously gave you that opportunity, here we are 2 years later and the show has expanded to a 2 hour time slot on Spike TV Thursday nights. You
guys are coming off probably one of the best pay per views the company’s delivered in a long, long time, everyone raving about your match with Samoa Joe.
What was morale like before that pay per view and what’s it been like since? Has there been a big change? I mean you guys hit a home run and I’m going
to be honest with you Christian, I’m one of the guys, I love the business, I love the product when it’s good but I’m one of the guys who’s been bashing
the booking in TNA because frankly I don’t understand, at times, where it’s going.
Christian: Yea, I think the feeling before, I mean anytime we get a big pay per view especially one like Bound For Glory which is our biggest pay per view
of the year, you know guys obviously want to be on the show. That’s the goal to be on that show and to be able to perform on the biggest stage in the company.
So I think everybody was pretty excited leading up to it and I mean anytime at this point we can get that pay per view outside of Orlando, nothing against
Orlando or the people in Orlando or anything like that. It’s just that they’ve seen so much there, I mean they see every pay per view, they see the TV
2, 3 times a month and they’ve seen everything so in that sense maybe a little bit spoiled. So now that we’re on the national television, we have a national
television deal, we’re on Spike TV every Thursday night at 9. It’s nice to be able to get that product out there and take it live. Whether it’s a live
event, a house show or a pay per view and the crowd in
Atlanta was unbelievable. They were up for everything, I definitely think, honestly since I have been there that’s the best show we have had.
Mauro: I was going to say the same thing. That crowd, I mean it was an 8 out of 10, that crowd made it a 9 and a half.
Christian: I think personally, that’s the, that’s the kind of show we can deliver. That’s the kind of show we need to deliver and that’s how I feel about
it.
Mauro: We talk many times here on this show that there’s WWE and what Vince McMahon’s vision of what professional wrestling is, there is Ring Of Honor which
is the niche audience which has tremendous workers and a lot of TNA talent comes from Ring Of Honor. I always thought TNA could be an amalgam of both.
Like the tremendous workers you guys have, like yourself, the tremendous promos, with that sports entertainment but not overly focusing on the gimmicks
and storylines.. It seems to me and I know his name has come up and you can talk about him if you want but since Vince Russo has arrived ,I find the talent
hasn’t been utilized properly, for the most part. Like look at we just saw with 3D coming in and destroying Sabin and Shelley.
Christian: Ya that’s true but also it‘s looking probably at the first piece of a puzzle. We will have to wait and see what happens with it and the way it
unfolds before everyone is quick top pass judgment on it. It’s a hard job; I don’t think I would want to be in it.
Mauro: I was gonna ask you would you ever want to be a booker or writer?
Christian: I’m not sure, you know I think I would be more apt to help guys with their matches and things like that I think.
Mauro: You’ve been around the business a long time, what’s the job of a booker nowa days? What’s the difference between a booker and a writer and what should
they be looking at?
Christian: I guess they should be booking the shows in a sense to build up the pay per views, I mean that’s what it’s all about right now right? Is building
your TVs to sell a pay per view and that basically what a bookers job is, is to build the television, to build your television to sell your pay per view.
That’s jist of it.
Mauro: How much do politics dominate TNA backstage?
Christian: I think politics are around in any form of job, entertainment especially. They’re there I’m sure but it’s not bad I don’t think. I know I’ve
heard these rumors lately about different things happening Jarrett and Kurt but I haven’t seen any of that. I think those things get blown out of proportion,
people take maybe a pebble and make a mountian out of it.
Mauro: We’re talking with Christian Cage, TNA superstar. He’s in Toronto for the screening of his new movie Dark Rising. Christian you guys have done some
entertaining things, you Tomko and A.J. Styles. A.J. Styles has really come into his own as the group’s goofy heel sidekick, how impressed have you been
with his performance lately?
Christian: I think A.J.s ability is second to none. The guys just an unbelievable athlete, I can only dream of doing the things that guys does in the ring.
He just an unbelievable talent as far as in ring performance goes but I think as everybody knows if you want to get to a certtian level you have to have
a little bit of everything. You have to have personality, you have to be able to talk and I think he has really come out of his shell. Not that maybe he
was in a little bit of a shell but needed to find himself and I think that he’s doing a great job of it. I think you’re going to see him evolve from here
in to something really special. I think that he’s going to take this, what he’s doing now, like you said being the goofy sidekick and he’s going to kind
of over come that at some point and become what everyone really thinks he could be and that’s top star in the business. I mean he already his but he’s
going to be one of the futures of this business for a long time.
Mauro: Someone who has impressed a lot of us and in a way maybe surprised us is obviously a friend of yours, your problem solver in WWE, Travis Tomko. We
had Samoa Joe on the show not long ago and he said that he’s probably the most improved guy in the organization and wanting to do a program with him. Where
is it do you think Travis has improved the most? I think time in Japan has helped but where do you see Travis Tomko going in this business?
Christian: I think Tomko, the skys the limit for him. He’s got everything, he’s got size, he’s got the look and he’s got the right attitude. His attitude
was that he just wanted to get better and he knew that he had to get better and that’s one of the reasons he went to Japan. He’s one of my best friends
in the business, one of the closest guys; he’s one of my closest friends so I am rooting for him. They were a bit leery of it at first with him going in,
going off of what they saw on WWE TV but he came in and he just impressed the hell out of everybody. So I think Japan really helped him and I think the
turning point was, funny things happen when you realize that your 6 foot 7 and close to 300 pounds. When you finally realize that things start to happen
so he using everything he has to his advantage and he’s doing a great job.
Mauro: Why do you think Andrew “Test” Martin never panned out? I mean another Canadian and obviously you know him well. What happened with Test?
Christian: I’m not exactly sure what exactly happen. I don’t think the doors closed on him, I just think right now I don’t think on either side they really
know what was best to be done with him. So I don’t think the doors been closed on Andrew by any means and I think he’s a tremendous talent and he’s a good
friend of mine also. I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw him there again at some point.
Mauro: Kurt Angle, what has he meant to TNA and what has it been like working with him?
Christian: Kurt’s a great guy, you know Kurt and I go way back and a lot of people don’t even know this but Kurt stood up in my wedding.
So ya, he’s a friend. I think that anytime you get a legitimate athlete like Kurt Angle, Olympic gold medalist, multi time world champion, coming to your
company I think that adds legitimacy right away and credibility to your company and that’s what he’s brought.
Mauro: Obviously you know that the internet is rife with a lot of bullshit, with a lot of rumors and conjecture. We’ve heard the stories about Kurt Angle,
the demons he’s possessed, the pain pill problems. He was arrested for DUI, I mean when I see him on TV I’m like is this guy some kind of magician, how
does he do it? Has he been the model employee so to speak?
Christian: He has, he has been perfectly healthy since he’s been there and I say that with all honesty. He’s been terrific so, I mean I don’t know where
all these rumors and all these things are coming from but he’s been a model citizen.
Mauro: Where do you want to see that character of Christian Cage go? How much more evolution are we going to see in your onscreen persona?
Christian: In this business I like to stay fresh and I kind of attribute that to Madonna, the way she is constantly changing and growing and evolving. You
have to do it, you never want to become stagnant and that’s one thing. So I’m always trying to find something new, whether it’s a new nickname or a new
little phrase to say or something kind of catchy. I’m always looking for something to do that will kind of keep refreshing myself. I am always thinking,
I think wrestling all the time so sometimes things just come to me when I’m out there. I don’t even think about it, I just do it and that’s what you get
and that’s one of the great things of being in front of live audience.
Mauro: That’s the key, the ability to ad lib like you said. Des in California, you’re on with TNA superstar Christian Cage, Fight Network Radio, what’s
up?
