Highspots Presents: Brian Kendrick & Paul London’s Excellent Adventure, Disc One

This is a two-disc set that was released in 2010. This post only contains disc one as I will post the second disc tomorrow. Disc One runs for one hour and thirty minutes

The interview starts with both men passing around a joint, already stoned. They are also drinking.

The first question is about how they met. Kendrick said that they met in California while trying to make their way through the independent scene. London talks about growing up in Texas but believed that in wrestling, you have to be away from your element and move away. He wound up in UPW. He then talks about liking to surround himself with quality human beings who inspire to be something instead of lazy people. London is high as a kite right off the bat but coherent.

Kendrick talks about signing up with Shawn Michael’s Wrestling Academy and how it was from 9-12, three days a week. He talks about Rudy Boy Gonzalez, who would be there Monday through Saturday and Kendrick would show up an hour early and leave three hours late.

Kendrick then said that he went up Johnny Ace after watching London tear it up in his dark matches against Saturn and Matt Hardy and wanted him to be his tag team partner.

London talks about being trained by Ivan Putski but went to Shawn’s to learn more about psychology. Kendrick said they never knew each other while in Texas at Shawn’s academy.

Kendrick got his first big break after 9/11 when a wrestler named Mikey Henderson turned down a chance to go to Japan and wrestle for Zero-One out of fear over the terrorist attacks so Kendrick said he would go over. This was on less than two days notice too. He had to wrestle three matches in 40 hours and would do everything from drink protein mixed with water to jerking off in order to stay awake.

London talks about people making excuses for why their career never took off and saying that people in the Indy scene in Texas would never want to travel and stayed there as he didn’t care if he had to drive all over the country for no money as this is what he wanted to do and you have to go get it if you want to make it big. You also had to not take no for an answer and never want to settle. London babbles on for a bit here but his main point makes sense.

They talk about getting into Ring of Honor. Rudy Boy rented a van and they drove from San Antonio to Philadelphia in a van to take a chance on a new promotion. London said they were losing money at the time and he was actually at college full-time at that point but was skipping classes in order to wrestle.

They then have the first of several “Stoner Moments” when they talk about bullshit stuff. My guess is that these segments came about because they talked forever, mostly due to being fucked up, and when they got off topic, they would throw these in between. I am not going to bother recapping these.

Back to Ring of Honor, London said that it helped put himself on the map but that Kendrick was already known so it just enhanced him. Kendrick said he owes a lot to Gabe Sapolsky. London said that originally, he went up there as a standby but the week before the show he got put in a match. He talks about his first match was three minutes long but he was amped and he felt horrible because his friend, Chris Marvel, snapped his ankle after catching him after an Asai Moonsault. London said that the locker room was really supportive after he was feeling awful. This does lead them to talk about locker rooms being referred to as family, which they say is bullshit, but they still loved everything about RoH.

Kendrick talks about himself as a wrestler, saying that he can make shitty guys look good and tell some sort of a story in the ring but he was never going to be a guy that a company looked at as the star. He then tells a story while in the WWE when they were six months into their Tag Title reign, an agent approached them stating that Vince wanted them to get rid of their masks because he didn’t understand why they were wearing them and just found out they had them six months into their reign. Kendrick said that his wife made them and he felt horrible as he had to get rid of them. London said that John Laurinaits told him in the parking lot that they had to get rid of them.

London talks about his various tryouts with the WWE before he got signed. He said that they tested you a lot and during one of his empty arena tryouts, he could hear the WWE wrestlers laughing at them while critiquing their stuff. London said that TNA offered him a one-year deal at the time but he turned it down as he was still going to school and wasn’t sure he wanted to be there but Kendrick put in a good word for him and he was signed.

When asked about the most jarring differences between the Independents and the WWE, Kendrick talks about the shorter matches in the WWE than in the independents and how you can be under contract and not have anything to do when you show up for TV tapings. When that happens for a while, you lose your hunger and start to think, what is the point of being here. He brings up how Paul told him he sounded like a different person after leaving the WWE. Kendrick says that the WWE is not an evil company but that it just wasn’t right for him as they wanted different things and the independents give him more self-satisfaction as he can do more. London then talks about how when you sign a contract, you give your power away to the company. They talk about when you get to the WWE, there is a list of 10-15 guys and the shows revolve around them only. He then talks about at the beginning of his run, he had a series of matches with Jimmy Yang that were well received by everyone but when they made it to TV, they were all edited heavily. London then reiterates the fact that the WWE is not for everyone and then jokes about how unless Vince pays him a gazillion dollars he is not returning. London then said that Vince’s balls would wind up in HHH’s mouth, like they always do. This is the first of many instances throughout the shoot in which you realize that Paul London will never, ever work with the WWE again.

