Erik Watts Shoot Interview

He was born into the wrestling business, as his father was one of the most succesuful wrestling promoters of all time.  His father was also known as bully, tyrant, and a control freak.  Being said, that is probably why his territory was one of the most profitable companies that ever ran during the heydays of the 80’s.  Now for the first time the son of Cowboy Bill Watts, sits down with RFVIDEO and he talks all about his run in a business that has always been here for him, but did Erik Watts want in? Eric Watts gave RF VIDEO one of the most explosive shoot interviews of all time talking about his up bringing in one of the most notorious families that ran parallel to the Von Erichs timeline in Texas.  Erik Watts starts off talking about what it was like as a young kid being around the business.  What early lessons did his father teach him and what he was told to do as a teenager if any of his friends asked him if the business was fake.  You will hear all of the early responsibilities that Erik had during the Mid South days.  What happened when Bill Watts brought Sting over to his house in the early morning hours of the night to have a meeting.  What were his first impressions of a young Ultimate Warrior.  Erik talks in great detail of his fathers relationship with one of the best announcers of all time, Jim Ross.   You will hear why Jim was so instrumental to the company.  How did his brother Joel Watts get involved in the company as their editor.  As time went on his lessons got tougher by his father especially during football practices.  Was he being groomed for the wrestling business or for Pro Football. Dusty Rhodes another father figure in the life of Erik Watts played a huge role in his career.  Dusty and Bill Watt’s had a incredible business relationship as it’s well known they are very similar.  Erik talks all about his dads relationship with Dusty, and how Dusty got him into the business with WCW.  Erik talks about training with Jody Hamilton and Buddy Lee Parker.  What happened when he signed a contract with WCW?  Why did a lot of the talent in the locker room dislike him.  How did the boys that worked his fathers territory treat him behind the scenes like Sting, Steve Williams and others.  How did he earn the respect of the locker room when he got into a huge shoot fight with Rick Rude in the center of the locker room, this story is amazing.  Why did his father have heat with Scott Steiner?  How did his father treat him when he booked WCW.  Erik gives his thoughts on being pushed to the moon and why he feels he was looked down upon by his peers.  We talk all about his run in WCW from start to finish with one amazing story after another.   One of the best stories of this interview is how Erik was waiting for his moment to take Lex Luger out by physically beating him up.  He even went to the office and asked permission to do so and you will be shocked at what they told him.  The story does a complete 360 as Erik went from wanting to kill Lex Luger in a parking lot or any hotel he could have, but instead became friends with him and took him in during Lex Lugers time of need.  You will hear why and how he despised the man so much, and how now he views him like a brother and a best friend.    Erik talks about his fathers run working for Vince and how he was brought into the company.  We talk about his brief run and his personal relationship with Vince. What did he think about his tag team partner Chad Fortune?  Did he enjoy his time in the WWE and why did he want to quit the company.  You will hear all about his personal meeting with Vince trying to get out of his contract and the offer that Vince made him to stay. How did DDP help him get back into WCW and of course we talked about his time in ECW.  What did he think of Paul Heyman being that his father and Paul hated each other.  Why was his time so brief in ECW and what was the final straw to make him quit the land of hardcore. Any wrestling fan that behind the scene locker room stories will enjoy this interview.  Erik was non stop talkative from the minute we rolled the tape and had story after story on the biggest names in the business. If your a fan of the Mid South territory, NWA/WCW, ECW, WWE or TNA this interview has something for everyone.  Obviously, you grew up in a wrestling family as your father was the legendary Cowboy Bill Watts, so what are your earliest memories of your father as a wrestler and a promoter? He was well known for wanting the toughness and realism of the business protected, even threatening to fire guys if they lost a fight in public - so how did he protect the business from you?  Did he kayfabe you and if so, when was it that he let you in as to what the business really was? Memories of working for your father selling programs? Talk about the role your brother Joel had behind the scenes in the business? Favorite memories of Mid-South Wrestling or the UWF growing up?  Who were the talents you liked? Did you grow up wanting to get into the business?  Was it something your father pushed you to do? Memories of Jim Ross from that time period of your life? Eddie Gilbert? Sting? Warrior? Your dad had some of the best episodic TV ever - having grown up in that world, why do you think episodic TV fails to be compelling to wrestling fans today? What are your memories of Bill deciding to close up and sell the UWF to Jim Crockett? Jim Ross wrote in his book that Bill didn't get everything he was promised financially from the sale - any insight into that? Talk about your college football career playing for the University of Louisville and what your favorite memories of that time period was?    