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 Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:34 am
Just a friendly reminder folks: the schedule is listed on the first post, and anyone who wishes to be interviewed afterwards must either PM or message me on Skype and say they want to be on. It's a first come, first serve basis, no matter who you are. Also, a new rumor to add to XF's rumor mill: we may have a prestigious and ptoentially-retired legend join us for a sit-down interview. Who will it be? We'll fit them into our schedule. wink
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Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:26 pm
We're back in business boys! The next three guests are Hiro, King, and Salem. If they do not approve or confirm this within the next week, their slots will be filled.
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 3:12 pm
HIRO SHIN-MOZAS
Episode 5: "A Hiro's Welcome"
---- Finally, after two probation violations and one ugly custody battle, Taking Shots with Kevin Beck is Kevin Back, baby!! My boy George even kicked his alcoholism! How long you got, George, two years? Proud of you buddy. What better way to start off the new show with one of the most controversial wrestlers in the industry, Hiro Shin-Mozas. Thanks for coming on the show, buddy.
Hey there, Kevin! Great to be on the show! I've seen all your previous episodes, and I think you've got an excellent show here! Not many in the business can do a great podcast or interview series for so long, and you're definitely one of the few good ones. Hope you don't mind I'm not drinking anything tonight, been healing up badly from a match that almost killed me, so alcohol is a no go.
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You know what, I think George and his sponsees appreciate it actually. But it's funny you mention that because going through your career highlights, you've been involved in several death matches. What does a man of your caliber... what do you do to prepare yourself to the kind of brutality you're known for going through?
(laughs) Yeah, I figured as much. Good for everybody if the only shots being taken tonight are at that no good Cyrus Leone. Still owes me 50 bucks that guy. Made me buy him pizza, long story. Anyway, yeah you know, I've been in a lot of matches that have just totally taken it out of me and that no man in wrestling really should go through. There's a long list of Deathmatch wrestlers out there, Jamie Bader, Blackjack, Omega, The Number Three was one back in the day too, and I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a 'Deathmatch' guy, but I've been in quite a few bloodbaths. I think all I need to do is before these kinds of matches is remind myself what I've been through before. It's been well documented I've been through some crazy emotional s**t, you know, I've got PTSD, and it's just...Whatever, you know? If I remind myself how strong I truly am, and what I can withstand, I can go into these matches expecting to be destroyed and taken to my limits but walk out of a few of them a winner.
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You mentioned Blackjack, and I hate to bring it up but one of the most shocking things I've witnessed as a fan was when he stabbed you and stole your world championship. You were able to call yourself world champion in Bad Blood Wrestling, which is a huge accomplishment. But you never got your comeuppance on him. Is that your biggest regret as a professional wrestler?
Funny you should mention that...You know, I was on the phone last week with Dallas Cruz, good friend of mine of course plenty of people know her...and I was talking to her about some regrets I've had as a pro wrestler. I think I've got three big regrets: Not winning the Main Event of Wrestlemania 2013 and deciding to go along with some stupid booking, Not getting the opportunity to wrestle Saint Joey one on one, and then allowing Blackjack to disappear. No one really knows what happened to the guy, I don't even know. I levied with brass in BBW to bring him in for Hardcore Harvest where I ended up defending the TV title against Trent, but they couldn't get in touch with the guy. He's extreme, and I still have the wound (lifts up shirt to show scar on left side) but I just dont know where he is now, and I'd love to find him just to show him what I've become and also let him see that he has failed where so many other people have as well: You can't kill Hiro Shin-Mozas.
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I would've guessed something else honestly. One of the questions that first came to mind was... well, you're a well-respected seven year vet. But it didn't start off that way. In fact, early in your career, you were called the Most Hated Man in Wrestling. Is that something you can look back on and be proud of today?
Taking those hard shots now, eh Beck? (laughs) Ah, you know, I don't regret much about my professional wrestling career like I just talked about, theres really only those three things. Being the Most Hated Man in wrestling got people talking about me, but for all the wrong reasons. Though, I think it was really important for me and for my career and my standing in this industry that I had that persona and that I acted in such a way. It humbled me and it made me need to work from the bottom up. Man, let me tell you, I went over a year and half working six or seven different promotions, didn't have a single win until late 2013. Those moments, those right there, every moment for an entire year spent hounding for a win, being hungry...It really changed me. It made me need to go out and be the best wrestler I could be, it made me need to get my peers and bosses respect back. Everyone loves a redemption story, and my whole career can be seen as one. It really propelled me to success. So yeah, I can say I'm proud.
