By Jesse Suchanek on July 22, 2004 at 11:33 PM EST

Thursday, July 22, 2004
Hosts: Tommy Dreamer and Marc Loyd
Guests: Chris Benoit and Test
Report by: Danny Smithouser of PowerWrestling.Com

In the studio, Josh Mathews and Dr. Tom Prichard kicked off the show in the studio and on today's show; we have Chris Benoit, Test and Droz. They will be talking to Chris Benoit about his DVD and his huge match this coming Monday night on RAW.

Droz joins the show:

Droz joined the show and Josh said that it was great to see Droz in Philly. Tom said that he didn't get a chance to make it to Philly, but another one of their buddies were there and that was Chris Candido. Chris saw Droz and Chris said that Droz was in great spirits and doing well. Droz said that Chris Candido looked good.

How is everything?
Droz: Good, it was definitely a great trip to Philly. The last few times, he missed out for one reason or another but he finally got there and it was good.

On the Chris Benoit DVD, Droz is looking forward to it. Chris Benoit worked his tail off to get where he is today and Droz is interested in watching it to see how Chris Benoit progressed over his career.

What are your thoughts of JBL as the Champion right now and the list of contenders coming his way?
Droz: I got to talk to JBL on Tuesday and I congratulated him. He also took a long road to become Champion and I'm not really sure about the list that he is going to face. It's just going to be interesting to see who steps up and who calls him out.

Who do you think is going to be the next guy to step up and be the next player on Smackdown!?
Droz: Jon Heidenreich is looking good right now and it's a good thing to see him back. There really are so many guys and I don't know how to cut it down. I'm looking forward to seeing who it is and who steps up. There are always young guys who want to step up and take a shot at the title and it'll be interesting to see who it is.

Do you still puke?
Droz: Yeah, but not on purpose. It's no fun anymore but it used to be very entertaining and very fun. When I got home on Tuesday, I actually went through and found a couple old matches and things like that and there was a good one with him puking and he got a good laugh at it. He looks back every once in a while and finds some old stuff and it's always entertaining.

How is your rehab going, what's the latest with that?
Droz: Things are still a little slow. My leg is straight from the surgery. My heels ended up getting bashed up but I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and moving again.

They wrapped it up with Droz, saying that this Monday on RAW, there is going to be an Ironman Match between Triple H and Chris Benoit. Josh asked Droz who is going to win? Droz said that a match like this is a privilege and to go 60 minutes is unimaginable. These guys are going to go at it for 60 minutes and whoever has the most falls wins. Droz said that he wants to go with Benoit but after what happened last week, he won't have time to recover. Droz originally picked Hunter but then he turned around and stuck with Benoit.

Trivia: Which wrestler does Chris Benoit emulate when he performs the flying headbutt?
Caller: The Dynamite Kid.

The caller won a copy of the Hard Knocks DVD before it's released. That DVD will be released on July 23rd.

Test joins the show:

Test joined the show and he said that he is a bit sore right now and having some problems with his left side going numb. He gets to see Youngblood next week and he's going to get this done.

Can you tell us about your injury?
Test: It's very similar to the same kind of injury Lita, Rhyno, Chris Benoit, Edge and Stone Cold had. It's simply wear and tear over the years and it finally caught up with me. I took some time off to try to help it but when I came back, it got worse and my left arm started going numb. Dr. Youngblood is going to perform the fusion and fix it up.

I heard that you moved to California and then back to Florida. Which do you prefer?
Test: Being the trendsetter that I am, LA was very good. I like the weather in LA but I like the people in Florida better. LA isn't my type of people.

Have you had the chance to pick out your favorite hottie in the Diva search?
Test: To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in the talent but there are a few there. The one that looked like Macy Gray caught my mind. She looked good. But I don't know, it's hard. There's a lot of girls that they work with that are very beautiful, one in particular that's about 5'11, blonde hair.

Caller: You were a tag team with Scott Steiner and it was a great tag team. And then you got into a quarrel over Stacy Keibler and then you went and lost to Stevie Richards. What's up with that?
Test: Working with Scott was a great experience. At the end of that, I broke my foot and was off for a little while, so I think we lost some steam with that and Scott had a hip injury, so we got jinxed by the injury thing.

How do you plan on spending this recovery time off?
Test: My body hasn't had a good rest in a long time. People don't realize all the traveling they do and I'm going to take the time to let my body heal up and watch tapes. It'll be nice to have the time off, but I'm going to miss being on the road all the time.

What brand would you prefer to return to?
Test: To be honest, it really doesn't matter. I really wanted to go over to Smackdown! and try something new there but I also love the RAW brand.

Caller: What do you feel your greatest accomplishment has been in the WWE and what do you want to accomplish when you return?
Test: A favorite match that comes to mind and that's the one he had with Shane in 1999. I was in the middle of the angle with Stephanie and it was my first year there and things were really working. That match was a great feeling and just listening to the reaction I got, I'll never forget it.

