Category Archives: Interviews

Chris Jericho discusses his future with WWE and Fozzy

Though he’s accomplished pretty much all there is to accomplish in wrestling, Chris Jericho has come up short in his two recent attempts to take the WWE Championship from CM Punk. While the argument could still be made that Jericho is, as he likes to say, “the best in the world at what I do,” it’s hard to say what is next for him in WWE. But for someone who has transcended wrestling to find success with his rock band Fozzy, last year’s Dancing with the Stars and other realms of pop culture, it’s hard to imagine Jericho having a hard time bouncing back from these losses in some way. A showman in every sense of the word (have you seen the jackets he wears to the ring now?), Jericho is not lacking when it comes to entertainment value. With today’s announcement that Fozzy will be on this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Tour alongside the likes of Shinedown, Adelitas Way and In This Moment, we know Jericho will be away from the ring during August and September. But in this Wrestling with Pop Culture interview, he talks about his jacket, his band and his future with WWE.

Courtesy WWE

Since your return to WWE, you’ve been coming to the ring in an eleborately lit jacket. How much did Dynamo from The Running Man inspire your new jacket?

It’s funny because people say Dynamo and I guess David Hasselhoff wore a jacket similar to that when the [Berlin] Wall got torn down in ’89. But I didn’t know about any of those. The only thing that inspired me was the guy who made it has also done a lighted jacket for Alicia Keys. It wasn’t as extensive as mine, but I had the idea of this wall-to-wall spikes and studs, so we combined the two and that’s how it all came to be.

The jacket was kind of the culmination of the buildup for your return, following a series of mysterious vignettes over the course of several weeks. There seemed to be a good bit of intentional misdirection with those vignettes, implying that maybe they were signalling the return of the Undertaker or Kharma. What was the reason for all the mystery?

A lot of times you just put together some mysterious vignettes. Then it’s like, “Well, what do people take out of that?”. It’s not like we sat down and said, “OK, I want this to be that. Put this right here and put that right here.” You just have to do something vague, but with a point and a purpose. People take what they want out of it and they found a lot of clues that didn’t exist. There’s a lot of things that they’re seeing that aren’t really there.. It’s like the “Paul is dead” theory – Paul McCartney‘s dead, here’s the album cover, here are the clues. But there are really no clues, it’s just people’s imagination. People still ask me to this day, “Who was the girl?” There was no girl. It was just something we put in there to make it creepier.

Why did you have these creepy vignettes, then have this kind of goofy return where you came out with the jacket and didn’t speak for a few weeks?

I don’t know if goofy’s the right word. What it was was, the thing people wanted to see me do the most when I came back was talk. So what if I just don’t talk? What if I just do the exact opposite of what people want? What if I just keep smiling and leading cheers and never saying anything? How will people react? And each week people got angrier and angrier to the point that they were just like, “Screw this guy. Enough of this guy already.”

Courtesy WWE

I wanted something dark because the concept of it was tying into 2012 being the end of the world as you know it, because we’ve been hearing that for so long. As you drive down the road, different turns and things come up that you morph and move with it. I never planned on coming back with black makeup or anything. It was just something different to get people thinking and wondering, “What is this all about? What is the end of the world as you know it?” Which was me coming back and taking back what is mine, which led to CM Punk and all the other people that copied me.

So it wasn’t all that different from your WWE debut with the Y2J thing.

Well, that was the Millennium Man. So it wasn’t really the end of the world, it was more about me coming to save WWE. This time I was coming to take back what was mine and end it. Just something to get people talking.

I interviewed you a few years ago after a Fozzy show just days before you defeated The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to become the Undisputed WWE Champion. That’s one of many things you’ve accomplished in wrestling, but you’ve also accomplished quite a bit outside of wrestling. Is there anything in WWE or elsewhere you have yet to accomplish that you’d like to?

It’s not like I sit down and go, “There’s, like, 100 different things I want to do.” It’s all about what comes up and what interests me that I think I can accomplish. If you look at my track record, it’s all art. I’m an artist and I like being creative. When I was 12, I wanted to be in a band and I wanted to be a wrestler. Those were my two dreams and wrestling took off first, but I continue to play and write music. When Fozzy started in ’99, that was this other passion that I have. Now that Fozzy’s gotten to a higher level, you can kind of see lightning striking again. I’m very fortunate.

