 He was a wrestling Icon in Japan as "The Gladiator." He came to the United States by way of ECW and quickly dominated the competition and became ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Then, he went on to WCW where he earned a victory over "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. He is Mike Awesome and he is the latest guest on The Interactive Interview!
You don't want to miss this interview as it is a biographical interview with Mike that nobody on the Internet can even come close to touching!
And, as a special guest to accompany Mr. Awesome, we welcome TNA X Division superstar Jarrelle Clark!
:
Listen
in Streaming Media
::
Download
to Desktop
NOTE: This and all interviews are in Real Audio
format. If you do not have a Real Player, you can download one free by
clicking here. It's free and is
a relatively small download.
MIKE AWESOME & JARRELLE CLARK
'Mr 630' Jerrelle Clark
-- Jerrelle was a fan growing up, and watched everything from Leaping Lanny Poffo, to Dynamite Kid, etc. Old WWWF, to NWA. Watching since he was little, he always wanted to be a part of the business.
-- He was trained by Jeremy McCulough.
-- Clark says he was very nervous for his first match (in front of 90-95 people). He used a gimmick called Lil' Baller, and just had one thing on his mind during the match (which was against his tag team partner); "don't squash me".
-- Talk turns to IPW:Hardcore and Ron Niemi. He was working as The Cutthroats with his partner (the guy from his debut match), but circumstances meant he started working singles as Jerrelle Clark. It was then that he returned to work with Ron.
-- At Rage In The Cage 4, Jerrelle hit a moonsault from the top of the Cage. He says that everything was going through his mind, from will they be there to catch him, to what the hell is he doing up there. It was his idea to do the spot, and since it was his IPW singles debut and all of the other cruiser's in the Cage match were doing sick spots, he just climbed the cage, crossed his heart and went for it.
-- Out of all the cruiserweights he's fought across in his career so far, he enjoyed working the most against Justice. Both guys have martial arts backgrounds and such. He then goes on to complete his top 3 list.
-- Mr 630 then gives his thoughts on the way that Cruiserweights are showcased in the WWE. The specific example he brings up is Jamie Knoble, speaking about how he's seen Jamie do some really exciting stuff, but he's relatively restricted and 'grounded' in the WWE. James brings up the comments Jerry Lynn made on a past show about not out-shining the main eventers, and Jerrelle gives his reaction to those.
-- Speaking of good matches, Jerrelle speaks about the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup where he worked Tony Mamaluke. He speaks about how smooth Mamaluke is in the ring, and how well he flows from one move to the next.
-- Clark speaks about his two shots in NWA:TNA. The first trip was an Xplosion taping against Elix Skipper. When he got there he saw everybody he'd been watching on television for the past few years, and he said it just blew his mind - he was walking around like a kid with his jaw on the floor.
-- The second time around he was on the PPV itself in a tag match with El Fuego against Sonjay Dutt and Eric Young. Clark says there's nothing like it, and his heart felt like it skipped 10 beats every time he looked out into the crowd.
-- After that match, Sonjay Dutt signed a contract with TNA, and while Mr 630 would love to do so and work there again, there hasn't been any real talks at the moment.
-- If he was presented with a Developmental deal with WWE, or a yearly deal with NWA:TNA, if he HAD to decide right on the spot and choose one, he'd choose the one where he had more of a chance to showcase himself, which would at this time have to be NWA:TNA.
-- Discussion then moves on to the move which got him his nickname - The 630. He has a background in gymnastics since he was 4 years old, and has done competition diving amongst other things. One day he was on a trampoline he was doing front doubles and other combinations, and he turned to his tag partner and he said "it'd be cool if I could do that off the top rope".
Three weeks later he was at IPW before a show, and while practising with a crash mat, his partner said to him "why don't you try that one and ¾". So, in his words, Clark "climbed up to the top, put my head between my legs, kissed my ass goodbye, and jumped".
-- When then asked if any injured or accidents have occurred from it, the worst thing which has come of it was a dislocated thumb which was taped up and he was back in business in two weeks.
While he realises it's a dangerous move, Jerrelle then adds that its not as dangerous for the person taking it as it is for him. "Say my foot slips off the rope as I'm trying to turn, or trying to take off and I come crashing down head first".
