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Backstage Chatter With The Glamazon, Edge and The Fink

Posted: Apr 2nd 2009 By: CMBurnham

I drove down to Laredo for a World Wrestling Entertainment show last weekend. Before the action, I talked with a few of the wrestlers who'll be in Houston this week for Wrestlemania 25 and other Wrestlemania-related activities.

I bumped into the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix, who'll be in the 15-Diva Battle Royale on Wrestlemania Sunday at Reliant Stadium. But first she'll be showing off her painting skills at WrestleManiArt on Wednesday. It's a fundraiser for the Houston Public Library.

Growing up, Phoenix was a total library girl.

"Absolutely, reading was a big part of the curriculum at all of my schools," she said. "We didn't have a lot of money, so the library was where I went to check out all kinds of wonderful books. I always had the bug to read. I was mostly interested in anatomy and science books and that kind of stuff, you know, Stephen King stuff. I was a little mature for my age when it came to reading. I really liked scary novels."

And now she's a scary wrestler.

"Let's just say I'm dominating. If my opponents are scared of me, I can't help that. Maybe they shouldn't be so wimpy."

Edge, the current World Champion, will face John Cena and the Big Show in a title match at Wrestlemania. I asked him to describe the tattoos up and down his arms. Especially that freaky-looking skull on his right biceps.

"What do you mean, what was I thinking? Actually each tattoo has a special meaning. Each tattoo represents a different stage in my career," he said.

"I didn't want tattoos with the words 'Edge' or 'Rated R Superstar,' so I got images that reflect the personality of my different characters. The sun is the design that was on my tights the first half of my career. Another tattoo is the design that was on the first T-shirt that was made for me. The words 'Rise Above' are on my forearm. It's a personal message, I believe in that philosophy. And my newest tattoo represent my current character, the sleazy bad boy."

Edge is a bad guy - a villainous, unrepentant, untrustworthy rulebreaker. He likes nothing more than hearing fans boo him.

"Being a bad guy is much more fun, without a doubt, at least to me. You've got to have bad buys to make the good guys look like superheroes. It's interesting, when I was a kid, I always was rooting for the heroes like Hulk Hogan. Maybe a little part of me liked bad guys like Roddy Piper and Macho Man Savage. But when they faced Hulk, I still wanted Hulk to beat them.

"When I'm in the ring, I don't want to have any redeeming qualities. I want 100 percent of the people to despise me. So far, I have a pretty good track record. I think 95 percent of them hate me. It's fun to hit the fans with a really good line and hear them boo me. It even entertains me."

Saturday night, ring announcer Howard Finkel will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He's been with the WWE for 35 years, longer practically than anybody except Chairman of the Board Vince McMahon.

Maybe his greatest contribution to the company ... he came up with the name "Wrestlemania."

"This was back in 1985, when we were planning the first Wrestlemania. We had Hulkamania to describe the fans excitement over Hulk Hogan. Plus there had been Beatlemania when the Beatles came to America. So I thought ... Wrestlemania! It stuck. Now we're doing the 25th Anniversary Wrestlemania," he said.

No, he didn't think to trademark "Wrestlemania."

"I love the WWE. It's theirs. But it's nice knowing that I made a contribution to the biggest event in wrestling history."

This week, the WWE is giving me unprecedented access to all the wrestlers who'll be competing at Wrestlemania. Is there a question you'd like me to ask them? Send it to me at ken.hoffman@chron.com. If I don't think your question will offend the wrestler, causing me to get hit in the head with a sledgehammer, I'll ask it and report back.

Tags: Beth Phoenix, WWE