Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Alex Hammerstone on his 3 WWE tryouts, steroids, MLW Restart, favorite matches

Episode Date: November 17, 2020

Alex Hammerstone chats with Chris Van Vliet from his home in Glendale, AZ. The current MLW Openweight Champion talks about the MLW Restart, the creative freedom that he has been given in MLW, his incredible path to becoming a pro wrestling, the bands that he played with before training to be a wrestler, his bodybuilding and diet regiment, his reaction to fan's comments about steroids use, his 3 tryouts with WWE and how close he was to getting hired, his favorite matches of his career and more!   Support the show by supporting our sponsors:BOSLEY- Get a free info kit and a $250 off gift card by texting CVV to 203-203https://www.bosley.com/lp/chrisvanvliet/  INDEED- Get a $75 credit to boost your job post by going to http://indeed.com/BlueWire BETONLINE- Get a new sign-up bonus by using the promo code BLUEWIRE at http://betonline.ag Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Literally that day, I went and I can't. I was canceled. I dropped out of college and I went to my mom's house to tell her I was going to be a pro wrestler. Wow. Yeah. And she was pissed. She was like, no, you're not. Because I had a full-write scholarship. I had a full-write academic scholarship to university. It's Christomania, brother. That's a great question. Look at you, man. With the powerful questions. This is the Chris Van Vleecho. Chris Van Bleed Show. Ladies and gentlemen,

Chris Van Flea! All right, let's do this thing. Welcome back to the Chris Van Bleed Show, and thanks for being with us on another insightful audio adventure. It's a pleasure to have Alex Hammerstone on the show as we get ready for the MLW restart on November 18th. And he's got such an incredible story to tell.

And I know you're going to be so inspired after hearing this. From skipping two grades in school to being in several different bands to three tryouts with WWE to now being one of the top guys in MLW. Take a screenshot so we can say hi so we can share this.

I'm at Chris Van Vleet. He is at Alex Hammerstone. And if he's your first time here, don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any other episodes. And if you happen to be listening on Apple Podcasts, and you want to help us reach that goal of 2,000 reviews.

It's completely free to do this, by the way. If you could just leave a rating and a review, it'd be so great. We would certainly love to have that. Like this one from Tubbeard, Tubbeard. It's titled, Read My Review on Air, Chris. Please! A lot of ease at the end of that. Hello there, Chris.

I'm a referee for a Michigan indie promotion, Pure Pro Wrestling. And I've recently gotten into listening to audio podcasts, and I was super familiar with your YouTube page, which I watch all the time. I just want to say thank you for doing what you do. I love listening to your podcast while I'm working throughout the day. You get all those in-depth behind-the-scenes stuff that I love to hear about.

Keep doing what you're doing. You're great at it and keep up the great work, brother. Well, thank you. Tubburb. Tubbeard. Tubbeard. There it is. Tubbeard.

Tab beard. And it's awesome that you're an indie referee. A refereeing, as you know. is one of the most thankless and underappreciated jobs in all of wrestling. So I want to thank you for what you do. And keep those reviews coming in. Please keep those reviews coming in. A big thank you to our sponsors for this episode.

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and if you've seen one of his matches, he's a very large man. He is also a very intense, very large man. We talk about how he left college to pursue his dream of being a pro wrestler, how he was a touring musician before he went all in on wrestling.

He also details the three tryouts that he had with WWE and how close he was to getting signed. He also talks about the freedom that he loves in MLW, how he's able to do pretty much whatever he wants here. talks about some of the promos that he was like,

should I be saying that? And then the next week they're like, oh, yeah, no, we want more promos like that. So here we go. It's Hammer Time, baby. It's Alex Hammerstone. Well, here we go. I'm so glad we were able to make this happen.

I feel like, man, we exchanged a few tweets where I thought you were going to kill me if this didn't happen. Yeah. What is that? I don't, I called you a coward. That was the first one. I was like, no, or you interview me. You coward?

and you're like, I don't think that's how you're initiated on an interview. It's like, keep calling me names and I'll definitely interview you. And look, here we are. I have like some semblance of friendship to understand that I was joking, but, hey, we made it happen. And perfect timing. I mean, perfect timing for this to happen. I mean, I saw you in person, I guess that was about a month ago, but yeah, perfect timing to do this because the MLW, the restart is like just around the corner here.

Like, finally, MLW is back. It's crazy to think like that. I'm going to be able to watch our show in a week. So that's pretty wild. Yeah, November 18th, it's back. And it's Wednesday nights, like that's the main night. So 7 p.m. on Fubo Sports. And it's also streaming on YouTube.

Then, of course, you've got Saturdays, 10 p.m. Eastern on B in Sports. I appreciate that you wearing the shirt for this, too. Company man, brother. So it's, first of all, how do you get a shirt that fits a man your size? Well, see, it's super easy for me because when they have like the big bulk box at the end of one of the events, like, hey guys, we got t-shirts. And like the 3xl are like always the ones that are left. So I don't even have to rush. Like I remember back in the day when I used to like a large when I wanted like that tight fit, like I had to be on the on the jump because everyone's trying to grab those.

But now I'm just like, you guys take what's left. I'll take the one that looks like a poncho. You wear the legit one size fits all that like when you go to an event and they have one size fits all. one size does not fit all. One size fits like humans that are your size. Well, it's nice, man, because for a long time, I was the type of guy who liked to work out, but like to wear like super small clothes because I was like, yeah. I'd always get these shirts from like random places, like, you know, whether it was like supplement companies give them out or my wrestling shows give them out.

And I literally had a friend that I would give them to to restitch them smaller. but now I'm the type of muscle guy who's like, I just want a giant bag that covers me. And maybe you can see my traps. People are, you know, I'll get the compliment every once in a while where someone's like, man, you're looking bigger. And I'm like, no, I'm just wearing smaller clothes. That's the secret. Do you really wear a 3xel?

That's like the, like, I mean, it's not skin tight. That's the comfort shirt. That's the comfort shirt. So that is a 3XL that you're wearing right now. this is yeah look it's tight around your arms this is crazy no well as long as it doesn't get tight around the waist then we're good but in like when you're going to the store to buy clothes what is the most difficult thing for you to buy i mean my girlfriend will attest this is i own almost no clothes that aren't either like gym clothes or something that like a you know what like

I said to either whether a wrestling company or a supplement company gave to me. I have like very few good quality dress clothes. And it's not really an issue behind them except the neck. The neck will almost never fit in it if I go to like a regular store. But so as long as I don't have to wear a tie, I'm, I can make it work. I remember Brian Cage saying to me that jeans were really tough to buy. I mean, I don't know if I'm quite built in the lower body quite as much as Cage. But as long as I got some good stretch to them, I can make buy.

But if I try to buy like a regular denim, like, okay, these fit. And then I bend down once and they rip. 2020's obviously been a strange year for all of us, but like especially strange in the wrestling world. And I imagine for someone like you, you know, you were having two, three, four plus bookings a week and MLW. And things, I guess, kind of just came to a screeching halt here in March. Yeah. So it was particularly rough just because, you know, like you said, I was used to having multiple bookings, but not only that, I had really just within probably like the last year before the quarantine was when I started hit the stride where I was a pro wrestler, which I mean making the money for my life from pro wrestling, you know, making good paydays, traveling to places, you know, flying all over and doing that consistent. week to week, not having to work a day job and all that.

