Kevin Steen Shoot Interview

RF Video is proud to announce that we have finally sat down with one of the most talented, outspoken and controversial wrestlers in the world! ‘Mr. Wrestling’ Kevin Steen has been one of the biggest names on the independent wrestling circuit for more than a decade and is on the verge of major mainstream success so the time was right for Steen to sit down with our cameras for the first time and tell all on his improbable rise to the top of the game. Kevin Steen didn’t exactly grow up in a wrestling hotbed. From a small town in Quebec, he developed a dream and overcame several obstacles along the way to reach the heights he has in a business where so many try and fail. In this interview we discuss every step in the journey, from his beginnings where he trained with the controversial Jacques Rougeau (aka The Mountie), to the burgeoning indy wrestling scene in Montreal with the IWS, to his debut at the ECW Arena in South Philly with CZW, his emergence as a top star in PWG and his turbulent rise to the top of Ring of Honor where he remains one of the most popular stars in the company’s history. Steen’s talent and charisma is undeniable and that’s what took him to the top, but there many speedbumps along the way and as we mentioned before, Steen is very outspoken and isn’t afraid to voice his opinions regarding his experiences… In this interview, we go in depth on it all. We discuss what it was like training with Jacques Rougeau and why Steen consideres he experiences with The Mountie to be mostly negative, and he includes a story about a WWE tryout setup by Rougeau that ended very dubiously for the former WWE Tag Team Champion. Steen also shares some interesting thoughts on the opinions of Devon Nicholson, a proud student of Jacques Rougeau, and just what he thinks of Devon’s claims. We talk about his first exposure to the American indy world via the IWS in Montreal and what it was like working for “PCP Crazy F’N Manny”, a man well known for many reasons in the Quebec wrestling circuit. We go in depth on his arrival in the States where he and his peers made a huge splash for CZW at the ECW Arena, and Steen reveals his feelings on the treatment he and his friends received from John Zandig and the CZW locker room. We also discuss his debut and ensuing success with Pro Wrestling Guerilla in California and just how unlikely it was that he would catch on with the promotion as a major star for nearly 10 years. Of course, Kevin Steen may be most well known for his meteoric rise to the top of Ring of Honor, where his reign as Champion is celebrated by many as some of the best times in ROH history. Of course, with the best of times, theres also the worst of times and Steen goes blow by blow with us on the controversy surrounding his heat with both Davey Richards two ROH icons who never saw eye to eye with Steen. Kevin will take us through the war of words and tell you what was going through his head as it unfolded and exactly what was going on behind the scenes. Steen will take us through the change in bookers, from Gabe Sapolsky, to Adam Pearce to Delirious and the sale of ROH from Cary Silkin to Sinclair Broadcasting. Steen will also tell you a story about how his ROH career almost ended before it got off the ground thanks to a locker room incident with CM Punk that unfolded in full view of the locker room. And of course, Steen will tell you how he got past it all and became the face of the company and a man considered by many as the very best independent wrestler in the world…. We also discuss what the future may hold for Kevin Steen, including several revelations that we can’t discuss here and now but you will be brought into the loop when you view this interview, and you will be left rooting for the guy who started from nothing at the age of 14 and rose to the top of one of the most cutthroat industries in the world. This man has been through it all, and now with RF Video you can re-live the journey with him. What was it like growing up in Quebec? What are your earliest memories of pro wrestling? What made you want to get into the business? You played other sports when you were young – why did you not want to pursue them? You started training at the age of 12. How did you get your parents to agree to that? How did you hook up with your original trainer, Serge Jodoin? For fans in America who may not be familiar with him, tell us about him. What are your first memories of training? Did your parents ever attempt to get you to stop? What led to you training with Jacques Rougeau? Whats your favorite Jacques story? You made your debut when you were 16 years old – that allowed you to train for four years before you debuted – do you think that gave you an edge