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Adam Copeland: 25 Years Of Edge, Choosing AEW Over WWE, WrestleMania Moments, Christian Cage

in LATEST EPISODES on May 9, 2024 May 9, 2024

Adam Copeland (@ratedrcope) is a professional wrestler signed with AEW, he is also known for his 25-year career in WWE where he performed under the name “Edge”. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at his home in Asheville, NC to talk about being in the best shape of his life at age 50, why he designed Pure Plank with Christian Cage to help with core fitness, his decision to leave WWE for AEW, how he almost signed with AEW in 2019 instead of returning at the 2020 Royal Rumble, being forced to retire in 2011, how he met his wife Beth Phoenix, spearing Jeff Hardy off the ladder at WrestleMania 17, being on the receiving end of a leg drop off the cage from Matt Hardy at WWE Unforgiven 2005, his funny moments as a tag team with Christian, wanting to retire in a year and a half, being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and much more!

Quote I’m thinking about: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

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On being in the best shape of his life:

“Yeah, I mean, I’d like to think I am. But it’s things that I took for granted before I can’t now. And I have to work harder now than I did before which is a good thing. Because by working harder than I really dove in, and I was like, okay, it all started with just being around for my girls. And then it led to this and then it led to that and that and then here we are four and a half years into a comeback that I never thought would happen. But it really just started with wanting to be around for my girls. I’ve already come to grips with the fact that I’m gonna look like Gandalf when I take them to their high school dance or whatever, but at least I’ll be here, knock on wood.”

On wanting to become a wrestler:

“Maybe stubbornness, I’m pretty stubborn. Once I latch on to an idea, I at least have to see it through. And then if it doesn’t work, okay, it didn’t work, maybe it can work a different way and I’ll try this way and I’ll try it that way and then I’ll try it that way. But it’s all I ever wanted to do. So to me, I would rather try and do everything that I could to make it happen rather than go I wonder. I didn’t want to be that guy, and there’s nothing wrong with this. But I worked on an assembly line building car seats, and I didn’t want to be that guy at 60 getting ready for his gold watch. I wanted to go out and chase it. And if it didn’t pan out, okay, but that just wasn’t an option to me. I just knew, I was like, I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna get this. However long it takes, I’m gonna get it. And I won’t have a family and I won’t really set roots until [I made it]. Everything was geared toward this and doing this to the point where like, I stopped playing hockey, I didn’t ski I didn’t do a lot of the things that other kids did. Because like, I can’t risk a broken [bone], I can’t do this that or the other whatever that is. So yeah, when when the high school yearbook, I think they kind of knew at that point, but I don’t think anyone actually thought, Okay, if we say this will end up happening. But for me, I knew it was going to, it’s just a matter of how long.”

On being told it is time to retire:

“I mean, I had to pretty quickly wrap my mind around the idea that I was being told I could never do this again. [Do you remember that day?] We had done WrestleMania 27. Me and Del Rio, world champ. So I’m thinking okay, we’ll get to the next pay-per-view, it’s a ladder match, I’ll drop the title there, then I’ll take a little break. Because I was sore, but I’d been sore for a while. And did Charlotte, NC, just did commentary and a quick little Spear and but even that, that single spirits like, Ooh, got a bit of a zinger there. So I drove up here, because I just bought this house drove up here was sitting on my deck and got a call from Vince. And he told me we’re told you gotta retire. And I went oh, right.”

Did you think that was an option?

“I always told myself by 40 I’d be done and I was 37 at that point. So I assumed I had a few more years with a bit of a break.”

On how Adam Copeland felt after the phone call:

“I’m surrounded by my four dogs and I just kind of sat down and felt sorry for myself for a little bit. Had a cry, because it’s the only thing I ever wanted to do, right? So even though I assumed I was close to retiring, at least initially it wasn’t easy. But fairly quickly, I realised, okay, if I don’t have a choice in this at all, then I have to wrap my mind around this pretty quickly, or this is going to be an unhealthy, emotional climate for me. And then luckily, the executive producer for Haven saw my retirement speech. And they were looking for a tie-in with Haven because SmackDown aired before it. They wanted something to coincide with the lead-in and they they asked for me because I guess they were almost in tears watching the retirement speech and that wasn’t acting ability at all, I was just me retiring from the only thing I ever wanted to do, right? That was my audition [laughs]. And then I flew to Tampa, and then Jey and Del Rio had their ladder match was part of that. And then I took off for Nova Scotia, and 1 episode turned into 41. And then from there, about halfway through the second season, I was like, I really enjoy this. I better start putting some work in instead of just showing up. That’s when I started taking classes and diving into and pulling apart movies, and why certain actors made certain decisions and what were they doing, then going back and studying, okay, like Tom Hardy studied apes for this role. Okay, interesting. And De Niro studied cobras for Cape Fear. Just little things like that. Okay, interesting. And it tapped into the creative vein still. And I realised that was really important to my makeup. If I’m not creating some form of story it just feels, I don’t know, I get antsy. And so that still kept that alive.”

On wondering if there was a chance to come out of retirement:

“Honestly no. I felt good, but I didn’t assume good enough for that, because that’s just a different beast entirely. There’s nothing I found that can prepare you for having a pro wrestling match, except just having one. You can train, you can do all those things. But until you factor in adrenaline, getting the wind knocked out of you, and then having to get up and run, and how do you train for that? Okay, you can get in the ring. But if there’s no audience, it’s not the same. It’s not the same endorphins, it’s not the same, dopamine, it’s not that same adrenaline and the adrenaline dump. You’re probably just working, but going through the motions and training. Getting out there is an entirely different thing. I didn’t know, I didn’t think that was ever possible, because I was told it wasn’t. I started doing stunt scenes and I was doing my own stunts. I thought, I feel okay, I feel good here, but it’s still not that. It really truly wasn’t until I wiped out my mountain bike with Sheamus because that was uncontrolled. And that was the first kind of uncontrolled fall that I had taken. Because on a set, everything’s very controlled. And maybe you have padding this, that and the other. The mountain bike was going downhill, wiping out off a jump, flipping in midair, and essentially taking an arm drag on rocks, and rolling up to my feet and going I’m fine. I’m okay, interesting. And that’s kind of when it all started, the light bulbs [went off].”

On how close he came to signing with AEW instead of making the return at the Royal Rumble:

“Really close, we had great discussions. [Was this late 2019?] Yeah.”

Were you cleared?

“So when I first started talking to AEW, I wasn’t yet cleared. I had made it, we talked about it like the bosses of each video game level. But I still wasn’t cleared by company doctors, right? So once all of those clearances started to come, I was like, Oh, this is real now. Okay. So before I did anything, I had to go kind of get the final clearance needed for either company. But I had negotiated with everybody. I was like, Okay, here’s where I’m at, here’s what I’ve been told I can do and started the process. And then in going to WWE, and sitting down with Vince, he goes well, it’s got to happen here. At that stage, I looked at the equity built and it felt like having to start over, especially having to start over after having been gone for nine years felt really daunting, if that makes sense. It felt like at least with WWE that’s one thing off the table that I don’t have to worry about. I can come back and walk into the history of this character. I do feel like it needed to have happened there initially. I really do, if only for that Royal Rumble moment right before the pandemic hit and just feeling and experiencing that I’m happy the way it turned out.”

On keeping the WWE return a secret:

“Nobody saw me. They took me right to the Astros manager’s office. And that’s where I was all day sequestered in there. Beth was heating up my meals and bringing them to me like, and even she had to be a little bit clandestine, even though she was in the woman’s rumble that night. So it was a weird day because I didn’t come out of that room until about 10 minutes before I was supposed to go out. And that’s when I got up to Gorilla. And I think in the documentary, you start to see people going what the hell. Oh sh*t!”

On why he chose AEW in 2023:

“It felt like I’d done everything that I was going to do with WWE. I’d worked the people I’d wanted to work, 95% anyway. And it really just felt like they were in a direction and I was in a direction and they were kind of going separate ways. I wanted to be with this limited window that I have, I wanted to be involved. I wanted to be there kind of on a weekly basis in order to tell proper stories, and it’s tough to do that popping in and out every three months or so. And I also get the idea of, well, that keeps it special and I understand that. But again, I’m working with such a limited timeframe here that I got to go while I can go. And I looked at the roster and I just thought man, so many people that I’ve never laid hands on and been in the ring with. The one that seems to blow people’s minds is Samoa Joe. In all the years that him and I have both been wrestling we’ve never touched. Then I see Moxley and I see Claudio and Bryan and I have never had a proper singles. Swerve and Hangman. And then if you look at the tag teams, FTR, Young Bucks, Penta and Fenix, man, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, let alone all the young guys that have already wrestled since I’ve been there. It’s just really exciting and almost feels, I don’t want to say I feel like a kid again because I think that saile. But I’m just having fun. With each match I’m going to try something I’ve never tried before. I was against Brody King the other night, I’ve never done a blockbuster, I’m going to try that blockbuster. Never done a Davey Boy powerslam, let me try that. It’s fun to get out there and just try new things, especially at this stage of the career. But I think in working new people, and a whole roster of new people that I don’t know, it’s just opened up my brain to all the different possibilities.”

On having to make a decision when AEW presents him with a new contract:

“I mean, if I can still keep performing at a level, but more importantly a level that I can feel proud of. I just don’t want to get to a point where I’m like really struggling and just it’s like pulling teeth to get it done. I don’t want to do that. And thankfully, because of my career, I’m at a point where I don’t have to do that. I’m doing this because I just love it. I also think, and I’ve talked to the girls about this, I’m hoping they see the work ethic and the work that I still put in to do this thing that I want to do even though I don’t have to do it. I’m hoping that they see that and can rub off and they pick up some lessons from that too. But by the same token, I want to be here for everything for them. And I’ve been able to manage it and be around for the Shakespeare plays and be around to run drama club with Beth and take Lyric to her audition tonight. I’m still able to be there for those things. I haven’t missed a birthday. So it’s just a matter of being able to balance both so far. It’s possible.”

On Christian Cage doing the best work of his career:

“I think so. And that’s only because I do feel like he was limited beforehand. Throughout the years, I think, again, you keep hitting the glass ceiling and some will break through, but I don’t think it was ever meant for him to break through and that has got to be frustrating.”

On mocking dead relatives:

“And I think that was a happy accident. I think like so many things that end up working. It just ended up being a happy accident and then you start to like go oh, well if this person will be that. And I am in virgin territory for that, never met my dad. Are you kidding? Like he’s gonna have a field day with this.”

On tribalism in wrestling:

“I think silly personally. Only because when I was growing up, I wanted to watch everything I could. If I could get my eyeballs on Continental or Mid-South or NWA or BC All-Star, I wanted to watch it all. Because I wanted to see what was going on you know, at that stage it was you you got what you could get from the after magazines. And that was it. So wait now I can watch Pro Wrestling Plus with Ed Whelan and maybe get my eyeballs on Hennig and Lawler okay, right I want to I want to see what’s going on. So I don’t know, I don’t understand the the allegiance to initials. But then I think about people with their favourite teams or this or that, but I’ve always been the same with like hockey. I love the Maple Leafs but I love hockey. So I’ll watch the Boston Bruins against the Florida Panthers because I know it’s gonna be a great game.”

On trying to get Gangrel for his WrestleMania match:

“I tried and I just got shut down. Every person shut it down. [Why?] So this isn’t a knock on WWE, but I’d always get the well nobody remembers. People remember, wrestling fans remember and I think wrestling fans want to be rewarded for remembering. And that’s a way to reward them. That’s what I’ve always felt. I think you know, you fast forward to me and Matt Cardona doing a Cope Open. And his music hits and he comes out. I mean, they remembered. And so I’ve always been a fan of pulling in things from the past and kind of integrating them into current things. But yeah, that was one I just kept getting shut down. I realised, okay, that was not a hill to die on because it didn’t get to happen. It’s not my sandbox, I got to do with what I’ve been given.”

On the Mania match with Mick Foley:

“The one with Mick I had a giant chip on my shoulder. Because I felt like I was at least in my mind kind of pushed back from the main event scene. And I felt like finally I earned my stripes and my spot there. So that was a chance for me to kind of show everybody that’s where I belong. And I knew Mick was the perfect person to help make that come to fruition. And we both had agendas that night. Mine was I really wanted Mick Foley to get a WrestleMania moment, that was true. I felt like he deserved that and he’d be the first to say that he hadn’t had that. So that was important for me and when I have a mission to accomplish, I work better. His mission was to solidify me as a main event guy and also to solidify me as someone that people might start looking at in a different light like oh he is tough. Even through all those TLCs and ladders it was still like oh he has long blonde hair, you know all of those things and so it felt like we both needed something out of that and when you get two maniacs both working toward goals some brutal things can happen. So the tone the mood was far different than it was with Taker.”

Was the flaming table a part of the plan?

“It was part of my plan. I’ve always said this, if you see something stupid that I do, chances are it was my idea. Whether it’s the AA off of a ladder through two tables, whether it’s the flaming table, chances are it was it was my stupidity. Yeah, I don’t even have like a good answer as to why. I mean, obviously, I’m a masochist on some level. But I think every pro wrestler is.”

On taking the steel cage leg drop from Matt Hardy:

“Even with everything that he and I had been through, that was never a doubt in my mind. We’d all worked each other so much and we all had just natural chemistry with each other. And you’re pros. So you just, you got to have a lot of faith in a person, you got to have a lot of trust in the person. And generally speaking, those moves are usually worse on the person doing them, you just gotta lie there. And just okay.”

On when he reconciled with Matt Hardy:

“I mean, honestly, it wasn’t that long. I think kind of once we went through that and once we both realised, okay, still the same guys, and still have the same chemistry still have the same everything. So, I feel like the fan base took a lot longer to come around to the idea that we were okay than we did. It was pretty quickly, and then you just got to move on.”

On not liking the Rated R Spinner belt:

“I don’t know. Again, I think for me, I come from that timeframe where the designs meant something. I understood the, you know, the commercial appeal, but I feel like that was truly done just to sell titles, and it worked. But I don’t know, I just as a World Heavyweight Champion, you walk out and something spinning on you. It just didn’t, I don’t know, to me, it just didn’t fit.”

What is Adam Copeland grateful for?

“Family, my mom and friendship.”

Max Caster’s Most Controversial Raps, The Acclaimed, Scissoring, AEW Tag Champions

in LATEST EPISODES on May 7, 2024 May 7, 2024

Max Caster (@PlatinumMax) is a professional wrestler signed with AEW where he is part of The Acclaimed. He joins Chris Van Vliet in Philadelphia, PA to talk about how he comes up with the lyrics for his freestyles, his most controversial raps, being paired with Anthony Bowens in AEW and forming The Acclaimed, learning from “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn, the origin of “Scissoring” in AEW, advice Cody Rhodes gave him about his raps, filing a trademark for “Best Wrestler Alive”, the tweet he made about not wanting Shelton Benjamin in AEW and much more!

Quote I’m thinking about: “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

On how much thought goes into every freestyle:

“Man, we would sit for a long time, especially when it was just me and Anthony [Bowens] before Billy [Gunn] had come on. We would just sit there and throw lines back and forth. And Anthony was my perfect sounding board. He would tell me okay, too far, I go, okay let me bring it back a little bit. He goes, Okay, maybe try it this way. And I go, okay, So I would walk away and I would attack this line from a different angle, and then it would be perfect. So it was really collaborative. At a certain point, I think we kind of got away from that and we don’t talk about it as much. I would have to chase him down for whatever reason. He’s busy. He’s got his outside stuff or he’s getting warmed up for the match. I’m just sitting there we got to attack these guys. And, you know, we wrestle the same guys over and over, hey I need a new way to insult The Dark Order. We’ve wrestled them so many times. They’ll joke about it. They’re like, I’d like to see what you come up with this time because I don’t know what you got left, I’ve killed all of them so many times. So it’s a lot of thought and a lot of reading the news and what does this guy look like? What is middle America gonna find funny? It can’t be so niche that only I laugh at it. Because that’s a lot of things for me. But, I watch Jimmy Fallon’s monologue, [Stephen] Colbert’s monologue. What are these people joking about? Okay, let me try something in that realm. And just go from there.”

On realising he had this skill:

“The whole story of why I started rapping is actually wrestling-related. John Cena was in a music video with an underground rapper named Murs. And Murs was a big wrestling fan and he had John Cena do a feature in his video. So John did a verse he did the music video. And me at like 14 years old was like, amazing, let me look up more Murs. And growing up in New York, we get a lot of like 50 Cent, a lot of Dipset, The Locks so all this like hard gangster rap. And then Murs was like, a little bit more relatable to me, a guy from the suburbs. And I was like, Man, he’s not rapping about all the stuff they rap about on the radio. Maybe I could rap about my life. And so it kind of went from there and just reading interviews and listening to songs. Oh, how do you write a verse? How does music structure work? I taught myself how to make beats, because I had nothing to rap over. So I go, let me try and sample stuff and I would do that on the desktop in the kitchen. And that worked up to my own computers and stuff like that. And no one was rapping over my beat. So I’m like, I guess it’s just me. So I’m like, the one man band in my house. It’s just me humming and then on the computer like, Okay, let me start writing.”

On being homegrown AEW talent:

“I think me and Anthony are the best, purely homegrown talent AEW has ever created. We have not been on major wrestling television as signed wrestlers prior to that. We literally had our first match together on an AEW show. And who went as high as us? And at this point, we’re still doing fine. We’re still very, very popular. I mean, we just showed up at the Ring of Honor show, the pay per view and that crowd was super excited to see us with no announcement. I think if we are announced that’s appointment viewing because they want to know what I’m going to say. They want to see Anthony and Billy interact with the people. And it’s really like a big feel-good party when we’re out there. So for us to kind of cultivate all of that and create scissoring, the pink, Daddy Ass.”

On being one of Bobby Lashley’s sisters:

“Sure. You know, young wrestler, hungry, $500, quick drive three hours here. Catering is great, what else could you ask for? I think most other aspiring wrestlers would have taken that booking. It was very last minute thing from what I remember. They called I think the week of like, can you come to Raw? Okay. No idea what they wanted me to do. Gotta be in a dress. I don’t know about that, you know what Katt Williams says about guys in dresses. It’s a little like a slippery slope but again, it’s like getting paid. You’re getting on TV. I’m like this is this will be good for my career. They thought of me, they’re like specifically Yeah, let’s bring you in for this. I go okay, that makes sense. Sami Zayn has dressed up three men to lure Bobby Lashley to the ring and now we have to beat him up. Very, very cartoonish. Very, like Bugs Bunny Elmer Fudd I thought. I don’t think people really responded to it. It still gets brought up as one of the worst things on their show of all time, but I thought it was great.”

Did anything else come from that appearance?

“No, that was kind of it. I didn’t expect anything. I think after that I had my WWE tryout at the Performance Center, which was completely independent of that. And at that tryout, they told me, You did great, go make a name for yourself and we’ll talk to you then. And it took me I think, another year and a half before it came down to the decision of AEW or WWE. They were both offering [deals] at the time.”