Dancing came from that, too. Dancing is creative, it’s show business. Writing is that, acting is that, radio is the same thing. If there’s something exciting and creative that I want to do, I’m going to do it. I’ve turned down a lot of stuff because I can’t do everything. So I just try and concentrate on doing the projects that I want to do. There’s also a certain standard of quality that Chris Jericho has established, so I have to make sure the people that enjoy what I do won’t be let down. I can’t halfass anything.

I ran into your Fozzy bandmate Rich Ward recently and he mentioned that you guys are working on a new album. When will that be out?

That will be out at the end of August and it’s the first record on our new label, Century Media, which is the first major label we’ve ever been with. We’ve kind of carved out this cool little niche where we play very heavy, but very melodic, music. It’s something a lot of bands don’t do now. It’s almost like Metallica combined with Journey or something like that. We’ve really gained a big fan base from that and we’re just continuing down that path and expanding upon that. I think people will be blown away by it. I know we are. We’re really excited about it.

Courtesy WWE

Fozzy originally had a back story about bands like Dio, Twisted Sister and Iron Maiden stealing your songs in the ’80s. Why did you decide to drop that gimmick and reveal who was really in the band?

It was just a fun thing we were doing at the time, almost like Pantera started out as a different band. After a couple of records, we realized we really enjoyed doing it and decided we should take it in a different direction. And that’s what we did. In the beginning the band was a cool, fun hobby. Then we did All That Remains, which was all our own stuff and our own personalities and characters and lives and that’s when it really started getting to the next level.

Having come up short on your two attempts to win the WWE title from CM Punk, what are you plans in WWE going forward?

I have a lot of ideas. That’s one of the reasons I came back was because I had this idea with Punk. I think people make a lot of judgments and read a lot of stuff on the Interweb that they choose to believe, but until you actually see what I have in my head you’ll just have to follow along and enjoy the ride. Don’t analyze it, just enjoy it.

For more information, go to www.chrisjericho.com.

World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus prepares to defend his title

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When I last spoke to Sheamus, he was preparing for the Halloween edition of Raw with the Muppets. But after his controversial 18-second victory over Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXVIII for the World Heavyweight Championship, Sheamus now has much more serious things to think about as he prepares to defend the title in a 2-out-of-3-falls match this Sunday at Extreme Rules. But even with that rematch just days away, he takes a moment to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about becoming World Champion, WWE‘s influx of indie talent and being related to a Muppet.

On Halloween we found out you and Beaker are actually related. How’s he been doing lately?

He’s done really well with that movie. He’s a big movie star now since The Muppets came out, so right now he’s riding high and has a bit of an ego. We’re kind of not talking at the moment. He’ll calm down in a couple of years and give me a call when he needs some money or something.

Speaking of movies, WWE Studios has been releasing a lot of movies starring WWE wrestlers. Do you think you’ll ever star in one of those movies?

Sheamus celebrates his Royal Rumble victory. Courtesy WWE

I’d like to think so, definitely. That’s something I’d love to do and I already had a hand in it before I came to WWE with a small role in The Escapist. As long as it doesn’t interfere with my schedule in WWE, I’d be very happy to do it.

You won the WWE Championship very early in your WWE career and now you are the World Heavyweight Champion. How do you think the two titles compare?

I think both titles have serious lineage and history behind them. Both are a great honor to hold. I held the WWE Championship twice and I’ve always wanted to be the World Heavyweight Champion. When I won the Royal Rumble in January, there was no doubt in my mind I was going to challenge whoever the World Heavyweight Champion was because it’s a title I’d never held.

You defeated Daniel Bryan for that title and the current WWE Champion is CM Punk. Both of them were celebrated indie stars who are now having success in WWE. There are several more guys like them coming up in WWE. How do you feel about this influx of indie talent?

I think it’s fantastic. These guys have a love for what we do and have watched it since their childhood, like myself. They’ve gone through the independents on their own and made a huge name for themselves. A lot of people don’t know that myself, Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre were also on the indies, so I think it’s great. If you watch Daniel Bryan, he’s a tremendous superstar and talent, just like Punk. They’ve created niches for themselves and it just shows that the company is going in the right direction. There’s a lot of exciting and hungry new talent coming through and it’s a make-or-break competition.

