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PWINSIDER Q & A: NEW MATCH FOR MANIA, MITB, WHAT IF ROSS WERE STILL THE TALENT GURU, HOGAN CONTROL, PUSHING THE BIG GUYS AND MORE

In your response to a question about Khali getting cheered (2/26), you mention that fans appreciate big dominating guys because of the damage they inflict and will forgive Khali's lack of skills because of his size. Now, several wrestling sites seem to constantly criticize McMahon for preferring big workers and not giving smaller, more deserving guys their chance to make it at the very top. However, if that's the case with Khali, isn't Vince just giving the fans what they want? Surely he can't be condemned for that. I was just wondering what your opinion is on those thoughts?

I think what fans want is variety. I think they want guys that can wrestle in some spots, guys that are funny in others, and also freaks of nature like Khali. I have no problem with them using the big guy because he is unique and different and has a scary kind of charisma. What I think is a mistake is how they use generic, bland big guys with little to no personality just because of their size. I think that is what the fans are against. I know it's certainly what I am against.  I think some people get a little carried away with wanting certain smaller guys made the champion, but that doesn't mean that they are wrong in thinking that certain smaller guys should get a better push than what they are currently receiving.  You don't have to be huge to be a top guy.  Hell, look at the longevity Shawn Michaels has had and he is hardly a big guy.

With the recent news coming out that Hulk Hogan doesn't actually have a wrestling contract with WWE, but rather just a 20 year licensing deal, then wouldn't that mean that Hogan doesn't actually have the absolute creative control over his matches that we keep hearing about? Or is there some side deal that says if they come to an agreement on the financial terms for a match, then Hogan has absolute control on the outcome?

No, it means the opposite actually.  It means that each time Hogan agrees to work for WWE, he negotiates his terms.  One of those terms is creative control of his matches.  Also, source close to Hogan have said that he never signed the 20 year deal.  

A few days ago, a question was answered about wrestling magazines & them granting promotions "world title status". That raises another question: exactly how much influence did those magazines actually have, especially in their heyday, on the business as a whole?

In the US, really not all that much.  Back in the day, before the business admitted it was a work, the Pro Wrestling Illustrated family of magazines were the leading periodicals in America.  They had a lot of fan interest but for the most part, they tried to do what the promotions wanted them to do in order to get access to the talent and photos for their magazines.  There wasn't exactly any hard hitting journalism in them and they helped the companies by writing pieces that fit in with the TV storylines to keep the peace.  It sure wasn't much for the discerning reader to sink his or her teeth into however.

So, at the end of the day, they really didn't have much influence on what the companies did, but they did help publicize the promotions to a national audience back in the regional days.  Today, they are like a lot of newsstand periodicals in that their sales have been hit hard by the internet and it's a struggle to stay relevant in a real time, digital world.  Most people won't wait a month or two to get coverage of something that they can now find out about online, as it happens.

A two part Mania question...1) With so many upper tier guys in Money in the Bank (Edge, Booker, Kennedy, Jeff Hardy, possibly Orton) - will this cause the card to be spread too thin? Having Edge vs. Orton seems to be the obvious case in point. 2) With Jeff in the Bank, do you see a situation where the World's Greatest Tag Team could take on M&M? If not could WGTT take on London & Kendrick?

I have no problem with there being 8 guys in MITB.  Frankly, it's a very important match, since the winner gets a title shot, and anyone who doesn't have a title bout at Mania should want to be in it from a storyline point of view since nothing is more important than getting a chance at the belt.  I would much rather see Edge and Orton in this bout than in a singles match since this matters so much more than a feud between them.  If they decide to do the program between Edge and Orton, the MITB match is the perfect place to start it, since the stakes are so high.

As for the tag teams, I have been told that there will be some sort of tag team battle royal or gauntlet match at Mania as a way to get more guys on the show and get them a payday from the biggest show of the year.

Do you think WWE would be a lot different if Jim Ross still had his old job instead of John Laurinaitis running things now? The things I'm referring to is like the talent that is pushed.

The only thing that would be different are the kinds of wrestlers that WWE would have signed.  The push is up to Vince McMahon and the creative team.  The thing here is that Ross liked to hire athletic types because he felt that they made better wrestlers on the whole, which I agree with.  Laurinaitis, on the other hand, is getting the kinds of guys he knows that his boss likes.  If he were still in the position, Ross could bring athletes in but Vince is the one who decides what kind of push they get.

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