Interviewer’s Note:
Bill DeMott is a professional wrestler with nearly twenty years of experience in the business during which time he has had tenures in both WCW and WWE. In his WCW career he played the part of Hugh Morrus for several years and captured the celebrated WCW United States title. Outside of his work in the United States he has also toured extensively throughout Puerto Rico, Japan, and Mexico. From 2005 to 2007 he worked as a trainer and onscreen talent for WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling. Currently he is an active full time wrestler on the United States’ independent scene and can be reached via e-mail at Bigsweetwilliam@aol.com for workshops, seminars, and training camps. Note that this interview took place on February 24, 2007 and any references made to recent events should be taken from that perspective. Special thanks to Bill DeMott for taking part in this interview and his wife Lacey for helping to arrange the discussion.

Daniel Johnson: Growing up were you a big fan of professional wrestling? If so who were some of your favorites?
Bill DeMott: Growing up as a kid, no I wasn’t a huge fan of it. I watched it on Saturday nights with my grandfather and at the time it was when Bruno Sammartino was doing his thing and midgets were a big draw on Saturday nights. My grandfather got a kick out of that. I wasn’t a fan of it until high school I guess [I was] a bigger fan. And then I mean of all the guys that were my favorites I got a chance to work with in WCW: Hogan, Savage, Sting, guys like that, Ric Flair. So as I got older I became a bigger fan.

Daniel Johnson: When did you first know that you wanted to become a professional wrestler?
Bill DeMott: I didn’t want to become a professional wrestler I got kind of inched into it from my dad. I was playing college football in Pennsylvania and I left school early much to the chagrin of my parents, my dad didn’t like the fact that I was 6’2, 300 pounds sitting around on the sofa. He brought me into Brooklyn where he grew up down at Johnny Rodz training center, which is the Gleason’s Gym and I met Johnny and that’s how I became a professional.

Daniel Johnson: You mentioned Johnny Rodz, what was a typical day of training at the Gleason’s Gym?
Bill DeMott: A typical day at Johnny’s gym was about six or eight hours of just learning the business and not running around, jumping off the ropes. It was conditioning, it was getting prepared for what was suppose to be done in the ring, much like the way anybody who trains under me, is trained the same way now, 18 years later.

Daniel Johnson: Was there any one piece of information that you learned from Johnny Rodz that stuck with you the most?
Bill DeMott: The biggest thing from Johnny Rodz was respect. You respect the business, you respect the ring, and you respect the other guys that you’re in the ring with. That was Johnny’s always hold back, always one message was respect.

Daniel Johnson: I was wondering, regarding the connection that goes on through training, have you kept in contact with Johnny Rodz or have any of the guys that you trained kept in contact with you.
Bill DeMott: I haven’t spoken to Johnny in quite a while. I believe the last time I saw him was at Ted Petty’s funeral. It’s just the fact of being on two different ends of the East Coast. I love Johnny, I’d love to get up there and see him. A lot of the guys that I’ve trained in the past that I have trained in the not so recent past are losing contact with me. It’s good to hear how they’re doing and what they continue to do.

Daniel Johnson: After being trained by Johnny Rodz, you began wrestling on the independent wrestling scene using your real name, what most stands out during this period of your career?
Bill DeMott: I just did a show in Ellijay, Georgia last night as a matter of fact and it’s the first time that I’ve been in an independent locker room in quite some time and what stands out is professionalism. For the most part, the locker room was a good atmosphere, but you saw the guys and you see the difference in the way that guys are brought in. Because they’re not brought in, they’re not trained anymore. Anybody can get in this business now and I think the respect factor’s gone and I think acting like a professional is a lost art. So, there’s a lot that’s changed and you know there’s only so many people you can count on. But it’s really easy to get in this business so it’s not very hard to say that you respect it and you want to do it, but all you have to do is you know go out and say it, you don’t have to prove it.

Daniel Johnson: Do you think there’s anyway to change this recent trend? Do you think there is anyway to bring respect back into wrestling?
Bill DeMott: I think you got to quit listening to the wannabes, the crybabies. The people who say this is what they want to do and this is how they want to live their life and this is all they’ve ever wanted to do and the minute it gets tough or they’re asked to do something or they’re asked to work for their money then they wine or complain or want to quit and point the finger at somebody else. I think until we stop you know babysitting everybody who’s suppose to be a professional, it’s going to continue to go you know backwards.

Daniel Johnson: After using your real name on the independent scene, you started going by Crash the Terminator, what was the origin of that name?
Bill DeMott: Well, I went as Big Sweet William when I first started in the independents with Johnny and then Crash the Terminator. There was a movie being written at the time by Eddie Mansfield and one of the characters was Crash and I was up for that part and not too long after that I went to Europe on my first trip. About three months after being with Johnny then I went as Crash, kind of a takeoff of the Road Warriors, of Animal I had the Mohawk and the paint and Crash the Terminator just stuck.

Daniel Johnson: You mentioned that Crash the Terminator was kind of like your first real gimmick, how important do you think gimmicks are in professional wrestling?
Bill DeMott: I think gimmicks are different than characters. I think characters are important. I think if you’re going to have a gimmick—Doink the Clown was a gimmick—you have to be true to it, you have to live that feel. I mean Undertaker started out as a gimmick and now you know he’s one of the best characters of all time. Kane started out as a gimmick. But I think you just have to be that, if you’re not that person and you can’t relate to it in your own personally life then it’s just a gimmick, it’s not a character.

Daniel Johnson: While you were still using the Crash the Terminator gimmick, you participated for various independent scenes, like Americas Wrestling Federation and the Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling, what do you think the benefits are of working for more than one independent company?
Bill DeMott: I think now, now you have to work as much as possible. It’s the only way to get out there. The more ring time the better, especially for the newer generation. At the time you know we had to use territories and independents and you got a chance to work for everybody and there was no one undercutting anybody and it was just a chance you know you would work where you were wanted, kind of like the old territories. But now I think these guys, who are working you know every which one under the sun, you have to. Because the only way you’re going to get better is to work in the ring. So I think the more independents you can work and things like that. Puerto Rico I think is a big plus. I think guys should get down there and spend a couple of years down there and work for a living. Instead of you know just doing it every Friday doesn’t count to me as work.

