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Bradshaw Interview
BRADSHAW TALKS ABOUT HIS BOOK, HIS HAIRCUT, THE KANE ANGLE, AND MORE
by No Holds Barred Updated: 7/28/2003 3:30:01 PM
BRADSHAW ON NHB
Bradshaw started by talking about the abuse he's caught from Ron Simmons about his new haircut. He said that the two of them were over in Kuwait last week and a few military people were talking amongst each other to find out who he was. He said it was finally resolved as the military folks agreed that he was Bradshaw's son.
He said that he was very excited to see the WWE give the go ahead for the bar room brawl. He said he's had the idea for a few years and was as excited for this particular brawl as much as any other match during his career. He finished discussing the brawl by joking about his conversation with Kanyon where he told him to cancel his cable appointment and get a satellite dish.
He talked about his new book "Have More Money Now" and how it came together. He said that when he was playing football he did what most young athletes do, he had fun and spent his money. When his football career ended and he started wrestling he said he was making as little as $3 dollars per show. He said because of those circumstances he was forced to start learning how to manage his money. He said he would read every financial book he could get his hands on and would watch every financial TV show and he swore to himself that if he ever had money again he wouldn't screw up like he did the first time. He said the process was self taught and because of it he was able to learn the stock market and use it to his benefit.
He talked about his luck on the stock market. He said companies like JakksPacific, Dell Computer, Oracle and Citi Group have been really good to him and his philosophy is to buy and hold rather then to sell and trade. He added that a lot of talent backstage ask him for advice and there main questions have to do with where he believes the market is headed. He said wrestlers in general know how to balance a budget because they have come up the ranks where they have made little to no money unlike a sports star who may have been handed a large contract right out of high school. He said that when wrestlers ask him if it's time to get into the stock market his simple reply is, It's not timing the market it's time in the market and he strongly encourages them to get involved.
He said that a lot of talent keep their finances quiet amongst each other. He said even though wrestlers are contracted to the WWE they are still considered self employed. With that in mind, he says that talents don't have the safety net of a 401K therefore it's up to each individual to build their own personal pension or retirement and he has taken steps to explain the benefits to everyone by talking to them about at as well as by sending out company memos about the issue. As far as which performers are making the most he said wrestlers have a confidentiality clause in their contracts and they are not allowed to discuss their incomes with each other which he believes he is a good thing. Top wrap things end of this statement, JB asks Bradshaw how he'll react if he found out Nunzio was making double of what he was making and Bradshaw jokes that he'd be coming to see Nunzio to fix that problem.
On the topic of the Kane angle, Bradshaw says he believes the angle has been fantastic. He said Kane had idled for about a year and when he first came in he was so over and they needed to get back to bringing the same kind of attention to his character. Bradshaw said that he felt that at times the company did too much to the Kane gimmick and they tried to make him a regular guy since it had worked for the Undertaker but Kane was at his best when he was a monster and he thinks it's fabulous that they are going in this direction with him because it has generated a lot of talk and excitement. He said the worst thing in the world is to have an angle or storyline that nobody cares enough about to either bash or praise and when you look back to this past week's Raw and the way Kane has been used over the past month, it's had people talking and waiting to see what will happen next.
Bradshaw talked about the company's direction as it pertains to veterans and younger superstars. He feels you need to have an equal mix to make things work. He said that people love to see veterans because they're huge names and they have huge drawing power but it's just as important to elevate younger talent so they can take the torch and carry the company into the future. He feels guys like Brock Lesnar will be great for the company's long term plans and he feels Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin have the tools to be one of the best tag teams around.
He said that the wrestling audience is still out there and while they may not be tuning in each week, a lot of it has to do with competition. Bradshaw said that WCW Nitro made the WWE a better product because it challenged them to be better each week. He talked about when Nash, Hall, Hogan and Bret Hart went to WCW and said those losses made the company really work hard to put together a great TV show and he feels they can do the same thing again with the brand separation. He mentioned that there's a lot of competition between both shows currently and a lot of guys want to do better ratings then the other show and draw better gates then the other brand just to prove they have the better product. He added that once the writing teams are separate and the crews are stabilized you'll see an even better battle between the 2 groups.
When asked what would be more satisfying watching a stock he invested in take off and make him incredibly rich or becoming the top talent in the industry and the person everyone comes to see, Bradshaw surprisingly said he'd prefer being the guy people pay to see. He pointed out that when you die you leave everything behind and he's tried really hard to be a wrestler who fans would care enough to come and see and it would be more rewarding for him to reach the higest of levels in the business he loves because you can always make money doing something.
In closing, Bradshaw gave some advice to those folks who want to learn ways to be better with their money and build towards a brighter future. He said the main thing is to stay consistent with your savings. Whether it's $10, $50 or $500 a week that you save, it's important to do it consistently and not try to live beyond your means. He added that over the course of time if you continue to save your money, you'll have a lot more then you think because the interest will add on top of it and you'll be glad you did it. He finished by joking that even though radio hosts aren't paid that well they should continue with their careers because they're performing all the time and as long as they're happy doing what they're doing that's all that matters.
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