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MC: Watching you in Japan last year - watching you and Claudio - it was
interesting. Claudio would do some good stuff and the crowd was okay. You would
come in, you'd do anything, and it was like - Korakuen Hall, whoever - they
loved you! They were just all about Chris Hero, and you don't see that with
Gaijin, and haven't for a long time. How did you connect with them?
CH: I worked really hard at it, and I was just working overtime trying to get
the fans into the matches. I think what it is, is first of all, when they first
saw me, they didn't know what to think. I'm a tall guy with long hair, I do a
bit of a high-flying thing - they didn't know if I wrestled like a Jr.
Heavyweight or like a Heavyweight - so at first it was a little slow-going.
Eventually, I think they just figured out that I love wrestling. I would always
either be at the merchandise stand or whatever - that didn't start 'till last
year - but I would sell my t-shirts and they would come up, you know I can read
and write two of the Japanese alphabets, I have a pretty big vocabulary, so when
they figured that out they were like 'Oh wow, this guy's actually making some
kind of effort.' Now, as of last...I think it started in January, I met a guy
who is a college professor; he's Japanese, but he lives in England, and he came
up with the idea for me to do a blog. So I type up the blog and send it to him
and he translates it perfectly and puts it up on my blog. I get so many hits on
that thing from Japan, people come up to me and mention it all the time. It's a
way for me to connect with them and for them to know my actual intentions. For
years in Japan, the Gaijins have been Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, Vader, all
these guys that are just imposing, kick the shit out of them-types. So for
someone like me to go over there, I've gotta put in the extra effort so that
they know where I'm coming from. So ya, it's just me busting my ass and them
appreciating it, and it's a really good feeling. I think it was my match with
(former GHC Heavyweight Champion Go) Shiozaki last year that really put me on
the map. I took Shiozaki to the limit, he beat the shit out of me. There's a
thing in wrestling where it's like 'I don't want to lose because it'll make me
look bad,' but more often than not if you look good in defeat, you'll be more
over anyway, and that's exactly what happened in the Shiozaki match. They
appreciated (the story), and Shiozaki lifted me up after the match, and from
that moment there on, there's been a little different thing attached to me. And
if you watched this past January's tour, Claudio's really come out of his shell
like I said. The fans are really getting behind him, he's using his ridiculous
strength...he put (350+ lbs Takeshi) Morishima in the torture rack, he spun
around, put his hands down, ya just, they really respect that strength too.
MC: Being a big All Japan fan, what's it like being in the same locker room
with Misawa, Kobashi, (Jun) Akiyama, (Akira) Taue, to me that'd just blow my
mind.
CH: Well the strange thing is, now that I've been over there - I've done six
tours for NOAH now - initially, you just kinda keep to yourself, do your own
thing. They have separate locker rooms, so I would go whole shows without seeing
Misawa, or I wouldn't see Kobashi. Maybe I'd see Akiyama because he's on the
bus, but I wouldn't see him once we were at the venue. We have 4-5 locker rooms,
so it's not like you're hanging out with these guys all the time. You're on the
bus with them, but ya, it's really intimidating. Japanese in general are more
quiet, more stoic; you don't know if they're being quiet, or if they're annoyed,
so it takes some time to figure out what exactly they're doing and why. It took
me a couple tours to get comfortable. Now I have a lot of good friends over
there and I can joke with them. I have that respect level because I did stay and
train in the dojo but also because I did stay over there, and also because I get
a good response from the fans.
MC: Akiyama, until recently, was booking, is that correct?
CH: Uh, I have no knowledge of that really.
MC: So who would tell you what you were doing, when you were going on?
CH: There's a lineup, there's different guys who will come up to you and
tell you what you're doing. But ya, you really don't know what's going on, you
only have a general idea.
MC: Ryu Nakada, was he very involved - did you meet him much?
CH: Ya, I've known him a lot, he's actually the reason I went over. He took
a liking to Claudio and I when we had our (CZW and CHIKARA) tag title reign, and
wanted to bring us to Japan. Then Claudio got signed (by the WWE, Nov. 2006), so
I ended up going over by myself, but I didn't end up doing so great, so I didn't
come back until the next year when Claudio was able to come too, so then we came
over as a team, and went from there.
MC: Did you ever get to work out in the gym with Kobashi, anything like that?
CH: In the same gym, but not with him specifically -
MC: Because he'd chop you? *laughs*
CH: *laughs* No no, every time I'd go to the gym Kobashi would be there. He
just works harder than anybody I've ever seen, he's just there pouring sweat
every time I go to the gym. On the exercise bike, doing squats, you know.
MC: Doing squats on those knees?
