Kid Kash (@davidkidkash) is a professional wrestler known for his time in ECW, TNA and WWE. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about how he got his start in professional wrestling, getting signed to ECW, being given the name “Kid Kash” because Paul Heyman thought he looked like Kid Rock, the restrictions he had in WWE, making his MMA debut, what he learned from Ricky Morton, 3 things he is grateful for and much more!

On Kid Kash’s first ring name:

“I was David Jericho from the start of my career. And me and Ricky Morton were driving down the road one day, and we were coming up and at this before I even got in the ring, you know, and we were just driving down the road. And we looked over, coming up with just different names. And I saw Jericho temple shrine sitting on the side of the road in I think it was Blanc Hill, Tennessee, as you’re coming down the interstate. And I just said Jericho. And he looked over at me and he was like, David Jericho. [I ask him] You like it? He goes it sounds better than all the other stuff we’re coming up with, let’s use it.”

On finding out about another wrestler with the last name Jericho:

“All right. When I saw him one time, for the first time, in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, him and Lance Storm showed up for a little bit, and they were The Thrill Seekers, and he was wrestling there. I had already dropped about the name because I started going up to you know, like all over the country and stuff like that. And then ECW whenever I went up there, we called Davy Morton. I was doing Davy Morton then, but no, actually shoot, I’m sorry. The first time I went up there, so it was after that, when I really noticed Chris. This was the first time I went up, they let me do David Jericho. And I did David Jericho for the first six months. And then one day I was just showing up and they were like your Davey Morton. Before my match that night, I went from Davey Morton to Davy Morton Tyler Jericho, because my son’s name was Tyler. We were still coming up with names in the dressing room. Chris was making a big deal, you know, a big splash and stuff like that all over the place. So we just decided to change the name. And then one night my son’s name was Tyler, Ricky’s name was Morton, and Jericho was what I had been using. So we came up with Davy Morton, Tyler Jericho. Well, then it went to Davy Morton Tyler Jericho Panzano whenever I tagged with Lil Guido. So I get to the ring and everybody started chanting, ‘what’s your name?’ ‘What’s your name?’ That was fun. It was just fun. That was part of the absolute best organisation I’ve ever worked for, actually really, truly wanted to be a part of.”

On a possible return to the ring:

“I do [want to have another match]. Well, I’ve actually wrestled a few just like really easy matches. The last four or five months, I wrestled Jerry Lawler there in Nashville. So we didn’t do anything. You know, I mean, nothing. I think I took two bumps. The bumps felt great, you know, felt like nothing, you know. I can tell I’m a little ring rusty, you know, my decision making is not like what it used to be, you know, so it’s like, I had to think a little harder, you know, remember stuff that I’d forgotten, you know, and hadn’t applied in such a long time. But it was easy. It was an old Memphis match, wasn’t anything good. And then the other match I had was a tag team match. Six way tag. Just took the hot tag, boom, boom, boom, drop, drop, drop. That was it. Let the other kid do the splash off the top ropes and he pinned the guy and I just cheered around with everybody else.”

On cutting back on high flying:

“I started when I was in WWE, which it wasn’t by choice, it was because they didn’t want me to do that much. They wanted me to still tell the story and still wrestle, you know, that kind of thing. And plus the matches are like anywhere from three minutes to, I mean if you got a 15 minute match you are a lucky, lucky man. Hell, after wrestling three and five minute matches, if somebody did ask me to wrestle 15 minutes, I probably could not have, probably got blown up. So you get used to wrestling such these quick matches, you know, but yeah, they would just, they came to me one night, I was like, try not to do the hurricanrana. I’m like, why not? Well, that’s Rey Mysterio’s move. Okay? Don’t do the moonsault off the top row. Okay, why not? Well, that’s Super Crazy’s move. Like, okay, so I couldn’t do the moneymaker pile driver either, you know, because they had the law. So that’s when I came up with the dead level, you know, the brain buster and stuff. So everything else was just elementary sh*t, if you watched the WWE, it was just crossbody stuff, I didn’t really do any kind of the stuff that I normally would have done. But then when I left there and went to TNA, I pretty much completely quit doing it cuz I was turned to you know, back to being a heel, wrestling, Jesse Sorenson and guys like that, so I didn’t really need to do the high flying and plus, some of the stuff was hard to do anymore. Like, I used to run up the rope and do the flying hurricanrana. But I noticed that my right knee wouldn’t jump as high as my left knee anymore, and I couldn’t do it from the other side. I had to continue to do it from that one particular side. You know, all my hurricanranas went this way. I was never trained to go this way. So back then I just, my leg wouldn’t get up that high to hit the rope. And if it did, it just didn’t have enough in it at that point to get me up to the top rope. I think who was it? Jesse Sorenson, like we’re trying from the other side. And it was, it was a mess. I was like let’s try not to do that. My coordination is just not the same.”

On today’s product and if Kid Kash is watching:

“I’ll still watch it. Every now and then I’ll watch the AEW, I’ll pop it in, you know. Some things I love to watch on a show. But then some things are like, I got to turn this [off], you know. I don’t really watch too much WWE. As for me, I came from the school of work, where you get out there and work, you know, but now it’s just so many promos, and just so you know, there’s no work. You know, it’s just promos all the time. You know, and I love watching women wrestle but Jesus Christ, how many women are gonna wrestle on one card? I mean, yeah, you know?”

On Vince McMahon retiring:

“It’s probably less politics, but I think it’s more woke still. I watch some of the show, I wouldn’t fit in there. You know, I could probably be an agent or something, but I wouldn’t fit in there as a worker at all, because just everybody’s so much younger. And everybody is, they don’t look the same as my era. Whenever I was wrestling, everybody, you know, I was a short guy, so I had to stand out. I couldn’t just be a high flyer, I had to really stand out. So I hit the gym, every chance I got and I got on steroids, I got on the whole nine yards just so I could get that physique, to stay on TV. But you watch it now. And you see guys on there that look like the guy in the crowd watching. And they’re putting them over big guys, you know, so I’m kind of confused. Does the storyline not fit anymore? You know, I mean? Is that how it is now because back in the day, the big guys used to demolish the little small weak guys. Now the little small weak guys are beating the big guys. So it’s weird to me, you know?.”

On still being called Kid Kash when he is older:

“[Chris references that Kid Rock is still called Kid Rock] Yeah, a little different though. You know, he’s a rapper and musician and stuff so he can probably get, I’m sure when he’s 70, they’re not going to be wanting to call him kid anymore. They’re gonna call it Bobby.”

On hitting a Hurricanrana from any angle:

“Yeah, well, whenever I was in ECW, everybody there my size was, you know, was a high flyer of some sort. And I used to wrestle guys like E.Z. Money, Chris Hamrick and guys like on the independent shows, Eddie Golden, like way back before I even went to ECW and stuff. And when I got there, everybody was doing it. And generally, it was just me doing it on the show, you know, the indie shows. When I got there, I had to just be more creative, you know. So, the hurricanrana is something that I had always kind of done and stuff. So I was like, what’s the one thing that I can like, make stand out above everything else? You know, that was such an easy move for me to do, because I was you know, I’m not a very big guy, you know, even in ECW I was probably only 175 pounds soaking wet, I’m about five nine. But I got a weird figure. I wear 32 inch leg jeans, I got long legs, but I have that short torso to where I look more jacked than what I really am. Only problem is I can’t get my legs to look like my upper body.”

On possibly inspiring Sting’s iconic look:

“Well, I’m not saying who, where he got it from, but I did a try out for WCW under the whole mask you know the whole paint thing and stuff. So I noticed about six or seven months later he started changing his face paint. So I’m saying, I don’t know, didn’t ask any questions, but you know he’s Sting and I’m not, so he can do whatever he wants.”

On MMA:

“I mean, I’ve done some MMA fights. I mean, I wasn’t like the greatest fighter ever, you know, but I did a lot of tournaments, NAGA tournaments, Pan Am’s and stuff. And then I did a few cage fights. I mean, you know, won two and lost two, you know. So, I mean, I thought about going in, but by the time I got to the point of getting into the cage, my God, I was like, 35 years old.”

What is Kid Kash grateful for:

“Family, health and the wrestling business.”

Featured image: Wikipedia

“Monster” Michael Todd (@monstermichaeltodd) is a professional arm wrestler who has won 21 World titles and 36 National titles. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at the Blue Wire Studios at Wynn Las Vegas to talk about how he got started as a professional arm wrestler, the best techniques to win any arm wrestling match, the injuries he has suffered, what his training looks like, why his mindset is so important to him and much more!

On becoming a professional arm wrestler:

“Okay, so I grew up in Arkansas, so I’m just a country boy, redneck from Arkansas who used to arm wrestle. Now, I wasn’t really into team sports, and then my father he had like, college scholarship to go play football and all that and he got injured his senior year, and he always wanted me to be, you know. I played backyard football, you know, like just out in the yard slamming people in the ground, and enjoyed that. But regular, you know, sports in school, I just didn’t really do it. I got into martial arts when I saw Karate Kid when I was a kid and I was like, I can take karate. And I got a black belt when I was 14, also in Taekwondo and in boxing and I was pretty proficient. But I always was a redneck who liked arm wrestling. And I used to, always arm wrestling my dad, like, he’d be sitting in a recliner, and I’d be a little kid and I put my arm up in the armrest and I tried to beat him, never could. When I was 15 years old, I finally beat my dad. And so I could beat everybody at school. And my senior year in high school was at Vo Tech. So I was taking auto mechanics, which I didn’t really do very well at. But I did a lot of arm wrestling at auto mechanics. I was at the cafeteria table in there like they go that guy there is second the state, like well, let’s arm wrestle. So I beat the guy. He’s like you should go to this tournament, and that was the Saline County Fair 1990 and I end up third place. That’s how it got started for me right. And that was it. I took third place I was hooked. I came back home I built an arm wrestling table or wrist wrestling table and that’s where you lock hands in the middle and you pin your opponent to your forearm. It’s not as much technique involved, more upper body strength, but I didn’t really build at the right height. I built it for my height so I’ve been like three inches too tall. And then fast forward and 36 national titles, 23 world titles, and I travel all over the world.”

On what makes Michael Todd great:

“My disgust for losing. I’ve always told people my disgust for losing. Well your desire to win every time, the thrill of victory, like my wife, she let’s me celebrate a victory for about a week. Walk around the house chest all out, she’s like, Yeah, dude, it’s just arm wrestling is not that big a deal your weeks up. But that loss eats away at me. And it’s really hard too, I hate losing. I try as hard as I can not do. Now, as far as whether strength or technique at an amateur level, technique is very important. So if he had a twin brother and I taught you technique, he didn’t know, you’re gonna kill him. Once you become a world class arm wrestler, we all know the techniques and it comes down to who’s stronger.”

On a winning mindset:

“Actually, I don’t know. I’ve always just been extremely competitive. My family will tell you don’t play cards with me. If you now start shooting the basketball, we got to start taking the score even if it’s 21. I mean, I can’t just do things for fun. We went bowling the other night, my wife’s birthday party, there’s about five people in the lane. I’m like, alright guys, I’m done, I gotta get my own lane. Because I can’t sit around and wait, right? Like, I’m just I’m extremely competitive always been that way. And it’s just, I want to fulfil my potential and every year in my life, whether it’s being a better Christian, better husband, better athlete, you know, so every day, I just try to be better than I was yesterday.”

Michael Todd improving with age:

“Well, that’s the one thing about arm wrestling is it’s tendon ligament strength. So, I mean, once you get real rigid, you actually become a better arm wrestler. They’re stronger and your tendons and ligaments and like my arm, I’ve lost 19 and a half inches of range of motion of my right arm. The doctor X Rayed 12 years ago and said they found over 70 fractures.”

On Michael Todd’s workout:

“No, there are some people that do that, they just prioritize just training the right arm. I tried to train like an athlete, and then I just incorporate arm wrestling specific exercises inside my circuit. So I’ll do like, so years ago, I used to, you know, multiple sets, like say I’m doing chest or lat pull downs, or whatever I do, you know, three sets or whatever, then I was like, that just takes too long. Because it wasn’t fun anymore, it wasn’t stress relief, it was a job. It’s something I had to do. How can I get this job done as quick as possible? So I would just do one set of 30, and then I go to the next exercise, and so I just started doing sets at 30 of everything. And then I started increasing the weight significantly. So like my chest workout years ago would be 225 on the incline, 30 reps. And then I do 30 Pull Ups and 225 on the flat 30 reps, and I do 30 lat pull downs. And it was just I was repping 225 all the way through my workout, you know, 30 reps. Now I do that, but I incorporate wrist rolls. So I have a wrist rolls, that cable pull that mimics arm wrestling and I do battle ropes to blow up your hands.”

On leverage:

“So most people think armwrestling is a pushing sport, like you just try to push your opponent down. Armwrestling is really a pulling sport, it is more of a tug of war. I’m gonna try to pull you as close to me as possible. And then I try to lay over you know, once I get you real close to my body, I try to bend my body over until I pin you.”

On gaining size:

“I was a 19 year old kid at my first national championship. I started arm wrestling in 1990. I was 17 years old, and just a redneck from Arkansas. And then now just you know, kept getting bigger and [bigger]. I mean I can gain weight really easy. Like I have an endomorph body type so I can’t get fat. I’m like a big 300 pound country boy if I just ate what I want. But if I eat clean, I look fit, you know.”

So like what’s a day in your normal diet?

“I mean, it’s normally one to one protein and carbs about 300 protein, 300 carbs and about 100 grams of fat. Try to keep it clean. The leaner I get, the more freedom I have. So the more cheat meals I eat, it’s about 4,000 calories.

On weight limits in arm wrestling:

“Okay, so I’ve been the heavyweight and super heavyweight world champion in one league or another for like the last 10 to 15 years. And so I’m actually cutting down, they got a new weight class, it’s kind of a change of the weight classes up. What used to be heavyweight is now a light heavyweight, 231 pounds or 105 kg. [Chris – that does not feel like a light heavyweight.] It doesn’t but I’m going after that world title. [There] is a young man from Kazakhstan. He’s a bad dude. But yeah, so I gotta pull him on January 21 in Istanbul, Turkey for the world title.”

How much longer can Michael Todd do this:

“I don’t think I’ve peaked yet. Honestly, I swear I tell my wife all the time. We have something really cool planned for this next year. So we did a tour last year. Last year, we jumped into a [RV], raised about $100,000. I got an RV, I wrapped it, and we did a five month tour. We travelled all 48 continental states 20,000 miles and I arm wrestled over 3000 matches, I would just pull out the armwrestling table and take on all comers. Right?”

What is Michael Todd grateful for:

“My amazing wife, my health and a positive support system.”

Featured image: The Sports Room

Jimmy Korderas (@jimmykorderas) is a professional wrestling referee, commentator and broadcaster known for his 22-year tenure with WWE from 1987 to 2009. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about how he got started in the pro wrestling industry by accident, getting a job with WWE, going from setting up the ring to being a referee, some of his favorite people to work with, the biggest mistakes he sees referees make now, being in the ring the day Owen Hart died at Over The Edge 1999 and much more!

Advice for aspiring referees:

“How to Look involved without being a focal point. Like I said, for example, the face-to-face. Don’t stand in between, be there for the talent, be close by so you can hear them and they can hear you. But again, don’t be a visual distraction, don’t oversell things. Like there’s referees out there that when someone gets punched in the face, they grab their chin like they got punched. It’s okay to react, you know, subtle reactions like ooh, ooh, that looks like it hurt. Ooh, that was you know, but if you’re going and like oh! and you know, you get kicked in the ribs or you’re, you know, grabbing your ribs and stuff like. No, stop selling what’s happening to them. It’s okay to react and make it look like Hey, boy, that looks like it hurt. That’s the art.”

On not being the most important person in the ring:

“You’re not there to be the star, the star is [in the ring] drawing, [it] is the talent that is in the ring, you’re there to help them tell their story without being a part of the story. Unless, of course, there’s a spot in the match where they need you to whatever the case may be, you know, be distracted by this or, or take a bump or whatever the case may be. But let’s say for example, two wrestlers come to the centre of the ring, especially on television, which is very important. And they do a face-to-face. Yeah. Your initial thought is to kind of stand between them, so to keep them separated. But at the same time, if you’re standing in the middle, who’s in the middle of the screen, the referee’s face. Stand off to the side, let them have their moment, let it breathe, let the audience absorb this, you know what I mean? Unfortunately, nowadays, you see too many referees and, you know, kind of overly interjecting themselves, let’s put it that way and standing out a little too much, in my opinion.”

On referees going into the WWE Hall of Fame:

“I don’t know. I would like to see that happen sooner rather than later, that’s for sure. And there’s so many candidates out there. I already mentioned a couple of like Timmy White, the Hebners, Tommy Young, you know, wow, Nick, Patrick, Charles, Mike. There’s just even even young hand Brian, you know, there’s so many referees that belong there. And, and, you know, you have announcers in there. Yeah, I’m not mistaken. So why not referees? Because, again, not being a focal point of the match, but also an integral part of the match. They help tell the story.”

