The above interview is property of Maryland Championship Wrestling and will remain rightful property of Maryland Championship Wrestling.
Hot Seat: The first thing that I want to do is to tell everybody that I am extremely sorry for the delay in getting this interview posted and I promise that it will not happen again but I was having one hell of a time catching up with these two guys.
Hot Seat: As a child who were your favorite wrestlers?
Joey: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Shawn Michaels
Hot Seat: Now That You both have made the transition from fan to wrestler how do you look at those guys now?
Joey: With the upmost respect! Those guys are the ones that layed the foundation for the house that we live in, If it was not for them, guys like me and Christian and everybody else in the wrestling buisiness might be in a different line of work
Hot Seat: So I take it that you are not like some other wrestlers that think, "Man when are some of these guys going to hang up the boots?"
Joey: Absolutly not! I just hope that I get the chance to work with some of the older guys before they do actually retire so they can teach me a thing or two.
Hot Seat: Well the two of you seem like you are both very respectful?
Christian: You have to be, I mean how can you expect to get any respect if you do not have any respect for other people. And besides if you are trained right then you dont have a choice but to respect this buisiness and the people in it.
Hot Seat: Speaking of training, How about you guys? How old were you?
Joey: I started training when I was sixteen but had my first match when I was seventeen?
Hot Seat: WOW! You guys were just babies. Do you think that it was tougher or easier because of your young ages?
Joey: Definatly harder. I think because the guys probobly thought that we were both young punks that did not deserve to be in the business. I respected that but at the same time I was not going to let anybody stop me from becoming a wrestler.
Hot Seat: I Had heard that you two trained together at the same time. Is that true?
Joey: Yes that is true, we both trained at a school in Alexandria, VA
Hot Seat: Did you guys know each other before wrestling?
Christian: No, It just so happened that we were in a class with about fifteen people but it eventually was just the two of us and we ended up becoming friends out of it. I have not figured out yet whether that is good or bad. ha ha
Hot Seat: So who was it that actually trained the two of you?
Joey: Jimmy Cicero, Cueball Carmichael and Julio Sanchez Initially but since our first match we have learned alot from a bunch of different people.
Hot Seat: I Had heard that you had some connection with the Hardy Boyz?
Joey: Actually I moved down to North Carolina for a while to live with Steve Corino and in that time period I met Matt and Jeff along with Joey Abs, Shannon Moore and a couple of other guys and between training at the Hardy Boyz ring in the woods and working on the independent shows in the Carolinas we all became very good friends.
Hot Seat: The Ring in the woods?
Joey: Yes the Hardyz had a ring set up in the woods behind thier house where we could all practice. There was no real school in the general area so they had to figure something out.
Hot Seat: What made you move to North Carolina?
Joey: I wanted to wrestle, At the time Steve Corino was running shows and I was working for other groups down there so I figured what the hell.
Hot Seat: So What about you Christian?
Christian: I just made the drive all the time
Hot Seat: Do you still stay in contact with any of those guys?
Joey: Every one of them. Maybe not as much as we would like to but we still talk to them pretty frequently.
Hot Seat: I have to say that match the four of you had last march was one of the best matches I have ever seen. (It was a four way dance for the MCW Cruiserweight Championship, Christian vs Joey vs Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy)
Christian: Thanks that means alot but I hardly doubt that it was one of the best matches that you ever saw but that is a nice compliment.
Hot Seat: No, I am being serious as a matter of fact most of the matches that I have seen you two work against each other are incredible matches.
Joey: Well I guess we just know each other so well that it is now kind of like a game where we are always trying to out wrestle or one up each other.
Hot Seat: You guys have had plenty of chances to do that, it seems like I used to see match results from all up and down the east coast and you guys were always against each other or teaming up.
Christian: Some times we would be doing double shots on two different shows 30 miles away from one another and on one show we would wrestle each other and then we would pack up and rush to the next town where we would be teaming up. It really just depended on the promoter but I always felt like we jell better as a team then we do against each other.
Hot Seat: O.K. lets get something straight. you do not know how many times I have been asked what the deal was with you two and WCW? Lets take it from the top. Back in June you had a try out with WCW at the MCI Center in Washington D.C.?
Joey: Correct, We wrestled in a tag team match against Mikey Whippreck and Prince Iakaya.
Hot Seat: How did you get the try out?
Christian: We were contacted by WCW because they saw us working on tv in Music City Wrestling and they said that they were looking to expand thier cruiserweight division.
Hot Seat: What happened after that?
Joey: Nothing for a couple of weeks and then we were notified that we had gotten the jobs and not too long after that we signed contracts.WCW told us that we could finish any independent bookings that we had taken.
Hot Seat: Then what happened?
Joey: Then we were told to sit and wait and we would be notified when we would start doing tv's.
Hot Seat: And after that?
Joey: Then a little time went by and we heard that Bischoff was leaving and he was the one that hired us so we were just kind of stuck in no mans land, A little time went by and we were notified of our release.
Hot Seat: So what are your feelings toward WCW?
Joey: We are very thankful for everything that comes our way especially what came our way with WCW, I have nothing but good things to say about them.
Hot Seat: So where do you two go from here?
Joey: To work as much as I can and to learn the game and always evolve
Hot Seat: What about your future in Maryland Championship Wrestling?
Joey: We have a couple of scores to settle with earl the pearl and ramblin rich but more importantly Christian and I have always wanted to be the MCW Tag Team Champions
Hot Seat: The two of you were once known as the measuring sticks in the MCW's Cruiserweight division. Any plans on going after that belt again?
Christian: I am not going to rule that out because there are alot of cruiserweights that are quickly developing that I would like to work with like Qenaan Creed but for the time being We are gonna focus on the tag team thing.
Hot Seat: Well that about wraps up my questions. Is there anything that you would like to add?
Joey: Just that I am glad to be home in MCW and thanks to all the people for thier support.
Hot Seat: Well since this is the last update of the century, please have a safe and happy holiday and next month we will interview Corporal Punishment on his thoughts on the future of MCW and anything else you want me to ask him, just send your questions to the MCW website.
MCW Hot Seat, December 1999
Well first thing that I am going to do is start from the beginning with you two. What got you intersted in Professional Wrestling?
Joey: I used to go down to my relatives in North Carolina on the weekends and I discovered the NWA on superstation tbs and I got hooked instantly.
Christian: Basically the NWA as well but more specifically it was The Rock And Roll Express that really got me hooked on the sport.
Christian: Jimmy Garvin, Barry Windam and of course The Rock And Roll Express
Christian: You know people do not understand that when you make the transition from fan to wrestler your views do change. You go from cheering for a wrestler because you like the way he wrestles in the ring to respecting a wrestler for what he can do in the ring. It is something that can not be explained unless you have made that transition and you know what it is like to be in the ring and how hard it is to do what we do.
Christian: I was nineteen.
Christian: I have to agree with Joey, I do not think that anybody took Joey or myself serious at all.
Christian: We learn from all of our experiences both negative and positive and working for WCW was definatly a positive.
Christian: Keep on gaining experience.
Christian: Just to the boys in the locker room, get your work boots on because the measuring sticks are back in town.
The above interview is property of Maryland Championship Wrestling and will remain rightful property of Maryland Championship Wrestling.