Courtesy: www.MondayNightMayhem.com
Former WWE & TNA superstar, “Wildcat” Chris Harris was a special guest on this past week’s live edition (01/05/09) of Monday Night Mayhem, hosted by The Big Mosh & Blade. “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” is officially presented by ReelWrestling.com: the latest & hottest innovation from the coverage of professional wrestling online, and features exclusive video found nowhere else from your favorite superstars of the squared circle (featuring an amazing set of three new videos: “The Animal” Batista & Kelly Kelly checking out a Broadway show together in New York City, as well as the new WWE Champion, Jeff Hardy & the current ECW Champion, Matt Hardy, exclusively interviewed mere hours Jeff’s Armageddon title victory) & Custom Muscle: the official nutritional & supplement company of “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” (purchase over $50.00, as part of the new 2009 “New Year, New You” MNM/Custom Muscle campaign, type in the word “GRAND,” & get 10% off your purchase…thanks to the proud owners, Charlie/Jackie Haas & Umaga), and is also sponsored by: Old Time Wrestling, The History Of WWE.com, & TicketRelief.com).
You can feel The Mayhem live & in streaming audio every Monday night (at 8PM ET/7PM CT), exclusively on The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network (www.MondayNightMayhem.com, www.ITunes.com, & www.MySpace.com/MondayNightMayhem).
Chris’ return MNM appearance is now available for free in Windows Streaming Media, or via the official Monday Night Mayhem podcast on ITunes:
January 5th Monday Night Mayhem Streaming Audio: www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/waxfiles/010509.wax
January 5th Monday Night Mayhem Podcast On ITunes: www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/jan09/010509.mp3
Here are some highlights of Chris’ first-post WWE (“Braden Walker”) interview on the show, provided by The Mayhem’s show correspondent, Dan Kriegbaum:
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The Mayhem Crew welcomed Chris to the show, and asked him what he has been up to since his release from World Wrestling Entertainment this past August. The “Wildcat” thanked the guys for having him on & said that he is “trying to recover,” get on track, & back into the wrestling world, “so we’ll see what happens.”
Mosh then asked Chris where it “went wrong,” with regards to the “Braden Walker” WWE character & if he expected to be used as “Wildcat” Chris Harris, not a “different” moniker. Chris said that when he signed, he knew he would have a different name for trademarking purposes since Chris Harris is his real name, “but when I got there they changed everything, my personality, my look, my name.” He then mentioned that he had 20 minutes before his first match on WWE television to come up with a name.
Blade & Mosh went on to ask that if Chris were to return to World Wrestling Entertainment, what would he change & why? Chris said that he would not even return to the WWE in the first place, as it was “the most miserable experience of (his) life.” On the other hand, however, Chris said that if he did not go, he would always wonder “What if?” Chris added that he would talk people out of going there if he had that chance now.
The Mayhem Crew then talked about Chris’ departure from TNA & some of the rumors surrounding it, and asked Chris to clear those up with the truth. Chris said that when he was leaving TNA, he thought he would be doing a good thing by going to the WWE after being in TNA for five or six years. He said that when he left, he never thought of being able to go back to TNA if the WWE stint didn’t work out, but “they’re not feeling the same way…because they’re a little bit more pissed off than I thought.” He again said he thought he would be doing a good thing by going to World Wrestling Entertainment, “but when I got there (for a billion dollar company), it was the most ridiculous, miserable company I’ve ever seen.”
Blade asked Chris for a little more insight on the day of his first television appearance when he had to come up with his own name, and asked if there was any direction at all, simply because it did not sound like there was. Chris then started talking about how he arrived to the TV tapings without any idea as to if he was even going to be used that night. From there, he said, sometime in the afternoon is when the whole name discussion & gear ideas came about, “which is where I got that stupid singlet,” and said by that theory, it does not look like there was any direction at all. Then, as an example, he used Ron Killings (R. Truth), as he had six weeks of vignettes before his return to the WWE, “so when he finally came out people knew who he was.” He said instead of something like that, he was just thrown out there with a completely different name & look, and expected to make it work. “These guys are supposed to be pros, it’s a billion dollar company, and for them to just throw me out there like that, I think it was set up to fail.”
Mosh mentioned how it has seemed from past experiences that those who land up signing with the WWE from TNA seem to get buried or not used properly — as seen with “The Alpha Male” Monty Brown (Marcus Cor Von), Kaz (Frankie Kazarian), among others, and asked Chris if he agreed with those beliefs. Chris said that if he admitted that, “it would be a bullsh!t excuse.” But on the same token, he said he thought he would be given a good shot, “but now that I’ve gone through the whole experience, I really don’t know…I don’t know.” Chris mentioned Killings again, saying that he even came from TNA, he originally was in World Wrestling Entertainment before that, so he already had friends there & had a good shot once he came back.
