Slow Ride Q&A with “The Long Island Iced-Z” Zack Ryder



Growing up, watching baseball on television was my No. 1 pastime.

My No. 2 pastime was watching professional wrestling on television.

Each Saturday, before I tuned into NBC to watch the “Game of the Week,” I would spend my mornings watching Randy “Macho Man” Savage drop elbows from the top rope and run around the house yelling “Whatcha you gonna do brotha” while watching WWE (then WWF) on USA Network.

Later in the day, I’d sing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch. It did not matter what two teams were playing in the game, I was still going to sing it.

When the sun starts warming up the Kansas air, when flowers start blooming and when spring rolls around, there always have been two things I looked forward to: WrestleMania and Opening Day.

It’s still snappy cold outside, but I can’t stop thinking that when both events take place the days they fall on should be considered national holidays.

So it seems only fitting that now, some 20-plus years later, the first person I interview for my first Slow Ride Q&A would be a WWE superstar.

Much like last week’s Horsehide Q&A with Bob Randall, this regular feature will be in a question-and-answer format. Instead of featuring individuals with direct ties to baseball, however, Slow Ride Q&A will feature athletes, authors, entertainers and public figures who are fans of baseball.

I came up with the name Slow Ride Q&A for a couple of reasons. First, it pays tribute to one of my roommates at Pittsburg State University who liked to play the Foghat hit after a Pitt State hitter knocked one out of the ballpark at Al Ortolani Field.

The other reason for the selection is because every baseball fan imagines how they would circle the bases after slugging a dinger. As one of my good friends said, “You got to go one flap down just like Jeffrey Leonard.”

So let’s take it easy and let the slow ride begin.

Up until earlier this month when he lost the United States championship to Jack Swagger, Zack Ryder had been on one of hottest winning streaks in WWE.

Ryder, previously a successful tag-team wrestler, has been climbing the ranks of the singles ladder, and he agreed to an interview before coming to the Kansas Expocentre for a live WWE event this Friday.

Ryder grew up in Long Island, N.Y., so this piece DOES have an east-coast bias to it, but “The Long Island Iced Z” was more than willing to take some time out of his day to talk a little baseball. Of course, I had to sneak in a wrestling question or two.

Q: When and where did you see your first major league game as a fan?

A: The first game I saw was probably in Shea Stadium during the 1993 season.

Q: Who is your team, the Mets or Yankees, and why?

A: The Mets for sure. My family liked the Mets and I like to root for the underdog. I am an underdog in the WWE, and the Yankees have just been so good, I enjoy watching the Mets.

Q: Who is your favorite baseball player?

A: I’d say Ken Griffey Jr. He was a guy I watched as a kid and he was always one of the best players in the baseball games for Super Nintendo.

Q: Which would you rather do, throw off a major league mound with David Wright in the box, or hit in the batting cage against Mike Pelfrey?

A: I’d pick hitting. If I tried to pitch there would be no way I would come anywhere near the plate.

Q: Which would be a bigger thrill for you, hitting a grand slam off of C.C. Sabathia or pulling off a choke-slam on Mark Henry or The Big Show?

A: Choke-slamming one of the big guys would be a big thrill for me. I’m not the biggest guy, but I hit the gym and work hard. If I could put up the Big Show that would be huge.

Q: Kane got to pile-drive Pete Rose. Which major leaguer would you want to hit with the “Rough Ryder?”

A: Derek Jeter without a doubt. Just get him set up for it.

Q: Who really is the true Woo Man, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Ronnie “Woo-Woo” Wickers or “The Long Island Loudmouth?”

A: Definitely Zack Ryder, why not. “Woo, Woo, Woo, You Know It.”

Q: In the recently released “WWE12” video game, I can pound on Zack Ryder with Ricky Steamboat, Jack Swagger or even the Legion of Doom, but of the guys who came before you, who would your dream match be against?

A: I would say Stone Cold Steve Austin. I was huge Steve Austin fan. We kind of missed each other. Zack Ryder would like to see that match, anyway.

Q: WrestleMania is the World Series of Sports Entertainment. What kind of WrestleMania moment should be expected from Zack Ryder in 2012?

A: Hopefully, I get my first WrestleMania match this year, being able to walk down that ramp with thousands in attendance, and millions of people watching me. That would be my moment.

After last night’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view WWE, fans have two opportunities to catch Ryder or their favorite WWE superstar this week. This week’s Raw Super Show takes place tonight at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, and Friday night at the Expocentre you can catch sports entertainment action live at a Raw World Tour Show.

I may just have to break out my Sting Mask, rainbow clown wig, Kyle Farnsworth jersey and catch a ring-side seat.

WrestleMania is right around the corner, and I am starting to come down with the Opening Day fever.

“I’m in the mood, the rhythm is right.”

Horsehides and Red-Hots to everyone, Deck.

**Blogger's Note: Following this interview Zack Ryder was twice attacked by Kane and suffered an apparent back injury. I was unable to confirm or deny if Ryder will appear at this week's two local events.

Jeremy "Deck" Deckard is a correspondent for the Topeka Capital-Journal sports department. His "View from the Upper Deck" baseball blog appears at CJOnline each Monday. He can be reached at jdeckard04@yahoo.com.