Last week on RAW, according to wwe.com, Triple H and Kane battled in a horrific Casket Match, which saw the Big Red Monster get the win over the World Heavyweight Champion thanks to some major interference from Shawn Michaels. Tonight, The Game will seek revenge before a crowded house of WWE fans at the FleetCenter. En route to his Boston match, Hunter Hearst Helmsley took time to talk with Boston Metro about life as a World Wrestling Entertainment superstar.
Boston Metro: How to you psych yourself up for a match?
HHH: As soon as I hear my music, I?m ready. Just being in the arena and
hearing the crowd brings everything up to heightened level. You never have
to fake it when thousands of people are screaming for you.
BM: How much time do you spend on the road for the WWE?
HHH: I do more than 200 shows a year. On an average week, I wrestle Friday,
Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tuesday is a travel day, so I have two days off
a week if I don?t have anything else to do like appearances or interviews,
which is rare.
BM: What do you think of the MTV show ?Tough Enough where people compete
for a WWE contract?
HHH: It?s decent as far as it goes. I wish people could see the whole
story. People look at that show and think they have an idea of how tough
wrestling is, but it?s just the tip of the iceberg. That?s just a bunch of
kids getting roughed up in training a couple of days a week then going back
to their nice home and having good food. Trying getting beat up for real in
the ring four nights a week and sleeping in hotels and eating room service
for 10 years.
BM: Which is your favorite part of sports entertainment, the match in the
ring or the acting?
HHH: I enjoy both. There?s probably no greater thrill than being in the ring
in front of 30,000 people and wrestling. The stuff outside the ring is
great, too. It?s our job to get the crowd involved and take them on an
emotional roller coaster ride. That?s the thing that gets me when they say
wrestling isn?t a real sport. We?re storytellers as well as athletes, and
the great thing about what we do is that fans are guaranteed to be
entertained. You can sit through an entire baseball game and not be
entertained at all.
BM: The rock has made the transition from wrestling to the big screen. Do
you have any plans to in that direction?
HHH: I?ve been approach to do some stuff, but to be honest I don?t want to
take the time off wrestling right now. That?s not to say that if someone
offered me a truckload of money to be in a film, I?d say no. But I?d still
want it to be something I?d be proud of.
BM: What?s something people don?t know about Triple H outside the wrestling
world? Do you enjoy long walks on the beach? Do you sing or draw?
HHH: (Laughs) I can draw. Before I got into the wrestling business, I as
going to school to be a graphic artist.
John Black