TNA Impact Wrestling's Robbie E Interview

We spoke to TNA Impact Wrestling wrestler, former TNA X Division Champion and Bro-Mans member, Robbie E on Wednesday 31st March 2015. Topics include breaking into TNA, the recent TNA UK tour, his feud with Brooke Adams, the current TNA set up and more.

ATPW - Let's get straight into it. How did you break into TNA (in 2010)? Who was it that brought you in in the first place?

Robbie E - I just had a dark match (Editor's Note - Interestingly enough opposite Max Buck, better known as Matt Jackson of the Young Bucks), set up through Terry Taylor who was working for TNA at the time. While I was there they were looking for a Jersey Shore character and they knew I was from Jersey. It kind of worked, right place, right time.

ATPW - So Jersey Shore was obviously an influence on the character, who has been an influence in terms of your wrestling style? 

Robbie E - I get asked that question a lot, and there's not really one. I've watched wrestling since I was four, I got into it because my older brother loved it. There isn't one person that I've patterned myself after. I liked characters, I like colourful stuff. I think all pro wrestlers are wacky, wild and different. I'm kind of crazy and wacky and I think that comes across watching me. When I think of what I was gonna do, I guess pro wrestling was the answer. 

ATPW - How did the 2015 TNA UK Tour in January compare to previous year's tours for you?

Robbie E - Every time was know, the whole roster, production, everyone knows we're coming to the UK, the whole month leading up we get excited. Most people get new gear, we're hitting the gym harder, we're tanning, it's a big, big time of the year for us. We love the crowds. This year has served like it has every other year, we've had great crowds, great TV shows were produced. Magic happened, like it always does. I'm already excited for next year.

ATPW - You've also spent some time on the UK independent scene over the last weekend, how did you find that?

R.E. - It was fun. The fans, you know Impact Wrestling is a very big deal in the UK, so going over there you feel appreciated and loved. The fans appreciate what you do, so it was fun to go there in a more intimate setting where you some more time to talk to the fans and mingle with them a little bit and see what they like and dislike. The shows that I worked at were great. I was in Dunstable, England (Total Action Wrestling) and I was in Birmingham (Kamikaze Pro). They were two great shows. I arrived Saturday morning, I left Monday morning. Less than 48 hours. I got talk to a lot of up and coming guys, everyone in the UK is hungry and cordial and polite, so it was a great experience.

ATPW - Was there anyone in particular that caught your eye over here?

R.E. - No one specific. The guys were good, but I was so busy that I didn't get to watch a lot of the show. I was so busy running around all day.

ATPW - Recently on Impact Wrestling, we've seen you opposite Brooke. How did you approach working a feud with a female, as opposed to a more traditional male v. male feud?

I approach it the same way, there's really not a way of approaching it. We were an item, we're not anymore. I hate her, she hates me. We got it on in the ring. I approach it with how I take her, not very seriously. She's not a very athletic person, she's a joke to me. I didn't want to be the guy who hits her in the face, or have it where it's a guy beating up a woman. That is sadly how she ended up beating me somehow. 

ATPW - If you could have a match with anyone tomorrow, who would it be?

Right now, being a former X-Division Champ, Television Champ and two-time Tag Champion, the only title I haven't had it the World title and by getting that I could be a grand slam champ, which is a very short list. Therefore I'd like to get a title shot and go one on one with Kurt Angle. We've wrestled once in the past, a few years ago, Bound for Glory Series, he got the best of me in a short amount of time. But Robbie E's in a different place now and I think I could give him a fighting run for his money.The Olympic Gold medallist vs. Robbie E, that's what I want to happen.

ATPW - Out of everyone that you have faced, who's been your favourite person to work with outside of the Bro-Mans? 

R.E. - There's so many guys on the roster that are awesome and that I've had awesome matches with. The Wolves, in tag team action. Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, Eric Young, those are some of my favourite, Magnus. There's really not one, our roster is so jacked and loaded with great wrestlers, that's it's difficult to just pick one.

ATPW - Since you've been in TNA, we've seen a lot of changes, how do you feel the current set-up compares to previous set-ups?

