"Shootin' It Up" - Axel

[Adam 0]

(We see a shot of Coach sitting in an interviewers setting alongside The Dark One, Axel, who is in casual attire of a T-Shirt and sweatpants)

 

COACH

Hell everyone and welcome to another OAOAST Shootin’ It Up, I am the Coach and I am here today, with the man that they call The Dark One, Axel. Axel, thanks for being here.

 

AXEL

Bloody good to be here actually, because I know the OAOAST audience wants to know a few answers about what’s been going on in my career, and my life.

 

COACH

Well Axel, let’s start with your life, shall we? You were born in the mid 80’s in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, true?

 

AXEL

Correct Coach. My parents were both hard workers, and they wanted the best for me, I was their only child. I excelled in school, but I got the shit teased out of me while I was a kid. I didn’t know how to stick up for myself. Tasmania was a small place, Hobart was a small city. You knew everyone, and everyone knew you, or at least somehow you were known. When I was 12 years old, I started High School at an all boys Catholic school just outside of Hobart, which was weird because I’m not Catholic, but my parents just wanted the best environment for me. That year, after I pestered the crap out of them, they finally got cable television. With cable television, came wrestling. And with wrestling, came life for me.

 

COACH

Let’s talk about that. Who were your early influences, and how did you get started in training?

 

AXEL

Well my very first influences were guys that are still on top today, I didn’t really focus on the big stars too much, the Hogan’s and the Savage’s. I was interested in the Benoit’s, the Jericho’s, and of course, the Raven’s and the Foley’s. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho were two guys I just loved to watch, and Mick Foley was my all time favourite performer. I started watching after the rise of guys like Flair, Sting, Michaels and Hart; I never really saw much of them. I started off just getting RAW IS WAR every week, I moved to renting out tapes of WWF and WCW Pay Per Views, and then I had the opportunity to watch an ECW Pay Per View. It was the decision to watch ECW that made me want to wrestle. I saw an RVD versus Jerry Lynn match, and after watching it, I knew that wrestling was what I wanted to do. It’s ironic, because I went back to my hometown a few months ago, and I was respected more than I ever had been for what I had done and how I had succeeded. They get HeldDown down home, and I’ve got quite a following down there.

 

COACH

How did your parents react to your decision? What was the next step?

 

AXEL

Well, they were kinda shocked, but they could see that the love of wrestling that I had was slowly turning into an obsession, and they weren’t going to stop me. I had to raise all my own money, so I worked at McDonalds for a while. I knew that I had the height, I just needed the conditioning, so I started frequenting the gym, and working my ass off. This was all happening, mind you, when I was fifteen years old and still in High School getting the shit teased out of me, but I didn’t care anymore. I knew what I wanted to do, so I took the necessary steps to do it. Slowly but surely I developed what could be considered a physique, and I decided I was ready, so I went to Melbourne, to Professional Championship Wrestling, PCW.

 

COACH

What greeted you in Melbourne? Was it as hard or easy as you thought it would be?

 

AXEL

Well, the training facility flat out sucked, which was really no surprise to me, as I didn’t expect much. All the guys were pretty much assholes when I arrived; they didn’t want a sixteen year old kid who looked jacked up taking their spots. The head trainer, Chris Thomson, as well as the top guy, Lobo, took me under their wing, and showed me the basics. I caught on pretty well, but they didn’t want to train a sixteen year old kid until they were convinced I had a good head on my shoulders. So, I went back to Tasmania, finished my sophomore year, and had three months of holidays to train. Little did I know, I wasn’t going back to school. I trained for six months, finishing in late 2002, and then I had my first pro match, against a guy who called himself Matthew Jarvis. I competed under the name of Albatross, under a hood. I wasn’t really happy with the match, because Jarvis was greener than me, but he has improved out of sight since that first meeting, and we remain firm friends to this very day – and he’s now known as Jarvo Aussie in the OAOAST.

 

COACH

Ha! Coincidences. Now, it was around this time you met a very good looking blonde wrestler from Canada. Tell us about that.

 

AXEL

Heh, you don’t know the half of it. I was doing weights one day, and in walk the American touring group from a promotion in Detroit, DPWX – I’ll get opt that later. At the front of the bunch was this chick – this girl – who was apparently the next big thing on the American wrestling scene, a woman who could keep up with the guys in real matches, not the Chyna shit from the WWF in 1999-2000. This girl, I was told, could go. So, I introduced myself, and she told me her name was Crystal Adams. We hit it off straight away – hey, what can I say? Chicks love the accent – and we were soon training together during her stay in Australia. She was young, so was I, and, well, one thing led to another, and we became close, close, friends. We wrestled each other on that tour in the Main Events of the shows, because at the time I was the PCW World Heavyweight Champion – wrestling under the moniker ‘The Tasmanian Kid’. I always came out on top – ha! I knew you’d like that one girl! And then, just like that, the tour was over.

 

(footage is shown of Axel in PCW, competing as The Tasmanian Kid)

 

COACH

But your relationship with Crystal was not.

