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RF Video Shoot Interview with Dustin Rhodes, Volume 2

This was filmed in 2005. I runs just under two hours long.

Rob Feinstein is not the interviewer for this and I have no idea as to who the replacement was either. Dustin is wearing a hoodie and has is actually wearing the hood throughout the interview.




This starts with Dustin being asked about Vince buying WCW. Dustin said that he was under contract for WCW at that time and thought he would get paid but was called the day before the deadline by the WWE and told that they were cancelling it and he ended up only getting paid for the rest of the year.


When asked, Dustin didn't think that WCW failed but rather it was Vince's ego wanting complete control that lead to the buyout.


He is then asked if his father gave him any advice about the business and Dustin snapped at the interviewer before saying he told him to stay away from drugs and politics. He said that Dusty was anti-drug and once kicked his ass as a kid when he got caught smoking a joint.


They talk about Dusty's promotion, Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, as Dustin talks about how a majority of the independent promotions fail due to no financial backers, saying you need money to make money. Their goal was to get the company to be as big as possible.


After that, he got hired back by the WWE when Jim Ross contacted him before the Royal Rumble and asked him if he was in shape. After the show, Dustin went to TV the following day and worked out a contract with Ross.


He was asked how the locker room changed since his first run and Dustin's response was that it is happy when business is good but when it is down, Vince is pissed off and everyone else is frustrated. Dustin then said that he always tried to keep morale up by being funny.


Dustin said that he got in shape for this WWE run by running on the treadmill daily and eating a no carb diet a month and a half before his return, resulting in a 30lbs weight loss.


He is now asked about his team with Booker T. Dustin said there was an instant connection between the two and that it was originally supposed to be a one-shot deal but the company saw the chemistry and decided to go with it as a team. He also brings up that the quarter ratings would go up during their segments.


Dustin said that he always got along with Johnny Ace but that he and Jim Ross never saw eye-to-eye. They had some "personal issues" but Dustin does not want to say anything bad about him.


Dustin puts over Brian Gewirtz as a writer and said that he and Booker worked with him on their skits.


When asked about HHH, Dustin said that he saw less of him in his second run. Dustin then says that he was cordial with him and calls HH a good worker but also mentions that played politics and kissed ass too.


He is now asked about scripted promos. When referencing his skits with Booker, he said that they had a lot of fun and at most, their pre-taped stuff would require two takes. He also mentioned that they ad-libbed on occasion.


Dustin is asked if he had any interactions with his ex-wife, Terri. He said that they saw each other at TV and would make small talk but that she spent most of her time in the women's locker room.


At this time, he usually traveled by himself but would sometimes ride with guys like Booker, Kane, Christian,  and William Regal.


He was not surprised to see Eric Bischoff appear on WWE TV and puts over Eric for giving him a contract in WCW.


Dustin is asked about his involvement in the nWo angle. He said that it was very brief but that he liked the Darth Vader skit. He then calls his Crocodile Hunter skit his favorite one of all-time.


He is now asked if it was difficult to stay clean on the road. Dustin said that he only took prescription pills at that time and would have a few beers after the show but that was all.


They talk about Kevin Nash for a minute. Dustin said that he was a friendly guy and was right near him when he tore his quad. The interviewer then brings up a quote from Nash in a recent interviewer about Dusty, saying that he was using "rural wrestling" instead of "urban wrestling" and that at age 46, Nash said he was the hippest guy in the room. Dustin's response was that Kevin was a creative guy and not everyone agrees with his dad.


He says that the Undertaker is Vince's guy then comments about how he was the only one to ever beat him in a casket match. He puts over Taker as a great guy with a good sense for business. He recalls a story of the night before Brock Lesnar got his big push, Taker asked Dustin backstage if he felt that he was ready and Dustin said that he was, then Taker agreed. Dustin also puts over Brock as a friend.


The writers are discussed next and Dustin's asks if they were approachable. He said that some of them were but that most of them only talked with the top guys. He said that they were good to him until they wanted to give Booker a singles push, then he became an afterthought. Once again, he puts over the fact that he does not engage in backstage politics. Dustin also mentions that the writers were all young and usually in their 20's.


On the subject of the wrestlers today, Dustin said that a lot of the guys being pushed can't even lace their own boots. He puts over that he is not able to watch the show today due to him no longer being able to afford cable, but hears that they are not doing a good job and that the product itself is bad. He puts over Stephanie McMahon for having a great head on her shoulders then says that they only need a few writers instead of fifteen, as there are way too many ideas being floated around.


He is asked about competiveness. He brings up Stevie Richards, who he felt never got the push her deserved, and how he always busted his ass constantly on "Sunday Night Heat" then ended up getting his face caved in by a guy who barely knew how to work (Chris Masters).