R.E. - I think now is better than ever. I think the talents better, the production, the way the show lucks. At least in America, the new TV station we're on, we love. Everyone is positive, we're moving in the right direction. We're good, I think we're better than ever. There's not really a negative thing you can say about it. Sure thing change often, but change is good, it's good to keep things ever changing, because it keeps the wrestlers on their toes, it keeps the fans excited because there's always new thing happening. We just got back a few months ago, the six sided ring.

ATPW - How does that six sided ring compare to a traditional ring, from a wrestlers point of view? 

R.E. - Everyone's got their flavour of what they'd chose. When I think wrestler, I'm not going to lie, I do think of a four sided ring, BUT I also love the six sided ring. The thing about the six sided ring is, we own that, TNA's got that, no one else does, that's something that stands out. Being different and something that stands out is a good thing, it makes you memorable. We have something that no one else has, so the six sided ring brings something different to the table, brings something different for the fans, I love it. 

ATPW - Around June time, TNA usually announces who it's next Hall of Famer is going to be, who would you like to see go into the Hall of Fame?

R.E. - Besides myself? I guess it's too early for me, I've only been there five years. I mean there's a lot of guys who are deserving of it. Active guys that I think are close to it, we have put active guys into it before, Kurt Angle, Team 3D, Sting, so I'm going to say...Bobby Roode is getting closer to deserving it. He's been there pretty much, close to day one. I would say Bobby Roode or a guy like James Storm. James Storm has been there since Day 1, Bobby Roode has been there pretty close to since Day 1. They've both pretty much been every show and always work their ass off here for TNA, so they are guys that definitely in the future deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame. 

ATPW - I'm going to wrap things up with the same question I asked Rockstar Spud, where do you see yourself in five years time? Where is Robbie E in 2020?

I think, by then I'll be a World Champion where I've held every title. Definitely still a part of TNA Wrestling family in some capacity, I love TNA. I wanna be there forever. I think by then, the fans are going to see a different side of me, not just the "Hey, he's a funny entertaining guy" but "holy...holy crap, this guy is more than just bro, this guy can go in the ring, this guys really the full package".

As always, a big thank you to Robbie E for giving us the time for this interview. As well as TNA Impact Wrestling and Simon Rothstein for setting it up. You can follow Robbie E on Twitter here and Instagram here and watch him every Sunday night on Impact Wrestling on Challenge at 9PM in the UK.

The Finale

ARTICLE 24! THIS ARTICLE 24 and it's way before 4am!

This final article is a big thank you anyone who's donated, tweeted, shared, messaged, texted, snapchatted, watched the live stream, used the #ATPW24 hashtag. Y'all bloody awesome.

There were times through the process when I didn't think I'd make and wanted to give in, but it was the thought of the money that was being raised for the great cause of MIND and the good that that money could potentially do someone with mental health issues. The current fund stands at £168, which is more than what I expected to make when I came up with idea last month. So cheers dudes. 

Looks like I'm going to have to come up with something bigger and better to do next year, eh? Maybe something for ATPW 3rd anniversary? Hmmmm....

Keep the donations coming, if you haven't already sort it out..

www.justgiving.co.uk/acrossthepondwrestling

I'm going to sleep for two whole, thanks.

Big love and hugs.

Sweet Jamesy Marst. x

A Woolworths somewhere in Cornwall

Do you have a place in your heart for a show for reasons other than the wrestling on the show? Maybe it coincided with a special time in your life or remind you of a certain someone. A show that you keep going back to time and time again?

Yeah me too.

What show I hear you ask? Only the 2007 Royal Rumble. 

On viewing there's nothing that particularly makes this show stand out and would make me choose it over any other show I've seen. But the Royal Rumble 2007 just happened to reignite my love of wrestling.

Now, that isn't to say that fire ever really went away, but I just had no access to wrestling. As soon as WCW Worldwide disappeared off Channel 5 and WWF Heat left Channel 4, I was left with no real way to get my wrestling fix. So I didn't. And eventually I stopped thinking about wrestling and moved on with life.

A few years later I remember sporadically checking the WWE website to see what was going on and got a buzz of playing Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain. But that was it. I didn't know enough to find wrestling shows online, I was such a muggle back then. 