On choosing AEW over WWE:

“That’s a good question. Because I gave it a lot of thought and I almost did the NXT thing. [This is 2020?] Yeah. The full story is they had a guy on Dynamite that they did a match with on one of the live shows. And then the very next week or something he signed with WWE. They swooped in, boom, grabbed this guy right up and he’s still there. I’m sure he’s doing great. I don’t keep up. But I think Tony or whoever got word that WWE had been interested in me, I’d done a couple of shows on pay-per-view with David Marquez and that’s when they called me, I go, Oh, okay, this might be it. And then I think AEW got wind of that and then they go, in my opinion, let’s swoop in on these guys and take this guy that they want. I was I think the beneficiary of that. And just the environment there, even when I worked there as an extra at AEW, it was night and day different than working as an extra for WWE. I think I changed in the men’s locker room as opposed to a curtained-off area at the back of the arena. The only memory I have of Brodie Lee in person is me and him just sitting across from each other, him as him, and me as an unsigned guy just putting on my my boots. And I’m like, wow, this is actually way different. And no one even cared, everyone was just like, oh, yeah, you’re here, you’re wrestling today, good for you. I feel like that put me more at ease. And then the fact that it was Tony’s idea to put me and Anthony together to be The Acclaimed to give us that name and he seemed, yeah, this is this is an exciting thing, this is my idea. And I hadn’t heard anything specific. I technically didn’t have a deal on the table with WWE, but they were flying me down to come meet and hang out and see if I was a good fit. They put that contract in front of us and that was it was like a leap of faith for me and Anthony together to do that.”

On the possibility of The Acclaimed breaking up:

“I don’t feel the animosity yet. And you would think [it’s been almost four years] it doesn’t feel like that, we can look back on the start. It seems like yesterday and again, like for me, I feel like I don’t give myself enough respect to say I am a veteran in wrestling. I am one of the most popular wrestlers in AEW, I am a locker room leader. Even if it’s by example, people could watch us and say I want to aspire to be that. I don’t know if I give myself enough credit for that because I don’t even know if there’s a reason. That’s one of the things I want to improve this year. [It is hard to give yourself praise though]. It’s for some people, for me definitely and that’s where the best wrestler alive comes from. It’s just we got to reiterate that we got to drive that into everyone else’s head but also my head and come out of that. On the other side, way better and actually the best and when people call me the best, that’s the validation, and they will. It’s not going to be tomorrow. But one day, it’s going to start and it’s going to keep going and keep going. And everyone’s gonna say, Wow, I never realised how great Max is. And I think it all just starts with me and in here. So that’s what we’re working on this year is along with the physical improvements it’s just making sure that I know that I am the best.”

Do you think you have ever gone too far with one of your raps?

“No. There are raps that other people have thought I’ve gone too far on for sure. But everything that I’ve ever said and done has led to my career being at this point right now and I can’t regret it. I’ve never walked out there and been like yeah, this is too far, but I’m gonna say it anyway. I think it’s funny. Whatever I say, I think it’s funny. If it’s a bad joke, it’s a bad joke. It didn’t land, Oops, you know, stand-ups, they work material out in front of a crowd. If it doesn’t land, they just go well, okay, next joke. That one didn’t work. I kind of don’t have that luxury. If it’s really on the line I’ll kind of walk around to different people that I trust and go what do you think of this and If they really, really don’t like it, I might try and rework it. But, you know, I might also say it too.”

Did you have to run your raps by people after the Simone Biles line?

“For a time. But that stopped pretty quickly. Of course, I wasn’t gonna go there again. It wasn’t even that line in that rap. It was the Duke Lacrosse, and that is a whole to me grey area because it’s an accusation, but a false accusation. But it’s also referencing something that is very sensitive in the world, which is sexual assault, and I get it, it’s a very touchy subject. Probably shouldn’t have said it but in retrospect, how could I ever regret that? Because when I returned to TV, it was like a hero’s welcome. So why was I being rewarded for the most horrible thing that anyone’s ever said? We walked out, it was I believe Chicago. And it was a Dark, I want to say 2021. Chicago, one of these shows before the pay-per-view. And we walked out, and it was, yeah, so happy you guys are back. Anthony had been wrestling singles matches in the time that I was away following that, and you could feel the energy just wasn’t in the room. As great of a wrestler as he is, if he kept going it would have come together and people would get on board. But that’s the yin and yang of us is he’s gonna have the platform to do what he can do as long as I’m there, and vice versa. I think we’ve closed the gap on each other. He’s become a great interviewer and I’ve become a more outstanding wrestler because I’m trying to focus more on that not so much on the rap. And we’ve kind of closed the gap, and we’re becoming more one and the same. But it helped, that suspension, that thing that I said the outrage helped my career and Anthony’s career in turn.”

On how the suspension helped his career:

“Say what you want in the moment, people were really upset. I thought it was great, because I go, Oh, well, I’ll just do some more like that. It was a little too far. Things got really, really touchy when the network starts calling. And that’s what really did me in. Something had to be done and I agree with that. I’m cool with that. I only apologise to Tony and Anthony Bowens and they both appreciated that and accepted that and we moved forward. And when I came back, we figured out wouldn’t it be funny if I just read off a sheet of paper, a corporately written rap? And we started doing it and the fans are booing, and then we rip it up and they start cheering. So it’s like this is what they want. They want me to be me. Everyone wants me all the wrestlers to be themselves really, or extensions of themselves. And I feel like I’m one of the only wrestlers who’s not afraid to be himself. I use my real name, my government name, you can look me up. I will say what I want to say I’m, okay with that. I’m okay with the consequences. And we keep going. But our popularity speaks for itself.”

On referencing WWE:

“That’s a double-edged sword. Because you can get them on some things, and it’ll be a good burn, but you’re also putting more light on their product, which they don’t need it. They’re already however many years they’ve been in business 50, 60, 70 If you count all the way back to the territories, they have that credibility built in, that longevity, so do they need that from the four or five-year-old wrestling promotion in AEW? No, they really don’t. And at a certain point, you know, people would say, hey, stop doing that. And I listened. I really try not to do it anymore because it just creates more eyes on their product and not ours. It makes us seem second-rate.

I mean, there were certain things that had nothing to do with the TV show. Reference Vince McMahon I think the very first time that any sort of allegations came out. When he retired, I referenced him. And that was like news, it was news news. So I thought that’s a little bit better than me saying, their TV show they did this, on their internet show, they did this. It’s way different. John Laurinaitis had done something, I think that’s different than reacting to their TV show. So I would pick and choose, but honestly, it was never a good idea. Because it would just create shots back and forth. And now you see them taking shots at us. And of course, they are, if they’re running hot and anyone’s going to ask them about AEW, of course, they’re going to take shots because we took all the shots at them. Fair is fair. I’m cool with that. But when it comes back around, not no one’s gonna complain.”

On getting away with scissoring on TV:

“Scissoring is great. I’ve heard a lot from the lesbian community about how they, like scissoring how only some lesbians scissor, one lady was like, you have to be skinny to do it. So it’s not every lesbian. I’m like, I never said it was, it’s just something we do as a handshake. So there was a certain point where we were asked to stop, and then we tried some other stuff. And we’re throwing the A down. And I’m like, man, a scissor would go so good in this, but I’m like, um, milk it like udders, and Anthony’s just like, What are you doing? Scissoring was the thing. I can’t tell you, when I knew for sure that it was going to lead us to success. But once people started making their own, like cardboard scissors that would like open and close. And I’m like, Oh, yeah. If they’re making art out of what we say, yeah, that’s moving the culture.”

On the Shelton Benjamin discourse on social media:

“We don’t want him [Why?] what’s he gonna do? Take up my TV time. This is one thing I learned when I was getting signed to AEW, I got a call from QT Marshall. Who I love and respect because he’s a great wrestler. And he’s very honest. One of the most honest guys I’ve ever met, if not the most. He called me up. And he’s like, Tony wants you to come in. I go. Is this a joke? I don’t know. He goes, Look, I’m a wrestler. I’d prefer it if you didn’t come here and work because you’d be taking a spot that I want. And I go, Oh, that was some real sh*t. I respect that guy. And ever since then, he’s always kept it on that level with me so I gotta keep it on that level with everyone else. Every single free agent that comes up in professional wrestling fans want to go, they’d be great in AEW. We only have so much TV time. Some of that needs to go to me. I don’t want all of it. I’m not selfish, but I’m the best. But if people start calling for Shelton Benjamin, or Motor City Machine Guns or whoever, it doesn’t matter, and not to single anyone out. My sentiment is, why would we want them? We already have the best roster, you already have the best wrestler alive. If you want anyone to come in and do whatever role they’re going to do. I bet I can do it better. I bet Anthony could do it better. I bet we have a guy on there that’s not even getting used on our roster that could do it better. So what are we really doing? We’re just bringing in stars that were made other places to do what? Less work ourselves. I’ll work for that. If you want me to fill someone’s role, I can work and do that. It’s not going to be overnight. It’s not going to be okay, Max is now this guy. No, but I could work there. But it’s insulting to me as a veteran and a top wrestler, and one of the most popular wrestlers that fans will go. Well, we want this other guy now. Why? You have the best, literally the whole roster you have the top of wrestling.”

Just to be clear this is not a Shelton Benjamin thing?

“Not at all. I will say right here, great wrestler, and I respect him a lot. But why would I campaign for anyone to join the company when we already have the best wrestlers? I’m here. Put me in that spot and it’ll be great. But if I’m gonna sit here and go, Wow, yeah, we need more on this roster. No, we don’t.”

How do you feel when someone gets signed?

“I’m insulted. I really am. I want to see them prove themselves. And, you know, talking about the people that we signed recently, I think Will Ospreay has proved himself. Give him all the credit in the world. He’s an amazing wrestler. Okada, I think once he’s situated in the country, and he’s on TV every week, we will see. But that doesn’t take away from how great of a wrestler he is. He’s here, we got to live with it. But if you had asked me before we signed him, Max, do you think Okada should be here? I go if you want, but I can do that for you.”

On Adam Copeland:

“I’ll be honest, when he was brought in, I was sceptical. Because you go, he’s done so much, what else could he really want to do? This is my company. Again, you’re stealing our TV time. But he’s proven himself to be a leader and someone who’s gonna go out there and put in the work in the ring and pull guys aside. He’s pulled me aside and said, Hey, I saw your match. Here’s what I think. And I go, thank you so much and I appreciate that, but there’s a lot of guys who wouldn’t do that.”

On new signings possibly bringing in more people:

“They could, I don’t know if they have. Wrestling and TV is a lot about how you make people feel. But not just once, over a long period of time. So these guys can come in and there’s some general excitement when they first show up. But are they going to sustain that? We have to wait and see, but we’ve worked so hard to get to where we are in the company from literally ground up, homegrown, purely. And then to just have guys who were stars somewhere else, did their whole career somewhere else come in, and now they’re perceived to be on top of us, it’s an insult to me. I’m speaking for me, I don’t want to speak for my partners or anything like that. It’s an insult to me because of all the work we’ve put in. If other people help along the way, sure. But not many of these guys have ever campaigned to wrestle me and Anthony. I think there’s a reason for that. One because they don’t want to get embarrassed via me on the microphone. And they know that we are younger and hungrier and ready to go and they want to be in their comfort zone, wherever they are. I get that, but we have the tendency to bring people outside their comfort zone. So I again, take that personally when me and Anthony are the number one thing in wrestling period. And then none of the top wrestlers are saying we can actually better AEW if we put on a top-level fight with two of the top teams. FTR was the only one team that agreed to wrestle us and that was great. Again, I respect them for that. But there wasn’t that clamour from everyone in the locker room, like, put me with Acclaimed, none. And I again take that very, very personally, because that shows that people are afraid to try and help the company as a whole.

What is Max Caster grateful for?

“My genetics, my brain, my creativity and professional wrestling.”

Braun Strowman On Bray Wyatt, WWE Return, Neck Injury, Brock Lesnar Receipt

in LATEST EPISODES on May 2, 2024 May 2, 2024

Braun Strowman (@adamscherr99) is a professional wrestler with WWE. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at a WWE Priority Pass On Location event in Philadelphia during WrestleMania week to talk about the neck injury that kept him out of action for over a year, returning to WWE after being released in 2022, his friendship with Bray Wyatt, how being part of the Wyatt Family changed not only his career but his life, the receipt that Brock Lesnar gave him in the ring during the 2018 Royal Rumble, wrestling The Undertaker and Kane early in his career, getting into the best shape of his life and much more.

Quote I’m thinking about: “The greatest lesson I’ve learned in life is that I still have a lot to learn.”

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On being massive:

“Honestly, I don’t realise that I’m this big. I just feel like a normal person until I see pictures with my friends and fans and things and I go Holy sh*t. I’m pretty frickin big.”

Were you always this big?

“Honestly, no. So when I was born I was a normal size kid. I think I was 17 inches or something like that and seven and a half pounds and I was kind of normal-ish for a while. And then around 11 or 12 years old, I went through this crazy growth transformation. I remember how miserable it was with growing pains and stuff. And I started high school at five foot eight or five foot nine. And then when I graduated at 17, I was six-five and 300 pounds. Yeah, thinking about that I still have PTSD from the good growing pains and everything that I went through when I was a kid, but it all worked out.”

On how his neck is feeling:

“It feels great. I mean, look at this range of motion I got in this thing this thing. I’m pretty much Wolverine I got some titanium in there and things like that. I was a little nervous, I asked doc when they put all this hardware and I was like so am I going to set off metal detectors when I go to the airport? Because we are in airports more than we are in our houses.”

On when the return will be?

“We’re getting close. So I’m actually having dinner with my doctor tonight Dr. Cordover, an unbelievably talented doctor one of the absolute top neurosurgeons, spinal surgeons in the world. I was very blessed, and fortunate to be able to go to have him do the surgery on me at Andrews Medical down in Birmingham, Alabama. So actually gonna have dinner with him tonight and talk and I have another CT scan in I believe, like two weeks, so we’re getting really, really close.”

On realising this was an issue:

“So I didn’t know. I come to find out, I didn’t know I had stenosis to the spine. So stenosis of the spine, yeah, it’s basically where it’s tightened around your spinal column. So I only had nine millimetres of clearance around my spine between my C4 and C5 vertebrae. I didn’t know that and I got hit wrong during a match and my head whipped back. When my head whipped back and pinched my spine it felt like a lightning bolt shot out both my arms and my arms went limp. So if you watch the match back, you can see in the match where it happened. There’s a point where you see me, my arms dropped to my side, and I kind of look around really weird and I find my hands and stuff start to move again. And I’m like looking at my hands and I go to take off running and I’m all wobbly my balance is off and things like that. We got the match finished and got in the back, and it felt like someone was pouring boiling hot water down both of my arms, it was on fire. So I was in this really terrifying place for a couple of weeks of not knowing am I ever going to have a normal life again? Am I going to be able to do what I love? Am I going to be able to just do anything? So it’s very fortunate that I’ve become friends with so many of the legends and things like that in this business. So I called Stone Cold, because I know Stone Cold went through something like this, because come to find out his injury was almost exactly like mine, it was just a little bit more severe. So he had stenosis in his spine when he got the Piledriver. And it pinched his spine and it pushed all the fluid out of his spine and bruised and he was actually paralysed from the neck down for like 30 seconds. So having him talk to me and kind of almost giving me the proverbial it’s gonna be okay, it was a very big breath of fresh air. Because like I said, I didn’t know what was going on. And WWE takes unbelievable care of their talent and, talking with Hunter and stuff like that, and him going look, what we’re doing right now is not as important as what you’re going to be doing in 15 years of your life, get it taken care of, you’re important, you’re not going anywhere. If you can wrestle again, you can, if you can’t, we’ll figure it out. So having that pat on the back again, like giving that reassurance because you’re not guaranteed anything. So having them be able to put me in the place to have the best surgery that I can, go into the WWE Performance Center, having the best rehabilitation that I can. I couldn’t be more thankful that I’m taken care of by such an amazing company.”

On not wanting to be off TV:

“I was like, How can I work around this? Because that’s what I’ve done my whole career. A lot of people don’t realise WWE stars are banged up all the time. There is no offseason, like this the longest break that I’ve had doing this in 11 years. So for me to be sitting at home and doing nothing for four months, losing my mind, like watching my muscle mass that I work so hard for diminishing and just sitting there like, I’m not gonna lie it weighed. 2023 was rough. I mean, my neck injury and then you know.”

On the passing of Bray Wyatt:

“I see him all the time. It’s crazy. It really is crazy. I don’t know how spiritual anyone is or this and that, but I had a very deep connection with him. I mean, I see him and there’s things that remind me of him and constantly, every day there’s something, I can feel him he’s still around.”

On how much The Wyatt Family changed his career:

“It changed my entire life. I was this kid that was told he was never gonna make it, never gonna be anything, bullied, fat kid growing. Having a group of guys, three talented, unbelievable human beings take me under their wing and show me the ways through this crazy business. Words can’t really explain how grateful I am for that because I’m not where I am in life without those guys.”

On the Bray Wyatt entrance:

“I’ll never forget my first WrestleMania walking out at AT&T Stadium with 101,000 people shot in their flashlights when we’re about to go out and face off against The Rock and John Cena. Like it doesn’t get any bigger than that. I mean, how like, for this kid from Sherrils Ford, North Carolina, walking out with two of his best friends in front of 101,000 people to wrestle two of the absolute most iconic wrestlers of all time. I constantly have to pinch myself because I don’t believe there’s a reality, I’m living an absolute fairy tale.”

On winning a championship:

“In my mind, I didn’t know how long it would take, but I knew it was gonna happen. I’ve been very good at manifesting things in my life because I just grew up with nothing. So I had to work for everything. The only thing I’ve ever had given to me in my life is a f*cking hard time and pardon my French. But yeah, so like just knowing that, I can’t remember what documentary it is I start off talking at the beginning of it, it shows the full circle where at one point, we were getting close for me to be the champion, something happened and Vince had changed his mind on it. And the show comes to this interview after I had this meeting with him and I was pissed off about it. Because I was like I don’t know what I’m not doing right what I’m not doing wrong, this and that. And that whole documentary leads up on me being told that it’s not my time to be champion. And it led to me beating Goldberg to become the Universal Champion. And it’s so crazy to see all that come to fruition in the story.”

On what it meant to win the championship:

“It meant the world because I like I said, as a kid growing up idolising him to becoming friends with him you know, unfortunate circumstances with everything going on with the pandemic and what happened, he wanted me. So he picked me to do that and do the honours and pass that torch. [Did he reach out to you to tell you that?] Not initially they reached out but when we got there was a whole thing. He goes to me he’s like, look let me not paraphrase it wrong. He said I can count on one hand how many people that I would do this for and I still have three fingers left.”

On being released in 2021:

“It f*cking sucked. I mean, at the end of the day how else do I say it, it sucked. I had no intentions of going anywhere. But that’s an unfortunate part of the business, you know, business is business. And that’s the time that was the decision, I guess that they needed to make. And clearly it wasn’t the right one because I’m back.”

On knowing he would return:

“I knew, I knew for a fact. And that’s what I said, I got reached out by everybody, come here, come wrestle for us. And I’ve said it time and time again. I’m loyal to this company. Because what this company has done for me, my family, my loved ones, I’m just loyal. And I knew for a fact that I would be back because this is where I belong. I truly believe I was put on this earth to be a WWE Superstar.”

