Mike McMahon sent this in.
Here’s a link to a feature story and interview I conducted with TNA’s Rockstar Spud ahead of tonight’s Impact. I have some excerpts below.
The Full Interview: http://eyeonwrestling.com/2015/06/exclusive-interview-with-tnas-rockstar-spud/
Feature story on Spud’s Journey: http://eyeonwrestling.com/2015/06/feature-rockstar-spud-doing-the-impossible-with-world-title-shot/
Spud on finding out he’d challenge Kurt Angle: “When they told me what I was doing that day, I got kind of emotional, really. OK, I’m fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship, I’m me, and I never believed this would happen to me in my wildest dreams. I got all that out of the way at the beginning of the day and had my little release of emotion there, and then I was just concentrating on how we could tell a really great story that’s going to compliment Kurt.”
Spud critics of his size: “I’ve had people say, ‘Yeah, people like you and all, but we can’t really put you on the posters and stuff.’ That’s where it used to get to me. I want to be the guy on the posters. I want to be the guy on the lunch boxes. I want to be the guy doing the personal appearances. I want to be the guy that’s on all the advertisements for the show on the television screen. I want to be the guy in all the commercials. I want to be the guy in all the main events. I want to be the guy with all the belts. I want to be the guy. … I’m really sorry that the guy who wants it more than anyone happens to be 5-foot-4 and 159 pounds.”
Spud on critics saying Option C devalues the X-Division Title: “If you didn’t get into it to be the World Heavyweight Champion, you got into it for the wrong reasons. You can set the X-Division Championship as a goal, because it is one of the most important belts in this promotion because of the lineage it has. Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, A.J. Styles, they had some of the most phenomenal matches ever for this championship.”
Spud on working with Billy Corgan: “He’s done some amazing things with The Dollhouse. That’s one of the best things on Impact at the moment in my opinion. The way he has made it a performance and made it larger than life. The way the girls come down to the ring with the entrance music — it’s the most annoying entrance music in the world because it’s just so catchy — the barber shop quartet was also something I think he had a hand in. I’m really looking forward to working with him in anything down the road. He’s a very approachable dude. He’s here for the company, and that’s awesome. I can’t say enough good things about him.”