Chairshots: We’ve got a surprise call on the line. It’s a former cruiserweight champ, tag team champ, and light heavyweight champ. The “Man of 1,000 Moves” Dean Malenko is joining our program Dean, welcome to the show. How are you?

Dean Malenko: Good. How are you guys doing?

C: We’re doing great. I know that you got the chance to wrestle the other night, Tuesday night in Cincinnati. How did that go?

DM: Good. I had a good time. It was just good to get in the ring with a bunch of guys. A couple of guys that I trained in the past and a couple of new talent that the WWF has been looking at for the last couple of months. I’ve just been having a good time.

C: Now at Pillman, at one point, you said that you had retired. What made you want to get back in the ring?

DM: Just trying to help the guys out. Give them some experienced guy to work with. Give the a rub of what it is to work with someone that can lead them around and do the best I can to try to help the developmental guys down in the Louisville and Cincinnati area.

C: Now Dean, you are no stranger to training guys. How were you able to train as you kept with your active wrestling career as the years went on?

DM: Well, actually, I closed down the wrestling school about 2 years ago because I was on the road so much and I didn’t want to be one of those guys that had a wrestling school, but had his students teaching students. If I couldn’t do it the way my dad started the school back in 1978, then I didn’t want to do it. To me, if someone’s paying to learn how to do something, they’re paying, they’re giving Dean Malenko some money because they want him to train them. If I’m not there, if I can’t do it the right way, then I don’t want to do it. About 2 or 3 years ago, I had to close the wrestling school because I was just on the road to much.

C: Dean, what do you think of the set-up that the WWF has now where there are two territories with two primary trainers? And, with the developmental guys trying to be funneled into the WWF. Is that kind of a new set-up, well it is a new set-up. What do you think of it? I mean, how do you think it is working up to this point.

DM: I think it is great because it gives guys a chance to kind of get all the kinks out and the rest out before they are actually put on tv. It’s hard to learn and try to get better on tv because the bottom line is that the general public doesn’t care if you are green or not. They expect to be entertained. So, it gives these guys the opportunity to go out and wrestle in front of small crowds for the small territories and have some experienced guys to show them the ropes so to speak.

C: Dean, I know that you wrestled Chad Collyer. Didn’t you train Chad Collyer?

DM: Yes, I sure did.

C: What do you think of Chad?

DM: Chad’s a great talent. He’s the kind of guy I like working with because Chad does a lot of mat work and he’s real professional when it comes to counter holds and things of that nature. He had some amateur background before. He looks, he really plays the part.

C: Now, Dean, in the last 10 years, wrestling from a tv standpoint has really evolved and you’ve been there through thick and thin and basically maintained the same style. Is it hard for you to watch some of the stuff that has gone on: the new moves, the high spots, that type of thing? I mean, is it difficult to keep the same style? You wrestled in a certain style and then you got those other guys high-flying and that type of thing. Was it difficult to maintain your style while those guys were doing that?

DM: To a certain extent. There are still a lot of guys that like to work the same way I like to work. Unfortunately the way the business is going, the matches keep getting shorter and shorter. It’s really hard to give that guy the 15-20 minutes to go out there and really work a crowd. I also try to keep an open mind about the business as much as I can, too. But I understand there is constant change going on around us. The wrestling business is changing, but I’ve always been a purist when it comes to wrestling. And, that’s getting on the mat, what I like to do best. That’s why I stayed in Japan for so many years because that was the type of style that I enjoyed doing. When I got the opportunity to come over here, I got to work with a lot of good friends of mine that did my style and it was fun. Anytime you do something you enjoy and you can have fun with, it’s great. After 20 some odd years, I think I have done everything I have wanted to do, every goal of mine has been accomplished. I think it’s time for me to step away My body’s a little more beat up than I thought it would be 6 years ago.

C: Dean, we talked about the retirement and stuff. What is your status right now with the WWF?

DM: Actually, I start back to work January 3rd as a road agent. I am going to be doing a lot of behind the scenes stuff, helping out the younger guys put their matches together and try to put in as much input as I can. Try to help them, the WWF, stay where they are at and try to move them up. I love the wrestling business and anything I can do to help, I still want to be a part of it. I won’t be a part of it in the ring anymore entertaining the people. I’ll miss that to a certain extent, but I still, right now I am really centered and focused on working with the young guys and helping them as much as I can.

C: Dean, you mentioned Japan. It is something that a few times on the show we get to touch on it with a couple of guys. Dory Funk, Jr talked about it. Big Vito a couple of weeks ago. Talk about a few experiences you had in Japan wrestling. I mean it’s something that I don’t think the fans in the United States can really appreciate it because they haven’t seen it or they haven’t been there.