Daniel Johnson: You mentioned Puerto Rico, when you first started out you went to Puerto Rico and Japan, where some of the wrestling companies that you worked for were based in, what first made you want to travel outside of the United States to wrestle?
Bill DeMott: I went to Puerto Rico I was supposed to go for two weeks of television, IWA I think or All Star Wrestling. And I was only supposed to go for two weeks and I wound up leaving there two and a half years later. So it was not that I wanted to get there, it’s just one of those things that happened. You have to learn your trade and I just wound up staying there and living there and working every night and then I went to Japan and Mexico and did my time over the next three or four years.

Daniel Johnson: This is kind of just a “what if” question, how do you think your career would have been different if you went back to the United States, do you think Puerto Rico really helped you in the long run or not?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, I was lucky, I got to learn and earn at the same time. I don’t think if I would of went to Puerto Rico and struggled there and did my thing in Japan and struggled in Mexico, I don’t think that it would have worked out as well. I don’t think I’d have an 18 year plus career still going. I think it worked out for me just fine the way it is. I mean because there’s still guys 18 years later still in Gleason’s gym trying to catch a break and I was just lucky, so I think I went the right path.

Daniel Johnson: This question goes back to locations, are there any particular towns, cities or countries, any different locations that you haven’t worked in yet that you would really enjoy wrestling in front of, any thing like that?
Bill DeMott: I’ve worked everywhere I would have liked to have traveled to and I’d like to finish up what I am going to finish up. I’d like to finish up in Japan. I’ve always said that, I’ve always had a love for Japanese style. But, no I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do and above what I wanted to do. So I just look forward—I’m back in the ring now—and I just look forward to going out and doing it again.

Daniel Johnson: How are the fans different in Japan compared to the United States are they like the same or are they very different?
Bill DeMott: The work is different, but the style of wrestling is different. You have to work harder in Japan. I haven’t been there in a few years so I don’t know, but it used to be that you have to work a little harder to get the applause or the, you know response you were looking for, good, bad or indifferent. Their appreciative of what you do, but their also looking for what you do, where here everything’s kind of entertainment based and you know you don’t get those big things to happen anymore. In Japan you worked harder for it, you wanted to get the people to know who you were and get behind your character and know what you did.

Daniel Johnson: Early on in your career you won several titles such as the AWF Heavyweight title and the W*ING World Heavyweight Championship, how do you feel these titles benefited your career, like do you think you kind of added to the titles or do you think they helped you out?
Bill DeMott: I think anytime you win a championship, it’s just—what’s the right word? — notoriety depending on where you are. In Japan it was a bigger thing, I assume it’s just bigger over there. I mean any championship—I’ve had a championship in every company I’ve ever worked for except for WWE—it’s notoriety, it’s a chance to do your thing, you get more opportunities put in front of you, but the bottom line is all it does is make your bag fifteen pounds heavier. The belt makes your bag heavier, that’s all you know. It doesn’t make your pay any bigger.

Daniel Johnson: Again regarding championships, one of the titles you held was the W*ING World Tag Team Titles with Mr. Pogo, how would you describe the experience of teaming with Mr. Pogo?
Bill DeMott: Oh I liked working with Pogo. He helped me out a lot. He’s a funny guy Pogo had been around Japan a long time before I got there. He kind of took me under his wing. I had a lot of fun with him. He taught me a lot of things. It was fun tagging with him I had never met him before then and I got to do a little history checking up on who he was and what he brought you know to the Japanese style, but he was a good guy and I enjoyed it, he helped me out.

Daniel Johnson: Do you think your wrestling styles kind of clashed at all or do you think they meshed well together?
Bill DeMott: Two different styles yeah. He was more towards the end of his career there he was more into the hardcore stuff and I was a banger. You know I’m a more physical type of guy and I don’t mind mixing it up and Pogo towards the end, he got towards the gimmick part of his career. We had two different styles, but same agenda, I mean we worked well together.

Daniel Johnson: Mr. Pogo is largely known for his experience in hardcore matches, during this time you also wrestled in numerous hardcore matches, what first made you want to compete in this form of wrestling?
Bill DeMott: It was just something that was put in front of me. I got my first taste of it in Puerto Rico working with TNT. Like I said I’m a physical guy, I’ve never backed away from a chair or a 2x4, ladders, jumping off a scaffold thing, it never phased me, it’s kind of why I have the reputation I do. And it’s just something that clicks for me. I have no problem putting my body on the line for it. I love the style if it’s done right. I believe it has a place if it’s meaningful. I just dug it. I don’t know what made me start doing it. I’ve just never backed away from anything that’s been put in front of me.

Daniel Johnson: You mentioned that hardcore matches only work when they’re done right, what can contribute to a hardcore match being done incorrectly?
Bill DeMott: I mean you see a chair every night, you see a table every night now. I mean you know certain guys are going to pull out the table. So when the Dudleys have the table and the 3D then that should be the end of it, but when everybody has got a table, and everybody has got a chair, and everybody has got a garbage can, and everybody is swinging a kendo stick and there’s so many people who want to be a part of something that they don’t really want to be a part of all the time it’s overkill and it took away the you know the whole damn hardcore. Now everybody’s hardcore, but you put a bunch of guys in a room and you’ll find out which one’s want to be hardcore. Hardcore is just a wrestling term though.

Daniel Johnson: Do you believe that it’s possible for wrestlers to still work regular matches and be hardcore wrestlers, but still be able to work successfully in regular matches on the current wrestling scene?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, I think it’s a lost art though. I don’t know too many guys that can. I think now-a-days guys are just geared to one style or the other, but there are some guys still around, I’d like to see. You know I think it would be a big problem for guys who want to work a regular match now.

