Post by Snitsky on May 14, 2009 22:28:04 GMT -5
Mike McMahon: Hey Chris, how are things going?
Chris Mordetzky: “Everything is going great. I just came off an injury that sidelined me form January to April, but I got to work in Europe and Australia last month, which was great. It was the Wrestling Rampage Tour, I was working with Sabu and RVD, it was a really good tour and a really great time.”
McMahon: Something that I don’t think a lot of fans know about your career is that you sent in a tape for Tough Enough, the reality show that WWE used to run on MTV, got invited to Denver for try out and was rejected. What was going through your mind during that time? That could have been a real devastating blow to a young kid trying to make it.
Mordetzky: “Yeah, it was just back to the drawing board. It didn’t bother me much, I was like 17 or 18 years old and I knew that I still could make it. So, I went the traditional route, went to wrestling school, which is how I really wanted to break into the business to be honest. Tough Enough would have been a great opportunity, but the traditional route, that’s how everyone breaks in, and looking back, going to wrestling school and learning the business that way was a much better way to do it.”
McMahon: So you move on to UPW, which has developed quite a bit of talent over the years for the WWE, what was your experience like in UPW?
Mordetzky: “I liked UPW, it was a good place to learn the fundamentals. In order to become a better overall worker you have to go somewhere you can learn psychology and OVW was great moving me along in that process. But UPW was a great place to go learn the fundamentals of the ring because without those tools, OVW never would have been an option for me. They have some great teachers (at UPW).”
McMahon: OVW, when it was a developmental territory for WWE, was a factory for talent. You were a product of that territory as well. Who were some of the guys you worked with there and who were some of the guys who helped you along in OVW?
Mordetzky: “OVW is like college for wrestlers, that’s what I equivocate it to. I was there with Matt Morgan, Mickie James, the entire Spirit Squad and Carlito. John Cena, Randy Orton and those guys were the generation before me. Bobby Lashley was there about six months after I got there. It was really a great group, looking back. Most of the guys I was with during that time all made it.”
McMahon: If I remember correctly, the first big spotlight television match you had was a RAW match with you and Carlito teaming against Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. What was it like working with Carlito, who you came up with, across from two legends in the business in Flair and Michaels?
Mordetzky: “Carlito is funny as hell, very entertaining to team with and coming up through OVW together, it was great to be able to share that big-match moment with him. And to work across from Shawn and Flair, come on, I was just honored to be in the ring with those guys. We had two living legends in the ring with us, two of the best ever, it was great. I am just happy to say that I got to work with those guys, that’s something I’ll remember. I didn’t work with either of them a whole lot, but those few times we were in the ring together you learn so much. Those guys know how to work a crowd, they just know how to give the audience what they want to see; it’s an instinct.”
McMahon: Not too long after that, I think it was at Unforgiven just a few weeks later, you had your first big pay-per-view match against Michaels. Any memories of that night?
Mordetzky: “When they told me I was working Shawn, I wanted it to go well, and wanted to make sure I had no regrets, and I didn’t. It was the first big program that they put me in and it was against a guy who inspired me in the business, so it was real cool. Working with Shawn is easy, too. You can’t have a bad match with Shawn Michaels.”
McMahon: You debut early in 2005 and by that year’s Survivor Series, your really pushing Main Event status and even had a WWE Championship match, a triple threat, on RAW against Cena. Leading up to that match you knocked Cena out in a Masterlock, the first time he was knocked out on television, were you surprised how quickly the push came and how far you had advanced so quickly?
Mordetzky: “I guess because it happened out of nowhere, but at the same time, they were preparing me for a while. The whole intention was to use me in a higher spot, and definitely one of the top heel spots, so I knew it was coming. It just came very quick and I didn’t have a lot of time to react, you’re right in there with the big boys. It was good in a way because it happened so quick I didn’t have a lot of time to really think about it. You’re just out there, doing what you love.”
McMahon: What was the process behind creating “Chris Masters,” whose idea was it and when did you start using it?