On Owen Hart’s fall:

“Oh, my goodness. Yeah, Unfortunately, I do remember some stuff but other stuff is foggy. But I remember going to the ring, there was a hardcore match before the incident took place. So I went out to the ring to help them clear the ring of debris that was in the ring. And as on the screen was playing a pre-recorded interview that Kevin Kelly did with I believe it’s Kevin Kelly, did with the blue blazer Owen Hart. And I was in the ring kind of facing the jumbotron, holding that top rope and kicking stuff out of the ring moving towards that corner, and I heard some screaming. But then you know it, you’re in front of a live crowd so I don’t know what’s going on. And I felt something brush against the side here on my shoulder. It wasn’t enough to knock me down or anything but it was just very lightly like, but at the same time, the top rope I was holding sprung out of my hand and popped my fingers back like kind of jamming my fingers, and I looked around to see if the top rope broke, if that was what I felt. And when I turned I looked in the corner and there there was Owen, you know laying there, and again, I knew the entrance was supposed to be him descending but, you know, you’re not putting it together and you are like what the heck. And as I went over I called out a couple of times and it was just his eyes wide open. You can see through the mask not moving, and I just flipped out started calling for help, and just stood back in and took it all in while they put them on the stretcher to to escort him out. And I don’t know for some dumb reason I just, his cape blue blazer cape, I just scooped up all that stuff and walked back with it. I you know, gave it to somebody and watch them load them into an ambulance. And at the time I was, was a smoker, so somebody handed me a cigarette. I was sitting outside the arena on the steps like shaking with a cigarette and stuff like that, and Johnny D’Amico who worked in the production said they want you to go to the hospitals won’t get checked out. I said, really? I said, yeah, they want you to go. So I said, Okay, I’m gonna go then. So I went got checked out at the hospital and they in there. And they said are you with the gentleman, the wrestler that they’d brought in? And I said, Yes, I am. And they said it’s all sorry to inform you that he has passed. And I just for me, it was, you know, I called my wife, who was my fiancée at the time. I called her from there and just told her what was happening. And then from that moment on, after talking to my wife, I don’t remember going back to the arena, getting my stuff, then going to St. Louis. I just remember waking up in St. Louis the next morning. Apparently, John D’Amico had driven us to St. Louis, whatever. And it was the next day in St. Louis, that I found out, you know, when I walked into the building, the first thing was, you know, running into people going, are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay? And, you know, running into Taker and Taker said say, Jimmy, are you okay? I’ll be okay. He says, if you need anything, you come to me, you know, and JR said the same thing as well. But then I ran into Lawler, Jerry Lawler. And he said, Do you remember anything from last night? I’m just saying, I just remember going to the hospital stuff. Like he says, I don’t know if I should tell you this, but you don’t know how close you became to becoming part of that tragedy. I said pardon me. He said, You know, he saw the last 20 feet or so of the fall. He said, the first thing that came to his mind was Oh, my God he’s gonna fall on Jimmy. And what I felt brushed by me was Owen falling. And when he told me that it was just.”

On who is the most talented in the ring:

“Oh, man, there was when I think back about it, you’re talking about so incredibly good. Randy Orton is just so darn smooth and so good at what he does. See, because as you know, Chris, wrestling is more than just the moves, it is the personalities, it’s the talent getting people invested in what they do. Randy was able to do it all and make it all look effortless, it was incredible. Eddie was one of those guys too, Eddie Guerrero. God bless him, you know, and you look back at other talents, you know, I know people are gonna say, well, Hulk Hogan wasn’t a great wrestler, technical wrestler. He was a great entertainer, he was great in the ring and getting people invested in what he did. And that’s the name of the game. I like to equate it to this, you know, people are talking about while the business has changed, it’s evolved. It’s more about the in ring product? Well, no, I get it. When you look at the wheel when it was invented, it was made of stone. And then it became wood, then rubber and vulcanised rubber, we have all these different variations of the wheel. But at the end of the day, that shape of the wheel is round, and that’s what professional wrestling is. Yes, it’s going to evolve a little bit in style and presentation, especially with TV and the advancement of TV. At the same time, the thing is you talk people into the seats, you talk people into the arenas, it’s the talent themselves. As entertainers, you look back at the era where we had John Cena, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, you know, a bunch of talents that that’s what made the that era special, because it was the talent that drew people in not the fact that this guy could do this, and he could do a Twisting Burning 450 Hammer Phoenix Splash. That’s cool. Where everybody goes, Yeah, that was cool but, you know.”

When referees stopped being named:

“That stopped after I had left in 2009. All of a sudden, it was like, yes, we know that the referees are not to be a focal point. And for some reason, I couldn’t give you a reason why, because that was someone else’s decision, that we don’t need to name the referees and put any kind of focus on them. But if you watch any sport out there, and you know, obviously, professional wrestling is sports entertainment as much as the hardcore fans dislike that terminology, that’s exactly what it is, they try to emulate real sport. So in real sport, you have referee Bill Friday, you have referee Herb Dean in MMA, or John McCarthy. Yeah, you know, so it’s a little recognition but at the same time they’re not making them the focal point it’s just it’s kind of like a little shout out. There’s nothing wrong with that, but they’ve gotten back now under it seems like under the Hunter regime to at least acknowledge good job by referee so and so or nice call by referee so and so.”

Life before refereeing:

“I really was on the fence because I thought I was going to take [over]. my dad was a mechanic and he you know, owned a garage in Greektown in Danforth, which is kind of cool. And I used to, you know, work there with him and then I got some other jobs outside, because I discovered that being a mechanic was not my calling, and I gravitated to wrestling. I used to go to every show at Maple Leaf Gardens as a fan, and I went to the office one day and secured what would be the equivalent of season tickets. I would have the same seats for every show. And if you remember back in the day, maybe The Gardens had that ramp that went from the entryway, all the way to the ring, level with the ring. I was second row ringside right beside that ramp. And one of my hobbies was taking pictures. And what I would do is I would take pictures and they used to have a place up here called direct film, where you double your prints for $1. So I get my prints developed, I keep a set for myself and I take the second set to the next show and sell them for two bucks a picture, which would help fuel my wrestling habit and pay for it.”

On Jimmy Korderas’ match that sticks in his head:

“The one match again going into WrestleMania 24 Edge versus Undertaker in the main event. And one of the biggest reasons why is not just because good friend Edge and our, you know, our locker room leader, The Undertaker, who by the way, was our locker room leader not because he put himself in that position, it was the locker room that kind of elevated him into that position. He was kind of voted in, for lack of a better term as our leader. But, you know, if you read my book, and the forward, Edge explains that they requested me for that match, especially Edge wanted me to be the referee for that match. And that meant so much to me, it was so humbling. It was so, man, but then it also put extra pressure because now as they requested me for this, I better not mess it up, you know what I mean? So those thoughts are going through your head, but at the same time, I remember the day before WrestleMania sitting in, you know, at the hotel, we’re in the banquet room, you know, it was just reserved for us. And sitting at the table was Edge, Taker, Michael Hayes and me, and they’re talking over the match. Then, you know, all of a sudden they say Jimmy, what do you think? And I’m like, Oh, they’re asking my opinion too, this is cool. And then you know obviously that match I took a bump, and they said we want to bump the referee in this and blah blah blah. And then Taker just looks at me and says Jimmy you okay with taking a big boot? Absolutely. What are you kidding me? Taking a big boot from Taker, from The Deadman at WrestleMania. Yeah, yeah, bring it on. Yeah.”

On ever wanting to be a wrestler:

“Yeah, of course that thought comes in your head. But when you’re there and you’re watching it up close and personal and seeing the icing and all the soreness that goes on backstage, sometimes it hits you and you go, oh boy.”

On the first refereeing big break:

“Again, it was more along the lines of just listening to people and getting great coaching and you know, learning from some esteemed veterans. I already mentioned Pat Patterson. Gerald Brisco was a big help. Chief Jay Strongbow again, Renee Goulet, Tony Gurria, those are all the agents that were a big help and then you know, obviously David Hebner was a big help back in the day, you know, and their role as well. All those guys. Timmy White was awesome. So I had a wealth of veterans to learn from and absorb and be a sponge.”

On the first major match Jimmy Korderas refereed:

“Yeah, I did a Hogan vs. Mr. Perfect match at Maple Leaf Gardens, which is pretty cool. But being a part of the first very first Survivor Series in 1987 was very cool. Doing the women’s match, you know, with The Jumping Bomb Angels and, you know, with The Fabulous Moolah and that kind of stuff. Being a part of the first Royal Rumble that ever took place at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.”

On the ref bump:

“You don’t want to look like you’re taking a bump as a trained professional wrestler, it has to look a little bit off, let’s put it that way. You don’t want to do it in a way where you hurt yourself. At the same time, like you said, it shouldn’t be a clean flat back and, and where the audience especially the fan goes, yeah, he’s taken bumps before he knows how to do it. It should look awkward maybe, should look a little off.”

On maybe wanting to be management:

“Thoughts were there. But at the same time, I also was thinking along the lines of, you know, as a referee, you have more longevity than as an on air talent or something like that. Because, you know, even Teddy Long as a referee eventually, as a general manager, for example, that runs its course eventually. As a referee unless, they’re tired of your work or you can’t [work], you know what I mean? So as long as you’re doing your job correctly as a referee, there’s no reason for them to let you go. If you’re not performing on television, or they’re tired of your persona and they want to move you on. You always run that risk as a personality.”

On counting nearfalls: 

See that’s a difficult one. Because you know it’s not the finish and you want to make it look as close as possible. Sometimes it’s okay at times to look like you’re trying to stop it, hit the canvas, but wave it off, you know, especially on a really, really close false finish. You know, not doing it all the time, just, you know, on a rare occasion, that would translate pretty good on television. I think that, I’m not gonna say any, but there are some referees out there today who have a tell on false finishes. And unfortunately, I’ll give you an example. When SummerSlam was here in Toronto and 2019 I believe it was. You know, the guys from our show were at the event and we did a little thing there with the WWE guys. And with the producer, I was sitting beside the producer of our show, and there was a match going on. And he was Oh, I thought that was it, I said no. He said Yeah, but you know, I said no, I don’t know what’s going on in this match. I’m just watching. A little later [he says] Oh, I thought that was at, I said it wasn’t. He says, What’s going on here? I said, well, the referee has a tell. And he goes really? What is it? I said, I don’t want to tell you. Oh, he said, he says okay, okay, then it happened again. And he goes, come on. You got to tell me so I told him what it was. He says yeah, I shouldn’t ask you to tell me because now I can’t unsee it. So ever since that moment, And all my critiquing that I do and analyse, I will not give away a referee’s tell on a false finish. Because if I do, then whoever watches it after that kind of says, yeah.”

On knowing a match beforehand:

“For the most of it, I try to be there. I want to hear, you know, pretty much the entire match what’s going on. Sometimes you’re busy doing other stuff as well, so you just get the main points. And a lot of guys will just say, You know what, don’t worry about it. This is what we’re doing for the finish during the match. It’s, you know, it’s gonna be fairly easy. Just follow along.”

On wearing multiple hats:

“Well, pretty much on the ring crew. The ring crew was, you know, looking after the ring, setting it up, tearing it down, and also maintenance on the ring too, as well. You know what needed if their boards needed to be changed or rope needed to be tightened or adjusted or anything like that. Basically looking after the ring.”

What is Jimmy Korderas grateful for:

“My wife, the career I’ve had and for making lifelong friends.”

Featured image: Wrestling Inc

Eric Bischoff (@ebischoff) is a professional wrestling personality, podcaster, entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author. He joins Chris Van Vliet inside the Blue Wire Studios at Wynn Las Vegas to talk about his new book called “Gratitude”, the recent negative comments he made about Ric Flair on his podcast “83 Weeks”, why his co-host Conrad Thompson is a business genius, what he thinks Vince McMahon is doing since retiring from WWE, his thoughts on MJF in AEW, what he thinks CM Punk will do next, what he is grateful for and much more!

On the heat with Ric Flair:

“That’s a weird one. Six months ago I was out having cocktails with Ric Flair, and Wendy. I ran into him at an autograph signing at a convention in Houston about a year ago, we just had the greatest time. He called me in my room ‘come on down, we’ll have the greatest time, woo!’ I got the text. Then all of a sudden, I get blindsided. And I don’t know, I don’t know what got into Ric. Maybe somebody said something to him that I said, or he heard me say something that rubbed him the wrong way or he had some kind of a flashback. But I honestly don’t know. Even last night, I got into Vegas and I am sitting down and having a beer and looking through my social media. I see stuff that Ric said, I fire back, and as soon I was done, I said that’s it, I’m just not doing this. I have a lot of affection for Ric, I don’t know why, but I love Ric. And I’m sure I’m not the only one that loves Ric and does not know why they love Ric, he’s got that personality. I have a lot of respect for him, and I don’t want to engage anymore in the social media thing. If Ric wants to sit down, have a face-to-face conversation and tell me what I did wrong, how I p*ssed him off or irritated him or whatever, I am happy to do that and put it behind us and move on. But as far as the social media stuff, I’m probably not going to talk about it on my podcast anymore, because I am hoping that it just goes away.”       

On this all being on social media and nothing more:

“No! I don’t even know what I did! I don’t even know what I said. I called Conrad and said ‘Conrad, what the hell?!’ [Did Conrad know?] He doesn’t know, he doesn’t know.”

On if the heat between Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair is all pro-wrestling:

“It’s beyond that. [Is it personal?] Clearly, I don’t know what year it was, I had been in WWE for a couple of years. While I was in WWE, the week before the incident I am about to tell you, I show up to Monday Night Raw, we do TV and Ric is there and Arn Anderson is there. We go out for a beer after the show. Ric says ‘Eric, come on, we will go to the hotel bar, join us.’ So boom, went out to the bar and had a great time, just like old times, right? The following week, I show up to Monday Night Raw and am sitting in what they call the TV office, it was like a prop office in case they needed it. But I always used it for a dressing room because nobody else used it, I had the whole place to myself with a couch and a chair. So I’m in there and I am talking to my wife on the phone, it was my wife and my real estate attorney, we were closing on a piece of property. So I am on a 3 way conference call with my attorney and my wife, I am sitting in a chair. Ric comes walking into the TV office, Arn is behind him and Jonathon Coachman is behind him [Arn]. I’m talking on the phone, ok cool, it wasn’t my office, it was everybody’s office, I just happened to use it. While I am on the phone, Ric comes over and he just starts yelling and screaming at me ‘you MF-er! You get up out of your chair!’ I’m talking on the phone, and he just starts firing shots at me, he’s throwing punches at me, connected with me 3 times, while I’m on the phone. Here’s the deal, Ric Flair has been throwing working punches for so long, I don’t think he knows how to throw a real punch. I’m not saying that to be funny, or try to be a tough guy, because I’m not. But he hit me 3 times, and I still had the phone in my hand. For a minute I thought, is this a work? Is there a camera? Am I in a scene that nobody told me about? Then his lip started bleeding after he hit me for the third time, he was so mad that he bit his own lip and started bleeding all over himself, and I wouldn’t fight him.”  

What was Ric Flair so mad about:

“Well to this day I never really know because we never talked about it. I’ve been able to kind of piece together that there was a point in time in Ric’s life that was a challenging time in his personal life and somehow my name got thrown into a conversation. It just sent him into a tailspin and he got p*ssed off at me all over again, over something that had happened 10 years earlier. He just came in and started firing live rounds. I said ‘Ric, I’m not going to fight you. I’m just not going to fight you.’”  

On the CM Punk controversies:

“I don’t know [what is going on]. I mean, it is a trainwreck, that’s all I know. I wasn’t a big fan of Punk to begin with. I think he was overhyped. I think there was a great mystique, I don’t want to take that away from him, there was a tremendous mystique. When he dropped that Pipe Bomb, that was like rebelling against the man. Everybody in America at one point in time, deep down wishes that they could do what he did. That is what created that mystique, and that mystique lived, even though, you know, he showed up to the UFC a couple of times and got humiliated. It didn’t matter, he still had the mystique with the wrestling fans. When he got to AEW, I was excited, because I was interested to see how that would work. But if you go back and you listen to his opening promo, what did he do? He ripped Hulk Hogan. If you have to get yourself over with that kind of cheap heat, you’re not over, you don’t know how to get over. He was living off the momentum that was created for him in the WWE, he was living off of the mystique, he had it in his hands. I think that the way he was produced, his creative, I didn’t find it compelling at all. He is out there wrestling nobodies.” 

On CM Punk impacting AEW ratings:

“I know it’s sometimes unfair but go back and look at the ratings. Go back and look at the impact that CM Punk had on television ratings. It is the only thing that is black and white. He came out strong, and slowly week after week after week they continued to lose audience. The audience came, they saw, they left and they didn’t come back. What does that tell you?”    

On the power of social media:

“What makes it fascinating for me looking in from the outside is that I love how some talents are using social media effectively, and some talents aren’t. That surprises me, because wrestlers are normally pretty good at figuring out ways to, you know, stay relevant and get themselves over. Becky Lynch, I didn’t know who Becky Lynch was until I came across a couple of her social media posts on Twitter, this is back in 2018. I went wow, that’s pretty good, I’m gonna check her out. All of a sudden I am tuning into Monday Night Raw or whatever she was on at the time. I am tuning in to watch Becky Lynch, who I only knew about because I was really intrigued by how well she used social media.”

On the rise of Goldberg:

“Bill Goldberg is the perfect example. Bill Goldberg didn’t even get a letter next to his storyline. He was like what’s after z, we need a what’s after z story category, because that was what Bill Goldberg was when he came in. By that I mean that Bill Goldberg came in out of the NFL, elite athlete no question. Great looking character, looked like he came right out of central casting for wrestling. We put him in the Power Plant for a very short period of time, and then it was ok, let’s see how the crowd reacts to him in what we call a dark match. For all the listeners and people watching, a dark match is simply where you know, you show up for a live television presentation, and you have a couple of matches before you go on the air live. You do that for a couple of reasons, one is that you want to warm up the crowd for a little bit, if they need it. The other is that you want to take some of your younger talent that don’t have experience working in front of a crowd, and you get them out there on a limited basis. It’s not a real thing, but it is a lot better than just wrestling in the training facility. So we brought Bill out, and the reaction when Bill Goldberg came storming down the ramp was woah, wait a minute, holy smokes. Let’s see if that happens again next week. We do the same thing next week and it’s more so, then the following week it is even more so. Alright, he has only been in the Power Plant for 4 months, but we have got to get him on TV. And that storyline was a reaction to the audience. That whole career was a reaction to the audience.”     

