Axl…. Axl…. Axl… Axl, I can still hear to this day like it was just yesterday the fans chanting his name. Axl Rotten was the one guy in ECW that was always over no matter what the booker tried to do him. It did not matter if Axl was in the opening match or in the main event the guy knew how to work the crowd and get himself over.
Now for the first time in eight years, Axl sits down with RF VIDEO to reveal all of his dark secrets on why he left the business and what he went thru since our last shoot interview with him before the first ECW PPV Barely Legal. If you have seen our past shoot interview with Axl you know he is one guy who loves to shoot on people. He holds nothing back just like New Jack and The Honky Tonk Man. This is one of the most entertaining shoots of all time.
Axl talked for the very first time ever on the real reasons on why he left wrestling. You will hear about his drug addiction that lead him from shooting needles into his arms in ECW to taking heroin. What else did Axl Rotten do in ECW that nobody knew about. Did he think he was going to die? If you like to hear about wild drug stories this shoot is for you. It is as open as the Chris Candido shoot when it comes to the drug use issue.
Axl talks about Paul Heyman like nobody else has done in the past. Axl for the first time ever admits that 8 years ago he was the one guy that Paul Heyman never wanted him to do a shoot interview for us. Axl has a million stories on how he got along or actually did not get along with Paul Heyman and why he was still in the company even though they agreed to disagree.
Axl takes us though all of his top matches in ECW with Balls as his partner as they faced the Dudleys, FBI, Sabu + RVD. He talks about all of his famous single matches in ECW as well with Lance Storm, Al Snow and many more. We talk about all of his early gimmick matches with the glass, fire, thumbtacks and barbed wire. Axl talks about how Raven and Tommy Dreamer told them to tone down their matches because they could not follow them. There are alot of shocking stories that I did not even know. Axl takes us through his entire ECW run with just story after story that will make you relive the memories once again.
We talk about his relationship with Ian Rotten and how they met. He really goes into his early start in ECW and what it was like working with Ian Rotten back in the early days of ECW. There are some good stories about Paul Heyman once again and Terry Funk.
Axl talks about CZW and the booking team and why he does not like the company. This is classic as he just goes off on this subject. This part of the interview is just pure Axl. He cuts a really funny promo at this point of the interview.
Axl talks alot of being on the road and there are a million funny stories about his times in ECW. If your an ECW fan this shoot is a must. We talk about the future WWE ECW PPV and also the Hardcore Homecoming show. This is one shoot interview that you need to check out and I promise you this is one you will watch over and over again.
Here are all of the questions that we asked Axl:
What was it like to watch Barely Legal on the sidelines
What did you think of Paul working with the WWE at the time
Did you think it was a conflict of interest
Terry Funk recently said its ironic that Vince is bringing ECW back since he killed it, do you agree
Did you talk with WCW at the time
Memories of your series with the Dudleys
Are you surprised at their success in the WWE
Memories of your series with the FBI
Were you ever supposed to get the ECW tag titles with Balls
Did you feel insulted you never got it
Memories working Furnas and Kroffat
Memories of your series with Sabu and RVD
Memories of some of the matches you and Candido had
Memories of matches with Lance Storm
Thoughts/memories with Sid came in
Memories of matches with Al Snow
Raven said in his shoot that you hurt yourself early on by creating a British character but you never spoke with an English accent, thoughts?
Memories/thoughts of when RVD slapped taz in the locker room
Were you disappointed you had a dark match at Heatwave
Memories of your series with Da Baldies
When did your first check bounce
How did Paul react
Thoughts/memories when taz left
How different was it
On a list someone compiled on shoot moments that changed wrestling they listed you not showing up in Mass and the Mass Transit incident as a result of that
Thoughts/memories about the night Mike Awesome left with the belt
Memories of the night he returned to drop the belt to Taz
How did Taz change if at all
Memories./thoughts when Shane left for the last time
Memories/thoughts when Raven and Sandman came back
Did you think that Pauls double standard on guys coming back was a bit ridiculous
Memories/thoughts of the XPW riot
What is the one match you never had in ECW you wished you had
Thoughts/memories on New Jack
Thoughts/memories on Rhyno
Thoughts/memories on Chris Jericho
Thoughts/memories on Jerry Lynn
Thoughts/memories on Stevie Richards
Thoughts/memories on Perry Saturn
Thoughts/memories on Mikey Whipwreck
Any good JL road stories
Thoughts/memories on Dusty when he came in since you said you looked up to him on the last interview
Thoughts/memories on Mick Foley
Does it bother you after paying dues for so long when you see a young kid on
Tough Enough get a 6 or 7 figure contract immediately
At what point did you realize it was serious and ECW was in jeopardy
Favorite Paul E lie
How different was it when Dreamer would book the house shows
Do you think Paul should have been there those weekends
When word was out on the Internet that ECW was done after the Pine Bluff shows, a lot of the guys argued that it wasn’t. When did reality set in
Did Paul say anything to you or the locker room at the last PPV
When did your drug use in ECW become more than just recreational
Who introduced you to the drugs
Was Nicole Bass’ husband a big time pusher
Who influenced who more when it came to drug use? you or Candido
Did Paul ever talk to you about your drug use
At what point did you have to look for an alternative means to put food on the table
How tough was that mentally
How much were you owed at the time of bankruptcy
Why do you think that the newer guys that Paul pushed at the end on top never got over like the past run of top guys in ecw
Did it bother you that a few weeks after ECW was done Paul E had a job in Titan and was on television
Knowing that Paul probably had that deal in the back for awhile does that bother you
Do you think Paul E is overrated as a booker
Memories/thoughts on working in XPW
What is the craziest thing you saw in XPW
How bad was drug use in XPW
How did you and Ian wind up putting your bad blood behind you
Thoughts on his IWA MS
Thoughts on Cpl Robinson
THoughts on CM Punk
Raven mentioned in his shoot that you are always on the dead pool lists, thoughts
Thoughts on Nova
Do you have any favorite old school tapes to watch for inspiration
Thoughts/memories on Steve Corino
Thoughts on Tom Cosatti
Thoughts/memories on Justin Credible
Do you like the death matches you do down there
What happened to MCW
Who do you like working on the indys
What are your thoughts on the current state of the indys
Do you think you and Ian created a monster with the death matches you did in ECW
Did you see the WWE DVD and thoughts if so
Did you lose a lot of friends during your drug days
How long have you been sober
Has it been hard to diet up and down during your career
Have you talked to NWA TNA at all
Who called you from the WWE
What are your thoughts going in
Do you this ECW PPV is too little too late in a sense
What do you think about the current state of the business
Can there ever be another ECW
What do you think of newsletters
Did you ever lose confidence in yourself and if so when
If you had to put 5 matches on a tape and put it in a vault for your grandkids, which would you pick
Fav opponents and why
Least fav opponents and why
Why do you think ECW failed in the end
Do you think Balls ever held you back from succeeding
Some great road stories from ECW
Great ribs
Knowing now what you do would you have done anything differently
What advice would you give to younger guys breaking in the business
Is there anything you wanna say to your fans