Hey, Rich Eisen here. I hear from a lot of business owners like you about the work it takes to pursue your passions.
So I know how important it is to have the tools that can help keep you moving forward. And with access to world-class business and travel benefits, the American Express Business Platinum Card helps you take your business to the next level. It offers a flexible spending limit that adapts with your business. Plus, you'll have complementary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide, including the Centurion Lounge.
So you can keep running your business while you're on the go. See how the Amex Business Platinum Card gives business owners like you the tools and rewards to do more of what you love. Not all purchases will be approved. Terms apply. Learn more at AmericanExpress.com/slash Amex Business.
Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the No Contest Wrestling Podcast. I am the heel that you love or hate, O'Shea Jackson Jr. Hey, yo, it's me, it's me, it's that T-O-O-J-I-G-G, 2J G. TJ Jefferson.
And today, We got a pretty special guest. Yeah, man. You know, we, we, we. Always appreciate when a legend gives us time. TJ, this is our first.
In studio interview since Swer, right? Yeah, man. It's been a couple of months. You know, we've been getting lucky getting people on Zoom, but it's, you know, been a bit of a challenge to get someone to come into studio with us, you know, schedules permitting. But we got one, man.
We got a big one. And we pre-taped him last week, just so everyone's aware. Yeah, we we we taped them during Our live episode. We had a jam-packed day and uh. The legendary X-Foc will be joining us on today's episode.
Of the No Contest Wrestling Podcast. And TJ, I think you said that viewer discretion was advised. Yeah, you know, we just want to let everybody to know that, you know, we had ex-Pac, like O'Shea said, great pod, as you're going to see. We touched on a lot of stuff. from his beginning coming up.
Through the wrestling ranks to what went on with the click to the curtain call to NWO versus DX and everything in between. But you know, we wanna let you guys know that. The language flowed a little freely this episode.
So just want to put that out there. Maybe if you're in the car, you thought about watching with the kids, maybe you want to save this one for a little later in the night. Or maybe, you know, a little bit later so they're not offended. Not that it's offensive, but. Just always like to let you know the words flowed freely this episode.
Yeah, we don't know what you're doing in your house. We just want to give you the respect as a parent. Maybe you don't want to hear some F-words. And he asked us at the beginning what the language situation was. We were like, hey, man, let it go.
And then you're the X-Pot. Yeah, that's the X-Pot. But, yes, obviously, later on, in a couple of minutes, you will be able to see. Or here, wherever you listen to podcasts, the X-Pac interview. But some wrestling did happen in this.
last week First, TJ, I want to acknowledge. My brother, my tag team partner, this is our last episode in our first Black History Month. That's a pod, brother.
So, I just want to wish you a happy Black History Month. Same to you, my brother. To our brothers and sisters who are fans of the No Contest Wrestling Podcast, and Happy Black History Month to you, to our allies. People who just enjoy black culture and think we're cool, and we think you're cool, Bat. Happy Black History Month to you.
But at the end of Black History Month, I had to watch Bianca Belair and Naomi lose the tap titles. You know, the one redeeming quality about that match was on Monday Night Raw. First of all, what a banger of a tag team. That was crazy. All right, like banger of a match.
We don't do stars, but if we did, we'd give them pretty much all of them. Bianca. She did her thing. Naomi did her thing. Raquel did her thing.
Friend of the show, Liv Morgan. She did her thing. Props. You know, there were a lot of friends of NCW in that match with Dirty Dom, Bianca, and Liv. We just got to get Raquel and Naomi up against.
Yeah, man, that match was great, man. Everybody involved should feel extremely pleased with themselves, except that rep. Because, bro, you saw Dom do it, dude. You didn't even kick him out, bro. Like, what do you do?
Look away. But, anyway. Uh the batch was crazy. I was super entertained. Um he didn't know where it was going.
No, exactly. And wrestling fans, we are so smart nowadays that when those moments happen, it reminds you why you love it.
So, you know, I love the match. Um obviously it's all it's all jokes. We know These performers, and you know, we're happy for them to be able to put on a banger, especially the ladies, maintaining. It adds so much more drama now to Chamber and like. It just can go anywhere now.
I don't know what's going to happen in this thing, man. Dude, it's now it's must-see.
Now it's must-see, which is what we want. I kind of do say, though, I kind of know. And I don't know if we want to save this for our WrestleMania predictions chamber predictions later or not, but I. I kind of feel like this is going to lead to Bianca and Rhea at WrestleMania because that is where all that green stuff is going to get printed in an overabundance. That TKO money is going to come shooting.
You know, those little guns that people have that shoot out dollar bills. Like TKO is going to have a couple hundred thousand of those if they put Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair in a WrestleMania main event. But that's just my off the top of the dome. But That's why we do a part together, brother, because as soon as it happened, that was the first thing I tweeted as well. Like now, Bianca is back into singles action and she's going into.
this chamber with a higher probability in my eyes to win it. Because I just didn't feel like with her being a tag team champion that they were going to put her in a singles beef. And her and Rio, we've been waiting for that for a long time. A lot of people have been. you know combating it with You know, they do deserve a longer feud and not just like kind of thrown together.
But I mean, like, I do agree at the box office. And I mean, and there's also a world where. And uh Right. That match happens, then maybe a Jade Cargill comes back and interferes, causing it to be a DQ. We don't know.
We don't know what's going on. I like that. Yeah, exactly. That's part of the game. That's that's why we gotta watch.
Um and real quick before we get into the interview because it's a long one Uh LXC Obviously, there's a lot to talk about. We don't have a lot of time. Welcome back to the Hardys. No doubt. The Hardys, what a pop they got.
You know, they brought out all the hits. The poetry in motion, whispering the wind, you know, the slanton, even though Jeff wasn't even the legal man when he hit it. But anyway, look, referees do better. Yeah, yeah. Gearing up for Oba versus Moose, Hardys versus Fraxium.
Ricky Saints is doing his thing. Trick Williams got a little, he puffed up his chest a little bit on my man Javon Evans. But Yoshi, somebody on Twitter, just about an hour ago, I saw a tweet that said Javon Evans is the wrestler most likely to say naysayer on live TV. And I just broke. Because he stepped up the trick, he pulled his pants up.
I was like, oh man, this is black as hell, right? Because you know what happens when you start pulling up the pants. There ain't no way to know where to go at that point. You know? You got it?
And then I think that the biggest thing to take away from NHC, which I'm having mixed feelings about. It is uh Sorry. Stephanie and Julia challenged each other belt for belt. Yeah, man. I don't know how I feel.
I like the match. I don't know if I like the belt for belt already, but already is crazy. It's insane. Shay, the only thing that that tells to me or says to me right now is those two are in NXT for a good time, not a long time. Because if you're already putting them up against the other, there must be plans already for them to get called up.
fairly clo fairly quickly, I would assume. Yeah, and and the winner is It's dipping, I guess. Or the losers.
Well, I mean, but I mean, like, yeah, right, right. Yes, because the winner got both belts. What are you going to do? Um But then uh wait hold on one second. I'm hearing Interference.
Are you hearing Luca news again? Because last time you did this, we went viral. Are you hearing something? Who else did the Lakers just steal? The Lakers get Steph Curry now, all of a sudden.
Chill, chill, chill, bro. Jokic shows interest in Lakers after getting his ass beat by 23. But anyway, so. We have this match, and I don't know which way it's going to weigh. But that's why we watch.
And I low-key think it's happening next week. I I just I just Kind of fashionable. Yeah, like I just don't understand. But I mean, what are we going to do? Not watch?
Right. They can't. Let's stretch this out a minute, though. They definitely could have stretched that out. We were all waiting for it since they signed.
And then, for it to happen as quick as it has once they both become champions. It just, like you said, somebody's getting called up. Mania is too close. The raw after mania is coming. Um, but yeah, I'm a little off about that.
I don't think it's it's time, but They're not paying me, so I'm gonna just shut the hell up. Look, I'm gonna let Chef Sean do what he does. You know, let that man stay in that kitchen and cook and, you know, we'll see, we'll see. What kind of appetizers, what kind of main, you know, plates we get, but I'm here for it. Without question.
Absolutely. And also, Jordan Grace punched the hell out of friend of the show, Roxanne Perez. I don't ever like seeing Roxanne get jawed like that, but hey, you don't know. Yeah, not our rocks there. She's tough.
