Interview with former WWE Superstar: Zach GowenBy Josh Modaberi| August 1, 2011 Wrestling Interviews Previous Page A Lot has been said recently about the term ‘wrestling’ what have you made of WWE dropping the word from their name? In my lifetime they went from the World Wrestling Federation to World Wrestling Entertainment and now they’re just WWE. They continue to change, I think it’s a branding thing, when they want people to hear WWE, they want them to think of an entertainment powerhouse. They’re not just wrestling anymore – they make movies and records, I think it is actually a smart move to venture off and do all of these different side projects to become a bigger powerhouse in the future. I know Vince is always trying to evolve and he’s been doing it since 1984 or something like that, he’s been doing it for a very long time and he’s a very smart man so I defiantly trust they are making the right decisions. You also had a spell wrestling with TNA, they have gone in the opposite direction and have emphasised the term wrestling – what are your thoughts on that? I kind of have mixed feelings about it, I think Impact Wrestling is such a great name, but TNA has been around since 2002 and it’s 2011 now, that is nine years. So for nine years they’ve been pushing this TNA brand and quite frankly it didn’t work, because if it worked they would have stuck with the name. They’re doing the best they can and I’m happy that they are still around because I have friends down there that are making a living off wrestling and that’s the goal of every wrestler – so I think it’s great they exist and I think it’s great my friends have a place to work. You are currently working with the Insane Clown Posse and JCW –how does JCW compare with WWE and TNA? I have been wrestling for a little over nine years now and I’m having the most fun in my career right now at this time in JCW. I love being on the independent scene and being my own boss. I think as a fan of wrestling JCW is something I would watch and it feels good to be a part of that because the characters are so great, the storylines are every entertaining and it’s just a fun show to watch. As a performer in JCW it’s amazing because I have creative freedom, I work for the Insane Clown Posse and they’re the guys running it. If I have an idea or if I want to do something I go directly to them and pitch them the idea and nine times out of ten we will either run with it or we’ll tweak it a little bit to make it better then run with it. It is so amazing to get the chance to let my talent shine through and doing a little more on top of that instead of just being told what to do like a robot, like I was in other companies. It’s really good on a personal level to have that creative freshness integrated into the product and quite frankly I’ve never been happier. JCW currently has a number of recognisable faces, including Vampiro, Sabu, Raven, Eugene, Rob Conway, Colt Cabana and Rhino – what is it like working with those guys? I love it, it’s my favourite locker room, sitting next to me I have Jimmy Jacobs, who I think is the most underrated talent out there and my best friend. Sitting across from me I have Eugene and next to him is Rhino, The Sandman and Vampiro. Everybody in the locker room is so cool. I certainly respect all of the old ECW guys, because ECW was booming so much at a time during my teenage years, so they really appeal to a young man like myself who felt like an outsider. I’m currently in a tag team with Eugene, which I just think is a perfect match – Eugene can do what I can’t do physically and then I do what Eugene can’t do mentally, so it’s just a perfect match. At the start, you mentioned wrestlers you grew up idolising – since becoming a professional wrestler with a disability, have you had people come up to you that you have inspired? Yes! And that is the best part of what I do – in addition to wrestling I also go around to schools and hospitals and I share my life story with children with disabilities. Doing things like that are so rewarding and that is another reason why I love independent wrestling because I can go out there and have the same high calibre match that you see on TV but then after the match, I can meet all the fans and talk to them and it’s really personal – it’s just really spiritually fulfilling to be able to do what I do and be where I’m at. Finally Zach, do you think we will ever see you back in either TNA or WWE someday? I don’t know, and I don’t want to give you a vague answer like anything could happen because I’m sure that’s what everybody says. There have been discussions in the past with both companies and the thing is right now I don’t have any interest at this time, but that could change tomorrow, it could change next year, I don’t know. At this present time I have no interest in going to WWE, I’m 28-years-old and I can’t imagine being on the road four or five days a week. I enjoy being my on boss and doing other projects outside of wrestling and if I go back to WWE then WWE becomes my life, and that’s not a bad thing for certain people but for me at this time I really enjoy going out there and doing my public speaking and I’m halfway through writing my autobiography – I like having my hands in lots of different things and if I was in WWE right now I would have no control over that. Watch Zack in action: Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content For more information on Zach Gowen visit his official website ZachGowen.com
