Darren McCarty is a retired NHL player, broadcaster and 4-time Stanley Cup Champion known best for his time the Detroit Red Wings. He talks about his role as an enforcer on the ice, his most memorable fights, being part of the “grind line”. his love for professional wrestling, how he went from the minor leagues to the NHL, life after his professional hockey career, his battle with addiction and much more!

On when he wanted to be a hockey player:

“To be completely honest, I was the kid that since 8 years old this was what I wanted to do. You told me ‘how do I get here?’ I say ‘You have to do this.’ Even if it’s breaking through a cement wall I will do it! I didn’t get drafted until I was 19 years old. Back in 1992, you didn’t go until the later rounds and you were a late bloomer. I grew up a Wings fan and they sucked in the 80’s. Also with my style, with Bob Probert, I knew he needed a Robin to his Batman. I don’t need to be the lead guy, I can be the meek. And the meek will inherit the earth. You give me a role and I will give you everything that I got. I need to know the why, not the right or wrong. If I know the why, I can correct it. It wasn’t my love of being physical or fighting, it was my love of my team mates and not doing it first.”

On how attributes have changed for players:

“With sports now it is more regulated. We understand that there is concussions and there are different rules. But the whole thing is that the game has changed. Like with wrestling, the 205 Live, there is a spot for everyone. The transition from my NHL where size would you get you anywhere. But now it’s speed, there is more opportunity now. When I grew up, if you were a big kid you would get more of a chance.”

On his NHL persona D-Mac:

“I always knew who D-Mac was. D-Mac is my wrestling persona, he is the guy. Darren McCarty didn’t understand who he was. I always knew how much the love and appreciation of your brothers you would get back. It doesn’t matter who it was, they knew I had their back. that is what wins you championships. My role was the enforcer, until I decide it’s not anymore. The game started changing and the priorities started changing. Hockey is what I did it’s not who I am.”

On why he loves hockey and the fights:

“We do what we do because the chicks dig scars. Off the ice I’m a lover not a fighter bro. You get some sympathy from that. I came from Ontario, I grew up with guys who worked in the fields and family businesses. If I didn’t take the opportunity, the I am doing a disservice to the boys. A lot of the stuff I got myself into I knew it wouldn’t end well, but that’s the way it is. You have to be accountable for what you do. I never wanted to miss that moment. You never know if it’s going to be taken away. I know how things will end now and I’ve been there and done that.”

On people trying to fight him and his love of wrestling:

“I tell everyone you get 3 shots. It’s either kill me, knock me down or it’s my turn. It makes people think when they pull back the swing, you will never get the shot in. With who I surround myself with, there never is any trouble because they have my back. I just turned 49, the priorities are different than what they were when you are younger. I tell people my favourite sport is wrestling, because it’s scripted. I’m a storyline guy, I don’t have to like it but it has to make sense. The forbidden door, I love that! When they have control, it gets them interested. It’s the love and the passion to what you want. I have regained my love bigger than it was when I was a kid. Now I have friends in the business, I go around the independents. I want to see the kids succeed. I can’t physically help people on the ice but I can tell people mentally.”

On being a fan during the Attitude Era in WWE:

“Yeah man suck it! The Road Dogg was my dude man! The wrestling is a dance, it’s such a brilliant script. With technology and social media, you feel like you know the real people. There is a place for kayfabe though. Some Cold was my guy growing up. I would stun people in the locker room. Mathieu Dandenault was The Rock, he could do the eyebrow really well. We made Mike Knuble be Mankind because we would always beat him up. We loved it. Being at the Joe Louis too, I got into it with D’Lo Brown and Hardcore Holly.”

On winning The Stanley Cup:

“There’s a superstition that you can never touch the cup unless you have won it if you were playing. How heavy is this thing? You hear that it 35lbs but it’s as light as a feather. I’ve been fortunate to do it 4 times. Each one is like a kid, I don’t have a favourite. Each story to get here is a lot different.”

On training to be a better fighter:

“Yeah I boxed every summer for about 10 years with a guy called Al Irish. I did that for conditioning. If you want to get in the best shape of your life do some rounds of that. I also did some MMA stuff because I like that sh*t. I’m not the biggest guy so I need to be able to fight these bigger guys. It wasn’t that I wanted to learn, it was more getting into shape. I sometimes had 2 minute rounds on the ice. I will fall over skating in a straight line but in a hockey fight I’m like a ballerina.”

On stepping away from the ice:

“For me it wasn’t difficult. For me, I checked out in 2004 when I decided to do my band Grinder. Hockey at that point was a business. I wasn’t happy in my life, I was going through a divorce and other stuff. So I was coming out of my 4th rehab and trying to be around my kids. I was having lunch with my friend and I was like I think I’ve got something left. When I said I was just looking for a chance, I had to make sure I was sober. I got a 2 week try-out in Grand Rapids and I scored a hat trick. In the end, they needed me more in the dressing room, because those were my guys. I got hurt again and I was done, I had proven it to myself. I was supposed to ride into the sunset but that didn’t happen. Also I was struggling with alcohol, over 300lbs and had high blood pressure. I got clean and realized why I was kept alive. It was for this plant cannabis. 11/11/2015 was the last time I took a drink or a pill. In Michigan, cannabis is legal and I have created my own CBD. I am never high, I am medicated. Instead of passing out from booze, you have a plant that can work with your system.”

On struggling with alcohol:

“In my life there is no rock bottom, there is just an endless pit. The truth is, as an alcoholic no matter how much time you have away from alcohol, if you go back you are right back at the start. I have abused my body if I drink now I will be dead. Now I am in better shape than when I was playing. It wasn’t until I had that physical relief. With alcohol I would die. I’ve had so many different things you wish you wouldn’t have done. But you did them, I did it, I will own up to it.”

On now being sober:

“When you are an alcoholic it’s the lifestyle and the pain relief. I went years and years not drinking when we were in the playoffs. But I knew there was always a date. Now there is no date. Also I couldn’t get to sleep. I’m not a machine but alcohol can help switch the brain off.”

On what hockey has taught him:

“Never give up. Never get up off the ice. You can stay down, but when you are ready to get up, then get up. As long as you don’t quit, you are still in the game. And you are not alone. There is somebody out there that is connected with you. It’s the get knocked down and get back up. Through injuries and everything else. The biggest thing is to get outside of yourself. If you are having a tough day, go and do something for somebody.”

On what he is grateful for:

“My best friend who is also my wife, the health of all my kids and people around me.”

Featured image: NHL

Kaliso (aka Samuray Del Sol) is a professional wrestler and entrepreneur. He joins Chris Van Vliet from his home in Orlando, FL to talk about his 8-year career in WWE and being released in April of this year, what his plans are next, the businesses that he has started, his love of horror movies, the storyline he pitched for a mask vs. mask match with Rey Mysterio, the meaning behind his luchador mask, why his wife “Lady Lucha” wears a mask, how he transformed his body and got into incredible shape and much more!

On what his new name is:

“Samuray Del Sol, that’s the name that I started with. I actually started with Samurai first, the I had to spell it differently, with a Y, just to be different. I started as Samuray Del Sol in Chicago, that’s where I adopted the name. Then everything else is history.”

On how Brodie Lee helped him through tough times:

“That’s really hard. I’m going to talk about the time that I got injured. I got injured back in 2019. That was a life changing experience for me. Two months before, I was in a bad place. You know, when things don’t go the right way, the way you had planned, you let it get into your head. I was in my own head, I was going through so much stress. Two months before I got injured I reached out to my good friend who has now passed, Brodie Lee. Just before this interview, I was looking at the last text messages he sent me. It was the usual ‘Hey, how are you? How is the family?’ First of all he was like ‘Who is this? New number.’ I was like ‘It’s Mani bro, Kalisto.’ He was then like ‘Oh hey bro what’s up.’ I looked at my response, and I responded to him ‘Trying to reach God.’ Why did I text that? Man I was in a bad place. His response was ‘Oh how’s that going?’ I’m like oh good old Brodie [laughs]. He was so great man. The last thing he told me was ‘I miss the boys.’ I just get chills thinking about it. I reached out and he listened. I’ve been through so much.”

On getting injured and very ill:

“After that, two months later in December 2019 I got hurt at The Staples Center. It was the last week in December. I signed on the Friday [my new contract] and I got hurt on the Sunday. When I got hurt, I got super sick. When I got home, I went to the hospital and I told my wife that I’m not feeling good. Throughout the whole flight it was the worst. I was super sick. This was my breaking point that helped me be awake. Once I got back to Orlando, they tell me I have a 105 fever. They ask me ‘Do you feel sick?’ I say ‘No it’s just my shoulder. I’m in a lot of pain. I keep shaking’ They say I have a torn shoulder. I could have surgery but I am trying to avoid it. I say ‘Just give me anything I am in pain.’ So they give me Percoset, and I feel like a zombie. So I was going through hell that night, I was falling out of love of wrestling. I was listening to Buddy Murphy’s interview with you, we have a lot of similarities but different paths. I have a lot of respect for Murphy. I couldn’t go to the hospital, I couldn’t go to therapy, I was stuck at home. I am assuming I had COVID, no one knew what it was and I had it bad. On top of that I had a rotator cuff tear. I was going through a lot.”

On how he has inspired fans:

“On top of that, the media. I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I can’t hate social media, because that’s where all my fans are. Those people rely on me, but the other fans ruin it for me. The thing with me, I was in a fast spot. I feel throughout my whole life and my whole career, I felt under utilized and under valued. That’s why I believed in myself. I am a human being, I can go off track. But it takes long for you to get back on track. You work so hard for what you love and you see no change. As one of the few Latinos in sports entertainment, my major goal is to be a symbol outside of wrestling. Not just in Lucha Libre. There always one fan in Mexico that dressed like me. She would say ‘I am not a fan of Lucha Libre, but I love it when you scream “Lucha” Why is that? Every time you scream and you fight that struggle when you are down. That made me want to be a doctor.’ I just wanted to cry, I was like please wear this US Title, you inspire me! It’s more than just wrestling. My mask means more than that, it’s a symbol that no matter what you do, you can be a superhero. You can be a symbol of hope, you just need that motivation.”

On mental health struggles:

“Me being injured, I thought about so much. When I was driving and I was in a bad place, I thought about driving off tracks sometimes. Because no matter what I did, I couldn’t do anything to make people happy. Then I realized I was not happy. I had to change and stop thinking about what people think about me. I had to think about myself, and I have never done that. I’ve always been nice, always done everything right. I worked so hard, Vince even said I am a hard worker. We always had a good relationship, I just wished we talked more. We just never got that chance, that’s one of my biggest regrets.

On his biggest regret in WWE:

“My biggest regret is not pitching my idea to Vince. Pretty much the whole world knew except for Vince. [I wanted to do] a mask vs. mask match against Rey [Mysterio]. I had Rey’s blessing, Dominik’s blessing, everyone. They all loved it. I showed it to Paul Heyman too. Paul said ‘This is genius, do it.’ I was like let’s do this! It’s just such a good story, it’s my biggest regret not talking to Vince about it. Right before I was going to, I got released.”

Chris asks if Samuray was prepared to wrestle without a mask:

“I was prepared for anything, I had such a great story that nobody would have expected. So for Paul Heyman to say that’s genius, I got something. The writers, everyone loved it. I even showed it to Daniel Bryan and Edge, they loved it. But it’s my own fault. I should have gone [to Vince].”

On if not pitching the match was his biggest regret:

“I believe so. It was such a good story. Not only that, I chose to better myself and to be different. I had a Hollywood acting coach help me with my promos. On top of that, coming back in the best shape of my life. I laid everything down and let my actions speak, words are useless. But it takes so much, I am human. When you work so hard and you see everything around you, you ask yourself why? Maybe I’m not working hard enough, so I work harder, and I get wiser. It’s still not enough. That was my whole career and my whole life. I have always been under utilized, but then I hear I had a great show. OK then put me in the main event. It’s just I am a human being, it’s hard. But at the same time I look at what I have been through. When I started, I had no friends and no connections in wrestling. I knew nobody. Everything on my own, I went out there and got it. I went out on the red carpets, the Latino game shows, the Latino publicity. Nobody else has done that. Then again, I’m the one trying to make a difference. I’m just saying that even being in GQ Mexico is a big deal. It doesn’t hit me until now. Look at what I have accomplished. Now I don’t know.”

On if he knew he was going to be released:

“Deep down I did. I wanted to lay everything down on the table and say ‘Here it is. I am giving you my best. You take it or you don’t.’ They didn’t and I feel good.”

On how he got into incredible shape:

“So coming back that was my major goal. I got hurt in 2019 and I got COVID, I was out for about 8 months. I did my own therapy, my own fitness and workouts. I started going to the Performance Center here and there. My main focus was when I come back, all eyes are on me. Not only are they going to see my new look, they are going to see my new body. that is exactly what happened. When I went to talk to Vince, I decided to show up at The Amway Center. I had a shirt on that said ‘impossible.’ I wondered if he got it. So the shirt was covered so he didn’t know I was ripped. We [Lucha House Party] did a segment and I go back and they are in a meeting. I think it was Shane, Vince. I kid you not, I turn around and say hey ‘Hey Vince how are you doing?’ He goes ‘Goddammit pal! You’re f*cking ripped!’ Man that was awesome. I looked at myself and said ‘This is my I don’t give a f*ck body, thank you boss.'”

On his mask design:

“Each spike represents the style I have developed throughout the years. [There is] Lucha Libre, Japanese and American. The American style goes down the middle because WWE has their own style. I was blessed that I went to NXT first. I learned a lot and it made me wiser as a wrestler. These are they styles I have developed. The design of the wing is the type of high flyer I am. The tail at the back represents my journey. Every color has meaning too. It could be for cancer, diabetes, autism, anything. So to me, the mask means a lot. If you are going to wear a mask, I suggest you take your time and you pick every symbol that you feel strongly about. The wings, the type of spikes, why are you going to do that?”