On being able to appear for both WWE and AEW:

“Yeah that one [the AEW relationship] is not as good anymore, but that was my choice. I knew when I said what I was going to say that it will be the last time I get invited there. I was fine with that. I don’t worry about it, it is what it is. But when I was bouncing back between WWE and AEW, first time I got a call from AEW, I called Bruce Prichard. I said that I just want to let you know out of courtesy and respect for our friendship, I am still tight with Bruce. Please let Vince know, if he has got a question about this or an issue, please give me a shout. If not, I am going to go ahead. I got the word back to go and have a ball, it’s just communication and common courtesy.”   

On Eric Bischoff’s lowest point in his career:

“So I have never discussed this before, and I have to be careful about how I say it. During the AOL/Time Warner merger, there was a point sometime around the end of 1998. WCW was rocking and rolling, we were making money hand over fist, the ratings were great, it couldn’t have been better. I think it was around August or September, I got called to Harvey Schiller’s office, Harvey Schiller was my boss and the president of Turner Sports at the time. There was a corporate attorney there, general counsel, sitting in his office. I thought well this is weird. They sat me down, and they said ‘Eric, we just, we have to share something with you.’ I go wow, this is serious. [Schiller continues] ‘For the past several months, we have been doing some private investigation work and some forensic accounting, and we just want you to know that, because we have had to interview certain people in your company.’ I thought ok, cool, why? I probably wasn’t that calm, I got a little more agitated, there might have been an f bomb in there somewhere [laughs]. The corporate counsel said ‘Look Eric, we had no choice. An executive from Time Warner went to a WCW event.’ It was one of our bigger events. [They] Went to the event, ended up in an elevator with a guy wearing a WCW Nitro crew shirt. The gentleman from Time Warner was a very senior executive for Time Warner. This individual started asking the guy in the WCW shirt what do you do? Tell me about WCW. This guy was a disgruntled, he wasn’t really an employee, he was like a freelancer that every once in a while we would hire to help set up rings, stuff like that. But he wasn’t on the regular payroll, wasn’t a regular employee. This guy just unloaded all kinds of fabricated narrative, Dirt Sheet, Reddit type stuff. This is the one that really got to me, this is what they were told, ‘You are giving your friend Diamond Dallas Page $1.5 million and you are getting a kickback.’ That was the narrative, somewhere this guy had got a hold of it. That hurt me, I don’t know if it hurt me, but I lost faith. I had put so much into WCW at that time, put so much into Nitro, and I felt good about it. I loved working with the people, loved working with Ted Turner, he is an amazing person, I would cut off a hand right now if I had the chance to work for him if it was necessary. But that just really bothered me, and I don’t even know why, I think it was the lack of trust. The idea that they didn’t tell me until the investigation was over, ‘By the way, we have got nothing on you. We have been through you, your finances, your friends, your family, your neighbours, we know all about you.’ Well thank you very much! It put a dent in me, let’s put it that way.”            

On WWE listening to its fans:

“Obviously I wasn’t there on the inside when Vince left. I was there for 4 months, I worked with Vince almost every day. On those days we did work together, it was often for hours and hours and hours. I don’t want to say that I know Vince McMahon, because I don’t, I don’t think anybody does outside of his immediate family. We all get little glimpses of him, but I don’t think many people really know Vince McMahon. My experience was Vince had a strong vision, clearly, look where WWE is today, clearly he has had a strong vision throughout his life. The challenge for me and the people I worked with on the creative side were to come up with things that would get Vince’s attention in a positive way. You never knew what that was going to be, because there was no consistency there. Every day was a brand new day, it’s not like I could get a read on Vince McMahon. I think that stifled creativity a lot. You’ve heard these stories, and I don’t mean to share these experiences as like a tell all or anything negative, because it worked for them and it worked for Vince McMahon, I wish I could have figured those out. But you have heard the stories of showing up to television at 1 o’clock, tearing up the script and starting from scratch. Those aren’t exaggerations. That process, or lack thereof, is not conducive to great creativity. And I think, I’m guessing on this, because I don’t know Paul Levesque well either, I have worked a long time around him. Paul had been a part of that creative process long enough to know what the weak points were, to know what was holding it back, to know what was frustrating the people that were charged with coming up with good creative. I think that Paul made a lot of those changes very quickly, and I would imagine that the quality of the writing and the quality of the creative got much tighter. Writers got more confidence, because it was a more predictable environment, just the quality went up, that’s my take.”

On what Vince McMahon might be doing in retirement:

“I don’t know, like I said I don’t really know him. I know he is interested in cars, he’s got nice cars. But I have never heard a story of him like going golfing, yachting or fishing. I don’t think he did anything but work or workout.”     

On the brilliance of MJF:

“I have jeans older than him! He’s so good. I think the reason, well there are many reasons, but one of the reasons is that he lives it. A lot of guys that play heels on TV don’t play heels in real life and don’t want to be. It’s human nature, no one wants to be hated. I think wrestling in particular, it’s not like being an actor. You can be a villain in a movie, and everyone knows you are just playing a movie. But in wrestling, when you’re a villain in wrestling they think you are a villain in real life. It’s true though, isn’t it.”            

On if the story is ever changed on 83 Weeks:

“No, I have made a fortune in p*ssing people off. I have no inhibitions when it comes to speaking my mind. Plus, it frees you. I try not to keep things in. You ask about talking about uncomfortable things or failures, I don’t mind talking about that stuff. I actually feel liberated talking about that stuff, because I have learned to embrace it. Again, it all comes back to my wife, over 38 to 40 years, [she] has taught me how to become grateful and the instinct to look for the lighter things. But I don’t mind it, it’s all part of it.”

On heat from the podcast:

“That happens occasionally, but I don’t do it out of, I’m not trying to be mean or hurt people’s feelings or p*ss anybody off. I am just trying to be as honest as I can be, sometimes my delivery is aggressive, but that is just part of who I am. I am not trying to be mean or disrespectful, it is just part of my point of view. I’ve spent 30 odd years of people say things about me that are not true or put me in situations that never existed, or suggested they were in my mind. I’ve listened to that and not get mad about it. If I can learn to not get angry about the other things they say about me, then they can get used to it too.”

On why the new book Gratitude took so long:

“You know, I didn’t think that I had anything else to say. Even with the first book, Controversy Creates Cash, when I was first approached about that, well everybody already knows everything about what happened, does anybody care? The process of going through, well in my case my life and wrestling up until 2006, there was so much that I forgot about. You are living in that moment, you are doing it, thinking about what is next… I had never had time to sit down and think about all of the things that I was grateful for. So you go through the book and go oh wow, this was pretty interesting. Guy Evans, who was the co-writer, he called me and he said ‘I’ve been listening to your podcast, I think you have got another book in you.’ Once again I said no, really? But he kind of laid it out to me, so we gave it a try, it was such a fun experience.”

On the power of nostalgia:

“For me, all of this is like swimming upstream. When Conrad first reached out to me about doing a podcast, I had tried one previously, but it didn’t go anywhere and the chemistry wasn’t right. When Conrad called me, I was excited because of all of the success that he had with Bruce Prichard, like real success. So I knew Conrad knew what he was doing, but I asked him about the format, what does the show look like? He told me Monday Night Wars nostalgia era, and I was like oh man! Monday Night Wars, there’s been books, there’s been DVD’s, there has been 2000 shoot interviews. He said it would work and I trusted his instinct, he was so on the money. He has done a phenomenal job, not just mine, but like the 37 others too.”

On the most talked about episode:

“Probably Starrcade 1997, when Conrad yelled at me. He was MF’ing me, it got really hot, and people still talk about it all the time. So here is what happened, we are getting to December, and people go ‘well on this date, several years ago, Hulk Hogan beat Sting because he didn’t have a tan.’ I get that all the time! We are going to be doing a watchalong with [former WWE referee] Nick Patrick. I talked to Nick Patrick for the first time on the phone to do this in how many decades? It’s been a long time. Nick has his point of view and I have mine, we will see how it goes.”

On why Sting wasn’t ready at Starrcade 1997:

“This is going to suck, but I can’t, I just can only tell you what was going on from my perspective, I don’t want to try and get in somebody else’s head. I have a ton of respect for Steve Borden, so I am going to do the best I can here. But it was a judgement call, we got to a point where both Hulk and I didn’t feel like Sting’s head was in the game. It didn’t look like he was really, I don’t want to say he wasn’t excited at what he was about to do, but we had been building this thing up for over a year. Everybody else was excited about it, the amps were pretty high going into that day. But when we finally sat down and tried to figure out how we were going to do it, we didn’t feel like we were connecting, it was a judgement call. It wasn’t one that I made, I wish we went the other way obviously. I’ve also learned in the process of learning how to be grateful is to look on the brighter side, look at the things that came out more positively. It was an unfortunate situation, but we made the best of it, and I am still making money from it. So there’s that.”  

On what Eric Bischoff is grateful for:

“To be alive, my faith and my wife and family.”

Featured image: SEScoops

Rich Swann (@gottagetswann) is a professional wrestler signed with IMPACT Wrestling. He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, X Division Champion and Impact Digital Media Champion. He joins Chris Van Vliet to announce exclusively that he has re-signed with Impact Wrestling for 2 more years. He talks about the unfinished business he has with AEW’s Kenny Omega, his goal to become a Grand Slam Champion in 2023, his TNA Wrestling Mount Rushmore, the best advice he ever received, his thoughts on the Forbidden Door and much more!

On re-signing with IMPACT Wrestling:

“Man, the world of Rich Swann has definitely been lighting up. I mean, I’ve got a one year old baby now, a little Richie Jr. And I’ve also signed a two year deal with IMPACT Wrestling. [Congratulations] I appreciate that. IMPACT Wrestling has done nothing but you know, treat me with the utmost respect. And it’s been a place where I’ve been able to grow, I’ve been able to watch other competitors grow. And I’ve been able to watch the company grow into a spot to where you know, it should be, you know what I’m saying?”

Why Rich Swann is staying with IMPACT:

“You know, right now, wrestling is just like I said, there’s so much of everything, all forms of entertainment. And wrestling right now is prospering. Like you have your AEW that’s doing great. You have WWE has turned around, turned a new leaf and they’re doing great. IMPACT Wrestling, the experience that I had ever since I started with IMPACT in 2018 has been nothing but love, nothing but prospering, nothing but watching the company grow into what it is today, and to be a part of that and helping that. After all the years of people saying, Oh, IMPACT’s gonna die? Oh, TNA is dead. To be a part of that, you know what I’m saying? Like and helping it come back up to where it’s at today? That right there makes me feel good. And like I said, it lets me know that I’m doing something right in this industry.”

On evolving:

“I’m very different, especially unfortunately, I had broke my back and my leg, my hip, and my foot. Everything, like everything on my right side was damn near damaged. And I was told by doctors that I wouldn’t walk the same let alone wrestle again. And for, you know, IMPACT, they helped take care of me when that happened. You know, and once I finally was able to come back, I became a world champion in IMPACT Wrestling. So that’s something that I’ll never forget, I’ll always hold near and dear to my heart. And I’m definitely a better performer than I was back and you know, that at that time. It’s definitely you know, taught me something.”

On becoming IMPACT World Champion:

“So personally, man, it just, it made me feel like all the doubters and the naysayers and the people that said hey, you’re not gonna make it in this business as anything. Because you’re 5 foot 6, you’re 175 pounds. Oh, you’ll never be… I was able to show that gold and put it in their face. And you know, personally and professionally, professionally you know, it definitely put me at another level. I was able to wrestle one of the most revered wrestlers in our industry today, Kenny Omega, in a high profile Main Event match, you know what I’m saying. Two companies came together, AEW and IMPACT Wrestling, one pay-per-view, one ring, two world titles. I would have never gotten an opportunity wrestling in other places, and I was just you know, elated.”

On unfinished business with Kenny Omega:

“There’s a lot of unfinished business. We never got a rematch, you know what I’m saying? Man, I know that Forbidden Door still open, your boy Cass just had a world title shot at IMPACT against Josh [Alexander]. You know what I mean? And he’s a part of AEW. Hey Kenny, this is a message to you. Don’t be scared, I know you beat me, I know you beat me. But hey, don’t be scared. Let’s run it back.”

On 2023 goals:

“Man, in these next 12 months, I want to do something that has been on my mind for a while, and that is become you know, a Grand Slam champion at IMPACT Wrestling. Of course, I’d like to become world champion again. I would love to find the tag team partner and get these Tag Team Titles, scratch that off my list. You know what I’m saying? I’d love to have Willie Mack with me by my side. That’s my partner, either Willie Mack or Ricochet. Those are my two guys. And I’m saying we’ve made a lot of history together and to have that, you know what I’m saying, like that right there would be like the ultimate. Like that would put me up there with guys like AJ Styles with guys like Sting, with guys like Booker, Kurt Angle, you know, Samoa Joe, like that would put me up there with that list. You know what I’m saying and like to be in there, like Goddamn, I did something with my life!”

On Rich Swann’s IMPACT Mount Rushmore:

“Easy, easy. For me, it’s easy, because like, these are the guys that definitely, especially when I was younger, and like just starting to get into pro wrestling as an athlete and everything like that. Like I would say, Sting for sure. I’d say Christian Cage for sure. Because he was definitely a big jump once, he left from WWE to come to TNA. And you know, it was, you know, nobody thought that like, oh, wait a minute. What’s what’s, what’s he doing here? So Sting, Cristian Cage, definitely AJ Styles. The last one, you are right it is hard. Samoa Joe for sure, he definitely had a type of aura about him that was like, alright. And at that point too, he wasn’t someone came over from WWE or anything like that him and AJ were both homegrown. And, like they, they helped make that, you know, Impact Wrestling, TNA wrestling, a staple.”

On Rich Swann playing his own entrance music:

“Hey, this is the thing, and I don’t want to hate on Elias. I don’t want to hate on Rick Boogs. I don’t want to hate on those guys. But God damn, I was doing that in 2008 playing my own song, beatboxing my own song, playing guitar on my own song. But Honky Tonk and Jeff Jarrett, they were doing it well before me. Yeah, you know what I’m saying? But just saying I was doing that sh*t.”

What is Rich Swann grateful for:

“My family, my son and professional wrestling.”

Featured image: IMPACT Wrestling

Speedball Mike Bailey (@speedballbailey) is a professional wrestler currently signed to IMPACT Wrestling. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about growing up in Canada, French being his first language and learning to speak English, how he got his “Speedball” nickname, his dream X Division opponents, his issues crossing the Canada/US border, how he turned the negative of not being able to enter the United States into a positive, wrestling fellow Canadian Josh Alexander, his wife Veda Scott and much more!

On future plans:

I mean, I’m gonna be with IMPACT Wrestling for a few more years. And I’m very excited about that. I want to grow along with IMPACT, and I think that’s a big part of it. I feel like, like, I’m not taking any credit for it, but they have absolutely been making all the right moves. And Scott has taken the company in a very, very interesting direction. And they have been growing, the shows have been consistently getting better. They’ve come out of the pandemic, and just knocked it out of the park. The live events are absolutely fantastic. And I think that I don’t think there’s a limit right now, to what I can do an impact. And I think that the more we all like all of us at IMPACT grow, the more the company is going to grow. And I feel like that’s limitless, kind of. But that being said, I want to outdo myself. And I know that people have said that my 2022 was a wild year, and my goal is just to make 2022 better, wherever and however that might be. So I like I am again, I am a much better wrestler right now than I was at the beginning of the year. I am focused on growth and continuous improvement. And I feel like I’ve achieved that. And I feel like my work itself is going to keep getting better in 2023. I mean, like with how wrestling is evolving and changing, there’s new opportunities constantly. I mean, forbidden door things that are happening now like they never have before. I got to wrestle Kenta recently at Pro-Wrestling Revolver at a match with Jon Moxley, I wrestled Will Ospreay earlier in the beginning of the year. I mean, I wrestled Dax Harwood two weeks ago in a, you know, big forbidden door extraordinaire, match. And I feel like that just makes the possibilities endless. And if I can continue to wrestle all the best wrestlers in the world and keep getting better while I do it. I feel like that’s enough of a goal.

Where the name Speedball came from:

“So the Speedball is a piece of boxing equipment that you just hit and it rebounds. And the reason that I was nicknamed Speedball Mike Bailey, is because there was a, his name was Michael Ryan, he wrote about Montreal wrestling, he since passed away. But in one of my early matches, he described my enduring style as bouncing around the ring like a speedball. And a big part of the reason I love that nickname is because I didn’t give it to myself, which is very rare in these hard times.”

On possibly being in the UFC if Mike Bailey was younger today:

“So I think so. But I am not like, I’m not spiteful. And the thing that I never had in any, like combat sports that I did, was like, you know that anger, that rage, that desire to beat my opponent and knock him out? You know, I just wanted to win. I wanted to be technically superior and win, and that was much more interesting to me and I never had any animosity towards my opponents. Even if they which is again, very much reflected in my professional wrestling and my persona on screen, but I never had any animosity, like even if they tried to like cheat, I’d be like, Yeah, I understand what you’re doing, I understand where you’re doing it, and it doesn’t really bother me. And I think that’s why pro wrestling worked better for me than actual, like, competitive combat sports because I like, I prefer teamwork to outright competition. I prefer working together in order to achieve a goal than trying to, you know, beat up another person. Like, I know that pro-wrestling is not the only avenue for that. And there’s like, you know, lots of stunts and stuff is something that I almost went into at one point, and was, you know, certainly interested in and there’s a lot of other avenues for that too. But pro-wrestling really fits my personality well, and much better than competing in MMA would have.” 

