Q&A With Koloff- #128

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Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is set for one flaw. Introducing first for Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolov. Welcome to another episode of Q&A with Kolov, the Devil's Nightmare. A pleasure today to have on Q&A with me, all the way from the great state of Texas, Liv Hernandez. Liv, welcome to the Q&A show.

Thank you for having me. Liv Hernandez, let's let our listeners know kind of, you know, where I mentioned the great state of Texas. Let's share a little bit with them, you know, who you are and what you're doing out, where you are and what you're doing out in the great state of Texas. Well, I live in San Antonio.

I'm a wife, a stay-at-home mom, a self-published author and poet, and I love living in Texas. San Antonio and the Alamo, right? Historical, right? The Alamo?

Oh yes, definitely. And San Antonio is, of course, I have toured the Alamo and I have wrestled out in San Antonio and one of my nemesis, you might say, is from San Antonio. A man by the name of Tully Blanchard, who was part of the infamous Four Horsemen back in the day.

And of course, Tully is back there now. He's actually on staff at John Hagee's church there. Is it Cornerstone? I hope I have that name right, maybe.

I don't know. Are you familiar with John Hagee's church out there, Liv? I just watched one of their live streams on, I think, Facebook a few Sundays ago and I was really blown away by what they had to say. Yeah, I mean, and of course, Tully heads up their prison ministry there for John Hagee's church and Tully's been involved in prison ministry for many, many, many years. Now, I know you have a little wrestling background as well. You watched a little bit of wrestling growing up, Liv?

Not really growing up. I didn't start getting into wrestling until I met my husband, but he's been watching it since, I want to say, the 80s when they would have Saturday night wrestling and all that. So he's been a fan for the longest time. He goes way back.

So he's the avid, the loyal fan. And what's your husband's name? Christopher.

Christopher. And I know you said stay-at-home mom, so you're homeschooling there in San Antonio? Yes. Okay.

And you obviously enjoy that. Now, do you have any kind of a background besides being a stay-at-home mom? Any other background or been out there prior to that in the marketplace? Not really. I worked the usual jobs after high school.

I was in fast food for a little bit as I moved around with my family and then jobs working at Walmart and then at other little stores around town. Okay. And you're not originally from San Antonio then? No.

I was born and raised in California. Okay. And the Alamo is quite a tourist attraction, isn't it? Oh, yes. It really is.

Brings a lot of people to town. And so you mentioned poetry. And as part of your introduction, you mentioned poetry. And I think that's how we first got connected. We're going to talk about that in a moment. But I think you said, is it all self-authored?

Yes. I do everything myself. And what inspired you to get involved in writing poetry? That actually goes way back to when I was in high school in English literature classes. I loved reading poetry.

And I was always very shy, even now I am. So I used to kind of use writing poetry as a way to express myself and meet new people. And that was actually how I sort of got my husband's attention when we were first dating. I would write him poems. Like love poems. And then it branched off into other forms of poetry.

So some romantic poems for your future husband there? Is that what I'm hearing? Yes. Wow.

Okay. I'm going to have to interview him here one day and get his response to that. How he felt about that.

And I'm hoping, I'm hoping, I'm going to really, I hope it will throw him under the bus. I hope he still has some of those in a shoebox somewhere or something. Do you know if he's kept any of those?

Kept some of those? I do not know. I never thought to ask him. Uh oh, uh oh. Tell him not to get mad at me.

I hope I didn't just get him in trouble there. But nevertheless, nevertheless, what a way of romanticizing your future husband and writing poems. So did you have back in high school, did you have like a favorite poet, like Longfellow or did you have anybody who was a favorite poet for you that inspired you? It has always been Shakespeare, especially that rhyming format, which is what I try and do in most of my poems.

I try to rhyme them, but that's where I got most of my inspiration from. Shakespeare. That's a pretty good one.

That'd be a good one to pattern yourself after. And so, all right. So, so, so you started, so how many books at this point, how many books have you self-published then? I want to say over 10 books because I started publishing them back in 2016, so. Okay.

Over 10. And I, and I know, so some of them, I'm guessing are some of them available on Amazon. How could people get Liv Hernanza's poetry books? They are all available on Amazon and I guess it's a pretty easy name to look up, so I'm guessing.