Daniel Johnson: When you were still working as Crash the Terminator one of the companies you worked for was the original ECW, what first appealed to you about working for the company.
Bill DeMott: The original ECW, Eastern Championship Wrestling with Eddie Gilbert, we were there, we came from Japan through Kevin Sullivan back when it was Eastern Championship Wrestling. Before the Dreamer’s and the Tazz’s and all those guys, Sabu and everybody and we had the first hardcore match there. I think ’93 was the barbwire baseball bat match. You know it was the same thing, but like I said it quickly became everybody doing it and so you know the enigma was gone.

Daniel Johnson: ECW, kind of as it evolved, it was said that there was a unity in the backstage area between wrestlers, when you worked for Eastern Championship Wrestling was any of that unity there yet or do you think that it didn’t develop until later?
Bill DeMott: I think it was there. I mean it was a good group of guys. There was a strong want to do well. I mean it was a chance for guys to get out and do what they wanted to do and at the time the Northeast was flooded with talent and so it was a good place to be.

Daniel Johnson: Going into your WCW career how did that kind of transition? I know Kevin Sullivan had a part in you coming to WCW, how did that kind of work out?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, I was with Kevin in Japan, I had known Kevin for years before then. There was an incident with Vader or something happened with Vader and Paul Orndorff and Kevin Sullivan called me on a Sunday night and asked me if I was still wrestling, if I was still fat and if I wanted to be in Macon, Georgia, Monday morning to work for World Championship Wrestling. So I got on a plane, I met Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan in the bathroom of the Macon arena, shook their hands and became part of World Championship Wrestling.

Daniel Johnson: How did that whole experience feel to you, were you really shocked at the opportunity?
Bill DeMott: I was prepared, I was ready. Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico, I was ready to come and do my thing back in the States because I had never really wrestled that much in the States. I did a couple independents here and there, but most of my work had been out of the US for so long, I was really rearing to go and I didn’t expect things to go as well as they did, but it was a good experience and it was six and a half years of fun.

Daniel Johnson: What were some of the first wrestlers you worked with in WCW, did you work with them before or were they new to you?
Bill DeMott: No, all new to me in WCW and in the first six to eight months I was with Hogan, Savage, Sting, Luger, the Horsemen, and then I was part of the Dungeon of Doom where we were always with Hogan and Savage and the opportunities that were put in front of me were great and I liked every one of them.

Daniel Johnson: This is kind of like a broad question, but who was your favorite opponent to wrestle in WCW?
Bill DeMott: My favorite opponent in WCW, I’d have to say was Lance Storm. Lance and I were married to each other for a year. We worked a lot together. I had a lot of favorites, I enjoyed working with the Steiners and Sting, Savage and Hulk, but I think my all time favorite because we worked together for so long was Lance Storm.

Daniel Johnson: Kind of on the opposite side of that spectrum, who were some of the wrestlers that you thought you worked on the same side with better as a tag team or kind of like a group effort?
Bill DeMott: I enjoyed working with Jerry Flynn. Knobbs was very funny to tag with. It’s better to work with Knobbs than against him. I was on both sides of the fence with him and I’d rather work with him than against him. Big Bossman was a great partner, Meng and Barbarian. I mean all the Dungeon guys were great partners. Konnan was a good partner. Chavo Guerrero was probably my favorite partner.

Daniel Johnson: Let’s see, do you think there was any benefit to working with guys over and over again, I know for instance you held the tag titles with Alex Wright briefly, but that was not for a long time, so how do you think working with one guy repeatedly, kind of benefited you?
Bill DeMott: I mean working with the same guy over and over again is okay. I like new opponents. I like if you were in a storyline it was a good benefit because then by the time of TV and pay-per-views, I mean you were prepared. I mean you got to know people inside and out and you were prepared. I liked getting to know everybody I worked with, but you have to do your homework to know what they can do as well. So I mean working with guys for a long time or not didn’t really faze me I just liked to work.

Daniel Johnson: When you train wrestlers do you ever go over tape watching, do you watch tapes in order to help wrestlers understand their opponents better?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, every Friday was our tape day. I was a big fan of watching you know guys that came before you and watching what you’re doing so you understand. When someone’s telling you, it’s harder to understand, but when you see it for yourselves it’s a lot easier to comprehend. So every Friday when I was training in Deep South and wherever I will be training again I try to make one day a week a TV day to watch tapes and get to know opponents, and styles, and characters, and stuff like that.

Daniel Johnson: Was this considered kind of a break from the physical training or do you think even watching tapes was it still very intense?
Bill DeMott: No it was an every week thing. I think you need that. I think it’s got to be part of your training to know the business and know who’s in it.

Daniel Johnson: This is kind of going back to gimmicks, in WCW how did the Hugh Morrus gimmick form?
Bill DeMott: Hugh Morrus—I started out as the Man of Question when I first got to WCW—I was the Man of Question for I don’t know a month or so I can’t remember and I believe it was Terry Taylor’s wife at the time, who said, “He’s very humorous.” And then my name was never Hugh Morrus, my name was suppose to be Humorous, but the ring announcers and the commentators split up my name and called me Hugh Morrus and then a little while on they had to rename me, “The Laughing Man” Hugh Morrus because it’s a little difficult to understand unless you really got to know who I was. Originally I was supposed to be Humorous, but it turned into Hugh Morrus.

Daniel Johnson: One of the ways that this gimmick was helped to get over was the kind of maniacal laugh, you did on your way to the ring, how did this kind of develop, did it just kind of go along or did you have that planned from the start?
Bill DeMott: Well that’s what I did in Japan and that’s what they found. I mean you know that’s just me. That’s just me being me. I kind of got that side to me and they said, “Just be yourself when you talk,” and “just be yourself,” so that was me and the laugh kind of just caught on with everybody.

