haVoc 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2004 June 18, 2004 Before I start this Q and A session I want to deal with a general question I get a lot. I get a ton of e-mail inquires about training in OVW, either how does someone go about getting here, how much does it cost, etc. Well to be honest I don't have much info for you on this. I have nothing to do with the who and the how. I just show up and run the training. I know there is a beginner class, which I don't have anything to do with and then there is an advanced OVW session, which I run as well as the WWE developmental talent that I teach. The OVW and WWE guys train together some of the time and others I run them separately. If you are interested in training in OVW you will have to contact them; there is likely info on their website. Q: If being small hinders your chances of making it as a wrestler, does being too big hinder your chances as a Ref or Manager? A: Sure it does. When we, as wrestlers are trying to look as big a possible, why would we want a ref or manager whom makes us look small. I always prefer working with refs who are much smaller than I am. They make me look bigger and also get in the way less. I always figured a manager who was a little weasel got more heat than a large menacing one. Q: If wrestlers have to carry their own belts, has there ever been a time when someone lost their belt? A: I've never lost a belt but I know two stories that might be interesting. The weekend of WrestleMania 17 us WCW guys got a last minute call and were told we would be attending. When we all hooked up at the hotel before the show Sean O'Haire had a great story about leaving his Tag Title belt in the trunk of his car. This normally wouldn't be a problem but he had taken his car in to be repaired and the shop was closed and locked up for the weekend. He said he literally had to break into the car lot to get his belt back. He had tears in his clothes and a few puncture marks on his arms from having to go through barbwire when climbing the fence to the lot where they kept his car. The other story was told to me by Ted Dibiase in Vienna Austria in 1993. Dibiase was brought over to do a Championship match with CWA Champion Rambo. This was right after Dibiase had left WWF after losing his PPV match to the 1.2.3. Kid. He said the office came to him to reclaim the "Million-Dollar Belt" that he wore as part of his gimmick. If you remember he hadn't been wearing the belt at the time as they stopping using that gimmick several month previously. Dibiase told the guy that he had handed the belt in to one of the production guys when the decision was made for him to no longer wear the thing on TV. The office claimed that it was never turned in, and no one seemed to know were the thing ended up. Dibiase also claimed that while the belt wasn't made with real diamonds it was still worth about $40,000 and everyone seemed to be pretty up set that it had disappeared. Q: Would you like to wrestle in Japan again? A: I always loved working in Japan and would always consider the chance to do so again a good thing. Q: Do you think SD would draw better ratings if it were live instead of taped? A: I really doubt that it would. I think we are at the point where most of the people watching SD are doing so because they are wrestling fans and while I think they would enjoy it more if it were live (more of a surprise element to the show) I don't think it would change the viewer ship all that much. Anyone who goes to the effort to check out Spoilers on the Net are likely die hard enough fans to watch the show one way or the other. Q: How hard was it to communicate with Japanese wrestlers in the ring when you wrestled in Japan? A: It wasn't hard at all. Communication wasn't needed, when we got to the ring we pretty much just wrestled. Q: Can you speak or read Japanese? A: I used to be able to speak a little bit. When I was working over there regularly I picked up some frequently used expressions and sayings. Not working in Japan for 5 or 6 years now, most of it I've forgotten. I could also read some Japanese when I was in practice. Japan has two different letter systems. There is the standard Japanese writing that I can't make out at all, and then they have a separate letter system for words pronounced in English. I used to be able to read a fair bit of this, but again I am too out of practice now to have retained much of it. Q: What do you think of the RAW Diva search? A: There are two ways of looking at this, from the boys/girls perspective and from that of the office. From the office stand point it is probably a good idea. The point of this is obviously to draw ratings and once the voting off and whatever kind of competition that entails begins, it will likely draw good rating. If it does, it's a great idea; if it doesn't then it will have been a waste of money. From the prospective of current talent it is a bit of a moral killer. Here is an outsider earning a one-time paycheck bigger than most of us will ever get plus a contract. If you think there was heat over guys not paying dues and getting contracts after winning Tough Enough, what do you think it will be like for a girl who simply does a few weeks of RAW and get $250,000 plus a contract? Q: What do you think about the Bradshaw-Nazi gesture controversy? A: I kind of thought it was funny when I first heard it, because I saw it done several times before when I worked for CWA Catch in Europe, and it was no big deal. One of Otto's regular heels did it all the time to get heat. I would imagine that is where Bradshaw got the idea as we both worked over there together so I know he's seen it done before. Unfortunately for John, he did it around the anniversary of D-Day and in a company much more in the public eye, and because of that it was a big mistake. While I agree it was distasteful, there is a lot that is distasteful in wrestling; we are after all trying to stir up people's emotions. John was not promoting Nazi behaviour; he was doing the gesture so you would hate him for doing it. It is much the same as Flag Burning stunts that have been done in the past to get heat. I'm a firm believer in freedom of _expression and freedom of speech so I certainly have no ill will towards John for doing what he did, but will admit it was probably not a smart thing for him to do, considering the timing and the microscope people like to put WWE and wrestling under. As for losing his CNBC job over it, I think that is unfortunate, if John was an actor in a movie he could portray Adolph Hitler himself and carry out war atrocities and get no heat for it. There is a blurred line between reality and fiction in wrestling and John got burned by it. With that said I also support CNBC's right to wash their hands of any controversy created by an employee. They have a public image to protect and think they should have the right to terminate him if they wish. Keep those questions coming, Lance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2004 Is there more to the "Million Dollar Belt" story? I could swear I read it was worth more then $40,000 and it was locked up or on display at WWE head quarters in CT. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Internet Warfare 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2004 That was a great read. Thanks for posting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Real F'n Show Report post Posted June 20, 2004 Storm's columns, Q & A, etc. are always interesting, thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes Report post Posted June 20, 2004 I always heard the Million $ Title belt was worth $100,000 or somewhere in that neighborhood, which is even MORE expensive if true. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
