Post by Mike Giggs' Munchies on Sept 12, 2008 14:58:29 GMT -5
- ESPN recently picked Kurt Angle's brain on a number of subjects ranging from his early days in WWE to his current run on top in TNA. You can check out the whole thing here. Below are some highlights:
On gimmick matches in TNA: Way too many gimmick matches. There are some people in TNA who think all these gimmick matches is what makes TNA innovative. Wrestling 101 is what makes TNA innovative, though, because of the innovative styles they naturally have. They do stuff that I didn't think was possible. Let them do that. They don't need a chair or a ladder to do that, they can do that on their own. I've struggled a little bit due to the fact that we've had too many gimmick matches. We need to go back to the roots of TNA and have straight up, traditional one-on-one matches, no gimmicks, and I guarantee we'll get more viewers and the crowd will like the matches better.
On painkillers: I went through a very difficult time for painkillers and now it's behind me three and a half years and I'll never touch them again. But I had a hard time with that. It was a very difficult time for me. I was taking so many and the thing is, it didn't hurt my performance in the ring and I was making money for the company, but it hurt my marriage and I wasn't really there for my kids. I was always sleeping, passed out or on the road traveling taking painkillers to keep myself going. I backed myself into a corner and it's something I'll never do again. Then finally, when I got over it, about a year later I realized this schedule was just too hard for me. Vince couldn't book me part time, he wished he could and he really wanted to. Vince has a good heart, but he thought when he released me that I was just going to take six months off and come back. But I knew I just couldn't go back there and work that schedule.
On what he does when wrestlers hit him too stiff: I just tell them to ease up. If they do it a second time, there is no third time. I don't care what we're doing, if we're in the middle of a spot, they hit me stiff again, double leg takedown and put them in a choke hold. That's my way of letting them know they need to ease up. Then we slowly work our way out, hit the ropes, and get back to the spot. I can stop a match that quick and I will to let them know that ain't happening again. I'm alright to the guys. I don't want to be a jerk. I want them all to succeed and I want to do my best to make them all look good out there, but I'm in it for the long haul and want these guys to learn. Hopefully I can teach them.
- On former WWE star Joey Mercury's MySpace page, there are some photos of him hanging out with the now former WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk as well as the recently released Cliff "Domino" Compton at an outdoor shooting range. There are a few photos of CM Punk holding a gun. In one caption, Mercury calls Punk a "A Straight-Edged Marksman." You can see the photos at this link.
- It was announced at last night's Florida Championship Wrestling show that next week's show would be the "Night of Legends," featuring "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart and the Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags). Last November, Knobbs and Saggs reunited at a SmackDown taping in Tampa, Florida to wrestle their first WWE match in years. According to reports, the match was disastrous and the two were accused of unprofessionally working stiff with their opponents, Dave Taylor and now WWE developmental wrestler Drew McIntyre.
- Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston wrestled TJ Wilson in the main event at last night's FCW show. The two worked together a lot in Deep South Wrestling. Kingston defeated Wilson with the "Trouble in Paradise" for the pinfall win. Kingston signed autographs for fans during the show.
- Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun has posted an article on TNA star Kevin Nash possibly being WWE-bound. According to Eck, Nash has privately said that he is "planning" to go to WWE, wrestle a year or two, and then retire. Eck did a big interview with Nash a few months ago and was on hand for his appearance at a Maryland Championship Wrestling show last month. Nash's TNA contract is set to expire before the end of October and it is unknown if WWE is interested in bringing him back as a performer. On the plus side for Nash, he is good friends with Triple H & Shawn Michaels, and is still on good terms with Vince McMahon. Even though WWE officials told their employees to stay away from people employed to TNA during WrestleMania weekend, Kevin Nash was invited to watch the event in McMahon's private luxury suite at the Citrus Bowl.
