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OOLD SCHOOL   
Cross Promotional Summit, Part 1 

June 26, 2003

by Rick Scaia   
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

 

[NOTE FROM THE PRESENT DAY: So yesterday, I recapped how Roddy Piper's always one to speak his mind... well, so is Shane Douglas.  Although he has returned to the national spotlight with NWA-TNA in the last two weeks, his honest and abrasive personality is probably a big part of the reason why he has been off the radar and working indies and foreign tours for so long while other stars of the 90s have latched on with WWE.  Going back to 2000, I've unearthed an interview with Tom Pritchard and Douglas -- at a time when the two were working for competing companies -- that is not only an illuminating look back at the State of the Industry at that time, but which also underscores just how open and honest Douglas is willing to be when assessing the business and those in it. Enjoy.]

 
OO Interview with Shane Douglas and Tom Pritchard 

Originally Published by WrestleLine.com on June 12, 2000

At the Brian Hildebrand Fantasy Camp two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get to speak with the WWF's Tom Pritchard during a break in his training duties...  little did I expect that after about 10 minutes, we'd be joined by WCW's Shane Douglas.  It turned into a very interesting discussion on how both men perceived their companies and the state of the industry.  And in Douglas' case, it turned into an opportunity to fill up over 45 minutes of tape with an intelligent and articulate monologue about a wide range of topics, before leaving Pritchard and I to wrap up the interview we had begun an hour before.

At the time, I felt uncomfortable playing such a small role in the talk after Shane joined us, but the fact is that Douglas often anticipated my next prodding question, and continued in depth along exactly the tangent I would have asked about.  His eloquence obviously goes beyond the standard wrestling promo we've seen him cut so often in the past.  Both Pritchard and myself interjected sporadically, but Shane Douglas' lengthy and unassisted diatribes are what make this transcript a must-read.

LEGEND 
RS:  Rick Scaia 
TP:
  Tom Pritchard 
SD: 
Shane Douglas

RS:  Les threw together this Fantasy Camp as a way to remember Brian Hildebrand... I know you two were in Smokey Mountain at the same time, and I think of everybody here, you'd be one of the best guys to talk to about Brian's afinity for the business....

TP:  Yeah, I mean, when I first went to Smokey Mountain, he was doing everything with Cornette...  not just refereeing, but publicity, whatever it took.  A great kid, a class act from day one, a real wrestling FAN.  A fan like from the old school days -- "wrestling the way it used to be" -- like Cornette was, like I was, but obviously not like anybody else.  That's why the place went out of business.

Brian was just a great guy.  I know everybody would say that, it's a cliché, but it's true.  He was a good friend.  I never heard a negative word come out of his mouth, even when he was sick.  And that's a cool thing about him. And the cool thing about this (the fantasy camp) is that everybody from the WWF, from WCW, from ECW, it's like "I don't give a shit who you work for, this is for Brian Hildebrand -- and for Pillman."

I really enjoy coming and doing this because training the new guys in the WWF and then being able to come here and see guys who really want to give this a try, it's a cool thing.

A cool thing last year when I came here was being able to see Brian, you know, right before he passed.  You know, and I never heard a bad word said ABOUT him, either....

RS:  You talked about how now you're training new guys for the WWF, and I know Brian (Hildebrand) he actually stepped into the ring a few times down in SMW.  How would you assess Brian, the wrestler, that none of us got to see?

TP:  Brian was actually a tremendous wrestler...  he did the Ninja Turtle gimmick, Cornette put him a couple of shows.  He could actually wrestle.  He could do all the lucha and high flying stuff, and he knew everything about the...  you know, his size is the only thing that held him back.  It's a shame, because everybody should get a chance.  For instance, a guy like Eddie Guerrero has really made it in this business...  he's a guy like Brian who can just really do everything.  But with Brian, it was just his size that held him back.  A tremendous athlete, a great wrestler, and he loved this business.  Would do anything for this business.

RS:  As a trainer, what do you think about what you're seeing here today?  I mean, for some of these guys, it's just a chance to interact with the stars, but some of 'em are taking it pretty seriously, learning, learning respect....

TP:  Well, the guys who are in here, they're mostly just here to find out what it's all about.  They find out that the simple things we do, the simple things like a headlock, a takeover, they don't realize how much mechanics go into that.  It's pretty complicated.