over other wrestlers that were young and starting out? Talk about what the Canadian wrestling scene was like on the indies? Who were your favorite and least favorite promoters early in your career up there? Where did the Mr. Wrestling name come from? How did you first meet El Generico? Memories of the International Wrestling Syndicate? What made that promotion stand out? It seems like a lot of indy wrestlers that that time period like yourself, Sexxy Eddy, El Generico went on to get work in the States? Anyone from the promotion you thought would have gone farther in the business than they did? How did the Generico team begin? How do you start getting booked in the United States? Any funny stories about going through immigration into the States? You debuted with CZW in 2004 – how are you treated going in the locker room for the first time? Memories of your debut in the four way against Xcess, Generico and Sexxy Eddy? Memories of going to the finals at the 2005 Best of the Best? What did you think of the CZW product at the time? Memories of working DJ Hyde? Thoughts on DJ as a worker and a promoter? Memories of working BJ Whitmer, Chris Hero, Necro Butcher, Messiah, Franky the Mobster in CZW while Iron Man champion? You lost the belt to LuFisto during a cage match at CZW Trapped – thoughts on LuFisto as a worker and on her career? Was there any specific reason why you stopped working CZW as you’ve only popped up on occasion after 2004? Would you be open to working there more often? In 2005 you debuted for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in California – how did that come about? PWG is really celebrated as a fun promotion – what do you think is the secret of its success? Memories of the angle where you were attacking Super Dragon while dressed as an imposter Super Dragon? Memories of the feud with Dragon? Are you surprised he doesn’t wrestle anymore? You won the PWG title, beating AJ Styles for it – memories of that match? Favorite memories of the run you and Generico had as a team in PWG? You left and returned a number of times to the promotion – why the periods in between? Scheduling? Personal issues? Memories of the angle where you beat Claudio Castagnoli for the PWG title after having already wrestled twice before that same night? In the Battle of Los Angeles 2011, you worked Generico, Dave Finley and Eddie Edwards in the tournament – whats the secret to keeping the crowd interested when they are seeing so many matches with the same talents in a short period of time. Memories of the ladder match where you lost the belt to Generico? Where did the idea for Super Dragon to save you from the Young Bucks and create a team come from? Memories of the three way with Steen and Eddie Edwards where you regain the belt? Memories of defending the PWG title against Willie Mack and Sami Callihan? Memories of teaming with El Generico in PWG for the last time in the tournament where you worked The Briscoes, Future Shock and The Bucks. Thoughts on the current Mount Rushmore of Wrestling faction with the Bucks, yourself and Adam Cole? What are your favorite memory of working The Bucks? What do you think of Cole as a worker. How do you compare him to yourself as ROH and PWG champion? You work a lot these days for 2CW in Upstate NY. They’ve made a lot of noise for themselves in the last few years. Why do you think the promotion has built such a good following? Who are some of the locals there you think people should keep an eye on? Let’s talk about ROH. How did you first get booked in Ring of Honor? Was it a goal to get there? What led to you making your ROH debut in 2005? First thoughts on Gabe Sapolsky and Cary Silkin? How did the promotion and its fans differ from PWG and the other indies at the time? Memories of your first bout where you worked Azireal, Deranged, B-Boy, Izzy & DixiAzireal defeated Kevin Steen, Deranged, B-Boy, Izzy & Dixie? You had the chance to work with Homicide a lot during the early part of your ROH career. Memories of those matches? Why was it a year before you were back in ROH? You and Generico returned during the Fifth Year Festival in 2007 in Philadelphia against The Briscoes – thoughts on them as workers? What are your favorite Briscoes stories? How had the ROH locker room changed since the last time you had worked there? Where did the angle where you were a heel and Generico was a babyface yet you worked as a team come from? Who’s idea was it? You and Generico start working regularly for ROH at that point – when did you feel you were welcomed as a full timer? When did you start to feel you were a ROH guy? What were your thoughts when ROH began taping shows for traditional PPV? Did you think it would take the company to the next level? What do you