And just when I was really jelling at that and that stride is when, you know, of course, quarantine hits. But I just kind of really tried to shift my focus on finding some way to create content because wrestlers really took one or two routes where because there was no wrestling, they stopped doing anything. Or they realized because there's no wrestling, I need to find a way to, engage fan base, you know. So there were some people really thrived and like there's some people who like came out of quarantine getting like they're getting booked all the time like more than they were before

because they managed to grow that fan base because whether it was throwing up old wrestling clips they had or finding like little almost like funny skits or you know just footage of what they do day to day in their life, you know. I did a lot of like a lot of that. You know, and there's a lot of people who, like, some people even message me. Like, well, man, like, how do you figure out? Like, how do you get so good at Twitter? I'm like, I just throw everything at the wall. And if people like something, I leaned into it, you know?

Like, people liked when I played certain things on guitars. Okay, I'll play my guitar more, you know. I typically observe people like a certain kind of tweet, you know. So I'll lean into that direction more. But it really was just like in my head realizing I could. go from being like a guy who has buzz to being a guy that people like, oh yeah, I forgot about that guy, you know? So I just tried my best to, you know, to keep pumping out some kind of content. Was it, you doubled your Twitter followers? Yeah. It might even be more than that.

I think I have close to about 20,000 right now, which I'm not bragging about. But it's doing better than a lot of people, you know, who don't try to pursue that avenue. But yeah, I remember a couple months into quarantine. I remember having like a little joke celebration about hitting 10. So it just goes to show. I think I might have been at six or seven at the beginning of it all. Yeah. So for people who took, who didn't take that time to capitalize on that, I'm like, you don't realize like social media is one of the biggest impacts in, you know, how much buzz you how many bookings you get, how over you get. So yeah, it's just crazy that, you know, some people just completely didn't even try,

you know, versus others who doubled their popularity. Well, people were surprised, myself included, that not only did you know how to play guitar, but that you played guitar and drums in a band. So walk me through this. So what was this band called and what kind of music did you play? Well, I played over the years, I played drums for several bands. starting in high school. Like I think I,

realistically, I probably played at one point or another with like six bands. Wow. But there was one that was like, this is like on my real band because it was with my brother and one of my best friends

and we were called The Chase. And we played together for several years. We released an album. We used to play all over Arizona. But that kind of fizzled out. Just when we got older and got like our own interests and, you know, getting together for practices

got harder and harder and harder. So we kind of fizzled out. And then a couple years later, I started my own band where I played guitar and wrote all the music for it. Then that lasted for a little while. Then that fizzled out. And then by the time I got into wrestling,

I still had that, like, love for music and that kind of desire to play, but there was just no way to, like, throw in another balancing act with it. Yeah. But I always talk about, how that is what prepared me for wrestling. Because by the time I got into wrestling,

I had zero stage fright. I always wanted to be the center of attention. I always wanted to kind of have like, here's my skill, check it out, you know? Like I remember the first time I trying to do promos in class, like being like, yeah, let me do it. Like I sucked, but I was like, there was no part of me that was like nervous about it.

I was like, yeah, let's do it. You know, so I'm just typically like being like a showman. There's a lot of parallels between being in the band and wrestling, you know, at least, you know, the road traveled to success. So, yeah, it was almost like a prerequisite for wrestling. But it's ironic that you say, like, you wanted to be the set of attention because the drummer is often the forgotten about guy in the band. That is true, but we were a three-piece band and, like, we were well known for having,

like, the crazy drummer. I was, I'm not going to, like, say, oh, I was the best, but I was always quite the show me. I'll say that, you know. Do you still drum? Unfortunately, I live in a condo, which if I think I tried to squeeze a drum set in here, I think my girlfriend would literally kill me while I slept. I think your neighbors would evict you as well. That is true as well.

I'm lucky I didn't get evicted when I was working out in my choney's on our porch. But yeah, just the size of a drum set. And also, I had a really, really nice drum set. That was very expensive and took me like years to accumulate all. different parts. So I'm kind of a snob about it. Like, I don't want to just get a drum set, like, oh, hey, here's a drum set. Like, I'm like, this isn't good. I need this, this. You know what I'm saying? It's like, it's like the guy who doesn't want to eat frozen seafood because he used to live by the, you know, Fisher's Market. So I like, I need the best of the best or else

I don't even want to play it. I think the other similarity between wrestling and playing in a band is also like the indie aspect of it. Like the fact that you're gigging, the fact that you're gigging, the fact that you're going town to town trying to win people over. There's definitely a lot of similarities there. Yeah. And that's what I was hinting at when I talked about the road traveled is like in the beginning stages, you're just like messaging places, trying to get booked, willing to play for free, you know, and like when you do start to finally get paid, you're getting paid 20 bucks for three people. And it's like, well, we loaded up all this equipment in a van and drove two hours and, you know, whatever. But yeah, thanks for the five dollars apiece, you know.

and that's very much wrestling, you know, you have until, until you've earned something, until you've, like, you know, got some kind of following that people aren't, you know, are demanding for you, you're not making money, you know, at least for most people who, unless you get very lucky. So, yeah, it has definitely had some parallels to pro wrestling. So also in that regard, I was not delusional in the sense of when I started pro wrestling, like, there's people who message me who are like, hey, man, I'm starting to train. like how much money did you make like your first year?

I'm like, if you're getting into this to make money, go do something else. Because like you're going to have very many years being in the red. It's not that you're going to be making money or not making money. You're going to be losing money and a lot of it. So I already had that kind of pounded into me from my days of being in a band. So when did you make the decision? How were you able to make the decision that? you were going to quit your day job and that wrestling you were all in on wrestling.

Well, Chris, you're going to get kind of a sad story that I don't tell very often. Most of the time when people ask me this, I really glaze over it and give them some kind of BS. Like, well, you know, I always liked wrestling. But I'm going to give you the scoop because this is a true story. It's a little bit sad, but hopefully maybe to somebody it's a little bit inspiring. basically I didn't know what I was doing you know I'd done the band stuff our band had kind of fizzled out I started getting into the weights and I really got into it because I loved wrestling but I wasn't like gung-ho about doing that it just seemed very unrealistic like it seemed like

to me when I got into pro wrestling especially with how non-popular indie wrestling was back then to say I want to push you wrestling was like I don't want to be a cowboy Like that's literally what it felt like. It felt just like, okay, nice fantasy kid. So I had that in my head, but I was just not really going down that path. I was very good in school. So I graduated high school like very, very early because I skipped two grades. So I had like this time where I was sitting, like I had like a year off.

And then I signed up for college. I was all signed up and I'm starting to go. and then my dad had a stroke and he like we didn't think he was going to make it at first like he was in the hospital for a very long time and for the first couple weeks he was completely like first he was completely out of it then he was on a breathing tube then he like could barely write with one hand like one word at a time so and then he came off you know all the equipment but his brain was like still so messed up from the stroke he didn't even speak and then uh we're Once he finally started talking again, he was a musician his whole life.