But then...then it happened. On a family holiday to Cornwall, me and my younger brother, Davey Swaggs, were allowing to choose one DVD from the Woolworths to keep us entertained in case it rained (of course it was going to rain) and there on the self was the Royal Rumble 2007. There was no doubt about what we were going to buy, Davey Swaggs agreed it was time watch the wrestling.

I'm pretty sure we watched the show, at least, five times over the holiday. Every step off Bobby Lashley and Test's ECW Championship match is permanently burnt into my retina. We watched it so much that our Mother, Swaggetty Ange, was forced to buy us WrestleMania 23, as well, just so we would put something else on.

And from there they say, the rest is history. I am now the fountain of knowledge you know and love today, on the verge of completing the ridiculous 24 article in 24 hour challenge. All because of the Royal Rumble 2007 on DVD found in a Woolworths, some where in Cornwall.

Unanswered Wrestling Mysteries Part 2 - Who Was The Higher Power Behind The Nexus?

In this edition of Unanswered Wrestling Mysteries, ATPW attempts to find out who was the higher power that The Nexus were supposedly working for?

Wade Barrett mentioned on numerous occassion that The Nexus were working for a Higher Power but who could it have possibly been?

Let's see who are prime suspects are

Terry Wogan

Think about it. Think about how Wogan struts around on Children in Need like he owns the place, shouting order a Pudsey. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Wogan who knocked out Pudsey's eye. Damn you, Wogan, you can mess with blokes dressed a bear, but don't you dare mess with Yosh Tatsu! If Wogan was the higher power, I imagine he fell asleep after a tasty Horlicks when he was supposed to make his run in at SummerSlam 2010 to save the guys. Bloody Wogan!

The entire Stoke City football team

The rumour is James Beattie was the ring leader of it all, still pissed off because his England career was a wetter than a tramps beard. He set up the team and tried to get Justin Gabriel to play left wing for a short time, when the squad was struck by injuries, leading to Wade Barrett seizing power, which would explain why the mentions of the higher power stopped pretty quickly.

Voldemort

This might be the most plausible option. Who better to be the higher power of The Nexus than Voldemort himself! The Dark Lord was pulling the string when he heard Ron Weasley had taken a shit in bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and in his haste to catch Weasley Voldemort dropped his palm pilot that had all the details of Skip Sheffield, his main squeeze in the Nexus, so he left the group to rot, like an apple in the wood.

Well I've had my best guesses at who it could have been and provided more answers than WWE ever did on the situation. Job done.

Bate & Moloney: Bloody Good

This article is part of #ATPW24, in aid of MIND Charity. You can help support the cause by going to www.justgiving.co.uk/acrossthepondwrestling

I don't like Dan Maloney. I don't like Tyler Bate. There I said it. Do you want to know why? Because no one their age should be that good at what they do. It's just fair to anyone else, is it? They're 18, 18! When I was 18 I couldn't even tie my own shoe laces! 

And yet here they wrestling like old hands at Kamikaze Pro, creating a believable feud with an intensity that makes you want to see them beat the living shit out of each other. There match may have ended in a double countout and they may have had one of the shortest segments of the show, but they made their time count. It's difficult to make someone believe you hate another person, especially in wrestling, but everything Bate and Maloney did out there on Sunday was geared towards making me feel just that. I wanted to see more. That means I'll buy a ticket to see them fight again, that's the definition of a draw!

It's not like Sunday was a revelation for me either, I've been impressed by the pair's improvement over the last two years.

Tyler Bate's match with Jay Lethal at SWA back in August last year was one of the most sublime piece of wrestling I've had the pleasure of seeing live. An absolute barn burner with Bate standing toe to toe with one of the finest wrestlers on the planet right now and looking out of place on little bit. 

Every time I see Bate he seems to have added a new element to his game that makes me even more angry at how good he is. Just as his ring work started to improve by the day, he grew a fucking mustache and ran with it like no one has ever ran with a mustache before. The mustache became Tyler and Tyler became the mustache. Everyone loved the mustache and everyone loved Tyler. There's obviously a lot more to the wonderful protagonist persona that Bate has developed, but it really does help that he's got a mustache. 

