Ken Shamrock Interview

The following are highlights from a recent interview with former WWE Superstar and UFC Hall Of Famer Ken Shamrock:

On Vince McMahon versus Dana White as businessmen: 

“Vince McMahon is the type of guy that if you’re doing business for him, he’ll pat you on the back and be nice to you, but you know where you stand. Either you’re making money for him or you’re not. And that’s the way it is. He never lied to me, not that I know of… You can take someone that Vince didn’t like, If he found a way to make money with him, he’d put him on the show. It was about business. He would find a way to make it work. Like he did with Bret Hart. They didn’t get along for the longest time. But Vince knew he could use him to make money and Bret knew he could make money. So even though at times they weren’t on the same page, they still did business. That’s what Dana lacks. He doesn’t know how to put aside his feelings and not take everything personal and do business even with people you don’t like.”

On why he was never WWE Champion: 

“To this day, I don’t know. I thought when I was doing the angle with the Rock… and he went on after I ended up getting the (intercontinental) belt, he ended up going on and facing Stone Cold and some of the other guys and ended up getting the belt, I thought I would move up and go after him because of what we had done prior to that… it just never flourished. It seemed like I went in the other direction. I thought I did everything right, that I was in a good position to make those moves. I really don’t know.”

On being snubbed by UFC regarding their 20th anniversary: 

“There’s a lot of guys not involved. If you look at the history of the UFC prior to Zuffa, it’s almost like they’re banished… Just look at some of the guys out there that were really fighting four times in one night, bare-knuckled, no rules. It really made the UFC and the grounds of the UFC to be what it is today. Today, it’s a little more sanctioned, but really was raw and it really was guys that were put in there, putting it all on the line, for no money. But you don’t see any of these guys being recognized. You don’t see any of these names- I saw Don Frye at a fight the other night, and he was sitting out in the audience. He wasn’t even inside the cage. It breaks my heart when I see these things because all these promoters walk around with these nice little suits on, acting like they’re big shots, and they’re inside the ring. And you have some of these young fighters, who are up and coming, in there trying to promote the next fight, you’ve got celebrities on the inside, all the fine ladies on the inside. Then you got guys like Don Frye, myself, and a few other guys, sitting outside the cage… none of these people would be walking around thinking they’re big shots if it wasn’t for those guys who put it all on the line, because they loved what they did. But we don’t show them any love. It’s like they completely forget about the past and move forward. They suck it dry, keep doing the things they want to do, but don’t remember the past.”

JIM ROSS BLOG

The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

On Chris Benoit questions: 

“Funny how Chris Benoit questions to me run in spurts. I haven’t changed my take on the Benoit into the WWE HOF quandary. Chris doesn’t belong there. End of story. If inducted, it would all be about the last few, horrific hours of Chris’ life and that would not be fair for the family’s that were affected, the other inductees, or the fans. For those fans who loved Chris’ in ring work, and I consider myself one of those, then watch him on You Tube, etc and call it a day. I do not speak for WWE on any topic but I’d be surprised to see Chris any more prominent on WWE content in the future than he is now.”

On Chris Benoit’s son getting into pro wrestling: 

“As for Chris’s son wanting to get in the pro wrestling business, I have mixed emotions. My gut says stay away, learn a trade, get educated and lead a normal, productive life. One the other hand, I’m not big on telling anyone to not attempt to live their dreams just as I did.”

On Brock Lesnar’s role at WrestleMania XXX: 

“I look for Lesnar to play a major role in WM30 in New Orleans but in order to max out Brock’s box office appeal his TV persona really needs structured attention and to get ‘hot’ before April. Not overexposed….just get the Hereford Bull hot.”

Who Will Be The Next WWE Champion?

WWE published an article were their editorial staff provides predictions on who the next WWE Champion will be. Featured Superstars include: Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Ryback, Bray Wyatt, Antonio Cesaro, Big E Langston and Roman Reigns - who is depicted holding the WWE Championship. 

Hulk Hogan Interested in WrestleMania XXX Return

Hulk Hogan mentioned to an Philadelphia ABC affiliate during an autograph signing last week that he is interested in returning to WWE for WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

"I would love to be at WrestleMania XXX. I would love to have a ringside seat. But, the truth is I need a job. I quit TNA. I've just been hanging out on the beach. Never say never." 

When asked if he could still wrestle, Hogan said "right guy, right venue, and right payday." The Hulkster also noted that he may "Hulk up." 

