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#Post#: 28902--------------------------------------------------
Chat with Kurt. Talks Contract, TNA, WWE & More
By: ChrissiCalvert Date: September 29, 2014, 3:56 pm
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What’s next for you in your wrestling career?
I can’t really say who I’m going with yet or what company I’m
going to sign with. I am going to sign, but I’m going to just
sign for 1 year, and that’s that. I think I’m pretty much done,
I’m just going to have the best year I can have. Hopefully it’ll
be my best year, then I’m going to retire.
When do you forsee making an announcement? Because you said
before you’d make an announcement sometime in late September.
Yeah, I don’t plan on doing anything until January, so pretty
much my contract will expire, and the next one will start in
January. My knee has a lot to do with it, with my rehabilitation
I won’t be cleared to wrestle until January.
You had said before that your contract expired this month, and
you said you don’t have an announcement regarding where you’re
going to go. What do you think you’ll be doing for the remainder
of the year? Will you appear at Bound For Glory and do more with
TNA, or are you basically done with them at this point?
I did TV’s for the next 2 months, we just recorded them last
week, so I will be doing more with TNA. My decision to go with
the company I’m going to go with, we’re going to pretty much
have a press release and set up a press conference, that will be
in the next few weeks. The contract should be done, signed, and
completed. Wherever I go, it is going to start in January, but I
will be doing some stuff for TNA. I will not be at Bound For
Glory due to contractual disputes. But the company I’m going to
go with, I’m going to give them my best year. I’m going with the
company that really wants to take care of me.
For your last year wrestling, what type of schedule do you
envision doing? Will you be full time just going completely at
it, or for select matches, part time? What time of schedule do
you forsee doing for your final year in the business?
I went with the company that was going to really emphasize what
I wanted, and that was a limited wrestling schedule. I would say
no more than 40 dates a year, that’s what I wanted, that’s where
I feel I am at in my career right now. That’s a lot of the
reason, like I said, the company that I’m signing with is a
company that really wanted to take care of me, both from a
wrestling standpoint and a financial standpoint, and I’m very
happy with it.
Now is this is a situation where you’ll be signing soon, but
haven’t yet?
Yes, the agreement has been made; it’s just that our attorneys
have to complete all of the bullcrap that goes with it. Both
sides have agreed to it, we’re just waiting for the attorneys to
dot the I’s, and cross the T’s.
When it comes to TNA’s taping schedule, did you find the recent
one kind of weird, with 2 months of TV being taped, even after
Bound For Glory. Do you find it kind of weird that you may be on
TV after your contact having expired with TNA?
I don’t find it weird, I think TNA is in a stage right now –
there a lot of rumors on the internet and social media about TNA
not having a TV deal domestically. I don’t think it’s an issue
of a network not wanting them, I think it’s an issue of where
they want to go, where they will be best promoted, where they
can expand more worldwide and internationally, with a network
that is domestic. I believe that they have a few different
offers on the table, they are just trying to be very discreet
about which one they want to go with that will be the best fit
for them.
TNA signed a deal with UTA to be their representative, and I
think it was a great move. Before they just did the deals by
themselves, and they needed someone to show them that they had
more value, and that they should be a little more choosy about
what they do. Not that Spike is a bad decision, but I think the
promotion for TNA could be better. We’ve had a great run with
Spike, and whether we continue with them or not, it’s really
about how the network can promote TNA, outside of just the TV
show.
How has management been communicating with you guys regarding
the TV deal? Because obviously there’s the extension until the
end of December, but reports have come out that TNA will not be
staying on Spike after that. Who has been communicating with the
talent regarding the status of the TV deal, and letting talent
know that negotiations are going on? Has it been Dixie Carter or
John Gaburick?
Well at the TV’s we just did, Dixie Carter and ‘Big’ John
Gaburick sat the talent down and eased their minds a little bit,
because I think a lot of the talent were a little bit confused
and nervous regarding what was going on. I had a private sit
down with Dixie, she reassured me of what was going on, and what
her plans were. It was a good meeting, it was a very positive
meeting. She just knows that the next deal that they sign really
has to help benefit TNA, in every regard.