CH: Yeah, yeah, you know he's just a real hard worker. (Masao) Inoue, the guy
who just came back from a broken leg, I didn't really know much about him, where
he stood. But then he broke his leg, and he was out for a little while, and he
rehabbed his leg, and he was always in there, working hard. Regardless of what
somebody's wrestling ability is, or what they produce match-wise, this guy's got
heart. He was in the gym every day, busting his ass, trying to get back to where
he was before he hurt his leg. It was really, really inspiring - almost made you
feel guilty that someone who's just working so hard...that work ethic, that
Japanese work ethic is really amazing.
MC: NOAH - I don't wanna say they're in trouble, but it kinda seems like
they're in trouble. They're fighting hard with Misawa gone, and it just seems
like...I don't know if the booking's clicking, the crowds aren't showing up,
they're quiet...
CH: You know, it's not just them. New Japan is doing better, but it's just
wrestling in general is down. It's been over-exposed. It's been around. The new
stars haven't been created. You don't have a (Giant) Baba, you don't have an
(Antonio) Inoki - I mean you do have an Inoki, and he's doing okay with his IGF
shows. You don't have a current Tiger Mask - you know what I mean. But ya,
they're trying. I think with NOAH's core talent, they're making the right moves.
MC: Are you happy they're bringing back Kawada?
CH: Oh absolutely! I'm really surprised at that, but very happy. But ya, the
fact that NOAH doesn't have that huge TV deal - they're still on TV in some
aspect, but they don't have the TV deal that they had, it makes it hard to
create new stars.
MC: G+ TV was covering a lot of their costs, so that was part of the issue.
CH: Ya I believe so.
MC: So you think they'll be okay, they cut a bunch of wrestlers recently.
CH: Ya I think they'll be okay. They're budget's down, the guys are so good,
they've changed up their style, they've changed up their matches. Different
stuctures, different end results. Ya a lot of things really surprised me when
the new regime started. I think it's good. Marufuji's the Vice President, he's
very very intelligent, very modern. You see his matches, you see how he always
brings something new to the table.
MC: Exactly. You can't just follow the formula with his matches, you don't
know what you're getting.
CH: Yeah absolutely, and he saw that, and he decided to continually evolve
his style, his in-ring product. So I'm not too worried. Whatever's gonna happen
is gonna happen. I think (NOAH will) continue to have shows. I think wrestling
will always be around.
MC: One of the big changes NOAH made was (Takashi) Sugiura, who for my money
is the top Heavyweight in Japan right now. How do you feel about his (GHC
Heavyweight) Title reign so far, and how he's been able to connect?
CH: I think it's good, because I think before, Sugiura's look - and I don't
mean his build, I mean the way his face looks, his intensity in the ring - he's
kinda scary. It's hard for the public to get behind somebody who looks so scary,
so I think if anything held him back I think that's what it was. Because you
know he's not like Shiozaki, he's not like Akiyama, he's not one of these
good-looking Japanese guys, he's just some crazy-scary looking dude. But the
fact that he was siding for NOAH against New Japan really endeared him to the
fans. 'Alright, he's a f***ing warrior, he's on our side,' that's what built him
into a star. His matches have always been good, ya he's great in the ring. Uh,
is that fans getting let in?
MC: Yeah.
CH: Alright, can we wrap this up?
MC: Yeah, let me jump right to...I did an interview with Chris Nowinski (in
February), we talked a lot about concussions. In his own words, it's nothing
short of an epidemic in pro wrestling right now. How do you feel about that, do
you agree with that statement, do you feel it's overblown? You see way more than
anybody else does.
CH: Well, I'll say this much: you see the style of matches I have, and I
don't know if I'm just lucky, but I've only ever had one concussion, and that
was over 10 years ago. I get hit in the head all the time.
MC: Do you wear a mouthguard in the ring?
CH: No I don't. When I was training to box last summer yes, I definitely had
a mouthguard. I don't know, maybe I'm just lucky. I think the problem is when
guys get their bell rung, and don't realize how serious it is, and they
continue, and that's when they get that second concussion, and that usually
leads to post-concussion syndrome. And I think that the trouble I've heard is
when people haven't realized how severe their first injury was. But I've been
knocked out before, you know had my bell rung quite a bit. But not to have a
lasting effect of 'Oh my head' or whatever, because the first time I had a
concussion, I definitely had a concussion. I couldn't get out of bed, I got on a
plane and vomitted everywhere. This other stuff, that's just a part of
wrestling. I'm not concerned for myself, but I would advise anyone with anything
resembling a headache or whatever after a match to take it easy, I mean that's
what happened to Nigel.
MC: Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.
CH: No problem man.
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