"I don't think I can wrestle too much anymore, but just being around the business and helping and being part of it is pretty cool," Hogan said. 

As noted earlier, Hogan has been “training like a mad man” in hopes of wrestling again for WWE. 

Buff Bagwell Interview

The following are highlights from a recent WGD Weekly interview with former WCW star Buff Bagwell:

On TNA and his talks with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff this past summer: 

“I went down to the Burnett Center when they were here; I just wanted them to see me. I called Eric and said ‘do you mind if I come down to see you guys at TNA,’ he said, sure, come on down. So, I walk in the back…looking like I’m looking, looking like Buff Bagwell again…I walk in and Hulk Hogan walks all the way over to me and I feel eyes burning holes in me, and Hulk walks up and goes to me, ‘why are you not working for us?’…I said, ‘well, that’s kind of why I am here’…He said, ‘Dude, you’re one of the only few guys left that we could bring in and not have any heat, and he didn’t realize what he had said. I said, ‘Do you know why that is?…Because I don’t have any friends, he started laughing and he said, ‘you know, you’re right…if we brought in you, nobody would complain about it. I said it’s because I don’t have any friends in the business, I have a few friends, but none that would get heat for it. So he said, dude, who has got your number? I said, Eric Bischoff has got my number, so I got texts on my phone right now, that I could send you…Eric Bischoff texted me, and he was excited, and I was excited…then the Main Event Mafia thing started happening, I thought I’d fit into that or Aces and Eights possibly and I have heard nothing and they knew exactly where I am at and exactly how to get in touch with me…Eric was saying positive things…I don’t get it…just let me go out and be over again, I can be the biggest heel or the biggest babyface if they would just let me, but they won’t let me and I don’t know why.”

On his brief run in WWE: 

“I was the first match of the Invasion…why would they put Booker T. versus Buff Bagwell in Tacoma, Washington…we’re main event on Raw…and it ain’t good. They could wait seven days and put this in Atlanta…instead we got booed out of the building in Tacoma, Washington and we had a bad match, double whammy, you know…If you’re asking me, they already knew that they were done with WCW, they just were gonna make us the sacrificial lambs to end it…all they had to do was wait a week and Booker T and Buff Bagwell get over in Atlanta, instead we got buried in Tacoma…they had a gold mine with WCW, forget Buff, they had a gold mine…Sting, Luger against the Rock, Stone Cold, it was endless…you could’ve gone on and on with that for wrestling fans, for wrestlers, you could’ve gone on and on, but instead they just beat us all and sent us home.”

On his WWE release: 

“They waited to fire me in Atlanta, why even make me come down there? Make me drive down to Phillips Arena to fire, my god, how brutal is that? I don’t know if they hadn’t figured it out totally or what, I think they had…I think they already knew they were done with us and were gonna put us on the shelf and they did so.”

On the backstage scene in WCW during their final year in business: 

“It was absolute mayhem, it was just a bad train wreck that nobody could fix when Russo came in…Russo had everybody going in different directions and then they figured out that Russo didn’t know what he was doing and they bought Bischoff back, and then they tried getting Bischoff and Russo to work together…Bischoff had his guys…and Russo had his guys…and you could always tell who was running things by who was getting pushed…I got to visualize it all when it went down and there was just nobody that was gonna fix it.”

On returning from a broken neck as a heel instead of a babyface in 1998: 

“It was a gigantic deal, they could’ve made me the next biggest babyface in the world, dude, I had 50,000 letters sent to me in the hospital, I had Desert Storm guys would touch my picture before they went out to battle…I was over, big time…they could’ve made me the next biggest superstar, instead they turned me heel and the people didn’t like it, it burned them. My parents were physically upset about it…I knew what they were doing was wrong, but …they pay my bills, I can’t tell Eric, ‘hey, Eric, I’m not gonna do that,’ but it was Eric’s idea and he wanted to turn me heel and basically it took a crap on 50,000 people that were praying for me.”

On joining the nWo and becoming “Buff” Bagwell: 

“Kevin Nash is the first one to speak up for me. Eric Bischoff was not a big fan of mine at first, he kind of didn’t like me…Eric wasn’t with it at all, he said I don’t get it, you all are crazy…in Salisbury, we had a Nitro and they had me come out and join the now and it was a big deal, bro…on the flight home we were trying to figure out a name …and of all people it was Nick Patrick…he said what about Buff, and everybody just stopped and went ‘that’s it, that’s perfect, so that was it Buff Bagwell it was born, it was created and there it went.”