When it comes down to it, it is about money, and it is also
about how you can get promoted on that network. I won’t say that
Spike did a bad job, but I will say that Spike could have done
better. If it is going to be Spike, and I don’t know, because
Dixie really wouldn’t say who it was, they’re going to have to
do a better job. I know that that’s where TNA is right now.
They’re in a period where they’re budgeting because they don’t
have the money from the network to pay for the TV shows. I
believe Panda Energy is funding the show right now, so yes,
we’re going to have to do TV tapings in the same city 2 or 3
days at a time until we get to the point where we can go live
again, and that will be when the TV deal is done.
You mentioned that you think that Panda Energy now are funding a
lot of the shows, to your knowledge, were Spike ever funding
part of your contract?
No, Spike was never funding my contract. It was all done through
TNA and Panda Energy. I know there are rumors that they were,
obviously due to the amount that I was getting, but I don’t
believe that Spike was funding anybody’s contract. I heard
rumors that they were funding Hogan, Sting, and myself, but as
far as I know from my perspective, I know where my paychecks
came, and they didn’t come from Spike.
What are your thoughts on Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling,
and what it might do for the business?
I think Jeff knows what he’s doing, I think he has enough
experience to start another promotion. I’ve never had a problem
with Jeff from a business perspective, I think that he can do
it. I think it’s going to be that much harder because you
already have WWE and TNA, and they’re both obviously here to
stay, at least for the next few years. I think that if anybody
can do it, it’s Jeff Jarrett.
I know that he has some great people behind him; he has a lot of
investors. I also know that he’s already been traveling all over
the world, because he knows the best way to keep a company
running is TV deals. I know that he’s been around the world and
traveling trying to nail down some TV deals, just like TNA has.
That is where most of your revenue comes from, you want to say
live events help, but if you’re not drawing a certain amount of
people, you’re not making money at live events. So when it comes
down to it, I think that TV deals are the way you are going to
make money.
Now without revealing how the conversations went with WWE, did
you get to reconnect with anybody during this period of your
contract coming up? Was there anybody you talked to there
specifically about potentially returning?
The only person that I really spoke my piece with, that I had a
lot to do with in the past, and the problems I had and the way I
left the company, I was able to speak my piece with Vince, and
I’m happy with that. As long as Vince and I don’t have any
issues, I’m okay with that. What I found out is that Triple H is
pretty much running the show now. I didn’t know that, I really
believed that Vince would always run the show until the day he
died, but now they’re in a position as a publicly traded company
where you’re not only answering to Vince and Triple H, you’re
also answering to the shareholders.
So there’s a lot of decisions they have to make not just for
themselves, but for the people that are invested in the company.
So it’s a publicly traded company, and there’s people they have
to answer to, but I know when I was there, Vince McMahon never
had to answer to anyone. He made the final decision regardless,
even when they started as a public company. Now things are a
little tougher for them to make chancy decisions. The most
important thing is that I got to speak to Vince, and speak my
piece with him, and I’m happy with that.
Even if you’re not going back to WWE, could you ever imagine
going into the Hall of Fame there? Is that something you
discussed with Vince, or no?
Yeah, like I said, I’m not going to say where I’m heading next,
but the Hall of Fame would definitely be an option; I’m not
going to count that out. It’s a big honor, it would be important
to me. Is it the most important thing? No. Obviously being
inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and
International Wrestling Hall of Fame for Olympic style wrestling
is the most important thing to me. But it is still important to
me, because I’ve definitely made a legacy for myself in pro
wrestling, and I take a lot of pride in it, I love the business.
The Hall of Fame would be nice. Would it be the end of the world
if I wasn’t inducted? No, but it would be an honor.
What were your thoughts on Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff in TNA?
A lot of things happened during that era: TNA moved to Mondays
during a brief time, they took Impact on the road. Obviously TNA
did not grow significantly during that period, but what were
your thoughts on what Hogan and Bischoff brought to the table in
TNA?