 

AXEL

True, I decided I wasn’t going to get anywhere in Australia, so I moved to the US – a pretty damn huge move for a sixteen year old kid – and joined Detroit Pro Wrestling Xtreme. DPWX was the local ECW-like promotion that promoted good wrestling matches as well as violence. I was right at home. I traveled with Crystal to start off with, but the two of us soon struck a relationship with two other up and comers in the area, local guys, Aaron Jones and Jason Sharps. Aaron was a small guy, but he had a ton of talent from the start – watching him reminded me of watching a Benoit. Jason was, basically, fucking huge. Seven feet, three hundred plus pounds, a former football player. The two of them grew up together, and were closer than most brothers. Above all else, they were good, no-nonsense people, so we traveled with them. I came into the company as the top foreign heel, starting off with the good old Anti-America gimmick, known under my real name, Adam Webster, feuding with Crystal, as well as Aaron and Jason. But I wasn’t happy with my characters direction, and management didn’t want to lose me, I was drawing them a shitload of money on the strength of my in-ring performances, so they gave me a little more freedom to create my own character. That’s when I came up with the idea of the Bleeding Souls. We were tweeners, because we basically had each other and hated everyone else. I was the leader, Crystal was the first lady and star, Aaron and Jason were the tag team, going under the moniker of Death Personified. The four of us ran that company inside and out for the better part of six months, because we were who the people came to see. I had a really, really fast rise to fame, and it got to my head a bit in that company. I became egotistical, and it took Crystal to get me out of that rut. I apologized to the three of them for being so stupid, and went on with my career. In the middle of the Bleeding Souls angle, Crystal got a call from the OAOAST, and she was off to be famous. As a result, we had to break up, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with. She was my family here. She was the one that I turned to, and vica versa.

 

(Footage is shown of Crystal’s last DPWX appearance, when she lost a ‘loser laves town’ match against Axel)

 

COACH

What happened after Crystal left for the OAOAST?

 

AXEL

It was a hard time for me, seeing her in the big smoke. I was happy with her, but we had always talked about how we were going to make it together – you know? I fell into a mini-depression, and my wrestling suffered as a result. Crystal and I still kept in regular contact, but it wasn’t the same. She made it, I hadn’t. I was nearly seventeen, I still had my life ahead of me, but I still wanted more, I was my own worst critic. I could hear all the people who teased me saying that I couldn’t do it and that I wasn’t going to make it, but I was determined to prove them all wrong. Aaron and Jason were good, but they were so close, I was kinda the third wheel in the situation. Crystal would tell me of all the egos in the back in the OAOAST, from the top guys down. She was always respectful, she always tried to do the right thing, but she needed someone looking out for her, I couldn’t help but think that she was being taken advantage of, that they were going to exploit her as a woman, or work stiff or some shit, so I wanted to be there. I was always very protective, which could be a good thing and a bad thing.

 

COACH

And eventually you got that opportunity.

 

AXEL

Yeah, I got a call from Calvin Szechstein in May of 2003 asking me to report for a tryout. I was ecstatic; I wasn’t going to blow the chance. So, I reported, and worked a dark match against Ted Weddy. We had a great match, and were both signed basically on the spot. Ted went to training for awhile, but they had immediate plans for me. Crystal had told Calvin and Zack about my gimmick in DPWX of ‘Dark Prince’ Adam Webster. They wanted to change my name to something simple, and I had always wanted to be known as Axel, so they liked the idea. I filmed vignettes straight away that I wrote myself. I used Raven as a huge influence, as well as Mick Foley, and the Undertaker with the eyes rolling into the back of the head thing. They were well received, and it was decided that I would make my debut at The Great Angle Bash in June, doing a run-in to save Crystal from Brock Ausstin.

 

COACH

Stop there for a second, now I know that one thing viewers have wanted to know for a long time are your thoughts on Brock Ausstin. You two haven’t had the greatest past in the world, so tell us about that.

 

AXEL

Well Coach, my father told me one time, it’s a fact of life that not everybody is going to like you. That’s a fact of life with me and Brock. We hate each other, always have. He’s an obnoxious, no selling hoss bastard with no redeeming qualities whatsoever as a person, and I know he would say the same about me. He had some severe, SEVERE problems about jobbing to me. He felt that he was on a roll, beating everyone, doing everything. Well newsflash big guy: you can’t win all the time. I’ve had my fair share of losses, as has everyone else. My record speaks for itself, I’ve put over guys like Peter Knight, guys like Panther in his debut. Great guys, both of them, and guys that I did not have a problem putting over, because they sure fucking deserved it. The booking committee decided that they liked my look and my character, so they decided to push me, and have me be the guy to beat Brock. Brock wasn’t happy, so he didn’t do a clean job, I Axel Slammed him on chair. He didn’t want to cooperate at different times during the match, and hell, I know I was green as goose shit, but I still had a better in ring knowledge than he did, only thing he knew how to do was not sell.