She could take it. Yeah, she's a prodigy, but she's built for this. What was that that Cam said? You tough? Yeah, you tough.
All right, rub some dirt on it. You tough. Which is like, you tough next air. That's the worst advice ever. Like, yo, like, dad, I broke my leg.
Rub some dirt on it. Rub some robotusin on it. What did rubbing some of that tussin on there? Yeah, man. But Roxanne Perez, obviously, you and Jordan have already put on the banger before.
This will be fun to watch. We're excited to see everybody. who has done this little TNA. Takeover of NXT. We're all putting our belts against each other.
It should be fun to watch, but not as fun to watch. as the X Pac interview for NCW, pro. And remember. What? If the kids are around, you might want to wait a little bit later.
Just our advice. Viewer discretion is advised. In the NFL, there's no margin for error. As we just saw, one mistake can change the outcome of a game and a season, and the biggest game at that. Science proves quality sleep can help boost reaction time, recovery time, and overall athletic performance.
And that's why SleepNumber is the official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL because they provide players with data and insights to optimize their sleep for the ultimate competitive edge. Imagine what it can do for you. I know my sleep number setting is 60, my wife's is 70, just 10 numbers apart, but guess what? It makes the world of difference.
So, why choose a sleep number smart bed?
So, you can choose your ideal comfort on either side. And now save 40% on the new Sleep Number Special Edition SmartBed. Limited time, exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you. See store or sleepnumber.com for details. Can you just clean that up, please, sir?
Thank you. Hey, Rich Eisen here. I hear from a lot of business owners like you about the work it takes to pursue your passions.
So I know how important it is to have the tools that can help keep you moving forward. And with access to world-class business and travel benefits, the American Express Business Platinum Card helps you take your business to the next level. It offers a flexible spending limit that adapts with your business. Plus, you'll have complementary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide, including the Centurion Lounge.
So you can keep running your business while you're on the go. See how the Amex Business Platinum Card gives business owners like you the tools and rewards to do more of what you love. Not all purchases will be approved. Terms apply. Learn more at AmericanExpress.com/slash Amex Business.
Ladies and gentlemen, I mean our guest has Gone from everywhere from making us believers to making some of us have detention and get suspended at school. Oh, thousands of hours of detention this man was responsible for. Whether you call him the lightning kid or one, two, three. Or just the kid. By the time he turned the puck, it was all lies on D's.
Ladies and gentlemen, he is a multiple-time tag team champion, a cruiserweight champion, a two-time light heavyweight champion, a two-time European champion, and a two-time Hall of Famer who's got two words for you. X-Pod. What's up, man? Welcome to the pod, bro. How are you doing?
You like it? Great to be here. Thank you so much, Baron. Yes, sir. Thank you.
Of all those. Titles You mentioned My favorite of those is the European title. Yeah. It looks sweet. How's the language situation on here?
Whatever you want, bro. Yeah, it looks sweet as fuck. And it was just like. It was the At the time, it was the working man's belt. It was the belt that, like...
was gonna put on the Usually the best match on the show. Oh, it was a piece of money. In the 90s, like in the early 90s. The I C belt was like sound. Scott, you know, Razor and Sean, having those great matches.
That was like the To work at Mansbill.
So that's anyway. Yeah, no, no, that's a good thing to pay attention to because now I'm thinking of people like yourself and D'Lo Brown. David Boy Smith had the European title. Yeah. And the You didn't mention the GWF light heavyweight title.
The one that I had when I was lightning kid and like. I was probably more proud of that. Than I was at any other belt like 'cause I was just starting out and it was you know, ESPN every day. Yeah. It was a real belt.
Like it was and I was like, oh man, I finally. Finally made it. Right, right. Yeah, yeah. Now, that's dope.
When I do the introductions, you know, my main thing is to kind of. Make the guests feel appreciated when they come on and do the accolades. But, dude, your accolades are like you've been around the world in III. You know, you've touched gold in a lot of places. We'd be here all day, but you've also gotten a lot of different names over the years.
But your first name, Sean. Yeah. So, can you let us know when Sean got bit by that wrestling bug? Really got bit. Like, I mean, when you were like, I need to sunk in.
Yeah. I was 10 and I went to my first. live match I grew up in St. Pete, Florida.
Okay. And there was an arena there called the Bayfront Center Arena, and it was like. The South version of Madison Square Garden. It was shaped like it was like a mini Madison Square Garden. And it was Flare and Dusty are the title on top.
Wow. That'll do it. You know, Kevin Sullivan when he was doing. I don't know if you're familiar with doing the like. Devil worship gimmick.
Yeah. That's that shit was like when I was a kid. It was freaky. My records were were scared to death of Kevin Sullivan in the state of Florida. Yeah.
I just run the state of Florida. But, anyways, yeah.
So, I mean, it hooked me right away. And, like, I was just all about wrestling ever since, man. No, were you born in Minnesota, though? No, St. Pete, Florida.
St. Pete, Florida, okay. Minnesota was like also my family's. You know, like a home state.
Okay. I grew up up there too, a little bit. And so. I left Florida. I started in Florida, trained by Dean Malenko's dad.
Of course, yeah. Um But I went to Minnesota and Minnesota was great to me. And it's a, it's, you know, I still consider it home. My kids are there, my grandson's there.
Okay. So, yeah. What is it about Minnesota? There's so many legendary wrestlers that have come from that area, man. Like, what is it in the water?
Like, what is it about that? I came from two different. Cap wrestling capitals, Tampa and Minnesota. Yeah. You know, um.
It's just the Yeah. That AWA, like Vern Ganya and all that, man, they just. He was really big on training real athletes, you know. Uh and And there was just a lot of Big motherfuckers in Minnesota, man. Big old Viking, like Norwegian motherfuckers.
Speaking Nord the Viking, Scandinavian, the Road Warriors. Yeah, man. Recon Kurt Henning. Yeah, I was like, I was around all those guys, man. I was like hard to.
like trying to I stand out?
Well, no, I mean, I stood out because I was just ski you know, I was skinny and like, you know, I worked different, you know, my matches were different than a lot of the big guys when I moved to Minnesota.
So, but yeah, no, um It's just Amazing talent came out of both of those cities, man. Especially like Robbinsdale High School, Rick Rude. Kurt Hanai. Tom Zink from there, right? Yeah.
Just tons of guys, man. It's insane. Amazing.
So I'm really grateful I got to come up in those two areas.
So you incorporate, you were like one of the first guys that I saw incorporate a lot of martial arts type stuff into your wrestling. What what is what is your martial art background? Like what is your But I started doing Taekwondo like around right around the same time I s Went to my first wrestling match. Wow. And I got pretty good at it, but I was...
I just love wrestling too much, man, and Um got really good at actually but It was interfering with my going to wrestling on Tuesday nights. Really? You know, yeah, man.
So I just had to pick one, man.
Now, real quick, I also saw that in ninth grade. You got kicked off, or you left the wrestling team because they wanted you to cut your hair? I didn't make it. Like, I was doing the, I was trained in the wrestling, I got to high school. It was doing really well at it and they were like, you you know, like you I was wrestling state champion level guys in the wrestling room when I was just starting out.
Like, I was just really good at it. But I was just a punk man, a kid, a punk kid, and I didn't want to cut my hair. And I didn't even want to show up to school anyways. Like, that was one of the only classes I showed up to. You know, like, I just showed up to the shit I liked.
And then You know, I washed out of school by the, I didn't make it past ninth grade. At work. Yeah. Because that bug had hit you, right? Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, you made your choice. You know, you made your choice of where you were going, what you wanted to do. And it kind of worked out, man. I mean, you might.
Flipping burgers or whatever the fuck. All right.
So, I mean, that's an early time to. Kinda get bit by the bug, obviously your martial arts background. I wouldn't have made it in Rest Sun if it wasn't for the martial arts. Yeah. And the way I incorporate it.
And I figured out how to 'cause like there was a lot of guys that would Do like martial arts. shit in their matches but It just looked like bullshit. It looked like they were trying. It looked like they were holding back. I looked like I was killing motherfuckers.
Yeah, you're kicking the sky. That's a perfect setup because now it's got to be a two-parter. Can you tell us when was your welcome to wrestling moment a bump where you were like, oh, yeah, that one hurt? Or like just anything where you kind of was like, all right, this is the choice we made. Like, okay.
