Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Cathy Kelley On Returning To WWE, Rhea Ripley, Random DMs, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon

Episode Date: September 12, 2023

Cathy Kelley (@cathykelley) is a journalist, TV host and backstage interviewer for WWE. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood, CA to talk about her decision to leave WWE in 2020 and what made her return in October 2022, how she got started in broadcasting, moving to Los Angeles, what she learned working in NXT, her favorite interview moments, the relationship she has with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, working with Rhea Ripley, her thoughts on Grayson Waller, what kind of DMs she receives and much more! Sponsors:  MYBOOKIE: Get a 50% welcome bonus when you use the code CVV and sign up at http://mybookie.ag  MUDWTR: To get 15% off go to http://mudwtr.com/cvv to support the show and use the code CVV15  BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com  MANSCAPED - Get 20% off and free worldwide shipping with the code CVV at manscaped.com   MIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to http://TryMiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF Quote I'm thinking about: If you do what you've already done, you'll get what you've always gotten. - Tony Robbins 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

All systems are gathered. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Bleley. Greetings and salutations, my friends. Welcome back to another one here on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Vle. Thank you for being with us here. And thank you for making Insight one of the top wrestling podcasts in the world because of you, because you come back each and every episode.

And we've got such a good one today with the ever talented Catholic. Kelly. It was such a pleasure to sit down with her at our studio in Hollywood. And so great to have her on the other side of the microphone, right? We're so used to her being the one holding the microphone, asking the questions, you know, when you see her backstage on Raw, Smackdown, NXT, PLEs, whatever it is. So good to be able to ask her some questions. Find out what she's all about. How did this whole broadcasting journey get started for her? She's been back with WWE for almost exactly a year now. It was October 2022 that she came back.

We talk about that difficult decision to leave WWE in 2020 and then what led to her coming back a year ago. We also talk about the relationship she has with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. And also we talk a little

Ria Ripley, we talk a little Grayson Waller, Grayson Wola. Also, did you know that Kathy Kelly used to play bass in a band? Oh yeah. So, much good stuff here. Please make sure that you hit that follow button with a big stone cold stunner. If you haven't hit it already with a giant stone cold stunter, we just don't want you missing out on any of the huge interviews that we have coming up. And if you enjoy this conversation, please snap a screenshot,

tag us. I'm sure Kathy would love to see what you thought of this. She's at Kathy Kelly on Instagram. She's at Catherine Kelly on Twitter. And that's Kelly, K-E-L-L-E. I'm at Chris Van Fleet, and ladies and gentlemen, please welcome. Kathy, Kelly. It is so good to see you. Good to see you as well. Thank you so much for coming by here. Yeah.

How long have you lived in L.A.? On and off for a little over a decade, I think. Wow. Everybody has an L.A. story, right? And it's just so interesting diving into that because I feel like everybody comes out to L.A. with a dream and a goal. Sometimes those get accomplished. sometimes those shift and become other goals.

What was your whole mindset when you moved out here? My whole mindset was I actually wanted to move out here from a young age. Like that was, I think my mom and I came on a trip when I was around five or six years old. We made a pit stop because she had a conference, a work conference in Sydney, Australia. So we came out here for a couple days. And I remember hiking Freiman Canyon. Oh, yeah. And I just, I was like, I'm going to move here one day.

Like, I'm going to be an actress. I'm going to move here. At six years old, my mom was like, no, you're not. So she didn't believe me. And then, yeah. Fast forward a few decades later. And you moved out here. Yeah.