Played quarterback, passed for over 300 yards in games against Ohio State and Virginia Tech, ending the season with 1,294 passing yards.. Your father is hired in WCW to return to the business as the Executive Vice President.  What are your memories on his thoughts about returning to the business? Were you already training to wrestle or did the opportunity come about because Bill was going to work for WCW? Your dad is credited with training you, but is that accurate?  Who were you bumping around in the ring with? Memories of training:  Was it a hard transition from football?  What about football helped in building you as a professional wrestler?  What were the hardest aspects of the business to wrap your head around, both in terms of the physicality and the psychological aspects? What were the best lessons your father taught you about the business during that era? Was there anything your father taught you that perhaps didn't work because the business had changed? Most fans saw you first in WCW, but did you work on the independent circuit before that? Memories of your first day on the job in WCW? How was a pro wrestling locker room different or the same when compared to the locker room of a football team? Which business has more of a fraternity amongst its athletes? How were you received in the locker room?  Did anyone stand out as being especially welcoming or giving you the cold shoulder? Do you think you were treated differently because of who your dad was? Who was the most helpful towards you?  Perhaps some of the other second generation talents? Was anyone especially resentful? Is it true you once put up a copy of your contract in the locker room to kill rumors you were making a ton of money? Compare Bill Watts the father to Bill Watts the boss and how they were different or the same? You received a pretty sizable push and an undefeated streak that some have criticized because you were just starting out in the business and because of nepotism.  Talk about your experiences during that time period and whether you thought the criticism was warranted then - and whether years later, you feel any differently? The Newsletters at the time were very critical of your dad's booking.  Do you think that sort of cascaded over onto you? Do you think your dad missed a chance to turn you heel? WWE's Rise and Fall of WCW DVD featured your briefly while claiming your dad was out of touch at the time he was running the company.  Whats your take on that? Dusty Rhodes was booking under your dad during that time period - how influential was Dusty on your career and what sort of insights and knowledge did he pass on? You had a number of matches with Rick Rude, several time limit draws before he ended your undefeated streak.  Memories of Rude the person and the worker? There is a story that is passed around that you and Rude got into a backstage fight after he was bragging about beating Curt Henning in a fight.  Can you tell what happened that day and how it changed your relationship with Rude? You also worked a lot with Paul Orndorff, who is considered one of the toughest guys in the history of the business.  Talk about what it was like working with Paul?  Did he force you to work hard in the ring and earn the win because you were going over? Memories of your PPV debut at Starrcade 91: Lethal Lottery, teaming with Jushin Thunder Liger against "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Sting as well as memories of all three you were in the ring with? Did Dr. Death look out for you in WCW given his relationship with your father? Later in your career, you teamed with Steve a lot in All Japan  We will talk about that era later, but what are your favorite memories of touring Japan with him? Memories of Mick Foley during that time period? Memories of working with Kensuke Sasaki and the angle where you learned the STF from him? Memories of the angle where you and Arn Anderson got into a fight at a gas station?  Where was that filmed and what are your memories of shooting the angle?  Is it true everyone was almost arrested? Thoughts and memories on working with Arn? Memories of wrestling in the Omni From your perspective, why did things not work out with your father and WCW? How did you learn he was leaving the company? Do you feel the company didn't give him the real chan Were you worried that his exit was going to lead to you losing your WCW deal? How much did your day to day at WCW change with his exit? Ole Anderson and Eric Bischoff were put in charge after your father left - thoughts on how they ran the company? Memories of working the Hollywood Blondes at Superbrawl III and any memories of Brian Pillman? That same PPV, Ric Flair returned to WCW.  Memories and thoughts on Flair? There's a story that floats around that you wanted to fight Lex Luger when you first met him - is this true? Memories of working with the following: Ricky Steamboat Masa Chono Buddy Lee Parker Mark Canterbury Scott Flamingo aka Raven Vinnie Vegas aka Kevin Nash Johnny Gunn Diamond Dallas Page Michael Hayes Tex Slazenger Tony Atlas The Barbarian Maxx Payne Bobby Eaton Is it true you once KO'D Bobby in the middle of the ring. Steve Austin Madusa Larry Zbyszko Steve/William Regal Chris Benoit Paul Roma Johnny B Badd Marcus Bagwell Rip Rogers - have any crazy Rip stories? Dustin Rhodes Barry Windham Bunkhouse Buck Terry Funk Kevin Sullivan Nasty Boys What led to you exiting the company? Your final match for the company in August 1994 was against the future Triple H, Jean Paul Levesque - any memories of working with him? Any favorite ribs during your WCW run? Is it true the locker room once forcibly washed the Awesome Kongs tag team in the locker room because they smelled so bad? Do you feel that early push prevented you from being seen fairly as a talent later in your career? You enter WWF in 1995.  