Mordetzky: “It was an evolution process. I started as “Big” Chris Mordetzky, and in Louisville (OVW) I was branded Chris Masters. Then one day, we’re just sitting around in OVW and Matt Morgan brought up the idea of the Masterpiece. A bunch of us were just sitting around, talking wrestling, and he brings up that name and the whole group of us just stopped; it fit right in with what I was portraying. I was obviously a body guy, so it fit the image. I was going to be a guy who would follow in the footsteps of Paul Orndorff or Rick Rude, that’s what my character was based on, a little bit of those guys. So, you’ve got “Ravishing” Rick Rude, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff and “the Masterpiece”, Chris Masters. It just made sense and clicked right away. But I have to give credit to Morgan on that one, he actually came up with the name.”
The Masterlock challenge was something they utilized for you a lot on television and helped get you over initially, whose idea was it to use the full nelson as your finisher?
Mordetzky: “Well, we were trying to come up with different ideas for a finisher. I’m not sure who came up with the full nelson but it was a collective effort. What I liked about it is it brought back the old school into the new school. It gave fans something that was older, the hold has been around forever, but we revamped it to make it feel fresh.”
McMahon: I’d like to get your opinions on the WWE Wellness Policy. Obviously it has its supporters and its detractors, but from your first-hand experience with it, does the WWE Wellness Policy work?
Mordetzky: “I think now it does. From my knowledge, I’m not up there anymore obviously, but it’s a good policy. There is a lot of kids who watch wrestling, it’s a big part of the product and audience, and kids look up to us as these super humans, so you have to set a good example. You have to protect them, you can’t have kids looking up to guys who are doing that stuff, that’s just how it is. It’s a good policy, and it’s necessary. It protects the boys, too. It can catch health issues that have nothing to do with drugs. So now, I think it does work and I think you need to have it.”
McMahon: Since you left WWE you’ve been on tour all over the world. I know you worked once in Japan, what was your experience like over there? It just seems like it’s such a difference audience over there.
Mordetzky: “I was only in the ring there for 5 minutes, so I don’t know a ton about it, but the fans respect professional wrestling a lot and they expect a lot from you.”
McMahon: You’ve worked with Harley Race, too. What has it been like working with Harley who has an unlimited knowledge and understanding of the business?
Mordetzky: “He’s a mentor to me. I was happy to spend time with him and just sit and listen to him tell his stories, it was really surreal for me. He’s done a lot for the business, obviously, and knows everything that there is to know. He runs the best camp I’ve seen in the country, just a great group of guys, and it was one of my favorite places to work. It was also the first time ever that I was able to work as a babyface, which I really enjoyed.
“You just listen to Harley Race, a guy like that, because you’ll learn a lot just from listening to him tell stories. Same goes with guys like Flair, Shawn Michaels, those guys know what it takes to make it and you’d be stupid if you didn’t listen to them. Harley really is a mentor to me, and I loved being out there working for him.”
McMahon: Any good road stories?
Mordetzky: “There is one I love to tell. It was me and Randy Orton driving in the middle of nowhere, running late for a house show. So I’m driving about 90 miles per hour just to get us there on time, but eventually we have to stop to get a drink. Now keep in mind, we have luggage in our backseat and we’re blasting music really loud, that’s just how you travel. We’re bumping one of Randy’s rap CD’s or something. Little did we know, there was a cop behind us for quite a while and we get out of the car to get some water he’s screaming at Randy to get down on the ground. He had been chasing us for 2 miles, we had luggage in our backseat and couldn’t see him in the mirror and because of Randy’s rap music we didn’t hear any sirens, so we had been in a high-speed chase for a few miles and had no idea about it.”
McMahon: Since leaving WWE, you’ve wrestled all over the world. Even with WWE you wrestle all over the world. What are some of your favorite places to work?
Mordetzky: “I like Europe. The fans out there are just hungry for it, and most of the international places that we would go, places I still work now, are the most fun. U.S. fans get a bit more spoiled because there are so many events here, so Europe, all the places out there, the fans are just crazy. They treat you like royalty out there.”
McMahon: I know you’ve probably been asked this a million times, but is TNA an option for you? Have you had contact with them at all?
Mordetzky: “No real serious talks. I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point. I love to perform and whether that be under a WWE flag or a TNA flag, I think either way it’s appropriate for me. At this point, I’m ready to do it. We’ll see what happens. I am ready for it though. I just want to be wrestling.”
McMahon: Lastly, before I let you go, is there anything you want to get out to the fans?
