Guest BoboBrazil Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 WRESTLING is often described as a comic book style battle between good and evil. So it is no surprise that the WWE now has its very own superhero – The Hurricane. And we put all your questions to the man behind the mask, Gregory Shane Helms. He told us why he prefers Raw to its rival show Smackdown, how the Hurricane was born and why the "old school mentality" that holds the cruiserweights in the WWE back is slowly changing. But even superheroes have problems, and The Hurricane revealed that the lowest point of his career came when he was removed from the fantastic Raw tag team TLC match earlier this year. Read on to find out more about the WWE's very own mean, green, crime fighting machine. And coming soon on Sun Online you'll be able to read our exclusive chat with the lovely WWE diva Stacy Keibler. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who came up with the idea of The Hurricane character? Navdeep Rehill The name Hurricane was a name I was going to use twice before in my career. When I came to the WWE, I dropped the Sugar Shane Helms gimmick that I was doing in WCW and became Hurricane Helms. Then in a backstage skit with Steve Austin, we started talking about my tattoo of the symbol for the DC comic book superhero The Green Lantern. It was a live shot and, for whatever reason, I just started talking about The Green Lantern like he was a real person. It was really funny and the creative department liked it and Vince McMahon loved it. For the next couple of weeks I'd be backstage doing a skit and I would go off on some comic book tangent. It snowballed from there and then a couple of weeks later I came out and I was a superhero myself. The costume and rest of my superhero gear was the creative department's idea, and I love it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who do you think are the best characters in wrestling history? Scott Andrews As a kid some of my favourite characters were The Nature Boy Ric Flair, Jimmy Boogie Woogie Man Valiant and Macho Man Randy Savage. The Rock is one my favourites now, as is Stone Cold Steve Austin. As for real gimmicky characters - like The Hurricane - I loved the Blue Blazer, Kamala, the original Undertaker and stuff like that. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hurricane is very different to the attitude era style gimmicks. Did you get any backlash when you chose to play the role? Wayne, Ilford Not at all, because the character was so fresh. Also with gimmicky characters in the past, the wrestlers used the gimmicks a lot of the time to cover up a lack of wrestling ability. That is not really true in my case. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You've won loads of titles in WWE and WCW. What have been the high and low points of your wrestling career? 'Big Al' Norton I would say right now it is a tie between winning the hardcore title at WrestleMania – just because Mania is the biggest event of them all in our business – and winning the tag team titles with Kane. When we won the tag titles, that was a real top guy spot and it was my first time of being there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you entered Raw you were immediately caught up in the Kane/HHH necrophilia angle. What did you think of this storyline? The LilsBoys I didn't find it offensive, I know some people said that they were offended by it, but it was obviously a joke. It wasn't like it was a real body we used – it was clearly a mannequin. I got the joke right off the bat but some people didn't get it. So I wasn't offended by it, but I also wasn't entertained by it and I didn't find it funny. And I think it really hurt their storyline as Kane and HHH had something really good going and they didn't need it. Triple H has moved on to different things. But I think it actually hurt Kane and it hurt me too – as we haven't really done anything since. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The TLC match on Raw a couple of months back for the tag team titles was awesome. But, despite you being the champion, you were not included in the match. Did this upset you? Mickey Stirra Being taken out of that match was probably the lowest point of my career. It was a creative idea to make Kane look stronger, as he would look in more jeopardy if I wasn't there. But everybody else involved in the match thought it was a terrible idea, and I still think that whoever came up with it really dropped the ball on that one. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You've wrestled on both Raw and Smackdown – which one is the better show and how do you feel about being on Raw when the cruiserweight title is on Smackdown? Andy Dykes, Leeds I'm not saying this because I am on Raw now, but I think Raw is a better show because it is live and therefore more true to our art form. With Smackdown, if something goes wrong then they edit. The cheers and boos that we get on Raw aren't cheers and boos that are added in at the end of the show. Everything we do is live, and that is more true to me, so I like Raw more. Smackdown's strength will definitely be in its cruiserweight division, as it really sets it apart. But I don't mind being on Raw, because I've already won the cruiserweight title and want to move onto other things. I think it actually hurt the cruiserweight division to lose me, pretty much everybody has said that. Once I lost the title it seemed like the title lost its way. It disappeared from the limelight and hasn't really been back there since. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The WWE cruiserweight division has some of the hottest talent in the world but, to me, it seems we are not getting some of the fantastic cruiser action we used to see in WCW. Why do you think this is? John, Derby I don't think that is true. I just think that at the time, when people saw the WCW matches, they had just never seen anything like that before. I think if you go back and you watch them, a lot of our matches are the same, it's just people are used to it now. But when people had never seen it before, in WCW, they knew they were seeing something different. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you think the cruiserweights will be given more TV time to show what they can do? Ray, Middlesex I hope so. There is still definitely that old school mentality that the bigger guys draw more money but that's not true if you look at the world today. In boxing it is Oscar De La Hoya and Roy Jones that people want to see, not the heavyweights. In UFC it is Tito Ortiz that is the top guy. So I think the day of the big lumbering giants is losing its way. We have this old school mentality backstage that bigger is better but it's definitely not true. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you could pick any one person in the world to be your superhero sidekick, who would it be? Shane, Aldershot Hugh Hefner. He's the man. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like the WWE to bring in someone as a comic book super villain to battle The Hurricane? Sally Rogers I think it would be funny. Paul Heyman is a comic book villain already – he is our Lex Luther. And Stephanie McMahon can be evil at times too. We are all comic book characters, I am just the only one who comes out and says it. Have you always been a wrestling fan and how did you get into the business? Robert, Reading I've been a wrestling fan my whole life, my family got me interested and my father took me to my first show when I was five. Wrestling was always something I wanted to do and be a part of. I went to an independent show when I was 13 and hooked up with those guys, I would put up the ring and do whatever I could to get some ring time myself. And I ended up training myself. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In WCW you had one of the most sickening finishers in the business – the vertebreaker. When I met you before WrestleMania you told me it might be making a comeback. When can we expect to see it again? Vikram Sangar I've already done it on WWE TV a couple of times. But the office guys are really scared of the move, though. That's disappointing as they really should have enough faith in me to do it without really hurting anybody. But if they are scared of it then I won't do it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In WCW you tagged with Shannon Moore. What are your thoughts on him and how he is progressing since he signed up with the WWE? How do you rate his chances of making it in the WWE and have you been in contact since he joined? Adam Sibley I think Shannon is doing real good in the WWE, he has improved drastically since our WCW days. When we were in three count, he was a high flyer and that was pretty much all he could do. I would handle all of the wrestling and the detail work and if it needed a high spot I would tag in Shannon. I could do those high spots too but it would have been silly for both us to do it. But his groundwork and matwork has improved 100 per cent since coming to the WWE. He is really coming into his own. Right now they really need to come up with something for him to get hold of. My one regret about leaving Smackdown is that we can't team anymore. Shannon and Matt Hardy are two of my best friends and I don't get to see them as much now I'm on Raw. I went to Shannon's bachelor party a couple of weeks ago and we hung out, but that is the longest amount of time we've spent together since I left Smackdown. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How many comic books do you own and who are your favourite superheroes? Jimmy Cohen I own thousands, it's not yet 10,000 but I'm getting close. My favourite character right now is Black Adam. I've got this big thing on my website where I always push for Black Adam, as DC comics haven't really done anything really good with him in the past. Although now they are starting to. I wore a Black Adam T-shirt on WWE Confidential a couple of weeks ago so I got a ton of emails about that from other fans. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who would win in a tag team bout pitting The Hurricane and The Green Lantern against Superman and Batman? Michael Marx We'd have them beat easily. The Green Lantern would just whip up some kryptonite and Superman would be done. It would be no contest. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You were the last ever WCW cruiserweight champion. What were your thoughts when WCW was bought out and what do you think went wrong in Atlanta? Baz, Essex I thought it was sad because I was a fan of WCW, even back in the days when it was NWA, so I was very sad to see it come to the end. As far as being the last cruiserweight champion, I was glad about that. I was the bookmark on the end of a great run for a fantastic title. Why did it all go wrong? Well a lot of people that were control of the group at the end didn't know a lot about wrestling. The promotional and marketing departments weren't that good. And actually some of the top talent there wasn't that good. There were so many thing wrong, it wasn't just one. A lot of people say it was the writing, that could have been better of course, but there were lots of things wrong. When the nWo thing all blew up that was a hot storyline, but it could have been so much more. The merchandising was awful – no one had any cool T-shirts, all our toys were ridiculous and the video games were bad. Since I came to the WWE, I have been one of the top guys on merchandise. People can buy the T-shirts, the mask and the cape. I've got a key chain, a necklace and my toy is awesome. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Were you really a stunt double for comedy actor – and former WCW champion - David Arquette in Ready To Rumble. What was that like? Sean, Wrexham Yes, that was a lot of fun. I went out there initially just be a wrestling co-ordinator, I was supposed to do a three to five week stint. But then I got the job being a stunt double and it turned into four or five months. You have to bump a lot as you'll go in, do some wrestling, then they'll shout "cut" and you have to do it all over again. The stunt team there just couldn't believe some of the things we were doing. In the credits it says, "stunt work – Sugar Shane Helms" – that is cool. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How does life in the WWE differ to your time in WCW and the indies? Steven, Cambridge It differs from the indies money wise, if you're working the independents then you're broke. I had a lot of good times on the indies, the friends you make and the experience are the things you keep the most. WCW actually treated me really well, so I didn't have any bad experiences there. The Three Count thing was good, although obviously it could have been promoted a lot better than it was. Towards the end of my stay in WCW, when the rise of Sugar Shane was going on, that was a real big deal for me. Coming to the WWE initially was great, but losing the Sugar Shane gimmick was a downer at first. But The Hurricane has more than made up for it and I don't even think about it anymore. I always wanted to go to the WWE but when they bought WCW out, there was a day or two where we didn't know what was going on. We knew they had to pick some of us up, and being the cruiserweight champion I felt that I would be one of those. Luckily I was right. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of the UK? Tony, London I like it here, I wish I had more time to hang out here and look around. We are going to check out a comic book shop in London later, so I can see what the comic book scene is like here. The one time I wrestled over here I was still considered a bad, and I remember coming out and there was one huge section of the audience that chanted my name the entire time. No matter what I did, they just kept cheering. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who are your best friends away from the ring and what do you do to relax? Greg, Lambeth To relax I read a lot. As well as comics I also read a lot of books, I've just finished The Two Towers, the second book in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. I play on my website a lot too – www.shanehelms.com. I put on my site that it took up a lot of time and that I may get someone else to do it but I was flooded with emails from people saying: "We don't care how long it takes, the fact that you do it is what makes the site so unique." I've had people in the WWE asking if I wanted them to take over my website but I say, "are you crazy, my website is better than the company's." In the wrestling business my best friends are Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, Lita, Chris Jericho and Christian. There is also a comic book clique, which is me, Raven, Edge and Al Snow. When I first came to the WWE The Acolytes and Steve Austin really took me under their wing, so that's really what got me over in the locker room. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is there anybody in the WWE or outside it who you would really like to wrestle, that you haven't yet? Vik Sangar Of course I'd like to have matches with all the big stars, just to be in there with the likes of The Rock and Steve Austin would be awesome. In the indies there are a couple of guys who are really good, that I have never actually competed with and would like to. Christopher Daniels would be one and Mike Modest another – there is so much talent out there. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,3-20025...2581364,00.html
Guest The Superstar Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 The TLC match on Raw a couple of months back for the tag team titles was awesome. But, despite you being the champion, you were not included in the match. Did this upset you? Mickey Stirra Being taken out of that match was probably the lowest point of my career. It was a creative idea to make Kane look stronger, as he would look in more jeopardy if I wasn't there. But everybody else involved in the match thought it was a terrible idea, and I still think that whoever came up with it really dropped the ball on that one. I agree...that was pointless. They should've at LEAST had him run down at the end of the match and help Kane.
Guest the 1inch punch Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 stupid booking for hosses mentalirty is exactly why Da Bisch should get the book
Guest HartFan86 Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 I guess the rumor that he wasn't in it was because he didn't want to promote having crazy matches to up and coming wrestlers wasn't true.
Guest KingOfOldSchool Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 Of course, it was all for naught, since Kane hasn't done jack since then. You know, I hate slow, lumbering hosses getting the push at the expence of far more talented, albeit smaller guys; but if it must happen, at least don't let the sacrifice be in vain.
Guest jester Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 "So I think the day of the big lumbering giants is losing its way." "Vince-uh, I think Hurricane-uh should do the Katie-uh Vick angle again-uh, and then job to Stacy Keibler-uh." Helms says a lot dangerous things. Talking about the edited pops on Smackdown, the fact that his absence has hurt the cruisers, that the Katie Vick thing hurt him and Kane, but not Mr. Stephanie, that allowing Kane to beat up everyone in the TLC match was a dumb idea... I wonder if he's received a "not a team player" speech recently from the Office.
