Rhyno Talks About TNA's Version Of ECW, Working For Paul Heyman, Vince McMahon And Dixie Carter
NXT Superstar and former ECW and NWA World Champion Rhino spoke to Cult of Whatever recently about his career in wrestling, and working for three of the most prominent bosses in wrestling. You can see highlights below, and the full interview at this link.
TNA's reincarnation of ECW:
"I don't necessarily think it was ECW, I think it was more the hardcore element and fans really enjoyed that moment. ECW was basically a group of men and women that were rejected and told they weren't good enough and they were either let go from WCW/WWE or they couldn't even get looked at by those two companies. ECW took in all the guys that were rejected and we all had something to prove and I think the fans could relate to it."
Doing TNA's 2014 shows in New York:
"It was great; everybody started chanting 'You Sold Out' at me because I teamed up with Ethan Carter. What that gave me the opportunity to do was show a different side of me where I could be entertaining and funny. I was basically a hired hand, you pay me and I would fight your battles. What was funny is I would go out there with the intension to make myself laugh inside and my buddies would watch the show and they would call me up and say there were laughing so hard. If you can entertain yourself you can definitely entertain the live audience and the audience watching at home. I just had so much fun with that."
See Also: Rhyno Says He'd Like To Play A Character Where He's John Cena's Biggest Fan
Enjoying his time in TNA:
"Again I had a fantastic time in TNA, I got to share a locker room with legends of the industry, Ric Flair and Kevin Nash. I got to pick their brains, Kevin and I became really good friends, it was quite surreal to be standing there with Ric Flair and just picking his brains. After several months I asked Ric if he knew what I was doing and he said yeah you're picking my brain and that's how you learn in this industry. I talked to Ric about the matches with him and Harley Race and how they worked and he was just so generous with the information, I was soaking it all in and trying to figure out how I could fit it into my work."
Working for Paul Heyman, Dixie Carter and Vince McMahon:
"Paul Heyman would do the interviews after the matches and I remember one time he was telling me about Magnum T.A. and how he was such a great performer in that ring and how he was going to be the next champion and they were planning to have him hold the title for 10 years. I learnt so much from so many different conversations with Paul. Dixie Carter I've seen how she came from nothing and she would sit there and watch the product and learn, learn, learn and learn. She didn't watch it from a monitor she would watch it from the side with the audience.
"I always tell people this if there was no Linda McMahon there would be no Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon is so crucial to that business. She is the office working every day, it's a family business and they love what they've created. I see the same commitment from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. When I was working with Stephanie during the invasion angle she explained to me how she used to work in the mail room and different parts of the job when she was younger. It was the same with Shane McMahon they didn't get it easy; they worked hard for what they've got."