Donald Wood sent this in.
Mike Chiari, Brandon Galvin and myself had WWE SUPERSTAR BO DALLAS on the show this week, and it was a great episode with plenty of exclusive content. We talked about Battleground, Growing Up in a Wrestling Family, Bray Wyatt, WWE NXT and so much more!
Ring Rust Radio Interview: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ringrustradio/2014/07/22/ring-rust-radio–july-22-w-wwe-star-bo-dallas-and-battleground-review
YouTube interview: http://youtu.be/qwsVkyBvNbQ?list=UU2JxShEqNf4iaJTtm1MWWtg
Donald Wood: Sunday, July 20 is WWE’s Battleground Pay-Per-View on the WWE Network. You are scheduled to compete in the Battle Royal for the Intercontinental title. Do you Bo-lieve you’re going to walk out as the new champion?
Bo Dallas: Absolutely. You’ve got to look at any situation as the most positive that you can and the most positive is obviously me winning. So if I bo-lieve I can do it, then I can.
Mike Chiari: So many of the all-time greats took their first step toward the top in WWE by winning the Intercontinental Championship. Is that how you view the IC title? As a potential stepping stone to the main-event scene down the line?
Bo Dallas: Oh absolutely. Look at the Intercontinental Championship’s legacy. You’ve got Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. The Intercontinental Championship is a legacy, not only something I’ve strived to get in my life, but a big step in my career. Yes, it’s a dream, and if I could accomplish it, it would mean the world to me.
Brandon Galvin: Bo, is there any specific backstory as to how you developed your current character? Was there a certain life-changing moment or other inspiration? Or did happen to stumble on something completely different from the norm and run with it?
Bo Dallas: There was no one moment that I could look at that says, ‘this is what happened.’ It was just a series of events. I got the opportunity to become NXT Champion down in the NXT developmental, and luckily I got 8 months as the champion and it just sort of developed. Things started happening and everything was clicking on all cylinders and working and it developed and morphed into its own monster. I just rolled with the punches, kept my eyes open and my ears sharp to everything that was coming in and took it and ran with it.
Donald Wood: Before your incredible winning streak on the main roster, you were the longest-reigning NXT Champion in history. With you experience in both WWE and NXT, what are some of the major difference between performing in NXT and the main roster and what advice would you give to a star making the transition?
Bo Dallas: The way the developmental system is these days is different than it has ever been. They do so much to prepare us for making that jump from NXT to the big stage that there’s not many differences. NXT is its own brand and has become bigger than I think ever thought was possible. But if I can give any inspirational advice to anyone coming up, really look at what you do and know that what works, works. It doesn’t matter the size of the stage, if it works at a smaller stage, it will work at a bigger stage and stay true to what you are and Bo-lieve in yourself.
Mike Chiari: Your brother is currently having a lot of success in WWE as Bray Wyatt and your dad works for the company as well. What’s it like for you to work so closely with your family? Do you think that it’s been beneficial to your career so far?
Bo Dallas: Absolutely. Road life is hard. You’re always traveling and you never get to go home, but when you have your family on the road, you always have someone you can trust to bounce ideas off of and know that the advice you get is in the best interest for you. It’s just a great feeling to know you can have someone like that on the road with you at the hardest times.
Brandon Galvin: Not many have the opportunity to grow up in a wrestling family as successful as yours. Are there any memories that stand out to you that helped better prepare you to be a WWE Superstar?
Bo Dallas: Oh yeah, tons. Just being around WWE superstars throughout the past that I consider friends and family, and learning from them and watching them and having little memories growing up that help today and just having the comradery and seeing old friends and people I grew up with. Seeing their sons and their daughters and being together with them, it’s just like a family.
Donald Wood: You have dominated SmackDown as one of the most promising prospects of the last several years. WWE returns to Philadelphia on Tuesday, October 7, for a SmackDown taping. How do you think the hardcore wrestling fans of Philadelphia will react to you?
Bo Dallas: Oh they’re going to love me! I’ve got to look at any situation as a positive situation, and I know there are some Bo-lievers out there in Philadelphia somewhere. If they’re not, I’m going to make them one.
Mike Chiari: Early last year you had a brief run on the main roster when you entered the Royal Rumble and then beat Wade Barrett the next night on Raw. Do you feel like that taste of being a full-time WWE Superstar helped prepare you for your current stint?
Bo Dallas: Yes, absolutely. I got the taste which lit a fire under me. In this industry, you have to evolve to stay relevant, what I wanted, I felt. So I had that eight months to know that that’s what I wanted and just worked as hard as I could, nonstop, to get where I needed to be, develop this character and develop who I am today. So yes, it absolutely lit a fire under me.
Brandon Galvin: WWE Network has provided fans and wrestlers with the opportunity to rewatch and relive their favorite moments. Are there any wrestlers that you’ve gone back to study in order to help you continue to develop into one of the top WWE Superstars?
Bo Dallas: Oh yeah, constantly. I’m on the WWE Network all the time. If I have free time, if I wasn’t on the radio right now, I would be on the WWE Network. There’s tons. A lot of what I watch is Mr. Perfect. I am a diehard fan of Mr. Perfect and Curt Hennig and his work. If I could go back in time and be in the ring with him, I would do anything for it. But I watch a lot of Curt Hennig’s old matches.