INTERACTIVE WRESTLING RADIO INTERVIEW - Rockstar Spud


Show: Interactive Wrestling Radio courtesy of www.WrestlingEpicenter.com
Guest: TNA Impact Wrestling's Rockstar Spud
Date: 05/27/16
Your Hosts: Patrick Kelley & James Walsh

He has played the plucky underdog, the bombastic rockstar, a comedic heel, and a turncoat. Not bad for 3 years on TNA Impact

Wrestling! Of course, we're talking about one of the men who main evented Impact on Tuesday night, Rockstar Spud! And, he's this

week's special guest on Interactive Wrestling Radio.

To download the MP3, visit http://www.wrestlingepicenter.com and click the "Interviews" link! You can also check out any of our 436

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ROCKSTAR SPUD:

On the name Spud:
"It was given to me because it resembled something small. I kind of liked it. I used to watch Prize Fighter when I was a kid, Scotish / British movie, and there was a character in it called Spud and I liked it because he was an absolute maniac! That's pretty much where it came from... It wasn't anything deep or meaningful."

On his "Rockstar" Side:
"That's the kind of music I absolutely adore. I'm a child of the 80's... I love 80's and 90's music, 80's and 90's movies. But, the Rockstar side of me came because anyone that knows me knows that I'll be the one carrying on at the party and I'm the one that will go to bed last. Everyone else will wake up with hangovers and I'll be at the gym already going, "Hey guys, how ya doing?" (laughs) No sell! "Rockstar" came from that. It's just that I'm a maniac! That is my personality turned up to 11."

On working for IPW UK and our former co-host:
"Dan (Edler) is great. He was one of the first ones, ouside the FWA, to bring in international talent - Imports we'd call them. Dan started like the tree branch for companies that Revolution Pro who branched out and are doing their own thing, Dan continues to do his own thing. But, that's where it all came about. The promotion gave us a platform to perform and sell ourselves to the fans. I can't thank him enough in that respect."

On appearing for TNA British Boot Camp in 2013:
"It w asfun. it was an opportunity. I thought to myself, "I'm 29 years old. It is time to give this wrestling thing ago. I threw everything into it and low and behold, they picked me out of everybody. they picked me. I hope they don't regret it but I'm sure they do because I'm an annoying, annoying, annoying young man. If they're happy, I'm happy because I'm still going here!"

On Bully Ray (Bubba Ray Dudley) singing his praises early on in TNA:
"He was and always has been a tremendous leader and someone I could always... Bubba's got his way. He's got his way with everyone but I'm able to speak to him. I'd ask him, "Sir, could I ask you something" and he'd say, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" (in a thick New York accent which is funny to hear Spud do). (Laughs) I saw his documentary recently. Your story is so, so awesome. I'm so happy that you're a part of mine. Don't tell anyone I said that because he'll probably punch me for saying that."

On a culture shock from the UK to the US:
"It was a major culture shock in a way in the way the United States operates in regards to Social Security, Home Owners, renting your own apartment.... Other than that, it has been cool!" He says that the people often say they like his accent and that often makes it a personable exchange and as such, getting used to the changes has come somewhat easy. "Hey, I'm in a different country. Thank God it is a country that speaks English... Even though they profess to me that they're speaking American and I'm the one butchering the English language. I love it here. It is a wonderful, wonderful country and the fact that I've had the opportunity to live here the past 3 years is a blessing."

On the evolution of the Spud character and which he likes best:
"Here's the thing. I'm a performer. If they told me to go out there and do a dinosaur, I'd give you the best version of a dinosaur I could be. One of the best all around performers I ever saw was Eric Young. I thought he was amazing. Whatever he was given, he made it gold. Just like Santino Marella... Whatever you get given... Here's chicken shit, make it chicken soup and they did it every time. To me, that is what a great performer should be. Whatever you're given, make it work! This is the wonderful world of pro wrestling.. You can bitch and compalin about it but if you're very good, you can take anything and make it work." He goes on to discuss it in more everyday terms adding, "When you show up to work, if they say "You're working on the hot dog stand." "Well, I want to work on burgers today." "No, you're on the hot dog stand today. "Well, no. I've been working on hot dogs for 3 weeks! I want to work on burgers." It is the exact same mentality. You know what I mean? It is like, "I'm sick of being a babyface. I want to be a heel now!" Shut up, everyone! Do as you're f***ing told and get paid!"