He played guitar. And now he has a left arm that doesn't move. So he obviously can't play guitar. And he just had this little, like one of the first real conversations he had with me coming out of everything was him kind of saying like, you never know what's going to happen in your life. You can't predict anything. And you never think an awful thing is going to get in your way. So that's exactly why it's important to go and live every day,

however you want, and do whatever the hell you want before that brogue ball comes because you never know if it's going to come or when it's going to come. Right. And literally that day, I went and I canceled, like I dropped out of college and I went to my mom's house to tell her I was going to be a pro wrestler.

Wow. Yeah. And she was pissed. She was like, no, you're not. Because I had a full right scholarship. I'm full-right academic scholarship to university. And I was like, no, I'm not going to do that.

And then I was going to be a pro wrestler. And then I just kind of went down that direction. And I had so much that I left behind me that I was like, I can't just pussyfoot around. Like, I have to do this now. And not only that, you know, I was, as much as I was not invested in idea of going to college at the time, like I wasn't like, oh, yeah, I really want to do this.

I was still prepared for a big task. I was mentally prepared to take on a big task and a big workload. So I think I approached pro wrestling as if it was a career, as if it was, you know, like I was like, I have to go to training this many times. I have to have my perfect diet. I have done my workout routine.

I have to study these matches. I get told, like, I approached it as if like, here's this class, here's this class, here's this class. And I tell people all the time,

like, yeah, people say wrestling's a one in a thousand chances of like succeeding, but that's because people approach it very much like it's a side hobby. Whereas if you approach it like it's a career, let's cover all bases, that, you know, one in a thousand becomes more like, you know, one in 50. So what were you doing for work while you were going to wrestling school? So I worked by the time I was wrestling school, I was probably cooking.

So I've been in culinary. That's like the job I had all the time. I was either working as like some kind of cook, some kind of chef, or a butcher. Those were the two things. So. So at one point did you go, all right,

I can do wrestling as a full-time job. I'm making enough money doing this. It was really like last year. Because that's a big leap to make as well. Yeah, towards the end of the year. Really, really, like when I got back from Japan, because I made a good chunk of money while I was in Japan, and then I came back to, and then also obviously, like, just being in Japan is one of those things

that a lot of people go, oh, like, it's, I didn't get better overnight, but people were like, oh, wow, this guy, like, he was in Japan. Yeah. Yeah, I was good a month ago, but, you know, hey, sure, book you know, but because of that, like, it ramped up, like, the demand for me as well. And let me be a lot more selective about bookings. but also just when I got home from that trip, you know, I took another week or two

before I even went back to my job. I was working. And then what I did, I was so, like, checked out. I was just like, you know, like, I just felt like, I don't want to do this. Every day it was like rough.

And also, you know, also I'm getting older. Like I'm not some old man, but I don't recover the same. I don't, like, it's not like when I was, you know, 22 and I'd go wrestle three shows of the weekend, drive in a car like this for six hours, and then be good to work out on Monday.

Like, I get home from like weekends sometimes, and it's like, oh, wait, I'm supposed to squat today. Like, you know, so, you know, then going to work on top of that is just, it's not so appealing to it. So how far along were you in your wrestling career when WWE came knocking for the first time? Foof, this is a crazy story

because when it was the first time, basically I had a trainer who, was very he was like an older version of me and a physical way he was like I had the long blonde hair back then so he was yeah

long blonde hair tad jack guy so when I came into his school for the first day granted I had already trained somewhere for a little while prior but when I came to his school for the first day he was like this is going to be my guy

he made that decision right then and there and like I remember he didn't charge me to train there because he was like you're going to to be the greatest. And he was just giving me like, giving me opportunities that I didn't deserve, like, at all, like, putting me,

like, I remember one of my, like, probably, like, my third or fourth match was at, like, this show in front of, like, 2,000 people. And I didn't know how to wrestle, like, at all. Like, I remember, like, the guy, I was in a tag team match against this other team. And one of the dudes on the other team is a very well-established wrestler. Actually, I don't know if you know who Hawaiian, like that. Ryan is. He's working. Yeah. Okay. So it's Hawaiian Lion. And he talked to me so gentle in the ring, like so calm. Like he just beat the living crap out of me. And it was kind of like a welcome to the

business kid, but he was talking to me so calm. I'm like, okay, this man is taking care of me. Right. Tucker chin. And then he just like, say it on my head. But that's just an example of some of the stuff I was going to. But basically, I was probably five matches into my. career when that guy who I was telling you about took my headshot and a little promo package would be getting me and sent it to his connections at WWE because he had a little bit. I was like, hey, you need to sign this kid. So I had a try out within my first year. Wow.

And because of that guy blowing smoke up my ass, I thought like, yeah, I'm going to get a sign because I'm just going to because I look good. And then I went there when it was an eye-opening experience. just like the level of like, you are not ready, you know, like it was just such a slap in the face, a reality check, you know. Yeah, but you talk about not being ready. You're also there at that audition, that tryout with people who have never even stepped foot in a wrestling ring.

That's fair, but they at least have that as their excuse, you know. Yeah, they were a football player or whatever. Yeah, they're being watched through the lens of, okay, this guy's a track athlete. Yeah. But what is his raw potential? Mine being watched through the lens of, this guy's a pro wrestler already. Let's see how good he is.

And we realistically probably performed out the same. How many WWE tryouts in total have you had? Three. Three. And so that first one is like a wash because like I didn't even like, I didn't even think I was ready for it. I didn't necessarily ask for it. I had one a couple of years after that when I was like actually wrestling and I was like

I don't think I was like great by any means but I was I got it you know I got wrestling I knew what I was doing I definitely knew all the basics and all the drills and all the all the stuff like that um I did the tryout and it was it was a hey no uh and that was that was me knocking on there like hey hey give me a trial give me a trial I'm ready now They're like, okay, we'll do it. And then it was, no, you're just not quite there yet. Keep, you know, keep honing your craft, keep doing the stuff. And I was like, oh, crap, that sucks.

And then after a couple more years, they hit me up. And they had seen more my stuff to say, hey, we want to bring you in for a trial. And this last one was just super bizarre. I even, I post a picture like from it today on Twitter, but I took it down because people were like coming like there's you know and like you think like a Twitter post is going to go one way and then it like completely goes out of way or like I don't even want to deal with responding to this I just took it down but this third try was super bizarre because like I said not only did they invite me to this one but I was treated very differently than the rest of the people around me

as far as my perception in in that I was treated like oh hey good to see a hammer like basically this is a formality that you have to do, but we're going to hire you. You know, like that's what it felt like, you know, and I'm doing all the drills and like, hey, can we pull you aside? We want to film something for the,

for the WW website with you. Right. Okay. And they literally put up a package of it. It's still on, you still find it on YouTube or on the WB site. They put up a package of me and my experience at the trial,

and it was like very much like geared towards like, this is one of the guys we signed. Yeah. You know, and then like on the day in the wake room, you know, after the workout, they're like weight coach, like sat down. He's like, so I think you kind of see what we expect now.

