TORCH #919: TNA NEWSWIRE
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

    Kevin Nash was subject of a TNA media conference call on June13. The following are key exerpts...

    -Veteran advice for younger guys: "I think the younger generation still hasn't leanred you gotta work smarter, not harder. A lot of times there's a way to do things and you don't kill yourself. I watch a lot of these guys work. A lot of these guys work not only the four times a month for TNA, but another ten or twelve indy shows and they go out there and they go to the wall with it. I worry because the style has gotten so crazy that these guys aren't going to see 30. That'd be a shame because there's no reason these guys can't be wrestling in their mid-30s and retire when they want to instead of having to quit. I want to show them there are different styles other than the one style they have. There is a time and place to use highspots or not use a highspots. If I can stop one guy from getting hurt out there, I think I've accomplished a lot."

    -On the DX reunion: "If they do it with the same creative genius as the NWO, I'm sure it will fail. Shawn is a Christian, Shawn's a very devout Christian. If you look at DX and the things they did, it was pretty risque. A lot of it was very sexual. I don't see Shawn doing that again. From a standpoint of Kevin Nash's interests, how are they going to storyline-wise be able to pull this off with Shawn's convictions. I think that will be an interesting thing to watch."

    -On X Division angle: "I think so far this angle has been done right and done well. Who's to say I'm not going to go out and get beat on Sunday. Nobody knows what the finish is. People need to withold judgment until they see what happens. I don't think anyone thought Alex (Shelley) would be pulled into the storyline. There are a lot of things creatively that have been done really well. People need to watch it, enjoy it or not enjoy it, but watch it."

    -On why he prefers working with smaller guys: "The worst kind of match for a big guy is Kane vs. Big Show. They work much better against someone smaller. He said he did enjoy facing Undertaker because he could move, but otherwise didn't enjoy big man vs. big man matches. He said it's usually "like watching paint dry."

    -On his chances against X Division wrestlers: "If this was a shoot, could any of those guys beat me? I don't think there's anybody in the X Division who could beat me in a shoot."

    -On facing Chris Sabin from the "No Limits" X Division: "The only thing that will limit this match is gravity and how far I can throw him."

    -On working with Alex Shelley: "I think Shelley's been doing a great job. He's a smart ass. He's sarcastic. When he did the Borash impersonation, that's the type of character you need. That's the type of innate quality he has. I'm really happy with my partnership with him. I don't wnat to bring anyone else into that. I want to see how far he and I can go. Maybe down the line, I get injured and I become a body guard for him and he becomes the Shawn Michaels and I become the body guard again. He has a nice run and we protect him. There are a million variables. He's charismatic, he can work, he can talk, he can do ga-ga. He's a real talented guy. Let's nurture that and let that build. He's 21 years old. You don't even learn to work until you're 28. The old timers would always say you didn't konw how to work until you get hurt. You have to work because you can't use your athleticism anymore. I feel like at this point in his career, I'm like dracula, I need that young blood around."

    -On Scott Hall: "I've called him six times in the last few weeks and he hasn't returned my calls. It's never a good sign when Scott doesn't call me back. I don't think he's really a viable entity to do anything with right now. I always say he's the greatest talent never to be a World Champion."

    -On whether he's still passionate about wrestling: ""I'm excited again. Im watching wrestling, I'm watching tapes again. My mind's back into it. I'm hvaing a good time. I'm having a lot of fun. It's good to be around these young guys who are so passionate. I remember when I was like that. It's a good place to be."

    -On potentially writing an autobiography: "No, never. My life's my life, my life's personal. The things I've done with my friends are mine. Number one, I've got a ten year old boy. I couldn't tell my story and have my ten year old boy read it. I couldn't do it. If I can't be truthful, if I can't tell my whole story, I can't tell any of my story."

    -On the return of ECW: "It's already got the WWE flavor to it that it's not ECW. Big Show wasn't in ECW. Cena's gonna be there tonight. It's too diluted and it's going to have the slick overproduced flavor of the WWE... It's a very male driven, 18-34 demographic thing. I don't know. As one of the boys, I wish it success. It's another place for the boys to work. If they let Paul Heyman do it, it will work... I think Paul should not have sold out his ECW in the first place and he wouldn't be under the control of the McMahon empire right now. Then we could actually seee ECW again. I think maybe Paul should worry about Paul."

    -On who stands out in TNA: "In the showers or in the locker room? I'm really, really impresed with Joe because Joe's got a lot of talent and Joe's one of the nicest human beings you'll meet in your life. He's always got a smle on his face. I think he will be a poster boy. He's the type of guy you can drop in a mall, drop in an auto place, and there's a charimsa to him. People like him, people are drawn to him. And his work in the ring is really good."

    -On potentially facing Samoa Joe in an X Division challenge: "It would no longer be an X Division match, it'd be Joe vs. Nash. Joe weighs maybe ten pounds less than I do."

    -Other Notes: Nash said he is a big fan of MMA... He said his angle in WCW with Rey Mysterio was a genuine attempt to show that anyone of any size could beat anyone on any given day, but he began the angle backwards as Rey should have beat him at the end, not beginning, of such a storyline... He said he would welcome EricBischoff joining TNA as an on-air character... He said he would only book TNA if he were part of a committee, not solo... He said he enjoys acting, but wrestling gives him a different kind of rush because in acting, it's start and stop and its pieced together later, whereas with wrestling, you get instant feedback from the audience and more creative control...

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