- Tomko made his long-awaited return to TNA on last night's edition of Impact in a match with Samoa Joe. Despite the appearance, he is not back full-time with the company. They used him because officials were looking for a name wrestler for Samoa Joe to beat as the third guy. For the time being he'll be used when they need to put a star over because he has star credibility. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida, so he's not too far away from Orlando. His main focus remains the IGF promotion in Japan doing a shootfighter gimmick.
- Locally, a dark match main event featuring Undertaker & Triple H vs. The Great Khali & MVP is being advertised for the October 14th SmackDown/ECW taping at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets for the event are scheduled to go on sale this Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
- WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool has posted a new blog on the WWE Fan Nation site. She talks about a number of her topics including the lights going out at a recent house show in which she wrestled on, her title defense this past Sunday at Unforgiven, people saying she's too tan, and more. McCool posted a response to someone apparently insulting her character and wrestling ability.
McCool wrote: "I had someone send me a message saying that I'm this, I'm that, I don't have this, I don't have that, I stink at this, I stink at that. Ok.......I get your point - you obviously don't like or respect me. To my defense, I wish you just knew me before you felt the need to act like you do!
This will probably come out either ungrateful and mean or extremely passionate (I hope it's the latter b/c that's what it's supposed to be)! I love this business...always have and always will!!! I can only do what I am asked/told to do and I hope that whether you like a superstar or not, you can at least look past what you think you know about him or her and try to respect whatever it is they might be doing. There is a lot more to me than what you have seen on tv and hopefully, in the very near future, you will be able to see that even more. Alot of times, all of the divas are put into the same category as to how they look and/or act. I don't want that.
We aren't all the same, we don't dress the same, we don't have the same backgrounds, we don't look the same and we don't act the same. I myself find that refreshing! We don't always get the opportunity to show that on tv, so whenever we get a chance to simply be on tv (no matter what the capacity), we try to capitalize on that. It's just really funny to me....to do this job, it takes a lot of heart, a lot of athleticism, a lot of soul and a whole lot of strength (physical, mental and emotional). The people who are sending these comments obviously have nothing better to do and only see what they want to see (not just with me, with whoever they are sending them to and/or about)."
- Charlie Haas now has an account on the WWE Fan Nation site. He posted a brief noting asking fans which WWE Superstar (past or present) he should impersonate next.
- Since returning to the SmackDown brand, there has been some major heat on the WWE Champion Triple H, mainly for him going out of his way to make the younger talents look bad on camera, especially guys like MVP and Shelton Benjamin. PWInsider.com reports that lot of the guys backstage were upset about Triple H's recent promo and went to The Undertaker for a resolution, of sorts. The Undertaker agrees with the younger guys and says he understands how they feel.
The belief is that a backstage showdown is on the horizon between The Undertaker and Triple H, due to the way the WWE Champion treats people in the locker room. Many people think that Triple H would get his way in the end, but the one person that Vince McMahon respects and trusts the most above others is Taker. Triple H wouldn't lose his job obviously, but some kind of change would have to be made.
The Undertaker sees SmackDown as his team and the Superstars as his boys. If he isn't backed by McMahon when the time comes, he might take more time off to take care of nagging injuries as a way to show his displeasure. There's already a feeling among some close to the situation that Triple H wants payback for his loss at WrestleMania 17, and is pushing to end The Undertaker's winner streak at WrestleMania 25.
- There is rather serious talks and discussion within WWE as what to do with John Cena when he returns from injury this year. It’s not that much of a spoken thing, but it’s understood that Cena isn’t connecting with the entire WWE audience like officials have wanted him to. They wanted him to connect on a level like Steve Austin or The Rock, where everyone was into his character.
There is talk of altering Cena’s character when he returns, in some form or fashion. An idea of turning Cena heel has been tossed around but one of the bad sides to that is the loss of merchandise sales, which Cena brings in a lot because of the demo he appeals the most to. As much as WWE has tried to make Cena the face of the company, they realize he is not connecting like they wanted and the belief is we could see a different side of Cena when he returns, although maybe not full-fledged heel.