I never had a problem personally with Bischoff and Hogan. I
actually love Hulk Hogan, he’s a very good friend of mine, he
always will be. With Bischoff, I didn’t have an issue with how
he ran the show, I just had an issue with what he did with me
personally. When you have a face of a company that is most
likely getting paid a lot more than anybody else, and you reduce
him to maybe a pretape a show, or one match that is really not
significant, and you find out that your top guy in the company
is just doing jobs every week. Not that I mind doing that, but
there was really nothing behind me. With that, I kind of gave
it that ‘I don’t care’ attitude. I said, ‘They don’t want to do
anything with me, then fine, I’ll just collect my paycheck,’ and
I’m not that kind of person. So Bischoff, I thought he did a
good job, but with me? No, he didn’t. He made me lose my
passion, and that’s my fault.
When ‘Big’ John Gaburick came in, John knew the importance of
me, and he made me care about it again. I think Dixie Carter
made a great move in bringing ‘Big’ in. He knew I was the face
of the company, he knew I was a guy he needed to keep, or make
me happy. He really has done a great job, he does care about the
talent, and he has a vision. Does he have experience in talent
relations and creativity? No. But I think him getting everything
thrown at him, he’s done a tremendous job. So I applaud Dixie
Carter for bringing him in, I think he is the biggest positive
step we’ve made in the past couple of years. I think with John
Gaburick in charge, the company does have a future.
What were your thoughts on working with Vince Russo, and what
did you think of his recent secret return to the company?
I love Vince Russo, that’s my personal opinion. Vince knew my
value, he obviously made me the big topic of the show, he
evolved everything around me. Not that I needed to have that all
the time, I’m a team players so I’ll do whatever it takes to
make the show better, but Vince and I were great. I got along
with him as much as I got along with Brian Gerwitz, the writer
in WWE. I always speak highly of Vince Russo, I can’t really
speak about the issues he’s had with TNA, but my personal issues
with him have been very positive and good.
Speaking of your character, what do you think about the humor
from your character kind of going away the last few years? Like
the old tiny hat type bits, is that something you’d like to get
back to?
I hope so, I would love to do that. I loved playing that
character, but there was a time where Vince McMahon felt it was
time for me to take a more serious approach. We kind of went
away from that character, and I never really went back, and that
was Vince’s call. I’m going to respect whatever he wants, he’s
Vince McMahon. He wanted me to be more of an ass kicker, and
more of a serious character, and I understood that.
But at the same time, you don’t really have to make an Olympic
Gold Medalist, who is a legitimate bad ass, a serious character
all of the time because you can do a lot of things with that
character, because he really is a legitimate bad ass. Regardless
of whether he is a goofball or not, he’s going to go out in the
ring and get the job done. So although I agreed with Vince
McMahon on making me more serious, there wasn’t any reason why I
couldn’t go back to doing the funny stuff. I think wrestling is
kind of missing that now, and I really enjoyed that stuff, I
really did, especially with Austin.
Speaking of your comedy work, there was a lot of funny stuff
near the end of your WWE run like the bestiality angle with
Booker T and Sharmell, I always get a kick out of watching that
hype video. Also making Jesus tap out, that promo in 2006 (Kurt
laughs). For those types of promos, who was coming up with them,
and what were your thoughts on doing them?
I absolutely loved it, it’s what really makes wrestling
entertaining. Brian Gerwitz was the writer, he came up with all
of my dialog. There was a point in WWE where I couldn’t wait to
see what I was doing next; it was just so intriguing and
exciting. I have to give a lot of credit to the writers, to
Brian and the whole writing team up in WWE. They always came up
with something new and fresh, and it was exciting to be able to
do that, and it was challenging.
I was never really a goofball (laughs), I was never really a
funny person in my life until I started in pro wrestling. For
some reason, they thought that that was the direction they
wanted to go with me, and I was fine with it. It really brought
out a different person inside of me, and showed me that I could
do comedy as well as I could do anything else. So I really am
glad I did it, I would love to go back to it, I just don’t know
if it’s ever going to happen.
Some of your best work in wrestling, now with the WWE Network,
it’s all out there for the fans to see. Some of your work that
hasn’t been seen in a long time is your matches with Chris
Benoit, they’re all on the Network now, classic matches like
WrestleMania 17 and Royal Rumble 2003. What are your memories of
working with Chris, and what was your process of putting some of
those matches together? Would you wing a lot of it in the ring,
or plan a lot of it out? What was your creative process with
Chris?
