The Sandman spoke with The Whig for a new interview, highlights of which you can read below:
On ECW’s infamous crucifixion angle: “That whole thing got blown out of proportion by Kurt f–king Angle. It wasn’t Kurt’s fault because Kurt didn’t know wrestling back then. He was a f–king gold medalist. Everything to him was a shoot, you know what I’m saying?. I tell you what, later when Undertaker hung Austin on a thing that was almost exactly like a cross on WWE, I guarantee you (Angle) didn’t go into Vince’s office and complain that night. I was so mad that night when we got back there,” Sandman recalled. “First of all, I don’t give a f–k. I like Kurt; I’ve got a s–tload of respect for him. But back then, I was hot. I told Raven, ‘Do not go out there, do not apologize, you’re f–king crazy if you do.”
On his character: “Dude, that character is me. I used to sit in the locker room, smoke cigarettes and drink beer and then go out and wrestle. Wrestlers are characters, but my character, everybody’s walked into a bar, seen a guy just like me playing a game of pool, wants to play it for money and when he loses, wants to begin a fight, you know what I mean? Everybody knows a Sandman.”
On leaving ECW for WCW: “I was pissed off at Paul E. because he told me I was always going to be his highest paid player and then I found out he paid Sabu like $15,000 and me $14,000 for a pay-per-view or something. So I quit on principle alone. I knew damn sure I was going to end up back in ECW because I knew WCW was a sinking ship. They were hemorrhaging money.”