On the 2018 Royal Rumble with Brock Lesnar:

“I got a little overzealous with him and he had to check me. And that’s just at the end of the day it’s two big, dominant dudes out there going at it and things happen. This ain’t ballet. I stiffed him on accident with a knee and he wasn’t happy with it. So he clobbered me on the side of the head. And I like to think I’m the only human on Earth that’s ever taken a right hand for Brock that didn’t go night-night. I went 20 more minutes in the match. It didn’t feel good. I mean, you see the slow motion my skull moves and then the skin catches up.”

On his favourite match:

“Honestly, as hard as it was, the swamp match I had with Bray. Because that was my teacher, my mentor, my master. Being able to go out there and use the tools and assets that he taught me and he gave me and be able to go out there. What a lot of people don’t realise with that match and stuff that we had, it took us like 32 hours of continuous work to film this in hot-ass Florida. And it really put a toll on both of us, I ended up in the hospital after it. So I got home and I collapsed in my house with full body cramps, I had to be pulled out of my house by the EMS and have double IVs hooked up. It took four litres of fluid to get my body to stop cramping. So that’s when I got a little you know, you got your critics on the internet and people were bashing it and I’m like, I get it, it’s your opinion you’re entitled to it but like, I almost killed myself to make this happen for y’all. So it’s kind of hard dealing with the critics at times when he when you’re sacrificing your health and well-being to put smiles on other people’s faces. [Was it dehydration?] Yeah, it was just a lot. I mean, you’re out in the middle of a swamp all day long and then literally getting it done and then going straight to Monday Night Raw right after. I went home, took a shower, went to TV got that done and then got home and collapsed while I was taking a shower. But I wouldn’t change the thing. Because I know how important what we do on television to the people out there in the world when they need an escape from reality. As I said, nothing I would change, all the surgeries I’ve been through the pain, the missing out on normal life, whatever normal is anymore. To see in the videos of kids that are going to have brain tumours removed as they’re going under anaesthesia, they’re holding my action figure. That’s what it’s all about.”

What is Braun Strowman grateful for:

“My family, my loved ones and the ability to travel the world.”

Tiffany Stratton On TIFFY TIME, Rhea Ripley, Ludwig Kaiser, Prettiest Moonsault Ever

in LATEST EPISODES on April 30, 2024 April 30, 2024

Tiffany Stratton (@tiffstrattonwwe) is a professional wrestler signed to WWE. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet at a WWE Priority Pass On Location event in Philadelphia during WrestleMania week to talk about her background as a gymnast, her WWE tryout, getting trained by Greg Gagne, how she came up with the name Tiffany Stratton, being inspired by Paris Hilton, her incredible athleticism, how she developed the PME (Prettiest Moonsault Ever), her boyfriend Ludwig Kaiser, making her main roster debut at the Royal Rumble, the loud crowd reaction she got at Elimination Chamber in Perth and much more!

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On trying out for WWE:

“So I’m originally from Prior Lake Minnesota, which is like 20 minutes south of Minneapolis. I was originally a gymnast, so I grew up in the gymnastics world. One day, I was flipping through the channels and I saw Charlotte Flair on SmackDown. And I immediately was like, Who is this woman? She’s jacked. She’s blonde. She looks amazing. She’s doing all these cool flips. And immediately I was just drawn to it. So I went to my nearest wrestling school and I signed up for classes. However, my mom actually had a contact who knew Greg Gagne, who is a wrestling legend. He’s been in the business for a long time. And he agreed to train me and get me a tryout with WWE.”

On what helped her hone her skills:

“I would say gymnastics definitely. It teaches you coordination. It teaches you how to move your body, how to flip, how to roll and I feel like a lot of that is the fundamentals of wrestling. So I kind of picked it up quickly because of gymnastics.”

On the Prettiest Moonsault Ever:

“I did it in like every single one of my routines, it’s like a skill that everybody does in their routines. It’s part of your compulsory routine so I can do it in my sleep.”

On what else comes easy in the ring:

“Obviously being a gymnast I’m not really scared of heights. So going off the top rope is something very easy for me. I’m very good with my air awareness and knowing where I am in the middle of the air. So definitely think that the acrobatic stuff that I do, especially off the top rope, is something that I am very good at.”

On what surprised her about WWE:

“Honestly, there’s a lot of just behind-the-scenes stuff you really don’t know when you’re getting into the business. So I would say going to the Performance Center and the insane schedule that you have, when you first start out, it’s Monday through Friday, you’re training, you’re going to the gym. And then on the weekends, you’re having Coconut [loops], which is basically live wrestling shows in front of fans all around Florida. So you’re constantly going you’re constantly wrestling, and it takes a toll. I’m not gonna lie.”

On dating Ludwig Kaiser:

“So we’ve actually been dating for, it’s gonna be two years in May. So we kind of always knew of each other because we both were at the Performance Center. One day he was out and it was my birthday weekend, and I was out and we actually played rock, paper, scissors and the loser had to ask the person on the date. So he lost and he had to ask me on the date. [What was your first date?] Kres Steakhouse in Orlando.”

On being on separate brands:

“It’s definitely like the last couple of months since I just got called up. It’s been kind of hard. You know, we only get to see each other for a couple of days. But when we do see each other, it means a lot more.”

On debuting on the main roster:

“So I guess I kind of debuted at the Rumble. I didn’t really know that I was making my debut on the main roster, but I had the rumble. Then that Tuesday, I was kind of waiting to hear if I was going to be on NXT that night, and I wasn’t. So I kind of asked them I was like, am I getting called up? And they’re like, Oh, we’re not sure. And then I get a text saying that I have travel for SmackDown. And then I asked am I called up? They’re like, we’re not sure. And then Friday, I got the confirmation that I was being called up and then I had my in-ring debut and the rest is history.”

On the Royal Rumble:

“I was extremely nervous for the Rumble. I just feel like I don’t know, it’s the first time that the main roster fans kind of got to see me. And I was kind of worried nobody’s gonna know who I was, you know, coming from an NXT. It was awesome. I tried to be in the moment and it was a super amazing experience for me.”

On what match cemented her skills in-ring:

“No Mercy in California, I had a match against Becky Lynch, we main evented that PLE. I would say that that match was definitely the one where I kind of cemented myself into okay, she has what it takes. And yeah, that was a transformative day for me as well.”

On Becky Lynch:

“Overall Becky is such a great leader for everybody. And especially for someone who’s kind of just getting their name out there and stuff because she was there. She knows what it’s like to be the rookie and be the one like, nobody knows who you are. So I just think she was so helpful in kind of guiding me through those big matches.”

On the sudden rise of Tiffany Stratton:

“My entire NXT run I feel like everything just happened so fast. I had only trained for eight weeks before even debuting on TV. Yeah, so that was scary. And my first match was atrocious, it was so bad. Then I got taken off TV for a couple of weeks. And I was like, I’m gonna come back better than ever. So I worked really hard. I came back I had my second match against Iyo Sky actually. And it was amazing. And then just I kept learning and I kept getting better with every single rep. And I think they saw that. And yeah, like, the sky’s the limit for me right now.”

Why was that first match so bad?

“Back then I really didn’t know how to work a crowd or even, I didn’t really know who I was in general. You know, it was kind of just thrown out there and, like, told to figure it out a little bit.”

On a dream opponent:

“Obviously, I’m going to have to go with Charlotte Flair. She is the reason why I got into wrestling. She’s my inspiration. I really look up to her. But also Bianca Belair. I think me versus Charlotte versus Bianca would be such a cool matchup. I feel like we all kind of have similar styles in the ring. So I’m really looking forward to those two for sure.”

On her own WrestleMania moment:

“I’ve heard that, or it’s been rumoured that next year’s WrestleMania is going to be in Minnesota. And I’m from Minnesota. So I think, you know, Tiffy Time in my hometown in the main events would be the perfect moment for me in my career.”

On winning the NXT Women’s Championship:

“So that day, I’m trying to remember, I’m pretty sure it was a bit chaotic, which is like every single TV. But I honestly was just so nervous. I actually did not like my gear at all that day. I just didn’t like the fit, I didn’t really like the colour. I don’t know. It’s just when something doesn’t look amazing on you and it’s like a big moment. It’s kind of like, oh, so that was kind of a little downer. But yeah, that day, it was intense. And afterwards, honestly, I had like no feeling like I was numb. I feel like it didn’t hit me until I came back and then I got emotional. It was my longest match I’ve ever had so I was so tired, I was so blown up, I was just exhausted, I hurt my shoulder a little bit. But all in all, it was a great day.”

On where Tiffany Stratton came from:

“So actually, my mom’s name is Tiffany. And Stratton, I honestly don’t know where I got that last name from. I think I heard it on Wolf of Wall Street because the brokerage his name Stratton Oakmont and I think that’s where I heard it. And it just sounded good, so I kind of threw it in there. And then they picked it was actually between Tiffany Stratton and Veronica Swanson. So obviously, I had to go with Tiffany Stratton.”

On the reaction in Australia:

“I was not expecting it at all. I realised that I had a lot of fans behind me at the press conference when they were chanting Tiffy Time before I even came out. So that was kind of like the moment was like, Okay, I think they kind of know me.”

What Tiffany Stratton is grateful for:

“The life that I live, my family and food.”

Will Sasso’s Spot-On Impressions Of Jesse Ventura, Macho Man, Arnold Schwarzenegger & Stone Cold 😂

in LATEST EPISODES on April 25, 2024 April 25, 2024

Will Sasso (@willsasso) is an actor, comedian, podcaster and huge wrestling fan. He joins Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, CA to talk about the rising popularity of wrestling, his show “Loudermilk” on Netflix, his podcast “Dudesy” and being the current Episode Champion, having a match against Bret Hart in WCW, taking a Stone Cold Stunner from Steve Austin in WWE, getting chokeslammed by Kane, why he should be in the celebrity wing of WWE’s Hall Of Fame, his guest appearance on Entourage when he got Jeremy Piven to break character and does incredible spot-on impressions of Jesse Ventura, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Quote I’m thinking about: “A day without laughter is a day wasted” – Charlie Chaplin

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On the recent beatdown angle between The Rock and Cody Rhodes:

“It was very worth it. I don’t know what it is. is not well, I think there’s a lot of things, super wrestling, dorks will say, okay, Triple H has run of creative, right? And that’s a different situation, obviously. I don’t know, because I look at WWE from afar. And I kind of go this is a this is a television show they know what the f*ck they’re doing. They’ve got an amazing group of characters that they’ve built and the storytelling that they do and I kind of feel like yeah, right now they are, they are in the zone and the whole, let them cook thing. More than I have been in years and years going, I can’t wait to see where that goes, instead of f*ck that kind of dropped off on this because it’s sort of and again, I’m just speaking as a layman, as a fan. It seems like, in years past, it was sort of booked, like, wrestling is booked. It’s like, Yeah, this is working, this isn’t. So let’s let this fall over by the wayside when you have a massive TV audience and fans all over the world. Some people are interested in that storyline that you think no one’s interested in. And the more stories that drop off, I think that creates bad will with the audience. Whereas now, I think everything they do is very deliberate.”

On his guest spot on WWE to promote The Three Stooges:

“That would have been the last time that I was hanging out doing the WWE thing. And we’re the Three Stooges but oh, where’s Curly? and he comes out as Hulk. But it was like I was pitching this thing, and really goofy and then they come out. And they were wonderful. They’re like, sounds good. And I’m like, Oh, shi*t, hey, what if Kane comes in? Okay, cool. What? this is what it’s like. Then the mild-mannered and extremely helpful Glenn Jacobs is like, you’re sure whatever you want to do. And this is incredible. And he chokeslammed me and sh*t.”

On how the segment was put together:

“We went out there in the afternoon. I had this promo that I had as Hulk Hogan, where it’s like, Curly comes out. And he’s like, Look at me. I’m dressed as whatever. Then I was out there cutting a promo as Hulk Hogan. [I said] ‘Well, there’s only one movie I want to see. I don’t want to go see Hunger Games dude. I don’t want to see The Cabin in the Woods, bro. I want to see The Three Stooges. And there’s few wrestlers around going this is f*cking long. Then Paul Triple H Levesque is out there, of course. And let me go through the whole thing. And he said ok, We’re going to do about 10% of that. Yeah, and I know. And then the idea was to have Kane and we just stood around in the ring talking about it. And then that was it. And I was like, okay, all right. I gotta tell you this so we go backstage. I have Shawn Hayes who plays Larry and Chris Diamantopoulos who plays Moe, with me, of course, and we’re there and they’re not wrestling fans per se. And I’m like, you know, it’s going to be bedlam. We’re going to head out to the ring. You’re going to hear all sorts of sh*t coming from the audience. They’re going to love to hate you. This is at the point where WWE had a lot of celebrity stuff and you gotta wait you know, Hugh Jackman is punching Dolph Ziggler. And as wrestling fans were like f*ck off, we don’t want any of this sh*t.”

On possibly going into the WWE Hall of Fame:

“Is Pete Rose in yet? I think he took the chokeslam well. I think before we get anywhere near me, we got to do Andy Richter, Kevin Federline, Jeremy Piven, Ken Jeong need to get in before me, Snooki needs to go in. Because we’re wrestling fans here, don’t disrespect the hall. We have to we have to really, who else?”

On Logan Paul:

“It’s interesting when you see someone with the mechanics you watch like, I don’t know like I remember as a kid just going like holy fuck Bam Bam Bigelow is 350 pounds or whatever and moves like he weighs 100 pounds. And there are guys that just get [it], all the second and third generation wrestlers I feel like have that. You see a guy like you know the legendary Randy Orton obviously, who’s just it’s in his blood. Logan Paul has no business being that good.”

On Logan Paul in the Elimination Chamber:

“I was laughing at a clip I saw online of him after the Chamber match in Australia, where he’s like outside, he just got eliminated by Randy Orton. So it’s Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton is in the chamber still. And they’re trying to get Logan out of there. And he’s like, Ah, I’m in pain, I can’t move but he’s like kind of whining. He’s doing the chicken sh*t heel thing and it’s so entertaining. And it wasn’t on the broadcast. It’s like just these cameras over here and it ends up on social media. And then the opportunity presents itself. He gets the knucks on he hits Randy Orton with the knucks and he rolls out and the refs are playing. And he’s like, I tricked you. I tricked you like na na na and the ref was with him was like no, I knew. No you didn’t I tricked you know, I knew no you didn’t. I tricked you. I’m gonna be a real dork now, when Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho were doing the we’re best friends thing with the list. There was a moment when I was watching a match and Chris Jericho is like in the ring and he’s dizzy from whatever the other guy and Kevin Owens is going don’t fall down, don’t fall down. And you can see Chris Jericho smiling because no one says that in wrestling but that’s exactly what he’s doing. He’s about to fall down. But a guy who’s as good a wrestler as there has ever been like a guy like Kevin Owens, who’s [says] don’t fall down. That’s the sh*t that a guy like Logan Paul comes in goes I don’t know what the rules are. So Yes, Chris I’m eager to get back into the WWE. And Logan Paul, if you’re looking for a mouthpiece, why not have a big, tubby manager with pretty solid calves who can take a bump for you every now and then cuz you’re gonna get injured.”

On Raw going to Netflix next year:

“If Loudermilk can come back on Netflix, and then Raw is on Netflix. Now we have a situation where with the Bret Hart thing, we did a crossover with Mad TV. With Stone Cold did a crossover with Mad TV both of those Superstars appeared on Mad TV and they sent my big ass to go get tossed around on their respective programmes Nitro and Raw. We are promoting the Three Stooges. Again, end up on Raw getting chokeslammed by Kane now. Not as iconic a character, Curly Hulk Hogan, Ben Burns. That’s my name on Loudermilk. Know what? Oh, Ben Burns is coming out here folks. Huh? That’s isn’t that that fat guy from late night? He’s got big calves and then I come out there.”

On why The Rock takes the best Stunner:

“He pushes himself backwards. I probably talked about this last time I was on your programme, when we did the thing with Stone Cold and I take the stunner at the end. We went out there in the afternoon. And he’s like, so bang, I hit the thing and you just crumble boom. And that’s it. And I think he was thinking about all the bad Stunners that you see people take, they don’t have their knees or their feet underneath them or even one knee and it just looks like sh*t.”

On how he got into wrestling:

“So for me, it was seeing Hulk Hogan for the first time, sort of being aware of him a little bit, and then going, like, not really watching. Also, back when I was kid. I was born in 1975. So in 83,84, I’m sort of aware of it. There’s older kids who are watching it. I knew what Hulk Hogan kind of looked like and sh*t but it all came together watching Rocky III when he comes out as Thunder Lips. And then it becomes destination viewing. He’s coming out to the Eye of the Tiger. He’s hanging out with Mr. T, he’s showing up with Cyndi Lauper and Roddy Piper. They’re on mainstream TV. He’s showing up on Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show. And it was like this guy is larger than life. And I became a Hulkamaniac at that point. So for me growing up, it was always Hulk at the beginning. And then you start to appreciate all these other guys. And by the time the Attitude Era came around, I mean, we were spoiled. Rock and Stone Cold, Mick Foley, The Undertaker Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart coming out and doing what they do just on TV. We were spoiled and The Rock was incredible on the mic. Speaking of viral there’s like a clip that was just going across Instagram. And all it is is the rock going and it makes you realise as a wrestling fan, how much we kind of want to be done with the PG era or whatever. Can’t wait for Netflix. But he he was just like, there you know, he’s got his sunglasses on. He’s in the ring and Triple H is out of the ring. And I don’t know what the situation was. But he says shut up b*tch!”

On wrestling signs coming back:

“Yeah, there’s some good signs out there. I don’t know how they are now, it’s this massive merger, obviously and the formation of TKO. It’s like, things are obviously and for so many reasons, run completely differently. As a TV nerd I’m just sort of very curious about the way that they’re running things. And because as a wrestling fan, I want it to be successful, I want it to flourish. And because then we enjoy what we’re seeing more than more than we would otherwise. And I do feel like with Triple H running creative, and again, and I’m talking out of my ass because I don’t know, who’s the bottom line and blah, blah, blah, but obviously, they’ve put him in control.”

On The Rock returning:

“It’s so good to see him doing his thing again. It’s so good. It’s like, again, you know, my poor wife. I’m trying to explain the significance of him in the $500 Versace shirt. I’m trying I’m like, you don’t understand. Because when Rock joined the Nation of Domination, Boo Rocky sucks. That’s when The Rock had well these Versace shirts and you know, he would wear these it’s very funny because now it’s incredible. He’s so entertaining.”

Jinder Mahal: “Don’t Hinder Jinder”, WWE Championship Reign, AEW Tweet, 3MB

in LATEST EPISODES on April 23, 2024 April 23, 2024

Jinder Mahal (@jindermahal) is a professional wrestler known for his time in WWE. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet to talk about starting the year doing a segment with The Rock on Raw Day 1, his World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins, the Twitter exchange he had with Tony Khan about his title shot, being released from WWE in 2014 and coming back better than ever, being part of 3MB with Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater, beating Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Backlash in 2017, being the first Indian WWE Champion, growing up in Canada and training to be a pro wrestler, his Modern Day Maharaja character, winning the US Championship and much more.