What was the first job that you had when you came out here? Well, I moved out here not knowing a single person. I knew my grandparents' best friends lived in Beverly Hills, and that was it. So I hung out with that. Friends that live in Beverly Hills? My grandparents' best friends, though. So you imagine, like, me hanging out with 80-year-olds. But I joke that I was gifted friends because I had.

had, I, like, moved around the Midwest so much that everyone had a friend like, oh, I, I know one girl that moved out to L.A. She's, like, an assistant producer for whatever. So I made a lot of friends that way. Again, didn't have a job when I moved out here either. So I was just looking on everything from, you know, casting networks to Craigslist, which is a little sketchy. With the idea of moving out here without that safety net, at least I've got this job. Yeah. That's terrifying. And that's also a big reason why a lot of people never make the move out here. to New York or wherever it is. Totally. And I think there's this common misconception that L.A. is, you know, the jock or the popular kid from high school. And I've not found that at all.

Like, I think it's all of the nerdy theater kids that were huge dorks when they were in high school. And then they moved out here. And so, you know, you get some of the most creative minds and also the craziest minds. But it's also this huge arbitrage because for the people who live in Beverly Hills, who, you know, Brad Pitt's and Jennifer Aniston's and Johnny Deppes of the world who have, you know, absolutely crushed it. Yeah. There's all the other people who are just coming out here, like trying so hard to get their first toothpaste commercial or whatever it happens to be.

Exactly. You find your roommate on Craigslist and you just kind of go with it. Yeah, or like my friend, when my friend first moved out here, he was living in an apartment and there was two bedrooms with eight people. Yeah, that sounds about right. I thankfully didn't have to do that, but it was still relevant. definite the first couple years. I think I worked for free for probably the first, like, six years of my career. Six years. Yeah. Or very, very little money. Like you would make... What was the first gig? The first gig was probably working for Marie Minunos's podcast network. At the very beginning of it,

I came in and I was just hosting a couple of shows, mostly reality dating shows, the Bachelor, Bachelorette franchise. And then that slowly snowballed into me doing... doing more stuff behind the scenes as well, talent booking, editing a lot of the shows. And then from there, started talking about wrestling. Look where it's led you. Yep. Where did this journey of broadcasting, this passion for broadcasting, begin if we go way back? Yeah, I kind of think it was an accident.

Like, I really loved acting, and I was in every single theater performance that I could possibly be in growing up. Any notable roles? Any notable, I mean, Charlotte and Charlotte's Web. Oh, my gosh. You know, in fourth grade, I think I killed it. But, yeah, I was just, I loved it so much. And my mom, she and I are very different.

We are polar opposites. But she kind of pushed me into every single sporting category that I could be in. So she was like a big advocate for me doing soccer. I think I asked to do dancer. like figure skating and she pushed me into ice hockey. Don't you feel like though that the two kind of can help each other? Which ones? Figure skating and ice hockey?

Well, for sure. Getting checked by other six-year-old boys? No. I grew up in Canada, so like hockey was mandatory. Oh, yeah, yeah. But I mean like the idea of like loving the performance aspect of like theater and acting. And I feel like there's something there that also exists in sports as well. Oh, yes and no.

I think that, like, there are parallels in that you are working together with a group and you all want to have the best performance. But I have very few athletic bones in my body. So that's, I think, where the disconnect came for me. So what you're saying is we're never going to see Kathy Kelly in a wrestling ring? I don't think so. I did try once. I did back in the day, Dave Marquez has a wrestling school.

up in, or not a school, but they had a little wrestling ring for championship wrestling from Hollywood up in the valley, so I'd go there. Did you take your first bump and you went? No, thank you. I think I took one or two bumps until I finally knocked the wind out of myself. And even running the ropes, people don't realize

if you haven't done it, it's intense. You end up building up calluses on your back. I was bruised for probably a week. The first time I ran the ropes, because I went to wrestling school when I was 20, I had a bruise on the back of my, under my armpit here, For like a week.

And I was like, I don't know if this is for me. It hurts so much. So then you transition into being an interviewer. That was kind of my thing too. I always liked acting. I knew I hated sports. So at my high school, we had a really good news program, which our teacher, John Condi, I love him. I still talk to him.