Well, good. What's your favorite, so I know you said you like to do the kind of the rhyming format. Do you have, do you have favorite, favorite poems that you've written or some that, that what do they, what do they center on? Do they kind of cover different, different things? They do cover different things. I've tried writing about different stuff.

I've even tried writing actual stories in the past, which I also published, but lately my main inspiration for my poetry is poems about God and about Christianity and right now they're sort of based off of Bible verses as inspiration. Wow. And, and do you have one handy? Oh my gosh, I'm actually really nervous. Don't be nervous. Don't be. Hey, well, why are you thinking of the answering that question? I know, I know you were inspired by a couple pro wrestlers.

So even though you weren't a huge fan growing up, but I know your, your husband, he is. And, uh, the initial is one initial. So the initials are SB and the other initials most recently I come to find out are NK. Now it just so happens, gosh, wait a minute, Nikita Koloff. Uh, and of course the SB that I'm referring to, I'm gonna just give the audience out there a moment to, to kind of connect some dots here. They're going SB who's name. So he doesn't wrestle by his name. He wrestles by another name and, uh, which would be the iconic sting.

And of course who I'm referring to is Steve Borden. So, all right, Liv, what, what inspired you to write some, how did Steve Borden and Nikita Koloff inspire you to write a poem or, or more than one? I don't know, but how that happened? How did that happen?

Well, the first story was, um, or the first inspiration was, I want to say about a year ago, I had been struggling a lot, especially when it comes to faith and just sort of trying to find a, you know, a purpose in life. And, uh, I've been watching wrestling with my husband AEW and we saw sting. He had just made his appearance or, you know, I was trying to catch up on wrestling and he was into AEW.

He's a big fan now. So he was telling me all about that. And he goes, you know, he's a, he's a Christian now. And I'm like, okay, well, that's interesting. So I went online and I was sort of searching for his testimony, you know, just curious to see what, what everybody had to say. Cause I'd heard about religion growing up and stuff like that, but it never really stuck with me until I read his story. And I was like, wow.

Okay. So this was a guy who had everything, you know, he's rich, he's famous and he decided to change his life around. Maybe I could do the same. And then it sort of inspired poetry cause I had been stuck on, uh, I guess suffering from writer's block from like years. I couldn't find that inspiration to get going again. And then most recently my grandparents passed away also, and they were really big figures in my life.

So that kind of sent me into a downward spiral, excuse me, because they were very devout in their religion and faith. And so I started struggling again and that was when I had heard back from you about the book actually. And, um, I found your testimony after talking to you in the last interview and you said something which I related to a lot, which gets me very emotional. So I don't really want to, you know, but, um, the one thing you said that stuck with me and really inspired this poetry book was you talked about feeling that emptiness or that void and like searching for things in life that would make it go away. And I was like, that's exactly how I felt.

That's exactly how I've been feeling all these years. And you talked about meeting God, that God could take that away. And so you sort of inspired the poems again and sort of brought my faith back, I guess. Led you down that path to move from, as you have said a couple times, from religion to what some now know as a relationship, right, which is what Jesus himself did.

He, you know, he came into the heart of religion, you know, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, all the ones who thought they were doing so well and trying to maintain and keep the law, the law of Moses, only to find out that it's not about the law of Moses. Not, I mean, that there's, it factors in, but more than anything, he said, no, you must be born again, born of the spirit. You must open your heart. And cause the only thing that's going to fill that void you're talking about, Liv, for those out there in listening land. You know, whether you're trying to fill it with, with writing poetry, writing a book or, or climbing the corporate ladder or becoming a superstar wrestler or, or anything else.

There's nothing that's going to fill that void in your heart, that emptiness in your heart, other than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And, and that's what I experienced, Liv, in 17 October, 1993, as you know, when you heard my testimony and Stinger, August of 1998. Real quick backstory on Sting. I get saved in 1993. I, I'll use the word confront.

I confront him at the, at the Charlotte Coliseum in December of 1995 and, and corner him. And man, I just like, I'll say it this way. I just like threw up Jesus all over him for about 30 minutes till appointed. He's like, I got to go get ready for a match. And I'm like, well, continue this conversation.

He's like, oh no, we won't. He didn't say it to me, but he said, he thought it, he later told me he thought it only, only three years later for him to surrender his, like the point you just made. He had fame, he had fortune, all the bling of the world, but at the end of the day, you can achieve and acquire a lot of, a lot of stuff.