DM: Well, the wrestling fan there is a little more, and not putting down the United States wrestling fans, but the fans in Japan are a little more educated. Educated in the sense when it comes to actual wrestling. They are all familiar with the submission holds. You are entertaining the people, but it’s not the entertaining factor of it. You are looked more upon as an athlete then you would be an entertainer here in the United States. That’s always something that I’ve always been about. What I enjoy doing. I enjoy wrestling and that’s getting on the mat doing what I love. I got to do that there for 10 or 12 years. The wrestling fans there are very respectful when it comes to wrestlers. The crowd can be quiet, but it doesn’t mean they are bored. They are watching, they’re intent. They’re taking in what you are doing in the ring. It was just a place that fitted me and fitted my style. I enjoyed all the years that I spent there.

C: Dean, 2 weeks ago, we had Eddie Guerrero on the show and we obviously know about his situation. Do you think Eddie will have a chance to get back in there?

DM: Yeah. He kind of messed up a little bit and went off the beaten path and kind of strayed away from what he was supposed to do, but Eddie’s, it’s not big secret that Eddie is one of my dearest friends. If someone were to ask me who was the best guy I worked with, Eddie would definitely be that guy. Eddie’s probably, without using Lex’s forte is the total package. Lex is, I mean, Eddie is the total package when it comes to our business. He’s a great babyface. He’s a great heel. He can work the mat, aerial, everything. Eddie’s got a great mind for the business and is one of the most talented guys I ever stepped into the ring with. Hey, he screwed up and so did a lot of other people. The bottom line is a lot of the time from a wrestling point of view, they forget that we are all human and everyone’s got their own skeletons in their closet. Eddie’s going to work through it. He’s got a great support system behind him. We talk on a regular basis. I try to help him out as much as I can. There’s no substitute for talent. There are a lot of guys out there, but there aren’t a lot of talented guys and Eddie is one of those talented guys. I know that, you know that, and the rest of the world knows that.

C: Yeah, now Dean, when you came over to the WWF, it was under a lot of not scrutiny, but it was one of the biggest stories of the year. The fact that you came over, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn…

DM: I came over because I wanted to be the big story.

C: (laughs) Yeah, and you were. Talk about it from your standpoint. We got it from Eddie a little bit. Just talk about coming over. Number 1, why you came over and then when you came to the WWF, how you guys were accepted.

DM: The part Eddie left out from his stand point probably was, Eddie got into the arena that day and said, ‘what are you guys doing?’ We all said we were leaving and he said, ‘Okay, clue me in.’

C: That’s what he said.

DM: He was basically, you know I could have said, ‘hey Eddie, we’re all jumping off of a bridge’ and he would have said, ‘okay, I’ll jump with you guys.’

C: To quote him, he said, “I am going to go with my friends.” That’s exactly what he said, but your standpoint.

DM: Yeah, it was a scary moment. Only for the fact that anybody who has ever walked out of a job situation with guaranteed money and not knowing the unknowns that are in front of you. It was scary. We all did it for different reasons. I did it because, my personal thing was I didn’t get along with a lot of the things that were going on there. It was very frustrating going out there and giving 100% and busting your butt every single night and nobody really appreciating your talent or what you had to offer. I got tired of every time myself and my friends would move up the ladder, we would be pushed right back down again. To me that is just a ridiculous way to do business. I don’t think any smart business company, if you’ve got a guy that’s making money for them, you don’t put him down. You let him go with it. It got very hard and plus friends like Chris Benoit, one of the most intense guys I know who loves this business, and towards the end there I saw Chris really hate to come to work and it bothered me that my friends, guys that I knew had a passion for this business like I did got a knot in their stomach knowing they had to come to work that day. It got pretty bad there at the end. It was just one of those individual choices, where myself, I didn’t have much years left in the business and I wanted to walk away from this with a good taste in my mouth and walk away working for a guy like Vince McMahon who is a business man and respects every single guy who is employed by him for their talents.

C: Dean, was it the fact that some of the top tier guys were keeping the younger guys down or the mid card guys down?

DM: Well, it was that and everybody ran their own show. When you’ve got a football team and everyone is calling their own plays, it’s going to be mass confusion out there. Everyone was running their own show, everyone was calling their own plays and you can’t run a business that way. That’s what it is. It is a wrestling company. The problem was everybody was in charge and you just can’t run a company that way. I knew then that before we walked away that this place wasn’t going to get any better, it’s only going to get worse. It was like jumping off the ship before it sunk. It’s funny, now that I look back a year after this happened, we all had to look like the four smartest guys in the wrestling business. There was a lot of guys who said you had to stick with what you were doing and how dare you guys walk away from the money that you guys are making. It wasn’t an ego thing at all. I mean I walked away from a lot of money. Did we know that Vince McMahon was going to pick us up? No, we didn’t. Did we have faith in what we had to offer and did we know we could wrestle anywhere? Yes, we did. It was just a matter of time. We were going to get work somewhere. We all felt that wasn’t the place for us anymore.