Daniel Johnson: So would you say like you immediately kind of embraced the gimmick of Hugh Morrus or were there any reservations you had regarding the gimmick?
Bill DeMott: No, there were no reservations. I mean they were paying me to do, what I had been trained to do. I mean damn, they called me, Hugh G. Rection, so Hugh Morrus didn’t bother me. I mean no matter what you called me, it was still me the whole time, so I mean you know that’s a part of a gimmick or a character. If it didn’t work it wouldn’t have lasted six and a half years with the Hugh Morrus thing. It was just me being me.

Daniel Johnson: This is going back to the Dungeon of Doom, how was it to work in that stable, any particular memories that stands out for you as a member of the Dungeon of Doom?
Bill DeMott: Meng and Barbarian were very good to work with, again the Bossman. One Man Gang was very full of information. Those guys had years under their belts before I ever came along. And they taught me the right way. Everybody who was in the Dungeon at the time, Brutus, everybody was great.

Daniel Johnson: How did you interact with Jimmy Hart? How was he as a manager?
Bill DeMott: Jimmy Hart is a great, great guy. In and out of the ring, Jimmy Hart took to me when I first got to WCW and for seven years we were together all the time and I still talk to Jimmy every now and again. I think Jimmy Hart’s great as a person not just a manager.

Daniel Johnson: What do you think the importance is of managers overall in the wrestling business? Besides Jimmy Hart are there any other managers that have stood out to you in the past, present, or future?
Bill DeMott: In the present no. In the future I have no idea what role a manager could play anymore. Bobby Heenan was another guy. I mean they were guys that guided you in the right direction. Because as you made money they made money, as you got over they got over, I don’t think that’s the case anymore. So I don’t know if a manager, if a good manager would ever come into play again. Again it goes back to old school and it’s not the same anymore.

Daniel Johnson: After you’re done with in-ring participation, would you ever like to work as a manager for an extended period of time?
Bill DeMott: Would I like to? Sure, if the right opportunity came up. I’d love to manage the Bashams.

Daniel Johnson: What makes the Bashams stick out to you in particular as someone you’d like to manage?
Bill DeMott: They have that same mentality. For lack of a better term, that old school mentality, they’re physical kids, they love the business, they’ll do anything you ask of them and they’ll do it well. They’re a good working team and they’re good guys in and out of the ring.

Daniel Johnson: You mentioned that you don’t really see that their might be a future for managers to have, what advice would you give to someone, who wants to be a manager in the future? Do you think they should try to just transition into something else or try to work around it?
Bill DeMott: No, just try to be—what’s the right word?—talented, learn to bump, learn the business, learn to speak correctly, learn not to be, just to be a gimmick with a guy with a cane. Because those guys were talented back when they did that, now everybody wants a cane and they call themselves a manager. Learn the business, be a businessman, learn to work, be a fully rounded person in the ring.

Daniel Johnson: So would you say a major problem today in the wrestling scene is like people just want to be managers without understanding what it is to be a manager?
Bill DeMott: I just think that people want to be part of wrestling and call themselves a professional. Just because you’re getting paid for it doesn’t mean you’re a professional. You know you’ve got to make your bones in this business and it doesn’t happen a lot anymore. I mean there’s a lot of good talent out there, but they have to learn the business. So I mean there are guys who call themselves, “a professional” because they do it once every three months and that just doesn’t cut it.

Daniel Johnson: This is going back to the Dungeon of Doom, how do you feel stables can help younger guys in the business work with established stars?
Bill DeMott: It depends on who’s in the stable. I mean if you have guys with years of experience and guys that are going to guide them and you’re going to be able to listen to these guys, I think you can learn a lot. Otherwise I think if you put a lot of young guys together, it’s a lot of heartache, it’s a lot of trying to get things done. It just depends on who’s in the stable.

Daniel Johnson: This is going on to kind of a completely different topic, while you were still Hugh Morrus, your finishing move was the No Laughing Matter, which is like a moonsault how did you determine that you wanted to use that as your finishing move?
Bill DeMott: I determined that when I was drunk at a pool and I got threatened that if I did not use that as my finisher, I’d be fired.

Daniel Johnson: While you were using the No Laughing Matter, you were still really a big, strong guy, how do you think it is important to be big, but still be agile?
Bill DeMott: In Japan, I was doing 450 splashes and things to the floor and you know it was just something, it was just another side of the business, working Mexico and Japan and Puerto Rico, that I picked up so that was the big thing about being 300 plus pounds and being able to do what the cruiserweights do. That was kind of my catch. You know my hook in the business of being as big as I am and doing what other guys were doing.

Daniel Johnson: How do you physically stay that agile? Is there any kind of exercise you do or is it just your body’s built a different way than some bigger guys, how does that work?
Bill DeMott: (Laughs) I think I just got lucky. You know it’s just confidence, you find something you’re good at, you stay with it and you’re confident at what you do. I just got trained the right way and I just learned everywhere I was and I appreciated it. I didn’t go out and try moves just to try them. I kind of knew where they went, why you did them. I’m just lucky as a big man to be able to do the things I used to be able to do.

Daniel Johnson: So would you say your style now is a lot different from that, are you more grounded now?
Bill DeMott: No I’m not more grounded now. Again in the right situations the moonsault will be there and things off the top rope and you know the spin kicks and things like that. But it’s all situations, now it’s a different game. If I were to go to TNA or something like that I mean you’d see all that stuff come right back out again.

Daniel Johnson: Another agile big man in professional wrestling was Bam Bam Bigelow, who unfortunately recently passed away do you have any particularly memories either inside or outside of the ring of Bam Bam Bigelow?
Bill DeMott: I have a lot of memories about Scotty. We both were from New Jersey, we were both big men—I mean I’m not comparing myself to him by any means—my favorite thing about Scotty was one of the first times we met, I was sitting in a locker room in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he was coming back from Japan and we were working against each other for the first time. And I was sitting down, he was standing up and as I stood up to go to the ring he went, “damn why didn’t you tell me you were this big,” and we were both guys wearing flames that night, so it was like—it was just a good memory—I have a lot with Scott, WCW, and being from Jersey and every thing, but having a chance to work with him and getting to know him as a person and a family man, I mean all good memories.

