RON: We'll start off with the basics. When and where did you start your training?

ZACH: I started training in July 2001 in an abandoned CVS Pharmacy building known as the ThunderZone Wrestling Arena.

RON: Who were some of the guys who taught you and what did you learn from each?

ZACH: Brian Shotwell was the first guy I got in a ring with.  I think I had about 37 different trainers, let's see if I can name them all....Brian Shotwell, Tommy Johnson, Billy Sawyer, MoJo, Truth Martini, Breyer Wellington, Anthony Rivera, Josh Movado helped me out a few times, Levi Blue also helped me out.  Basically, the school wasn't very organized and I had to pick up different things as I went along.  I think a wrestling school should be ran like an academic academy.  You don't bust out triple integral formulas without first knowing how to add, ya dig?  It's a "crawl before you run" type of thing and one day I was running, then I'd be crawling, then I'd be practicing moonsaults to the floor for no sane reason.  But, when it was all said and done, I was a fully trained pro wrestler and that's all I wanted to be.

RON: What sets your trainer Truth Martini apart from the other trainers and schools in Michigan?

ZACH: I can't answer that as I haven't been to any other wrestling schools in Michigan.  But I'm a huge fan of Truth's method of teaching and I think it's the best.  It's a very structured, organized class.  You start from ground zero and you work your way up.  It's 4 days a week, 4-5 hours a day, depending on how fast you learn.  You learn through repetition, which is why I'm a big fan of the Monday through Thursday deal.  When you're in the ring 6-7 days a week (4 days for training plus working out in the ring before shows) you will learn a lot faster and ultimately become a better wrestler.  This ain't a joke man, you wanna have a cute little hobby and be a weekend warrior, then go somewhere else.  But if you wanna be serious and be the best wrestler you can be, I suggest you go to Truth's school.

RON: Outide of your training, tell the story of your very first match.

ZACH: It was March 16th, 2002. I was 18 years old.  I wrestled Truth Martini for the TZW cruiserweight belt in a warehouse behind a paintball arena in the Livonia Mall.  The match had no right to be as good as it was considering I didn't know what the fuck I was doing!  I was really scared because I thought Truth hated me.  I think he did actually.  But nonetheless, he had his working boots on that night and called a bad ass match.  We did everything!  We went like 13 minutes, a bunch of false finishes, dives to the floor, moonsaults, top rope tomfoolery...the whole deal.  The crowd went nuts, I couldn't believe it.  It was the best day of my life for shoot.  I mean, you couldn't have asked for more when it came to a first match.  When we got to the back, Truth asked me my thoughts on the match which I replied with, "I think we should've done more".  Then he gave me the angriest look I've ever seen.  I was green.

RON: I met you for the first time at the IWR's debut show at Sunnybrook on January 26, 2002. On that night you made your IWR referee debut. Did you enjoy refereeing, and how did you come to be an official for the IWR?

ZACH: Hmm....I didn't ref that night actually.  I was in "gear" for an angle to open the show that was designed to get Yukon Braxton (RIP) over as a monster. I charged him, he gorilla pressed me to the floor.  Nobody caught me and I bounced my head off the dance floor they have there.  I was knocked out, my next memory is having 5 guys all looking down on me asking me if I was alright.  It was scary but I turned out fine.  I enjoyed reffing and I still do. Actually I like it alot more now because I have a better grasp of the business.  Being a referee is hard.  I think I was a ref in IWR because that's how the bookers wanted to introduce me as a wrestler.  We did a nice angle out of it.

RON: Your first IWR title victory happened while teaming with Kamikaze, as you captured the tag team titles from The Threat (Truth and Rivera). The following day, Kamikaze and yourself defended the belts at Detroit's famous Comerica Park as part of the Warped Tour. What was that experience like?

ZACH: We had a great match the day before the Warped Tour then we had a terrible one at the Warped Tour.  I can't really explain it, sometimes you have off days.  The Warped Tour was a lotta fun though.

RON: Your "farewell" from the IWR was the center of attention for the IWR's infamous Code Red event at Sunnybrook. This was the night of the incredible blizzard that dropped 3 feet of snow just one hour before the show began. This was your final MI match vs. Alex Shelley, before heading to WWE. What did that "farewell" match mean to you at the time?

ZACH: I was pumped because me and Shelley were trying to work each other for so long but the opportunity never came up.  I thought it was a fun match. He kept tying me up and working my back ...the only way I could get up on him was by busting out some ridiculous highspots.  It was like Eddy/Mysterio from Halloween Havoc '97 except that it was Gowen/Shelley 2002 and it wasn't good, hahaha.

RON: What was your first clue that the WWE was interested in signing you?

ZACH: Johnny Ace called me after I had my TNA pay per view debut.

RON: Can you reveal the terms of your WWE deal?

ZACH: It was a 3 year, 6 figure deal.  I worked only 1 year and got fired.