Source: PW Mania
On gimmick matches in TNA: Way too many gimmick matches. There are some people in TNA who think all these gimmick matches is what makes TNA innovative. Wrestling 101 is what makes TNA innovative, though, because of the innovative styles they naturally have. They do stuff that I didn't think was possible. Let them do that. They don't need a chair or a ladder to do that, they can do that on their own. I've struggled a little bit due to the fact that we've had too many gimmick matches. We need to go back to the roots of TNA and have straight up, traditional one-on-one matches, no gimmicks, and I guarantee we'll get more viewers and the crowd will like the matches better.
On painkillers: I went through a very difficult time for painkillers and now it's behind me three and a half years and I'll never touch them again. But I had a hard time with that. It was a very difficult time for me. I was taking so many and the thing is, it didn't hurt my performance in the ring and I was making money for the company, but it hurt my marriage and I wasn't really there for my kids. I was always sleeping, passed out or on the road traveling taking painkillers to keep myself going. I backed myself into a corner and it's something I'll never do again. Then finally, when I got over it, about a year later I realized this schedule was just too hard for me. Vince couldn't book me part time, he wished he could and he really wanted to. Vince has a good heart, but he thought when he released me that I was just going to take six months off and come back. But I knew I just couldn't go back there and work that schedule.
On what he does when wrestlers hit him too stiff: I just tell them to ease up. If they do it a second time, there is no third time. I don't care what we're doing, if we're in the middle of a spot, they hit me stiff again, double leg takedown and put them in a choke hold. That's my way of letting them know they need to ease up. Then we slowly work our way out, hit the ropes, and get back to the spot. I can stop a match that quick and I will to let them know that ain't happening again. I'm alright to the guys. I don't want to be a jerk. I want them all to succeed and I want to do my best to make them all look good out there, but I'm in it for the long haul and want these guys to learn. Hopefully I can teach them.
- On former WWE star Joey Mercury's MySpace page, there are some photos of him hanging out with the now former WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk as well as the recently released Cliff "Domino" Compton at an outdoor shooting range. There are a few photos of CM Punk holding a gun. In one caption, Mercury calls Punk a "A Straight-Edged Marksman." You can see the photos at this link.
- It was announced at last night's Florida Championship Wrestling show that next week's show would be the "Night of Legends," featuring "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart and the Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags). Last November, Knobbs and Saggs reunited at a SmackDown taping in Tampa, Florida to wrestle their first WWE match in years. According to reports, the match was disastrous and the two were accused of unprofessionally working stiff with their opponents, Dave Taylor and now WWE developmental wrestler Drew McIntyre.
- Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston wrestled TJ Wilson in the main event at last night's FCW show. The two worked together a lot in Deep South Wrestling. Kingston defeated Wilson with the "Trouble in Paradise" for the pinfall win. Kingston signed autographs for fans during the show.
- Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun has posted an article on TNA star Kevin Nash possibly being WWE-bound. According to Eck, Nash has privately said that he is "planning" to go to WWE, wrestle a year or two, and then retire. Eck did a big interview with Nash a few months ago and was on hand for his appearance at a Maryland Championship Wrestling show last month. Nash's TNA contract is set to expire before the end of October and it is unknown if WWE is interested in bringing him back as a performer. On the plus side for Nash, he is good friends with Triple H & Shawn Michaels, and is still on good terms with Vince McMahon. Even though WWE officials told their employees to stay away from people employed to TNA during WrestleMania weekend, Kevin Nash was invited to watch the event in McMahon's private luxury suite at the Citrus Bowl.
- Tomko made his long-awaited return to TNA on last night's edition of Impact in a match with Samoa Joe. Despite the appearance, he is not back full-time with the company. They used him because officials were looking for a name wrestler for Samoa Joe to beat as the third guy. For the time being he'll be used when they need to put a star over because he has star credibility. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida, so he's not too far away from Orlando. His main focus remains the IGF promotion in Japan doing a shootfighter gimmick.