Daniel Johnson: Would you say the style he used kind of influenced your style at all? If so how?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, because he was the big man at the time. Don’t forget he was doing a version of the moonsault and coming off the top with the head butt and stuff. I mean he was an agile son of a gun, he was a big dude. So you know when you see guys like that I mean you got to try and you got to try to emulate them. You know big men have got to try to do something different than everybody else.

Daniel Johnson: Do you think there are any big men either popular now or kind of like rising up in the pro wrestling scene that use a similar style or that you think are capable of using such a style?
Bill DeMott: I don’t think in a long term basis there’s anybody capable of it right now. There’s a lot of good talent out there, I just don’t think that because they do what they do and I think the independent guys do things because they want to get that pop and you know they’re not working the right way yet. So I don’t think they have the longevity to continue to be the consummate worker. So I don’t know if anybody sticks out in my head right now that can pick up for the big men.

Daniel Johnson: Getting back to your time as Hugh Morrus during 1997 you became one of the first opponents for Bill Goldberg. After you wrestled Bill Goldberg did you think his character would get as big as it did? Did you sense that or anything like that?
Bill DeMott: No, nobody had any idea, nobody in WCW management, nobody had any idea that it was going to be as big as it was, but everybody just rode it out and I mean good for him.

Daniel Johnson: When you wrestled Bill Goldberg, you put him over, what do you think the importance is of established stars being able and willing to lose to up and coming wrestlers?
Bill DeMott: I just think it’s your job. I mean guys who worry about winning and losing are in this business for a different reason than a guy like me. I never questioned anything. You never question what the fans think. You never question what the office wants. I wasn’t thinking of it as putting him over or losing. I was doing my job and that’s what I’ve continued to do for 18 years. It was an honor, I did it then, I’d you know I’d do it again. I’ve made a career out of helping guys, who have helped me.

Daniel Johnson: What problems do you think can arise when established wrestlers are not willing to put younger talent over?
Bill DeMott: I think that the wrong message is being sent. I mean somewhere, sometimes, somebody puts somebody over—if that’s the term you want to use—for someone to help someone out that’s what this business is suppose to be. I think that it’s a lost art again and you know it’s just a different time. It’s a different time, it just sends a bad message when you have quote unquote professional guys, established guys not wanting to help out and pass the torch.

Daniel Johnson: In 1999 your contract ran out for WCW, but you chose to stay, what did you think were the benefits of choosing to stay with a mainstream company for a long period of time instead of switching to another company?
Bill DeMott: I mean it goes back to Johnny Rodz. It’s respect, its loyalty, I became whoever I was as Hugh Morrus and everything with WCW and my contract ran out. Like I said I started with a handshake and it’s just something that was still fun, it was still somewhere I wanted to be and I still had things to do there.

Daniel Johnson: So going to the, at that time the WWF, did that ever cross your mind or was it never even an option?
Bill DeMott: Yeah it crossed my mind and I was in contact with a lot of people at the time and you just have to make decisions. I wasn’t one of those guys playing one side against the other or making deals or anything. I was with WCW for a long time and I just chose to stay there at the time and you know it worked out because I wound up with WWF and WWE later on.

Daniel Johnson: Kind of getting back to the relationship between WCW and the WWF at that time, the Monday Night Wars were certainly something that you know really helped put wrestling back onto the mainstream map. Did you feel like this was very stressful knowing that so many people would be watching Nitro every night?
Bill DeMott: No, no I mean it’s just wrestling to me. I never thought of it like that, I don’t think of things that way. I just think of wrestling you know.

Daniel Johnson: Around 1999 you also began to compete more in hardcore matches in WCW, how were these matches different from the hardcore matches you competed in earlier in your career?
Bill DeMott: I don’t know, they were more controlled, the hardcore matches in WCW were more controlled, especially after the accident that Dave Finlay, Fit Finlay had. They were great for when they wanted to use them. I don’t think they were used properly in WCW. The fans appreciated them and I think they just kept it around to do it whenever they needed something simple.

Daniel Johnson: You mentioned the Fit Finlay injury, what were some injuries that you worked through and how did you manage to get through them?
Bill DeMott: Two torn ACLs in both knees, still working through them, never got them fixed. Three knee operations, but the biggest injury I worked on is my broken neck. You just work man, you can’t—you know it’s not the NFL where I break my thumb on my throwing hand and I sit out for six weeks—I came from where you know you didn’t wrestle, you didn’t get paid, you don’t get paid, you don’t make a name for yourself.

Daniel Johnson: This is kind of going back to the hardcore topic, but do you think there are any limitations with how popular this form of wrestling can be in mainstream American wrestling?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, yeah you’ll never see it go to what it was or what it could have been. I mean it’s just there’s nobody around, who can pull it off. Everybody will say yes to it, but there’s no one, there’s not enough guys that can be trustworthy enough to do it. You put your body on the line with these guys, who say, yes they know what they’re doing and it’s just not going to be mainstream, they can’t carry it off, it can’t be done.

Daniel Johnson: So would you say like a lot more trust is involved in hardcore wrestling than just regular mat wrestling?
Bill DeMott: No, no it’s the same amount of trust I mean your giving a guy your body, but you know on the mat you can control the guy a little better than a guy swinging a—you know—a kendo stick.

Daniel Johnson: Going back to stables, aside from the Dungeon of Doom another stable that you competed with for WCW was the Misfits in Action, how did this stable come about or your participation in this stable come about?
Bill DeMott: The Misfits came about they had nothing for a bunch of guys. And those guys were myself, and Van Hammer and Chavo [Guerrero] and Lash [LeRoux]. And we called ourselves the Misfits in Action because we were just a bunch of misfits in a company that really had nothing for us at the time and we wound up getting over.

Daniel Johnson: Was there anything further that you would have liked to do with the Misfits in Action before WCW ended up closing, do you think the group could have gone further?
Bill DeMott: I think we could have gone further, I think we probably could have brought it into the WWF. I mean I don’t regret anything and I’m sure everything can go further if you let it play itself out so I don’t really have an answer for that. I would have liked to see it come back, I would have really, really liked to do it again, you know never say never, but you know it worked for us, it was good.

