Show notes
In this week’s Interview Classic episode from ten years ago (9-20-2019), PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Interview Friday with three distinct segments with Triple H, Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore, and Beth Phoenix.-The first segment features Triple H’s media conference call after NXT’s debut on USA Network. He talked about the thought process that went into what to feature on the USA Network debut, Vince McMahon’s involvement and reaction, whether the Full Sail venue is sufficient in the long-run for a national cable show setting, how the show was structured differently because of the split between USA and WWE Network, whether NXT is still developmental, utilizing cruiserweight on the show, and more.-Then comes an interview Wade Keller and Bruce Mitchell conducted on July 26, 2019 which has never been heard before with Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore which was recorded in front of a live audience at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Weekend events in Waterloo, Iowa. at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. In this interview, he discusses a wide range of fascinating topics including being the initial trainer of some of the top stars of the last 20 years including great stories on early John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Batista, and The Rock. Did Cena come across as a future star right away? Was Lesnar a nice guy and hard worker early? What did he think when he would look at The Rock? What separates the top class of success stories from those who didn’t end up making it from that same class in OVW? He also talks about ribs he played on Matt Striker, what lessons did he learn that he conveys to his students, the controversial aspects of the Eugene character and how it originated and was received, and more.-Then comes a panel discussion from July 27, 2019 which was recorded in front of a live audience at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Weekend events in Waterloo, Iowa. at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center which featured Gerald Brisco, Beth Phoenix, Bob Roop, Baron Von Racshke, and Thunderbolt Patterson. This snippet features Gerald Brisco talking at first about teaming with his brother and feuding with The Funks and Jay Youngblood & Rick Steamboat, then Beth Phoenix speaking about the transition from the Divas ear and her thought on women main eventing WrestleMania, who she thinks are top emerging stars today (outside of WWE), and her desire to see a culture in pro wrestling where kids can see a little bit of themselves in the product no matter their race, background, orientation, or otherwise. In the end, Baron Von Raschke sneaks in a joke about playing his imaginary sister Big Bertha on the air.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/wade-keller-pro-wrestling-podcast--3076978/support.