Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Actor Paul Walter Hauser Is A Wrestler Now (& An Emmy Winner!)

Episode Date: March 12, 2024

Paul Walter Hauser (@paulwhausergram) is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor. He is known for his roles in Black Bird, Richard Jewell, Queenpins, Cobra Kai, I Tonya and many others. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood to talk about his upcoming wrestling match against Matt Cardona at Wrestling REVOLVER, why he decided he wanted to become a wrestler, training with Paul London, his appearance on AEW, taking a guitar shot from Jeff Jarrett, his approach to acting roles, singing Fozzy's song "Judas" on Cobra Kai and much more. Quote I'm thinking about: "Dedication makes dreams come true." - Kobe Bryant Sponsors: PRIZEPICKS: Download the app today and use code INSIGHT for a first deposit match up to $100! BABBEL: Learn a new language and get 50% off your lifetime Babbel subscription at http://babbel.com/cvv MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off with the code CVV at http://magicspoon.com/cvv RHONE: Upgrade your closet with Rhone and use CVV to save 20% at https://www.rhone.com/CVV ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv BETTERHELP: Get 10% off your first month with the code INSIGHT at http://betterhelp.com/insight MUDWTR: Get 15% off with the code CVV15 at http://mudwtr.com/cvv MYBOOKIE: Bet on WWE! Get up to $200 cash bonus when you use the code CVV and sign up at http://mybookie.ag BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at http://plunge.com BONCHARGE: Go to http://boncharge.com/CVV and use coupon code CVV to save 15% on your BONCHARGE Infrared Sauna Blanket! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.  Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris. Oh, yeah, welcome back to another one here on Insight. I just get so pumped up when I hear that song. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. How are you? How you doing? Did you have a great weekend? Thank you for being with us.

Thank you for making Insight, one of the top wrestling podcasts on the planet. And if you have some time today, could you just make sure to hit follow or subscribe wherever you're listening to this? And if you're feeling extra generous, my goodness, if you could leave a rating, or review on Apple Podcast or Spotify, that would just be the cherry on top.

Paul Walter Houser is awesome. Not only is he an Emmy Award-winning actor, a Golden Globe Award-winning actor, a Critics Choice Award-winning actor. You know him from Blackbird or his Stingray in Cobra Kai. You also know him from movies like Queen Pins, which is on Netflix now. Go check it out. It's awesome.

He's also in I-Tanya, Richard Jewel, and so many others, guys, he's one of us. He is a massive wrestling fan so much so that he made his pro wrestling debut in November for wrestling revolver. And this Saturday, he has a match against Matt Cardona. He's been training with Paul London in L.A. And this isn't like just a vanity thing. He is serious about wrestling.

And I mean, do you remember seeing him on AEW last year? Like the same week, he won the Golden Globe. He was on AEW with the Golden Globe. He was in a segment with Jeff Jared, and he takes the guitar shot from Jeff Jared. Like, oh, my gosh, that guitar just exploded on his melon. All of that is to say he loves this. So I know you're going to love this conversation.

It's such a fun one. Snap a screenshot and tag us. So we know you're listening. He's at Paul W. How's, Graham on Instagram. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. Ladies and gentlemen, Paul Walter Houser. I appreciate that you're wearing a shirt with your own face on it.

I mean, listen, this is a very wrestling-centric move. You know, like you got to put yourself over. You got to put over the merch, man. Yeah, where can we purchase this merch? Oh, golly. Where do they have the... Oh, you know what? On pro-wrestlingtees.com.

Excellent. I also have a pro-rasseling. wrestling teas.com store. So when people are there, they can buy your merch and my merch. Listen, I don't want to measure parts right now. Oh, boy. I don't want to do that. A pissing contest, if you will.

Unbelievable. What are your shirts say? I'll microphone you to death. Oh, write that down. That's pretty good. Standing over a dead button. Look, nobody buys them, but I have a shirt that I really like. It says, Grateful, and there's a three instead of the E.

because at the end of every interview, I ask, what are three things you're grateful for? Right. So it's a shirt that gives a nod to like, you're grateful and also like a reminder. Three, oh, I like that. Also have one that says vague goals get vague results. I have one that says,

I'm a CVV guy. Nobody has purchased that one yet. I like the number three, too. I think that's a magnetic number that makes people want to buy the shirt, too. This is a very California-looking drink right here. It is. It is. I don't even know where it's from.

Some body energy club. It's pistachio butter, chlorophyll, kale, probably some amino acids, some non-milk milk. I don't know. This is the most Los Angeles drink ever. You're going to go hike running canyon after this?

No, I'm going to meet with my agent to complain about why I don't have a job, even though we're post-COVID slash post-strike. and the world has become more inclusive and I'm like, where all the white guy parts? Yeah. And then I'm going to say, I got to use the bathroom and I'm going to French exit

and make them pay the bill. Pull the Houdini. Beverly Hills. That's where I won't. To lunch. Let me try this. Yeah, drink it up. I'm sorry.

But you're on a very strict fitness regimen right now, right? I mean, if you look at my body, you wouldn't think so. but I'm transitioning back and forth. I kind of have that, you know, Jonah Hill kind of had like weight fluctuation. Now he's like super healthy. I'm kind of in that space of fluctuating.

But I, yeah, I'm trying to get ready for the match with Macrodona, March the 16th. So I've been hitting the weights. A lot of people think this is your first wrestling match. They don't realize what you did in Pro Wrestling Revolver. This shirt is from the match. That's from the match. Matthew Palmer.

So I was, yeah, I was, Sammy Callahan and I are mutual fans, and he hit me up and was like, do you want to do something at the show with Ronda Rousey? It's like to raise money for the fires of Maui, the victims. And I was like, of course, dude, I'll do whatever. Like a week later, he's like, you want to have a match?

And I was like, all right, man. And I had been training a little bit with, I took a couple classes with Darien Bankston, who's been on AEW Dark and doing the indie service. circuit and and I had a little bit of help from Preston Vance and Anthony Agogo and even DDP a little bit. But then my real trainer is this guy Paul London, who everybody knows. Of course. Is he out here? Yeah, he's got his own school, man, K-Fape Academy. And I'm now working with him out of there. But I've probably done like 15, 16 hours worth of training with Paul

London. So like, I only had about 20 hours total and I just went in there and did the match and was like, you know, we'll keep it simple to what I actually know how to do. I'm not going to do a poison run off the top rope. Like, I can give you a Russian side Russian leg sweep. I can take a, you know, I can take some bumps. The crane kick you did was impressive. Yeah. It was poor, poor balance, but I got the foot up there. I mean, I got high. And Matt Palmer is. such a pro man. He probably made me look like a million bucks. I feel like that was a little DDP yoga there. Yeah, DDPY has done some wonders. It's not DDP Yoder.

Some wonders. He said the word yoga in front of him. He will DDT you into the floor. He will hit me with a diamond cutter out of nowhere. He will RKO you. Kidding, I just said that to mess with Dallas. I'm just kidding. Dude, Dallas, you did the RKO first. He goes, it's cold, the diamond cut. Yeah, bro, I let him use it. Yeah. The thing with Randy is he's a good kid, but yeah.

