_________________________________________________________________ Q U E S T I O N S F O R T H E P R O S: With The Ballard Brothers _________________________________________________________________ [Interview conducted by Tony D. on January 19, 2002] TD: What's your name, and what gimmicks have/do you use? Shane: Our real names are Michael and James Ballard. Shane and Shannon are our middle names. Other gimmicks are Rage and Fury, Los Rojos Locos, Red Machine, Rhino, Lobo De Plata and the Spartan Brothers. TD: What height/weight are you? Shane: I'm 5/9, 195 lbs and Shannon is 5;10: 210 lbs. TD: What circuits do you currently work in? Shane: UPW, WSWA (Phoenix), MSPW (Tucson), Revolution Pro, WPW, WPW (Florida), APW, AWF, ICW (Mississippi), ACW, NWF (N.C.), BWF, AWA, CZW, NWF, PCW (New Jersey), PWF (Pennsylvania), MPW (Millennium Pro Wrestling) TD: What circuits have you wrestled in? Shane: IWF, UIWA, AIWA, CCW, PCW (Pennsylvania) TD: What titles have you held? Shane: APW, UPW (6X), UIWA (2X), BWF, WPW, MSPW and NWF tag champs TD: When did you decide to get into wrestling? Shane: Late 1997. TD: And how did you get started? Shane: One of our friends, who used to go to all the old WWF matches with us had seen a league called AIWA on Public Access Television. He had seen us mess around, trying moves on each other. When I asked him how he thought we would do, he said we should be in the main event, so Shannon called around and got in touch with Ed Ahrens, the co-promoter. Ed referred us to Alex Knight, who took a look at us. He liked us (to our surprise-- we thought he wasn't interested because we made a few mistakes) and offered to train us. We soon (3 weeks later) worked for AIWA, then started training Lucha. TD: Who has been the biggest influence on your career? Shane: Chris Daniels and Alex Knight TD: What has been the greatest moment of your career? Shane: So far, our UPW match vs the Hardys, a dark match for WWF, and winning the PCW Tag Tournament in Pennsylvania. TD: Who are/were you trained by? What kind of athletic background do you have before you got into wrestling? Shane: We were first trained by Alex Knight, then Roberto Paz/Martin Marin/ Jorge Vega (Lucha), and then Kevin Quinn with UPW. We wrestled amateurly for 8 years (1 before H.S., 4 years in H.S., 2 years in college and 1 year freestyle). I placed 2nd for 2 years in So-Cal regionals. We played hockey for 14 years, including Jr. A and a semi-pro league in California. I ran cross-country and track in H.S., and we played 7 years soccer and 7 years baseball as kids. TD: Who is your favorite wrestler to work with? Shane: There are several-- Chris Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Hardkore Kidd and Los Cubanitos. TD: Any major enemies? If so, who, and why? Shane: No, not really. TD: In which promotion are you the most over? TD: Do you ever consider working in the WWF or WCW if they are interested in your talent? TD: If you had to pick WWF or WCW, where would you go and why? TD: Do you have a computer? If so, what do you think of the reporters and sheet writers on the internet? Shane: Yes, we both do. I think they help workers get over and to get their names out. Shannon: I like Dave Meltzer. he's a very nice guy and very informative. We've done a couple of interviews with him. TD: Do you have a college degree or any other higher education? Shane: Not yet, but I would like to. I need maybe 20 units of my major, but my schedule makes school difficult. Shannon: I am 10 units away from a degree in English, but working two jobs has kept me from finishing so far. TD: Any advice you'd give a wannabe wrestler? Shane: Get proper training, absorb all information like a sponge, study matches and tapes. Shannon: Stay out of the back yard. TD: Any final comments for the readers? Shane: We want to thank all the fans for their support, and please attend as many Indy shows as possible. Shannon: Yes, and we also look forward to more matches with S.A.T. and other East coast guys!