Yeah. There's one, like, I mean, I had, there's like a couple. that aren't as well known. Like I cracked Um I caught somebody coming off the top rope. It was before I got to WW.
And Their weight came down on my head and I crashed onto the concrete. And I had a blood clot on my brain. Yeah, when I was in the hospital. Yeah, you know. I read about that.
Yeah. Um That was one of them, where they were like, hey, you probably should think about doing something else. Yeah. Um, But the one that like y'all might have Scene was, I don't know if you remember when I so I beat Razor, right? And then he's challenging me ten thousand dollars.
We're gonna get to that, and then I fucking fall off the top rope, I slip, and I. Smack my head on the concrete. Yeah. And still had to finish the match. Yeah.
That was supposed to be the finish and it got fucked up and We had to call something on the fly as I'm like knocked out cold. And it still w it still worked. Wow. We still managed to get the business done. Yeah.
That is insane how we're able to continue when something. Yeah, I think it was on the line. If I would, I would have been done. Yeah. My storyline would have been fucking done.
Well, let's talk about, let's get into that part. You come in. I can remember I was watching that day, and here we got this guy. You were, you didn't even have a name, if I'm not mistaken, right? They were, you weren't one, two, three kid at that point.
You didn't. Just a kid. You were just a kid. And you came out and you beat Scott Hall. Can you take us through?
How you found out you were gonna go over. All right, so it goes back to I have my tryout matches the day after WrestleMania 9 in Vegas.
Okay. I'm not one of the greatest WrestleManias. That's the Yoko and the Bret Hurt go get him. And so, like, TV's in Phoenix the next day. And, like, so I get a call from Sergeant Slaughter.
And I'm in the middle of promoting the show in Minneapolis. It's a big independent show. Hawk, Real Warrior Hawk, with Terry Funk on top. I'm wrestling Sabu on the show. There's a lot of cool masasaidos on there's a lot of cool shit on this show.
And I'm thinking, like, Sergeant Slaughter, is he trying to call me to get on this show? Like, I didn't put two and two together. Like, And he's telling me, Yeah, they're doing T V tapings and Phoenix after WrestleMania. And I'm like, who the fuck's doing TV tapings in Phoenix after WrestleMania, not thinking WWE, right? Yeah.
Because I just didn't think they were. I was on their radar as far as You know, I thought WCW maybe, but that didn't work out. And so, yeah, I got I finally figured out it was. WWE calling and then Man, I just took full advantage of that. my tryout, you know.
I had a guy Call it named Louis Spicoli. Louis Spicoli, okay. That I was able to pick him to have my match with instead of like. Could have been somebody else that wasn't as enthusiastic about helping me get a job. We had worked together previously.
Do we know? But I knew he was really good, you know, and we knew each other. And. Uh he took really good care of me out there. Like, caught me on my big dives and just Based me on everything.
I got a job, man. Yeah, it's dope. Yeah. And I was. I didn't know I got the job until like about, I don't know, a month later.
It might have been the last one. It seemed like fucking forever waiting for you. You're waiting on me. Yeah, looking, just staring at the phone. And I had a New Japan, I was already hired by New Japan.
Oh, really? Yeah, I didn't have a contract with them, but I was on my way to the Super Junior tournament in 93. Which I still went and did, but... Oh. Yeah.
So I had the phone all at once, man. I had all this shit on my plate, you know, and I had to make decisions. It was easy decision, right? Um Finally, I get a call and it's it's Vince and Vince and Pat Pat Patterson on the phone. You know, he's like.
He runs the whole thing by me like You know, you're going to come out first week. You're gonna get beat, you know, second week, you're gonna beat again. And he even told me he knew who I was gonna be. get beat by. Curse Hughes and Matt and Doink.
Okay. I got beat too. Yeah. They didn't know who I they didn't know me. They didn't know I was getting a job.
So they were like, you know, yeah. Which is fine. I'm fine with all that. But um So we laid the whole thing out, and he's like, Yeah, then you have the match with Razor Ramon. And he's like, He's one of our top guys.
And I'm like, I know fucking Razor Ramon, you know? Yeah. But. And then he tells it, and then you're just you're gonna beat him. And there's this and it's like, and then you're gonna.
And I'm just saying. Yeah, what's that like? Fuck. And he's like, what do you, how does that sound? Like, what do you mean?
How's that sound? Are you fucking kidding me? Because you know how it goes. You guys, right? Like.
Somebody gets hired. They come up with a fucking gimmick forum or name and have. creative, like have somebody draw up a costume and then make him a fucking you know And they did that for me too, and I hated it. But yeah, I mean, um But everyone gets a vignette. And then they have a couple squash matches, and they're supposed to get over like that, right?
Yeah. And it's hard as like. I'm just the greatest way ever anybody's ever been fucking brought in, as far as I'm concerned.
Solid. I mean, to be put over with somebody like Razor. I'm like, are you kidding me? Yeah. What do you think was about you that.
had made Vince have this vision. For your character, I killed it in my try off. Yeah, I fucking killed it. Yeah. Shout out Louis Spiccoli.
Rest in peace, man. And then I had. Friends do like Kurt Henning. You know, like she walks, I'm standing outside Vince's office waiting to just have him like pop out and even look at me, right, after my tryouts. And Kurt's like.
Hey, you want a j so you want a job here? And I'm like, and I knew Kurt from Minnesota. And I'm like, fuck yeah. Like, and so he just walks in and like. Vince's office doesn't even own like You know, he goes, Okay, walk back out.
You're good. Wow. Which I don't know. How was the bullshitter? Like, he was, he fucked with people too.
So who knows? That'd been a mean prank. Right. Who knows what he said? You're right, right.
Bratt came up to me. And well re like put me over like And I was a big, huge fucking Bret Hart fan, so Yeah. I was, you know I was excited. And it's just incredible, man. Like, this is my dream, and it's all fucking coming true, you know?
How old are you right now at this point? 20? Barely 20. Whoa. Yeah.
Yeah. So, I mean, when you're that young. You get word that you're going over. And During and after, kind of take us through that moment with Razor.
So, also. This isn't just about bringing me into introducing me. Like the actual main. Like, objective of this whole storyline was turning him, baby, turning Scott babyface. If the people were already turning him, you know?
Yeah. So this was like two killing two birds at one stone, right?
So, uh I get the Fast forward past the two squash matches where Dwinka and Curtis Hughes beat me. I'm just sitting there in the, I'm there early at the Manhattan Center, and I'm just waiting. I'm like, All fucking excited. I don't realize these guys are coming. They're like on a red eye from from out here to to New York, you know, tired as fuck.
I'm all excited. I got all these ideas. All this shit I want to do, right? I'm like, Scott comes up to me and is like. And I'm like, I'm thinking maybe I do like.
Yeah. And Scott, he's like ha like just tired as fuck looking and he's like He looked at Pat. He goes, Pat, what do you want me to do? He goes, Just miss something, have a mitchie or something. And I'm like, moon salt.
It just came out of my fucking mouth, you guys. And I'm not like a moonsault. Like, my moonsault is like one of the worst. No, fucking moonsault. It's famous moonsault, but it's a shitty moonsault.
You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So, um, yeah, we did that. He moves out of the way. I hit him.
Fucking everything worked great, you know. It's the most important moves all right. Dude, it's a mo. And you got that? As far as moments go in my career, there's not even a close second as far as important moments go.
Mm-hmm. For sure. Because that started everything. It all comes down to. Clearly, once that one, two, three got hit.
everything changed for you. Yeah. And then just like You know, I get to go to Japan, so Scott's telling, you know, coming out every week and challenging me. You know, and I made these I shot these props, these vignettes, these Promo, whatever the fuck you want to call him. Like Sergeant Sauter brought me to his house and we chatted these, and he produced these.
Fucking Me all nervous, like Telling Scott, I'm, you know, it's not worth it for me. You know, I'm. Gonna get killed out there or whatever, and then ten thousand dollars does the trick, right?
So I mean it's it's solid.
Solid reasoning for ten thousand dollars. Mm-hmm. Now, you've told us about your welcome to wrestling moment, something that I I I've seen you bring up before, um The Bret Hart match.
Okay, for the title. Yeah. All right.