They both now talk about the list they mentioned in the above paragraph about the company revolving around 10-15 guys. They, along with Gene Snitsky (who they both liked), were taking a tour of the corporate office in Connecticut as part of the WWE’s effort to show the wrestlers that they are working for them. Anyway, they are almost done with the tour of the building and they go into a room with Shane McMahon, who gives Snitsky a hug and offers him a cigar. He then blows off London and Kendrick, with Kendrick noting how they were treated like douchebags. After looking around the offices, they see all sorts of photos of different wrestlers and characters but did not notice any tag teams. Kendrick asks Shane what do you have to do as a tag team to get on the walls of the office and he told them that he has not cared about a tag team since the Legion of Doom. Kendrick then says he found out that the WWE is just a TV show and not a wrestling company.

After talking about how they were like the recurring characters of a TV show and learning that the actor who played “Boner” was just found dead, the interviewer then asks them about Chris Benoit. Kendrick said that he always got the vibe from him that he was crazy as London said they referred to him as being “tripolar,” but they both liked him while they were in the company. Kendrick said that Benoit was very complementary of his work and London adds that when guys would ask Benoit on how to perform a move or hold, he would tell them to go ask Kendrick. They then talk about how Benoit and Bob Holly didnt think they were taking their jobs seriously because they were not always in the gym. Kendrick even recalls being in the shower after a show one night in Nashville when Benoit opened the curtain to ask him if he worked out that day. London said that Benoit and Holly took them under their wing early on, helping them out. After a month, Kendrick left, stating that they were lunatics and the whole thing was crazy. London said that by 9am, they would have worked out for two hours, eaten a huge breakfast, then do a ton of pushups with Holly and Benoit.

Now, they tell a story about Benoit at a Bob Evans. London and Kendrick were sitting on one side of the table and at the other side were Jamie Noble (who London refers to as “Mini Benoit”), Bob Holly, and Chris Benoit. Benoit orders an insane breakfast, demanding his steak be steamed, with Bob Holly asking for twice as much food. London said he ordered egg whites and and a small steak to not piss them off but Benoit made him get the big steak. When Kendrick ordered, he asked for pancakes and waffles with all sorts of syrup and as the waitress was taking the order, Benoit reached his hand across the table and pushed down the waitresses pad and made Kendrick order what he had and watched him as he ate everything on his plate. London said he valued these experiences though and unerstood some of what they were trying to teach them.

Kendrick talks about his time under a WWE Developmental deal in the Memphis territory. One day, Memphis was shut down and they were originally told that they were either going to OVW or HWA. Joey Abs was the first guy in and he was told that he was being fired, instead of getting reassigned. Shooter Schultz and the American Dragon (Daniel Bryan), go in next and they are fired too. Kendrick got fired too by a guy named Dennis Brandt, who had never seen any of them work before. A week later, after watching a higlight reel, Brandt called him up and said that he was pretty good but at that point, Kendrick was going over to Japan.

While Memphis, Kendrick said that William Regal, Tracy Smothers, and Bobby Eaton were all awesome and great trainers but that the Office didnt think that Tracy and Bobby were the office types.

London talks about his experience in OVW. He didnt want to be there and believed he was just there to appease the office. He also didnt think he would be there long and didnt want to be either. He was only there for about three months. He didnt despise his time there at all but just did not want to be in Louisville at all. He had one TV match against Aaron Stevens (Damien Sandow).

He then talks about the developmental system and how they trained everyone like robots and that everyone wrestled the same matches with the same moves. He disliked Rip Rogers, stating that he would just bury everyone and make people give him yogurt protein bars and if you did give that to him, you could sit out on a training session, prompting London to say “What kind of faggots are they training here.” He then tells a story of Bob Holly coming down and ripping on everyone, which he said was hilarious. He tells a story of Jillian Hall trying to do 450’s off the top rope with her gut hanging out when a few hours prior she sat out a training session citing an injury and after Bob called everyone over, he told her to cover up her gut and that he would never lay down for her 450. London said OVW was also his first experience of the ass-kissing side of the business. London did have some positives in OVW. He really liked Danny Davis and Kenny Bolin.

Next, they are asked about Michael Shane. They like him a lot but at first, London said he disliked him, which prompts Kendrick to say that he is an asshole but still likes him. London even added that he tried to get Shane booked but promoters would be hesistant due to stories about him being difficult. He said that when they worked for Ring of Honor, they hit it off and became friends. London is surprised that he didnt make it to the WWE and put him over for being able to throw great punches but again, Kendrick reiterates the fact that he is an asshole as to why he never made it into the WWF.

London tells another story while in Reno with Shane. At first, they got pulled over and almost arrested. After one of the guys they were with got shorted over pay, the came back drunk to the hotel room and London slammed a lamp on the ground. He said it didnt break and he felt like an idiot but as he was reaching to pick it up, Shane walks over and stomps the lamp.