Guest AndrewTS Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 "So I think the day of the big lumbering giants is losing its way." "Vince-uh, I think Hurricane-uh should do the Katie-uh Vick angle again-uh, and then job to Stacy Keibler-uh." Helms says a lot dangerous things. Talking about the edited pops on Smackdown, the fact that his absence has hurt the cruisers, that the Katie Vick thing hurt him and Kane, but not Mr. Stephanie, that allowing Kane to beat up everyone in the TLC match was a dumb idea... I wonder if he's received a "not a team player" speech recently from the Office. After you've jobbed courtesy of Batista's crotch sweat under a minute, then I don't think you'd feel like still walking on eggshells. Speaking his mind is all, and I like how it answered a lot of questions I was wondering about with him. And something I pointed out to Chris: The Green Lantern logo COULD have at one time been an Omega logo, and since the talk about the tattoo was off the cuff and not planned out at that time, obviously it was always a Lantern tattoo. I hate how people try to say they weren't "offended" by the Katie Vick angle, like it makes them look like a bunch of uptight, hand-wringing sissies if they did. Michaels said the only thing I agreed with him in a long time when he said it was offensive to wrestling fans (even if he was just sucking up). It wasn't funny, it was just really fucking stupid. Heyman as Luthor gave me a chuckle, and liked how a lot of questions focused on the Cruiser division. And a "lot of titles" is quite accurate. Here's the list that I know of, I think it may have been off Helms' site but Chris put it together for an e-fed bio: 1-Time WWE Hardcore Champion 1-Time WWE Tag Team Champion 1-Time WWE European Champion 1-Time TCW Texas Tag-Team Champion (w/Lenny Lane) 1-Time WCW World Cruiserweight Champion 1-Time NWA Wildside Tag-Team Champion (w/Shannon Moore) 1-Time WCW Hardcore Champion (w/Shannon Moore and Evan Karagias) 1-Time SCW Heavyweight Champion 1-Time WWO Lightweight Champion 1-Time SCW Tag-Team Champion (w/Mike Maverick) 2-Time OMEGA Tag-Team Champion (w/Mike Maverick) 1-Time NDW Tag-Team Champion (w/Mike Maverick) 2-Time CCWA Lightweight Champion 1-Time SEWA Lightweight Champion 1-Time SWA Lightweight Champion 1-Time CCW Lightweight Champion 1-Time NAPW Lightweight Champion 1-Time GloryQuest '91 Ironman Tournament Lightweight Division Champion
Guest CanadianChick Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 In the wrestling business my best friends are Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, Lita, Chris Jericho and Christian. There is also a comic book clique, which is me, Raven, Edge and Al Snow. Does anybody else find it funny that Raven is a comic book reader? I dunno, I just found it weird.
Guest AndrewTS Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 In the wrestling business my best friends are Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, Lita, Chris Jericho and Christian. There is also a comic book clique, which is me, Raven, Edge and Al Snow. Does anybody else find it funny that Raven is a comic book reader? I dunno, I just found it weird. He's into the darker stuff like the Sandman comics, which he CONSTANTLY WORE SHIRTS FROM IN WCW. So, no, I'm not surprised. Although I certainly don't have him pegged for a Green Lantern fan, which I doubt he is.
Guest notJames Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 In the wrestling business my best friends are Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, Lita, Chris Jericho and Christian. There is also a comic book clique, which is me, Raven, Edge and Al Snow. Does anybody else find it funny that Raven is a comic book reader? I dunno, I just found it weird. Not really. He used to wear comic book t-shirts in ECW (Sandman, Punisher). Plus his promos sound like something a crafty comic book villain would say.
Guest BoboBrazil Posted January 2, 2003 Report Posted January 2, 2003 I think Raven wrote an issue of a comic book. I forgot what it was.
Guest KingOfOldSchool Posted January 3, 2003 Report Posted January 3, 2003 It was something for one of the Spider-Man books.
Guest creativename Posted January 3, 2003 Report Posted January 3, 2003 It was something for one of the Spider-Man books. Never heard about this, but I just looked it up, and Raven actually wrote a Spider-man spin-off comic about Crusher Hogan, the infamous wrestler whose ass Spidey kicked in his debut (anybody know why they changed his name to Bone Saw McGraw in the movie?). It's "Spider-Man's Tangled Web" #14. Here's a link to an article about it: http://scottlevy.hypermart.net/info/articl.../article32.html
Secret Agent Posted January 3, 2003 Report Posted January 3, 2003 as best to my knowledge his name was orginally Bone Saw McGraw. If it wasn't... Crusher Hogan might confuse some dolts with Hulk Hogan.
Guest eirejmcmahon Posted January 3, 2003 Report Posted January 3, 2003 Helms always comes off as a really genuine, down to earth kind of guy. Raven co-wrote that Spider-Man comic with Brian Azzarello.
Guest subliminal_animal Posted January 3, 2003 Report Posted January 3, 2003 That was one of the better issues of Tangled Web I've read, and a lot of non-wrestling fans agreed it was good. Great ending, too. That says something, since the book is one of the better mainstream titles out now. Pick it up and you won't be disappointed.
Guest creativename Posted January 3, 2003 Report Posted January 3, 2003 as best to my knowledge his name was orginally Bone Saw McGraw. If it wasn't... Crusher Hogan might confuse some dolts with Hulk Hogan. No, it was Crusher Hogan. Though I also realize that the Hulk Hogan thing probably had to do with it. I think that would be incredibly ironic, since he got his name by mixing The Incredible Hulk with Crusher Hogan. Marvel still owns the rights to the Hulk Hogan name, as well as "Hulkamania" and "Hulkster".
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