I love Dallas. Dude, you're not going to find a better dude in professional wrestling than Dallas page. The best thing about him is how he makes the time for people. You will get a random phone call from him. Not a text like, hey, are you free later? Not like, I'm thinking of you just a phone call. And you pick it up and you're like, yo. And he's like, yo, hey, we're just thinking about you, bro.

and you're like, you're the best. Very genuine. I've seen him in his, I stayed with him. He helped me lose like 30, 40 pounds for Blackbird. You stayed with him for a while, like months, right? I crashed to them for like seven weeks. I wasn't in a good place mentally or emotionally at time, and then it was compounded by,

I have to get ready to play a serial killer and lose weight. And he had me on a regimen there where I would be up by 8.30, 9 a.m., do one-hour yoga session. DDPY session, and then I would have like a protein shake at 12, 12, 15 in the afternoon at about 3 o'clock, like a handful of almonds and a green juice. And then at dinner I would have a salad, like a punch bowl of salad with a piece of protein the size of my fist and then maybe a couple sweet potatoes or something. But it was like, and I was probably hiking once a day too.

Like I would go for a walk or hike. So, like, technically, like, two workouts a day, intermittent fasting, and you're only eating one large meal late in the day while hydrating all day. So it was kicked my ass, but it was, like, the best thing for me. Like, I really, I felt like I learned discipline from him. Dallas and his wife, Page, are the most hospitable people. Like, they're just so welcoming. The guy is always running right.

And I'm like, dude, just say no to, you don't have to do this podcast with someone who has 1,200 followers. But that's also part of his heart. He wants to inspire people, put people over, collaborate, you know, and that's what makes him one of the best, not just in the ring. By the way, I was trying to figure out my top matches of all time. I like started making a list. Okay. What you got?

I just feel like whenever you're in an interview like this, you want to talk wrestling because that's all any of us want to talk about when we love wrestling. And like off the top of my head, I always screw it up. And somebody's like, what's your favorite match? I'm like to Brock Hogan WrestleMania and they're like okay so you've seen wrestling once it's like I had to make this list but I was thinking about

Dallas and I was like man his match at Spring Stampede 97 was Savage is unbelievable for those watching revisit that match and it's like

it's unbelievable so is that on your list to favor matches that might be top 20 yeah so what are you don't have to be doing in I got to pull out the phone. I have them in order, not in like my favorite, but I have them in order by when they happen chronologically.

Okay, I like it. Steamboat Savage, 87. Brilliant, brilliant. But genuine, I think that's genuinely thinking it's amazing. Sean and Razor, 94. The latter match? Latter match. Sting Vader, Slamberie, 94.

Excellent. Wow. They had insane chemistry. Okay. Brett Hart, British Bulldog, not 92 SummerSlam, but in your house 95, when Diana's watching and she's mortified.

I was just talking to Nick Aldous about that match. Oh, that match is so good. Wow. That match is perfect. Ray Mysterio, Psychosis, Bachelor of the Beach 96, because they had perfected their style together in Mexico and in ECW,

and then they put on like a 14-minute banger. And I think when American audiences saw that match, they were like, oh, what is this? Well, it's sandwiched between like Big Bubba and Ming or something. Like, it's not, it's like, it stands out as the most athletic match of the night by a thousand miles. Jerry Lynn, Rob Van Damme, Hardcore, Heaven 99. Oh, man. Kurt Angles, Shane McMahon, King of the Ring, 2001.

When the glass wouldn't break. Don't think Shane gets enough credit. I completely agree. Shane does not get enough credit. Not at all. People think that Shane's just like this high spot guy. Shane can go. And that's also, that's kind of also what it became,

but the guy's like 47. So it's like at some point, you have to change up your style or you blow out your knees and you don't wrestle. You mean like exactly what happened last year, WrestleMania with Shane? Shane, if you're watching, we all knew your dad was a bastard

years ago. It's just now coming out because God has the last word. Kevin Owen, Sammy Zane Battleground 2016. So you did this in chronological order, and we went from 2001, and we missed 15 years. It's not that we missed it. It's that I need more time to put that together. You didn't even put Rock Hogan in there?

Not yet. That would have been 2002. After we watch it, because these are my favorites. Like, I don't want to just, it's not the objective thing where I'm like the best matches. Look, I'm very biased because I was there. I was there at WrestleMania 18. Sure. I was out of Hooters in Saginaw, Michigan.

Really? Yeah, my friends and I were... This was my first ever WrestleMania, so I was there and that stare-down. Brilliant. Amazing. And they both looked incredible.

Owen, Sammy Zane Battleground, 2016 made me tear up and cry. Cody Rhodes, Dustin. Oh. Double or nothing. I was there live. Me too. I also cried.

Yeah. I cried at that one. Walter versus Tyler Bait, NXT, UK, takeover Cardiff, 2019. Yes. Unreal. Young Bucks, Lucha Bros.

All-Out 2021. I wonder which one you were going to do there, yeah. I was there for that. And then I got full gear, Adam Page versus Swirf Strickland, which made me uncomfortable. Yeah. I haven't been that uncomfortable watching a wrestling match in a very long time. It was intense.

When the barbed wire came off the bat and snapped. He dragged his hair. Yeah. I was like, oh, that wasn't supposed to happen. There were two or three of those moments. Yeah. I also feel like there's something in Adam Page that feels like, I don't know the guy I met him in passing,

but like something about Adam Page feels like he's kind of willing to drive the car into the wall, which can be very entertaining, but like, I also hope he's okay. Because there's, I remember he did that spot. I'm like a big Jesus guy, and he did that. spot where he put like, didn't he put the crown of thorns on his head or something or on somebody else's like, it was like, whatever, yeah. That was some gnarly shit. I was like, man, this guy, this guy's really, really going.

When he goes for it, he goes for it. And I think his match with Brian Danielson was another moment like swerve where everybody went, oh, yeah, this could be the guy. Yeah, he goes there. Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it's tournament season or the fight for the playoffs. home court, there's no shortage of high-stakes basketball moments this time of year. Get it on the excitement with prize picks, America's number one fantasy sports app where you can

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It's that easy. All right, so let's do, how about off the top of your head, top five movies? Movies of all time. Yeah. Top five, like me thinking of the world or me personally favorite? I think it'd be you. Okay. Favorite would be Richard Jewell, Black Klansman, Defive Bloods, Eat Wheaties, and Queen Pins?

That's just off the top of my top of here. The ultimate pudding over wrestling thing? Man, that guy and Richard Jewel was fantastic. I'm just wearing pins with all my movies. I have, like, two lines in a film. I'm wearing a badge. Top five favorite movies of all time, off top of my head, and it changes. But the immovable ones are, it's a wonderful life.

A wet hot American summer. A few good men. Days in Confused. And that other one is tough. Like, I oscillate between the fight. Fier, Pulp Fiction, Field of Dreams, the Royal Tenant bombs.

There's like so many good ones that could kind of take that spot. But all up today, I'll say, Dodo Russell's the fighter. Is back to the future anywhere on your top 10, top 20? I think the, the, what is it, subjectivity and

objectivity? My subjectivity is different than my objectivity. I think my objectivity will put back to the future in a top 10. It's my favorite of all time. Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of people's favorite are top five, like a real one. But it also had to hit you at a certain time. It didn't hit me until my teens. I didn't like watch it when I was five and go, like, that wasn't.

For me, my five-year-old movie that made my eyes bug would have been like, you know, getting to watch Mrs. Dalfire or Moneyball. Python, the Holy Grail. Honey, I shrunk the kids. Sure. Oh, man, Rick Moranis, legend. Banger. Home alone was that movie for me.

Home alone, of course. My earliest memory of being in a movie theater was Home Alone, which came out, I think, November of 1990. So I would have been, I was born October 1986, so I would have been four years old. So being four years old watching Home Alone, that was a big. And Daniel Stern's, like, one of your favorites. One of my guys. He's on your arm, right? He's on my arm.