On his feud and Hair versus Hair match with Ethan Carter III:
"Screw that guy! Lets not talk about him!" (laughs) "The match? We knew we were going to make something special of the whole thing. When I say that, I mean when they split us off. Originally, I don't think they were going to do anything with it. It was an occasion where one performer went to the writing team, the boss man, or whatever and said "Hey, I think we've got something here" and they agreed. I can't thank John Gaburick for giving us that platform. They wrote all of it. We performed it. Every opportunity to perform that story is what they gave us. Now, the match? We just wanted to go out there and not just give you a match. We wanted to give you a presentation of a story of love and hate. You wanted the good guy to win and you wanted the bad guy to lose. I'm a British kid. I was in Wembley Arena. I was in front of thousands of my countrymen... One of the greatest experiences of my life. It was also one of EC3's." He goes on to say, "The fact that it made people talk about Impact Wrestling again? That meant more to us than anything." He goes on to say that if that is the match he's identified with for the rest of his career, he is OK with that because he thinks it was one of the best he's ever had.

On the constant reports of "low morale" in TNA:
"Well, you just saw what Brad the director of POP TV put out about the constant drivel about the things you hear. Here's the deal, man. I'm a company man. I love this company and I will fight for this company until they don't want me to fight for them anymore. When I'm at work, I'm around the most positive, motivated locker rooms on the planet as far as I'm concerned. No matter where I've gone, be it the independents, an acting job... There's no more positive atmosphere than our guys. Yes, there might be stuff going on that we don't know of. But, that doesn't effect our work and that doesn't effect what product we're going to give out to our fans. Our job is to do what we do. We don't know or seek out any more than that. Everybody wants to talk about something negative and the sheets will follow... Cross the bridge when you come to it, I think."

On being on POP TV:
"I think we're a great fit for their network. They're a great network to work for. They've got great original programming like ourselves, like Schitt's Creek that you can watch every week. They're a growing network which is why they want to attract a different kind of audience which I think pro wrestling does bring to any network. And, My God, sometimes they even put on Point Break! What could be better than that?" (laughs) James shouts out, "The original!" Spud says, "Whatever the hell that remake was... It is worse than the Karate Kid! I had a young lady, she was 23, and I asked if she saw Point Break. She said, "Yeah, that new one?" She didn't know Bodie! She didn't know Keanu Reeves. Forget that! You know what? Forget it!" Spud then reveals that he's in a Patrick Swayze T shirt as we speak that has a collage of pictures from his most famous roles including Bodie from Poitn Break, his character from Grease, and his character from Roadhouse.

On the magic of working with those who he idolized as a kid as he did on Impact in a ladder match with Jeff Hardy:
"Absolutely. Look at this like a business, know what you're worth. BUT, don't forget why you got into this in the first place and why you're doing it is to make people happy and to make someone say in 10 years, "I remember seeing Rockstar Spud versus ECIII in Wembley Arena and that's why I became a wrestler." Well, I remember when I saw Jeff Hardy when I was growing up. I remember watching Jeff and Matt Hardy jumping off of ladders and that's why I'm a wrestler. You should take all these things and all these memories... This business owes you nothing. I wouldn't be in the US and I wouldn't be living with the quality of life I do right now without this industry." He goes on to say that he makes a good living because of his hard work but also because of those who paved the way ahd he suggests everyone look at the business with a positive view and not a "negative Nancy" point of view.