-- We then turn to the Word Association segment of the interview, with names such as IPW Hardcore, NWA Florida, Lanny Poffo, Sonjay Dutt and many more.
-- We then wrap up the interview with a message to his fans, as well as a message of where he wants to be in 5 years time.
-- If you want to book Jerrelle you can do so by heading over to http://www.inyourfacebookings.com. Also at In Your Face you can book many other former TII names, and others from the indy scene such as Jeremy Lopez, Big Vito, Teddy Hart, Perry Saturn and many more!
-- And finally, Jerrelle has a website up currently, jerrelleclark.20m.com, but one will be coming soon at mr630.com.
-- We then roll a Fozzy song, before moving into our second interview of the show, Mike Awesome.
Mike Awesome
-- Mike was a big wrestling fan growing up. He used to go to the Armory to go watch the wrestling in Florida. It was him and his friends going to watch it.
-- Dusty Rhodes was his favorite growing up. Terry Funk was a favorite as well because he was such a good heel. He hated him at the time but now he realizes that hating him meant he was over with him.
-- Mike did three years of college to become an accountant. His cousin, Horace Hogan, and also Mike himself wanted to be wrestlers but thought they were too skinny to pull it off. Horace went on a tour with his Uncle Hulk Hogan and came back saying how they had to do it.
-- Mike was trained by Steve Kern, known as Skinner in the WWF later. Steve taught him the ropes as well as Jimmy Del Ray. Horace was trained by the Malenkos.
-- The USWA was Mike's first territory. "It was a great weight loss program because we couldn't afford to eat."
-- For as green as he was, the fans were good to him in the USWA. He feels it was a great learning experience all around but he was just starving.
-- Working with Jerry Lawler was a blast. Jerry was able to take anybody in the ring and make them have a good match. Mike feels humbled to have wrestled Lawler so soon after starting in the business.
-- Mike was supposed to have a "Loser Leaves" match with Chris Champion. It ended up that both left. Mike was at a gas station and couldn't afford to put gas in the car. He was going on credit alone at that point. So, he said "the hell with this" and went home without doing the "loser leaves" match.
-- Mike feels there were expectations for him in Japan that he had to meet and he tried his best to do so. He was very nervous on the first tour but he can't put Japan over enough for all the things they have done for him. He wrestled there for many years and still wrestles there full time.
-- Atsushi Onita effected his career tremendously. After the USWA, Mike went back to college. He did some indy shows in Florida for free. He was the champion, but still wasn't being paid. Onita called and offered him the tour of Japan so he was at the crossroads in his life. it was either wrestling or college, he couldn't do both. Obviously he chose wrestling and that resulted in a great long career in Japan and he owes Onita a debt of gratitude for the opportunity.
-- Mike says he doesn't know how to answer critics that said FMW was garbage wrestling. He just knows what Onita wanted and that is what he delivered. He said the change is not just in Japanese wrestling but if you watch wrestling in the United States now, it's changed as well because of what FMW was doing at the time. If the critics want to see classic style wrestling, that's fine. He can't change their minds. He prefers tables and such, himself.
-- Mike is very proud of the innovative stuff he did in that match such as the swimming pool match with water bombs in the water and exploding barbed wire. He hopes American fans do find tapes of matches like that involving him because he is proud of them.
-- About that match, Mike was glad to be a part of it. He was told before the match not to land on the mines directly in the water or he would be seriously hurt. They had swimmers there, though, to rescue them if something were to go wrong.
-- "The Sheik was a crazy old man, boy!" He threw a chair at Mike end over end the first time they met in the ring and Mike feels "if you didn't know him, he was an asshole!" But, Mike worked with him for many years and was on the bus with him and they ended up becoming friendly. He feels once you got past the crazy gimmick that he played, he was a really nice guy. He doesn't know how many people had the honor to know him the way he did.
-- Mike did part time shots for ECW well before joining them. The reason for the short stays was because he had a full time gig in Japan and didn't feel the need to work for ECW for less money.
