Time to crack open a few cold ones and get ready for one of the best shoot interviews of the year as THE SANDMAN has returned home and gave an exclusive shoot interview covering his time in WWE and the “new” ECW. This was RF VIDEO’s fourth shoot with the extreme icon and, truth be told, this is could be the best one yet! Hak covered his entire WWE experience; from being contacted about appearing on the legendary One Night Stand PPV and it’s follow up, being offered a full time contract to work in the ECW revamp, and everything up to and including his recent release.
We got Hak to talk on the record about everything that happened when he was offered a full time job within the WWE circus and he gave us a first hand account of everything that went on behind the scenes. How was Paul Heyman dealing with the ECW that Vince McMahon wanted? What were the strengths and weaknesses of the new ECW? What does Sandman think of CM Punk, Mike Knox, Kelly Kelly, and the other new talents on the ECW roster? Why didn’t Sandman want to work with Test? What was the experience like working the major PPVs and the top guys in WWE? Hak answered these and many more questions in the straight forward and hilarious method that all of his fans enjoy. Sandman is one of those few wrestlers that could do a hundred interviews and each one would be a pleasure to listen to.
We got Sandman’s take on what went down at the original One Night Stand, including the infamous beating of Blue Meanie at the hands of JBL. We got Sandman to talk about what it was like to work with Johnny Ace and Steph and what he thought about the punishment Rob Van Damn and Sabu received after getting busted for smoking pot. Everything you could possibly think of is covered in this fantastic shoot including Hak’s emotional reaction to the Benoit tragedy. ECW fans will remember that Nancy Benoit was Sandman’s former valet and Hak opened up on that story along with his thoughts on the effects of steroids and drugs in the world of professional wrestling, including his surprising views on legalizing marijuana.
But that’s not all! Sandman talked about what it was like working on the Hardcore Homecoming tour, tells his side of an oft-rumored story between what happened between him and Ricky Steamboat on a plane trip, described what went down in Africa and why WWE took him off the show, and even gives his opinion on the independent wrestling scene today, including great detail on groups such as CZW and PWU. This is a MUST HAVE shoot for fans of The Sandman and anyone who would like to know more about what is going on behind the scenes in WWE today. You couldn’t ask for a better speaker and Hak brings the goods in this latest release from RF VIDEO.
How were you contacted about the first one night stand
what did you expect going into it
Did anybody like yourself have any input in it
How much of it was Paul and how much of it do you think were other writers
Are you surprised that it was RVD’s idea
Before that happened, did indy dates start slowing down
Who did you hear from first about working the ECW reunion show? Shane or WWE
Who pressured you more to pull off of the other
What was the reaction from the WWE crew when you and some other ex ECW guys started showing up at TV and doing the angles, were you welcomed or treated as outsiders
How directly involved was Vince with everything
How much of what happened at One Night Stand was different from what you were originally told about how it would be presented
Did you think all of that involvement from the WWE guys was a good or bad thing
Did you, Tommy, and the Dudleys focus on going out and stealing the show
How different were the Dudleys you worked with that night compared to the guys you worked with years ago
Were you warned about going out drinking, etc
How difficult was it to get the WWE to agree to your old music
Which show did you think was better? That one or Shane’s
Do you think Shane should have ended it there rather than toured
Why do you think the tour didn’t do well
When One Night Stand was over did you get the impression that they wanted you back
There were rumors back then of reviving ECW into something full time by WWE, is that true
Did the pay per view give you new life on the indys
Do you get angry, frustrated, or embarrassed sometimes when you would work for some indys and they tried to be ECW when they were far from it
Did you feel anyway kind of dirty working the Bruiser Brody Memorial show in Puerto Rico
You got involved with PWU shortly thereafter, how did you get involved with that
Why do you think their formula works in drawing regular crowds as compared to past indys in Philadelphia
How soon did you find out about WWE starting up ECW full time before it happened
Was it easy or difficult to put together a good deal
Did you look forward to going back on the road or did you enjoy the limited schedule of the indys
Did you fight to get your old music played or was that something you never bothered with
It seemed that when the ECW project started again Paul was involved some weeks and some not, how much of it do you think he was involved with in the beginning and planning stages
Mick Foley says in his newest book about his match at the second One Night Stand being the true main event and responsible for drawing the buyrate or not. Do you agree with that?
What was different about the second ONS as compared to the first
You did a lot of angles with John Cena to set it up and Cena was arguably the hottest guy in the business at that time. How easy was he to work with as far as the angles and matches went.
Memories and thoughts on the ECW vs WWE battle royal leading up to ONS2
Were you disappointed you didn’t get a match at One Night Stand
Did you think the ECW tour would succeed or fail
Who booked the house shows
You said in an interview as the tours started the atmosphere backstage was much different than the older ECW days because you guys just started touring and never got that family bond. Did you guys ever get that bond that the old crew had?