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Well someone's gotta be taking shots if you aren't, hahaha. And what a turn around your career has taken. After headlining Wrestlemania, winning multiple world titles... is there anything in your career that you feel is unfinished?
Hmm...You know, yeah. There's probably a whole list of unfinished things but the main thing are matches. I need to go one on one with Kelly King 2.0 one last time, especially after our Ladder Match and our encounter at Wrestlemania back in 2014. The score is 1-1, I need to end it with that b*****d. Something else that is unfinished is the most obvious thing: I need my WWF:G Legacy Championship back, but first and foremost, I need to beat Freakshow. Over time, something has changed within me personally and emotionally to where I dont want to hurt him...I want to do something entirely different to him. Though, I don't want to spoil any of that here, people will have to take a look at it. Something else unfinished is that I need to face Matt Shanahan one on one someday. The Storm has been somewhat of a mentor to me, albeit not everyone knows about that. We've only been in the ring once, but it wasn't one on one. I think there is more people than just me that want to see that. Finally, I have unfinished business with Chrono Clepsydra. Chrono ends up hearing about everything at some point so Im sure he'll hear about me saying this, but I think that even he can agree that a match between the two of us is definitely overdue. When and where? That's still to be seen. Really, outside of that...I still need to win in the Main Event of Wrestlemania! (laughs)
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You were once General Manager of WWFG. I've interviewed Matt on here before, but I never got to ask him this: was making the transition from fighting in the ring to being in the front office harder than expected? What were some unexpected things that came up during that time?
(laughs very hard) Ohohoho...Man, gosh, that's a loaded question! See, I hardly had to change anything. I wasn't GM for very long, but all I really had to do was just show up to the arena like always and interact with everyone. The only difference was more paperwork. During my few months as GM, I went through novels-worth of paperwork. I don't even know how I had the time to get into the gym and prepare to win the Royal Rumble that year. Honestly, it's definitely not too tough. The most unexpected thing to happen when I was GM was dealing with what Matt Shanahan did to King's home. I was GM at the time, and the s**t I had to go through with sponsors and other stuff, maaaaan...It pretty much had me decide I'd never work as a GM again. Way too much s**t can happen when being in charge of a wrestling promotion. I'd rather start the problems as opposed to solve them.
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I think a lot of active wrestlers with an ounce of honesty would agree with you. A lot of people who tune into shows like these... they love road stories. Absolutely love them. Whether it's their favorite tag team ribbing one another, or someone waking up and their rental car is gone. What are some good road stories you could share with us and the audience at home?
Ohhhh boooyyyy....This might get me in trouble! (laughs) Alright, so, back in 2010 I was working EWA and finally I got the call to head to WWE:E and participate in their Expansion program. At the time, I had been doing some work with Guy Cancer, otherwise known as Fox, in EWA. So he said he'd travel with me to E:E, and come with me into my meeting with Nuke Fusion. So, we get off the plane in South Hempstead, and took off to the main part of London where the show was. It shouldn't have taken more than two hours, instead, it took three days. So, get this: We take a wrong turn somewhere in the countryside and we're driving for HOURS. I've got no internet at the time because I wasn't making too much and couldn't afford 4G outside of the US. Guy looks over to me and tries to figure out what is going on, as he was behind on the times and didn't have a phone, so he's yelling at me to read a map. I reach into the glovebox, and what do you know, it's empty, with the exception of one thing: a porno mag. I started saying s**t like "we gotta take a left at the n****e, a right at the v****a". He nearly beat the s**t out of me! We found our way back to London a few days later after having to spend the night in some weird cottage. Was definitely not something I'll ever forget! Another story, during BBW in 2014, I was traveling with Cyrus Leone preparing to make my return from the stabbing, and he and I had stopped for some Pizza at a dominos. Next thing we know, get this, Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction was in there. Dude did some work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers too, my favorite band. Turns out he and Cyrus were friends, never knew about that. Cyrus ended up leaving him with a 200 tab on pizza. He likes to do that to people.
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"Take a U-Turn on Titty Street!" Ahh man, that is priceless. This is gonna be talked about all around the internet wrestling community I'm sure. What other close friendships has this business given you?
