transcript

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
[00:50] Chris Van Vliet and Billy Gunn. Take one.

Speaker 3:
[00:53] I'm keeping that in there. I'm keeping that in. Man, it's so good to see you.

Speaker 2:
[00:58] It's always good to see you. As I told you the other day when you called me one of my most favorite people, and that's No Shish Kebab.

Speaker 3:
[01:05] Really?

Speaker 2:
[01:05] You are one of my, because you know why, and I'm not just because I do your show, I tell that to everybody that I talk to or that does stuff. I said, you're like very genuine, like and when we do these conversations, I don't even call it a, like it's to me, they're just conversations. They just happen to be recorded and you get a lot of plug off of it because mainly because it's me. But it's true. But it's just you, it's very intelligent. It's stress free. We just kind of shoot the breeze and you'll throw some stuff and we kind of go along and they're very good. So I want to start this off because I know I already asked you, but I want to start this off because I thought it was really cool. And I want to know how cool it was for you. How was the Steve conversation?

Speaker 3:
[01:55] Oh, I love that you're the interviewer now. That was so cool. So Stone Cold was at the top of my list for a long time.

Speaker 2:
[02:02] So that's my second thing. How is he on the bucket list of people to do? He had to be.

Speaker 3:
[02:08] Oh, absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[02:09] Right. Okay. And you got to go to his house.

Speaker 3:
[02:12] That was the thing. And it's not just his house. It's the Broken Skull Ranch.

Speaker 2:
[02:15] Yeah, the whole compound deal.

Speaker 3:
[02:17] Unbelievable. So like, yes. So like, not only is it Stone Cold, not only is it our first long form interview, but it's at his Broken Skull Ranch. And he's like touring me around, like showing me the whole place, like we're trying to figure out a place to record. But the whole time he's like, oh, that's the horse barn over there. And yeah, we can do it in the guest house. And I'm like, this is great. There's the pond. There's a horse. It was so, so cool. We decided to do it in his garage. Which was also just so cool.

Speaker 2:
[02:49] He is so awesome.

Speaker 3:
[02:51] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[02:51] He really is.

Speaker 3:
[02:52] And he's everything you want him to be. Like he's the same person on camera that he is off camera. He's just, he's Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Speaker 2:
[03:01] He is. And he's such a good dude. And he's so like, and for just watching and him be in his element and you being able to just kind of, it kind of gives you a different feel of him. You know what I mean? You got to everything he's doing. Cause I know he's into this scooter rhythm, not scooters.

Speaker 3:
[03:22] Kawasaki.

Speaker 2:
[03:23] Quads or four run side by sides, whatever they're calling it. But I know he's big into that right now. And just like, it was a good, it was good.

Speaker 3:
[03:33] I just feel like, you know, I had about an hour with him, a little over an hour, but I could have talked to him for like 16 more and still just be scratching the surface of his career. Yeah. Yeah. So that was a tough part about it is like narrowing it down. Like, what are we going to talk about for this one? Knowing I may never do it again.

Speaker 2:
[03:51] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[03:52] Yeah. But thank you for asking.

Speaker 2:
[03:54] Yeah, no, no, I just, I want like, those are the kinds of things. I know I asked you over the phone just because I was curious, because I know it's cool to talk to him. It really is. From what he's done, like, we just, I think a lot of people get lost that it was just him and the attitude there, but it wasn't. Dude, he was good way before that. He was good, good. You know, just never got the, for some reason, just never got the notoriety of what he really should have done. Because he had some matches with Steamboat that were unreal. He literally can work with anybody. But then I guess, I guess it would just be the wrestling business, right? You kind of have that thing and you're good. I feel that's maybe not to that level of what he was, but kind of the same for me. It was kind of, you know, you do the smoking guns thing, and then you find the New Age Outlaws and go through the roof. And for him, it was that, you know, stunning Steve or whatever the WCW stuff and all that stuff. And then even before that, you know, and then he hits the attitude there and just becomes alter mega cool.

Speaker 3:
[05:06] And there's that promo that he does in ECW that I think everyone goes back to of like, that's the moment. Like he still has the long hair, but he feels like stone cold in that moment.

Speaker 2:
[05:15] Yes. Yeah. And I've only seen bits and I know, I know of the promo and I've kind of heard bits and pieces, but that, yeah, he kind of was in it right there a little bit. Just being able to have a direction and just kind of being mad at everything and just being able to, to rifle off stuff is pretty good.

Speaker 3:
[05:34] But that's so interesting. Like that is the wrestling business, right? You could be the right person at the wrong time or the right person with the wrong gimmick. And it just never ends up going anywhere.

Speaker 2:
[05:44] Yeah. Because it's, it was like, it was the same way that launched my career. There's no, and I say it all the time, there is no reason I should be here. I mean, I would have probably found my way here eventually. But when it happened, how it happened, it was just by luck. We happened to be shown up at the right show, right when they fired somebody, they needed us. We were there. It's almost like, you know, hey, I want to read a book. Okay, this is, I'm going to read this one. So it was kind of the same thing with us and me and Bart's career. It was, hey, we showed up. Hello, we just want to watch a show. We're just guys that don't know anything, but we're going to watch the show. And hey, we just fired, hey, who? Oh, those guys look cool.

Speaker 1:
[06:29] Let's hire them.

Speaker 3:
[06:31] But it's not like, like for you and Brian, for you and Road Dogg, it's not like you guys were this established tag team that was like making a name for themselves. It was like, hey, you're not doing anything and you're not doing anything. Well, let's see what happens.

Speaker 2:
[06:45] Yeah, exactly. Hey, let's put both not happening people together and see if we can make a better, bigger pile of poo. But yeah, the wrestling business is very weird and it's very awesome too. Nowadays, it's just, I think people get in such a hurry that they don't, because the question I get all the time even when I'm coaching or whatever is, hey, so how long did it take? How long did it take to establish character? How long did it take to for you to know that you were good? How long did it take? I go, I don't think I'm good now. So I don't, you know, I don't know where to go with that. Or, you know, it takes a long time. But now it's just instant gratification for everything we do, right? I don't want to take time to get to this move when I can just jump and land on my head. Like it just, I just think that's where we're kind of falling short of, of where, what's the next crop? Where is the next guys coming from? You know, even for us or the other company, it's, it's, we're invested in the ones that are hot right now, but we have to have backups because you never know. And yes, talking about the wrestling, they could just pop out. I think it could just, you know what I mean? They could just litter. But you always kind of want to have something in your pocket that you can pull out if a Roman Reigns goes down, a CM Punk, a Will Ospreay, a John Moxley, MJF. You know, if they go down, which they will, like it's not a thing that you want, but it's just when giant guys are landing on each other, things are bound to give. And you just wonder, okay, who do we back that up with? So, but I mean, it's, I mean, everything looks okay on both ends right now. So what do I know?

Speaker 3:
[08:53] What do you know?

Speaker 2:
[08:54] What do I know? What do I know anyway?

Speaker 3:
[08:56] Look, I want to pay you that compliment back. Like you are such a ball of energy, a ball of positivity. You're always smiling. I love it. I love sitting down with you for these. I would have you on every month if I could.

Speaker 2:
[09:10] That's what the buddy of ours told us. He goes, are you the most person that Chris has had on show? I said no, because I've already asked him that question the last time. I said it's Ziegler. He wins that. But yeah, but yeah, but it's just, it's just, they're just fun to do, you know.

Speaker 3:
[09:29] You're 62 years old. Yeah, you look incredible.

Speaker 2:
[09:34] Thanks.