 

(Footage of the match is shown while Axel is talking, culminating in an Axel Slam on a steel chair)

 

COACH

And then he disappeared for a few months…

 

AXEL

Yeah, he walked out just like one of his namesakes. He was that cut up about jobbing, he just up and walked out. But I had all the right guys on my side – from the time I entered this company Zack and David – or CWM to you marks – were always on my side. They couldn’t believe how unprofessional Brock was being, and I must admit, I was surprised as well. That was my first really bad experience in wrestling, my first experience of selfishness really consuming a feud. The worse part was, when he came back to the company, he publicly stated that he had never been defeated – basically dismissing my victory as nothing. I confronted him about it, and he backed down. I called a truce, and he obliged. He had no one backing him up, because he walked out like he did. Everyone supported my position. But that didn’t stop him from publicly blasting me later, saying how he had it all planned out and he wasn’t going to lose to anyone but Zack Malibu. Fact is, he never told the booking committee any of this, they just thought that the big blowoff should be the new guy, me, defeating the unstoppable monster. Trouble is, he was like Goldberg, once he lost, everyone saw that he sucked in the ring and was just another generic hoss monster.

 

COACH

Fair enough, now the next month, at AngleSlam in August, you won the Revolution Tournament by beating The Mad Cappa. What did you think about winning such a prestigious tournament?

 

AXEL

Well I know a lot of the veterans in the back were pissed that I beat Cappa for the tournament. Cappa didn’t have a problem with it at all; he has always been one of the good guys, and a guy that I consider a friend in the business. It didn’t hurt him to lose, and it only helped me to win. He went on to feud with PRL, and I went on to bigger and better things too. After Brock left, I was in a state of limbo for a few weeks, teaming with Mad fucking Matt of all people. I teamed with Matt against Ken and Austin Baker, Ragdoll and K Money, and that was when ‘the terrible twosome’ in the back began, me and Rags. We hit it off straight away, similar age, similar tastes in music, and in the style of match we wanted. Austin and I traveled together for the better part of five months, because the Crystal thing was pretty much over just after I entered the OAOAST. To this day we’re like brothers, and we love working together. He’s my man, always has been. But anyway, I teamed with Matt for a while, and I had a few X Title matches against Austin and Matt. Matt always pissed me off, because he didn’t grasp the concept of in ring smarts very well at all. He always had great difficulty in remembering spots, and he just wasn’t as good as they thought he was. He also had real, real bad heat with me and Austin late last year, but I’ll get to that later. I jobbed to Rags a few times, and I didn’t care, it didn’t hurt me at all. When CWM came to me with the idea of the Revolution Tournament, I jumped at the chance. When he told me that I would be facing him in the first round, and that I was winning, I didn’t know what to say - it was such a huge honor to be in the ring with one of the founding members of this company. Then I had to face The Amazing Rando – a guy I have great respect for – and Ted Weddy, the guy I had my tryout match with, in the semi finals. That triple threat was a complete spot fest, but it was the best match that I had in the OAOAST up to that time. I worked my ass off, and so did the other two guys. The boys in the back loved it, and wanted us to do it at house shows, which we did. This was long before guys like Zack and Calvin taught me about ring psychology – real ring psychology, not the stuff that I was doing. I was only just 17 at that stage, and I hadn’t learnt really good psychology, mainly technique and character. It took Zack one weekend to invite me down to his place in Rhode Island and just spend two straight days going through psychology – and to this day, I’m fucking grateful for that.

 

COACH

And what did you think about the match with Cappa?

 

AXEL

I really enjoyed it; we had a really good back and forth contest. This was before Zack had schooled me on psychology, so it wasn’t really employed that much. I think, if I remember correctly, it was the first time that I had ever bladed in a match in the OAOAST, I could be wrong. It was pretty crazy, I always cut too deep, I must be a glutton for punishment! (laughs) But yeah, it was great, beating Cappa with an Axel Slam off the top rope, just an awesome feeling. But I must say though, the next Thursday night was something special.

 

COACH

Yes, I think we all remember it well – on that night, you defeated Calvin Szechstein, less than a week after he became the OAOAST World Heavyweight Champion.

 

AXEL

Yeah, Calvin came to me with the idea on the Monday after AngleSlam, and I was honored. I know a few guys resented my quick rise in the OAOAST, but I would eventually pay my dues. Calvin jobbed to me that night, and for that, I will be in debt of the guy, great guy, we have had our differences at times, but above it all, great guy. Calvin presented the idea of me turning heel that night as well, I thought it was really quick, and that Totally Endorsed wasn’t really what Axel was about, but I wasn’t really in a position to say no to being a part of the top heel group in the company. So, the next week I turned heel on the Dream Machines, and bam, first real title feud, with Colvid against the Dream Machines. Colvid and I were two different people. I didn’t get his gimmick that much, and our styles didn’t really mesh that well together. As for The Dream Machines, well, Parka was always a great guy to me, and while I didn’t really have a whole heap to do with the guy, I respected him. Peter Knight helped me out in my early stages, and in the near future we would have the best match in my OAOAST career to that point. I have a great deal of respect for PK, and he deserves all the credit in the world for helping out guys like Sly and myself.

 

(Footage is shown of Axel rolling Calvin up and pinning him, and then losing to the Dream Machines)

 

COACH

That was your first big Pay Per View loss, and after that you kind of fell off the radar a bit. You didn’t fit into Totally Endorsed, and with the induction of Sly Sommers, the group became cluttered, you were the black sheep. How did you feel at this time?