Yeah, I love this. What a tattoo. Who do I got on here? You know who's on there, but in order, who do you have on there? Marty Short, Daniel Stern, Chris Farley, Jim Varney, Jim Carrey, and Robin Williams. Wow. I've only ever met Short and Stern. Didn't get to meet Farley or Williams or Varney, regrettably.

But yeah, I met Daniel Stern's agent around the, the time of, I went to South by for this movie Americana that I did with Sydney Sweeney and Simon Rex and I was telling him what a big fan I was and he's like, do you want to meet him? He set up this meet where I got to go to Daniel Stern's home and it's like this beautiful ranch and he just had me over and like we talked for like two hours. It was like the most, I can't believe I didn't get a photo of it. I think I didn't want to, I didn't want to look like a fan boy. I got him on my fucking arm. No, I just forgot to take a photo, but I was like, I got to, how do I commemorate this?

Like, people won't even believe that this happened because everybody who knows me personally knows, like, he's one of my guys. I just think his work is completely underrated. Breaking away back in 79, Diner, the Barry Levinson film with Mickey Roark and Kevin Bacon and all these guys. The Home Alone movies, Rookie of the year, Bush, whacked city slickers, like his comedy chops and his facial expressions. Yeah. The fact that he actually is like a good actor who does comedy. Yeah.

That's a big deal for me. You have a lot in common with all of those people on your arm because of what you just said. You've got acting chops and you've got comedy chops. And I think that there was a certain, for a while, I think people just saw you as the comedy guy. And then you had some roles where they went, oh, this guy can act. Yeah, that was fun. That was, you know, I, Tanya was a little. little actory.

You played it so straight that it was really funny. Right, that's the key to good comedy, usually. And then, yeah, Black Clansman, I got to play an icky, ugly, racist, and Richard Jewell and Blackbird, I think that really helped. People look at me differently. Because it might have just been, you're the fat guy from Cobur Kui, and it's like, Kobe Kai has been good to me. I love that show.

Like, I'm a fan of that show. But I also don't want to be the guy who people are just saying Sting Rain 20 years. Like, I hope I can eclipse that with getting to do something like Blackbird. But you've gotten to a point in your career, and I think it's such a testament to who you are and where you've done. And you're a type now. Like, you're a type that people could have on a breakdown. Like, we're looking for a Paul Walter Houser type. It's so funny.

And you know exactly what they're talking about. Somebody sent me that, and I'm like, why didn't I get that offer? Why didn't I get the audition? Like, I'm willing to come in. If you were looking for a Paul Walter Houser type, I'm right here. Guys, I have to pay rent in L.A. Rent. Is it time to own a house?

Maybe when I make more money. L.A. is so expensive. I got two kids. Like, I'm renting a house in the Valley. That's kind of the vibe now. But congrats them being a working actor. But, yeah, no, like, I got to put myself in check. I got to remember, like, you are stupid.

privileged when it comes to the people I get to work with and the experiences I've had and the reception of the work. I just did an animated film at Netflix called O'Reilly in the Dark, written by Charlie Kaufman, voice talents, Jacob Tremblay, Angela Bassett, Colin Hanks, Carla Gugino, like, it's a banger. It's got like, I think it's like an 80 or 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and it's on the top 10 list for the kids on Netflix. It's like, dude, like, how do I keep getting these things dropped into my lap? It's really crazy. Well, when you look at how many people come here chasing a dream in L.A. Yeah. From various parts of America, various parts of the world, 99.8% of them maybe do like a

commercial or do like an extra gig. You're a working actor. Yeah. It's like, like, Your income comes from make believe. It's pretty amazing. Yeah, that is a humbling sentence, too. Your income emanates from make believe. It's like, yeah, yeah, it does. You show up and pretend to be somebody and you get paid for it. It's weird.

And you do it exceptionally well, too. Thanks, man. You do what you do exceptionally well. I mean, I was a fan of the show before we kind of ran into each other. I think we ran into each other at like the Critics' Choice or something. Was that it? By the way, I vote on the Critics Choice Awards. Oh, gangster.

And I remember very proudly, because you're so good in Blackbird, I remember very proudly being like, oh, this one's an obvious choice. But Walter Houser, and then you won the award that night. Yeah, that was a fun night. Yeah. That was a cool. But yeah, we ran into each other there. You had just won the Golden Globe.

You win the Critics Choice Award that night. Then I ran into you again at the Iron Claw premiere. That was fun. I say fun. It was like, it was very, it was a rough premiere. like it was you're basically showing up to watch all these people pass away in a story and and uh i remember they only had boxed water they didn't have like anything it was just boxed water i was okay guys we got a budget i came i came to that movie i was hungry and i live in orange county now

everybody was hungry it was like 530 in the afternoon everybody's like pre dinner yeah it's a bit of a drive for me so i'm like oh at least i'll like fill up on popcorn at worst at this thing yeah oh boxed water I really like that movie, though. I will say not as a wrestling fan because the movie is more about family than it is wrestling. I like the movie as a dark drama about generational sins and curses

and the idea of a father's brokenness being passed down, you know, another generation. It's so rough. Yeah. And it's dark, and then at the end, there's some light, if you will. I thought, yeah, without giving anything away, I thought there was way more light in redemption in the end than I was expecting.

And in sort of the magical realism, otherworldly way, I just, I really applaud Sean Dirk and everybody worked on that. That was a good movie. There's this scene, again, without giving too much away at the end with the kids. And I was like, oh, this got me so good. It's kind of the opposite of like the Shutter Island ending, which is like the worst ending of all time. Like, you want to leave the theater and just jump off a bridge. You know what, ending? I hate that movie.

I love Leo. I love Marty. Everybody involved, I get it. But that movie left me feeling awful. You know what other movie did that for me was Gone Baby Gone? Because it ends and you go, wait a second. Is that the right thing? Would I have done that?

What's the, like, there's a real moment there of like. Conflict for the audience. Yes. Brilliantly portrayed. I love the shot of, uh, the two of them watching the television behind the couch. Like, that's... Affleck's a hell of a director, man.

Yeah. I don't want to work with that, dude. Well, I'm sure this will happen at some point in time. Ben, if you're watching... If Ben Afflex, why? If all of my competitors are busy, you call me. There's no other competitors. You are. You're the type.

Yeah. It's pretty great. I'll take that. And also, you know, let's heap on some more compliments here. You're so good. You're so good. you're a chameleon. You disappear into these roles. Like, if you look at the guy who's in Richard Jewel, that guy doesn't look anything like the guy who's in Blackbird. Yeah, no, some troubling,

you know, qualities, but hopefully, hopefully it feels different. I mean you, but I mean you physically, like if you looked at both of those side by side. And that's on purpose. Like, when I got Queen Pins, the Kristen Bell movie where I play opposite Vince Vaughn, I said to them, I was like, let's do prescription glasses and shaved my head. And I was quite big in that role. And then I slimmed down in something like Blackbird. And then you have the help of the mutton chops and the hair. And it's like...

And the voice. And the voice. Yeah. Or Cruella getting to do like... Getting to do a cockney accident. It's like, that's so fun, dude. It's so fun to be able to slip into something because it helps you act. It's almost like eating.

When you eat while you act, it's almost like cheating because it's like, you're throwing away the dialogue more because you have busy work. That's the Brad Pitt technique, isn't it? It wasn't Ocean's 11. Does he do that in other movies? There's compilations online on YouTube of Brad Pitt eating in rolls because it makes him seem more like realistic. No, I've totally kind of, yeah, stolen a bit of that.