But without Jesus, man, you're still going to be empty. And so he came, he came to that conclusion in 1998 and then I had the privilege of actually coming out to Texas numerous times and spending time on his ranch with him and, and helping, you might say a small role in helping disciple, mentor, just build a much deeper relationship between him and I than we had in the wrestling business. That was probably more on the professional side, but this became more personal and more intimate. And still we have that relationship, relationship to this day. And so I'm thankful, Liv, that Steve's testimony and story could inspire you as, as mine has, not only to write poetry, but more importantly, most importantly, Liv, to open your, open your eyes and ears and, and, and, or your heart to understand now that it's not, it's not about religion.

You know, it's about relationship and that that's the one true thing that can fill somebody's heart. So, well, okay. So you, you've, so you inspired to write these poems, you know, as Sting and I inspired you to write, write more poetry and poems.

Is there one where, is there one you have in front of you that you could share or, or not to put you on the spot, but if, if not, that's okay. We'll just inspire people to go to Amazon and get your books and, and read all these inspired poems. So what do you think? Okay, well, since I'm talking to you, I might as well read the poem that's, I guess, written about you then. Come on, read it, read it.

Come on, go ahead, read it. Okay. Would your company, business, or you personally like to partner with me in supporting Koloff for Christ Ministries, the Man Up Show, and Man Up Minutes? Go to koloff.net and click the donate button.

You can give monthly, annually, or one time. God bless you for making a difference around the world. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Nikita Koloff 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 Koloff Fans, and like it and follow today. If you would like to support Koloff for Christ Ministries, for a gift of $25, Nikita will send you his two CDs, Adoration and Declaration. For a gift of $50, Nikita will include his book, Wrestling with Success. And for a gift of $100 or more, Nikita will include a signed copy of his newly updated life story, A Tale of the Ring and Redemption.

Go to www.koloff.net and donate today. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. It doesn't actually have a title.

I didn't title it in the book, but okay. It starts off by saying, teacher, preacher, continue to speak your words. Your wisdom and guidance need to be heard. We can learn so much from you, whether you're speaking to many or few. Your message is clear and reaches every ear. We will not turn away. We want to hear what you have to say. Continue instructing us and bringing the light down the path that is right.

You are guiding them towards the truth and turning them away from a lifestyle that is uncouth. Wow, Liv, come on. Thank you. I am humbled by that. God bless you.

Thank you so much. Wow. Wow. And so people just, again, people can go to Amazon and find all of your books and all of your collections, right?

Yes. So Liv Hernandez. Well, it is Q&A with Koloff. I'm getting sidetracked here with your fascinating story. And by the way, she referred to another interview. So I did interview Liv. You can get more of her story on the Man Up show.

So please go and go over there and check that out and hear her full story. So questions and answers. So, Liv, do you have a question or two for me that will segue over to your questions?

Actually, yes, I do. I was so nervous. I spent all night preparing.

And, of course, my husband, he was so excited about this. He's like, let me help. I'm going to do research right now. And I was like, what kind of research are you doing?

He's like, I'm watching all his old matches on YouTube. I'm like, oh, okay, that's what you're doing. I love it. Okay.

All right. What do you give you? What do you got?

What do we got? Okay, well, he came up with three different questions. Well, we talked about it and he would like to know what was your favorite wrestling match that you were a part of?

Oh, man. You know, it's really honestly, it's hard to narrow them down. Like, you know, I had a lot of, I got the privilege of wrestling a lot of, you know, I wrestled Sting many times, right? And some that people remember more than any are the chain matches I had against Sting, right? And eventually though, you know, I'd win him over and we'd become tag team partners. And so we were partners in a lot of matches as well as opponents with one another. But, you know, Stinger comes to mind, Lex Luger, who now he and I partner up and facilitate a camp called Man Camp and never in a million years would I thought standing in a cage in Greensboro, North Carolina, wrestling the total package. Lex Luger would we one day have a ministry together and be ministering to men.

That's another, but God story right there. So memorable matches against Lex. Of course, there's a blonde hair guy who's probably well known by his woo, you know, which would be Nature Boy Ric Flair. He's got a rank right up there at the top because within 13 months of breaking into the business, I'm the world six man champion, the world tag team champion with Uncle Ivan. And I'm wrestling the Nature Boy for his world heavyweight title at the very first ever Great American Bash.