 

AXEL

Well Coach, my big opening push was over, and it was time for me to sit back for a couple of months. We did an angle where I just destroyed people and became this psychotic madman, basically. I turned on my Totally Endorsed teammates, except for Calvin, who was off in the Main Event, and I attacked new guys like Panther, who I am proud to say, I put over in his first OAOAST match clean. I didn’t have a problem doing that, Panther is a great kid. It was around this time that Rags asked me to come into the feud he was having with Mad Matt over the X Title. I hated to refuse the guy, but the X Division was not where Axel’s future lay, as far as I was concerned. So, Sly got the spot, and god he did a great job. I was talking to Zack one day about the X Title situation, and he mentioned something about the OAOAST needing another guy to enter the title picture, because Mad Matt just wasn’t catching on, which was understandable, considering the kid had a personality bypass and no real style to speak of. So I said to Zack ‘Have you ever heard of Aaron Jones?’ He had, because AJ had done a dark match against Sly a few months back, and they enjoyed his work. I told Zack that AJ would be a great addition to the X Division, and that he was capable of more than Zack knew. I got to call AJ up about it, and he was ecstatic, but was afraid that Gunner would be left alone in DPWX. Gunner gave AJ his blessing, and I put a good word in for him with Zack, who said that their may be an opening in December with a big invasion angle that they had planned. I told Jason to sit tight and continue taking independent bookings until I heard something, and AJ was flown to Chicago for his debut. I was so happy for the kid, he had wanted that spot ever since he was born. We got the opportunity to work together for the first time in a while in a tag match with Mad Matt and AJ against me and Sly. That’s the match when I took everyone out, and laid out Bill Watts. You couldn’t tell on the show, but I had broken two ribs on a house show the weekend before. The suspension angle was because of that, I needed a few weeks off to heal up, plus rest a few niggling injuries that I had. Because of my schedule and everything, I did not get a chance to rest for the better part of two years. So, I crashed at Rags’ place for a bit, and then went back on the road.

 

COACH

Yes, you missed the November Pay Per View, Dirty Deeds, but then you came back to feud with Peter Knight. You cut a vicious promo when you came back, basically blasting half the OAOAST roster. Whose idea was that?

 

AXEL

(Laughs) that was mine. The ‘State of the HeldDown Superstars address’ if I recall. I basically bashed everyone in the company from a worked perspective. Management loved it, and I was soon known as the outsider, the guys with no allies, except the other most fucked up guy in the company, Ragdoll. I liked that gimmick. The feud with Peter Knight was a great one, because I had the opportunity to work that six person tag match with me, Ragdoll and this Japanese chick taking on Calvin, PK and Josie. The audience got a taste of me and Ragdoll as a tag team, and we worked perfectly. There was even talk of giving us the Tag Belts for a minute there, but we didn’t like the idea, because we knew we had better things ahead of us, well at least Ragdoll did straight away, he was in a feud with Calvin at the time. I was very, very proud of the match with Peter Knight, not only because it was a great technical encounter, but because PK got the win that he deserved on Pay Per View. He deserved a big victory, he deserved to take the next step, but because I reasons that I really don’t know about, he didn’t get the opportunity.

 

COACH

Okay, now there were two particular issues at the end of last year that you may want to address. The first was the X Division Championship. You said earlier that you and Ragdoll had some issues with Mad Matt over the X Title, and Ragdoll was very vocal in his shoot about Mad Matt. Your thoughts on this time?

 

AXEL

First of all, Mad Matt was straight away given an opportunity to work with Zack Malibu, and then thrown into an X Title feud for no particular reason. Sure, Rags did everything he could to make that kid a fucking messiah, but he wasn’t up for it. When Rags told me that he was dropping the belt to Matt, I was less than ecstatic, but it was his choice to do that, he thought the kid would step up when he won the belt. SO, he dropped the title, and what does Matt do? Nothing. Fuck all, not a damn thing. I sat in on a booking meeting one day, and the writers were at wits fucking end man, you wouldn’t believe it, they didn’t know what to do. That’s when Zack and I had the conversation that ended up in AJ being brought in. Sly had just begun a feud with Matt over the belt, and it was thought that Sly versus Matt wouldn’t draw because Matt was drawing as much as fucking Nash as X Champ, so they brought AJ in as the savior, so that Sly had someone decent to work with. Sly won the belt with the debut of Saint Andrew and the Tethers. I never liked Andrew because he stole half of my fucking gimmick as soon as he entered the doors. I was The Dark One at that stage, using demonic quotes and dark lines to get over, and Andrew began this whole Christopher Daniels thing, ripping off some of my stuff. Oh well, he didn’t last long. Ragdoll and I were both livid at Matt’s handling of the X Title, and Rags was relieved as hell to see the title land on Sly’s waist, the guy’s a genius in the ring, and to this day remains a friend. Turns out it was a fairly short reign for him though, which I was a little annoyed about, because I thought he should have got the chance to build himself up. Little did I know that he was on the verge of a Main Event run anyway, so he didn’t mind. I was really, really happy for AJ though, because he had been looking for that spot for a long time, and I knew that once he got it, he wasn’t going to let it go. Little bastard held the belt for over a half a year, had great match after great match, management was so high on him. He brought prestige back to the X Title, but it’s a pity that the Ragdoll-Mad Matt situation was basically copied one year later.

 

COACH

I take it you’re referring to Rick Edwards?

 

AXEL

Yeah, but I’m a big fan of doing things in order, so lets get to that other matter you were talking about.