You mentioned that you caught him a couple of times, you know, the hard potatoes. Those are some famous ones. It's always fun to hear. Is there a time where you're like, oh, I know I kind of hit the shit out that guy a little bit. And like, you know, we'll talk about it later.
But like, so let us know a few of those moments if you got them. I don't know. I think I clocked Jeff Jarrett a few times because he started going down before I even hit him after a while. You can see me go for that kick of that motherfucker on the way down. That's hard to blame.
I tell him, put the hand up. Yeah. Put the hand up, man. I got Luke Gallows, man, at the. Fuck.
Because he's 6'8. Yeah, yeah. You gotta get up. You gotta get up. Yeah.
And So I told him put the hand up, man for that Spinning Crescent Kick idea. Yeah, yeah. And we're in the gathering of the juggalos. Oof. Yeah, their shows and them motherfucking Shows don't get going until like 2-3 in the morning.
I mean, they're scheduled for like midnight, but like they don't start till two or three. Yeah. But. Yeah, no, anyways. He didn't put the hand up.
He didn't put the kids. He didn't put the hand to me back up and I thought, oh, fuck. Man. 'Cause he had to get to the corner for the Bronco Buster. Right.
And he kept tripping and ball. I'm like, I don't want to laugh because like, dude, that's a concussion right there. And I'm responsible for it.
So Yeah dude. It's not ballet, like Jim Ross always says. Not ballet. Not ballet. I got like a list.
Like I mean, I'm not gonna name names, but I got some guys that fucking. Used to like routinely take my fucking head off, too. But like. Here's the thing: when they would do it, it would get a great reaction. And I was addicted to the fucking reaction.
Boozing up.
So I was like, oh, bring it, you know? That's fine. It means hard. Right, I know. Let's sell this baby.
Sami Zayn damn near fucking took my head off. Like with that haluva kick, yeah, the haluva and I wouldn't have brought it up, but he brought it up.
Okay, he brought it up in an interview saying, Yeah, I killed him with it. Like, it was like my head was like a rock'em-sock'em robot. I was like, Yeah, that uh, that move alone. There's just certain times where I look and I'm like, He caught him. Like, there's no way.
Like, there's no way. Right. Like, it happens so quick and it's so fluent of a like a. It's just like, pow. Yeah, man.
Cause, I mean, Even in movies doing fight scenes, you get caught. You get caught all the time. The first gen of thieves Gerard Butler, there's there's a scene where I'm bloodied up in the back of a truck, and Gerrard Butler is supposed to be. Yeah, they're working over in the back of the truck, yeah. I know the scene.
He caught me with that skull ring, dude. Ooh, we like you see this flash of light, this quick flash of light.
So I know it happens. And it's just, it's funny to know, like, It's it's just to get into the mind of a of a Of a wrestler who timing is everything. Yeah, yeah. We're at where you guys are out there. Make sure you know I'm able to go home.
Accidents happen, and I know that Haluva kick has taken some chance, man. Absolutely, and sorry, I never mentioned it because I You know, I've lit some motherfuckers up too. It's just part of the thing, man. Yeah. I mean, for me, it is.
Like, there are some guys that are just like, no, that's not what wrestling's about. And, like, I get that too. But I like my shit to look real. Yeah. And I like when somebody hits me for that shit to look real.
Yeah. It's it's it's I mean, hey it's not it's I'm fine with it. Absolutely. Now, take us through that match, though, with Brett of just the excitement of like. For the title.
Bret Hart, you know, the hitman. Like, that's got to be for a fan and a lover of wrestler. I mean, I'm happy for you, you know?
So, yeah, like, take us through, you know, getting the news and going through that match. I just had that match with Owen Hart at King of the Ring. It was a short match, but like, we, like, you know, everyone really loved it and Brett really loved it and I'm not sure how like... The match got made, but I think Pat told Brett, you know, hey, you're having a match with a kid in two weeks and You know, k Brett told me, and we rode Brett and I rode together. I rode with him sometimes.
Yeah. And You know. Brett was so giving in that match, man. Like, like, he kind of, like. I mean, he didn't turn heel, but like he He was the heel in that fucking match.
You know, he likes. He was behind you. He was on me, and he made sure that people were behind me. And that was like, you know, I mean, he's the top 80 face in the company.
So it's like. Thank you. Yeah. And he let me do all my shit, man. He's like.
Do you you know, like he put it in the proper place, but Uh yeah, he he let me do everything I wanted to do.
Some of that shit I never even used to like I jackknifed him and Yeah. But um Yeah. And you were a Bret Hart fan, right? Huge. Huge.
And like, that's the. That's the greatest match I've ever had. Work for sure. Oh, wow. this in like from Like the actual match itself, like that, they chopped it up a little bit to.
Mm-hmm. Really? Yeah, to fit it into that segment. Yeah, it was like half an hour ago. You need that vault uncovered.
Right, it's there.
So they kept coming over, coming up to us and saying, Hey, we need you for the match. Wasn't ready yet, and so we just kept telling them: no, we're not ready, and they kept pushing the match back till we were ready. Can't do that now. No way. What was taped?
You know, the show was taped. Say. Tell us about the click. Just a you know, I mean, just we We all loved wrestling and we were guys that Everybody like Driving down the road, just talking about getting laid and like all of that shit. And we were just.
We get out of work and we just keep talking about work. You know? So for people who aren't familiar, I'll let you tell the people who comprise this group before you.
Well, like the original foundation is is shown and Scott, because They were like Sean Michaels and Scott Hall. I'm sorry, Sean Michaels and Scott Hall, and they were tight. Uh Before WWE They were like in AWA together and they hung out, you know, Kurt Hennig. Because Kurt and Scott were tag team champions. And Kurt was a mentor to those guys.
You know, and he was to me too. Um And then So anyways You know, I did the business with Scott, and so he took me under his wing. And like, he was a fan of mine from GWF, anyways.
Okay. Um and that scout was a guy that took young guys under his wing and tried to, you know, nurture them. you know, uh So we were always in the car together, and we decided, hey, man, like, we're gonna. And Kev. Big Kev?
And we just decided we're all gonna kinda like Beautiful. fucking a unit like and like stick together and have each other's backs and You know, uh Um Try to Make shit better and try to make shit better for us. And, you know. Um Yeah, man and we all Also, we like to all go out and get fucked up until Ken told Paul came. Yeah, so Triple H.
He came now. From what I understand, Triple H wasn't a partier, wasn't a drinker. He was more like your designated driver. No, he wasn't. He wasn't designated.
He was uh like He was great when he when we out of him, you know, when he got Uh became part. Um He ended up driving a lot. You're like, no, but yeah, he did. But he could go out and have a great time without getting fucked up. Oh yeah.
You know, there's just some people are wired different, man. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I used to be like that. I'd, you know, in Hollywood back in the day, I'd always be out in the clubs. I'd drink.
I never really liked it. I drink to be social, but I didn't need to drink. You know, I'd be dancing on the table without it, you know, and I would be the designated driver for my friends. But people are like, how are you not drinking? And I'm like, man, I'm just cooling.
You know, it was, didn't really need to drink to have fun.
So I completely get. you know, that aspect of it. And just so and we uh we worked with each other a lot. Yeah. You know, I worked with Kev when when Kev first uh started having matches as Diesel, when he first came in, like I had his first singles matches with him.
You know, I worked with Paul when Paul first came in as Honor Hurst Helmsley. Um You know, Scott and I worked a bunch. We all like interchange. We would do. You ever see the tag match that we had?
It was just about to break it down. Yeah. Yeah, that's up there. You know, um It's not the Bret Hart match, but it's like... Right underneath that as far as like Quality.
It was just one of the best tag matches at that era. Would you say that those are the guys you had the most chemistry with? Was there anybody outside of the click where you were like, when I'm in the ring with this dude? Word clip, just money. Jeff Jarrett.
Well, I mean, as far as like guys that I create chemistry with, Jeff was one of them. Um Tons of guys, man. I had a good I had a good chemistry with D Lo. Yeah. D'Lo Brown.
Damn, everyone just about, man. I loved some great workers. I loved APA, man. I love to get them on, man.
Well just When you're a babyface and you got guys like Dak that can really get some heat on you and bring it, it's like, oh, yeah. Yeah. You might get like You might get knocked around a little bit, but it's working. It's great. It's perfect.