He came from a film background. So I was learning how to edit at 14, 15, 15. We did a live broadcast of the news every other week, my junior senior year. And so that's kind of how I fell into. I wanted to do anything that was performance-related, whether that was acting. I tried my hand at being in a band during my junior year of high school. What instrument? I played bass guitar.

Nice. Slop it at best. Yeah. We had two shows. The first show was in a coffee house in front of maybe 10 people or parents. And then the second show was in front of our entire 3,000. person high school. So that, uh, that, uh, didn't go as well. I was, I was just terrified. I was not ready to be on a stage of that caliber as a budding musician. So that's, that was the transition is,

um, when I was doing the, the local, or like the high school news show, I started covering the bands instead of being in them. What was the name of your band? Uh, quixotic. Have you ever read Don Quixote. We mispronounce chaotic. So if that's not a great name for a high school band, I don't know what is. Wow. I want to go back to the idea of like you were reading the news, doing the news in high school because I think that there's this idea of like if someone is put into your life that goes, yeah, you can do this or shows you that this is possible. Because I have a similar story. We had a communication studies class in high school. I had no idea what communication studies was. But again, an amazing teacher just like yours, Mr. Bezubiak, kind of showed us like, oh, this is a career path.

And it's now led for me to what I'm doing now. And I wonder what my life would look like had I gone to a different high school, had I not signed up for that class, or any other things that may have or may have not happened along the way. But it's clearly also really good at it and to find something that allows you to take a passion and, like, turn it into a career. It's so cool. But you're right. Like, there are so many people that I even knew that went into college. even out of college, they had no idea what they wanted to do. But then I think this turns into like, is this nature versus nurture? Like, are you good at it because you've done it for a long time? Or you just inherently, you know, great at being in front of the camera? Maybe a little bit of both.

Like, I don't think anyone starts out and is great at being in front of the camera. There's something that just... I mean, have you ever gone back and seen your first times in front of camera? Absolutely. It was awful. Like, it's so cringeworthy. It still is sometimes. Do you ever watch your WWE debut?

Oh, yeah. I actually just talked about this the other day. I was saying that you either sink or swim and I sunk. What do you mean? It was, I was thrown in WrestleMania weekend. So coming from, I had not really done real live television before. I don't think my high school TV show counts every other week. But had come from a podcast world. And those two are so different of even doing something that's live to tape versus being live, live. Nothing can really prepare you for that, I don't think. In what way did you sink? Because I feel like the audience watching it would be like, yeah, she did great.

I would beg to differ. I remember reading Twitter comments back then. And it was not too nice. But I mean, I think that, you know, as you know as well, there's so much history and so much respect that goes into wrestling and the wrestling industry. And there were a couple things that I just, I wasn't prepared for as far as if I flubbed a line or made a little mistake. I didn't know how to recover. I just think that wrestling fans in general have the bars set so unrealistically high for any talent,

whether you're the person asking question, whether you're the person cutting the promo, having a match, whatever it is. I don't think you could ever please 100% of wrestling fans. Well, there's also no other industry, whether it's entertainment or sports who does what WWE accomplishes. Weekend and week out multiple times a week. It's an absolute monstrosity in the best way.

You know, you look at, okay, SNL does a live TV show once a week, but they also do seasons and they have multiple rehearsals. And then you look at, you know, a sporting event. And the people that are actually an athlete are not expected to also go cut a promo. Yeah. You know, 10 seconds after they get off the field. Yeah. I mean, there's just so many different elements that until you're a fan of it, until you're in that world, you can't really. really appreciate it. Yeah. And I think actually having done podcasts about WWE prior to being there,

um, you, you, you have your judgments. Like, you have your, your people that you like, your people that, um, you know, you make fun of a little bit. And then, and then you get there and you're like, oh my God, this is actually, like, you have such an appreciation for what everyone does every single week. Um, unless you're in it, you have no idea. What was your first introduction to the world of WWA? My first introduction. I mean, so we talked about this prior to starting the interview, but I didn't really watch TV when I was growing up. My mom, I think, gave me like a 30-minute limit. Per day? Per day of TV. She was very strict on that. And it was, you know, Disney Channel was all I was allowed to watch. Or I would use up the time and that was the limit. So I didn't have any