-- Mike did a dive over the top and landed on J. T. Smith. Smith's back bent over the guard rail and Mike was sure he broke Smith's back. He asked him immediately if Smith was okay and he was. Mike celebrated more because he was okay than because he hit a good move. He likes that it was used in the ECW entrance video for so long but he was more happy that he didn't hurt Smith.
-- Masato Tanaka is a great guy to work with but Mike is always on edge when he wrestles him because he knows Tanaka is going to come after him with his best stuff and Mike will do the same. "It's not that we're pissed at each other. It's just that we had so many brutal matches in Japan that we do the same thing wherever we wrestle."
-- Onita left FMW and Mike wasn't thrilled with the new booking crew. "They were doing stuff that was far from what Onita originally had us doing." When Hayabusa was in charge, who is now paralyzed, it became more wrestling and less gimmicks. Then, a year after that, it changed and Mike hurt his ankle and decided it was time to leave and not come back.
-- So, Mike entertained going to ECW full time and knew he was going to get the kind of push he ended up getting "up front." But, he blew his knee right knee out. So, he had a hurt left ankle and a blown out right knee. He took a year off to recover from his injuries.
-- When he returned and the push began, he really enjoyed the push. The match he won the title, the 3-way-dance with Tanaka and Tazz, was a great match "once we got Tazz out of there."
-- Mike gives Spike Dudley a lot of credit for getting him over in ECW. He says Spike is such a great worker and is absolutely crazy to take the bumps he takes.
-- Mike's only problem with ECW was he was simply not getting paid what he was supposed to be getting paid. He had absolutely no heat with the locker room at the time and enjoyed what he was doing. It was just financial differences.
-- Mike only talked to WCW for 4 days before deciding to jump ship.
-- Paul pulled things out of his bag of tricks when Mike jumped including filing an injunction to WCW to prevent him from wrestling claiming he had a signed contract. Mike had never signed a contract with ECW but Paul produced a paper with Mike's initials on it way below where one is supposed to sign. Mike said it was obvious to anyone that it wasn't his signature. But, WCW settled paying Paul Heyman $50,000.
-- When asked about his feelings about Paul Heyman, Mike said "He's a dirty man. I mean, that signature got on that paper somehow...I'm sure he didn't help me out when we were in WWE either. He's a snake, but that's just my opinion."
-- Mike feels he didn't leave ECW professionally. He feels he left it the way he did out of spite because he simply was not being paid. He feels that is why ECW was favorable towards the Dudley Boyz and Tazz ... They left the right way whereas Mike left "unprofessionally" as the champion.
-- The night he dropped the belt to Tazz was a great night, he feels. The crowd was so hot at him and even though they really hated him, it was just such a hot crowd. The only thing he could've done to make it better would have been to put him with Rhyno instead of Tazz because he didn't trust Tazz.
-- In WCW, Kevin Nash was great to work with. Nash was willing to do anything suggested, "not crazy wise but story wise." Mike feels too many guys were worried about their spot and such but Nash was not that way at all.
-- Knowing he wrestled Hulk Hogan, he is so honored by that fact. He feels to have not only wrestled Hogan but to have put him through a table is just fantastic!
-- When asked about the Bash at the Beach 2000 incident with Hulk Hogan and WCW, "You know, that sucked. That really sucked. I mean it was the end. It was WCW, Hulk Hogan was there. I mean he's gotten over bigger than anybody ever has ever. Ever, I mean, ever! And they go and do that to him. Come on, have a little respect!"
-- Hulk Hogan was responsible for Mike going to WCW. So, when Hogan was gone he was basically dumped on. "It was down from there."
-- "The Fat Chick Thriller was just absolutely stupid. I was wondering if they wanted me to quit. What the hell were they doing?" But, he enjoyed "That 70's Guy" at times. He liked the bus, driving it in to the arena and such. He also remembers fondly powerbombing one of the Insane Clown Possie members on top and how the guy slid off the side of the bus and how Mike tried to grab him so he wouldn't fall but realized he had polyester on and if he had tried to grab him on such a surface, he'd have fallen right off with him. "So, I said the hell with it and let him fall." But, he feels it was too goofy, though.
-- He doesn't know if Russo was mad at him or connected him to Hogan or if he just really thought the gimmicks were "something good."