Dustin is asked about his Tourettes gimmick, He said the whole thing started around 1997-98 when he was at the airport while in the WWE. He saw the "Jerry Springer Show" on TV and they had a panel comprised of people suffering from Tourettes so he started to act like that and the other guys started to laugh. He then brings up how he used to do that on the plane rides and some of the other wrestlers would get in on the act. He brings up how Val Venis would play along and when Dustin was acting like that on the plane in front of regular passengers, Val would ask him if he took his medication and even tell the other passengers that he had Tourettes.


He is asked about the guys today, like Randy Orton and Batista. He puts them both over, saying that few guys are able to catch on right away like Orton as then says that while he still needs to learn, Batista continues to improve. He also puts over John Cena as a guy who caught on quickly.


Dustin said that he is going to open a wrestling school in Oklahoma. He says that there are a lot of people out there who want to be wrestlers, citing the amount who tried out for "Tough Enough" as an example, and hopes that one day, he could be a developmental territory for the WWE.


Dustin then is asked about performing the Tourettes gimmick on the "Howard Stern Show." He said that they still play the clips today and had no idea why the WWE did not promote his appearance on TV.


He ended up hurting his elbow in a match teaming with Lance Storm against Christian & Chris Jericho while touring Australia. He was told that he needed four weeks off to heal. After that, he came back and noticed that he was not ready and asked for an additional two weeks. He said that he did the match anyway and landed on his injured elbow after taking a slam from Mark Henry. After that, he was out for six more weeks and after that, he got released. Dustin said that you cannot work with a bad elbow. He also said that he was told that if he could come up with any ideas, he could stay. Dustin claimed that he submitted eight ideas within 24 hours but got cut immediately.


He is asked about drugs again and Dustin said that he has been prescribed pain pills since 1993 and that he only takes them as prescribed. He mentions that he can barely get out of bed if he does not take them.


Now, he discusses the "plane ride from hell." Dustin discusses how there are a lot of rumors as to what happened and brings up a lawsuit filed by a stewardess that was dropped due to a lack of evidence. He claims that he was sleeping for most of the flight but does mention a few things that occurred, such as a stewardess wearing nothing except for Ric Flair's robe (with Flair yelling "woo!!!" as she walked down the stairs), Bradshaw punching out Michael Hayes, and Brock Lesnar and Curt Hennig wrestling in the aisle. Dustin said that he was accused of groping the stewardess who filed suit. He then said that he spilled the cup that he spit his dip into and that Jim Ross fined him $5,000, which was used to clean up the plane. Dustin says that he dips 4 tins daily. He then closes this out by saying you cannot believe everything on the internet.


Dustin then puts himself over as a worker today, saying that while he cannot do flips, he is in the top ten in terms of in-ring psychology.


He currently says that he is applying for a job installing cable. He says that wrestling is all he knows though. He also says that he is not going do take a job in which you cannot make a living, like a fast-food worker.


Dustin talks about his younger brother, Cody, and how he is living in California trying to make it as an actor. He says that while Cody claims he does not want to be a wrestler, he can see it in his eyes and wants to help break him into the business.


He is asked if there was any heat on him in TNA for being the booker's son. He said that he was well respected by the other wrestlers but also saw others kissing ass backstage and talks about that is a common occurrence.


When asked about teaming with his dad in Japan at a show for the Hustle promotion, he said that it was tough because he put the whole match together and was nervous about wrestling a Japanese style. He then notes how the more nervous you get, the easier you blow up in the ring and that his dad told him how he looked like he was going to have a heart attack. He then blames himself for the match sucking.


He talks about wrestling Raven in TNA. He said that during their straight-jacket match, he had a legit panic attack and after the match, he ended up kneeling down backstage and started to cry. He later apologized to Raven for the match being awful and Raven told him how very few guys would have the balls to do what he did. Dustin then puts over Raven as a wrestler.


They now move on to Chris Candido, who passed away shortly before this interview. Dustin becomes tearful when discussing Candido, noting how he finally got clean then died due to a freak accident. He recalls how they taped a match that was supposed to air after his death but instead, they put up a graphic of the Naturals and Candido with the Tag-Team Titles as the last shot.


Dustin puts over Dixie Carter as a "sweet" person then says that TNA will thrive on Spike then move on to Monday Night. He also puts over the Jarrett's for bringing in the Carter family to TNA.


The interviewer brings up Vince Russo and a quote from Jerry Jarrett's book in which he referred to Russo as a "fraud." Dustin said that while Russo wrote a lot of scripts for his Goldust vignettes, he was the one who performed them. He also said that Russo "shunned" him at the end of WCW but states that he will not say anything bad about him.


Dustin is asked if the Southern-style of wrestling can get over today. He said that it can but you have to realize that it is a new generation of fans and that the storylines need to reflect that. He also says that he believes that he can cater to the new generation of fans, claiming that he knows what they want to see.