Daniel Johnson: During this portion of your career you were involved in a rivalry with or you worked a lot with the Filthy Animals, which consisted of smaller wrestlers, what techniques did you utilize to make the matches work even though they were kind of like David and Goliath matches?
Bill DeMott: That goes back to Mexico and Japan a lot guys in Mexico were smaller, different style. You got to learn what they did and what they were capable of doing, how you could work best with what they were doing and make them work best with what you were doing. Again I had a lot of edges that people didn’t have, but I’ve been a lot of places to have the opportunity to work with these guys.

Daniel Johnson: Is there any member of the Filthy Animals that you feel you worked particularly well during this time?
Bill DeMott: Billy Kidman, Rey Mysterio, I worked well with Juventud [Guerrera], Konnan. I mean you know I enjoyed every aspect of it there was no one particular match, but I enjoyed working with Kidman a lot when he was part of that.

Daniel Johnson: Another stable you went onto compete with in WCW was Team Canada, like you mentioned before working with Lance Storm, also Hacksaw Jim Duggan was in that stable, of course both have extremely different wrestling styles, how did you work through both styles while still having them as opponents, like how did you work through more than one style I guess I’m asking.
Bill DeMott: Well again it just goes back to watching tapes and knowing your opponents. Two different styles and you work two different ways with each guy. I think that’s what’s lost now. Here’s the bottom line, you have to be able to work otherwise nothing works. You couldn’t put Jim Duggan and Lance Storm in the ring with two other guys at this point in the game because no one would understand their styles. I never thought about, “oh God what will I do with this guy, how will I handle this?” I just went in and did what I knew how to do.

Daniel Johnson: When you train wrestlers, do you just sort of teach them the basics or how do you work with the styles that they have?
Bill DeMott: I take what they know and try to adapt it to what WWE is looking for, whatever works best for them, something that makes them different.

Daniel Johnson: Have you ever worked with a wrestler that you don’t think could actually work as an in-ring performer, but you think could still be useful to the business overall?
Bill DeMott: Oh yeah, absolutely there’s been a bunch of people like that.

Daniel Johnson: How do you kind of like, get around that, in order to still put them in the business, but not as in-ring performers?
Bill DeMott: Well, you find out what their strengths are and what they actually can do. I mean a lot of people would love to be wrestlers, but its just not in the cards. I mean you know you find out I mean we had some great guys and not working as valets, but as managers or as mouthpieces. Josh [Matthews] specifically he came out as a wrestler [and now] he’s one of the best announcers they have.

Daniel Johnson: Have you ever had to convince a wrestler, who wants to pursue one style of wrestling, but you think is actually better in another style?
Bill DeMott: Well you can’t make them. I mean you try to explain to them and make them understand that it’s not going to work for them and then you’ve got to let them figure it out for themselves. Half the time, you’ve got to figure out what works. You just sort of guide them in a direction that will get them there quicker.

Daniel Johnson: In the tag team matches you have participated in over the years how do you think tag matches are different from singles matches overall?
Bill DeMott: Its easier, tag matches are easier. You get to rest a lot more you get to play off your partner and your opponents. You get to see what’s going on in the ring instead of just being in there working. So I think tag team is easier.

Daniel Johnson: Aside from the WCW Tag Team Titles that I mentioned earlier you held with Alex Wright briefly, you also won the WCW United States Championship, what are some of the better memories you have from this title reign?
Bill DeMott: The memories, most of that title reign was with Lance Storm, but I got put with the Steiners, Shane Douglas. It was just good, I mean being the US Champion was a great thing, but I still was doing what I started out, stepping forward as the US Champion. So again, its just an opportunity to gain a bigger limelight.

Daniel Johnson: The WCW United States Championship traces its roots back to 1975, how do you feel you contributed to its legacy?
Bill DeMott: Going back to some of the guys that held that championship, I like to consider myself a legitimate talent, meaning that I can back up what I say and I think that’s been my reputation and I think that’s one of the little justifications that went into it at the time. A big guy who’s got the fans with him and just you know went out there and did what he said he was going to do and defended the title.

Daniel Johnson: Despite your title victories, WCW was coming to an end in 2000 and early 2001 did you have any fears that you wouldn’t be picked up by the now WWE following WCW’s closure?
Bill DeMott: I had no idea if I was going to have a job or not and I just knew that whatever was going to happen was going to happen. I was lucky enough to be picked up and I never thought about it after that.

Daniel Johnson: Once you were in the WWE you contributed to the InVasion angle, how was that whole process?
Bill DeMott: It was quick. I mean it was just boom. it was over as soon as it started and it was great to be a part of it. Again I wish it would have lasted longer, but it was cool.

Daniel Johnson: Do you think the InVasion angle was a success overall? Why or why not?
Bill DeMott: No, I don’t think it was a success. I think they jumped the gun it went from WCW and then ECW came in, and then ECW and WCW combined and then this guy jumped to this and then there’s lotteries and everybody was switching places. So I just think they just ran through it too fast, I don’t think they let the people sink their teeth into it.

Daniel Johnson: One statement that I’ve heard over and over again regarding invasion angles is that a problem that it has is that it always turns one group of people into all good guys and one into all bad guys do you feel this to be an accurate statement and how do you think it can be worked around if so?
Bill DeMott: I think it just depends on who’s in charge. It depends on what you do, it’s the position you’re given. I think that kind of seems with what’s like fairness, one sides cowboys, one sides Indians, that’s not going to change.

Daniel Johnson: After the InVasion angle you wrestled briefly for the Heartland Wrestling Association. What was the transition like from working in front of larger audiences to working for a smaller company? How did that work out for you?
Bill DeMott: I was there to train some guys and I don’t know, again I don’t look at it as being in front of 30,000 or 300. It’s just, that’s what I was sent there to do, I was there to wrestle and help some guys out and that’s what I did. I don’t look at it as being demoted or being sent somewhere else. I was being sent to do my job.