On having multiple nicknames:

It’s so over, it’s mostly through Twitch that I’ve given myself a lot of nicknames. So the number one is Uncle Speedy. That then goes by a lot and I don’t know why I’ve become an uncle, but I feel like that’s the place I occupy within the #speed fam. Which is because family comes first which is a fast and furious reference, which is very important to canon. ‘I live my life a quarter mile at a time.’ That’s the Vin Diesel voice.”

On things starting to shift:

So there’s been many moments where like, it’s come in such small increments. I’ve been wrestling for 17 years. I’m 32 years old, which is when I started when I was 15, and I started from literally the bottom, like it was in Quebec, which so there was a language barrier that kind of cut off the whole province from the rest of the world. And then there’s a physical border between Quebec and the US. I started taking bookings in January 2006. And later that year, is when Kevin Steen wrestled Christopher Daniels, in Quebec City. And that match was the first time in a very, very long time, like in decades that anyone was ever brought from outside of Quebec, to wrestle in Quebec. And that’s how just that’s just how isolated and difficult that was, at the time. So all this to say that there’s been a lot of moments where, you know, I was just doing wrestling, and then I thought, Oh, this is going pretty well. And then it wasn’t. And then it was again, and then [it wasn’t].”

On IMPACT:

“Yeah, and it’s been great. It’s been great to, you know, finally get to do it on a bigger platform than what I had been doing. I think PWG was a great example of that, because up until you know, last year, people would still go Oh, Speedball Mike Bailey, I love his match with Roderick Strong, which happened in like 2015. And I had been, you know, wrestling in Japan for DDT for like four years at this point. And I’d had way better matches there not because you know, not because I had been wrestling better opponents because there are very few than, than Roderick Strong. But I’ve gotten so much better in so many aspects over those five years that I couldn’t come into the US. So it still sucks to have people judge me on what I was five years ago. And it’s even worse to have people go, Oh, you weren’t great five years ago. And it’s like, well, I am a lot better now. And it was great to be able to come back to PWG in the beginning of the year and change up that perspective.

On IMPACT helping Mike Bailey wrestle in America:

“I think people don’t realise, I know for a fact that people are not aware of the calibre of talent that there is in Canada. The wrestling landscape is wild, it’s completely different now than when I started, it’s completely evolving. For a lot of people, this is how their path went right? They start wrestling training in 2018, they get a match on AEW Dark after they’ve been wrestling for, you know, six to eight months. And then now they’re trying to get signed, and they’re getting try-outs and stuff. I wrestled for, you know, five years until I received the first envelope that had five Canadian dollars in it, and that was my pay. And before that I just, you know, not even a handshake and a hot dog, five years of wrestling for free. But it’s not because anyone was taking advantage of me just because no one was making money. Because again, this is pre social media, where the only way to advertise your wrestling shows is by, you know, stapling the flyers to telephone poles and waiting outside of the WWE house shows that try to hand out flyers and get people there. And you’re not bringing in anyone. There’s no draw, there’s no big names, no one’s making money.

On getting turned away at the border in 2016 and what really happened:

So it hadn’t happened. I was fine, up until that point. But again, it’s extremely tricky. And the thing about the border is that everything is up to the agent, right? They don’t really need a reason to turn you around. And they don’t need a reason to, like, look further into your things either. They can just decide, you know, I don’t like your face, we’re gonna go and do a deep dive into everything you say. And also, the part that is complicated is that for, you know, every Speedball Mike Bailey and Josh Alexander that, you know, had the issues of the border, and then saw it through to the end, there’s 100 more Canadians that you’ve never heard of, because they weren’t able to pick up enough steam. And by the time, you know, they got turned around before they were able to actually get their name out there. And it’s been so much harder for them ever since. I was lucky that I’ve been able to do you know, PWG and CZW, and Evolve and a bunch of higher echelon places. And then when I was not no longer able to get to the US, I was able to go to England and Japan and you know, Germany and wherever else, because I had picked up enough notoriety in order to be able to have my name out there and be attractive to promotions overseas.

On a dream match:

“Oh, man, there’s so many. AJ Styles is, of course, number one. And I think the person that will forever be associated with TNA. But man, that early X-Division roster was something you look at it like Jerry Lynn matches from that time. Amazing Red, doing absolutely fantastic. [Chris] Sabin, who’s been there from the beginning, still one of the best. It’s interesting to see. And I thought I’ve what is unique about the X-Division is that it’s been able to for so long, maintain its identity, which is very, very rare in professional wrestling. Like do you think of the like, Intercontinental Championship in WWE, and it’s kind of the mid-card title. But it’s not associated with any particular style. 

What Mike Bailey is grateful for:

“My wife, the audience of wrestling and the existence of professional wrestling.”

Featured image: IMPACT

Matt Cardona (@themattcardona) is a professional wrestler who has worked for NWA, AEW, Impact Wrestling, GCW and was known as Zack Ryder in WWE. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about the incredible 2022 that he had, why he wants to go back to WWE, his goal to win the WWE Championship, his thoughts on Cody Rhodes wrestling against Seth Rollins with a torn pec at Hell in a Cell, how he has been able to monetize The Major Figure Wrestling Podcast, his infamous match with Nick Gage, getting the fans to hate him, what happened after his AEW debut and much more!

On wanting to be WWE Champion:

“I’ll put it out there, one goal that I’ve been saying for a long time is to win that WWE championship. That’s not a lie. I’d be lying to you right now. Listen, when I got released, the goal was not to get back to WWE. It wasn’t like, oh, what can I do to make them notice me? What can I do to get back to WWE? You can’t think like that. I certainly can’t. But I would be lying if I said, I never want to wrestle at Madison Square Garden again, or I never want to have a Wrestlemania match. Of course I do, because WWE is number one. So not saying, you know there’s this, this plan to go back as soon as possible. But before I hang up the boots, I’d love to go back at least one time, for sure.”

On conversations with WWE:

“Listen, I appreciate you asking me this, but here’s the truth. Like, if I were to go back, I wouldn’t reveal it here. And if I wasn’t going back, I wouldn’t reveal it here, because I want people, I want people talking. So the more they talk, you know, the more people are talking about Matt Cardona, the better for me. I’m the internet champion, then now and forever. So let them talk.”

On not returning to WWE as Zack Ryder:

“I mean, if it was up to me, if I would ever go back it would be as me, Always Ready Matt Cardona. Now if there was going to be a surprise run in or Royal Rumble something, if the Always Ready music hit or the Woo Woo, hit which one would get a bigger pop? I understand Zack Ryder, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to live in the past. You know, I’m saying like, I’m 37 years old, I’m in the prime of my career. I mean, listen, I always say like the PWI 500 Doesn’t matter unless you’re number one or number 13, and I was number 13. Which, you know what? I’m very very proud of that. The only unsigned guy in the top 20, I think it’s pretty damn cool, that you know that I’m being able to do GCW, IMPACT, NWA, all these random indies of all over the world and doing it on my terms. It’s so much fun.”

On not wanting to be tied down:

“Well, I mean, the AEW thing, listen, it’s not like they offered me a deal and I turned it down. That’s not what happened. What happened? I don’t exactly know. I did a couple shows there. I thought I was gonna be offered something, I wasn’t. Okay, now I gotta move on, you know? I just don’t want to be tied down anywhere. In WWE, not that had handcuffs on by any means, but I was there for so long. That’s when I was 20 years old, when did we get fired? 2020. So I was there for like 14 years, it’s a long time. So now it’s my chance to make my own schedule and be my own boss and branch out and do all these other things. Whether it be grow the Major Wrestling Figure podcast, or, you know, I just did the last match musical, I did a musical, you know, all these things I’m getting to try now. I just don’t want to be tied down anywhere. I don’t want to [go] ‘Hey, Okay, can I do this?’ I don’t want to do that.”

On WWE fans not knowing what Matt Cardona is doing now:

“100%. Listen, when I was a kid I was the WWE kid. I mean, obviously, I watched WCW, ECW, but I didn’t [watch everything]. And it was different then, but I didn’t follow the indies and stuff like that. I was strictly WWF, right, so I totally get it. And there’s people like, I meet them at conventions, and we just did like Wrestle Cade. [They ask me] ‘Oh, you still wrestle?’ Yeah I’m f*cking busier than ever making more money than ever, pal. You know, but like, I don’t blame them. You know. Not everyone is obsessed with this business like I am. Or, you know that not everyone has to be this diehard fan. I don’t fault them for that.”

On life after the WWE release:

“Well, that’s the thing because you know, I got released, I knew, okay, I’m Matt Cardona now. But who is that? I knew I needed to change, but you can’t just turn heel on the indies. You know, it just doesn’t work that way. So the deathmatch, the GCW, it really started this snowball effect where I go through to, you know, random indie shows, and it’s like 50/50 getting cheered or booed. First it’s like 25% getting booed and I’m like this is weird, then 50/50, then 75% get booed, now it’s 100%. I don’t get cheered anywhere I go, and I love it. And that’s what I need, I just needed something, the catalyst, if you will, to spark this new version of me. It’s been so much fun. And for a while, you know, I was like a babyface, and IMPACT and then like, I’d be doing an indie show the next night and getting booed. So like, I love that now, no matter where I go, people know f*ck this guy. It’s so much fun.”

On transitioning from Zack Ryder to Matt Cardona:

“I mean, even at the very end, like the past couple years in WWE, I was trying to be a little more serious, you know, got in better shape, dropped the Woo Woo sh*t. But like if you don’t get the time on television to showcase that. I mean, who really knows, right? So I think now, being my own boss, you know, I’m not signed to any company, I’ve refused contracts. I just want to be my own boss. And selfishly, I don’t want to answer to anybody. You know, I’m having so much fun and it’s working. And I love just being able to try things. All I’ve ever wanted was an opportunity to try and a lot of things that I’ve tried since being released have worked. Some things that I’ve tried haven’t worked. And that’s just how it is. That’s how you learn, that’s how you grow.”

On wrestling Nick Gage:

“I was scared to death and honestly before I walked through that curtain I’m like, they might try to kill me in this ring, and that would be the trending moment, right? Like, Nick Gage kills Matt Cardona at GCW, I was scared to death. I watched the Dark Side of the Ring, or at least I tried to, the Nick Gage episode, and I couldn’t get through it. It was so gory and disgusting. And I’m like, holy sh*t. I have to wrestle this guy?”

On possibly not going all in for the Nick Gage match:

“No, I knew that it was, I knew this is gonna be a big night. I wore all white, I knew I was gonna bleed, right? Of course, deathmatch, light tubes, glass, you’re gonna bleed. But my white shirt turned like maroon red. And there’s one point in the match, I superplex Nick through this pane of glass, and there’s like, it’s blood coming out of my arm but it’s like ooze. It’s so thick and disgusting. And the referee was concerned, once the referee was concerned, then I was like concerned. So then like, you know, I started getting lightheaded. We finished the match, I won, long story short, I’m the deathmatch king, but holy sh*t. And, you know, there’s no medical team backstage at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City. There was this nurse, I think, you know, she was a nurse, she stitched me up, did a horrible job. She did her best with what she had, and she told me yeah, these stitches are dissolvable don’t take them out. Of course they were not. I got infected, it was brutal. It was the aftermath that hurt the most because I flew right away cross country to Disneyland, I had a big Disneyland trip planned. So John Carlo, if you know John Carlo is, he worked for GCW, works for AEW now, he didn’t have any bandages. So I just went to his hotel room and he taped towels around my body. That’s how I flew cross country, and I did all the rides at Universal and Disneyland.”

On Chelsea Green’s reaction:

“Well, she was the one who found me in that hotel room the next day, and she had to go get all the bandages and she bandaged me up and cleaned me up. But um, a lot of people thought I was crazy going into it. I got so many texts and DM’s like don’t do this, this guy’s crazy. I’m like, if I’m convincing people in the business, this is gonna be great.”

On Cody Rhodes wrestling with a torn pec:

“Oh, man. First of all, he had to do that match. Was it like this the smartest for his health? Maybe not. But it’s such an iconic moment, you know, and it really showed that he had these balls and the passion for pro-wrestling. I think he gained a lot of people’s respect if he didn’t have it already. Great, great night for him and he needed that. And I think Cody is, you know, it was a blessing in disguise to get injured, because now he gets two big comebacks in one calendar year.”

What is Matt Cardona grateful for:

“Chelsea Green, The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast and living my dream.”

Featured image: Sports Illustrated

Ron Howard is a director, actor, screenwriter and producer. From dramas like A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1984), he has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about his new movie “Thirteen Lives” and tells CVV the best advice he was given as an actor that he now applies to directing.

You’re so good at creating tension in all the movies that you have directed and you have done it again here. What’s the key to creating tension in a scene?

“You know, in thrillers they sometimes call them human interest stories, or tick tocks. When you combine those 2 things with beat for beat, what does it feel like to be involved in something that is so pressurised? Even if you have a broad sense of what the outcome is, you don’t know what people endured to try and achieve what was achieved. In this case, I thought it was exponentially dense with acts of heroism, large and small. There was so much volunteerism here, these weren’t trained firefighters doing their thing, or astronauts trying to get themselves home, soldiers in battle. These were people who did not have to be there. There was no guarantee that there was going to be a celebration at the end of this, in fact, it was most likely heartbreak. And yet they did it, they engaged, 5,00 of them, becasue they knew that it was the right thing. I admired that, and I wanted to celebrate it, but not in a sentimental way. I wanted to let audiences know that this is kind of what a miracle looks like, this is what the practical side of what it takes to create a possibility of a miraculous outcome.”

I’m curious Mr. Howard, do you have any advice that you were given as an actor by a director that you now employ as a director?

“Truth, always build on the truth. Understand the logic of it. Even if you are going to turn it into a comedy moment, or have to manipulate it in some way to make it achieve some goal in the story or the narrative. Start with the truth, and build some link between your head, your psyche, and what the character is doing. You might not agree with what the character does, but if you understand it and connect enough of yourself to it, then you are offering audiences something that is relatable. In this case, when Thai cast members started arriving, I relaized how vitally important it was to get it right, that this was there story, and I was an outsider wanting to tell their story. I wound up having a great creative experience, and an artistic one, working with these talented people. Some highly experienced, some newbies. Yet trying to find that truth and wanting to share it with audiences.”

Apollo 13, Thirteen Lives, 13 is a lucky number for you!

“I’m looking for another story with 13 attached. It seems to work for me, me and Will Chamberlain.”

Featured image: Britannica

In the first edition of #AskCVV, Chris Van Vliet answers questions that were submitted on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube from Insight Listeners. This will be a monthly episode so if you have a question that you’d like answered in the January edition, just send it with the hashtag #AskCVV. Here is a look at the questions from this month:

What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve gotten through your entrepreneurial journey, either from a guest, mentor, or somewhere else? 

“Well, thank you for the question. Man, I feel like there’s so many different pieces of advice, and it’s hard to narrow it down to just one piece of advice. So, I’ll go with a few pieces that I’ve got here. And I did an episode about it a few weeks ago, and you’ve probably heard me talk about it, but John Cena saying to me, control the controllable has really been a big one that has shaped my life in so many ways. Because it’s so easy to wake up every day and focus on all the things that you don’t have in your life. But I like to remind myself that we’ve got both the good things and the bad things in every single day, and it’s up to you which ones you want to focus on. So John Cena Cena saying to me control the controllable really meant a lot. Because you don’t have control over what other people say or what other people do, but what you do have control over is how you want to react to the things that other people say and other people do. So that’s a really big one for me. Tyler Perry, also just like straight up, looked me in the eyes and asked me what would you be doing right now if you knew you couldn’t fail? And that’s not really a piece of advice, but it’s just a way of thinking about things that I never really thought about in a way before. Like, I think a lot of people go into situations and they’re scared, they’re nervous. They think about the worst case scenario here. And he’s basically saying, what would you do? What would you change, if you knew you couldn’t fail. And I actually don’t think that failure is a thing that exists. I think it’s the idea that it’s either you win, or you learn. So it’s not win or lose, it’s not you succeed or fail. It’s you either win, or you learn. You either win, and you go on to the next level, or it doesn’t quite go the way that you think it should have gone. And you go, Alright, cool, I’ll learn from that. And now I’m a better person because of it. So I would say those are two big pieces. And I think another one is just swing for the fences, swing for the fences. Because if you don’t, if you don’t take those chances, those wild chances in life, you’re never gonna get anywhere. So I’d say that those are a few there off the top of my head. 

Besides John Cena and The Rock, who’s your most favourite person that you’ve interviewed?

“There are so many. I feel like there’s so many. I did one recently with George Clooney, and he’s just like effortlessly charismatic, effortlessly kind and funny. And that was one of those where you just sit back and you go, man, this person is just so good at everything that they do. So I think that was a really fun one, just because he’s having the best time. And I think that sometimes you interview people, and they don’t really want to be there, or they feel contractually obligated to be doing this interview while they’re promoting a film or an album or a book or whatever it happens to be a tour. George Clooney just like makes the best of it and has so, so much fun. So that was one that I really enjoyed. Hugh Jackman also falls into that same category. Like Hugh Jackman just has this insane energy level, and you walk into the room and like your energy level just immediately, like jumps up to match what his energy level is. And he’s thoughtful in his answers, and he plays along and he’s fun. So yeah, that’s another one. And then you know, The Rock was, then I always talk about how The Rock’s my favorite person I’ve ever interviewed. I’ve interviewed him, you know, 10 times, not that I’m counting or anything like that. And you know, you’ve probably heard the many reasons why I love talking to The Rock because he makes you feel seen. He understands, he’s self aware enough to know that, you know, it’s a big moment, and you’re going to probably tell people about it. Maybe you’ll even tell them on a podcast like this, right? And he turns the moment around to include you in that moment in something that’s so so special. So The Rock was number one on my list of people that I wanted to interview 10 years ago before I’d interviewed him for the first time. And then after that was Tom Cruise. So after I had interviewed The Rock, Tom Cruise was next on that list. And it was so fortunate to be able to interview Tom Cruise in Paris, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. It’s the red carpet world premiere for Mission Impossible Fallout, so to be able to interview him in that setting. And I don’t know if you’ve seen the photo or not, I’ll post it on my website, so you can see it with this episode. So you can see what I’m talking about. But we’re standing there, red carpet behind us. We’re wearing tuxedos and suits and the Eiffel Tower is right there. So that was just such a cool moment. And I firmly believe that movie stars don’t really exist anymore. Like the model that used to exist in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s of like, you would go to the movies to see a movie star and you didn’t didn’t really matter what the movie was about. I think that’s changed and shifted a lot, and maybe that’s a topic for another podcast episode. But Tom Cruise is like the last remaining movie star, where you go, that’s a Tom Cruise movie, and I know that he’s gonna give his all in this movie, and he’s gonna do some sort of crazy stunt, I’m gonna go see this thing. So it was really cool to be able to spend some time with him. And you know, it’s like a three minute interview, but to spend some time with him, and he was just so incredibly present in that moment. I mean, we’re talking about 1000s of screaming fans and reporters everywhere and cameras clicking and he was standing there looking me dead in the eyes and having a conversation like I was the only person that existed on Earth. And that was a really, really interesting thing.”

