Thanks to James Guttman for sending in the following…
“DEUCE” SIM SNUKA DISCUSSES HIS WWE RELEASE, THE PREMATURE END OF DEUCE AND DOMINO, GOING TO TNA, AND MORE IN HIS FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE LEAVING WWE
By WorldWrestlingInsanity.com
Get ready to go Clubbin’ on the Other Side of the Tracks. Because – OH! – former WWE Tag Team Champion “Deuce” Sim Snuka joins ClubWWI.com for his first shoot interview since leaving World Wrestling Entertainment!
The son of WWE Hall of Famer, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Sim carved his own path in WWE. Alongside Domino and Cherry, the man known as Deuce captured the WWE Tag Team less than five months after debuting on TV. From there, the team was split, his name was changed, and many fans were left wondering what could have been had the team continued. Now, for the first time, hear Snuka’s thoughts on the subject himself. He’s all about cool and all about ClubWWI.com as he discusses a ton of topics with James Guttman in his new 42 minute interview including: His WWE Release, Being Uncomfortable as “Jimmy Snuka Jr.,” The Inspiration For Deuce and Domino, What Vince McMahon Urged Him About The Snuka Name, What Domino Wanted For The Team, Why Arn Anderson Agreed, Returning To WWE, Going To TNA, People Wanting Him To Wrestle Like His Dad, The Premature End Of Deuce and Domino, Who’s Idea It Was For Their Entrance, Hating His Theme Song At First, His Feud With Legacy, Not Wanting To Be a Wrestler, How His Dad Convinced Him, Being a Former TV Cameraman, Talking To WWE Cameraman About Their Shots, The Night He Wrestled His Dad on Pay-Per-View, Being Backstage at WWF as a Kid, Randy Orton, Roddy Piper, Don Muraco, Cherry, and More. A full list of topics are available at http://www.worldwrestlinginsanity.com/am2/publish/newsnotes/ClubWWI_Deuce_Sim_Snuka.shtml.
Sim Snuka is one of the most asked about former WWE stars. ClubWWI listeners have always pointed to his team with Domino and Cherry as something that felt unfinished. With so much potential and so many directions to take the gimmick, the early end of the trio left many hoping for more. Snuka was no exception. James Guttman asked about it and Sim says he feels the same way…
“We knew it had gotten stale. There wasn’t that same excitement, not just with us and our matches, but with the creative side. There just wasn’t the same kind of enthusiasm from the creative team and us, as well. Not for lack of trying. I mean, we were trying to do all we could with it, but it just wasn’t going anywhere. So when they talked about switching brands, having me go to Raw and splitting us up, I wasn’t really that surprised. But did I want it to keep going? Yeah. That would have been great. We could have had a little longer run with it because, like I was saying earlier, there’s a lot more we could have done with it. There’s a lot further we could have gone.”
On the subject of Deuce and Domino, Sim also discusses the inspiration behind the gimmick, how it came about, being uncomfortable with his early incarnation as “Jimmy Snuka Jr,” Domino’s mind for the wrestling business, hating his theme song at first, being wrong about it, who’s idea their big entrance was, what Domino wanted for the team, why Arn Anderson agreed, their OVW work, his relationship with Domino today, Cherry, what they should have done differently, and much more.
By the time Deuce’s release had come along, he had already transitioned into his new gimmick as Sim Snuka. He talks about that transition, what Vince McMahon urged him about the Snuka name early on, the split of Deuce and Domino, knowing he’d play the role of Jimmy Snuka’s son on TV eventually, wrestling his famous dad on PPV, and more. Although he had adopted his famous last name, he knew his time was coming to an end based purely on his lack of TV time. When his release came, it wasn’t a huge surprise. In fact, he had already begun finding productive things to occupy his time as his WWE travel time started to dwindle down. He explains to ClubWWI.com members:
“Well, you know, after I got released from WWE – well, I should say before I got released, it was kind of slow for me being on TV and stuff like that. So one of the things I was doing in the meantime is training young athletes. It’s something I had been doing as a hobby for maybe a little over ten years. When I say training young athletes, I mean getting them quicker, stronger, increasing their vertical (leap). That kind of stuff. So I had been kind of doing that on the side and when things got slower with being on the road and stuff towards the end there. And I just kept doing that stuff more and more. So that’s what I had been doing the meantime and I just started getting back on the Independents, letting people know I’m out there doing shows and stuff.”
