Harold: Well today I am joined by the one and only Nathan Gust! Nathan, thank you for sitting down with me. First question is, does it feel good to be back?

Nathan Gust: Mmm... yes and no. Yes, it feels good to be back because I am home. No, it doesn't feel good to be back because I still suck in the ring.

Harold: Ha ha. Well I like to start every interview with a brief history of how you got started. Where you got started and how you ended up here. So please give us a history lesson 'bout Nathan Gust.

Nathan Gust: Oh wow. Where do I begin? November of 1999. My sister had married a man who was just a rookie in professional wrestling. I got permission from my mom to go on the road with them as long as my sister kept up with my homework. She was a teacher and all, so it worked out nicely. When her husband - known in the ring as Aj Nin Red Rum - started in XCW, I went right along with them. I learned all that I could and caught on very quickly to the behind the scenes work. I began to train with Ice, Kyle Murphy, and Aj Nin Red Rum... at the tender age of thirteen. It was August of 2000 when I started my own wrestling promotion called Southern Championship Wrestling. Yes, a thirteen year old with a wrestling federation. It was funded by Aj Nin, Ice, Kyle... Kabal, Apocalypse... pretty much XCW in general. It featured loads of XCW talent and it had a pretty successful run. It lasted until around my fourteen birthday... February 2001. I then went straight to work for Kevin and Mason in XCW. They took me under their wings and taught me everything they knew about the wrestling business... which helped me greatly. Later in the year, XCW started to have a "war" with SFW and... as we all know... the two leagues merged. Months before, I made an assload of money by selling all of SCW to Derek "Rumpke" Richardson. When SFT merged, Kevin got me a small job working as what he called a "Helper". It wasn't much money, but at least I got to do what I wanted to do more than the few wrestling matches I had before SFT was fused. Towards the very end of 2001, Aj Nin had a contract dispute with SFT and he left the company. I left with him and together we had the rebirth of XCW. It was the most amazing five months of my life, but it ended just as the original. During that time, I trained harder than ever in the ring and I was actually hired by SFT to wrestle a few weeks before my fifteenth birthday. I won my first match... and then I defeated Connor MacDaddy two days after my birthday. That was so great because he had also helped train me. A few weeks later, I was Hardcore Champion. It was such a great month for me. I got to face Amp, Lotus Pod, the Aftermath, Crip, and then... Jed Masters. He cheated to defeat me... admitted he cheated... and Shadow didn't do anything about it. A man who preaches justice... and I didn't even get treated fairly. Anyway... I spent a few months doing nothing and left in May.. only to return in July. I lost a few matches and disappeared again. I came back again in November after Aj Nin faked his death. I had a one week reign as Tag Team Champion with Adam Payne... lost a few matches... and left the ring again. All the while I was working my way up on the staff. In one month, I went from the very bottom to being the President of SFT. Soon after, Shadow asked me to be the Co-Owner of SFT and I greatfully accepted. During 2003, I produced Tuesday Night Titans for 48 straight weeks... and even won the Staff Award in the 2003 Year-End Awards. It was a great year for me. 2004 came and I was gone. This time, without a contract. I returned in July of 2004 for the Lethal Lottery tournament... where I lost in the first round to Cage and Kaeneis. That was the last straw. I went crazy, called myself Genocide, and joined the Holocaust. After a few short matches, I left again... only to return in January of 2005. Still with the Genocide crap, I lost a few matches... defeated Fox... beat two jobbers... and then I left again. I had an open contract that time around. I returned in August... again with the Holocaust... won a handicap match, lost to Sean Mason... and then shocked the world when Kabal and I hanged Nirvana at Genesis. I got rid of that lame Genocide crap and now I am doing what I want to do. I am now part of the Faction with a few friends of mine... three of which are responsible for me being where I am today.

Harold: You have quite the past. In your opinion what was your best times in wrestling, was it XCW? And if so, why?

Nathan Gust: My best time actually wrestling... I have yet to see. I'm not a good wrestler by any means. My best time in the wrestling business was SFT in 2003... when I was doing what I wanted to do most. I feel that I have a great mind for this business rather than a great body for it.

Harold: So you feel you're a better staffer than wrestler?

Nathan Gust: Oh hell yes! My record in the ring is 25-25-2... my record out of it is legendary. I am only eighteen years old and I have already owned THREE successful wrestling promotions. I've got to be doing something right.

Harold: Tell me if you could choose right now, be World Champ or be Co-Owner again, what would you take and why?

Nathan Gust: I would take Co-Owner. Being World Champ would be the culmination of my in-ring career, but I know I do not deserve it. Guys like Kyle Murphy, Kamikaze, Havoc, Johnny Legend, and even Louis Cypher have worked their asses off to be at the level they are at. I don't feel as if I have done anything to prove my worth as a potential World Champion. I do, on the other hand, think that I am more than worthy of being at the head of this company once again. With my pure wrestling knowledge and my great business sense, there is no way to deny my inevitable place atop the SFT ladder... out of the ring, that is.

Harold: And as all SFT related things we come to the subject of Shadow. It is no secret you and he are not bossum buddies. So tell us Gust, you and Shadow have a sorted past. How'd it get that way and how are things with him now that you've "returned"?

Nathan Gust: It all started with the Jed Masters incident. I felt that I could not trust a man who would not punish liars, cheaters, and thieves. Over time, I became a very... harsh critic of most of Shadow's decisions. When I proved to him that I would be a great help to his staff with my very blunt way of going about things, Shadow gave me the opportunity to help the company. As I worked my way up, I gained more and more of his trust... or so I thought. Once I became Co-Owner, I had a remarkable run at the top. Shadow and I had worked out our differences... at least, most of them. But still... things were never perfect. Shadow had heard what I had said in a conversation amongst some of the "boys in the back", and Shadow was greatly offended. I said and did a lot of things that Shadow did not like... and I regret what I have done. That was a long time ago. Now that the smoke has cleared and I have returned... I am hell-bent on patching things up with Shadow. As you know, Harold... I have been hard at work on a portfolio for Shadow of my work. Even though he has already seen what I can do, I want to make sure he knows how serious I am about doing things right this time around. I am slowly working my way back to his good graces... and once he understans my sincerity, I hope he will put the past in the past as I have.

