The Ringside Voice is happy to have the participation of Shawn Daivari for this interview. It's not very often that we are given the chance to speak with a caliber of "Superstar: such as this, so again we are very appreciative. For those unaware, Shawn Daivari was born on April 30th 1984 in Minneapolis, MN. He's the middle child with one older and one younger brother. Born a full blooded Iranian, Shawn's Mother and Father immigrated to the United States from Tehran in the 70's where they hoped to find more opportunity for themselves and for the children they had planned to raise.

At age 15 Shawn began training to become a professional wrestler. Wrestling at small independent shows in front of crowds of 20 to 200 people. Shawn perfected his craft wherever he could, often driving hundreds of miles on his own dollar just to get some ring time, then driving all through the night to get home just in time to shower and head off to school.

In August of 2004 Shawn signed a contract with the World Wrestling Entertainment where has been performing since on a regular basis on their cable TV blockbuster Monday Night RAW on the USA Network, The CW Networks flagship show Friday Night Smackdown, or WWE's newest TV venture Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on the Sci-Fi channel. Since signing with WWE Shawn has had the opportunity to work with many of the industry's top performers on live events, international tours, and pay per views including Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan and many others.

The following is the exclusive interview that I conducted with Shawn Daivari

First of all, let me thank you for your time and let you know that our members and wrestling fans all over who visit www.theringsidevoice.com are excited that you're taking time to speak and answer some of their questions. I know that you're busy, so we'll jump into this.

1.) When you were growing up, did you have dreams of becoming a (and I know Vince McMahon will cringe when I say this) "professional wrestler"? And who did you admire and watch?

I enjoyed wrestling growing up but I didn’t imagine being in the business till I was in my teens. Growing up Sting and Hogan were the 2 I enjoyed the most

2.) I say "professional wrestler" because I feel that when Vince McMahon chooses to call his talent "Superstars" and not "Professional Wrestlers" he chooses to lower the value of each and every person in the locker room; because not everyone is pushed to be a "Superstar" but not everyone has what it takes to be a "Professional Wrestler", do you agree or disagree with that statement and why?

I really don't get the statement but the term superstar is just a trademarking thing. It's so his talent can be exclusive superstars, where any show can have pro-wrestlers. In that context I believe its trademarked to Vince so at the time WCW or today TNA cant call their talent superstars. I don’t think it has anything to do with diminishing or lowering the value of anyone. Also he has a lot of talent that aren't wrestlers. Your not gonna call Vicki Guerrero a pro wrestler. but she’s definitely just as much a part of the show as any one else. So as superstars anyone can be a part of the show regardless of their ability.

3.) You were paired with Mark Copani (Muhammad Hassan) in 2004. Who was responsible for drawing out your characters and storylines during your debut? And were there any long term plans for the two of you?

Id been doing the gimmick since before I signed with WWE, and Jim Cornette is the one who really fleshed out the way it was gonna look on TV. I believe there were significant long term plans for us as we were the only thing at the time on Raw that had significant build before our debuts.

4.) I think that I am one of the very many people who quickly followed and enjoyed The Muhammad Hassan character and felt that he was going in the right direction on RAW. And even after the move to Smackdown, both yourself and Muhammad Hassan were quickly paired and moved to the of number one heel spot on the brand and was given a major program with The Undertaker where a world title shot with Batista was nearly inevitable. Where did things start going down hill?

It happened when we did an angle on taped on a Tuesday for tv on thurs. Thursday morning there was a terrorist attack in London and people thought our stuff was in bad taste. don’t know who’s decision it was, or where it came from, but when the public acts, the office have to react or else it looks like they're not doing anything. whether it was UPN's office, Viacoms office, or WWE's office I don’t know.

5.) WWE and several sources claim that Mark Copani (Muhammad Hassan) was given the ball and wasn't able to carry or capitalize on the opportunity that was given to him. My take is that his character was that of an Arab-American who was tired of racism and profiling due to September 11th, but eventually developed a hatred for America. I believe that Hassan did so well at it, that the threats of UPN taking Smackdown off the network scared the WWE and someone had to be held accountable for the character and storyline and Vince McMahon wasn't going to be. What are your thoughts on that whole situation?

I think he did a great job. I think he carried the ball well, and I think Vince thought so too.

6.) From 2005 through 2006 you were passed around as a manager/associate of several "Superstars". You went from managing Kurt Angle to Mark Henry and then to The Great Khali in the matter of a few months. What was it like to work with them and what were you able to learn from them?

I always enjoyed working with those guys. Fortunately for me I got along well with all of them. Unfortunately at the time smackdown wasn't very steady at anything it was doing due to injuries and not enough talent available so that’s why they kinda moved me around as I was a consistent source of heat from the crowd so whoever I was paired with had the heat by association.

7.) Was it a shock to when they wanted to pair you up with Mark Henry?

Sort of. Just cause me and Kurt were doing so well, but it was pretty obvious I was going to split from him as he had just turned babyface.

8.) Out of all of your associations after Hassan, I feel that you were best suited for The Great Khali. How hard was it for you work with him?

It wasn't hard at all. we got along very well as friends.

9.) From that point you were bounced around from Smackdown to ECW, back to Smackdown and finally back to RAW. Was it frustrating at all to you, not getting a chance to settle in and develop yourself?

It was a times. Most of my frustrations came from the fact that I was being booked by a writer on Smackdown, then on ECW, then on Smackdown again who was completely ill fit for the job. and Unfortunately there were a lot of people that suffered on that show due to an unqualified head writer, who eventually got fired for that reason. When Michael Hayes got a hold of Smackdown things were a lot better for me, then on Raw I was equally as happy.

10.) At any point did you think OR wish your stint in WWE was going to end due to all the uncertainty of how they were handling you? ( I say uncertainty because of the way you were booked and used in the company. It seems that they were confused on what to do with you.)

I never wanted it to end, I wanted it to correct itself and be showcased properly. When I made up my mind to leave I think it kinda came as a shock to a few people. but from Vince to Stephanie to Johnny they all seemed genuine in their offer when they said the door is always open. which is nice way to leave bot not necessarily say :"the end"

11.) When you did get released from the WWE, who called you and do they really come to terms and negotiate a release? Or is it pretty much, "Hi this is John Laurinaitis, you're fired!"?

I was never fired. I was offered a three year extension as my contract was expiring in around 5 months, and I let them know I didn’t plan on signing the extension. Then a week later I kinda came to the conclusion that obviously if Im not staying they aren’t going to build me up just to leave, so I asked for my release and they were super cool about it and gave it to me. IF they wanted to they could have kept me around for 5 more months and jobbed me out, or benched me at home. That’s one thing Ill always be thankful to WWE for is their professionalism in that manner that they wanted to see to it that I left happy as well.

12.) Is there anyone in the WWE that isn't nearly what they seem based on television?

Almost everyone. For the most part the WWE superstars are loud, wild, out control, larger then life, characters. But the actual person that plays the superstar are perhaps the most humble and down to earth people in all of entertainment. Music, movies, sports, everywhere. John Cena is a genuine TV and movie superstar millionaire. He would still share his car with me, and we'd hang out after the shows and drink beer together. I would never see Kanye West, Brad Pitt, or Tiger wood doing that. That’s the equivalent of sharing a car and hanging out with a back up singer, a movie extra, and a caddy.

13.) Who is the hardest worker in the WWE?

John Cena hands down. The guy doesn’t have days off. He wrestlers a full time schedule, and promotes the company full time. Including travel that’s around 350 days a year.

14.) How accurate are the internet dirtsheets when it comes to reporting "backstage news" ?

Not at all. That’s like seeing a guy run one mile and reporting he ran ten miles. Yeah the story is the same...a guy ran. But the difference between 1 mile and 10 miles is huge. I wouldn’t dare call that accurate.

15.) How much heat does CM Punk have backstage with agents? Every time I turn around someone hates him or loves him. I'm confused...

None that I've ever noticed. He's a good friend of mine, and I have yet to work with anyone that has said bad things about him. You don't have the year he's had, the wrestlemania's he’s had, the merchandise he has, the title run he’s had, or win money in the bank if u have heat with the office. Would u really believe a guy who has all has heat with the office? That’s common sense.

16.) Who is the most underrated person in the WWE that doesn't get the "corporate" elbow grease put behind his character?

Maybe Val Venis. Carlito. I don’t get the statement corporate elbow grease though. Is that insinuating that if your not a corporate ass kisser you don’t get anything? if so I disagree. Its just a business decision. Is an educated guess of whether or not Vince feels he can make money with you. If he does he uses you,. if he doesn’t, he wont. Its just the way he feels. I've seen A LOT of ass kissers get nothing.

17.) What are your plans for the future? Would you welcome a return to the WWE?

I've been doing independents, wrestling full time for All-japan, some stuff in Europe, and have started working with TNA. I'd go back to WWE if it made sense for both parties. I think its idiotic to make a decision of yes or no, not knowing what the future holds.

18.) Has TNA been in contact with you about coming to work for them?

Yes the have, and yes I have been working for them since June.

19.) If someone wanted to find out more about booking you, buying merchandise or sending fan mail, how could they do that?

They can get merchandise from my website www.shawndaivari.com or they can get a hold of my booking agent at bookdaivari@hotmail.com

20.) Any other projects you have coming up or something you would like to promote?

Nothing in particular. Watch TNA if u want to see me in TNA. get All japan tapes if you want to see me in all japan. go to your local indy show if you want to see me in independents. IM still wrestling full time, if you want to see me wrestle you should be able to find it somewhere

Thanks Shawn! I appreciate your time and wish you the best of luck.