Of course, the big question that Snuka hears a lot is TNA. As James has said before to ClubWWI.com guests who have recently left WWE, it seems like the first thought most fans have when a wrestler leaves is, “When is he going to TNA?” He asks the former WWE Tag Team Champion about his thoughts regarding Total Nonstop Action and whether that’s something he would be interested in:
“Yeah. I’d love to be a part of TNA. I wasn’t sure when they first started up, but I was hoping for them, I was like, ‘Man. Hopefully these guys can do something.’ Just because it gives the boys opportunities to work somewhere else. Then they just kept going. When I got my release from WWE, I think that happens with a lot of guys, one of their first thoughts is, ‘How about TNA?’ And I actually, one of the first things I wanted to do is go back to Japan. And TNA is a thought as well. I’d love to work for those guys and see what that would be like. But my ultimate goal is to go back to WWE. I don’t feel finished there yet.”
Sim speaks more about his plans for life after WWE and his previous work with an organization that had connections to Hulk Hogan – Jimmy Hart’s XWF, how it didn’t work out, and so much more. You can hear it all for yourself right now. The full 42 minute shoot is up on ClubWWI.com right now and along with 200 stars, you’ll have plenty of superstars to put on your Ipod, Phone, burn to CD, or just listen through your computer. Stars you can hear the minute you sign up include: Lance Cade, Jesse Ventura, Bobby Lashley, Vince Russo, Jerry Lawler, Hillbilly Jim, The Killer Bees, Ron Simmons, Magnum T.A., Kevin Sullivan, Mr. Fuji, The Iron Sheik, Rory McAllister, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Tommy Rich, Tully Blanchard, Ken Patera, Bobby Heenan, Terri Runnels, Kevin Nash, Kenny Dykstra, Outback Jack, Paul Orndorff, Headbanger Mosh, Terry Funk, Trevor Murdoch, Eric Bischoff, Nikita Koloff, Nunzio, John Cena Sr., Kizarny, Armando Estrada, Dangerous Danny Davis, Ronnie
Garvin, Clarence Mason, Dave Taylor Colin Delaney, Jim Mitchell, Chris Harris, Ahmed Johnson, Glacier, Balls Mahoney, Francine, Sid Vicious, Paul Bearer, Brian Knobbs, Bruno Sammartino, Bryan Clark, Sean Mooney, Scott D’Amore, Tito Santana, Al Snow, Tod Gordon, JJ Dillon, Charlie Haas, Tom Prichard, Jacques Rougeau, Paul Roma, Jim Powers, Tammy Sytch, Too Cold Scorpio, The Honky Tonk Man, Ole Anderson, Kid Kash, Ivan Koloff, Jackie Gayda, Mr. Hughes, Scotty 2 Hotty, Dawn Marie, John Heidenreich, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Valiant, Rick Martel, Manny Fernandez, Bad News Brown, Tony “T.L. Hopper” Anthony, Nick Bockwinkel, Dory Funk Jr, Diamond Dallas Page, Rob Conway, Sylvain Grenier, Mike Bucci, Samu, Oscar, Erik Watts, Buff Bagwell, Christian, Jazz, Demolition Ax and Smash, Koko B. Ware, Ricky Morton, Lance Russell, Bruce Hart, Dustin “Goldust” Rhodes, Damian Demento, Fred “Shockmaster” Ottman, Justin Credible, Cpl. Kirchner, One Man Gang, Scott Steiner, Shawn Stasiak, Ted DiBiase, Ivory, Chris Masters, Elix Skipper, Kamala, Samoa Joe, Giant Bernard, Bill DeMott, Juvi “Juice” Guerrera, Nora “Molly Holly” Greenwald, Nick Dinsmore, Harley Race, Bull Buchanan, D-Lo Brown, Road Warrior Animal, Missing Link, Rikishi, Slick, Nidia, George Steele, Christy Hemme, Disco Inferno, Paul Ellering, Vito, Steve Black man, Bushwhacker Luke, AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, Dennis Stamp, Shawn Daivari, B.G. James, Ron Killings, Zach Gowan, D-Ray 3000, Dan Severn, Earl and Dave Hebner, Sivi Afi, Baron Von Raschke, Spike Dudley, Rodney Mack, Downtown Bruno, Larry Zybszko, Rick Steiner, Julie Hart, Mae Young, Sam Houston, and many, more.