What is one part of your morning routine that you can’t live without?

“That’s hard to narrow down to just one, but I think the biggest one for me is before I do anything else in my day I drink a tonne of water, like I drink like a quarter of a gallon of water before I even like get out of bed. I think it feels like you’re envisioning me now like laying in bed like, you know, pouring water in my mouth. I get up and it’s on my nightstand, so I get up and I’m sitting on the edge of my bed. So before I even get out of bed, I’m sitting on the corner of my bed, and I drink like 32 ounces of water, like a quarter of a gallon of water. And the idea there is you haven’t drank water in, you know, 7, 8, 9, 10 hours at this point, it just kind of gets everything rehydrated. Because you had no water, the whole time that you were asleep, probably didn’t have water right before going to bed or else you were probably peeing in the middle of night. And it just kind of gets everything flowing, kind of flushes out everything that happened the night before. So that’s been a really big part of my morning routine. And gratitude, you know, you know that I end every episode asking my guests, what are three things they’re grateful for? And that’s something that I do first thing in the morning, I say out loud three things that I’m grateful for. Today was way more than three, and I mean, why not? Why not be grateful for all the things that you have in your life? But yeah, I think that a really important practice to get into is focusing on the great things that you have in your life, instead of trying to focus on the things that you don’t have in your life. So for me today, I was so grateful for my health, so grateful for my fiancée Rachel, and she’s just such an incredible person and an incredible partner. And so grateful for our baby that’s on the way, a little baby girl. So in May of next year, she will be with us in the world, so it’s crazy. So that was just three things, I ended up going on with many other things, my family, health of my family, my parents and that they’re still together. And they’ve been such an amazing support system for me and us. So anyway, that’s the most important part of my morning routine is hydration, and also gratitude, and then it’s followed by going to the gym, and cold showers or cold plunges. And I mean, if you heard the episode about cold plunging with the CEO of plunge Ryan Duey, you know all of the benefits of cold plunging and how good that is for you. So there we go. That’s just like a quick little snippet of my morning routine. Maybe we’ll do a whole episode about my morning routine, but there’s the most important things there.” 

Sometimes I get really nervous before interviews to the point where I have to cancel them. Any advice on this subject?

“Well, I would say the first thing is, if you’ve made a commitment to somebody that you need to keep your part of that commitment. I’m a big, big person when it comes to your word is your bond. So if you’re saying to someone, I will be somewhere at a certain time, you better be there, because you said that you were gonna be there, I know that you might have nerves that you’re dealing with, I know that it may feel overwhelming. But I think that, I love this quote that it doesn’t take talent to show up on time and hustle. And I’m a firm believer that if you say you’re gonna be somewhere, you better be there. So that’s the first part about it. The second part about it is being really nervous before interviews, I just think the most important thing is to stop thinking about them as interviews, just think about them as conversations with people. So like, if you were to bump into someone at the grocery store, if you were to go out and have a beer with somebody tonight, or have lunch with somebody, you probably wouldn’t be thinking about, like the ins and outs of the conversation of like alright, so I’m gonna ask this, and then hopefully, they’re gonna say this. And then the next thing I’m gonna say is this. And then after that… You will just kind of flow with the conversation. And I think that a lot of times people think of interviews with a capital I, like it’s this big, scary thing, because in your regular everyday life, you’re not really having interviews, right? Like, think about it in your regular normal life, an interview is what a job interview? Maybe a police interview? But you don’t ever think about the interactions between two humans, as an interviewer, think about it as just a conversation. So I would say start to reframe that in your mind that they’re not interviews. They’re just, they’re conversations between two people. Sure, you might be asking a lot more of the questions and you know, they’re going to be answering a lot more of the questions. But I would say that just approach it in the same way that you would approach any other conversation that you’re having. Obviously, you’ve done a tonne of research, you’ve thought up some great questions, but they’re just the person just like you are, and they put their pants on one leg at a time. You know, they brush their teeth, they do all the things, they go to the bathroom. They do all those same things that any other person does. So I think that just think of it as just a conversation with another person and just allow it to flow.”

Would you ever consider writing a book? 

“That’s a really good question, and I feel like you’ve been in my mind here. I feel like you’ve tapped into my brain as you’re asking this question, because I’ve been thinking about writing a book for the last probably a year or so, maybe a little bit over a year. Not a book about my life, not a book about you know, the kid from Pickering, Ontario, Canada, who moves to the United States and has a YouTube channel and hosts a TV show, but more of just a book about the things that I’ve learned. And maybe some of these things I’ve learned, maybe even some of the things that we’re talking about on this episode here could help you. So yes, I’ve been thinking about writing a book, I put that podcast episode out probably in the summer this year, and I titled it ‘What the F are you waiting for?’ And I got more feedback on that episode, more than any other episode I’ve ever done. More than any other solo episode, more than any interview with I mean, think of who we’ve had on the show this year, more than any interview with The Rock, or Mike Myers, or Adam Sandler, or Margot Robbie, or any of those people. Because I think there’s that idea of like, you want to do something great in your life, I know that you do. And the thing that stands between you and doing that great thing, is you. And the question I would ask is What the F are you waiting for? What is it? What is standing in the way of you doing the thing that you want to do? And that really resonated with a lot of people. So I think that we’re onto something, it’s clearly a subject that hits home for a lot of people. And I think it might be that, you know, kind of kick in the ass that some people need, even if you don’t read the book, if you buy the book, and it sits on your coffee table. And you’re looking at this every single day and it’s like in your face, what the F are you waiting for? You might start thinking to yourself, What am I waiting for? People always ask like, well, what can I do to start a podcast or a YouTube channel? What can I do to grow more on TikTok, or whatever it happens to be. And I usually tell people you believe you got to start. Instead of just thinking about it and talking about it, you have to start, you have to put one foot in front of the other. Like, if you want to run a marathon, you’ve got to take the first step, you’ve got to cross the start line before you can get to the finish line.” 

What’s your advice on the next step after graduating from university? 

“Well, first of all, congratulations, congratulations on graduating. I would say the next step is just know that you have time. And I know that there’s a lot of pressure, maybe some pressure you’re putting on yourself, maybe it’s seeing all your friends getting jobs, maybe it’s pressure that’s been put on you by your family, but just know that you have time. Okay, there’s no rush to dive into a job or a career that maybe won’t feel fulfilling to you. So I would say, You know what you want to do? I know Mike [who asked the question], I know that you’re passionate about broadcasting, and other you’re passionate about pro-wrestling. And you’re doing a lot of those things in that space. So I would say that if this is something that you do want to make a career out of, I would say you’re doing so much of it already. Continue to lean into that stuff. I mean, I don’t know if what I did when I graduated from college still applies as much now, because I graduated. Before there was YouTube before there was Facebook. Instagram wasn’t invented for many years later. I just reached out to every TV station and every radio station in my college town. And I was just super honest with them, I reached out and said, I’m passionate about broadcasting, can I come in and just volunteer and see how it’s done in the real world? And got a lot of no’s, I got a lot of no responses. But all it takes is one, right? And I got a radio station that said sure, come be part of our street team. There was also a community run television station that said, sure, yes, come on in, you can volunteer here and I got to do so many incredible things behind the scenes there. I ran cameras, I was a floor director, I did audio, I did VTR, I learned all the ins and outs of how a TV station works and how a TV show works. So I would say now that you’ve got some time and you don’t have to worry about getting your assignments in or studying for exams or things like that. Double down on that. You know, the thing that you have right now, the value that you bring right now is your time. So I would say try to trade your time for those experiences. Don’t be afraid to work for free, and don’t be afraid to take an internship. Don’t be afraid to volunteer because sure you’re not getting paid in money. But you’re getting paid in experience that is 100% Priceless. So I’m excited to see what’s next for you.”

What’s your guilty pleasure song?

“This is so embarrassing to admit. But do you remember LFO? We’re talking 1999, the song Summer Girls. Summertime girls are the kind I like. Steal your honey like I stole your bike.’ You know that song? That’s the guilty pleasure song. I know every word from it. ‘New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits. Chinese food makes me sick.’ If you’ve never heard that song, or it came out before you were born, go check it out. LFO Summer Girls. That is the embarrassing, guilty pleasure song. Runner up to I want it that way, which is my go to karaoke song. Oh man, get a few tequilas in me, it’s a good thing to see. 

Favorite movie of 2022?

“It has been a good year for movies. It’s also like, it’s so exciting that this was the year when like we went back to the movie theatres and we were able to see things the way that they are truly intended to be seen. Like that’s the way that they’re filmed, for us to watch them on the biggest screen possible. And for me, I mean, there’s been so many great films this year. And I’m fortunate that I get to see a lot of them before they come out as a voting member of the Critics Choice Association. So it’s tough because there’s been so many good ones, but my favourite movie this year is Top Gun Maverick. So, so good, like that is the reason that we go to the movies. Tom Cruise, so good in it, the storyline, so good. The whole Val Kilmer arc there, I don’t want to give too much away if you haven’t seen it. Really, really good. And I’ve seen the movie a handful of times. And I was so fortunate to see it on an IMAX screen like weeks before it came out. And I was just like, I mean, I went into it going yeah, I hope this is good. Obviously the first Top Gun movie is, amazing and iconic, classic film. But I left the theatre going I hate to say it, I hate to say it, but I think I like that movie more than the first one. And it definitely holds true now, however many months, six months later now so Top Gun Maverick, highly recommended. If you haven’t seen it, go see if you have seen it, go see it again. 

How do you approach an interview where you don’t care about the subject? 

“That’s a really interesting question. I will say that I’ve never found myself in that situation before. Because every person that you talk to, from any different walks of life, whether they’re an actor, an athlete, a pro-wrestler, comedian, an entrepreneur, everybody has a story. So soon as I start diving into the story, and figuring out different things about their life, I’m like, immediately intrigued. And I like start thinking of questions like, instantly. So I’ve never had a situation where I don’t care about the subject. I mean, I’ve definitely done interviews where I didn’t love the movie, but I also understand the process of making a movie is incredibly difficult. It’s writing a script, having the script, you know, rewritten and then selling the movie and then getting the movie produced and directing it and casting it, all that. Like, there’s so many moving parts to a movie that, you know, it’s so unfortunate that, you know, we go and see a movie, and it’s 90 minutes long or 2 hours long, and you leave going, No, didn’t like it. And you never think about it again. It’s like, Ah, I just feel for the people who have made that film because there was years of so much hard work that went into it, for people to just go, yeah, well that sucked. So I like to just look at it of the, you know, the project as an art form. And like, I love diving into that. And I love looking at a person’s full scope of their journey. And I think that we can learn something from everybody, like absolutely everybody, you can learn something from anybody that you run into in your everyday life. And I think that when you start to be curious about things, that’s when it really changes.” 

Do you have any advice for growing or starting a YouTube channel or a podcast venture?

“I would say if you’re already at this point, if you’re already at the point where you’re thinking about this, I’d say go for it. And it kind of goes back to the title of the book, right? What are you waiting for? Like, what is it? Just start. I think it’s important to take that phone out and either hit record on a video or hit record on audio, and just go with it. And don’t look, don’t worry about looking at views for the first handful of months. Just go out and get start getting comfortable on camera, start getting comfortable with the way that your voice sounds. Because, yeah, yes, that is actually how it sounds. It’s like when you first hear your voice on the on a voicemail, you’re like, Ah, man do I really sound like that? Yeah, you really sound like that. That’s how the rest of the world hears you. Now you need to get used to that. And you also need to get used to yeah, that’s, that’s what you look like on camera. So I would say lean into the things that you love, lean into things that you’re passionate about. And we live in a world with 8 billion people. So there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll be able to find your tribe, you’ll be able to find your group of people who are also passionate about those same things, you know. And it’s gonna start off small, and don’t get discouraged. I think that’s the biggest thing that happens, especially with podcasts, is you put so much time into making these episodes. And you look, you look at the download numbers for the first few episodes and you go, man, nobody’s listening to this. I don’t even know if people know this exists. If you’re passionate about it, and you love the process of doing it, stick with it. And I think that that’s a really big thing, pod fade is a real thing that happens. It’s a term they come up with for people who start podcasts, and then I think it’s like seven episodes, just kind of fade out, stop, and then never put out another episode. If you like the process, the whole process, everything that goes into it, then you can’t lose. So I would say just start, just begin. And maybe you can be like one of those people who wants to make it like a New Year’s resolution thing, even though I really don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, but make it a January 1 thing. And then stick to a schedule, that is another really big part of it. Especially if we’re talking about podcasting, stick to a schedule. I’m going to put out one podcast a week, every Wednesday or every Thursday, whatever it happens to be. And then stick to that schedule number one, because you said you were going to do it, you said you were going to put a podcast out every Wednesday. So now you’re being true to your word. And number two, it holds you accountable. So I would say do that, and also find somebody in this space that’s doing the thing that you want to do and that’s like just absolutely crushing it in the niche that you love, and then take little bits from them. Tony Robbins always says success leaves clues, so take little bits and pieces of them and make it your own. 

How are you feeling since you’re about to be a father? 

“It’s hard to sum up in just like a few sentences, because I have felt like I felt every emotion over the last three months since I found out that Rachel is pregnant, and, you know, like, you’re excited, you’re nervous, you’re scared. And then you start thinking of like, what was I like as a kid. And like, you know, I just want all the best parts of that I don’t want like the, you know, kid coming home late, or the I don’t know, all this, you know, all that kind of stuff. That’s the stuff you think about. But I’m so excited, so excited. We found out two weeks ago that we’re having a baby girl. We had a gender reveal party that was so cool to be able to share with my parents and some of our closest friends and family. Like so excited. I also find myself like just spontaneously getting emotional. For no reason, like a thought, I’ll just enter my head. I’m like, Oh, man. But I’m so excited. And Rachel’s starting to show she’s getting a baby bump, it is not a belly, it is the baby. Good thing she’s not around here hearing me say this, she’s gonna listen to this episode, she’s getting a little baby bump. And I’ve just been, you know, holding it and kissing it. And I’m just excited. I’m excited that all of you guys are with me on this journey. So you know, it’s been an exciting year for me. 2022, got engaged, bought a house, found out I was pregnant. Oh, not me pregnant, but found out that we were having a baby. And 2023 is gonna be a huge year. We’re gonna have a baby, I’m gonna turn 40 in May. So I’m just so excited for what 2023 has in store for me, for the podcast, for the YouTube channel, for the different TV shows that I work with. Just there’s been a lot of growth, maybe for the book that I’m writing, that’s really up to you guys. Please send me a tweet if you’re actually interested in this book, being a thing. But I’m just excited for what’s next. And that’s something I’m grateful for every single day, is opportunity. And I just love that we live in a time now where I am talking into a microphone just all by myself here. And you’re in your car, or you’re working out or you’re walking your dog. Or maybe you’re at work. And we’re connecting like this. And I love it. I just love that this exists right now. So I’m super grateful for opportunity. And I can’t wait to show you guys what we got in store in the next 12 or so months.”

Josh Alexander (@walking_weapon) is a professional wrestler and the current Impact Wrestling World Champion. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about his unlikely path to becoming a wrestler, getting discovered in Canada, making a name for himself in Ring Of Honor, becoming friends and eventually tag team partners with Ethan Page, how much interest there was from AEW when he let his Impact Wrestling contract expire, beating Christian Cage to become the shortest reigning Impact World Champion of all time and now being on the verge of being the longest reigning Champion, involving his family in storylines, why Scott D’Amore is good for wrestling and much more!

On a possible move to AEW:

“It was definitely on the table and it was definitely a thought and all this other stuff. But I wouldn’t say it was too close, because with all the stuff that had been happening and IMPACT I really felt like [I should stay]. And like also happening in AEW, with me watching every week, I still watch everything to this day. But I just like for me as a pro-wrestler, my fulfilment of what I do is to go out there and wrestle and show what I can do. I think my benefit is bell to bell, that is where I will gain notoriety, that is where I will show my worth in the pro-wrestling scene. And at the time watching AEW, it didn’t look like a lot of people were getting opportunities to do that stuff outside of like the top 20 people that were on the roster, you’d see people shuffle in and out and shuffle in and out it out there. They get their runs for a few weeks, and they go back to shorter matches on AEW Dark and it was just IMPACT has been so good to me. They were the first company that gave me an opportunity and got me that visa, did this stuff and like it’s all been roses since I got there man, I won the tag belts three months after I signed and got there. And I had the longest running tag team championship run, you know, and then as soon as Ethan left, everything’s like going through your mind. And I was stressing out being like man, I hope I don’t sit on the bench and just have to watch the shows until they figure out what they’re gonna do with me. And immediately, I got an opportunity in the X-Division. And you know, that happened and was awesome and all this other stuff. It was just opportunity after opportunity. I think all you can ask for as a wrestler is for an opportunity to show what you can do. Give me the ball and if I drop it, that’s fine. But you know, they’ve given me the ball a tonne of times, and I don’t think I’ve dropped it yet. So I’m just gonna ride this out and see how it goes.”