Yeah. So, you know, I'm envisioning you, Triple H, Shawn Michaels. Razor Ramon and Diesel all packed into a minivan. Making towns together, just talking about the business, trying to cram all the luggage in hundreds of hours, thousands of miles on the road. Man, like, what were those road trips like?
You said you talked the business, yep, but like, man, like, I to be a, you know, they say to be a fly on the wall, but to be, I don't know, a fly inside the car. I don't know what we just talked a lot about, like, you know, like the travel, like. Like we refined our style. By trial and error, every night, and listening to the people, and seeing what kind of reactions we were getting, and you know. all that and so we We spent a lot of time like Talking about that, that kind of stuff.
And just also, you know, about. You know how The direction that we wish the company would be going in creatively. More like you know the People talk a lot about the new generation era and the cartoon character. you know, the Duke the Dumpsters and the fucking Plumbers and the Yeah, hockey player, the dannis, it's just So we hated that, you know, but we did the best we could with what, you know, vincent the boss and. At what point did you realize because it seems you know what we've read this so much?
What point did you realize that you kind of had the boss's ear though? Is it because you guys were just so business-oriented? And just Sean was the like, Sean was very. Sean had a relationship with Vince where he could be very. you know frank with it.
Open and honest about I mean more than that. He can get away with talking Talking crazy. Come on, fuck nuts and get away with it. You know? So, um And so that helped.
Yeah. And how Because I've also heard that Vince would like it when people Had their own ideas who would like just show the initiative that they wanted to further their careers. And it seemed like all you guys had that. At the end of the day, we were doing it his way, though. Yeah.
Until the attitude error. Yeah. Until like it was just like, you know, Scott and Kevin I left and. Um you know, they started getting beat, you know ratings wise and It just wasn't working what they were doing, and finally, Ben's. Listened, right, to to Sean and Paul.
Wow. Just to say, you know. Skipping ahead a little bit, we'll come come back, but you mentioned Sean and Paul. Yeah. As fans we always seen DX as The inmates running the asylum.
Like, that's just what the look was. How crazy is it that they're doing it right now? You know, with Paul running things for SmackDown and Raw and Sean over at NXT. You know, just speak a little bit on how How, what do you feel about their success and the creative and the boot game? I just think.
For for the moment, for this time that we're in right now, I don't think we could have. And I say this, you know, and it could come off being biased or whatever than my dear friend. And that but like I mean, even just objectively, I can't imagine.
Somebody not realizing that they're the two best people we could have doing those jobs right now. Yeah. You know? Hopefully it's a long run, man. As a fan, I hope so as well.
We speak about how on fire they are. As a wrestling fan, I just feel like there were several years there where it was like. It was tough. It was like It was like the abusive relationship. It was like, how can you like?
Keep watching this. You know your fans don't want this and you're gonna Give it to him anyways. Yeah. Right. And it it is it falls into Not every reaction is a good reaction.
Like, you know, they always say, you know, controversy, you know, like you're still getting talked about. Controversy creates cash. Yeah, but like no publicity is bad publicity. That's just that shit. Fuck that.
Trust me, I know. Yeah. That shit is just not true. And yeah, there was a portion where it was just like. It did feel shoved down your throat a little bit.
And You know, I've acknowledged that there was a time where I Had to step back, and you know, I was away from Washington for a long time. And to get to where we are now, I think. Personally, there's a lot of things that contributed to it. You know, there's this. Trope about me that I have a problem with all elite.
And I feel like they've made WWE show their fangs, you know? And that is what we as WWE fans need it to happen. I need to see the fangs. I need you to flex those muscles a little bit. And I just feel like they haven't taken their foot off the gas.
And a lot of that is because of Paul and Sean. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And also having that competition, having that other place that you know that, you know, if don't worry, go there.
I see the discourse about like, you know, you being by like Caitanya. A W and all that. This shit I see. Talk about all fair, man. They do.
Dude, I got people over there that I am a fan of that are. Cool with me that we chop it up. It's not anything that I've ever felt like I need to or I want this place gone. I just don't like everything. I don't like everything that WWE does either.
And I'm going to speak that, but. They're sensitive over there. The guys on the IWC, not necessarily AEW, but the people that I'm yelling at on Twitter. And if anybody follows me on Twitter, you know I get aggressive. That's all Twitter and that's all BS.
But the fact of the matter is, man, I'm a wrestling fan. I won't say I'm a WWE fan or I'm a diss fan. I'm a wrestling fan.
So I enjoy watching wrestling. And if it's good, even better, you know.
So I love the fact that another company can thrive because, like I said, it makes it better for everyone. For everyone. That's just that's how people got jobs. There's more people making money right now. Yeah.
You know. Yeah. Can't knock the definitely not. Um so we talked about the click and and what they meant and But what Was the, I guess, the feeling backstage when it seems, you know, from all we've read that the click, you know, you guys kind of. People how much heat got your way and you had this heat.
What was it like having to deal with, you know, you had the BSK, the Bowen Street crew, you know, other crews. Was there, was there tension? No, man. That, like, anyone that says that doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about. We all got along great.
Oh, awesome. Yeah. A lot of that's just shit that people talk and things sound cool to make, like, you know, like this lore. Yeah. This fucking mythic lore or whatever the fuck, like, but.
No, we all got along at that level. Like, there were guys that. resented us. And I understand man 'cause Times were tough. A lot of people were miserable, and we come walking in all happy and like.
You know, I mean, things were tough for us too. It's just we were Made the best of it, you know. Um And as Also, like Even when they Uh Everyone hated by Scott. John maybe not so much Kev or whatever, but Like they all still like me for some reason. Yeah.
We're cool with you. Yeah, like back in the day, like when when like if we were trying to score pills to like, you know, take after the show and like I Like they'd always go, you go ask everyone, they like you. That's awesome. We all take supplements, or at least we know we should. But why are so many supplement companies charging ridiculous prices for products that really aren't that special?
It's frustrating, and frankly, for all of us, it's unacceptable. That's why I want to introduce you to LiveGood, a brand that's turning the supplement industry on its head because LiveGood believes that everyone deserves access to high-quality supplements without the insane markups. They offer premium products formulated by their industry-leading team of natural health experts, and they cut out the middleman to sell them at some of the lowest prices anywhere. That's why I love when a box of LiveGood comes to my house. They sent me organic super greens, multivitamins, collagen, weight loss products, protein powder, and more.
Skincare products too, all highest quality products at prices people can actually afford. No wonder they're one of the fastest-growing supplement brands on the planet with over 1.5 million customers and counting. Ready to make the switch and start saving? Oh, make it even easier for you. Use our link and save an additional 10% off your first order on top of the already lowest prices.
Just go to livegood.com slash rich to save 10% on your first order. That's livegood.com/slash rich. Don't miss out on this opportunity to invest in your health without overspending. These statements and products have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition.
Let's talk O'Reilly Auto Parts people. They're in the business of keeping your car on the road. OOOORILY Auto Parts offers friendly, helpful service and the parts knowledge you need for all your maintenance and repairs. They've got thousands of parts and accessories in stock either in store or online so you never have to worry if you're in a jam. The team at O'Reilly Auto Parts can also test your battery for free in or out of your car.
If it needs to be replaced, they'll help you find just the right battery for your vehicle. Need your windshield wipers replaced, a brake light fixed, or a quick service?
Well, they'll help you find the right part or point you to the nearest local repair shop for help. I know because it's happened to me. The professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts are your one-stop shop for all things auto-do-it-yourself. And you can find what you need in store or online. Stop by O'Reilly Auto Parts today or visit us at O'ReillyAuto.com/slash Eisen.
That's O'ReillyAuto.com/slash Eisen.
Now, during your, you know, that this long career that you've had, bro, you've wrestled with some greats. You were there for some up-and-comers. And obviously, In the business, a lot of it is opportunity. You know, we've talked to a lot of people who, you know, L.A. Knight is one who, you know, with the character that he was at a certain time, he didn't know if he'd ever get.
The opportunity to become LA Knight. And so we understand that it's all about right place, right time a lot of the time. Is there anybody that you can name where? you feel like you felt like personally They had it, just not the opportunity. Ah, wow.
Holy shit. This is a huge question. Yeah, I don't know if I have a good answer for that. I can't. Yeah.
Yeah, I can't pull like i I can't like come up with somebody but like I just think there's a lot, man. And I'm going to tell you, like. You brought up LA Night, right? Like and You know, like they were pushing.
