13 Questions with Kevin Steen!

Kevin Steen has been one of the hottest acts in pro wrestling over the last couple of years.  From his war with El Generico, to the grass roots movement to get him back into Ring of Honor, to his war at Final Battle with Steve Corino, and now to his quest to become the World Champion, and to stick it to Jim Cornette and Ring of Honor management, Steen has been at the forefront of drama in ROH for over 2 years.   You can catch Steen reignite his war with El Generico this Friday night at ROH Showdown in the Sun: Day One available live on GFL.tv, as well as Saturday afternoon at ROH Showdown in the Sun: Day Two when he battles Eddie Edwards in a match that could be for the ROH World Title if Edwards wins the belt on Friday night.  Steen took some time out of his schedule to join us here and answer 13 Questions! 

1. You were trained under Jacques Rougeau. How did you first connect with him, and what led you to decide to train to become a professional wrestler?

Steen:  Well, in an extremely short version of the actual story, I saw WrestleMania 11 when I was a kid and decided I wanted to be a wrestler. My parents told me to wait a few years since I was only 10 at the time. 5 years later we heard about Jacques Rougeau opening his wrestling school in Montreal, about 45 mins from where we lived. We went to meet with him, listened to all of his bullshit and when he said the cost of the training, I knew my parents would never be able to afford it and I pretty much accepted the fact this wasn't going to happen. When we walked out, my parents told me they were going to pay for the training because it was clear that's what I wanted to do. And that's how it all began. 

2. Your journey to Ring of Honor was much longer (and somewhat bumpier) than many fans believed it should be before 2007. Did that make it more meaningful to you to have success when you achieved it? 

Steen:  For sure. When I did those few shows in 2005 and nothing seemed to click, it was a huge blow to me. I figured that going from Rougeau's terrible promotion, to IWS, to CZW, to PWG, ROH was the next logical step. But it didn't work out so that kind of hung over my head for a while. Then I kind of forgot about it. I was having such a blast in PWG and wrestling all over the world...then came my tour of Dragon Gate, which was amazing. I came home and a few months later, ROH contacted me for a one-time thing with Generico and I vs The Briscoes. I knew it was going to be make or break. Once the match was over, I knew we had finally hit the home run in ROH that we should have hit the first time around. Although, I don't think we were ever put in a position to hit a home run during that first little run anyway. 

3. Your feud teaming with El Generico against Jay & Mark Briscoe is considered one of the best ever in ROH. It all culminated in September 2007 when you were involved in the first Ladder War for ROH. What are your memories of that night?

Steen:  Honestly...my most vivid memory of that match is the Age Of The Fall making their debut right after, with Jimmy Jacobs showering in Jay's blood and Gabe running around screaming in the back without taking a second to check on us after the insane match we'd just had. 

4. In 2008 you had a series of matches against Nigel McGuinness for the ROH World Title. What are your memories of those matches, and how did they help prepare you for the run you are now making again at the ROH World Title?

Steen:  I enjoyed every one of those matches. I remember he had to cheat to beat me in the first one, putting his feet on the ropes. That never really happened in ROH at the time so it was kind of a big deal, I guess. Then we had the match in Chicago Ridge which I really liked. It probably got overlooked a bit considering it followed matches like Briscoes vs MCMG 2 and Genericock vs Ibushi. But I liked it a lot. Then was the Toronto match...probably my favorite match of all time. Working with Nigel was always a blast because it felt to me like I was getting a really unique chance to work with someone special. I think Nigel is one of the most talented guys I've ever wrestled, no doubt. As far as how those matches helped me prepare for the current run, I dare say that they really didn't. What I'm doing now is unlike anything I've done before. I still haven't had a title match granted to me but I sure as hell won't stop until I get one...and once I do, this is it. I'm not losing. I just can't. I didn't do all of this just to come back to ROH and get slayed by Superman Richards. Fuck no!

5. That chapter of your ROH career ended at Final Battle 2010 when you lost to El Generico in a “Fight Without Honor.” What kind of physical and/or psychological toll did the battles you waged that year have on you personally/professionally?

Steen:  I think it affected me a lot personally. My wife actually told me a few times that she thought I might be going nuts in real life and not just in wrestling terms. I put everything I had in that feud and those matches. I guess it got hard to turn it off. I don't know. Physically, it took a toll as well. My neck and back killed me for months after the brainbuster on the buckle. I had never been hit with that one before and I can tell you now, I'll do everything I can to never have to suffer through it again.

6. At Final Battle 2011, you successfully earned the right to be back in Ring of Honor by defeating Steve Corino in a brutal match. What did that mean to you overall, having been gone from ROH for a year and being censored by the promotion?

Steen:  It's kind of hard to explain. There's so much stuff that's not really obvious to the fans or known by the fans, stuff that went on outside of the ring that contributed to me not being welcome in ROH anymore. If you watch the DVD of the show, right before my match, you see me yell to the camera that ''Owen, Karina, Mom, Dad, this is for you...Cabana, Hagadorn, this is for you!'' I said that because those are all people that helped me through some rough times during that year. 

It was actually pretty emotional from the beginning to the end for a lot of reasons. It was my first match in ROH in a year. It was against Steve Corino, one of my heroes growing up. It was in the Hammerstein Ballroom, in New York City. And it was my time to prove to some people that I belonged in ROH...not just in ROH but right at the top.