Quote I’m thinking about: “The fish don’t just jump in the boat”

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On the January 1st segment with The Rock:

“So I kind of pieced it together. So I got a text from creative Hey, you guys have nothing this week. And then actually travel text says, Hey, you guys are not flying out. I’m in a group chat with Indus Sher and our travel department. And 20 minutes later, I get a separate text saying, Actually, you are going. And I thought it was a little weird that it was just me and not Indus Sher. But I don’t think anything of it. And then like a few hours later, I saw the announcement on Twitter, former WWE Champion returns. I knew it wasn’t going to be me but I figured I’m going to be a part of it. I texted Indus Sher, Hey, are you guys going to Raw? They said no, [so] it’s just me going. So I’m like, okay, good chance I think it’s me. And actually, it was Christmas week. I was with my family in Calgary. I was flying back on the 30th and when I was on my flight, I got a text from one of the writers. Hey, can you talk on the phone? I said I’m in the plane for a few more hours I’ll call you when I land. One of the writers said, Yeah, so we got you in the segment with the Rock. Yes 100%. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. So that’s how I found out man one or two days before.”

On speaking with The Rock before the segment:

“Oh, it was amazing. I met him at his hotel. And Brian Gewirtz was there, wrote an awesome promo. When he sent it to me [I said] can we say this? [Brian said] Yeah. Okay, I guess with The Rock anything goes. So no he just said have fun, let’s do it. He was excited to work with me and I was obviously excited to work with him. And he’s just a class act, The Rock is amazing for him to give me that moment. And especially Brian, telling me like we got time don’t rush, because I was actually kind of shortchanging myself. I was like, maybe I will walk and talk to the ring. He said no enjoy it, have a full entrance, get some heat. We were allotted 20 minutes, so it was an awesome experience.”

On what The Rock said afterwards:

“Yes, he actually kind of left a little bit of an Easter egg. He sent me a voice note like, Thank you appreciate, working with you, and I’ll be seeing a lot more of you around now that I’m doing things all across the board with WWE and it didn’t click in. After a few days later it did. I was like, oh, that’s what he meant by doing things all across the board.”

On improving his promos:

“I’ve gotten better with experience and time. There once was a time when I hated promos. I had to memorise every word. I remember being in FCW and every Wednesday we would have promos with Dusty Rhodes and I’d be so nervous because the hardest people to do promos in front of are other wrestlers. I feel like they are judging, especially in developmental every week matters so much, you’re trying to get to the next level. I used to have to memorise promos word for word. The morning of I’d be stressing, trying to figure it out word for word. And then actually when I became WWE Champion is when I really started working on my promos. When I became number one contender, when I came back in Gorilla, I knew that I was gonna have to step up my promos. So that day in Gorilla right when I came back, I told Vince I said, Hey Vince on every live event Can I please get a promo? He called over Road Dogg [and said] Every live event from now on Jinder has a promo. So every live event after that open mic, do whatever before-the-match kind of promo. And through that just got more and more experienced, more and more comfortable. But had I not asked Hey, can I please do promos? You know, I don’t think I would have progressed as much.”

On when WWE higher-ups viewed him as a potential champion:

“So, Vince appreciates a good physique. Not just because it’s a good physique, but he understands the discipline it takes and the hard work it takes, especially with the schedule at that time, the amount of live events we were doing. To maintain the single-digit body fat percentage while travelling that much is a sign of dedication. So WWE is a place that they reward hard work. But also that hard work and the right opportunity, at that time I had done the spot with Gronk at WrestleMania. And I remember WrestleMania week in Orlando, I’m at a hotel and I see Road Dogg in the hallway, and he’s like, ‘Hey, Jinder big things after WrestleMania coming for you.’ I said okay, okay. I think maybe I move up to the IC level or US Championship level, a little bit more TV time, which is good. So the draft happened, I got drafted to SmackDown. And Rusev was actually supposed to work Randy at that pay-per-view. Rusev gets hurt. He has shoulder surgery and I guess I was just picked. We had a six-pack challenge Match. How I actually found out, the night before we were on a live event and I remember I was taping my wrist. It might have been Luke Harper. I saw on Twitter that the six-pack challenge was for the number one contender. I think it was Luke Harper, who told me like you’re going over, you’re gonna work Randy because I was thinking Harper is gonna work Randy. I looked at the list of guys, me, Sami Zayn, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, one other I can’t remember, maybe Mojo? I can’t remember who it was, I figured is gonna be Luke Harper. And Luke told me and then Randy came a little bit later [and said] I guess we’re working. And then before the match, Randy told me, I think it’s just a one-off because I’m still supposed to work Rusev. I’m like okay, whatever, that’s great. I get a number one contender match at Backlash in Chicago. Okay, great. Even if that’s it, just one title shot. I was just released not even a year ago. And then I don’t know what changed. I got some momentum leading up to Backlash. Cut a couple of promos Vince really liked. And I found out the day of, like the afternoon. Say maybe 5 pm I saw Road Dogg in the hallway. He said, Hey, you’re going over. And I believe he told Randy Hey, go talk to Vince. Randy went and talked to Vince we put the finish together and yeah that was it.”

Did they tell you it would be a lengthy reign?

“No, no idea, I have no idea, just week to week, pay-per-view to pay-per-view. No, I had no idea. And then even when I lost the title to AJ, Vince brought us to the office day told me that day because it was on a SmackDown we were in Manchester the match got made while we were already on the Europe tour. The first week of the Europe tour the match got announced while I’m already there. And Vince called us into the office. Hey, we’re doing the title switch today. Jinder, you’re now going to chase, that easy. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Let’s go do it.”

On Randy Orton:

“All credit to Randy. I would say Randy is in my opinion the greatest. If you look at longevity, look, his ability in the ring, he’s pacing [as a] heel or babyface. Good babyface, even better heel. Amazing heel, an amazing babyface. Randy to me is the best and I really learned a lot. Actually, while I was number one contender we were also in Europe before the Backlash pay-per-view we were in Europe for two weeks and I got to have a triple threat match for the entire two-week tour with AJ and Randy. So like every night I got more and more relaxed in working the main event style. I never worked it, the WWE main event style is different. The pacing, Randy so over, AJ, these guys are so over, you don’t need to rush, they do a big kick out and you can take your time to react. I don’t know, just sometimes when you wrestle other guys lower on the card as I was myself, we got to do so much to like try to get a reaction and we kind of, I don’t know, we plan too much of the match. But like with those guys is completely relaxed. Just like in the moment, listen to the crowd. Okay, here, here, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, and the crowd is really into it. So yeah, there’s definitely a big difference.”

On being the first Indian WWE Champion:

“It’s amazing. You know, representation and diversity matters so much. When I was growing up, there was no one like me on television. We had Tiger Ali Singh for a short period of time, but times were different back then and foreign characters were treated differently. So it was a huge moment, man, everybody, the South Asian community, the diaspora, we got like, 2 billion people on earth like one in four people on Earth are South Asian, you know, from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, just south Asian in general. The population there is huge, but also the diaspora. America, England, UK all over Australia. The Indian population, South Asian population is very, very big. And it was a big moment for everyone the whole community. Everybody still talks about it like everywhere I go, I meet people that’s it. Yeah. And then like, you know, respect like you did it.”

On the disrespect that came with Jinder Mahal being WWE Champion:

“So you know, what’s weird for a period of time there was disrespect. But now all of a sudden there’s respect, it is weird. I had the same thing with 3MB, at that time 3MB sucks, what are these guys? Release 3MB. But now everywhere I go, people are like 3MB was awesome, we love 3MB. You know what it is? People think that I was just given it like, I’ve heard Oh, because of India. But I was the same when I got released. And if I didn’t have that transformation, and really have that mindset change and apply myself fully I wouldn’t have become WWE Champion. Yes, it’s a business but so was every other champion. WWE is a business. So I think people believe I wasn’t deserving of it, I was just given it because of, oh, we want to expand in India. But India was there while I was released when I was in 3MB, when I debuted. The market has always been big since Great Khali.”

On nearly beating Seth Rollins shortly before WrestleMania 40:

“It would have been amazing. It would have been a great moment right before WrestleMania, creating some buzz. Even if he wins it back a week later or something. I would like to see more surprises. When I became WWE Champion it was a big surprise. We get surprises but I think we need a little bit more. [Most of the champions have held the titles for a long time]. Yes, Seth, Damian Priest with the Money in the Bank and the tag team and of course yeah, Judgment Day. Been some time. Logan Paul US Championship Yeah, all the champions have been champions for a while. Yeah, I would love to see one of the titles switch really quick, keep things interesting. But I get it, the championships, when whatever superstars hold on for a long time, it does really elevate them to the next level. So I understand. I see it and it’s kind of more old school where the champion is a champion for a long time. Yeah, I do like that.”

On going from WWE Champion to 24/7 Champion:

“Yeah, but at the same time I can become champion again. Like I don’t know, maybe that’s a unique thing with me like that’s what I always kind of, like view myself as almost like a utility player. Whatever I need it for. I can do comedy stuff, I can do serious. I can do promos. I can do main event. You know I can and I think that’s why maybe I’ve had some longevity in WWE, because you can put me in any position, I can do everything in a way.”

On how the segment with Gronk was put together:

“I didn’t know. So I didn’t know it was gonna happen ahead of time. I had Access that morning, not it’s WWE World, I had like a signing. Usually, the guys who weren’t doing anything on WrestleMania, the day of WrestleMania, they send them there for the meet and greet signings or whatnot. I’m at the signing and I don’t have my phone on me. And I do like two hours of signing. I think I was gonna go to the hotel and then to the arena go a little bit later. I’m just in the Battle Royale, or whatever. It’s all good. And I get to my phone. And I have like all these missed calls. Mark Caranno, Vince, like all these missed calls, what’s going on? I call them, they say hey, get to the ring right now. Where are you? I’m like, I’m at Acess. Okay, hurry up, we got a van for you. So I get in the van and I go straight there. And I get there. Road Dogg says hey, you’re doing this spot with Rob. We got rehearsal come right now to the ring. And it was pretty simple. We just had to map out how like, what was the spot with the beer or whatever what was going to bring him in? How are we going to get to the floor there? And then with the tackle, he asked me ahead of time, like hey, how do you work the tackle? I said just hit me. He hit me really hard. The back of my head or my neck hit the bottom rope was sore for like a few weeks after that.”

On seeing the Tony Khan Tweet:

“I was at home. I think it was early in the day. I think I just did cardio. Drew had texted me. And I got like a bunch of texts in a row I was like what I got to see this. And I opened up to Twitter. And that’s what I saw. Thank you, Tony you made that match with Seth more interesting. Yeah. People thought I was gonna win it just to spite Tony.”

What is Jinder Mahal grateful for?

“This platform WWE has provided me, my health and the relationships I have with everybody.”

Becky Lynch on Ronda Rousey Controversy, Becoming THE MAN, Punching Dom In The Face!

in LATEST EPISODES on April 18, 2024 April 18, 2024

Becky Lynch (@beckylynchwwe) is a New York Times bestselling author and a professional wrestler with WWE. She joins Chris Van Vliet in Philadelphia, PA to talk about her new book called “Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl”, becoming a New York Times bestselling author, balancing her career in the WWE with being a mom to her daughter Roux, her favorite stories about her husband Seth Rollins, not remembering anything from the night she became “The Man” and got punched in the face by Nia Jax, her viral moment when she knocked out Dominik Mysterio, main eventing WrestleMania 35, Ronda Rousey refusing to tap out, being part of the “Triple H Era” of WWE and much more.

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On the book feeling like Becky Lynch is telling the stories:

“Yeah, because I sat there wrote it and told you these stories. Yeah. And so that’s what I wanted it to be. I wanted it to be something where people wanted to turn the page and it was an easy read an enjoyable read, the people could kind of get lost in for a few hours. Because it’s such an undertaking to ask somebody to pick up a book and read it, because you have to cut everything out, you have to just take the time to pick it up to read. And so if I’m asking people to do that, I want to make sure that it’s good.”

On who inspired Becky Lynch:

“Mick Foley. Hence why I wanted to be the author of my own book. And because Mick was the person who I would see my brother be watching, wrestling, and walk past the TV, I’m like, Oh, don’t you know, that’s all fake, like, I was the worst. And, and my brother was like it’s gotten really good. And then I’d see it Mick on the TV. I’m like, wow, the way he talked and the presence that he had, he was so captivating. And then, you know, I could relate to him, because I was this kid who had been teased for being overweight and felt like I didn’t fit in, he wasn’t the typical superstar. And, and I could relate to that, you know, when he said, like, I can’t jump high, but I can jump off of high places. So everything about him spoke to me. And also we just look like such a good person. And then over the years have gotten to Nome. And you know, whoever says don’t meet your heroes, their hero wasn’t Mick Foley, because he’s so great. Like, when I told him I was writing, I wrote a draft, which wasn’t very good, I would say. And he went through it. And first of all, he was so complimentary, so encouraging, that I had a voice that I had a unique voice that needed to use my voice. And then the other thing was, he spent six hours on the phone, just going line by line through the book, picking out, even stuff like where I should have put a comma. And I was like, Oh, well, the copy editor will pick all that up. But like, he just took that time because he cares so much.”

On where the process began:

“I mean, it started back in 2020. I was pregnant, the world was shut down. Well, might as well start. I just started writing, and it was just like, word vomit onto a page, like no censoring myself in any capacity, just let me get words down onto the page. And then I’d reach a certain point, and I’d kind of get stuck, and then I leave it for months on end. And then I’d come back and I’d start again from the beginning. I would do this process over and over again, until like 2022 was right as I was having that match with Bianca at WrestleMania. And I decided to take a writing course. Then it took a year long writing course. And there was some stuff with my book deal where nobody had given me a deadline. And it turned out to like, just coincidentally, the deadline ended up being right at the end of the book course. And so it worked out perfectly that now I had accountability. I could do it. And so within that year, I ended up handing in a draft. And then I had problems with editors where one editor just disappeared, and then there was another editor and we didn’t click so much And then I got this other editor, Rebecca Strobel. And she was amazing. She was amazing. So I sent her off the draft. And then she came back with a bunch of questions. And then I read it for the first time, read it back in one thing, and I was like, Oh, I hate this. I hate this. And then I scrapped the whole thing and rewrote it in like about five weeks. Yeah. So that’s a very long story about how long the process took but like, you know, it kind of took within three years, but also took five weeks.”

What was difficult to write?

“Anything with WWE I thought needed to be handled with great care. Because I don’t think you can absent-mindedly write about people that are in the public eye. You have to have a good representation of them and an accurate representation of them. And so I wanted to detail everything very honestly, very factually, without letting my bias come into play. Like when was I the asshole? I need to own that. Let me try and see the other person’s point of view, because these people are in the public eye and you want to represent them in the way that is most honest. And here’s another thing that Mick Foley told me, never use a book to get back at anybody. Like, never use it as a revenge tool, they don’t have the chance to defend themselves. And I took that as I’m going to be the hero of my own story, right? If you’re reading this, I’m likely painting myself as the hero of my story. It’s not fair for me to paint anybody as a villain, especially somebody who doesn’t have the chance to respond. So I really wanted to handle all of that stuff with care.”

On her first date with Seth Rollins:

“I don’t know what counts as that. Maybe it was Bring Me the Horizon in the Forum in LA. I think that was our first kind of official date because it was right before the Royal Rumble and he showed me this song by Bring Me the Horizon. I’d never heard of them before. I’m like, I love this song. And allegedly it reminded him of me. And he was like, look at how different they are. And he showed me their other stuff. So then we got to go. See them live. And pretty soon after. And that was cool. Look at us now, married with a 3-year-old.”

On how being a mom has changed her career:

“It’s complicated. Because there’s both, you just want to spend time with your kid. I’ve gone [away] and she’s gone don’t leave me Mama, don’t leave me and especially, you know, the last week with the book tour, and then this week is crazy because it’s Wrestlemania. And then we’ve got a lot of tours coming up. And we were in Perth. And so we had to leave her in and stuff like, that is so hard. It’s so hard. And like, I have to remind myself that my mom was also a flight attendant, she was gone, but I don’t remember her being gone. I just remember her being present. I remember her always making cakes for the bake sale. I remember snuggling with her. I don’t remember the absence of her, I just remember the presence of her. And so I need to remember that whenever I’m feeling. But I feel so lucky that I still get the part of me that was me before I became a mother. Because you changed so much. And you become a new person, your priorities switch. And that’s an adjustment for a lot of women, I think maybe every woman, because you now have a new identity. And sometimes you lose that person that you were before. And you almost have to in a way and I’ve talked to other people, like you have to grieve the person that you were before. And it’s an amazing thing and it’s a wonderful thing to be a mother. But you also in some ways miss that person you were before I get to keep that. And I get to still keep that thing that, you know made me feel like me the thing that I love, and I get to have my daughter so I feel so lucky.”

On her most perfect wrestling match:

“[There’s] definitely no such thing. Oh my gosh, there’s no such thing. I really loved the match that Trish and I had. That was one where I didn’t leave going ah! Because even, like I’m thinking of all my favourite matches, like Charlotte at Evolution, there was still some things where I was going ah. Bianca at WrestleMania 38, one of my favourite matches of all time that I’ve had. There were still times when I was like ah, I kicked her right in the face, you know what I mean? Like stuff like that. That maybe ended up making it better but sometimes that’s also the thing, not that kicking Bianca right in the face and giving her a massive black eye made a better, maybe more brutal, but obviously I apologised. But sometimes the flaws in things that make them better make them give them that great [feeling]. I don’t like pristine things. I like a little bit of grit and roughness, especially in a wrestling match. I don’t like everything to look clean and perfect and crisp. It shouldn’t, it’s a scrap. I love a scrap. I love a match with a scrap.”

On the end of WrestleMania 35:

“I was in the moment. But I couldn’t see it. But the discourse afterwards, and also the sound of the audience made it seem like something had gone wrong. But obviously, at the time, I wasn’t aware. And yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know if that was intentional, or accidental. I could see the motivation for it being intentional, like, oh well, this will be my out to get a second match. You know what I mean? In the long game, or could have just been accidental.”

On the original finish being Ronda submitting:

“Well, so that the creative that was laid out. So she had her driver take her to the wrong spot. And so she showed up, I think, like an hour [late], and we’d been talking through stuff. And TJ, our producer, an amazing producer, TJ Wilson. I’ve known him since 2006. And we were road-tripping across Canada and into Washington and Portland. It’s a wild journey. And anyway, he’s like, maybe you have Rhonda in an armbar, she looks like she’s about to tap out. And so Ronda comes and we tell her the creative and say and then you’re almost about to tap out. [Ronda says] Oh no, my mom wouldn’t look me in the eye or talk to me again if I looked like I was about to tap out. All right, well, she’s probably not going to tap out on the finish. So you know, she never tapped out in her career. So I understood it, respected it and moved on quickly. I was gonna win two titles in the main event of WrestleMania. It was not a big deal whether she tapped out or not. It was I was winning and she was doing the honours.”