exposure to WWU when I was growing up. And then it was being at AfterBuzz, Bachelor aired the same time as Monday Night Raw. And I was in the studio with the guys who were doing that podcast, Ryan Katz, who now works at the Performance Center. And I think the first day, I was just like, second week, I was like, oh, I'll shut up and watch. And then the third week, I was like, so when are we watching Raw? I was just, I was hooked very early in.

Do you remember some of the storylines and matches that were happening at that time? John Sina and A.J. Lee had a little thing going on. Vicki Guerrero was getting in the middle of it. And then I think that was around the time maybe Caitlin was champion, WW Women's Champion, or a Divas champion at the time. Yeah. And yeah. So how does it go from talking about it?

Kind of like an after show, right? Like, how does it go from that to then you were doing some stuff with Dave Marquez, who you mentioned? Yes. Championship Wrestling from Hollywood you were doing basically the same type of thing you're doing with WWE now at Championship Wrestling for Hollywood. How does that's a big step up there? How does that happen?

Wait, say that again? So how do you make this, you know, the step from talking about WWE on like, Oh, yeah, yeah. After show type of thing to now doing stuff with championship wrestling? I, so I think I just went all in. Like, I loved wrestling that much when I first started watching. And so I was going to shows whenever they were in Los Angeles. And I'm not just talking about WWU.

I'm talking about, like, PWG. any wrestling that I could consume, I was there. And championship wrestling from Hollywood obviously tapes an hour and a half away from Hollywood. Nobody needs to know that. I actually don't know who was the initial person who linked me up with Dave, but they didn't have any women on the show at the time. And I wanted to do backstage interviewing for WWB. And I just thought that that was a great learning platform and opportunity.

How did you even start to get on WWB's radar? It was actually through Ryan Katz. So I mentioned earlier. He was actually working very close with Dusty at the time. And they were putting on this women's tryout, which is essentially where I think Jojo got called up, Eva Marie, Lana, a couple other people. And I remember Ryan saying, hey, I think you should do this. and I was scared shitless. I said, no, I'm good.

I want to work at WWE, but I don't see myself being a superstar, and that's what the tryout was for. And so a few months later, I saw a couple of the girls from that tryout end up being in backstage roles, and I was really bummed that I didn't capitalize on that opportunity. So then how did it come back around from it? I think it was maybe a few months later, I was working with Sam Roberts at the time, and he was very close to Michael Cole. So I kind of stayed in touch with Michael Cole.

And then there was an opportunity to do live event hosting, which I tried out for. They brought a bunch of people to Orlando, and we got to sit in on an NXT show. I think a couple people have tagged me back in the day from like just sitting in the audience during that. And, yeah, I got the offer that, or I didn't get the offer. I was told that I was going to be starting soon. They ended up having a hiring freeze a couple months later. So that got prolonged. They ended up hiring internally.

But two years later, another opportunity opened up, and that was in Stanford. Two years later. I know. That feels like the carrots just like dangling there in front of you. I know. And I was ready. I was like, oh, yeah, any months now I'm going to be working for. for WWE. So a lot of other things that I had going on at the time were put on hold.

And I could also imagine that you feel like, oh, this could happen at any point in time. It's just a hiring phase. Well, it's also that feeling of this could happen any time and have they forgotten about me. Oh, that's terrifying. I know. So it feels like at any moment, they could call me and say, let's go. Or they may never call and this may never happen. But it did work out for you.

It did work out for me. Yeah, I finally got the offer. I was actually, I think I was ready to leave L.A. at the time. I didn't really want to, but I was ready for whatever that next opportunity was. And I told Sam Roberts, who I was working with at the time, that I would come and sleep on him and his wife's couch and do his show, like do his radio show if that's what it took. So I knew that there was something on the horizon.