Dean Malenko just showed somebody a new way to do a fireman's carry.  And Dean, he just told me that one of his pet peeves is he wants everything in his match to look solid, no holes.  That's why he's the performer he is today.  I think the fans who came here today, they're not just getting the opportunity to mix with us, but a chance to learn and from a lot of different guys.

We haven't even gotten to the hard stuff...  hitting the ropes?  We're just on the headlock takeover, it looks real easy, but then you figure out it's not really easy.

RS:  How about from the other side, from the campers' side... they've got a lot of different teachers here, and a lot of different teaching styles.  For example, what we just saw out of Perry (Saturn) a few minutes ago -- when he was obviously holding back a lot -- was lots different from what you're doing...  are they responding better or learning more from any particular teaching style?

TP:  Here's the thing, about this business, about life:  everybody has a different side, a different style.  I've seen something different from Malenko, from Guerrero, Saturn, Hugh Morrus...  we've got five different ways to teach a fireman's carry,  how to teach it as well as how to do the move.  Perry's got a different, aggressive way.  I mean, in the warehouse, I get that way, too, with a guy who I knew was under contract.  But these guys, it's their first time ever in a ring.  I mean, frustration can set in for us, because we know what we want them to do, but at the same time, you know they've never been in a ring before.

Still, you want them to do it right, so it's good for a guy like Malenko, who can break it down and show them the right way.  Again, just a fireman's carry [gesturing up into the ring where Malenko is working over a camper], I mean that's one way to do it.  I'd probably show 'em a different way, go down on my knees and do it this way.  Perry would do it a different way. Eddie would do it a different way.  But it's cool that we can all come together and do something like this, and interact not just with fans but with each other.  You know, "Try it this way, and see how you like it...  if like it my way, do it that way, if you like it your way, do it your way."

There's a hundred ways to hit the ropes, but there's only one right way? Really?  Is there?  You know what I mean?  We all teach different ways and have different views on things.  That's the cool things about this.

RS:  I'd definitely like to get some of your first hand opinions on the up and coming guys in the WWF developmental system...  some of the guys now working dark matches, or maybe a guy like Vic Grimes who's been working ECW?

TP:  I don't know that much about what Grimes has been doing in ECW. Unfortunately, I've been travelling a lot on Friday nights, so I haven't been able to see the ECW show.  Or I've been working late on Friday nights. I haven't been able to keep up on what they're doing. The last ECW thing I saw with Grimes was the bump he and ahhhh.....

RS:  New Jack?

TP:  Yeah, New Jack, that bump they did.

RS:  That was insane...

TP:  Yeah, it was insane....  speaking of insane, hey, there's Shane Douglas.

[Shane Douglas walks into the training area, and begins walking over to join us.]

TP:  Shane Douglas would have an entirely different way of doing stuff, too. All of our stuff comes out the same in the end, I guess, but it's all different translations.

As far as guys getting ready.....

[To Shane, who just arrived at our spot]  Hey, Shane, sorry, I just saw you there and wanted to mention you...

[To me, again]  But like I was saying, as far as guys getting ready goes....

SD:  You mean like getting ready for a match?

TP:  Yeah, well, like getting ready for TV.  Different guys getting ready for TV.  I know down in Puerto Rico we've got some guys who are....  a guy who I'd REALLY like to see come up is Steve Bradley.

RS:  Is that "Super Man" or "Super Bad" or something like that when he did dark matches?

TP:  You know, I'm not sure... but a good kid, a good head.  The kid's great, and he's gonna be a really good talent for us.

SD:  How old is he?

TP:  Uhh, 24.  Damn kid's been working since he was 15.

SD:  Where's he from?

TP:  Uhhhh, Providence.....

SD:  Man...  Steve Bradley...  that sounds familiar.  Has he worked on TV under his own name?

TP:  Uh, he might have, but if he did, it's been a while.  I mean, this kid can do it all.  High flying....

SD:  How big is he?

TP:  Right now, I think he's about 240 lbs....  about six foot.

SD:  That's about perfect these days....

TP:  Yeah...  he can really move around.  I hate to see him wasted away for too long.  I mean, he loves the business so much, but I'd hate to see him get that sour taste in his mouth....

SD:  Why's he been down in Puerto Rico, then?

TP:  Just on developmental... we want to make sure...  actually, when we bring him in, we just want to make sure there's a spot for him, otherwise then he'd really be wasted....

SD:  A heel, a baby?

TP:  He can do anything, but right now, he's a heel.

SD:  That's good, cuz you guys are desperate for heels right now.