Mordetzky: “Absolutely, check out my e-mail, masterpiece83@gmail.com. That’s for bookings, questions, anything like that. It’s a place for the fans to get in touch with me.”
thewrestleblog.com/2009/05/14/chris-mordetzky-interview/
Chris Mordetzky: “Everything is going great. I just came off an injury that sidelined me form January to April, but I got to work in Europe and Australia last month, which was great. It was the Wrestling Rampage Tour, I was working with Sabu and RVD, it was a really good tour and a really great time.”
McMahon: Something that I don’t think a lot of fans know about your career is that you sent in a tape for Tough Enough, the reality show that WWE used to run on MTV, got invited to Denver for try out and was rejected. What was going through your mind during that time? That could have been a real devastating blow to a young kid trying to make it.
Mordetzky: “Yeah, it was just back to the drawing board. It didn’t bother me much, I was like 17 or 18 years old and I knew that I still could make it. So, I went the traditional route, went to wrestling school, which is how I really wanted to break into the business to be honest. Tough Enough would have been a great opportunity, but the traditional route, that’s how everyone breaks in, and looking back, going to wrestling school and learning the business that way was a much better way to do it.”
McMahon: So you move on to UPW, which has developed quite a bit of talent over the years for the WWE, what was your experience like in UPW?
Mordetzky: “I liked UPW, it was a good place to learn the fundamentals. In order to become a better overall worker you have to go somewhere you can learn psychology and OVW was great moving me along in that process. But UPW was a great place to go learn the fundamentals of the ring because without those tools, OVW never would have been an option for me. They have some great teachers (at UPW).”
McMahon: OVW, when it was a developmental territory for WWE, was a factory for talent. You were a product of that territory as well. Who were some of the guys you worked with there and who were some of the guys who helped you along in OVW?
Mordetzky: “OVW is like college for wrestlers, that’s what I equivocate it to. I was there with Matt Morgan, Mickie James, the entire Spirit Squad and Carlito. John Cena, Randy Orton and those guys were the generation before me. Bobby Lashley was there about six months after I got there. It was really a great group, looking back. Most of the guys I was with during that time all made it.”
McMahon: If I remember correctly, the first big spotlight television match you had was a RAW match with you and Carlito teaming against Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. What was it like working with Carlito, who you came up with, across from two legends in the business in Flair and Michaels?
Mordetzky: “Carlito is funny as hell, very entertaining to team with and coming up through OVW together, it was great to be able to share that big-match moment with him. And to work across from Shawn and Flair, come on, I was just honored to be in the ring with those guys. We had two living legends in the ring with us, two of the best ever, it was great. I am just happy to say that I got to work with those guys, that’s something I’ll remember. I didn’t work with either of them a whole lot, but those few times we were in the ring together you learn so much. Those guys know how to work a crowd, they just know how to give the audience what they want to see; it’s an instinct.”
McMahon: Not too long after that, I think it was at Unforgiven just a few weeks later, you had your first big pay-per-view match against Michaels. Any memories of that night?
Mordetzky: “When they told me I was working Shawn, I wanted it to go well, and wanted to make sure I had no regrets, and I didn’t. It was the first big program that they put me in and it was against a guy who inspired me in the business, so it was real cool. Working with Shawn is easy, too. You can’t have a bad match with Shawn Michaels.”
McMahon: You debut early in 2005 and by that year’s Survivor Series, your really pushing Main Event status and even had a WWE Championship match, a triple threat, on RAW against Cena. Leading up to that match you knocked Cena out in a Masterlock, the first time he was knocked out on television, were you surprised how quickly the push came and how far you had advanced so quickly?
Mordetzky: “I guess because it happened out of nowhere, but at the same time, they were preparing me for a while. The whole intention was to use me in a higher spot, and definitely one of the top heel spots, so I knew it was coming. It just came very quick and I didn’t have a lot of time to react, you’re right in there with the big boys. It was good in a way because it happened so quick I didn’t have a lot of time to really think about it. You’re just out there, doing what you love.”
McMahon: What was the process behind creating “Chris Masters,” whose idea was it and when did you start using it?
Mordetzky: “It was an evolution process. I started as “Big” Chris Mordetzky, and in Louisville (OVW) I was branded Chris Masters. Then one day, we’re just sitting around in OVW and Matt Morgan brought up the idea of the Masterpiece. A bunch of us were just sitting around, talking wrestling, and he brings up that name and the whole group of us just stopped; it fit right in with what I was portraying. I was obviously a body guy, so it fit the image. I was going to be a guy who would follow in the footsteps of Paul Orndorff or Rick Rude, that’s what my character was based on, a little bit of those guys. So, you’ve got “Ravishing” Rick Rude, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff and “the Masterpiece”, Chris Masters. It just made sense and clicked right away. But I have to give credit to Morgan on that one, he actually came up with the name.”