And, you know, honestly, if you guys want a job here, you need to start looking a lot more like that guy, working like that guy. And he points at me and I'm like, whoa, I don't want no heat. But it was just very much like that the whole time, you know. And then even up to the last, the very last thing that happens, you know, like they're kind of talking to everybody. Like, okay, guys, so you'll hear from us and about.

six weeks. Thanks for your hard work. Have a good day. Everyone starts walking away, you know, and then one of the bossmen said, hey, Hammer, come over here. I'm like, what's, what's up? He's like, can you pass your drug test in two weeks? I'm like, yeah, I can pass it tomorrow? And he goes, great. And like, okay, you know, and then within less than a week, a series of email starts going back and forth with the company. And we're going, we're going. And it's like, weird. I started talked to somebody who I didn't know, who didn't know me, and it was very frustrating because he's like,

so we're just concerned because you're coming from a bodybuilding background and that we know that's a drug sport. And I'm like, I've been wrestling for almost 10 years. I've had a thousand wrestling matches. I've done one bodybuilding competitions. Am I a bodybuilder or am I a pro wrestler who did this one thing on the side? Right. Yeah. But I digress.

We got through all that nonsense and it ended up being like, hey, well, I think we want to bring you in. We're going to, you know, it's going to, we're going to start the hiring process. And I remember, like, I was on the toilet at work when I read that email. And I had to read it like four times over. I'm like, I'd start crying because I was like, holy crap, dream come true. It's happening. Yeah. You know, and then I literally burst out of the bathroom, knocked down my boss's like office.

It was just like a involuntary reaction. Like I was like, I, and I knocked on his office. Chef, read this. And he reads this. Like, oh, my God. And he legitimately called a staff meeting. Tell everybody that what just happened. And like everyone congratulates me.

And, you know, this is probably, um, end in November, December maybe. Of 2018? 2017. Okay. I think, yeah, 2017. Three years ago. And they get, like the conversation was basically like, hey, be ready to move out to Florida by like May, maybe June. So I started getting all my ducks in a row to move.

And we're going through a couple, you know, steps, you know, sending in all my paperwork and doing my background check. The next step is my whole medical test. and it's not happening, it's not happening, it's not happening. And then I start kind of like pestering, like, hey, what's going on? What's going on? Yeah. And about April. So keep in mind, in my head, I'm moving there in May.

Yeah. April, they say, hey, sorry to inform you, but we're just way too full right now. We hired too many people this year. We can't bring you in. And it doesn't say, like, give us three months. It doesn't say, give us this. It just says we can't bring you in. And that was it.

And I was like, what? And so, like, I literally, for like the next, man, for like the next couple months, every once in a while, somebody randomly back, hey, so when are you going to Florida? And I'd have to explain the whole thing to him. Right. I had to explain this so many times. And like every single time, it was just like a punch in the gut, you know? Um, so it was rough, man. It was a, it was a rough time. It literally, like, that experience almost made me quit wrestling. Like, I was very close. Yeah. Did they ever give you any sort of. feedback as to like we'll follow up with you in six months a year work on this work on that

no because well i mean so the feedback can happen like after the first two trouts but that third one they treated me like yep you're good to go so yeah um i honestly got so stubborn in my head about it that um i mean i was kind of on autopilot the for like all of 2018 um after that like i wanted I kind of wanted to quit, but I wasn't sure. And, like, I didn't reach back out to them. Like, I wasn't like, hey, guys. Like, I wasn't like, hey, is my turn yet? Is my turn yet?

I just kind of was doing my thing. And I was really kind of starting to plan my exit from pro wrestling. Like, I was starting to think about what I would do next and what would be the next move. And then there was just that couple months where I was, ended up. switching my character around and then MLW offered me a contract and that little window is what saved my career not only like got it back on track but mentally because it rejuvenating my like love and interest in Perez. Like now I'm like progress is the coolest thing ever. I'm having the most fun ever. But there was a long period of time where more often than not I would finish a show

and be like, I don't want to do another match. I don't. Well, you've definitely found a home now in MLW and you've had some of the best matches of your career since signing with MLW. So not going to WWE is now in fact the best thing to happen to your career. Yeah. I don't even say that as like a trying to be happy with, you know, trying to just be okay with the way things. I honestly am like really happy with that path because like if I would have gone there at that time, it's just less maturity. it's less skill, it's, you know, less leverage, you know, because like, look, if, if that path, if that ever becomes my path in the future, you know, I don't know if I want that right now. I don't know what the future is going to bring.

I know the immediate future is with MLW because I saw a couple of years left with them, you know, and maybe that just keeps extending, who knows. Sure. If I do end up going somewhere else in the future, at the very least, now I have kind of like bargaining power and leveraging power because. I've created more value for my name. That means a lot. And now you're the national open way champion.

You've got gold there. There's no reason to go elsewhere. Yeah. And I really do, you know, I'm not like not just blown smoke when I think like there's guys we have there that are just as good as any other company. You know, there's guys here who aren't right now but are going to be because court has a very good eye for like up and comers. He's very good at seeing the guys that haven't got the attention yet but are going to be something.

So it's like there's still a ton of matches I want to have there. There's still a ton of I want to do there. Like I feel like I barely scratch the surface. And especially with, you know, 2020 kind of getting like, you know, put on hold, you know, this ideally would have been a very busy year for me with the company as far as, you know, my role and what I was doing. But, you know, I didn't get to do that. So now it's like, okay, well, now I got to take. take care of all that business in 2021.

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Which MLW matches of yours? most proud of. So with, obviously, all the singles matches I had in Japan when I was with N1 were great. I loved all those. But other than that, I think the one against T. Hawk is one people talk about a lot. And I think that was super fun for me because, like, he kind of came into the match with, like, thinking like I want to do like super like American style. I was like no let's

give them a good like strong style match you know so that was a really good one and I that one really stands out for me too just because I debuted in Philly for MLW and I still remember like debuting and coming out to basically crickets like it was a

it was the who's this guy like fat fans were like who's this guy you know I had my match and you know I I won him over it's not like I got like a go home chant or anything. But like I remember coming out there and no one knew who I was yet. And then when I came out with T-Hawk, like I'm maybe obviously biased, but I think we had the loudest fan interaction the night.

Like we're in the ring. We haven't touched. And the crowds, you know, let's go T-Hawk cameras. Let's go T-Hawks. And we just had this insane energy all match long. And it was just like a, wow, like it's worked. Like everything we've done in the last year has resonated with people. you know, and whether, you know,

whether whatever character I portray on the show, and it's not about whether they love or hate. Like, they know what I'm all about. They appreciate and respect what I bring to the table. That meant a lot. I think the work you did with Davey Boy also stands out, to me at least. Yeah. And so Davey Boy is like, you know,

he's one of those wrestlers who, like, maybe a lot of people don't, like, put him on their, like, top wrestlers from when he has run. in WWE, but I was always very much into that style, like the suplex and like that kind of stuff was always super cool to me. So he was like one of my favorites when I started training.

So when I got to wrestling, it was super cool for me. And I didn't tell him until we were done because I was like, I'm not going to tell him this. And then we go out there and have a crappy match. And I'm like, I feel really stupid about it. So look through out there, we went out there. And I, like, you just know when you have like a good one, when it feels right. And I knew we had

a good match. And we got to the back. like, hey, you know, everything's good. Yeah, yeah, I was really happy with it. I was like, all right, now I feel like I can tell you that I was a supermark for you. He's like, I stole so much of your stuff when I first started wrestling. And he's like, oh, that's cool, you know. The thing I will say about Davey Boys, the first time was a dream match. The second time was really good, especially the Opera Cup, you know.