think ROH could have done but didn’t to get more people to buy those shows. Were you disappointed your match at the Respect is Earned PPV was not going to be included on the broadcast? Were you happy about making your PPV debut on the ROH Driven PPV? ROH ran live shows in Japan in 2007 – were you bummed you weren’t part of that tour? You had a chance to work Jack Evans at ROH’s Race to the Top tournament in Long Island – how does he compare to some of the other fliers you’ve been in the ring with? You and Generico beat the Briscoes in a non title steetfight at Death Before Dishonor 5. That was the first time you headlined in ROH. Were you happy about being put into the main event position? Did you feel you were there long enough to earn it? The next night, you bear Jay Briscoe in Philadelphia in a Last Man Standing bout – memories of that match and Jay as a singles talent vs. working in a tag team? Memories of the Steel Cage bout with you and Generico vs. Briscoes in CT. Did you expect ROH would put the belts on your at this point? The team with Generico turned into a situation where you, as the heel, would bully Generico to get him to break the rules and use weapons. How much of that aspect of your characters were you and Generico vs. ideas Gabe had? Memories of the Man Up PPV Ladder Match against Briscoes? Thoughts on the crazy bloodbath angle with Jimmy Jacobs standing under a bloody, bleeding, upside down Jay Briscoe? Sometimes you book yourself to do disgusting things like blow snot and kiss people – are these ideas you come up with to create a revolting heel or things you do off the top of your head? Have you ever been reprimanded for going too far by anyone? Memories of your ROH title shot against Takeshi Morisha – talk about being in that position as a solo performer for the first time and the pressure that comes with being a ROH main eventer? As 2007 closed out, did you feel you had earned your place as a full time ROH roster member? Thoughts and memories on working with Age of the Fall, including your Street Fight against Necro Butcher? What led to you teaming for a bit with Delirious? ROH ran an angle where you were attacked by The Hangmen 3 after a bout against Brent Albright. This led to Delirious and Generico saving you. How did you feel about working full fledged babyface? You won a one night tournament at Eye of the Storm. In the semi-finals, you wrestled and beat Bryan Danielson – what was he like as a worker in the ring? Were you surprised when you were booked to go over? At the ROH Sixth Anniversary show, you beat Joey Matthews. Thoughts on working with him. In 2008, you met and defeated Davey Richards, who would come back to be a major rival for you down the line. Thoughts on Davey, good and bad, as a person and as a worker. We are jumping ahead here, but there were some issues when you were booked to win the ROH title. Is it true Richards didn’t want to drop the ROH belt to you because he felt you weren’t an athlete? When you heard this, how angry were you? Richards ripped on you in a shoot interview for another company – how did you rectify the situation? Was there a confrontation or did you just talk it over? Did Richards give you any problems in the ring when it came time for him to drop the belt? How do you feel about ROH dropping him without Richards getting a final match in front of the audience? Do you think it was fair to Davey or the ROH fans to deny them that closure? Davey often has the reputation for running his mouth – do you think that hurts the way people perceive him behind the scenes? Wrestlemania weekend in 2008 in Orlando, you and Generico have the chance to work with Dragon Gate’s Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi. What do you think of the DG style in the ring? You also had the chance to work with BxB Hulk & Shingo – thoughts on them in the ring? At ROH Injustice, you had the chance to challenge Nigel McGuinness for the ROH title in New Jersey. What did you think of Nigel in the ring? Nigel has been very anti-blood in wrestling since Hepatitis C caused his retirement – how do you feel about how blood should be used in the business in 2014? Do you think he has a right to push for blood not to be used? Has any of the things he’s tried to educate the locker room on actually changed the way wrestling is presented in ROH? Memories of the post match angle with Nigel where you slapped him for using the ropes to beat you. Did you have a favorite rematch against Nigel? ROH debuted in the Hammerstein Ballroom in 2008. Which NYC venue did you prefer – the Hammerstein or upstairs at the Manhattan Center? On that show, you and El Generico defeated Davey Richards & Rocky Romero. Memories of the bout. Was the crowd wilder? In