Some of it's a sign like I, Tanya, it's like this guy is very slovenly and it's comedic. Let's make him eat nachos, make meat ribs, whatever. But sometimes I'll do another stuff just because I'm like, well, this will help. Is it like, does it break up the dialogue? Does it make you feel like you're more like in that moment? I think it's the multitasking thing. The idea of like you're, you're more natural when you're multitasking because you're not hyper-focused on the words.

So it's more like me going, I've never had one of these before. Feel free. That's my favorite flavor. F3. That tropical theory. I'll crack open the original. We'll see if I'm. Let's see if this theory is proven.

Yeah. But if I'm talking to Chris Van Vleet, I hope I'm saying that right. That was perfect. Van? Kidding. Vleet was the thing. I obviously couldn't. But if I'm talking to you, just like talking to you, it's like there's a little bit more pressure.

My body literally goes forward and tightens up a little bit more and engages, whereas if I'm going like this. Yeah. Rock and Hogan WrestleMania is amazing because. I see. Of the the posturing, the build-up, the fact that these are two A-list

or iconic guys. And then also, like, to be able to say this match easily could not have happened, they're from different eras, and it did. This is like a master class here.

But it is literally breaking it up, though. I think, oh, man, wait a minute. Oh, wow. This is actually good. That's my favorite flavor. That's a really good one. S3.

It's actually good. That's a timeline. You got to try mine. I got this thing called Golden Mine from Symbiotica. Brain health, vanilla chai flavor. You tear off the thing. And you gulp it down or you can mix it in with your coffee. Try it out.

Should I just gulp it down and then wash it down some water? It tastes like delicious coffee cream. Am I going to be super smart after this? Man, you will not stop talking about the war of 1812 after you... Look, I'm Canadian, so I know very little about the War of 1812.

Let me tell you. What year did it happen in? What? What year was that? Huh. I think it was like 12 years after the turn of the 18th century. Pretty sure.

Let's give this a go here. Vanilla Chai? Is this your company? No. I wish. I would love to... I still rent my home. I probably don't have a health...

But you've also been in Spike Lee films and Clinton Eastwood movies. I made so much... money off Black Klanzman. Try it up. Oh, that's good. I'm going to be so smart here. Wow.

No, I think it's sort of like the MCT oil effect where it's 70% infusing the energy in the pathways while 30% placebo. I love this. I'm all about that type of stuff. I've taken a lot of these different types of things. I'm very much like anything I can do

to give myself that extra little edge. I could drink mud water in the morning. That's a huge thing. for me. I got really into what is it called? The cold punch therapy. That's like my new thing. We have one in our backyard.

We do red light therapy. Same. Cold punch therapy. And I got something called an acumet. It's literally like acupressure, acupuncture, and you lay on these like plastic silicone type needle things. And it

all, you know what it does for me? Because I don't really know the true benefit. In real acupuncture, the way that I think the Chinese perfected it is, you're going to different parts of the body for blood flow and to like sort of harness or even the chi, like your chi or whatever, your chakras. But this mat, it's like all over the place. You're putting all of them on your back. So it's like, I don't think it has the same effect that was intended when it was, you know,

when it was kind of created. But what's good about it is it's deeply uncomfortable. So I'll lay on it for 10 to 20 minutes just to make myself momentarily uncomfortable and try to like zen out. And it's like, that's good if you're trying to be a professional wrestler, the best thing you can do is put yourself through some sort of pain that's manageable to kind of break down the barriers of where you can go.

This is one of the reasons I love cold plunging. Along with all of the great health benefits, one of the other things is it's uncomfortable. It's hard. It really is. And you never want to do it, ever. Do you have a set, like, do you have a set temp and time you do it? Because I know some people are like 34 degrees, 20 minutes, and I'm like, okay, hard-ass. Temp, yes.

Like, I had it at 40 for a while, but then I started doing the full-on, like, snorkel plunges where I would go all the way under. Oh, nice. I haven't done that yet, yeah. You've got to be a little bit warmer. otherwise you get an insane brain freeze. So, yeah, it's 50 degrees for three to four minutes. Okay. Every morning, it's part of my routine.

I'm like 40 to 45 somewhere in there. Like, I'll do 42 degrees for four minutes with part of my chest and my head above water. Nice. And sometimes the arms. Oh, the arm. When the arms go under. When the arms go under, my hands, like, they ache for 20 minutes afterwards. It's rough.

I do Wim Hof breathing. Like, we're all about this. the various different things. I'm triple fisting the drink cuts here. I got an F3, a cold brew and a protein shake. I love it. Liquid lunch, man. That's a beautiful thing.

This is so fun, man. I love that you are in entertainment, but you've also really made your name in the wrestling world, and it's like, we do have a lot in common. I guess I would ask you and turn it around on you, five favorite movies. Oh, my gosh. And then I have some wrestling.

stuff. I'll start with five-fay-framed. Then we're going to dive into wrestling hardcore here. Yes. Back to the future, for me, is immovable. That's number one. And I think just for me, it's the idea of, it reinforces that moments in life matter. Shit, that's really, yeah, a very, a very poignant thing to say about a movie. And I think about that all the time of, like, if this doesn't happen, then this doesn't happen. And then if that doesn't happen, you don't meet your wife or whatever, right? And that's what that movie's all about, right? Like, if Biff doesn't sucker, the whole thing.

If Marty's dad isn't a peeping Tom looking through the tree that falls off the tree and gets hit by the car, all of that, right? So that's number one for me, Jurassic Park. That's a movie I remember seeing in theaters. I remember they advertised that as like, you need to see this in theaters. And I'm like, wow, I was 10 years old at the time. I'm like, I guess I got to see this in theaters. Mom, can we go see this in theaters?

Yeah. So that's another one for me. My parents took me to Jurassic Park as a surprise. So at 93, I would have been like seven. And my sister, my older sister Julia came with me. She would have been 10. And as we walked in the theater, I was crying because I was scared. I was like, there's like real big dinosaurs.

Like I was, my parents are like, like, Paul, you understand this is going to be a great, fun, adventurous. Yeah. And then I saw it and it was like nothing I had ever. ever seen. It's incredible. And 30 years later, all of it. It holds up.

All of it holds up. Yes, it holds up. And so much from the 90s doesn't. But that, like, that does. So that's another one. Literally any Nolan film you could put in there. Memento, mental.

You look like an interstellar guy. That would be, I think that'd be it. Wow. What's an interstellar guy? Interstellar guy is a guy who is, uh, well put together and has masculinity,

but also has a deep, well of emotionality. I'll be honest, I did not like Interstellar when I left the theater, because there was so much to digest. And then about a week or two later, I digested it, I saw it again, and I loved it. I hated the beginning, the Dust Bowl stuff,

I'm just, like, so checked out. But once he's, like, in orbit, I'm in. I remember watching Memento in film studies class in college. And I remember just being like, I've never seen a movie like this. That is a film studies movie. Totally. We watched it, too, in my class.

I just remember being like, I've never seen a movie like this before. Brilliant. Joe Pantiliano. Oh, man. I get to become friends of that guy. Oh, geez. He's one of those dudes that, like,

he's so good and you forget how prolific he is. It's like him and Tommy Lee Jones were basically improvising all their dialogue on the fugitive. He's in the Matrix, ready to rumble. Of course, the classic Ready to Rumble. Yeah. Yeah. Citizen Kane, I also remember seeing that. And I just remember being like, wait a sec.

They made this movie in 1941 or whatever it was. Yeah. They made this movie then? Cinematography and shot framing is absurd. And just like he did so many things. Brilliant shoes. Thank you. Did not mean to throw us off.