On WWE being hot right now:

“I think it is the leadership that we have right now and that things are thought out. Because it was no secret that before the show would be rewritten as it was going on. I talked about it in the book. It wasn’t unheard of for them to have a show on paper and we’d show up and Vince would tear it up and we’d start from scratch and then at 6 pm Your creative changes. And then you’re like, oh, okay, well, what are we doing? And it didn’t always play off of what we had done last week. And now with Hunter in charge, he has a vision. He sees it through and that’s what you need for a TV show. You know what I mean? You don’t start filming Succession episode one without knowing where you’re going in episode 5. So I think that’s been a huge change. And then the reins are off a little bit in terms of letting people have a bit more freedom to try things out. See if things work, see if they don’t. And have a conversation there. I think that just makes a world of a difference.”

What is Becky Lynch grateful for?

“My daughter, my husband and being a New York Times bestseller.”

Johnny TV & Taya Valkyrie on AEW, Being Married In Wrestling, Viral Moments, Lucha Underground

in LATEST EPISODES on April 16, 2024 April 16, 2024

John Hennigan (@therealmorrison) & Taya Valkyrie (@thetayavalkyrie) are professional wrestlers signed to AEW. John is also known by his ring name Johnny TV in AEW as well as John Morrison, Johnny Nitro, Johnny Impact, Johnny Mundo and others. They join Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, CA to talk about the season finale of their show “Johnny Loves Taya” on the AEW YouTube channel, how they pitched the original idea to Tony Khan, signing with AEW, their memories of working in Lucha Underground, their matches against each other, how Johnny came up with his move Starship Pain, the iconic ladder moonsault at WrestleMania 24, Joey Mercury’s brutal ladder accident, whether they would wrestle each other again and much more!

Watch “Johnny Loves Taya” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Lp7UyDzXA&list=PLILTWWX_AIJTbkLzCpEnHudFu1HZuTIvT

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On Johnny Loves Taya:

Johnny TV: “This is a three-person collaboration. A friend of ours Justin Donaldson has been shooting, directing, editing, and supervising posts doing so much work, but we collaborate together on the stories and say, after we leave here, we have one day to finish all that we need for episode 10 It’s mostly done.”

Taya Valkyrie: “Yeah, so we’re gonna do some professional shoots and some different things later today. But yeah, it’s never ending. But we’re almost done, the season finale is coming out. And it’s just been like so much work and a labour of love. I just feel like, we are so much more layered than just pro wrestlers, and it’s been an opportunity for us to showcase how creative and how different we can be than some other pro wrestlers or different stories that you see about couples and stuff like that.”

Johnny TV: “Do you know any other pro wrestlers who would buy a skateboard, cut it in half, put on the trucks and then ratchet a llama on a stick to it so they could ride it down a hill.”

On the reality show being scripted:

Taya: “First of all, it’s not a reality show. It’s romcom scripted. Fully scripted. I think that when we came up with the idea, it was because we were finally getting put together in AEW. And we were trying to find a way to introduce us again to that audience because even though a lot of people might know us from Lucha Underground, from Impact, from AAA, from everything else we’ve done, we are very aware that like a lot of the AEW audience might have to be reintroduced to us or like get to know us again.”

Johnny TV: “The beauty of it is because it lives online you have the time and creative autonomy to put out what you want. If it’s a segment on Dynamite, Collision, Rampage, or something like that, there’s not enough time and there’s not enough like real estate on those shows. So if you really want to get into the nitty gritty of our relationship, and also it’s heightened because we are nuts.”

Taya: “We really are such creative perfectionists and we both have so many ideas. So we wanted to make sure that whatever we were putting out there is genuine to us. And makes sense and is funny and different and makes people think. Whenever you’re putting your art out there for the world to see, there’s gonna be people that get it and there’s gonna be people that don’t get it. But we just were very competent, and the concept and everything and like we started shooting it in November But we shot the finale in February, like, you know, it’s been a neverending labour of love.”

On how the show will lead into AEW storylines:

Taya: “I think it’s really helped to remind people of who we are, establish us again as characters together, I think it positively influenced the way that people perceive us when we were doing our angle with Dalton Castle and everything like that. And moving forward, we hope to be able to create a second season and we hope to continue doing this because we’ve added a lot of fun.”

Johnny TV: “I think that’s the main thing, it’s really fun for us to do we get to do it together. It’s like, for work, technically. But it’s a really fun way to spend time together.”

Taya: “We hope that, ideally, if the network wants to give us a 30-minute sitcom, that’d be great. I’m gonna reach for the stars here.”

On the show feeling authentic:

Johnny TV: “I would agree, and I think that Taya is an extremely natural actor. Her process and my process are so different. She just nails it on the first day. And then I want the script overnight, and I want to read it and make notes and have like little motivations and secrets and all that.”

Taya: “But that’s how we are with promos, too. But also to be fair, I know who Taya is better than anybody else. So when I’m being Taya on the show or being Taya in a promo backstage or whatever it is, I know exactly how I want to be in that moment. And if I was trying a different character, maybe it would be different. But yeah, I feel like I just am able to, even though Taya on Johnny loves Taya, and Taya in a promo about The Boys being eaten by bears with Dalton Castle are completely different versions of me. They’re still the same. If that makes sense. I don’t know.”

On positive comments about the show:

Taya: “I want people to just have fun with it and not overthink it and not, try to analyse it because it is that. It’s campy. It’s John and I, it’s our characters.”

Johnny TV: “I think based on the fact that we really care about each other. I mean, really, obviously, but in the show the two characters really care about each other. And if you’re watching the show, and you can tell that the two characters just hate each other. It’s not fun to watch.”

On becoming Johnny TV:

Johnny TV: “I think because Johnny Elite, The Elite is a group already this established. And I think Johnny Elite was like, Tony’s first idea. And then when I came back, and I’m not signed full time. It doesn’t make full sense to have a Johnny Elite and a group called The Elite. Hence Johnny TV. Like we mentioned last time TV is perfect because it’s ambiguous. It could stand for anything.”

Why not John Hennigan:

Johnny TV: “I kind of like this fake name thing because it’s almost like I’m somewhere else in the ring. Whereas John Hennigan, I could play that, but it wouldn’t necessarily have to be me just like an actor playing a role in a movie. But the Johnny TV thing just spurs a whole bunch of ideas. Like what if I suddenly come out of the TV? What if that TV is off and suddenly it comes on and I am cutting a promo? There’s all kinds of just fun like puns and things that go along with Johnny TV.”

On Bad Bunny:

Johnny TV: “He does not want to have a bad wrestling match. Because he really respects and is a fan of the business. And he’s got all that entertainment background so he knows how to entertain. To me, I think he’s the most high profile humble and deserving star, celebrity guest that wrestling has had.”

On coming up with Starship Pain:

Johnny TV: “So basically, like my finish originally was a corkscrew off the top. And even in my 20s It started just taking a lot out of me like, that’s a lot of impact on your knees, your elbows. And then I realised I could hit like RVD’s split leg with a twist. And it looks cool because it’s fast. But if you think about like, you’re basically three to four feet lower. And that’s much less like speed and force on the landing. I came up with basically to save my knees.”

On the Joey Mercury ladder incident:

Johnny TV: “If you watch that clip close, we both took the ladder. I’m a little taller than Joey. And he was leaned over and the ladder hit me on the chin. And I went out one side of the ring and he went up this way. I didn’t see what happened to him. I thought my jaw was broken. I’d never been hit that hard in my life. And I was on the floor holding my jaw. And just like quietly I’m trying to decide if I was hurt or injured. If you are injured, then you’re like, done match over. If you’re hurt, you’re like, I can go, I can finish this. So a minute or two goes by, it’s almost time for me and Joey had run back in the ring. And I crawled over and I was like, where’s Joey? And I looked up the ramp and just saw this trail of blood. And like, like the trainer’s escorting him out and thinking to myself, like, oh, we have a lot of stuff left. And then I just kind of ran in and tried to do my best to do what we’re both supposed to do as a tag team by myself. And then, man, that night was rough. Like we were in the hospital about six hours. He stitched his cartilage. They reset his bone, his orbital, and then they stitched his skin on top of his stitched cartilage Yeah. I think that’s the gnarliest ladder accident I’ve seen to this day.”

On the most painful spot for Taya:

Taya: “I mean, I’ve been very lucky in my 13, 14 years of wrestling like that knock on wood. Having my nose broken sucked. I mean, I’ve been kicked and dropped and all sorts of things like, you know, especially like some people aren’t there to catch you when you’re diving to the outside. I’ve had several of those. I’ve had several you know, different people kick me in the head that weren’t supposed to kick me like that. I’ve been powered bombed multiple times by Brian Cage that sucked.”

On a possible John vs. Taya match in AEW:

Johnny TV: “In AEW it’s tricky, because they’re not big on inter-gender violence. I’d love to beat the crap out Taya [laughs]. Because, you know, treating each other equally, to punch each other and kick each other in the face.”

Taya: “We’ve done it before. We’ve had two matches against each other. We’ve also tagged together against each other. We’re talking about performance, or this is not Come on, guys. Yeah, like this is wrestling. I mean, he’s the best wrestler in the world in my opinion. And of course, I want to wrestle the best wrestler in the world. So I would love to have a match against him.”

What are John and Taya grateful for?

Taya: “Our marriage, optimism and family.”

Johnny TV: “Daddy’s little boy, Mommy’s boy Presley and The first lady of slam town.”

Dustin Rhodes on Cody’s Story, Goldust, AEW, Working For Tony Khan & Vince McMahon

in LATEST EPISODES on April 9, 2024 April 9, 2024

Dustin Rhodes (@dustinrhodes) is a professional wrestler signed to AEW. He is known for his 35+ year career where he also worked for WWE, WCW and TNA Wrestling. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Philadelphia, PA to talk about his legendary career, his emotional match at Double Or Nothing 2019 against his brother Cody, his father Dusty Rhodes not wanting him to be a wrestler, debuting in WWE as “The Natural”, the original pitch from Vince McMahon to become Goldust, his comedic moments with Booker T and R-Truth, why his character Se7en didn’t work in WCW, his decision to sign with AEW, why he knew Cody would leave AEW for WWE, calling out The Rock and much more!

Quote I’m thinking about: “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” – Bruce Lee

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On the match against Cody Rhodes at AEW Double or Nothing 2019:

“It meant a lot. Really at the beginning of it before it happened, I wasn’t sure. AEW crowd, I’d been at WWE for so long, are they going to respond like I want them to respond? Are they going to boo me out of the building? What’s going to happen? Nervous, of course, you’re working with your brother, you want to have a good one. And your music hits and they responded in kind. And get out there and it’s just, I’ve explained it before and it’s it’s very special. Very emotional, very heart-driven. You stand there and I just look at Cody across the ring and point up to the sky, right. And they just started the Dusty chants just like crazy loud, and it was just like electric. And it was so focused. And I tell the fans this, I can see the fans, but I can’t really see them. I can hear them, but I can’t hear them because I’m just we were so focused on each other and what needed to be done at that time to really shotgun this company, AEW, into existence. And it was it was amazing. We could have missed a bunch of stuff and it wouldn’t have mattered the story was there. Two promos set it up brother versus brother. It worked. You know, and we were told years ago, it just wasn’t good enough to be on like the big card, the Big Show and they were wrong. And we just went out there and absolutely slaughtered it. It was incredible. The stars aligned, it was perfect. I mean, couldn’t have been more perfect.”

On possibly retiring after that match:

“I was actually. So that I didn’t have any idea about what Cody was doing. I thought ok, he was leaving the ring, this is my time right now just to go okay, I’ve had a great career. And, you know, he surprised me with his throwback with, you know, the promo I need my older brother. And it was very emotional. That’s when people started squalling and then there wasn’t a dry eye in the place and it was just both of us. We were crying holding each other, you know, hugging it was just a very strong, strong feeling. So it was really good.”

On his first vision as a wrestler:

“Just 80s cowboy. You know, I just looked at my dad, he was always a cowboy. You know, big dust, always a cowboy, always a hat on and the boots and stuff like that. And it’s kind of what I wanted to do. I wanted to be just like him, but that’s impossible. And you know, it took me years to figure that out. I finally realised that, you know, I can’t fill my dad’s shoes. I can’t, not even close. So I had to that’s when the Goldust thing came along. And you know, it opened my eyes to Hey, maybe I need to fill my own shoes. And I did and it was something completely different than what I am.”

On not knowing the meaning of androgynous:

“It sounded like something that’s not good. So I went to the dictionary and looked it up and I’m just like, my jaw dropped. And I was like, What did I just sign up for and agree to do? I thought about it for a while and I was like, You know what, this may be a chance to do something good. I wasn’t looking at it as is Vince trying to rib me or any of those things. I’m just trying to make my way make my name in the business and try to just grow my legacy as much as I possibly could, and it worked out. And I had to put 110% in it. And there was a lot of tough things that We did that I was scared to do, didn’t want to do didn’t want to, touch on these issues that were very important to people later on down the road. They’re all you know, they’ll DM me or something saying You really helped me come out or whatever it is. So you hear that a bunch of times from fans and it’s like, wow, I really had an impact back then. But that was tough for me to step out of that comfort zone. But when you do that, and I’ve learned to realise when you step out of your comfort zone, in your little circle, and you’re everything’s very comfortable in your little circle, but you step outside of that and you’re trying something brand new that might frighten you. That’s where the magic happens.”

On Goldust being sexualised:

“I didn’t want to cross [the line]. But when I did was when this stuff happened. Vince gave me the reigns for this character. He let me find myself I mean, he was hands-on in my voice a lot trying to bring out a creepy sexual Goldust voice. he worked with me hands on we did a bunch. And I finally got it, you know, and you have your few little catchphrases that stick or whatever and your body mannerisms and I was at. We ran with it. And it was incredible. He gave me, he took it away from me at a time too later on. And I was like, why man? I couldn’t understand why but it was still very young.”

On The Undertaker saying he should be in the WWE Hall of Fame:

“That was nice of him, I love to work and Mark man. He was great. Always great. Just, you got two people that can work, it makes things a lot easier, and back then everybody could work. You had good matches and good storylines. It was just different. The Attitude Era was a different beast man, different than anything we’ve ever had. And it was Ruthless Aggression Era and all the other eras that we have gone through and look at where we’re at now, and just how much the business has changed over the years. I’m an old-school guy, and I say this to my students all the time. Without the old school, there is none of this new school, right? You have to learn this sh*t right here. Then you add your little spices and your little 2024 attitude with it and a couple of new movesets people want to be told a story, period. And I swear to God, it still works. And it’s just, that’s me. I’m a storyteller. I’m big on psychology. I’m big on making people feel something because that is the most important thing. If they’re feeling something at home sitting in the recliner, I touch their lives and or move them in some waythey’re coming back, they’re not turning the channel. And there’s a lot of people that don’t, and there are a lot of people just going through the motions and doing moves and moves with no rhyme, no meaning and you know, nothing against them. But that’s just not me. I mean, there’s different styles and mine is it’s old school.”

On the wrestling resurgence:

“It is like a renaissance, isn’t it? It is cool, man. You know how it goes in cycles. And I think we’re on an upcycle right now, and it’s incredible business for everybody. Everybody’s kicking ass. The indies are strong, AEW is strong. WWE is strong. You know, you look at TNA coming back. It’s It’s incredible to watch, right? People love to be entertained. They want to be taken out of their day for two or three hours, however long the show is and whatever they’re going through good, bad, whatever, they get away. They want to watch this. And that’s our job to take them out of that and retain them.”

Did you think Cody would leave AEW?

“I didn’t actually, I didn’t. But I know some stuff that went on. And you know, I think it was just his time he made a smart decision. He made a very smart decision. Look at him now. You know, he is the man here. So it’s incredible. Incredible ride credible journey from him leaving the first time in WWE and saying he’s betting on himself and just taking the ball and f*cking running with it. And he created something really cool. That’s awesome.”

On how Cody has changed compared to his first WWE run?

“More wisdom, more business sense. He’s gotten very smart for his age in a short period of time. And he studies. He’s a studier of the business, studier or of politics, a studier of all kinds of things. I mean, he studies his vocabulary he uses such big words and that’s just not me. I’m like, what does that mean? Thinking then I’ll look it up. Oh, that’s a good word. But I won’t ever f*cking remember it. That’s what kind of sets us different, he wears suits all the time. I can’t it’s just it’s too hot. You know what I mean? And just comfort for me. But he’s everything, when you look at a true superstar or megastar he is, he is fitting that bill right now. And he is doing an amazing job of carrying the company along with the great talent that are there yet but he’s right now he can do no wrong. They’re pushing them to the moon and it doesn’t happen that much to people. So it’s really good to see that a Rhodes is really getting in there said due in the business with WWE.”

On anything he didn’t enjoy doing in WWE and possibly saying no:

“I mean, there’s probably a couple of storylines that I really didn’t want to be in. But you know, back then I was just, let’s go, let’s do the thing, get it over with, whatever. Looking back at it, if I were to change anything, which I have no regrets, because those were my teachers. And they taught me a lot of lessons, I would have probably changed the way that I approached certain things diplomatically instead of losing my temper, or losing my sh*t, I don’t want to do this or whatever, you know, those are probably the only thing. But you grow up and you see possibly how you were back then. And it’s like, man, I was rough around the edges here, but this is all I knew. And it was like, you kind of get a little wiser as you get older. And it’s not worth it. You’re thinking about it. Why did I do that? Why didn’t I just say no? Or, you know, changed it to make it a little different? There’s all kinds of sh*t that I’ve done that was not very good. But, you know, whatever.”

On thinking about the last match:

“No, I did last year a little bit. But then it’s just like I’m not [ready]. It’s one of those I need to sit down and think about this type of conversation with myself and weigh the cons and the pros and not yet. I would say, two to three years, maybe.”

On possibly leaving AEW when Cody did:

“No, I’m happy there. I’m very happy in AEW and it’s a good place for me. We’re growing, we’re doing some wonderful things. Business is up. Everything is great. It’s a different style over there as it is WWE, you know. We have some of the greatest professional wrestlers on the planet in that company, man and it is special to watch them even to have a chance to step in the ring with him. My God, there’s some good talent there. They do some amazing stuff. Just incredible stuff like different category stuff. Will Ospreay, they have to build a new category for him because he is insane. And he’s so young. It’s amazing how just the incredible things that he does, it’s nuts.”

On how AEW has changed in the last 5 years:

“I think it’s changed a little bit. I don’t think it’s changed for the worse. I mean, every company grows and you have somebody like Tony, who is a huge wrestling fan. I mean, huge. I’ll sit in and gorilla. Okay, and say, I’m not wrestling that night, I’m coaching. Right now I’ve been coaching Swerve a lot in all of his matches in the last year. I’ll be really focused on watching the things and talking to the referee and given the times and telling them you forgot to do this, do this or whatever. Tony goes, Hey, Dustin, do you remember in 1991, you were in Syracuse, New York, you were wrestling so and so and he did this spot in this match? And I’m like, No, I don’t Tony, let me let me concentrate on what’s going on right here. We’re on live television. I mean, he’s got such a mind. And he remembers everything. And he loves my Dustin Rhodes. He’s always loved them and one of his favourites. And it’s pretty cool to be under him as you know, the boss. And I’ve never had a boss like that, because Vince was completely different. Very intimidating, and very business all the time. Tony’s business, but he’s also a very kind man, his doors are always open. And it’s good because I feel very comfortable conversing with him, pitching him ideas constantly and just enjoying this from the beginning. It’s been one last ride and it’s still going on. So it’s doing something and it’s got my passion, still piqued.”

