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PWINSIDER Q&A: TNA-PACMAN, ECW-WWE, KHALI, SAMOA JOE AND MORE

Answered: 8/2

Do you think Samoa Joe will go to WWE in September when his TNA deal ends? Do you think WWE will want him since he doesn't look like a bodybuilder? Would there be a conflict with Umaga if 2 Samoans were on the roster at one time?

I believe that Samoa Joe will be contractually obligated past September to TNA.  From what I understand, there was an option in his contract that TNA has picked up on, so Joe will be with TNA for the foreseeable future.  To be honest, TNA would be insane to let go of Joe, who is one of the few younger pieces of talent that is accepted by the audience as a main eventer.  If he was available, I could see WWE grabbing him just to get him away from TNA and exploit their mistake in letting him go.  I don't see any conflict with having more than one Samoan on the roster, and actually Umaga vs. Samoa Joe would be a fun match to see.  

My question is that I was wondering how The Great Khali relates to everyone else backstage. Maybe he is just really convincing in his role but I can't see him being just another "one of the boys". Also, how was his title win received by the boys backtstage? Were they happy for him like as in the past when people such as Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio won for the first time?

From what I've been told, Khali is very polite to others backstage and rather friendly, although he does tend to keep to himself. As for the reaction backstage to his title win, I can't say that it was met with thunderous applause overall.  In truth, a lot of wrestlers were concerned that for the second time (first with Undertaker, now with Edge) Smackdown's long term plans had to be thrown away, leaving them wondering what their role would be in whatever new plans would be put together for the brand. 

What was the relationship like between the then WWF and ECW in early 1997 when ECW stars showed up on Raw? Was it a working agreement or was it a sign of respect and a shot at WCW who the two probably didn't respect?

It was essentially a brief working agreement between Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon that would help ECW in promoting their PPV events, and give WWF some unique matches for an edition of Raw, and later use of Rob Van Dam for a time. To be honest, there were a lot of wrestlers in ECW at the time that were not in favor of working with the WWF, or very wary of dealing with the company.  Obviously, the relationship between the two sides would become more complex later on, when Vince McMahon began "loaning" money to ECW, which was not known to many wrestlers in the company. 

To be blunt isn't the reason Randy Orton wasn't fired or suspended for the trashing of the hotel room is because he is good friends with HHH and that Trips look out for his buddies. Imagine if the same thing happened with Batista, he would still be on out television screens too.

I haven't heard that reason given specifically, but some have suggested that Orton has had "nine lives" because both the McMahon family and others in the WWE hierarchy have a fondness for Orton, going back to his childhood and the fact that many in WWE positions of influence worked with his father for many years. As a result, Orton gets second (and third) chances while others probably would not.

So TNA has decided to bring in Pacman Jones and would obviously be very happy if it were even half as successful as when Mike Tyson appeared at Wrestlemania for the WWF… But my question is about the victim, Tommy Urbanski… He was obviously on the independent scene and I have no idea how well known he is, but I imagine that even if nobody on the roster knew him, the boys still aren’t going to be very happy about bringing in Jones. They MUST feel some sort of kinship for Urbanski, right? Lots of guys must be able to identify with having to take a second, dangerous job to make ends meet while on the independent scene.

Actually, you bring up a very different aspect of the Pacman situation that no one else has mentioned, at least not to me. You're right, while Urbanski isn't a modern wrestler (I believe his career ended many years ago, doing enhancement for the AWA at one point) he is a former wrestler who had to work as a bouncer to make a living, something many independent wrestlers have done.  Considering the amount of TNA talent that, even recently, were on the indy scene and had to work a second job to make a living, they probably could relate to Urbanski.  Of course, we should also factor in that I have yet to talk to one TNA employee that seems to be in favor of the idea of bringing him in.  Almost everyone I've spoken with has said "It's Jeff's idea" and left it at that. 

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