Your father is working there for a bit - is he to open the door for that?  If not, how do you get into the company? What are you promised by WWF in comparison to how you are treated by WCW? Where does the idea of putting you in a tag team with Chad Fortune come from? Initial memories of Chad? Where does the Tekno Team 2000 gimmick come from? What was your first thought when it was proposed to you? Were you able to try and pitch something else? Who came up with the costuming? Memories of debuting in Madison Square Garden Compare working for WWF to working for WCW? Why do you think the team never took off in WWF? Is it true your own father killed the push for the team? Memories of working with: Smoking Guns  Body Donnas Godwins Tom Prichard & Mantaur Barry Horowitz & Brooklyn Brawler What's your take on Vince McMahon? You end up in the USWA in late 1995 - thoughts on working that circuit after working loops for WCW and WWF? Was it a case of WWF sending you there and if so, were you let down they wanted you to go work a smaller promotion? Memories of working with Bushwhackers, PG-13 and Heavenly Bodies during the USWA run Memories of Jerry Lawler Spellbinder Tracy Smothers King Cobra Brian Christopher Doug Gilbert Sid Vicious Billy Jack Haynes You left WWF in 1996 and didnt return to WCW until 1998 - what were you doing during the interim? By the time you return to WCW, its the hottest wrestling promotion in the world,  Talk about how different the company was internally from a wrestlers perspective since you had left in 1994? Did you ever have any conversations with your dad about how WCW was doing after you returned there and if so, what was his response to the success? What led to your return?  DDP opened the doors for a lot of guys during that time period - was Page? How important would you place DDP when it comes to your career? Whats the best advice he gave you? What was the backstage scene like in that time period?  There are crazy stories about partying in that era? Who partied the hardest? What was it like partying with Raven? Memories of the night Goldberg beat Hogan for the title in the Georgia Dome? Were you let down that you werent used in a more prominent manner or were you happy just to have a spot on the roster? Memories of working with the following in WCW run #2: Dave Taylor Booker T Bam Bam Bigelow David Flair Norman Smiley Eddy Guerrero Disco Inferno Hacksaw Duggan Vampiro Bryan Adams One person we hadn't spoken about yet is Paul Heyman.  He and your father had a pretty vicious falling out during the time your father ran WCW, but before that, what were your dealings with Paul like There was obviously a lot of heat with Paul and your dad, so how did you come to work for ECW in 2000? What did you think of the audience vs. WCW and WWF? Memories of working Spike Dudley at the ECW Arena? Memories of working with: Raven Chris Chetti & Nova Danny Doring & Roadkill You had the chance to wrestle Dusty Rhodes in ECW, what did that mean to you personally? Why was your ECW run so short?  Doy you think it was residual heat over what happened between Paul and your father? Was it Dr. Death who got you over to All Japan? Who were your favorite talents to work with in Japan? Memories of working with: Johnny Ace Jun Akiyama Omori Kawasa Misawa Memories of working for Dusty's Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling in 2001? When did you first learn that the Jarretts were going to launch a wrestling promotion in 2002? Thoughts on the original weekly PPV concept? Do you think the company was really started to be an alternative or was it a vanity project for Jeff Jarrett? How do you rate Jeff as a worker? How did Jarrett change after the company launched? Any insight into Jerry Jarrett from that time period? Memories of the heat between Jeff and Jerry at the time? You were brought in as a strong heel early on, attacking and beating Jarrett but then there was a story that he wanted you let go because you were so much taller than him.  Is this true? What happened when they tried to fire you? Memories of the company bringing Brian Urlacher in? Your take on Vince Russo as a writer? Why do you think Russo is so criticized online? Initial thoughts on Dixie Carter after Panda Energy came in as owner? Talk about the angle where you, Brian Lawler and David Flair formed "Next Generation" Memories of working with Goldylocks Memories of feuding witth Don Callis Memories of working with D Lo Brown Kid Kash Chris Daniels Abyss Sonny Siaki AJ Styles What led to you finally leaving TNA? One a scale of 1 - 10 how f'd up was the company? Are you amazed the company is still in business? Why do you think they were unable to succeed even after signing names like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair? Thoughts on your family selling the Mid-South/UWF tape library to WWE? Do you wish the family had held onto it? Thoughts on WWE inducting your father into their Hall of Fame? Out of all your runs, which were you most satisfied with? Whats your personal favorite match that you've been involved in? Favorite cities and venues to wrestle in? Favorite road stories? Was there anyone you wished you had been able to step into the ring with? How would you like to be remembered in the business? Have you ever thought about writing a book about your experiences? Who are some of the guys today you respect as talents? You've done some motivational speaking in the past, talk a little about that? Thoughts on football players and wrestlers suing over CTE? What do you think is the biggest misconception about you? Any final messages for your fans?