Wrestling Interviews
These interviews were conducted by Jessica, while backstage at WWF Judgment Day. These interviews may not be used anywhere else without permission. Jessica's questions/comments will be marked with J: and the wrestlers' statements will be identified by their initials.
The Undertaker / Shawn Michaels / Triple H / Chris Jericho / Edge & Christian
J: Hey Taker, or should I call you Mark??
UT: I don't care. Most people call me Mark backstage, but it's whatever you're comfortable with.
J: Ok, well Mark, are you back full-time now or are you still recovering?
UT: I'm still training to get back to 100%. Right now I'd say I'll have another month or so until I reach that point.
J: So when is you return date?
UT: I must have confused you. I'm cleared to wrestle so I could go out there tomorrow night at Raw and fight HHH for the title. Physically I don't want to right now. There is a chance I could reinjure myself so I'm not going to do hard, long matches. I'll be involved this week a few times, but nothing too big.
J: So you will be there on Raw tomorrow?
UT: I didn't say that (winks).
J: So, where is your place in the current storylines? Are you going to keep the biker look?
UT: Yeah I have to stick with this crap for the time being. It's not a bad angle, but I liked the "Dead Man" gimmick.
J: Are you going to get a title shot in the near future?
UT: All I'm going to say is this Bad Ass will be wearing his gold in due time.
J: Not even a little hint.
UT: You'll see.
J: Are the rumors of you in the Main Event for KOTR true?
UT: KOTR is still many weeks away. A lot can chance between now and then.
J: That's pretty vague. Not even a tiny hint.
UT: Not right now.
J: Ok. I'd beat it out of you, but I don't want to embarrass you in front of your wrestling buddies.
UT: Well maybe the main event for KOTR will just be me kicking your ass.
J: Well since I would beat your ass senseless I know that's not the main event. Are you and Rock going to team up for that PPV?
UT: You really are persistant. I can't decide whether I'm more afraid not to tell you and you kick my ass, or spill my secrets and let Vince do it. (laughs)
J: I understand. So what is the long term future looking like for the Undertaker?
UT: Hopefully I still have a few more great years left in me. I'll tell you one thing, you'll never see me in the old farts wrestling home, WCW. I want to retire in the WWF. I think you may see a lot out of me yet.
J: Thanks for your time. I know you want to get to your hotel and get some rest.
UT: Rest...whats that. It's no problem. Good luck
J: Thanks.
J: Shawn, hi.
HBK: Hello.
J: You don't mind a few questions do you?
HBK: I was warned you'd be asking me some questions, so I'm prepared to answer them.
J: Great. How you feel refing the match you made famous a few years back.
HBK: I wouldn't exactly say I made this famous, but to answer your question it felt great to be back in the ring.
J: Are you coming back full time to wrestling?
HBK: No. Right now I want this to be a side project. I'm not ready to be back in the WWF riht now. I don't have enough time with my new wife and Kid, plus my wrestling school and TWA.
J: How is your back feeling?
HBK: I feel a little stiff. I've been still having a few back problems, though not as many as before the surgury. Sometimes it's hard to do ordinary things such as lifting a box or my laundry. I'm not worried though because this should be expected after back surgery.
J: So I guess this rules out the possibility of you winning KOTR this year.
HBK: (laughs) Well I didn't think I was in the running in the first place to win it.
J: You should tell Vince to toss you in the match, no one would expect you to win.
HBK: (laughs again)
J: So do you think you'll ever get back in the ring and wrestle again for the WWF?
HBK: I said I wouldn't, that my last match would be for the TWA, but sometimes I'd like to come back and wrestle HHH or Undertaker just once more.
J: If you could just punch someone right now, I mean really punch them, who would you pick?
HBK: Sometimes I'd like to punch myself for getting into this crazy sport. No, I actually couldn't think of anyone...except maybe Vince (laugh), but only sometimes.
J: Punching out the boss...every mans dream.
HBK: You could say that.