They wrapped it up with Test and they will have Chris Benoit on the show in just a few moments.

Trivia: In what year did Chris Benoit win the Super J Cup Tournament in Japan?
Caller: I really don't know, but I'm going to take a stab at it. I'm going to guess 1989. (close, but not close enough.)

Chris Benoit joins the show:

Chris Benoit joined the show. Tom said with this DVD out, it has a lot of matches on it, which people claim to be the greatest matches of Chris Benoit's career. Do you agree with that? Chris said that they are a great selection of matches and when he first got the list, it was really hard to narrow it down. Those matches are among the greatest of his career, without a shadow of a doubt.

They talked about William Regal and Chris Benoit put him over as one of the greatest wrestlers in the industry today. He is very technically sound and Benoit is a big fan of his.

Caller: I wanted to ask you a question. Working with Shawn Michaels in comparison to Bret Hart, what are the differences?
Chris: They each have their own style. There is really no comparison between them because they bring something completely different table, which is awesome for the fans and the wrestlers alike.

There is a little debate about the Triple Threat. Were you a part of the original Triple Threat with Shane Douglas and Dean Malenko or is that just a rumor?
Chris: I was part of it at one time, but I'm not sure if it was the original. At one time, yeah but I don't know if it was the original or not. I've been wrestling now for over 18 years and I've been very lucky and fortunate to be active and the longest time I've had off is a year for the neck surgery.

Recently, the Smackdown! stars were in Japan. Can you tell us about your time over there and how it may have changed?
Chris: The companies were a lot different when he was going there with All Japan and New Japan. It's almost as if the wrestling industry collapsed with Giant Baba's passing. They are all struggling to find that one common thread to get the business rolling over there. It is not the same as it was when he was going. But when the WWE goes there, they are very consistent and they do great business over there.

Obviously, you had to feel the elation when you won the World Championship in Madison Square Garden and you won the World Championship one time before in WCW but you left and wound up in the WWE. Can you tell us without opening up wounds about the controversy between Bret Hart and Ric Flair? Something that is brought up once in a while is the bad/mixed feelings Chris Benoit has towards Kevin Sullivan. Is there anything you want to say about that and how you felt when you won it at the Garden?
Chris: I don't even know if that ties together. We had a completely separate issue. Four of us wound up leaving WCW for WWE but there were originally 21 of us that wanted to leave but only 4 followed through with it. There's just so much tied into that. The way I look at the situation right now is that WCW was a great learning experience. At the time, I used to hate going to work and it was such a rotten atmosphere and you knew they were going to pull the rug out from under you and yank that leash back and choke you. It was unbelievable and words cannot describe it, but looking back it was a great experience.

Have you had the chance to read Ric Flair's book?
Chris: I skimmed through it but my wife Nancy has read it. She told me that I have to read it and I have read certain chapters.

Do you have a take on the Bret Hart/Ric Flair controversy?
Chris: I think it's too bad because both guys have contributed so much to the industry. It's just too bad that they are at odds like that because it's a creative industry we are in and everyone has their own vision and their own ideas and when you are in a creative industry, there's no wrong and there's nothing really wrong and what makes it creative and unique is that everyone has their own style. If everyone wrestled like Chris Benoit or Bret Hart, it would be boring because everyone would be the same. That's what fuels the fire is the differences between us. It's a shame that both of them don't see eye to eye because I like both of them. The fact that they are at odds has no effect on my relationship with either of them because my relationship is with Ric Flair and Bret Hart and if they are disagreeing on something, that's between them.

Caller: How do you feel about Eugene and what happened to him last week?
Chris: I haven't heard from him so I don't know what is going on with him right now. I would imagine that there is going to be some sort of retaliation at some point, which I am looking forward to.

How are you going to prepare for Triple H on Monday?
Chris: In a match like that, there is no real strategy. The best that he can do and the best that he can bring to the table is to be alert. You're in there for an hour and so many things can happen.

Since winning the Championship, how have you been holding up on the pressure mentally and physically?
Chris: I remember talking to previous Champions and talking about the pressure and demand, not only physically but emotionally and mentally and you really never know it until you are there. It's something that you have got to experience. I've been told a lot before by a lot of former Champions but I never really knew it until I went through it.

They wrapped it up with Chris Benoit and his 6 hour DVD set will be available on July 23rd!

Trivia: In what year did Chris Benoit win the Super J Cup Tournament in Japan?
Caller: I really don't know this, but I am going to guess 1994. (winner)

As of right now, they do not know who is going to be on the show next week.

Trivia: What are the two aliases that Chris Benoit wrestled under in Japan?
Caller: The Pegasus Kid and the Wild Pegasus. (winner)

And that does it for this week's edition of Byte This!. Back next week...

**Credit PWInsider.com