Readers of Issue 10 of Inside The Ropes Magazine may have spotted a new feature with WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston where we asked the former WWE Champion 20 questions and got some unique and bizarre answers to the questions that won’t be asked in any other wrestling interview! The feature has, of course continued to Issue 11 where MJF gave us his answers and Issue 12 which will feature Rhea Ripley!
Well, the feature has been so popular that we decided it shouldn’t simply be confined to our monthly magazine – so Inside The Ropes‘ Lead Writer Gary Cassidy pitched our 20 Questions to Masha Slamovich!
If you’d prefer to read about Masha’s career, that interview is available here, but if you want to know The Russian Dynamite’s favourite band, cheat meal, or what items she would want if she were stranded on a desert island, read on!
What’s your favourite cheat meal?
Oh, that’s a tough one. Tacos! Many, many tacos.
What’s your favourite video game?
Well, it’s not my favorite, but lately I’ve been playing a lot of Crash Bandicoot.
What would you be watching if you had a day of Netflix and chill?
It’s probably not on Netflix. I’m probably watching true crime documentaries and wrestling.
Which movie have you seen the most?
The Great Gatsby. I love the original, the new one, and the book. We could have done a full interview on The Great Gatsby!
Which actor should play you in a movie about your life?
Me. Nobody can re-create this insanity.
What’s your favourite musician or band?
Metallica.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
‘Estranged’ by Guns N’ Roses.
Pineapple on pizza – yes or no?
Alright, we have this discussion on, like, EVERY podcast. It’s not the pineapple that ruins the pizza, It’s like the weird ham that they put with it!
If you give me a plain slice of pizza with pineapple on top of it, I’ll eat that s**t and I will eat piles of it – so stop putting ham on it and give me my frickin’ pineapple!
What three items would you take if you were stuck on a desert island?
So, imagining that I’m an abandoned island and I have all the things that I need to survive, food and water, I would have like a little island gym to work out on, and I would have a hammock, and I would definitely have like Internet service so I could watch wrestling because what the f**k else am I going to do?
What’s your secret talent?
Horseback riding.
What’s your most annoying habit?
Like, my complete lack of ability of singing! It’s annoying how terrible it is.
If you weren’t a wrestler, what would you be?
I’d probably be competing in horseback riding.
What wrestling match (not involving you) do you rewatch the most?
I have seen like the trilogy of Misawa versus Kobashi, like, a million times, and I’m probably going to watch it a million more times.
Like, it’s a story, you can’t just like pick one match!
[Masha whispers: Even though you can, it’s the one from ’99]
What’s your pre-match ritual?
I pray before I go out for pretty much all my matches, unless it’s like a last-minute rush – but yeah, I don’t know how many people know that, but I pray before my matches.
Who’s the biggest locker room prankster you have ever met and why?
Aside from myself . . . That is a great question! Probably everyone who I went to Johnny Rodz’ with because we’re all just a bunch of clowns. There were so many locker room nonsenses that took place, but that is not for a podcast.
What’s the weirdest fan request you’ve ever had?
I once had a fan ask my mother to marry me.
Like ,asked my mother, in my building, in my laundromat. That’s like it’s just mega-weird.
What’s the best present you’ve ever received?
Wow, I don’t know, man, probably my laptop. I can’t remember any of the gifts that I’ve got in previous years or a childhood, I can just remember anything but a laptop is a good gift, right?!
Who was your wrestling idol growing up?
Dynamite Kid!
What’s your guilty pleasure?
You will definitely catch me jamming to some weird ’70s, ’80s, ’90s disco, like, all the time!
Oh, and Duran Duran – all the time.
Who would be the guests, from anyone throughout history, at your dream dinner party and why?
Antonio Inoki, Vince McMahon and Karl Gotch.
Thanks so much to Masha Slamovich for taking the time! You can follow Masha on Twitter here, Instagram here, and subscribe to Masha’s Patreon for exclusive content here.
For more editions of 20 Questions, you can subscribe to Inside The Ropes Magazine or check out the Interviews section of ITRWrestling.com – including with Alexander Wolfe, Wesley Blake and Chelsea Green!