J: If the WCW paid you millions of dollars and gave you as much time as you needed off, would you consider signing a contract with them?
HBK: NO.
J: No explanation, just no.
HBK: No, I just wouldn't want to wrestle there.
J: Ok, thanks for the interview. I'll let you get out of here.
HBK: No problem. By the way, I heard you were an aspiring wrestler?
J: Yeah, trying to get here.
HBK: Well good luck. I should have you wrestle a TWA show.
J: If you need me I'd love to fly down there and wrestle.
HBK: I may set something up.
J: Thanks.
J: Congratulations on your win tonight.
HHH: Thanks.
J: So you finally got the title back. Any idea on how long you will keep it?
HHH: I'm the Game. This thing (holds up the belt) will be around my waist until I leave the federation.
J: Will you wrestle against Rock in the KOTR main event?
HHH: We'll both probably be involved, but as for one-on-one I doubt it.
J: Some people have been saying you don't deserve to have the title. What would you say to a person like that?
HHH: First I'd ask them how long they had been watching me wrestle. The people who like to say that are the ones who have been watching me long enough to see my feud with the Rock. They don't know my struggle. They don't know how far I had to come. Every Superstar has their time if they work and have the talent. This is my time.
J: Is their a feud between you and Undertaker on the horizon?
HHH: That is possible.
J: Would you be willing to get in the Hell in A Cell like Shawn Michaels did a few years back?
HHH: I'd be willing to do it, but I don't know if that will ever happen. I doubt anyone could top the HIAC between UT and HBK or UT and Mankind. I don't want to go into the Cell and have people look back on that match and think "It was a decent match, but it was nothing compared to UT and HBK".
J: When the management first brought up the idea of the Iron Man Match, what was your first reaction?
HHH: I jumped at the idea. We are always trying to come up with something new for the fans. When they asked us if we wanted to go through it (iron man match) I immediatly thought of Shawn and Bret. Could Rock and I produce a match that could come anywhere near that standard? Could Rock and I last 1 whole hour?
J: Was it harder to go into that match knowing your referee was the last man to compete in and win the Iron Man Match?
HHH: It was kinda different. I didn't have to much time to think of Shawn. I knew he'd be there watching every move Rock and I made, knowing that he knew exactly how I felt each time Rock pinned me. It was a little intimidating, but HBK is a good friend and I knew that he was pulling for us, wanting for us to deliever a good match.
J: The ending seemed a little off. Did Undertaker miss his cue or did someone else mess it up?
HHH: I'm not laying the blame on anyone. It was a number of things that hampered the ending. Undertaker did come out a few seconds late, I miss-timed a move as well as Rock and HBK. It wasn't all that noticable and I think this ending helps out more than if we pulled it through without a hitch.
J: Does this happen often?
HHH: Mistimings?? All the time. I can't think of one match where everything goes perfectly. You can plan everything out, but you always have something that's a little off. It can be the littlest things, like a footstep or an unplanned reverse. Most of the time it goes unnoticed by the crowd, but you have the occasional time. like tonight, where things just don't go exactly as planned and people will notice.
J: I have just one last question. If it's too personal you don't have to answer. What is your relationship to Chyna these days? Last I heard you were engaged, but some people are saying you are not together and some say you're already married.
HHH: Well we are still together, but as for our future I can't say right now.
J: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.
HHH: No problem.
J: Chris, hi. If you don't mind I'd like to ask you a few questions.
CJ: That's no problem. Are you the female wrestler?
J: Yeah. So you suffered a tough lose to Beniot tonight. Is there any rematches planned?
CJ: We as well as a few others are going to continuing feuding over the IC title for another month or so.
J: Are you going to get your World title push soon?
CJ: Hopefully. If I continue working hard I should be getting a push soon.
J: If the WCW offered you a huge sum of money would you come back?
CJ: Contrary to what everyone thinks, it's not all about money. Sure I'd like to get the paycheck of a Steve Austin or Rock, but that's what I'm working too. I'm happy in the WWF right now and wouldn't want to go anywhere else.
