Show: The Interactive Interview (Courtesy of www.WrestlingEpicenter.com)
Guest: Jamie Noble
Date: June 3, 2005
Your Hosts: Erik Clancy, Chuck D, & James Walsh
Recap By: James Walsh
He is a former WWE Cruiserweight champion. He is the only wrestler who can claim to have played an Asian and a red neck. And, he's one of the best technical wrestlers around. He's Jamie Noble and he's the latest guest on The Interactive Interview.
Back, and yes Back in Black after a 2 week hiatus due to renovations in the studio, The Interactive Interview hit the air this past Tuesday evening with this fantastic interview. Miss it? Never fear, you can download the archived show in real audio! Heard it live? The ENTIRE, UNEDITTED interview with Jamie has been plugged in to the show. This version features over 13 minutes of content not heard in the initial interview. So, you may want to tune in!
To listen to this show now, visit http://www.wrestlingepicenter.com/shows/TIILive/noble.ram
To download this show to your desktop, visit http://www.wrestlingepicenter.com/shows/TIILive/noble.rm
For all other interviews or to request a guest for us to interview, visit our new and improved official site at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com.
JAMIE NOBLE
-- The show opens with a little RAW chat before Kimberly Page guides us in to the sensational Jamie Noble interview.
-- Jamie discusses his early days in wrestling when he first started to train. He talks about going to Florida and the Malenko school and learning with Jeremy Lopez, Chad Callyer, Tony Mamaluke, and Dean himself.
-- Jamie had a quick run in WCW before he became part of the Jung Dragons. He was released reasonably quickly. When asked why, he says they had "4 or 500 guys under contract at the time and I was part of budget cuts."
-- Jamie feels working with Jimmy Yang and Kaz Hiashi was "awesome." He discusses a few occasions of butting heads over ideas but overall, he thought they were fantastic to work with.
-- Jamie liked his jump from the Jung Dragons to a singles competitor but felt it may have been too confusing for the fans. Erik jokes that he was personally shocked to see that Jamie wasn't Asian since he was under a mask. Jamie says it was not only that but they had just split Three Count as well and as such the fans were confused and had a little trouble keeping up with all that was going on.
-- Jamie thought the Starcade ladder match was a great match. It is indicative of the kind of performances he is giving currently in Ring of Honor with a lot of great wrestling. He tells a quick story about that match saying unlike the WWE's TLC matches, they were told to only use ladders. So, they used 3 ladders and found a way to make that work. James mentions one incredible spot where someone was caught off a cross body into a powerslam from a ladder wedged high between the two standing ladders. Jamie mentions that he loves that spot as well.
-- Jamie absolutely believes WCW was trying to copy the WWE's TLC matches with these ladder matches.
-- Jamie had nothing to compare with the backstage WCW environment at the time except the indy scene. He just assumed that is how it was in both WCW and the WWE. He now knows that the WCW scene was very "clicky."
-- Jamie was at home when he found out WCW was sold. As a matter of fact, he was watching Nitro like every other fan when he found out. He had been off TV for about a month to a month and a half at the time and was expecting they might give him his release. When he saw Vince and Shane, he said, "Holy cow. I'm definitely out of a job now!"
-- Jamie liked working for HWA and Les Thatcher. James jokingly calls Thatcher a "crazy old man."
-- Chuck asks if Jamie thought the Invasion angle in the WWE was done properly. Jamie says he doesn't think it was because when the fans thought of a WCW invasion, they thought Goldberg, Flair, Nash, Hogan, and so forth. He means no disrespect to Bill DeMott, Lance Storm, and the other guys that were used but he just feels the names the fans wanted and the names they got were not exactly the same.
-- James asks if Jamie thought his character in the WWE was stereotypical due to his Southern accent. Jamie says absolutely not. "No, I pushed for it when I was in HWA." He says that's why those who saw HWA programming saw him talking more because he knew the WWE would be interested in him more if he showed he could actually talk and develop a character.
-- Jamie hates when people say he was "bland." He feels he was one of the stronger characters on TV a lot.
-- Jamie says Nidia was "awesome." He says she learned a lot very quickly and was happy with how she fit the gimmick. He liked it a lot.
-- Jamie will not say VInce cannot do a cruiserweight division because he thinks it is arrogant for someone to say the guy who helped create Hogan, Austin, and the Rock as well as Wrestlemania can't do something in wrestling. Jamie just thinks there needs to be a place for guys his size to be on the show. He doesn't think they should or have to main event but they can be interesting aspects of the show.
-- James' stomach goes up on his chest as he asks the next question about the reports he was released due to steroid use. Jamie says there is truth to it. The story is he suffered a staff infection and it was discovered he was on steroids. "They can't tolerate that kind of stuff in the locker room. The infection and the steroids, that's a whole different story. It wasn't the companies fault. I forced their hand. They were going to let me by with it as if to say it's okay. But, it's not." Jamie then explains that he requested the release because he felt he should be punished. James says that is actually very admirable.
-- Chuck mentions that most feel he will be back in the WWE. Jamie says, "They told me to clean my act up, not to go out and bash the company, and to try not to go to TNA if I can afford it and once you clear everything up and we think you're straight, we might give you a second chance."
-- Jamie thinks he's having some of his best matches now with Ring of Honor and hopes people check them out.
-- We then roll into some word associations with names as random as Eric Bischoff, Nidia, Chris Benoit (who Jamie calls his hero), Shane Helms, and more! A fun word association game with a lot of great answers. You'll just have to listen to catch those!
-- Jamie sends out a special thank you to his fans for believing in him and assure them that he believes in himself. He tells the fans he is waiting until he is 100% ready before he tries to get that second chance because when/if he gets it, he doesn't want to "screw it up."
-- You can book Jamie for appearances by emailing JamieNoblesBookings@hotmail.com.