I just didn't know what it was at that moment. and WW called and they're like, hey, we want to offer you this position. It does mean moving to Stanford, Connecticut, or you game. And so I did. Wow. Yeah. And then what did you do when you started working there? What was the first thing they had you doing?

The first thing they had me doing was WrestleMania weekend. Wow. WrestleMania weekend in Dallas. I think I was kind of hidden because they wanted it to be a big surprise that I was hired, but I was hidden in Stanford for a couple weeks before. and just sitting in on a couple of the shows. Most people move to Orlando. You moved to Stanford.

That's so different. I really wanted to move to Orlando. I wanted the whole experience. And I think it's a great opportunity, not just being at the Performance Center because you have so much opportunity to learn, but you get really close with everyone else. And I think I was the only girl in Stanford

who was of my age until eventually they hired some production assistants and whatnot that were of the same generation. generation. We've got lots more to get to in this conversation, but you know how sometimes you just know exactly who's going to win a wrestling match? Well, what if you can take that knowledge and make some money on it? And mybooky.orgie.ag, you can bet on WWE PLEs. That's right. You can take that knowledge of there is no way that this person will beat

this person make a little bit of money on it. Or on the flip side, if you had placed a bet on Cody Rhodes not winning. at WrestleMania 39, my goodness, you would have a nice return there. And with the NFL season underway, My Booky is the premier place to bet on NFL, boxing, UFC, and everything else. When you use the code, CBV, you'll get a 50% welcome bonus at My Booky. So that means if you make an initial deposit of $100, boom, now you've got $150 to bet on payback, Survivor Series, or anything else coming up. Use that code, CBV at mybooky.orgie.ag. There is such an art to what you do, and it's like part broadcasting, but it's also part

theatrical, and I feel like nothing can prepare you to be a backstage interviewer in the WWE. What was the advice that was given to you when you did it for the first time? When I did backstage interviewing for the first time, I don't know that there was any specific advice there, honestly. Oh, wow. Yeah, I think that Michael Cole and the rest of the crew were just under the impression that, oh, you've done this before. So even though I'd done it at a much smaller scale, yes, I had done it before, but someone who comes in with no knowledge of the wrestling world whatsoever, I think they're going to help out a little bit more. I know

Booker T because he's one of the people that I did get the opportunity to sit with for a couple weeks before I did, Manny. I said, you're going to have a lot of people who tell you a lot of things of what they think you should be doing and you just have to trust that you know what's best. Oh, wow. And that was one of the best pieces of advice. I don't think I understood it at the time, but now I take that to heart a lot. There's just such an interesting element of it because you're trying to shine the spotlight on them and make their moment great. while not taking away from their moment by being there. Like, it's a strange balance, and you do it so masterfully.

Thank you. How? I don't know. I think that, you know, a lot of people can get in the, and I don't think it's the correct mindset of you are just supposed to smile when it's, you know, a good guy, and you're supposed to frown and be angry if it's a bad guy. I don't think that's it.

I think it's having an acting background. you know that you're supposed to have a specific relationship with every single character. And so I have kind of gone into it with that same mentality. If you have a specific relationship with every single superstar, and the fans that are watching, the WW Universe who is watching, really likes when that is consistent week to week, or your relationship somewhat develops into something else. But, I mean, it's called a backstage interviewer,

but it's so different from actually interviewing, like a podcast, or on a red carpet where you have no idea with a person on the other side of the microphone on a red carpet's going to say. When you're doing a backstage interview in wrestling, you kind of have an idea of what that person's going to say or where they're going to lead with it. And if it's take number two or three or four,

then you certainly know where they're going with it. It's just such a different animal. I mean, we usually don't get two takes out of those. I mean, like, honestly, 90% of them are alive. Wow. Yeah, it's very rare that you get another take on something. But I just, I mean, because I loved it so much, I went back and watched a lot of, you know, old WWB stuff. But I love, I mean, mean, Gene, obviously, is the goat.