On why his wife started wearing a Lucha mask:

“She started wearing a mask when we started doing all of the red carpets. Even on the Latino Family Feud, which was my family vs. Rey Mysterio’s family. But my wife wanted to wear a mask to support me. Her first time wearing a mask was in 2011 in Mexico. This was before WWE. We were at the Expo-Lucha. All of the big shows are there. [the show time] From 8-until midnight. My wife was like ‘It’s a long day what am I going to do?’ I said ‘I will make you a mask and you are going to come out with me.’ There was like 10,000 people. She was so nervous! But it was a fun experience for her. She did it a couple of times in Mexico and that was it. She also wears a mask because she wants to be a symbol for women empowerment, which is great. Even though the mask has my eyes, which is unique to my mask. The eyes mean everything to me, it will be on everything. So that’s why I told my wife ‘it can mean women empowerment. Your mask will represent women empowerment and mine will represent hope.’ We can all be a part of that and part of the Lucha family. So that’s what we did, everyone knew us. My major goal was to be a start outside of WWE. Now WWE is great, they are doing their job on booking me and getting me out there. But my wife, she is the one helping me and letting me know when the Latin Grammys are coming up. My wife helped me, so did the media. There were not a lot of Latin people that understand how we work. It was difficult at first but we made it work. We went out there and people knew us, even though they are not WWE fans. WE are just trying to be a voice for everybody.”

On where the Lucha chant started:

“The Lucha chant started in 2010 in Miami WrestleMania. I started it in 2010 and I brought it to WWE. I started using the Lucha Lucha chant when I was feuding with El Generico. He was using his ‘Ole’ chant and I thought that really connected with people. How can I connect with the people. Oh ‘Lu-cha Lu-cha.’ I brought it to WWE and the rest is history. They still play it on RAW so it’s pretty cool.”

On how the theme song came to be:

“I’ll tell you how it happened. We were in NXT and we were trying to figure out a theme song. me and Sin Cara were just thinking what is our entrance music going to be? All of a sudden it just happened. I’m like oh that’s my voice from a promo. I could have recorded it if you told me. I’m like cool I’ll go with it. My old theme was more rock like, but they made it more kid friendly. I don’t mind that, the kids are my friends.”

On his favorite WWE moment:

“Man it’s hard to say. My favorite moment throughout my whole career in WWE was that one minute where I had the faceoff with Rey at the Royal Rumble. I never stepped in the ring with Rey. My whole life and my whole career I have been compared to Rey Mysterio, which is great, it’s awesome. But I am my own person. I want to create my own legacy.”

On a possible WWE return:

“I’m not going to hold my breath. I’m just going to focus on me. I am going to focus on my mental state, which is very important. I’m going to try and fix myself first. I’m trying to see what I can do. I like challenging myself a lot. I have never boxed before, but I want to box. The reason I became a wrestler was because of my grandma. My grandfather wanted me to be a boxer. Not only that, all the [boxing] pay per views, my dad would bring home a box of oysters. We would sit there, hammer open the oysters, watch the pay per view and that was our night. This was as kids, which was pretty cool. I’m still going to wrestle here and there. If the time is right, here and there, I am going to give it a shot.”

On being on Family Feud:

“So going back to me representing Latinos outside of WWE, Family Feud was amazing. I got in contact with my family and Rey got in contact with his in Mexico. They were in awe, they were so excited. That was the first time I faced Rey Mysterio in anything. I was blessed to be on that gameshow. It was fun, it took about 8 hours but it was fun.”

On John Cena’s Luchador persona “Juan Cena”:

“It was cool and it was interesting. Me, Lince and Metalik got together and were like ‘Yeah he [John] has a mask, he is Juan Cena.’ Lince, I and Metalik went to talk to him and he was like ‘what do you think?’ We were like ‘it’s cool.’ So he went ‘OK, I will bring it next week.’ He brought it and he was like ‘Si cabrones [yeah f*ckers]. Lu-cha Lu-cha.’ I’m like alright this is so dope man. I love the fact that John never says no. He will sit down if you have a question, he is always willing to give you time. It’s a whole different world to how it was when I first got there. I was feuding with Alberto Del Rio when I first got there. I was picking John’s brain a lot. He gave me such great advice on how to hear the crowd, how to control the crowd, so many good techniques and advice. He is a great person to talk to, he is so cool. I wish I could have talked to him more.”

On winning the United States title:

“It didn’t hit me until I got in the back. 2 weeks before that, Sin Cara got hurt. We were supposed to be in a tag team feud with The New Day. Sin Cara did a dive onto Big E and he hurt his shoulder. I’m like oh great, what’s going to happen now? The following week I went to Vince’s office to the first time, I’m like f*ck it. I had a great conversation with him. I called him boss or ‘hey sir.’ He’s like ‘You have a lot of potential, you’re going to go far.’ I was going to talk to him next week but they [writers] were like you are in a program with John Cena. I’m like OK cool. Then you are in a match with Del Rio for the title. I’m thinking how is he going to win? But the professional that I am, you throw something at me, I will put on a show. When that [the title win] happened, they told me the finish right before I went out there. Del Rio helped me so much. We went at it, and when I won, I’m in the back and I start tearing up. I’m in the back and it started hitting me when Del Rio in front of Vince and me said ‘You see this kid. This kid is ready. You need to do something with him.'”

On what he is grateful for:

“My fans, my family and WWE.”

Samuray Del Sol can be found on Twitter here and Instagram here.

Featured image: WWE

Buddy Murphy (Matt Adams) is a professional wrestler known best for his time in WWE and NXT. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet from his home in Orlando, FL to talk about what his plans are since being released from WWE, his thoughts on signing with AEW, growing up in Australia, what he learned from being tag team partners with Seth Rollins, the original plans for why he started going by just “Murphy”, his storyline and kiss with Aalyah Mysterio, why he is grateful for Alexa Bliss, his opinion of Tommy End (Malakai Black) in AEW and much more!

On his new physique:

“It was a strategically taken picture. I look a lot bigger than what I actually weigh. I don’t hold much water, so if you take the water weight out I’m maybe a little smaller. My last match in WWE, I think it was around WrestleMania Battle Royal, I was about 200lbs. But visually I look a lot bigger, it’s just a number on the scale to me. Right now I am about 213-215. But I definitely gained size, my strength is really good at the moment. I had a bad mentality when it came to food, especially towards the end of my run in WWE. I would diet like crazy Monday to Friday, in hopes that maybe Friday is the day. I always wanted to be ready. I didn’t want to be that guy where when his ticket is called, he is not ready. Also I have been training at a wrestling school for the last 6 months in case you need a 20 minute match that I can go. I’ve also spent more time in the gym so when I take my shirt off I look good. Every time is like a job interview, you just don’t know. But then you get to Friday, you don’t see your name on the sheet and you binge eat on the weekend. Then Monday comes and it starts again. So I’m eating more now, nothing has changed except for being ultra lean heading into a TV taping. I’m not binging and on a bad cycle.”

On his initial weight loss:

“So I was originally about 230lbs. I hated wrestling in NXT. Once the tag team broke up I was off TV for a long time. We were promised stuff like me and Blake were going to get this thing, that never happened. When we finally got our match, it was 30 seconds, Samoa Joe wiped us out and we were never seen on TV again. So then I’m doing live events and I’m sometimes booked but not booked. Or I am wrestling guys that were 7 foot but didn’t really know what they were doing. I just wasn’t enjoying wrestling, and my fiancée at the time was always on the road. I’m here working a job that I wasn’t enjoying and looking after the animals. I needed something for myself so I started looking at the gym. I started changing my body and learning about nutrition. From there I kind of lost a little bit of weight. I wasn’t the full 230, I was about 218.”

On how he got to 205 Live:

“I wanted to go to the cruiserweight division because I thought it was my style. They weren’t doing anything with my in NXT, I’m doing all the right things every day but I’m not getting any proof that I am doing any good because I’m not doing anything. That’s where the best kept secret came from, you’re telling me how good I am but no on knows. They only know the enhancement guy who was in the tag team. The people in NXT knew what I was capable of, but the rest of the world didn’t. I’m not saying I am the best in the World, because we have one of them, but I have the potential. I wanted to go to the cruiserweight division for such a long time. I was yelled at, I was kicked out of meetings for mentioning it. I end up reaching out to Adam Pearce secretly via Twitter. I said ‘Hey man I see you are doing this tournament. I don’t know if all the spots are finished, but I would love to throw my name in the hat. Weight is not an issue.’ I was doing a live event from NXT somewhere and I got a call from Ryan Kats. He said ‘Hey, what’s your availability on Saturday?’ I said ‘What are you talking about?’ He said ‘Didn’t you know? You’re debuting on Tuesday, we need a creative vignette.’ I didn’t even know. I went in there and filmed it, and I did have to weigh in. I had to go in there and prove that I was under 205lbs. I just went to the sauna, didn’t eat and weighed in.”

On moving to the main roster:

“My whole time in the cruiserweight, loved it. I can’t be more appreciative of my time in 205 Live. It was fun, I was creative, I was having great matches. We felt like we had a little bit of pull and we could suggest stuff and it would be considered. It was an awesome group of guys, we all travelled together. I win the title, do some great stuff, go to WrestleMania, lose it, pass it to Tony Nese. And then I get drafted to SmackDown. I’m like this is it! But then I don’t do anything for 4 to 5 months. The I just so happen to accidently be in the background of a Roman shot, which gave me a spotlight and had the internet talking. When the internet talks they [WWE] can shy away from it. But luckily in my case, they brought attention to it. Then I had this killer match with Roman and the week after I had this killer match with Bryan. Then I was in the King of the Ring against Ali. 3 weeks in a row I have killer matches, but then I’m just dropped. I didn’t understand it. I was in talks with [Paul] Heyman, and he was going to take over RAW. I assumed that he had spoken up and said he wanted me, and the people of SmackDown didn’t want to use me. They didn’t want to highlight someone who is going to Mondays. They say that if Paul wants to advocate for you, it can work for you or against you. Maybe it worked against me, but I felt like I was delivering. Did I lose out or did you?”

On going from Buddy Murphy to just Murphy:

“That was my idea. But the whole story behind it was never told. So I was talking to Michael Hayes and he goes ‘Buddy!’ I’m like ‘Hey Michael what’s up?’ He goes ‘Buddy, it’s too friendly.’ So I’m like maybe I should go back to Murphy. In NXT it was Blake and Murphy, I don’t need Buddy. Maybe because I am this disciple character, and Buddy doesn’t fit. I said ‘Well how about I sacrifice my given name for the greater good?’ Now I am becoming a reborn to Seth. I’m giving away my birth name and I will be known like a number for the greater cause. Next week, I am just Murphy, never explained. The whole idea was I am doing this for Seth and when I leave Seth, I go back to Buddy Murphy. I didn’t like that. They could have explained it a lot. The fact that we are talking about it now, they are questioned that should not have to be answered a year and a half later.”

On the angle with kissing Aalyah Mysterio:

“I wasn’t comfortable kissing Aalyah. I did that because it was my job and it was going to create more drama in the story. Originally, there was no kiss scripted. They [the producers] went and they talked to Vince about something. They come back and they pitch it to me but they are kind of like weird. Then they say ‘…and then you kiss her.’ I start laughing and go ‘f*ck off.’ But then they are like ‘No we are serious.’ I look at the other producer and he was like [nods head]. I’m like ‘No way! How did you come back with this?’ My whole thing was I had to play it very carefully. I said to them ‘I’m not going to express feelings to her. I can’t pursue her, she has to pursue me.’ This was because of the age difference. You don’t make it any easier when you use my birthday as ‘the message.’ So now you have given them [fans] the information of how old is he? How old is she? What? I think them saying ‘Happy birthday’ basically just outed that. I wasn’t comfortable with it, but they didn’t help with the situation. I’m like ‘What does she [Aalyah] think about it’ They go ‘She’s cool with it.’ I’m like ‘What!’ They went to her first, I thought she was going to shoot it down. So then I go ‘What about Rey?’ they say ‘They’re OK with it?’ I’m like well if they are OK with it, I can’t be the one that goes whatever. I was very blunt with them, I can’t pursue her, if I do, I’m a creep. I’m a ‘pedo’ as people say on the internet. If she goes for me, she’s an empowered woman that knows what she wants. I think they sold her on a Hollywood style kiss. I’m not in Hollywood, what’s a Hollywood style kiss? They explain the camera shots. We are live on TV you can’t do these behind the head camera shots. There’s 8 cameras on you, who knows which one they are going to shoot you on. If there’s a gap, the whole thing is done. Seth was nervous about it, because this whole storyline rides on this one kiss. I’m uncomfortable, and she’s new. We are out there and about to cut the promo and I said to her this needs to look good. If you have any second minds, I am giving you the green light. Do whatever you want, it’s 100% you. Do what you need to do, this needs to look good. It looked great, the aftermath wasn’t great for me. But we are both adults, we are both acting, we gave each other a high 5 after it and that was it.”

On troubles for international stars:

“Imagine you had to pack your life up and you had 10 pairs of shoes. You then had to narrow it down to one pair of shoes to bring to your next life. For no reason, for a budget cut. It’s disheartening when you break it down like that. A budget cut could cost me my life, I have dogs, I own a house. I know The IIconics have been very open about it. I think a system needs to come out. They do these programs with substance abuse, there needs to be something with internationals after it happens. You give me money and tools to build a life, and on a budget cut it gets torn up. It’s disheartening. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, at the end of August we will see what is next.”

