"The Greatest Intercontinental Champion Of All-Time," The Honky Tonk Man joined The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network for his highly-anticipated return to the program for the first time in four years. Indeed, a lot has happened since HTM stepped into The Mayhem's squared circle, Big Mosh, Blade and "The Chairman of the Board" Todd Vincent for his return to The Mayhem after last being on the show four years ago, even seeing a change from his previous edgier personality to more of a PG persona. The Honky Tonk Man thanked The Big Mosh, Blade, & "The Chairman Of The Board" for the opportunity to return back to The Mayhem airwaves. "I'm the only white man that doesn't get mad about that (being referred to by his first name of Honky), so I don't care. Call me anything you want, as long as you call me."
The Honky Tonk Man is one of the few wrestlers from his era to truly evolve with the times & transition to using the world wide web as a way to interact with his fans across the globe. To a large extent, others superstars he has grappled with over the years are stuck in a "time warp" of sorts, and have not embraced the Internet fully. How does Honky feel about talking to fans, as well as getting involved on the 'net? "Other than the ones that are dead, the fans that are still around aren't up-to-date on stuff. This is my business, this is my life, and I love to do it. And if it's your job & your business, you have to stay on top of the game, and the only way to do it now is with the Internet."
The last time HTM was on The Mayhem, he was very adamant about not returning to World Wrestling Entertainment. But as many already know, in the wrestling business, "you never say never." To the surprise of many, he did appear at last year's WWE Cyber Sunday Pay-Per-View, and received the biggest crowd pop probably of the night. "It was really an ambush on me. I really didn't know what they were doing. Someone had e-mailed & told me they were doing this Santino Marella thing, and when they first approached me about it, I said no I'm not interested, I could care less. And when I went back & looked at some the stuff they had been doing, then I called them back, and said 'This is really neat what you're doing.' It was a great idea & great how they did it. It's too bad it didn't last longer, I wish it would have both for him & for me, because I think he (Santino) is a fantastic talent."
After inducting Koko B. Ware into the WWE Hall Of Fame several months ago, WrestleMania XXVI is going to be held Honky's home city of Phoenix, Arizona. Journalists, fans & fellow superstars like have said for years that The Honky Tonk Man should be in the WWE Hall Of Fame...next March may be his perfect time to be enshrined. Todd Vincent asked him about the odds of going in at this upcoming WrestleMania. "I'm not sitting here like a dog waiting on a bone. If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn't, it doesn't. If for some reason I'm booked that weekend somewhere, I'm not gonna cancel my booking for the Hall Of Fame. I will continue on doing what I do, because this independent thing I've been doing for so long has fed my family, kept me alive, & kept me in the spotlight, and I will not give that up for one payday from the WWE." Blade mentioned that with the possibility of both Honky & rumored induction of The Ultimate Warrior, hell will have truly frozen over in the WWE Universe. "This is a company, the WWE, that office is extremely unpredictable. Just when you think you have the answer to the question, they change the question."
With The Honky Tonk Man still working & still "Shake, Rattlin', & Rollin'" around the country & the world, the question for Honky is what's next for "the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all-time?" "'Never say never' is the thing, because in our business when you never, it means they're coming back. As soon as Vince says 'He will never be back,' they'll be back. I've evolved, I'll keep evolving. I change with the times. I do what I have to do to take care of my family & my kids."
In closing, The Honky Tonk Man let The Mayhem Nation in on something that very much could have happened just several months ago that could have altered the landscape of the WWE & the rest of the wrestling world, with regards to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, Santino Marella's current WWE status as a full-time wrestler with the company (instead of just appearing in backstage vignettes), & HTM's legacy as "the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all-time." "I thought, wished, I even pushed for it. I even asked them about Santino Marella. I said 'This kid has really got it going...Push him all the way.' Do this thing, take it to WrestleMania, and do a match where I say 'Ok, if you could beat me at WrestleMania XXV in Houston, then you're the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all-time, and I'll bow down to you.' And they didn't want to do it. It's not me saying it, obviously they don't want to kill the legacy."
i like santino. i wish they wood has done it