On a recently 'escaped' episode of The Jim Ross Report, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross spoke with pro wrestling veteran 'Hurricane' Shane Helms. Among many other things, Helms discussed whether he is still with ROH, why he turned heel as Gregory Helms amid his hugely popular run as 'The Hurricane', getting over during the hottest era in the genre, and how pro wrestlers who are not working now have no one to blame but themselves.
During the interview, Helms divulged that he is still with ROH, but has not agreed to new dates with the company.
"Yeah [Helms is still affiliated with ROH], we just haven't agreed to dates." Helms explained, "we're on wonderful terms. They are super happy with me. They're happy with how everything worked out with me and Marty Scurll. Yeah, I like [ROH]. I like the locker room. They're very positive. Everybody's busy. Man, seeing The Young Bucks and Cody, it seems like they've got different projects every week and they're doing it all the time. Whether it's them or SCU, guys like that, filming these vignettes. How they got over that Being The Elite YouTube show. I mean, it helped guys like Adam Page. It helped guys like Marty. I did the Gregory Helms thing on there and for the first time in my career, Gregory Helms for a brief moment, was more over than 'The Hurricane' was just from that Being The Elite video. So I love seeing guys work hard and be excited about it."
In Helms learned view, he got over in the hardest time to get over in the history of pro wrestling.
"I got over in the hardest period in the [pro wrestling] industry to get over. And I don't think a lot of people, not that you have to focus on things like that, but that period of time when ECW is gone, WCW is gone, and you've got one company, just one. There's a limited amount of TV time. We didn't have the [WWE] Network back then. It was just there's a limited amount of TV time and now you've got everybody fighting over that TV time. Yeah, I mean, I was an ECW guy coming in, so WWF guys, that's why there was that animosity back then. There was real legit animosity in that locker room." Helms continued, "and it wasn't just a roster. It was the most stacked roster in history of the game. I mean, when you've got [The] Rock, [Steve] Austin, Taker, Triple H, Jesus Christ, Eddie [Guerrero], [Chris] Benoit, The Hardys, The Dudleys, Edge and Christian, I mean Kurt Angle, that's all on one roster and then you've got my ass getting over as 'The Hurricane' or at least trying to get over. And that's why I had so much fun with that character."
Also during the conversation, Helms shared that he had the idea to turn heel during his big run as 'The Hurricane' because he knew character had a ceiling.
"I get asked all the time why did I drop 'The Hurricane' for that brief moment when I was [doing] the heel run, Gregory Helms. It's like, well, I was stuck in a rut there and I wanted something different. I knew what 'The Hurricane' character was. He was a definite super card and it got over, and sold a lot of merchandise, but 'Hurricane' was never going to carry that top belt. That just wasn't going to be the case. I could have been an Intercontinental [Championship] guy, a US [Championship] guy, that sort of thing and that's fine." Helms added, "I knew that character had a ceiling on it. And that was fine. I loved that [character]. I mean, I exploited it for all that it was worth and everything. I know the royalty checks I got and of course Vince [McMahon]'s was bigger than mine, so the company was happy with that, but I just knew it was time for a change, so it was actually my idea to drop it for a little while and become that heel character Gregory Helms."
In Helms' opinion, the pro wrestling business is so healthy right now that if a performer is not working, it is on them.
"A lot of them do the exact same things they've been doing for years. They're making no [adjustments]. I've had that conversation with many guys, 'what are you doing to change it if you're not happy with what you are?'" Helms offered, "and this last year, I mean, the explosion in this year-and-a-half [or] maybe going into two years. I guess I left Impact [Wrestling] two years ago now. Just the way everything immediately took off and suddenly more opportunities [manifested]. When I see guys, if you're not working right now, I think it's got to be on you. If you can't find work right now in 2018, this has got to be on you and I know I've had a blessed career, but that's coming back on me right now. My 2018 has been out-of-this-world crazy. I can't think of too many guys that have had a better 2018 than I did. But the guys that I see working, like The Boogeyman with the worms, I've seen him a lot this year and just to see him out there, hustling, doing his thing, and that's cool. And every now and then, I'll see somebody and I'll say, 'are you staying busy?' and they say, 'naw, naw, not really.' And I'm like, 'why? What are you not doing?' Billy Gunn is a good example. I see his ass everywhere. He's in the best shape of his life, working his ass off."
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