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CHRIS HARRIS DISCUSSES TNA MEMORIES, BOB RYDER'S IMPORTANCE, HIS WWE RUN, CURT HENNIG PRANKING ABYSS AND MORE

By Counted Out Podcast on 2021-04-16 07:09:00

Fresh off his return to Impact Wrestling, Counted Out with Mike and Tyler had the opportunity to sit down with Wild Cat Chris Harris for an exclusive Interview. Attached below is the link as well as some quotes from the interview.

Interview Highlights with Chris Harris

On what he’s been up to since his last Impact match in 2011

“I was hitting the indy circuit for a while, but just gradually you know, less and less of that. Getting in the ring you know, it just catches up with you after a while, so I started doing more conventions and appearances, and then I’ve been helping out with the promotion I started here in Cincinnati, I’ve been helping out with training some of the young guys, so I’m really looking forward to that and it’s a whole different kind of satisfaction to see them improve and you know, see them get their highlights, so I’m having a really good time with that.”

The importance of Bob Ryder to his career and TNA/Impact as a whole.

“Bob really doesn’t get enough credit for everything he’s done for the promotion, and even coming up with it. He helped create TNA. It was a brainchild of his, and he got with Jeff Jarrett and they came up with it. Storm and I were there since day one, and Bob was probably our biggest supporter. I think they (TNA) would’ve wound up using us, which they did, they just didn’t know what direction they wanted to go, or what to do with us, and Bob was the guy that said “You gotta do something with these guys, take a look at ‘em, and they could be something big.” And over the years, outside of the ring, Bob has become one of my best friends and he’s always been there for us, whether it’s the business or outside the business. We’re gonna miss him a lot.”

Watching Curt Henning prank “The Monster” Abyss

“We were at the hotel after a show, just kicking back at the bar, drinking, and Abyss was there…So I just started running my mouth about how Abyss said he could drink Curt under the table, and I just kept digging and digging and digging, and Abyss is telling me “Shut the fuck up, don’t do this!” Curt took it as a challenge and one by one he was going up to the bar, getting shots…and by the end of the night, we had to him (Abyss) to his room, and Curt was fine! It was like nothing ever happened! Well, come to find out that every time he went to the bar to get these shots, he was drinking iced tea!”

How TNA and AMW were besting WWE in 2002

“If you think back on, like ’02, when TNA first started I mean. WWE was the only game in town and most of their tag teams were just singles guys put together, and there really wasn’t an art to it. They were just thrown together and then six weeks later they were feuding, and with us (America’s Most Wanted), we really wanted to make a run for it, and so we applied everything we knew (about tag team wrestling) and I think that’s what got people’s attention, because we brought tag team wrestling back to where it should be.”

What made him decide to sign with WWE

“We (he and James Storm) were always pretty loyal TNA guys, and not really sure what they (WWE) would do with us if we went, and TNA was home, they took care of us and everything was really good, but after we split and we did our singles run, my contract was coming up and they hadn’t really done anything with me for a long time…What really hurt was there was a pay cut, which a lot of people don’t realize. I was just trying to even out the factors. It was something I really thought a lot about. Looking back, maybe I wished I could’ve worked something out with TNA, but at the time I thought that was the right move.”

The lack of support in WWE

“That was another thing about WWE. Any of the guys I had talked to, they were real supportive of me coming over there…but when I got there, all of that support wasn’t there, everybody was out for themselves. So, that was kind of a blow. These people, I thought were supporting me and I had all this support going into it, and when I got there it was like “Hey, I’m on my own.” There were very few that reached out to help me along. Matt Hardy was one. He was really cool about it. Jimmy Yang, back then those guys reached out and they were pretty cool, but for the most part I felt like I was alone”

A not so great meeting with Vince McMahon

“I went up (to Vince McMahon) and introduced myself and I bet he didn’t even know who the hell I was. It was just that kind of atmosphere (in WWE) where it’s very corporate. The best way I can describe it is they just want to control you. I mean, they treat you like a robot. They just want to program you to fit their needs. By the time I went over there, I’d be wrestling for 15 years, so I kinda had my own thing going on, and just wanted to apply it into their company…TNA just felt more like a home, like a family, and I feel like since it was a young company, everybody was really pushing to make it work and to make it the best it could possibly be, and with the WWE, you’re just a soldier. You’re a soldier in this big corporation.”

The tag team in Impact he’d like to wrestle today

“If I could go like I used to man, I’d love to get in there with Gallows and Anderson! I think we would tear it up!...I feel like I can contribute. The best way I can right now is doing some kind of backstage role whether its agent or producer. Now that I got a taste of being on TV, I’d love to do something with Storm if there’s anything available, as far as, you know, being in his corner. You know, of course that’d be something the company would have to decide, but Storm and I loved the time that we reunited and you know he can still go, so I’d love to be in his corner or doing something like that, that would be great." 

His future with Impact Wrestling

“My long term goal would definitely be Impact. I really don’t have an interest in anywhere else. I just feel like I’m comfortable there, I know everybody, and I feel like if I can ever get my foot in the door as far as some kind of backstage role, I would love to get into that. I think I would be good at something like that…If I get the call again I’d love to keep doing something. It’s fresh in everybody’s minds, so I think it’d be really good. Like I said, I got a lot of good feedback so I think the fans would really get into something like that, so that’d be cool, but I stay in touch with everybody there, but yeah it’s just a one off right now and then we’ll see where it goes."

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