PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

PWINSIDER Q & A: VINCE'S FAVORITE CHARACTER, BOOKER'S NEXT MOVE, JERICHO'S RETURN, THE NET HURTING WWE, WHAT IF AND MORE

Hey guys, love the site and I am a proud recent addition to the PWInsider Elite group. After watching DH Smith on Raw, it got me thinking. Where do you think Brian Pillman, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog would be right now if their passing would not have happened? I know it's a pretty open ended question but still something to think about since they were still very much active. Also, do you think their deaths impacted Jim Neidhart's career at all? Thank you for reading and let's hope that Jericho does indeed save us all!

Obviously, those guys would all be older now.  In the case of Pillman and Bulldog, due to damage that they had done to their bodies earlier in their careers, they probably would not have been able to be full time workers at this point of their life.  Both had health issues before they died and I don't see how they would have improved over time.  I think that they would largely be retired or maybe working for TNA.  

In Owen's case, I think he would have retired by now since his goal at the time of his death was to build his dream house and then live there with his family.  He may have come back to work occasional tours with WWE but his widow Martha said after he died that her husband was saving his money to get out of the business at the time of his death.

I don't think their deaths had any effect on Jim Neidhart's career.  

Which character do you think Vince McMahon is the most proud of?

Hmmm, that is a rough one.  He has been involved with the creation of a number of great ones, such as Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Steve Austin.  But I think he would say The Undertaker since he came up with the whole idea and concept on his own whereas in the other examples, the talent itself were more involved in creating the characters.

There are those who believe (including Mike Johnson on this site) that Booker T will make his debut at the TNA Genesis PPV as the advertised mystery tag partner for Sting in the main event against Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash. So was Booker given an outright release like Angle received a year earlier from the WWE and does not have to adhere to a 90-Day Non-Compete Claus?

The only way he can legally make his debut then is if his contract with WWE has expired or he was given a full release by the company.  I know he was talking with the company about a new deal a few months ago and the word was he signed it.  If he did so, then he would have had to get a full release when he left WWE to be available for Genesis.  If he didn't ever re-sign, then he doesn't have to wait 90 days if he was working under the terms of the old deal while negotiating a new one.

When do you see Chris Jericho coming back to WWE, at Survivor Series maybe?

The last word I received is that they will not bring him back until after the Series PPV.  But, with the way things have changed with his return thus far, who knows!

There was a question on Monday about “the power of the ‘net” as it relates to wrestling, specifically it asked about the Y2J chants that took place at No Mercy this year when there had been zero mention of his name on WWE programming to that point. Going into that event, many websites were flat out saying that Jericho would be there and most likely take the injured John Cena’s place. The following day I read so many reviews from fans who were disappointed that there was no Y2J, some even saying he was the whole reason they purchased the PPV. In this case, do you think the “power of the internet” had a negative effect? Vince was left standing in the middle of the ring with a crowd chanting for a person who wasn’t in the building and thus couldn’t produce, based on nothing but internet speculation. In my opinion, ‘the internet’ sabotaged that event, I know the WWE has sold us some real dogs in terms of PPV in the past, but this was something beyond their control. What is your opinion?

Well, first off Vince could have produced Jericho at the PPV.  I think if he said, "Hey Chris, we want you to come to the show and win the title" Jericho would have been there.  Vince chose not to do that.

As for the fans and what they chanted, I don't blame them a bit.  WWE had been pushing the viral campaign.  Even non-net fans were guessing it could be Jericho.  Cena had been injured and everyone knew the title was up for grabs.  WWE could have pulled out all the stops to turn a negative into a positive by delivering a super-exciting storyline and debuting Jericho.  It's not like they had any other long-term plan in place.  Even if they had, they change their minds on almost a daily basis so what would it really matter?

My opinion is that people paid big money for their tickets (as well as all us at home that paid 40 dollars at home for the show).  WWE had a guy who was an undisputed champion in the past that they could have delivered to their fans and gotten a huge reaction out of, making the most of a bad break.  Instead, they chose to go in a direction that didn't elicit the same reaction from the fans.  The fans have every right to voice who they want to see, especially when the company itself was already teasing that someone new was coming in.  I think that they blew a golden opportunity to jump start the company and get a buzz going.  

You can send us questions for the PWInsider.com Q&A by clicking here.

We also have a new Q and A up today on PWInsiderXtra.com.

If you are an Elite member of the new site, you can read it by clicking here.

If you are not an Elite member, you can read it by clicking here.

If you are an PWInsider.com Elite member and you want to find out how to join the new site (which is bargain priced at a dollar a month or less, depending on the subscription you choose), click here.

If you would like to become an Elite member to one or both of the sites, you can do so by clicking here.

For PWInsider.com Elite members who are not members of PWInsiderXtra.com, the questions from PWInsiderXtra.com will be archived in our weekly Elite newsletter.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet