A Harold interview:

Harold: Well everyone thanks for joining us for another in-depth interview my guest today is Paul "The Messiah" Phillips, thank you Paul for sitting down with me today.

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: Yes. I'm sure the pleasure is all yours.

Harold: I usually like to start with the past, can you give us some details on where you started and how you got your start in the business?

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: Hmm...I was, at one time, a relatively famous cult leader. Always looking for ways to recruit a new face, I took note of wrestling, because, I'll be honest with you, wrestling has some of the stupidest fans in any form of popular entertainment. Being in relatively good shape, I had a few followers who were involved in indy feds show me some of the ropes. Once I knew a wristlock from a wristwatch, I solicited my talents. The New York State Wrestling Federation signed me into their training camp, as more of a novelty act than anything else (my reputation as a cult leader preceded me). I dominated, much to the chagrin of the staff. They kept me down as long as possible, but it got to where they HAD to let me into their main league. That's where I made a name for myself.

Harold: Interesting Ill be getting into the occult side of your character in a bit, Where exactly did Preach and Destroy meet or come together?

Harold: And how did that team come about?

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: That's an interesting story. The NYSWF soon found a way to keep me down some more...they fired me for no good and apparent reason. I floated in and out of the business, but my heart wasn't really into it, and the followers were dwindling (I had paid too much attention to my wrestling, and ignored them, which led to my falling out of their favor.) So I floated from place to place...a lost soul, in many ways. A few years after that happened, I started soliciting my talents once more, just to see if I could make it click like it used to. Jeff King led me to this federation named GWL. I was the newest member of a stable of his, hell if I can remember the name. That doesn't matter, really, they got fired a week after I was hired. I left with them, joining Echo for a brief spell, hell, I even started a federation of my own...Chaotic Wrestling Alliance. Like many feds, it flopped before a month. But no matter where I went...Jeff was there with me. Sooner or later, Cyril Acheston led us to Strike Fantasy Towers. We decided to go it as a team, like we had been doing for the past several months...except this time, it stuck together.

Harold: Now I don't really buy you were fired for no "good reason", if anything you've shown you're capable of pretty much anything, you belong in jail, and sooner or later, I truly believe that what goes around, comes around, do you ever think that one day, your sins will catch up with you?

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: *chuckles* Son, you're forgetting that I OWN the police. They come to worship me every Sunday, same as weepy women with babies who hang on every word I say as the purest gospel. If they even slightly caught wind of what I was doing, they'd know, deep in their hearts, that it was all for a good reason. They'd do what Christians do, when faced with Christ's "shortcomings"...they'll look the other way.

Harold: One thing I've learned I learned, is that evil men always end up paying for their crimes and sins, you are not immortal, no matter what you may think? Aren't you afraid that when you stand before God and ready to be judged, that you'll finally realize....you're going to hell.

Harold: Are you afraid for your soul at all Messiah?

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: Aah...but that's the point of my work...immortality. You see, if someone ends up making me "pay" for what I've done, it shall clearly be Christian oppression in the eyes of my followers. The bards shall sing songs about me for millennia to come. There will be Bibles of Philips, priests, and churches. I SHALL receive immortality. While the body may be dust, the essence shall live on, and THAT, Harold, is the only immortality simple mortals like us shall ever hope of achieving. Even if I DON'T "pay" by the time I reach old age, I will have spent enough time on this earth planting the seeds, cultivating the flowers of my immortality.

Harold: No disrespect intended but there have been others who have though more of themselves, Legion started a church which was dedicated to the hating of god, and then there's Peter Steele, you probably will not know who Peter is, but Peter Steele reminds me so much of you, his work had no boundaries there was nothing that was taboo, he showed a woman being raped, for nothing more than to prove that evil was everywhere, Peter Steel once witness a murder in his name, he was very controversial in his time, and most considered him nothing more than a shock jock, someone who only did things to shock people, how do you quiet the critics out there that say you're nothing but an over glorified sadist who likes to see how people will react to his "antics"?

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: I would tell them to come to mass in the Church of Philips. Every Sunday at noon. What I let this federation see is simply my "business." I let them be privy to all the operations that are, indeed, a part of organizing a scheme of the magnitude mine reaches. The front-end is much less innocuous. Yes, I give my followers something Peter Steele, and Legion do not. Comfort, and a philosophy that empowers them. I make them better human beings in their eyes...no antics. No shock. No gore. None of that nonsense. I give them what they want without resorting to cheesy "gimmicks" designed to grab their attention.

Harold: Oh please didn't you hold Gunz daughter? Is kidnapping something "good", you seem to always rationalize things in one way or another, but evil deeds have no way of being rationalized.

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: *chuckles* you mean still AM holding Jorge Gonzalez's daughter. Like I said, though. Business. Holocaust needs a puppet. Gonzalez fits the bill. Jorge and his daughter have no part in what I preach to the followers. *chuckles, again* Actually, I teach them to respect children in their infinite innocence...for it is something to be envied. I, however, cannot afford the luxuries of envy, and must do...what I must do. It is for the betterment of the Holocaust.

Harold: Every time I see you work I see a slow methodical system, as if you need to control the tempo, so I can see how you considering much like a puppeteer, this question is strictly out of character, your work is a cross between the movie Psycho, and a Stephen King book, just how do you see your style in the grand scheme of things, do you feel you have a style and character that can be taken long term?

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: I feel that my style is a culmination of everything I love, story wise. Old spaghetti westerns with heroes as black as midnight on a moonless night, French cinema, black and white movies, cheesy B flicks, David Lynch, to some aspects, but mostly my inspiration is from the Italian art film...Salo: 180 Days of Sodom. A movie loosely based off the works of De Sade. Although I have yet to read him, I plan to in the near future. The film depicts sick actions, and can easily be seen as mere "shock" cinema...but the metaphors are too powerful for me to deny. That's what I want to portray. Something attention grabbing, maybe misunderstood, but definitely only for a select few. And as for the long term...I've already got plans in the works for six or seven separate tales, and they keep coming to me as time progresses. I've set up a universe where many, many tales can occur, and I plan on taking full advantage of what I feel is a powerful setting.

Harold: Hmm, well you mention some rather strange names and a barrage of images come to mind, but now lets shift focus to P and D, you two have always been known as a very talented team, but yet fail to solidify yourselves the team to beat in SFT's history, is it fate to not be the greatest team in SFT history or is it just bad luck and bad bookings?

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: I feel that we're not a strong tag team because SFT lacks a strong tag division. What I mean is, tag team RPing is like kung fu. If you don't keep practicing and pushing your limits, your skills start to dwindle. Because of the lack of a strong tag division, we are not booked together often enough, therefore, atrophying (if that's even a word) our tag team kung fu.

Harold: How do you feel your chances are going into the 3rd round of the Lethal Lottery?

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: Poor. After I eliminated Bobby Love, the Accountant was the next weakest link. I received him as a partner against two high quality opponents. I'm handicapped against them, with little chance of victory...which is fine for me. I've already achieved my Lethal Lottery goal. I've made what I feel is a strong showing. Even if I don't get to go to the pay-per-view in a prestigious match, I still did 200% better than the last time I was in it.

Harold: Well this has got to be the weirdest interview ever for me, but I do want to thank you Paul, you made this certainly memorable and I wish you the best of luck in the lottery and in the future.

Paul "The Messiah" Phillips: I rather enjoyed it myself. Thank you for the opportunity to let more people hear my glorious words.