Suicide Girls Interview: 06/23/08

Tyler Hayden lights up his third cigarette and kicks back; the backstage suite is a no smoking zone but he knows the owner; so we circumvent normal protocols and take a step away from the conventional. His lighter is stainless steel, with a death's head motif carved deep into the metal. Our surroundings are dark yet vibrant; a flash of flame illuminates this home for the independent and the daring; this is the White Rabbit club; the town's premiere rock venue, situated dead centre in the heart of in San Antonio, TX; Tyler's here tonight to support his good friends, "The Brotherhood" a local kick ass metal band about to go on stage and perform tracks from their next studio album "Despised", live in front of a rabid home crowd. The beer is flowing and so is the conversation as I sit down with one of W2K's most unconventional stars. Not familiar with wrestling two thousand? You're about to be as these underground Texas irregulars go global, taking their unique brand of high flying violence and intense sceptical out amongst the masses; if your a regular on this site then you'll be familiar with the guys from 2k. We've run interviews with Nic E dangerously, Cross and Ryan Cain in the past, but this is our first meeting with the "scarecrow revolutionary"; whose profile over the past few months has sky-rocketed with his triumphant return to the sport back in February this year. With a new attitude and a thriving singles career, it was time to discover what drives this enigmatic anti hero.

SG: I suppose the first question I have to ask is, why the return? You left the business for over a year, right?

TH: Yeah, about that. W2K had closed, NMW had closed. It seemed like the right time to take a step back and re-evaluate my career. I had joined PWT and there was some progression, but even with the hint of a programme with Javen on the cards; the spark just wasn't there for me. I guess I wasn't ready at the time to step up to the plate. Even though I had headlined BUD; walking though a world of sparklers and bright lights just wasn't for me. In some ways I guess it never will. I don't fit that mould of a steroid jacked monster, or a cartoon superhero. I exist in a world closer to reality; and yet for some that scares them. I guess I hold a mirror up to their faces and they don't like what they see. I can understand that though, there's a lot of ugly people out there (laughs)

SG: With that in mind, what does the prospect of a W2K going main stream mean to you now?

TH: It's good. A lot of people are worried that W2K will change and move away from what has made the company so successful for so long; innovation. But that just isn't going to happen. W2K isn't about giving away a million dollars, nor are we all going to get extra marital affairs courtesy of a Vince Russo spin. This is fucking reality; that's what going to bring in the viewers. We play for keeps.

SG: Speaking of which; last week on Rage you walked away from NED as he received a beat down from Christian Michaels and his PWT invasion. Do you condone their actions? And why didn't you make the save, as you did with Ryan Cain by your side on Meltdown? It just seemed to some people that perhaps you've switched sides? Are you siding with Michaels now?

TH (laughs) No, no at all. Examine that situation again; what did you see? I know what I saw, I saw Nic E Dangerously get what he deserves; he's a manipulator; a cult leader who's made some seriously destructive decisions over the past few months; he's been on a one man crusade to destroy Ryan Cain; he kidnapped CJ; he lead multiple attacks on Cain. As you may know, my fate has been inexpiably linked now with Ryan's; I have to keep the Franchise safe, so that my career remains intact, one falls we both fall. Not happening. Maybe the experience of having PWT spray painted on NED's back it will be a cathartic experience for the jagged reality; to finally know what it feels like to experience the sharp end of a stable war for a change; If I were you, I wouldn't cry too loudly for the man; remember whose side NED chose when it came to the MSN/W2K censorship war? Yeah; what goes around comes around. And as for Michaels and me? I'm two for two. Hopefully CM realises now not to go toe to toe with me; or I'll have to embarrass him once again. Just for fun. He should just call it quits and buy me another supercar.

SG: About that, rumours persist that your new Dodge Challenger ended up on Alex Redmond's doorstep in Ohio, is that true? Does he know about Dante's "remodelling"?

TH: Guess he does now. The situation with FWA and Redmond was never fully resolved before my departure as far as I was concerned; Redmond never answered my texts nor my answer phone messages; I never discovered why there wasn't any adequate security during my match with Ramirez; nor how Sparrow managed to attack both myself and Ramirez without anyone backstage stepping in. Seemed to me, to be a set up; but as for answers on that? All I got was static. But when I offer to sell the challenger to Alex, guess what? Redmond replies back the same fucking day. So what does that tell you? Alex was too busy to give me the right answers; only the ones that suited him; so he got what he deserved. I have a name for it; I like to call it "Jizz it forward"; I'm sure Alex is happy about the investment though, after all; he can always clone himself a Dante now that he has all that DNA lying around.

SG: Any word on Dante; does anyone know where he is?

TH: No, but he'll be back. Count on it.

SG: This week you're going up against James McKnight. Some see this as a passing of the torch match; your the current Impact champion, James is a former holder of the title; a belt he added a vital injection of prestige to. Are you looking forward to proving your worth against one of the company's old guard?

TH: I wouldn't necessary call James, "Old guard"; the man's been a mainstay of the company when it's needed him; he's sort of a journey man if nothing else; he wanders in, he makes some noise, then he evaporates. The man is an archetype; the angry heel who isn't as tough as he seems; he plays it up a storm to his credit, McKnight has his shtick down pat; but we're on the verge of a bold new era here; what worked once isn't an option anymore. We have to think outside of our cosy insular universe where it's faces and heels; there's six billion people walking the face of the planet, not six billion cartoon characters. If we're to connect with any of them; we need to speak their language. Now, James, he's strong, but predictable.

SG: So he's a walkover?

TH: No way in hell. You'd have to be a fool to think that.

SG:  Ah, sorry

TH (shakes his head, smiles) It's like this, you get these small chances in this business; miniscule variations in your survival rate that you have to latch on to. Exploit for all their worth. Once you discover a fissure of weakness you have to turn that into a fault line; sometimes when a wrestler  describes an opponent it can come across as if there's this huge margin for success; but that's just not the case. Nothing is set in stone; I'm only confident here because when you're dealing with a James McKnight. You might as well rent out Groundhog Day for the night because he's a man of all too many habits. Same old power moves; same old Tiger Driver from the heady days of grunge; that robotic chain of tri-fecta of suplex's. His mindset is just as predictable; James has issues; mostly with failure, with the concept of loss. So you to get to the man you play up upon that; harass him. There's no shame in tapping out to a man the calibre of a Seifer; unless of course you're James McKnight and you're deluded enough to believe that your above even the slightest hint of imperfection. That's an ego that's driven to a fault; one in which I'll exploit to its fullest depths come Monday night. The fissure shall become an abyss.

Monday Night Rage is broadcast on MSN; 11:30 CMT.