Speaker 3:
[09:35] And this is the thing, you don't just look like you're in great shape at 62, you just, you're in great shape, period.

Speaker 2:
[09:41] Yeah, so here comes my, my Titan medical plug. I am now, because, you know, we need, and everybody's going to take this the wrong way, and it's what it is, you know what I mean? It's, everybody has their opinion, but you need help in, in longevity, help in health, help in nutrition, help in your fitness. And I have all that. And Titan Medical is, they're one of the leading peptide companies in, out of Tampa, that it just made me an ambassador, whatever, a sponsored athlete. I don't know, whatever you call somebody that just, you know.

Speaker 3:
[10:21] This is Mike O'Hearn's company, right?

Speaker 2:
[10:22] So it's not Mike's company. Mike is also a me. Like Mike did it first. And then I jumped on board because it's like, it's just trying to, to when you work or, or do what I do at a level that I do, am I, you know, according to that guy, am I, you know, WrestleMania five star guy? No, I'm not anymore. And I know that. And I've never once said that I was right, but there's still a part of me that loves to do this. And I love to, I do. And it's not, it's not for egotistical things. It's not for any of that. It's because I genuinely love what I do. And I work for OneFW, which is QT Marshall's company. It's a Georgia company. We just had a huge show in Rome. That was awesome. Little Arne Anderson thing, because that's where he's from. And I was in, yes, I will break it here. I was in a cage. Not for long, but I was in there and I touched it. But yeah, you just, and Titan Medical is at the, is one of the leading people in helping you be that way. Being, get you through those injuries, make you feel better. Because most, like, and I'm not going to go on a peptide thing here, but it's, they're naturally found in your body anyway. We're just kind of kicking them in. As we get older, we're just kind of losing that. So we kick it back in gear for longevity, health, hair, what, whatever you need it for, you know, and, and they have, they're like for you. Yeah. And that's, yes. And they have done like amazing stuff for me, along with Mike and my training and my nutrition, which they help with everything. Right? So it's just, that's, that's the secret. And it's not a secret. It's just wanting to put the work in. It's putting the work in. It's finding those things that help you get that, that, I don't want to say edge, but it gives you that, that youthful feeling. You know what I mean? Because I'm toward a piece. So like, yes, the outside looks great, but the inside is a pile of mush. You know, but, but the, the tears and all that stuff is just kind of finding ways because I'm not going to get surgery for, I'm not going to do that. I'm too old for all that. And it would take way too long to recover. But there's, there's things out there that you can do that to help prepare all that naturally, you know. So I do that and, and, and.

Speaker 3:
[12:55] Is this like BPC 157?

Speaker 2:
[12:57] Yes. That's exactly what it is. And the TV 500 is what I do in my shoulders. And then there's some, a couple of other things that just help with, with the way your intestines work and the way that your body just functions. And it, and it's amazing. It really is. If we can get past all the ignorance and all the craziness that is always going to be there because it's a, it's a, yes, we know why you look like that kind of a thing, which I don't read any of that nor care about it because one, you don't know me. If you want to hang out with me for a week, please get a hold of me and come live my life for a week. And one, after the first day you'll go home because I do, I train hard because I, not because I have, I love it. I love to train. And now I train by myself. So I just, I have to push through that and I have to like, and like I said, I still wrestle. I wrestled two, three times a weekend. And yes, am I going out there and kill them? No, but I am still moving and having fun and being able to work with some of my students and work with QT and work with some of the AEW talent that I normally wouldn't get to work with. And I want to be able to hold up my end as much as possible. So that's what keeps me going. And I, that's, it's fun. And I have two kids that think they're better than me already.

Speaker 3:
[14:15] And you're in better shape than they are.

Speaker 2:
[14:17] Well, Colten and Austin are getting, like they're there, they are. They're, you know.

Speaker 3:
[14:24] I mean, no disrespect to Colten and Austin. I love them. I'm just stating facts. Okay. You have veins popping out of your quads as you sit in front of me.

Speaker 2:
[14:35] I think it's just because I have a little bit more experience under me than they do. You know, so.

Speaker 3:
[14:40] You've got that dad muscle.

Speaker 2:
[14:42] Yeah. I got that dad thing that they're chasing, that they're trying to chase down and figure out where they can get that.

Speaker 3:
[14:48] But it's not that you just, not just that you look good, you have agility still in the ring. Like you really haven't lost a step.

Speaker 2:
[14:56] Well, to me, I've lost a step, but I appreciate that. I fake it very well. I think I fake not look because that's one of the like, I think it was like a few months ago, I was like getting too heavy because I was really eating and trying to put on size for some ungodly reason. I don't know why.

Speaker 3:
[15:14] What do you weigh right now?

Speaker 2:
[15:15] So 260. I'm at a good, like 260 for me right now is really good. Like a little bit, I could be 255 and be okay, but anything over that, I start getting, like, I feel it. Like I can, I know the minute I start gaining weight because I can instantly feel it. And I know what I can do and what my body feels like. But it's, it's, yeah, 260 is, is good. And I was, and I was doing something and it felt like everything I would run, I was leaving my feet behind me and it was driving me absolutely batty. I was like, okay, this isn't a thing. So now I'm in class running spots and stuff with every one of the students trying to figure because they all move differently. So I'm trying to figure it out and just going, okay, you're too heavy and you're just being sluggish. And you're being lazy. So I dropped some weight and now I feel amazing. I feel good.

Speaker 3:
[16:14] Do you want to wrestle in your 70s?

Speaker 2:
[16:16] I don't. So I want to do it while I can and while I'm still having fun. Like I said, every time, I mean, you can ask my wife when she hates watching me because I'm just such a goof, I'm such a goof because it's just, I don't have any stress anymore. There's no stress for me to go out there and have everybody go, oh, watch, it's going to be unbelievable wrestling match. You know, that's not, that's not, they're going to go, we're about to have so much fun and how, and be interactive in what we do because that's what he does. You know, so that's, that's what I'm doing. Do I want to, no, I don't want to work until I'm 70, but I mean, is it possible? I'm not sure anything's possible.

Speaker 3:
[17:02] It looks like it's possible.

Speaker 2:
[17:03] You know, but, oh, it's, I'm getting there. I'm getting to the point where I'm kind of, kind of slowing down a little. I think it's because the gym is taking over my life.

Speaker 3:
[17:16] You seem as passionate now about the gym as you were, as your passion was about wrestling maybe 25 years ago.

Speaker 2:
[17:24] I do, I do, and this is it. It's because I've actually started to make it a priority. Because back in the day, I didn't know nothing about lifting weights. I didn't care. I just, I had, like, it was almost unfair because I could eat anything I want and still kind of not look like this, but I could look like that. Yeah, but I could still look okay. And then I could go in the gym and just look at weights and be, hey, there I am. That's it. We're here. But when I started to kind of dive in and kind of start taking it a little bit more serious and going, okay, what, what will my body react to? Like more weight and less reps or more volume. Like what is my, what is my training split look like? Five days on, two days off, or six days training the same body part twice a week. There's all these things and I'm going, wow, that's a lot of stuff to do. And I can only do this a little bit at a time. It's, it's the same as wrestling. This doesn't come overnight. Sure. I can teach you how to do moves. Doesn't mean you're a wrestler for God sakes. Right. And just because I lift weights doesn't mean that I'm going to look a certain way or be a bodybuilder. So now you start reaching out to people, Mike, for example, Ferlin Bailey's another one, a coach in Florida that I deal with, but it's kind of getting with them, kind of giving them a layout of what I do, and then getting my nutrition on track, and then it's playing with different foods and seeing, okay, what digests good? What works for you? What puts on size? What takes off size? What stimulates you the most? Or what can you do with this the most? So, and all that again doesn't come overnight. Now you're tracking everything. You're kind of keeping more of a mental note when you eat something. Like, I know people, we just eat and go, right? There's no, we don't think about it. The only thing we think about is what steakhouse I'm going to. That is it. So it's starting to eat and okay, what does this feel like after an hour or so of me eating this? How does my body feel? Like, am I starting to get hungry again in two hours? Okay, if that's so, this process is good. Mental block, write it down, whatever. This is what I can do here. This is what I can do. So it's finding all these foods and just taking more of a priority in that and then playing. And then once my nutrition is on track, it's okay. What is the best training for me? How am I going to utilize? Yes, I'm not a bot. I'm a wrestler at first or a sports entertainer, whatever we're calling me these days. Like that's my first priority. So me being all big and muscular isn't going to help with that. But I still want to be kind of close to that in that realm. So it's what can I do to look my best at where I'm at?

