EWA Examination - Val Venis - Burn the House Down

RJ CITY: My name is RJ City and this is EWA Examination where I, RJ City, sit down with some of the biggest stars in the world of EWA and get to know them and what they’re all about. This will be a bi-weekly show airing every Friday exculsively on EWA.com. I look forward to getting to sit down with some of the biggest and best stars of the EWA and really getting to know them on a personal level. I mean, we're really going to dig in and get to know them...almost uncomfortable to be honest. Without further ado, let's get this started! My first guest is an EWA Hall of Famer and just made his return recently. Val Venis! Val, welcome to the show.

VAL VENIS: Not really sure what to expect but I am glad to be here.

RJ CITY: You were indeed contractually obligated to do this, so I want to thank those at EWA management for that. I mean, you’re a big get.

VAL VENIS: I am? I don’t know about all that.

RJ CITY: You’re the all time record holder for National Title reign. That seems like a pretty big deal, right?

VAL VENIS: It’s been a long time since I set that record. I’m proud of it. But doesn’t it mean the EWA is just that much more competitive since that record still stands.

RJ CITY: Your longest title reign was ended by Cody Rhodes who also just recently came back. You two seem destined to be intertwined with one another.

VAL VENIS: The timing seems to suggest that. I have a ton of respect for Cody Rhodes and I was certainly frustrated to see what happened to him at Civil War. I’m looking forward to my path crossing with Cody Rhodes again. People might remember when we’ve clashed, but the two of us have been on the same page more often than we’ve been foes. One of my proudest accomplishments was our run as EWA World Tag Team Champions. Add the couple of times we’ve been on the same Super Brawl team to it and there’s just a lot of history to look back on involving me and Cody. I do think we’ve got unfinished business. Whether that’s as opponents or partners remains to be seen.

RJ CITY: I believe I remember his house burning down as well.

VAL VENIS: Man, I really hope he’s not holding that one against the Vegas Connection still. I think he’s done well enough to build a couple new houses anyway.

RJ CITY: Do you think you’re the best wrestler named after a planet in our solar system?

VAL VENIS: It’s a pretty short list. I’d like to think I”m the best, but I’m going to give that honor to Perry Saturn. Mainly because he uses the correct spelling and I don’t!

RJ CITY: Probably a good thing no professional wrestler was named after Pluto after that whole thing went down, huh?

VAL VENIS: Yeah, I guess you’re right.

RJ CITY: Do you still consider Pluto a planet?

VAL VENIS: Technically? I’ll leave that up to the scientists. But as far as I see it, it’s still a big rock orbiting the sun. That’s got to count for something right?

RJ CITY: You had Barry Blaustein follow you around at the beginning of your career. Now that you’ve had a good amount of success, should directors like Spielberg or Scorsese be looking to follow you now?

VAL VENIS: I don’t think I’d turn down the opportunity, I’m just not sure those guys are as passionate about professional wrestling as Barry is. He’s a true fan.

RJ CITY: Are you and Barry still close these days?

VAL VENIS: Yeah, I think so. I enjoyed working with him again shooting “A Decade On” in the lead up to Civil War. He’s the kind of friend you can go a couple of years without seeing and then pick up the phone and talk for hours. His career in filmmaking is winding down, so I was honored that we were able to work together one last time.

RJ CITY: Are you planning to burn his house down too like you did with Cody’s?

VAL VENIS: Technically we didn’t do that. He was just making a nice holiday dinner for us and burnt it down.

RJ CITY: I’m sure that’s what you told the authorities. You’ve done a lot of stuff in the EWA. Your list of accolades is really impressive. What’s something you still want to do?

VAL VENIS: I think it would be pretty cool to win a big tournament like King of the Ring. The Television Title is really intriguing to me too. I love that it’s a real “workhorse” championship. That fits with my core values. I’ve talked with Dallas and Kev about how I wish there was a Trios Championship in the EWA. But that’s a bit of a fantasy. Ultimately, I do want another shot at the top prize. The last Heavyweight championship I won was the Grand Slam Title. I really feel that winning the EWA World Heavyweight Championship would be a great way to cap off a long career.

RJ CITY: How does it feel to know you’ve been doing this at a high level for as long as you have?

VAL VENIS: It’s a strange feeling, RJ. I’ve had a long career but there’s been a big break in the middle. So even though I’ve been in the EWA for more than a decade, there is a lot of ground to make up. In some ways I kind of feel like a rookie all over again.

RJ CITY: The longest job I had with anyone was at Dairy Queen. Was there for two months.

VAL VENIS: That doesn’t seem very long.

RJ CITY: It seemed much longer. You know how many times you can turn a cup upside down for people to prove the ice cream won’t fall out and keep your sanity?

VAL VENIS: Honestly, I haven’t thought much about it. Given how long you lasted I’m thinking you had a lot of spills.

RJ CITY: Well, at least I didn’t burn a house down…How much does your legacy mean to you?

VAL VENIS: It means a lot. I don’t have a lot to prove to others anymore, but my own personal legacy is important to me. That’s what this return is all about. Proving to myself that I can still add value to this great sport and have fun doing it. A decade ago I would have thought legacy was all about wins and championships. But now I think my legacy is about the memories I’m making with my good friends Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash. We’ve still got a lot left to give to this sport. We’re just getting started.

RJ CITY: Well, I think you’re doing a tremendous job of building upon your already great legacy. I want to thank you for being the first, and hopefully not only guest on EWA Examination. We’ve learned so much about you and really…that’s all we can ask. Hopefully it was everything you didn’t expect and more.

VAL VENIS: It was definitely interesting, RJ. I appreciate you having me on.