Q&A With Koloff- #95

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Share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolov. Welcome to another episode of Q&A with Kolov, the Devil's Nightmare.

Danny Warren, welcome to the Q&A with Kolov. Thank you very much for having me. It is great to have you with us. And you and I first met, Danny, back in 2017 when you brought me up to do a 21-city tour in 21 days. And I think I'd been to two out of the 21, so 19 cities and three different provinces that I had never been, I got to experience and see a part of the world I had never experienced before. So let me just once again say thank you for that.

No, thank you for coming up here and sharing that experience with us. You'll be happy to know since then we've added many more Canadian cities to our tours. We're going to have to have you back for round two so you can see even more of Canada next time.

Well, I think I could be game for that and up for that. And so on that note, so if the listeners haven't already figured out, so you have a wrestling promotion there in Canada called? Canadian Wrestling's Elite. Canadian Wrestling's Elite. And of course, you've been promoting wrestling shows for how long? We had our first event in January of 2009, so we're going to be going on our 14th anniversary this upcoming winter. January 2009, and what got you into the promotion end of wrestling was the fact that you had actually became a professional wrestler at a very young age, from what I understand.

Yes, sir. I had my first professional match at the age of 15 years old and never looked back after that and been going ever since. So we're going on your 20 years now for me as an inbred performer. 15, age 15.

I think, of course, I'm trying to remember Bam Bam Terry Gordy I think was relatively young, similar to that story when he broke in. But okay, what prompted you at age 15 to want to become a professional wrestler? Well, particularly if you let me become a professional wrestler at age 5, I probably would have started. Oh my goodness.

Okay. It was something that has always been one direction and it's been tunnel vision. You know, my earliest memories on this planet start at 3 years old and it's watching Hulk Hogan, the WWF, and ever since then it just completely consumed me and my entire life and the direction it's taken it. So as soon as I got an opportunity to get involved with the local wrestling operations here in Winnipeg, I jumped at it as a young teenager, just helping out at the events, ringing the bell, carrying ring jackets to the back, putting out chairs, whatever I could do to be involved.

And then as I got a little bit older, probably still not old enough, I started doing some training and then eventually got my first match at 15. That is absolutely amazing. And of course for you to stay the course in all these years later and then eventually get into the promoting of wrestling. And first class, I'll just say for the record, you put together a first class tour. We covered a lot of miles, I will say that for the record as well.

But all that to say, you have a beautiful country there in Canada and the way you handled your operation, the logistics of everything was just done with such class. And so a great memory for me to be a part of that tour back in 2017. And so all these tours and I'm guessing, besides myself, who are some of the others that you would have had on tour with you up there in Canada? Oh, right around that time that you were up here, I think we had Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff just prior to that. We had Jake the Stink Robert shortly after. We've had many legends up this way. Demolition, you know, the Honky Tonk Man, Scott Steiner.

Literally, if I had to pull up our list here, we'd probably be talking for about an hour. I think there's anybody who has been a major star in professional wrestling that's not under contract somewhere else, has come up to Canada at some point and are under seven under-entry promoting over the last 14 years. So a who's who of wrestling and your actual in-ring experience, how far did that cover around the world? Where all did you go in your in-ring activity?

I've been very lucky. You know, the last 20 years, I've been able to sustain pretty much a full-time schedule and wrestling around the year, you know, mostly here in Canada now that I kind of focus most of my energy on promoting security. But even prior to that, I've kept the full schedule in the United States on a regular basis. I've wrestled in Japan with WWE for the last 10, 12 years whenever they were in the area. That's an extra, and I've done tryouts with them over the course of the last year.

Ring of Honor. Just putting pretty much anyone and anywhere that there's an opportunity to be held or put a knocking on that door at some point or another. Well, that's pretty amazing. And share with us, too, a website. Where can people find out more about your organization? Our website is cwecanada.ca, or if you're more of a social media person, you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube at CWE Canada. And learn more about Danny's organization there.

Pretty amazing. And before we segue here into your questions for me, I know you have a wonderful family there. Share for our listeners a little bit about your family. I have a wonderful wife. We've been together near seven years now. We finally had her persistence. Got married this past November.

She just gave me a dirty look as I said that. And we have a beautiful daughter, Isla, who will be turning four this upcoming January. And now, if I'm not mistaken, I met her on my tour. Yes, you definitely would have met her.