Caller: Hey Mauro and Christian, Christian I just wanna say I’m one of your peeps, you really rule man. I wanna ask you I had read that you wrestled with
Kurt Angle in his first ever match in the developmental tone. Can you just give me a like a detail of what he was like when he first started out in pro
wrestling?
Mauro: Alright Des, thank you for your question. Sorry Christian couldn’t hear that. He said that you wrestled Kurt Angle in his first professional match
or one of his first matches and what was he like when he first started?
Christian: Ya, you have a guy like Kurt he’s just a natural athlete; you know he picks up things real quick. Yea I did have his first match with him; I
believe it was at an armory in Massachusetts and a few hundred people there, I think he may have been training for maybe 4 or 5 days at the time.
Mauro: He was a natural though right?
Christian: He was a natural. A natural from day one, he went out there, that match that we had you have thought he had been wrestling for 2 or 3 years professionally
at the time. That’s how quick he picked it up.
Mauro: Allen Calgary, a great wrestling city, joining us on Fight Network Radio, you’re on with TNA superstar Christian Cage, what’s up Allen?
Caller: Guys how ya doing today?
Mauro: Good buddy. Ok, just give me the question for some reason Christian can’t hear you.
Christian: Sorry.
Mauro: No problem but what’s the question you have for Christian, Allen?
Caller: I am wondering who thinks the new up and coming star will be as a major headliner in the next couple of years?
Mauro: Within the business or within TNA?
Caller: Either one.
Mauro: Ok, thanks a lot Allen. Allen of course from Calgary, Stampede Wrestling city and I know we’re quickly running out of time but he wants to know who
do you the next big thing in the business whether TNA or the entire sport, who do you see becoming a major player?
Christian: You know something; I think that as far as TNA goes I think that Robert Roode is going to step up here. He’s an unbelievable talent and he’s
kind of untapped at this point. Anytime you see this guy on a live event or house show, he really goes out there and he really goes. He’s a great, great,
great talent and I think that you’re really going to see him come up here in the next year or so. Like I said I can’t say enough about his in ring ability
and I think he’s at the same stage like we were talking about with A.J. before, as long as he keeps developing his, he can talk but he really needs to
develop his personality and keep going with that. I think that he will really find his groove in the next year or so.
Mauro: Christian, obviously you know this, you seem to know a lot about my family, as we’re wrapping things up, involved with Stampede Wrestling. I’m sure
you followed the great years of Stampede wrestling as well, some of the biggest names coming from the sport. Teddy Hart recently axed again, I think it’s
his 4th time with WWE. You’ve had dealings; I mean this kid has all the talent in the world, what’s the story with Teddy Hart, why is he not getting it
together?
Christian: I don’t know, to be honest with you, I haven’t seen Teddy in a couple of years but every time I see him he is very pleasant to me and we always
have good conversations so I don’t know what the deal is but I hope, he has a lot of raw talent for you. I don’t know what the deal is, I hope that he
can get it together and things work out for him.
Mauro: Alright, it’s a special screening tonight at the Scotia Bank Theater in Toronto, its Dark Rising staring Christian Cage available on DVD October
30th. Christian it has been a pleasure my friend and best of luck to you.
Christian: It’s been my pleasure.
Mauro: I hope to have you on the show again sometime my friend.
Christian: Thank you
Mauro: Christian Cage, TNA wrestling, you can see it of course, 2 hours now, 9 o’clock, Spike TV every Thursday.
(Transcribed by Jenn Poczik)
John PollockC: 416-473-0584
Co-Host / Producer
Fight Network Radio Mon - Fri at 3:00 pm ESTHardcore Sports Radio on Sirius Channel 186
The LAW: Live Audio Wrestling Sunday's at 11:00pm EST
The Fight Network Inc.488 Wellington Street West
3rd Floor
Toronto, Ontario / M5V-1E3
http://www.thefightnetwork.com
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Interview With: The Sandman Interview By:
Andy Steven
of
www.PWMania.com
Date: October 29, 2007
Recently released World Wrestling Entertainment superstar, The Sandman, has spoken out for the first time since his WWE release with
www.PWMania.com
. He spoke on his release from WWE and gave the real reason to his release, the original plan for him in WWE/ECW. The different atmosphere’s backstage in
RAW, SmackDown & ECW, the possibility of a TNA return and much more. The complete interview is below:
Andy Steven: Thanks for taking this time out once again to take part in this interview for
www.PWMania.com
. Online reports suggest that you were released after an incident during WWE's South Africa tour with Ricky Steamboat and you later asked for your release,
can you explain the situation a little more and your thoughts on it?
The Sandman: Well actually the reason I am no longer with WWE is because I wanted to be able to spend more time with my family. I got tired of the road
schedule.
Andy Steven: You were with WWE for over a year and had a huge involvement in the ECW return, what were WWE's original plans for ECW and you?
The Sandman: Well I am not sure what Vince McMahon’s plans for ECW were but the plans for me were to come in kick ass then leave that’s why you never saw
me in full matches and when you did they were basically beatdowns.
Andy Steven: Did you enjoy your time working with WWE?
The Sandman: Yes it was great got to see allot of my old friends.
Andy Steven: Were there any differences of the atmosphere backstage between the live RAW shows and the ECW/SmackDown tapings?
The Sandman: Some what not too much though. ECW was different because we had a bunch of the originals so it was like home. When I entered RAW it was allot
different.
Andy Steven: Have you been contacted by TNA or if asked to return to TNA would you consider it?
The Sandman: I would go over to TNA if offered the right amount of money.
Andy Steven: Who did you most enjoying working with during your time in WWE?
The Sandman: There was not really a certain person.
Andy Steven: Are you still in contact with anyone in WWE, if so who?
The Sandman: I am still in contact with some of the people but I barely use my phone so I barely talk to them.
Andy Steven: Who's idea was it to trade you to RAW, when did you find out about it and did you enjoy it more than ECW on Sci Fi and why?
The Sandman: It was the creative team’s idea to trade me. I found out about it last minute before the trade happened. I enjoyed ECW more then RAW because
my friends were on ECW
Andy Steven: Do you have any plans for the near future?
The Sandman: Basically I am going to spend allot of time with my family. I will still take bookings but want time for my family. If anybody wants to book
me they can do so by contacting Tod Gordon at
www.myspace.com/pwuczar.
Andy Steven: I would like to thank you very much once again for taking this time to take part in this interview for
www.PWMania.com
, I wish you the best of luck in the future, do you have any messages to say to your fans?
The Sandman: I would like to thank you all for your support. Make sure to checkout the new official Sandman website at
www.hardcoreiconsandman.com
it just launched on the 25th.
INTERVIEW URL:
http://www.pwmania.com/interviews.php?page=sandman2
Kind Regards,Andy Stevenandy@pwmania.com
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This one is with Eric Gargiulo and Phillyburbs.com.
Jericho will be doing a book signing in Philadelphia tomorrow, and as it happens, yeah sure, Raw is also in Philadelphia.
Thanks to Mike Informer.
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By WorldWrestlingInsanity.com
The 90th edition of JG’s Radio Free Insanity is on the air and available right now at WorldWrestlingInsanity.com (Flash and MP3 download) This week's guest
is former WWE wrestler and manager, Shawn Daivari.
James Guttman kicks things off by speaking about Shawn Daivari's interview. His full uncut shoot is one of the first he did after leaving WWE and covers
a ton of topics. JG was surprised at Daivari's candor and how forthcoming he was with information about his career. Although you can hear him speak about
some things today, his full shoot includes talk of so much more.
Shawn Daivari's full uncut shoot interview on ClubWWI.com lasted for 35 minutes and no topic was ignored. Aside from the subjects discussed on today's Radio
Free Insanity, you can hear Shawn talk about the airing of the "Terrorist Angle" on the day of the London Bombings, the public outcry, being "P.C.," JBL's
controversial firing from CNBC, being banned from UPN, Muhammad Hassan's heat, some of the backstage stories, working against Shawn Michaels, the other
wrestler he'd like to face, TNA, Japan, Chris Benoit, singing with Jillian on Raw, managing Mark Henry, his friendship with the Great Khali, being more
than a cruiserweight, the dropped Greg Helms feud, working Cody Rhodes, and much more.
