ROH tag champions Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero comment on working against former WWE tag champs Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, plus the best tag team in the world today
Sep 2, 2010 - 11:01 AM |
Monday Night Mayhem with Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero
Hosts: The Big Mosh, Jimmy Noonan, and "The Chairman of the Board," Todd Vincent
Report by Paterson from N.J.
Airs every Monday at 6:00 P.M. (CT)
Show available at MondayNightMayhem.com.
What wrestling fans around the world can expect when The Kings of Wrestling collide with Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) at Ring of Honor's Glory By Honor IX in New York City on September 11th and why they feel that they have more to lose in the match then Benjamin and Haas: (Chris) "The first thing I hope is that the two of them got on You Tube or got some DVD's and watched us in the ring, because I'm not quite sure what their vision of independent wrestling is, especially Shelton because Charlie Haas came from the indies. I don't think they quite know how big we are and how unorthodox we are in the ring, so hopefully they watched a match or two, and they kinda know what's in store for them. I'm looking forward to seeing Claudio throw both men around, because I don't think either of them has been tossed as easily, especially in the last couple of years."
(Claudio) "It's going to be interesting, Shelton is a great athlete, but I think he has found his match. We have plenty of things in store for Charlie and Shelton, I don't think they have ever been as hit as hard as we're gonna hit them on 9/11. I don't know if they will be ready for that. They probably think the indies are a bunch of small guys that don't know what they're doing, and they could just come in and bully us around. I think we have more to lose in the match than they do."
(Chris) "Everybody is gonna be looking at them as the team that's 'been there and done that,' and we're the guys that are kind of on the rise. So it's really important to make sure we carry ourselves in the right way and look like we belong in the ring with them. I have no fear of that. You're going to see a lot of innovative tag wrestling, you're going to see a lot of power wrestling out of Claudio, you're going to see some strikes out of me. Those two guys (Benjamin and Haas) bring the athleticism. I don't think they're idiots. I don't think they would have signed for this match if they had any doubt in their mind about coming into this match in shape. It's going to be a spectacular match any way you look at it."
(Claudio) "I think it's not the question if we belong in the ring with them (Benjamin and Haas), the question is do that belong in the ring with us? And that's what they will have to prove."
Chris's theory on the differences between what him and Claudio are wrestling for and what he believes Benjamin and Haas are wrestling for at Glory By Honor IX: We're wrestling for pride...clearly. We're at the top of the Ring of Honor mountain. There are these challengers coming in, just of taking a chink out of our armor. You've got those guys who are just going to be happy teaming together again. They're going to be happy to get in the ring and move around like they used to. They might not be looking for anything further.
"The Ring of Honor tag belts probably don't mean much to those two guys. So once they get in the ring, they start feeling it out a little bit, they're going to get a little happy, they're going to get a little complacent, and I'm sure the fans in Manhattan are going to give them a wonderful reception. Once that happens, they are going to get way too comfortable. And then that's when Claudio and I come in with the advantage. Everybody thinks they have the advantage cause of their size and experience...that's definitely not the case. That's going to cause Claudio and myself to be even more aggressive."
Why they feel that they are the best overall tag team in the world right now and why, in their estimation, the feud of the year in tag team wrestling is not Beer Money vs. The Motor City Machine Guns, but The Kings of Wrestling vs. The Briscoe Brothers: (Chris) "Claudio and myself can hang with anybody. You can take a look at our 2010 reign, look at the matches we've had. We can go all the way back to January when we were in Pro Wrestling Noah's Global Tag League, and watch how we took it to Kensuke Sasaki and Takeshi Morishima. Claudio took 400 pound Morishima and spun him around like a helicopter. But at the same token, we come back in the states, and we have matches with The Young Bucks; we have matches with The Motor City Machine Guns; we have a bloody, bloody brawl with The Briscoe Brothers. I'm 100 percent confident when I say that Claudio and myself are the most well-rounded and best overall team tag team in the world right now."
(Claudio) "I think The Kings of Wrestling against The Briscoe Brothers is the feud of the year, because the matches we had with them over the extent of time with the storyline and everything built in...that's the complete package. That's what people should be watching and should be excited about. If you've seen the matches, you would completely agree with me. That's no knock on either Beer Money or The Machine Guns, who we had a great match with (many say 'Match of the Year' contender) in New York the last time Ring of Honor was there."
How impressed they have been with the way ROH President Cary Silkin has handled the company since the announced departures of both Tyler Black and Adam Pearce, along with his receptiveness to the Ring of Honor fans: (Claudio) "I'm always proud to be part of Ring of Honor. Sometimes the company changes, and we'll see what happens. I'm really excited as is anybody that has anything to do with Ring of Honor. The future looks great, and as you said, ROH is fan accessible by the day, which I think is great in the world today. I'm really happy that Ring of Honor and Cary has taken advantage of the medium. I think it's definitely a really exciting time to be involved with Ring of Honor."
(Chris) "As Claudio said, clearly we're proud to be a part of Ring of Honor because of the in-ring work, but aside from that, behind the scenes (from the ring crew, to the guys that set up the lights, to the guys that run the merchandise booths, to the guys that are filming with the cameras on the floor, to Cary, to Sid, to security). Ring of Honor from the top to the bottom, every employee, it's like a family. Everybody gets along, and everybody respects one other. Cary is in this because he was a wrestling fan, because he had that passion and that love for wrestling, so he's going to do everything in his power to make sure for the company to succeed...and not just succeed, he wants the fans to enjoy themselves. Our website is going to be more interactive, and there are a lot of good things on the horizon for Ring of Honor, and we're all very excited."
More is contained in this exclusive interview with The Kings of Wrestling, including their candid thoughts and comments on why the ROH World Tag Team Titles are the most prestigious titles in North America currently, the strength of the promotion's tag team division right now, plus so much more! Follow the hottest tag team in professional wrestling right now on Twitter (at www.Twitter.com/TheChrisHero and www.Twitter.com/CCastagnoli). Be a part of Ring of Honor's return to the Boston area on Friday, September 10th, as Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli defend their ROH gold against Colt Cabana and El Generico.
Log on to www.ROHWrestling.com for complete details and for ticket information. For those who can't make it out to "Beantown," follow all of the late breaking news and get the results from the event by following Ring of Honor on Twitter (at www.Twitter.com/ROHOnHDNet) and on Facebook (at www.Facebook.com/RingofHonor). And don't forget that all roads lead to the sold-out Manhattan Center in New York City the very next night on September 11th, as ROH returns to Internet Pay-Per-View! The only place to see The Kings of Wrestling square off against Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) is on www.GoFightLive.tv. Order Glory By Honor IX right now, and witness one of the most important and emotional nights in Ring of Honor history!
RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE:
READ OUR INSIDER NEWS BEFORE ANYONE ELSE! BECOME A MEMBER FOR JUST $7.50 A MONTH (or less with a year-long sub) - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO CONTENT, MEMBER MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AND VIEW THE SITE WITHOUT ANY ADVERTISING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO)
RELATED ARTICLES FROM MGID AFFILIATE SITES...
|