We've been dating just over a year at that point. Yep, yep. I vaguely remember at least seeing her. I'm pretty sure meeting her, but at least seeing her on some of the tour. And I know I've had you on the Man Up show, and I know from our interview there that something just earlier in the year, something major happened that this lovely bride of yours gets credit for.

Yeah, most definitely. She kind of pushed me forward and pushed me in the direction of taking a deeper look and exploring our faith. And that was the decision that has changed our lives in many ways. Yeah, so you made a decision to surrender your life to Christ, which when you shared that with me, Danny, you have no idea how thrilled I was to hear that and what a blessing that was to find that out. And how excited I am for you as a new believer, as a young follower of the faith and following Christ, the opportunity now to be a godly husband, to be a godly father for that beautiful child of yours. And just how the difference you can make, especially with your success and your background in professional wrestling and that platform, you know, God has clearly given you a platform to be a much louder voice for Him outside of all the success you've had for yourself. And now the opportunity to bring Him glory through the success you've had in professional wrestling.

It was just amazing. And so kudos to her. Hey, hey, hats off to her. And so she's there with you, yeah? Yes, she's here with me now. Well, awesome.

You tell her I salute her and congratulate her on nudging you in that direction, that all important decision that really any one of us and every one of us at some point maybe comes to or should hopefully come to. And so, well, on that note, let's transition and segue to some questions you would maybe have for me and fire away, Danny, question number one. Okay, I've got some questions in mind, both of the wrestling and religion genre, so I hope I can hit you from both sides.

Sure. First and foremost, so this is something that kind of hits personal to me, but it's something that seemed to come naturally to yourself as someone who's been wrestling now for 20 years and has been immersed in promoting the majority of my adult life. I'm at a point now as I get a little bit older and the body starting to wear down, you know, asking myself what's next or is there something next outside of the world of professional wrestling for yourself? You at the peak of your career when you were one of the mega stars in the entire world of professional wrestling that that's enough and walked away and never looked back. How were you able to make that decision?

And was that one that was easy to live with? Is there any regret and any insight to somebody in the industry who might be having the same thoughts? That's a great question. And part of the answer goes all the way back to my youth, my younger days, my youthful days. And it's interesting as a youngster now, you know, you started watching wrestling at age three. I saw wrestling, you know, the AWA, Vern Ganya, you know, living in Minneapolis.

I saw it on TV every now and then, but I wasn't drawn to it, but I was familiar with it. Football was my deal, right? And my sights were set on professional football and becoming an athlete. And one thing that always bugged me as a kid was athletes who hung around too long, that didn't know when to say when, like when to hang it up, right? And I remember as a youngster saying to myself, one day when I make it, now at that age, I thought it would be professional football, right?

But I thought when I make it, I'm going to have a career and I'm going to walk away on top. I'm not going to hang around so long or transfer to 10 other teams and, you know, and just be so old that I can't, you know, lace up my cleats, you know? And so when I got into professional wrestling, I literally, for two weeks, had this conversation with Uncle Ivan Kolovshetoita, right? And Don Crenodle that I would be out of active in-ring wrestling by the time I was 35. Well, Don would always argue with, ah, to get your blood, you'll never get out of the ring, you know, whatever. And I'm like, all right, I'm just going to stop discussing it with you.

You will see. So that was my mindset, Danny, breaking into the business. So, fast forward, and that was in, so I broke in in 1984. Fast forward to 1993, you know, my very last match was against a behemoth named Van Vader, Vader time, right?

Big Van Vader, you know, 450 plus pounder. And he injured my neck and I got a hernia all in the same night in the match against him. And so got all that checked out. An updated life story, a tale of the ring and redemption. Go to www.kolov.net and donate today. Nikita Kolov here and I am excited. Did you hear the huge announcement, the big announcement? Well, maybe it's a minor announcement. Anyway, Facebook, go look up my new fan page, Nikita Kolov Fans, and like it and follow today.

You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. So, you know, so fast forward to 1993 and I'm in my very last match against Big Van Vader, right? 450 pounder, you know, and actually had kind of a reputation for being reckless and I end up injuring my hands.

He injures my neck and then I end up getting a hernia because, you know, from picking the behemoth up. And so I get all that checked out and it's over Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's. And so keep in mind, I'm 33 getting ready to turn 34 in just a couple of months. And in my mind, I had hernia surgery, I'm rehabbing the neck and I'm like, you know, I think I'm done. I'm done. So under my own terms, I just walked away with no fanfare, you know, no retirement match or none of that.

