In Roode Health: Interview with Bobby Roode (Issue 74; Dec 2011)

FSM: Bobby, you were recently on a TNA promotional tour of Australia. How long were you Down Under, and how much did you enjoy the experience?
Bobby Roode: I was there for several days, and it was great. We got a chance to go and have a private tour of the zoo in Sydney, do some interviews for TV, and generally have a good time. It was great to see some of the sights and sounds of Sydney, too. We were staying around the harbour, and it was beautiful there. I loved it.

Every time you go away to places like Australia and the UK, do you notice a difference in the following TNA has?
Every place is different. We have such great fans all over the world, and we're really spoiled when we come overseas to places like Australia. I guess it's because they don't get the chance to see us exclusively like they do over in the United States, so they're really respectful. We got the chance to meet a big fan over here, Colin, who actually came backstage into the Fox studios. I met him and his parents, and it's a good feeling to know that people are so passionate about what we do, and that they follow us every step of the way. We try to give back to them with what we do every week on TV, because without the fans, we wouldn't have a job, or be able to do what we do. It's always great to travel the world, and see different places while doing what you love to do at the same time.

We know that you were a fan of pro wrestling as a small child, but what territory were you able to watch growing up in Ontario?
Where I grew up, the only wrestling we really got was the WWF. I used to watch their shows every Saturday and Sunday, but my first love - being from Canada - was ice hockey. As a kid, my dream was to become a pro hockey player, and win the Stanley Cup. I played competitively in that sport right up until I was around 19 years old, which is when I started training in the wrestling business, and met Sean Morley (Val Venis). He trained me one-on-one, which is incredible when you think about it, as it's rare to get individual training such as that in pro wrestling these days. He really helped me out, and mentored me along the way, and is still a big influence on my career today. Shane Sewell was also a huge part of my development, and when I made my in-ring debut in 1998, I actually tagged with him in my second match.
It was a long road, but to get to this point there had to be a lot of sacrifices. I had to leave home, but I went to the Canadian Maritimes a lot, and I guess you could say I perfected my craft over time. It was great to learn a lot about professional wrestling, too - things you wouldn't really learn unless you went out on the road on your own. I owe a lot to that territory, and I honestly don't think I would've gotten to where I am now if it weren't for that learning experience.

You've said in the past that Curt Hennig, Ric Flair, and Rick Rude have all been influences on you, and when it came to pro wrestling, each of those guys were straight-up athletes as well as characters. You've always come across as an athlete first and foremost, so is that a way in which you were influenced by them?
It was more to do with the fact that Flair was the World champion - he was "the man" in the business, and that's what drew me to him. With Curt Hennig, he was just such a great entertainer during every match. The way he took his bumps, and made his opponent look so great regardless of whom he was in there with, really appealed to me when I was getting into the business. I literally have eight DVDs of his matches, from the time he started with the AWA up to his time with the WWF, so I've learned a lot from watching him. Rick Rude was a great performer, and when I was a kid, I liked him because he had the same name as me. He was a great athlete and had great charisma; his look was also second-to-none at that time.
All of those guys were big influences on me, but Curt Hennig is the guy I'd say really inspired me to become a pro wrestler.

We recently spoke to Steve Austin about really being on the poverty line as a rookie pro wrestler, but he was very quick to say that he wouldn't change that experience for anything. How do you feel about how you paid your dues in the business?
I look at it the exact same way, because in one respect I was spoiled; it was amazing to be able to go to a territory and wrestle seven days a week for three or four months at a time, in front of live audiences. There wasn't much money being made, to say the least, but it was just the experience that made it so special. It's like if you asked a doctor about their time at medical school, or anybody who went to college to learn what they eventually became - it's like those days were my own college years. It was such a learning experience, with the chance to also meet and wrestle a bunch of different guys.
At the time, there were occasions where I didn't like driving nine hours to the next town, but I wouldn't change anything for the world. Without those days, I don't believe I would've reached this point, and I have such respect for other guys who go out and leave home to follow their dreams.

Can you tell us a little about your various WWE try-out matches during your pre-TNA days? What do you remember about this period in your career, and hoping to make it to WWE?
I was really just trying to make it anywhere, and I spent a lot of years travelling up and down the road, and wrestling every day. After three full-time summers working the Canadian Maritimes, I ended up catching a break after going to a pay-per-view (No Mercy) in Cleveland, Ohio. It was 1999 that I think I had my very first match on TV, with Perry Saturn. I was very young, green, and I really needed that experience. From there, I don't want to say there was a big interest, but they liked my style, my look, and they knew that I could wrestle and make their stars have good matches. To me, it was just an opportunity to keep showing my face, and to try to get a job. The matches were great learning experiences for me, too, but like I've said, everything I've done up to this point, I would never change. I thank God that I caught a break with TNA Wrestling, so that I've been able to work at such a great company for seven-and-a-half years. I think it's just funny how things turn out.