And then by the third time, I'm like, okay, it's okay if we don't do this for a while because he's so physical. Like, he beats the living crowd. Every strike, every hold, every slam, it's like he's going, you better have your work pants on when you're wrestling. So it's very, very enjoyable. But at the same time, I'm like, you know what? Let's not do this for a couple of weeks. I know you were told earlier in your career that you had to cut your hair because people were comparing you to Triple H.

You know, long, blonde hair. It's what you guys both had. Is your long hair coming back here? I don't know what's happening anymore. It's bald. It's shaved on the side of the back. The quarantine cut. Honestly, like, I just, over quarantine, I got like, I didn't cut it.

So it started getting long. I was like, I'll shave the side of the back off. And then I was like, maybe I'll let it just keep growing. It's already getting annoying because it's like to that length where it gets tangled. And I'm like, I hate it when I like, gosh, I go brush my hair. I'm like, oh, great, this is happening. But who knows? I mean, Father time is fighting me every day

about how much hair I'm going to get to keep. So I don't want to finally get long hair and then it starts really showing that it's going bald. So I don't know what's next. You look like you're doing fine. You have plenty of hair. Listen, you're a good liar, Chris. Once, no, like, that's the thing.

Like, once it gets wet and is covering, like, in a match when it's all hanging around, it looks kind of rough. Like, it's still there, but it's just thinner. And without fail, there's this one fan who always comments, and he's always leaving, like, links to, like, products to use or, like, clinics to go to. And he's not trolling me. He's, like, trying to help me.

But I'm like, I don't care that much. Like, if it goes, it goes, you know, like, I've accepted this, you know. If it goes, there's plenty of wrestlers with shaved heads that look great. If it goes, I might try to bring back the, I might try to be the first guy to do, the coldest accent's Hogan, you know? You could have the skullet like Paul Heyman had. Yes, that's what it is, yes. If we take it real back here, real far back,

what was your first ever memory of wrestling? I want to say, so it's hard to remember because when I grew up, I didn't have cable. So if we were watching wrestling, we were staying up super late on like a Saturday to watch like shotgun Saturday night or maybe like even like Sunday night heat or something like like that. Um, but like two things definitely like are burned into my memory is like one of my first memories and it's either the brood's entrance or something to do with DX. Like those two things like

definitely like obviously during that time Kane the Rock, you know, Undertaker like those guys all are in my memory but like yeah, DX and like crotch chops, you know, know, it was like one of the very first things. And then the brood's entrance was like something that I remember like very vividly. So you would have been like seven, eight years old when this was happening? Yeah, that sounds about right. It's funny because my first memories, I'm an 80s kid. So my first memory is similar to yours. It wasn't like I remember Hogan and Warrior, but I remember like Coco Beware. Like you know, like you remember like this stuff that just sticks out in your head. Like I remember this guy's flapping his arms. He has a bird. Like that's cool.

Yeah. Well, that's what's funny is, so probably my most wrestled opponent throughout the years is gangrel just by chance. Like, they're just, we've worked for a lot of the same companies and been booked against each other a lot. And he was my first, like, name that I wrestled. And not only that, he's just a good friend of mine. You know, he's the type of friend who, like, he'll text me, you know, Merry Christmas and stuff like that. best, you know? But it's funny because, like I said, you know, I didn't have, I couldn't watch raw. So my show was like the Sunday night heat. And on like Sunday night heat, gangrel was like made a venter. He was coming in there to beat the crap out of some local talent. You know what I'm saying? So like he was like the man. So in his head, like he might have like not got to the level he

wanted to with the company. But I'm like, my memory of you was you beat the crap out of people. So you're the fucking G in my book. What's your go-to favorite match of all time? Oof. I'll say, so things definitely change. Like, the more you wrestle and then you go back and watch stuff, it's almost like you're watching it through like a different lens every time. Sure, yeah.

In the same way, an actor watches a movie very differently. Yeah. So you're not just watching it for enjoyment purpose, so it changes. Yeah. and the more you understand it, it changes. But I'll say, like, probably my most watch match and, like, one match, like, if it was on right now, I'd finish it, is Lesnar versus Engel from WrestleMania 19. Yeah.

That's just very much my style, just like two guys getting super physical and beating the crap at each other. And I just, like, it hurts me of what happened with the Shooting Star Press, because if he would have nailed it, like, I really think it's one of the greatest wrestling, wrestling, wrestling, wrestling, many maps of all time. But if you would have nailed it, I think, like, people would say it was the greatest

WrestleMania match. Well, I don't know that it would have been... I don't know if this is, like, public or not, but, well, it's in the... So I interviewed Kurt Engel earlier this year, and he said that was supposed to be the finish. Yeah. I was supposed to be the finish of the match, and then basically they just, you know, it ended up being an

F5. But can you imagine Brock Leszor winning with a shooting star? Yeah, people would have lost their minds. And it's like, It just, like, it hurts me for them that that moment got, like, messed up. Although I remember Brock Lezor getting up there, and I'd seen the clips of him doing the shooting star, like, earlier on in his career. Yeah. And I saw where Kurt Engel was in the ring.

And I'm like, I know he's a freak athlete, but I don't, this isn't going to be possible. Sure enough, it wasn't. I've always wanted to, like, recreate that moment. Like, literally in my head, I'm like, you know what? if I ever wrestle fat too, then he kicks out of the nightmare pendulum. Then I had that moment. And I go to the top and hit a shooting star. But then like, I literally will like go to trampoline park.

And I'm like, all right, today is the day. Like 15 minutes later, I'm like, this is stupid. I don't believe it. But with that said, for a guy that's your size, you wrestle like a guy who's like 50 pounds lighter than you are. Yeah. So when I first started training, my first trainer was, a lucha guy. So my very first training was very like, you know, grab the hand, slap the guy's chest, skip to the top rope,

flippity warm drags. And I remember like the finish you wanted me to use was the 450 splash because I was able to do that. And just a lot of stuff that didn't visually make sense for me. And the next place I went to to train, the trainer was like, stop doing that, stop doing that, stop doing that. So I dumped it down, but some of the skills stuck, and I try to incorporate what I can, where I can, where it makes sense without putting myself in risk of injury and without just like obnoxiously doing something just to do it, which is I feel something a lot of big guys nowadays do. That's just like, they do the flip very poorly just to be like, yeah, that's right. I did a back flip, but it's like, okay, but like that's not the difference between me thinking you're good or not, you know? Yeah. Were you always into bodybuilding?

Like, were you the guy who was, like, subscribed to Flex Magazine as a kid? I will say once I got bit with the bug, it has not stopped. So I, like, my brother tried to get me into working out. He's the three years older than me. He tried to get me into working out. And he'd be like, yeah, let's lift these weights in the garage. And, like, he's lifting him. He's like, you can do this?