I just made a conscious decision, I'm done. And I walked away from the wrestling business and, you know, didn't know what life held for me next. And, you know, part of your question was, you know, was that an easy transition and did I have any regrets? And little did I know I was kind of in a place where I was like, okay, I've made this decision, now what does life hold for me next? So I'm on that path trying to figure that out.

You know, I've got some health clubs, some gyms I own, but I'm like, I don't want to do that the rest of my life. And little did I know, 11 months later, month of October, 17th of October, 1993, I would end up finding my life at an altar, surrendering my life to Christ, had a genuine encounter with Christ that forever changed me from the inside out. And then began to see how the Lord, who has a plan for all of our lives, could take my wrestling career and utilize it as a platform, not to bring glory to myself any longer, which I did for all those years, but now to bring glory to Him. And so fast forward again, 28 plus years later, Danny, I've traveled to 30 different countries, all 50 states. I've ministered to an audience of one, the largest audience being over 73,000 in Jamaica. Lex Luger and I do these camps together called Man Camp, and I do conferences and crusades and revivals.

And never in a million years would I ever dreamed I'd be doing any of that. And last but not least, in terms of regrets, when I think about, you know, certainly as you can attest to all the accolades that come with professional wrestling, right? All the fame and fanfare in and out of the ring, you as a promoter, you as a professional wrestler, certainly has its merit.

However, all of the championship belts I wore around my waist, all of the the fame and the fanfare that comes with professional wrestling, I can honestly, truthfully say pales in comparison to the number of people I have seen make some level of a decision in surrendering their life to Christ. And the price tag on that, there isn't one. It's priceless.

You can't put a price tag on that. And one last thought, Lex and I have talked about this a number of times. He thought I lost my mind when I walked away from wrestling because it was right before the big guaranteed contracts in the whole deal.

He and I conservatively have figured that I probably walked away from 30 to 50 million dollars. Wow. Crazy, right?

I mean, for real. Right. But man, it just remind what shall it profit a man to gain this whole world, but yet lose his soul. And so I there's no telling the impact I've been fortunate enough to make for for the kingdom of God and being able to be a minister and share my story.

No price tag you can put on that. And that's where I'm excited for you to see how the Lord will now use you and your story moving forward. Danny, recognizing your body can only take so much, right? Most definitely. Yeah. So the older I get.

Yeah. And you can continue on obviously promoting, doing all that, but what a difference you can now make, you know, whether it's going across Canada or wherever else, you know, doors of opportunity might open for you to take that wrestling platform and be able to shine the light on God's kingdom, you know, and not on yourself. And so I'm super excited for you. Well, you kind of you kind of touched on it, but it kind of segues my next question. You said you had an experience that brought you to God. So my second question for you would be how was there was there a defining moment where you where you knew God was real and God was in your life? Because for a lot of people who aren't, you know, raised in religion or are skeptical of religion, you know, you'll hear people say, oh, it's crazy talk this man in the sky with all this power and control. That's silly.

You know, that that's the skepticism and the criticism some people have that that aren't a part of the faith. What was the reaffirming moment where you knew this is for this is for real and this is something I need in my life? Yeah, it's such a great question, because so so I didn't, you know, everyone why I shouldn't even say everyone knows by now, because I just talked to a woman the other day until three, three days prior. She didn't know I wasn't from Russia. And then that I spoke English. So I can't I still can't assume that everybody knows I'm not from Russia, but I'm not right. I'm from Minnesota. Right. And so, yeah, it's just crazy.

I'm like, go on the Internet or something. But anyway, I guess it's an attribute to how well I developed my persona and my character. But all that to say, so I didn't grow up in Russia, but but Danny, I didn't grow up in church either. That's not to say I never went to church because I did.

I remember as a kid, a handful of times Easter, Christmas, you know, attending church. And I say that to say there was never really a time looking back on my life that I would say I never believed there. As you said, you know, the man in the sky kind of that, you know, or there.

Oh, there's not really a God. I've just kind of innately always believed there was a God. When I look around at our world, some of the beautiful things, your country and some of the beautiful things I've been able to experience, the Grand Canyon and, you know, you know, Mount Everest. I mean, some of the things I've been able to do, I look and go, OK, you know, the glaciers of Alaska. When I walked the glaciers of Alaska, I'm like, there has to be a God because this just wouldn't happen.