TP:  Boy, you are not kidding...  the heel side is what we really need. Hopefully....

SD:  You know what I think the biggest problem in the business is today?  I mean, not just you guys, I see it down south, too...  I love to heel, but other people, they're equating the whole thing...  they think "If I tell these people what I did, blah, blah, blah, then they won't buy my t-shirt and it's less money in my pocket."  I mean, we turned Sting heel, but he wouldn't go out there and really heel.  If he had done it right, he could have drawn big money.  I mean, he'd never been a heel before, and it's perfect because of the dark character and all.  But he was afraid to do it because he thought it'd hurt his merchandise sales.

TP:  I think he was a heel early on....

SD:  Well, yeah, but I'm talking since he got pushed and stuff.  It's crazy.

TP:  The thing is, with the schedules the way they are, if you get hurt and you know you're out for that period of time, it throws the entire roster off...  you NEED everybody.

SD:  Plus, I think as I look at your guys' product, the guys who have the best chance of getting that big spot -- like the Rock or Austin spot -- are the babyfaces, so they're thinking of cool sayings or something that resonates with the crowd.  So even the heels are more worried about being cool than being heels....

RS:  I think Triple H is....

SD:  Yeah, Triple H will go for the heel role...  that's why he's on top right now, too.  He's standing out.  HHH does nothing spectacular, but does everything solid and works his ass off.  And he HEELS.  He heels.

That arrogance comes through, and it resonates.  Everybody knows and understands an arrogant son of a bitch, because they all know one.

TP:  You can't help but respect the guy.  I mean, you hate him, but you can't help but respect him at the same time.  He doesn't give a shit about getting the people to cheer him or any of that...  but at the same time, look at the Dudleys, they came in as heels, and the people...

SD:  Now they're getting over as babies?

TP:  Oh yeah, the reaction.....

SD:  Buh Buh and D-Von are both good guys and they work their asses off.

You know, I was talking about this the other day, and I said, "Can you imagine if Paul Heyman hadn't gotten his head up his ass so far and had been able to keep this crew together?"....  look at the names:  Benoit, Saturn, Malenko, Guerrero, Douglas, Taz, the Dudleys, Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido, Tracey Smothers, Cactus and Steve Austin were in for a while.

But it came down to a point where he stopped looking at the guys... he got into the promoter double talk:  "You can make $70,000 for the pay-per-views," he'd say.  And then when you didn't get that money, he'd say, "That's a bonus, that's at my discretion."  You know, I checked around and I found out that Steve Karel -- oh, Steve Karel, what a jackass -- he's putting up money for the pay-per-views.  He wouldn't do it unless Paul agreed to pay him 30% interest over 90 days.

Now you know, that's about the margin of profit for a wrestling company... by the time the cable companies take their cut and everything, everybody gets their check from that 30%.  So now, there's no more money to give the guys.  Paul has locked himself into a corner.  He should never have mortgaged his good faith with the boys.  Cuz, I mean, for the first five years, he never bothered me once -- much as he is a liar -- and my money was always there, my checks always cleared.  We'd work in front of 30 people in Jim Thorpe, PA, and my checks would clear.

RS:  [Remembering attending two shows in Jim Thorpe]  Was that the Flagstaff...

SD:  [Chuckling, obviously remembering it was kind of a shit hole] Yeah, that place...  totally different from now where they're working in front of three, four thousand people, and it's bounce-bounce-bounce.

Alright, so he decides "I've gotten all I can out of Shane Douglas, he's been here for six years."  But how about a guy like Chris Benoit, who decided to go up north to you guys, if he even has an inkling about coming to work for you -- split time between your company and Japan, he likes Japan -- but he thinks, "Wait, he screwed Shane Douglas, and Shane Douglas was loyal to him for six years"...  so Paul, he's gotta stop mortgaging his organization that way.

I think, my opinion is that he doesn't give a shit anymore if the place closes or if he's gotta sell to Vince or go work for Vince or whatever... but I think he's got a stash of money someplace...  Paul used to pull the old gimmick -- like we haven't been around the block -- take off his shoe and start scratching his foot and go, "Man, I can't even afford a new pair of socks."  So I'm like "Come the fuck on...  you can't afford a new pair of socks?  Jesus...." [Now chuckling and getting very sarcastic]   "OK here, let me give you some money."

TP:  [Trying to switch gears]  But yeah, getting back to the new talent... we've got some guys under development contract that I think are gonna be pretty good.  They need seasoning, yeah, but they're gonna be OK....