RON: There was a story at the time about the WWE signing "the wrong one legged kid", Steve Chamberlain of Florida. Can you explain more of this story?

ZACH: Yeah, I had a dark match in Nashville for TNA that kinda created a buzz.  Jim Ross hears this, tells Ace to hire "that one legged kid". Ace makes some phone calls, gets a hold of Steve Keirn who runs a school in Florida. Keirn has a student with one leg. Ace, assuming that he must be me, signs the dude to a contract.  I debut the next week on PPV for TNA and Jim Ross and Johnny Ace go nuts thinking that I'm breaching a WWE contract.  So yeah, they signed me without ever seeing me.  Oh, and I heard that Steve Chamberlain got PAID to get out of his contract.  And he's mad at ME.  If I got paid what I heard they paid him to not wrestle, I wouldn't be mad at anybody, lol!

RON: Once you arrived to the WWE, what were some of the first things they asked of you?

ZACH: Get a tan, gain weight and get a haircut.

RON: In all honesty, how overwhelmed were you to be under a WWE contract? Or were you completely confident that you were ready?

ZACH: I wasn't overwhelmed, I was just happy.  I should've been overwhelmed but I was too green to be, if that makes sense.  They gave a 19 year old action figure-collecting mark a WWE contract.  I was fucking ecstatic!

RON: Can you explain any of the conditioning or "un-learning" they gave you to evolve from working indie shows to the "WWE-style"?

ZACH: The thing is, I didn't even know how to work when I got signed.  I was 30 matches in.  No one knows how to work after 30 matches.  So I just did what they told me and listened to Dean Malenko who was always giving me advice.  JBL too.

RON: Who were some of the guys in WWE that welcomed you with open arms or kindness? Likewise, were there any workers who might have given you shit or a difficult time from the start?

ZACH: Nobody really gave me shit, but there had to be some resentment.  I'd fucking hate it too if I busted my ass for 15 years to get to the fed and this kid walks in, only 9 months into the business with a contract.  It's natural to feel that way.

RON: What kind of ribbing or hazing, if any, did you have to go through?

ZACH: I had my bags hidden on me once.  I almost cried.  Seriously.

RON: Please, please tell me that JBL never caught you in the shower with soap in his hand. ;)

ZACH: Naw man, Bradshaw is the coolest dude in the world, honestly.  I was really scared of him but he turned out to be a very nice man.  Farooq too.  They are some funny dudes.

RON: You debuted with a storyline that immediately paired you with Hulk Hogan, Stephanie McMahon, Roddy Piper and Vince McMahon. What was going thru your mind? Was it hard to fathom the role you were given?

ZACH: Yeah it was crazy.

RON: Is Roddy Piper as crazy in real life as he seems?

ZACH: It depends.  Sometimes he'd be in full blown "Rowdy" mode, then a minute later he'd be mellow.  He was cool.

RON: Who did Shawn O'Haire piss off to kill his push?

ZACH: He just couldn't get over.  If there was a prototype for the perfect wrestler, it would look like Sean.  6'6", 275, crazy ass look, jacked to the gills and he can do springboard 450s and standing shooting star presses while landing on his feet! I saw them live!  The day I wrestled Vince at Vengeance, Sean and I had somewhat of a highspot P-I-G competition (you know, like the basketball game P-I-G?)  Yeah, he killed me in that game.  But for some reason, he couldn't get over with a live crowd.  He was awesome in taped vignettes, but that didn't translate when he did his deal live.  Plus the fact that Piper got fired left him treading water.  I really fail to see how you can't get a dude like Sean over.

RON: I'll be honest, I heard a rumbling that you got yourself a bit of heat by flirting with either Sable, Stephanie McMahon or both. Was there any real truth to this?

ZACH: Yes.  100% true.  No, in all honesty, Steph is probably the sweetest woman I've ever met.  Smart, nice and gorgeous.  You can't ask for more than that.  I don't remember talking to Sable that much, but she was cool.  Extremely talented and beautiful as well.

RON: Did the Big Show have any problems with putting you over on Smackdown? How open was he to the match?

ZACH: No not at all.  Show was one of the guys who would sit me down and talk to me and offer me advice.  He's an incredible human being.  It's a hard life being that big and recognizable, but he took everything in stride and always had a smile on his face.

RON: Do you feel that others may have had a problem following Big Show's example?

ZACH: I don't recall any problems of that sort.

RON: Let's address a few rumors, since I don't believe you have ever been able to speak for yourself-- there were various wrestlers here in Detroit that claimed the WWE "changed" you in negative ways. Did you ever feel that you were developing an ego?

ZACH: Yeah I definetely had an ego.  I was an idiot, green as fuck.  I made $30,000 for one match and I had everyone in my ear telling me I was great.  I was 20 years old.  I believed my own hype.  Green as fuck! haha