Daniel Johnson: Do you think it’s a problem at all kind of in the current wrestling scene that a lot of wrestlers think this way, kind of the way that I mentioned or do you think like other wrestlers think more like you that they’ll be able to you know work in front of anyone just as long as they know that they’re working?
Bill DeMott: I don’t know, I think everybody just likes to say that they’ve been wrestling at night. I think that’s the problem. I don’t know how they feel about it or if they get excited about it. I think they just have to say that’s what they did. You know, “What’d you do this weekend?”, “I wrestled” you know and I think that’s the end of it. I don’t think anybody’s trying to make a statement. I don’t think anybody’s trying to move on. I just think they’re not being in there thing.

Daniel Johnson: Following this tenure you worked as a trainer on Tough Enough III. What part of this experience did you enjoy the most?
Bill DeMott: The whole thing. I got to do what I wanted to do 24 hours a day and that’s where I met by best training people and gave them the knowledge that was given to me. Being myself, I didn’t have to worry about being politically correct or anything.

Daniel Johnson: Did you work with the MTV production people, is that different from working strictly with a wrestling company or was it pretty much the same?
Bill DeMott: The MTV kids were great. I mean they asked a lot of questions, they tried to ask our opinions on how things might have been done, but I mean TV companies are TV companies. They’re going to do their own thing. So I mean we didn’t get in each others way and everybody got to do their job so it was easy.

Daniel Johnson: At any time during your work on Tough Enough III did you get kind of stressed out when training some of the guys. If so what were some of these occasions and how did you work through it.
Bill DeMott: I think if you don’t get stressed out, then you’re not doing your job. I think— not stressed out, just frustrated for the guys trying to learn something—is a little frustrating, but nothing stressed out. Like “had enough?” no I never get that.

Daniel Johnson: In addition to Tough III, you also worked on Tough Enough IV. What were some similarities and differences between working on each of these?
Bill DeMott: Two different things. At the Million Dollar Tough Enough, they were flown in for three days a week and they got to go home and they were babysat and there was a lot of media and there was a lot of fluff and it was a total—I think it was a total disaster—I think the fans of Tough Enough and the fans of WWE were let down and I don’t think it was that great of an experience at all. I think they should go back. I think they should do another one and go back to the way it used to be done.

Daniel Johnson: So do you think Tough Enough over all though is generally kind of a groundbreaking and effective program?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, a good experience. I think it’s a good program. I think it teaches everyone involved a lot of things. I think it’s a good overall experience.

Daniel Johnson: Aside from Tough Enough in 2002 and 2003 you also regularly wrestled on WWE Smackdown! How do you feel that this portion of your career differs from other portions of your career?
Bill DeMott: At that time I mean WWE was the only game in town and you had 180 wrestlers on the roster. So everybody had to get a shot. Any chance you had on TV I took advantage of it. I think I did my job every time I was on TV. I think the people got with me. They understood what I was about before Tough Enough and after Tough Enough and it was just you know opportunities were far and few and I just took advantage of the ones I had.

Daniel Johnson: During this timeframe you also wrestled on WWE Velocity. How do you think wrestlers can benefit from appearing on any television show regardless of if the show is like you know Nitro or if it’s just something like Shotgun Saturday Night or Velocity?
Bill DeMott: Any time people get to wrestle is a good time. Ring time is ring time. So you got a lot of guys going, “I don’t want to wrestle Velocity, I want to wrestle Raw, I don’t want to do this, I want to go to Smackdown!” Any time you got to wrestle that night was a good night and that’s what these new guys don’t understand. I mean anytime you got to wrestle and if it was on TV then that was a big plus.

Daniel Johnson: One recent advent that has come around, I know a lot of independent companies have been using the Internet. How do you feel wrestlers can best use the Internet to their advantage?
Bill DeMott: I don’t think you can use the Internet to your advantage at all. It doesn’t matter. I mean just the meanings that are on the Internet. You read things and things are said, “and this guy did this, and this girl’s got heat, and this guy,” I mean everybody’s using wrestling terms and telling stories. I’m not a big fan of the Internet unless it’s something that I said and I know I said it. I mean you can read 301 stories about Jim Ross, but unless you talk to Jim Ross you [don’t] know it to be true. I mean, I don’t think you can use the Internet to your advantage because people put their spin on it and they have the freedom to be these storytellers.

Daniel Johnson: So do you think that too much emphasis has been placed on the Internet regarding wrestling?
Bill DeMott: Absolutely. I think so much emphasis has been put on it that the office now believes half of what they read. They have people specifically there to read the Internet all day long.

Daniel Johnson: After you worked on Tough Enough IV you began working as a trainer and announcer for Deep South Wrestling. How did you view the switch from competing primarily with WWE programming to working with the farm system, like how was it to work with guys up and coming?
Bill DeMott: Again I did it in HWA, I did it in Ohio Valley and in Deep South it was nothing new. It was just another thing I was asked to do and I just did what I was asked to do. I mean it was no changes. I didn’t look at it as, “Oh God I’m not doing this, I’m doing this.” I’ve been wrestling and making a living at it for 18 years.

Daniel Johnson: Regarding the 18 years you’ve been in wrestling just how has the shift been in terms of general ring psychology?
Bill DeMott: There’s no ring psychology any more. Psychology to me is just another wrestling term. Now the office wants everyone to learn psychology and use psychology and it doesn’t matter what you teach them or what you try to teach them because it’s just a bunch of guys on a quote unquote creative team, who have never taken a bump, who have never been in the ring, who have never been a wrestler, and just claim to be wrestling fans. So the psychology is whatever they like for you that week. I mean psychology’s gone out the window. I mean half the people blame the wrestlers, but how do you not blame the, you know the office.