It's the goat. But I love old Michael Cole backstage interviewing. Right. That was, it's money. I told him the other day, I'm like, I missed the frosted tips. Michael Cole is so incredibly underrated with everything that he does. from the backstage work that he did decades ago to how important he makes moments feel now as a commentator.

Exactly. And I think that in his career, you can see all of those moments adding up to where he's at today. I hope that he knows how appreciated he is now. Because I feel like for years, there were people that just hated on Michael Cole because of the heel gimmick that he was playing in the early 2010s. And people seemed to forget that that was a character he was playing

and conflated that with who he actually wanted. was. And finally, now I feel like he's got his flowers. Yeah, finally. I mean, that was one of the things, not with Cole, but it's, if you aren't in it and you, you don't see week to week behind the scenes, you don't understand what, what is, you know, trying to be done and how much work goes into, I mean, his job is crazy. I don't know how his voice withstands everything. There's just, he's a monster. And it's not just calling the action that's in the ring and telling the story of why this person is, you know, ticking on this person. It's all the traffic of like, and don't forget this pay-per-view or this PLE's coming up this weekend and this match is brought

to you by this thing. And I don't know how he does it. I don't know how any of you guys do it. I mean, he's the best. When you look at a rundown of like, oh, I'm going to have a segment with this person today. Who gets you like super excited? Um, I feel like there's an obvious answer to this. I really do enjoy working with Ria. I know the WW universe interest as well in some capacity, but I think it's fun because it's a different reaction from me. And while you said that I know what a lot of people are going to be saying, I don't a lot of the time.

Sometimes I do, but I think that the superstars are allowed to have a lot more leeway with coming up with what they're going to be saying more so than they did maybe a few years ago. And you've got to see her growth from NXT to what she's doing now. Yeah. It's, I mean, what she's doing now is pretty incredible. Yeah, we talked about this recently. I actually did her first ever live interview back in the day after an NXT takeover. Hunter and I used to have those breakdown sessions.

And she came into one of them to make an announcement. And so that was her first ever live interview on a WWP platform. Wow. Wow. When you decided that it was time to move on from WWE, how difficult was that decision for you? It was really tough. I struggled with it for probably about a year.

And it was, you know, partially promises that were made when I started and a trajectory of where I wanted to see my career go. And it didn't feel like that opportunity was going to come to fruition, which was, you know, being on one of the main shows, being on either Raw or Smackdown as a backstage interviewer. And while I was doing that at NXT, they said that I wasn't ever probably going to be on a main show. And that was my catalyst.

Yeah, I think, and I've talked about this recently as well, but the first week where I don't feel like I not necessarily brought my A game, I wasn't prepared for the opportunity that loomed over me for the next couple years. And so I did a lot of digital stuff, even doing live shows with digital. They didn't feel like that was enough to prove myself as being ready for live television. And then even when I was doing probably like a paragraph or two of live on NXT every week, once we finally did that, I had a lot of stuff. I don't know if you remember the little, it was like an overlook that I was. I was in every week and we would run down some of the other matches or I would be up there with

William Regal talking about the show. And I remember a couple weeks before I ended up putting in my resignation letter that I had a conversation with Cole and he said probably wasn't ever going to happen. So then what changed? You know, you've come back now. Actually, we'll get to that in a second. Yeah. I felt for you because when you announced that you were leaving, you were going to follow these other passions, these other things that you want to do, these other projects. This was February of 2020. And then the world shut down like four weeks later. Yeah. And I felt for you because like any opportunities that may have existed all shut down because there was nothing going on in the world. I mean, I did. I had other opportunities lined up. I had done a small guest role and then I saw you

on a Netflix show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You've been in the background of a bunch of shows too. I saw you recently. I fit in the back panel. It's far too many things. But I was watching, you were a flight attendant on Black A.F. Yeah. And I was like, oh, what? I didn't even know.