7. You’ve been labeled as “The Anti-Christ of Pro Wrestling” and “Pro Wrestling’s Worst Nightmare” by Ring of Honor. How have you used those “labels” to motivate you on your mission to become ROH World Champion?

Steen:  I labeled myself ''the Anti-Christ of Ring of Honor'' but ROH refuses to acknowledge me as that. They actually threatened to suspend me if I use those words to refer to myself. And I'm not about to get suspended...I have way too much time to catch up on with my buddy Jim. The whole nightmare thing comes from Cornette himself. He made sure nobody would refer to me as Mr. Wrestling anymore because he feels it's an insult to the other wrestlers that used that nickname in the past...he says I represent nothing of what a wrestler should be. To me, if anything shows how out of touch Jim Cornette is, that's it. But it's fine. I don't give a shit what they call me. The fans know who I am. The fans can chant Mr. Wrestling all they want...Cornette can't suspend them. Besides, none of what Jim Cornette wants will matter once he's forced to call me ROH World Champion.

8. Even though you are considered “Wrestling’s Worst Nightmare”, the fans seem to be behind you and giving you their support. Does that matter to you? And if it does, does it seem to validate your feelings towards Jim Cornette and Ring of Honor? 

Steen:  I do what I have to do. I do what I feel I need to do. If the fans are behind me, then, honestly, that's great. All that says to me is that there's a lot of people out there that think like me...but if they booed me, I wouldn't change a thing I'm doing. My only goal is the be ROH World Champion. But I'll take all the support I can get. Why wouldn't I?  

9. You had an intense interaction with CHIKARA Grand Champion Eddie Kingston at Ring of Honor’s 10th Anniversary Show. Is that a match that you want to see happen and does it matter where it might go down? 

Steen:  I'd love for that match to happen. And I'd love it even more if he put his Disney Championship on the line for it. Then I could win it and bring it to my son and he could use it as a toy. Better yet, he could go and defend it in CHIKARA. He has a Bumble Bee mask from the Transformers movie and these Batman PJs that come with a cape. He could wear that to the ring. It'd be perfect. He'd fit right in with them. Of course, he is only 4 years old so he'd lose the belt pretty quick. But then I'd get whoever beat him for it charged with child abuse. So it would all work out.

Anyway, to get back to Kingston and me, I'd love to fight him right there on his turf. But CHIKARA is a lot like ROH. They're afraid of me. Let me rephrase that so it's a lot more vulgar: They are all a bunch of pussies. So I don't expect anything to happen.  

10. You face El Generico, a man you have a long history with across the globe, again at Showdown in the Sun: Night One on March 30th. He is coming for revenge from Final Battle and it could be said that you are coming for the same, since he was the one responsible for sending you out of ROH for 2011. How are you preparing differently for this matchup?

Steen:  I'm not. I know him better than anyone...and he knows me better than anyone. We were both born to fight each other. 

11. The next day you are part of “Blind Destiny” and will face Eddie Edwards. Even though Davey Richards has been your main target, would you welcome the opportunity to face Edwards should he be champion on 3/31? If Edwards is not champion, what levels will you go to in getting ROH/Jim Cornette to sign Kevin Steen vs. Davey Richards?

Steen:  I would absolutely welcome it. And then, once I beat Eddie and became champion, I'd do what Davey won't do for me. I'd put the belt on the line against him. But, that's really not his call. It's Jim's call. I know Davey wants to fight me. He's probably obsessing over it at this point. We'll see what happens. If it's not this weekend, it's not big deal. I'm not really a patient man but I can wait a little longer...and to answer the second part, I really don't know what levels I'd be willing to go to...I don't really have limits. 

12.  What is your bigger goal: Becoming ROH World Champion or Proving Jim Cornette wrong about you?

Steen:  Winning the ROH World title has been a career goal of mine since I started wrestling in the US in 2004. I never wanted to prove Jim Cornette wrong. I don't give a shit what Cornette thinks of me. I never did. That was his problem with me from the start, I think. I didn't need or want his advice. I think it hurt his ego. 

What I do want to do to Jim is drive him fucking nuts. And I think being the champion of the last company he can ever work for is a great way to start.

13. You are one of the more active and sometimes outspoken wrestlers that utilizes social networking, especially Twitter. How do you feel about the resource that social networking can be to promote wrestlers and wrestling in general? If someone reading this is unaware, how can fans connect with you on Twitter or elsewhere and get Kevin Steen merchandise?

Steen:  Well, I hate Facebook but I really enjoy Twitter. It's nice and simple and I think it's just a great way to communicate with fans and promote stuff. Also, most people can't talk about their stupid fucking lives in 140 characters and tell us how happy they are that they have a new car or how sad they are the the fucking Twilight movies are done or that their dad is into animal porn and it upsets them or that their grandma makes the best spaghetti in Ohio or whatever FUCKING USELESS BULLSHIT people like to write on fucking Facebook. 

So yeah...Twitter's not bad! For people who don't follow me yet, go follow @KILLSTEENKILL and quit being a fucking tool. Also, I have a new website that will be ready in a few days. I'll spread the word on Twitter once it's online. As far as merchandise, fan mail or booking inquiries are concerned, just e-mail Steenalizer@hotmail.com

I read everything and generally respond. 

Well, there's no more questions so I guess this is the end of it. 

Good bye!

Two Spot Monkeys would like to thank Kevin Steen and Ring of Honor for the interview!  Be sure to check out Steen in action this weekend on the Ring of Honor iPPV's available at GFL.tv for just $19.99 for BOTH shows!