Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 1:40 AM EST

The following was transcribed by James Caldwell of PWTorch.com:

Al Snow Interview

Interview conducted by Michael T

Hotline number: 773-572-6302

- Snow relocating from Dayton, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky to be permanent member of OVW. Paul Heyman has taken over writing duties and "the show is becoming its own new ECW, but better." Snow said working with Heyman can be frustrating, but for all his genius, he needs the talent to step up and carry through on the writing. Snow said Danny Davis is like a machine because he never sleeps after putting together video packages and working with talent constantly.

- Snow said Ken Kennedy is a great talent and potential break out star in WWE. After Kennedy, Snow said Erin Stevens, Matt Cappotelli, Mercury and Nitro, Paul Birchill, the Tolands, and Beth Phoenix could follow Kennedy as stars in the business.

- Snow said the Tolands would be really good on WWE TV to help the tag division after MNM and the Heartbreakers led the way from OVW. Snow said the tag division is treated as a sideshow even though the tag division has drawn money in the past - especially when Edge and Christian were a team.

- On Daniel Puder's release, Snow said Puder was put in a tough spot because winning the $1.0 Million can be a blessing or a curse. It's difficult living up to $1.0 Million worth of expectations. Investing one million dollars in one guy before he even draws a dime for the promotion is a tough position to place any wrestler in. Snow said setting someone up at such a high monetary level made it impossible for Puder to live up to the expectations.

- Snow said Kurt Angle's injuries helped Daniel Puder take down Angle during the Tough Enough shoot segment. Snow said Angle had jammed his neck and had no feeling in both his arms, which made it easy for Puder to score a takedown. (Then, why was Angle even in the ring?)

- Snow said the contract was $250,000 per year for four years. Snow said Puder was offered a developmental contract to continue working for Deep South Wrestling in Atlanta, Georgia. Snow said the new territory training system is progressing nicely.

- On whether filling Jim Cornette's shoes is tough to handle, Snow said Cornette was never in charge of training the guys, so he was placed in the position of trainer no matter whether Cornette was in OVW or not. Snow said "never say to never" to whether Cornette would ever return to OVW.

- Snow said TNA is the most direct and obvious choice for many of the recently released WWE superstars to pursue future wrestling work. In the same vein of wrestlers leaving WWE for WCW to bolster the roster, TNA could find success taking on former WWE wrestlers. For the sake of WWE, TNA, the wrestling business, and the fans's sake, Snow said he hopes the rivalry between WWE and TNA helps both promotions grow. Snow said the pro wrestling industry is going through a transition in trying to find the audience and define an image for the business.

- On WWE Raw's move from Spike TV to USA, Snow said Vince McMahon is willing to take a few steps backwards to take several more forward. With more national exposure on USA, it will allow WWE to access a broader audience. Also, the NBC specials should help bolster the audience and expose the product to more potential customers.

- Snow said Velocity and Sunday Night Heat being removed from TV will create more competition in the locker room with guys forced to find a useful spot on the two main brands with limited time and space available. Everyone will be more competitive and aggressive with WWE looking at the bottom line when considering laying people off.

- Snow said the brand split is not to blame for wrestling being in a downward cycle momentarily. It's part of the wrestling cycle where one national promotion cools off and creates a national cool-off. Snow said it's surprising no one else besides TNA has stepped up to compete with WWE to light a fire under WWE.

- On whether WWE's policy of cracking down on trademarks will affect the talent, Snow said it will hurt a rival promotion's ability to exploit the likeness of guys like the Dudley Boys to draw money. Snow said, "wrestlers who have been on WWE TV have a very established presence and name that lasts for a very long time. Vince is being a business man and other people can't capitalize on it."

- Snow said the ECW One Night Stand PPV felt like a big homecoming to see all the ECW guys he hadn't seen in awhile. Snow said he was disappointed he didn't have a larger part in the show, but understands there was only so much time and spots available. Snow isn't sure WWE's presence at the PPV helped the show, but it didn't hurt the product.

- On the JBL vs. Blue Meanie fight at the ECW PPV, Snow said he saw Meanie busted open, but never saw JBL land punches. Snow said he watched JBL move right down the ring in front of Meanie then he turned around to see Meanie covered in blood.

- Snow said he was disappointed because he couldn't be part of Hardcore Homecoming as a WWE employee. Snow said he's not under a booking contract, but a training consultant for WWE, leaving him open to appear on the Hardcore Homecoming shows.

- Snow said his tough times in his first WWF stints were learning experiences as he let his frustrations get to him. Snow said he was given an opportunity to get himself over on TV and never realized the opportunity because he was frustrated with his gimmick. He knew it was tough to change his perception in WWE so moving to the independent scene to reestablish his character and identity allowed WWE to see his potential externally. Snow said ECW gave him a platform to get over and WWE paid to get him back and placed him in a new spot on the card.