I've done some acting roles in the past. Nothing of that caliber. And to have my first, like, official real acting role with Rashida Jones was like, oh, my God. Yeah. It was so cool. And she's such a pro. But, yeah, we were there really late.

And I remember. Yeah. So sure. I've been in the background of a Mike Myers movie. I didn't, like, say one word to him. I was in the background of a Liam Neeson and Amanda Seifred and, um, uh, who else is in that movie? Anyway, Chloe.

I, I've done a bunch of background of work. Like, when I, when I first came out to L.A. Um, and you know, it's like, you're there all day and you get paid $68 or something. Those days are so long. Yeah. So long. And you're just kind of herded like cattle. Absolutely.

I, I spent like 15 days on the love guru. Oh. And some of those days were long, like 16-hour days. And as you know, sometimes the day ends at 2 a.m. And they're like, all right, check your email at 7.30 a.m. tomorrow. We'll tell you what your call time is. You're like, what about sleeping? Yeah.

And they'd open up your email at 7.30. They'd be like, you've got to be on set at 8.45. And you're like, oh, crap. But yeah, you're herded like cattle. Like, all right, bring everybody in. Yeah. Bring everybody back out. Here's some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat.

I mean, the glamour that you think of when you think of Hollywood is not that by any means. I remember, because the Love Guru was the first one I ever did, there was a distinct difference between the general background actors like me and the union background actors who got to eat better food, who got better hours. And then there was a huge jump up from there to the actual actors who had trailers and stuff like that. I was like, wait a second. we're like 300 of us over here, like being corralled, and they're in trailers over there. Black A.F was the first time I got my own trailer. Okay. I was very excited.

That's awesome. Yeah. So, like, that was a big one for you. And then I feel like all the other stuff was just like Hollywood was doing nothing for a long time. Yeah. And I felt like any opportunities that may have been there for you may have dried up. Yeah. And I felt for you in that time.

Thank you. Yeah. I mean, while I was really upset at the time over, you know, what was going on just in the world and then, you know, as far as like a halt in my career, I really do feel like now I'm grateful for that pause because I was going 100 miles an hour. I was trying to prove myself. So I was doing, you know, any opportunity that I could at WWE. I really burnt myself out at that point when I was leaving. And, And I just had to sit. I had to sit and I had to learn other skills. I taught myself how to write. So I ended up writing a horror screenplay, ended up writing a pilot with another friend,

and working on other projects that hopefully will come to fruition one day. Hopefully the world will get to see. But I worked on a lot of different skills. And then I worked on my mental health because it was really not in a good place when I left. I feel like writing is very therapeutic. Absolutely. A lot of people out here will talk about like they're writing a screen screen play that maybe they don't even have intentions to put out into the world, but it's just the idea of

like focusing on this project and working on this project. Yeah, I'm glad that I actually got to finish it and I'm not one of those people that's like, oh yeah, I'm writing something right now. With my laptop in Starbucks every day. But there's also such a difference because when I was at WWU is when I came up with this concept, I was like, I have to get this thing made. And writing a treatment is so different than actually sitting there and writing out 130 pages of a screen. play. And is that because you then have to get into the mindset of each character and what they'd be doing and how that character would then interact with this character? Yes and no, but like I kind of felt like I had it in my head of what it was supposed to be. But I was working from, you know, ground zero. Like I, I talked to many a screenwriter now after the fact. And they're like, the first one is the hardest. The first one can take you anywhere from like six months to six years. And, And it's just, you know, it's a different style of writing.

It's not something that you're ever taught in school unless you go to school for screenwriting. Sure. So, that was just a huge learning curve. So do you feel like that time off, that time away from WWE, kind of served as a reset and allowed them to reframe you in a different mindset? Yes and no. I credit Stephanie and Triple H to being the reason why I'm back, but the fact that they always believed in me when I was there and they were two of the people who requested me to be on anything that they were a part of.