-- Gary Coleman was funny to have with him at Fall Brawl 2000 but his biggest memory of the night was Gary relentlessly trying to get with Major Guns. "Lighten up, guy. She's not going to give it to you, all right?"
-- He doesn't believe Vampiro when he says the powerbomb from the top from Halloween Havoc "broke his neck." Mike doesn't feel he was really injured and says he has confronted Vampiro on the issue. He feels Vampiro used it as a way to get out of his problems with WCW.
-- At the same event, a fan got a little too involved and Mike took some shots on him for his own safety. With how tight security was, Mike landed maybe one punch on the guy before he started accidentally smashing security guards.
-- Another fan incident was one of the girls of FMW dragged a guy backstage who was throwing stuff at them in the ring. The guy looked like he was about to hit the girl so Mike charged from about 30 yards away and hit him with a clothesline from behind. "I just creamed him!"
-- Mike was glad to get his hair cut because he wanted to distance himself from the 70's Guy gimmick and become something serious.
-- The last few months at WCW were tough because everybody knew it was to be sold because AOL/Time Warner were not interested in keeping the company themselves. But, nobody thought it would be the WWE who bought them.
-- The last Nitro was a weird feeling because everybody was in different rooms instead of just one big room.
-- Hugh Morris walked in on the last Nitro and told Mike his contract was picked up by the WWE. Mike replied "great!"
-- Mike thought getting the WWE Hardcore title would result in getting a push. But, he figured out shortly after it wasn't. He was just the guy they put the belt on so he could give it to the guy who they really wanted the belt on.
-- Wrestling under the banner "ECW" again was something he never expected to happen again. He feels the ECW group was more over than WCW. He feels they didn't let it take off because they didn't want it to.
-- The reason the invasion failed is because fans wanted Hogan, Steiner, Goldberg, and so forth right away. Instead they didn't get them and the angle just left people unsatisfied.
-- He feels Paul didn't help him in the WWE when he had power. He says he doesn't anymore.
-- Mike enjoys wrestling in Japan full time now with All Japan. He says keep up with him in Japan by buying Japanese tapes and checking out the All Japan web site.
-- NWA TNA is just not his style of wrestling. Mike feels he wasn't very into it when he was there. He regrets it, but he just wasn't into it. He likes longer matches rather than short TV matches so he had a hard time in TNA.
-- The Wall aka Malice was a friend of his that he'll miss dearly. Malice was also with All Japan and in the New Church as Mike was. He feels bad that he couldn't be with him on the last tour and wishes he (Mike) hadn't gotten injured so he could've been with him. He misses him already.
-- Mike isn't planning to be a part of MLW when they start up. He was the MLW champion for a very short time but he has not been contacted to appear for their upcoming shows and as such he will just focus all his energy on Japan.
-- Mike likes the hard hitting Japanese style far more than WCW/WWE "story" style. He likes the more in ring style.
-- Mike has nobody he wants to wrestle in particular right now but Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit would be nice.
-- When Mike finishes with wrestling, he is finished for good. He has no intention of sticking around backstage as some guys hope to. "When I'm done, I want to be out for good."
-- Mike's career highlight thus far has to be winning the FMW Heavyweight Title the first time.
-- PLUS! Word associations with names like Paul Heyman, Jeff Jones, Tanaka, Hulk Hogan, Horace, Muta, and so many others!
-- We then go into our show recap with Daniel Edler & James Walsh discussing the latest wrestling news!
:: GO BACK TO THE HOME
PAGE
:: DISCUSS THIS POST
ON THE FORUMS!
:: BUY WRESTLING DVD'S
THROUGH OUR STORE!
CLASSIC WRESTLING PPV'S!
INDEPENDENT WRESTLING!
BEST OF COMPILATIONS!
THE DIVAS/WOMEN OF WRESTLING LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN!
GET IT ALL ON DVD IN THE EPICENTER EMPORIUM!
Home |
News |
Editorials |
Interviews |
Forums |
Chat Room |
Store |
Divas |
PPV Results |
TV Results |
Shows |
Links
| Metal Epicenter |
Contact Us/Staff |