Well, if you want to call it a push, they were using him as. Max Dupree, like Male model. How much like you have it if like if that's what you got to work with, man, that's like really hard to go out there and You know. Freak out, right? I'm working with a lot of.
Have you heard of that WWID program? Yeah, the new thing. This is got those kids on. Like over Zoom. Like they send me to matches and yeah.
Over Zoom is wild. Yeah. So we like, you know, play the match and I'll I'll push pause and then I'll go, hey, what the fuck was that? Or hey, that was good, or whatever, you know, something refined or you're seeing some talent out there come up. Yeah.
There are a lot of great athletes involved in this. Yeah, the last guest that we had was Liv Morgan. And Liv. She. You know, she Obviously came up in a fashion with the riot squad, but They weren't exactly Tallying of wins, right?
Um, they didn't. necessarily have a direction that it looked like for them and a a question. You know, she obviously went on in many rumbles and other matches, and you know, it led to her being a two-time champion now. But it was for a while she had the record for quickest elimination in the rumble with eight seconds. And it's easy for you to be discouraged with stuff like that.
Is there anything? A question that I wanted to ask you, but we didn't have enough time. Is there anything that you can speak to? uh young superstars that might be in that situation like Mm-hmm. The times where you gotta do what's best for business, and the times where you gotta speak up for yourself.
Like for the most part, when you're here, when you're given an assignment. Like At least, like, when you're coming up, man, like, you don't have a lot of stroke to be saying, Hey, I don't want to do this or that. Yeah, so you have to just take what they give you and do the fucking best you can at it, man. Make sure you're out there. Chicken, yeah, whatever, right?
Yeah, like, cause once you're. I mean once Once the camera's on and you're doing your thing, you're in control then. Sean. Do your shit, man. Do it the fucking best you can and I just think when it comes to like knowing when to speak up, it's all based on like.
Mm. How much you can handle mentally, like you're you know. I mean, I don't know, like, I don't think anything's worth fucking losing your mind over and losing your peace, you know? Like.
Oh wow. It might cost you. Yeah. You know, you might have to leave and go somewhere else or or I don't know. It's a it's a case-by-case situation, man.
Case by case for sure. I mean, when it came for you guys. When When I first started my acting career. I was put in a great situation with It being you know, the NWA film straight out of Compton. But even then I had I have this want to be to show that I'm here to do the work.
And so when my father tells me, You're going to have to audition. Of course. Like, I will want to all do this. Number one, I'm scared to death. I'm just a, I was in my second year of college.
I wanted to be a screenwriter. And now this other thing presents itself. And I really felt like. If I said no, I was going to regret it. And it's not anything more than, like, oh, you had an opportunity to be in a movie.
It was just because my dad had never asked me to do anything. He's never asked anything of me, and he's finally been like, Yo, I need you. And I'm going to tell him no.
So, like, It was a moment of just like had to be some pressure on yeah, but it's like all right, dad, I'll for you, I'll try. And from there It was a two-year auditioning process. And I leave during my second year, okay, of college. During USC. It takes me two years.
Yeah, fight on. USC. And so. For two years, I don't have this job that I left school for, watching my friends graduate without me. And so, like, I'm scared to death.
And so, like, now I have to get it. It works out. Um, you know, the movie's a success, but then after that, now I gotta go get stuff on my own.
So now I am reading scripts trying to find what's the right decision, and I'm going on sets that are not as illustrious as a universal picture. You know, I'm. Yeah, it was some wild times. And while I'm there, I just felt like I had to keep my head down, not make waves, because they already think, oh, you're some fucking rapper's son. You're going to come in here entitled.
They're expecting you to be a certain amount of people. Exactly.
So I just wanted to just, like, no matter what. Not complaining, do your thing and just, you know, kind of do what I'm told. Show that I'm easily directable. And just like, I'm here to do business. But then once I get to like my.
Like ninth, tenth project. I'm like, okay, bro, I know what, what, like. Shouldn't be happening, or I know what I'm gonna speak up. Yeah, same with wrestling. Yeah, the way that what you just laid out right there, same exact fucking thing for wrestling, man.
You've got. When you're early on, sometimes you got to use a little shit.
Sometimes you got to. You know, just do what you got to do. Be the good soldier. Yeah. Get the good reputation.
Get that reputation. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Absolutely. So, one of the biggest. Thank you for answering my question. That was some inception.
Some shit right there.
So, Sean, you know. Speaking of the click, one of obviously one of the biggest moments in the history of all of pro wrestling. Was the curtain call. Yeah. Now I realize you weren't around at the moment that that happened, but.
Can I I've never heard this from anyone. Can you tell us? Did you know what was going to happen? Were you in contact with the guys at that point? Like, what is the curtain call from your POV, your point of view?
I don't know. They didn't know they were going to do that until the... No yet. You know, and if I could, Sean, just to, you know, we'll let people who might not know, the curtain call was. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were leaving WWF at the point.
Son And Triple H decided after Sean had a match with Kevin that they were going to come out as like a group gesture, kind of show love and send their friends off. Yeah. Which at that point, Broke Kay Fabe in the way that it's never been broken in wrestling before. And it was just. Such a huge moment.
A lot of people look at it as like, you know, the end of a certain type of era. You being a member of that clique, now we can get back in. Like, you're. Your point. Like I I've told this story before, so like um People already know.
I was a rehab for the first time.
Okay. At the at that moment. And But I was on the phone with Scott, you know, all the time, mainly Scott. Mm-hmm. So he always looked out and checked.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was the one that updated me on everything. Even after they left and they were in WC, I was still in the loop on everything that was going on and the NWO stuff and before I showed up.
So he just told me what happened, man. Like, and. Uh I don't People were fucking pissed, man, and I get it. Yeah. You know, like it's.
It's It's just like going against everything we're told like There's a time you would have gotten fucked up for doing something like that. Yeah, dude. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.
Yeah, man. Like, it seems like in the Bill Watts era and stuff like that, because they say Bill Watts, I heard like if you got into a bar fight and you lost, he would fire you from. The the territory. That wasn't just Bill, but Yeah, so Yeah, and to me, it reminds me of after Broadway plays over and everyone comes out and does the fucking bow and like takes the, you know, you know. Correct and cool.
Yeah. But I mean they couldn't have had any idea. That moment of time, moment in time that they were creating, though, right? It was just, I don't think we want to say goodbye to our friends. Yeah.
I j I just guessing they didn't really think about like Repercussions. Yeah. It's my last time with my guy. My vets told him they could do it. That was it.
And then afterwards, it's like, what funny figure we're going to do that? And you know what? I'm going to have to punish somebody. I can't punish you, Sean.
So. And as a fan, you know, I like I said earlier, I've Grew up in Altoona and Pittsburgh, and I can remember going to the Civic Arena multiple times. Altoona, Pennsylvania. The Jaffa Mosque. My man.
Where my love affair started was at the Jaffa Mosque, being a young kid going there. But watching, going to cards at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. I would notice that Triple H was losing the Savio Vega every time they come to town. And then Triple H starts getting paired up with Sean.
Now, not knowing, you know, back then we knew nothing. We didn't have the dirt sheets in. I'm like, and I'm a huge Sean Michaels fan. And I'm like, why are they putting Sean with this jobber, man? It started to annoy me.
You weren't on the inside. You didn't get all those fucking. You don't know the difference. Yeah, you don't. You just, I just, and I don't even think.
The curtain call was that widely known because remember, you get Pro Wrestling Illustrated or something, they'd be three, four months behind. when you'd see what happened. And all I know is this guy kept Job in Esavio Vega, and now you want to put up with HBK. I was like, Come on, dog, what is going on? And then, you know, you start to learn, and then later on, you realize, oh, this was Paul having to eat crap sandwiches for what happened.
And he did it, man. And he did it. And he fucking, I mean. He got through it. Obviously, and look at him now.
He could have said, fuck this, I'm out of here and gone with us, right? Yeah, why do you think he didn't? What made you, what is it about him that let him go, all right, I'm going to accept this as long as there's something better for me at the end of the road? Paul is a guy that, like, If not many people better at playing the long game than fucking Paul is a word. Yeah.
Like he just he sees, you know. He has a uh He has a destination point, man. And he has a goal, and he sees where it's at. Mm Getting through that shit he had to go through was the path to get there. You know?