Jordan once. Also, shout out to Chalk line. Chalk line. Thank you for the swag. And the pizza socks. The freaking hard foundation pants here. Amazing. And then I think like,

I really like movies from like 2000 slash 2010s. Like an ex-Mocchina's one that I come back to frequently. I see something new in that movie every single time. The town's another movie like that. Speaking of Ben Affle, like I've got two minutes. So I'm like you, at that fifth spot, I'm like, ah, it could be a lot of different movies. 2010's, like 2000 and 2010, I always highlight stepbrothers.

Little Miss Sunshine, Lars and the Real Girl. Oh, yeah. There will be blood. I remember seeing Super Bad being blown away by like... Oh, my gosh. Like just how quick the comedy was. When you believe the friendship, too. Michael and Jonah, like, you believe that.

Yeah. And you believe Christmas, Christmas Plas is incredible in that movie. Yeah. It's that idea of the best acting is when it's all instinctual when you're playing a version of yourself. And he wasn't an actor. That's the most amazing part about it. He'd done, like, theater in school, like he wasn't doing it, doing it, and he slaughtered that role.

Yeah, so that's, yeah, I think that's, I mean. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Okay. Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, Citizen Kane. Pretty much any Nolan film, but we'll call it Interstellar today. Or Memento? We'll call Memento because that's deeper. Okay.

And then Superbed. Sure. I don't know. The town. So many of them. Ex Machina. Yeah. Yeah.

There's a lot of them. I wept at Interstellar the scene where he's behind the bookshelf. Oh, that's the scene. Okay. But I didn't even know what happened to me. So, like, I'm a hyper spiritual person. I'm very much into the Jesus. So not the Jesus, John Totoro bowling and Big Loboski.

I mean, the Jesus, the tree guy, the cross guy. But I wept during that scene, he was trying to call out to his dog. because it just, it felt like, like something in my chest, like the Holy Spirit had made me freaking weep out of nowhere. And I was embarrassed because I'm in the theater. And I'm like, what is happening? Why am I having this reaction? Yeah.

Yeah. That's crazy. Don't let me go. Murs! I think I felt like I was seeing something we're not supposed to see. It was almost like we were seeing something from another dimension And that's really what's being portrayed. But I mean, I felt like I was watching something I wasn't supposed to see.

But I think that if you take it just one layer deeper, it's the moment of regret. We all have those moments of regret in our life of like, I did this thing that I know I shouldn't have done. And now I'm seeing the effect that it had on other people. That's why that scene hits so hard because he just leaves and goes. That's the haunting aspect of regret. I'm getting goosebumps as I'm saying this. We're seeing now the other side of it.

How did Murph feel about it after he left? Oh, wow. She really closed up, closed off. The scene that gets me... It's a great Christmas Carol type moment. Sorry, a scene that gets you. The scene that gets me an interstellar that made me weep in the theater, and I always watch it back on YouTube sometimes,

just because the acting's so great, is the scene where he comes back from the water planet, and he's watching the video communication from his kids. And his kids are now way older. He's weeping. And then that feels so... authentic. Oh, yeah.

And apparently the story behind that is they were setting up for a wide. And Matthew McConaughey, like, wrote a little note to the DP or someone just said, see you, handed it to him. Like, I want the close-up to be the first shot. Because he's going to watch this for the first time and, like, go for it. That's what we see. And I was like, oh, man. So that scene gets me.

Oh, McConaughey's like Nick Cage. Sometimes he's really goofy. And then other times when he's good, he's good. great. That was one where he just murdered it. Wrestling Mount Rushmore. Go. The CVV version, not what you think. Hogan, Flair, and I came to this realization because I got to interview them together at the same time. In like 2018,

they were doing like a touring interview thing. I'm like, oh my gosh. They're some of the biggest reasons that wrestling is what it is today. Whether you like them or not, whatever you feel about them, I don't care. But wrestling is what it is because of Hulkomania. So Hogan, Flair, Undertaker, and then that fourth spot for me is tough. And I think with Mount Rushmore's, it's all about like, when did you get into wrestling and who were your people at that time. The Rock is my guy. But the Rock also wasn't really around for that long.

Not at all. Really only wrestled for like seven years. He actually has become far more famous in Hollywood. and with everything else. So that fourth spot for me is Austin. So it's Hogan, Flair, Taker, and Austin. What are yours? I mean, that's a really good list.

It's a very fair list. I think a lot of people will go. I mean, why isn't it right hard on there? I think Hogan, Rock, Flair, Austin, those four. Hogan Rock Flair, Austin, I think, is what I would say for the world. Not my favorite, but like, they meant the most to the world of wrestling. Yeah. It made the biggest impact.

My personal Mount Rushmore is Sting, Brett Hart, Rick Flair, and Chris Jericho. See, that is said like someone who clearly watched a lot of WCW growing up. A lot of WCW, but also the Jericho edition, and he's such a controversial figure right now, but Jericho reinvented himself like nobody else has. He has made things work that should not have worked. He can work in the attitude era. He can work in crappy WCW. He can work in the PG era.

Now he's working in AW. And it's like he can do New Japan or he can bleed his face off with Nick Gage. And like, I just think the ability all around is really underrated. And I think after he's done and hangs up his boots, there's going to be, people are going to go back and go, holy crap. This is like, he's like the Willem Defoe of wrestling where it just, he just nailed a million different things while doing. It's so true. And it's hard to appreciate things as they're happening, I feel like. 100%. And like it's also easy to hate on things as it's happening like Brady or LeBron or Jericho. And then when they're gone, you go, oh, yeah, I didn't like Patriots, but, man, that Tom Brady was really good.

I could not agree more. My 5 to 10 is Arne Anderson, Kurt Engel, Mick Foley, Dustin Rhodes, Ray Mysterio, Kenny Omega. Those are all legends. They're all great. I think Dustin Rhodes is severely underrated. Severely underrated. He watches early 90s stuff with him and his dad when he's in WCW. And he's, you know, the guys he's fighting on a regular basis, the guys he's performing with, Rick Rood, Steve Austin,

Brian Pillman, Sting. It's just, I mean, even Flare and Anderson, those guys. It's like he really had the greatest come up as far as being under the learning tree of absolute murders, including his dad. And then he goes to WWF, and it's like he's obviously been given a spotlight, but it's also a very self-deprecating spotlight.

It's a hard role to play. And just like any great actor, Dustin fully commits the gold dust. Gold dust gets over. Yeah. classics with Triple H and Ray's Ramon and all these people. And then, like, eventually really gets lost in the shuffle and kind of becomes this mid-card, workhorse, good-hand guy. And then it's like he has this resurgence where he's like in his 50s.