Speaker 3:
[20:25] You look great.

Speaker 2:
[20:26] Thank you.

Speaker 3:
[20:27] What does it look like right now? What does training look like specifically?

Speaker 2:
[20:31] So my training now is I just stopped. I just stopped my six day split. So I went back to the five days so I could have two days off. I just took, about two weeks ago, I had to take a week off. I just, but for me to take a week off, the gym has to happen here first. And then because I was playing catch up with my body, like I was really aching and I was hurting. But I said, you know, every morning I just go to the gym and start. No, it'll go away. Sure, it goes away, but it comes right back because I'm one, I'm not recovering as fast. So I have to put the brakes on that and realize, hey, I'm just spinning my wheels. I just, I need to take a week off. But that takes a couple of days of mental preparation. And my wife telling me, and then I'm going to go to her and go, hey, I'm going to take a week off. She goes, okay.

Speaker 3:
[21:29] This is the best kind of addiction you could have.

Speaker 2:
[21:32] It is very much so, very much so. It is because it keeps me away from all of the really bad ones, you know. And it's super interesting if you're into that, you know. And I happen to be into it, and I'm really into it.

Speaker 3:
[21:46] Do you want one more wrestling storyline you could really sink your teeth into?

Speaker 2:
[21:53] So it might be coming. It might be coming. Not sure. We're kind of just dabbling in the waters to play with it just a little bit. I think it's more, I have two students that are, look, they look amazing. Can they do it on their own? Sure they can. But being as we just did that, like not just, but I, you know, the claim and everything is no longer. So what do I need to do? And I need to do something, right? And it's not just, I could go back with the kids and stuff, but I don't know if that's a thing. I don't know, you know, again, that that's a Tony decision. I'll do whatever. But I don't know if that's a good mix again. So like I'm not one to stay idle. So it's kind of let's come up with something else. OK, so let's take these two kids. Let's let me kind of do the same thing because they lift away. They look they're gigantic and, you know, so it all kind of blends together. Now it's it's kind of cool because now it's in the rebuilding process. It's taking how does how does Billy Gunn fit with Brady and Elijah? How does that how does that look? What does that look like? Does it does it do I wrestle with them or do? Am I just a mentor or is it all put together? So that's kind of where I'm at right now, and we'll see if that's a thing or not.

Speaker 3:
[23:21] So like maybe one more maybe.

Speaker 2:
[23:24] Yeah, OK, yeah, yeah, it would be nice. I would be OK with that.

Speaker 3:
[23:28] Do you want another run at a singles title?

Speaker 2:
[23:31] No, I'm not a singles guy, and I know that, and I've always known that. Plus, I really don't have the air for that anymore. I just might just be an older and stuff. I don't I don't I guess it's because I don't I don't really put an effort into that because it's not something I want to do. I feed better off of more chaos and I can work better like that than I can working on my own. Can I direct a little better? Yeah, I can direct a little bit but I can also direct in tags or trios or whatever that looks like as well. I just I'm always been a tag guy because I love the structure of how to get all these pieces together and put it together so it makes something good. Yeah, singles negative.

Speaker 3:
[24:21] Now the WrestleMania is done. All eyes are on the biggest party of the summer Summer Slam. And I want to shout out our sponsor for today SeatGeek. With over 35 million downloads, SeatGeek is the number one rated ticketing app. There are more than 70,000 events listed on SeatGeek, including concerts, WWE, sports, festivals and more. The thing I love about SeatGeek is they've got your back. Every ticket is rated on a scale of 1 to 10. So you know if you're getting a good deal or not. Look for the green dots. Green means good. Red means bad. Plus every ticket is backed by their buyer guarantee. And with any tickets you're looking at, use the code CVV for 10% off your next set of tickets at SeatGeek. That's 10% off any tickets with the promo code CVV. Make sure you click the link down below in the show notes to download the app and that code will automatically be applied to your account so you can use it later. Shout out to SeatGeek for sponsoring this episode. This episode is brought to you by DeleteMe. DeleteMe makes it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online at a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. I gave them my name and my email address, that's it. They came back with a full report a few days later and they were like, is this your address? Is this your phone number? Is this your mom's full name? Is this your dad's full name? Did you go to this high school? Why, yes. Yes, I did. All of that info was out there. So after you pay for a subscription with them, they go to all those data brokers and they make sure that they delete it. Hence the name, DeleteMe. And as long as you're subscribed, they'll continue to monitor your personal information to make sure it doesn't show up anywhere else online. And on top of that, it also means you're going to get less spam phone calls and less spam emails. As someone like me with an active online presence, privacy is really important to me, and I'm sure it is to you too. So take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Now at a special discount for anyone listening to this right now. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteeme.com/insight and use the promo code Insight at checkout. The only way to get 20% off is by going to joindeleteeme.com/insight and enter the code Insight at checkout. That's joindeleteeme.com/insight, and that code is Insight. I gotta tell you this, it's ridiculous, but my friends and I have this thing where we take names and we make syllables of them so the names sound just as silly as possible. So I'll give you an example. The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes, I called him the patriotic bad dream. The Big Show is the large program. And you, my friend, Badass Billy Gunn is Evil Anus William Firearm.

Speaker 2:
[27:18] That's not bad. It's not bad. It's not bad.

Speaker 3:
[27:20] It's pretty silly.

Speaker 2:
[27:21] That's yeah. But it's it works.

Speaker 3:
[27:24] I just needed to tell you to your face. No, it's okay.

Speaker 2:
[27:26] In case I came across it on Instagram or something.

Speaker 3:
[27:31] I just needed to tell you to your face because it's so stupid. It's so stupid. When we were talking earlier about this thing happens at the right time and you've got magic, what does your career look like without DX? Whoa.

Speaker 2:
[27:51] Just probably. Is Brian in this equation?

Speaker 3:
[27:57] I would think so.

Speaker 2:
[27:58] Is the New Age Outlaws still a thing without DX?

Speaker 3:
[28:01] It may be.

Speaker 2:
[28:02] Yeah, we'd have been fine.

Speaker 3:
[28:03] Okay. We were hot. Okay.

Speaker 2:
[28:05] We were hot. We were okay. You know, I'm not saying that didn't help, but we were okay because we would have been fine on by ourselves as well. Um, because I think that's the part that fit that we fit DX them. The best is because we were almost the same as those two, you know, as as Hunter and Sean, just not as much stroke as they had, but we were having more fun because we had none of that. Right. And we were just, we were just the Wild West and we could do whatever we wanted to do. We had no, no rains or nothing. It was, you know, do what you to do best. And it was just feet off of each other. That's it. And everybody jumped on board because it was cool. I mean, I'm not going to candy coat that in any form because if we were good, you know what I mean? Because we had it all. We had the entrance. We could work when we needed to. And we could, we could gel with anybody. And yeah, we would have been fine. Would I, would we be? And yes, DX helped because they were so established at the time and they were, but we kind of put them over the top.