 

COACH

Alright then. Around this time, the Underground Invasion happened, and you were joined by the fourth former Bleeding Souls member, Jason ‘Gunner’ Sharps. Was this a happy time for the three of you – meaning you, AJ and Gunner?

 

AXEL

We were absolutely ecstatic at first dude; it was great to all be back together again. I won’t lie, we were missing Crystal, she had made her own friends, and was traveling with different people, but the three of us started again where we had left off. Gunner came in with the UGW angle, an angle that really should have been better, but in the end was about as successful as the WCW/ECW Alliance in WWE. The thing was, the angle had the talent, hell, look at that roster: Hoff, CWM, Gunner, Superstar, and Jacob Lyne, but let’s be honest, Gunner was totally misused to begin with. He was stuck in a tag team with a fucking lawyer for christ’s sake. He’s a seven foot monster, he should have been Main Eventing shows, or at least being billed as the Enforcer of the Underground, at least much more than he was. But the main thing was, CWM and Superstar took the Austin and Angle roles, and the writing team wouldn’t let guys like Hoff and Gunner take the reigns. Look at them now – Hoff’s a former World Champion, and Gunner has had a great summer period, capping it all off with the 24/7 Title victory. They should have had the Booker T and Rhyno roles, big matches against top OAOAST guys like Zack, like Calvin, Anglesault, Dan Black, the rest… it could have been handled a lot better.

 

COACH

What did you think of your showing in the Royal Rumble this past January? Did you know what the plans were for you?

 

AXEL

Yeah, and I thought they flat-out fucking stunk. In at number one, and then eliminated in a flurry by I guy I have absolutely no respect for.

 

COACH

Gibraltar? What’s the story there?

 

AXEL

Guy’s a selfish wrestler, and his push was the one thing that I was pissed off about. Here’s a guy who is seven foot plus, four hundred pounds, looks like he could do some damage. That’s fine, good luck to him. But when you don’t sell one move for six months that tends to piss people off. Gunner worked his fucking ass off to make his matches believable, and to make his opponents look good. He had great matches with people like Crystal, a woman who is smaller than him, and who in reality, probably couldn’t beat him in a fight. But he jobbed, and he jobbed clean. Gibraltar wouldn’t sell for Jesus fucking Christ. God, just because you’re a big man doesn’t mean you can’t sell some offensive moves. I felt sorry for Gunner, because he deserved that spot, he deserved that monster role, but he had it taken away from him by a kid who didn’t know what he was doing; he just knew he wasn’t selling for anyone. The worst part was, a few guys like Calvin and Sly were high on him, and didn’t mind that he was billed to be unstoppable. I cut one of the best promos that I ever did in late 2003, and I was supposed to be in the final five in the Rumble match, but I ended up being just another guy, just another wrestler for Gibraltar to kill. The match with Gibraltar and Brock should have been a ‘No Sell in the Cell’ match.

 

COACH

After this you paired up with Gunner Sharps. Who came to you with this idea?

 

AXEL

Gunner did, he wanted out of the Underground big time. It was doing next to nothing for his career, so he wanted to join in a tandem with me, and I was more than happy to except. I knew it would be an interesting dynamic to my next feud with Crystal. On the horizon was AngleMania, and I was looking forward to that more than anything in my career.

 

COACH

That’s right, you had wanted to feud with Crystal at AngleMania for a long time, and she jumped at the chance. Did you both enjoy the feud, and was it all that it could have been?

 

AXEL

Yes and no. We worked hard on bringing elements of our careers and lives into the feud, trouble was, we weren’t given the time to develop it with the UGW Invasion and everything. Then the X Cup came along, and we didn’t even have a chance to clash in the Survivor Series match at Zero Hour. She didn’t even need to be in the fucking tournament, she jobbed to Sly. It was going to be Me, Gunner, Ragdoll and TNT versus Crystal, AJ, Panther, K Money and Peter Knight. Ragdoll was taken out to be in the match with Zack, and I was happy for him. We were going to put someone like Sly in the spot, considering his feud with Peter Knight coming up, but he and Crystal had to wrestle in the X Cup. I was really, really pissed off at this, because I thought that we had a big chance to make some money from this feud, if it was just given the proper time.

 

COACH

You won the Twenty-Four Seven Championship in March of this year. That was your first major title in this company. How was that?

 

AXEL

(laughs) Considering I only knew about an hour beforehand that I was winning the belt, it was a shock, but a pleasant one. I was happy to win the title, partly because it was a title, and partly because it added something extra to my feud with Crystal. What I didn’t realise was, it did more to hurt the feud than help it. I had a short run, an enjoyable run, and I thank Panther for dropping the belt to me. He had a hell of a match with Gunner at AngleMania.

 

COACH

Speaking of AngleMania, what were your feelings on the match with Crystal, a match that many said was really not up to standard?

 

AXEL

Well, they were right, it wasn’t as good as we both could do, and I take the blame fro that. I was disenchanted with what had gone on in the company leading up to AngleMania, and we were both burnt out to hell. The match was exciting, but it could have been longer, and it could have employed a lot more psychology. We both vowed that night that we would improve the next time we met in the ring.

