UPW standout Frankie Kazarian interview recap: WWE, Japan thoughts, more
Submitted by Matthew Tremley on Sunday, April 27, 2003 at 3:25 PM EST


• Aaron Rift sent in the following:
  
  The following are highlights from Xtreme Mayhem's interview with UPW standout Frankie Kazarian! The interview was conducted by Mike Nagel and Jeff Meacham on April 26th, 2003. Visit http://xtreme.themayhem.com/ to listen to the streaming audio or downloadable version of the interview!
  
  Real Audio: http://xtreme.themayhem.com/xm.cgi?shows/xm042603.ram
  Windows Media Player: http://xtreme.themayhem.com/xm.cgi?shows/xm042603.wma
  
  - Frankie starts off by talking about how he got into the wrestling business. He watched Wrestlemania I when he was seven years old and he became a fan from that point forward. Once he got through high school, he decided he wanted to get trained and become part of the business. He talked about how he was trained by Killer Kowalski on the east coast, and then returned to the west coast and trained with Jesse Hernandez and Bill Anderson. He talked about working with guys like Albert and Scotty 2 Hotty. He mentioned how he got the Baldo Bomb from Albert so many times during practice matches and that was just part of being the young rookie.
  
  - He said that people don't respect the business as much as when he first broke into the business. He said that indy federations are being started up by young people with little or no knowledge of wrestling.
  
  - He loves the Smackdown matches, especially the cruiserweight division. He also thinks RAW is an entertaining show for what it is, even though he felt a lot of people would disagree with him. He even said he'd rather be on RAW, because he felt there were more people with his style. He also likes the leadership of the locker room and the guys on the show in general.
  
  - If WWE asked him to team up with Nova again, he'd love to do it.
  
  - He's been in contact with Jeff Jarrett and Jeremy Borash, and working for them might be a possiblity. He called both of them great guys.
  
  - He said there were other options for him if he doesn't go with WWE or TNA. He'd loved to work full-time in Japan and there is also the WWA tour in Austraila. He said the WWA tour had a really great group of guys. He mentioned that you couldn't meet a nicer guy than Sting. He said there were no egos and everybody was there to do their best and have fun. He also said the plane ride and brutal, but very rewarding.
  
  - He compared the fans in the United States and Japan, saying that the fans in Japan are 100% respectable and just don't hollar and yell for no reason. Fans in Japan respect wrestling as an athletic contest. He said one group of fans really wasn't any better than the other, and they are just different.
  
  - He feels the internet is useful for getting information about wrestlers, but he isn't too fond of the kids who make up rumors and think they know the inside scoop on wrestling and everything that goes on behind the curtains.
  
  - He said "Backyard Dogs" was one of the few films he could not sit through.
  
  - He put over Vince as a genius and the most powerful man in wrestling.
  
  - He called Nova a great friend and an innovator.
  
  - He said Jerry Lynn was the one the top workers in the world not signed by WWE.
  
  - He called Rick Bassman a good businessman and a good guy.
  
  - He thinks deep down, Vince Russo has a good mind for the business.
  
  - He called Eric Bischoff an entertaining guy, who is better as an on-air talent rather than an backstage owner-type role.
  
  - He said Jeff Hardy was a very innovative performer who must have been burned out from wrestling.
  
  - He called Triple H the new Ric Flair.
  
  - He said Christopher Daniels was without a doubt, the best worker on the indy scene in the United States.
  
  - As for himself, he will continue to do everything he can to achieve his goals.
  
  Frankie Kazarian's official website: http://www.frankiekazarian.com/

  
  

  
  
  

  *NEW GALLERY* BRAND NEW Pregnancy Photos of a BIG Stephanie McMahon!

• Quick Links -
  [Back to LOP] [News Archives] [Results] [Columns] [Forums]