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MLP CREATIVE TEAM, HOW THE HARDYS CAN WORK INDEPENDENTS, ECW ONE NIGHT STAND & G1 SUPERCARD MEMORIES AND MORE

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS TO MIKE FOR THE PWINSIDER Q&A BY CLICKING HERE.

Who's booking the Maple Leaf Promotion?

I believe it's Scott D'Amore and Jimmy Jacobs, although there may be others involved in the process.

When does the TV show debut?

This July.

How can the Hardys work all these independent dates if they are under contract to TNA?

They are contractually allowed to do so.  I would bet that if they weren't allowed, they wouldn't stay signed to TNA.  There's way too much money left on the table if they aren't doing meet and greets on the road.

Did I really read you say you wouldn't pursue attending a WWE show at the White House?  It would be the most unique show of all time.

It might be, but would I travel 4-6 hours to attend an outdoor show that likely would not have an infrastructure where I could work and report on the show live when I could stay home and do the work watching the streaming version while staying in contact with sources?  No.

With the anniversary of One Night Stand coming up, what are your memories of attending the show live?  What was your favorite thing about the show?  What would you have changed?

I purposely never go back and look at the show on tape because I have such strong memories of being there and I don't want to look at it with older eyes and see the flaws.  I attended with friends who meant the world to me and it was pretty much the last time we were all together in the same place at the same time, ever in our lives.  I have a photo of all of us together framed in my office and the sheer joy on all of our faces always makes me so happy, especially since we've lost Blackjack Brown since then and we'll never all be together again.  That night was closure for something we all loved. but most importantly, it felt like a genuine ECW show, right down to the staging and Atlas Security being present.  I felt like it was proof that the concept worked and maybe, had things been different, it would have been successful, but that's not where life took everyone.  One Night Stand was really was a perfect, fun moment in time and in a lot of ways, that show closed the door on a major chapter of my life.  Seeing so many people I cared about doing their thing for something many of them sacrificed for, there are no words for it other than I am thankful and grateful I was there and that the show happened.  I've attended thousands of shows in my lifetime, but emotionally, I don't think we'll ever see anything hit on that level ever again, certainly not in my lifetime.  I loved Paul Heyman's promo, I loved seeing the inclusion of names like JT Smith and others, and Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome was off the charts incredible, but there was nothing better than Sandman's entrance that night.  It's just pure joy in a pro wrestling bubble.   Now, it's a shame that by the time WWE got around to resurrecting the brand, they had purposely decided to ignore everything that made it so great, but that's a story for another day.  As far as what I would have changed, I really, truly wish Rob Van Dam had been able to wrestle that first year since this was his idea, but out of everything, I wish more than anything to this day Tod Gordon had been invited to attend.  He should have been there.  That's what I would have changed.  

Same question about ROH G1 Supercard?

That was a great night as well, just because of the uniqueness of someone other than WWE being inside Madison Square Garden.  What I remember mostly about that show is how excited everyone was in the building before the doors opened to the audience, just everyone from Cary Silkin, who poured so much into keeping ROH going and Joe Koff (rest his soul, a truly a great man) to the talents.  For me, I don't think anything was cooler than seeing Jushin Liger and Thre Great Muta facing off inside MSG and I am extremely proud that I helped make that happen by writing the visa letter that got Muta's work visa to appear on the show approved.  If I could have changed anything about it, I always thought it was stupid that Homicide wasn't asked to work the show since he was a NYC guy who worked the early days of ROH, helped put it on the map and was a former ROH Champion.  That likely was Homicide's only likely chance to work in MSG and I know it was always his goal and now it probably will never be achieved.  I don't think everything on the show nailed it the way the talents hoped but I don't think there was ever a more nervous and more excited day for the ROH locker room.  I just remember sitting there in the press area looking at the sold out crowd and thinking how far ROH had come from the debut show at the Murphy Rec Center and being happy for the company.  Joe Koff told me later that in a perfect world, that would have been the last show and he'd have handed the keys to the next owner, because there was no topping MSG.  He was right on that one, not for the Sinclair Broadcast era.  It was the apex.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS TO MIKE FOR THE PWINSIDER Q&A BY CLICKING HERE.

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