He then talks about going five years without speaking to his dad. He said that they eventually met up and hugged, crying for a half hour. He also said them splitting up will never happen again.


Next is how he left TNA. He said that he was with his girlfriend at the time, who had been drinking and drugging all day long, while his 11 year old daughter was with her. He said that at the hotel, she was getting belligerent with him and after noting that his daughter was almost asleep, he told his girlfriend to leave. She started to scream and yell some more so Dustin picked her up by the waist and brought her outside, where she called the police and Dustin got arrested for assault. He spent 72 hours in jail and his dad covered for him with TNA, telling Dixie that he got sick. When Dustin got out of jail, he checked his cell phone and the girlfriend had left some death threats. He was found not guilty after a trial but states that his ex-wife will now only allow supervised visits with her daughter until his anger management courses are complete. At this point, he is crying and states that someone should have slapped him before meeting this girl. He stays angry for a few more minutes, replying to the next few answers about "One Night Stand" shows as he didn't give a fuck about them.


Dustin is now asked if he could have cut it in "Tough Enough." He said probably not but that he paid his dues by driving around making $20 a night while getting the shit kicked out of him. He said that "Tough Enough" is a Marine Corps. type of deal before saying "fuck that."


On the subject of steroids, he said that he was never pressured to take them but did once in 1990 and just ended up getting fat as he drank on them. He also said that he became mean as hell.


When asked if he is prepared for life after wrestling, he said no and that he needs to figure that out soon.


He says that he is not making any money on the indies and that his truck will most likely be repossessed in a few days and his house will probably be foreclosed on shortly after that.


Dustin says that in terms of getting color," you should only do that at the top of the card and use it based on the crowd reactions.


About guys in TNA that he likes, he puts over Bobby Roode, saying that he has "it," and Kid Kash. He also loves America's Most Wanted and thinks that they should become heels. He calls Cassidy Reilly a good worker who deserves a bit of a push. He is also a fan of the X Division, noting that it is different from everything else.


He closes by saying not all of the rumors on the internet are true and that he loves the business.


Final Thoughts: I thought this shoot interview was okay. Dustin, who even though looked like he did not want to be here at all, was still willing to talk. However, this interviewer was the absolute worst I have ever heard from a shoot interview. He kept on trying to get Dustin to talk about drug use and his ex-wife Terri but used questions that were just awful. He didn't even ask him about the rumor of approaching Terri on the "plane ride from hell" and would instead just flat-out ask him about his drug use, almost as if he was an addict.

The other part of this interview I will address is how it came across. Dustin seemed like he was on the verge of losing everything. It was harrowing, actually, and the whole interview had a depressed tone, right down to the fact that it was filmed in a dark hotel room. Talking about his truck getting repossessed and losing his house was sad, as he left the WWE and TNA not that long before this interview. You can also tell that he was really shaken up by his arrest too as his whole mood changed as a result of bringing that up. Luckily for Dusitn, he was able to turn his life around and eight years later is in the middle of an incredible comeback.


Overall, I give this a very mild recommendation but if you want to watch a shoot interview, you can find a much better one somewhere else.

















Comments

  1. Did Zack Ryder collapse recently? I was going to say that he's so buried that would be considered upward movement for him, but then I remembered the WWE hasn't thought about moving Zack up in years.

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  2. The "somedays you just can't get rid of a bomb" line from Batman was good.

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  3. He didn't care for what was presented

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  4. I'm calling it now - TLC ends with Orton hanging on to the WHC and Cena hanging on to the WWE title.

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  5. Welcome to the club. Population: a lot by now.

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  6. Fuck this democratic bullshit.

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  7. I guess that's a lot easier than, say, booking feuds with credible opponents and not cutting them off at the knees.

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  8. Actually, if the WWE Superstars tapings are to be believed, Ryder's actually WINNING matches! Man, they'd better be careful or he might actually get over without permission again!

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  9. Nash will win, don't worry.

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  10. This seems to be a popular sentiment...what would the point of that be ?

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  11. I particularly loved him in his Robo-Shamrock ass-kicking period, but was always a fan of his during his WWE run.

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  12. Shamrock was fine until he jobbed to Val Venis during the whole Ryan Shamrock deal. Then they turned him back face for absolutely no reason. Just downhill after than until he quit. Why did he quit anyway?

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  13. Imagine Shamrock coked up like the real Shamwow guy. He might even get up to the speed of a regular person!

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  14. Or the coke was cutting into his cardio time.

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  15. I loved The Rock feud.

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  16. Looking back, I loved every single second of it... and they accomplished their goal. Obviously, "get the crowd to want Rocky's blood" was higher on their list than, "turn Shamrock into a star."

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  17. I think he was just the first of the bad coaches. Rampage was clearly just as bad both times he coached, and Brock Lesnar was hilariously bad too.

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