B.G. James interview talks about going to WWE, tenure in TNA and Kip James
B.G. James Interview Recap:
After starting with jokes about Kip having to leave the show early, the interview with B.G. James begins with discussion about the awkward VKM/Hemme confrontation at the PPV and the new direction of the angle. James says the "direction has shifted" at this point with Triple H being out with injury and the fact that the "stupid" skits have seemingly stopped over at WWE. Everyone, including B.G., is a little unsure about the direction at this point with the addition of Christy Hemme. "It felt uncomfortable when we talked about it," he said about the Christy Hemme promo at the PPV, "it felt uncomfortable, I know, for her when she came out and did that". Bad booking is not what James wanted to label it as, but "interesting" and "unique" were appropriate to describe the awkward pay per view moment.
The "verbal lifeboat" B.G. tried to throw Hemme was as much for him and VKM as it was for her, he says, as it was his segment too. "As much as I want her to get over...I want us all to get over, you know, the product comes first," he explained, "but when I'm on television, the product is me in my eyes...so I was trying to save my own segment as well". He goes on to say that Christy really believes what she was saying during her promo because he asked her backstage before the segment began. "Yeah, she did feel that way and they [the TNA fans] crapped on her, so it had to feel really, really bad from her standpoint and it felt awkward from mine, you know. We did what we could and that's that. You can't take it back".
On whether or not Vince Russo and VKM accomplished the goal they had originally set at the start of the gimmick, B.G. believes they did. "What his [Russo] goal was, was to get some ratings, just stir a little controversy and get a little attention," he continued, "and I think he accomplished that goal with what we did". As far as WWE responding, James said he didn't really expect them to respond. "At the risk of sounding anti-TNA, which I definitely am not, the first place team ain't gonna look back at the second place team," James said, "they're going to keep right on rolling. And to recognize us was only to ag us on more". Despite their non-response, Brian says that they all knew the WWE was paying attention. "They definitely knew what we were doing, they just didn't respond via television," he continued, "[but] they definitely responded via lawyers' letters".
Although reports online state Kip has gotten some heat over comments about this particular topic, Chris Cash had to get Brian's thoughts on possibly going back to WWE and he seemed to have very similar feelings about the issue. "If I were to go back up there," B.G. responded, "now would be a really good time to do it". He said he doesn't see that happening as he's locked into his contract for another two years or so, but Cash mentions that there are ways around that and James agreed. "Oh yeah..a wrestling contract is barely worth the paper it's written on," he explains, "it's very one-sided, it's very pro-promoter, anti-talent. It's very one way...so yeah, you get yourself a decent lawyer and you can get out of that, no problem".
Mentioning the last interview with the tag-team a few months back at the start of VKM, Chris brought up how the door to WWE was slammed shut in their minds, but now he wants to know point blank whether the door is open at all. "Um...yeah..you know what, yeah it is [open]," Brian hesitantly responded, "when we talked before, we [him and Kip] were just getting to get back together and it felt good and all that, you know...but it all boils down to, and it sounds so dang materialistic... the money. The job's the same. I go out and I get my segment over and if I can't do that, it's time to quit. It's all about the money, you know. I've got a broke down car sitting out front and my house notes late, so yeah, the door in my mind is open".
Having said that, James did mention Jeff Jarrett being a friend of his which would personally make it very hard to do him wrong. He feels that if the opportunity ever came up to go to WWE, he hopes Jeff would give the blessing for him to go make his money, but he doesn't see either happening anytime soon. "But just because my door's open to that suggestion," he continued, "[it] doesn't mean their door's open". B.G. has his brother, Scott, up at WWE and although he says some of the boys talk about the possibility of them coming back, none of them are in the office, and Brian really doesn't think the door is open. "If they're listening, maybe they can call and tell me something different," he jokingly ended.
Brian's "loyalty" to Jeff Jarrett and TNA triggered a recent incident that was posted all over the 'net about contract disputes and B.G. wanting a raise that TNA felt wasn't warranted. Chris asked if and how much of that was true and Brian willingly responded. "I was called and I was told that I couldn't have the raise," he said, "and then I told them I was going to quit and I was told right to my face that, if I quit, they would fire [Kip]. I said, well that's crazy, so I called [Kip] right away and let him know what was going on". Chris mentioned that at this point, Kip couldn't really afford to lose his job and B.G. agreed saying that TNA kind of hornswaggled them a little bit. "But you know what," he continued, "I chalk that up, like I said, to being a bad business man...I wear my emotions on my sleeve and usually they all come out in negotiating a business deal, so I may have shot my own self in the foot and shot [Kip] in the foot in the meantime".
The interview with Brian continued and shifted as a number of other topics were brought up from Chris Cash and guest co-host, Dameon Nelson (
www.pwrshow.com), plus they took some questions from the chat room as well. Issues addressed in the second part of the interview include what TNA needs to do to continue their growth in the future, whether the Dudleys are overrated or not, the possibility of Paul Heyman or Eric Bischoff coming in to TNA, why he thinks Eric Bischoff had nothing to do with the Monday Night ratings war, some more former WWE talent coming into TNA, and much more.