On the non compete clause and mass releases:

“The 90 days is to kill all buzz and all hype. It’s so you don’t have any momentum when you go somewhere else. I’m not going to blow my load in the first week. I have to expand it over the 3 months. That’s why I drop the progress photo. Then I will drop something else. I feel like they hoard a lot of talent, and now they are saturating the talent. It is a business move I believe they are making. If you send out 3 guys, they can do what they want. If you send out 40 guys, the work gets cut. But wrestling can boom again. Now the pandemic is ending, more talent can go to the indies, and the fans can see it all.”

On the best advice he got in WWE:

“It’s tough, because I used everything, stripped it down and learned. When I would finish a match, I didn’t care about what I did good. What was sh*t? I can fix the bad things and then become better. Seth was massive with this stuff. I would go what about ‘buh buh buh?’ And he would hit back with ‘That sounds good, but what about buh buh buh?’ I would break that down and go why did my mind go A but his go B? Why are we on 2 different wavelengths. I don’t know if I annoyed Seth by asking all these questions. But literally and figuratively I was his disciple. Working with Roman was great because he worked on selling. With the cruiserweights it was so fast, Roman was like slow it down.”

On what he is grateful for:

“For WWE, for Alexa Bliss and the next steps.”

Buddy Murphy can be found on Twitter here and Instagram here.

Featured image: WrestlingWorld.co

Travis Chappell is an entrepreneur and the host of the “Build Your Network” podcast. He joins Chris Van Vliet from his studio in Las Vegas to talk about how anyone can make money from their podcast, tips to book better guests, the secret to getting more downloads, how he has recorded almost 650 episodes of his show, how to bring value to everyone you interact with and much more!

Why he wanted to start podcasting:

“I wanted to make money [laughs]. But I quickly realized you have to change your strategy up because podcasting is not the thing to make money. I was at a position in my life where I was trying to make money online. I just wanted to build a lifestyle for me and my family to make money while I am travelling. At the time, I wasn’t in that position. I am a millennial, if I want to do anything in business, it has to be online. I had no experience or connections, but I had to figure it out. So I started listening to some of the top podcasts on iTunes. When I realized how much they were making I was like wow, I should be a podcaster. I started a show but realized you don’t just zoom up to 1 million downloads a month and make $100,000 a month in 90 days. I had to go back to the drawing board.”

On advice for new podcasters:

“What is the ultimate goal of starting your podcast? Do you have any existing leads or an existing business? Do you work 9 to 5 that you enjoy but you don’t want to do it forever? So you want to leave that and podcast full time in 5 years? Do you want to talk crap with your buddies in the garage? There’s so many different reasons to get into podcasting. I think you should be as clear as you can. You should take stock of the goal every month. If it is still something you want, then you should keep going. After clarity, it is important to find your niche. All the other questions will be ran through the filter of who you are creating the podcast for.”

On the success of Joe Rogan in podcasting:

“Now that he [Joe Rogan] is on episode 1341 people are now finally listening. Also with Rogan he hit the perfect timing in the right market that no one was paying attention to. He was one of the few people that was already a celebrity but became an A-List celebrity through a podcast. There’s a bunch of A-list celebrities that have started a podcast and furthering their audience like Kevin Hart. But there’s not a lot of people who did what Joe Rogan did. Before it was ‘Oh is he the Fear Factor guy?’ He was barely in the limelight, but he exploded in popularity just from his podcast.”

On how to be successful:

“Consistency is everything. The number one killer of shows is lack of consistency. The reason to start a show is like and trust. If the audience can’t trust you to release episodes consistently, how are they going to trust you to do anything else for them. We started at 3 episodes a week, then we moved to four. Now we are at 6 episodes a week that we are releasing. Consistency is super important. I tell people consistent quality content over a long period of time is the key to success.”

On people getting frustrated and stopping their content:

“I understand it. I was 18 months in and doing 3 episodes a week. Also I wasn’t doing the podcast full time, I was working to pay the bills. I understand that perspective. If I didn’t make a commitment to put a certain amount of time in, I probably would have given up on it. It makes sense why people quit. If you are fully committed, it makes sense to throw in the towel when you are 6 months or even 14 months in. You are talking into a microphone and no one is hearing what you are saying.”

On the turning point for his podcast:

“Guests. My big thing was getting guests on the show. For me, the quality content was not going to come from me. It made sense that people were not going to listen to this because of me. They are going to listen to me because I can find guests and ask quality questions. Then report that information back to my audience. You don’t have to be an expert to get started, but you have to get started to become an expert. That was the position that I took and when my podcast took up steam. I was then asked to be on podcasts with people who have big audiences, because they would look at my guest line-up. That gained traction from my show and we built from there.”

On how he books guests for his show:

“We have a 5 step process for getting people for the show. It was done through hundreds of reach outs, lots of rejection and ignoring. But eventually we got a good idea of what it is. The first thing is lead with value. I’m going to say something nice about what someone is up to lately, but it can’t be disingenuous. Number 2 is give information. This person is busy, they don’t say yes to a lot of things. If you ask for their time, you have to give them information in the reach out. If not, you give them homework. Number 3 is build your request. Number 4 is offer credibility. This answers the question of if this will be a waste of time. I write out a list of former guests that is relevant to that person. The last thing is finishing with a thanks in advance, it creates this psychological loop where they want to do it a little bit.”

On the biggest obstacle for him:

“Growth. That was a big thing for a long time. It was so slow it was like a snail or watching grass grow. I was like why isn’t this working? I was going to figure it out eventually, I just didn’t know how. Growing the audience was the biggest obstacle.”

On if people can still make money from podcasting in 2021:

“100%. It’s all about the long term. What are your goals and how will you get there. I believe that in 2021 everyone should have a side hustle, especially if your job doesn’t fulfil you. It’s an outlet that will let you create and will fulfil you. A podcast is a great way to start a side hustle, it’s a lot of fun. You can pick it on a topic you care about, and talk about it with whoever you want to. It’s 100% possible if you are prepared to out the work in. But it better be something you want to talk about in 3 years.”

On what he is grateful for:

“A supportive family, my kids and all the small things.”

More information on Travis Chappell can be found here

Featured image: American Snippets

Jay Lethal is a professional wrestler currently working for Ring of Honor. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about “Best in the World” which is ROH’s first show with fans on July 11. He also discusses how he broke into the business, the difference between working hard and being lucky, his time in Impact Wrestling as “Black Machismo”, working with Ric Flair and the viral “WOOOO off” that they had, the phone call he had with Macho Man Randy Savage before he passed away and much more!

On what has kept him busy while there has been no wrestling:

“Twitch. I have fallen into the Twitch. I stream anything on there, I am not a big Minecraft fan though [laughs]. Among Us is a great game though, it’s a great game of deceit. It’s easy to pass the time. Fall Guys is currently what I am playing. Easy to play but hard to master.”

On the impact of the pandemic and no fans in attendance:

“So here’s the thing. I’m sure I’m not the only one who did this but I put all of my eggs into the wrestling basket. I didn’t have a backup plan, it’s wrestling or it’s nothing. I hope that it isn’t nothing because I don’t want to live on the street. Because all of my eggs were in the wrestling basket, there was sheer panic in my life. I was terrified, because this pandemic had the ability to end wrestling for the foreseeable future. I was terrified, that’s an understatement. Then slowly but surely the shows with no fans became a thing. Wrestling hurts, no ,matter what they tell you. No matter how long you have trained, it hurts. The fans give you a boost of adrenaline, there is no match for it. Wrestling doesn’t hurt until you are back in your hotel room. When the fans are there, you can do this forever. But when they are not there you realize exactly what you are putting your body through. It is not fun. But whether there are 0 fans or 100, I’ve got to be wrestling. For me it’s wrestling or nothing, I am fine doing it either way.”

On how excited he is for fans to return:

“I have the same feeling as you do on Christmas Eve. I get to perform in front of people, I can’t tell you how excited I am.”

On how big wrestling is in his life:

“I have struggled to think of other things I could do. It definitely opened my eyes, especially as I thought COVID would end wrestling. Ever wrestler had to be panicking. We don’t want to think about life after wrestling, because then it’s real. When we wrestle, we can make up this world and control everything that happens. If you were bullied at school, you can go out and be the Macho Man.”

On when his passion for wrestling started:

“I think it was always there. My oldest brother got hurt in the living room wrestling. I can remember in school every report topic was wrestling. When we had lunch we would never eat sometimes. Me and my buddies would bring wrestling magazines and would sit there talking about RAW. In those moments I knew it would be tough to pursue it but that was my dream. The backup plan was going to be a carpenter like my dad. The moment where I realized I wanted to be a wrestler was where we went to a show with my buddies and they said there was this contest. If you won they would train you for free. From that moment on, I always knew I wanted to be a wrestler. When I told my parents, my mom looked like she wanted to say no, but my dad nodded. But they never said no to me once.”

On if there ever interest from WWE:

“So I think working for the WWE for most of the people of my generation, that’s why you go into wrestling. Most of us, along the way your goals kind of change and you realize there are other things besides the WWE. For me it was I can make a living and not have to go to WWE. I didn’t even know that was a thing. It wasn’t [then] but thank God it is now. There was a few times where there was interest, but because of contracts it wasn’t something that I could pursue. Part of me thinks it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Hindsight is 2020 but I became the face of a wrestling company, I was a World Champion. In Ring of Honor it’s like you worked so hard you got that corner office looking out over the water. Who knows what would have happened over there. Now I have that promotion, why would I give that up? I might as well have a big Ring of Honor tattoo on my back because I am going to be there until I die.”

On when people think of Ring of Honor they think of Jay Lethal:

“Every wrestler that is a dream scenario for them. You can get that on some of the smaller indie shows it won’t pay the bills. I have got that and financially pays my bills, so it’s a dream scenario. I have won the lottery, I got the chocolate factory.”

On being called ‘The Franchise’:

“I remember one day they just started calling me the franchise. Right away, because I am such a wrestling historian, I thought of Shane Douglas and thought he is not going to like that. But it was something that was brought onto me from Ring of Honor. I hate for anyone to refer to me as a veteran. We are all on the same playing field, we are trying to make ourselves and this company as big as possible. A lot of people call me captain in the locker room. If they had a vote they have told me I would be the guy. But that’s not me. Being the franchise is not something I said.”

On having imposter syndrome during his first Ring of Honor run:

“I have done so many interviews where they ask me what it was like my first time in Ring of Honor. In my first few years I was terrified. I was wrestling Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, all of the legends. I didn’t even finish training, because my school had closed down before joining. I couldn’t lay out a match because I wasn’t that skilled. Along the way someone thought I could hang here but I couldn’t. I felt like it was only a matter of time before I get exposed and someone goes ‘Hey, what are you doing here.’ That is a description of my first run in Ring of Honor.”

On his time in IMPACT and his view on the promotion:

“How do you mess that up?! That roster was stacked. Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe. We had this great relationship with CMLL, New Japan. They had Okada there for crying out loud. I’m there rubbing elbows with them all. I got to hang out at the bar with Ric Flair.”

On The Black Machismo gimmick:

“I didn’t want to do it originally. This impression was something that I was always able to do. Any time in a locker room if it was too quiet, I would bust out the Randy Savage impression. Kevin Nash would love to hang out with the X-Division guys. I think it’s because we laughed at everything he said. He is so funny, he is the funniest man I have met in my life. I remember one time he said to us ‘If you met me in WCW, you would hate my guts.’ Because he didn’t like the small guys. He heard me do the impression backstage and he said ‘Why don’t you do that on TV, that’s hilarious.’ I go ‘No, I don’t want to do it on TV.’ My fear was I was going to become the joke. No one wants to become the joke, they want to be this badass World Champion. Somewhere along the way, you realize not everyone can be Stone Cold Steve Austin. Everyone has a spot, you just have to realize what your spot is. He got me to realize that.

I also didn’t want anyone to think I was mocking Randy. I idolized Macho Man and Ric Flair. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would have become a wrestler. So I was like I don’t want to make fun of him. Kevin said to me ‘Think of this, no one is talking about The Macho Man right now. If you do this, at least people will be talking about him. If anything you would be helping him.’ With that logic I was like you’re right. I was all for it after that. Nash then went to Jeff Jarrett and Jeff loved it. Jeff said do your impression and I did. When they played it back it sounded just like him. I had never heard it recorded before. That character lasted way longer than I thought it was going to last.”

On Randy Savage’s family reaction to The Black Machismo:

“I became great friends with Lanny Poffo. Here’s a Macho Man story for you. I was doing the shows in the Midwest ran by a man named Ed Schumann. Ed would say to me ‘I know the Macho Man.’ He’s like ‘I know him, I told him about you, he wants you to give him a call.’ Of course there are ribs in wrestling. I thought I would call the number and someone would do a Macho Man impression. I can’t be the only one who can do it. I never called the number. I did the shows with Ed 5 or 6 more times and every time he would say to me ‘Macho Man hasn’t heard from you why haven’t you called him?’ The fourth time I would call him to get this over with and they can all laugh at me. So I called the number and I explained. The guy on the other end kept going [In Macho Man voice] ‘Is that right?’ I go ‘I’m a big fan I’ve been doing this thing on TV.’ [Randy] @I don’t watch too much TV but Ed showed me this thing on YouTube and it’s pretty good.’ [Jay] ‘Yeah I’m a huge fan it’s an honor.’ [Randy] ‘Is that right? Well me and my girl got to get something to eat so I’ll talk to you later.’ When I do the next show, I talked to him. I’m waiting for the ‘We got you!’ But I never heard anything about it.”