Daniel Johnson: When training wrestlers—going back to Deep South Wrestling—it can be argued that an important part of the job is having an eye for talent. Do you feel that you have an eye for talent and how do you think it developed during your time at Deep South?
Bill DeMott: I think I have an eye for talent. I don’t know how it developed, I think I’ve just been around it and I’ve just been you know surrounded by people, who are talented and have taught me the right way and gee the whole Deep South roster’s talented. I mean you know who’s got it and who doesn’t have it. I don’t know how it happens, it just kind of happens.

Daniel Johnson: In addition to working as a trainer and announcer for Deep South Wrestling, you also still wrestled occasionally during that time, what are the difficulties in taking on so many different roles, is that difficult to fulfill so many different positions?
Bill DeMott: No it’s just a task. It makes for a long day. You know you’re calling the shows, you’re helping put together a show, and you’re wrestling on the show. It’s very hard work. It’s not something I would like to do all the time.

Daniel Johnson: Who were some of the more promising wrestlers that you saw on the rise in Deep South, who have not yet come to mainstream popularity? Is there anyone wrestling fans should be on the look out to really rise in the ranks?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, there’s a cat from Quiver’s Corner, [Eric] Perez, up and coming. There’s a man called the Deacon, 6’6” and 300 pounds. The Majors Brothers from Long Island, Brett and Brian, I mean there’s Afa Jr., coming from Afa and Seka. There’s a girl, Shantelle [Taylor]. The girls in Deep South are far better than any girls I’ve ever seen in the past three years. So I mean there’s a ton of talent out there and they’re still developing.

Daniel Johnson: You mentioned women wrestlers in Deep South. How do you think women’s wrestling—because I know a lot of the times it’s more based on looks rather than the actual wrestling—how do you think that can kind of change, do you think there’s any way to change that?
Bill DeMott: I think that all the girls that train in Deep South are great looking girls, they’re all diva material and they can all wrestle with the best of them. They have the best of both worlds. They’re prepared for either being a diva or for being a wrestler. They’ll change it if they get the opportunity.

Daniel Johnson: So would you say that being a diva and being a wrestler are incompatible or do you think the two can be mixed at all.
Bill DeMott: No, they won’t let it, you know. I don’t know. I don’t know what they’re looking for. One minute it’s a pillow fight and the next minute they’re wrestling on Wrestlemania. So it just depends on what’s the flavor of the month.

Daniel Johnson: This is kind of going back to having an eye for talent. Are there any lower card performers today on the mainstream wrestling scene that you see developing into huge stars in the future? Like before you mentioned Johnny Nitro are there any other wrestlers like that you see today?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, I mean Carlito’s on his way. I mean there are a lot of guys. I mean Kenny Dykstra. I mean there’s a ton of talent there, that are going to be the future of the business, they just got to have the opportunity to learn like everybody else and there’s no better way right now than running with Taker. I mean Ken Kennedy’s going to be an awesome star for years to come.

Daniel Johnson: What skill do you best help to bring out of a wrestler overall?
Bill DeMott: Their honesty. Their want to do this, I’ll know within an hour if you say you want to do it or if you want to do it. I mean I’m a big honesty guy. You know a lot of people say they want to do it and a lot of people are there to do it and you know who’s who and what’s what. It all comes to the surface sooner or later.

Daniel Johnson: What do you feel was your biggest contribution to Deep South overall?
Bill DeMott: My biggest contribution to Deep South overall was I taught them respect. Apparently some of them didn’t like me as a person, but they respected me and they may not have liked the way I did things, but they respect the business and they’re better people for it. Either professionally or personally, it’s all about respect that’s all.

Daniel Johnson: This is kind of going back to how to work a match exactly. Do you think it’s important to go over the different techniques that are going to be used in a match ahead of time? Is that how you train wrestlers or do you think, it should be more spontaneous?
Bill DeMott: Yeah, I think it should be more spontaneous. You have to have a game plan, but you have to be able to adjust and that’s what I teach them. Adjust, everyday there’s a different situation.

Daniel Johnson: You’re currently a wrestler still, an in-ring performer. Are you a full time performer or is it just like an every now and then kind of thing?
Bill DeMott: No it’s full time. I’m pretty well booked up, things are coming in you know everyday. I’m just doing my thing. So if it become 365 days a year again, great, if its 200 days a year, great. I’ll as soon take it as it comes.

Daniel Johnson: If you could change one thing about the wrestling industry today what would it be?
Bill DeMott: If I could change one thing about the wrestling industry? I don’t know that’s a tough question. I wouldn’t be a babysitter. I wouldn’t pay people to learn the business. I’d pay the people, who have been doing it a long enough time to have an appreciation for it, I wouldn’t take guys off the street, who look like they’re impressive and then pay them to be unimpressive.

Daniel Johnson: What plans do you have ahead for 2007?
Bill DeMott: In 2007 I plan on putting my name out there both in the ring and behind the scenes. I know TNA’s out there, Japan has interest. I have some other projects in the works TV-wise. Never say never, you could see me again on WWE television or behind the scenes, here’s the thing in 2007 Bill DeMott’s going to be back out there so your going to want to see Bill DeMott and people are going to remember why I was good at what I did.

Daniel Johnson: What do you feel that you have to offer up and coming professional wrestlers that no one else has to offer in regards to training?
Bill DeMott: Believability. Knowing that what I say is believable and what I do is even more believable. “Captivating a crowd,” as Arn Anderson puts it.

Daniel Johnson: When all is said and done what would you want Bill DeMott to be most remembered for?
Bill DeMott: What do I want to be most remembered for? Just being honest, just being exactly what he said he was.

Daniel Johnson: The last question I had is, is there anything you would like to add?
Bill DeMott: The two years with Deep South have been a long two years. It’s been a positive two years. My ties being cut with WWE I think was unfortunate at the time and like I said it might come back to where we’re together, but I look to the future. My career’s always gone forward and like I said, there’s TNA and there’s things that are always in the works and somehow, someway Bill DeMott will always be a part of it.

Daniel Johnson: Thank you very much for the interview.
Bill DeMott: Okay, thank you man.

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