Rhyno Interview

[Guest Trivia247]

Thanks to Christopher Best for the following report:

 

Rhyno called into our local morning radio show this morning, 100.3 WHEB called the Morning Buzz. He was a bit late in calling, so they only had a couple minutes to chat. One of the guys on the Morning Buzz was a wrestler as well (Andy Blacksmith), but he never made it much farther than a few WCW jobber matches to Big Show, and also a few dates with ECW as his best times.

 

They asked Rhyno how his neck was doing, and he said it was excellent. There wasn't any pain and he was back to 100% wrestling. They asked him if he was worried at all about coming back, and Rhyno said that he knew he would be able to wrestle again, as he had spoken with Steven Austin and Chris Benoit, who had the same surgery before him. So he knew it was just a matter of time before he would be back in the ring.

 

They asked him what happens when you're injured for that long, as in if the WWE keeps in touch with you, or if they just say, "Call us when you're ready." Rhyno said that they were constantly in touch with him, and let him know to just take it easy and not worry about his spot. The WWE told Rhyno that they would pay his downside guarantee no matter what, and set up some autograph sessions, promotions and appearances for him. Rhyno said it was the most miserable he had ever been, because he hates being away from the business, especially for that long.

 

They asked Rhyno about the end of ECW, and Rhyno said that when he won the ECW World Title, it was bitter sweet because he knew that ECW was struggling so much, but hoped they would make it. Paul Heyman had been planning a huge feud between Rhyno and Rob Van Dam for the ECW World Title, but it never got off the ground and they had to close their doors. Rhyno said he felt like he was "walking out on his best friend" when he signed the contract with the WWE, but he knew that was what he had to do in order to keep making a living. He said that ECW follows him no matter where he goes, and he couldn't get rid of it even if he wanted to. The most recent time the WWE went through Germany (Rhyno's wife is from Germany, and his son is half German as well) even the crowds there chanted "ECW" when he came out.

 

The host of the Morning Buzz told Rhyno that ECW was far and away the craziest thing he had ever seen, as the last time they came to NH before they closed, he remembered someone having a fork stuck in their head. Rhyno laughed and said it had to be either Balls Mahoney or New Jack.

 

They asked him about how he's doing now, and Rhyno said that he wasn't in a current storyline, but was eager to get one started. (He didn't say anything about being in Vince's doghouse or anything along those lines.) He said he's been having fun though on Velocity, wrestling Funaki and Orlando Jones. They asked him who his favorite guys to work against were, and he said he really enjoyed wrestling against Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. He hoped to someday work a program against Brock Lesnar as well.

 

They asked about the creative process, and Rhyno said that for the most part, the writers did the program and he followed it along, but they are encouraged to come up with ideas for their characters. Rhyno said he had some ideas very recently and submitted them, and hopes he can get back on track with TV appearances.

 

They asked about Paul Heyman being on SmackDown and his influence, and Rhyno said that Heyman is an extremely valuable guy to have and that he really brings something to the table. They asked if Heyman's presence on SmackDown might help Rhyno to get back on TV again and in a storyline, but Rhyno basically worked his way around that one and just continued to say how good it was to have Heyman around on SmackDown again.

 

They thanked Rhyno for his time and that wrapped up the interview.