07:25:03
Charlie Haas
-On
being ready for Vengeance...
"Oh,
we are. Shelton and I, we've been training hard and we're
ready to turn it up. We're gonna steal the show."
-Pressure
of being dubbed "World's Greatest Tag Team"...
"(laughs)
Have you seen us in the ring? We are untouchable. We are
the world's greatest tag team. What we've accomplished in
the last six months is unheard of--winning the titles twice,
just coming right into WWE and skyrocketing. We're very
lucky. We gelled together and play off each other and we're
really a good tag team.
On
facing the team of Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio at Vengeance...
"I'll
tell ya, we are looking forward to wrestling these two guys.
They're very talented, they're exciting. It's going to be
a really high-paced match. Of course, Rey-Rey is probably
pound-for-pound one of the best, most-exciting wrestlers
in the world. And Billy Kidman, he's right up there with
Rey Mysterio. This kid is a little bit bigger and thicker
than Rey, but boy, he can fly around. Look what the two
of them accomplished in WCW. They're a tag team to be reckoned
with.
But
Shelton and I, we've wrestled them once before on Smackdown
and we're excited. We know we have a lot ahead of us, but
it's something if I were a fan that I would not want to
miss because it's going to be off the hook.
-On
chance of Kidman turning on Rey or start of a longer tag
feud...
"We're
gonna go in there with a plan. We're wrestlers, we're purists
and that's what we're going to do. We're going to take them
down, going to ground them, and keep it on the mat. So if
we can stick to our game plan and we can keep them--huh,
why wouldn't the World's Greatest Tag Team keep the belts?
On
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit...
"Yeah,
that's gonna be a really good match. Both of them are so
talented, I've worked with both of them in the ring and
they are just so amazing, You're right, that could steal
the show, too. This ppv, I think for the first time Smackdown
standing alone, it's gonna be one helluva ppv. Every match
is going to be geared up and I know all the wrestlers are
pysched and ready to turn this on.
They
want everyone to see that we can stand alone--that we're
for real, that Smackdown is it's own brand and we have one
helluva roster. Everyone's talented and everyone can wrestle
and we're gonna show it this Sunday.
-Being
in the ring with opposite extremes like Big Show and Zach
Gowen...
"I
give Zach--that kid has more heart than anyone I know. For
him to be in the ring, that's tremendous. What he's accomplished,
my hat's off to him. But when he comes in that ring, I don't
look at him as a person with a missing leg or someone who's
handicapped. He's taking that chance and we can't have sympathy
for him. You get in there with him and Big Show, I mean
there's a big size difference.
For
Zach's part, it's scary. Let me put it this way, anybody
in the ring with Big Show. If he's not on your team, that's
scary. Shelton and I are very lucky that he's on our team.
I mean this guy is one of the biggest, if not the biggest,
men I've ever seen in my life. And he is strong. He can
hurt you. He's just unbelievable. One hell of an athlete
for his size.
-On
not being an overnight success story...
"No,
it wasn't. I was on the independents for about four years.
My brother and I, once we were signed by WWE, we were sent
to Memphis Championship Wrestling for about eight months.
Then we headed over to Heartland Wrestling Association ,
I was there for probably another nine months.
Then
Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, KY for about four or
five months--so it's been long, hard road. A lot of hardships,
but once you have a dream if you just stay focused, you
can overcome anything and accomplish those dreams.
-With
the amateur background, what was the easiest and most difficult
transition to sports entertainment...
"I
think the easiest part was taking the training and the discipline
I learned and achieved over the years as an amateur and
applying it towards the pro wrestling. I took the wrestling
when we were in the developmental leagues and independents
as serious as I took college--the training, the dieting,
and I applied it towards pro wrestling. That was the easy
part. A lot of people, they say it's easy to be a pro wrestler
and they jump right into it, but it's a lot harder than
you think it is. You have to be dedicated, it's a full-time
job. Just not in the ring, it's outside the ring. Being
in the gym, eating right, just staying focused.
I
think the hardest part, as an amateur from college, was
learning the pyschology. The one-on-one, the tag team. With
wrestling, of course, it's always one-one-one in amateur.
With me, my specialty right now is tag team. That is depending
on another person to combine your skills were you can become
the best and take on two other people. So, to feed off your
partner's abilities and be able to read him in the ring
without communicating. You just have to be able to do it.
-On
getting to show his mic skills the night Team Angle disbanded...
"Yeah,
both Shelton and I, being down in the developmental leagues
the last two and half years...not only was it working on
my in-ring skills, but it's also working on the microphone
and being able to communicate so the people will grasp what
you're saying and they don't want to turn you off. You've
got to really hit the punchlines, deliver your message so
people are like 'these two are for real'.
-What's
the power structure, shoot-wise, amongest himself, Shelton
Benjamin, Kurt Angle, and Brock Lesnar...
"Shelton
and I are always in the ring before the matches, we do a
lot of amateur--a lot of shoot drilling, going like 3/4
speed to really get our wind up before our matches that
night. I've seen Brock and Kurt go at it. Kurt--world champion,
Olympic gold medalist, best in the world--he's proven it.
So I'd have to say Kurt's at the top. After that, it's hard
to say. It's one of those things that goes back and forth,
it can be one person's day and then another person's day.
So it's really hard to tell."
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