SD:  Sounds like you guys are doing better than we are...  I mean, I get down there, work with guys who've been in the business 8, 10 years, and something as simple as trading punches.  You know, I'm thinking boom-boom, boom-boom, so I throw my punch, and there's his coming in...  so I'm like, "Don't you understand it's back and forth?"  Even simple chain wrestling stuff, they've been in the business 10 years, and they're like "I've never heard of this stuff."

TP:  [Laughing heartily]  Oh man!  That's scary stuff, pal....  that's some of the first things I try to teach them:  you know, here it is, here's how it works.  I don't want to be hurt, and I don't want to hurt you.

SD:  Yeah, it surprised me, a lot of the people who think they're really good...  you know I was talking about this on the plane here, talking about a guy -- [turning to me] sorry, I won't mention his name -- he's really bad. He's so far out there, though, he says, "I'm about to be part of the best match of the night."  And then it turns out to be a cluster -- an abortion.

I sit there and listen to this stuff, and now I'm just trying to fit myself in, sit back, and sit there and watch it.  It took me a couple different times in and out of the different places, but now I've learned my lesson....

TP:  There you go...  cuz it is a couple times, and then all of sudden, you go, "Ohhhh... wait a minute, if I just kinda chill.  Let me just get it when I can get it."  That's the truth.

SD:  It makes life a lot easier, too.  Cuz I'm such a high strung person that if I start to worry about stuff...  I mean, I was riding with somebody -- and again, he'll have to remain nameless -- but all it was was bitch-bitch-bitch.  I won't get in the car with him again.  You can be miserable and collect your check or be happy and get your paycheck.  I prefer happy.  Bitching in the car for six hours isn't changing anything, it's not making things any better or making the check any different, it's just making our blood pressure higher.  You can drive yourself crazy.

I think that's the reason I'm having so much more fun this time.  It's no stress, it's just easy.  Before, I was always one of those people, who if I saw something I didn't...  well, I'd be like, "What the fuck..." with veins sticking out and everything.

TP:  That's good, that's good...  after a while, you just learn, it's good. Things are always going to be that way, and you can learn how to be laid back and still get done what you need to get done.  You can.

With us, the good thing about now as opposed to when you were up here before [referring to Douglas' 1995 stint in the WWF] is that now...  I'm sure you're always going to have some of that head-butting, but it's not really as much of that, it's more laid back like "Well, what do you want to do?" And they get told this-and-this-and-this...  and if somebody asks "Why?" the answer is "Well, because that's the way Vince wants it."  And they go "OK, cool."

And then these sumbitches will go out and bust their ass...  and even guys like Saturn and Malenko, who we're getting to the point of trying to really figure out what to do with them.  They were a little frustrated at first, but then they realize it's gonna be OK because everybody really is getting along.  You know, it's scary almost, because you know once it's calm, there's gotta be some ripples in the water somewhere...  but there haven't been any!

SD:  Yeah, things are like that in WCW right now...  things are really smooth, and everybody's kind of feeling things out.  Vince [Russo] is feeling things out, too, trying to feel out who's gonna be his A-team. Right now, everybody's kind of getting an opportunity, there is no A-team or B-team, so everybody's busting ass and working hard...  but everybody's getting along.  So I'm thinking, "Hmmm, where's the storm coming from?"....

TP:  Well, with us, doing what I'm doing, I've been getting a bit more of a chance to see how he [Vince McMahon] thinks and operates.  He really does watch and really does take notice and will give somebody an opportunity if he can deliver.  That Benoit -- well, he was impressive always -- but that sumbitch went out there and BAM-BAM-BAM, and Vince was just like "Man, this is the guy!".

Same way with Malenko, same way with Saturn and Guerrero.  It's just the way they came in:  it's like "OK, let's see what they do."  And these guys did it.  They showed 'em.

SD:  In WCW, I sat down with Vince [Russo] and... on TV that last couple weeks, we've been doing things that are very uncharacteristic of the character.  And I was OK with that, but I wanted to just have an idea of where we were going with the character.  I'll do whatever and help you get there, but I gotta know where we're going, what road we're taking.  So we sat down, and he explain it, and now I know what we're doing and I can throw myself headlong into it...

But now I'm sitting back listening to them talk about some plans...  just the fact that they brought me back the way they did...  I mean when I was working the first time, I had to fight with them to call me "The Franchise." I own the name and everything, but they'd tell me "Oh, we don't know" or whatever.  This time, I come in, and BOOM, there it is.