“3 years later I meet Lanny Poffo. Someone books me on a show with Lanny Poffo. He is such a cool guy. At the end of the day after I wrestle him I say ‘Hey man, do you know a guy named Ed Schumann.’ He goes ‘Oh Ed Schumann!’ And my heart started pounding too hard. I explained that Ed gave me Macho Man’s number and could he find out if that was actually him. The next day I got an email from Lanny and he said that was Randy. I wanted to cry, I found the number and called him 3 more times. Every time the conversation was only 10 seconds because he was busy. I just didn’t believe it was him. Then he passed away and you have no idea. I just thought I was protecting myself against being made fun of. There is no feeling to describe how I felt. I let that opportunity slip through my fingers because I thought it was a rib.”

On what he would ask Randy Savage if he could:

“There’s so many things. I enjoyed most of his heel stuff as opposed to his good guy stuff. I wanted to become better at wrestling so would ask for his advice. I wanted him to hear me plan a match and go what was good about it and could I try this instead? Because the way his matches came out to me when he was a bad guy was incredible. Him and Triple H, they never have bad matches. The way it is structured, the way it is planned out to me is flawless. I would have asked him to hear me plan this match, and then tell me what I should do and shouldn’t do.”

The Woo-off with Ric Flair:

“If you were to ask me what the scariest moment of my life is, it’s not any near death experience. The scariest moment of my life is that segment with Ric Flair. Vince Russo said to me ‘Bro I got this great idea. You’re gonna have this interaction with Ric Flair.’ Of course the little kid in me is jumping for joy. But then Russo continues ‘But bro, the problem is Ric Flair won’t let anyone write anything for him. When a wrestler goes to the ring for a promo, they have bullet points. But Ric Flair won’t even let us write bullet points. You got to go to Ric Flair and ask him what you want to do in the promo.’ So I go to Ric Flair and I go ‘So we have an in-ring segment, Russo told me to come and get you.’ So I am standing in a locker room, he stands up and says to me ‘I don’t talk about my promos, I’ll see you out there.’ He slaps me on the shoulder and walks out of the room. It was like a movie. In that moment, I was like I think he’s joking but I hope he’s not. I had been in IMPACT for 6 years, and they had never let me cut a promo in front of a crowd live on television. I was doing The Macho Man schtick. All of my promos were pre taped and I was told to say 1,2,3. If I said 1,2,7 in The Macho Man voice, they thought it was funny and they didn’t care. I could say anything in the Macho man voice and they would love it.”

“Going from that to live TV in front of Ric Flair, that was the scariest moment of my life. Literally, I didn’t know what was going to happen. Nothing was planned, before I went out my hands went numb. Simon Diamond said I looked so scared, I said I was. He said ‘You’re only in this position because you have this killer Ric Flair impression backstage. He [Ric] loved it so much that he wanted to work with you. Don’t go out there and do anything you wouldn’t do back here.’ That made me a little better. I knew I had to go out there and pretend to be Ric Flair, he was going to come out and we would go from there. Every promo between us was the same way. It was so terrifying. It panned out and I couldn’t believe it. I don’t want to mess up, and Ric is the best promo guy in the world. The whole woo-off was not planned, none of it.”

On ending The Black Machismo:

“I didn’t [decide to end it], they [TNA] told me it was time. I was just having so much fun. When it was over, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Raven had this joke. He goes ‘So the one thing I noticed, your Black Machismo impression is amazing. Your Ric Flair impression, spot on, it’s great. Your Jay Lethal impression, it needs some work.’ I agreed with him. I was so good at being other people I didn’t know how to be myself. It took a while to figure that out. I just wanted to be a mesh of all the things I thought were great about wrestling. When you watch me you’re watching some Macho Man, some Ric Flair, some Kurt Angle, some of everyone.”

On what he is grateful for:

“That I have a dream job, the fans are coming back and to be alive and healthy.”

Jay can be found on Instagram here and Twitter here.

Featured image: Rolling Stone

Mojo Rawley (Dean Mutadi) is a professional wrestler, entrepreneur, actor, and former NFL player. He joins Chris Van Vliet from Orlando, FL to do his first interview since being released from his WWE contract. He also talks about his NFL career and how a calf injury caused it to end early, going from football to WWE, his friendship with Rob Gronkowski and his brothers, why he didn’t like wearing face paint during his heel turn, winning the Andre The Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania, his role in the new GI JOE movie “Snake Eyes” and much more!

On if he has always been this hyped:

“Yes, since birth I have always been this way. I came out very loud and very obnoxious. Always a pain in the butt. I just decided that’s how I wanted to do things so I just stayed constant through the years. I’m an 11 or 69 out of 10, you got to up the ante.”

On being in the movie Snake Eyes:

“Dude how incredible is that? I had every G.I. Joe toy there ever was and now I am in the movie years later. I couldn’t believe it when I got the call I was so excited. I didn’t think that it was true at first. I just got out of a yoga class and I got this voicemail mentioning it and I’m like your kidding! I was in my zen at that point, so much for that. It was an incredible experience, it was really difficult not saying anything about it for a while. We filmed that a bit ago and now it’s finally coming out. I’m ready to talk about it finally.”

On how he got the role:

“Well apparently the director and one of the producers were on YouTube and they found me on there. It might have been that or a clip on my Instagram. But that’s how it started, just literally seeing a clip and they are like ‘Yep, we want that guy.’ That was it, it was crazy. You never know, everything you put out there what it’s going to lead to. Especially in the wrestling world. You never know which promo is going to get you a push. Now it’s like what social media post is going to get you a movie?! I think it was a wrestling related post that they saw.”

On The Rock also being in a G.I. Joe movie:

“Oh I’m aware of that! I’ve been talking to my friends and family since the movie came out. I’m making sure everyone knows that I am a huge movie star now. The Rock better watch out, because Mojo is coming through.”

On the original airdate for the movie:

“I think it was supposed to come out in July last year [2020] but with everything going on we had to push it back, which was tough as well. But I am also glad, you want to see this in theatres, you want the big screen. I have a home theatre but it’s nothing compared to going to the theatres. I used to love in my football career going to see 2 or 3 movies in a row on my off days.”

On how his WWE try-out came about:

“It was such a strange thing. Rob Gronkowski’s brothers are like brothers to me and his dad is like a dad to me. His dad, Mr Gronk, was college roommates with Mike Rotunda. So I guess they were having a conversation and my name came up. IRS [Rotunda] said that this is a guy we would like to look at. I went to a house show in Buffalo, the boys had a blast. We went to a RAW in DC and met Mr Regal. I also talked with some of the guys to see all things backstage. That was it, they offered me the developmental deal right there on the spot. I had no idea what I was getting into that was it. All of it was based on a phone call I wasn’t on.”

On becoming a WWE Superstar:

“I knew what WWE was as a fan, but I had no idea what the training was going to be like. I didn’t know what becoming a WWE Superstar was going to entail. I came into this thing blind. I was trying to show my personality whilst also trying to be respectful. I wanted to be the first top show up and last to leave. But I didn’t know the best way to get a push, it was just hustle. It gets tricky.”

On his role in the beginning of his NXT run:

“I came in with this personality and my football background. They were really high on me in the beginning, they just needed to teach me a few things and let his hype take care of the rest. I had my first match at a live event 7 weeks after my first day. It was very quick and some people backstage were not happy about that. But there were 7 people in the audience so who cares? They were like this is our opener. Big babyface, gets the crowd hyped. They kept the matches basic because at the time in NXT, the opener was supposed to have a basic match, no false finishes, super generic. All the high spots were saved for the rest of the card. I was stuck in that spot for a long time. I was grateful for the reps but I was pigeon-holed. If you open every show, what a career you will have, but it got tough man. I was seeing some of the guys I started with pass me because I was the opener. I was grateful but I wasn’t being challenged. My first match with a near fall came when I was on the main roster.”

On how his name came about:

“Rob Naylor was a creative assistant at the time. He was like Dusty’s right hand man. He came up with the name and I think he came up with it after a week of knowing me. He said ‘You should be Mojo.’ And I’m like ‘No. Who is going to take a guy named Mojo seriously. That is ridiculous.’ I could not have been more against it. But he explained it to me, told me to take some time and think about it. So I did and I started chopping it up from a marketing perspective. All the crafty marketing too. You meet Mojo one time, you are going to remember it. You know what, lets run with it but tag a real life name on the end. The thought was originally to be just Mojo. I wanted to do ‘Monday Night Rawley’ which of course 30,000 people have already done. The funny thing is we never used Monday Night Rawley. But even after not being with the company, Mojo has still stuck with me.

On if he can use his WWE name now:

“Not Mojo Rawley. But Mojo Muhtadi or Dean ‘Mojo’ Muhtadi. I think I will go with Mojo Muhtadi, but we will iron that out when I resurface again.”

On his plans following his WWE release:

“I want to do everything. Right now, it has been almost 10 years I just put in. You know how the commitment to WWE is, you can’t do anything outside of it. I wart to do anything and everything. I definitely want to wrestle again, but right now I just need a little bit of time for me to get all of my stuff in line. I’ve got a lot of stuff I am working on. I also want to take some time to let my body recover. I mean ask Rob [Gronkowski] he took a year off football and now he could go another 10. Sometimes getting hurt is the best thing that can happen. Your brain can rest up and some nagging injuries can heal up too. You can look at things from a fresh perspective and see what thigs will entail. That is where I am at right now, I am busier now than I ever have been. But I hate resting, so it’s a cool thing. I know it’s daunting leaving that career with the constant pay check and security, but I am loving that freedom.”

On his heel turn:

“I can’t remember whose idea it was. It was mine or Vince’s I think. Zack got hurt and I had my singles run, I had a good stretch there. Zack came back and we teamed up again. Everyone knew we were going to break up because we prefaced it for months. But I don’t I think anyone knew who was going to turn on who. We didn’t really know either. Then the thought came down to have me do the heel turn and I was all for it. I know they wanted me to get as far from the hype persona as possible, they didn’t want me to mention the word hype at all. We had a good run there. I would have preferred if Zack and I could have had our run for a bit. I turned on him, then they aired a dot com exclusive on the breakup. We had our one match on the kick-off on a pay per view. When you are doing a kick-off, you have so many handicaps. You can’t swing for the fences and show people what you got. Me and Zack instead went lets just cut promos on each other on socials. I did one in my garage that got good traction. But that was it, the turn, the kick off match then that was it. I would have loved to do more but it is what it is. As long as you did all you could, that is what will propel you through the years.”

On how the face paint idea came about:

“[laughs] I was so against that. I really didn’t want to do that. But truthfully the sketches didn’t look half bad. I remember thinking I hope when I wear this it looks this cool, it couldn’t be furthest from. I pitched this idea of everyone looks at themselves in the mirror and everyone hypes themselves up. Everyone has that degree of vanity, let me run with it. Let me cut promos where I am berating them for their shortcoming, and you don’t know who I am talking to. You find out later it’s me, and we can take this whole new attitude and run with it. Somehow that lead to me losing my mind and drawing on my face, I don’t know what it became. We literally did one match with that character. Me and Apollo [Crews] were paired together on a Europe tour. I remember I was like 2 and half weeks of everyday working together, we put on some great matches. There was so much that we pitched together. We put on matches that nobody was really expecting out of us and the fans gravitated towards. It’s hard though. You got 2 guys with no TV time going after these guys with established rivalries. But it was in the reports every night. These 2 are onto something, lets give them a run. So they booked Apollo for my debut match in this new run. We were stoked, we were like lets go out and kill it, show them what we got. Then we found out it was a 60 second match that was written out entirely for us. Two and a half weeks, then it’s that, then it’s over. I just painted my face like an idiot for nothing.”

On winning the Andre The Giant Battle Royal:

“I think the plans all went into that [me winning]. I’ve come to learn that when you win the Andre it’s not to start a push afterwards. It’s either the lead in to a great moment sometime, or it’s a reward for a guy who’s been quietly busting his ass and here’s a thank you. It doesn’t always mean that it’s going to amount to a push. I don’t know what their thoughts were at the time, I know they put me on this path to win it, especially in retrospective. Looking at the weeks leading up to that, it made sense that I was going to take it. When I heard that it was probably going to be me, that’s when I had the idea to bring in Robbie G [Rob Gronkowski] and just hype it up even more. I always try and focus on big picture. I can do this myself and people are going to look at it as an average Andre moment. Or we can make it bigger than it is and get it out to more eyes and make it a bigger moment. They moved it to the pre-show, which a lot of people were upset about. But the pre-show was on cable, the pay per view was on the network, the pre show gets more views by a mile than the network did. I was looking at it as a plus all around. But then afterwards they didn’t know what to do. I think I was doing some strange promos with kids or something.”

“Honestly I think that was what my whole career boiled down to. It’s we got this guy, he is perfect for this one spot, high energy, hyped up dude. We are going to put him in this space and we don’t know what to do with him after. I remember meeting with Vince one time, I felt pretty boosted after it. He sat me down and went ‘Alright, you may be one of the best athletes in the company. You may be one of the strongest in the company. You have one of the best attitudes and one of the best work ethics.’ He literally went down the list of all these superlatives where I was number one or top three. Then he was like ‘We’ve just got to figure out what to do with you.’ I remember thinking to myself I think you just said it. How do we not use that? There are so many things you could do with it. But you never know what’s going on behind the scenes. All you can do is work your butt off. I was pitching things constantly, very seldom does that come to anything if at all.”

On if he thought he would survive this round of cuts:

“Truth be told there’s some other stuff going on there. All I can say is I’m grateful to have been with the company as long as I was. I mean putting in almost a decade, that’s a hell of a run. Truthfully I am happy it happened. It was time for a change. Sometimes you never want to be the one to necessarily initiate that, but you needed it to happen. It was a thought that was going through my head for a while. Let’s give this another year or two, if this amounts to nothing, or very little, then yeah it is time for a change. I am going to turn 35 shortly. If I am thinking about starting another industry, the more you wait, the less is on the table. I got pigeonholed a lot as being this big hyped up guy that very much did a lot outside of the ring.”