Speaker 3:
[29:17] So then what's Billy Gunn without the New Age Outlaws?

Speaker 2:
[29:21] He's just a good guy that could work with anybody, I think. Because it's, I do, I feed well off of other people. You know, me and Bart had our thing, me and Brian had our thing, me and Chuck had our thing, me and Big Show had a thing, me and Bob had a thing. Because it was all, like, I thrive off of other people's ideas. I'm not, I'm not the one. Sometimes I get a little sticky if I really think something needs to stick, but I'm not too hardheaded that I don't listen and understand, okay, okay, back up. Your way isn't the best way here. And it never is. That's also the beauty of wrestling. When I sit with my kids and we go over stuff, it is so much fun because you're listening to younger kids, give their ideas. And then you have dad who's literally done it all ideas, and you blend all that stuff together, and it makes for great stuff to happen. It really does. And I feel we're not like a lot of the way they plan stuff isn't like that. It's not, it's not, and it could be, I could be wrong, right? But I feel like if we were to sit down and just start, because I like, when I know we're wrestling somebody or doing something, say for instance, when me and Austin worked, the Kyle and Takeshina, which was awesome by the way, and it was a lot of fun. But please just look at it for what it was. It was me getting to work with my son again on national TV. But it's, okay, here's the layout. What do we do with it? Because I hate when we all sit around and go, I don't know, what do you want to do? I don't know, what do you want to do? Yeah. That's, you know what I mean? So you come in and go, okay, Austin is going to start. I'll come in. I'll be more the hard ass. We'll kind of trade a little something or do this, and then let's run from there. And then you'd be amazed at how good this gets because now you have a foundation, right? We have a canvas and now I throw some pain on it. And now everybody else is throwing their pain on it. And pretty soon you have a, what's who's famous painter?

Speaker 3:
[31:46] Picasso.

Speaker 2:
[31:47] You have a Picasso. You know what I mean? And that's the fun part of putting stuff together. And that's what's so exciting about wrestling, is being able to do that. Is just throw something out there. Here's the base. And we probably can get all the way away from the base. But at least it's a starting point where you would be amazed at how everybody just perks up and goes, hey, what if we go here and here? And you see the excitement and everybody's starting to throw their stuff in it. And that's, that's what's exciting.

Speaker 3:
[32:19] I feel like you are the epitome. You are the human embodiment of we don't stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing. Like the fact that you're still doing it is what keeps you so youthful.

Speaker 2:
[32:31] Yes, it is. It is, because if I were to just quit and play golf all the time, I'd be miserable. Because then my brain doesn't function. All I have to do is swing a club. I don't get me wrong, I'd love to swing club, but. Yeah, it's just, that's what keeps me young, is my kids and being able to work with other kids that are in this business that have a passion to do it as well.

Speaker 3:
[32:54] What do you think of this discussion that goes on in wrestling so often of like, what was the better all time faction, DX or the NWO?

Speaker 2:
[33:04] It's people's opinion. It's, and you can have one of those, right? And everybody, it's not one, like it's, like, of course I say DX is number one, right?

Speaker 3:
[33:15] You might be a little biased. Yes.

Speaker 2:
[33:17] And then, you know, Kevin's going to say NWO, you know, and they both had, they were both, let's put it, they were both super impact that we will, there's literally, I don't think even as today, there's not one wrestling person that doesn't know what each one of those are.

Speaker 3:
[33:35] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[33:36] There's not. Because it was so impactful and it was so good. I think, and I know the only thing that hurt the NWO is they just started, like it was so good. And then everybody jumped on to where DX was so good and you couldn't get on board with, I don't care if you had a golden ticket from Willy Wonka, you weren't getting on that ride.

Speaker 3:
[33:58] Do you know how many members NWO had in total?

Speaker 2:
[34:01] Probably 97.

Speaker 3:
[34:03] You're close. Reverse those numbers and you're...

Speaker 2:
[34:08] 79.

Speaker 3:
[34:08] 79 members.

Speaker 2:
[34:10] Yeah. See, because they just let it go. They kind of, it was so good. And then they just, like nobody had control of that. You know what I mean? To where Hunter was super specific about, yeah, that's, we're not, that's not a thing.

Speaker 3:
[34:25] How many total members did DX have?

Speaker 2:
[34:27] So it was Sean and Hunter and then China and Rick Rood was in it at once. Then Kid, me and Brian.

Speaker 3:
[34:40] Hornswoggle?

Speaker 2:
[34:41] No, we don't know. That was a-

Speaker 3:
[34:43] Sorry, Dylan.

Speaker 2:
[34:44] Yeah, he can't say I was a part of DX.

Speaker 3:
[34:46] He says he's the official mascot.

Speaker 2:
[34:49] No, he's not anything. He's no, no.

Speaker 3:
[34:54] He's nothing?

Speaker 2:
[34:55] He's nothing. He got to dress up one day. It's like my kids when they dressed up for show and tell as their dad. You're not me. You're like, and you don't get to say you're me.

Speaker 3:
[35:07] So that was it. The seven numbers.

Speaker 2:
[35:09] Yeah. So I think that's, that's what it comes down to.

Speaker 3:
[35:11] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[35:12] You know what I mean? And then there's some people that say the four horsemen were the best faction of all time. I mess with Tully all the time. I go, hey, how's it feel to be like the third best? But yeah, it's, it's just a matter of opinion. It's, it's a matter. I feel we had just as much of an impact as they did. I feel they got their impact because they were kind of the guys that just took, took their ball and went to WCW, which was great at the time for them. That was amazing. Like I'm not taking nothing away from it, you know, but, but we were both super impactful together.

Speaker 3:
[35:47] What's the career highlight for you? You've done it all, like you said, but what's the one moment that you're most proud of?

Speaker 2:
[35:53] Working with my kids above, above anything and above all is being able to work with my kids. Like that, there's like, I'll get all, I get all weird. I don't know. I get all weird when I talk because it was so good and it was so, I don't know. I don't, I don't, I can't explain it because if you're like, you're well, you're a parent, right? And every time they do something, it's like, that's the most amazing thing. And then they do something else and you go, that's the most amazing thing. And my kids were awesome.

Speaker 1:
[36:30] They really were.

Speaker 2:
[36:32] They were just amazing kids. Great in school, go to school, go to college, do all that stuff. But then when Austin did it, it was one thing and then Colten doing it and then being able to be in the ring and work next to them while I yell at them. I yell at them when they're working and them going, dad, stop it, stop it. There's nothing, nothing that tops that. There really isn't. I wish there was, but it ain't getting better than that.

Speaker 3:
[37:05] I know Austin wanted to be a wrestler from the jump.

Speaker 2:
[37:08] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[37:09] How did you get Colten into this?