They talk about being in Japan for a minute. The talk about how they are weird over there and very perverted. Kendrick says that he feels great over there because as a “short-dicked Irish man” the Japanese condoms are very small but at the same time the Magnums are American and way too big. London said that the Zero-One Promotion would always put the wrestlers in hotels right near Roppongi, which is a party district. Then after a while, they stopped that as all of the guys would take buses into town and go to all of the bars. London then speaks of the Japanese porn channels in the hotel rooms and all they censor penetration. He then talks about a wrestler named Tom Howard who came up to he and Low Ki to tell them about a “stomper bar,” which is a place you would pay money for them to stomp on your nuts or even gerbils. Kendrick then said he got tied up once there and burned with candle wax while getting whipped, prompting him to say how he loves those “goofy gooks.”

London then talks again about the WWE and how he said no matter how hard he worked, he never felt the reciprocation from the company. He remembers being excited just for the fact that he got to be in the Royal Rumble match, which was his favorite PPV. When it came time for him to be eliminated by Snitsky, he said he wasn’t going to get thrown out in some lazy manner like most people did and wanted his elimination to stand out and he worked out the spot in which he got his head taken off by a clothesline and flipped off of the apron onto the floor where an ambulance took him to the back. He said when he got backstage, they asked him if he was alright and he said yes then they told him his elimination looked “too good” and that it took away from the match and London said he got heat over that spot. He said that he wasn’t going to be like the rest of the “clones” and refuses to settle for mediocrity.

Now they are asked about if they had agents lay everything out for them or if they had freedom. London talks about how he usually had either Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson, or Dean Malenko as agents and liked all three guys but that the agents usually worked under the umbrella of the office and did not have much freedom at all themselves. He then talks about other agents that would lie to their face, like Mike Rotunda, that would never consider of even ask the office about their suggestions, even when he said he would speak up to the office itself. London says that it works better as a collaboration but that did not happen much. Kendrick is more diplomatic and said that the agents had to do their jobs but some were better than others at laying out things for you.

Next, they are asked if they had doubts after being told by Shane McMahon that he hasn’t cared about a tag team since the Legion of Doom. Kendrick basically said that they were fucked anyway but thought they were getting over as a team. He also said the crowd responded to him as well but that when he asked backstage, they told him they heard it but it might not be a big as what they did so he could be wrong in that aspect. London said that over time, they got respect from the wrestlers and the agents for their work but at the end, most people in that company are powerless. At the end, both guys state that despite the fact that they were frustrated while in the WWE, others should try it out for themselves instead of listening to people who were bitter about their experiences.

The guys now talked about wrestling against Deuce & Domino and state how Deuce is the worst wrestler they ever wrestled with. They said he was a trash talker and would never even bump for them. For instance, London would fly across the ring and dropkick him in the face and still wouldn’t bumpand just held on to the ropes. Kendrick says that Deuce lives off of his dad’s (Jimmy Snuka) laurels but is dad was really cool. He then mentions how Snuka told him that when he first met him as a student he was going to kill him but at the end he said that they loved him and how they now bum smokes off of each other. London jokes that Deuce would make a better gay porn star than wrestler.

On working with William Regal & Dave Taylor, Kendrick first talks about how he trained under Regal while in Memphis and owes a lot to him. He got along with Taylor a lot too. London didnt have a problem with them but noted for some reason, whenever he went to dropkick Taylor he would always hit him in the ribs. London then joked how Taylor looked like Don Flamingo from “Mike Tyson’s Punchout.” London then says it was a pleasure working with hose guys who are veterans but would still bump for them and take everything they would give without complaining and even suggesting more from them. This leads to more bashing of Deuce who refuses to bump despite not having accomplished anything in wrestling himself.

They say the proudest accomplishment was getting a really good match out of KC James and Idol Stevens (Damien Sandow). They both say that KC James is awesome then talk about how after their PPV match against them, they were clapping when they came backstage from the gorilla position. Six months later, they had split up and James became an enhancement talent on the new ECW as James Curtis but was still under contract. One day backstage, Vince walks by and looks at James and said “look at this guy, sign him” then walks away. London tells another story about KC James when in England. There was a notorious rat over their called “Big Bird” who London said was nasty. Anyway, James told him how she wanted him to romance her and he did not want to do any of that so he told him that he went into the bathroom and took off her clothes only to come out and stick his cock into her face, which horrified her and she left. They then talk about how James was born twenty years too late and would have fit in the 1980’s style of wrestling perfectly with his look and attitude.

Final Thoughts: I found this to be entertaining, although disc two is better and mostly all about everyone they worked with in the WWF. A lot of the interview strays off topic and the interviewer doesn’t even attempt to lead them back to the topic at hand. Most of the rambling is probably due to the fact that they are high and drunk. London comes off a lot more bitter than Kendrick and as the this progresses (you can tell a lot more in the second disc), London gets a lot more fucked up. Still, they show a decent amount of insight and you can tell just how passionate they were about wrestling when they were starting out.