What is Dustin Rhodes grateful for?

“My wife, my daughter, my family, my health and my sobriety”

Kelly Kelly Wants To Return To WWE, Becoming A Mom, Royal Rumble Appearance, Divas Champion

in LATEST EPISODES on April 4, 2024 April 4, 2024

Barbie Blank (@thebarbieblank) is an actress, model, entrepreneur and retired professional wrestler known as Kelly Kelly in WWE. She joins Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood, CA to talk about recently becoming a mom to twins Jaxon and Brooklyn, getting signed to WWE at 19 years old, her retirement from wrestling at age 25, winning the Divas Championship from Brie Bella, her memories of the late Andrew “Test” Martin, how she inspired Chelsea Green to become a wrestler, tagging with Maria Menounos at WrestleMania 28, her iconic theme song, returning for the Royal Rumble and much more!

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison

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On being a mother to twins:

“It’s amazing. They have such different personalities, which is so fun. And they’re just so cute to just watch them interact. Being a twin parent, it’s unlike anything. It’s just their bond. I mean every day is like something new with them, you know, and they are just so cute together. They just started interacting in the last month. And they just, son adores my daughter. He just like looks at her and she does the same to him and like they have their own little language and they like talk to each other. It’s wild and my daughter is so sassy. Out of the womb I was like we are in trouble. Like she is my karma. Like, I feel like how North is with Kim. Brooklyn is gonna be with me. I’m a little scared.”

On getting the call from WWE:

“It was just wild how it happened. Getting a call from my manager saying they saw my picture, love the look, is she athletic? My manager calls me and he’s like, so I have this, you know, and what do you think? What do you think about going in and trying out for WWE? And I was like, Sure. I liked going to school, it was fine, but it was not my passion. It was not what I wanted to do. I want it to be in entertainment in some way. And that’s why I chose broadcast journalism. But I hated going to school. I was doing it to please my mom. You know, I was out partying, 18 years old in Jacksonville, living my best life.”

On her ECW gimmick not existing today:

“Oh my gosh, never in a million years. And it’s so wild to think that’s how I started. It was so funny too. I went to try out, got the job. I had to move to Kentucky. I had never been on my own. I had never even really done my own laundry. And I had to move all my stuff, me and Alicia Fox got an apartment together. We literally had no furniture. I had a bed, she had a bed. It was like two college kids were living together eating ramen noodles. Wild to think about this. This is OVW because we had the choice to go to Atlanta or OVW. We both chose OVW. I don’t know why.”

On getting called up:

“I got three months in. And I remember Paul [Heyman] called me. It was Paul who called me and he was like, Hey, we have this idea for you. Do you have any experience with dancing? I was like, No, I’m like a gymnast, very rigid. I was like I have no [experience]. He was like, well, we’re gonna teach you, because we have this idea you’re gonna do this like striptease and your jealous boyfriend’s gonna come and cover you up. And 19-year-old me is like, alright, screw it, I can get my foot in the door. Let’s see how it goes. And the first day I got there, I just remember having to tell my parents, because all my family and friends were watching because I was debuting they didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t tell them. I just said, Watch ECW at eight o’clock or whatever time it was on. And I was like, well, they’re gonna see, I’m not gonna tell them. I just remember, my mom called me afterwards. Somebody was teaching me backstage, the dance moves. And then I had to go and like Vince was like, Okay, this is what I want you to do. And I just remember Vince is like, it’s Vince McMahon and Hunter is sitting there too. And he’s just like, takes like his jacket and goes like this [spins it above his head]. Because I admired him so much, he was like my boss and he was the most amazing boss. But he kept it so professional. [He said] ‘I want you to just swing it like this and then put the jacket down.’ Ok Kelly? I was like, Okay. So I go out. And I had rehearsed with a chair, there was supposed to be a chair there. There was no chair. There was no chair on my first night. And I just remember on live television, and I was like, Oh my God, and I just started dancing. And I was like, I feel like I’m getting ribbed on my first night. I feel like this is my test to see how I would do. And I just went with it and you will never forget it because it took me 20 minutes to take my bra off. So embarrassing. Oh my gosh, so many things.”

On taking a cane shot from Sandman:

“It’s wild. We rehearsed it backstage and he made it seem like it was nothing, he was kind of see Kelly it’s gonna be this little. I was like, oh, that’s fine. We get out there. And man, when Mike pulls me in front, and I see him I see him launch it back. And I’m like, This is not. And he goes boom. And I remember going back and literally, I think I got concussed. I saw stars. I did this face, my mom called me. She was freaking out. She’s like, you made the face that you make right before you’re gonna cry. And I’m like I was crying. I was in so much pain. When they put me on the stretcher, and I just remember coming to the back and everyone’s waiting there. And my eyes are shut and then I open them and Vince is standing over me. He’s like, Kelly, are you okay? I’m like yeah. Tommy [Dreamer] is right there. And he’s like, when you go to the locker room, everybody’s standing out there. Don’t you let them see you cry? I’m like, okay, I get it together and I’m walking. Everyone’s like, how was it? How am I good? It’s fine. It’s It was great. I get to the locker room and I [break down].”

On Vince McMahon:

“I always looked at him like he was my boss. I only went to him one time and that was when I wanted to become Divas Champion. Because I only saw him during rehearsal. This is rehearsals and he was like on it. Like, here we go. Okay. Rehearse done on the next one. Just so professional, like, just an amazing boss, literally. I have nothing but amazing things.”

On approaching Vince to become Divas Champion:

“Girls had told me okay, if you really feel strongly about this, you’ve been here for five years, go talk to Vince. I’m so scared. What if he says no? Actually [I approached him] twice, because the second time I wanted to try and become a heel. That didn’t go over well. So the first time they were like, the worst he can say is no. I’m like, okay. So I go and say, Hey Vince, I have this idea, like I’m talking to you. What do you think about me becoming Divas Champion? And he was like you know Kelly, I think that sounds like a great idea. And I’m like okay. So I didn’t know when, I didn’t know what, I just was like, Okay, well, I put it out there, see what happens. So I think it was like a few weeks after that it was you go and you vote for [the opponent], Power to the People. And there was going to be three of us. It was like me, Beth and Eve against Brie Bella. And whoever the fans voted for was winning the belt, the Divas Championship. Brie literally had to learn three different matches we did not know. They were like, We don’t know, this is literally up to the fans. We actually had no idea. And Brie, poor thing was like, oh my God, I have to remember three freakin matches in my head. Girl more power to you, because I couldn’t do that. So I just remember standing there. And I was just there. I think I got a really high vote. And so I as soon as they’re like Kelly Kelly, oh, my God I’m winning.”

On the WWE environment:

“I definitely got put through some things. Because a lot of girls, they hired a lot of women and a lot of women couldn’t take it. You have to have thick skin. It was a male-dominated business at the time. And you just had to learn, have thick skin, just take it off, whatever. Don’t let things get to you. Even like hardcore fans, being in ECW I had no idea about the fans in ECW. Oh my gosh, the names I got called in the Philly arena. I mean, I could have cried. I feel like I probably went to the back and cried a few times because they are hardcore and seeing somebody like me come into ECW. And that’s another thing. I was like, I have to prove myself. I was like, I’ll take the Singapore cane shots. I took Mike Knox’s move onto a chair and I was like, I’ll prove it. And now at my age, I look back and there’s no way. I just had no cares. I was like, Yeah, throw me into this. Let me do this. Now I’m like, Oh my God, if I get in the ring, I’m like oof my back.”

On retiring at 25:

“I just think I was on the road nonstop for six years. No injuries and the injuries that I had I was still on the road because I was still able to do things because I had a broken rib or bursa sac burst or whatever. It’s gnarly. You don’t want to [experience it], it’s disgusting. Like, literally, I hit it. I hit my knee. And I remember it doesn’t happen right then. It’s kind of like you feel like a little sting. And then like seven hours later, we were at dinner. It was like me, Eve [Torres] and the [Bella] twins. It’s in Chicago, 11 at night, we’re at dinner. And I just remember my knee getting nasty, like, so big. And I’m like, You guys. They are like, what is happening with your knee? I’m like, I don’t know. I texted the Doc I’m like my knee. [He says] Oh my god get to the hotel. Literally, they had to cut me out my jeans. So what happens is it fills up with blood and pus, I guess. And it’s just like, they got to drain it. But the blood had already clot. And so he is stabbing it and he’s like, I can’t drain it. You’re gonna just have to let it disperse. And so my leg was bruised from the toes all the way up to you know, my butt like, just bruised. It was wild.”

“It was The Price Is Right. Bob Barker was hosting. And so I was like backstage and doing the thing with him that night and I had this thing on my knee, and I still had to work. I never took a weekend off. I was there. And I just was like, ready to take a break. I think my neck had been hurting. And so they were like totally, take some time. I took a few months. And I felt like I was ready to do more stuff outside, and girls aren’t really doing things outside of WWE, like you weren’t really getting that much stuff. And I was like, Well, I want to do like modelling, I want to maybe get into some acting. And I just remember having this conversation with Hunter. And he’s just like, look, the doors always open, just whatever. Right? And I was like, Okay, I think that there was nothing like really, there was not one thing. It was just like one day I had taken the time off. And I remember I got the call and they’re like, look, we’re gonna release you. But, you know, door’s always open.”

On wanting to come back to wrestling:

“I really want my twins to see me wrestle. I think it would be so amazing when they’re like four or five. And I don’t even know if they would still, they probably would get it then. But like seeing that’s my mom and they’re sitting in the front row. And I just remember watching Michelle McCool when she came and did into the Rumble and her daughter was sitting there and her daughter’s face was priceless. I want and I’m like, Oh my gosh, because that’s what I want. If you could just see her daughter’s eyes we’re just so big. And she was just like, that’s my mom, so proud. And I just want that moment for me and my twins one day for them to just be like, That’s my mom and just go out there and kick some butt for a few minutes.”

What is Kelly Kelly grateful for?

“My kids, my husband and my friends and family.”

Matt Hardy On His AEW Status, Possible WWE Return, Hardy Boyz Legacy

in LATEST EPISODES on April 2, 2024 April 2, 2024

Matt Hardy (@matthardybrand) is a professional wrestler signed with AEW. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at the Squared Circle Expo in Indianapolis, IN to talk about his AEW contract coming to an end, being offered a new contract from AEW, the rumors of him and Jeff Hardy returning to WWE, what he considers the most important factor to either re-sign with AEW or go to WWE, wanting to help young tag teams, the legacy of The Hardy Boyz, the original plan for his AEW debut in March 2020, how his leg drop off the steel cage to Edge at Unforgiven 2005 changed the way he wrestled, Jeff Hardy’s craziest moves, his podcast “The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy” that he co-hosts with Jon Alba, he reviews my backyard wrestling moves and much more!

Get tickets to Friday’s live episode of “The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy” at WrestleCon here: http://matthardylive.com

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been.” —T.D. Jakes

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On his recent weight loss:

“200 is the goal. You know, just being older, it’s like being big and being bulky isn’t going to change at all. I’m Matt Hardy. I am who I am. I mean, I’ve been doing this for 34 years, just the more athletic and the more nimble and agile I am, the better. So that’s just kind of what I’m shooting for.”

On changing his in-ring style:

“I think a lot of it changed after the Unforgiven 2005 match vs. Edge when I did a leg drop off the top [of the cage]. I’ll never forget I walked back through the curtain, Ted DiBiase and IRS Mike Rotunda, they looked at me said, Oh my God, how are you feeling after that? And I said, I have adrenaline going right now, ask me tomorrow. But I couldn’t walk straight for like four weeks, I had a little kink in my step. And that’s the point where I said, instead of doing that leg drop every single time I’m gonna and drop an elbow to the back of the neck and land on my feet. That was the biggest turning point for me as far as learning how to work smarter, especially with the way it pertains to bumps.”

On what hurts right now:

“Not as much. It’s been really good doing those cold plunges. I swear by the effects that I had and I feel pretty good. And just like the way I train now, I’m not a guy who goes heavy, I do a lot of reps, I try and do stuff back to back to get like a good pump and I do super hard cardio. I do feel like that makes a huge difference in the way my body feels and it functions. I feel like once you stop, if you stop working out and stop training, and you can probably feel this too, like then as soon as you take one bad bump or you fall or something that’s when everything shuts down. It’s crazy how physically that prepares your body to go out and take bumps or do whatever. If you keep your body up to date, if you keep it tuned up, it reacts so much better with the way it recovers even being older.”

On thinking about winding down:

“Yes, I do. And I think a couple more [years], just depending on how my body feels. And like the way my body felt over the winter break. And it was so good, it was weird. I was feeling so good and so healthy. When Jeff, Sting had an injury and he wasn’t there. And they ended up doing Jeff vs. Darby and Jeff had some singles matches for a few weeks. And just during that time I was ready, that’s when I started dieting and I was trimming down, I was ready to like get in the ring and started rock and roll, whatever, and it’s just I’ve had time off, but just the way my body felt so good during that time, that makes me feel like I can go for a little bit longer. But I would love to do another two years, especially if I’m capable. Because I feel like I don’t have to do the things the young guys do. As long as I can go out there and be competitive and do my stuff, do the greatest hits of Matt Hardy, and sell for these people or take their stuff and then we’re good.”

On his thoughts as his AEW contract is coming to an end:

“What’s important to me, I think more than anything else right now, it’s just like the legacy of Jeff and Matt. Because we do get that we are mentioned in the conversation of the greatest tag team and we want to help younger teams, we want to build teams. But also you have to be put into to a position succeed where you do seem relevant, where you do seem like you’re at the top of your game, you can’t just go out there and get beat every single week. So it’s very important to me that we’re utilized in the right way so that when we do have a program with someone, and we build to a big match, and when they beat us, then it means something. Because if you just get beat without reason, it doesn’t really mean anything.”

What do you need to add to your legacy?

“I think a legacy could be completed, like a good run as Tag Team Champions somewhere else where we have good quality matches, especially working with guys that we are smartly booked against. Because Jeff right now is in one of the best stages of his life that he’s ever been in throughout the entirety of his wrestling career. He’s just got everything together in his personal life, which is really good. And he’s also a maniac now that he’s in this position. He gets up every morning at 5 am and he does cardio for an hour. This is kind of what he does, and that’s his drill, but he’s also taking really good care of himself and he’s got it together. So I think between him and I kind of going through this midlife transformation and trying to be in the best shape that we can possibly be. I do think there’s legs in us being successful as a tag team, wherever it may be.”

On his WWE return not being Broken Matt Hardy:

“I worked really hard to try and be an in-between type figure, like still have these elements of Broken Matt and then still be like original Hardy Boyz Matt. Because like we had the thing that happened right before that with ROH where TNA was claiming the copyright deal and we had that little legal battle. So I didn’t go over the top but I still wanted to keep it consistent in case we could get back there and I wanted to go back there. I remember Triple H said something to me a little later on he said, Hey let’s do old-school Hardy Boyz. We can have a good run with that and I could see down the road and we get a Broken Matt Hardy run, we can revisit that again and he was definitely down for that. So I thought that was really cool.”

On the original plan for his AEW debut:

“The original plan was that we were still going to do a double reveal. It was going to be in Rochester, New York, Brodie Lee’s hometown. We were both going to reveal on that day, so that didn’t necessarily change. But it was going to be a deal where I joined the Elite and I was their fifth man, because Nick Jackson was out, and I was going to be in that first Blood and Guts with him, which ended up getting postponed for a year.”

On the All Out 2020 match with Sammy Guevara:

“It’s crazy, my memory is much better than you would probably guess. I just remember being so mad I couldn’t stand up when I was trying to get up. And I felt like you were super drunk or something. You know what I mean? Just like, stand up why can’t I stand up? But I didn’t realise I had been knocked out, which was crazy. So it is what it is.”

On appearing at a WWE Raw taping:

“So what happened there is my wife has a spa that she’s part of, and she gets a lot of stuff there and she goes and visits there a lot. So she has a real close friend in Raleigh. And she invited my wife and I just said, I’d probably rather not go, it’d be chaotic, especially if there’s people around. They say no, it’s a skybox, it is a private suite, whatever. And it’s like, okay, so like we walked in about nine o’clock. And then it turns out it was like open on the front or whatever. And then I was still sitting back up there and people went Matt Hardy is there! We start seeing people do delete! Then people started coming and the line formed. And then, I wanted to look friendly, and I took pictures with everybody and did that. And then we cut out, we stayed they’re about 80 minutes in home. And my wife was salivating over it. I think it was it was great content, she’s a content creator, she can put some good content up.”

What is Matt Hardy grateful for:

“My health, the chance I have been given and the health of my family.”

Maven On His Viral YouTube Channel, Biggest Mistake He Made in WWE, Advice From The Rock

in LATEST EPISODES on March 28, 2024 March 28, 2024

Maven Huffman (@mavenhuffman) is a professional wrestler and YouTuber. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in NYC to talk about the impact his YouTube channel has had on wrestling, other similar YouTube channels that have popped up since he starting having success, how he comes up with his video ideas, the mistakes he made while in WWE, the advice he got from The Rock before WrestleMania 18, what he’s learned from John Cena, whether or not he wants to return to WWE as a commentator or manager and much more.

Subscribe to Maven’s YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/@mavenkhuffman

Quote I’m thinking about: “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others succeed.” – Napolean Hill

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On revolutionising wrestling YouTube:

“I don’t want to say that, we’re taking it a little too far. I don’t think I’ve revolutionised anything. I think I’ve opened people’s minds up to what the possibilities are. And again, there were many guys that had way bigger careers. Many guys that were way up in the food chain in the WWE higher than I was that are doing the same type of platform. But we’ve just showed that there’s a different way, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. And yeah, we’re taking advantage of that.”

On giving himself credit:

“Here’s what I will give us credit for, and it’s not me. It’s my partner, as well. He’s the he’s the brains behind the operation. Here’s what I will say. The same way Matt Cardona revolutionised indie wrestling, the same way he showed other people there’s just different ways of doing this. There’s other ways, you don’t have to be hired by one of the big three, to have a job in this business and to be successful and flourish. I think we’ve done that with YouTubing. Yeah, Stevie Richards, he’s a good friend of mine, we talk daily, multiple times a day. I think that Stevie and I are putting out just different material. It’s not a podcast. I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe the undertaker would do something more like a Cafe de Rene type of podcast, man. I can’t think of him taking anything [from me].”

On the Vince McMahon video:

“We would have done the Vince video even if what he’s embroiled in even, if that wasn’t the case. Now the Vince video was going to come out regardless. But it’s just, every time we go and we text each other potential possible topics. And you know, sometimes I’m like, Nah, I don’t think I can talk about this, speak to that. And I have fans comment do something on ECW do something on WCW. I wasn’t in ECW I wasn’t in WCW. So I am basically trying to speak to what I have experience in. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries, but we’re trying to do it in a way where we’re making YouTube videos first and foremost that just happened to deal with the wrestling topic.”