You know, somebody throwing, banging some things together. OK, all that to say. So I would say that. But through my wrestling career and, you know, the first 34 years of my life, I certainly wasn't serving God and certainly had never surrendered my life. I knew the story that there was this man named Jesus who died on a cross, who had spikes driven through his nails and his hands and, you know, through his hands and his feet and a spear through his side. So I knew the story, Danny, but just knowing the story didn't impact my life or change me. That aha moment for me came going back to 1993 when I left wrestling and I reached the pinnacle. Right.

You know, all kinds of championship belts and traveled all over the world. But yet I realized there was something still missing in my life. I'm like, is this it? Is this all there is?

I'm like, what's missing? And then I'd met this Christian couple through business outside of wrestling and invited me to their church. And as I mentioned, I called them one day and said, hey, I'll be there Sunday. And and I say this in one of my books.

So I've got my the book I wrote, Wrestling with Success, I talk about this and of course, more detail in Nikita, A Tale of the Ring of Redemption, my full story, how I was successful, Danny, but I was unfulfilled. And I look back now and I'm like, you know, I believe God puts eternity in every one of our hearts. Some seek that out and find it and some don't.

We know from scripture they don't. But for me, I found it. I'm in that church service on that Sunday morning. The pastor gives what we know is an invitation or some call it an altar call. So, hey, if you've never surrendered your life to Christ, we want to provide that opportunity for you. And that was honestly my aha moment.

That was like, oh, my gosh, you know what? I just figured out what's missing in my life. A relationship with Jesus Christ goes beyond just knowing about him or who, but actually being introduced to and know and really knowing him down deep in my knower. And so I went to the altar that day, got on my knees that day fresh off a television.

And I can tell you it was a genuine encounter. No one's ever going to convince me that that what I encountered that morning at that altar wasn't real because it changed everything for me, Danny. I mean, everything from how I began to look at life, how I see life, see others in life, words coming out of my mouth.

I mean, just every thing changed. And so that's how it became so real for me. And for those listening out there that maybe are skeptical, as you said, to religion or skeptical to Christ. You know, my response would be if you've never given him a chance, the heart is the key. It's not the head.

It's the heart. And if you've never given him a chance, perhaps open up your heart and even ask this question. OK, God, if you're real, then reveal yourself to me. And I feel pretty confident to say if you ask that question, God will reveal himself to you. So great question, Danny.

Great question. Great answer. Well, I appreciate it. Well, I think we got time. If you got one more, I think we got time for one more if you've got it. OK, I've got one more for you, but it's more so me looking for advice and a straight formal question, if that's OK. Yes, sir. So as we mentioned, I'm new to the faith and it's something I'm still very green to and I'm still learning and picking up as we go.

But I feel I've kind of hit a bit of a rut here. Just some quick background. Me and my family, we found our faith well living in the United States. We left Canada due to some political turmoil here that was making things difficult for us to provide a living for ourselves and generate an income for ourselves.

So we decided to relocate to the United States. And during that time, my wife was having some spiritual troubles that needed to be addressed that brought us to the Lord. And the Lord presented himself to us very much like you mentioned.

You'll show up if you ask. He definitely did in a big way that had me go, whoa, wow, and really had me kind of walk, walk in that direction. But, you know, upon asking for that help and looking for guidance, we found or a pastor found us. I'll share the long story another time. But ultimately, I was approached by a pastor while looking for a church. He had no idea we were looking for one, no idea my family was in need of one. And he approached us in a public place and introduced himself to us and invited us to be a part of his community and come check it out. And it was like, whoa, we literally were just having this discussion about a week ago in our household. And here this guy is and a part of it. And this is still something I'm figuring out and learning.

And maybe you can clarify. So this church we went to was considered an apostolic church. And one of the points of confusion I have and I most definitely did then is when looking for a church, my wife was very adamant it had to be a certain type of church. There's Catholic Church, there's Lutheran Church, there's Baptist Church, there's countless different ones that I came across that I remember I found.

I can't remember which one specifically, but I found one close to our house before we found one. And I made it a Catholic Church and I said, all right, I found you a church, we're going to Sunday. She's like, no, no, we're not going to that one, not that type of religion. And it was completely mind-blowing and confusing to me because I didn't realize there was different sectors or different types. To me, I always assumed it was just all God, it was Jesus, it was all church.