Speaker 2:
[37:10] So I didn't do it, he did it on his own. So Austin did the whole, you know, went to Cody when Cody was still there and asked him if he could have a tryout because he was doing some stuff with ROH when they were there and that just kind of fell through. So he wanted to get a job at AEW because I was there and I went, well, don't look at me. Why ain't that guy? You know that. So he did like they literally did it on their own. He went to Cody and said, hey, I'd like to try out, went to talk to Tony. They said, yeah, he had a tryout. And then you can't not, as much as I'd like for them not to be good, you can't, the energy that he has and the at the time how young he was, and you could see he's only going to get better. How do you not hire him like that? You would be insane if you didn't. And then we did some stuff together. And then Colten kind of was getting the, you know, the replay of all that. And because he was living in California with his girlfriend, and he went to Rikishi School on his own. He called Rikishi and goes, Hey, I'd like to come to school and just kind of, you know, if you'll just kind of run me through some stuff. I, the thing at the end of the day is he just didn't want to let this pass him by and him regret not ever trying. Because Colten is completely the opposite of Austin. When they, when they like to be around them off of this, in this environment, Colten's super introverted. Like not super introverted, super introverted. That's my wife over there. Sorry. I have to ask her.

Speaker 3:
[38:57] The wonderful Paula.

Speaker 2:
[39:00] Is Austin so out there, like she says it all the time, he's me times a hundred. So if you can imagine that. And then Colten is opposite of that.

Speaker 3:
[39:11] Which is crazy because Colten looks just like a young Billy Gunn.

Speaker 2:
[39:15] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[39:15] And Austin acts like a young Billy Gunn.

Speaker 2:
[39:21] There's no denying they're my kids. But yeah, he just didn't want to have that regret. He went to Rikishi's school and he ran him around some stuff. And he goes, OK, so he had come home for a week to Orlando. We were still living there. And he goes, hey, can I talk to you? And I went, yeah. He goes, I think I want to do this. And I almost hit the floor. And I told her and it was like, wait a second. Where did, because he's the kid that has literally, since he started school in kindergarten, had his life planned until he was 80. That's him. That's Colten. I'm going to go to little school, then I'm going to go to medium school, then I'm going to go to big school, then I'm going to go to bigger school, then I'm going to have a job. I'm going to have kids. I'm going to do all this. And they had it all planned. And this just totally threw me for a little. I went, oh, where did, and then he told me what he did and everything because he just, he didn't want to tell me and then go do it and then something fall through. I think it was kind of not to let me down, but he could never do that. But he did it and came home and I said, well, you have to move back to Florida because I have to train you. I'm not, you know, you can't, as much as I love Rikishi and stuff, I'm not going to let him start without me having hands on him like I did Austin. I did the same thing with Austin, started Austin as soon as he kind of got some groundwork to him. Then we sent him here and over there, wherever he wanted to go. Luke Hawke School, Ken Anderson School, and let him kind of get his feet wet other places other than me. And then he did, he came back, and I, well, we had the talk. I said, well, if you do this job and you want to be successful at it, you can't be you. You have to, you have to, you're going to have to, and I feel that was our biggest struggle. That was my biggest, I guess fear would be a thing because he's going to do all this and then he's going to stay in turn, you know, and not have that thing that's very bland because you're not willing to put yourself out there. And about, what about a month? We both looked at each other and went, who's that kid? Who's that? Like where, like, I feel this helped him in a, in a huge way of, of he understood, okay, this is just something I do. This is, this is something that I play. I'm not going to try to match Austin's energy because you can't, there's nobody on planet earth that can match that kind of energy and the way that he is. Because once you start trying to emulate or match or bring that much, then it, then you can see right through it. And it's super fake and the people know it. And then you instantly crash. But yeah, he started doing it and kind of getting out of his shell and then he's in that group. He's like the, the putter together. He's the one that analyzes everything. That's what was so different about training Austin to Colten. Because Austin says that he had it so easy because he never got yelled at or never got disciplined or whatever that is. And he said, dad was so tough on me. He was so rough because that's Austin. That's the way you have to be with him. You do, there's no, if you're a coach, you know the kids that you got to put your foot upside their head, and then you know the ones that you got to settle down with. And Colten was more, when you tell him something, he has to analyze. He's an analyzer and then a doer to where Austin's just go, just tell me what to do, and he runs and do. But, yeah, it's amazing how good, and together, they're so good together. They feed off each other really well. They both know who they are in a sense. I mean, they're still kind of in finding themselves, but that's just what the wrestling is. It takes a little while to find who you are and to figure out what you want to do and where you want to go.

Speaker 3:
[43:29] I love how proud you are when you talk about it.

Speaker 2:
[43:33] Yeah, they are. I can't be in the ring and watch them anymore because they're so funny. They're so fun to watch that it's amazing. It is.

Speaker 3:
[43:43] Who's the best person you've ever been in the ring with?

Speaker 2:
[43:50] Probably, although Eddie probably was one of them because even though our stuff that we did wasn't long, him, Chris Benoit, I know that's a no, but it's just a fact. The intensity that he was was amazing to work with. Of course, Sam and Jr, the head shrinkers, because they had to take us for the first year we were there, were the patience and the way that they taught us, and they never got frustrated. They just, they knew, the cool thing was is they knew what their job was, was to help new guys, and they did an awesome job. I mean, I like to say that everybody that I've been in the ring with is good in one way or another, because I hate picking out just one thing, because that would mean that I kind of feel like I diminish everybody else that I've been in there with, but the most significant, of course, would be Ron and Don Harris, because they're the ones that got me started. And then it would have to be the head shrinkers, because they had to teach us, and they literally taught us everything that they knew in a year. You know, that made us kind of start understanding what we were doing and understanding where we had to go and how to put stuff together and psychology and stuff, because they were stuck. They were stuck with us. So that would be the most significant part of my wrestling career, you won the Intercontinental Championship for Matty Guerrero.

Speaker 3:
[45:30] What was it like working with him?

Speaker 2:
[45:31] It was amazing. Like it was like there's one thing where I press him over my head and he goes, drop your left hand. And I went, no, I'm not going to let him drop my left hand. Like, like I didn't understand. I knew exactly what he was saying, but I did. It wasn't comprehending. Like, I'm not going to let you go and land on your head. I'm just not. And he goes, let your left hand go. He's like starting to get mad at me. So I just let my left hand go and he never moves. He stays right there. And I went, oh, this is awesome. He's making me look like a million bucks right now. But he's just, he was just like, there's nothing that you have to worry about. Like nothing. It's just, it flows. You just stay in the moment of where you are. And he just, he just has this, had this knack of just going wherever we needed to go. It's not that we sat and talked about a bunch of stuff. It's just, I knew my position in that match and I just had to listen.

Speaker 3:
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Speaker 2:
[49:17] So I do a little bit and somebody sent it to me and it's not bad. It's pretty good. Like the people don't realize is that if he likes you, he would work with you. And me and him always got along. He is awesome. And we had like I've worked him a couple of times. That was I think was one of the only times I really worked him on TV. But we would do some house shows together and he was amazing. He really was. And he was good because he never he never he was one that would never take over either. It was kind of like he let me kind of put some stuff together. Then we kind of just kind of went where he wanted to go. And that's how stuff happens. You know, when when lead guys and I'm talking like the most experienced one of the one that thinks he's got to control everything and call everything and not listen is not how you have good things. It's OK, this is the direction we're going. It's not working. If you have if you have something given to me, let's go. I'm I'm super open to go there. Like, what's the worst that it doesn't work either? We just go another direction. That's that's the working part of what we do.

Speaker 3:
[50:33] And at this point, Brock had been in WWE at maybe three years.

Speaker 2:
[50:36] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[50:37] So like you're the one with experience here.

Speaker 2:
[50:38] Yes. Yeah. So we just and it was yeah, he was fun. Like I tell people he's like if he doesn't want to go, he's not going. Like if it's like no, as strong as I think I am, he's double that. And he would just, but he was so easy. He was fun, easy. He was move around all over, do whatever I wanted him to do. And it was amazing.