On winning the IMPACT World Championship and immediately losing it:

“It was pretty much exactly like that. It was hey, we’re thinking you and Christian at Bound for Glory in the main event that was just like, this probably like summertime, like, August or July, when they said this. I went oh damn, okay, you know, that sounds really cool and like a big opportunity. And they go, but you know, Moose is gonna cash in and take it right off you immediately. Okay, cool, whatever, it doesn’t matter to me. And like, it’s, I don’t write the show, you know what I mean? Like, I trust you guys. And you know, the whole time leading up to that for the next three months, you’re just like hopefully they change their mind, man, that’d be cool if they change their mind. You know, that’s in the back of your head. But then, you know, it all happened how it happened and I think everything you know, I’m not an everything happens for a reason guy, but like, definitely look at the pieces of things that have happened along the course of my career to put me in the place. I’m sitting right now. And I think everything has kind of happened the way it should have, you know, to maximise everything that’s happening my life now.”

On wearing headgear:

“I mean, it all happened by accident of course, I’m very thankful that it did happen. I think I’ve had a lot of conversations about the headgear recently because you know, the evolution of the character and the look and all this stuff. And you think about do I need to wear the headgear anymore? Should I take it off? Is it holding me back from elevating myself to a further platform or becoming a bigger star and wrestling or something like that. But for sure, I was just a talented Canadian wrestler that was booked consistently with no gimmick whatsoever who was just a very reliable wrestler. And when I found that headgear because I injured my ear, it really gave me something for the fans to remember me by. Because you gotta think like 70% of fans that leave a show that aren’t, you know, diehard wrestling fans aren’t gonna remember my name when they leave. A kid might turn to his dad and be like, man, I really liked that crazy guy with the face paint, you know what I mean? Like now they can leave shows and be like that guy with the headphones or the headgear, they know what it is, you know, he was a badass. It’s just a thing for people to notify and remember me by and it built into my look that I’m now you know, known for probably for the rest of my career.”

On the injury that caused the headgear to be necessitated:

“Yeah, I actually injured myself at AIW in Cleveland for the JLIT tournament, the first one I was ever going to, I think it was 2013. I’m really off with years, especially since the pandemic, but it would have been around that ballpark time where we first met and yeah, I took a kick in the ear from an ACH and my ear just blew up off my head. I filmed a promo that night, draining it with a syringe myself. And the next day, I got hit again in it and it blew up and it actually, like exploded off my head. So it’s like my ear split in half, and it was like dangling down. So I had to go get it surgically, like pinned to the side of my head. And like the doctors, they don’t care about pro-wrestling and they look at me and be like, well, whatever you do, whatever, do what you have to do to have it heal, you can’t touch this for six months or three months or whatever they said. And I was just like, I got a booking in two weeks in Ottawa like I gotta make it. So I went on eBay and ordered headgear and put it on for that show, and I felt like such a goofball. I remember I went out and I wrestled Mike Bailey and a guy named Hacker Scotty O’Shea in a threeway for C4 wrestling in Ottawa and walking out I’m getting like Princess Leia chants, I’m getting nice headphone chants. I’m getting chirp like crazy, still stuff that I hear to this day every so often for people that don’t know me. But you know, I felt like such a goof and I came to the back and by the end of the match, they were just standing and applauding the match because it was an awesome match, right? And I came to the back and I remember Ethan Page pulled me aside he was just like you’re keeping that headgear man. You look like a badass with it. I’m like, really? I feel like I look like a complete goof. But he was like, nope, it’s badass, you’re keeping that. I’m like okay, cool. And I haven’t taken that off since.”

On being compared to Kurt Angle in a wig:

“That’s the thing that I read it on social media all the time. It’s like fans are like ‘Man, I love Josh Alexander, but I can’t get over that headgear. [It] Just reminds me of Angle with the wig and it’s just so goofy, I just can’t see past it…’ and stuff like that. And I read it I go, if that’s really a thing that you can’t see past like, I can’t I can’t please everybody, you know what I’m saying? So it’s definitely the thing that I’m going to remember forever because I think you know, other than Rick Steiner, I’m the only one that’s pulled it off since and I think a lot of people have tried.”

On being compared to Kurt Angle:

“It’s insanely humbling. To me, you’re talking about one of the greatest of all time, you know. It’s a subjective list that you know, everybody can have their favourites. But to me, I think it’s undeniable that Kurt Angle is if not the best ever to get the ring for how fast you know, he just took to wait and stuff like that. As a personal fan of his forever to get those comparisons from not just fans, but from people that worked with Kurt, especially since I’ve started at IMPACT, like people that have worked with Kurt closely during the years that IMPACT that have come up to me and drawn these comparisons, like it’s insanely humbling.”

On crossing the border from Canada to USA:

“Probably the most stressful thing in the world I’ve ever done is just driving up to the border to talk to border guards. Because like I started wrestling after 9/11, and that’s when all the border things changed. Before you could cross like, I hear stories from Scott D’Amore and Eric young, and anybody who was wrestling before 9/11. And they’re like, hey, just go up with a birth certificate. Like, it might not even be yours as long as they just go oh sure, and they like keep going. Like that is so insane to me, because by the time I was crossing the border, it’s passports, it’s interrogation. Like they want to know everything and they have ultimate power, whether they believe you or not, you know, they could totally believe you and just not like the way you look that day and have a bad feeling to be like that turn around, get out of here. So like, it’s very stressful because you have these opportunities and these bookings that you’re talking about where you’re gonna get notoriety and be seen because of the American wrestling independent scene. And there’s just way more notoriety and eyes on it than in Canada. Regardless of talent, I think Canada has some of the most talented independent wrestlers, and some of the best shows in the world, from what I’ve seen travelling around. But I don’t know why that is, especially with the influx, the internet and streaming and stuff, I don’t know why Canadian promotions have a cut off. But you have, like all these opportunities that you might be crossing into America for and you don’t even know for sure if you’re gonna make it. So like, that’s a stress not just for the wrestler, but for the promoter booking these talents they want to give opportunities for and like, that’s why like as Canadians we have to be so thankful for like promoters like the AIW promoters and the AAW promoters and all these promoters that really wanted to give Canadians a chance to showcase themselves because without them, like myself, Ethan Page, we might never have gotten where we’ve got. But driving up is insanely stressful. We didn’t do it the best in the beginning. You know, the advice was always be like, oh just say you’re going training, and that’s why you have your stuff on you and whatever, because you have no name value. If they Google you, they’re not going to see anything. So did that for a while and you know, eventually it doesn’t work out because you get enough name value to where they Google you. They’ll see that, you know, Ethan Page and Josh Alexander are wrestling at Ring of Honor against homicide and Eddie Kingston in Baltimore. And we are just standing there going yeah, that’s us. And that’s when we get turned around and flagged for the first time and you know, your heart sinks because you think your career is completely over. And we continue to cross after that for years and just telling the truth, which is basically that we’re not going to make enough money to take away income from an American, we’re going to spend it all in America pretty much before we get back on gas and food. So you know, it’s just a crapshoot of which border guard you get and who sympathises with you or not, because some of them think that you’re crossing for these independent shows and it’s the biggest thing in the world. You’re gonna make a million dollars. So yeah, so stressful.”

On not being strong in the beginning:

“I remember going to the gym, just the local like school gym and like the monsters of human beings that were absolutely just tossing around weights, deadlifting. I’m an 18 year old kid, I couldn’t do a push up when I started wrestling at this time. The reason I started going to the gym was because I found a wrestling school while I was at university, right? But I’m looking around, I’m seeing these like grown monsters much like you know, the Kurt Angle’s and the Scott Steiner esque, you know, picture whatever they would be in college. These guys are deadlifting like 500 plus pounds, just getting ready for the wrestling stuff. And it’s like, I ended up talking to them and stuff but like I guess Brock and there’s a school in Victoria Vancouver that’s well known for amateur wrestling, right?”

On a passion for progress:

“Yeah, and I, as I did that show this last past Friday evening at that school where I dropped in. It was run by the programme, the sports management programme, as like a final like, project for one of the students who is a wrestler now kind of doing the same thing I did, but not dropping out. And I had like 100 different people all chanting ‘Schema drop out’ ‘sports management drop out’ to me the entire time I was wrestling. So after, after the match, I beat the guy, obviously, because I’m you know, the world champion. But I grabbed the microphone, I cut this promo saying listen guys, I was in your shoes. On the first day of school, my professor told me 99.9% of us aren’t going to work for Nike, aren’t going to be big sports agents, we’re going to be serving hot dogs and minor league baseball games for the rest of our lives. And you know, we better be happy with that, because that’s the brakes of this job. And you know, it was enough to turn me off pursuing sports management. But really, I had such a passion for pro-wrestling. Once I started, I said this in the promo too, it was just like, I needed to give myself no other options, I needed to take all these other things off the table to make sure that I put everything into this wrestling thing it was really gonna make a go at.”

On going all in:

“That’s the difference maker. I know, hundreds, if not thousands of people that had beer in their hand are like, I’m gonna give this a go. And they get the ring and they try it, you know, if they actually have the balls to actually get the ring and make that happen. But, you know, really, if you’re going to be successful at this, you just got to be, you know, one direction the entire time and one mindset, as hard as that is to maintain sometimes.”

On what Josh Alexander is grateful for:

“My wife, my health and opportunity.”

Featured image: F4WOnline

Margot Robbie is an actress known for her roles in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad, I Tonya, Bombshell and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. Her new movie Babylon (@babylonmovie) comes out on December 23, 2022. Chris Van Vliet sits down with her and Diego Calva to talk about working with director Damien Chazelle on this film, the moment that made them want to become actors, the idea that performances live on forever, how Margot Robbie is able to cry on command and more!

Last time we spoke I found out that you are a WWE fan. Is John Cena still your favorite?

Margot: “He is [still my favorite]. He is so with the hype, he is the best. I love him, I really love him, even though you can’t see him.”

How do I get involved in a party like this?

Margot: “Well stick in town kid, this is Hollywood. No I mean, just come to a Damien Chazelle set. Being at that party like you see it on screen, that was how it felt.”

It was The Roaring 20’s then. It’s the 20’s now, doesn’t feel as roaring as perhaps.

Margot: “No, not quite the same.”

I love this idea that in the movie people do not last forever, but once you are on film, the performance does. That’s a pretty magical thing.

Margot: “I love that line. Jean Smart has this beautiful scene at the end with Brad [Pitt] and they talk about exactly that. She says you’ll die and stuff, but you’ll dine with ghosts and angels forever, because you are captured on cellular. That line always made me cry, it’s so beautiful.”

Do you know what the moment was for you Diego that you wanted to become an actor?

Diego Calva: “That I wanted to become an actor? Honestly I was doing boom operation and an actor didn’t show up. The director asked me if I could do this small role, and I felt like ok, this could be fun. I just kept doing it and doing it and now I am sitting here with Margot Robbie.”

Margot Robbie: “That’s so nice. Very art imitating life.”

I’ve been lucky enough to be on a few movie sets. What is it that is so magical about a movie set?

Margot: “I don’t know. Maybe it is the fact that we are adults and we are playing make believe on such a huge scale, and it feels like we have hacked the system.”

Diego: “Yeah, like freedom. You can breathe freedom. Anything can happen there.”

I love the scene where your character is crying on command repeatedly. How are you doing this?

Margot: “Just that I can cry on command, pretty much.”

What do you think of?

Margot: “I just think of something sad. Damien [Chazelle] asked me that too. [I think of] Family dying and stuff like that, it works. Also, if I have to do a lot of crying, I try to not sleep a lot in the days leading up to it. The more tired I am, the easier it is to cry. You know when you are really tired and you are on the brink of tears if you are really tired? So yeah, I just try to get 2 to 3 hours sleep in the days leading up to it, then I can do it. Give it a try! I also worked on a soap for 3 years, so I practised the crying thing.”

What is something that you think you will take with you from Damien that you will bring to every other set you work on?

Margot: “Oh God, so many things, you go first.”

Diego: “The concentration. He is just the hardest worker on set sometimes, he puts you on the next level. He found things on me that I didn’t know that I had. Just that hard working situation, that is something I will try to keep with me.”

Margot: “Yeah that and that relentless pursuit of perfection. It doesn’t have to have to be perfection in the sense that it’s perfect, but it has to be better than you ever imagined. If it’s not that, you haven’t got the take. I hate it when you have to move on because of time constraints, but not on a Damien Chazelle set. You will go again and again and again until you have gotten it better and more exciting. You never know when it’s going to be his version of perfection, but you give it your all until you got it.”

Featured image: IMDB

Jenn Sterger (@jennifersterger) is a comedian, actor, TV host and previously a backstage interviewer for AEW. She joins Chris Van Vliet for an in-person interview in Hollywood to talk about her time working with AEW, interacting with people like MJF and Chris Jericho, helping to write promos for Peter Avalon, how she got started as a standup comedian, what happened at her WWE Divas tryout in 2012, how she feels her situation with Brett Farve would be handled now, why Back To The Future is the perfect movie and much more!

On AEW interviews backstage:

“You know, it just all depended on who it was with, and I had such good chemistry with a lot of a lot of the cast. And they knew they could be funny with me, or they could be engaging with me. You know, I remember I gave, I think it was Scorpio Sky like a funny one liner and I was like, you should add that in there. Because he was cutting the promo, he was trying, it was very Rock-ish, you know, it was a very Rock type promo. And I was like, You should add this line in there. And I’m like, and then Frankie should react to you saying that line because it was like, it had like a little entendre to it. And so and I watched that clip back all the time, and I’m just like that was so smooth.”

On a timing issue in AEW:

“Usually they were just like keynotes, you had to hit you know what I mean? Like you make sure you promote this match coming up, ask their feelings on this. And then this is going to happen, then you have to react to this, and then this person is going to come in and hit this person, please get out of the way Jenn, we’re not insured for you, like that type of thing. You know, I had to do one in the ring one time and it didn’t go quite as planned, like someone jumped the cue a little bit faster than they should have. So I’m standing there in the ring interviewing Dustin, Dustin Rhodes and I was like sitting there talking to him. And all of a sudden, I think Sammy or somebody missed their cue and came in early. And I caught them out of my peripheral and I was like oh crap, I’m not supposed to be here. So you just see me sprinting out of the ring in like six inch heels. And my family was like I had no idea she could move like that. Like everyone was just really impressed, Jenn’s got some speed on her even in high heels, good for her. But I think I was so scared that it had happened out of sequence that I dropped the mic in the middle of the rings that was picking up all of the noise. You know what, it was like being involved in a circus. That’s the only way I can ever describe it.”

On a new fan base since being involved with wrestling:

“You know, I think my fan base was always predominantly male. So I don’t feel like that really don’t know. But I don’t feel like it changed that much. I think actually, comedy has, has really started to change my fan base. And I think the more vocal I am about women’s issues and the things that really matter to me, and creating a safe space for women, not only in comedy, but just, I taught a class the other morning about Sports Media at the University of Florida. And one of the things they asked me about was, you know, just creating a safe space for women and like giving all these women advice that had been through tough stuff and work environments and things that were going to prepare them going forward. And I just told them, I’m like, it is just so important that women become other women’s allies. And that means supporting their projects, supporting their art, just support women, it’s not that hard. You know, we can ask men to be better allies all we want, but if we’re not supporting our own, like that’s the real problem.”

On possibly returning to wrestling:

“You know, I just think it has to be the right opportunity. That travel schedule is wild. It’s way faster than comedy, honestly. You would get in the morning of, or shooting the next day, and we were only doing east coast loops, it was tough on my body. I was also doing 3 hours of live radio every day, so even when I was doing television, I had just done 3 hours of live radio. I know I won’t be bumping, that’s for sure.”

On plans changing:

“For sure. Like, for instance, I thought I was going to be a diva. I legit thought I was going to be a diva while divas were still a thing you know, in the WWE, like that’s what my dream was as a little girl. You know? I grew up watching wrestling, like Saturday mornings religiously right after cartoons came wrestling. And to the point where I love wrestling so much that I actually went to the hospital as a three year old child because I tried to do a flying elbow drop off the back of the couch. [Chris – like Macho Man?] Exactly, and took out the coffee table, the coffee table won. My mom was like, oh my god, I have to take my daughter to the hospital with this broken arm and they’re gonna be like what the hell did you do to her? She’s like they’re gonna think I beat you. No, the coffee table, the coffee table won that match.”

On there being no female wrestlers growing up until high school:

“Every girl that watched wrestling at the time wanted to be Lita. We all got sent home from school for wearing our underwear above our pants. You know what I mean? I couldn’t find padded bras big enough to be Trish Stratus. Like I wanted to be that, but not just because they were sexy and gorgeous, but because they were just these badass women that despite everything the late 90s put them through, because let’s face it, totally different era of women’s wrestling. They owned it, they owned who they were. I got the opportunity to audition for the Divas in like the last Divas Search that they did you know, where they were still taking girls that weren’t necessarily athletes or wrestlers. But they were like, are you a model? Are you moderately athletic, we’ll take you. I was in that crop. So they brought me in, I think at the end of 2012, beginning of 2013, I had just recovered from breaking my neck the previous year. I somehow passed their like a physical they may do. I was just like, oh my God, I am held together by graham crackers. I was like, I have no idea, like how I’m getting through this. And it just didn’t work out. You know, I ended up breaking my neck again in that training. And they were just like, we’re just gonna we’re just gonna table that for now. They tried to bring me in to do like, announcing type stuff, but I don’t think I understood as much as I thought I watched wrestling and I understood wrestling, I don’t think I understood the world back then as much as I thought I did.”

