LocalBozo.com had an interview with Heath Slater. Here are some highlights.
Being squashed by legends leading up to RAW 1000: "Oh man, I was excited to get in there with every one of them if you want me to be honest. I mean it was just like opening up a present each week wondering who I'm gonna get in the ring with. First it was Vader, and then you know from Vader it went on to Cyndi Lauper and Roddy Piper doing an in ring interview. And then it went from Sid and Rikishi and Doink and DDP - I mean it was just one of those things where it kept getting better and better, one of those feelings where I felt like a kid again for a moment until I was laying on my back looking at the lights, almost knocked out. But other than that, it was one of those things where I can honestly say I'm probably the only WWE Superstar now that has ever been in the ring with guys like that so it's a good little chip on my shoulder I guess you could say."
Biggest influences backstage: "Honestly, there's been numerous people. Big Show's helped me out a lot- showing me the ins and outs. [John] Cena's been- every time you messed up a little bit, he would always correct you and help you out. Chris Jericho would always help me out a lot. He was a very good influence on me and everything. Christian, Edge- both of them would always see something- 'try it this way, try it that way.' They would always lead me in the right direction. The agents- Double A Arn Arnderson, he's one of the best guys for information for helping you put together matches and everything, he's awesome. Dean Malenko, Fit Finlay- they're great. Road Dogg with the entertainment side- it's like they got a good crew up there. They got guys up there with older guys helping the younger guys out and they got agents basically telling you 'what's right, what's wrong, try this, try that, this is what they like, don't do that.' It's like there's a good group of guys up there and all it is is that they're trying to help everyone."
Ryback's ascension: "Honestly his work speaks for itself. That's all you can really say. Just one of those guys where there's no one that can stop him. Period. As you can see he can take on more than just one guy- he can take on two, he can even take on three at once. But then again, you got a guy like C.M. Punk that's been WWE Champion for over a year now and you have one of the top rising guys like Ryback right on his trails."
Being squashed by legends leading up to RAW 1000: "Oh man, I was excited to get in there with every one of them if you want me to be honest. I mean it was just like opening up a present each week wondering who I'm gonna get in the ring with. First it was Vader, and then you know from Vader it went on to Cyndi Lauper and Roddy Piper doing an in ring interview. And then it went from Sid and Rikishi and Doink and DDP - I mean it was just one of those things where it kept getting better and better, one of those feelings where I felt like a kid again for a moment until I was laying on my back looking at the lights, almost knocked out. But other than that, it was one of those things where I can honestly say I'm probably the only WWE Superstar now that has ever been in the ring with guys like that so it's a good little chip on my shoulder I guess you could say."
Biggest influences backstage: "Honestly, there's been numerous people. Big Show's helped me out a lot- showing me the ins and outs. [John] Cena's been- every time you messed up a little bit, he would always correct you and help you out. Chris Jericho would always help me out a lot. He was a very good influence on me and everything. Christian, Edge- both of them would always see something- 'try it this way, try it that way.' They would always lead me in the right direction. The agents- Double A Arn Arnderson, he's one of the best guys for information for helping you put together matches and everything, he's awesome. Dean Malenko, Fit Finlay- they're great. Road Dogg with the entertainment side- it's like they got a good crew up there. They got guys up there with older guys helping the younger guys out and they got agents basically telling you 'what's right, what's wrong, try this, try that, this is what they like, don't do that.' It's like there's a good group of guys up there and all it is is that they're trying to help everyone."
Ryback's ascension: "Honestly his work speaks for itself. That's all you can really say. Just one of those guys where there's no one that can stop him. Period. As you can see he can take on more than just one guy- he can take on two, he can even take on three at once. But then again, you got a guy like C.M. Punk that's been WWE Champion for over a year now and you have one of the top rising guys like Ryback right on his trails."