Even my song, the "Perfect Strangers," last time I was here, I was like "Can we just do an updated version of it, change it around a bit?" but it was like pulling teeth.  Seven months they couldn't get it done.  This time, first week I'm here, and I haven't even asked about it, and I'm in the car, and I get a call on the cell phone, and it's Jimmy Hart.  He asks me what album that song is on because they're in the studio and want to cut it this week.  Jesus, last time it was seven months and this time, I didn't even ask for it....  and man, it sounds kick ass, changed it around just enough to avoid copyright infringement, but it sounds great.

You know what else they told me this time?  They sent me out there and told me to cuss all I want...  the first time I was there, the ringpost mic caught me saying "son of a bitch" or something like that.  I don't even know if you could really hear it on TV, but they could hear it on headset, and they told me "You can't say that, you've got a ton of heat for that."  Now they're TELLING me to do it.

They did have a meeting a couple weeks ago, and they told everybody not to cuss, because for a while it was getting out of hand and guys were doing it just to see what they could get away with.  It was getting gratuitous, so they clamped back down.  But they pulled me aside and told me because of my character, you know without the f-word and within reason, that I could go ahead and do it every time I cut a promo.  You know, that's kind of the character:  he's an intelligent guy, but he's gotta cuss because he's so pissed off at the world.

RS:  So the way things are going for you this time, you're pretty......

SD:  You know, I was doing an interview somewhere, and they said I should be working for the world belt....  but they just don't realize that I've signed a three year contract, a three year deal, and I have no interest in just shooting up like that and then shooting right back down, and then have nothing to do for three years.

I'm much more interesting in working my way up the ladder, doing an angle here, an angle there, the way I am now.  I wanted the Flair angle, I guess, cuz that's what made the most sense, but unfortunately, his shoulder's out. So the stuff they're doing with David, it's kind of....  well, when Flair's back in September, we've got some pretty well-laid out plans that I think are going to make a lot of sense to the fans and build a super amount of heat between now and then.  But yeah, my idea is I'd definitely rather do it right than do it half-assed just to get it in...

I mean, how good does it look if we go out there and he can't even throw a punch and is just going through the motions....  I tell you what though, at that last pay-per-view he chopped me harder even than Benoit did.  Man, I didn't want him to think I was backing off, but I think he stopped my heart twice.

And I gotta give him credit, for all the stuff I've railed him for for years, he's still got incredible heart in that ring.  It's unreal.  Even Hogan, he's been working hard in there, Terry has.  I think he realizes that the last image is the image you leave, and he's gonna give 'em a hell of an image.

RS:  Do you think Kidman's got anything to do with that...  I mean, he's more talented opposition than Hogan's had in a while, which helps.  Plus Hogan might just not want to get shown up by Kidman, out of pride or....

SD:  Absolutely, a big part of it is that Billy can go so well.  Exactly, it's somebody to push him.

TP:  Yeah, somebody to push his ass, light a fire under him.

SD:  In talking to Hogan -- and this time, I'm getting along with him a lot better than in the past -- so this time I was talking to him and he was telling me he's been trying hard to cut down on the "brother, brother" bit in his promos.  He recognizes that. And one week, he was keeping it under control, but there was one guy at ringside really heckling him, got under his skin, and he slipped back into character for a second.

So I mean, just by that, I know that he listens, that he has to be cognizant of the criticisms.  And when you hear that stuff, it does light a fire under your ass a bit.  You've made a lot of money and you want to justify it a bit.  So yeah, Billy can go and that helps, but Hogan's picking up his slack, too.  Flair's picking up his, everybody....  Savage....

Savage, what's the deal with that?  We did that gimmick, had a battle royal, he came in for one week, threw four guys out, and that was it.  Nobody saw him again.  That's a hell of a deal:  come in, throw four guys out...

Actually, Hogan came up to me after that, pulled me aside and told me I almost made his weekend.  I asked why, and he said the rumor around Florida is that Savage has got hair plugs.  In that battle royal, I was supposed to turn Savage around, so I reached for the back of his head, and he thought I was gonna pull his hat off.  Hogan said he thought for sure I was gonna expose it.  Thank god I didn't, I'd probably be fired, you know....

TP:  That's cool, especially with Hogan, cuz he's probably still the most recognizable man in the business.  If he wants to turn it up, that's cool...

