Rhino Shoot Interview *HD*

GORE! GORE! GORE! One of the final superstars created in ECW. A man who worked his way up from a squash match with Taz in June of 99 to the top of the ECW mountain as both TV and World champion in 2001 only to have the company shut down. Rhino, two time ECW TV champion, involved in several high profile angles with Sandman (who could forget Lori Fullington taking several piledrivers from the ring apron onto a table on the floor courtesy of Rhino) and winner of the ECW Heavyweight championship at the companys final Pay Per View, Guilty as Charged also stopped by to give RF VIDEO an exclusive interview. There is no stone left untouched as we ask Rhino what happened at WrestleMania 21 that cause him to have so much heat with the WWE. RF VIDEO covers Rhino’s entire career and we ask about the wild days of ECW and what happened when the ECW wrestlers were brought into the WWE fold. Rhino brings new insight into the final year of ECW, plus all the changes in the WWE after ECW folded. From headlining one of the biggest PPV events of all time, to the handling of the WCW/ECW InVasion storyline, to the death of hardcore in the WWE. From 2001-2005 Rhino saw many changes in the WWE, he then faced injury only to come back to working a new style and have Vince McMahon come out and stop one of his matches and publicly humiliate him. Rhino has had a very interesting career and in this shoot he goes into the heart of the WWE, from its writers, to the front office, not even Vince Mcmahon himself escapes the man-beast’s wrath on this shoot Were you a fan growing up Who did you like watching Did you play any sports growing up When did you know you wanted to give it a shot Were you discouraged at all early on because of your height How did you wind up meeting Scott D’amore What kind of a trainer was he What was the biggest misconception you had about wrestling before you=20 started training What do you remember about your first matches Thoughts on Thug Life Edge talked a lot about the crazy Canadian road trips in his=20 book, what are your memories? Any good stories? Early memories of Edge an= d=20 Christian Did you think they had it Thoughts on Joe E Legend What do you remember about the indy years before ECW Were you an ECW fan before you were contacted How were you contacted, were you contacted or did you contact them> Did you ever have any talks with ECW before that time Did you know anyone in ECW before you came in How close did you stay with Christian and Edge after they went to the=20 WWE Initial impressions of Paul Heyman Were the other guys receptive to you in the locker room What do you remember about your match with Chris Daniels Early on you were kind of portrayed as a mid carder, and as a strong=20 enhancement guy after you did a job to Taz on TNN, Spike beat you in the Are= na.=20 Was that the plan early on or were you deceived Thoughts on Taz Who’s idea was it to put you with Chris Candido Chris said in a shoot interview the plan was to put the tag belts on yo= u=20 guys but then it never happened, is that true How crazy was the drug scene in ECW Did you know youd be going over in the TV Title Tournament before the=20 show At what point did Paul sit down with you and tell you he was going to g= ive=20 you the monster push with a monster gimmick Thoughts on Jack Victory Thoughts on matches with Sandman and Dreamer Was Sandman hard to work with Thoughts on Tajiri Thoughts on teaming with Justin Credible Thoughts on working with New Jack What do you remember about the whole deal with Mike Awesome Do you still have heat with him over it How do you think that affected ECW long term Were you ever contacted by WCW when you were in ECW Thoughts on working with RVD Thoughts on Sabu At what point did you realize there were problems in ECW Did Paul E ever lie to you Was it discouraging the less and less he would come to house shows> Did you have in your mind a breaking point where if things didn’t turn=20 around by this time you had a back up plan Who did you ride with in ECW Any good road stories What do you both think made ECW so successful, and at what point do you= =20 think ECW was at its highest point? Conversely, what do you think caused ECW= to=20 fail and what do you think other than the close itself was the lowest=20 point? Memories of the final ECW PPV What did it mean to you to get the ECW title How much money were you owed by ECW Did you ask Paul directly the future of ECW and if so what did he sayDIV> Memories of the final shows in Arkansas How did you know it was finally over Could an ECW succeed today How aware were you of Vince McMahon’s financial involvement in=20 ECW? Do you think you were suckered by Paul Heyman It has become public that Paul was under contract to the WWE before ECW= =20 actually closed, what are your thoughts on that What is the biggest misconception about ECW Memories of the night Sandman wrestled naked Who do think were the most overpushed guys/girls in ECW? How do you explain the