Today’s episode of The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling is dedicated to the memory of ECW Original, Balls Mahoney. John and Chad are joined by their long time friend PJ Polaco AKA Justin Credible to discuss many topics in a follow up to last Summer’s appearance including his retirement from the ring, current WWE happening and of course his run in ECW as World Champion and some of the greatest moments of a truly incredible career.
Below are some interview highlights, H/T to John & Chad for the transcription.
On the death of Balls Mahoney:
It’s very sad. I feel sorry for his family. We were a little close, however and without a doubt Balls was really cool and please God rest his soul.
Life after his in ring retirement in November 2015:
It sucks quite frankly. Once you have that wrestling bug in you it’s real hard to get away because that’s what I do. Since I was out of high school I was a professional wrestler. I graduated High School at 17 years old and I worked at a Stop and Shop as a bag-boy for like a year and I saved up enough money to go to Calgary to train with the Harts and had my first match ironically enough on my birthday October 16, 1992 was my first deal and my second ever match was against Chris Jericho which is pretty funny.
Rumors that he recently came out of retirement at an Indy show and why he went on a retirement tour:
The angle I did over the weekend where basically I was just at the “gimmick” table and was just selling “gimmicks” and somebody called me out to the ring and basically all I did was went in and did my “Terry Funk” impersonation and threw a ton of chairs in the ring and started hot, the kid did the match and I just came in and did the finish. So, it wasn’t a match. Sometimes in this business you make deals and it’s amazing how it’s so in the back of your mind what the big picture is and I’m not sure how many people know but my wife is dealing with cancer and it’s pretty serious so (wrestling a match) is the last thing on my mind. I don’t know what kind of deal I made with him but he expected me in my gear and I showed up and said “dude, I’m retired” but I’ll throw a super-kick and hit people with a stick and that is pretty much what happened. So no, I did not come out of retirement and it sucks being retired. The reason I did the whole retirement thing was quite frankly to get a little bit of publicity and press, not going to lie. Also because I need to move on with my life and John knows my story. He’s known me for years.
Wrestlers no longer utilizing the art of selling selling and how matches are not believable:
You are doing so much shit and setting the bar so high and you are talking to someone that came from ECW. I’ve done hardcore, i’ve done matches with RVD and Jerry Lynn so I’ve just not hit people with stuff. I can wrestle. But these guys that are doing these phenomenal moves and stuff that really hurts are just not selling. They are popping up like it’s no big deal and how do you expect them believe it or if it doesn’t matter to you to do something so spectacular and you don’t sell you are really taking away from yourself. If you power-bomb someone on the guard rail or what ever crazy shit that they do and then you are going to take a pin fall on a super-kick? The business is to the point where young guys and (it’s not there fault) but me and Pac (Sean Waltman) talk about the fact that we were the last of the old school into the new school. He was in Global in the early 90s, I did the Calgary scene and went to Memphis and did the USWA-Jerry Lawler stuff and that is where you are really learning from veterans. These young kids are going to their local wrestling schools, working their match with their buddy and they are having that same match every week and they make it like their WrestleMania match and they do it all. To me that is not learning.
How does NXT fall into that same group:
I love NXT and even as good as NXT is and how much I love the direction and the guys that they are bringing in and Hunter has done a great job with it. To me, still it’s not business. Everything is so rehearsed and is so choreographed. The last time I was in WWE it was horrible. Vince would literally be out there and make you walk through your match. He’d ask how many times are you going to punch him? I don’t know maybe one or two, I listen to the crowd. Like a lot of the great actors, a lot of it is improv. When that switch goes off and I turn into Justin Credible and John knows that I am the chillest, most laid back dude and very reserved but when that music comes on I am a different cat and that doesn’t mean I am aggressive or am going to hurt someone.
Thoughts on WrestleMania and WWE’s overall direction:
Our business is on a steady decline. Unfortunately, Vince is going to get what he always wanted which was to take over completely and that’s kind of where it is at. I don’t mind the product but I can’t watch. I got the Network for WrestleMania, I don’t always subscribe and I let it go because I don’t really care that much about watching their product but I always watch WrestleMania as everybody does I think. I still haven’t gotten through it. It was the worst WrestleMania in years and even though I like Dean Ambrose and I don’t mind Roman Reigns and him vs. Brock last year was great, he just doesn’t do it for me but a lot of guys aren’t doing it for me. There was something about Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar that didn’t add up for me and it just was not believable. If you saw that in a bar, Brock would eat him alive and would come back for seconds.
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Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
