By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
“Prime Time with Sean Mooney” interview with Brian Hebner
Host: Sean Mooney
Full interview available at Primetimemooney.com
On the Montreal Screwjob: Earlier that day before my dad knew anything, Bret came to him and said, ‘Earl is anything squirrely going on?’ And he said, no. He said, you swear on your kids you won’t do anything to me? He says ‘Bret, I swear on my kids I won’t do anything to you, I’m going in there like every other match, brother.’ He said okay. So then people wonder why there was so much heat with my dad and him, but there you go. I don’t you think it was a matter of what my dad did. I think it was a matter of Bret talking to him before and finding out, swearing on his kids, which my dad would never swear on me and my sisters and that kind of thing. He would never do that, if he knew what he knew. He would run away from the conversation, if anything.
On reason why he is no longer with WWE: The reason why I’m not there, in my honest opinion, is because of what went down with my dad and my uncle, which is another, in my opinion, bullshit story. It is what it is and ultimately things happen for a reason. I’m not mad with it anymore, I’m not upset. I look back on it and thank WWE for the years that I was there, and I’m good now. I’m happy.
On Dave and Earl’s falling out with WWE: If anybody knows the details of what they were supposedly doing, which is the most…it’s minute compared to what people did to WWE and Vince McMahon. It’s minute. And very, very petty comparative to what other people have done that have been into the the Hall of Fame. And I mean, you can’t bring back the two guys that were a staple in that company for 20 plus years to just acknowledge and say, whether you like me or not, let’s acknowledge that. They did a hell of a job while they were there and what they were doing. I mean, to me, that would be like my highlight for not only my dad and my uncle Dave, because they did work hard for that company. They did sweat, blood, tears; they gave it all.
On deciding to join the NWA: Well, first and foremost is because I believed in what Dave (Lagana) and Billy’s (Corgan) vision was, and I stuck by them when there were other things I could have done. I just believed them. I’ve been good friends with Dave for a long time and Billy for a long time. In all honesty, I had it laid out to me and I thought it sounded kind of weird because I’m not used to that (big arenas), but I believed. And I wasn’t gonna take the high road because I didn’t believe, and because there were supposedly better chances in a bigger stage, so I decided to stick it out and hang in there and roll with what I am so, so excited about, which is the NWA.
On what makes NWA different: I so, so, so, so much love the locker room, the wrestling style, the studio feel, the feedback. This is something exciting. This is something different. This is not your everyday wrestling that you’re watching three days a week. This is another platform you can have and look at that gives you a true alternative to pro wrestling, that let’s you see people act in different ways as far as their platform – as far as being able to do a promo with no script, put on a match without flipping out of the ring and going into the crowd and jumping off the beams across the ceiling. This is a true visual difference that you can see with an alternative. And I’m just so excited about it, man. I really am.
His father was illegally selling WWE merchandise in a store he owned. He was lucky WWE only fired his dad instead of pressing charges.