And I just remember, like, this is so stupid. I'm not doing this. And then later down the, road. I wanted to do it. So I'd signed up for weight training in high school. Senior year, 138 pounds. Wow. Wow. Yeah, that's scrawny, dude. I came. I was bigger than you in senior year. I did. Well, that's the thing. When I first signed up, I very much wanted to be in shape, but I was not trying to get big. I remember I'd lift weights and then I'd go run and run and

run. And I was like, eating nothing. Like, I would go on like, I'd do my workout and then I'd run four miles and then I'd go home I barely eat because I was like I just want like abs you know and I wore like girl pants and size extra baby gap shirts and all that and then I honestly like I remember seeing the movie 300 I think that's what did it and I was like oh that's cool yeah you want to gain some muscle I was working a job already uh as a bus boy and I legitimately um so I had like an apron with three pockets in it and like we'd keep a rag in one of them but then other two pockets were just pockets so i went in the back and i stapled plastic bags in the side pockets and i would just walk up and every time i passed the cook line like you guys got anything and like yeah and then

after a while like they thought it was funny so they just throw the most random so i'd had like a pocket with like mashed potatoes and fried shrimp and half a shrimp you know a freaking piece of steak and just whatever food got dreamt in there and i would just all night long i didn't I didn't know it was in the pocket, but I would just reach and grab a handful. Reach and grab a handful. Just eat, eat, eat. And I just started gaining so much weight so quick. I think I got up to like 175 pounds.

And I was like, I had like my first bit of compliments of like people like, are you like bulking up? And I was like, yes. I. And from that on, there was just like no going back. That's when I did start like actually looking at like bodybuilders and like YouTubeing them and just being like, oh my God, these are real human beings. It's like, this is possible.

So, I mean, every time I see you, you get bigger and bigger. So is there a goal in mind of like how much bigger you want to get? Dude, honestly, my real goal is battling my obsession with it. Because if I have anything that hinders my wrestling, it's my love for bodybuilding. It's the fact that every once in my training gets too specialized for getting big and strong and not for wrestling. and I get super tight, I get super unfluxible, and my cardio goes, you know. So just recently I got about the biggest I've been. I got up to about 265 pounds, but every match that I wrestled at that size was,

I was only able to get through him by being like a savvy worker, you know, and I don't want to have to rely on that. Like if I wrestle a guy who's like wants to go, I want to be able to match him. And I did it was no way. I was on the verge of, like, just killing over. Like, I was sucking wind so hard. And especially at some of these, like, no crowd shows, I'm like, there's, I'm just sure the hard cam, like, all it can hear is,

you know, so I was like, oh, it's time to dial it back. So I've dropped back down probably, like, a couple of pilots under 250. I feel a lot better. But, yeah, man, like, there's not, like, in my head, there's, like, this size goal of like, yeah, I want to be 280 ripped, but it's like, well, I got to be healthy and I got to be able to wrestle, you know, and it's like just, you know, earlier I talked about the big guy doing an impressive move and that's not the difference between me thinking you're good or not. Well, five or ten pounds of muscle is not the difference between a fan thinking I'm good

or not. So I have to constantly keep that in check because like I do have an obsession with it, you know, and not only that, you know, the health aspect of just getting like too large for your body. Like I got a COVID test recently. And when I was at that size, I went to the doctor and then he's like just doing the typical, you know, the checks. And he's like, hmm, blood pressure is high. I'm like, is it like high normal or like, oh, no, that's not good?

And he goes, I'm going to let the doctor talk to you. I was like, crap, I've never got that. Wow. I've got like, oh, you have high normal. Did you have caffeine today? I'm like, yeah. Like, okay, that might be it. But he was like, this is high, like, you need to make some lifestyle changes. I was like, oh, crap, you know? And it was, you know, I'm just sure it was just from pushing my weight so, so, so heavy, so fast.

So yeah, like, just keeping in mind that getting bigger does not make you a better wrestler, you know. And people have, people have thought I was, you know, a bigger guy or a muscle guy or a power guy when I was 235 pounds. and they still think it went on 250 pounds. So I don't need to get up to 260 or 270 pounds. I just don't need to. Well, you know, you talk about losing flexibility. Brian Pilman Jr. and I recently went to a high yoga class. Maybe this is something you should work into your routine.

Oh, dude, I did those a couple times with an ex-girlfriend I dated, was very much into it. So she drugged me along. And it was like, man, it's definitely one of those things as soon as you're done, I need to do this more often. and then you just don't make time to do it on a regular basis. You know, because it's like I literally, for about six months, like my local gym had a yoga class. So on Wednesdays, for about six months at 4 p.m.,

my alarm would go off and it would say yoga. And every single time I would get up and make my pre-workout and I'd go like train chest or something. Like I'd go to the gym, I'd see them doing yoga. I was like, no, I'm going to do chest today. I also don't think pre-workout and yoga really go ahead. Well, that just goes to show. I never really have the intention of doing it.

Like you want the exact opposite in yoga. You want to like calm breathing and like low blood flow. Yeah. I can't imagine you getting any bigger. So I think this is good news that you're a hair under 250 now. Yes. I feel much better. That's for sure.

But you probably like being the size that you are, you get a lot of criticism. Online, you get a lot of criticism in person from people who think like, oh, this is just like some steroid guy or something, not realizing how much like hard work you put in. And like I can't even imagine what your diet looks like too. Yeah, I mean, but like I always say like, so I've gotten that, like I got that before I even knew what steroids were. So like, and it used to really make me upset.

But it's like, you know what? Like if someone, if you've been lifting for 10 years and no one's ever accused you have been on steroids, then that sucks. You should probably work out harder, you know? Because basically, I'm saying they're like, I don't think that's possible, like, for a normal person, which it's like, I don't care what people do or do not do if it doesn't affect me, you know? But yeah, I just don't even get bothered by it.

Like, yeah, and that, it's kind of like an ongoing joke about kind of like part of my gimmick, like, especially with MLW. Like, I remember the first time, like, I joked about it on the show. show and I thought because we're giving pretty much 100% creative freedom and I made this joke you know like alluding to steroid use and I thought I was like I thought they were not going to use that promo or like I was going to get like a message from like a office like hey don't do that but next time I showed up they had literally written a promo specifically like aging that on like they thought it was so funny you know so I'll make these jokes about myself and then like a fan

will think he's like a genius when he's like, that's growth hormone. I'm like, you're so stupid. Like, I don't care about your stupid opinion. But yeah, at the end of the day, it's like, like, first of all, that's not what makes you big or not. Like, they do help in a muscle building sense, but it's like, it doesn't do any of the work for you. And especially like the people who are judging me are judging me from a wrestling perspective most of the time. And I'm like, you can take pretty much every stairweight in the world, and it's not going to make you any better at wrestling. It's probably going to make you worse.

So, like, what do you really upset about, you know? Walk me through what a day of your nutrition looks like. So. Do you have a certain amount of calories you're trying to hit, or is it macros? I do. I eat, like right now I'm at about 4,800 calories, which is a pain of the ass. That's a lot of food. Yeah.

And I was literally just having this conversation with somebody, because, like, I did my bodybuilding competition, which makes you kind of food crazy and super hungry. So then, like, bulking back up was so fun. Like, I was having to hold back on calories. I would track it. And I think, oh, I got only hit this. I can't have this. I can't have that.

