Corrigan’s Corner: ECW, Triple H, Bret Hart, and more from “30 Years of WrestleMania” author Brian Shields

Here’s the third and final chapter in my interview with Brian Shields, author of “30 Years of WrestleMania,” a new anthology on the history and behind-the-scenes operation behind WWE’s grandest event of the year.

“30 Years of WrestleMania” is available wherever books are sold including WWE Shop, DK.com, Amazon, BJ’s, WalMart, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and GameStop.

Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 of my interview with Shields.

You mentioned that your relationship with WWE began while working for Acclaim Entertainment.

Shields: “During my time at Acclaim, I also worked on the ECW videogames. Except for a couple of sports teams, Philadelphia has been one of my favorite cities to visit for 15 years. We would do live marketing at the ECW Arena, voice-over sessions, photo shoots, and rent out suites at the Marriot by the Philadelphia airport. And one of the arenas I had backstage access to while interviewing for 30 Years of WrestleMania was the Wells Fargo Center.”

Were you an ECW fan?

Shields: “Huge. The first time I saw it was in the early 90s because we had the Madison Square Garden network here in New York. There was a certain point on Friday and Saturday nights when MSG Network turned into Prime Sports and that’s how we saw ECW on television at first. We would go to Philadelphia, grab a cheesesteak at Tony Luke’s before work, go to the ECW Arena and put one page fliers of Hardcore Revolution on every seat in the arena, then get another cheesesteak from Tony Luke’s for the ride home. To this day, those are some of my fondest memories, being a part of that group of people from Acclaim and to go to Philadelphia in that context was so cool.”

That’s really neat. Our readers are going to eat that up. Even though it’s been gone for over a decade, we Philly fans still hold ECW near and dear to our hearts.

Shields: “You know, ECW is very special to its fans and the city of Philadelphia. In 2015, it will be 14 years since ECW went out of business. If you go online or to one of these legends conventions, people talk about ECW like it’s still on television. Like if you didn’t know ECW was no longer an active promotion, and observed people talking about it, I think most people would say oh, where I can watch that? And the answer now is on the WWE Network. That says something about ECW. I still have the DVDs from Pioneer Entertainment when they came out. Actually, the designer at Acclaim who did the graphic design work for the ECW video games and later the Legends of Wrestling video games is the one who came up with that ECW logo for the Anarchy Rulez game. That logo is the one Pioneer Entertainment used on their line of ECW DVDs.”

I’ve read an interview you did where someone asked you to list the top three WrestleManias. You said 3, 17, and 25. I don’t think anyone would dispute 17, fans of the 80s would agree with 3, but I suggest we replace 25 with 30. What did you think of this year’s WrestleMania in New Orleans?

Shields: “I loved it. I loved the story with Daniel Bryan and the Yes Movement that really came to life in a different way at SummerSlam and took us all the way through to WrestleMania and that amazing moment where’s standing on the ropes holding both championships. Anybody that loves this industry knows the significance of both those coveted championships. To have such a gifted performer end the biggest show of the year, and one of the most popular WrestleManias ever, was truly fitting. Daniel Bryan is another performer whose work I admired before he came to WWE and was someone so deserving of that accolade. WrestleMania 30 was a great, great event.”

Were you at WrestleMania XXX?

Shields: “I wasn’t, I had a book to finish, man.”

(laughs)

Shields: “On a serious note, the Undertaker’s Streak was broken and that’s a moment we will be talking about for the rest of time.”

That’s why I think it should rank as the top three.

Shields: “Absolutely. And on an insignificant note, my WrestleMania streak came to an end as well. 30 was the first WrestleMania I didn’t attend since 24.”

That’s still a pretty good stretch, though.

Shields: “You know, for a kid that grew up watching WWE on his mother’s couch on Long Island, and thankfully for everyone never stepped through the ropes, I was proud of my own personal streak.”

Is WrestleMania 30 included in the book?

Shields: “Yes, 30 Years of WrestleMania has over 220 pages with match results of every WrestleMania match. Every match will be talked about or acknowledged in some way. In the early chapters, because there were so many things going on with WWE as a company, you get a little bit of insight into that as well as WrestleMania. For instance, the book begins with a forward from Mr. WrestleMania himself, Shawn Michaels. That’s just another dream come true. We wanted to give some context to the reader so the book starts out with a section called ‘Road to WrestleMania’ which lets readers know what was going on before the event. There are also special sections celebrating the Streak, Shawn Michaels’ in-ring career at WrestleMania, the Hall of Fame, Fan Axxess, the evolution of a king-Triple H and all his WrestleMania moments. So you’re not just learning about what you saw on camera, but what happened behind the scenes as well.”

You mentioned Triple H, and when I think WrestleMania, his name comes far after Undertaker and Michaels and Hogan. But you bring up a good point about his legacy and all the different matches he’s had at the biggest show of the year. He gives Michaels a run for his money with that “Mr. WrestleMania” moniker.

Shields: “You’re right about that. I think he’s another individual from a performance standpoint who might be taken for granted by some members of the audience. You’re talking about somebody who was trained by WWE Hall of Famer Killer Kowalski, somebody who worked his way up from that school, was at the forefront of one of the greatest actions of all time in D-Generation X. When you think of somebody being there from 1996 to 2014, Triple H has been part of every single WrestleMania except for 23.”

What are some of your favorite wrestling autobiographies?

Shields: “I thought Mick Foley’s first two books were phenomenal. I thought Bret Hart’s book was outstanding.”

That’s a tome. It’s unbelievable how he could fit all that in there and make it so compelling.

Shields: “John, I couldn’t agree more. I finished Bret Hart’s book in four days. I’m thankful that I’ve had a nice rapport with Bret since 2001 while working on a variety of projects. He’s on the cover of 30 Years of WrestleMania as he should be. I thought Chris Jericho’s first book was excellent. That’s another talented individual in and out of the ring. Those are the ones that come to mind that I’ve really, really enjoyed.”

Going back to Bret Hart…because you had a rapport with him all these years, what were your thoughts on his return to WWE and fighting Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 26?

Shields: “I couldn’t believe it. I was very happy for Bret, you know, having a little bit of an idea as to how hard he worked from his early days as part of his father’s Stampede Wrestling promotion in Canada to being part of the Hart Foundation and someone who also just created this amazing career for himself and how important that legacy is to him. I was very happy that the DVD in 2005 and the Hall of Fame induction in 2006 took place. Bret deserves his career to be celebrated in that way. When he came back, it was another reminder that you never say never when it comes to WWE.”