So he took it. It's just like all the crazy stuff. Oh, shit. You're good. It's just like all the crazy stuff, like, you know.
With Vince coming back and then Paul being gone. Yeah. I you know Paul just stayed decorous, man. Yeah. Now where I want to go.
Yeah. That's how I get there.
Now he's the fucking man, right? Right. Could you ever envision that? I totally envisioned it. Absolutely.
Without a doubt. Exactly.
In those car rides, you can see that this is the guy who should be running things. More so after DX.
Okay. Not in the early car rut not before we all left and went to but like It was obvious to me when I came back where he was going eventually at some point. Because he was always he was already when I when we were doing DX he was already really involved and Creative things like that. And Matt Vince's ear and was had Vince's confidence.
Now that Paul in the doghouse, did that not give us 316? That was the other thing. It's like it took something awful, but. If that curtain call doesn't happen, we don't get Austin 316. Who knows where this business is?
Paul still got his later on. It just took a little bit. But because of that, now Steve Austin is now made a star.
So it's kind of like a butterfly effect, right? Right. You took something bad, and at the end of the day, everyone kind of benefited. Everyone did. Yeah.
Now, obviously, you can't think about. DX without Thinking about a tank.
So that, you know, going over to the WCW and that havoc. Take us through that. And then I have a quote from our friend Eric Bischoff that we had on the show about that. Yeah. So, like, that's like the legend is that we showed up and WCW on a tank, but it was just a Jeep.
It's a Jeep, but I'm a. Oh, it's in Canada. And as a matter of fact, I don't know if you know about the story about when we actually shot that thing off. No. Oh, yeah.
We don't get out of here and fired the first shot. It was a ping, you know, you famously, you know, you go up to where WCW is, knock on the door, the whole nine. And my man TJ brought that up to Bischoff. And Bischoff says, That he was in the ring while this is going down, and in his ear, he's hearing. The WWF is here at the WWF, but he's in the middle of a segment.
Of a segment, so he can't. Do anything about it right now because he has to push the story that he's doing along. He says that if he had 60 seconds prior to know about it, that he would have opened those doors. What would have happened if those doors? I have no idea.
Like, we would have made something happen. Yeah, I mean, I can't see like a real brawl, but I could see you guys like making, yeah, like you said, something magical would have happened, right? Like, what's the thought of like, what if they do open? Like, it's better we didn't get in there. But I was all about getting in the building, and I just had no, like, no one, no.
We didn't really have a fucking plan at all going into that. Honestly, man. We're just going to pull up to the jump around and then because like I'm going, we should go to the fucking tunnel first. No, no, let's go. Sean, can we even know?
Like, we were just fucking playing it by ear. Sean, can we set this up for, again, I'd like to involve people who might not know. You're at the, is it Norfolk, Virginia? Yeah. Where this happened at the Norfolk Scope?
That's where we went. That's where WCW. WCW, WWE. And we were in Campton, or I can't remember where the fuck we were. Pretty much the same city, more or less.
It's 90 minutes away. 90.
Okay, I didn't realize it was that far.
So you've gone in a second. You drove an hour and a half. That's insane. I mean, it was like over an hour for sure. And then we high-tailed it back, you know.
And you still have to. Because I'm like, dude, whatever, if we get, if they take it, like, they try to arrest us. Don't let them get the fucking footage, right? We're fucked, you know? And somebody had the footage and like you know, one of the great tapes and shit, just in case.
Yes, had to do that. I've been in production before, so we tried to. We did a Kanye West punk. I used to produce punk back in the day. And it was one of the same things.
He was shooting a video for Jesus Walks. And we had a guy who was LA Film Commission and basically said they were shutting down his video because he didn't have permits. He goes, you're trying to make a video about Jesus on Sunday and you don't have permits. And so it was like, we were trying to take the film and then they were trying to swap the film. But yeah, so I.
I mean, I think it's one of the greatest what-ifs in history. And if, okay, maybe we should write that movie. What happened on that? Elephant doors went up, and then DX drove. I mean, that is the greatest what if, not the greatest what if in wrestling, but it's got to be top five what if.
Like the magic that could have been made if those doors would have opened.
Well, just how things turned out ended up being. Like one of the I mean, the Razor Remote moment is my big moment, right? But that's like the second one. Yeah. That's a good one.
You know, like, I've been involved in some pretty cool moments. I mean, you're a two-time Hall of Famer. I mean, just like, just like the things that I've been. therefore and like that and just The w when we went to the Seeing them towers shit was just funny. Crazy, right?
No, they're expecting us. No, no, yeah. And then a freaking guy, the vice president, comes down and goes, DX, I love those guys. Get the balls with us. That was great.
Yeah, Dick Cheetah. Oh, my God. Yeah. Wow. He fucking gave, he told them, because they were just kicking us out.
He goes, no, give them all access. Wow. Yo, you guys just went out and did your thing back in those days. And then like You know, uh We aimed the cannon at fucking CNN Tower and shot the cannon at and like. You know, put like the graphic up like we blew the fucking CNN town.
Imagine doing that shit, huh? Yeah, no, that's a straight threat. Straight threat nowadays.
Well, we talked about DS. Let's talk about NWO. Yeah, you left WWE. Kevin Scott, they're already there. They're already NWO with Hogan.
How did you get involved in that group? Yeah. Yeah. I was def Most likely, I would have been the first one to have jumped up. I was the one that kind of set that whole thing up.
Uh When I met Barry Bloom out here for the first time, you know Barry Bloom? The agent, he was all our agent.
Okay. Um, he's still like agent for a lot of People getting them big money deals and shit. But uh Um I came out here, I was No I was like re recuperating from an injury and I wanted to meet Barry about doing some movie stuff. I had no idea. I was never thinking about leaving WWE.
Mm. Um Anyways, I met him and he goes, Hey, by the way, WCW is spending a lot. lot of money right now to get talent. And I thought of Scott, and then we called Scott from Barry's office, and that started all that shit rolling over. Oh, really?
So, okay, but my contract rolled over. And I didn't know when my contract was up, so it automatically rolled over, so I was fucked. Oh yeah, I was in the doghouse. Fuck yeah. Um I was coming to come in.
I was going to come in like a Rode Wild and Sturgis. And You know, I had.
Well, let me backtrack a little bit. The rehab I was telling you about when the Curtain calls coming out. I got out of there, and you know, like about a month later, Vince called me and. Let me come in and he's like, hey. If you want to stay, you gotta like.
do the fucking dog house thing, like Yeah. You know, but if you want to go. Be with your work for that billionaire asshole. That's his exact words. Oh my God.
Be with your friends and get a better. Deal for yourself like, I'll let you out. I'll give you a week to think about it. And I knew right away. Yeah.
But it was still one of the hardest things I ever did to tell them: yeah, I want to leave. 'Cause you were like fucking family or mo mo like in the mob almost, man, it felt like So yeah.
So I went down there, I did that. Stanford uh You know, my my My intro, like my debut on WCW was kind of. It was just like stood up on a chair and had this like remote control and I hit the button and like all these flyers came down from the ceiling. It was just kind of like, yeah. Whatever, but I was in, right?
I was in NWO, and it just, you know. Knew how to get over from WWE, right? And you go in there and like they just give you the ball and let you run with it. It was easy as fuck, man.
Now, you told us, you told us backstage, but I just want the people to know. Yeah, man. That it was some inspiration during the NWO times. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Hey, dog, like. I don't want to say it all, but I hear. A bunch of that was shit that we took from Westside Connection.
Like you'd hear us say, bow down when we come to your town and just all that shit, you know? The attitude, all of that. We fucking stole, we stole that shit. And you can tell there was a heavy hip hip hop. You can tell there was a heavy hip-hop influence with you guys, with the bandanas, the foo boo, Kevin always rocking you guys with the Jordans and you know, Kevin always saying thug life and throwing up the dub.
Yeah, I had thugs written on my fucking ass on my stomach and notorious written on my ass. See, so when you told us in the back, we were like, we laughed and was like, what? And then you were like, think about it. And we thought about it. It was like, oh.
Right, yeah, because everything you guys did was awesome.
So, West Side Connect. My dad's going to love that story. That's awesome. I mean, I. Tell us about the house show music you were oh yeah, the gangster the killer and the dope dealer at the forum at the forum starts off the killer and the dope dealer I got my ass fucking reamed.