Daivari is just one of over 90 stars on the Club. Among the other interviews available on ClubWWI.com are Eric Bischoff, Jerry Lawler, Vince Russo, John
Heidenreich, Sid Vicious, Tammy "Sunny" Sytch, Nick "U-Gene" Dinsmore, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page, La Resistance, The Steiner
Brothers, AJ Styles, Demolition, Paul Bearer, Bobby Heenan, Ted DiBiase, Road Warrior Animal, The Iron Sheik, Rhino, Dustin Rhodes, Earl Hebner, Charlie
Haas, Christy Hemme, Christopher Daniels, and many more. Plus audio shows from D-Lo Brown, Bull Buchanan, Kevin Kelly, Orlando Jordan, Ivory, and Dr. Tom
Prichard.
James Guttman then speaks about wrestling conventions. Growing up, he attended a number of them including the WrestleMania X Access show and John Arezzi's
famous ones in New York. Guttman says they were great and gave him many memories. He speaks about some of them and then explains that if a convention
isn't run correctly and burns fans, it could leave them with many terrible memories. JG speaks about what this does to the business and looks at Orlando
Jordan's experience at the recent WrestlingFanFest. O.J. spoke about this in his ClubWWI.com audio show, Club O.J.
Speaking of ClubWWI.com audio shows, James then talks about the one week tag team title reign of D-Lo Brown and Bull Buchanan in Pro Wrestling NOAH. The
duo won the titles on October 20th, held them for a week, and dropped them last night to Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura. D-Lo hosts "The Lo-Down"
and Bull hosts "The Bullpen" on ClubWWI.
After that, James cues up the interview with Shawn Daivari.
James Guttman welcomes Shawn Daivari to the show and thanks him for joining Radio Free Insanity. He starts off by asking about Daivari's release and what
lead to it. Shawn says that he was in the midst of a contract negotiation and WWE agreed to some things he was asking. However, there were some creative
things he wanted to have happen in his career and he wasn't sure it was going to. With things like that, you need to take the company's word. After speaking
to some writers, he felt it wasn't in the cards and it might be best to move on with his career.
"I even asked them separately in meetings with talent relations and Vince and Stephanie if they would be offended or upset at all if I didn't resign the
contract they offered me and actually bowed out of the current contract from a little earlier and they were actually very cool and obliged to that. If
they really wanted to be jerks, they could have benched me for the term of my contract but they were nice enough to make a mutual dissolution of my contract.
So now I kinda left on good terms so I'm ready for the next chapter of my career."
-ClubWWI.com Break-
On the subject of Muhammad Hassan, JG asks Shawn knew of any potential storylines that were on the table prior to the character's "death" and Shawn answered:
"You know I really don't know because nothing was in concrete. Well, nothing ever really is in concrete. But they really don't tell us too much until
it's a for sure thing (and) going to happen. I never heard this from any office person or saw it promoted anywhere, but my understanding was at that point
in time, Muhammad was supposed to work Batista at Summerslam. Because I believe the story going into that was obviously it's Washington D.C., the United
States capital, and it's Batista's hometown. So they were going to promote it and make a big deal out of it."
Guttman brings up Shawn being a fan of Shawn Michaels. Daivari says, "That's actually who I stole my name from." He explains that his real name is "Dara
Daivari." While "Dara" is a fairly common Iranian name for men, many Americans aren't familiar with it. Since it ends with an "a," it's considered feminine.
When he started training, they were going to put it on a poster and the trainer said that they couldn't use the name "Dara." His trainer, who also had
a hand in training Sean "X-Pac" Waltman, turned to everyone and said:
"We have the next Sean Waltman on our hands and we're gonna call him Dara?"
That's where "Sean" came from. He eventually had it changed it to "Shawn" for Michaels. JG asks if he ever told HBK about this and Daivari says he must
have. His name was listed as "Dara" on all WWE travel information. He then says that he has so many stories about WWE talent from before he started.
He then begins to tell the story of sneaking backstage once and being thrown out by Triple H…
- ClubWWI.com Break -
In progress, Shawn is talking about Shawn Michaels and how, although he's wrestled him before, he's the second name he would pick when Guttman asks who
he'd like to wrestle. Daivari admits that he has worked HBK on house shows and TV, but there's something special about Michaels at WrestleMania or PPV.
He says that he's love to have one of those matches with him because he has yet to see Shawn not over deliver in a situation like that. James tells Daivari
that he might still get his chance as Shawn isn't slowing down any time soon. Daivari agrees:
"You never see him spinning his wheels for a couple of years. He's always improving himself. And one of those examples is this year. I couldn't believe
the match he and John Cena had and John Cena will be the first to tell you - he's a good friend of mine - that he is not one of the greatest wrestlers
in the world. He probably one of the best entertainers in the whole company, but as far as actual wrestling ability, he's not one of the best in the world.
But that night at WrestleMania, that match he and Shawn had, he was a phenomenal wrestler. He was amazing. Everything he did was off the hook."
James gives Shawn a chance to speak to all his "Little Daivaris." He says that fans can still find him around the business. He's not sure where just yet,
but you can check out ShawnDaivari.com. Also, promoters can contact his agent at
BookDaivari@hotmail.com
Remember, Shawn Daivari's full uncut shoot interview on ClubWWI.com lasted for 35 minutes and no topic was ignored. Aside from the subjects discussed on
today's Radio Free Insanity, you can hear Shawn talk about the airing of the "Terrorist Angle" on the day of the London Bombings, the public outcry, being
"P.C.," JBL's controversial firing from CNBC, being banned from UPN, Muhammad Hassan's heat, some of the backstage stories, working against Shawn Michaels,
the other wrestler he'd like to face, TNA, Japan, Chris Benoit, singing with Jillian on Raw, managing Mark Henry, his friendship with the Great Khali,
being more than a cruiserweight, the dropped Greg Helms feud, working Cody Rhodes, and much more.
Daivari is just one of over 90 stars on the Club. Among the other interviews available on ClubWWI.com are Eric Bischoff, Jerry Lawler, Vince Russo, John
Heidenreich, Sid Vicious, Tammy "Sunny" Sytch, Nick "U-Gene" Dinsmore, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page, La Resistance, The Steiner
Brothers, AJ Styles, Demolition, Paul Bearer, Bobby Heenan, Ted DiBiase, Road Warrior Animal, The Iron Sheik, Rhino, Dustin Rhodes, Earl Hebner, Charlie
Haas, Christy Hemme, Christopher Daniels, and many more. Plus audio shows from D-Lo Brown, Bull Buchanan, Kevin Kelly, Orlando Jordan, Ivory, and Dr. Tom
Prichard.
©2007 Combat Hooligans. Duplication of the content from this website without permission by its author(s) is prohibited. Any news, reports and commentary used from this site must be accompanied by a link to www.combat-hooligans.com
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Mike Informer sent this in, Jericho interviewed by Mike Mooneyham as part of his press junket for for his book A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex.
©2007 Combat Hooligans. Duplication of the content from this website without permission by its author(s) is prohibited. Any news, reports and commentary used from this site must be accompanied by a link to www.combat-hooligans.com
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Mike Informer sent the following in:
Lion's prize: Wrestler Chris Jericho hopes to inspire kids
Updated Fri. Oct. 26 2007 10:34 AM ET
Constance Droganes, entertainment writer, CTV.ca
WWE wrestler Chris Jericho For millions of wrestling fans Chris Jericho is the golden-haired hunk who trounces gargantuan opponents with tongue-in-cheek style. But in an entertainment biz filled with more bad guys than good, this 36-year-old legend thinks he's the Bruce Springsteen of the ring.
