This interview is a mixed bag, with some good and some lackluster qualities. The problem with two (this and Lisa Marie Varon) out of the three (the third being RVD) Tommy Dreamer-conducted RF Video shoot interviews I’ve seen is that that parts of them feature mundane small talk that’s not about wrestling. That happened in the first 15 minutes of this interview quite a bit. That quarter hour is almost hard to watch due to how off-topic they get. That being said, one highlight of that part that is as funny as it is cringeworthy features a fan who apparently barely recognizes Terri jumping into the interview and hounding Dreamer for a picture. As amusing as it is, though, it gets them completely sidetracked for several minutes.
Luckily, after that first quarter hour, they rarely go off-topic from wrestling, and when they do, it tends to be engaging. That doesn’t mean that they stay on the topic they should be on the whole time; after the first hour, they start jumping around a lot, but at least the talk stays to wrestling. For instance, the random chatter about the childhood of her daughter Dakota is surprisingly quite interesting, as Terri explains that many of the WWE wrestlers like Shawn Michaels loved playing with her. Unfortunately, the wrestling talk sometimes turns to the Monday Night Wars and ECW, so it does stray from Terri’s career on occasion.
Terri walks the viewer in detail through the conception of both the Alexandra York and the Marlena characters. She emphasizes that she consciously tried to differentiate her persona from the other WWE divas of the era. However, at that point, the detail stops for awhile. Although she goes on to mention almost every pairing of her career, she breezes through major topics like Marlena’s storylines, P.M.S. (Pretty Mean Sisters), and the Hardy Boyz angle. Brian Pillman isn’t even discussed and Chyna and Shawn Stasiak were mentioned once or twice, if even that. Regardless of Tommy trying to justify not following the list of questions because he thinks his interviewing method is better, there’s no excuse to largely skip over those three major topics from Terri’s career. Having said that, on the bright side, Terri does talk in-depth about Perry Saturn.
I also enjoyed the stories about Missy Hyatt, Rena Mero (sable), Dusty Rhodes, the Plane Ride from H@ll overseas trip, and assimilating back into non-wrestling society. While I was disappointed that there was no talk about Terri’s relationship with New Jack, I can’t say I am surprised, as I didn’t really expect Terri or Tommy to bring up that controversial subject, especially with the legal issues that may surround it.
While these interviews, especially the ones with Tommy hosting, should be a give-and-take, as that’s the point of having a guest interviewer, this interview is a little too back-and-forth at times, with Tommy sometimes chiming in too much. I wanted Terri to talk more. Some of Tommy’s stories could have easily been replaced with content from Terri, which would have provided a more comprehensive look at her career. I’m giving this interview a B- because of the off-topic chatter during the first 15 minutes and the failure to address in detail a few major parts of her career. Although there are definitely quality parts and Terri poured her heart out during the closing minutes of this interview, I have to recommend Terri’s edition of Vince Russo’s Attitude (which I have also reviewed) from Kayfabe Commentaries over this interview.
GRADE: B-
PURCHASE:
DVD: http://www.rfvideo.com/terrirunnelsshootinterview.aspx
DIGITAL: http://store.rfvideonow.com/downloads/terri-runnels-shoot-interview/
Index of topics discussed:
- her childhood
- growing up as a non-wrestling fan
- her father exposing her to wrestling
- her start as a make-up artist for WCW
- Alexandra York getting pitched as an on-screen character
- Madusa
- Ole Anderson
- Michael Wallstreet (Mike Rotunda)
- the idea for her to have a laptop on-camera
- Terry Taylor
- Missy Hyatt
- Mr. Curtis Hughes
- getting acquainted with her future husband, Dustin Rhodes
- the transition from Crockett to Turner
- why she and Dustin butted heads at times
- why she left WCW
- getting married to Dustin and having a baby
- Dustin getting terminated from WCW
- developing and debuting the Goldust character
- coming up with the Marlena character
- Dustin returning to WCW
- the Terri Invitational Tournament involving Edge & Christian and the Hardy Boyz
- Sable
- Perry Saturn & Moppy
- her miscellaneous storylines after the Saturn angle wrapped up
- winning the Hardcore Championship
- the Plane Ride from H@ll
- getting the news of her WWE release
- independent appearances
- adjusting to a post-WWE, non-wrestling everyday life
- the family sacrifices of being involved in wrestling
- Dusty Rhodes
- her advice to women who want to get into wrestling
- the possibility of getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
- how she wants to be remembered
RUN TIME: 2 hr. 25 min.
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