When you were on the indies in Europe with Barrett and McIntyre, how did WWE discover the three of you?

They do TV there twice a year and we had tryouts every six months. We kept our skill up, we kept our level up and we kept getting experience in the independents and we got signed in April ’07. It’s been a phenomenal five years and I can’t believe how much I’ve accomplished.

For more information, go to www.wwe.com.

Cody Rhodes sets his sights on the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships

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In my last interview with Cody Rhodes, the son of the “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes was confident he would defeat “The World’s Largest Athlete” the Big Show to retain his Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII. Not only did Cody lose the title to his much larger opponent, but he’s since gone on a losing streak thanks to Show‘s humiliating distractions. But having retained the Intercontinental title against challengers such as Ezekiel Jackson, Sheamus, John Morrison and Booker T, Rhodes cannot be underestimated as he looks to regain his title this Sunday at Extreme Rules. But in this quick interview with Wrestling with Pop Culture, Rhodes reveals his intentions to challenge for one of WWE‘s more prestigious titles in the near future.

Courtesy WWE

Having elevated the status of the Intercontinental Championship to its former glory, what are some of your post-WrestleMania goals in WWE?

It’d probably be best to look at them in the short term because I’ve been looking at things long term in WWE. I’ve been the Intercontinental Champion, I’ve done things that I wanted to do with that title and I feel like we’re still going somewhere with it. But I feel like this is the year that I step into a different picture, I step into the World title picture or the WWE Championship picture.

You recently referred to the Ultimate Warrior when talking about holding the Intercontinental Championship while challenging for a bigger title. Is that something you foresee yourself doing?

I would love to. I talked about being a dual champion a few months ago and that would mean a lot for the Intercontinental title. I’m not sure if I can handle all that stuff. That thing in your bag is a pain, it’s heavy, it never makes it through TSA. I couldn’t imagine having two of them.

Who do you think would be worthy of further elevating the status of the Intercontinental title?

Honestly, it could be anyone from a young group or an older group. If it’s somebody from the younger group, I’d probably say it’s Justin Gabriel. I think there’s a lot for him to showcase that we haven’t seen. If it was somebody from the older group, I’d say it’s my brother, Goldust.

For more information, go to www.wwe.com.

WWE’s Big Show talks about his current career goals

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With his win over Cody Rhodes last month at WrestleMania, the Big Show exacted revenge for the embarrassing video packages of Show‘s less-than-stellar WrestleMania history Rhodes had been airing. But with this victory, the man billed as “The World’s Largest Athlete” also became the Intercontinental Champion for the first time in his decorated career. As he prepares to defend that title in a rematch against Rhodes this Sunday at Extreme Rules, the Big Show talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about his current goals in wrestling and helping younger Florida Championship Wrestling talent become the next generation of WWE superstars.

Prior to WrestleMania, the Intercontinental title was the only current title you hadn’t held. At this point in your career, is there anything else you have yet to accomplish that you’d like to do?

Courtesy WWE

There are a lot of things I still want to accomplish in my career. It’s funny, I don’t have a room full of trophies and titles and magazines and action figures and all that stuff. I think there’s a room in my house where my wife has all that stuff boxed up, but I’m still looking for next week’s show, next week’s event, next month’s event. I’m still having too much fun performing. I think I’m actually doing a better job now than I’ve done my entire career as far as in-ring performance, promo ability and all that stuff, so I’m still having fun. As long as I can stay on the active roster and stay competitive, I don’t see myself doing anything else.

As far as goals, I just want to help make the business better than it was when I came in. That’s all I can do. I don’t have any wisdom for you. Sorry, buddy. I’m a working man.

Is there anyone you haven’t faced or have yet to defeat that you’d like to face?

I’ve never been really big on the win-loss thing. I’ve probably had a couple thousand matches and I couldn’t tell you how many I’ve won or lost. I can’t tell you what I did four weeks ago. But there’s a lot of new up-and-coming talent from FCW and a lot of up-and-coming talent on our current roster I wouldn’t mind getting in the ring and rolling around with because someday they’re going to be pretty big stars themselves. It’d be nice to be able to say I’ve been in the ring with those guys. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been in the ring with a lot of the most fantastic stars this business has ever seen, and some of the new talent coming up looks pretty amazing, too. It’ll be fun to get in there and rock ‘n’ roll with them a little bit.