He's what, 54, 55 maybe? His work in AEWs, his best work of his career, I think. It's insane. Yeah. The Canadian Destroyer, the Snap Power. slam the fact that he still does the boot in the corner to the grill. Like, I just think

he's incredible and I think it's easy to pick out Kurt Angles, Mick Foley, Sean Michaels. It's not easy to stop and go, wait a minute. Yeah. Dustin has had a crazy career. And I think going back to what we were talking about where it's hard to appreciate when something's happening in front of us, I think Kenny Omega

falls into that category too. Dude. We don't even know what we've had. Exactly. And every match that Kenny puts on is fantastic. And that's going to fall into that category of like if you watch any Ketting Omega match 20 or 25 years from now,

you're going to go, what? Way ahead of his time. His energy, his strength. He's one of those weird guys who has the crazy strength and the crazy speed. It's like it's usually one or the other, right? It's usually a Vader or a, you know,

a Guerrero. It's not usually both. And anytime you find both in a Keith Lear, Kenny Omega. It's like all the respect in the world. So what got you into wrestling? I literally remember what it was. I watched Clash of the Champions

with my uncle Robert, my mom's brother, in Florida back in the summer of, I think it was summer in 94, something like that. I mean, it was, it was, I think it was Arne, I think it was Arne Anderson and maybe Barry Windham versus Brian Pilman and El Giante, Gigante. And I just remember seeing Arne Anderson and Gigante and thinking,

one guy looks like somebody out of a comic book, and the other guy looks like my friend's dad. And the pendulum swing and the polarity, the polarity of the dad has to fight the giant from the comic book. and actually the giant from the comic book is the good guy and Arne Anderson's the bad guy it was like it was just a very unclear

layered thing that now you know people are like wrestling's dumb it's fake and it's like but it also plays with the reality of duality and the reality of polarities and I think it's almost like politics right it's like you can have

this politician that looks perfect And then you find out they're doing something egregious behind the scenes. It's like that's what wrestling plays with. It plays with the duality of nature. And that's why if you don't have someone like Paul White going heel and face every five weeks, the poor guy, when you do have a great heel turn or even a face turn, it can be the most meaningful, powerful thing because you, the audience member is like, a guy's a piece of, wait, he just saved so and so. And it's like, it plays with that.

I think it's psychologically really interesting at times from a storytelling standpoint. Wrestling is real life. Like there's so many elements of pro wrestling that are so applicable to real life. And it's exactly what you're talking about. There's this person that maybe you think is fantastic. And then you see, oh, wow, they've got a bit of a dark side to them. They said that about that person? Oh, I don't like them anymore.

Let's call it out. Will Smith slapping Chris Rock is the most wrestling moment. I've seen in culture since I've been alive. And what's crazy is people were so attracted to what it was. They were affected by it. And they were so attracted to it. There were people who even said they thought it was staged and it wasn't real. There's people that to this day think it was staged.

So it's like when you take all that into consideration, it's like people would like wrestling if they really engaged and understood what it is. Yeah. Because there are many moments that are just like that, that we all. talk about with the same kind of, you know, energy and appreciation as everyone else does for that. I feel for Will Smith in that he's had this incredible career in movies, in TV, in music, and for a vast swath of the population, he will be remembered for that one lapse of judgment. He'll be remembered for that one moment at the Oscars.

I read his bio book, and he had a tough upbringing, not to, you know, Not that it excuses all the stuff. I'm just like trying to shed some might and humanity on the situation. It's like if you're going to make a mistake, that is a big mistake. It's like what some people call. If you're going to sin, sin boldly. It's a bold ass sin. But by the same token, it's like all of his life experiences and his drama with his wife have led to that moment in time.

Yeah. And so it's like when I trace what happened, I go, yeah, I can see that. I'm sure he's probably wishes he hadn't done it, you know? But yeah, no, it's crazy, man. And the election right now, Trump and Biden, I'm just like, dude, it feels like two heels going at it. And where I'm like, I don't trust either of these dudes.

They're both ancient AF. And it feels like a bad TNA match where they're like, we're going to bring in, you know, it's 2007. we're going to have Kevin Nash fight Rick Flair. It's like what the hell is going on? That's how it feels, yeah. I loved seeing you in AEW. And it was so cool that like,

you mentioned something during your Golden Globe speech about like, didn't you mention something about wrestling in your Golden Globe speech? Because it was like the same week. I don't think I mentioned anything about wrestling the Golden Globe speech. It was that the next night I brought the globe to a, dynamite rampage taping. That's right.

And I just told Tony Khan, I texted Tony Khan before I won. So, like, three days prior, I go, hey, man, I know you're going to be in town Wednesday. I wanted to come to the show regardless. But if I win the Golden Globe, can I bring it? And you guys could use it as a foreign object

where, like, they pan to me and they're like, you know, wrestling fan wins Golden Globe or whatever. And I'm like this. And then, like, during a match, somebody grabs it and uses it. to win. And I just thought it would be a funny little pop of a moment. Yeah.

And then Trudeau for him, just like Callahan asking me to have the match with Palmer, Tony's like, I arrived there and he's like, we're actually going to put you in the ring. I was like, cool. And he's like, we're thinking, you know, you and Jeff Jarrett could kind of have a moment together. And I'm like, cool, not knowing. And so they tell me what to do as far as like you're going to have this moment, you know, in the ring with Jeff and talk smack to him. and then I think somebody's going to come out to save you or whatever. I'm like, cool.

And then the moment, the moment, it's that thing of watching wrestling your whole life. You're like so, like, you want to do something in the ring. The moment Sanjay Duck grabbed my shirt, I was like, I'm slapping this guy. And then Jay Lethal just wham, I went down. And then when I saw the guitar, I'm like, oh, this is what he's talking about. This is clearly. Wait, they didn't plan this? The guitar shot?

This is Jarrett legit just like being Jeff Jarrett and I'm like I'm gonna take it. I'm not gonna not take it. So I was wiggling around a little bit but I was also just like, oh shit.

Bam. I heard a ringing in my ear for about six or seven seconds. Mind you. You know, it didn't, I don't think people are dumb enough to think it's like a totally real guitar. It's a one gig,

but it was like, it didn't hurt as much. much, but like, I heard a ringing in my ear and was down for the count. And then they came and checked to me. Then I hear the music. And I'm like, oh, yeah, they show up now. Awesome. He swung it hard.

He swung it hard. Yeah, he was going for it too, man. But it was, you know, they took the globe and then had it for a while. And my whole thing was like, all right, we're going to do a payoff or blowoff for whatever you call it. We're going to have a thing. It didn't happen. So for a while, I just had to help Tony be like, I got to get my trophy back, dude.

Like, they can't keep hanging on. of this thing. And that's the thing. That was your actual Golden Globe. Yeah. That was the real one. Yeah. I had a case for it and everything. So, um, I hope we get to finish that story. I don't know if we ever will. Tony's been super cool. Always helping me with, you know, here's some tickets to the show or here, you know, come hang out. Come, he'll invite me into guerrilla and I'll just stand there and watch him do this. Like it's, he is the mensch of all menches. He's the man.

I have somebody who watches the show all the time, a fan of the show. who knew you were going to be here, and they actually recorded a question for you. Oh, wow. So I want to show you this. Let me just make sure the volume's up here. Let's grab it. And soon to be Emmy God, Matt Cardona,

and while you're sitting there with Chris Van Bleet, I'm scratching that figureage in my storage unit, organizing my toy collection. I just found my collection of karate kid figures, bro. Check it out. We got John Crease. We got Yanni Lawrence. We've got the legend Mr. Miyagi himself.

Those are dope. We've got Daniel LaRuso and last, but now at least we got Stingwit. Oh, wait a minute. You don't have an action figure. You do not have an action figure. You're not Toyeta. You're not a real pro wrestler. You're barely even an actor, bro.

I don't even know how you got that Emmy, but that revolver March 6th. teeth after I bring my slammy award to the ring raising high give you a radio silence a one two june and take that at me and i'm gonna spit on it and shove it straight up your big ass see up revolver bro nice to see matt cardona found his smile uh wasn't very nice wow listen man he know he he also knows i'm a big action figure guy and that i collect them so he's he's definitely hitting the right nerve. Matt Cardona, let's put him over first.

I thought he was great at Zach Ryder, his following online was way out of its time, clearly. And like many brilliant performers in WWE, they didn't know what to do with them and basically made them into job guys and then you can have the U.S. title for five minutes or the IC, right? The latter match.