Because you know the language and that. Yeah, it's rough.
So you're in Inglewood, Inglewood, California at the forum, right down the street. We're 15 minutes from there. And our last episode, we talked to Liv Morgan about house shows and how the performer gets a little bit more freedom.
So you use that freedom to use Westside Connection as your theme song. I'm in fucking Inglewood. Yeah, you got to hit it. You got to hit it. What the fuck?
Oh, yeah, it was great. I loved it. It's one of my favorite things I've ever done. And then I went out and I had a really good match with Rey Mysterio. I beat him.
Yeah. Then Chris Jericho came out and then I dropped a Like the cruiserweight title to him. It was the shittiest way anyone's ever fucking won a belt. Like, I feel really guilty about how, like, Shitty, I fucking handed that belt to Chris Jericho. We talked about it.
Anyways, that's awesome. That is incredible. Bro, my side connection. Thank you, bro. Appreciate it.
A question that we ask every single guest that comes on here, man, and they would kill us if we didn't ask you. Can't wait. Situational question. Oh, should we make it no click? Yeah, because look, if we give, yeah, make a difference.
Yeah, all right, all right.
So it's a situation: you're at a bar, 50 dudes in the bar, and they are hating on you. They do not want you in there.
Now, you can't pick the click because that would be easy.
So I need you to pick a team of four other wrestlers to team up. Yeah, any time to team up to make sure you're getting to the car.
Well some some something happened. I'm telling you, it was, we were in Moncton. like it's like up in the maritime nova scotia okay at moncton name of the city And we always went to this place called Ziggy's. It was the the club in Moncton. Yeah.
Just in Canada? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
And they didn't like us in there 'cause I, you know, the girls were paying attention to us and all that. I don't know how it popped off, but like... We're outside and there's like that many people. And that's just us, me and Sky and Kev, like You know, Sean. Oh, yeah.
No, it's got to be the click. You know, right? And then, like, so we're out fucking numbered, right? And then all of a sudden, this fucking black caddy rolls up, fucking, and out gets Yoko, fucking Kishi, like, take her, to BSK guys, right?
Okay. And then motherfucking everyone just scattered. They just said, fuck it. Yeah. So the click and BSK.
So this really happened. Yoko. That's the best answer we got. Was the Godfather with him too? Yeah, Godfather too.
Oh, my God. Yeah. So, you in the BSK. The click in the BSK. Hey, man, yo, that works.
Whoa, that worked out. Hell yeah. You were like, it really happened. What you mean? The question is based off me.
Yo, that is crazy, man. Yes. All right.
One more, because we're running out of time. But something else I'd like to ask, because you're a fan of the business. You've seen it from the outsider point of view, the inside point of view. When was a time that, as a fan, Wrestling broke your heart. Whether that be a decision that was made or a title being lost, or you know, when did wrestling as a fan break your heart?
Come on, man. Bro, I can't just give you softballs, man. We got to get you that deep shit. It's going to be kind of easy. Yeah, man.
We've had people talk about the Undertaker streak. But his would have been way before. Exactly.
So I'm just trying to, you know, when did wrestling break that heart, man? Man. I'll give you one, Sean. Because I'm a little bit older than him. Yeah.
One of my early, a lot of bit, actually. One of my earliest memories that wrestling broke my heart is watching my very first favorite wrestler when I first started wrestling. I only got it. Maybe a year of him as champion was Bob Backlund.
So to watch the iron sheet. Take the WWF title from Bob Backlund, and I'm this little itty-bitty kid, and I can't figure out like a towel getting thrown in. And I thought Bob Backlund was the greatest, and I was and Bob, Bob really fucking lost the world title. Like to him, that was like one of the worst days of his life. And the way he sold, he cried.
He literally, he really cried. I've read Bob Backlund's book three times, by the way. Oh man. Um I don't I can't I can't name a uh A specific thing, man, that Where it rests on ro I've been disappointed by By wrestling, just like at times, you know, and some of those times where. You know, maybe you weren't watching either.
Right. You know, so I don't know. Uh, I haven't been, I don't think I've been heartbroken. Man, you're the luckiest guest. Oh my God, when WrestleMania 17, when Vince McMahon and Stone Cold jump the rock, and it ruins my favorite WrestleMania ever.
17 is my favorite WrestleMania. That's a good one. And I can't watch the main event because I'm like. Why? Of all Pete Vince and Stone Cold?
When Steve turned heel? Yeah, and I'm like. Yeah. Because number one, I'm rooting for The Rock. At the time, The Rock was my favorite guy.
And when that happened, I was just like. Like, I love that pay-per-view so much. I love the buildup. I love everything about it. And then.
It killed me. I don't understand the thinking behind that. Bro, I'm a sicko, I guess. I just, bro. But, like, come on.
Like, why did they do it? I can't. Yeah, man. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God.
I remember, like, I wasn't heartbroken, but I was fucking dumbfounded by it. Yeah, dude. No, wait, he's our fucking most popular guy. Like, yeah. Why the fuck do that?
Yeah, man. Six pot. Six pot. Yes. Let me ask you this.
better faction. Because you are the only person that's still walking. Rest in peace. Rick Rube, who was a member of both.
So, I mean, Sean kind of was NWO, but not really. Better factions, Degeneration X or the New World Order. I could tell you my favorite. Yeah. DX.
Yeah, absolutely. Because, I mean, we just had. All that fucking fun that it looked like we were having, we were having it. Yeah. You know?
And it was like And your introduction every week around it was something cool, you know? Yeah, you guys did your thing. Yeah. Yeah, and we got to have. I'm gonna tell you.
One of my favorite things of all time now was when Ron DMC did our fucking savings, bro. Goated. Yes. Yes. Fuck.
That's awesome. Well, Xpot, before we let you go, I want to let you know we, man, you must get sick of this, but we're putting you in the No Contest Wrestling Podcast Hall of Fame.
Okay, I know you're probably sick of being in Hall of Fame because you're in something. Ring in a ring? Yeah, we're working into something. But when we get this built, there's going to be an Xpot bus there, and we're going to have a little monitor. And there's going to be a tape.
played on a loop. Give me. Two, give me three. Sean Baltman matches. That define your career that you want to live forever.
The match with Brett.
Okay. Um. The stuff I did with Flair and WCW, I'm a. Oh yeah. I was I hated him at the time, but I was still such a fucking mark for Rick and like.
a mark for working with them, even though I fucking you know, we don't like each other. at the time. But uh It's a six-man that Scott and Kevin I had with Piper. Flair and Kevin Greene. All right.
And Charlotte. Um Another match. Mm. Uh there's him. There's a match I had with Eddie Guerrero, a ladder match.
It's the only ladder match I've ever had in WCW and sold-out pay-per-view MWO. I don't know if that's one. Yeah, the good part of the map. I'm going to throw that action zone tag match in there. Yeah, that's why I thought you were going to say segment.
Absolutely, man. There's a low in the low in the heart. There's an Owen Hart match on Raw. That was about 15-minute match we had. It was after the uh After the King of the Ring match, I might throw that in there.
Okay. Well, you have a lot of years of matching.
Well, we're going to make you a two-time Hall of Famer so you can tell us some more later. By the way, man, like you were talking about getting suspended in school. That's the number one thing people, when they meet me, they tell me. Like, there's no second, like. I got the tension.
Yeah, everyone. Julian Edelman of the Patriots told me that he got suspended because of that, or detention because of that. Dude, Sean, this has been amazing, man. I really had a great time. Thank you so much, man.
We would love to have you. I don't do this much. Like, I rarely do these anymore, but I was really looking forward to this. Thank you, man. We appreciate you.
You're always a guest at NCW. Make sure y'all check us out, man, next Wednesday. No doubt. Give it up for the great X-Puck. Before he goes, I think there's one thing we need to move our mics to.
Oh, my God, bro. Send everyone out. Can we get one of these? Can we get. Mm.
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh Or break it down. Uh No one knows music like Rolling Stone. Singer writer Brian Hyatt talks the biggest music news from the biggest stars. Almost everyone is teaming up on Drake. It's like Drake versus the world.
You first met Prince Europe driving for him before you were drumming for him. That's correct. You kind of have to understand how Stevie began white radio. That's where the money was. That's what it still is.
You know what I'm saying? Rolling Stone Music Now. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Yeah.