"My life story focuses of the more positive sides of wrestling," says Jericho, author of the new autobiography, "A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex" (Grand Central/H.B. Fenn and Company).
"Is there a seedier side to wrestling? Yes, just like there's a seedy side to politics or being a lawyer or doctor. Is there partying? Hey man, I had a few drinks. I met people. I travelled the world and did all those things when I wrestled overseas. Everybody does it when you're a young guy. But I never took it to excess," says Jericho. "I never let it get in the way of what I wanted to do which was wrestle."
The Springsteen reference is as much a tribute to the rocker's character as it is to the similarities between the music and wrestling worlds.
Jericho didn't wrestle just to pick up girls
"Rock and roll is filled with glamour and bigger than life personalities, just like wrestling," says Jericho. "But then you get a guy like Bruce Springsteen who has got integrity. It's not about excess. It's about a hard working guy who built a fan base from day one. That's how I see myself. I didn't wrestle just to pick up girls. It was my passion. It's always been that way."
Growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jericho's wrestling dream seemed as far lodged as Dorothy was from Kansas.
"Music and wrestling were my passions," says Jericho. "Whether it was Hulk Hogan or Paul Stanley from KISS, I thought these big personalities were the coolest thing. I always tried to emulate them."
Being big in stature, however, which Jericho was not 17 years ago, was a problem the aspiring star wrassled with.
"Back in those days wrestlers were 6" 8' or 6" 9' - I wasn't anywhere near that," says Jericho, who at 5" 10' and 231 lb (105 kg), wasn't exactly the big catch of the day.
Yet size, or lack of it, didn't keep this Canadian boy from fulfilling this giant dream.
Size didn't matter
"A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex" (Grand Central/H.B. Fenn and Company).
In writing "A Lion's Tale," which Jericho did himself, he recounts countless obstacles that stood in the way of achieving international wrestling stardom. In fact, this "no guts, no glory" athlete wrestled in Japan, Europe and Mexico before ever setting foot in a major American ring.
"I went to places where it didn't matter how big you were. It mattered how good you were," says Jericho.
It's that underdog story readers will most enjoy, even if they know nothing of Jericho's adventurous past. "I didn't really write this for wrestling fans. I knew they'd enjoy it no matter what," says Jericho. "My goal was to reach out to more people because the real story is about a kid who followed his dream."
As Jericho says, "There were millions of times that I should have just given up. Giving up was never an option for me."
Jericho's message: dream big and work for it
"In this day and age all you need is a blog address or to pop yourself on YouTube to get your 15 minutes of fame. It took many years and a lot of sacrifice to get where I wanted to be in the wrestling business. That's why after 17 years I have such loyal fans. They follow me no matter what because I became a part of my life," says Jericho.
"I guess I'm like Metallica," he laughs. "I bought their first album in 1983 when they were just kids and so was I. I feel like I've grown up with them and they'll always be one of my favourite bands because of that. That's how fans feel about me."
Leaving the WWE in 2005, Jericho says it was time to move on.
"I was mentally burnt out and had achieved everything I'd ever dreamed of in this business," says Jericho, who has acted, had a radio show and played with his own band. "
Soon to be the main attraction at Indigo in Toronto's Eaton Centre on November 14th and McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg on November 15, the fledgling author doesn't rule out a return to the ring.
"There's always the chance I might come back," says Jericho. "Then again, I could start writing a sequel to my book. Who knows? I just hope people will take to heart the real message I want to get out there. If a boy next door like me can make a dream happen they can too."
Original article/CTA.ca
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Former WWE star Shawn Daivari was a guest on Fight Network Radio this past Monday with John Pollock and guest co-host Dan Lovranski. You can catch Fight
Network Radio every Monday – Friday at 3pm EST on Hardcore Sports Radio on Sirius Channel 186 and archived on
www.hardcoresportsradio.com
Interviewer: We would like to welcome former WWE talent Shawn Daivari to the show. Shawn right out of the gate you were recently let go by the WWE. We just
wanted to talk with you, what went down between you and the WWE last week?
Shawn: Pretty much what happened was the whole thing was a few months in the making. They offered me a new contract for another 3 years to wrestle for
them and I just told them a few things I was looking to do before I resigned my contract creatively and professionally. We kind of met on all of the professional
and business end of stuff and then on the creative that’s kind of something you can’t really guarantee in writing. Then with what they told me I wasn’t
100% sure I necessarily agreed with it. So once we really couldn’t come to a conclusion on what to do creatively I just told them I am not going to resign
this new contract for the 3 more years. Obviously if I’m not going to hang around I’m not going to waste your guys time and just run out this contract,
if you don’t mind I would like to get out of this contract early. This was to Vince McMahon and Vince sent me to John Laurinaitis who runs account relations
and they were all really cool with it. They really appreciated me not dicking them around till the last second and then be like oh sorry, I’m not going
to sign it. They really appreciated me being up front with them from the get go.
Interviewer: So it was creative issues Shawn, can you be more specific? Like was it something they wanted to do with the Daivari character or was it something
you just didn’t agree with?
Shawn: No, it was just more a general direction of certain things I wanted to do and then not necessarily they agreed that they had planned on doing those
things. Or even at that point in time Vince even for sure said himself that “It doesn’t necessarily mean that these things you want to do won’t happen,
it’s just that I don’t see them happening right now.” That was kind of one of those things where I was like well if it’s not going to happen, I am not
going to really elaborate on too much personally on where I felt the character could go or should go and where they felt it could or should go.
Interviewer: Right. Were some of the contract hold ups, you’ve been absent on Raw for about the past month or so. Did that coincide with the contract negotiations
that you guys were trying to work out?
Shawn: You know I don’t know. That might have been it that might not. I really have no idea what goes on in those booking meetings. I couldn’t tell you
but it very well could have or might have just been a coincidence that had nothing to do it. So I really don’t know.
Interviewer: So what is the plan now Shawn? I mean you’re a really young guy; your career is really just getting started in professional wrestling. Are
you going to take a break now, are you going to look for work elsewhere, do the Indys? What’s kind of the plan now?
Shawn: I have already started wrestling with in the terms of my 90 days no compete clause with the WWE. I am able to do all the shows that they have allowed
me to. I did a double shot this weekend, I did 2 shows. I have a whole bunch of stuff; my calendar is filling up super quickly with promoters all over
the country who want me to come out. I received a couple of phone calls from different promotions in Japan who wanting me to go out there so. Anything
I am able to do within the terms of my 90 days till my contract becomes null and void, I’m taking every opportunity I can to stay in the ring and stay
in ring shape. This is what I love to do and it’s one of the only things in life that I am really good at. So for me to take wrestling out of my life it
would be like asking someone to not breath or not eat.
Interviewer: Right, right. So Shawn your no compete clause doesn’t really restrict you from independents, it’s more you wouldn’t be able to show up on TNA
next week but you could do independent dates?
Shawn: Well actually the no compete clause is I’m still under contract with the WWE but what it is pretty much saying is that 90 days from the date we agreed
on is when my contract will officially terminate. But WWE is really cool about letting me do certain things. Like I said if they really wanted to they
could say “You can not do a single thing for the next 90 days.” When I receive an offer from a promoter or someone wanting to use me for autograph signing
or convention or something, I just contact the office and say “So and so wants to use me on this date to wrestle a match or for an autograph signing or
whatever.” They have been really cool and been like “Ya go ahead and do it.”
Interviewer: Have you sent any feelers out to TNA? Has been any interest in that direction?
Shawn: There’s interest on my part, I don’t know about theirs. I watch their show every week, I think they have a good product and I think it is something
I could fit in to very well. Whether or not they have interest, I don’t know.