- On how he came up with the "head" gimmick, Snow said he started reading books on abnormal psychology for ideas to portray his crazy persona. He was taking a picture with Great Sasuke backstage in ECW and remembered Mick Foley carrying a Styrofoam head on a road trip in WWE. Snow said he decided to use the head after reading about a person with schizophrenia translating her problems onto an inanimate object, thinking the object had the problems, not the person.

- On Wal-Mat pulling "Head" from shelves because it suggested violence against women, Snow said the squeaky wheel gets the grease because two communication teachers assumed the action figure was holding a severed head without doing a background check or researching their opinion before complaining in a public forum. Snow said it was in the national news for about one month causing the figure to become a hot figure.

- Snow said the media blaming wrestling for child deaths is asinine and based on the media being a form of entertainment trying to sell newspapers or gain ratings. Snow said the media capitalizes on emotions by over dramatizing stories to capture anger and fear with the assumption being that because the medium is television and a piece of paper, the news is accurate and free from bias.

- Snow said the "Job Squad" idea came from the first time he was in WWE because there were so many gangs with Savio Vega, the bikers, and that was the hot trend. Snow said he told Jim Cornette that he was going to start his own gang called the Job Squad because people were telling him that he couldn't beat anyone in the ring. Snow said he was going to bring together the jobbers such as Aldo Montoya and Barry Horowitz. However, the idea never materialized in WWE, but came together in ECW with the "Pin me, pay me" slogan. Snow said he sold over 3,000 t-shirts on the Internet. There were guys who didn't even follow wrestling who bought the shirts because they related to the job squad mentality. Snow said the squad was a covert organization fighting against the push because none of them were getting one. Snow said Vince Russo loved the idea and put Snow, Bob Holly, and Gillberg together. He also told Russo about the Brood with Edge, Christian, and Gangrel.

- On wrestling in the Mississippi River at St. Valentine's Day Massacre against Bob Holly, Snow said he didn't realize it was going to be so cold and Holly nearly drowned him in the freezing cold water.

- Despite what the detractors in management said about the Tough Enough format when it was on MTV, Snow said it helped the business because people earned a new respect for the business. Snow said it didn't detract from the business. Snow said everything that happened with Tough Enough was what really happened; it wasn't manufactured reality; everyone was who they were. On what happened to Tori, Snow said he doesn't know what happened to her.

- On becoming a tag champion with Mick Foley, Snow said he doesn't know why they only received a one-week run as champions because they had good on-air chemistry. On Foley nearly signing with TNA, Snow said his signing would have been a tremendous coup for TNA but Vince probably offered Foley sufficient money to re-sign.

- Snow said he suggested teaming with Steve Blackman because he was going to get Blackman over by pointing out Blackman's lack of personality. Snow said Blackman wanted to do the "head cheese" gimmick and Snow really worked well with Blackman's deadpanning because he was so straight-laced.

- Snow said WWE lacks the type of crazy humor that helped bring in every type of fan. Snow said having so many bad-ass characters means they all cancel each other out and the effect isn't there. On Nick Dinsmore portraying the Eugene character out of the ring, Snow said Eugene probably portrays the gimmick on his own because he wants to continue building up the character. Snow said it's all about getting yourself over through every change in wrestling and adjusting your character from period to period.

- On how he became head trainer of OVW, Snow said Tough Enough was originally supposed to get Tazz over and he ended up working the show because he had nothing else to do and WWE figured he could help out in some way. Snow said he had a training school and figured his format would work for Tough Enough. The format was used and Snow never expected to get over through Tough Enough, but the respect mentality he put forth on camera worked well in portraying the image of pro wrestling.

- Snow said the degradation of the business is because "it's far too easy to get in the business." People can just buy training and no one is holding trainees responsible for their actions inside the ring or outside the ring. There is a lack of responsibility and accountability with new wrestlers trying to get into the business. Snow said Lynda Miles (Shaniqua) quit, and was not fired, because she decided the business was not for her.

- On Matt Morgan being released from WWE, Snow said there's potential in Morgan, but he needs to get his own experience to grow as a wrestler. He can take the experience and come back as a better wrestler. On the Boogeyman character, Snow said Marty ran into some bad luck with a hyperextended knee injury and that delayed his character's push. "Marty is a great performer and will make money if given the chance," Snow said, "because he has a ton of charisma."

- Snow said he's working independent shows on a regular basis and will be in England on October 1. Snow said he's facing Maven in a retirement match in West Virginia on October 29. Snow said he hopes it's not Maven's final match as he has a lot of potential. Snow said Maven is frustrated right now and may just need some time off.

- Snow said he just finished filming a movie in New York called "Just my friends" and his email address for wrestling bookings is wwefrosty@aol.com.

You can visit www.gerweck.net/interview.htm to listen to the interview.