WWE Superstar The Big Show joined Doug Mortman and Dave Lagreca on Busted Open.. You can hear Busted Open on SiriusXM 92 and on the SiriusXM app. Also go to Busted OpenNation.com for all the details.
Feeling on the crowd reaction:
It’s been a weird career. I’ve always been a good “bad guy”. It’s an easy story. The smaller guy overcoming the big obstacle and the storyline has manifested itself on its own and due to my incredible performance ability, I’ve been having fun and it’s good to do some of the old attitude era things. I think a lot of people forget that I was around during the Attitude Era. To be able to bring some of that fire and life back and to be received by the fans so well, it’s a nice feeling. It's entertainment, you don’t have to figure out what people hate, you don’t take it personally and after fifteen years of being the “bad guy”, it’s nice to be a good guy.
Daniel Bryan being the face of WWE:
I think the whole face of the company is a bunch of trash anyway. I’ve never believed that anybody given the right opportunities and fulfilling those opportunities can be a star. Our WWE universe are the ones who pick the stars and pick the faces of the company. If you had to do a prototype, you can make it a Randy Orton. He’s 6’5”, he is extremely athletic in the ring as far as his timing, his wrestling ability, and he’s third generation, looks, physique, all that, sure that’s a prototype package. But how often do prototypes pan out? Some of the greatest stars that we had in the business have not been a prototype stars. They’ve had a charisma, a unique ability that separated them from the rest of the pack and that’s what made them different. I think if you are someone like Daniel Bryan, he’s a completely different wolf than anybody else. He is an incredible technical wrestler, trained by Shawn Michaels and there are a lot of other things that go into being a face of the company. It’s the stuff behind the camera that people don’t see, the work ethic, the can-do attitude, that creates a long term career and also creates someone who can be the face of the company, so do I think Daniel can do it? Absolutely! It’s about how to work and understanding your audience and Daniel knows how to do it.
Seeing the reaction that John Cena gets:
John Cena always knows how to get a reaction. I would line John Cena against any professional athlete in any industry and I doubt very seriously if they can handle the work load that he produces. It’s just not the couple days of week that we are on television; it’s all the other things that John does. It’s all the things that John gives back with the Make-A-Wish foundation, Susan G. Komen foundation and things like that. John does not have an off day. I think the only off day that John has is if he does get injured. He’s got a hell of a presence in the locker room, helluva workload, the guy that has that kind of drive and that commitment and passion for his business; he is going to be successful. The one thing is that John never takes anything personal. If you boo him, good. You bought a ticket to go to the show, it’s your choice. You can boo for whoever you want and you can cheer for whoever you want but regardless, John is going to give you one hundred percent in the ring and I think that’s one of the things that made him be able to be the face of the company for some many years. Everybody can have spurts of being on top for six or eight months, a year, maybe. The ten or eleven years that John’s accomplished are a remarkable achievement and it’s a testament to his drive and it’s not a John Cena endorsement. I’m just being honest on how hard the guy works and the way he treats people around him and everybody he works with, it’s a pretty high standard he sets.
Having a thick-skin:
John’s a little more put in the front line because he is on their front burner. My career has been in the mix. I’ve been on top for eighteen years, up and down with different angles. I think at one time, I was in a title hunt for three years so my whole thing is that whatever they need me to do, I go out and do it because I love doing what I’m doing. The main thing is having the love and passion for what you’re doing and when you have that and you are a fan yourself, so you understand the fans perspective, what the fans want to see and working with the other egos and the requirements that are around you all the time that help makes you a better superstar and to see someone like John who if ticket sales are down, John takes the heat for it. If Pay-Per-View buys are down, John takes the heat for it. If TV-ratings are down, John takes the heat for it. If merchandise sales are down, John takes the heat for it. He takes all of it in stride and at the same time, he doesn’t react whether the ratings have stepped up or they are down. He pushes forward and he does the best he can and he sleeps at night. There is a lot of pressure to be in that spot and a lot of the guys think they can be there and they can handle it but it’s a spot that I’ve seen a lot of superstars fold.
Triple H as an executive:
I’ve started my career in WCW and Triple H’s was one of the guys that was working with me and developing me when I first started. We were young together in the Power Plant together in WCW. A lot of things that I started out on, I owe a lot to Hunter, just helping me with basic things in the ring where he was already ahead of me. Hunter has been one of the guys where his entire career he has lived the business, drank the business and everything about it has been sports entertainment and now moving into that executive position, it’s almost like a natural evolution. If he is going to have an ego as an executive, he does have a point. He has the knowledge, he is a multi-time World Champion, he is a guy that has sold Pay-Per-Views, and he has been the superstars of superstars. He has been head-to-head with the Rock, Stone Cold, Undertaker, and all the cool things he did in DX so when he is talking, he is not talking with an empty hat-trick. He is actually done some very impressive and legendary things in our business. As an executive, he is moving forward and molding the business in the way he wants to see it because it’s his responsibility. If you look at Hunter as executive, he is really no different as a competitor. When he was a competitor in the ring, he was a very determined, focused and get things done at all cost no matter whose feelings get hurt and it’s only natural that would transfer over to him as an executive. The only problem is that his particular theme does not make the general public very happy but he is not going to back down from a challenge. I’ve probably stepped my foot into the proverbial hornets’ nest but a lot of the times, you have to step up for what you believe in and he is going to step up for what he believes in and how he wants to do things and we will see. I’d like to get in the ring with him, which would be ideal.
Revenge on Triple H:
We will see where it goes. He is legitimately the COO. So whether or not, he is going to put his boots and trunks on and get back into the ring, that’s something where if I push his buttons enough and get it done. That’s the wacky world of our business. Anything can and will happen, who knows. I might find myself wrestling in Russia for rubles or something. I don’t know.
Talking about the Susan G. Komen Foundation in the WWE:
It’s a great opportunity for the WWE to use their global media power that it has to bring awareness to an organization and it’s good for other companies and organization to see the impact that we have working with the Susan G. Komen foundation which is a great cause. Breast Cancer have affected so many superstars in their lives, Layla and her mother, Titus (O’Neil)and his grandmother, I lost my dad to cancer. There has been a lot of people affected by cancer and bringing awareness to breast cancer in October, this will really show the impact that WWE has and the loyalty of the fans too as well because they are supporting the product and buying the merchandise for a good cause and also because of the superstars that they want to support. I think this should be a big wake up call to a lot of organizations and companies to realize the power of the WWE with Susan G. Komen, Make-A-Wish, Special Olympics and all the things that we do, we have the power to get stuff out there and get people talking about it. It’s a win-win situation. It shows the integrity and ability of our company to promote and make awareness for certain things. It works out well for the company because we reap the benefits as well. It’s a win-win for everyone.