Interviewer: Now Shawn back to your debut in late 2004, you came in to the WWE along with Mark Copani who went under the name Muhammad Hassan doing a very
controversial angle playing off the tension of Americans and Muslims post 9/11. Were there reservations on your part being part of that angle?
Shawn: No not really because it was something I was doing on the independents before I got signed. The Daivari character I had done on WWE TV was the same
character I had been doing since my first day in wrestling so it was nothing new to me. So when they came and said that “You’re going to have to do this.
You’re going to have to that and whatever.” It was like tell me something I haven’t already done. That’s great; I have no problem with that. You know
I had already been doing it so it was nothing new. Which is the one reason I was pretty successful at it or it went so well was that you know when some
guys come to WWE TV and they say you’ve been ABC your whole career but now your going to be XYZ. For me I got to continue what I had been doing and had
several years experience doing.
Interviewer: Now despite that you had been doing a similar character weren’t you just a little bit worried about how this would play out on such a large
scale on the big screen? I would think if I was presented with that angle at the time I would be a little bit wary of being part of it.
Shawn: You know I can see how some people had reservations but this is something I deal with on an everyday bases. You know when it actually happened in
2001, 9/11 2001, I did feel, I felt like a majority my whole life and then after 9/11 I legitimately felt like a minority. I felt eyeballed, people looking
at me the wrong way. I felt the eyes going in the back of my head when I on an airplane and stuff but by the time 2004 rolled around, the end of 2004 beginning
of 2005, when I started I really felt all the heat had kind of died down. I kind of felt like part of majority again so I didn’t have any concerns on doing
it.
Interviewer: When they brought you in Shawn they gave you the name Khosrow Daivari, is that a direct tribute to the Iron Sheik?
Shawn: It was actually kind of funny; it was a couple of things. My dad, my father’s legitimate name is Khosrow Daivari and then the Iron Sheiks name is
Khosrow Daivari. It’s just so funny how we have Khosrow Daivari, Khosrow Daivari and then they pick Khosrow Daivari. You would think with all the million
Muslim names out there coincidently the only 3 surrounding me my whole career.
Interviewer: Did they ever bat the idea around of bringing Iron Sheik in with you guys because when you think of Middle Eastern heels there is really no
one higher on the radar for WWE fans than the Iron Sheik. I always thought it was natural to do a type of angle where he almost endorses you guys.
Shawn: I don’t know if that was actually an idea on the table but we thought about different stuff we could do with him several times. One thing the WWE
audience is very passionate about in performers and in what we do professionally; they are very passionate and show the utmost respect for the hall of
famers. I don’t know necessarily and how hard you try, I don’t think you could get a WWE fan to legitimately boo or dislike or give heat to a hall of famer
because they respect what they’ve done for so long, for so many years. Every time Iron Sheik comes out he gets a huge, positive crowd reaction. So to try
and pawn him off as a bad guy, I don’t know if it would work out that well today.
Interviewer: Your right, it would be pretty hard with all those vignettes he has done on you tube and the fact that he now has his own radio show where
he’s allowed to express himself. It is pretty hard to get heat on the Iron Sheik, that’s for sure. Shawn I wanted to ask you about when you and Hassan
had the big match with Hogan and Shawn Michaels at the one Backlash pay per view in 2005. I would have to guess for you that’s gotta be one of the big
career moments of your time in the WWE?
Shawn: Definitely for several reasons. From a personal point of view it was super great to work with 2 guys I idolized growing up and even 2 guys I idolize
for several reasons. From the younger part of my childhood to elementary age I looked up to Hulk Hogan as you know he was just this cool, larger than life
super hero that I absolutely adored. Then as I got older to my middle school, high school years, 12, 13, 14, 15, then Shawn Michaels was another on because
he was kind of cool. The performances he was putting on, nobody could put on a match better than Shawn Michaels, the performances he was putting out was
amazing. So these are from my childhood till today were 2 guys that I idolized and then to be able work with them from the offices point of view was wow.
That the offices had that much faith in us and that much priority that they are going to take their time of their top 2 baby face investments and of all
the people in the world they could put them with they put them with us. That was something that was a huge compliment and pat of the back when the office
thought we were the guys who could carry the ball and do that.
Interviewer: Shortly after that match Shawn the end of the Hassan, Daivari team was kind of put to rest after a very controversial angle July of 2005, it
was done where a number of hooded attackers came in to the ring, they were attacking the Undertaker while Hassan was praying on the ramp. Definitely pushing
the idea of terrorists being used on the program and UPN really freaked out about this. Tell us about being part of that angle and definitely struck a
lot of people the wrong way being that the London bombings just a few days after that angle was shot and then aired here in the U.S.
Shawn: I’m not 100% sure but I thought the London bombings happened that morning. I’m not really sure or maybe it was the day before I don’t remember exactly
but at the time when we did it Smackdown was taped on Wednesdays and when we taped on Wednesday to us it just seemed like a dramatic piece of television
just like anything you would see on 24. It just seemed like a very dramatic Middle Eastern thing. At the time when we did it, it came off really well,
all parties were happy with it. The process of TV going from the WWE to the network at that time, I don’t know what happens when they get it and when they
do get it whose control it’s in. When it actually happened Thursday morning I wasn’t even aware of it, I had slept in until like 2pm that day or what ever
I was doing. I believe the bombing happened that morning, that Thursday morning. I slept in till 2, got up went to the gym, ran my errands and then got
back and watched it. I even thought nothing of it, knowing the London bombings happening happened that morning till I watched CNN or the news the next
day or something. From the fall out of that I still to this day don’t know who was at fault. I don’t know if it was WWE was not able to edit it cause it
was in UPNs hands already or if UPN chose not to edit it or if they wanted to and WWE wouldn’t let them. I really have no idea of the process of what
happens to the TV show once it goes from the production team to the broadcasting company. So to the fall out of that I wish I could comment but to this
day I really have no idea what happened.
Interviewer: Right. One other thing we want to touch on here before we wrap up is that after that angle you kind of , they kind of put you in a manager
role. You were with Kurt Angle, Mark Henry, doing a great job with Great Khali as well. How did you take to that because you seem to be a natural at the
manager type roll?
Shawn: It was something; you know professionally that can be looked at a couple of different ways. That was something I always took as a compliment because
what they would do it, like say with Kurt Angle for example, at the time he was supposed to be the top bad guy feuding with John Cena but the audience
was reacting to him very positively. They really, really liked Kurt and for the office to be like lets put Daivari with him to make sure he stays a bad
guy. For them to have that much faith in me that they need to put me with one of their top guys to make sure our audience doesn’t turn him again that was
a huge compliment. The same thing with Mark Henry, they had Mark Henry and they said “You know this guys is getting ready for a main event title run, lets
put him with the Undertaker.” At that point he had been off TV for several months with an injury so once your off TV for a few months people quickly forget
so for them to say we need to put him with Daivari to get as much heat as possible, you know again another huge compliment from the office. As far as Khali
goes it was the same thing, they didn’t have the luxury of building a new character for a few weeks or a few months or a few pay per views to get him ready
for the main event. They had one week to get this guy ready for the main event because he had to work with the Undertaker that pay per view. When they
brought him in, the same thing, how can we get this guy as much heat a possible with not having the luxury of weeks to build him up, we need to get him
to the top of the card a.s.a.p. Again we should just put him with Daivari so you know. I do prefer wrestling over managing but like again from a professional
point of view for the office to have that much faith in my ability again was always a huge pat on the back.
Interviewer: Shawn we’ve got to wrap but quickly tell us where can fans and promoters get a hold of you online?
Shawn: If fans want to get a hold of me, if promoters want to get a hold of me to book me for wrestling clinics, whatever, they can contact
bookdaivari@hotmail.com
. That will get a hold of my agent or you can check out www.shawndaivari.com. You can get a hold of him and me though there.
Interviewer: Awesome, Shawn best of luck in the future and we look forward to having you back on TV very soon.