“I was one of the few guys they used for the community service drives. There aren’t a lot of guys in the company that can do those. I know that Titus O’Neil is the poster boy for that stuff. Honestly in my opinion I think Titus is one of the top 3 most valuable people in all of WWE. I know that might come of a shock to some people, but we got tons of guys that can wrestle. Almost everyone on the roster can put on a hell of match. But how many guys can go out there and make change and bring in a new fanbase from all of the promos that he does. There is no one that does more in that space than Titus. I felt like I was used for both, but again, sometimes those guys don’t get the big Roman Reigns career. But sometimes change needs to happen, whether it comes from you or them.”

On what he is grateful for:

“The opportunity to be living, family and friends and this interview with the main man CVV!”

Mojo Rawley can be found on Instagram here and Twitter here.

Featured image: The Sportster

Ted DiBiase Jr. is an entrepreneur, actor, former wrestler and the son of WWE legend “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about his new marketing and branding company called “16 Creative”, growing up as the son of the legendary Million Dollar Man, why he decided to leave WWE in 2013, how being a father has changed him, being semi-retired from wrestling, starring in The Marine 2 and much more!

On people assuming he would have a rich lifestyle because of his dad:

“Far from that bro. Yeah it was a gimmick I wish it was real, that would be nice. When you are down there, the microscope is a lot bigger. My dad was not only a former professional wrestler but a legend. He’s a Hall of Famer, so there’s big shoes to fill. There’s self expectations that you place on yourself, and then that feeling, whether it’s there or not, what the fans expect from you. And the desire to carve out your own name and legacy and to improve yourself, that’s a long story.”

On raised expectations due to his name:

“Personally I feel like they are, that’s a personal opinion. But yeah you want to do justice to the legacy, when that torch is passed and you are trusted with the opportunity and to be blessed with the opportunity. But yeah they give you time and pay a lot of money on these networks to deliver, and in a short time. The difference was my dad had I don’t know how many years in Mid-South and in the territories leading up to his career in WWF. Whereas for me, I trained for a year in Elden, had 4 months in Japan and when I get back WWE hires me. A year later I am debuting on TV. It’s about 2 years in the making and then here I am a WWE Superstar. And my dad introduces me May 26th 2008 I believe it was in Denver Colorado. I felt the pressure big time that night for sure.”

Did he want to follow in his dad’s footsteps growing up:

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. There was a period where I just didn’t think it was gonna be a possibility. He was pretty adamant about us not wrestling. That was due to a lot of road life and his focus on having a family when he shifted out of the business. That focus on having a family became more his faith and became more important than being a global icon. But when you’re watching your dad wrestle Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant at Madison Square Garden, it’s like watching Batman and Superman go at it. Of course I wanted to be like him.”

On if he has retired:

“I’ll say yeah. As of today I’ll say yes, but if somebody called me, I’d be totally lying if I said there wasn’t an itch. I can still go, I just like to keep doors open and don’t burn bridges. If you’re going to burn one then blow it up. My connection to that world, at times it’s like being married. Sometimes it’s this love-hate relationship. No it’s hard, but it’s such a deep routed piece of who I am and what I come from being a 3rd generation wrestler. My grandfather and grandmother were wrestlers, then my father so you know. I leave that door open, but it would have to be the right scenario for me to get in the ring again.”

On why he left WWE:

“I was offered another 5 year deal. It was generous, but when it came down to it I was battling some things internally. There were some mental health issues. I was going through depression and anxiety, and also being a new father. I just knew. What I didn’t have growing up, although I had this iconic father I love dearly, he wasn’t at my birthdays. He also wasn’t there for my football or soccer games. I believe the greatest asset we have in our world is time. You’re not guaranteed more and you can’t get it back. That was one of the greatest gifts I could give my son. With no plan I left and we are doing good. I thought I was going to wrestle and have a long career, but I really believe it’s not what we do that defines us but who we become along the way. I spent a lot of time while I was there trying to climb the ladder. But I realized that’s not who I am. My core values are faith, family, love, wisdom, service, in that order. I was dying internally and losing sight of who I was. I love helping and serving people, and also entertaining people. To be able to walk into a hospital or a base and bring a smile onto the face of a family or a veteran, that was such a blessing.”

On saying no to WWE:

“There really wasn’t a lot of back and forth. I think at that time in my career it was kind of part of me thinking I was just going to come back. I was going to figure this out, but that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t the usual best of luck in your future endeavours. I quit on YouTube or Twitter, I did a video and announced [I was leaving]. I just wanted to be me, I wanted to let people know how grateful I was and let WWE know how grateful I was. Also, I was walking out on my own accord for personal reasons. There wasn’t any back and forth. There’s tons of guys sitting in the wings waiting to take that spot. That’s what makes this industry hard to get into and even harder to hang onto.”

On what he is doing now:

“I launched Combat Veterans with a couple of buddies of mine. It’s also majority veteran owned. I love those guys, they are mission minded like me. They are always seeking significant living. You learn how to define what success is for you. For me, that is serving and serving alongside guys that served for our country. It’s really to serve guys like my father. When you leave WWE, which is this global conglomerate multi billion dollar marketing machine. Minus the work you do in the ring, everything is done for you. When you leave, it’s good luck in your future endeavours. The average life of a wrestler is 5 years. A lot of guys don’t plan for life after wrestling. We’ve got subsidiary collections as part of 16 creative. There’s the wrestling collection and the military collection. We are getting NFL legends soon too. It’s helping these old timer legends too. We are building a community where they can engage with their fanbase and take care of their families. It’s creating a legacy and an insurance policy. When they pass, their legacies will live on for their families.”

On his identity now:

“I am a father first and a husband. I’m a child of God, I love the lord with all of my heart and soul. I’m a serving leader, I am not serving myself anymore. The motto ‘Mission minded, purpose driven, always seeking significant living.’ That’s my motto for life. Those core values faith, family, love, wisdom, service, is how I base my decisions now. Instead of chasing luxuries of the world, for me it’s about what am I passing onto my kids. When I die, I want people to say he wasn’t perfect but that’s what he was striving for.”

On what lesson he learned from his time in WWE:

“Never stop growing and never stop learning. I think my time with Legacy, I can look back at how focused I was. It wasn’t that I stopped, but I got comfortable. What it took to get to the WWE was this insane focus and mental grind. Then you get there and for 2 years I show up and I’m in 3 segments. All night long we are opening and closing the show. We were main eventing all of the overseas tours and I was having the time of my life. The second we had that match at WrestleMania 26, Michael Hayes asked me what do I want to do next? I’m like that’s your job. We had all of these promos and storylines, but there was nothing planned for after that day. You can always live out a mission. If I can’t serve someone who is needy, I can serve my wife or my son. If I’m constantly serving myself, it is easy to get distracted from what really matters. When they said what do you want to do next, I should have had a book of ideas. I got dependent on the system.”

On if The Million Dollar Man’s laugh is the same in real life:

“A little bit, it is that loud. If we are at a restaurant and I go to the bathroom, I hear a laugh and I know who that is. That signature laugh is so iconic, there’s nobody else that has that. I was like I think we need to trademark this, we are trying to figure that out.”

On bringing back the Million Dollar Championship:

“That started with WWE. I think that was one of the things that felt like a downfall. You go from up here to working the dark matches. That was probably a test. But I just never owned that, because there was that part that was this is my dad. That was stupid on my part, because this is entertainment. I should have owned it, made the most of it and be as authentic as you can. I think I had some subconscious barriers that kept me from getting into that character or developing that character. When you don’t know who you are, or feel separated from that character, it does not come off well.”

On if he would let his kids wrestle:

“Oh man. I’m gonna support whatever they do I believe in that, and giving them the proper instruction. Also positioning them for the greatest success they can have, whatever that is. I would want to know if it’s something they are really passionate about or if it’s chasing fame or money. Those things are fleeting and it isn’t a good reason. I remember my dad told me ‘You’re not going to be a wrestler. Over my dead body.’ I’m not going to do that to my kids. My daughter wants to be a diva, oh man. She is 3 and I am already struggling. If some punks around I’m answering the door in my boots and Speedos. I’ll show him highlights of me beating up John Cena.”

On his work with children:

“Before I left to go and wrestle, I did a lot of mission trips and it was really about serving people. It’s not a façade it’s what I love to do. That’s the part of not what we do but what we do with what we have been given. I’ve not been given a platform to just be happy and just be selfish. The greatest joy I get is taking a kid, or 300 of them and put together a week long camp. Some of these kids, underprivileged is not the right word. They have been abused, neglected and homeless. To put them into a safe environment and teach them that they have value, that is priceless. There is nothing in return except seeing them smile and knowing someone has their back. To me that is fulfilling and that is happiness.”

On what he is grateful for:

“My faith, my family and friends and our health.”

Ted DiBiase Jr can be found on Twitter here.

Featured image: WWE

Warren Tuttle is an entrepreneur, the president of the board of directors for the United Inventors Association and the author of the book “Investor Confidential: The Honest Guide to Profitable Inventing”. He joins Chris Van Vliet from his home in New Canaan, Connecticut to talk about how new products are created, the process of bringing an invention to market, how “Shark Tank” has changed the way we think about products and much more!

On some of his inventions and launches:

“Well I haven’t created all of them but I have been involved in launching them. I did a product called MISTO, which is an olive oil sprayer. That was my first real mission with an inventor 20 years ago. Since then I have launched Cool Towels, you wet them and they drop in temperature to cool you off. I launched the Nespresso coffee systems, I didn’t invent them but I did launch them.”

On how an idea becomes your own:

“I’m sort of old school. It’s great to have an idea, but it’s what you do with it next. It’s not unlike the music business to get to the top, it’s not easy. Then to take that idea and try to sell it and make money from it. You have to take that idea and develop it. We make prototypes and see what is mechanically different to it than anything that has come before it. We then file patents to protect the product. Until you register your idea, you don’t own it.”

On the timeline from idea to patenting:

“I usually look at the timeline from when they bring it to me to when they get it to market. It’s all up to the individual, but I say before you think about patents, you need to vet the marketplace. That’s easy today with companies like Amazon, in the old days I would say go out to the stores. But you really need a month or two to see what is out there and do the due diligence. You then want to develop the prototype, but then that depends on how many iterations you want to make. The first one may take a month or two to build, but then you keep developing it over time. It isn’t an overnight process. By the time you get it ready and hire the patent attorney, you are talking 6 months to a year. But some inventors take years to figure out all of the kinks. It is not an easy process.”

On what his area of expertise is:

“I specialise in housewares, hardware and direct response television. I’m really up to speed on those categories. When someone brings me an exercise equipment or a medical device, I’m not as up to speed. I’m looking for something that is totally different to anything I know about. I get so many submissions over the years, is this different? If it catches my attention, is it functional? Does it work? All these things go through my head, is it novel? Can it be built properly? Can it be made a success?”

On if anyone could be an inventor:

“I don’t think anyone could, but I think a lot of people can. You have a leg up if you have engineering schools or at least an appreciation for engineering. Some people have those maker skills to do it yourself. If you have that background, things can come easier to you. But if you have ideas and ways to improve life, that also helps. Combining those things is a bit tough, but I think it takes people who are persistent. But also the flip side is hanging on too long and blowing your money. Maybe 10 could become inventors if they worked at it.”

On people who think they have a great idea but in reality it is not:

“I’ve been there. I developed a self stirring device for cooking. I actually developed two. Then I sold one to Bed Bath & Beyond for a higher price and one to Walmart for a lower price. But I didn’t sell any. The high end chefs didn’t want help with stirring ad the low end chefs use microwaves. So I failed at that and I learned from it. I went down that road you described. I had so much success from MISTO that people were betting on me and my success. Someone at a trade show a few years later actually unveiled a saucepan stirrer. I said to him ‘I’ve been there, please rethink this.’ But if you don’t put passion in there, you won’t get there. It’s just a case of knowing when to stop.”

On what he is grateful for:

“My mom, my wife and my daughters.”

Featured image: Tuttle Innovation.

More information on Warren Tuttle can be found here.

Bianca Carelli is a professional wrestler and the daughter of WWE legend Santino Marella. She joins Chris Van Vliet from her home in Mississauga, Ontario to talk about her pro wrestling career, what she has learned from her father, her WWE tryout, career goals, majoring in Biology, her favorite books, competing in pageants, and much more!

On original education plans:

“I wanted to be a brain surgeon. I was doing a medical science degree with a major in neuroscience, and I was very interested in it. But then I started thinking more about real life, I was 19 at the time. I was thinking about the hours you put in and the stress. How would that balance with family life and would I be OK with the stress of that? Yes I can put in the work, but am I going to enjoy my life? Time flies by and you only have one life. I want to spend that enjoying the moments. I don’t want to be 24 hours on call and seeing some very sad things. It didn’t fit with me.”

On shifting from brain surgery to wrestling:

“I mean they do seem different in theory but they are very similar. Anything you want to do, you need to put full effort in and you need to be disciplined. Reading your textbooks, meeting the deadlines and having that discipline carries over into the gym. You wake up, get the workouts done and have the meals planned. If cardio is weaker, I need to do more drills. There is repetition involved and lots of practise. It just comes down to how much energy you want to invest into it.”

On when she realized how famous her dad was:

“I actually have a specific memory. I lived in Milton for a few years of my childhood, like 12 to 16. My dad got a place nearby in Milton too. One day he picks me up and we go to the Milton mall, which is the smallest mall ever. So we were walking through the mall and someone yells ‘Santino! Santino!’ I was like [confused expression] him? My dad? Someone recognized you? It was the first time that someone had recognized him and it was in a small place too, which was weird. It was cool but after a while I was like I want my dad back. That started happening more often, I get that it comes with the business. You have to make time for the fans. It took some getting used to but it was cool.”