SD:  Exactly....the thing is, even for you guys up there, it's best for us to get our company back up and solid.  I mean, Vince doesn't have any opposition, and who knows?  But we're bringing it back up...  it's gonna take a while, and some of the people in the dressing room are paranoid. It's like "Oh, did you see the numbers, we dropped .4 last week?" but they don't realize that even when you guys came up from 2 to 1, it wasn't a steady rise every week.  It was up and down, and up and down, but you look at the long-term trends.  You look at it in three months, in six month.... and if in six months, we're still doing 3.1, then we've got a problem.

I just don't think that's going to be the case.  We're on the right track. The only criticism I have of Vince's work is that he's trying to do too much....

TP:  Yeah, that could just be trying to cram too much in, there's too much to follow, and you don't remember what happened two segments ago because all of a sudden....

SD:  Well, I had to remind him, the last time they saw me, the New Blood kinda turned on me after I was given the book and fucked up royally, the Millionaires jobbed us all out, so they were pissed at me.  So then this week, they all helped me trying to get the hardcore title off of Terry Funk. I think it was Chris Candido who asked why they were helping me this week when they walked out on me last week.

We just have to make logical connections of that sort.  None of this now-I-hate-you-but-next-week-I'm-helping-you stuff.  Explain it somehow.

That's a thing....  you know for seven years I've talked about Flair, but then when we're finally gonna do the match, I didn't do one promo about Flair going into that match.  I mean, one time, they told us they were gonna have nine minutes for this segment, but Ric was gonna carry it.  I got like 30 seconds.  I asked for two mintues, and he said, "Shane, you cut a promo last week."  And I had to tell him that was a vignette, that was a pre-tape, and I didn't mention Flair at all, so it wasn't really a promo.  So I said to Vince, "I've taking about this guy for seven years, calling him a dick, shooting on him, and now going into the match, I haven't said one word." That's when he explained to me about Ric taking time off, so he didn't want to go full bore into the angle and then just drop it.  I still think it's crazy...  if you're gonna do the match up, then at least give 'em....

I mean, I watch TV, and they give the mic to some guy who can't talk very well and they give him two minutes just to get his match started.  That two minutes could have been used to help build the semi-main event of the PPV. They gave Flair a five minute promo about it, and it was stellar -- the whole "those lights, those are stars shining down on us,"  off the cuff, just wonderful shit -- and me, nothing in response.

Then one time we went out, and Russo kept the mic most of the time... I said, "I'm not saying you shouldn't have it ever, but for god's sakes, I don't need somebody to talk for me."  I mean, that's like 50% of my gimmick. I'm like Hunter in the same vein that I don't do anything spectacular.  I can't out-fly Sabu or out-high-spot Rey Misterio, but I can tell a hell of a storyline.  If you let me talk my shit, I can get heat.  If you don't let me talk my shit, then I'm just another guy getting bossed around.  You gotta give me a chance to get the people pissed off at me.

I mean, the ECW marks, they understand the heat with Flair because they heard it for seven years.  But that's like maybe 15-20 percent of our audience, if that.  The other bunch of marks, they think something like "I thought Sting was the Franchise, so why's he pissed at Flair?"  So they're spending TV time on guys who are greener than hell, instead of spending a segment on me.  I'll reproduce the promos from ECW...  wear some different clothes, look younger, call Flair a dick, challenge him to a shoot, talk about his family, all that kind of stuff.  People would look at that stuff and think, "What an asshole."

I even forgot some of the stuff I did.  Bob Ryder was talking to me about it asking if I remember this and that.  And eventually, I did remember it, and it was some pretty heavy shit, some pretty heavy stuff in there.

Eric came to me and told me some of the boys started ribbing Flair telling him he should be pissed about that, and so we started to get a little nervous and he said he didn't really want to go in that vein, go too far. So I had to tell him, "Ric, when I go through that curtain, I'm the Franchise, but back here, you can say whatever you want about me and I don't give a shit."  I mean, we're out there and we're the Nature Boy and the Franchise, and then when we're back here, we're Ric Fliehr and Troy Martin, and I know how to seperate the two.  But part of this business is trying to stir it up to the point where they don't.

ON TO PART TWO...

E-MAIL RICK SCAIA   
BROWSE THE OO ARCHIVES

Rick Scaia is a wrestling fan from Dayton, OH.  He's been doing this since 1995, but enjoyed it best when the suckers from SportsLine were actually PAYING him to be a fan.


  
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