Fightful recently interviewed former WWE superstar Gregor Helms, who currently works for the company as an agent. Some highlights include Helms’ feelings on Seth Rollins using the Vertebreaker and the former Hurricane’s discussion of his current job with WWE. Transcription credit of Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.
On Rollins using the Vertebreaker:
“I think we said something about it but it was nothing bad. Like, I didn’t invent the Vertebreaker. I had no problems with anybody doing it. But when WWE banned it, that was a time in the business where a lot of guys got hurt with piledrivers so they said ‘Eliminate it, all piledriver type maneuvers except for the Tombstone.’ But all the other piledrivers got eliminated and basically my boss said, ‘Don’t do it.’ I’m one of those weird people, I do what my boss says. And, at the same time, there was only about three people I could even pick up at that particular time. Everybody was gigantic back then, so it wasn’t a big deal for me. I didn’t mind doing the Eye of the Hurricane, I actually invented that move. So, that was fine with me,”
“I think we said something about it but it was nothing bad. Like, I didn’t invent the Vertebreaker. I had no problems with anybody doing it. But when WWE banned it, that was a time in the business where a lot of guys got hurt with piledrivers so they said ‘Eliminate it, all piledriver type maneuvers except for the Tombstone.’ But all the other piledrivers got eliminated and basically my boss said, ‘Don’t do it.’ I’m one of those weird people, I do what my boss says. And, at the same time, there was only about three people I could even pick up at that particular time. Everybody was gigantic back then, so it wasn’t a big deal for me. I didn’t mind doing the Eye of the Hurricane, I actually invented that move. So, that was fine with me,”
Working for WWE:
“That X-Division style — it’s hard to hate any of those guys. And so I said, let me be a manager, let them hate me and at least there’ll be one element of this match that people hate. The more emotion you add to a match, I think, the better. Unfortunately creative in TNA wasn’t capturing what I was doing. They’re like “Yeah, but we’re trying to make this about so-and-so.” And like, I get that, this is what I’m trying to do. I’m having to explain psychology to people that don’t know it, which is sometimes very difficult. But it worked, and I knew it worked. I think now going forward I still think there’s even more of a place for managers in the business now than in the last couple decades.”