On the other hand of the coin, there's Maloney, he doesn't have a mustache, so we don't like him. I jest, I jest. Maloney seems more comfortable as the villain of the piece, really progressing with his interaction with the crowd, it seems to come easy to him now to just piss everyone and their gran off. He's the guy you want to see get chucked around like he can chuck his opponents around, it's the ultimate combo.

These two are only going to continue to get better as they progress and that's a scary thought because bloody good now. I can't wait to keep watching the duo develop over the next few years and seeing just how high they can climb. 

Wrestling Pet Peeves

This article is part of #ATPW24, in aid of MIND Charity. You can help support the cause by going towww.justgiving.co.uk/acrossthepondwrestling

I'm sure you've got your set of wrestling pet peeves, you know, the things that no matter will annoy you or you straight up don't like. It could be something very specific like how John Cena applies the STF, it could some more general like bleeding matches. But we've got them. Here's mine.

1. The Champion coming out first before a match

It's just wrong, the champion is the champion, they have earned the privilige to come out last. If you want them to come out first then why did you make them your champion in the first place? I obviously wouldn't go around knocking star ratings off of matches because of it, but it certainly doesn't put me a favourable mood heading into the match.

2. One rule for one, another rule for another.

What I mean by this is having a low blow occur right in front a referee in one match and then having someone get disqualified for failing to break a hold in the next. WCW is famous for this...because WCW. I'm not sure whether it's a lack of communication between agents or what have you, but I've seen this happen in indy promotions also. Maybe we're not supposed to notice? 

3. Inappropriate Chanting

I kind of touched on this in my "Don't be a Dick" article earlier on. If your at a wrestling show, watch the wrestling that you paid to see. You are not the show, the show, surprisingly, is the show. It grinds my gears it really does.

4. Unprotected chair shots

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Especially in 2015 with all we know about concussions and impact. If a performer doesn't care about their own well being, that's fine, it really is. Just don't do it in front of me or on my TV. Cheers.

5. Selective Selling

Having someone work a body part all, then not selling it, submitting to a move on that body part and then walking out to the back still not selling. What's the point of that, eh? If someone's battering your arm it doesn't just hurt when they hit it or kick it, it hurts afterwards, it hurts when you try and use a move involving the arm, it hurts when the referee rises your hand after a match. Maybe it's the actor in me that expects the same level of commitment I'd put into a role from a wrestler I've paid to see. Many many do sell very very well, but those select few, we'll need to have words.

So there's a random wrestling fans list of things that annoy him about wrestling. Kind of a downer of an article...sorry...erm...here's a picture of a teddy bear wearing a John Cena top.

ATPW Hall of Famer - Shawn Michaels

It is with great pleasure that I announce that my fellow ATPW contributors have chosen to induct Shawn Michaels as the 8th member of the Across the Pond Wrestling Hall of Fame. I'm honestly surprised that it's taken this long for HBK to make it into our little HOF.

Shawn Michaels is someone who always manages to hold my attention when he's on the screen no matter what he's doing. He could be standing in the background of a skit and my eyes would be on him. He always seems to be performing, attempting to get a reaction out an audience, just because he could.

A list of must-watch matches as long as long can be, stretching from his time in the Rockers, all the way up until his retirement match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Who can forget his Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker, his match with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XXI, his match with Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XIX, his ladder match with Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X. And that's just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to Shawn.

He could seemingly bringing the best out of any opponent he would step in the ring with whether that be a larger man like Undertaker or a smaller guy, such as Rey Mysterio. Shawn was always able to find out what he needed to do with that opponent to make both of them to look good out there and it showed in his work. As his style changed as he got older, his matches didn't decrease in quality, in fact perhaps the very opposite, the final few years of his career produced some of his best matches. 

His shock appearance at this year's WrestleMania to nail Sting with a Superkick showed that the nickname Showstopper still applied Michaels as he produced another WrestleMania moment in a career of WrestleMania moments. 

Three WWE Championships, a World Heavyweight Championship, three Intercontinental Championships, three World Tag Team Championship, a WWE Tag Team Champion, Michaels produced a fine trophy cabinet throughout his career. And now he can add ATPW Hall of Famer to that list.