On not getting the gist of it:

“And so it’s funny because I don’t think I really got the gist of it while I was auditioning at WWE. I still was trying to be Jenn the comedian and Jenn like the host, when it was much more about being a good storyteller. And even when they were like, Jenn we want you to be like a heel announcer I didn’t know what that meant. So I just came in with this roast heat, you know, and they were like, that’s not it. And so now when I look back at my notes from my audition, I was like, oh, that’s why I didn’t get hired.”

On if Jenn Sterger misses WWE:

“Again, it was not getting WWE, I was taking stand-up classes when I was learning to be a Diva. I hadn’t started doing stand-up yet, it was 2013 when I first started taking classes and really learning comedy. Had WWE panned out, I might have never got onstage and realize how much I loved comedy.”

On negative body comments while in WWE:

“Yeah, that was really weird and something that in general wrestling should get away from. I think that had something to do with the Divas era and this is pre-me too. We can’t get mad at things when society was still figuring things out. We were different people back then, we can’t cancel somebody for something they said or did as recent as 5 years ago. So much changes as to what is acceptable and what is not.”

On moving to California:

“I moved out here because I wanted to get away from a terrible relationship. Besides that, I just felt like I had done everything that I could do in New York. At the time, I guess I was getting out of the public scandal thing that I went through, I was tired of seeing my face on the front of The Post every few weeks. I just wanted to anonymity, and coming out to LA, no one cared who I was. It was a chance to start over and figure out what I wanted to do again. At the time I had a job with Spike TV, I was doing some hosting for them and I interviewed this comedian. He was like ‘You are super funny, have you ever taken improv classes?’ I was like no, so I went and took some improv classes. But then I was like ‘You know what would be great? If we wrote all of this down and we f*cking rehearsed it.’ I had this thing where friends don’t ask friends to come to their improv shows. It’s great to have a skill, but I was always drawn to writing a story and making people laugh.”

How often is Jenn Sterger on stage:

“I mean a couple of nights a week for sure. When I am not on stage, I also help to teach classes with women that want to get into stand-up and comedy writing. But I try to be funny every day, try to stretch those muscles every day.”

On getting fired from Abercrombie & Fitch:

“Oh I did work for Abercrombie. I got fired because I got fake boobs and they said you don’t look like the all American girl anymore. True story. But I got fake boobs because I wanted to look like Trish and Lita, I wanted to be a Diva my entire life, but I am so f*cking uncoordinated. This is the stuff we need to talk about.”

On falling under many umbrellas:

“[I tell people] I am an entertainer, that’s what I say. I don’t say I am a lady of the night! I like to entertain people, I like to host, I like to do comedy, I like to act, I do all of it! I’m a writer, I even teach classes, I teach other women how to write comedy. It’s like Jack of all trades, master of none, what are they paying me for? Right now it is comedy, there is no better feeling than when I am on stage doing stand-up.”

On the Brett Farve controversy:

“Society took so long to catch up. It was basically weirdo cyberstalking. Celebrities, they are just like us! It was a really unsupportive time. I think the hardest part was being attacked by my peers, by women. They were supposed to have my back, because they know damn well it is happening to all of us. It’s just the way it is. I had a comedian tell me that comedy is hard for pretty women. I told him that every job I have had is hard for pretty women, how about all women? I had a chance to talk to some of the women that called me out in 2010 to further their career. When they were beating the drum, I called them out and asked them where were you when I needed you? I’m sorry I was not a good enough victim for you.”

On what Jenn Sterger is grateful for:

“On making people laugh, the amazing fanbase and friends I have made along the way.”

Featured image: The Spun

Freddie Prinze Jr. (@realfreddieprinze) is an actor, producer and screenwriter known for his roles in movies like She’s All That, Down To You, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scooby Doo, Summer Catch and many others. He also worked for WWE as a writer and producer from 2008-2009 and again from 2010-2012. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in person to talk about his new movie “Christmas With You” on Netflix, why he doesn’t like watching his own movies, his thoughts on MJF being the AEW Champion, why he isn’t a fan of Logan Paul in WWE, the best advice he ever received and more!

How many of his own films has Freddie Prinze Jr. seen:

Three. [Chris asks if She’s All That is one] No. I would have seen it at the premiere, but they debuted it on the anniversary of my dad’s death, and I was not having a good day that day. And I was the same age he was when he died, I was 22. So it was just like too much, and then I never saw it after that. I saw the first I know what you know did, no I saw the second I know what you did. I saw this little movie I made called Brooklyn Rules, which was me, Jerry Ferrara, Scott Cann and Mena Suvari. And I love that whole cast so much. And I saw it in a tiny little theatre with my wife. And I saw Christmas With You at the Netflix theaer because they made me go, Amy Garcia just doesn’t take no for an answer. it’s just like you’ve never seen your movies, you’re going to see this. I was like, all right, I promise I’ll come. So Rachel, my wife was working in Georgia. I called Rachel Lee. I said, Will you be my safe date at the premiere, she was like, oh my god, I’d love to. She was kind enough to come and hold my hand so I wouldn’t run out of the theater. And I sat and watched my big stupid face on a big stupid screen. And I didn’t run out of the theater, so it was a win.

On a bad experience filming I Know What You Did Last Summer:

Well, yeah, it’s been long enough, nobody’s gonna get their feelings to hurt. Well the director made certain that I knew I was not his choice for the film every single day. The producers and the studio, I was their choice, but he wanted a different actor. And every single day, man, it was just, he was just all my case. If I left my mouth open, he would go ‘You look stupid when your mouths open, close your mouth.’ I’m just like dude get off my case. And then there was a stunt where they, to save money, sent the stunt crew home. And they wanted me to drive this dinghy with an outboard motor over the wake of this boat, right? And I’m sitting there going, did Freddie Hice approve this? Freddie Hice was the stunt coordinator. He’s [the director] like Oh, yeah. He [Freddie Hice] did not. By the way, Freddie is an amazing stunt coordinator and always had all the actor’s back in that movie. He was great, not good, great. He did the sequel as well, and hell of a horseback rider too. He did like a bunch of westerns and stuff. So any like horse stunts, like, oh yeah, he’s a master. So anyway, we do the we do the rehearsal, and the boat is not safe to do this jump. And I fly out of the boat and it goes right over my head, the outboard engine, and I can feel, I don’t know how close it was, but it felt like it was a millimetre away. And I get out of the water and I’m p*ssed. And I’m like, where is Freddie Hice? Because I’m mad at Freddie. And someone goes ‘They didn’t want to say it, they sent him home.’ And I’m like, what? And the director comes up to me. He goes, you told me you knew how to drive a speedboat. And I’m like, yes, I do, that’s not a speedboat, it’s a dinghy with an outboard motor. You’re mad at me? You’re mad at me? And he’s like, Well, we have to do it again. I’m like, I’m not doing that again. You’re crazy. And every single day was just him letting me know that I wasn’t good enough and it was my first movie, really my first big movie I’d done. 

On wrestling not being good anymore:

I mean, I will say this that AEW pay-per-view, Full Gear, was great. Not good, great. So every once in a while I think both teams get it right. Whether it’s WWE under Hunter’s control, or AEW under Tony’s. When they get it right, I love it, and it’s great. And when they get it wrong, I feel the same way everyone else does.

On MJF:

I’ve been saying this for a long time, man. I’ve gotten to know Maxwell over the last two years. Every time he comes to LA, we make it a point to go to dinner, and I try to take him to like a different sushi spot every time, right? And this kid is 26 years old, so I can say kid, and he has the single most brilliant mind in the wrestling business. Every storyline that he’s come up with, man, I shouldn’t even say that. Well, I said it. Listen, the ideas in this kid’s head at getting multiple people over, not just himself, but focusing on what’s best for the business, not what’s best for MJF, is second to none. And I’m not the most experienced and educated wrestling cat in the world, but I did work for the WWE. And I did ask a million questions to the Pat Patterson’s of the world, to The Freebirds’ of the world, to the Arn Anderson’s, the Dean Malenko’s, all these old school people. And everything they taught me this dude has in spades, it is unreal how his mind works. He does not go into business for himself. That’s like such a cliche thing to say now ever since that CM Punk explosion at AEW. But for real, like, that’s the best way to say it, I love this kid, I texted him the night he won. Don’t get mad at me for saying this. He wrote back ‘We did it.’ Not meaning he and I, meaning him and everyone, all I wrote back was ‘Damn right you did.’ Because I wanted him to know like, brother, this was you and it’s awesome that you’re trying to get as many people over, as many people over as humanly possible. But you did this, like otherwise at 26, it does not happen. And so I just hate complimenting a heel. But man he’s just, he’s so great at it. I love this guy so much. He’s so good for the business on both sides. Like not even working for WWE, I feel he helps WWE as well.

On wrestling scrums:

I hate post wrestling scrums, I think those shouldn’t exist. I don’t think they’re cool. I think it’s real weird. Sometimes I think it’s kind of goofy. And every once in a while someone comes out there and you’re like, okay, yeah, all right, I get why you’re giving these guys an opportunity to talk. Because every once in a while, you get some magic, like that [the MJF promo].

On MJF’s promo ability:

I was there in LA at that pipe bomb promo that he cut when he went beserk and was just f this, and f that, and this and that. And I was sitting there, like, I can’t believe I got to be here for this, this is absolutely phenomenal. And I’m not a big proponent of cursing to make the promo cooler, right? That’s what the Attitude Era was like, oohhh he said son of a bitch. And like, I could have said it without that, and still been good. Show me you can get over without cursing and then I’ll be like, dang, you know what I mean? But with Max, it doesn’t matter. He can make you cry. And like when he did with that CM Punk story when he was talking about making the football team and starting defence. And here comes the defensive line, the whole defensive unit, while he’s walking down the hall to his locker, and he’s finally going to be accepted. And instead of giving him love, they threw quarters on the floor and said, pick them up Jewboy. And the whole crowd that hated him, suddenly, you saw them when they made the cut, and you saw people feel ashamed of themselves. And I’m sitting there and I’m like, Sarah, Sarah, get in here you got to see this, when it’s special, I make her watch. And I’m like, Look at this kid, this kid is acting, you could put this in a movie, and it would move you and there’d be a soundtrack behind it. And I’m sitting there looking at him just like how is he doing this? And then I think he just at the end of it just kicks CM Punk in the nuts, just to let you know, like no, you’re right to hate me. I just wanted to make you feel like sh*t for a minute, and because I can for no other reason than I can. And he told such a beautiful story over those few weeks that they had that storyline. I could have watched that go on another two, three fights, to be honest. But he knew the perfect amount of time it should be. And he pulled it off. And he wasn’t the one that came out on top at the end of it. And that was just that’s where you see like the selfishness and the selflessness all at the same time. It’s like Bruce Lee out there, man. Unnatural naturalness, or natural unnaturalness, like that’s what he’s doing. It’s crazy. I know I’m speaking about him like, he’s a poet, or Picasso, but that’s what he is. Don’t forget, in that pay-per-view, that was his blood, sweat and tears on an actual canvas, painting a picture for everyone to see with Jon Moxley, who I call the werewolf. Because that’s what he looks like, wrestles like, sounds like, he’s just a werewolf out there. Um, so yeah, man, he is a Picasso out there. And the good thing is, he’s being appreciated within his lifetime, instead of long after he’s gone.

Will we see MJF in Freddie Prinze Jr’s federation:

Mine’s too weird for someone like him. Mine is much different. And I haven’t been completely honest with everyone about what it is because I don’t want it getting out there. But he’s so different than what I’m going to do. He would look out of place, and it wouldn’t be the right thing for him. Although he’s read the script, I’ve pitched the entire thing to him, he’s given me notes. Because I value that young generation’s opinion, I don’t want to do stuff that’s too old man-ish and he’s been straightforward. He’s like, only old guys are going to connect to that, I think you focus more on this. And I’m looking at it like, Damn, he’s dead on, dead on. And I’ve applied those notes. So yeah, it’s different.

On not liking behind the scenes secrets revealed:

I don’t like all the behind the scenes stuff, you know, there should be magic left in it, otherwise everyone feels like they can do it and everyone can’t. I don’t like all the behind the scenes stuff in movies, I don’t like the masked magician, screw that guy Val Valentino or whatever his name is. Vince made me produce a damn segment with him when the show, when Smackdown was on the UPN, and so was his [Valentino’s] show and he [Vince] did it just to rib me. And I was like you know I hate that son of a b*tch. He just laughs like ha ha ha and I’m like son of a b*tch, and had to go and produce that schlock. So I wanted all his tricks to fail. Screw that guy, man, all those YouTube videos. ‘Here’s so and so did this…’ Screw that video, man. Like you’re taking away someone’s livelihood when you do that. You know what I mean? Just so you can make a couple bucks? That seems dirty and shady to me. Everyone’s got to hustle, I know that, but I don’t have to respect everybody’s hustle. So yeah, man, I’m not, I’m not about that. So it’s gonna be different and people see it [Freddie Prinze Jr’s promotion] and then they can judge for themselves. They can click with it and love it, or they can not click with it and hate it, and you’re both right. However you feel about art, you’re correct. Because it’s art. It’s never going to be viewed the way three plus three is viewed. Because it’s not, it’s not science. But uh, but yeah, man. So I’m not as concerned with that as I am. I want to execute this the right way. And I want it to be my vision, not anybody else’s vision. And the proof will be in the pudding man.

Will CM Punk return:

I don’t know. I don’t know if he wrestles again. I don’t. I mean, his body wasn’t able to hold up. You know, he was getting hurt a lot, as we all do when we get older. His patience wasn’t able to hold up in dealing with a younger generation. I mean, look, for millennials and Gen Z, my generation and up. It’s not an illusion, they hate you, because they don’t want to understand you. The things that my generation and older say about them are the same things my mom’s generation said about me. You’re softer, you don’t work as hard on this. Yeah, you’re right, you made it easier for me to live. So thank you to your generation, but now we have a remote control and I don’t have to get up and change the channel because you’re old and arthritic, and can’t do it anymore. I get that they hate the fact that kids can make millions on YouTube or Twitch and they don’t have a boss telling them they suck every day. But here’s the flip side to that. Yeah, they may not have a boss, but they have dozens, hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people that not only say they suck, but demand to have say in what they do. That’s what the life of a streamer is. I’ve seen people sacrifice their dignity and their soul, I’ll put on a banana suit if I get 50 followers today. You can’t take that back, you know what I mean? If you start living by people who are giving you $5 a month and all of a sudden you want some of that dignity back, so goes their $5 too. So they have to deal with much different pressures than these older generations had to deal with. Yeah, I had a director who was on my case every day on I Know What You Did Last Summer, every single day. It sucked. That’s one son of a bitch. All right, that’s one guy. The streamers out there YouTuber all these, everyone in the world that has access to the internet can say horrible things about you. And these are young kids that are not prepared for that type of fame. That’s why I took my channel off Twitch because they don’t care, they don’t care about these young kids. They don’t put any measures in to protect them until four or five years later after, you know, these kids have been complaining and begging and asking for it. And it’s not like once they were bought by Amazon, they couldn’t afford to put measures in place. They simply chose not to because it wasn’t cost effective. So screw Twitch, screw those companies, man. I hope all of you go to YouTube or somewhere else where you’re in control and you’re not having to pay for their service in order for you to get paid. Like, I got love for y’all, I really do. And I understand the pressures that they have to go through. I’ve seen it affects so many young people, I’ve seen it. The first person that called me uncle Freddy, or I think it was she said he’s my twitch uncle, was this girl I found randomly on Stream and I was reading the comments and I was just like, oh my God, is this what streamers have to go through? And for a female streamer it’s different right? Because these guys were letting her know exactly why they were watching her and saying sh*t that you’re just like Jesus Christ, like Michelle Pfeiffer never had to hear that in her Catwoman suit looking fine as hell. Like she didn’t have to hear just non stop and there’s no accountability. And there’s no one there to smack them and be like show some respect, because it’s all digital. And they’re just enduring that at an age where you’re not equipped to deal with that yet. And I just remember going like this is a bad bad place and so I get it and I have a lot of empathy, sympathy as I would have gone through it, and I haven’t. So I empathise with what they have to go through. And I respect the ones that are able to come out on the other side and still have their dignity intact. Because it’s soul selling, and soul stealing. And those are hard things to deal with in your early 20s. So I don’t know how CM Punk moves forward. He’s of that older generation.

On wrestling taking its toll on CM Punk:

Like emotionally, he wasn’t able to keep up with it either. Like physically, you kind of saw it on the failed Buckshot Lariat when the knees gave out, the injury after injury after injury. But to lose it like that in that post Scrum, which everyone loved in the media, but I thought it was so bad for the business, to just bury everyone and right next to Tony. And while he’s saying he didn’t like people going into business for themselves, the philosophy had to be in his head. Well, if they’re going to do it, I’m going to do it right. Like Barry Bonds on steroids, like well, if Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are going to do it, and I’m already better than them. I’ll do it and become the greatest baseball player ever. Yeah, so once you do that, there’s no going back and I mean, you heard the chants during the Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks trios match where they were saying, you know, F you CM Punk like the fans weren’t having it whether they’re right in that opinion or not. That’s their opinion, because they’re the viewers of art, so it can’t be incorrect if that’s how they feel again, it’s not three plus three, which we agree is still six. So you know, you got to evolve. This is something CM Punk said when WWE, you either evolve or you die.