Blade & Mosh then talked about America’s Most Wanted’s run in TNA, capped off by several NWA World Tag Team Title reigns, and asked Chris that if they both went up to the WWE as a tag team, if he thinks the outcome would have been better. Chris said that we will never know, but maybe it would have worked out for the better. He said that they were told by various people that the WWE was interested in both of them, “and maybe AMW would’ve worked there, but once I got an opportunity I decided to jump on it. It could’ve been a different story if it was me & Storm, but we’ll never know…We’ll never know.”
Blade asked Chris if there was ever any talk of “repackaging” the Braden Walker character to something different after the first week or two, seeing as how it was not working out. Chris said that he had multiple meetings with the WWE Creative Team, “people in Tampa,” among others, and gave them countless ideas which they were going to use until he got to the shows. When he asked about his ideas that they liked, he was told they were “going in a different direction,” which he said was obviously no direction at all. He added that there were multiple ideas thrown around, but none of them panned out.
The Mayhem Crew then discussed the backstage segment we saw on ECW On Sci-Fi” with the now-current ECW Champion, Matt Hardy & Chris, and asked him if anything was supposed to come out of that, and/or if it was lost in the shuffle. Chris said that from what he was told, they wanted to have Matt & Chris work a little feud with one another, but it was already thrown out the window the week after that first segment. “It was just an overall frustrating experience.”
Mosh talked about “The Tennessee Cowboy” James Storm‘s success in Beer Money since Chris’ departure from TNA, and asked Chris if he has been surprised at all by any or all of it. Chris said “not at all,” as he has said from day one that if he & James were to ever split America’s Most Wanted, “he would be just as fine on his own.” He added that they are a great team, and that he is proud of their accomplishments. Chris believes that both James & Robert (Roode) are both great workers, and every time he watches them together, he “gets a chuckle.”
Many fans remember Chris’ last storyline before leaving TNA, where he was “complaining” to anyone who would listen about his lack of TV time. Chris said that there might have been a little truth to it, but it was never as bad as the promos were making it seem. He went on to say it was just simply him venting his frustrations to the writing team, and them turning it into an angle. He said that it was all blown out of proportion after not getting a good opportunity after AMW’s split, and since he was asked to do it, he did.
As a final open statement to anybody in World Wrestling Entertainment, TNA, or the fans, Chris said that he will not say what he wants to say to certain select people in the WWE, and also that he hopes that he & TNA still have some sort of working relationship in the future. He then thanked all of his fans for their continued support through the “rough times,” and that wherever he winds up, he hopes to make an iMPACT. Could that be a sign of things to come???
More in this near 40-minute interview with The “Wildcat,” including his uncensored thoughts & takes whether or not ECW is seen as an “afterthought” by the WWE, his thoughts on the current status of tag team wrestling going into 2009, the future of WWE & TNA in the new year, & so much more!
The Mayhem strongly encourages you to check out Chris’ official website, located @ www.WildCatChrisHarris.com. Bookers, feel free to contact Chris directly via e-mail @ [email protected].
*As we celebrate the kickoff of the all-new ’09 MNM season, Monday Night Mayhem is gearing up for the upcoming 2009 Wrestling Radio Awards, found exclusively at www.WrestlingRadioAwards.com. As many long-time listeners of the program know, “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” has been privileged to win several previous awards, including: the 2008 WRA “Media Interview Of The Year” w/WWE Hall Of Famer & the voice of MyNetworkTV’s “SmackDown,” Jim Ross, the 2007 WRA “Media Interview Of The Year” w/Eric Bischoff (co-hosted by The Mayhem’s National Correspondent, Scott Hudson), & the 2006 WRA “Female Interview Of The Year” w/Jackie Gayda.
Remember fans, Monday Night Mayhem has brought to you fans the most diverse booking of guests anywhere in 2008, and now is the time to make your vote count! Vote now for The Mayhem in the following categories: “Male Interview Of The Year” (“The Immortal” Hulk Hogan/Jesse “The Body” Ventura), “Female Interview Of The Year” (Brooke Hogan/Velvet Sky/Erin Murphy), “Media Interview Of The Year” (Eric Bischoff/Jason Hervey/Dennis Rodman), in addition to Host Of The Year (Mosh/Blade), Show Of The Year, & “People’s Choice.” The nomination period ends Friday night, January 23rd — now three weeks away! Vote early, vote often, vote for “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio,” Monday Night Mayhem, at www.WrestlingRadioAwards.com.