C: Dean, did any of you guys talk with Chris Jericho and get his opinion of the situation?

DM: We had talked to Chris periodically, but never really like asked him. We would ask him things like ‘how are things up there?’ and ‘how is the dressing room?’, which is real important to us…the camaraderie of the guys. He loved it, but was the really a factor in us leaving, not really. At that point, I mean, I would have went anywhere.

C: Talk about one of the characters you have had to play. Of course you did things in the WWF, but one of my favorites is the last run of the Four Horsemen. Talk about just being a part of that legacy. I mean, I wish it really did work, but then it faded away kind of too quick. I would have loved to have seen you guys do it a little bit longer.

DM: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. You know, it’s almost like things were set up there to fail. It was just very frustrating. You know it’s funny and I’ll tell Ric this one and a while, but I remember him since I was 10 years old He’s always been a good guy to myself, my dad, and through the years, my brother. It was just a pleasure being in the ring with him and to stand by him. I have moments of when we all reunited back in Greensville, South Carolina just standing in the ring next to Chris and Ric comes out and 20 screaming people just going nuts and on their feet. Just seeing the emotion in Ric’s face. It’s nights like that you just have to smile to yourself and say, ‘Man, this business is unbelievable. I’m glad I’m in it.’ You know? I have the utmost respect for Arn Anderson and Chris. It was a great time. I had a lot of fun with it.

C: Dean, there has been a controversy on the Internet about Billy Silverman and what happened to him and also the hazing of the new guys that come into the WWF. Is that something that does happen in the WWF locker room?

DM: I remember years and years ago there was a lot of practical jokes played among the guys and now it is just to keep our sanity. When you are on the road 200-240 days a year, you go nuts. Sometimes you just have fun with the other guys and sometimes it gets a little out of hand. But, everybody takes things differently. I can’t really speak or give my opinion about what happened with Billy Silverman because I don’t know what the situation was all about.

C: Now obviously you have been working with Les Thatcher a lot, what are your thoughts on Les because he is like one of our favorite guests to have on the show?

DM: He’s a great guy. I used to watch Les when he was working in the Carolinas when my dad was up there. Of course I always tease Les, I tell him he was one of my favorite guys in the black and white era. Les is a great guy. We have had a great relationship for the past 5 or 6 years and done the Pillman show for the last 3 or 4. He’s just a real good guy. I like the way he thinks of the business. He’s got a really good situation up there. He’s got a group of really talented guys up there. Les is a good guy. I have a lot of fun with him.

C: One last question Dean. Out of all the guys in HWA and OVW, which guys do you think we will be seeing on tv soon?

DM: Jamie Knoble is one guy that really stands out. Actually, Jamie was my partner last night. It’s great when I sit back now and I look at kids like Jamie and watched at the wrestling school. He’s just full of life. It’s 24-7, this business. He just loves it. He’s got everything that you could want in somebody to really get behind. He’s got great character. He’s great in the ring. He’s got a great attitude about the business, which is pretty important in what we do. Jamie reminds me a lot of myself when I was first starting out, like a puppy dog. I told Jamie yesterday when I left, I said, ‘You have a bright future in this business.’ It’s just great to be around guys like that. It’s a good feeling like that to know that there are guys out there that still take this business seriously and they have the determination to really want it.

C: Well Dean, we would like to thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Dean. It’s quite an honor. When people talk about the best wrestlers in the world, your name is mentioned in there. I have heard of young wrestlers say if they could be trained by anybody or if they had to watch anybody to learn how to wrestle, they still say would watch you. So, the magnitude of you coming on this show speaks a lot and we really appreciate you coming on.

DM: I appreciate it. You know I have had 20 years of doing something that I have always enjoyed doing. I was talking to my wife the other night and I said sometimes we really forget where we come from and what we’re about. It’s been a real privilege to entertain people all over the world for something I have enjoyed doing. There’s not many people who actually say they spent 20 years on the job and they enjoyed doing it. Entertaining people all over the world, it’s been fun and I have had a lot of fun doing it.

C: Well, once again, thank you Dean and best of luck with the road agent thing and we’ll stay in touch with you.

DM: Thanks a lot.

C: Have a nice holiday Dean.

DM: Thanks a lot, bye.

C: Dean Malenko. Awesome.