 

COACH

After AngleMania, you were in a state of limbo for the better part of two months, still basically clinging on your feud to Crystal, but also feuding with AJ Flaire, and breaking u the team of yourself and Gunner Sharps.

 

AXEL

Yeah, that was my idea, for Gunner and AJ to get back together as allies. The crowd wanted to see it, and Gunner was over HUGE at AngleMania in his home town, so the writers didn’t mind. I thought we had a good match at Living Angleously, great psychology. The leg psychology we used was awesome, and one of my favourite matches. The match that I had with AJ Flaire was also one of my favourites, with me going to work on his back and playing the asshole, and Gunner finally having enough of me at the end of the match. I enjoy working with those guys, because there are no disagreements, we agree on just about everything.

 

COACH

Now, all this time The Thrillogy had been formed, and you really wanted to be involved in the upcoming feud over the World Title between Zack Malibu and Crystal, didn’t you?

 

AXEL

God yes, Zack had told me about the idea of the Thrillogy back in January of that year, just after Hoff had entered. I told him straight up that after my feud with Crystal, I’d be in. Hell, the idea for the casket disappearance was thought up back in February. So, I came out to clean house one day to help Crystal, who I still ‘loved’ at the time, but who wanted no part of me. Then Hoff attacked her and stole the 24/7 Title, and we had the big brawl on Pay Per View. The fans ate it up, because they wanted to see someone kick Hoff’s ass after he had attacked their girl, Crystal. They still hated me a little, but they started to cheer when I went after the Thrillogy. The HeldDown after the Pay Per View, we did the casket angle, and I got some time off. One more thing before you continue though Coach, one angle that went on around this time that I wasn’t directly involved in, but it involved all of my friends. The whole ‘INTEN5E’ thing, along with ‘The Corporate Champion’ angle with PRL flat out pissed people off, and the two main guys involved still have major heat with everyone backstage. They didn’t clear what they were doing with Zack or anyone else backstage, and at the end of Living Angleously, they just went out and did it. I likened it to the Teddy Hart incident in that it didn’t put people in physical danger, but when you’re on a PAY PER VIEW broadcasting to millions of people around the world, you just don’t fucking cut promos like that when you don’t have any chance of anything eventuating. You want a shot at the title, you ask the Champion, and you work out a program. Zack had programs worked out for six months after his title win, and PRL was not in any of those. The guy then had the audacity to basically expect that he was getting the belt at a later time. He doesn’t decide that shit, and Joseph doesn’t decide that shit – the Champion does.

 

COACH

Now, AJ Flaire dropped the X Title to Rick Edwards in May of last year, and you said before that it was a copy of the Matt situation in some ways. What were AJ’s reactions to the way the X Title was carried?

 

AXEL

It would be a lie to say that he was anything other than disappointed, because he had built that title up so much. Edwards had his own huge plans, and that was okay, but when you compare the two title reigns, come on man, let’s be honest. He needed to build angles around the belt, not around the Blurricane stuff. Or he should have traded the belt between the two sides or something. But the X Title was at one point the number two belt in the company, so to see it fall like it did wasn’t great. Leon is doing a great job now though, management has faith in the guy, he’ll put it off.

 

COACH

Okay, a question that has been emailed to me hundreds of times: how did you pull the casket angle off?

 

AXEL

Well Coach, the casket actually had a false ass to it, like a back door. So, I slipped out the bottom of the casket and under the ring when The Thrillogy was showboating. They did a great job, acting like the casket was heavy as all hell when in reality it was empty. No one had a clue where I went, I was told kids were crying and people were actually staying around to see if I came out of the arena. Well, kayfabe and everything, I didn’t leave the arena until early the next morning (laughs), when all of the fans were totally gone. I slept in the fuckin’ locker room on a trainer’s bench. I was on the first flight the next morning to Sydney.

 

COACH

How were you received back home?

 

AXEL

Oh very well Coach, very well. I went back to PCW to visit my old trainers, and did a surprise appearance at one of their house shows, which was great fun. I went back to Tasmania, and my parents were really happy to see me. They had kept in close contact, and couldn’t believe how much I had changed in the year since I had seen them. I was really burnt out, and I ended up sleeping for the first week I was there. I met up with some old school mates, but I couldn’t go out much because everyone knew who I was. Hell, I went down to the corner store one day to get a loaf of bread and I was mobbed for christs sake. It was crazy, but it was fun at the same time. A few people tried to start some fights, but I had the police on my side, so that was never a problem. It was great to be home, and I almost didn’t leave.

 

COACH

Really? You almost left the business?

 

AXEL

Yeah, I was real close to calling up Bill Watts and telling him to shove it. I realised just how hard I had been working and what I was missing out on back home, so I almost left the business. But I only had to watch one match, and my opinion changed. War Games. I knew AJ was going to have back surgery for a while, but I didn’t know the angle would be as dramatic as it was, very well done. Then I saw the first promo for my return, and I absolutely loved it. Little did I know, when I came back, I was going to get a rude shock.