On returning to WWE in a non-wrestling capacity:

“I see it as well. And I can honestly say because people ask me, I haven’t gotten one call. If I get the call, I’m obviously going to listen to any opportunity that comes my way. I don’t care what the opportunity is, I’m going to listen to it. But now I haven’t heard anything from [WWE], I don’t know. Would I love to go back, because in one of my videos, I talked about how in 2020 I went and had an interview with them to do just that. And it just didn’t pan out because of COVID. I would love to have that opportunity again, but I’m also 47, If it doesn’t happen, I’m not going to sit and twiddle my thumbs and hope. I’m gonna keep I’m gonna keep moving. I learned a long time ago life there’s a couple of key things about life. And that is you got to keep moving no matter if it’s good or bad. Keep plugging, keep moving, put one foot in front of the other, and just keep charging. If I sit and wait for a call from WWE that might not come, then I’m opening myself up to let myself down. And I refuse to do that. Because I’m already, if you would have told me a year ago, that you’re going to be a YouTuber, I would have laughed in your face. But look where we’re at now. So if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, then other things will present itself.”

On sabotaging himself in WWE:

“I was just young during my time my first run in WWE. I was young. I was more interested in all the things that wrestling gave me rather than all the things I could give wrestling if that makes sense. I was more interested in what me and Randy were doing after the shows. I was more interested in the people, what can you do for me? Not what how can I make the show better? That was an afterthought. I’ll go out and wrestle my match. You know, but what am I doing afterwards? Or how much money am I going to make in this? And I just went to I went about it with the completely wrong mindset. I didn’t try to get better, if I could go back and slap young Maven I would have been like yeah, get better. Look at these guys that you emulate. You obviously have the talent to be here. Now. Just put a little bit more into it and actually see what you could pull out of yourself.”

On John Cena:

“I got a lot of heat from people when my first ratings video came out, people thought I was burying John. I don’t think John thinks John was a great technical wrestler, but what I will give that man credit for two things. One, there’s no harder worker in the world than him. No one deserves success more than John. I could not be happier for the success he’s gotten. I’m not learning Mandarin, I can barely speak English. Two, he could teach a class on marketing and you know, just reinventing yourself. Like, look at what he’s been able to do just from 2002 through now. And I mean, he’s a full-fledged bonafide movie star.”

On previous heat with Test:

“I took Test’s spot in WrestleMania 18. The Taker spot you know happened and then they have a couple of months later was Mania. Test was supposed to wrestle in that match. And that’s a hell of a payday that he was missing out on that I took.”

On WrestleMania 18:

“Oh my God, the long ramp. That was the longest ramp. Also, what The Rock said to me beforehand. I was nervous and it’s probably about an hour before I go out. I used to think it before every match. I used to literally stand in the back and have that feeling in the pit of my stomach and be like I hate this. Why did you pick this as a career? I don’t want to do this anymore because I was so nervous. But then the moment my music hit and I went through the curtain, it all went away instantly. But this was WrestleMania so I’m obviously terrified. And Rocky sees me and he comes he’s like and just like the epitome of cool. But he’s like Mave! I’m like, Yes, he’s gonna give me the secret. He’s gonna give me the special sauce. And as deadpan as you can imagine. He goes Mave, no one’s expecting much out of you just do the best you can and turns around and I’m like, what? And he turned and he turned and you know, that smile. And he gave me a wink. But that was the levity that was needed at that. Yeah, like, just listen dude, we’re out here to entertain go out there and have fun.”

On messing up his spot at WrestleMania 18:

“It wasn’t it was not one just a spot. I completely. That’s me missing the trashcan. Yeah, that is me missing the trash can. I’ve dissected that, I threw him in the trash can. And then the last minute, he underestimated how high I could jump and the fact, I should have told him, You know, I can dunk pretty easy. Keep it up at your head. And he puts it down at more like chest level. Then I went over top of it.”

What is Maven grateful for?

“New opportunities, hope and good people.”

Mike Santana on Leaving AEW, Splitting Up With Ortiz, Turning Down WWE

in LATEST EPISODES on March 26, 2024 March 26, 2024

Mike Santana is a professional wrestler known for his time in AEW and TNA Wrestling. He was one half of the tag team Proud N Powerful with Ortiz in AEW. Mike sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood, CA to talk about his decision to ask for his release from AEW, what led to him and Ortiz splitting up, turning down WWE to sign with AEW in 2019, never winning the AEW tag team titles with Proud N Powerful, joining LAX in TNA, going to rehab and being sober for over a year, working with Chris Jericho in The Inner Circle, his future plans as a singles wrestler and much more!

Quote I’m thinking about: “People pray for the cake. Then the universe gives them the batter, oil, icing, a pan, an oven and they get frustrated and leave the kitchen. Let that sink in. Sometimes you have everything right in front of you, but how bad do you want it?”

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On leaving AEW:

“Like I was telling you, my decision to leave AEW came well before my injury. I got hurt in June of 2022 and at that point, I was just dealing with so much in my life personally and professionally at work, and I was just burnt out. My contract was coming up in September, I believe. And I had already made the decision that I’m not going to re-sign, and I just needed to take a break and deal with the things that I needed to deal with. And yeah, so then the injury happened. So, a lot of that was going on during that time.

Did AEW want to re-sign you?

“I’m not sure. But I wasn’t really actively pursuing it, the time was coming up. Like I said, it was June when I got hurt. Our contract was up August I think it. And I wasn’t really like actively pursuing [and saying] ‘Oh, are you guys going to re-sign us?’ Because already in my head, I was like, Yeah, I need to get away. I need to take a break. But I’m sure something would have worked out and they probably would have re-signed us. But yeah, man. During that time, it was a very dark time for me.”

What was going on?

“Unhappiness personally in my life, outside of wrestling. And then professionally, things weren’t really going good. I was miserable to say the least, I was unhappy. My partnership was falling apart. Things at work just like, a lot of things were just very stagnant. And I’m the type that, I’m a go-getter and I’m very goal-oriented. And again, in this business, I treat it as such. I treat it as a business and if you’re not striving to be at the top and be a champ and grow yourself then what are you doing? And that’s with anything I feel. But I was also dealing with my addiction issues during that time. At that point, they were getting pretty bad. And then the injury, when the injury happened, I remember it happened and laying there in the ring, and I was like, damn, I got hurt, but thank God I got hurt, it was a weird time.”

On knowing when it was time to get clean:

“I knew it was getting bad because I wasn’t coming home. And I would be out for days. Christmas was coming up and every year my daughter always wrote her Christmas list to Santa, and in her list, one of the only things on her list was that she wanted daddy to stop. Then my grandmother wrote me a letter. And my grandmother has always been a saviour of mine in my life. And growing up, I had a pretty rough childhood. And she showed me that there was more to life than just trauma and a lot of the bullsh*t I was going through. And she’s always been a saviour of mine. Seeing that I was causing her pain, especially after my dad passed away. Then my daughter, and her mom, it was like, when you’re an addict, you think you’re just hurting yourself and you don’t see the others around you and they’re hurting.”

On thinking about what was next in wrestling:

“I mean, at that time, back when I got hurt, I was just thinking I need to get out of here. I need to get away from this, I need to figure my life out. I wasn’t even thinking, Alright, once I get everything situated, I’ll come back, I’ll do what I got to do. I was just so overwhelmed with everything and so unhappy and dealing with [everything]. Because when my dad passed away, I’ve always lived my life in survival mode, it was something I just got used to. So my entire life was just like constant guard up, constant just surviving day by day. And there was a lot of things that I went through as a kid and experience that I held inside because I wasn’t really taught to speak about these things. My mom, you know, because of the things that were going on. And for her to protect us and make sure that everything would be okay. She always would be like whatever happens at home stays at home. We don’t talk about this. So I grew up with that. I was like whatever I deal with, I deal with on my own and keep it pushing. I held on to a lot of things from my childhood and things that I never really dealt with and spoke about. And when that stuff builds up, it’s like a soda bottle. When you shake it up, eventually something will happen and really explode. And that’s what happened when my dad died. My dad died and everything just came to the surface.”

On never becoming AEW Tag Team Champions:

“Your guess is as good as mine. I will be real, I’m gonna shoot straight with you. The reason I was given was that there were too many other people fighting for that spot. And that p*ssed me off more than anything. I understand that when you get to a certain level in this business, if you don’t fight for yourself, if you don’t advocate for yourself, you’re gonna get nowhere. And that was a big part of my fight within my team. And when I heard that, it just validated everything that I was like, alright.”

Was there ever talk of giving you the titles:

“There was in the beginning. It was right before the pandemic. We were feuding with The Bucks, we were ending our feud with The Bucks. And they both told us, they were like, hey, after this, you’re gonna go and start working a programme with Frankie and Scorpio, at the time they were still champs. And then you guys are going to grab the belts from them and whatever. So that was the week of New Year’s Eve. And then we were supposed to have a match New Year’s Day, and then start the programme with them. We were gonna go into some promos. And then that morning, I woke up and got the call that my dad passed away. So I had to leave. So I left and then I was gone for two weeks. And in those two weeks, everything changed.”

On the fallout with Ortiz:

“Well, we were together for 10 years, I think. And when you’re together with someone that long, it’s like a married couple. Right? There’s good, there’s bad. And I think, honestly, for the most part, it was like, I think we just grew apart over time. And also our visions for the tag team and its future and, its success, we weren’t on the same page when it came to a lot of those things. And it is what it is everybody has their thoughts. Everybody goes about things differently. But yeah, like I told you, I’m a go-getter. I like to create opportunities for myself, I like, I’m more than willing to fight for our spot. But also, I’m not going to be the only one.”

Did you want to do more stuff on your own or more as a team?

“I wanted more for the tag team. And that was the main thing. And again, it just wasn’t, how do I say it? Our visions just were not the same for the most part. And then that’s when I was like, alright, well this is going to drive me crazy. I refuse to be miserable. So I think I want to start doing more single stuff, start challenging myself as a performer start growing. I’m not one that likes to stay stagnant. And it wasn’t met with a lot of support. And it created like a friction. And I was like, man, you’re my brother. And that for me, it was like, alright, we can’t do this anymore.”

Is there still heat there?

“I wouldn’t say [so]. I mean, for me, I don’t hold any [grudges]. I told him after the match Yo, I hope the best for you, hope you do well and there is no hard feelings. I hold no hate no grudge, nothing. I’m in a different place in my life in general. And I’m good. I’m chillin’.”

Was there ever interest from WWE?

“Oh, yeah. When our contracts were coming up with TNA there was interest with AEW and WWE. We had spoken to WWE extensively and they made it very hard for us to turn them down. But our thing was, so Cody was the one who hired us right and we had already before anything we had spoken a while back and we had giving Cody our word before, and our word is everything. So by that point, they asked, Hey, have you signed anything? And we’re like, no but we gave our word and we would like to stick to that. At the time we both had young children and we wanted to see them grow up and the schedule was much easier with AEW. Plus the opportunity to be part of history, be a part of something that was brand new and fresh and be at the ground level. And honestly, like even now, I could honestly say I was part of that legacy and part of that history no matter what. People could always go back to the very first show, the very first main event. My name is there so I’m happy with that.”

On possibly going to WWE now:

“I’ve had some discussions. I’ve been very open with everybody. Right now is just going where I’m going to be able to grow the most. I don’t want to just be another guy on the roster. I already did that. I want to be part of something, I want to do something special. Thankfully, I’ve been smart with money and I’m not hurting and I’m taking my time with things and you know, I just want to have fun.”

Would you go back to TNA?

“Everything is on the table, and they’re doing great. They are they are doing amazing at TNA.”

On Cody Rhodes:

“It’s funny because now he’s doing the whole finish the story thing. That’s real. And I always knew that there was a lot more that he needed to do. I knew that AEW wasn’t going to be the end-all-be-all for Cody. I give him a lot of praise man. So I found out my dad passed away when we were at Daily’s Place, I flipped my sh*t. I got the call and I go outside and I’m flipping my sh*t. I’m tossing guardrails and I was having a breakdown. Brandi found me. And Brandi is like, what the hell? She snatched me up. I’m like bawling my eyes out and I tell her what happened. And she’s like, come with me right now. And she puts me in a room and she’s like, stay here do not move. And she went and got Cody and Cody came and sat with me, and he cried with me.”

What is Mike Santana grateful for?

“God, my family and the strength I still have despite everything I have been through.”

Cody Crybabies, Hollywood Rock, Tribalism & What This Era Should Be Called w/ Sam Roberts

in LATEST EPISODES on March 21, 2024 March 21, 2024

Sam Roberts (@notsam) is a broadcaster, podcast host and WWE personality. Chris Van Vliet sits down with him at the NotSam Studios in New York City to talk about how wrestling has entered a new era and what it should be called, the exact moment this era began, how The Rock’s return has changed the landscape of WWE, how social media promos play a factor in TV storylines, Cody Crybabies, our predictions for WrestleMania 40, the best and worst WrestleMania of all time, his favorite movie starring a wrestler, dissecting The Fast & Furious franchise and much more!

Subscribe to NotSam Wrestling on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotsamWrestling

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On balancing life and work:

“Honestly, sleeping is not great. There are days where it’s like, you’ll find days in the week where you’re like, that’s gonna be the night that I can sleep. I mean, after the Australia pay-per-view, when we did the pre-show from Stanford, it was that Saturday night. Because the pre-show was on at 4 am, call time was 1:30. So then we did a Bump post-show after the pay-per-view. So, I probably went to sleep at like 10 o’clock that night, and then slept for about 11 hours, probably. Except, I have a newborn. And I didn’t hear that baby. Thank God I have an attentive wife. Because I was like, that’s where my body was like, No, you’re gonna be unconscious for the next 11 hours. And then we’ll catch up after.”

On prioritising:

“That’s the other thing, it becomes difficult to prioritise the things that are being done in self-interest. And I don’t mean that in like a bad way. I mean, you’re doing that to maintain yourself at your peak, physical, whatever. But when you have kids and a wife and you’re now doing this together, you can’t go well, it’s very important that I eat every three hours. I’m gonna need to take a break from that so I can have my meal here and my meal there. It’s like, you can’t justify it anymore.”

On watching wrestling:

“You have to be very honest, I think with yourself when it’s like, Yes, I am doing this thing. Like, I’m rewatching the rock’s promo from SmackDown. And it is actually essential. I know, I’m gonna have to I want to get on and do like a monologue. It’s gonna be like 25 minutes. And I want to have every detail in my head, like, I want to really be able to talk about this with that level of expertise. Then there are other things where it’s like, well, if I can watch that Rock promo for work, then I should also be watching this movie for work. And it’s like no, you’re watching the movie for pleasure. You have to constantly keep yourself in check. I think the trick is like, can I justify this to my wife? Like she’s like having a trainer at the gym like she’s there to hold you accountable? Can I explain to her why it’s so important that I watch 90 Day Fiance? No, of course not. That’s absurd.”

On the current wrestling landscape generating new fans similar to how The Attitude Era did:

“And you could say the same thing for Cody I think too. It’s been really like, one of my favourite parts about this era of wrestling has been meeting new wrestling fans, because that’s I feel like how you know that things are really getting hot again. without even realising it. I went years without ever meeting a new fan. I met fans, but I never met a new fan. I met fans that have been like, oh, yeah, I’ve been watching for years. Oh, me, too. Let’s be friends. But never like, Oh, I’m a hardcore fan today. And I started watching eight months ago. And that’s happening all the time. Now, even when I’m doing my podcast. My podcast is such an inside baseball nerdy, like you have to be a hardcore wrestling fan, to listen to my podcast. And then you have to be an even more hardcore fan to email into the podcast for the email segment. And then I’m getting emails from people that are like I started watching at WrestleMania last year. And it’s like that’s how you know there’s so much going on right now that it’s brought people in over months to become that level of fan.”

On The Rock’s return:

“It’s also not Hollywood Rock, which people are like, Oh, Hollywood Rock is back. No Hollywood Rock wore a black leather vest. It’s a different deal. It was a different evolution of the character to me. Yeah, this is like, Wouldn’t Rocky Maivia was a white meat babyface. And people started chanting Rocky sucks. Rocky sucks. The Rock came out and he was The Rock and he was disrespectful to the fans. And he spoke in the third person. He started wearing those shirts, and he wore sunglasses all the time. And what happened all these years later, The Rock comes out as a white meat baby face to take on Roman Reigns. And what do people start chanting? Rocky sucks. Rocky sucks. And what happens? The exact same thing. This is what happens when you chant Rocky sucks. This is the monster that you create.”

On letting storylines play out:

“Yeah, that’s where let them cook comes from. That’s what I mean. Just let them cook. And that doesn’t mean necessarily, don’t worry, there’s an exact scientific plan here. And they’re going to follow it to the letter and it’s going to wow us all. It’s just these are people who know how to use the ingredients that they have in front of them. So even if there is a misstep along the way, and who knows if there was or not. That’s the beauty. I mean, we don’t know if this was a pivot, or if this was the plan all along because both theories to me make sense. But by the time we get to the destination, it’s going to be like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. I mean, there were people after WrestleMania 39. Cody loses I’m done, they don’t know what they’re doing. This is so stupid. Cody’s finished. Cody is finished after this. How could you do this? Cody is hotter than he’s ever, ever, ever been. And I mean that to me is what you have to look at. And I do think that the Triple H era and the creative around that regime, I mean, it’s earned the right to be given the benefit of the doubt. You could say before, like, oh, no they screwed this up. They screwed that up. They screwed this up. But this isn’t that. Yeah, this is a different day.”

How long will The Rock be around for?

“That’s a great question, because and I’m optimistic because he’s on the board now. Right? Like he’s a part of TKO and a very strong, important part of the company now. So I feel like and I also think that that’s what makes it fun that it hasn’t been said, We know he’s gonna be on SmackDown three weeks in a row. Right. But it hasn’t been said. Is he just in for WrestleMania season? Is he in for longer than he’s gonna pop in and pop out more often? We don’t know. But we can speculate wildly now. More so than ever because he is attached, which he hasn’t been attached in a long time.”

On Roman Reigns vs. The Rock never being announced:

“It didn’t have a graphic. That’s my thing. The graphic, I’m all about the graphic. When you show me a graphic, it’s for real. And they never had a Rock versus Roman Reigns graphic for WrestleMania. Then the second press conference was over, which was great. But the second the press conference was over. There was a Roman Reigns versus Cody Rhodes graphic. I said, Okay, that’s a match. I saw a staredown between the rock and Roman Reigns. I saw Cody leave the ring looking not happy. No graphic. This tag team match. The challenge has been made. I think the tag team match is happening. I’ve thought it was happening a week ago, like going into the Elimination Chamber. I said, You know what? I think the tag team matches the way to go. But as of this recording, no graphic.”

On what will define this era:

“I say that this era, and I talk about it all the time. Rule number three, there’s three rules on Not Sam Wrestling. It’s watch the product, speculate wildly, and rule number three is essential to this era, which is everything counts. And it hasn’t always been that way. Everything counts. When The Rock says this at a press conference. It counts. It counts for the story when Seth Rollins is standing there and he’s not even announced as part of this thing, but he’s a part of this thing. It counts you can’t discount it you can’t just go like what’s that’s now gonna fight Drew. Well okay, but that doesn’t justify it, why did Seth and Cody happen? Why did Seth have Cody’s back? Like, why is all this happening? If he’s just gonna go fight Drew? Well, no, because everything counts. So now that has to be answered too, as well.”

