Why he wanted to host Raw and whether he is a wrestling fan: “More so when I was a kid, I would always watch wrestling. I grew up in an era when you had Antonino Rocca and Haystacks Calhoun and Ricky Starr and Gorgeous George – all these old-time wrestlers. I haven’t seen that much of it recently, although, obviously, I know about it, and I’m looking forward to doing it. Although, you know how opposed I am to fighting on television, so it’s going to be a real stretch for me. In fact, the only difference between this and my show is here the wrestlers have teeth.”

His thoughts on pro wrestling: “It’s all a circus and it’s all entertainment. If you’re prepared to take it in the spirit in which it’s given, then you can really enjoy it and have a great time. If you’re going to sit back and just be in judgment of all this, then you’re not going to have a good time. The fact is, particularly young people enjoy it, love it [and] they don’t grow up to be dysfunctional because they see it. A whole nation has watched wrestling for the last 50 years on television. It really was one of the first sporting events on television because it was very easy to televise. Millions and millions of Americans have grown up enjoying the entertainment, and I don’t think it should be taken any more seriously than that. One thing that is very clear when you watch professional wrestlers is what phenomenal athletes they are. There’s so much emphasis given to the drama and all of that, but if you really look at it, they are in phenomenal shape. I’m going out on a limb here, but I think there probably are one or two of them that could even take me down. [pauses] Please, no one try. That was a bad joke. I’m old and I need to have my warm milk.”

On the popularity of wrestling: “The marketing of it is just genius. You’ve got these great guys, such as The Miz, and they catch the imagination of young people. And the way they have marketed this and made it more mainstream is phenomenal from an entertainment and business point of view. It’s a wonderful model for how to be successful.”

Whether all the fighting on his show has prepared him for being on Raw: “I’ve lived my whole life as a chicken, so I’ll just go back to my natural instincts and I’ll be fine. I don’t think you’ll see me jumping into the ring taking anybody on. No, I’m pretty much of a wimp. Ever since [name unintelligible] pushed me into the bushes in the third grade on the way home from school, I haven’t fought anybody.”

Whether he has anything to promote on Raw: “No, I’m just there to have fun. I’m real lucky. My show is in its 19th year going strong – there’s obviously no accounting for taste [laughs]. So that’s going well, and I do ‘America’s Got Talent,’ the live show. .. I’m truthfully staying busier than I’ve ever been, but, no, I’m not there promoting anything. WWE is just a great product, a great entertainment vehicle, young people love it, and so it’s just fun to be on. It kind of keeps me in touch with pop culture, because as I get older, if I don’t make an effort to stay in touch with pop culture, I can become passé pretty quickly. So I’m just in it for fun. I’m not pushing anything.”

Whether he could “take” Vince McMahon: “I could take him to dinner, but that’s about it [laughs]. No, he could wipe me out with a sneeze. There’s no one on this earth I can beat up.”