June 2008, you and Generico go to the finals of the ROH Tag Team tournament, losing to Age of the Fall. Were you surprised you weren’t booked to win the tag belts? Did you think you deserved them? You were back feuding with Age of the Fall and Nigel McGuinness at this point. Did you feel ROH was retreading storylines by having you back to Age of the Fall again instead of just a full fledged singles promo with Nigel? The Motor City Machineguns came in to face you and Generico at ROH Death Before Dishonor 6. Was there any issues with the team putting you and Generico over? Thoughts on working with the Machineguns. Were there any political issues that had to be dealt with? How had your relationship personally and professionally changed with Generico as you each moved to the main events in ROH? Was there ever any jealousy between the two of you over getting solo main events? Memories of you and Generico finally winning the belts at Night of the Butcher II. When were you told you were getting the belts? The next night, you lose a singles bout to Go Shiozaki and then Nigel McGuinness hits you with a DDT onto the tag title. Later on, you interfere in Steen vs. Nigel. Was there any talk at all about you or Generico getting the ROH title since you were so over? At Return of 187, LAX came in and you had a chance to work with them. What did you think of working with the team? The next night, 10/28/08 you and Generico had the chance to work with The Osirian Portal from CHIKARA- what are your thoughts on the CHIKARA product? After the show, Cary Silkin fired Gabe Sapolsky as booker for ROH. When did you hear Gabe was fired? What was your first reaction? Do you think any of the boys should have pushed Cary to change his mind? Did Gabe deserve to be fired? Cary has said one of the reasons he left Gabe go was that the ROH product as it was presented had gone as far as it could go. Do you agree with that? What was your first reaction when Adam Pearce was hired as booker? As it turned out, the next ROH show was in Montreal – how had the locker room changed without Gabe there? Do you think any of the boys resented Cary or Adam for the change? That night, you, El Generico, Go Shiozaki all challenged Nigel in a Four Way. Do you think you or Generico should have challenged in a singles bout in Montreal? The next night, you and Generico headlined in Markham, Ontario beating The Briscoes – how different were the crowds? What mistakes did Adam make as booker? Do you think he got the ROH product? Is it true he was telling the locker room not to talk to the Internet writers? What were the positives he brought as booker? Do you feel ROH lost a lot of buzz when Gabe, who was strong with the Internet marketing, was fired? You end 2008 as ROH Tag Team champion with bouts against The Briscoes and Age of the Fall. 2009 opens up with you and Generico working against The American Wolves. What did you think of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards as a tag team? As the Caged Collision PPV, ROH booked you to lose to Claudio Castagnoli. Thoughts on Claudio’s work and his success in WWE? ROH begins taping ROH ON HDNET in Philadelphia in February 2009. Did you think the series was going to take ROH to the next level? Do you think ROH killed the Philly market by doing all their TV there and having so many comps for the taping? What did you think of Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak as commentators? You and Generico were booked to lose the Tag belts in April 2009 to the Wolves. Were you disappointed about losing the belts? Ric Flair was brought into the company. What did you hear was expected of him? How was he to the boys? Did it seem like he wanted to be there? Were you shocked when he walked out? How did you feel about Jerry Lynn being the person to defeat Nigel for the ROH title? The All Night Express was put together and you had a chance to work with them. Thoughts on Kenny King and Rhett Titus as a team? Were you upset when King left the company without dropping the ROH Tag strap? When ROH returns to Montreal, Sylvan Grenier is booked to work for the company. How did he fit in? Memories of teaming with Danielson in Montreal. Memories of the feud with the Wolves for the Tag belts. How did running regular TV tapings change ROH? Memories of teaming with Lance Storm when he came in to ROH in Toronto? Memories of Generico & Steen vs. The Super Smash Brothers in Canada? What was the locker room reaction when it was announced Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness were signing with WWE? Were you aware that at one point, their farewell show was internally discussed as being the last ever ROH show? Were you ever aware Cary was looking to sell or close the company