Differences backstage as compared to the golden years
Were you surprised when the fans turned on Paul at the Alhambra Arena
Did you believe in the new direction of ECW or did you think in the back of your head it wasn’t working
Did you ever have the chance to offer your input as an ECW veteran
You credited Kurt Angle and Big Show as being a big help to you in a previous interview, can you expand on that
How different were your matches at this point with Credible then in the past
Was Stephanie difficult to work with
Was it frustrating through the first several months that the direction of ECW kept being changed
Why do you think the tours failed
You had the segment with the Zombie. Is it true they wanted to try some other characters at first that conflicted with the network
Thoughts on Mike Knox and Kelly Kelly
Thoughts on matches with Big Show
How different do you think things would have turned out with ECW if RVD and Sabu had not been busted and suspended
Do you think that the WWE overreacted
Do you think that as hot as Rob was at the time, the momentum would have kept going if he hadnt been suspended
Who do you think should have brought back to ECW from the old ECW crew that would have made a big difference
Thoughts on your matches with Test
About midway through the ECW revival a lot of older ECW fans complained and hated the new ECW, do you think they just didn’t give it a chance or could you empathize with their frustrations
What would you have done differently in running ECW from tv, talent, and touring
Thoughts on tagging with Tommy Dreamer in ECW
Did you ever become bored with what you were doing in ECW
Was Cyber Sunday a shoot or were you told you weren’t going to wrestle
A lot of people argue that December to Dismember was one of the worst pay per views in history. Do you agree or disagree with that and why
Thoughts on matches with Sylvester Terkay
Thoughts on matches with Elijah Burke
How did things change when you started doing tours with the various Raw and Smackdown crews
Thoughts on the Royal Rumble
Who did you like to ride with
How did the whole idea for the New Breed vs Originals come about
Did you like it
Memories and thoughts on wrestling on Wrestlemania
As a wrestling fan growing up, is that the pinnacle of success for you
Did you like the match
Do you agree or disagree with Rhyno throwing the ECW belt in the trash on TNA
What were your thoughts when Vince became ECW champion
A lot of ex ECW fans hated it, but do you think it was good for ECW now that Vince was going to be a focal point of the show
Thoughts on Bobby Lashley
Memories of your 4 way match with RVD, Sabu, and Dreamer
Thoughts on CM Punk
Do you think he is ready for a big push
Was it frustrating to be totally squashed by Gene Snitsky on TV
How did you find out you were moving to Raw
Most see it as a promotion of sorts, did you see it the same way
Are you surprised as an ECW original that they never put the ECW belt on you
The original angle with Carlito seemed to go over huge on TV. Do you think that surprised a lot of writers and office staff?
Thoughts on matches with Carlito
Do you think more could have been done with your program with him
Thoughts on working with William Regal
Do you think management noticed how well you were getting over on RAW
Did you get any heat from the office for doing the induction at PWU a couple of months ago
Why do you think you were getting so over with the RAW fans
Thoughts on matches with Ken Kennedy
How did you first hear about the Benoit family tragedy
You were in a unique position of probably being one of the few guys on the WWE roster who worked more with Nancy than with him. How close were you with Nancy over the years
Some say they were surprised, some say that Benoit was never right after Eddie’s passing. Were you surprised
Is there anything you think anyone could have done
How difficult was it for you and the entire crew to go back to work after this
Do you think it was a wake up call for some people
Do you think the media coverage of the Benoit family tragedy was fair or unfair
Thoughts on UFC and comparisons to pro wrestling
How is your body physically
What are your thoughts on the WWE Wellness policy
Do you think Vince is worried about a potential investigation
Thoughts on matches with Santino Marella
What happened last week when you seemed to get hurt in your match
How did you find out you were released
Were you surprised
What was the reason why
Do you think the doors are open for a return
Do you think ECW will still be around in another year
How do you think congressional hearings could potentially change the way Vince does business
Who were your favorite guys to work with up there
Do you have any plans to return to TNA
Did Vince ever try and buy your name and likeness from you
You do a lot of indys, do you think a lot of guys that come out of the WWE dont understand the indys and overprice themselves out of the market
Do you find the indys to be well or poorly run
What are some of the biggest frustrations working with guys on the indys
Is everything political in the WWE as far as pushes go
Could another ECW ever work today
Tod has talked about putting out a book about all of the partying and naming names, what are your thoughts on it
Thoughts about the next generation of stars in the WWE
Any good road stories, ribs
We recently talked to Scott Hall about his struggles, for someone like yourself who’s gimmick is drinking beer and partying is it hard to keep it somewhat sane
You talked years ago about your son wrestling and learning lucha, is that still going to happen
Years ago you talked about having no desire to work out, what changed your mind
The Rock recently said he thinks the WWE has to have a 0 tolerance steroid policy, do you agree
Thoughts on WWE recently including marijuana in their policy
Who do you wish you had the chance to work with in the WWE that you didn’t get to
Do you think it was fair to suspend all of those wrestlers recently
Are you surprised Vince Russo is still booking anywhere
Thoughts on John Cena and Batista who are the flagship wrestlers today
Do you think some WWE writers wanted ECW to fail
Do you think Paul will start another company
Do you think if Paul and Tod were to work together again they could do something special
What is your favorite moment in your career
Best ribs you ever saw