On Logan Paul:

Look, I get why they’re doing it, I wasn’t a big fan of it. I will say this. He did his thing like the dude can wrestle. He’s done I think three matches now, and I finally watched the Crown Jewel match, I was so proud of the fact that I didn’t watch it because I hate Crown Jewel. It’s just the goofiest. Um, so yeah, so it’s a tricky thing. I get why they did it, right. I get why they brought Mr. T to Wrestlemania. But I’m not a fan of it. Like I would rather see wrestlers wrestle. I didn’t like that he videoed himself doing a Frog Splash. How serious are you, this is the old school mentality, how serious are you about winning the WWE Championship if you’re going to hold a phone and video yourself doing a Frog Splash? It should be a singular [focus]. Again. It’s an old school mentality, and I’m not saying it’s right. I’m just saying it’s mine. How serious are you about winning, if you don’t have a singular focus on winning. [Chris mentions Hulk Hogan flexing]. It’s not, the flex was to power him up. And you know, like, show you how into it he is. Whereas this is like, I’m gonna bring everyone into my social media page and get even more followers while I do this. 

On possibly being a UFC fighter:

I don’t know if I would have been good enough. I don’t know. First of all, I don’t think my godfather would have let me, there’s better ways to make a living, just asked Matt Riddle. So yeah, you know, I always wanted to make a good living and, and make money and be successful in not just the career I chose, but in the ability to have what I want. We didn’t have anything growing up, like we got kicked out at two houses by the time I was a sophomore in high school, because we couldn’t afford it. My dad was successful, but for a very short period of time, and when he died, he didn’t leave anything, he didn’t have a will. My grandma came out and fought for her share and kind of took a lot. And my mom didn’t have much, you know, she had to go job to job and I had to grow up with my grandparents for a good portion of time. Because we didn’t have a house I had to grow up with my godparents who I mentioned Bob Wall, who was one of the main influences on my life and my godmother, Lillian, who’s still with us and just an amazing human being. So yeah, I didn’t want to be broke, and UFC fighters don’t make any money. So that wasn’t that wasn’t gonna be in my future. I think it was act or nothing, man. I really do.

On not wanting to live up to his father’s legacy:

Never though, I would never stand on the same stage as he did, ever. I didn’t even like doing Saturday Night Live because it felt too close to what he did. But yeah, there was never going to be a day where I did stand up comedy. I did get to hang out at the Improv, rest and peace Budd Friedman, and we just lost [him]. I’m losing everybody that was like a father figure to me when I was a kid, Gene LeBell this year, lost my godfather Bob Wall this year, Budd just past that my father opened that club, the improv on Melrose. And I was 12 years old, and would hang out there with spiral notebooks. And I would write down the comics jokes as fast as I could and then and then rate how loud the audience reacted. And I’ve handed those journals to comics, like as an adult, and it literally has blown their mind. They’re like, I remember that joke, holy sh*t that’s amazing. Three stars? What is that? I’m like, No, I laughed. But for real man, if I had to go to the bathroom, he would have to take me and he would clear out the bathroom because that’s where like, all the actors and comics and musicians would be doing cocaine. He’d be like, Oh, I got little Freddie coming in, and these guys would go and be like sorry, let me get out of here. And then I could go take a leak.

On what he is grateful for:

A higher power, a family that is healthy and every opportunity.

Featured image: GQ

Mandy Rose (@mandysacs) is a professional wrestler signed to WWE where she is the current NXT Women’s Champion. She joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about winning the NXT Women’s Championship, her thoughts about moving from Raw to NXT, how different things are with Triple H in charge, being a contestant on WWE Tough Enough, her storyline with Otis and Dolph Ziggler, who she thinks is the greatest women’s wrestler of all time, getting engaged to Sabby Piscitelli (Tino Sabbatelli from WWE) and more!

On being grateful for the spot:

“I’m so grateful. And I feel like, you know, everyone’s different. Sometimes it matter how much talent you have, obviously, we’ve seen that. And it’s just, it’s just some things just don’t work out, or some things just weren’t meant to be. So I am really grateful for that. But, you know, deep down, I knew that, you know, I always knew I had this, I always knew I could always get better at it, right? Like, everyone, you get better with time, but you need the opportunity, right? So it’s like, can’t really show anything if you don’t have that opportunity. And if you’re just kind of known for being the blond bombshell, or the golden goddess and eye candy, or whatever it is, my whole vision of ever since I started in WWE was always even in the NXT back in the day was like, Yeah, I know, I look like this. And I know, it could be intimidating. Or also like, Oh, she’s just here for the fame and whatnot, all the, you know, stigmas that I’ve gotten. But I knew that like, my biggest thing was to prove myself in the ring. I knew it was like a Trish Stratus story, you know, like, why can’t you be hot and still, like, be able to wrestle, right? Like, it’s been done before? Like, why do I get such like heat? Or why do I get so much backlash for looking like this? But I knew in the back of my head that like, it takes time, respect, you know, you have to kind of gain your respect you have to put your time in. So I just knew over time, eventually it would turn.”

Mandy Rose On the return to NXT:

“I feel like it was, it was a timing thing. I feel like it was gonna happen. But yeah, I couldn’t picture it this way. You know, I couldn’t have pictured it if I wanted to. But it’s like, I knew I had this vision when I first went to NXT, and I knew that I wanted to rebrand myself, I knew that I wanted to get more opportunities. And I wasn’t really that fond of like what I was doing at the moment. And I just didn’t didn’t think that I was showing my true potential. So I knew there needed to be something. And sometimes you just need to like, you need to change a little bit, you need to like, you know, evolve a little bit or just have a clean slate or first coat of paint. And like, I felt like I needed that. So I think it all worked out for the best. Of course, in the moment, I was a little bit like taken aback, but then I know looking back, I’m just so happy that I went in with such a positive mindset because Sabbi says this a lot too, my fiance. He’s just very like proud of me and that aspect of life, because he’s been through a lot, but of like having that positive mindset and kind of like, knowing that this could be something good. Whereas instead of most people would might take that as like a demotion or like, or just like, Oh, you’re going back to NXT? Like, oh, like most people would have that attitude of like, well why and all these questions and, and, you know, in our business, it’s like, you don’t really get a lot of answers most of the time. Like, if you do your job and you do it well, you know, it’s going to eventually pay off. And I think that goes a long way. So I’m just really happy I went in with such a positive mindset. And I just had this vision. And I knew if I had the right people in my corner and the right people to back me up, that it would be successful. And you know, I’m really grateful for that.”

On initial plans when Mandy Rose won the NXT Women’s Championship:

“You know, I didn’t know exactly when I first won. But then when I, you know, started kind of getting in the groove and really, like, with this whole character change and stuff, I felt like, I was like, you know, I think this is going to be a good run and a long run, because I think we’re going to really make it mean something. I think, you know, it’s a good story, me coming back here and kind of even, like, helping some of the younger girls, even the whole, like, transition of NXT you know, NXT 2.0. And like, you know, there’s so many young people and young, you know, great talent that is just like up and coming. So I feel like it just made the most sense, you know. And now, I mean, over a year now, I didn’t know it’d be this long, but hey, I ain’t complaining.”

On the genesis of the new Mandy Rose character:

“I would just say it’s still me, I’m still like, you know, I didn’t go from like, I didn’t change that much. It’s still me. I think it’s more just like adding a little edge to Mandy Rose, I think it’s more about yeah, I can still look good and you know, beat bitches up, but also, like, I have this edge to me. And I think the whole idea was that as well with Gigi and Jacey when we all teamed up, like, I think everyone kind of thought I was going to make them be more like Mandy, but instead, we all kind of, we’ve all taken a little bit from each other, right? So I feel like I have learned from them a lot.” 

On how much Shawn Michaels has helped Mandy Rose:

“A lot Yeah, Shawn Michaels is amazing and he’s great to work with. He has been nothing but amazing towards me and you know, Toxic Attraction, and you know, we all kind of it was a collaboration of Toxic Attraction. You know, when I first got there, it was like, oh, maybe you’ll team with these girls, they’re just gonna just about ready to be on TV. But, you know, we don’t really know exactly and it was Triple H that said this before he, you know, took a leave of absence, but he had said too like we’re not going to pigeonhole you either, you know, like, this might be something good, but we’ll see. Like, then that’s how we work, you know, nothing’s ever really set in stone, everything changes by the day. But yeah, so we just, we kind of all collaborated and, and I think Shawn and you know, our writer, Johnny Russo and coach Bloom, and like the people that were really behind Toxic Attraction and really, like, you know, had strong belief in making us successful. It worked. Because when you have the right people behind you, and you have those people that believe in you, they’re going to stand up for you, and they’re gonna put you hopefully put you in the right spot.”

Mandy Rose On teaching the current NXT roster:

“Yeah, I mean like, even just, you know, whether it’s helping the girls with, you know, hotels, cars, like rentals, we do a lot of that stuff on our own. Like they don’t teach you that in NXT like, you know, you don’t really travel that much in NXT. So it’s like, get a good credit card where you can put your hotels on there for expenses and for stuff, you know, for write offs and whether it’s, you know, ideas for, for promos, whether it’s how you present yourself, clothing. Like for a lot of people it’s hard too in NXT you know, you’re on a different pay scale and then the main roster obviously. You’re just in developmental, you’re just working your way. So little ins and outs of how to kind of not only beat the system, but you know, like be ahead of the game when you’re up there. Right? So it’s like just little things like that and just trying to help them about even how they present themselves with higher ups when they get there. You know, like you don’t have to go around kissing everyone’s ass, you just have to, you know, know your role, always say hello to people and like there’s certain things you know, common courtesy and stuff like that. But sometimes people get wrapped up in like, so many different cooks in the kitchen in NXT. Because you do have a lot of coaches, you have a lot of producers, you have everyone in your ear about certain things. And also just like, my biggest thing with them is like telling them like no matter what people say about your character, like you know your character best, like take the advice. They’ve been doing this a long time, not discrediting them at all, they all know what they’re doing. But like if you wouldn’t say that word or you wouldn’t say that sentence from that promo ask can I change this? Because I’ve done that a bunch of times. I mean, they’ll write things for me sometimes where I’m like, not any more but, you know, a while ago, where I was like, I would never talk like that, like it’s not going to come out natural, you know? Yeah. So those little things, I feel like help can go a long way.”

On what advice Mandy Rose would give to her Tough Enough self:

“I think it would be, I was pretty good at this too. I wouldn’t say that I was bad, a lot of people get caught up in this, but I think it’s like, just not caring or giving, you know, a sh*t about what other people thought. Like you’re, you’re constantly trying to and this is like, in the beginning of like any probably job, right? Like you’re always trying to impress your boss, or you’re trying to impress the higher ups, you want to make more money, you want to like [progress]. I just feel like, and obviously sports entertainment, we’re on TV or in the spotlight, I feel like I see that a lot too. And it’s like you’re always trying to impress, but I feel like if you just be yourself more, and not really care about what everyone has to say so much. Like I tell them I tell the girls and the guys this all the time, like don’t sweat the small stuff. Like I always tell the story about with Cora Jade when I first met her, because I first met her in the beginning when I went there and it was you know, before she was really getting put on TV, but they obviously liked her and they wanted to get her out there. And she was crying in the bathroom, and I went up to her and I honestly asked her what was wrong. And she said that, you know, she just being told the same thing over and over again about her matches that she’s moving too fast, or whatever it was. [Cora said] ‘I just don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m trying to improve, but I feel…’ And I just told her listen. I said, hate to break it to you, but this is how they are, this is how it goes, you’re probably never going to not move too fast. Like you’re gonna get better but like this is just something that they’re on with you right now. In a couple of weeks, there’ll be something else or someone else. Just take it with a grain of salt and that’s the biggest thing. Sonya and I always talk about it too, because we came up together and we had each other’s backs and we’re obviously very close. But I’m just not like sweating all the, everything they say to you, you know, we used to live together, we used to come back from training and we would talk for hours about like, I can’t believe coach so and so said that about me… And it’s like, who cares? Like it’s their job, you know, like, so that’s my biggest like take home with a lot of the girls and guys. And the biggest thing I would say if I went back like just and I was pretty good, I wasn’t as bad as a lot of people but you know, knowing what I know now I would have probably been better.”

On a possible match with Nikki Bella:

“I feel like also, like, even my promo the other night, like, our, you know, I want to say her legacy and also just like everything I’ve done. Like, we have a little bit of similar backgrounds in the sense because she, you know, she’s obviously had paved the way for us, definitely during like the Divas time and, you know, the women’s revolution and all that. So it’s like, I feel like there’s some kind of, you know, similarity with the both of us because she was always one to be like, you know, she wants to have people respect her more and she did gain that respect over the years, but in the beginning, it wasn’t maybe so much like that. So, like, there is a little you know, little story there.”

On the balance between work and home life in WWE:

“Yeah, um, you know, it’s always kind of a struggle, because our schedules are kind of crazy. However, since you know, over the last year, being in NXT, I’ve had a really good schedule, and I actually love my schedule. I don’t have to fly that much, obviously, I drive to Orlando and so I have way more time on my hands than I ever did and I feel like it’s the like, I’m trying to make the most of it. I felt like it was pretty good timing because, you know, we had just bought our house and there’s so many different little projects we’re getting ourselves into, but I think it’s just really kind of not making yourself get like too crazy and overload, you know what I mean? Like I really tried to like base my schedule, you know, after Tuesday, Wednesday on it’s like, Okay, now it’s my time to like, get stuff done, you know, whether it’s around the house, workouts, you know, interviews and whatnot. But, I try to just like stay focused for TV like Monday and Tuesday or like my get ready for TV days, you know, and then like, once that’s done, I can do other things that I have to do in life, you know, it’s just a balance.”

On the Otis and Mandy Rose storyline:

“That was such a fun, like, loving, entertaining story. And I think of the timing of it, like, you know, right during the pandemic, too. So I feel like there was so much, you know, so much negativity going around, and just like, you know, people cooped up in their homes, and I felt like it was such a good story to just kind of like for, I don’t know, it was just pure entertainment. And it was fun. But for me, I just had a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun working with him. He’s obviously a character in and out in and out of the ring. And it was really cool to be able to have that kind of storyline where it was like, you know, we barely wrestled, it was more just like that was an entertaining [storyline]. Like, when they talked about sports entertainment, like that was pure entertainment I feel like. But it was fun. I had a lot of fun.”

On who is in better shape – Mandy Rose or her fiancé Tino Sabbatelli 

“Objectively, um, I would have to go with him. He, I mean I don’t know, he’s like a freak. Like I have good genetics and all sorry about my dog. [His name is] Trey That’s the big one. The little ones underneath me. Yeah, they’ve been walking around my house a little bit. Sorry, what was I saying? Yeah. Like he’s a genetic freak. I have good genetics for sure. But like, people think he eats like, you know, chicken and rice every day. And he does not eat chicken and rice. Like he’s a big snacker, loves his potato chips, and Cold Stone. We have Cold Stone once a week, which I just told someone the other day, and they’re like you two have Cold Stone every week? I said, Yes. Every week [on] Sundays.”

On people not believing that Mandy Rose eats pizza:

“I know, actually people do probably think that but I mean, I used to be really really strict when I was competing, but since then and wrestling and it’s definitely more of a consistent, balanced diet. But I like to have my cheat days and I like to splurge and I snack and all that. So it’s you know, I mean, my workouts have changed a little bit I do a little bit more cardio, which might help obviously. But yeah, I grew up in a you know, Italian home with my dad who owns delis. So like we just grew up around really good food. I can’t stop now.”

On Mandy Rose’s cheat meal:

“Oh, my go to is usually like a good, you know, good pasta or ravioli or pizza, and ice cream. I love ice cream.”

What is Mandy Rose grateful for:

“Obviously my fiancé Sabby, my health and my family.”

Featured image: Wrestling News

David Harbour (@dkharbour) is an actor known for his roles in Stranger Things, Hellboy, Suicide Squad, Extraction, Black Widow and many others. He joins Chris Van Vliet from Budapest to talk about his new holiday movie “Violent Night” where he plays a version of Santa Claus with a twist. He also talks about putting a twist on other holiday characters like the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

So good to see you again. When I saw the title of this film, Violent Night, I was like oh this is cute, it’s like Silent Night. Then when I watched the movie, I don’t know if you got the title right. I feel like it should be Extremely Violent Night.

“Violent is not enough for you? You need more adjectives. I’m sorry but I think violent sums it up, there is a lot of extreme violence.”

There is a lot! I’m curious, is playing Santa something that was on your bucket list?

“No, never in a million years. You know, there’s Hamlet and King Lear, but Santa? The thing is I never thought that I would be invited into that world. There’s people out there who are like well one day I will play Santa. But not me, I’m a more complicated guy. I look at the characters that people like and are more complicated individuals. Someone like Santa seemed pretty straight ahead. When this came to me, I was like OK, this is a Santa Claus I could play, because this is a complicated Santa Claus. But one of the great things is that there are films that people watch every year for Christmas, it puts them in the holiday spirit. The greatest thing about this movie is that there is this extreme violence, but at the end it feels like a Christmas movie. Once I got the part, the violence and the humour took care of itself.”

Now we have opened the door to having R rated Christmas movies. What’s going to be next?

“I’ve already pitched a bunch of my cool actor friends The Easter Bunny. That is a creature that is little understood. We do have these things, like a guy in a red suit that comes in your house once a year, who is this guy? What is his deal? I feel like our movie tries to attempt to somewhat understand that guy. Then you’ve got The Easter Bunny, what up with him? And then there is The Tooth Fairy, where is she getting all that money?”

When you play Santa, the pinnacle is getting the Ho Ho Ho correct. How much time did you spend on nailing it for this version.

“It’s sort of a pivotal point in the movie. He talks about how it’s his iconic thing, but he can’t do it in the beginning of the movie. It literally sticks in his throat until the end of the movie. We did shoot it a bit sequential, as the movie went on I couldn’t find. It sort of came out by the end of the film, and I liked what I found.”

Would Jim Hopper be on the nice list?

“If my Santa was making the list, then yes. But I think Jim Hopper would be too embarrassed to be on it.”

Featured image: NME