Is there anyone in particular you’d like to mention?

Ah, you’ll see.

For more information, go to www.wwe.com.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund still uses his quick wit in WWE

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During the ’80s and ’90s, “Mean” Gene Okerlund‘s distinct voice and dry sense of humor were almost as important to wrestling as what went on inside the ring. From his backstage interviews with the likes of Hulk Hogan, “Ravishing” Rick Rude and “Macho Man” Randy Savage to his ringside commentary that was just as colorful as his longtime partner Jesse “The Body” Ventura‘s attire, Mean Gene was a fixture in the World Wrestling Federation of the ’80s and

Courtesy WWE

World Championship Wrestling of the ’90s. Often referring to his interviewees and other celebrities as his “close personal friends,” Okerlund was at least partially responsible for making wrestling a mainstream success during those decades. A member of the 2006 class of the WWE Hall of Fame, Okerlund is still seen on WWE TV on occasion, most notably on WWE Classics On Demand. In keeping with the “Blast from the Past” theme of this week’s Super SmackDown Live, here’s a Wrestling with Pop Culture interview with Okerlund from this year’s WrestleMania Axxess. And in true Mean Gene fashion, the interview begins with him asking me, “These are only going to be personal questions, right?”

If you want them to be. We are close personal friends after all.

Of course!

Well, I won’t get too personal. But as one of the most influential interviewers and commentators in WWE history, what do you think some of today’s commentators could do to connect with the wrestlers and fans the way you did?

If they do what I did, I took a whole bunch of people – I took Bob Costas, Henny Youngman and maybe a snake oil salesman – and tried to combine the three to develop my own style. I think that’s what these guys that are coming up in the broadcasting end of WWE need to do is create their own characters.

Do you still have your fast food chain, Mean Gene’s Burgers, out west?

I do. As a matter of fact, we stopped at a couple of them recently when we were in Palm Springs, California. But they’re mostly in military installations worldwide.

Do you think we’ll ever see those throughout the rest of the country?

It’s a lot of work. The product’s good and it’s very healthy, it’s trans fat-free and more nutritional because of the way it’s cooked.

Aside from fast food and appearing at WrestleMania Axxess, what’s your role with WWE these days?

Courtesy WWE

I spend six or eight days a month up in Stamford, Connecticut and other assorted places where I do mostly the WWE 24/7 and Classics On Demand.

With the upcoming WWE Network, do you think we might be seeing more of you soon?

That’s pretty tough to tell at this juncture. I wouldn’t mind it, but I’m not going to travel 250 days a year either. Unless I get a chance to work with the divas. That’s a whole new ball game. Back in the day, I got to work with Mae Young and Moolah.

You also had Miss Elizabeth.

Miss Elizabeth was always taken. But she was a great gal and a great talent. I don’t know if she was ever appreciated as much as she should have been. Big loss for all of us.

Absolutely. Well, I appreciate your time today.

OK. Now which one of you guys pays me?

The guy with the WWE logo on his shirt.

Do we have a problem?

Daniel Bryan defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus in his first WrestleMania match

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Whether you like him for being an underdog champion or hate him for stooping to such tactics as putting his diminutive girlfriend AJ in harm’s way in order to keep his title, you have to respect the fact that Daniel Bryan has overcome a lot of obstacles on his way to his current World Heavyweight Championship reign in WWE. From wrestling around the world as a top indie contender to his tumultuous relationship with his NXT mentor The Miz to overcoming giants like Mark Henry and the Big Show to retain his title, Bryan has been a bit of an indie hero since entering WWE’s ranks. In a somewhat odd twist of fate, he finds himself in one of WrestleMania XXVIII‘s main events defending that title against Sheamus, the same man he faced in the WrestleMania XXVII dark match for the United States Championship last year. As the man previously known as Bryan Danielson gets closer and closer to the biggest match of his career to date, he talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about his rise from indie wrestling obscurity to World Heavyweight Championship gold. If you’d rather listen to the interview, check out the March 21 edition of Ringside Rap.

