From The Archives: Shane Helms Talks Facing Ric Flair At Wrestlemania
Shane Helms was not nervous in the ring with Ric Flair, even on the Grandest Stage Of Them All.
At Wrestlemania 23, Helms tagged with Chavo Guerrero Jr. to face Ric Flair and Carlito. On Fightful Wrestling's podcast last yer, Helms shared his Wrestlemania stories including his match with Flair.
"That was awesome, man. There were a lot of tag teams that were legit tag teams, they were just starting to go with me and Chavo too. They really liked me and Chavo as a team and there were at least talks about me and Chavo getting a run with the titles," said Helms.
He would mention he hurt his leg sliding down a guardrail right before his match with Flair, but he still went to the ring in front of over 80,000 people to face the sixteen time world champion. He said he wasn't nervous at all once in the ring.
"The ring is where I'm the most comfortable, I don't really have a problem with nerves, once I'm in (the ring) everything is exactly how it's supposed to be in my mind. I'm fine once I'm in there and with that many people, it don't even look like people anymore, it just looks like you're looking at the ocean," said Helms.
He said he did not expect to face Flair and Carlito because he and Guerrero were not long-time partners. Helms said he has heard that Flair himself helped get him the match, but he says he took the match as a vote of confidence regardless of how it came about. Also present at Wrestlemania 23 was Donald Trump, Helms also told the story of when he turned down a picture with Trump because of his impression of him at the time. Also during the podcast, Helms would discuss his other Wrestlemania memories including being WWE Hardcore Champion for less than an hour.