 

COACH

What do you mean? You came back for the Emperor of Death tournament…

 

AXEL

You see Coach, that’s where you are wrong. I was never supposed to come back to wrestle Hoff on the Pay Per View, I knew about it THAT DAY. Gunner had suffered a concussion the night before in the Thumbtacks match, and he decided to risk it in the Semi finals. Management told me that he was going over in the semis, but that he wouldn’t wrestle in the final, and that instead of the initial plans, I would return to job to Hoff. I didn’t have a problem jobbing to Hoff, I’d job to that guy any single day of the week, he’s a great friend, but what I was pissed off with was that it ruined the angle we had planned for the Main Event. What was initially going to happen was that Gunner would be injured in the Tournament finals, and taken out by Hoff, and Sly was going to be injured by Calvin as well. That would leave Crystal defenseless against Zack and the Thrillogy in the Main Event. They would wrestle the draw, Crystal would ask for five more minutes, Zack would decline, and the Thrillogy would start a beatdown. Then, I would make my return, clean house, and leave.

 

COACH

With your entrance return, that could have been a real moneymaker…

 

AXEL

You don’t have to tell me Coach, I designed that return myself, I had it planned out from a few ideas I got back home. Hoff later told me that it was one of the best entrances that he had seen, and that was the best compliment he could have given. It all starts with the entrance, you gotta make it as good as you possibly can, and I think I have done that.

 

COACH

You then embarked on a tour of Japan in the HI-YAH promotion that the OAOAST developed a partnership with. Because of your lack of involvement in the Crystal-Zack feud, did you mind going on the tour?

 

AXEL

Oh god no, I jumped at the chance. The only thing was, I wasn’t on OAOAST TV as much as I should have been, I was away with the whole casket thing, then I came back, only to go away again. I thought it was short-changing the fans, but it was all worth it in the end. I wrestled under a hood, or mask, as Kuro Mikoto, which is Dark Prince in Japanese. First I worked for NOAH against the top guys, including a GHC Heavyweight Title match against Kenta Kobashi, which was insane. To cap off the tour I worked the first Tokyo Dome show done by HI-YAH, the Heavyweight Title Tournament. It was a who’s who of Japanese top guys from all three companies. I defeated Mitsuharu Misawa in the semi finals, and then I faced Keiji Mutoh in the final. We had a really hard hitting match, and it was a privilege to be in the ring with a Japanese legend the level of Mutoh. I went over with The Devil’s Clutch, and won the first HI-YAH World Heavyweight Championship. It was a great honor to win the title, and for the HI-YAH management to be of the opinion that I would make a good first World Champion. They knew that I was going back to the OAOAST, and they didn’t mind. They run a big Pay Per View every two months, and they are on different dates to OAOAST events, so I can fly out there, work the show, and fly back.

 

COACH

How were you received when you came back to HeldDown and challenged Zack Malibu?

 

AXEL

Oh very well, I wasn’t advertised for the show, so it was a surprise that I arrived. The crowd was electric when I stepped into the ring with Zack and challenged him. It was one of those moments I’ll always remember, my first venture into the real main event.

 

COACH

What were your thoughts on the Dream Tag Team Partner angle, and HeldDown: Australia?

 

AXEL

Coach when I left for my hiatus I gave the bookers the idea for HeldDown: Australia. I had actually had a meeting with Ian Collins, the operator of the Telstra Dome, the venue of HeldDown: Australia when I was over at home. We came to a deal, and OAOAST Management began promoting the event. I went to Zack before I left, and asked him what he was doing in September and October. He said he didn’t have immediate plans, so I set down my ideas for a feud. He loved them, and it was set. I had actually been visiting Ragdoll regularly in the hospital after his overdose, and he was back at home by July. He was really bored at home, just miserable, but he was still training and still in good shape. So, when I asked him if he’d like to come back and be my partner, and later my adversary, he was all for it. When I announced that my partner had not been in the OAOAST in a while, the internet just absolutely ran riot with speculation, I mean, it was insane. There was talk of Ragdoll, CWM, Anglesault, hell, even The Sandman’s name popped up there as a possibility. I knew someone would leak the info, so the only people who knew about the mystery partner were myself, Zack and Calvin. I actually told a few people a few different partners to throw them off completely, and what do you know? The next thing, big wrestling sites are reporting that it will be Axel and The Great Muta versus Zack and Calvin. As for the show, well beforehand we had a locker room meeting that Zack called, where I was given the floor, and the opportunity to thank everyone for being a part of the tour, and express how much it meant to me. I actually booked the show with Zack, it was my first creative experience, and after the show’s success, it won’t be the last.

 

COACH

What were your standout memories of the show?

 

AXEL

Oh for me, it had to be the big singles matches, Drek Stone taking on Leon Rodez, Panther taking on Blurricane, and to cap it all off, the one hour draw between Sly and Crystal, which was just amazing. All four of us in the Main Event were just looking at the match and thinking to ourselves, “How in the hell are we topping that?”

 

COACH

Well, many would say that the Main Event was the most emotionally charged and memorable match that you have ever been in, and while it didn’t have the drama and skill of the World Title bout, it was still worthy of the Main Event spot.