Shawn: Ok, thank you very much.
(Transcribed by Jenn Poczik)
John PollockC: 416-473-0584
Co-Host / Producer
Fight Network Radio Mon - Fri at 3:00 pm ESTHardcore Sports Radio on Sirius Channel 186
The LAW: Live Audio Wrestling Sunday's at 11:00pm EST
The Fight Network Inc.488 Wellington Street West
3rd Floor
Toronto, Ontario / M5V-1E3
http://www.thefightnetwork.com
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Matt Satten sent this link for a Chris Jericho interview discussing his book and his pro wrestling career.
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ORLANDO JORDAN DISCUSSES THE DISORGANIZED WRESTLEFANFEST FIASCO AND HOW HE STILL HASN'T BEEN PAID FOR ATTENDING
By WorldWrestlingInsanity.com
Former WWE United States Champion Orlando Jordan returned to ClubWWI.com to host another edition of his audio show, Club O.J. On today's 40 minute show, Orlando and James Guttman spoke about a number of subjects in the wrestling world, but one of the most topical seemed to be this past weekend's WrestleFanFest in San Francisco. Jordan went as a part of Gladiator Energy Drinks (www.GCWrestling.net) The convention, which seemed to get more disastrous with each backstage story, is something we all read about. It was also something that Orlando attended and a card that he wrestled on.
It's also a show he didn't get paid for.
James began the show by jokingly asking, "So…Orlando. What did you do last weekend?" Jordan laughed and responded:
"Wow. What did I do last weekend?…My first real Fanfest here in the states and stuff. It was quite an experience. And I'm sure you heard about it, James."
Guttman says that the updates almost seemed like parodies. He was waiting to read that people were on fire. O.J. answers:
"It was the management that was bad. The guys were great. The fans were great and a lot of stuff was good. But the management was really bad with things. That was a big deal. It was all true. I dare say over-exaggerated, but even the exaggerated, or what seemed like it was exaggerated, was probably true. It was pretty wild. The best part about it was before I went there and then coming home really as far as the business side of it. It was really unmanaged, which is sad. It was really unmanaged, out of control, and unorganized and stuff. That was the biggest deal. No one knew what was going on the whole time. The people running it really did a piss-poor job of it, really. Unfortunately, it left a majority of the talent…there unhappy and stuff. And unpaid. Sorry to say it, but that's the facts."
JG asks if Orlando got paid and he says he hasn't. Although, he explains that he's heard of the promoters making some payments over the last few days and he hopes it's true.
Jordan's discussion didn't end there. His ClubWWI.com audio show went on for 40 minutes and includes talk of Don Frye's hotel fight, the card he worked, the matches he was supposed to have, meeting Chyna for the first time, TNA's Bound For Glory, Cyber Sunday preview, Kristal and Lashley, disagreeing with Booker T's philosophies, and much more.
While you're at the Club, don't forget there's 90 other interviews to listen to as well. Among the other interviews available on ClubWWI.com are Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe, Eric Bischoff, Jerry Lawler, Vince Russo, Nick "U-Gene" Dinsmore, Christian Cage, Sycho Sid, Daivari, Diamond Dallas Page, La Resistance, The Steiner Brothers, Tammy Lynn Sytch, AJ Styles, John Heidenreich, Demolition, Paul Bearer, Bobby Heenan, Ted DiBiase, Road Warrior Animal, The Iron Sheik, Rhino, Tito Santana, Earl Hebner, Charlie Haas, Christy Hemme, Chris Daniels, and many more. Plus audio shows from D-Lo Brown, Bull Buchanan, Kevin Kelly, and Dr. Tom Prichard.
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The Sun in the UK had a chance to chat with John Morrison during the company's recent run through Europe. You can read the transcript here
Thanks to Mike Informer for passing that on.
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Thanks to Adam Lebow for sending this in:
Hey,
Well, didnt take long for TSN to get the full edition of Off The Record online. The link below consists of the first segment which is the 'Up Front' segment, followed by the traditional panel discussion with Scott D'Amore (BCW), Flesh Gordon (indy wrestler) and Dan Lovranski (The Fight Network/Host - Live Audio Wrestling) and finally the 'next question' segment.
The entire show is available at
http://broadband.tsn.ca/tsn/?id=3845
Adam Lebow - http://www.thershl.com
©2007 Combat Hooligans. Duplication of the content from this website without permission by its author(s) is prohibited. Any news, reports and commentary used from this site must be accompanied by a link to www.combat-hooligans.com
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Thanks to Adam Lebow for sending this in:
Hey,
TSN has yet to go and put todays edition of OTR online, however they have put the podcast of supplementary show, REALLY Off The Record online, between Bret Hart and guest host Jay Onrait.
The show is available at
http://www.tsn.ca/podcasts/podcast_centre.aspx?xmlURL=http://www.tsn.ca/podcasts/otrpodcast.xml&mp3URL=http://podcast.tsn.ca/otr/otr-102407.mp3
Adam Lebow - http://www.thershl.com
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Chris Jericho appeared as a guest on Fight Network Radio on October 23rd to chat about the recent release of his autobiography, A Lion‘s Tale: Around the World in Spandex. Fight Network Radio can be heard every Monday through Friday at 3pm EST on Hardcore Sports Radio (Sirius Channel 186) and online at www.hardcoresportsradio.com and www.TheFightNetwork.com. The following is a transcript from that interview:
John Pollock (Producer/Co-host, Fight Network Radio): And now, I want to share a bit of a personal story. You know, you always remember your first. My first time came when I was nineteen years old. It lasted about ten minutes - I was a bit shaky, a little nervous. And it took place in the back of a toy store, of all places, in Mississauga, Ontario. Yes, my first interview was with our guest at this time - he has recently authored A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex. Ladies and gentleman, it is a pleasure to welcome to Fight Network Radio, Chris Jericho. Chris how are you doing today?
Chris Jericho: I’m doing good, man, I’m doing good. And I was also your first in another way as well, but we won’t get into that on this channel.
Pollock: That’s in the follow-up book.
Jericho (Laughs): Yeah, exactly. That’s for a different demographic as well. I heard the very end when they put me on the air, where you said there were a glut of wrestling books and this one was a must-read. Which book were you talking about?
Pollock: Ah, I was actually chatting about your book. I prefaced it saying that if I said it on the air with you here, you would assume I’m just kissing ass here. But honestly, Chris, I read this book and it right now is at the top of the list. And I’ve read Tom Billington’s book, read Pain and Passion, the Foley books … this one is right up there, I thought you did a bang-up job on this book.
Jericho: Well, I appreciate that, man, and that was my goal obviously at first. When you’re gonna do something like write a book, it’s a huge project, it’s something that took a lot of time. But I knew with the experiences that I had and with the writing skills that I had that I could do a good one. I want to take it to the next level, though, and my goal is to try and knock Foley’s Have a Nice Day off the mountain as the best wrestling book of all-time. So, whether that happens or not, it’s always nice to hear that you’re in that category, and that was my goal right from the start.
Pollock: Now, I think you definitely have a spot right up there on the mountaintop. At this point, Chris, you’ve been just about everywhere in the last week or so. Are you sick of media interviews yet, or are you still a few weeks away from that point?
Jericho: No, they’re just getting started, basically. Well, I started kind of getting some last week. This week, yesterday and today, has just been crazy, and it continues on until November 16th. My last two signings are actually in Toronto and Winnipeg, which is great. And, I mean, I never get sick of media, because if you work as hard as I have on a project like this … I mean, my job is to write the best possible book I can. And you want people to like it, and you want people to read it. And I’m a press whore - I’m going to promote it everywhere I can, because I want people to know that it’s out there so they can make the decision whether or not they want to check it out. But, like I said, it’s not something that I’m kind of half-assed about. I enjoyed this project, people have been digging it, and I want to take it to the streets, so to speak. So, I’m not sick of it, and I’m happy to talk to anybody. I just did an interview with a fourteen-year-old kid that has his own website. And yesterday I did VH1 … national cable news shows, all the way down to a fourteen-year old kid’s website. So, whatever it takes. I’ll come to your birthday party and do an interview for a hot dog and a glass of orange juice, similar to the match that I had in 1991 when I wrestled at a kid’s birthday party for the same payoff. No ketchup or mustard even!
