wrestling / Columns

411 Interviews: Kevin Steen of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Part 2

December 8, 2011 | Posted by TJ Hawke

This is part two of a three part interview with Kevin Steen. Part one can be found here . This weekend, at PWG Fear, Steen will be teaming with returning SoCal legend, Super Dragon to challenge The Young Bucks for the PWG Tag Titles. For information on the event, go to the PWG Website .

TJ: At the end of Steen Wolf, Super Dragon made his long-awaited return to PWG, and now the two of you will take on the Young Bucks for the PWG Tag Titles in a Guerrilla Warfare match at Fear. Are you as excited for this match as the fans are? For relatively newer fans to PWG, would you share some thoughts on the importance of your feud with Super Dragon has on your PWG/wrestling career?

KS: My feud with Dragon shaped who I am as a wrestler. If you watch me before 2005 I really think you’d see a completely different wrestler. I learned a lot of priceless things from him through our battles. They shaped my style as a wrestler now and as a performer in the ring. We carried PWG for a year with our feud much like my feud with Generico would do the same for ROH 5 years later. I am extremely excited for the match because it’s the return of an icon for me. Without Super Dragon, I would have never reached the level I am at today.

It’s going to be a rough night for the Bucks. I remember years ago, when I first met the Bucks, they told me how the Guerrilla Warfare match between Dragon and I was the first time they’d ever seen me. They said they were actually scared while watching it…now they’re facing us in a Guerrilla Warfare. I wonder if that has dawned on them yet.

The rest of this interview revisits Steen’s past in Ring of Honor. Until very recently, Ring of Honor attempted to erase Kevin Steen from their history books. We at 411mania cherish Steen’s past work in ROH, and are proud to celebrate it.

TJ: While you made a few appearances in 2005 for Ring of Honor, you earned a roster spot with ROH because of the feud between yourself and Generico versus the Briscoes. I was hoping you could share some thoughts on some of the huge matches that took place during that feud:

Fifth Year Festival: Kevin Steen & El Generico Team Debut in ROH

KS: The Briscoes did the same thing for Generico and I in ROH that Dragon did for me in PWG years before. I truly believe that if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be in ROH today. The fact that we were given a match with them, and given ”carte blanche” as far as what we could do in the match, and more importantly the fact that the Briscoes were up for anything, really put us over the top. The feud that ensued was just a natural progression from that. Our first match was a home-run. It would have been stupid for us not to follow up on it.

Death Before Dishonor 2007: Boston Street Fight

KS: That’s the highlight for me. All the matches we had with them were awesome in my opinion but that one was just so much fucking fun. We just went nuts and what came out of it was something I’ll always remember as one of my favorite matches in my career.

Man Up: Ladder War

KS: That was a big one too. To be honest, I look back at that one with a bit of mixed feelings. I think the match was amazing but I think the end result was a mistake. We should have won the tag titles there, I really believe that. And then the Age Of The Fall debut made the whole match seem less important than it really was, in my opinion.

Retrospectively, how do you feel about this feud now? How does it stack up with some of your other major feuds in ROH?

KS: That feud is just one of the great memories I have from my time in ROH. It’s just as important to me as the one with Generico is. Like I said, without that feud there would be no Steen in ROH so I refuse to look at it as anything less.

TJ: In your ROH promos, you always placed an importance on winning titles in ROH. I was hoping you share some of your thoughts on some of the matches where you went after a title:

Honor Nation 2007: Kevin Steen vs. Morishima

KS: That was a big deal for me in terms of proving I could be a main-eventer, and a singles wrestler as well. I don’t think anyone expected anything special out of that match and while I’m well aware that it’s not considered a classic or anything, I think we had a really good match and looking back at it, I’m pretty proud of it.

Northern Navigation 2008: Kevin Steen vs. Nigel McGuinness

KS: This may be my favorite match ever in ROH. It was a huge night for me, first time in Toronto for ROH, with many of my friends in the crowd as well as my wife, son and parents there. For some reason we weren’t put in the main-event spot which I think showed a lack of faith in my skills but we blew whatever ended up in the main-event slot out of the water. We had a great match, one that I think a lot of people regard as one of the highlights of Nigel’s lengthy title reign. So I’m very proud of that one as well. And working with Nigel was always something I really enjoyed. I think he’s one of the very best I’ve ever been in the ring with and it’s a shame I won’t get to work with him again.

Driven 2008: Steenerico vs. Age of the Fall

KS: This was probably the best moment for Generico and I as a team. Not just because we won the tag titles, obviously, but because of how insane the crowd was for us throughout that whole match. The fans really made this one special for us and I’ll always be grateful for it. Which is why I always busted my ass anytime ROH went to Boston. Not that I don’t do that everywhere but I always felt a little more pressure in Boston because I feel like I owe the fans that were in attendance that night for making that match such a special moment for us.

Salvation 2010: Kevin Steen vs. Tyler Black

KS: I think, maybe, one of my most underrated matches from my time in ROH. We left it all out in the ring and we’re both very proud of what we did. I really hope I get to have one more with Tyler one day and top that one.

Kevin Steen can be (and should be because it’s a hilarious account) followed on Twitter

You can also contact Steen on his Website

Kevin Steen also has a Youtube Page

At my blog, I organized a PWG Fear Roundtable Predictions thing , if you are interested.

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to Twitter or at my email address: [email protected]. If you are a wrestling personality who would like to be interviewed by 411mania, you can also contact me in either of those ways.

PLUGS!

Be sure to check out some of my past 411 Interviews

Eddie Edwards
Mike Quackenbush
Johnny Gargano
Nigel McGuinness
Lance Hoyt/Vance Archer/Lance Archer
Gran Akuma

Be sure to follow 411mania on Twitter!
411mania
411 Wrestling
411 Movies/TV
411 MMA
411 Music
411 Games

For all of my interviews (like TJ Perkins , Steve Corino , Davey Richards , Jimmy Rave , Joey Ryan , Kyle O’Reilly , AR Fox , etc.) before 411mania, check out my Road to Mania Blog (where I still do stuff like Wrestlemania Build coverage, Wrestling DVD reviews, movie/TV reviews and more).

Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.

NULL

article topics

TJ Hawke

Comments are closed.