*All new & old Mayhem listeners can still check out the archived programs/shows of “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” from seven years of audio excellence. You can re-live the live on-location remotes (including The Mayhem’s WrestleMania 23 Countdown Special from Detroit’s Hilton Garden Inn), plus some of your favorite WWE superstars (Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Christian, Charlie Haas, Low-Ki, WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix, & Candice Michelle), WWE Hall Of Famers (Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Jim Ross, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, “Superstar” Billy Graham, “The Mouth Of The South” Jimmy Hart, The Iron Sheik, Tito Santana, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, Harley Race, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, & Don Muraco), the finest from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA President Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett, Terry Taylor, Jim Cornette, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, “The War Machine” Rhino, Team 3-D, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, The Motor City Machine Guns’ Chris Sabin/Alex Shelley, Eric Young, “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal, The LAX’s Homicide, Beer Money’s “Tennessee Cowboy” James Storm/Robert Roode, Matt Morgan, Sheik-Abdul Bashir, Cute Kip, “The Guru” Sonjay Dutt, BG James, Kaz, & Lance “Rock” Hoyt — along with TNA Knockouts Christy Hemme, The Beautiful People’s Angelina Love/Velvet Sky, Traci Brooks, ODB, So-Cal Val, & Taylor Wilde), Ring Of Honor’s warriors (ROH Champion Nigel McGuinness, “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, Claudio Castagnoli, & Kenny King), ECW originals (ECW’s founder Tod Gordon, “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, Raven, The Sandman, Rob Van Dam, Francine, 2 Cold Scorpio, New Jack, Axl Rotten, Lance Storm, Mike “Nova” Bucci, “The Pitbull” Gary Wolfe, & Danny Doring), some of the greatest managers in the history of our business (Percy Pringle III/Paul Bearer, “The Doctor Of Style” Slick, JJ Dillon, & the late Gary Hart), the voices that have called the sport/sports-entertainment for years (World Class’ Bill Mercer, the Mid-Atlantic/NWA’s Bob Caudle, & WCW/AWA’s Lee Marshall), the beautiful managers/valets that have graced the squared circle (Missy Hyatt, Terri Runnels, Lisa “Ivory” Moretti, Dawn Marie, Nora “Molly Holly” Greenwald, Jackie Haas), wrestling legends/personalities from over the years, past & present (Bruno Sammartino, Jerry Jarrett, Terry Funk, Dory Funk, Jr., Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “The Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan, “The Living Legend” Larry Zbyszko, Sid, Tully Blanchard, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, “Bushwacker” Luke Williams, The Honky Tonk Man, Barry “Smash” Darsow, Virgil, Diamond Dallas Page, Vader, “Nasty Boy” Brian Knobbs, Konnan, Bruno “Harvey Whippleman” Lauer, “The Wildman” Marc Mero, D-Lo Brown, Scotty 2 Hotty, David “Gangrel” Heath, Chris Kanyon, “Wildcat” Chris Harris, Nick “U-Gene” Dinsmore, Chris Nowinski, Tomko, & The Highlanders), & some of the most well-known athletes & entertainers from pro-sports, the MMA, stage, & screen, including: Dennis Rodman, Jim Kelly (NFL Hall Of Famer), Frank Trigg, Dave Coulier (“Full House”),” Dustin “Screech” Diamond (“Saved By The Bell”), Tiffany, “The Red Hot Redneck” Trishelle Cannatella, “The Mistress Of Mayhem” Erin Murphy, Frank Stallone, “Candy Girl” Nikki Ziering, Aries Spears (“MAD TV”), Gary The Retard (“The Howard Stern Show”), Greg Fitzsimmons (stand-up comedian/VH-1’s “Best Week Ever”), Jason Peter (former NFL Defensive Tackle, former Nebraska All-American, & author of “Hero Of The Underground), Erin “Steel” Toughill (“American Gladiators”), & Dan “Nitro” Clark (“American Gladiators”). All this & so much more…now available World Wide & 365 at www.MondayNightMayhem.com.
You can feel The Mayhem live & in streaming audio every Monday night (at 8PM ET/7PM CT), exclusively on The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network (www.MondayNightMayhem.com, www.ITunes.com, & www.MySpace.com/MondayNightMayhem). Monday Night Mayhem — World Wide 365…