Harold: Well then the question has to be asked. If you're serious about making amends, is it more important to gain Shadow's trust or do what's best for SFT? Many on staff have said he's the hardest person to work with, simply because most times you can't distinguish one from the other. Some who will remain nameless state they are loyal to the fed but not the owner. How can you distinguish one from the other or is it just not possible?

Nathan Gust: When I was Co-Owner the last time, I could easily distinguish the difference between being loyal to the fed and the owner. Shadow and I may not have been the best of friends... but we found that working together wasn't so difficult. Being a work-a-holic, I did anything and everything so that Shadow didn't have to. When I took over booking, it was in the best interest of Shadow... who had been working way to hard at the time. When I took over Titans, it was so he didn't have to worry about it every week. When I produced pay per views for him, it was to give him a little rest. Everything I did while I was Co-Owner was not only beneficial to the company in terms of ratings, sales, and overall enjoyment... but it was also to help make Shadow's job easier. So I'd say I can do both: gain Shadow's trust and do what's best for SFT. Both are important to me and both can be done easily by me.

Harold: It seems you're talking to me like a staffer, but most of your career was spent as a wrestler. If you gave up wrestling, would you miss it? And if you could have three last matches right here right now, who'd they be against and why?

Nathan Gust: If I gave up wrestling, I would be bored out of my damn mind. I would sit at home with all of my money and do nothing. I need this business. Eighteen years old and I would honestly be bored without it. Wow. If I could have my last three matches... hmmm... that would be tough to choose opponents. Honestly... my last three opponents would be Kyle Murphy, Connor MacDaddy, and Erik Dean. I would face Kyle because he was one of Aj Nin's biggest rivals... and I have never faced Kyle. I would face Connor because I know I can beat him. Heh. Then there's Dean. He is a lot like me in that he's better out of the ring than in. Ha ha ha. Seriously, though... Kyle, Connor, and Erik would be my last three opponents.

Harold: So Nathan you've been back a short time. What are your immediate goals and what are your long term goals?

Nathan Gust: My immediate goal is to win a title. Any title. I like titles. Anybody who knows me knows that I am a "gold whore". I love having titles and I can't have enough of them. I would love to be Hardcore Champion again. A run as Television Champion would be fun. I'd even go for United States or Intercontinental... if I had the chance. If I could get Kabal back in the ring, I'd go after the Tag Team Titles. I don't know, really. I just like titles. I can't help it. And long term... hrm... well normal people say that they want to be SFT Champion. I don't need to be SFT Champion to be important. I am already in the Hall of Fame. I could sit back and watch as my name alone makes me even more money. I would love more than anything to rejoin the staff and help make SFT the greatest wrestling promotion in the world once again. I guess that is my long term goal.

Harold: Well since your return you've been what they say "behaving". So what's the deal here, Nathan. Are you a changed man? Or do you just have no one to fight with? 'Cause you and I, whoa nelly, we've had some slobberknockers, that's for sure.

Nathan Gust: I have changed so much... as have you. If I wanted to, I could go out and start shit with anybody on the roster and anybody backstage. I just don't feel that fighting with people is necessary anymore. That is my former self. If I am going to do things my way, I am going to ahve to do them the right way. I am honestly a changed man. As people at home have caught on to... you and I are no longer mortal enemies. I am doing my best to forget about all the fighting between us and get to know you. You are a pretty cool guy. I don't know why we started fighting to begin with.

Harold: I think we both just fought for differerent reasons, but in the end we both love SFT and we can agree on that. Many say that SFT is "home". Or a home away from home. Why do you think it's become the only place for many vets to go to? Is it familiarity or it is just this place has some sort of hold over people that makes them just keep coming back?

Nathan Gust: I keep coming back because I don't feel that I need to go elsewhere. I have pretty much been with "SFT" from the beginning... by beginning I mean when I first went to XCW. This is the only place I feel comfortable. I've gone to other places, sure. I went to Canada for two months to wrestle for SCCW. I went to the UK to wrestle for RWF. I've been all around the world wrestling everywhere I can. I always end up back in SFT. It is just such a great place to be for an "old vet" like me. I guess there is a hold over us all.

Harold: Okay lets talk shop. Why is it, in your opinion, so damn hard for any World Champ to keep the title? Is it the lack of competition or that everyone is just too evenly matched? Or do they just get lazy once they get the World Title? And who in your opinion are the top four or five guys to beat in SFT right now?

Nathan Gust: I think that the title goes around so quickly because of match build-up. The matches are less important and there is less time to prepare for a title defense, so no champion can go into a defense at 100%. Back in the day when there weren't random title shots, champions were able to study their opponents and prove their worth as champion by going into a title defense more than 100%. They don't get lazy. They just don't get a fair chance to have a great title reign. The top four or five guys to beat in SFT right now would have to be... hmmm... Kyle Murphy, Havoc, Kamikaze, Louis Cypher... and Nirvana. That is how I see it...

Harold: Well Nathan, I will say this. This is not what I expected when you agreed to be interviewed, but it certainly is one of the most honest and best interviews I have had to date. Thank you once again for doing this.

Nathan Gust: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to rant honestly like only I can. It's been a lot of fun and hopefully people will better understand the recent changes I have made to my career.