Oh man...You know, they told me back in Japan to never make friends in this business. They said, 'never make friends, never date, and never lend money' with anyone in the business. Needless to say, I didn't listen too well. Probably should have, I would have never trusted Freakshow back in '04! I've become close friends with Dallas Cruz thanks to the business, she's a lovely girl with a great mind, her brother is cool too. I of course am still friends with former wrestler Rosario, never say never on him returning. I have two very old friends, The Maniac and The Psychotic Dragon, who are still wrestling in places around the world, tearing the house down. I don't have many great, close friends, but I know a lot of people I would defend that would do the same for me nine times out of ten.
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Okay, Hiro, you've seen the show. We close the show with a segment called Four Corners, where we pick four random questions submitted by fans. You ready?
Ah, that's all? Here I thought I'd get to hear the soultery sounds of your voice for a few more hours, days even! Just kidding, lay it on me, Kevin!
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Okay, our first question is from Jason York from Charleston, NC. He wants to know, "if there's one thing you want to improve in the ring, what would it be and why?"
Hm...You know, I'd probably want to work on my submissions. For a short period in my career, I was submission specialist. As a lot of you know, I have pretty much patented the chopblock, I throw them around like it's nothing and the reason for that is due to my history of using my Japanese Cloverleaf submission move. I've strayed away from submissions lately, so that's definitely what I want to improve on going forward.
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Not many guys take the technical route but it is fun to watch as a former amateur wrestler... in middle school. Okay, Tim Hyatt from Green Bay is curious to know, did you like being apart of so many tag teams, and if so, why?
Hey, I know Tim! I follow him on Twitter, funny guy. He's an Oakland Raiders fan deep in the heart of Green Bay, bless him. Well, I did like being a part of some of those teams. A few of them were...ill conceived, to say the least, but I take them all for what they were: learning experiences. My partnership with Cartwright in E:E was probably my most successful of the lot as it lead me to many great things, but really, tag teams just slowly but surely have become something I don't associate myself with anymore. There's a reason I've only held tag gold once in my entire career!
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We got two more questions, hopefully with this reboot we won't have any more about Harli's d**k. Jennifer Schwartz from Tacoma, WA wants to know, "what attracted you to professional wrestling growing up?"
Hm...You know, growing up, I didn't want to be a professional wrestler. I just wanted to help people, maybe be a doctor or something. Though, growing up, I was a bit of an outcast...and the Japanese don't treat outcasts too well, just look at some otakus. Basically, I got messed around with a lot as a kid and it led to some bullying issues, and it just sort of pushed me. I began working out in high school, and at 18 I was approached at the gym by a man named Daigo Yamada, and he took me under his wing and trained me in 'Strong Style'. From there, I just kept going.
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And finally, our last question is from Kevin Ford from Baton Rogue. He asks, "do you plan on still being an active wrestler a year from now?"
Wow, that's one hell of a loaded question. Honestly? No. I don't plan on it. My body is so destroyed right now, I'm 32 years old, I want to find a girl and settle down and have kids soon. Though, with that said...I've never been one to plan far ahead into things. For the sake of my body and mind, yeah, I hope I'm done a year from now. Who really knows though? I love this business, and I still have a lot to prove, a lot to make up for. I could be done tomorrow, I could be done at Wrestlemania, I could be done a year from now, two, three, you name it. I could even be done right now. I bet you'd like that Beck, the official retirement of Hiro Shin-Mozas announced live on Taking Shots! The ratings would be through the roof! (laughs) Really though, when my retirement does come, when I step out of that ring, I'll probably be the first to know, and truly, the last as well. I might be the one making the decision, but lord knows I'll be the last to come to terms with it.
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Ratings aside, you're a hell of an athlete, hell of a competitor, and an even better man. Great interview. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for the Most Humble Man in Wrestling, Hiro Shin-Mozas!
(laughs) Ah jeez, normally I'm the guy putting everyone over! Thanks so much for having me on the program today, and let me just say as a parting 'shot', if you will, Everyone listening, and Beck you should listen too, don't ever let yourself feel limited by anything in professional wrestling. Don't think that just because you're not big enough, or technical enough, or ever 'over' enough that there is no chance you'll ever be successful. If you're in there with the best in the business, don't just lay down for them. Show them and the world what you can do, what you're the best at. It's easy to get someone else over. It takes a true wrestler to get them over, and themselves. Never forget that when you step into a ring, it takes two to tango. With that, I look forward to watching this back, Kevin! You're one helluva host and hopefully it doesn't take so long to get me on the show again next time!
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