Pollock: Ah, man, that’s not worth it! You gotta have at least some mustard in there. Another question I wanted to ask you, Chris, I know you mentioned the Foley template, but were there any other wrestling books that sort of motivated you to write your own? Because I know there’s a ton of guys out there who may have read Hulk Hogan’s book and thought right away, Gee, I could even do that. Was there one particular book outside of Foley’s or was that kind of the path you wanted to follow there?
Jericho: Well, I didn’t limit my book to wrestling books. Like I said, I knew wrestling fans would dig this book because of the stories that are involved. And I knew Jericho fans would dig it, because … well, it’s me. But I wanted to take this to the next level - What can I do to make this a book that anybody might want to read, and that anybody can take something from? There was a book called One Train Later by Andy Summers of The Police that he wrote that came out last year that was just a tremendous … such a well-written book, and very funny and very sarcastic. I wanted to kind of do a combination of One Train Later and Have a Nice Day, in that I had so many experiences, not only in the ring, but more importantly, outside of the ring - what led me to these places? What led me to be held up on the side of the road at gunpoint in Mexico City, or be threatened with getting my finger chopped off by the Yakuza in Tokyo, Japan, or almost getting into a fight with an ex-convict in Tennessee over a dirty dish? Like all these things … pooping my pants on a plane in Mexico - yes, the mighty Chris Jericho pooped his pants! Even, you know, losing my virginity in thirteen seconds to a super-hot beer model. Like, all of these things are part of my life, and they happened as a result of wrestling - but not in the wrestling ring. So, I wanted to take it beyond just the typical biography of, you know, I was born in 1970 … and then I gave him a hiptoss and a bodyslam, and boy, howdy, was it exciting! That was all there, but I wanted to tell more of the story of what led me to my ultimate dream of making it to the WWE.
Pollock: And it’s funny how you mentioned that, because there were a number of times in the book where I almost had to pause and realize that what he is discussing … wrestling really is a backdrop for this story, and really I find the story mainly is about this destination that’s the WWE. But really, almost any destination, it’s kind of the journey that’s the most entertaining part of it that you’re telling in this book.
Jericho: I mean, that’s a great point. A lot of people say, “Why didn’t you include your WWE experiences?” Well, that’s a whole other book in itself. But the thing that was so cool about my career and you don’t even realize it, but I’ve been around for almost two decades now, and I have so many things that happened to me over those years and so many reasons why I should have given up on this dream that I set for myself when I was basically eight years old in that I was going to be a WWE wrestler. And the fact that I was five-foot-eleven and at the time one-hundred and ninety pounds, and living in Winnipeg, Canada … how was I gonna do that? I wasn’t sure how I was gonna do it, I just do that I was gonna do it, and this was the destination - like you said, the journey is so interesting and so unique, and I don’t think another wrestler will ever be able to tell the story of how he got to the top this way, because it’s just not like that anymore. So … it’s actually ironic that Bret’s book came out around the same time as mine, because I think he and I are the last two guys that can write a story like this and tell the tale of how we ascended to the top of the business in such an internationally erratic way.
Pollock: Yeah, you mentioned that with Bret’s book coming out at the same time, it’s almost wrestling’s version of Kanye vs. 50 here. Was your publishing company … did they specifically target your book to be coming out at the same time as Bret’s, or was it just a coincidence?
Jericho: Actually … that’s a great analogy, Kanye vs. 50.
Pollock (Laughs): Hopefully, you’ll turn out to be Kanye.
Jericho: I’m Kanye, of course. But, yeah, actually, our publishing date was set right when I got the deal, about two weeks after I left the WWE. They decided that October of ‘07 was going to be the date. And then about six months later we heard that Bret’s was coming out at the same time, and … to me, it’s like sometimes when you go to the movies, Spiderman comes out and Pirates of the Caribbean comes out, and there’s more than enough interest in both of our careers and in both of our businesses/sports that … I mean, I think that people are more importantly more interested by just a good tale. And like I said, I think it was more of a coincidence than anything, because Bret’s been working on his book for years and years and years. So, I think that it’s just one of those cool coincidences that happened. And also, like I said, these are the last two books that can be written by guys like us. So, enjoy it while you can, because it’s not going to happen again for a long time - if ever.
Pollock: And, earlier I made a joke about the Hulk Hogan book, and for those who haven’t read it … I mean, it’s a great piece of fiction if that’s what you’re looking for. And I wanted to ask you, Chris, because it seems like such a diametrically opposed view where a lot of these older guys who will put out wrestling books, it’s almost like … it’s just inherent that they have to exaggerate and embellish certain facts and stuff from the past, whereas this generation I’ve found - whether it be your book or from talking to other guys like Adam Copeland - it’s almost like you guys take pride in being very meticulous and being accurate, and just wondered where this change came, where wrestlers … it was almost like a line in the sand between workers and the guys who just wanted to tell history as it was.
Jericho: You know, I wanted to keep the book as honest as possible, even to … where, you know, when I lived in Hamburg, Germany, I knew there was this Nazi bunker that was basically across the street from where I lived, and over the years it had been transformed into my head as being Hitler’s bunker. So, I went and Googled it and just looked up Nazi bunkers in Hamburg, and found the exact one and found that it wasn’t Hitler’s bunker, but it was called the Hafen bunker - it was a Nazi bunker, Hitler was there, he hung out there. But I wanted to be as detailed as possible, because if you tell one thing that’s not true to your knowledge, then you lose all the credibility for the things that you tell that are true. And that goes throughout my career - I was looking at dates and how to spell guys’ names to find out where these guys were from, for guys like Endio Guahardo in Germany. No one’s ever heard of this guy, but a guy like William Regal worked with him, or Fit Finlay worked with him, and these guys know this guy. So, if I get that one detail wrong and those guys read it, well then, it’s bullshit, or … you know, sorry for my language …
Pollock: It’s Sirius Satellite Radio, you can say anything you want.
Jericho (Jokingly): Yeah, come on! But the point is, I wanted to keep it as real as possible and as organic as possible. I didn’t sit down with any agendas and say, I want to talk about this, this, and this. All I did was sit down with a notepad and say, Okay, I want to think of a hundred things that happened to me in Mexico that I think would be interesting. Now a hundred things in Japan … a hundred things in Germany … a hundred things in WCW … a hundred things from in childhood … a hundred things in training. And put all those in chronological order and just start writing. And that’s basically how it came out. And, I think it is very honest, because I’m just a kid and a fan who had a dream and followed it and did it. And there was a hundred reasons why I should have quit, basically on a yearly basis. But the only reason why I didn’t quit was because it just wasn’t an option for me. So, I really had nothing to prove, because in the end, I won. I made it to WWE, I became the Undisputed Champion - I did everything I set out to do and more. So, I can tell the story of how I lost my virginity in thirteen seconds. Or, I can tell the story of how every time I started in a new promotion my first match sucked - in every single one, even all the way up to WWE. I can tell these things and say I did Super Liger in ‘97, it was a bomb. It sucked. It was terrible. But, a lot of guys won’t admit to their failures because they have this wall set up. I have nothing to be ashamed of, because in the end, I won! That’s also why I don’t really bury any people, because there’s really no reason to. I mean, there’s a couple people who I think just deserved … just for the sake of the tale to be told … like these guys who were just out of control. But, in the end, it’s like, You guys did your thing and I did mine, and I came out on top, so I win. And I think that’s the overall point in the story, that in the end this dream was achieved.
