WWE: Excerpts from Interviews with RVD, Kanyon, Spike, Dawn Marie, Lilian Garcia

Credit goes to 1wrestling.com

RVD DISAPPOINTED NOT TO HAVE BEEN ON MANIA, SAYS HEYMAN COULD BOOK HIM IN A 'MORE APPEALING' FASHION

by No Holds Barred Updated: 4/7/2003

This past week The No Holds Barred radio show was in Seattle for Wrestlemania 19 and at WWE Axxess we caught up with many superstars including Spike Dudley, Lillian Garcia, Dawn Marie, Kanyon and Rob Van Dam. Here are the highlights from each of those interviews.

Spike Dudley

Spike opened by saying he has had some great moments in the WWE and was just happy to have a job. He calls the company lots of fun and is happy to be there.

He misses the ECW days due to the freedom he had with his character. He will always cherish the ECW moments but calls the WWE a larger stage.

He said former ECW stars are fairly treated as most of the talent that worked in ECW is now with the WWE. He said there are only so many spots for top players and not everyone can be in the main event.

He said he was only able to catch one episode of NWA.TNA when the company first emerged on the scene and feels they have a great lineup. He said there is always room for another organization to do well in the business and would like to see 4 or 5 companies do well because there are many talented workers who are currently unemployed.

He said professional wrestling has always loved the big man but the lighter wrestlers are starting to get recognized more and are getting better pushes because it's not about size anymore, rather it's how well you perform and entertain an audience.

Lillian Garcia

Lillian opened by saying that singing the National Anthem at Wrestlemania 2000 was her career WrestleMania highlight. She was honored when Vince McMahon asked her to do it. She also noted singing after the tragedy of September 11th was a touching moment and one that she is very proud of. She said now is a time where we need to support our troops.

Lillian put over the work of all the WWE Divas. She said only a little while ago the focus was only on puppies but now the in ring work of the Divas has become appreciated a lot more by the wrestling audience. She said there is room on WWE programming for the Divas to kick butt.

Lillian noted she has been asked to wrestle but is focused on her recording career and ring announcing. She said you cant just pick up wrestling, and it takes a lot of hard work. She spoke of taking the hit from Jamal, and even though it was executed correctly it still hurt.

She put over all the talent saying they put their bodies on the line every night.

She spoke to Smackdown records about a deal but she said the timing was not right and decided to pursue a deal with Universal Records and Vince McMahon gave her his blessing to pursue that option.

Dawn Marie

Dawn called her journey to the WWE a roller coaster ride and she has enjoyed every minute.

She enjoyed the Al Wilson angle saying fans either loved or hated it but reacted either way which is the ultimate goal when doing an angle. She called it flattering that she was dubbed such a good lover that she killed Al Wilson in bed.

She said Simon Diamond loved the angle and ribbed her at home all the time. She has been with Simon for 7 years and in the business for 8 years and he has supported her through her entire career.

She said no jealousy exists towards Torrie Wilson for her Playboy shoot. She said she is proud of her and the shoot was tastefully done.

Dawn loves her role on Smackdown being able to work on the mic. She said she is working very hard on her in ring work and eventually wants to wear the WWE women's title.

Kanyon

Kanyon opened by saying he is 100% healthy. He has been ready to go since October and the company is batting around ideas for his character.

He said his full time return was delayed due to the heavy buildup for Wrestlemania 19.

He said he always knew he would make it to Wrestlemania. He joked how at 18 years of age he attended Wrestlemania 4 and stole a turnbuckle. He still has the turnbuckle at his house and on his website www.chriskanyon.com.

He eventually wants to work with Matt Hardy, Billy Kidman, Team Angle, Christian and Chris Jericho among others but said that it doesn't matter who he works with because the WWE offers the best talent in the world and you are always working in the ring with the most professional workers around.

He said he is surprised that only 1 major company exists in the business. He said WCW had a great run but was not run as well as the WWE. He said he asked for his release from WCW a year earlier to come to the WWE and said that Time Warner nearly killed the wrestling business with the way they handled things at the end of WCW.

He ended by joking how much fun it was to be on a beach with Dawn Marie at Axxxess.

Rob Van Dam

Rob opened by comparing singles action to tagging with Kane. He said when you are working in singles competition the spotlight is always on you but when you work in a tag match you have to share pops with your partner and prepare differently. He said he doesn't mind sharing pops with Kane and the fans love to watch him perform and watch Kane fix his mask.

He feels no competition is bad for the wrestling business. He said he has many friends in the business who are unemployed and thinks there should be other outlets for workers to pursue.

He compared the the WWE to a Ringling Brothers Circus act stating that the company provided all the originals and top talents from all of the former major companies and that they provided no watered down imitations. However he thought that fans don't benefit from not having a variety on TV to choose from.

RVD was very disappointed not to be on the Wrestlemania card and said it was just another day at the office.

RVD said he felt the WWE were shocked at how well he was received when he first debuted with the company and said that he is a very unique individual.

He put over his fans saying they stick with RVD even though he gets juggled from the top of the card to the bottom. He said he feels their pain when he is not in line for title matches and added that he may not fit the image of the traditional WWE wrestler but knows that the company realizes that he has value to their product in any role they put him in which sometimes leads to him being pushed back in consideration for future opportunities.

RVD said he enjoyed the Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff segment on Raw when Bischoff debuted. However, RVD pays almost no attention to storylines as he didn't know Bischoff was the General Manager of Raw.

RVD said he is awful at playing backstage politics and said that if Paul Heyman was booking him he would be showcased in a fashion that was more appealing to him. He closed by saying when 'you piss off RVD, you piss off the fans'.

To hear all the complete interviews with these superstars log on to www.noholdsbarredwrestling.com. The No Holds Barred radio show airs every Sunday night from 9 to 11pm on 101.5 WPDH.