On Santino not being Italian:

“Yeah that’s a very weird thing because you expect him to speak and for this accent to come out. But it’s just regular Anthony from Mississauga. [Chris asks if Santino would speak in his real voice] yeah he would always take pride in saying he was from Mississauga. For him it was always about being from Canada. We love Canada, and to be Canadian that is proud to be Canadian where no one knows your Canadian is kind of strange.”

Did Santino do the accent around the house:

“My dad has always done accents around the house. Just being very strange and very funny. He definitely had that accent in his back pocket, but it wasn’t polished. When I hear it I think it’s hilarious. He was definitely put on the spot with that one.”

The first time seeing Santina:

“Honestly all I remember is I was having a sleepover when I was 9 or 10. I went into my dad’s room. I looked at the floor and there was pink Converse, fishnets, a giant pink skirt and a corset. My friend goes ‘What is that?’ I go ‘Oh it’s my dad.’ My friend was very confused as to why my dad would have giant women’s clothing. It was cool to see his acting, I must say I think he played a great woman. Not a pretty woman though. I definitely was surprised at first, I was like what is he doing? But it was a great opportunity for him to show his diversity. My father really is a great entertainer.”

Bianca’s dad’s reaction to her wanting to become a wrestler:

“He was actually really supportive. I think it’s because we have these similar personalities. Basically, he figured that this was something that worked well for him and he loved. He felt like I would love this as well, because he really enjoyed it and wanted me to have the chance to experience it too. He knows how I can feed off a crowd and make people laugh. Also, he knew it would make me happy.”

On her WWE try-out:

“So I’m not sure how everyone got selected. I believe my dad put forward some of the students at Battle Arts at the time. That was exciting, I knew for months. I was training and at that time I hadn’t had a lot of actual wrestling experience. I think I went into that try-out with 13 matches. But my psychology in the ring and my athleticism I felt was competitive. So you are planning your outfit, you are excited and you’re nervous. When I get there it was totally cool. It was breath-taking. As soon as you walk into the venue, it was just overwhelming. The brand recognition and the colors used. There was a lot of black and silver, darkness and red. It was a very intimidating marketing bombardment. It was really cool, it made you feel like you want to be a part of this. But It was only 2 days, so my biggest thing was I wish I had more time to show how much heart I have. I wanted to show my inner savage. I’ve only had 13 matches but I will fight and I will show my heart. I know that any chance I had to show what I got I did it. Obviously it wasn’t quite enough to get me there, but that did not discourage me.”

Feedback from the try-out:

“A lot of it was keep working and get more experience. I know my mic skills are pretty solid, it was really just the wrestling aspect of things. Just to get more comfortable with the wrestling aspect of things. Unfortunately though because of Coronavirus, that got put on pause for me, which was unfortunate. Last year, when Coronavirus hit, I had so many matches lined up. It was unfortunate that it happened, so I had to find other ways to improve. I studied my own matches, stayed in shape and thought of ways to rebrand myself.”

On her current character:

“So right now I come off as entitled, arrogant, rude, condescending, obnoxious, dramatic. I am a very dirty fighter, extremely unlikeable. It’s very fun for me, I thrive off of the boos. There were a few matches where I came out like a babyface, but you have to be a lot more vulnerable. But what if they don’t like me, it’s awkward. I think it’s easier to not be likeable than it is to be likeable.”

On future goals:

“I want to be in Florida wrestling as a career. It would be nice to be with one of the major companies. I also want to do something that advocates for the environment, which is a huge passion of mine. It was trendy for a while but people stopped caring. I really want to work with children and inspire children. Of course I want to main event WrestleMania but I think every wrestler would say that.”

Advice from her father:

“It’s going to sound like a Nike ad but just do it! I tend to over think things too much. His thing is more don’t think about it, just do it. I tend to be more how do I do this thing if I don’t know how. I had to get over that. Now I just do that, if I mess up I do it again until I get it right. The same thing carries over into life. If I get knocked down 9 times I get up 10. Failures leads to successes.”

On what she is grateful for:

“This life, the experiences that have forged me and my health.”

Bianca can be found on Twitter here.

Featured image: Twitter

Sean Waltman, aka X-Pac, is a 2-time WWE Hall of Famer and host of the Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast. He joins Chris Van Vliet for an in-person interview in Los Angeles, CA to talk about his legendary career, being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, his role in the NWO and DX, his friendships with Triple H, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, being Kane’s tag team partner, his reaction to the term “X-Pac Heat” and much more!

On the origin of the name X-Pac:

“It’s just a name I made up. So when I came to WCW, Eric Bischoff named me 6. People were like what does that mean. Well one plus two plus three equals six. I still don’t really know the answer to that. I don’t remember Eric ever confirming where he got it from. But everyone asked me did I ever think I would have a name to do with numbers. But long story short, Hulk would call me six pack, after a six pack of beer. Then the guys from the younger generation changed it to Pac. So it was six-PAC. When I left, Vince was trying to figure out a name for me. He knew I didn’t want to be called kid anymore. He goes ‘Well what if we called you The Man?’ This was before Becky Lynch by the way. I’m like [sucks teeth] I’m not really feeling it man. But he would throw out ideas, and if you weren’t a fan of it, you wouldn’t hurt his feelings.”

On getting recognized by people:

“I look like X-Pac in 2021 but not necessarily X-PAC in 1999. People do still recognize me at the grocery store and things like that. But they are not sure. They are like ‘I think that’s him.’

On possibly becoming a 3 time WWE Hall of Fame inductee:

“I would be very grateful, but it’s not something that I am actively hoping for. [Chris mentions Sean would be the first three time inductee] I don’t think that they are going to let that happen. How can I be a three time Hall of Famer and Ric flair is only two times? Come on man. I’m just being honest here.”

On being inducted as an NWO member:

“There are others out there that deserve to be inducted for being a part of the NWO as much as me. So I am grateful. Big Show, Randy Savage, I’m thinking of the guys that were like the NWO crew when I was there. Then there was [Scott] Norton and [Buff] Bagwell People here may not understand their contributions, but over in Japan they were crushing it.”

On how the jump to WCW came about:

“Originally I was supposed to be the first member. When we all jumped, I was the one that started it. I was out here training and recovering from injuries. I was training at Gold’s Gym and I met with Barry Bloom. So Barry told me that Eric had opened up his chequebook and was going to sign some people. I was definitely interested, because I wasn’t main eventing and I wasn’t making much money. So we were talking and I got on the phone and called Scott [Hall], and that set the whole thing in motion.”

Why didn’t he sign with Nash and Hall:

“It never got that far. The contracts back then, when you didn’t give 90 days notice, the contract rolls over. I f*cked up the timing on my 90 day notice and it had already passed. So we had this big long tour, it was Scott and Kevin’s last Europe tour. We got back from the tour and I was really bummed out, because they were leaving. I was in the doghouse, because they knew I was the one that instigated all of this. I was already having substance issues, I had a reputation for it. Then I overdosed in a production meeting and they sent me to rehab. I made sure I took a handful of pills before I sat in the production meeting.”

On people seeing his career as 3 different characters:

“A lot of people look at it that way, but I’ve always just considered it a name. These were just different versions of me at different points in my life. But now I am a long way from the debauchery of the 1999 X-PAC that said suck it! As a person I have evolved and grown. But at the time I was very similar to my character. All that notoriety, I leaned into that.”

On not drinking and substance issues:

“By the time I got back to WWE I didn’t really touch alcohol. I occasionally had a sip. I didn’t consider it to be the main problem, that was the pharmaceuticals. When you mix them with alcohol, it goes hand in hand, which it shouldn’t! I never did that sh*t before I went to WWF. When you’re using them, you need to start taking more because of the tolerance. At one point I was buying bottles of 500 and taking various amounts a day, not quite as bad as Kurt though. I would maybe take 8 or 10.”

On some of his greatest moments as a wrestler:

“Me personally, things like standing across the ring from Ric Flair, being in there with Hulk, guys like that. My heroes became my friends, how many people can say that. I knew I wanted to be a wrestler after seeing my first live wrestling match at 10 years old. It was Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes for the NWA title. I was 15 when I started training, I wasn’t much shorter than I am now. I probably weighed about 150lbs. Also I was 16 for my debut match, I’ve been wrestling most of my life.”

On an unfortunate injury:

“I missed a bronco buster on Jerry Lynn’s retirement match. I’ve done the move a million times, but the turnbuckle was exposed a bit. The threads of the turnbuckle literally ripped my asshole. I had to have surgery, I was bleeding out. After the match, I knew I was bleeding. You can see me say ‘I tore my f*cking asshole.’ But there was an afterparty, it was Jerry’s retirement. I just put some sweats on over my gear. The gear held everything together. During the afterparty, I sprung a leak. I’m like uh oh. When I took everything off, the bathroom was covered in blood. I called an ambulance and I started getting dizzy. It was a serious loss of blood. I had to have emergency sphincter-plasty surgery. I’m cracking jokes and they are like don’t do that because it is hard to perform surgery when you are laughing.”

On a possible comeback:

“If I’m planning to do another match again I got to be in shape. I’m not making a rule of I’m done, I don’t put that sh*t on myself. It’s just that I’m not planning this big one more run. I am still under a legends contract with WWE. It so they can use my likeness and put me on their merchandise. I still get residuals, but I’m not sure what my cut of NWO at DX merch is. When WWE went public, I got stock options. I had to hold onto them for like a year, and cashed them out when I needed the money. Certain situations in my life I needed the money.”

On a match he didn’t like:

“I hated the crybaby match with Scott. That’s an example of me being in the doghouse. Usually when someone leaves the company, they put someone over on the way out. Scott is leaving the company, they still put him over and they put a diaper and a bottle on me.”

On the phrase ‘X-Pac heat’:

“It was around the time when the term started making its rounds. It was just an internet thing. There was a certain segment of the wrestling fan community had enough. I get it, actually I don’t know if I do. I mean we are talking about it’s not the same as the boos. The chatter on the internet, the reactions I am getting were not indicative of the X-Pac heat. The go away heat is when you’re busting your ass and they are not making a noise. It was just 2 different things going on at the same time. I’m almost 50 years old, I can’t let sh*t like that [bother me].”

On what he is grateful for:

“My dog, my support system, my relationship with my kids and my health.”

Featured image: Wrestling News.CO

Sean can be found on Twitter here

Sean’s podcast Pro Wrestling 4 Life can be found here.

Mickie James is a professional wrestler and country singer. She talks to Chris Van Vliet from her home in Nashville, TN about her recent WWE release, her new role with the NWA and working as the Executive Producer for the all women’s Pay Per View event called “Empowerrr”, what her husband Nick Aldis thought about her being released, her country music career, her new single called “Grown Ass Woman”, her podcast with SoCal Val and Lisa Marie Varon called “GAWTV” and much more!

On being an executive producer in NWA:

“It’s a really cool space. Obviously it means I am in charge and a co-promoter or whatever you want to call it with Billy [Corgan]. The fact that Billy believes in me enough to give me the NWA umbrella to kind of build this thing, which was something I kind of wanted to do for a long time. I think we have the potential to do some really cool stuff there and I’m just grateful to be able to shine a light on women’s wrestling. I we do a lot of that but we have so many shows out there that it’s really cool. I know I am not a pioneer there has been a ton of women’s wrestling shows. But for television women’s wrestling it’s a different space. I’m very excited.”

On the role being called executive producer in wrestling:

“It was ironic that Billy chose that title. I said to him you that a lot of people aren’t going to understand what executive producer means. They just hear producer and they go ‘Oh yeah, she’s going to help put the show together.’ But no, the responsibility is completely on my shoulders. I am so grateful that Billy trusts me to put that responsibility on my shoulders to create this brand. This is my little baby thing. I’d like to put a space together of women who have been there, done that, got the t-shirt and knows what it takes to make money in this business. I only had a handful of people to help me with that. Once I had that core group of women, I grew so much so quickly. It’s nice to be able to help to provide that platform for girls.”

On whether Mickie plans to be on the show:

“I’m not a mark, I’m not going to sit there and book myself on top of my own show. Who does that? Everybody does that don’t they? That’s how wrestling works. I don’t have any intention of working on the show. I’ll probably come out and say hello, but I really want to focus on the show. I want this show to be a success, and I’m going to be in Gorilla on the headset running and talking. I can’t perform that job to the best of my abilities and be out there wrestling at the same time. I just feel like it blurs the lines. I’m not saying I won’t wrestle. And I am an independent contractor, I can show up anywhere and do all kinds of things. I can still wrestle and I’m pretty good at it.”

On the biggest changes in women’s wrestling since she started:

“I feel like it has all gone through ebbs and flows. I watched women in the industry and it’s always done this kind of we take it seriously then it’s right back down to bra and panties. Then it’s back about the wrestling and we go back down and it’s Divas. Then we take it back up and now it’s about the wrestling again. There is a ripple but it’s not like the roller coaster it was. I think that everyone at every company has stepped up in developing their women’s division. But honestly they have no choice, because the women are so good now. Before, you might have had only a handful of good female talent. Now, there’s an ocean of female talent out there that can go, that’s the real difference maker. I think that’s a testament to all that groundwork and all that pavement treaded by every single female before us. It has taken us a long time to get to that space where people go ‘No, Women’s wrestling kicks ass.’