And then it got to the, after like, a couple months. And then now it's to the point where I make these meals and I just like, it takes me like 35 minutes to eat them. Like, I'm just like staring at it by the end. Like, please go away. but yeah I'm super boring guy I'm like I don't I don't like

I don't have a lot of cravings for random crap I'm like oh man I just want pizza so bad when's my cheat day like if I really want something that bad I'll have it but for the most part I don't mind eating like on repeat you know eggs and you know oatmeal or chicken or rice or beef and potatoes like it doesn't bother me and it's especially like

like I I'm I've gotten older too. Like, I've definitely like, the changes like really show up. Like before I'd eat a pizza and be like, let's go train legs. But now I eat a pizza and like, on my first time,

I'm like, oh, I have heartburn, you know? So like, it's, it's very like, asked to be expected for a typical bodybuilder type.

It's nothing special. But a lot of, a lot of animal product, a lot of eggs, lots of milk. And as you, is your training? Is it the bodybuilder split?

Is it chest one? day, back, legs, shoulders, arms? I did that for many years. And then I switched over recently to like a push-pull legs type program. And it was very, very, very focused on progressive overload. Like I had a little journal with me every workout and had like numbers to beat. And that's, that's if anyone that's like ever like stalled, that is the key to like pushing gains because it forces you to get bigger and stronger.

and that's when I actually got up to my heaviest. But not only that, when you're doing like a push-pull legs, it opens up to have like a push-pull legs. And then day off could be like when you go and do some cardio where you're on a hike or just go do 60 minutes or like something that's not too intense on the muscle cardio-wise. Whereas if you're doing like chest and back, then shoulders and arms and legs,

it's like, okay, you took up your whole week with weight training. But like, you know, you need to do some other stuff. you know and then not only that like i train at our wrestling school at least twice a week so i like to have a lot of times on those days i don't want to do weight training and like go and wrestle for three hours i kind of want to have that be my only workout of the day so so where do shoulders fit in a push pull uh they'll go on push day so you'll do usually a lot of pushing yeah well you usually do about like um you know two or three exercise for chest two or three for shoulders and then by the time you do triceps you really only need one or two or two or two or two or two or two

because what you'll find is you'll go to like do something with your triceps, you don't realize how much they worked on chest and shoulders and they're just fried. Like, like, oh, there's nothing left there. I think I'm going to have to switch things up. It's, you've encouraged me. If you want some, I got like a little sample programs. You want to shoot me a message sometime. I'll send it over.

Well, this is, this is great. For somebody that, for somebody that might like be looking to get into this, someone who's made, you know, the New Year's resolution, maybe didn't keep it, or maybe they're going to make a New Year's resolution. resolution next year to get in better shape. What do you think are just a few steps that they need to take? So the biggest thing is just trying to take a few steps. You just, you or you set it in your question because like what most people do is they just, they try to overhaul their life overnight. And you can do that through sheer willpower and, you know, motivation and all that for about a week,

you know, maybe two, maybe a month. But at some point, it, you're going to go, okay, I, like, I always tell people, if you go from not working out at all to deciding you're going to work out two hours a day, six days a week, you'll go that first week, you'll do it, your day off will come, and then the next day you're supposed to go back to the gym will come and you'll go, okay, I'll go, boom, you'll go, and then you'll take a day off. And then you'll go, and then you'll just do an hour-long workout because you're rushed, and then you'll take two days off. And then very, very, like over a course of, you know, in a couple weeks, you're not going to the gym anymore.

whereas if you make a small commitment to yourself, you know, three days a week, you know, 40-minute workouts or whatever it is, whatever is very feasible for your schedule. And you stick to that, then you slowly increase, you know. Like my protocol for cardio, I always like tell people, especially like if they haven't been doing something, like haven't been doing cardio, they've just been doing weights, but they need to drop some weight. like I'll add into their program and at the end it'll say eight minutes of cardio on the stairs. And they're like eight, eight minutes. And like just eight minutes every single day.

And then next week we're going to up it to 10 and then 12. And then by the time you're doing 30 minutes a day, it's a habit that you've been doing. And also you've built up like the motor pattern and the strength and the legs and endurance. So at this point, it's like second nature to do your cardio. And there's never been a large change at any point. it was like shocking to you. It's like starting small and going from there. And that's the biggest thing is people decide that like a lot of times people have like a break moment where they like become so uncomfortable that they have to change.

But then they try to change way too many things. They decide they go and they throw out half their cabinet. They buy all new workout clothes and they sign up at personal trainers. It's like you're not going to be able to keep up with this. You know, so just, you know, figuring out your goal, but making them very attainable. and also the sense of reward you know you get when you accomplish something even if it's small it's there like if you're okay man i did my you know 10 minutes of walking today if that was your goal cool you're going to feel good when you do that but if you decide that you're going to do a two

hour hike and you only do an hour hike now your brain is telling you that you fail when realistically you did more work but you just set too steep of a goal you know yeah this whole idea is basically is the idea of a lot of people trying to run before they even know how to cross you crawl. Yeah, 100%. They're trying to go from zero to 60 without ever lifting away, without ever stepping foot in a gym. Yeah. I mean, and that's how it is for a lot of things in life. Like people's, you know, lack of accomplishing something is you don't get to start accomplishing something great. You have to accomplish something very, very, very small, you know? It's like, you know, even like for me, like one of the things like I'm about it myself about as reading

because I really think when I like read a lot, it helps me a lot as far as my focus, my mindset, just my day-to-day attitude. But like I remember thinking if I couldn't read 10 pages a day, like it was nothing. And I was like, you know what? Well, if I take two weeks off from reading because I didn't read 10 pages a day, I'm not even well just been reading one page a day and that would have been more than 10 pages anyway, you know, but people like think if they're not accomplishing something big right off the bat that it's just useless.

but it's just like, well... I read a fascinating book called Atomic Habits, and it talked about the idea of like how it's better. So I set a goal every day to read two pages. That's not right. The whole idea, though, is once you start reading two pages, you go, I could read three, I could read four, I could read ten. And that's the same idea with working out.

I'm going to walk for five minutes today. Well, once you're walking for five minutes, you realize it's super easy, five turns into ten. And I think that the whole idea of celebrating those little wins along the way and setting those attainable goals is so incredibly important. Yep, 100%. So I think you need to start reading some more is what I'm saying here. Me no reads so good. You need to be exercise. You skipped two grades. I actually skipped one grade, so we're almost in the same boat here. Did you? I did first and second grade in the same year.

Really? Yeah. What's funny is when I was in kindergarten, so my brother was three years older than me, And he would like, I remember when he'd be bedtime, he would just talk about what he was learning in school and like explain it to me. And I was, I was always a math quiz. Like that was my thing was like numbers were super easy for me. So he would like make me worksheets. Like he would like copy his worksheets and make them for me. And I would turn them into my kindergarten teacher every day. She's like, what's this?

Like my brother made me a worksheet. I did it. And she's like, okay. She's just basically humoring me. And then one day, I gave her the worksheet and I go, how many of these do I have to do to get skipped? Because I had heard of like this, which is like, what? I was like, skip. What do you mean?

I was like, to skip a grade. She's like, what do you mean? I was like, so I could go to the next grade. She's like, no, Alex, everybody has to do every grade. And I'm like, okay. And then freaking sure enough, like a couple years later, I'm in seventh grade. they're like, well, we don't have any more math classes for you. So we're going to skip you up to eighth grade.