The Masterlock challenge was something they utilized for you a lot on television and helped get you over initially, whose idea was it to use the full nelson as your finisher?
Mordetzky: “Well, we were trying to come up with different ideas for a finisher. I’m not sure who came up with the full nelson but it was a collective effort. What I liked about it is it brought back the old school into the new school. It gave fans something that was older, the hold has been around forever, but we revamped it to make it feel fresh.”
McMahon: I’d like to get your opinions on the WWE Wellness Policy. Obviously it has its supporters and its detractors, but from your first-hand experience with it, does the WWE Wellness Policy work?
Mordetzky: “I think now it does. From my knowledge, I’m not up there anymore obviously, but it’s a good policy. There is a lot of kids who watch wrestling, it’s a big part of the product and audience, and kids look up to us as these super humans, so you have to set a good example. You have to protect them, you can’t have kids looking up to guys who are doing that stuff, that’s just how it is. It’s a good policy, and it’s necessary. It protects the boys, too. It can catch health issues that have nothing to do with drugs. So now, I think it does work and I think you need to have it.”
McMahon: Since you left WWE you’ve been on tour all over the world. I know you worked once in Japan, what was your experience like over there? It just seems like it’s such a difference audience over there.
Mordetzky: “I was only in the ring there for 5 minutes, so I don’t know a ton about it, but the fans respect professional wrestling a lot and they expect a lot from you.”
McMahon: You’ve worked with Harley Race, too. What has it been like working with Harley who has an unlimited knowledge and understanding of the business?
Mordetzky: “He’s a mentor to me. I was happy to spend time with him and just sit and listen to him tell his stories, it was really surreal for me. He’s done a lot for the business, obviously, and knows everything that there is to know. He runs the best camp I’ve seen in the country, just a great group of guys, and it was one of my favorite places to work. It was also the first time ever that I was able to work as a babyface, which I really enjoyed.
“You just listen to Harley Race, a guy like that, because you’ll learn a lot just from listening to him tell stories. Same goes with guys like Flair, Shawn Michaels, those guys know what it takes to make it and you’d be stupid if you didn’t listen to them. Harley really is a mentor to me, and I loved being out there working for him.”
McMahon: Any good road stories?
Mordetzky: “There is one I love to tell. It was me and Randy Orton driving in the middle of nowhere, running late for a house show. So I’m driving about 90 miles per hour just to get us there on time, but eventually we have to stop to get a drink. Now keep in mind, we have luggage in our backseat and we’re blasting music really loud, that’s just how you travel. We’re bumping one of Randy’s rap CD’s or something. Little did we know, there was a cop behind us for quite a while and we get out of the car to get some water he’s screaming at Randy to get down on the ground. He had been chasing us for 2 miles, we had luggage in our backseat and couldn’t see him in the mirror and because of Randy’s rap music we didn’t hear any sirens, so we had been in a high-speed chase for a few miles and had no idea about it.”
McMahon: Since leaving WWE, you’ve wrestled all over the world. Even with WWE you wrestle all over the world. What are some of your favorite places to work?
Mordetzky: “I like Europe. The fans out there are just hungry for it, and most of the international places that we would go, places I still work now, are the most fun. U.S. fans get a bit more spoiled because there are so many events here, so Europe, all the places out there, the fans are just crazy. They treat you like royalty out there.”
McMahon: I know you’ve probably been asked this a million times, but is TNA an option for you? Have you had contact with them at all?
Mordetzky: “No real serious talks. I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point. I love to perform and whether that be under a WWE flag or a TNA flag, I think either way it’s appropriate for me. At this point, I’m ready to do it. We’ll see what happens. I am ready for it though. I just want to be wrestling.”
McMahon: Lastly, before I let you go, is there anything you want to get out to the fans?
Mordetzky: “Absolutely, check out my e-mail, masterpiece83@gmail.com. That’s for bookings, questions, anything like that. It’s a place for the fans to get in touch with me.”
thewrestleblog.com/2009/05/14/chris-mordetzky-interview/
Interesting that he got rejected for tough enough