- Locally, a dark match main event featuring Undertaker & Triple H vs. The Great Khali & MVP is being advertised for the October 14th SmackDown/ECW taping at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets for the event are scheduled to go on sale this Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
- WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool has posted a new blog on the WWE Fan Nation site. She talks about a number of her topics including the lights going out at a recent house show in which she wrestled on, her title defense this past Sunday at Unforgiven, people saying she's too tan, and more. McCool posted a response to someone apparently insulting her character and wrestling ability.
McCool wrote: "I had someone send me a message saying that I'm this, I'm that, I don't have this, I don't have that, I stink at this, I stink at that. Ok.......I get your point - you obviously don't like or respect me. To my defense, I wish you just knew me before you felt the need to act like you do!
This will probably come out either ungrateful and mean or extremely passionate (I hope it's the latter b/c that's what it's supposed to be)! I love this business...always have and always will!!! I can only do what I am asked/told to do and I hope that whether you like a superstar or not, you can at least look past what you think you know about him or her and try to respect whatever it is they might be doing. There is a lot more to me than what you have seen on tv and hopefully, in the very near future, you will be able to see that even more. Alot of times, all of the divas are put into the same category as to how they look and/or act. I don't want that. We aren't all the same, we don't dress the same, we don't have the same backgrounds, we don't look the same and we don't act the same. I myself find that refreshing! We don't always get the opportunity to show that on tv, so whenever we get a chance to simply be on tv (no matter what the capacity), we try to capitalize on that. It's just really funny to me....to do this job, it takes a lot of heart, a lot of athleticism, a lot of soul and a whole lot of strength (physical, mental and emotional). The people who are sending these comments obviously have nothing better to do and only see what they want to see (not just with me, with whoever they are sending them to and/or about)."
- Charlie Haas now has an account on the WWE Fan Nation site. He posted a brief noting asking fans which WWE Superstar (past or present) he should impersonate next.
- Since returning to the SmackDown brand, there has been some major heat on the WWE Champion Triple H, mainly for him going out of his way to make the younger talents look bad on camera, especially guys like MVP and Shelton Benjamin. PWInsider.com reports that lot of the guys backstage were upset about Triple H's recent promo and went to The Undertaker for a resolution, of sorts. The Undertaker agrees with the younger guys and says he understands how they feel.
The belief is that a backstage showdown is on the horizon between The Undertaker and Triple H, due to the way the WWE Champion treats people in the locker room. Many people think that Triple H would get his way in the end, but the one person that Vince McMahon respects and trusts the most above others is Taker. Triple H wouldn't lose his job obviously, but some kind of change would have to be made.
The Undertaker sees SmackDown as his team and the Superstars as his boys. If he isn't backed by McMahon when the time comes, he might take more time off to take care of nagging injuries as a way to show his displeasure. There's already a feeling among some close to the situation that Triple H wants payback for his loss at WrestleMania 17, and is pushing to end The Undertaker's winner streak at WrestleMania 25.
- There is rather serious talks and discussion within WWE as what to do with John Cena when he returns from injury this year. It’s not that much of a spoken thing, but it’s understood that Cena isn’t connecting with the entire WWE audience like officials have wanted him to. They wanted him to connect on a level like Steve Austin or The Rock, where everyone was into his character.
There is talk of altering Cena’s character when he returns, in some form or fashion. An idea of turning Cena heel has been tossed around but one of the bad sides to that is the loss of merchandise sales, which Cena brings in a lot because of the demo he appeals the most to. As much as WWE has tried to make Cena the face of the company, they realize he is not connecting like they wanted and the belief is we could see a different side of Cena when he returns, although maybe not full-fledged heel.
Source: PW Mania
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you, I don't need you or want you on my side anyway" promo, stick to it and then have matches with heels and faces without catering one way or the other. Make him more vicious in his offense, more willing to take a cheap shot while the ref isn't looking, put a chip back on his shoulder and let it go. 