Courtesy WWE

Last year at WrestleMania you were the United States Champion in what was basically a dark match against Sheamus that devolved into a battle royal. How does it feel to be going into this year’s WrestleMania holding the World Heavyweight Championship in one of the main events against the same opponent?

It feels really vindicating that both me and Sheamus for the past year have really stepped up our games to be at the point we’re at now, to be in a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania. Last year was such a bitter disappointment that we weren’t on the actual main show because I really felt that, if we had been given the opportunity, we really could have done something to steal the show. This year that’s what we intend on doing. I absolutely intend on, for my first WrestleMania match, to go out there and steal the show.

I didn’t even think about the fact that it will be your first WrestleMania match.

Yep.

I talked to you briefly last year at the WrestleMania Art Auction when you were still the U.S. Champion and I remember asking you if you thought holding that title was a stepping stone towards bigger opportunities in WWE. You’ve obviously had bigger opportunities since then and you’ve overcome some big obstacles as the World Heavyweight Champion. As you return to Atlanta for Raw less than week before WrestleMania, do you know what your role on that show will be?

You never know what’s going to happen at Raw. You literally never know. You show up having no idea what’s going to happen or what you’re going to do. But I can only assume it’s going to be a huge show and there will be big plans for everybody because that is the last Raw before we head into ‘Mania. That’s always one of the most exciting, unpredictable shows of the year.

Like I said, you’ve overcome some big obstacles as champion, but Sheamus is a little different opponent than the Big Show or Mark Henry. How are you preparing for him at WrestleMania?

I prepare for him the same way I prepare for everybody. I keep doing my grappling, my kickboxing and all that kind of stuff. The thing with Sheamus is he’s tough to keep down, he keeps coming at you and he hits very, very hard. But he’s also kind of an idiot. So if you can goad him into doing something stupid, he’s bound to do something like that if you can take advantage. I wrestled him on SmackDown six weeks ago and I goaded him into doing something stupid. You can just get away with things like that with people like Sheamus.

Courtesy WWE

A lot of people said last year’s WrestleMania was a changing of the guard because a lot of the matches featured veterans facing younger guys. But this year, your match included, WrestleMania is relying on the vets to carry the card. You’ve only been in WWE for a few years, but overall you have a lot more experience as a wrestler than a lot of the other people. How do you feel about this year’s card and your spot on the card?

It’s definitely an exciting card, but I’m ultimately a little disappointed that it isn’t trying to establish new stars more. Hell in the Cell is going to be awesome with Triple H and the Undertaker. Rock and Cena is going to be an amazing atmosphere. But come April 2, those guys aren’t going to be on the road full time. Those aren’t going to be going on the European tour with us. Those guys aren’t going to be doing all that kind of stuff. This is really the biggest WrestleMania of all time, so for them to be more highlighted than some of the younger guys who are going to be continuing on the wrestling tour, it’s kind of unfortunate. I would have liked to have seen Undertaker wrestle somebody from my generation. That would have been cool to see somebody from my generation to take on the Undertaker and potentially beat him. That said, this year’s WrestleMania card is stacked. It’s just going to be an awesome show, but from a performer’s standpoint I wish there were more younger guys getting opportunities.

On the same token, you and CM Punk have become these unlikely indie heroes as the two main champions in WWE over the past few months. A lot of people thought that you especially would not still be champion by the time WrestleMania came around. From that perspective, how do you feel about guys who aren’t necessarily new, but are still somewhat new to WWE, getting a bigger spot?

It’s interesting because CM Punk has been with WWE since 2005 and came up on TV in 2007. He’s been in some big matches and he’s been in some big WrestleMania matches. So this isn’t his first rodeo. He has earned his spot being in the WWE Championship match. For me, it’s honestly been a dream come true. I honestly did not think after WrestleMania last year that I would be anywhere near the position I’m in this year. It’s one of those things where it’s a real true blessing and I feel very fortunate to be in this spot. There are a lot of guys who haven’t gotten that opportunity, so it’s interesting. Me and CM Punk wrestled each other in front of about 35 people in a 45-minute match in 2005. The two current top WWE champions – the WWE Champion and the World Heavyweight Champion – seven years ago wrestled in front of 35 people against each other. To me that’s just incredible that now we’re going to be on the same show as the champions wrestling in front of close to 80,000 people.