Chris was a very quiet individual, he was an amazing
professional. The reason I had so many great matches with Chris
Benoit is because him and I mirrored each other. The aggression,
and the ability, it was all there. I don’t think there are two
wrestlers like him and myself; I don’t think there ever will be.
But the reason we had such great chemistry was because of our
abilities, but at the same time guys I worked with like
Undertaker, Triple H, and Stone Cold really helped me.
At the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know
about psychology, I had a very small repertoire of moves, these
guys really carried me through the matches at the beginning, and
I listened. I was just a good student; I was a student of the
game. The more they showed me, and the more I did in these
matches, the more I learned and understood psychology. By the
time I had programs with Chris, I was structuring the matches,
and Chris allowed me to.
So I’d say 50% of it was structured, and the other 50% we
improvised out there. But I pretty much put the structure
together and Chris allowed me to, which I thought was great,
that he had the faith in me even though I was just a year and a
half into the business. A guy like Chris Benoit, who I consider
to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, allowed me to
do that. It gave me security, because I was making it up, which
means the whole structure of the match was in my head all day, I
didn’t have to go off the fly. Chris I think was a better
wrestler to improvise, so the improvisation in the matches was
him, and the structure of the matches were me. When you brought
those together, you have an incredible product.
Now when it comes to MMA, obviously you said you’re retiring a
year from now, so MMA may never happen for you now, but who
would be some fantasy opponents for you in the MMA world, past
and present?
The only ones- I wish I could say now, but there’s just no
chance of me doing it now. But I’ve always wanted to fight Randy
Couture, who was one of my teammates on the Olympic team. I was
a big fan of Chuck Liddell, I would have loved to have fought
Chuck. Anderson Silva would have been a great challenge; I
thought he was pound for pound the best fighter in the world at
his peak. Obviously I’d have to lose some weight to fight him, I
would be willing to. There are so many great fighters, but I
would say the old school guys from when the popularity really
started to take off, like Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, and Chuck
Liddell.
I know this is kind of generic, but in a perfect world where you
could be in any promotion, who would you like to wrestle before
you retire?
I would say right now the wrestlers are MVP, EC3, Bray Wyatt,
Roman Reigns, definitely Rusev is one of the top ones, and last
but not least, I think we would probably have the greatest match
of all time, and that would be Daniel Bryan.
They have Jack Swagger kind of doing your gimmick right now in
WWE, so that might fit you to feud with him.
I would love to do a program with Jack, I just don’t know what
they’re doing with him, and what direction they want to go with
Jack. He’s talented, I just don’t know if he’s at the level that
he could be.
#Post#: 29081--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chat with Kurt. Talks Contract, TNA, WWE & More
By: tnafanforum Date: November 19, 2014, 3:16 pm
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Maybe he will end up going on the indys and do a world tour to
end it all .
He has done so much in wee and TNA he has nothing more to prove
to anyone
#Post#: 29083--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chat with Kurt. Talks Contract, TNA, WWE & More
By: enigma_angel27 Date: November 19, 2014, 3:28 pm
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[quote author=JP Owner link=topic=6214.msg29081#msg29081
date=1416431816]
Maybe he will end up going on the indys and do a world tour to
end it all .
He has done so much in wee and TNA he has nothing more to prove
to anyone
[/quote] If he achieve so much in WWE and TNA then if he decides
to wrestle in the indies then he can achieve a lot more on the
Indy circuit
#Post#: 29115--------------------------------------------------
Re: Chat with Kurt. Talks Contract, TNA, WWE & More
By: sharkboy1200 Date: November 20, 2014, 12:33 pm
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Rumor going around that he's sticking with TNA I believe. It's
been rumored for a while, and he's been advertised for
Destination America. Let's not forget that TNA has set-up
multiple feuds for when he's ready to get back in the ring. I
think Kurt wanted to end in WWE, but they couldn't come to a
deal. If this is going to be Kurt's last year, I'm not so sure
he wants to spend his last year as a indy circuit guy. Maybe for
seminars and stuff, but he'd want to go out bigger than that as
a active talent.
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