J: You have said in the past that you and Beniot both have a similar style. Can you describe it to us?
CJ: That's talking about our wrestling style. We are both brawlers. Everyone comes out here and says wrestling is fake, but the bumps and bruises, scrapes and cuts are not fake. Beniot and I go out to a match looking to beat the hell out of each other. That's our style and we use it in every match. Sure some of our moves and such is fake, but when you get right down to the core half our match is us getting the crap beat out of us.
J: A brawler huh? What's next the APA?
CJ: Well I doubt it.
J: If you could start a feud with anyone over the World Title right now, who would you pick?
CJ: I've wrestled most of the guys on the roster so it wouldn't be something new to fight them, so I'd actually have to pick the Undertaker.
J: The new Giant Killer Chris Jericho.
CJ: Yeah something like that. Sorry to cut this short, but I've got to be going. I am starving.
J: No prob. Thanks for the interview.
CJ: Sure, anytime. I'd rather be interviewed by a cute woman instead of the old men I usually get.
J: Well next time I'm in town I expect another interview from you.
CJ: Sure.
J: Anything else you'd like to tell your fans.
CJ: Keep up the good work my fellow Jerichoholics. Don't forget to buy the t-shirt...(laughs) trying to get in cheap advertising.
J: Thanks and good luck.
J: Hey guys, can I have a minute of your time. I'd like to ask you all a few questions.
E: Sure, no problem.
J: Well you guys had a great match tonight. You really pumped up the crowd at the beginning of the show.
C: Thanks we tried our best.
J: So who's next on the list?
C: For the tag titles. I'm not really sure. We have a number of Tag teams that could become our competitors at any moment.
J: Does that worry you sometimes? I mean with so many other teams out there you all could be replaced at any second.
E: Yeah, we think of that all the time. I mean you have The Hardys, Too Cool, T&A, DX, Bull and Bossman, at anytime those teams could step up and take our spots.
C: It's all about giving the fans what they want. When they get tired of our gimmick they will start cheering or booing another tag team and they will get the push. It took us a while to get here. We've been working for a long time, then all of a sudden we got our push and here we are with the tag title, just like that. But just as soon as another team comes along that has that extra spark we're out of the picture.
J: I've been hearing talks of another feud with the Hardys. Is there anything going with that?
C: We're really not sure at this point. We don't have a big longterm angle with us. We are wrapping up the feud with Too Cool so I'm not sure where we go from here.
J: So who's going to win KOTR this year? Are you all entered?
E: We really can't say who's going to win. Vince would kill us.
J: Not even a little hint.
E: Nope sorry.
J: Well what good are you then. (All laugh). Any plans of you splitting any time soon?
C: I think we're keeping the straps for a while, but after that we may both go into singles competition and give the spotlight to another team.
J: So about this new gimmick...Who's idea was it for you to turn heel?
C: It was mostly the bookers who decided it. Edge abd I knew we needed a change if we were going to stay over with the fans so the bookers gave us this gimmick.
J: Do you enjoy being the bad asses?
E: It's a nice change. Sometimes it's fun to be just a bit over the edge...no pun intended. We're not the complete heel like HHH or anything, we're just trying to keep us from becoming old in the minds of the fans.
J: How was working with Kurt Angle? Will you do it again soon?
C: Kurt is a great guy. He's a good worker and it's real easy to work with him. Hopefully we'll do it again.
J: Well before we wrap this up...I've got a camera how about inventing a new pose for me?
(they look at each other and walk a few steps away to talk. Walk back over a few second later)
E: Ok...we call this the "after a long night when we're tired and hungry and just want to go to sleep" pose.
(they fall on the ground an lay in a heap together. I took a few pictures and they stood back up)
J: (laughing) thanks guy. I guess I'll end this so you all can get your sleep and food. Thanks for the interview.
E: It's cool.
C: Yeah, good luck.
J: Same to both of you.