Yeah, it's great. WrestleMania. Yeah, great moment. But I think he's, I think he's really great now that he's doing his own thing and he's actually who he is. And I've been, like, appreciative that he's putting over the Indies by engaging them in the exact same enthusiastic manner as he did, you know, being on television. He's far more successful as Matt Cardonia than he ever was as Zach Ryder. And that's saying a lot. Yeah.

Having said that, I just think he doesn't fully appreciate my level of focus. So let me just say to pretend I'm talking to Matt Cardona. He's watching. You know he is. Matt, big fan. But as accomplished as you are, I do think you're missing the point that it isn't really about wrestling so much as it is about focus. To beat you in Iowa on March of 16th,

it's going to take the focus of someone who can handle doing stand-up comedy in front of 2,500 people. It's going to take the focus of somebody who can memorize a monologue and do it a billion times over for Clint Eastwood on a $40 million budgeted Warner Brothers biopic. It's going to take the story. the focus is somebody who does what they do, not because they're trying to buy more toys or, you know,

buy cat litter or dog food, but provide nourishment and put it on the table for two young children. It's going to take focus. So you say you're a slammy winner, right? In my book, there's only one slammy award winner ever that matters, and his name is Owen Hart. So you can, you know, tout your statistics and sell your merch,

but come March the 16th, I don't think you realize that I am going to rake your back and bulldog your face into the canvas and probably kick your ass. And it's not because I'm a wrestler. It's because I have focus. This is real, ladies and gentlemen. So I'll, you know, I'll see you there, buddy.

and, you know, Matt Cardona, I guess the name Matt Cardona, it's good. It's not Zach Ryder anymore. It's Matt Cardona. But at the end of the day, that's just a name. You just, you just picked a name, and you're like, I'm a new guy. I play characters for a living. I do, like, 30, 40, 50 of them. You picked a name, and you picked the wrong opponent, dude.

So I'll see you there. Wow. You don't need to wrestle. You are a very accomplished actor, but you want to wrestle. Why? Part of it was just because I wanted to know what it was like, you know, kind of like when you do research for a role.

And I was like, I want to see, I can see Cardona now. He's probably like, oh, you're going to do the Bastion Bugger biopic. I learned it because I thought it was interesting and I had never done it and I wanted to. And in doing so, I had people like Dallas Page, Sean Waltman, Anthony Ogogo, Paul London, all telling me, hey, you're actually really good and you're taking to this pretty quickly.

Sent footage to people like Natty Nighthart. She's saying, you have it. It just needs to be refined. So it's like, and also from, physique standpoint, they can see what they want about me being a big guy. It's like some of my favorite wrestlers are, you know, Bam Bam Bigelow and Kevin Owens and Vader and, you know, these guys are not known for being in shape.

They're known for being agile and strong and having, you know, some form of charisma or something. So I look at it like this, too, because I've had some people not, there was an interview with Tony Deppin, as indie wrestler. He, I guess he's a GCW guy. but somebody mentioned my name to him and he was like, Tony's like,

yeah, I don't know who that is, but they're probably just copying what me and Ron Funches did. And I'm like, maybe you and Ron Funches copied what Dennis Rodman did before you. And maybe Dennis Rodman copied what Lauren Thaler did at WrestleMania in 95. So it's just like, everybody likes to think

that it's like, oh, some actors coming in to do like their 15 seconds of wrestling fame. And it's like, no, I've been a student of watching in my entire life. Now I'm actually doing it in the ring. And to be fair, I don't know who Tony Deppin is either. So it's mutual, bud. This is like the David Arquette path you're taking here of like,

you actually want to like pay your dues. Disagree. Ooh. Disagree. I don't want to pay my dues. I want to learn the craft. I don't have to pay dues. And you know why?

Because when a guy like Dave Batista comes into Hollywood and gets Guardians of the Galaxy, I don't say to him, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. get in line, you have to go do a guest star on NCIS before you get to this Marvel film. It's not really the way the world works, right? Now, wrestling thinks that that's how it works, and they try to put people in line. And the reality is, is a guy like Maxwell Jacob Friedman

or Goldberg or Seamus can have a very quick rise out of nowhere because they're just good. So I can pay respect, which I'll always do, but paying dues, it's like if somebody asked me to be in a WrestleMania match and do the Snooki routine where they're like, you're going to be the random celebrity who gets in a tag match. Like, I'm doing it. I'm not doing seven years on the Indies until then.

I'm just going to do what comes across my play. In fact, I got hit up by, I was talking with somebody from high spots and they're doing this show, WrestleMania weekend, at the ECW arena. They were like, who would you, you know, if you came here and did a match, who would you like to wrestle? And I was thinking it over and I was like, well, maybe we could do like a Philly Street Fight type of thing. And the guy who came to mind immediately was Sammy Callahan, which he's the guy who kind of put me on and gave me that spotlight at the Revolver show. So, you know, I think I'm going to hit up Sammy or if he's watching, I guess we can also just say, hey, dude, you want to wrestle me? WrestleMania weekend at the ECW Arena for high spots

because I would love to get in the ring with an absolute hardcore wrestling legend and a hell of a booker, I must say, for pro wrestling. Sammy Callahan is insane. Yeah, I might watch this back and regret that I said that. I might regret that I said that. I don't know. Okay.

That would be my opponent of choice. I don't know. He's probably busy. He's also got his own shows that weekend and throughout the week. But that would be my... You just calling them out. My opponent.

So yeah, yeah, I'm calling you out. Sammy Callahan. You are the teacher. I am the apprentice. Let's see if I can pull up on you. I got a couple of quick ones. I want to rattle off here before we wrap this up. Did you audition for Clint Eastwood?

Like, was your final audition for him? Did not audition for Clint? It was just a straight offer because somebody showed him a photo of me next. through a photo of Richard Jules. Straight offer for a Clint Eastwood movie. Incredible. Yeah, I didn't feel real when it was happening. Wow.

That's amazing. I've heard that he, you know, most directors go, action, action. I heard he whispers action. Go ahead. Whenever you're ready. It's like it's always something like that. And I heard the story is something about like, well, you don't want to spook the horses.

Yes. He was on those... Yes, that's the story. Westerns for years in the 60s and 70s, so it was like, if you yell action, it could disrupt one of the animals hunts up. So then he just started being like, yeah, go ahead and start.

It's also him comparing actors to animals, probably. You guys are just as easily distractible and absurd, you know. What is the smallest residual check that you have received? I think I had a check for like zero cents. It was literally zero point zero. And it was, I think it was from one of my sketches I did for Key and Peel. So, like, after the, you know, the percentages are all doled out everywhere, you got zero cents. Yeah.

Do you try to cash it? No, I throw it away. I'm not going to, you know. You should have framed it. You should have framed it. You should have framed it. But it's usually, like, $4 for community, 18 cents for Key and Peel. And then, like, sometimes you'll get it.

get one for Richard Jewell and it's like six or seven grand and you're like, holy shit. Okay. Yeah. This will help me pay that rent in the valley. I loved on Cobra Kai and I would love to know the story behind it. Your character is walking into their house and you're singing Judas by Fazi. Oh, that was definitely a me thing. Well, first I put AEW in Queen Pins because Queen Pins at WW references and I,

I was just like, even if WW does license something to them, it's going to be like Undertaker choke, choke slamming a job or from like 93 or something. It's going to be dumb. Yeah. So I was like, can we head up Tony Con and work that out? And they were like, yeah, we'll change the references. So the first AEW reference in TV or film properly in a narrative, I think,

is because of Queen Pins. And then when I saw that, I was like, ah, because it was the Young box, right? Yeah. And I put the action figures in the background. too. He had like an A.W collection. Yeah. And then, yeah, no, I was shooting Cobur Kine. I was singing sticks.