On nostalgia:

“When TNA does a pay-per-view and the brand is back, I’m like that rules. When Nic Nemeth shows up and it’s just this moment and you’re like, that’s awesome. You don’t need to go, but are they going to be able to capitalise on it? What are we going to do from here? What is the difference between TNA and impact? I don’t know. But what do you feel right now is cool. It’s cool to see like, Sting coming down from the rafters. That’s awesome. On his last Dynamite one more time Sting comes down from the ceiling, that rules. I mean, those are the moments where you’re just like, that’s the point of being a fan when you could just go like, that’s awesome. And you know what else is cool? Two days later, The Rock is gonna be out to SmackDown. And I know, I got more amazing stuff just happening. We’re getting hit with it multiple times a week.”

On Cody Rhodes:

“You’ll love this. I was in Stamford watching SmackDown. And we do the SmackDown Low Down right after SmackDown, it’s a half hour show. What we watch is a truck feed of the show. So we’re not watching on Fox. I mean, it’s live but it’s whatever. We taped the whole show. And we came back into the room to just grab our stuff and go home. And on the truck feed. Cody was still around the ring signing things for everybody in the front row. Still there as the ring crew is just sitting there like can we take this ring apart? But he’s there like putting in the hours and that’s why one of the reasons why people are interested. I mean, when was the last time that you recall the good guys got cheered, bad guys got booed and adults and children were cheering for the same person.”

On his first wrestling interview:

“Okay, so my first wrestling interview that was like a wrestling interview. So I was working for this radio show called Opie and Anthony. And it was like a kind of shock jock comedy show. And I was like a lowly intern slash associate producer, right, like one level above an intern. They knew I was a big wrestling fan and everything. And so we’d have WWE guests come in. And one of the WWE PR guys who was a fan of the show, and I became really great friends with. It was WrestleMania 23. He goes, Are you going to the press conference? I go, it’s not open to fans. He says, You can go to the press conference. You work in media. I go, really? Because, yeah, obviously. That’s who goes. I went to I never even thought of it. And once the press conference. And so like I started going to stuff like that and getting content for the purpose of rebroadcasting on their radio show. And then sometimes it’d be like, I don’t know what I’m going to do here that fits into their radio show. Or I get a little bit for their radio show and also go I just want to talk to these wrestlers about wrestling. Like I’m just a fan. So I did it. I was also started asking people what’s the haps? I got a couple of clips for them, but it was probably the WrestleMania 24 press conference was the first time that I really did like almost a medley of interviews that I put up on my YouTube channel, which back then YouTube channels were really just like a, an unorganised toy box where you would just upload clips. You know what I mean? There was no rhyme or reason. So yeah, that was one of the early ones that I put up. And slowly but surely, an audience started to find it and it was very little, it was like me and Peter Rosenberg. And that was it. Very little wrestling content going up on YouTube, especially interviews. And I was like, oh, when I do this stuff. I can get clips for the radio show but also put stuff on my YouTube channel where just the wrestling audience, so find it. And then it was like, oh, there are wrestlers in town, I can interview this wrestler and just upload the whole interview onto my YouTube channel, but slowly, and it just built and built and built.”

What is Sam Roberts grateful for?

“My family, my health and Roman Reigns.”

AJ Francis (fka Top Dolla): What Went Wrong With His WWE Career, Signing With TNA, Hit Row

in LATEST EPISODES on March 19, 2024 March 19, 2024

AJ Francis (@ajfrancis410) is a professional wrestler signed to TNA and is best known as Top Dolla in WWE. He is also a musician and a retired NFL player. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood to talk about how his NFL career lead him to signing with WWE, training with D-Von Dudley, being part of Hit Row in WWE, his wrestling persona being inspired by Suge Knight, partying with Tom Brady when he played for the New England Patriots, signing with TNA and making his debut at Hard To Kill, his music career and much more!

Quote I’m thinking about: “You are not your past. You are bigger than your past and you are better than your past. Let it be part of who you’ve become, but don’t you dare let it define you.” — Lexi Ryan

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On life after WWE:

“So I live in Orlando. Saturday I drove from Orlando to Tampa. I stole the show with Joey Janela at GCW. People have been talking about it all weekend. Shout out to Joey, great match, great opponent. That night went to Battle Rumble with Mega Ran, DNA, Max Caster was there, Lio Rush was there. It’s this really cool Hip Hop wrestling show where we all perform songs and then we did a cypher at the end. It’s been getting a lot of traction. Mega Ran is gonna take it on the road. I’m gonna be doing a lot of stuff with him, that was also in Tampa, same night, double booked same night. Then didn’t even have time to sleep. Because that same night, at 5 am, I fly out of Tampa to Sacramento. I land in Sacramento, go straight to a signing. I do a signing in Sacramento, watch the Rumble. People pay these like VIP things to not just see me but we all watched the Rumble together. It was a great time, great people. I can’t wait to go back, loved my time there and then went to my hotel, played EA Sports FC till about three in the morning when I had to leave for my next flight which was 6am. Fly to LA at 6 am, 7:30 took a nap. After my nap I got picked up, went and kicked it with the great people at Jimmy’s World Order. Did the show with them and a signing with them. Then after that went back to the hotel, played EA Sports FC again, you know, before I passed out and finally got 10 hours sleep which is more than I got in the previous four days combined. And now And then I woke up to a text from you saying I’m 15 minutes away.”

On being busier than ever:

“Yeah, and I’m making more money too. It’s crazy because like, I made more money this weekend that I made at any time, any weekend. Yeah, it will surprise people, it actually surprises me. It’s at the point where like, I loved my time in WWE, but they decided to do something else and go another direction. But there’s not just one place in this world you can make money. And so now I’m using the fact that I have these connections already in the wrestling industry. I have a fan base of people that want to see me. People flew me from Royal Rumble weekend to Sacramento in LA just to have pictures and sign autographs take pictures. I’m saying it’s a great time and I’m enjoying my time being able to do the things that I love, like going to GCW, going to TNA, being able to do all the other things that I’m going to be doing this year that people don’t even know is coming yet.”

On his music career:

“So I just released my new single We Outside with DJ Whoo Kid. Great song. It’s my entrance music. You know, we’re working on the music video now. We did the music video for the TNA show, but really it was all a set up just to get the Joe Hendry thing. It was so funny to see people’s reaction online like, ah, TNA is back to trash because they’re doing music videos. Why are they signing AJ Francis? In the meantime, it’s all a work, the video was never gonna play longer than 25 seconds, right? But because it works so well, because you can play wrestling fans like fiddles, like, you know how they’re gonna react to these things. If you go back and watch the clip, TNA did it on purpose. A lot of times when you play a music video, you like overlay the audio, so that you don’t hear the audience. So you’re going to hear the video, but the video plays for like 25 seconds and you hear the audience booing the entire time. Because you that’s what you want. You want them so that when Joe Hendry’s face appears on the screen, they’re like yeah” Because that’s wrestling.”

On signing with TNA:

“I trained at the Team 3D Academy when I first started wrestling, so I had a relationship with Bully Ray already. One of the very best friends that I’ve made in this industry, he’s like my second dad really is Mark Henry. He looks like my dad too. He looks like my Daddy, looks like my dad’s next-level evolved Pokemon. So I have very good relationship with him. And they both also do Busted Open Radio with Tommy Dreamer. And because of that, I also have a relationship with Tommy, and I’m talking to Tommy and Bully about going to TNA. When I knew I was leaving WWE, I wanted to go to TNA. Honestly I wanted to go to Impact, but then when I found out it was going to be TNA, I was like, Oh, I gotta go to TNA. I was knocking on Tommy’s door. My agent AB, he does a lot of work with Swerve and other people too. He talked to Tommy a lot and talked to Scott for me and we set it up. So we have a very good relationship now. And it was funny because people, thanks to guys like Dave Meltzer who just say things without facts or any actual backup or just innuendos and just lie on my name and perpetuate these myths that I’m a terrible person, when not a single person to ever come on record to say, Hey, this is the thing that he did. What is the thing that I’ve ever done? I don’t know. I’m accused of being a bad person. And when people ask why it’s, oh, he’s hard to work with. Oh, he’s hard to work with. Well, nobody who’s ever actually worked with me thinks it’s so hard to work with. AJ Styles doesn’t think I’m hard to work with. Rey Mysterio doesn’t think I’m hard to work with. Legado doesn’t think I’m more to work with. Pete Dunne doesn’t think I’m hard to work with. The Usos don’t think I’m hard to work with. Rhea Ripley doesn’t think I’m hard to work with. Naomi doesn’t think I’m hard to work with. Paul Heyman doesn’t think I’m hard to work with. Michael Hayes doesn’t think so. So who are these people? But because of that, you have these guys like Tommy telling people at TNA bring him in, we’ll see how it works. If he is hard to work with like they say he is, then we just won’t bring him back. Scott’s like, okay, cool. I meet everybody at TNA. I do the show in Vegas. And they’re like, Wow, you’re great to work with. Brian Myers goes on his show with Matt Cardona, who I hate, and he goes, Man, AJ was great to work with. He’s hard-working. Scott, I have a conversation with him at TNA. He’s like, man, you’re good to be around, the boys like you, the girls like you, you’re not causing any problems. You’re hard-working, you’re on time, because I love the energy you bring. So it went from, we’ll see how it works with TNA. Maybe we’ll do one day in Vegas to now I’m at TNA for the foreseeable future. I’m not signed anywhere. Now, that’s not saying that I wouldn’t sign with TNA. I’m not saying that at all. It’s just like, I’m at a point now where I just got out of a pretty tough relationship with WWE. I loved my time there, but apparently, they didn’t love my time there. So I’m at the point now where like, do I want to be locked in anywhere? I don’t know. That was my thought process for the entire time. But now that I’ve been at TNA, I’ve had such a great time at TNA, and I love the people at TNA, and I love what we’re doing at TNA. I would not be opposed to it at all. But that’s another conversation down the road long-term thing. Like, that’s not a conversation that we’re having right now. Down the road, could TNA be my permanent home? That would be great. I’d love that. I love working there. I go there and I have fun. I love being around that environment.”

On the first WWE release:

“The first time I got released I personally I don’t know. Once again, nobody’s ever told me. No one’s ever been like, this is what happened. They always make it seem like oh, this is just business right? And budget cuts, that’s what they always try to make it seem but it never feels like that. The first time I got released. It felt like I got released because I stood up for B-Fab. Like that’s what it felt like. It felt like because B-Fab got released, because what happened was when they were doing a bunch of call ups. They were getting ready for the draft in 2021. John Laurinaitis came to the PC, and they would have shows and they would just have him sit and watch acts because John Laurinaitis and Vince they weren’t watching NXT. I’m sorry, this is a newsflash but they don’t watch. They didn’t watch the next day. So they didn’t know anybody on NXT. So they would literally come to the PC and like, see the talent in the PC and oh, okay, that’s cool. Well, I wonder what I can do with him. So B-Fab had already planned a vacation that she was going on, right? They sprung a show up on us on a Wednesday, they’re like, Oh, we got a PC show Saturday for John Laurinaitis, but B-Fab was already out of town. So she was gonna change her stuff to get back and she wasn’t wrestling anyway. It was a singles match me versus Mace. Swerve, and Tehuti were there. So the first time that John Laurinaitis ever lays eyes on hit row, it’s just me, Tehuti and Swerve. He doesn’t even know B-Fab is there with the crew, which in my opinion, she was the most integral part of the crew. Because, let’s say you want to take the four original members of Hit Row, and you want to get rid of one of them? Well, if you get rid of me, you still have a beautiful woman valet who can also wrestle and you got a good tag team. If you get rid of Swerve, it’s a beautiful woman valet that can wrestle and you have a tag team. If you get rid of Ashante Thee Adonis, it’s still a beautiful woman valet and you got a cool tag team. But if you get rid of B-Fab, we’re just Hip Hop New Day. We were not different, we’re just a three man group. She was the special element plus she raps. She’s sexy. I go places where people see me because they see how big I am. But they stare at her. She got released because whatever reason they released her for. I feel like John Laurinaitis didn’t think she was a necessary part of Hit Row. Because when he saw Hit Row, she wasn’t with us. So when she got released, I went to Laurinaitis and Vince, and was like, Yo, I feel like you shouldn’t have done that. I feel like she added a lot to the group. I feel like, yes, we can still do this and it’ll still work. But I feel like you shouldn’t have done that. And that conversation is somehow I’m an asshole three years later. Mind you, she’s still in WWE right now. So clearly I was right. Clearly I was correct.”

On coming back to WWE:

“Then I get brought back because Hunter gets the power. And Hunter recognises the wrong of the situation as well. So Hunter calls me and says, When can I have you? And I was like tomorrow if you booked a flight, I’m ready right now. I was like, but I don’t want to come back if I’m not coming back with the rest of the Row. I don’t know if me saying that is the reason he decided to bring them back too or if he was already going to bring us all back. But I said that to him. So then two days later, we set up a call with all of us and Hunter, laid out the plan, and then we re-debuted the week after that. And that’s when we came out in North Carolina. And it was a great time and the crowd reacted crazy. But then like after that, like there was never really a plan for Hit Row. We would pitch ideas and 90% of times they wouldn’t use them. And a lot of times when they did use them like it was cool and it worked.”

On creative plans being denied:

“I wanted to do the diss songs, obviously, like the diss song went viral with The Young Bucks. Like the songs went viral a lot of times I did them but they never put them on TV. So we did one. Finally, they reached out to us. And they’re like, We want you to diss The OC. I’m like finally. Like finally so I literally mind you they tell me this on Wednesday at like 10 pm and my flight is Thursday at noon. So in about three hours I write record, shoot the video, edit the video. So I posted it Friday morning at noon. Across all platforms, it gets almost 2 million views by 8 pm. So in eight hours, by the start of SmackDown, it has almost 2 million views. So clearly it worked, the plan worked. So much so that we had the match with The OC. Crowds red hot behind it, the match is great. AJ Styles at the game gives me a phenomenal forearm. Everything goes great, couldn’t ask better. That night is why me and AJ Styles are so much cooler now because he had never actually worked with me. And you know, he heard all the same rumblings about everybody else talks about me. And then that night, he’s like, man, you’re great. I’m so happy we got to work with you. So I can’t wait to work with you again. And we became good friends out today. I call him Big AJ, he calls me little AJ. It’s hilarious. I know. So we do that, it goes great. And then nothing like nothing ever came from that storyline. We never brought it back up. We could have did like a match between B-Fab and Michin. We could have did singles matches with AJ, we could have ran back tag team matches. We never did anything because there was never a plan for Hit Row.”

On his final WWE match:

“There’s just no point in doing a chokeslam when you’re losing the match in three minutes. My last match, which was with LA Knight, go watch it, great match. It’s three minutes long. It’s incredible. The crowds go crazy all the time. If I give LA Knight a chokeslam in this match and a three-minute match and he kicks out my chokeslam is terrible. So why would I even think about trying to give him a chokeslam? And why would he want to take that bump? This match is three minutes long. My longest singles match in WWE is literally that match with LA Knight. I never had time to do anything like that. And then my other long matches were tag team matches. So there’s at least three sometimes it was a fatal four way tag match, sometimes seven other people in the match that all have to be able to do things, you can’t always get your stuff in. People see me do the two-man move the three-man move where I carry three people around the ring. Nobody else has never been able to do that successfully in WWE, or any other high promotion I’ve ever seen. No one gives me my credit it’s the greatest feat of strength in the history of wrestling. Let’s talk about it. The only other one you can count you can say Cena with with Big Show and Edge. That’s cool, too. But he also didn’t carry them around the ring. Mark Henry is a legit well, at the time, like 400 pounds. That’s less than three people. I’m just I’m just calling it like it is. Love Mark. Also, he’s my second dad. He’s also the strongest man ever. I’m not saying I’m stronger than Mark Henry. Mark Henry could have done that move. Big Show also could have done that. But there’s a lot of people that could have done that move. I’m just saying I’m the only one that has.”

On the diss track gimmick being too similar to John Cena:

“The one good thing is that Paul Heyman used to stand up for me a lot. And Paul Heyman would say they can’t see the difference between what John Cena and Max Caster and what you’re doing. He said this is like, not comedy, but kayfabe rap. It’s rap within the wrestling room. Yours is like actual, livable, breathable hip hop. And he said because of that it makes it more real. So if you’re not into that you can’t understand it. Do they not want me to do it? No, they had no problem with me doing it. They just wouldn’t go and put them on TV. There’s so many times Paul Heyman would text me, man, this should be how we start the show tonight. I would send him a video, I sent him one I did for the Christmas show. He was like this should start the show tonight. I did it, sent them so many different ones that we did. And mind you I never get my flowers, Hit Row never gets our flowers. When LA Knight had that 2 million view video on YouTube in 24 hours from the Madison Square Garden dark show we were in the segment with him. No one ever gave us our flowers for that. I don’t know how many times that happened on WWE, not just with LA Knight, but just on WWE YouTube since, but we never got flowers for that. The only match that that was promoted for the Christmas show. That’s one of the highest-watched shows in SmackDown history. And I think the highest-watched pre-taped show in WWE history. The only promoted match for that was Usos vs. Hit Row for the Tag Team Titles, we never got flowers for that. But Paul Heyman would always show me love. I would send him my videos, and he would love them. I would send other people my videos and they would love them, but they just would never put them on TV. And then sometimes I would make videos we would make videos, Hit Row, and we would send it to the creative team. And they’d be like this is great. We’re gonna try to put this on the show and then something would happen I don’t know who, I don’t know why, but it just wouldn’t be a part of the show. And it happened with LA Knight. We did a whole segment, people don’t remember this, but LA Knight was a heel, even though he was getting babyface reactions everywhere he went. He was a heel until he crossed paths with Hit Row. That’s what made him officially a babyface, go check the timeline. And it started with that night in Madison Square Garden. And then he ended up having a match with Ashante two weeks later, and he had a match with me two weeks after that, which is my last match in WWE. I had the idea to set up our match, I made a diss song that was dope to try to set up a match with LA Knight because we were already gonna have a match, but like add a little juice to it so that when he eventually beats my ass, which is what happened, there’s like, oh, yeah, LA Knight So they loved it. But then they were like, Oh, well, we don’t know if we can air some of the things you said. One of the things I said was my line was, they say you biting off Stone Cold and The Rock, but you did it wrong. You’re clearly biting off Little John. That was the line. And they were like, Oh, we don’t know if we can say he’s trying to be like Stone Cold and The Rock. And then two weeks later, The Miz said all that. So it’s like, Do you not know or do you not want me to say it? You see, I’m saying like, it’s cool. You can literally come out and be like, we don’t want you to be the person to say this. And I’ll be like, respect. I know my role. My role in WWE was to be the class clown punching bag. Do I think that anyone who actually was saying these things to me, in character would ever say that to my face in real life? No. These fans? No, they never would. Because I’m playing a role. I’m playing a character. I’m cool with that. But don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes and make it seem like, Oh, well. We don’t know if we could say that and then let somebody else do it. Like two weeks later.”

What is AJ Francis grateful for?

“To be alive, to be able to support my family and to get to do what I love.”