because of his financial losses? There were rumors at the time he was close to the end of his rope. That night you and Generico worked the Wolves in a Ladder War despite Eddie Edwards having a fractured elbow. Do you think he should have worked that night? How much of the planning with the match was hurt because of the injury? At Clash of the Contenders in October 2009, you had a chance to work with Roderick Strong. Thoughts on his work and him personally? ROH debuted on iPPV with Final Battle 2009. What did you think of the iPPV concept. Did you think that might help the company financially? You worked The Young Bucks that night. You’ve worked a lot with them in the ring and as partners, what do you think of their work? How do you feel about people who criticize them as spot monkeys? That night, there was a tease that you were going to retire due to knee issues. Obviously you’ve had knee issues in the past, so was there any truth to the retirement tease? In the end, you instead turned on El Generico – getting a big reaction – how far in advance was that laid out. How much of the creative end was you vs. Adam? What did you think of Austin Aries when he was working for ROH? Do you think he deserved a second ROH title run? There were reports he was a complainer in the locker room, do you think that’s fair and accurate? ROH put you with Steve Corino after your heel turn. What are your first memories of Corino? What did he bring to the table when he was paired with you that allowed you to bring another dimension to the table? You worked Colt Cabana at the 8th Anniversary show. Thoughts on Cabana as a worker and person? What’s your favorite thing about Cabana? How do you feel about ROH deciding not to use him after the Sinclair changeover? ROH began building the feud between Generico and yourself as 2010 kicked off. How much of that was Adam vs. things you and Generico were pitching? Who’s idea was it to bring Cabana into the feud with yourself, Generico and Steen? At the Big Bang iPPV, Colt Cabana & El Generico defeated you and Steve Corino in Charlotte. Memories of that bout? Why did the Lucha talents booked go on after everyone else in ROH? That was the first show Gary Juster worked with ROH – what has Juster brought to the table as the local promoter? Christopher Daniels returned to ROH after worked you in May 2010. Thoughts and memories of working with Daniels? What did you think of Tyler Black’s ROH title run? Some people say he got the belt too late. How do you feel about that and what did you think of his run? You finally get in the ring with Generico in a singles bout at Death Before Dishonor 8 in Canada. You had worked tag matches but this was the big singles match – did it live up to your personal expectations? What was the reaction in the back? There were reports he was complaining you guys were killing the business in the back while you were working. You had a chance to work Jerry Lynn on a ROH on HDNet taping – what did you think of him as a worker? You and Davey Richards have an awesome match at Champions Challenge in August 2010 – why do you think you had such a good chemistry with Richards in the ring? Adam Pearce is fired as booker in August 2010. Do you think he failed at replacing Gabe or were there other circumstances that led to his firing? Do you think Adam should have been let go? What did you think of Delirious being tapped to replace Adam? Do you think he should have been the one to replace Gabe all along? How did the locker room and the creative side of ROH change once Delirious was in charge? What was the role in the locker room before and after Adam was gone, and then once Delirious was given the book? Compare how Gabe, Adam, Delirious and Jim all approached the job, how they handled the locker room and which got the most out of the boys in the ring? Daivari was in ROH for a short time. Why didn’t he ever pick up any steam in the company? At Glory by Honor IX, Generico & Cabana defeated you & Steve Corino in a chain match but you really won the wore since you stole Generico’s mask. Was that always planned to be a major payoff down the line when Generico returned? Who’s idea was it for you to wear the mask as a way to mock and torment him? The fans chanted “You sick fuck” that night as you painted a chair with blood. Whats your favorite chant you’ve ever gotten from the audience? You and Steve had a chance to work with the Briscoes and The Kings of Wrestling in 2010. Thoughts on those matches? Generico beats you at Final Battle 2010 to run you out of ROH. When did you find out they were going to have you lose and send you out of ROH? Were you worried about your job? What made you finally agree to do it? How did you feel about having the big blow off with Generico? Did you worry that night was going to be the last time you actually worked for ROH? When the match was over, what did you do after to celebrate what could be the end of the run? How did the locker room react to you losing? What did you think of the angle where Steve Corino tried to go “sober” from being a cheater? Did you think it was a good idea creatively? Did you like the addition of Jimmy Jacobs to the angle? What are your thoughts on Jacobs? Were you keeping up with ROH while you were gone? Did you feel that since you were home and not working that they were looking to get rid of you?  