00:00After Rusev's altercation with an American soldier who is trying to protect Old Glory,
00:05The Big Show sat down with me to address Rusev's actions just days before the two Goliaths collide
00:10at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
00:12That interview later on tonight.
00:15Well, ladies and gentlemen, a controversial confrontation between Rusev and an American soldier
00:20Monday night on Raw has angered The Big Show.
00:22Up next, my interview with an emotional Big Show just days before his clash with Rusev at Hell in a
00:28Cell.
00:32Well, welcome back to Friday Night SmackDown.
00:35I'm Tom Phillips with the legendary JBL and the voice of Raw, Michael Cole.
00:38And don't forget, WWE 2K15 out next week, guys.
00:41Well, ladies and gentlemen, this past Monday night on Raw, a controversial confrontation between Rusev and an American soldier.
00:48It angered The Big Show, and I had the opportunity earlier today to sit down with a passionate and emotional
00:55world's largest athlete.
01:00Ladies and gentlemen, my guest at this time is the man who has the weight of an entire country on
01:05his shoulders.
01:07This Sunday at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, he will take on the Russian Rusev.
01:12He's the world's largest athlete, The Big Show.
01:15Welcome.
01:16Thank you very much, Michael.
01:17Full disclosure, you asked for this interview today.
01:20Yes, I did.
01:21I wanted a chance to address what happened this past Monday on Raw.
01:26What you're referring to is the confrontation between Rusev and a uniformed soldier.
01:31Let's take you back to Raw and show you exactly what happened.
01:37Now, hopeless Americans, please rise for the true red, white, and blue.
01:51Let's go.
02:02Let's go.
02:05Get out of here.
02:06There you go.
02:11Okay, okay.
02:16You know, the thing about it is, is Rusev despises everything that represents America.
02:22You know, Rusev tried to pull down old glory, and in that situation we had in our crowd
02:28a very passionate uniformed service member that let his exuberance get the better of
02:35him and tried to get in the ring and do his job, what he's passionate about.
02:39He defends our flag and what our flag represents.
02:42You know, it's just not about fabric and cloth and dye.
02:46That flag means something.
02:48That flag represents freedom.
02:50And this soldier is someone that is trained, and it's part of his passion, part of his life
02:54to defend that flag.
02:56And the thing that really gripes me the most is Rusev took a cheap shot.
03:03Yes, okay, the young man got in the ring.
03:06Security stopped it.
03:08Situation was over.
03:09Remember, Rusev took a cheap shot, and that's the thing that bothers me.
03:14He took advantage of that situation, basically hit a guy that was defenseless, a guy that
03:20was out of his environment.
03:21Is the kid okay?
03:22Absolutely.
03:22He's 100%.
03:23You know, when I talk to him, he's got a good sense of humor.
03:25He's like, yes.
03:26You know, his emotions got the better of him.
03:29He got in the ring.
03:29He stepped right in the lion's den.
03:31And, you know, Rusev could have handled that better.
03:36So you mentioned Rusev trying to tear down the American flag.
03:39Right.
03:40A few weeks ago, you actually tore down the Russian flag.
03:45Right.
03:47Compare the two.
03:51That was wrong.
03:53I've apologized on several occasions for that.
03:57Now, to be clear, I have a lot of friends that are Russian.
04:00You know, and I've had to apologize to them.
04:02Again, I'm a very passionate person.
04:05I'm very patriotic.
04:08I did not mean to disrespect the Russian people.
04:14I meant to disrespect Lana and Rusev.
04:18Putting my hands on their flag, tearing it down, absolutely I was wrong.
04:22No matter how it made me feel on the inside, at the time, I was proud.
04:27I was in the moment.
04:29Absolutely, it was wrong on my part.
04:31And clearly, it was disrespectful to our Russian people and our Russian fans.
04:36And I've apologized for that.
04:39Rusev, on the other hand, completely different story.
04:43Shell, there are very few people in our company that have the passion for what our servicemen and women do
04:49than you.
04:51You've been overseas for years now in support of our troops.
04:56Michael, let me say that there's no greater honor or more humbling experience than to go over and visit our
05:04young men and women, to visit our troops.
05:07I've met actors.
05:08I've met singers.
05:09I've met so-called famous people and high-powered executives.
05:13Those aren't my heroes.
05:16My heroes are those young men and women.
05:20We go over there every year around Christmas time to bring those young men and women a little bit of
05:25America, to remind them what they're on the front lines doing.
05:28They're bringing freedom to oppressed people.
05:32One of my first trips over there in 2003, I had a chance to meet a two-star general, a
05:43graduate of West Point.
05:45A man that's in command of thousands of troops, who was so overwhelmed and thankful that I cared enough to
05:57come over to visit that he actually broke down in tears, shaking my hand.
06:03But I can't tell you how humbling an experience like that is.
06:07We go over there to boost their morale.
06:10And I find my morale is boosted.
06:14My passion for America is lifted even higher.
06:20There's no other experience like that to realize that you, as a WWE superstar, have that kind of effect on
06:33your heroes.
06:35And you'll be overseas again this year for tribute to the troops this holiday season.
06:40Yeah.
06:41I want to ask you about your idol, your friend, the Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan.
06:48Let me tell you something, brother.
06:50Who talked about your match with Rusev this past Monday night, live exclusively on the WWE Network, following Raw on
06:57Backstage Pass.
06:58Here's what the Hulkster had to say.
07:02You know, Rusev represents the whole country of Russia.
07:07And there's been no secret that we've been an officer in Russia for a long time.
07:11But we've got the Big Show, who's American from head to toe.
07:16He's representing us.
07:17So as far as this goes, there's nobody more American than the Big Show.
07:21And the only way the Big Show can lose this match is if he beats himself.
07:26You know, the Big Show is a very, very emotional man.
07:31But when the Big Show feels the power that night, I got a feeling everybody from Dallas, Texas, all over
07:38the USA, will be screaming, Big Show is our hero.
07:43USA! USA! USA! USA!
07:46USA! USA!
07:47USA!
07:47That's what's going down as far as the Big Show and that no good Rusev.
07:55So, Shell, the question is, can you keep your emotions in check Sunday?
08:02Can you do something that not even your best friend and tag team partner Mark Henry could do?
08:10Can you get Rusev to submit or can you pin the Big Russian?
08:20Michael, to answer the first part of your question, can I keep my emotions under control?
08:28Absolutely not.
08:30I'm going to let all that rage and all that anger out on Rusev at Hell in a Cell.
08:36Now, to answer the second part of your question, I will knock his ass out and pin him one, two,
08:47three.