Ring of Honor recently released a best-of DVD, Bryan Danielson: The American Dragon, that features a match between you and Punk, among a lot of other matches. What did you think about Ring of Honor showcasing your career prior to going to WWE?

I think that’s awesome. They actually sent me a link to it and the matches that are on there and everything and I thought, “Oh, OK. That would be kind of like the best matches I had in my Ring of Honor career.” It wasn’t. It was just the best matches I had up until 2005. So they must be planning on releasing another one, too. There’s another huge gap of matches that weren’t on there that should be on another one. I think it’s cool and I think it’s important that they capitalize on my success and CM Punk’s success because you need places like Ring of Honor to develop the new stars. Me and Punk are as good as we are because we honed our craft in Ring of Honor in front of those hardcore fans who wouldn’t accept anything less than our best efforts. You need a place like that for new stars to come from.

I look forward, when I watch the Ring of Honor shows, to see who’s going to be next to come up to WWE. Right now under developmental contract is Seth Rollins, who wrestled in Ring of Honor as Tyler Black. He did amazing last weekend. He came up to the live events and did a dark match on Monday and everybody was like, “Wow! This guy’s really good.” That’s something I knew from the beginning, but he needed that opportunity to showcase it.

Since you keep talking about giving younger guys a chance, assuming you’re still the champion after WrestleMania, and with the recent influx of Ring of Honor and other big indie guys in Florida Championship Wrestling, is there anyone on the current WWE roster or in FCW that you’d like to have a shot at your title?

It’s funny because I talked about giving younger guys an opportunity, but deep down there are still guys that I’m a fan of. These are the guys that when I was growing up I watched and thought were amazing. I would love to be in a program where I was wrestling Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship. That doesn’t seem likely, but that would be so much fun. I’d love to be able to wrestle the Undertaker. The Undertaker appeared on WWE TV when I was, like, ten years old. Being able to wrestle him for the World Heavyweight Championship would be awesome. Or guys like Triple H and all that kind of stuff. All of that would be amazing, but I would love for Seth Rollins, for Dean Ambrose, who wrestled in the indies as Jon Moxley, Antonio Cesaro, who was in Ring of Honor as Claudio Castagnoli, I would love for those guys to come up shortly after WrestleMania and give them opportunities for the World Heavyweight Championship for people to see what those guys can do. They’re really incredible.

Of course Chris Hero, now known as Kassius Ohno, seems to have made a nice debut in FCW recently.

I haven’t seen his debut, but I can’t wait to see it. I’m going to try to find it on YouTube.

For more information, go to www.wwe.com.

Cody Rhodes readies himself for the Big Show at WrestleMania

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At WrestleMania XXVII, Cody Rhodes had one of the best matches of his career in front of his home-state audience against one of WWE‘s smallest competitors, Rey Mysterio. This year, Rhodes goes into WrestleMania XXVIII in Miami as the Intercontinental Champion to face a man billed as “The World’s Largest Athlete,” the Big Show. Friction has been building between Rhodes and the Big Show since Show eliminated Rhodes from the Royal Rumble in January. But over the past few weeks, Rhodes has been determined to embarrass Show by pointing out his lackluster showings in previous WrestleManias, while continuing his campaign to restore the Intercontinental title to the prestige it once held. Before he takes on the biggest challenge of his career, Rhodes talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about the Big Show, Goldust and returning to Atlanta for the final Raw before WrestleMania. You can also hear the full interview on the March 19 edition of Georgia Wrestling Now.

Last year WrestleMania was in Atlanta, your proverbial back yard. This year it’s in Miami, but the last Raw before WrestleMania will be in Atlanta. What do you have planned for that show?

With WrestleMania on the horizon and a one-on-one contest with the Big Show – last year it was with the smallest guy, this time it’s with the biggest guy – I’m sure I’ll be doing my damnedest to get under the Big Show’s skin. I’m a firm believer in what I’ve said about him. The Big Show is one of WWE’s top performers, but his WrestleMania moments haven’t exactly been immortal moments.

I definitely think you’ve gotten the best of him so far by showing him at the WWE restaurant and all that kind of stuff.