We spoke to Petey Williams recently for an article on your career. He said to us that when several Canadian wrestlers came into TNA, and there was the idea for the Team Canada stable, that he was of the belief that the company was really only interested in you. What was your perspective of that in 2004?
Well, back then I was still going through a lot of WWE try-out matches, and was just really trying to make it. It wasn't necessarily WWE or bust - I was simply trying to make a name for myself, and TNA at that time was such a young company, and was still doing the weekly pay-per-view idea.
Fortunately, I got a call from Scott D'Amore to come in and do the Team Canada thing. There was an X-Division tournament going on, and I was really pretty far from being an X-Division guy! There was just the one slot to fill, and there was me and another guy from Calgary, Alberta on the list to potentially be called in. Petey Williams, Eric Young, and Johnny Devine were already there, but Scott went to Jeff Jarrett to tell him he had one guy who was X-Division style, and one guy who was not, but that he was closer friends with the one who was not. That person was me, and then Jeff then made the call to bring me in. Team Canada was fun, and we had a good run. Petey Williams, honestly, was our leader and the main guy in that faction. He was the X-Division champion, and it's a shame he's still not around in TNA, because he was like my younger brother. We were always really tight, and he's such a great guy, as well as a good wrestler. It was a lot of fun working with him, and hanging around with him.

Looking back through your matches around that time, there's one that really stands out - a two-out-of-three-falls blindfold cage match with Dustin Rhodes. It sounds like a crazy concept, so do you remember what you made of it all?
I absolutely remember it, yeah. It was the very first Lockdown pay-per-view in the company's history, and they were trying to make every match a little different to the last, simply because every one was taking place inside a steel cage. It's funny that you bring that match up, because Dustin was going through some tough times during that period, and was really just trying to keep his name out there and stay involved in the business. We had good chemistry, and I remember him coming backstage following the match and being so happy with it, which meant a lot to me, as I felt the same way. When you look at it on paper, a two-out-of-three-falls blindfold cage match is a tough one, and we did the best we could do. I was really proud of the match, and also happy that Dustin went on and got another chance with WWE.

In 2006, you went on a run of doing several different skits with names such as Sherri Martel and Bobby Heenan, which revolved around the question of who would manage you. The segments played you up as a World champion in the making, so did you hope that your opportunity for the World title would come at that point? Did you feel like you were ready at that particular time?
It's tough to say - who knows? Once Team Canada broke up, they had the idea of me going solo in the heavyweight division, and I'd always aspired to be a World champion at some point in my career. Perhaps the gimmick I had at that time wasn't World title material, but I would've made the best of it, and think I made the best of that storyline. Sometimes creative things are out of your control, but at that time I got the opportunity to work with Bobby Heenan, who was one of the greatest managers of all time, and that is something that's near and dear to my heart. It was also incredible to share the spotlight with Sherri Martel, in what was to be her last major appearance on TV. Colonel [Robert] Parker was a great guy also, but everything happens for a reason, and that was another learning experience. Looking back on it, it was perhaps for the best that I didn't get that huge push at the time, and ended up going on to tag with James Storm as part of Beer Money.

TNA was known to guarantee great wrestling on each pay-per-view at this time, but it seemed the booking changed a little once Scott D'Amore left the company. How much of a loss do you think he was to that side of things?
I'm biased because Scott's a friend of mine, and both he and Jeff Jarrett were responsible for giving me my job. When they came out of creative, it is fair to say there was a big change, but things happen for a reason, and not everything's going to be perfect all the time. Scott's out of the business now, but Vince Russo has come into the fold. Everybody has their own opinions, and a lot of people say negative things about Russo, but at the end of the day, this company is still up and running. We're still going strong, and I think there's a lot of legs left in TNA. We have such a great group of talented guys and girls, which leads me to believe this will never fail, irrespective of who's writing. I get along with Vince Russo very well, and also with Bruce Prichard, and I think our product is in good hands. Of course, we're always looking to continue growing, and hope to bring in some new fans along the way.

Beer Money seemed like a thrown-together team at the out-set, but it obviously worked out very well indeed. At what point did you and James realise that you had something that you could really run with?
Right from the beginning. I remember the very first match we teamed together, against Homicide and Hernandez. The company put us together, and they pushed us right away, throwing us immediately into the tag team title scene. Some of the matches we had together, even in the early days, were really memorable, and in particular I remember one pay-per-view where we had a strap match against LAX. We talked a lot, and shared a lot of ideas, too, with James coming up with the name - the Beer Money concept was endless in terms of what we could do with it, especially with merchandise - and I came up with the suplex spot where we'd stand up following the move, and James would shout "Beer!" and I would yell "Money!" It's funny because the fans would laugh when we first started doing it, but now, of course, they know exactly what we're going to do, and it's just such a fun thing.
The chemistry we have together as a team is great, too, as we're both cut from the same cloth in terms of style. It's interesting that our characters are so different, but I think that has actually helped us along the way, and has helped Beer Money stay unique.