On being trained different to the men:

“No because I only trained with men. There wasn’t any females in my training class. It wasn’t until I was about a year and a half in the business except for the girlfriend [of the male talent], but she was a manager. She didn’t really go through the training, she was just coming out with her boyfriend on the shows. There wasn’t a whole lot of women training to be a wrestler. If anything it was training to be a valet or something like that. So I was only training with men. I had to learn to work and train like the guys, because that’s who were teaching me. It took me a minute to go I need to throw in my female-isms. That was what made me different. There is a real art to be able to go like the boys, but remembering you are a female and throwing those aspects in. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a fight but men and women fight different. Men don’t go clawing at the eyes or snatching weaves. Women are nasty when they fight, they get vicious. That’s the unpredictability about us.”

On the biggest shift in women’s wrestling:

“The Women’s Wrestling Matters movement. I think that was the big shift and the awakening moment of that awareness moment. I feel like there had been some ground-breaking stuff before that. Whether it was Lita and Trish main eventing RAW or Trish and I at WrestleMania. That was a cool story. I felt like there was always a swelling. But it was like we give them a little bit, then we take it away. But with the movement I felt like they were trying to take it away and people were like ‘No! This is not cool. This is a new age on how we see women.’ I felt like that was a step up for every company on how they presented women and they started taking them seriously.”

On being surprised at being released:

“I think that surprised is a word that is thrown around. I don’t think I am ever surprised at anything. It’s hard to have expectations, because nothing ever goes according to your plan. But I thought I would wrap my career there [WWE]. I was so grateful to be able to go back and wrap up my story and bow out in a good graces kind of way. I felt like the first time I left was on such weird terms. And I did some amazing stuff when I came back. But it wasn’t shocking, because I was kind of in this space where I felt it kind of coming. I can’t explain why but I just did, and it felt disheartening. It was disappointing more than anything.”

On comparing this release to the first time:

“I have been through a lot more since that time. Also I think that the Mickie James from 2010 was in a very weird space. It’s crazy to think that after the amount of success I had there, but I also had a lot of personal stuff going on and it really started to affect me. I was burning the candle at both ends and all of my eggs were in the wrestling basket. I only valued myself according to how the company valued me. I was young, hungry and I loved it, I would do anything for it. There was that crazy, wrestling obsessed mindset where I was just happy to be there. So when that was taken from me, I was devastated. When IMPACT called me, I said to Dixie Carter I have no desire to do anything right now. But she kept calling me and Kurt Angle called me. Kurt was the one who convinced me. No disrespect to Dixie, I love her she is awesome. But I knew Kurt from WWE, it was an honest reality check for me. To get his perspective was really cool. It opened up my eyes. This time I was more disappointed. Now we know how the business works and wrestling is not my absolute everything.”

Did Mickie’s belongings arrive in a trash bag back in 2010:

“It did. This is the crazy thing, I posted that picture to kind of go yeah this still a thing. We have put up with so much crap in wrestling that we had become desensitized. We live in our own world and I forgot that the trash bag was offensive. There was more to that too. I rewound back to the 2010 Mickie James, where I was mentally then when it happened the first time. It was like a stab in the heart to an open wound. I took it then as they think I am trash. I was with the company for 4 years, and they think I am trash. All these thoughts were running though my head. If you are already broken, they can be devastating. I am thinking about all of that and all the people who also got released beside me. I see my name on the bag and it defines which bag is in which box. I’m thinking about the girls and they wouldn’t say anything, because you don’t want to mess up an opportunity for the future. But this Mickie James don’t give a sh*t. I am super grateful for my career and my ability, I couldn’t do it without WWE.”

On possibly not posting the picture:

“I did think about not doing it. I was getting ready for the photoshoot for my new song. The box then arrived, I got 2 boxes. One arrived after the photoshoot. But I am getting ready and the box arrives, I open it and really? I’m not trying to come off as being bitter. I don’t want to be the trash bag lady. But I am grateful that no one else will get that. This recent set of releases are getting theirs in Gucci [laughs].”

On other frustrations:

“Yeah I don’t think me getting my stuff in a trash bag was the point. I would say it was on par with everything I have tried in the last 2 years of my career. I tried everything in my space to pitch, I felt like I was cut off at every turn. There was a lot of thing that happened in the last 2 years that really made me feel that I was being humbled along the way. No you don’t deserve a retirement match. I wasn’t upset at being a producer, I love to help younger talent. I don’t want to wrestle forever either. This run was going to be my last run. All I wanted was this one moment, I didn’t want to win the championship. I just wanted to bow out gracefully, but I felt like there was zero interest. But then trying different thing like commentary or trainer in NXT. It’s not that people don’t like women’s wrestling, it’s that it is too much for the company. There was an opportunity to capitalize on the movement, but instead it was ehh.”

On being considered too old, despite men the same age being in the top spots:

“It isn’t fair, but I think it has always been a culture when I first came on. It was when you are 35, women are done. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I have been relevant on TV for the last 15 years. I am all about building towards the future, but you can’t sh*t on your former champions and the history that was made. Maybe it’s because I am a wrestler and I look at it like a fan. I am up on what is relevant in 2021. J’LO is one of the sexiest women and she is 50. We don’t look at age like that anymore, but wrestling has been late to the party. I couldn’t wrap my head around and find it funny that I’m given a walker. It’s bullsh*t and it’s not funny. I was offended and I said I was. But I am a professional and as a pro you go fine and lets see what the people say. 9 times out of 10 I was right, but it’s already happened. I had to do it just to prove a point. I feel like you should trust me to know I am not an idiot. I am looking at it through the lens of our audience.”

On thinking about life after wrestling:

“I thought about that before I went back the first time. That’s when I was all in on music. I had walked away from IMPACT and didn’t want to go back. I wasn’t against it but there was some weirdness there. I was sitting there with Nick [Aldis. Mickie’s husband] and I didn’t want to end my career on the indies. I didn’t want it to be my retirement, but maybe just do the appearances. But I didn’t want to slowly fizzle away like Randy the Ram from The Wrestler. But maybe it was time. WWE were not interested and the only other option was Ring of Honor. That felt like a step backwards. I am not a person that goes backwards or sideways, it’s always up. So I am like it’s next chapter time. But that was when I got the call to go back, which is ironic.”

On living in Nashville and wanting to make music:

“Because I have been living at home for a while through this pandemic, music kept me sane. I just need to keep writing. But there is so much music, not just country either. We are also getting a lot of people moving from Los Angeles. There are people from all walks of life here. There’s country music, rock music, rap music. People still say madam and sir too. But I have been doing this for 10 years now, I’m no longer the wrestling girl who is trying to do music.”

On what she is grateful for:

“My health, my family and my spirit.”

Mickie James can be found on Twitter here and Instagram here

Featured image: Bleacher Report

John Cena joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about his new movie F9 (Fast and Furious 9), making his WWE return, how the “you can’t see me joke” never gets old, what he has done to hone his craft as an actor, the biggest lesson he learned from Vince McMahon, his opinion of Roman Reigns’ new character and more!

Chris Van Vliet: It is always good to see you. But no matter what we talk about, the number one comment guaranteed will be ‘why is he talking to a blank background right now?’ Does that joke ever get old?

John Cena: “No not at all. I somehow through almost 2 decades of involvement with WWE have genuinely developed a superpower. I’m invisible bro, that’s pretty decent.”

Chris: So you’re a bad guy in Fast and Furious 9. Is this as close to a heel turn that we didn’t get in WWE?

John: “Man what a question. I knew you were going to have good stuff. I think this is a beginning to showcase the fact that it’s possible. Now as WWE invests and builds its roster and has a wealth of talent, it truly has many different anchors to the ship. Certainly Roman Reigns being a very marketable and definitive star. I think the reason for me not exploring that side is because WWE didn’t feel confident that they had an alternative. I respect that business choice I really do. But now with them really laying the foundation for their future, I mean even for life in the next decade or so, maybe but I don’t know. But what I do like about Fast is that it shows I am a human being like everyone else. I experience anger, sadness, bitterness, resentment. All those emotions like we all do. I’m given a form to display it, just like with Trainwreck. I’m always known for my childish comedy in WWE because it’s a PG show! Then if I’m put on an R rated comedy, everyone is like ‘Woah! He actually cusses!’ Yeah of course, it’s an R rated comedy. So it’s kind of being given a new set of tools and work with those tools.”

Chris: The ‘Fast’ franchise is all about family. You and Vin Diesel’s characters are very close, you’re brothers. So before you started filming, what did you guys do to build that rapport together?

John: “That’s a great question. Before I was even offered the part I had to go through a series of interviews. Vin wanted to meet me in person, and I met him at his training center little under 2 hours and we just spoke. Now we have 8 minutes to do an interview and in this interview we will learn more about each other. Now compound that over a serious amount of time with no constraints in an environment that is comfortable for Vin. He felt really good asking me bold questions and opening the forum for me to do the same. After that conversation he shot a small social media video. If you go back and see the video I didn’t say much, I didn’t know what the hell was going on. Had I knew I was joining the Fast family I would have said some sort of bit about Fast. But it was kind of him assessing me as a human being and putting it out to the universe like ‘Hey what do you guys think about this?’ I really thank everyone, WWE supporters, Fast supporters because they were overwhelmingly positive. I also thank Vin for that conversation. I really enjoy that type of earning your merits. It’s very very similar to the WWE. They assess your performance but they also do their due diligence on who this human being is.”

Chris: You fit right into this role. I’m curious with your background in WWE you obviously know how to fall. So when you are in these fight sequences, when does John Cena get removed and the stunt double come in? How is that decision made?

John: “That’s made by people above me and I never question it. Because Fast is a production that uses a whole lot of resources. If we ever have to stop that production, we waste a whole lot of resources. The thing I was most amazed about Fast is the little that they waste on resources. It’s very vast and the scope is huge, but everything has meaning. They invest, but they invest properly and correctly. It’s very much like WWE, it’s a huge investment but you can see the return when you set up massive pyrotechnics or you turn a stadium into a beautiful LED display or digital display. That money is justified because as a consumer I’m entertained by it. So when they tell me ‘This might stop production, we are going to switch you out.’ I’m not like ‘No don’t’. I’m 44 man, I certainly have never been tough in my life, I don’t have to prove I’m tough. I’m not searching for validation on my masculinity or who I am as a human being. I really take the advice of those who know more than me. If they go ‘Yo, you shouldn’t do this.’ I’m like, ‘OK great’.”

Chris: You are always dressed so well every time I see you and I appreciate that. When was the last time you wore jean shorts?

John: “The last time was not this WrestleMania but last WrestleMania. I can tell you this, I very much look forward to wearing jorts again, it’s been too long.”

Chris: I mean it’s not a matter of if you are coming back to WWE it’s a matter of when you are coming back to WWE?

John: “You are absolutely correct. Yep.”

Chris: And you know now that live crowds are going to be back in WWE and full arenas, how excited are you for your music to hit and for you to be out there in front of the WWE Universe?

John: “So I’m going to modify the question, because I think the question is selfish. I’m excited for the WWE performers. I know hard it’s been. I don’t think I would have done very well in this atmosphere without an audience. But I also think that this time without an audience has allowed performers like Roman Reigns for example, to unobstructively mould his character. If you send Roman Reigns from city to city with paying audience after paying audience, there may be some audiences that don’t even care what he has to say. They just want to boo him or cheer him or whatever. Without that, especially developing your character and trying to get the message across, like trying to hand someone your business card. I think Roman has absolutely needed this time and in it he has developed his personality and found out who he is. Now when he goes back to live audiences, they aren’t confused. He’s spent this 15 month block defining who he is and he’s the one who can benefit from this. Whereas established performers, I think I really would have had a tough time with no audiences. I as a performer, am happy for the WWE to have crowds again. I really look forward to get back in front of those crowds. But I am happy for everybody that their music can hit and they can feel that genuine excitement that makes all of our hearts beat.”

Chris: It’s been amazing watching your career grow and blossom. I think that someone who has done what you have done and carved out a niche for themselves is Vince McMahon. What’s the biggest lesson you have learned from working with Vince?

John: “That’s another hour and a half special, maybe more. I continue to learn from him every single day. There is not an instance that goes by where I don’t reflect on my experience in the WWE and what he has taught me. Often times learning from osmosis, he doesn’t hit you over the head with the lessons, but you can learn from his decision making. It says a lot about the person and what you can take. That well is endless and not dried up yet. I continue to learn from him. I think the most valuable of all the lessons is to show up and deliver. That isn’t something he says, it’s something he does all the F’n time. He’s always there and he’s always invested. People can question his creative motives and whatever, it’s creativity, there’s always going to be an opinion. He’s always got his boots on the ground, he’s always invested and he always believes in his passion about the product. I think just showing up and delivering, that’s a huge takeaway.”

Chris: You are constantly looking to improve yourself and get better and I love that. Since your first film The Marine, which was 15 years ago, what have you done to work on your craft to become the actor you are now?

John: “I mean if you look at it in that perspective, I started out doing movies as a business decision. It was originally supposed to be Steve Austin but he passed. Vince was like ‘Hey I need you to go to Australia.’ This is 2 weeks before shooting. He explained if we can bolster WWE studios, we will bolster WWE live event attendance. We can host larger venues and be more widespread. I’m like this guy is onto something, lets go do this so I can get back to the ring. That’s the wrong approach to take, but I continued to take that approach to the movies that I did, and in turn I made a lot of bad movies. So now transfer that into WWE speak. This match would be good for the energy drink I’m trying to sell. If more people like the match more people will drink the energy drink. No, you have a match match because you f*cking loved to have those matches and you want to be there and be in the middle of it, look around at the majesty.

