Exclusive Interview with Dusty Griffith
Posted by Lance Warner on 27 Oct 2013
An exclusive interview for DEFIANCEwrestling.com with the long lost Dusty Griffith following the events of his sudden return to DEFIANCE at the second show of the Guerilla Grindhouse Tour's Japan series.
Exclusive Interview with Dusty Griffith
by Lance Warner
Following his surprise, albeit rumored, return to DEFIANCE since his first turn with the company fizzled suddenly and saw him return to Japan, where he has spent the last several years as a pro wrestling mercenary and a successful super heavyweight competitor in the Japanese MMA scene.
Dusty Griffith made his return, coming in to even up the odds for the former DEFIANCE World Champion, Cancer Jiles. An incident that quickly became a tag match, which allowed everyone to see that Griffith was not the same man who came and went without so much as a whimper.
This was closer to the “old” Dusty Griffith who set the pro wrestling world on fire during his breakout year that ended with his victory at the 2008 Summer Games. The tired and jaded man who attempted his comeback was gone, replaced by someone who is reinvigorated and ready be more than someone who was just going through the motions.
Following his return appearance, he sat backstage with members of the Japanese Sport Media that covers everything from baseball to sumo wrestling. Sitting on a bench, a towel around his neck and a bottle of water in his hand, I sat back and observed him in his element as he fielded questions while waiting to get my own crack at him for DEFIANCEwrestling.com.
When his time with the gaggle of sports writers had concluded, he caught up with me and we walked the halls of the Asukara Satte. Before I began, he stated that he had one request, asking that I don’t hold back with any of my questions. I agreed and we began.
Q: Why do you think your first run in DEFIANCE failed?
A: Honestly? I couldn’t coexist with Goldman. We just flat didn’t see eye to eye, he wanted to turn me into some sort of ridiculous dancing bear, because he thinks “wrestlers are boring”. When I made it clear that I wasn’t willing to play along with that, he threatened to have me blackballed and guaranteed that my name would be ruined in the business if I didn’t comply, so I told him where he could stick his vision of pro wrestling and his threats.
Q:What sort of threats?
A: A whole lot of garbage that I’d rather not repeat.
Q: After so many years, why return to DEFIANCE now?
A: When Eric Dane called with an offer of a second chance, it just felt like the timing was right. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t just a bit sour about how things turned out with my career back home in the States. I still have unfinished business in an American wrestling ring and now’s as good a time as any to get that business taken care of.
Q: Now that you’re back, what is it that you hope to achieve?
A: My goal has never changed. I set out to become the absolute strongest wrestler in the world and the only way to make that happen is to climb the mountain and lay claim to the World Heavyweight Championship.
Q: Is that why you chose to stand up for Cancer Jiles, as a means of getting on Kai Scott’s radar?
A: Not exactly in those terms, it just happened to work out that way. The truth with me has always been that I’ve got a low tolerance for these guys who operate without honor or courage. Ganging up on one man, because he’s a threat to you, is both dishonorable and cowardly. The fact that Kai Scott is the world champion had nothing to do with it.
Q: Outside of the World Title, are there any dream opponents you look forward to?
A: Off the top of my head, the number one has to be Dan Ryan. The man’s a bona fide legend of the sport and I would be honored to lace ‘em up against him. But the one I keep getting asked about? They say Bronson Box is the one man they want to see me tangle with. They say ol’ Boxer is a mad man, a sadistic wrestling machine, they call him the Wargod, and the Original Defiant. Well, when you put it that way, then I have to test myself against the man who is the very embodiment of DEFIANCE.
I spent another few minutes with Griffith, discussing the random and mundane until we parted ways. Who knows what the future holds for Dusty Griffith and his return to DEFIANCE, at this point it’s very much a toss up. If the man that couldn’t play well with management returns, then it’s likely a short ride, but if the guy who rampaged all over the WWA is on the way, then this could be a very interesting time to be a DEFIANCE fan.
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