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PWINSIDER Q&A: HIRO MATSUDA MANAGING RIC FLAIR, TAPED FIST MATCHES, UNDERTAKER AS CHAMPION AGAIN AND MORE

Any chance we might see The Undertaker as champ again , and how long do you see him sticking around? I just hate to see him retire, but everybody reaches that point.

Barring injury, I'd pretty much guarantee Undertaker will be around at least until Wrestlemania XXV in his home State of Texas and I have no doubt he'd be considered for another championship run at some point.

What is the point of a taped fist match?  I remember seeing Hacksaw back in WCW tape up his fist and punch someone (I think it was Big Bubba), knocking him out.  I was always confused by this?  Doesn't a taped first just support your hand and wrist and not make you punch harder?  I know in the "rules" of wrestling you're not supposed to punch, but guys did it all of the time anyways.  Was there any deeper pay off to this type of match that I'm missing?

The Taped Fist match was a stipulation bout that was commonplace during the territory era in the South.  Since using a closed fists were against the rules and this was a period where in most areas, the rules were enforced, they were done as a blow-off match so the babyface could get revenge on the heel.  Sometimes they would do a set-up where a babyface would lose his cool and really work over the heel, getting disqualified for not adhering to the rules, so the heel would still end up the victor.  The stipulation would then theoretically allow the babyface to be in a situation where he can get his "pound of flesh."  It's simply a match that has lost its importance over time and the evolution of the industry.

Do you think WWE would ever make a DVD about foreign working relationships in Pro Wrestling? In WWE's own Library they have Dynamite Kid/Tiger Mask Matches and I am sure many more and from the other Libraries they have bought they have a few of the WCW/New Japan Supershows, that PPV they did with AAA and hundreds of things.

While it would certainly make a great DVD project, I don't foresee WWE believing the subject matter would sell enough to justify spending production time on it.

Whenever WWE does a major gimmick match for example: The Elimination Chamber, a Steel Cage, or in the case of SummerSlam, does the crew that set up the arena get paid extra or do they get frustrated and have to come in early or something like that? I don't believe the crew is paid extra, but more man hours mean more pay and likely overtime, so I don't think it's considered a negative from those involved.

Can you explain why Hiro Matsuda was given the managerial role of the 4 Horseman after JJ Dillion left WCW? I mean it wasn't like the horseman themselves couldn't cut promos so I don't understand why the higher ups in WCW made this decision. Any idea?

At the time, the NWA was trying to find a role for Matsuda, someone everyone who ever worked with him deeply liked. JJ Dillon had left the company to take a front office position with the WWF, so it was an attempt to fill the void he left behind. The idea was Flair would get heel heat from being associated with a dastardly Japanese corporation, since at the time Japan was really excelling when it came to overtaking technology with the idea that Americans hated that and would boo Flair due to the connection.  Yeah, it was pretty contrived.  While Matsuda was considered a good trainer, as a manager, he never clicked and the idea was quietly dropped.

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