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PWINSIDER Q & A: TAKER AND BATISTA, HOW THE HOGAN FALLOUT LED TO BALD VINCE AT MANIA, TNA GOING HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH WWE, THE STATE OF THE NEW ECW & MORE

What have you heard on the general morale of the ECW originals as of late? Do they just regret sticking with the whole McMahon-ization of the once mighty ECW? Are they just counting down the time until their contracts expire? What will happen to WWECW if none of them decide to renew their contracts? What about Joey Styles and Taz putting over the new ECW in last night’s show? Do they hate themselves for speaking such blasphemy? Can you offer any insight on this whole subject?

OK, here is how I understand it talking to people involved with the project.  While there were a few naive souls who thought that the new ECW would be something different than what it is, most of those involved had a good idea that it would really be WWECW.  They knew Vince owned it and he was going to do with it what he wanted.

Of the ECW originals, Sandman, Sabu and Balls Mahoney didn't have contracts before it started, so they are getting paid now where they weren't before.  Rob Van Dam was behind the project and I think it's fair to say that he is the most disappointed of all of the guys given how ECW has ended up but again, he still has his good contract.  Tommy Dreamer also gave up a management job to come back to the mess, so I would guess if he could do it all again he wouldn't.  At this point, all the ECW Originals are expendable given how Vince is pushing the brand, so nothing would happen to the brand if they were let go.

Why would Joey Styles and Tazz hate themselves?  They have a job to do and they were just being pros in doing it.  They have families to feed and bills to pay.  They haven't done anything other than be professionals.

Is morale good in ECW?  Not really because everyone in all parts of the company see the problems with it.  It's hard not to when your last PPV did only 90,000 buys.  But, they have jobs and there is something to be said for that.

All signs point to the fact that Ttaker should remain undefeated at WM yet Taker has been used in roles as of late to give the rub to younger talent.. ie Mr Kennedy etc. Taker has not held the WWE Title since '02 and has never had the World Heavyweight Title. Now, no one wants to see Taker lose to Batista.. but it doesn't seem that WWE has wanted Taker to have the belt.  So do you see WWE pulling a job and someone causing interference to get Batista DQ'd so that Batista keeps his title and Taker still wins the match?

It's really not that WWE hasn't wanted Taker to have the belt, it's more that he doesn't need it.  He's the Deadman, the badass.  Who needs the title when you have all that?  Plus, with him cutting his schedule back, he would be the first one to say that he shouldn't have it if he wasn't going to work 280 days a year.  With that said, I have no feel yet for how they are going to book the Mania match with Batista, which adds a lot of excitement to it.

Regarding Vince's hair....obviously Donald's not getting his head shaved so one would assume Vince will be bald (or close to it) at WM with a huge payoff for the PPV-buying fans. But would Vince throw a power tantrum after the match and have the guy representing him lose his hair instead? It wouldn't be hard for them to script it, plus in a warped way of thinking Vince might believe he'll have even more "good heel heat" by not giving the fans what they want.

The way it has been explained to me, once Vince's relationship with Hulk Hogan deteriorated for the 875th time and it became clear that Hogan was off Mania, Vince made the call to do the hair match, figuring it would be close to the same kind of draw to the casual fans as having Hulk there (which I actually agree with).  There have to be just as many people, at this point at least, who would buy the show to see Vince get shaved bald as there would be to watch the already bald Hulkster wrestle.  Keep in mind that Hogan's last return didn't mean much at all in the ratings or buyrates, so it's actually a better move for Vince to put his hair up since it's a lot less costly and let's face it, it will make for some great TV moments after Mania.  So, with all that said, there is no way I can see them doing anything but shaving him completely bald.  And I think he will do it and show the guys that "I wouldn't ask you to do anything that I wouldn't do myself".

I recently read in a previous article, about Vince, not noticing TNA publicly yet. My question to you is, do you think TNA would get big enough to spark a Monday Night Wars or whatever day, between them and the WWE in the near future. If so, how long do you give it to happen? Do you think its like a possible repeat of history, since people are kind of jumping ships already (Christian, Kurt Angle, Monty Brown etc)?

I have thought all along that it's too soon for TNA to even consider going head-to-head with WWE.  People often forget that WCW was doing good ratings on Saturday nights before they started Nitro and took on Raw.  I think TNA would need to get to at least a 2.5 before they even considered going head-to-head.  As we saw last Thursday, when Impact went up against Raw, there are fans that watch both Raw and Impact and when forced to choose, they will pick Raw.  TNA needs to build up their fan base before even thinking of taking on WWE so I don't see the new "Wars" happening any time in the near future.

If the WWE happens to cut Ric Flair or when his contract is up, do you think he would head to TNA. A match between him and Jeff Jarrett, angle or Joe would be awesome. Also do you think people wants to see Flair vs. Sting again? 

Honestly, at this point WWE is Flair's best place to be.  He is paid very well and is loved by HHH, which means a lot.  Flair is pushing 60 years old and there is only so much left that he can do.  I think WWE is the place where he should be doing it.

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