Speaker 3:
[51:04] I think one of the things that people don't give Brock Lesnar enough credit for even to this day is how well he sells.

Speaker 2:
[51:10] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[51:10] Like he sells his ass off.

Speaker 2:
[51:13] So the thing about him is he knows when to do it. Like there was a match with him and Roman. It was either the first time or the second time where Brock was just smoke rolling him. And I mean, beaten him to death. And then out of nowhere, Roman catches him with a little something and you kind of see the tides. Like it's, I wish I could remember which one it was because it was so amazing. Because now you go from a total killer to somebody that showed some vulnerability. And everybody bit on it. And I mean, they bit hook, line and sinker. And that right there tells you how good he is. Because he just doesn't come out. It's not that back and forth because he's going to beat that life. Because that's what people pay to see, right? And then if he feels it or they need it, then he's just so honed into that. That it's a masterpiece. It is literally a masterpiece of a guy that is indestructible, that has a little kink in his armor. And it's like, dude, that would give you good. Because it's so good. And if you don't know what you're looking for, then you need to figure that out. Because it's so good.

Speaker 3:
[52:32] There's this one chokeslam he took from The Undertaker, where he jumps and he's like way over Taker's head. And then when he gets slammed down, he like flails. And I'm like, a guy that size doesn't need to be doing that. But he does anyway.

Speaker 2:
[52:46] Yes. Yeah. Because it's good. And it's really good.

Speaker 3:
[52:51] What do you think is the biggest difference you've seen in the business now versus, say, 30 years ago?

Speaker 2:
[52:58] This is where I get laced.

Speaker 3:
[53:01] This is where I get laced.

Speaker 2:
[53:08] I feel it's all about moves now. I feel it's just moves. It's just, it's, Chris, you wanna learn how to wrestle? Okay, I'm gonna show you a bunch of moves. Okay, we have a show tonight. You wanna go work it? Sure. And you just, so what are you gonna do? You're gonna do everything I taught you. There's no structure to it. There's no sense to it. There's nothing. You're just doing all the moves that I taught you how to do in however long we have. So the problem is, is the people won't know any different, right? Other than it's the first time that they see you, but you're diving out of the ring. You're landing on your head. You're getting slammed on the apron for some godly reason, which seems to be a thing these days, which if they took their time and did them in the middle of the ring where they're supposed to, they get the same reaction if you do it right as they do when you get slammed on the hardest part of the ring, because now it's cool to be killed halfway through your mat. But it's just moves now to where back then it was, yeah, like there was no moves because everything was structured so good, and the storylines were so good that it's where are the people at? Oh, the rock comes out, or let's say stone cold comes out, and the place goes absolutely ballistic, right? How do you get them out of the ceiling? Well, you punch him right in his mouth and put him on, you know, get him down, get him to where the people don't want him. Is he going to get there? No. Is he, does he know that? Yes, because Steve's probably not a good one because he's just such a butt-beater-upper. I don't want to cause some issue. You can say whatever you want. You know, a tough guy that that, but I'm talking, so let's go the rock. I've worked him a couple of times in singles to get the people out of the ceiling so we can go somewhere to where you get a reaction. He's already got a reaction because they're already doing all this stuff. So you punch him in the mouth, right? You put him on the cell. Now the people are down here because they're going, oh, now let's come on, right? They're just waiting. And the minute you spin him around and he pops me and I flop around like that, the people lose their minds. So now we've done really nothing, but got a monster reaction because we're just playing with the people. We're just, we're taking them where I want to take them. If they're here, how much higher can they go? Nowhere. So they have to get them here so I can get them back to here. So I just feel that it's just a bunch of wrestling moves now. And that's where we're at.

Speaker 3:
[56:08] What do you think that's a product of? Why is that?

Speaker 2:
[56:16] Part of me wants to say that it's patience. They don't have patience to really kind of. And another thing could be times. It could be TV times, although we get, you know, you get plenty of time on our show. Because we wrestle and we do long matches. So I think it's just putting the work in to get them there. It's just the patience when I can get punched and then you fall out of the ring and then I'll just run and dive on you. Right, that's now I'm getting instant gratification for what I'm doing. So if I do that and I go on the other side and jump over the corner out in the people and hit the railing and hit the chair on the way down, now we have them. Well, you don't really have them. You're not doing anything except everybody telling each other, Hey, I think he just died. So I feel they're getting reactions messed up with what they're really doing. And that could just be the old me.

Speaker 3:
[57:19] So what's a match that you would point to and go this? This is my kind of match. Do you have a favorite match?

Speaker 2:
[57:26] So I thought Brody King and Kyle Fletcher on our show did a great. Brody took him out of all his stuff. Like, he's very, he can do any, like those, those two, Kyle and Tekesha, I think, are, you know, so is Will. But I think Will's into, he knows so much that you can't, you can't rope him in. But I thought the last one that I saw that was really good like that was Brody and Kyle, because Brody literally took everything away from Kyle. Every time he tried to do something, he jerked it out from under him and never gave it to him. And then at the right moment, he let Kyle start doing his stuff. And it was amazing of what the reaction and how that match felt doing, because I literally couldn't stop watching it. It was that good.

Speaker 3:
[58:20] Do you have an all time favorite match just as a fan watching?

Speaker 2:
[58:26] I think it was No Way Out, the eight man where we had the surprise guess, which was Sabio Vega. We were just talking about this. And the, yeah, Sabio Vega. Oh, poor Sabio. And I think it was, it was Austin. Who was it? It was Austin, Owen, somebody else, and somebody else. Some of your higher upper echelon. But it was just, everything was done off of feel. Like there's like the, and unfortunately, I'm in the highlight of this thing, is the people were kind of coming out of it a little bit, and me and Austin looked at each other, and I knew exactly what he was going to do at the right time as he went down and got a can and slid in, and I slid in, and he slung it at me like that, and it cracked me right in right between the eyes. And I flipped over, and then the people came right back. So it's one of those things where it's, when we worked, it was all about the feel of the people. Like it's seeing where they're at, what the, you know, if your heat's good, if your comeback's good, it's like, what are the people doing? Like that's who we're here to entertain is the people. We're here to see all how many wrestling moves you can do. It's about entertaining the people, which in turn, that's what makes you a star. That's what gets you over.

Speaker 3:
[59:53] I've talked to a few people who are part of Brawl for All. Steve Blackman, Mark Marrow was just on the show recently. Bart Gunn was part of this. Were you ever pitched to be?

Speaker 2:
[60:02] Not a chance. No way.

Speaker 3:
[60:05] What, what, take me to like how Bart was feeling after that final match with Butterbean. Do you remember?

Speaker 2:
[60:13] So it was, first of all, when they put him in it, I told JR he made the biggest mistake of his life because Bart's just going to massacre everybody because they didn't know. They didn't, like they, you know, I knew. Go to his hometown and mention his name and watch everybody just start quivering because he was that bad. And what they were, you know, the whole concept was whatever it was. And then he was, and I still, I said, dude, he's saying going to go the way you guys are thinking is going to go. And it didn't because he blasted everybody.

Speaker 3:
[60:55] You just thought Bart guy was going to run through everybody.

Speaker 2:
[60:57] Oh, yeah.

Speaker 3:
[60:57] And he did.

Speaker 2:
[60:58] And he did.

