Former WWE star Kevin Thorn was the guest on the recent edition of The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show, and below are some interview highlights. You can listen to the entire show at this link.
On His Love of Working For Himself as an Independent Wrestler:
It’s definitely fun making your own way, being your own man. The human being, as a man, it’s fun to answer only to yourself. It’s good wrestling for myself and being my own man. I have more time to get to the fans, and talk to the fans and that kind of thing. It’s an awesome feeling.
On WWE Bringing Back Veterans:
Yeah, definitely. I think it’s kind of the coming of the new age. You can get a guy like Rhyno, myself, stuff like that; give them a couple of months, let them help some younger guys out, and they can go back to doing their own thing. You don’t have to lock them up to that long term contract. You can use them for a little bit, different things on the Network and then move along. They were recently in town here for Clash of Champions, and I went down there; hadn’t been there in a while, and went and saw some friends and stuff, and when I was down there, I was approached to follow suit, so who knows; we’ll see what happens. All that speculation with them buying TNA, if they do, that is a lot of talent they would have at their disposal immediately, so, who knows. Like with the Spirit Squad appearing recently, Headbangers, it’s kind of cool to see them reminiscing, it’s kind of cool to see some of these guys we hadn’t seen in awhile for entertainment. I think it makes wrestling exciting again, you never know who you are going to get, instead of the same 15 every Monday and Tuesday.
On the Current TNA Situation:
I can only imagine with those guys, and I know them. For me, just for me having to cancel flights because of the Hurricane and stuff, I couldn’t even do anything, but that’s just because of natural disasters, which is something nobody can do about it, but not knowing if next month you will be getting paid again, do I need to go out and find a real job? Everything is based on your TV time with TNA, so it definitely would have to be nerve wrecking to not know day in and day out if you are going to have a livelihood tomorrow.
On WWE’s Production Changes Since the Brand Split:
I think it’s tough. Splitting the brands makes you split the star power, and who you put on what show. I know they did some shows where they were running against their free TV of Monday Night Raw, the Smackdown guys just have that day where they were sitting there, so it’s a tough thing, you know, the thing with WWE now, and the thing you are seeing, they are starting to figure out how to build all that content. The stage set ups and the ring posts have LED lights, I mean, they are making so much of a show of it now. Someone was telling me that even house shows now have an entrance ramp and kind of a stage where a long time ago, they put up a curtain, a ring, and a guard rail and that was it. Now, they are giving guys lights and pyro’s; they are putting a lot more effort into it than ever before. Now, with NXT and everything else, they are definitely building something. With anything, they will always have mistakes and everything else, but as a fan you are going to get a lot more than before.
On CM Punk’s UFC Debut:
Definitely pulling for him. The biggest problem is, Punk at 37, 38 fighting a guy that is 24, 25, but also Mickey Gall started wrestling probably in 3rd grade with so many things to build him as a UFC Fighter, then you have a guy like Punk, from all aspects, he was in a band, he was a loner, he wasn’t a fighter in High School, you’re giving up years and years and years of fighting background to go in there cold turkey, you’re kind of at a disadvantage anyway. And I know he was a fan of it and all that, but I turned 40 this year, and I box at the gym, but I would never want to go in there with a real boxer. I love it, but I can’t last with Mike Tyson. But, he did it, he can say he did it, you know, definitely mistakes made, but hey, if you have the balls to do it then more power to him.
You can listen to this entire podcast by subscribing to the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show on iTunes.