I love the band sticks. And I was, they're like, sing a song. So I walked in and I'm like, The juke is up, the news is out. They finally found me. And they're like, you can't sing Renegade, dude. Also, you're singing off key. And I was like, like, it's too expensive.

Yeah, no way too. They're like, that cost us like 80K or something. And I was like, oh, shit, sorry. And they go. can you, what about this? They had an approved list. And on the approved, like, list, it was like Love Shack. And I'm like, I'm not singing the B-52s.

So I hit up Jericho, who was, like, on tour in Amsterdam or some random place, East Berlin. And I hit him up. And it's like, you know, 3 o'clock in the morning there. And I'm shooting Coburgi in Atlanta. And I'm like, dude, can I use, you know, Judas for the show? Can you give a sweetheart dealer or whatever? and he said, yes, if Machio will come on my podcast. You wanted Machio or Zabka to come on the podcast.

So we made a video for him, me and Machio, and he's like, all right, man. So, yeah, that was definitely me. That was a cool moment. It's a fun moment for the fans. They also have a Jericho reference of a season or two earlier. So the creators loved it because they were like, oh, there's like a call back to that other moment. You're the best.

I feel like we could talk forever here. And I will say, please don't forget about us when you win your Oscar, because that's going to happen at some point in time. I mean, I'll probably bring it to an AEW show. Can I touch it? And it'll just be, sure. I mean, you can do it.

I don't touch it. The trophies in my house, I'm terrified of because I have two small children. So it's like, if one of them falls trying to touch her, like, it's going to, the Oscar will kill my kid. They're very heavy. I'm, they're heavy and the Emmy has spikes. Like, I kind of want to do that Magnum TA, uh, Magnum TA, um, Tilly Blanchard moment in the cage where he's like carving into his head.

Like, I got to use the Emmy in a hardcore match. I have the regional Emmys. They're much, they're smaller. Gangster. They're also the same thing, though. They are the same thing. People recognize you because you did a good job. Yeah.

So here's a hunk of metal. Yeah. Here's a hunk of metal with spikes coming out on top of that. You can't invest too much in that stuff. The only reason I wrote a speech was, you know, I called out Cardona in my Emmy speech because I was just like, you got to put the match over, butts in seats. Maybe this will help.

I don't know. That was so cool. So I referenced it earlier with the Grateful shirt, but this is how I end every interview. So what are three things, PWH, that you are grateful for right now? Grateful for my F-3 energy, tropical theory, my new favorite drink f3 it's actually not bad side effects include wow what is eternal erection side effects include some sort of uh i don't know consult your physician what's going on

weird my what did you say what's up all right so we're grateful for f3 i'm not putting f3 in this i i can't they haven't paid me to say this um i'll talk to harrison i i'll talk to harrison i I am very grateful for my wife, man. I got to say my wife supports the crap out of me. She doesn't try to talk me out of the wrestling stuff. She doesn't micromanage everything. And she's such a good mother and such a good friend to me. I am really grateful for my wife.

I love that. Amy Boland, Hauser. I met her. She's very sweet. Lovely. A pretty lady. Very pretty lady. And then number two.

Sue, I'll say, um, nice people, like kind people. You're a kind person. So is our buddy Jake Hamilton. So are a lot of the folks I meet who, you know, uh, I just feel like people like you are fun to talk to because it's, it's not going to get ugly or controversial. You have a good heart, good spirit. Oh, you do as well.

Thank you. And Jake is going to be very excited to hear his name in this interview. Jake Hamilton. Jake's? Jake? And I'm also really good. He has such a crush on Tom Cruise, though. Can we make fun of Jake for a second?

I also love Tom Cruise, but yes. Jake would leave his girl and his dog for Tom Cruise. There was no question. They would live on an island. Poor Adrian. In the space. Somewhere in the space with Doug Wyman. I'm also really good friends with Kevin McCarthy,

who I'm sure you've been in many interviews with. Birds of a feather. That's the little flock of cool guys who know how to handle themselves in front of real celebrities. I'm sure when you see them pop up. up on the Zoom screen or walk into the jungle room. You're like, Kevin's got the great background. He's got all the stuff, right? And he's watched all of those DVDs about 17 times each.

Yeah, he's the man. He's the man. And then my third thing, yeah, kind people, my wife. And the fact that I get to wrestle, you know, I got a little, I got a little shitty talking about paying dues. That's, you know, almost shoot coming out of me. Or, I mean, a work coming out of me. And I try to always shoot and keep it real.

I'll say the fact that a guy like DDP is even encouraging me to try wrestling, the fact that a guy like Dary in Bankston is getting in the ring with me who knows nothing and I could literally hurt him if I'd do something incorrectly. And he's letting me vertically suplex him. The fact that a guy like Paul London is like excited to show up and teach me stuff and he's not afraid to put me in the middle of something potentially dangerous or uncomfortable, It's like, I've been surrounded by good, good, good people in that arena, double entendre. Double entendre.

Double entendre, what's the word arena? And I think it's something I'll do for a very long time. And the relation, you know, to close it off, the relation I was trying to do with Hollywood is, if any wrestler, anyone in the wrestling business, from Justin Roberts to Asuka to freaking FTR, If they want to act, I will be the first person to be like, I'm going to pitch you for my next movie. I'm going to pitch you for my next TV show. Let me know if I can do a free workshop at your wrestling seminar

and talk to wrestlers about acting. I'm a mensch when it comes to that stuff on purpose. I respect the business. I love it. I love them. What's interesting, though, is it doesn't always go both ways. So if an actor is trying to get into wrestling, the attitude from the wrestling community,

and some of the roster is, you can't do what we do. And I kind of look at that and I go, I would never say that to any of you about acting. So is it that my thing is so easy or is it that you're a prick? So I'll say that to Matt Cardona and anybody else

who really doesn't believe I can do half of what they do. You also can act. I also can wrestle. Don't be a prick. Okay. There's a shoot. Wow. There's a shoot. Cheers, my friend.

2F3. Good to see you. Wonderful to see you, sir. What a fantastic guy. Go watch a Paul Walter Houser movie tonight. Queen Pins is on Netflix. It also stars Kristen Bell. You're going to love it.

And it's relatively new. So if you've seen all the other Paul Walter Houser films, that is a good one to check out now. And go check out his match with Matt Cardona this Saturday at Wrestling, Volver in Iowa. How can you not love all Walter Hauser? I just, I love the,

I love the passion. And this is the same thing with the O'Shea Jackson Jr. interview. There's something special about seeing someone who's at the top of their game and whatever it is that they're doing. Right. In this case, it's acting. But like when you see this with like George Kittle

and football, it's so cool when you see them like in their element and then you find out like, oh, oh, they don't just watch wrestling. Oh, they're a huge wrestling fan. So I love that. Snap a screenshot, tag us. He's at Paul W. Houser Graham on Instagram. I'm at Chris Van Fleet.

And I've been going back and listening to some of the older podcast that Kobe Bryant did before he passed away. There's such, like there's a few that are so, well, they're all so good. But there's a few that have been like listening and relistening to that are so good. Go check him out on The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes. And check out his interview from 2019 with Jay Shetty from. Jay Shetty's podcast on purpose. There's just so much wisdom in there. And I've learned so much by listening to those episodes.

But he had a quote that really stuck with me and I'll share it with you here. Dedication makes dreams come true. And I think there's so many people that wish for things to happen and hope that things will happen. It's about putting in the hard work. It's that dedication. Dedication make dreams come true. Be great. Be grateful.

We will see you on the next one for some more insight. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video.

They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Allie. Follow and listen on your favorite.

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