longevity of a Steve Corino as compared to=20= some=20 of the other guys who just bounced around the indys? Dave Meltzer wrote a lengthy piece about ECW and said that Vince McMaho= n’s=20 deal as part of funding Paul was for Paul to steer talent towards Vince and=20= away=20 from WCW when leaving. What do you all think of that, and can you remember a= ny=20 instances where that happened? Axl Rotten did a shoot where he mentioned the final years in ECW and th= e=20 guys on top and said that those guys weren’t ECW, thoughts? You were one of the guys that came into the WWE pretty quickly after EC= W=20 closed. How did that happen? How different was the Paul Heyman in WWE as compared to ECW Did Christian and Edge go to bat for you to get into WWE Initial impressions of Jim Ross and Vince What were you told about how you would be used Thoughts on working as part of a unit with Edge and Christian How receptive was the locker room to you Were you stigmitzed as an “ECW guy” Thoughts on Wrestlemania 17, your first Wrestlemania How different was life for you now that you were now a true celebrity,=20 wrestling superstar How weird was the locker room once the WCW guys started working thereDIV> Were the WCW guys ribbed a lot Were you a part of the night that Buff Bagwell got beatdown by the Smac= kown=20 guys in the ring Fans to this day call your PPV match with Raven over the Hardcore title= you=20 and his best match in the WWE, thoughts? Thoughts on Raven Was it hard to adjust to working a different style in the WWE as compar= ed=20 to ECW Thoughts on working with Edge at KOR How did the team ECW angle come about Did you like it Thoughts on working with Steve Austin Were there ever any considerations to calling you the ECW Champion and=20 letting you wear the belt on TV Memories of the Invasion match up Do you think the invasion angle was botched How did you feel about Stephanie being the storyline owner of ECW Thoughts on matches with Chris Jericho Thoughts on Chris Benoit Thoughts/memories of Wrestlemania 19 What happened with the match in Long Island that you had with Tajiri an= d=20 Vince walked out on Were you angry about it Are you surprised that that story has taken on a whole life of its=20 own How did things change for talent when John Laurenitus took over J.R.’s=20 job Thoughts on some of the writers: Brian Gerwitz Dave Lagana Paul Heyman Stephanie Mcmahon=20 How did you hurt your neck Did any of the guys who had previous injuries give you any advice or he= lp=20 you out How hard was the injury mentally on you Did it change you Are you surprised when you hear about what happened to Test that you we= rent=20 released when you were injured Is it hard to avoid pain pills with the WWE lifestyle Thoughts on your weeks in OVW Did you find the road agents helpful or a hinderance Were you on the “flight from hell” and if so, thoughts Thoughts on Randy Orton Thoughts on Brock Lesnar and how he left Thoughts on Kurt Angle Thoughts on Eddie Guerrero When you were drafted to Raw last year wh= en=20 were you notified you were going over Do you think you had a better chance of mobility on the Raw or Smackdow= n=20 roster Many people say Triple H holds people down and has too much power on Ra= w,=20 what are your thoughts on him and his reputation? Thoughts on John Cena Did you ever feel 100% after you came back Memories of the WMania 21 battle royal What happened at WM21 between you and your wife Do you think you deserved to be fired How did you find out you were fired Do you think 15 years ago without the Internet you would have been=20 fired Thoughts on newsletter and the net Thoughts on the entire Edge, Lita, Matt Hardy situation For six or so years you were on the road constantly, what has life been= =20 like for you without that kind of lifestyle Was your appearance at One Night Stand in jeopardy When did you know you were booked on the show Was it awkward seeing guys in management, Vince specifically and John=20 Laurenitus for the first time at Raw and Smackdown How well were you received back at Raw and Smackdown Was it different for you since you were only booked for a few=20 appearances Did anyone volunteer or refuse to take the Gore Thoughts on your match with Sabu Was there ever any consideration to having you come out with the belt o= n=20 the PPV Thoughts on the entire show Thoughts on the inclusion of WWE talent Were you disappointed that they completely dropped the angle the next=20 night Thoughts on the JBL-Meanie incident at ONS Are you surprised Meanie got a job out of it Good road stories from your time in WWE Good rib stories Fav matches in the WWE Fav guys to work with and why Least fav guys to work with and why At what point in your career did you think you made it Any regrets Does it bother you when you see less talented guys being pushed at a ti= me=20 when your released What is your future Do you think TNA has a future Have you watched TNA since you started here Is there anyone you didn’t get a chance to work with that you wished