 

AXEL

I would agree with that claim. I planned that match down to the very last detail, from the entrance to the finish. The other three guys were awesome in letting me have some creative freedom, and I loved the match, best match that I have veer been involved in, no offence to the Elimination Chamber, that was a different atmosphere. Ragdoll’s return could not have been better, and the crowd was hot from start to finish. Just knowing that fifty-seven thousand people had come to see my match as the Main Event was amazing, the ovation was deafening. Then, a couple of weeks after, we did the casket match with Zack and I which went well, it was a thrill to work with the guy on both occasions, especially on the Main Event of a major OAOAST Pay Per View, showed that management had faith in me. We had a good match, could have been better, but then again I’m my own worst critic. It was around this time that we developed the idea for the Ragdoll and Axel programme.

 

COACH

Now, I was getting to that. Whose idea was it to do the feud, and the careers match?

 

AXEL

It was Ken’s idea for most of it, I’ll let him have the glory, he came up with the concept for the feud and the match. The promo I cut on HeldDown though, that was my idea. Never before have I been more passionate, not because I wanted one of us to leave, no way, but because the Pay Per View was going to be the last day for Ken, and it was a real, real sad day. I hardly told a soul which one of us was leaving, but people picked up on it before the event. I forgot to mention two guys earlier, that I must mention now though, Drek and Hoff. Hoff has been a friend for a long time, I actually met him in DPWX, he worked a couple matches there, and we have always been allies. When he joined the OAOAST, we became better friends, and I started traveling to shows with Gunner and Hoff after AJ got injured. Zack, Hoff, Drek, Ragdoll and I make up a sort of Clique in the back that doesn’t influence the booking all that much outside of our own angles, but we are close friends. Sly was a good friend of mine as well, but with his animosity toward Zack, I just talk to him when Zack’s not around, we have a tremendous amount of respect for each other. Drek is just amazing, his rise to prominence is unmatched in our business. The guy is an incredible worker, and he can cut a decent promo. I’d love to work with him sometime. Right now, I’m going to wish Drek the best of luck in his title reign, he’ll do great, and he’s a good kid.

 

COACH

You’re bandaged up from the match, which was held just a couple of days go in Las Vegas. What did you think of the match, and how are you feeling now?

 

AXEL

The match was awesome. Just awesome. Zack said it best afterwards: “You guys sick fucks. Great wrestlers, but sick fucks”. Truth is, Ken’s sicker than me, and he’ll love me for saying that. We wanted to make his last match the most memorable one, and I think we succeeded in doing that. As for how I’m feeling now? Well I suffered a mild concussion from the chair shot early in the match, I needed fifteen stitches in my head, three just above my navel from the glass, my feet are cut to shit, I had a couple of small cuts inside my mouth, and I’ll have Ken’s fucking initials scarred on my chest for a month or so. Bastard cut me too deep.

 

COACH

I see you really remained tight-lipped about this whole angle. Does kayfabe mean a lot to you as a wrestler?

 

AXEL

(laughs) Well, I’m doing this shoot interview, aren’t I? I won’t hide anything that’s already happened, but I’m not discussing stuff that’s coming up. As for the angle with Ken, I wanted to keep it under wraps what we were planning, and who was retiring. Ken will be back for the Angle Awards in a few weeks, and quite possibly in attendance for AngleMania, but he has officially retired from the ring, he won’t be competing or working on OAOAST TV again.

 

COACH

One OAOAST wrestler commented that the Deathmatch made you into a superstar. Your thoughts?

 

AXEL

I really think that now, after the Ragdoll angle is finished and the Axel character is done with that issue that I can go places. There is some really exciting stuff happening in the next few months that I can’t talk about right now, but I can tell you, it’s going to be a lot of fun.

 

COACH

What were your thoughts on the firing of Sly Sommers?

 

AXEL

Sly took his ball, and he went on back home. We were good friends, I respected the guy, still do to some extent, but he pissed a lot of people off, and he made the working environment uncomfortable. I have nothing else to say.

 

COACH

One final question before we do Word Association Axel; how is AJ Flaire?

 

AXEL

AJ’s back man! He just worked the first ever World Domination Wrestling show and he’s in discussions about a return here. But as for that, you’ll just have to wait and see.

 

COACH

Okay, my favourite part: Word Association.

 

AXEL

Let’s do this.

 

COACH

Zack Malibu.

 

AXEL

Friend. The guy’s been great to me ever since I came here, he’s been awesome.

 

COACH

Crystal.

 

AXEL

Beautiful

 

COACH

AJ Flaire.

 

AXEL

Motivation.

 

COACH

Brock Ausstin

 

AXEL

Learn how to sell, boy!

 

COACH

Hoff.

 

AXEL

Blame.

 

COACH

Drek Stone.

 

AXEL

Talent.

 

COACH

Finally, Ragdoll.

 

AXEL

The best guy I ever came across in this business. He’s had his fair share of problems, but he’s over them now, and he is ready to start a fresh. Best of luck my man.

 

COACH

Well Axel, thank you for being here to do this interview, it has certainly been fun.

 

AXEL

Thanks for having me Coach, I appreciate it.

 

COACH

Until next time ladies and gentlemen, I am the Coach, and this has been OAOAST Shootin’ It Up.

 

END SHOW

[CanadianChick 0]

Very nice. I'm so tempted to steal this idea, by the way.

[Adam 0]

Go on, I did.

[Hoff 0]

Also stealing.

 

COACH

Hoff.

 

AXEL

Blame.

Nicely done.

Edited January 3, 2005 by Hoff

[Adam 0]

Thought you'd like that one.