Speaker 3:
[60:58] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[60:59] You know, just like I knew he would. Because they just I think it was a lot of because people didn't know. Like Bart's not that guy. He's so calm and collected that you just would never think something like that would come out and he hits like a mule. Good Lord have mercy. And have you been hit by him? Yes. Well, when we used to train, we would train and didn't know anything. And we would just run stuff on each other. And he would throw and damn near knock me out every time he hit me. And, you know, and I would try to knock him out, you know, because we didn't we didn't know anything. We were just watching and then doing. And we don't know nothing about pulling punches. I mean, we kind of understood that, but we didn't know how to do it. It was easier just to hit each other because none of we never complained. You know, we don't know how to complain because we don't know what we're doing. But the thing with the butter bean thing is it irritates him to this day is they sent him to learn how to box because that's what he did. And I think that was his mistake because with every everyone, everything else in that term, he just went in there and started swinging, you know, and kitchen, then it's over. And he didn't do that. He tried to box and got, and all it took was one shot with him because he hits hard too. There's no taking that away from him.

Speaker 3:
[62:15] Butter bean has a ton of power.

Speaker 2:
[62:16] Yes. So when you're trying to step into somebody else's world and do what they do and you have a month to train for it, isn't going to work out when you just go, hey, let me do what I to get here. And if I take my chances that way.

Speaker 3:
[62:32] So he might've had a better chance if he was just swinging. But you were not going to be part of this.

Speaker 2:
[62:37] Not a chance. No.

Speaker 3:
[62:40] I love that we saw a reunion in AEW with you and Rico.

Speaker 2:
[62:44] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[62:44] That was so fun.

Speaker 2:
[62:46] Yes, it was. And that's the fun thing is I've done enough with enough people that every now and then it's fun to bring them back and to see them and to kind of relive that little bit of stuff that we did.

Speaker 3:
[63:01] I say this all the time, but nostalgia is a hell of a drug. So to see you in there with Rico, people are instantly taken to an exact moment in time.

Speaker 2:
[63:10] And that's mostly all of what I do now. It's a nostalgia thing because it's, it's the looks of the parents that bring their kids that literally sit there and go, now you get to see one of the people that I grew up with when I was your age. And now that gives their, that gives them a moment. That gives them some more bonding or something to, like nowadays kids know me and I don't know how, because I know it's the YouTube and all that other stuff, because I have little kids that come up and they say, yeah, he says you're his favorite wrestler. I go, how? Like, how? Is that a thing? But it's, but I'm their favorite wrestler from something that they've never been able to experience. But now when they come and they get to see me in the ring and have fun and do my thing and say the thing that they, you know, used to do with all their college friends, it's a cool, it's a cool moment. And I understand that. And I'm okay with that. If that's the only moment they get, that's okay. There ain't none of them going, hey, we're about to see a five star match. And I don't care because it ain't about, it's not about that for me. It's about how do I make you happy, right?

Speaker 1:
[64:26] How do I make you happy?

Speaker 3:
[64:27] That's what it comes down to for you? That's your core idea when it comes to wrestling?

Speaker 2:
[64:30] How do I make you happy? How do I make everybody in this building remember me?

Speaker 3:
[64:35] Yeah, I love that.

Speaker 2:
[64:37] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[64:37] Yeah. What's the story behind The Famouser?

Speaker 2:
[64:43] So Rich Menzer from LA is going to take credit for this, but because they said they did it with, he has a brother that he said he did it with him when he was little and he kind of, but Marty Gennetti used to do that rocker dropper thing where he holds her hand and puts it over the heads and drops. And I went, well, that's not any good. I can jump like when I was young, I could jump. So I just went, hey, how about if they just stand up and I just do it that way? And I did it a couple of times. And like the more I got used to it, the more kind of juice I could put on it. And it just became a thing.

Speaker 3:
[65:23] Why is it called the Famouser?

Speaker 2:
[65:25] Because back when I was doing it as a heel, when I hit you with it, it made you famous because you got beat by me.

Speaker 3:
[65:32] But then it turned into Fame-asser.

Speaker 2:
[65:35] Yes, because then it was Mr. Ass. And then everything evolves. Like if you have something and you can kind of add to it and make it make more sense, it just makes more like, instead of being famous, right now you can Fame-ass and then, oh, you're Mr. Ass. Oh, now that now that now they connect my finish with me a little bit more.

Speaker 3:
[65:54] So as we sit here today, how is that move spelled? Is it spelled like Famous? Or is it spelled Fame-asser?

Speaker 2:
[66:04] I think the last couple of times I've seen it, it is spelled Fame-ass.

Speaker 3:
[66:09] Okay. Well, you are Mr. Ass.

Speaker 2:
[66:11] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[66:12] Mr. Anus.

Speaker 2:
[66:12] Yeah. Now Daddy Ass. And you just see how everything falls in line.

Speaker 3:
[66:18] Aside from John Morrison, who's Johnny everything, you may be the wrestler who's wrestled under the most names.

Speaker 2:
[66:24] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[66:25] Like I have a list here.

Speaker 2:
[66:26] You do?

Speaker 3:
[66:27] Of all the names you have wrestled under. There's a lot.

Speaker 2:
[66:31] There is?

Speaker 3:
[66:32] Come on, Billy, Billy G, Billy Gunn, Cute Kip. These are all in alphabetical order too. Daddy Ass, Kip, Kip Gunn, Kip James, Kip Montana, Kip Sop, Kip Winchester. Who's Kip Winchester?

Speaker 2:
[66:51] That was what we were with IWA when we first started.

Speaker 3:
[66:54] Mr. Ass, the G-Man, the New Age outlaw, the outlaw, and Rockabilly.

Speaker 2:
[67:05] Wow! There's a bunch, but I feel they're all kind of the same.

Speaker 3:
[67:11] Sure, but they are different.

Speaker 2:
[67:14] They are different, but they all derive from the same thing. So I think they derive from one name and they kind of just branched off. So I don't know if you can say that I've had a bunch of different names.

Speaker 3:
[67:25] You've had a lot of names. You ever thought about changing your name legally to Billy Gunn?

Speaker 2:
[67:29] No, never.

Speaker 3:
[67:31] A lot of wrestlers do.

Speaker 2:
[67:32] They do, but that would be a slap in my dad's face and he would come out of the ground and haunt me the rest of my natural day. And I'm not having that. I'm not having that.

Speaker 3:
[67:41] So your legal name will be what it is, but everyone just calls you Billy.

Speaker 2:
[67:44] And my wife would divorce me if I were to do that because that would be a little too much. She would be gone.

Speaker 3:
[67:50] I love your wife. You're the best, Paula.

Speaker 2:
[67:53] I do too.

Speaker 3:
[67:53] How did you guys meet?

Speaker 2:
[67:57] She was working as a cocktail waitress. I'm just kidding. So I was going to the airport to pick up my mother. And when I lived in Orlando and about halfway there, her flight was delayed. It was going to be delayed like four or five hours. So there's this place called Cowboys in Orlando, big country joint, all the red, all the reds go to. And a bunch of my boys went there. And they said, hey, well, why don't you just come by here for a while? And I went, okay. So I stopped and she and her friend did the exact same thing. They were going home or something and decided to stop in for a minute. And I'm telling the story. So when she came in, she saw me and went totally goo goo over me.

Speaker 3:
[68:50] She's shaking her head now.

Speaker 2:
[68:54] I said, you know, I'm just here to pick up my mom at the airport. I can't, you know, I'm not looking for a relationship with a guy.

Speaker 3:
[69:01] She went, who's this mountain of a man?

Speaker 2:
[69:03] Yes. And good looking.

Speaker 3:
[69:07] Is that Kip Sop?

Speaker 2:
[69:08] No, that's not how it went at all. I'm just trying to be cool. No, but she came in because a lot of my friends were her friends as well. And we all just were sitting there and then me and her just started talking. And then she lived right down the road. So I just went and hung out with her until my mom came. And yeah, look at you guys now.