That’s the best one. Yeah.

Courtesy WWE

I guess a big question for me is, why did you choose the Big Show? Your brother Goldust was doing a Twitter campaign to face you at WrestleMania for the Intercontinental title, so why did you choose to go after the Big Show?

I’d love to work with Goldust. I’d love to stand across the ring from him and find out more about my brother. But it just happened to be that the Intercontinental title is very much in need of its moment at WrestleMania. I set out to bring it back to where it was, and I don’t actually know if I’ve done that. But I know going against one of WWE’s top names perhaps of all time, the Big Show, puts it in a position for me to maybe do that. That’s why I shifted to myself and the Big Show. If I knock off one top guy after another, the Big Show is on that list.

I don’t recall the Big Show having ever held that title before, but I know Goldust has held it and is considered by some to be one of the best Intercontinental Champions of the past few decades.

That’s actually the one title Show has not held. When I heard that I was a bit in disbelief. As far as things are concerned with Goldust, I wouldn’t count out me and him ever competing against one another. Certainly I can see that down the road. He’s had some shoulder problems and safety is a number one concern. I’d love to remain the Intercontinental Champion after WrestleMania and I’d love to follow up on all these things he’s brought down on me on Twitter and get in the ring with him, certainly.

Like you said earlier, last year your WrestleMania opponent was one of the smallest guys (Mysterio) and this year it’s the biggest guy. You’re not necessarily one of the bigger guys on the roster, so what are you doing to prepare for a match with somebody the size of the Big Show?

Well honestly, I’m not one of the bigger guys on the roster, but if you really take a look at the roster, I’m actually pretty close to one of the bigger guys on the roster. I’m not as tall as Randy [Orton], but I weigh about the same. I actually will say that I was concerned with the Big Show. I’m looking at him and I think he’s 400 pounds. If I’m going to be in the ring with him, I want to be as big as I can be. One of the things I’ve started implementing is high volume workouts, which is lots of sets, lots of reps, high carb, high fat, high protein, low sugar. So I’ve actually got a nice little diet written out for this thing. I didn’t want to show up too small.

I’m trying to remember now, have you ever faced the Big Show one-on-one?

No. I have yet to compete one-on-one against the Big Show. I’ve had tag matches and fatal four-ways, and there was an incident where there was an Armani three-piece suit I had worn for a long time and he ripped it to shreds on one of the pay-per-views in 2011. So we’ve had a brief, brief history, but we’ve never actually mixed it up on a fair one-on-one scale.

Last time I talked to you, you pointed out that WrestleMania XXVII was a changing of the guard of sorts with a lot of the more established guys facing a lot of the younger guys. This year’s card seems to be relying heavily on the more established guys, and in your match in particular the Big Show has a lot more experience than you do. How do you think your match stacks up against the rest of the card?

I think you don’t really know until WrestleMania is said and done and in the books what matches really captivated you. There are matches that are positioned to really captivate you: The Rock/Cena, Triple H/the Undertaker. Those guys, a hundred percent of the time, deliver. But that’s the beauty of WrestleMania. I feel it stacks up very well and I feel that there’s a lot of people that for a long time wanted to see the Intercontinental title genuinely defended on WrestleMania. Prior to the WrestleMania in Orlando, which was, I think, a three-minute match with Rey Mysterio and JBL, the title had not been defended on a WrestleMania since X8. For me that’s one of the more important things, so I think it stacks up well.

Another thing we talked about a lot last year was your history in Georgia with your father, Dusty Rhodes. With the Four Horsemen and Ron Simmons being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year – especially the Four Horsemen with your father’s history with them – what is it like to be part of the WrestleMania where those guys are also being inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Every WWE superstar and diva has so many appearances, then WrestleMania is Sunday and the Hall of Fame runs deep into the night usually. Sometimes you look at it and say, “If they could do it on Friday…” But once you’re there, once you’re in the seats and watching the Four Horsemen being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Ron Simmons being inducted, Mil Mascaras being inducted into the Hall of Fame, that’s motivating, I don’t care how late it goes into the night, just to see those little clips that our team put together of the Four Horsemen. That’s the best thing that can happen at WrestleMania, and it’s extremely motivating.

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