But then to find out now there's these different beliefs or there's different thoughts or different interpretations really sent me for some confusion. But upon this pasture finding us, luckily for myself, I hit it off with him very well personally. And he was very open to what had to be an annoyance of questions and skepticism I had, which made it very easy for me to transition and make myself a part of that community because there was no judgment. And he was very, very open to discussing a lot of the concerns I had to make me comfortable with the idea of following in these footsteps. So since returning home here to Canada, we have not been able to find an apostolic church, which is ideally what I wanted to transition into because it's what I've only known so far and it was a situation I was comfortable with.

So I felt that was the ideal process. We have not been able to find one. So since returning to Canada, we've been without a church. And that's something that's been kind of eaten away at me because I really enjoyed attending service and attending Bible study. And we're going to church upwards of three times a week every week to not going at all since returning. And I feel that's definitely been detrimental to my spiritual growth, so to speak.

So with that not being an option for me at the moment, is there an alternative? Is there a difference between the different ideologies of the church? And without having an apostolic one to go to, is there another genre to fit into? Maybe just make sense of the confusion in my head on what's right and what's wrong and what's the proper path to take when trying to explore Jesus. And everyone's telling you, hey, we're selling it over here, but we go about it a little bit different than the guys down the street.

Yeah, yeah. So I mean, it's really it's a great question. I mean, I have ministered, just so you know, in 28 or 29 different denominations, right, from Baptist to Lutheran to Wesleyan to, I mean, a lot of different ones, right? Assembly of God, Church of God. And so there are a lot of different denominations out there. So let me first let me first say in terms let me first address the fact you can't find one currently. Fortunately, at this point, as as an alternative, as an alternative, there are some incredible, incredible ministries online now.

So, OK, so thankful for that. And I'll be sure to get you some of that information, some of the ones I might recommend that I know are very grounded in the faith. And and and may give you some you might say some exposure to some of these different denominations that that it's OK that they're there. You know, they're a different denomination because at the end of the day, Danny, here's what's important. That they're preaching the full gospel and the truth of God's word from cover to cover. Right. So so that's that's the kind of a short a shorter answer to your question is until the Lord directs you.

And here's the other part of that equation. You guys keep continue to pray and continue to ask the Lord, Lord, is there a local church body that we could be a part of? And and I recommend sometimes people, you know, visit a couple, three, four or five churches, you know, where their doors are open and that you go a couple, you know, a couple of times, three times, you know, more more than once just to see, OK, is this it? And I feel confident to say the Lord will direct you to to that next step in your journey as to a home church and a part of a community that community that you can be a part of. And until that time, I'll I'll send you and shoot you some some recommendations and information on on some online ministries that that I feel, again, very confident, can help to feed you because you are you are very wise to recognize I need this for my own spiritual growth.

I need these resources so that I can grow. OK, so I'll get that information to you. But is that it's a kind of a shorter answer, condensed answer. But does that help? Is that helpful? Most definitely.

And that's that's appreciated because I can't think of a time I was spiritually just overall more happy than I was during our time. Yeah. You're part of a community. Yeah. Yeah. And with a good purpose.

Yes. And it's crazy, because if you would have told me even two months prior that I'd be attending church three times a week and actually enjoy it, I would have called you a crazy person. I understand, Danny. I understand. Well, man, I'm super excited. And when we get to you, I'll tell you what else is going to help when when when it works out and we get you to man camp. I assure you that what you're going to be equipped with and through the teaching and training is going to set you on a course, man.

You're just going to you're going to shoot through the roof. OK, so I'm very much looking forward to it. I appreciate that. Well, Danny Warren, thank you for being on the Q&A with Koloff today. Some some great questions.

I know it's going to be helpful to a lot of our listeners as well. And look forward to look forward to that return trip to Canada one day. Well, make sure you bring some knee pads. I hear you. All right. Well, God bless you, man. I'll be praying for you, your wife and your beautiful family there, OK? Thanks a lot, Nikita.

All right. Have a wonderful day. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers, support and generous gifts.

May God bless you for your continual contributions. Go to Koloff.net and donate today. I, Nikita Koloff, be sure to check out the Man Up show now available on television, broadcast and podcast. Go to MorningstarTV.com or the Truth Radio Network. Check out your local listings or better yet, download the Truth Network app today. Nikita Koloff here.

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