Former WWE Tag Team Champion and Spirit Squad member Johnny Jeter was recently interviewed by Wrestling Epicenter. You can see the full interview at this link, and highlights below.
Today's Wrestling:
"There are good and bad things in wrestling today. I think it is awesome that these huge investors are getting involved and that the NWA is kind of being brought back to life. It is going to give WWE competition and I think they need it. Also, it is going to give an opportunity to wrestlers outside of WWE to make a name for themselves. The one thing I've noticed (the bad) is, and it could just be the old school way I was trained in Ohio Valley... We were trained to tell a story in the ring, do less, make it mean more. Pretty much sell your ass off and make the other guy look good. I was watching wrestling and I saw a guy hit a great kick and the guy would roll back and the whole crowd went "OOH!" and then he picked up the guy, hit him with a Death Valley Driver, and the guy kicked out. So, he shot him in and the guy reversed it and it pretty much made that sick move mean nothing. It isn't becoming a spot fest. But, to have a match like that... Man, think about your career longevity. There is a good number of WWE guys who can't do that crazy stuff and if they are, think about your career. You're wrestling 4 nights a week, 52 weeks a year. You know you're going overseas every 6 weeks. When I was up there, not that anyone was putting a lack of effort in, but, you know you have a bump card... You go out there and you give it your all but at the same time, you're trying to make less mean more and tell a story. As I was watching, I felt like that bitter old guy... "Back in my day!" (laughs) But, I'm kind of curious what they are teaching and if it is the same, make less seem more."
Spirit Squad reunion in WWE:
"I was driving back from San Diego to Phoenix with my wife. I saw a call from Stanford, I was like, "No Way!" It was Mark Carano. We caught up a little bit and he said, "We're doing something with Miz and Ziggler. We're going to bring back the Squad. Are you interested?" I was like, "I'm an auditor. I sit at my desk all day. Yeah, I work out but I'm not shredded like I used to be." I asked my wife and she said, "Yeah, you should do it." But, I was already unsure. I was working for Deloit at the time who are the auditors for WWE. I knew there were ethics and compliance things that you have to adhere to. So, I called the Deloit Ethics Hotline. They said they're a restricted company and I couldn't perform any paid or unpaid tasks for them. I reached out to the directors in the Phoenix area. They were thrilled. They all wanted me to go back. I wasn't a manager, I wasn't invested in the company. They (the managers) signed off on that and submitted it but Deloit still said no. So, I told them (WWE) no. I didn't watch it. I mean, I saw some of it on YouTube and that they posted on social media. It would have been cool to go back. But, when you go back to something like that, you want to be the best you that you could possibly be. You want to be 5% body fat, shredded, and ready to rock and maybe it would turn into something more. I was going to be a sedentary auditor going to RAW. (laughs)"