Pollock: And I think Scott Hall had it coming in your book, so I think it was more than well-warranted.
Jericho: He really did … and I really didn’t dwell on it, I would just mention it, because it was a tough period with those guys just out of control. I’m sure that if Scott was asked, he might even admit that these guys were out of control, and Nash and Hall. But, like I said, Hogan was a complete jerk to me until the thing happened with Goldberg, where I met with Hogan, Goldberg, and Bischoff in the dressing room and explained my point of how Goldberg shouldn’t beat me in Nassau and not on Pay-Per-View. It’s a long story … but how he should spear me in the aisle way … he did, and then Hogan afterwards said, “You were right, I was wrong. You believed in it, you did it right, and it was great T.V.” And right before I went to the WWE, he said, “Can you take me with you?” And after that we became friends. And those guys know - I mean, Booker T was the same, and DDP, and Big Show, and Bischoff. All those guys just had different attitudes in WCW, because that was the mindset there. People are a product of their environment, and it was not a productive environment. And then all those guys, when I met them over the next few years, they were all completely different and changed. But for that point in time, these were the people that I met, and that’s why I told the story the way that I did.
Pollock: Now, I have to mention and give kudos to your publishing company, Grand Central Publishing. They have to be without question the most accommodating company I’ve ever dealt with. They went so far as to include suggested questions for Chris Jericho. And I’m sure an intern worked very hard here, so I want to give out one of their questions here to you that came in the press package: “Do you see yourself as a role model, Chris, to aspiring wrestlers, as you were once a young athlete in search of mentorship?”
Jericho: I would take that one step further: I don’t see myself as a role model just for wrestlers. I think as a role model to any young people, and not like as a person you should put up on a pedestal - which of course, you should, because, you know, I’m your first - but it’s one of those things where I think people who have a dream and who have a goal and just don’t know if they can do it … the only people who will tell you that you can’t do something are the ones who have failed. The ones who have made it will always tell you you can do it - I did it, you can do it. I think that’s one of those things that with the belief in myself, an iron will, a never-say-die belief that God wanted me to do this … that was the end of it. I was gonna do it - end of story. I think that’s something people can take, and … I’m not gonna say make me a role model for it, but take influence from that and appreciate the fact. Because everybody has a dream and people sometimes … you know, when I was leaving to go to wrestling school, the minister at my church took me up on stage and said, “This guy’s gonna become a wrestler”, and “We’re so proud of him”. People started laughing, because in 1990 me saying I was gonna be a wrestler … I might as well have said I wanted to be a sword-swallower, or a mime, or find the loch-ness monster. It seemed so preposterous. And people weren’t laughing to be malicious, but they were laughing out of pride and shock. I never forgot that. It drove me even further. You know, Screw these guys. I’m gonna shove it up their candy-asses someday and show them that they’re wrong. And that’s what I did. So I think it’s one of those things … you can take everything I went though … whether you like wrestling or you don’t, you can apply it to if you want to be a florist, or a street-paver, or a blacksmith, or whatever it is that you want to do, you can still use these principles, which is never give up on yourself, and if you believe in something that you can do and you really believe it, then you can do it. You can make it reality. And I think that’s the point of this book. And that’s the point of my entire attitude and lifestyle that I started when I was nineteen.
Pollock: Now, back to one of my questions. You’re a guy that along with The Rock, were able to incorporate comedy a lot and be main event-level performers. Do you think there’s a fine line between what a main event guy can get away with and still remain a draw and top and taken seriously by the audience? Because I think some guys have had a really difficult time using too much comedy on top.
Jericho: Well, I think there’s a certain aspect where you have to draw the line, where when you start the match and you’re in the ring the comedy needs to stop. There’s a few elements that you might want to use, but that’s where you have your credibility, is in the ring. I think outside the ring, it’s all about entertaining and connecting with the crowd. If not, you’re just a couple of guys in your underwear rolling around and doing little dance moves, basically. If you can connect with the crowd and make them care about you, and make them believe in what you’re doing, make them be entertained by you, and make them want to pay money to see you and buy a ticket to see you, that’s the battle. Wrestling for me has always been show business first, athleticism second. I took the athleticism very, very seriously. I took pride in the fact that I … whatever I was, as a worker - you want to say I was one of the best in the world or if you want to say I sucked. To me, I think I proved my point that I could actually take anybody that I was working with and have a good match with. And that’s because I had so many different ideas and thoughts and experiences from all these different countries, that by the time I got to the States I could think outside of the box, which a lot of the guys just don’t know how to do because they haven’t had that experience. Same thing goes with personality and charisma, and doing promos, and connecting with the crowd, and catchphrases, and the look, and everything - everything you do in front of the camera, people are watching. And you have to make them believe in what you’re doing, you have to make them care, and it’s like I said, this is show business. Same way that when I was fifteen years old, I loved David Lee Roth. He was my favorite. He was so cool, you know, all the stuff that he did - the entertainment, the kicks, the clothes, the costumes … I just saw Van Halen a week ago and I freaked out like I was fifteen again, because he’s still the king of all frontmen. And that’s what you want to be when you’re a wrestler, and that’s why I said I was the “party host” - this is a party, you’re the host, you want to make sure everybody has a great time and make sure everybody gets their money’s worth. I think that’s the most important thing about wrestling, and that’s why I think guys like The Rock … even Austin, he had a great comedic side to him. But when he was in the ring, that comedic side was gone. And you knew that. But you knew that you would be entertained by either side of Steve Austin, or either side of Chris Jericho, or either side of The Rock, or any of the guys that can really do that to the highest level.
Pollock: Okay, well, Chris I want to thank you for rocking this party today. This book honestly, I think it’s a must-read, I think even non-wrestling fans would really enjoy it. I finished this book and thought to myself, Man, I wish he had one more big run left in him, but I know how iron-clad those stips are when you lose a “You’re Fired Match”. So, Chris, I just want to say thank you for the career and you’ve given us, and a whole lot of wrestling fans … I know that one day … the tapes are out there.
Jericho: Well, I appreciate that, man. It’s actually the “Jerichoholics” are out there. Don’t copyright infringe on Christian Cage. But it’s one of those things … I think people are waiting for it and if I can just get the papers passed to the right people and get some legal codicils figured out …
Pollock: You never know.
Jericho: … maybe the firing will be over-ended. And then when I do finally make my return - whenever that may be - it’ll be the wrestling version of the Van Halen/Eddie Van Halen reunion, where it’s something that people have been waiting for so long that’s going to blow the doors off the damn roof.
Pollock: Last question, Chris: My first interview, you gave it a negative five out of ten, second was a three out of ten. I think I’m getting near a five after today.
Jericho: Now don’t get to high on yourself there, Junior. I think you’re about a four. Your mediocrity is still very, very gigantic, but if you keep it up and keep interviewing, maybe someday you can get to six. And, maybe - maybe - someday, once you interview Funaki …
Pollock: (Laughs)
Jericho: … if you can really get a good interview, maybe you can reach legendary status. Until then, you’ll always be my first time - but not my last, baby.
Pollock: Alright. And if I ever reach that vaunted status, I want you to show me the Scott Norton trick.
Jericho: Ooh, I don’t think you’ll be … Scott Norton arm wrestling trick … if you ever want to know it, come up and ask me, and maybe I’ll tell you. But if not, I’m still the arm-wrestling champion of Monterey. Read A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex, available in fine book stores all around the country to find out exactly what I’m talking about.
Pollock: Awesome. Thanks so much for joining us, Chris. We’ll be talking to you real soon. Thanks a lot.
Jericho: Alright, and I look forward to it. See you later.
Pollock: Alright, everyone, that’s Chris Jericho. We’re all out of time. Excellent interview, my first there - Chris Jericho, right here on Fight Network Radio.
(Transcribed by Adam Wilcox)
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