And so that one is incredibly memorable. And then I'm going to mention this wasn't a match. It was a series of matches against the legendary Magnum TA. And it was for the best of seven series for the United States heavyweight title. And of course, the dirty Russian would end up walking away with that belt and representing the United States and draw the the dire, the heat of all the fans, the hatred of all the fans in doing that.

But that series of matches ranks right up there as well. So there's a few I can't hard to narrow them down, but I'll just throw those few out. So great question. What what else did he give you? What advice do you have for someone who's lived a life of crime but now wants to change their life around and embrace God?

Hmm. Lived a life of crime. Well, all of us are born into iniquity. So in one respect or another, we could all really identify with living a life of crime, even if not, if not literally, figuratively, right? Because according to the Bible, we're all born into iniquity.

We're all, you know, from our mother's womb, Scripture says. And as we are mentioning earlier, it's only by a transforming encounter with Christ can you turn your life around. And and you don't have to be a famous wrestler to recognize or realize, again, going back to that emptiness we spoke of.

And, you know, people, whether it's out there committing crime or or just in the pursuit of other things, more materialistic things. You know, people are never going to have the true joy in their heart or fulfillment, if you will. I say it this way. In one of the books I wrote, Wrestling with Success, I say I was successful, but I was unfulfilled.

And so I climbed the ladder of success in wrestling. But yes, something's still missing in my life. And so whether you're out there committing a life of crime or in pursuit of everything other than Jesus Christ, at the end of the day, you lay your head on a pillow, you're going to be unfulfilled. You can you can sugarcoat it all you want.

You can you can go down the path of drugs and alcohol, as many have done, or crime or any other thing. But it's only by recognizing the only thing, you know, Scripture says he's placed eternity in the heart of every man. And the one thing you're longing for that you may be lacking, whether it's a life of crime or anything else, is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And so come to that come to that that acknowledgment.

That's what Stang Luger and so many of my wrestling peers have concluded, as well as many, many others. And that's the only thing that's going to fill that void in your life. That's a great question. Thank you for asking that one. Wow. And you got one more for me?

Yes. Who is your current favorite wrestler? Current favorite wrestler. Well, the current wrestlers are probably going to be mad at me because about the only one I know is the one we've been talking about all this time and who's inspired you to write some poetry. And that's you, Stang. You're my favorite wrestler. I'm a little stinger fan. Come on. All these years later, I'm coming out of the closet, Stang.

I'm a stinger fan. And on a serious note, you know, the fact that he's had the longevity and career that he has had. I just I mark kudos to him. I marvel at that.

And and I say that to say this. You know, I really honestly don't watch the the current product. I mean, I'm familiar with AEW and of course, obviously, WWE, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling.

You know, I'm familiar with the organizations. I know the guy, you know, the guy Stinger's working with. Allen, Darby Allen, I guess is his name. I almost almost forgot his name.

I was at an autograph signing and he was right next to me and had the pleasure of of meeting Darby. And and of course, there's there's so many others that are making a name for themselves in the world of wrestling. But I honestly, with everything I'm doing, I really don't have much time. Like I haven't had I haven't had cable or satellite television in probably 15 plus years now. Like I just I still have time for television, you know, and I just don't get just too much going on. And I'm more focused on and interested in building the kingdom that I am being entertained by somebody on television, even in wrestling.

So tell your husband, don't know a lot of the current guys, but but Stinger's will will always be one of my my favorites. So so we'll live. It's been great having you on the show today.

Q&A with Kolov. Thank you. And I hope whether Stinger and I continue to inspire you to write poetry or someone at Longfellow or Shakespeare or someone else.

Keep putting that poetry out there. It's beautiful. Thank you so much. Well, thank you. And thank all of you out there once again for tuning in to another episode.

Q&A with Kolov. And until next time, just have a God-filled, God-blessed 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 Kolov.net and donate today. I, Nikita Kolov, 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. If you are enjoying Q&A with Kolov, would you help us spread the word? Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your neighbors to download, subscribe and leave a comment. Are you looking for the perfect gift for your pastor?

Well, look no further. Bless him with a trip to the Holy Land with yours truly, Nikita Kolov, The Russian Nightmare. I'll be hosting this once in a lifetime trip, December 27, 2023 to January 5, 2024.

Your pastor will never be the same. Go to Kolov.net to get registered today. Nikita Kolov here.

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