Down the years, a lot of veterans have come into TNA, and it's been stated that the older performers are coming in and taking the spots of the younger wrestlers. That concept has actually been used in storyline, in a feud you had with Booker T. It's obviously something that many people believe behind the scenes, but how do the younger guys really feel about this issue?
It's part of the business, and it isn't the first time it's happened to a wrestling company. You look back to WCW, when guys jumped ship from the WWF, and it was the same thing back then, and it just comes with the nature of the business. Guys who are big names will always go to younger companies and be a huge part of what's happening. It's how you attract the fans with these names that's the key. I think that in the next little while, you're going to see a huge change with guys such as myself, AJ Styles, James Storm, and Samoa Joe really stepping up. We've got the ball now in TNA, and I think the focus is going to be put on the younger guys, and trying to give the fans a chance to look at our show and see a changing of the guard, so to speak. It's going to be good, I promise!

In the run-up to the recent Bound For Glory show, both you and Kurt Angle had spoken of how much the bout meant to you, and of how you wanted to have a great match. With that in mind, when did you find out the severity of Kurt's injury?
The one thing about Kurt is that he's such a competitor, and it really doesn't matter how hurt he is - he's fully intent on going out there and having a great match. We went out there and we gave everything we had that night, and given the circumstances of it being the biggest pay-per-view of the year, it wasn't like Kurt was going to back down and not do everything in his power to ensure the match was great. Kurt is pretty private about injuries and things like that, and he doesn't let a lot of guys in on it, so we just went out there, didn't change anything, and put on a hell of a show. At the end of the day, I can look back and say it's one of the matches I'm most proud of in my career.

It sounds like you didn't know he was hurt until you saw him in the locker room that day.
No, I caught wind of his injury and whatnot, but it's maybe a case of people looking into it a little bit more than they should. Kurt's injury was what it was, but if he couldn't go, he wouldn't go. Like I said, he's a professional, and we went out there to do what we had to do, and put on a great match.

Considering how Hulk Hogan name-checked you as one of the future stars of TNA earlier in the year, how hurtful was it that he came out shortly before Bound For Glory and said he felt you weren't the man to take TNA forward at this time?
I try to not let things bother me so much, as everyone's entitled to their own opinion. As I always say, things happen for a reason. People can say I didn't win the title at Bound For Glory because Hulk Hogan said this or Hulk Hogan said that, but the fact of the matter is that I'm the World champion right now. If Hulk didn't like me, there's no way I'd be the champion now. It's pro wrestling, and the fans can read into what they want, and believe what they want to believe, but at the end of the day, I'm now the World heavyweight champion. I'm still extremely respectful of Hulk Hogan; I did interviews leading up to Bound For Glory where people asked me if I'd be sour if Hogan wanted to go on in the main event spot, but the true answer was no, I wouldn't have been. Without Hulk Hogan or Sting, I wouldn't be here doing this stuff.
At the end of the day, pro wrestling is a business, so you do what's good for that business. Maybe Hogan said those things for a reason, like simply wanting to light a fire under me, but I really don't know. The fact of the matter is that I went out there and got the job done, and can now look forward to main-eventing every pay-per-view.

Looking at things as they stand, with you possibly having a series of matches with James Storm, what has transpired seems to have been a pretty good scenario.
Yeah, I think so too. Earlier when you asked about older guys coming in and maybe taking the spots of the TNA originals, this is definitely a new time and a new age for this company, and for younger guys such as myself and James to go out there, main-event, and help take TNA to the next level. At Turning Point, I defended my title against AJ Styles, so this is honestly the changing of the guard, I think, and the time where the younger guys can showcase their talent, and lead this company into the future.

TNA will be in the UK at the start of next year for the Maximum Impact tour, and it's fair to say that Beer Money has been the most popular act here for the past couple of years. Things will be a little big different this time, presumably with you still as the World champion, but will you be pleased to be back in the UK nonetheless?
Absolutely, I'm definitely looking forward to it. I've been there for the last four years, and it's funny because it was in the UK that James and I actually tagged together for the first time. We wrestled against The Motor City Machine Guns in Liverpool, and you could say that the UK was the birthplace of Beer Money. The fans over there have always been so receptive of us, and while it's going to be a little different coming over this time, we have such great support in the country, and I'm definitely looking forward to visiting places such as Manchester again, and performing at venues such as Wembley Arena.