There were claims they wanted you to lose weight and then you would be introduced on TV with a new, huge push – is that what the plan was? Did you lose weight? If so, how much? Memories of the angle at Best of the World 2011 where you showed up in the balcony of the Hammerstein. Did you like the idea of Kevin Steen trying to turn over a new leaf coming back and asking for another chance. What was the reaction like when you asked for a chance to apologize and then instead said “Fuck Ring of Honor” Did you know he was going to swear that was the last time you’d ever be in a ROH ring? Did you still feel like you were being set up to be kicked out? When did you learn Cary was selling ROH? What was your first reaction? How did Ring of Honor change after the Sinclair purchase? He claims that when you found out they were pushing the return back so that it happened after ROH TV was established, you gave up and got even heavier. Did you give up on losing weight when they pushed your debut back? In the middle of your hiatus from the company, you showed up in Dragon Gate USA for one show in NYC. How did that come about? How had Gabe Sapolsky changed since he was booking ROH? There are people who feel he never got over ROH firing him – do you think that’s fair? How did the booking in ROH change under Sincair? They were was said to be down on the craziness of your feud with Generico, but that was also the feud that was drawing the big houses for ROH – so why did you think he was so down on it? He has said that you cared more about wrestling matches to pop yourself, the boys and the fans and not enough about learning to wrestle in a way that draws real money – what is your response to that? Did you ever try and talk about the issues? Do you think the business passed him by? When you were cutting promos on ROH TV, how much of that was a shoot? What were the positives he brought to ROH? Memories of the Death Before Dishonor 9 angle where you came in with a ticket to the show and hopped the rail during Jimmy Jacobs vs. El Generico and all hell broke loose., Walk us through everything you did that day to sell the entire thing as a shoot. There was a spot where you teased hitting Cary Silkin with a package piledriver. The crowd still loves Cary and chants for him but doesn’t react to Joe Koff like that – do you think Sinclair could be jealous of how much the audience loves Cary? Talk about the Glory by Honor X angle where you sat in the front row and dumped a drink on Jimmy Jacobs, setting off a melee with him and Corino? They later on had an angle where you got involved in the Davey Richards-El Generico main event, which foreshadowed you and Davey for down the line. Thoughts on that angle? When were you told you were being brought back at this point? Did you trust it? At Final Battle 2011, they do a match where if you pinned Steve Corino, you would get your job back. Memories of that match? Were there any positives for the boys in how things were handled under Sinclair – hotel, travel, merchandise royalties, things of that nature? Were you surprised when Sinclair started getting rid of the old ROH staff? Was this a mistake? ROH has had a lot of problems with iPPVs – how did the problems effect the morale of the boys in the locker room? Do you think ROH has handled the problems properly? What was your reaction when the company decided to stop doing iPPVs? Thoughts on ROH TV? Is it effective at getitng the company a new audience? Did ROH neglect the old audience too much after the Sinclair takeover? Did you or any of the boys ever voice that? Is it true Joe Koff promised everyone they would be working every weekend and professional trainers and all sorts of promises when Sinclair first took over? Do you think the boys trust Sinclair like they trusted Cary? Does it bother you not to see Cary coming to a lot of the shows anymore? You had a chance to work Tommy Dreamer in January 2012 in LA. Thoughts on Dreamer’s work in the ring? You also had a chance to work with Raven. How was he to deal with? At the 10th anniversary show, they had you shoot an angle with Eddie Kingston that led to a match