So it wasn’t until honestly the Fred movies where I could parody myself and that was kind of the start of all that. And after that Trainwreck, where I could have fun with the process and expect nothing out of it. Fred was a cameo, Trainwreck was a cameo and I did a bunch of other small cameos where I stop looking at is as a vehicle and start to look at this as creative fun. The thing is I was looking at WWE like that all of the time. WWE is not a vehicle for me to go anywhere else, it was where I want to be. I then fell in love with falling into another character, taking the jorts off once in a while and showing my ass on television. It’s fun, it’s imaginative and it also keeps the passion for WWE. If they change my character heel or babyface or whatnot, it doesn’t matter because I have these other outlets I can express those emotions that I want to do. I had to change my perception and that came after tremendous failure. I thought after all those bad movies I was done. 15 years later I got a second chance at the movie business and we are talking about Fast 9. But that comes from absolute fall on your face failure.”

Bret Ernst is a stand-up comedian and actor best known for his role in the Netflix series “Cobra Kai”. He talks with Chris Van Vliet from his home in Las Vegas, NV where he talks about his inspiration for becoming a comedian, what motivates him, his process for writing a joke, how he became the commentator for Wrestling Society X on MTV and much more!

On how he looks so youthful:

“I don’t know really. I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs. Mostly I just try not to stress. Or it could be down to my Sicilian parents [laughs]. I drink every now and again, but sh*t happens.”

On doing comedy shows online:

“I only did one show online and that was a memorial show for a buddy that passed away. It was for the comedian Eric Myers. I kept going, I didn’t stop. For the first few months there was no action during COVID. But I was in Florida. Things started opening up and people were saying ‘Screw this!’ As things were progressing I was slowly able to travel to other states that were open. I just kept moving with it. Obviously we were taking pay cuts, but I had known a lot of the club owners. If I could help them, we can try and keep everything afloat.”

On how he creates material:

“There are two types of comics. You have ones that write, and ones that write on stage. I write on stage. I come up with an idea, write it down and it will remind me of what I want to talk about, then I will go and talk about it. I’ve been doing this for 24 years, you have your own style of creating. I am a lazy writer, but once I start honing it in I will touch it up. “

On growing up and early aspirations:

“I wanted to play for the Dallas Cowboys. But I never really thought about it that much. I have always liked clowning around, I went to rough schools. I was good at sports, so I got respect that way. Also I was a scrappy kid. I wasn’t toughest but I could hold my own. Also I would try to make people laugh, and I got in a lot of trouble because of it. That’s why my special on YouTube is called Principal’s Office. I went to 15 schools. My mom was constantly coming into the office. It was more the attention that drove me. Once I saw Eddie Murphy’s Delirious, I was like this is what I want to do.”

On how he got into stand-up comedy:

“I played Football at university, I was always cutting it up in the locker room. I presented my thoughts as if I was performing. It hasn’t changed from that to the style I use now. Once I was done, I went to Miami and asked around. There were comedy clubs that were doing open mics. But I got home and there was a letter from a guy in New York. He said there was a show and I should do it. That was what pushed me to go that way.”

On where he thought it would lead to:

“I don’t know to what degree it would take me, but I’ve done it for 24 years. Everything I own is because of it and friends I have made became comedy legends. There were times where I thought I may have to change career paths. But something kept pulling me back in. When I lost my agent, I was like I am done. Next thing I know I get a call and I just keep coming back.”

On how he powers through on his worst days:

“Just remembering that I am doing what I love. On my worst day, I lived out of my car. I would shower at the gym, I would crash on couches. I have been on my own most of my life and I was OK with it. But when I got married, my wife wasn’t OK with it, and that was where the stresses came in. When the person you love the most suggests that it might be time to reconsider, that was difficult for me. I had to stick with it. I said to her ‘Don’t let me second guess myself.’ We hit a rough spot, but I had been there 30 times, it was her first. But the light shines though and you got to stay the course.”

On what makes a comic successful:

“Getting people to buy tickets. It is a business for us. The gift would be being on a sitcom, because you are famous and can then do stand-up. Jay Leno never stops and Seinfeld still gets up. It’s just who you are. Getting on a show will boost you up. Cobra Kai is boosting me up too. But now fans are like it’s the guy from Cobra Kai, not oh he’s the guy from stand-up. But now we get whole families coming up to me. I was at a comedy show and this family saw me. They were like ‘what are you doing here.’ I respond ‘I’m performing here.’

On what Cobra Kai did for him:

“It just reminded people that I am still around. I have people I’ve known for 20 years reaching back to me going ‘Dude, great job.’ I left Los Angeles in 2017 and moved to Ohio. Then I got a divorce, moved to Florida and lost everything. I got divorced in COVID. We were together for 11 years, but then separated and living in the same house. But I was on the road a lot, it’s a lifestyle as an entertainer. I like the hustle though, I always have something going on.”

On tips for aspiring comedians:

“One of my favourite quotes is ‘It’s none of my business what you think about me.’ You have every right not to like me and I don’t care. I have that naturally. I would say the successful people soar with the eagles not peck with the crows. A lot of people do 3 to 5 minutes in a coffee shop or club every so often. But they are more into the scene than the actual artform. It’s like there are 8,000 people in Hollywood who claim to be actors. The successful people just worry about themselves and know they are not competing with anybody.”

On what he is grateful for:

“Health, God and family.”

Brett Ernst can be found on Twitter here and Instagram here

Featured image: Journey of a Frontman

Colt Cabana is a professional wrestler, podcaster and entrepreneur. He joins Chris Van Vliet from his home in Chicago, IL to talk about his new podcast called “Wrestling Anonymous”, what he learned from working in WWE under the name Scotty Goldman, why it took him so long to join his friends in AEW, how he was the brains behind starting Pro Wrestling Tees, working as a commentator in Ring of Honor, why he loves comedy wrestling and more!

On why he is getting back into podcasting:

“Well the pandemic and quarantine has forced us to sit at home. And also it has made me realize that I don’t have to wrestle 200 days a year on the road. There are other ways that I can express my creativity. I love the idea of editing, producing and directing. I am collecting these phone calls from fans and editing them together, and figuring out the best order to put them in. Essentially I am a curator for this show. It’s really inspired me. In the past it was I had to do this show because I wanted this person for my podcast. This is because I did all of my interviews in person. I would say an opportunity like Justin Credible is going to be in this area. I should do this show because I could make money but also have Justin Credible on my show. This new show is just people sending a message, the hustle to get to these shows isn’t as imminent. I’m also taking quarantine very serious and realizing through Twitch and Patreon I can make a decent living. I also signed with AEW and Tony Khan has made sure we keep things safe.”

On the new podcast format:

“There’s a lot of inspiration through this. There is a lot through nostalgia too. I love the idea that I am doing this show now but in 30 years people will look back and hear these stories of the current times and past times. There’s a lot of old time radio that I am inspired by. It’s essentially a hotline call format. For years people wanted to be on my show and it broke my heart. It wasn’t a fan show, it was for the wrestlers. The Art of Wrestling is where we told our locker room stories. Now this is the platform for everyone’s stories.”

On his own fan story:

“I have done a little bit of stand up before. I started developing this story. When I was 16 years old I was in an AOL chatroom. This guy hit me up because it said on my profile that I like wrestling. His profile said he was 40 and like Greco-Roman wrestling and bodybuilding. He was like ‘Hey I’m out of practice, would you like to come over and wrestle with me?’ I was like ‘That’s super weird I should meet you first.’ I was 16 and just wanted to wrestle. I was about to meet him and my mom stopped me. When she asked what I was doing I said ‘I’m going to meet this guy at a pizza place so I can then wrestle in his basement.’ My mom might have stopped me from getting abducted. But this was how much I loved wrestling.”

On when he felt like it was all clicking together:

“I think it was when Ring of Honor was constantly booking me and with 3 figure sums, I don’t like to brag [laughs]. I figured out if I get 6 bookings at $100 I could do that. Ring of Honor really gave me the confidence that I knew I was getting decent money at the time. They could also boost my profile and made me make more money in different places. For me it didn’t get so giant quickly that I’m not asking for too much on independent bookings. I’ve never had to take too many steps back. That’s been a great career trajectory for myself.”

On taking a pay cut in WWE:

“Yeah I took a 50% pay cut. That’s just what it was. My friend who was in the same boat as me a year and a half before told me it was the sacrifice you have to make. This is because the potential is there and it isn’t on the indies. Years later when I started my own thing, I was making more money than some mid-carders in WWE. At that point in 2006, there was a ceiling in independent wrestling to most people. I said if I’m going to become a millionaire, WWE is the only way I can do it. So lets give it a shot.”

On why his WWE run didn’t work out:

“It wasn’t that it wasn’t working. I didn’t look like Dolph Ziggler or Jake Hager. These were guys that were with me in OVW. I always knew I had to sneak in as a bit player. I saw the Santino role, they were like we are going to Italy can you speak Italian. Santino is like yeah and there we go, he’s Canadian! So I was like I will be in the system and get over in Louisville. When I started in OVW people knew who I was, so I got over. Me and [Shawn] Spears were the 2 time tag champs, I was the TV champion too. But that doesn’t mean anything in the big system. So what was I hoping for. Maybe they tour Israel and they need a Jewish wrestler. Maybe they needed a funny sidekick. I pitched the idea of being a general manager for Heat, which had been taken off TV. They said I need to think bigger.”

On his comedy style and why it works:

“This is something I think a lot about. They say being yourself is the natural move in wrestling. I was doing good on the independents as a regular wrestler. But I was thinking about the longevity of my career as a regular wrestler. I was never as athletic as AJ Styles or Christopher Daniels, so I didn’t try to be. Nigel McGuinness said he never wanted to be a main event player, but he looked at the independent system and you had to beat the crap out of yourself. He had a great series of matches with Daniel Bryan, but he only had a 2 year career. I said to myself I could drop myself on my head every match and destroy my body, or I could wrestle safely and develop this new style. I love the idea of going from town to town and hitting up all of the shows. That idea has given me such longevity. I love Nigel but his career got cut short and mine still has many years left. I put that down to the comedy style.”

On what’s next:

“I think I can wrestle in my 60’s! I’m no Billy Gunn, he looks better than 80% of our roster, but he is 57. It gives me hope that guys like Billy, PCO, Christopher Daniels. I thought in my late 30’s I may have to hang it up. But I am happy to play my softball league a couple of times a month and have fun. That’s how I view it. To be honest I think people get the idea I have been setting myself up for post wrestling my whole career. I just don’t worry about my future in that way. I think I will be fine. When I got fired from WWE, I’ve always wanted to have a lot of options. That is something I have always had.”

On what he is grateful for:

“My family, the positive wrestling fanbase and open minded people.”

Featured image: Instagram

Colt Cabana can be found on Instagram here and Twitter here.

So I became a wrestling fan, like a lot of people during the Attitude Era. I started watching religiously in 1998 when I was 15. It was the Austin and McMahon feud that really drew me in and once I was in, I became a massive fan of The Rock. I mean, how could you not? In fact, I tell this story all the time but I used to walk down the halls at my high school asking people questions just so I could shout “It doesn’t matter what you think!!!!”

In college, I even dressed up as The Rock for Halloween one year.
So when I started worked in TV and a few years began to interview celebrities, The Rock was at the very top of my list of people who I wanted to interview. He was THE bucket list interview for me. And 7 years into my career… I had my first interview with The Rock. March of 2012. It’s on my YouTube channel if you want to check it out.

So I joke all the time, that I’ve interviewed The Rock 9 times. Not that I’m counting or anything. And I truly don’t say that to try to impress you… I say that to impress upon you that there are quite a few things that I’ve learned from Dwayne Johnson. Now these aren’t things that he’s specifically TAUGHT me, these are things I’ve picked up from talking to him and from watching the way he interacts with everybody around him.
These are the lessons that LIVES in his daily life. And if you follow him on Instagram, I’m sure you’ve noticed some of these too.
So here we go… here are the 5 things I’ve learned from interviewing The Rock!

Number 1: Kindness

The Rock often recites the famous quote from renowned investor and philanthropist John Templeton that says “It’s nice to be important. But it’s important to be nice.”

And I feel like that is at the heart of who The Rock is.

Number 2 – Being Present

Even though he is one of the busiest guys in Hollywood, if not THE busiest guy, he is incredibly present when you speak to him. He looks you right in the eyes and genuinely listens to what you’re saying. He could be thinking about the next movie that’s starring in and also producing…. or one of the companies he’s running like Teremana or Zoa. Or about his wife or three kids. But no. He is firmly planted in that moment and in that conversation with you.

Number 3 – Owning the room

Being as big as The Rock is, he obviously has a massive presence wherever he goes. And yes, he is just as big in person as he looks in movies or in photos. But he takes it one step further and owns whatever space he walks into. He doesn’t own it in a “HEY LOOK AT ME, I’M THE ROCK AND I’M HERE!” kind of way. Which is something that some celebrities do. He owns it with a beaming smile, a warmness in the way that he interacts with everyone. And it’s just very clear that he is in the position he’s in because of the way that he treats everyone he comes into contact with.

Number 4 – Don’t take yourself or life too seriously.

It’s ok to laugh… especially at yourself sometimes. The Rock has one of those big, booming, contagious laughs. But he’s also comfortable enough in his own skin that he’s not afraid to be the butt of the joke.

We’re not here for very long, we might as well enjoy our time.

And finally number 5 — which I think is the most important one. Self Awareness.

If we all had a little more self awareness, the world would be a better place as a whole. The Rock is a massive star. You could argue that he’s THE BIGGEST star in the world right now. And they always say that you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but if your hero happens to be Dwayne Johnson you should absolutely, 100% try to meet him.

Because when you meet him, he is self aware enough to know that this is a big moment for you. He turns the moment around and makes YOU feel like star –and totally make it a memorable moment. He’ll do things like play along with your jokes or he’ll even crack a joke at your expense. It’s the same trait you see in wildly successful people like Oprah or Will Smith.

So there you go. That’s the 5 things I’ve learned from interviewing The Rock. Take a few of these and apply them to your own life.

The Rock can be found on Instagram here.

More podcast recaps can be found here.