Recently, we were able to sit down with Hamid Ismaili for an interview that spanned many subjects. Here are the highlights of the interview:
I welcomed Hamid, and he thanked me. I wanted to get right to the point, and asked him on the ownership situation. Hamid said that W2K stock was so low, MSN and McMillion (Jeremy Michaels now) were trying to give it away. We asked how much it cost him, but he refused to answer as he said it might embarass eithe rthe boys who work for him, or even MSN itself for letting it go. He did go on to say that there's no other owners, just a system of checks and balances in an off-camera Board of Directors, but his power superceeds theirs emmensly.
He said the decision to move Trunks Kenni up to middle management was obvious. Without Joey Kewl (who will be returning soon, reposts say), Trunks had no front man and really no chemistry. He's a former wrestler and knows the business. Eddie Macklin and Johnny Askin got their big breaks, because they commentated the Dangerzone short-lived W2K produced series on Sunday Nights.
The WallStreet situation: Hamid says that no one man is bigger than W2K, and WallStreet's choice is WallStreet's choice. But, each fed is viewed differently and *all* the greats have been W2K at some point or another. He even says that CM, backstage at PWT, is W2K original, and that should tell you something. He says he doesn't care if WallStreet comes back or not. If he does, he does, but with the cross in wires and the letting other people speak on W2K's behalf, he doesn't think WallStreet or his Entourage players could really handle W2K on a long term basis. It's different from other feds, he goes on to say. It's really about clawing your way to the top. You leave a piece of yourself there, if you truly are a member of the roster and not just going through the motions. Hamid says he thinks alot of PWT goes through the motions. He doesn't know what a "BUD" is.
The PWT/FWA/W2K WAR: Hamid says W2K had this one won from the opening bell. He says how can you lose when you have Ryan Cain, Cross, Jacob Mitchell, and Dangerously all on your side? We say we don't know, although Dangerously himself has a tradgic history concerning his win loss record. Hamid says he knows Dangerously isn't trusted, but that's the breaks. If Dangerously had a problem with it, he wouldn't have done what he done at the ass end of Anarchy. Everyone makes their own bed, Hamid says, and they have to lie in it. He goes on to say that PWT wanted out of the war first, officially, but unofficially, FWA was in no shape to compete. FWA still is in no shape. Soon, Hamid says, we'll have RC, Bink, and Joey back. Then what do they have? A bunch of people who failed in SDE before, and ex BWA'ers. In the end, they're going down, they're just dragging it out. Hamid says if the war continued, W2K was going to handicap itself so the other two had a chance. He does say he's interested in hiring Superstar Joe, Georgia James, and would like Matlock full time. He also says he'd like to snag CM back to exclusivity.
On R2K: "Hamid says these guys are the biggest threat to the whole W2K ever. "They were trained by us", Hamid says. He says it's like terrorism today. Osama was trained by the CIA, and R2K was trained by some of the best W2K had to offer, and then left alone to figure out the rest on their own. "They developed a new style", Hamid says. "Something that alot of the new W2K guys couldn't handle", and he laughs as we ask what if R2K were in FWA or PWT. "They'd destroy them," he says. Hamid then goes on to say that Jerm dropped the ball with R2K. He also says W2K needs a feeling of solidarity right now. Good, bad, doesn't matter, "It's about W2K", he says. He does think W2K's best chances are with a Jacob Mitchell at 100%, Ryan Cain, Cross, and Synergy as a whole. Otherwise, R2K will have advantages early on. They already took out Mitcell, possibly Cross, Hamid says. They're smart.
End Part 1. As reported by Paul Lombardi.
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
First 