That's right. Where's Miss Tomzac now? When you were this smart, you know, you were obviously being considered maybe for the gifted program or something like that. What did you think you were going to be when you're, you know, 12 years old? You know, at 12, I didn't, like, once I started getting the music, I thought it was going to be the musician. But once I started like that tail end of like high. school where you just have to start like, okay, planning for a real world. I thought I was going to go into engineering just because it's very much a lot of math and I was good at that. So I was just like,

I was just going to do what I was good at just for the sake of like, well, this is what my counselor said I should do. But if you would ask me how much interest I had in it, it was like zero. But I feel like you could have done anything. I mean, I like to think that I'm the type of a person who when I apply myself to something, I'm very good at accomplishing a goal. But if I don't have, I'm very all or nothing. Like there's a lot of things in my life. Like my brother's like, hey, man, you want to go shoot some hoops? And I'm like, no.

He's like, why? Because I don't play basketball. Well, let's do it for fun. I don't want to do it for fun. If I want to play basketball, I want to be really good at basketball. Yeah. You know, I've just, I've always had that type of personality, whether it's like wrestling or playing some kind of game or drinking.

No, but, uh, but. Yeah, but that's like weightlifting. I got a weightlifting and I'm like, this is what I do now. This is my thing, you know? And I've tried to break that habit a little bit more as I get older because I realize being too much like that as well, as much as it's a good thing because you focus on something, you attack your goals and you achieve them most of the time. When you have those blinders on, sometimes you miss the really good stuff.

Yeah. So that's just kind of the personality type of what we said. You definitely have the mindset where like, you could accomplish anything. That fires me up to hear that because not everybody has that growth mindset. Yeah, I mean, you know, weight training definitely helped me a lot because I was very shy when I was younger and I didn't try a lot of stuff I wanted to do because I was like afraid of, I was first of all afraid of failure.

And I was afraid of just general embarrassment. Just feeling super self-conscious about stuff, you know, but like I said, like, going from like being, you know, this little scrawny kid. I was like bullied when I first took weight training a lot. Like because we had to partner up and nobody wanted to partner with me because I was one of the weakest kids. Like I remember I couldn't bench 135. So on chest days, everyone was so mad when I had to be their partner because I had to start with the 25s. And they were so annoyed to work out with me.

And then fast forward like at the end of the year, people like are messaging me on my space like, hey bro, like how do you get so big. I'm like, you were such a, like, you ruined my life. But then, like, and then that translated, like, once I had, like, I, it's not that I realize, like, I don't even think it was like realizing, oh, I'm so great. I'm so capable. It's just, like, realizing, like, how silly, like the world is in general, how, like, we hold ourselves back because of, like, all these, like, pressures and these conceptions we come up within our head. And we're basically, like, putting these walls up that we decide we can't get over. but we put them up, you know?

Yep. And once I realized that and started like kind of taking down my own walls, you realize the walls that society are putting up or the walls that, you know, are actually in your way are much easier to get over than the ones you typically put up for yourself. And I think that the biggest thing is focusing on what you have control over. And I think that so many people are so concerned about what this person is going to think, that person's going to think, all that really matters is you. Yeah, 100%.

And even the stuff that is objectively not in your control, if in your own mind you try to spit it as if it was, as if it is your fault, as if it is your thing to deal with, that's the only productive way to look at it. So you might as well do it that way anyway. Yeah. I think being grateful for the things that you do have instead of focusing on things that you don't have is so important.

And so I end every interview by asking you, What are three things that you're grateful for in your life right now? Okay. I'm definitely grateful for MLW because despite everything, it's really nice to know that I'm going to have a good position with a good company that's ready to keep building me when all this craziness is over. And if it wasn't for them, I'd be a lot more anxious right now as far as what my career is going to look like post COVID.

Yeah. I'm really grateful for my girlfriend. I've, like, you know, I talked about, like, having blinders on and being way too focused on, like, certain goals. And I've definitely been very guilty of not realizing how awesome and supportive she is. And it's like, you know, recently we've, like, running a couple things where it's just like that eye-opening experience of like, wow, I have this great person who supports everything I, do it makes everything easier for me but I'm like so gung-ho about what I'm doing that I don't always appreciate it so that's that's another thing and I guess to be cheesy is like fans because you know as much as this year has isolated a lot of people it's been super cool to anytime I need it

I have an interaction with hundreds or thousands of people you know and as much as you know we alluded to like some of the types of trolls we deal with, you know, on social media. Um, I tell everybody this. Sometimes people get super worked up about these like, you know, wrestling trolls or Twitter trolls or whatever. I'm like, be honest. Is that the dominating thing you see or is that one guy for every hundred people who are telling you how great you are, how much you change their life, how awesome, you know, how much they love what you do. Um, so yeah, man, just to have, just to still have that, you know, connection with the world through my fan base and all the cool stuff.

Like fans have done so much cool stuff from me over quarantine. There's one guy who even sent me a guitar amp because he like saw my guitar videos without an amp. He's like, bro, I want to hear you play in this one. I have a spare one. Can I send it to you? Wow. You know, it's like crazy, like how much, you know, these people remind me what I do mean something for them.

Because as much as I love wrestling and I love like, you know, showing off or just whatever part aspects of it I enjoy. Like the coolest thing at the end of the day and the thing that I always have to go back to to really keep me going is when people let you know how big of an impact it has for that. You know, and that's like that that'll never stop being cool when someone sends me a message. It was like, hey, like, you know, my brother is in the hospital for this, but you're his favorite wrestler. And he said, you know, he's been watching your matches and he wanted me to tell you.

I'm like, what? Like, that's insane to me, you know? but like it's just super cool. So I guess those would be the three things that right now I'm feeling super grateful for. I got to say, man, I really enjoyed this conversation. And I think that people are going to see such a different side of you than they would see if they just watched you in the ring. I mean, I would hope so.

The me in the ring is very different. But very important that I have that outlet where that part of me tends to bleed into this part of me. And then it's not so enjoyable. Thank you so much, man. I really appreciate this. Yeah, man, dude, I'm super happy to do it. You know, like I said, I think guys like you are awesome just because you're just helping grow our business in such a positive way

and highlight people in such a good way. And like you said, like, you know, opening up to people the side of me that they haven't seen. It's just awesome, man. I've been a fan for a real long time. And I hope you keep trucking along and doing this, brother. Thank you so much, man. All right, man. You take care.

You too. Well, there we go, my friends. The MLW restart is back on Wednesday, November 18th. And I just get so excited when I hear stories like the one that Hammerstone told here about how much faith and confidence that he had in his dream to be a pro wrestler, that he dropped everything to pursue it no matter what anyone thought. Because, I mean, really, the only thing that really matters, the only person's opinion that truly matters is your own opinion. seriously, don't forget about that. There's no better bet that you can make than the bet that you make on yourself. And Alex Hammerstone is a perfect example of that. And here's the thing. He's only 29 years old. So we're going to be seeing a lot more from him in these years to come. Eleanor Roosevelt

said it best. You wouldn't worry so much about what others think about you if you realized how seldom that they do. It's so true. It's so, like I said, the most important person to give their opinion on what you're doing, it's you.

Be great. Be great for my friends, and we will see you on the next one. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do with rapid fire takes.

So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack.

Take advantage of it, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What should be? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.