February 13, 2007 - When you see someone like Chris Masters on TV slugging it out in the middle of the ring with the likes of John Cena and Shawn Michaels, sure, the 24 year old "Masterpiece" looks big, but I never realized just how massive the kid was until the walking brick wall stood next to me and reached out his hand for a pound (and luckily for me, not a pounding).

Dude is a legit 6-4, 275 of chiseled muscle, and he had just finished working out in Venice Beach (hangin' and bangin') before hopping on a plane and heading to the Bay Area for the Wrestlemania Fan Axxess tour when I had a chance to kick back with one of the building blocks of wrestling's future.

Funny thing is, when I told Masters how much bigger he is than I expected, he said sometimes he actually gets the opposite reaction.

"I've had people come up and tell me in public that I look bigger on TV and I never know how to take that. Is that supposed to be a compliment or should I be mad right now," Masters laughs. "I always trip out on people's reactions, some say I'm huge, some say I'm not as big as they expected."

And after seeing the man in front of me, straight from the Warrior/Hercules/Hogan mold of wrestling bodies, I can't even imagine thinking he looks bigger on TV (maybe my screen is just too small).

But after a quick bite of a Subway sandwich, Masters was ready to hit the mall and sign autographs for the long line of fans who had been playing videogames, talking to Hillbilly Jim (the tour's host), and even testing their strength at a mechanical arm wrestling machine.

"When it comes down to it, these are the people who pay the bills," Masters said before hopping in his limo and heading off to the event. "Wrestlemania is coming up, it's the biggest event for us all year, and there's no better way to do it than to come to every big city we possibly can and give a treat to our fans that are so loyal. When I was a kid, I would've jumped on an opportunity to go to something like this, so it's awesome to be able to be a part of this experience and to help give back to our fans."

You could hear the crowd pop from the parking lot as Masters made his way into the ring they had setup inside the mall.

The man might play a bad guy on TV, but when it comes to giving back to the fans, on this day, there wasn't a more popular guy in the house.

But before Masters strained his hand by signing every picture, poster, and action figure fans brought his direction, he took time out to answer some questions about his career, his muscles, and Wrestlemania.

Here's what The Masterpiece had to say…

IGN Sports: How did you make the transition from bodybuilder to wrestler?

Chris Masters: I actually started bodybuilding for wrestling. I decided that would be my first step. I knew I wanted to be a wrestler when I was 16 and logically, the first step to me, I saw all of these guys like Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior with these extraordinary bodies, so I figured I wouldn't get signed to a contract right now, so why not build up my body first. I was always fascinated with built men…wait, that always sounds weird so I just want to clarify, not in that way (not that there's anything wrong with that), but bodybuilding became a hobby of mine and it's still one of the things I enjoy the most. I think I'll work out the rest of my life.

IGN Sports: There are pictures of you lifting cars and all kinds of various objects floating around, so the obvious question is, how much can you lift?

Chris Masters: It fluctuates on any given day, but on the bench press I can do about 400 pounds. That's usually my limit. I probably look a lot stronger than I actually am, but we're training for wrestling and I still need to be athletic. I don't need to lift a Volkswagen in the ring, and to be honest, it's a lot easier to lift weights than to lift people. Obviously there aren't any handles on people, so you need to grab a lot of awkward areas…you know what I'm talking about. [laughs]

IGN Sports: There are always constant comparisons of wrestling characters today to those characters from the past. Who do fans like to compare you to?

Chris Masters: Rick Rude, Lex Luger unfortunately…a lot of the body guys when I first came in, but I really don't want to be compared to anyone else. I want to make my own mark. I want to be Chris Masters. My goal is to show people that I'm more than just a body guy, show people that I can break out of that mold and become a great worker.

IGN Sports: Who were some of the wrestlers you looked up to as a kid?

Chris Masters: I loved The Ultimate Warrior when I was a young kid, but hands down Shawn Michaels, from the moment he turned singles, I was captivated by him. He was such a great athlete, and as I got older, I started appreciating the work ethic of wrestlers more, and Shawn Michaels would go out there and put on such great performances. He can really go. That's the difference between Shawn and some of the body guys I had mentioned, sure they had the look, but Shawn could go out there and deliver. If you paid $30 for a pay-per-view, you knew Shawn Michaels would deliver a $30 match.