Show: The Interactive Interview courtesy of www.WrestlingEpicenter.com
Date: 2/2/09
Your Hosts: Patrick Kelley, James Walsh, & Nick Noel
Transcript By: Patrick Kelley
The week is finally here! In just a few days, the Staten Island Super Sign will be a reality. If you can’t wait for the big show, let our interviews tide you over!
In an interview that helped join him up with the Super Sign, Trevor Murdoch stops by and relives his entire career from start to current. This is a fun, light hearted, and yet very opinionated view from a wrestler who has more skill than most.
You can meet Trevor on Saturday, February 7 at the Staten Island Super Sign. Get your tickets at http://myspace.com/statenislandsupersign and tell the promoters that the Epicenter sent you!
You can listen, free of charge, to this sensational interview in digital audio at http://www.wrestlingepicenter.com. While there, be sure and help us out and help keep our site free by checking out our store and getting your hands on some hot pro wrestling DVD’s not found anywhere else!
TREVOR MURDOCH:
– Trevor is welcomed to the Epicenter, and he tells us what he’s been up to since leaving the WWE. He’s been working the Indy scene while also finding some more time to spend with his son, something that was hard to do while he was in the WWE.
– He watched wrestling at a young age. He watched World Class with his brother and specifically mentions The Von Erichs & Freebirds as being his favorites. He was amazed by the crowd reaction and the energy that it seemed to bring about.
– Before he got into wrestling, he heard all the horror stories about trainees getting roughed up, but he thought that if he could get passed that part of it, then he’d do fine.
– He never had a chance to wrestle in the old Sportitorium but talks about the grand history that the venue had before it was torn down. He loves the old days of when it was heavily focused on mostly wrestling.
– When asked if a show with almost all wrestling would work, he says it would, but it would have to be presented in a way that appeals to the modern audiences: "I don’t think the wrestling should change, but everything around it could"
– Trevor is not sure what the next big direction for wrestling is, but feels that a good place to start would be with longer matches.
– He loves tag team wrestling, and when he was younger the tag matches were the ones he liked the most. Because of that, he loved doing it himself and thought Lance & himself could achieve success. What he thought could happen was that even if one of them wanted to go for a singles title, they could still stay partnered together as a faction.
– The team with Cade really worked because they were devoted to making it work and had the right attitude going into it.
– The Dupps was an early run that he had in TNA. In that gimmick, he said that it didn’t last long, & he felt he was trying to play a character while he was allowed to be himself when he teamed with Lance.
– He got into TNA after having a match with Jeff Jarrett in WLW (Harley Race’s Promotion) and they decided to offer him a chance in TNA. His partner Murray is now a teacher, high school wrestling coach, and has a family now.
– When asked about The Dupp Cup, it gets a quick laugh and he doesn’t know where it is now.
– If he was offered the chance to go back to TNA, he would like to go back. He feels TNA is doing well at the moment had he & Lance would fit in well.
– When working with WLW, he took on the name Trevor Rhodes, because he kind of reminded people of Dusty. Harley Race had called up Dusty and told him about it which Dusty got a kick out of it. And then when he signed iwth the WWE, he reminded alot of people of Dick Murdoch, which led to him getting the name Trevor Murdoch.
– His body type was something that he felt would both hinder & help him. It would help him stand out, but he also knew that they liked to push guys with great bodies and he might not get a major push out of it.
– He enjoyed doing the Movie Review skits and doesn’t know why they weren’t put on TV. He was trying to be more like Larry the Cable Guy.
– For a short time, Cade & Murdoch were split, but then reunited. Trevor said that Vince felt he could make them both work as singles guys, and after a while it became apparent that they would work better as a team which is why they were put back together.
– The Singing Cowboy gimmick was something that he came up with and pitched to Vince. He was sure that the team was going to be broken up again and he thought it was something he could use considering he actually does like to sing. He enjoyed doing it, and wishes he could have done more with it. (and BTW he says that he’s a better singer than Jillian Hall)
– What he had hoped to do was to crossover into Country Music and gain some of that audience for the WWE and reach out to them. He feels that Southern audiences are very loyal to wrestling and would probably gravitate to the country music.
– He was disappointed that his feud with Lance didn’t get pushed harder and that they didn’t get a PPV spot. They both felt that they were one of if not the best tag team in the WWE and thought a singles feud would work big if pushed harder.
– Trevor was surprised that he was released and was originally supposed to have a feud with MVP on Smackdown. When he got the call, he was shocked.
– He knew that he stood out because his wrestling was believed in whatever he was doing and that his wrestling was more realistic. He feels that alot of guys lack in that aspect. He also felt that him & Lance’s talented were recognized enough to have them featured with big stars, even if it was just to job to them.
– When talking about some of the other teams that were in the WWE, he felt that The Highlanders didn’t put forth enough effort to be the best in the ring. He feels the same way about Cryme Tyme. He feels they have a great gimmick & catch phrase, but in the ring there wasn’t much else to them.
– Cade & Murdoch were valuable because they were able to take teams that were beneath them talent-wise and make them look good in the ring.
– Richie Steamboat’s training comes up and Trevor confirms that he’s working in NOAH and that he’s coming along very well. Like Lance said, Trevor says he’s just like his dad, and he just needs more experience.
– A lot of the guys that come into wrestling go straight to WWE’s training camps to get to the main roster fast, but Trevor feels that the best thing to do is to travel the world and gain experience with various Indy feds.
Word Associations
Fluff Dupp – "Worthless"
Lance Cade – "Solid. He’s a good dude, and he works hard"
Jeff Hardy – "Great. I can’t say enough good things about him"
John Cena – "People who say they dislike John Cena have never met him…he’s an all around good dude"
Arn Anderson – "A Phenom! A wealth of Knowledge. The Bible when it comes to pro wrestling"
Harley Race – "A Father Figure"
Vince McMahon – "He can be really out there, but he’s also a smart (swear word)".
– The final question is our standard question is asking about what happened with the Benoit Tragedy and how the media treated it. Trevor felt that it was very easy to put those kind of labels on wrestling & try and bring it down, but they don’t understand what its like to be in wrestling. When asked how the media’s response to it made him feel, he said that "there comes a point where you don’t give a shit" and just keep doing what you’re doing.