later on – thoughts on Kingston in the ring? Memories of your match that night with Jimmy Jacobs and the big reveal that you, Jacobs and Corino had been plotting all this time to get you back into ROH. Do you think anyone saw it coming? How was your relationship with Jim at this point? El Generico is brought back to face you at the Showdown in the Sun event Wrestlemania weekend. Thoughts on that match? Let’s jump back to your title run. You win the belt from Davey in Canada. Whats going through your mind when you win? If he hated you so much, why did you get booked to win the belt? Did you agree with the company pushing you as a heel when the crowd was always popping for you? Do you agree the TV show was too antiquated in the beginning? Memories of your title defenses against Eddie Edwards, Jay Lethal,Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong, Richards, Mike Mondo. Do you think Mondo deserved to be pushed as hard as he was? What did you think of the angle where he didn’t think Jay Lethal had the killer instinct needed to be World champion? What was your reaction when you were told he was being written off TV? Do you think it should have been you, not Jay, to be scripted to take him out? Do you think he actually stepped down as booker himself or do you think Sinclair made the call to replace him with Delirious? Talk about the night he flipped out and quit at the ROH Pittsburgh TV taping? Was he any different that day when compared to other ROH events? What was the locker room reaction when he was gone? You did a DVD released by ROH where you talked about the frustrations. It was selling and then it was pulled by ROH  – what do you remember about it being pulled? Why did ROH suddenly start selling it again? If you were told he was back as booker, what would be your first response? Who’s idea was it to bring back Generico for Ladder War IV at Final Battle 2012? Did you think at the time if would be your last ROH match with him? Was that emotional for you? Thoughts on the SCUM faction? Who’s idea was it to bring in Matt Hardy and Cliff Compton? Were you happy with the match? You had a title match with Mark Briscoe – thoughts on him as a singles performer? Do you think he’s legitimately crazy? When you were told Jay was winning the belt, did you think it was the right call? Did you expect Davey was going to get the belt back? Memories of the match where you dropped it to Jay and the insane crowd reaction for that win? ROH turned you babyface the next day – were you happy to be back as a face and did it make more sense to turn you since the crowd was popping for you anyway This led to you joining with the ROH babyfaces to run SCUM out in Steel Cage Warfare – thoughts on that match? Were you surprised ROH stripped Jay of the title as opposed to having him drop the belt? Were you let down for him and Mark that they didn’t go to WWE as it appeared they would? You had a chance to work with Brian Kendrick and Michael Elgin in the title tournament – were you surprised you were eliminated in the second round? Thoughts On Mike Bennett in the ring? Do you have any goals in ROH left? The belief among some is that your ROH deal expires this summer – are you interested in signing a new deal there? Why or why not? There’s rumored interest in you from TNA – any interest in going there one day? There’s also a rumor you’ve been invited to the WWE tryouts at the Performance Center this March – any truth? Do you think that you’d be able to get into the physical type of shape WWE looks for in their performers? Would you be willing to go to Orlando and start all over again in your career if they wanted you? Have you been keeping up with Generico in NXT as Sami Zayn and if so, what are your thoughts on his run there so far? Are you surprised by all the charisma and talking ability he’s shown? Do you think he misses the El Generico persona? Thoughts on the Charlie Haas-Grizzly Redwood fight and who was at fault? Should ROH have fired Grizzly? Is it true Shelton Benjamin didn’t integrate well into the locker room? Thoughts on how Adam Cole is handling his ROH title run so far? Why are you such a zoo enthusiast. How do you feel physically these days? You’ve had issues with your knees – how are they at this point? Do you ever want to tone your style down to protect yourself better? What do you think is the biggest misconception of Kevin Steen the person, as opposed to Kevin Steen the wrestler? How does the indy scene today compare to when you were breaking in? What do you think of the level of talent today? What’s the best part and the worst part of making your living as an independent wrestler? Do you have any regrets in your career? Any final words for everyone who’s supported your career?