Speaker 3:
[69:34] Wow. I was always curious.

Speaker 2:
[69:35] Don't think I didn't do everything under the sun to get rid of her and not in a good way. And I mean that in the most respectful way. And she's still around. So yes, she is like, my life doesn't resolve if she's not in it. That's a hundred, not because she's sitting here, but a hundred percent. I'm like, I would be a disaster. A monster disaster.

Speaker 3:
[69:58] I love that. Yes.

Speaker 2:
[70:00] Yeah. She holds, she holds everything together.

Speaker 3:
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Speaker 1:
[71:34] This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary, not available in all states.

Speaker 3:
[72:05] Since we were talking about the famous, or I should have brought this up earlier, your other finisher, the one and only, never gets talked about. That's a great finish.

Speaker 2:
[72:14] It is. And what's his name? So I also got that from Slaughter. Slaughter did the Cobra Clutch and then I just took it to a whole another level, just like we all steal stuff and then go, hey, I don't want to do it like that. Let me do it my own way. Oh yeah. I'll throw you upside down as hard as I can. Jinder Mahal used it for a little while, which was cool. Yeah. So it's not bad. I did it a little while in TNA and took Mikey Batts, if you ever see that. Dude, I'm not kidding you. We're as high as his ceiling. I slung him so high and it was just, and I took Jamie Noble for a ride with it one time. That was almost as high, but Mikey Batts went the highest. He, we were so, like we all jumped and laid out and went. It's amazing. It's actually pretty cool.

Speaker 3:
[73:10] Do you think you could bring this move back? Just pepper it in here and there in an AEW match?

Speaker 2:
[73:15] I mean, you could do it to AEW guys, cause it would be like easy for them because they like to bump really hard. And it's really like, I always felt it was like a super uncomfortable bump. That's why I didn't do it too much until we were in high profile where I needed like a false finish somewhere, because people still remembered if you give it to them. But I never like if I don't do the famous or people will lose their minds. Like that's what, of course, hey, that's what let's do that. Hey, that's what we came to see.

Speaker 3:
[73:44] When was the last time you did the one and only? Was it TNA?

Speaker 2:
[73:48] Nope. Where did I do it? I did it at one of our one FW shows, I think.

Speaker 3:
[73:54] Well, if you bring it out in an AEW or Ring of Honor match, people will remember this exact conversation.

Speaker 2:
[73:59] Exactly. And I probably will.

Speaker 3:
[74:01] Oh, I'll be watching.

Speaker 2:
[74:03] Yes, I probably will.

Speaker 3:
[74:04] I'll text you right after.

Speaker 2:
[74:05] Yeah. Oh, there it is.

Speaker 3:
[74:06] Hey, that's awesome.

Speaker 2:
[74:07] Hey, there's the thing. Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[74:09] I loved hanging with you. It's always such a blast.

Speaker 2:
[74:12] It's easy.

Speaker 3:
[74:13] It's so easy. We just talked for an hour and six minutes. I just flew by.

Speaker 2:
[74:18] It did. It did.

Speaker 3:
[74:18] Man, thank you for always doing this.

Speaker 2:
[74:22] You know that anytime that I can do this.

Speaker 3:
[74:25] So thank you for being a ball of energy and just a light. Like you brighten up every room.

Speaker 2:
[74:30] You have to contribute it to the red lights too. When the cameras are on, I'm a little bit more.

Speaker 3:
[74:36] I remember a time where I ran into you randomly at a service station, like a rest stop on the way. I was driving from Orlando and you were driving to Orlando. We met like halfway and like you just walked in. You were like, you know, all business. You were looking this way. Billy, you didn't look Billy. And then you saw it was me and you went, and there was this instant change. And I was like, I see, I see how it is. But that was so cool that like you just light up.

Speaker 2:
[75:06] I do. There's certain people, one, my wife and two, you that make me light up like that.

Speaker 3:
[75:12] That's it.

Speaker 2:
[75:13] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[75:14] I've asked you this question many times before, but it's how I end every interview because gratitude is such a huge thing for me. It's a cornerstone of my life. I wake up every day, I say out loud three things I'm grateful for. My wife and I do it before we go to bed. And I feel like it really just grounds you to focus on the things that you have rather than being angry about the things you don't have. So Billy, what are three things you're grateful for right now?

Speaker 2:
[75:37] My wife, my kids, and probably my job.

Speaker 3:
[75:45] Yeah, I love that.

Speaker 2:
[75:47] Because Tony still keeps me around, because I like to think it's because I'm good at it. And my wife, because like I said before, she's, I have to have, that's sort of the way fans are. And my kids, because they're just two awesome humans.

Speaker 3:
[76:09] Feel like you're going to wrestle in your 70s. Paula just said yes.

Speaker 2:
[76:14] I know, but I know.

Speaker 3:
[76:15] If you just did one match a year for the next eight years.

Speaker 2:
[76:19] That's no fun. I have to work, work. Or else I just, yeah, I have to, I have to. And I, like I do, I work every weekend, like twice a weekend most of the time.

Speaker 3:
[76:28] If you wrestled in your 70s, how old were you when you debuted? When you had your very first match?

Speaker 2:
[76:35] Was it 25?

Speaker 3:
[76:36] 25. So 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s.

Speaker 2:
[76:41] That'd be insane.

Speaker 3:
[76:42] And how, what, what year did you debut in?

Speaker 2:
[76:46] 92.

Speaker 3:
[76:47] 90s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s. That would be 20s, 30s, five decades. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[76:56] Yeah. Wow. I don't know if I want that accolade. If I want that accolade.

Speaker 3:
[77:03] I think you should. I think DDP has that. Cause he debuted in like 89.

Speaker 2:
[77:08] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[77:08] He can have it. He can have it.

Speaker 2:
[77:11] Oh, and don't let, let everybody know that now that my old good partner and friend Road Dogg is no longer work of that company. We are everywhere. We are, my wife and my wife's phone blew up. Just blew up.

Speaker 3:
[77:29] You're at this convention where we are right now, Squared Circle Expo together. Is there a chance that he might wrestle again?

Speaker 2:
[77:34] No, let's not, let's not be silly.

Speaker 3:
[77:37] Could the new age outlaws wrestle again?

Speaker 2:
[77:39] No, the one of them could, if the other one just stood there and watched.

Speaker 3:
[77:43] Okay. Could Brian just stand on the apron while you do all the stuff?

Speaker 2:
[77:48] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[77:48] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[77:49] He could do that. He would do that. He's not, if it would, I don't even think Elon Musk has enough money to get him to come in when I'm doing that.

Speaker 3:
[77:59] So you don't think that Brian will ever wrestle again?

Speaker 2:
[78:02] I don't think so. I don't, it's, because he, don't get me wrong, he loves the wrestling business, but the wrestling part is not in his.

Speaker 3:
[78:09] He loves the business.

Speaker 2:
[78:11] Yes, but he's, but he's not, not that part of it.

Speaker 3:
[78:14] Not the wrestling.

Speaker 2:
[78:15] Not the physical part of it. The other stuff he's magnificent at. So if you're looking to see us, we're everywhere, everywhere. And when I say that, we're everywhere.

Speaker 3:
[78:27] Except for in a wrestling ring together.

Speaker 2:
[78:29] Yes, you won't see us there. You'll see me there, not him.

Speaker 3:
[78:34] Thank you again.

Speaker 2:
[78:35] Yeah, thank you. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. The message for everyone paying big wireless way too much.

Speaker 3:
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