I never felt like I wasn't doing cool things when I was there. I very much am grateful for all of those opportunities, especially the ones that they gave me. But it was really because they were in these leadership roles now that I came back and I feel like I was allowed to have those opportunities. You told this story on our friend, our mutual friend, Christian Harlov's podcast, about how you texted Triple H happy birthday? Yes.

And that kind of got the ball rolling? Yeah. First of all, texting Triple H happy birthday is like, you casually said it like it was, oh, I was texting him, happy birthday. Yeah, he's my butt. Texted Triple H. Yeah. I was in Alaska with my mom at the time, and I texted him, happy birthday. And then I just expect, like, a, you know, thanks kid or whatever.

And he starts to send me back, like, all these things about, oh, yeah, I remember when I was there and I was fishing in Alaska. And, like, goes on this long thing. But that turned into him saying, like, hey, would you have a conversation with Steph, which obviously I would any day of the week. But, yeah. How do you even begin to ingratiate yourself with someone like Stephanie McMahon? Honestly, I don't know. She is just, like, to me, the epitome of what a leader should be. She knows how much I love her, but I know that I learned so much by being around her

and how nice she is to everyone in the room. It doesn't matter who they are. And so I think, you know, when you're around someone who has that level of respect for everyone, you just kind of, you can't not have that level of respect for them. What do you call Triple H? Paul, Trips, Daddy H? Hunter. Hunter. Mostly, yeah. Okay. I don't know. Sometimes, well, it depends on who I'm talking to. If I'm talking to Steph, I call him Paul, but, yeah.

But if you're talking to everybody else is Hunter? Yeah. Huh. I like that. Your PIN tweet, I want to read this because I love it so much. Yeah. I pray for my friend's dreams like I pray for my own, because my friends wins make me just as happy. as my own, you know? What does that mean to you?

I mean, I think it speaks for itself. Like, I genuinely want to see everyone succeed. I think there's an opportunity for everyone to accomplish whatever it is that they want to. And so I personally have had a lot of people who have intentionally put obstacles in my way, and I never want to be that person in anyone else's story. You know, a lot of the time people, operate out of fear or scarcity mindset. And I don't think that gets anyone anywhere. So to be supportive of other people knowing that that's not going to take away from your own shine or your own story,

I think is, I don't know, I wish that everyone had that mentality. I heard a great quote. And ever since I heard it, it's stuck with me. It's clapping for others does not take away from your own success. Exactly. And it's so sad that there's people that are like, well, I'm not going to be happy. before him or for her because I'm not there yet. I mean, why wouldn't you want to be happy for your friends, though? I don't. Not even if they're your friends. Why wouldn't you just be happy for someone else?

For everyone, yeah. Like, I didn't know you, but when you got rehired, I was like, that's amazing. Thank you. Congrats. That's great. But, I mean, you're clearly cut out for this. You're clearly, like, born to do this. And when I saw that you got rehired, I'm like, that's amazing.

Like, huge congrats to you. Thank you. I think I even sent you a message. I was like, yeah, like, that's amazing. Yeah. And that's, you know, I want to have that mindset in all aspects of my life. I am really excited when I see my friends, you know, whether it's at WrestleMania doing their thing or, you know, it's just a small win at home. Like, I think that we should celebrate others.

Yeah. If your goals before when you were in NXT were to be, I want to be on Rawr Smackdown, well, now you're on Rawr Smackdown, what's the goal now? The goal now, I think, is just keep doing what I'm doing. I have thought about potentially, I would maybe love to get involved in more storylines in the future, whether that's in my role or in a different capacity. And then I want to continue to write in my time off. I want to potentially work on some other acting roles and hosting roles outside of WW. But I don't see myself leaving in the way that I did last time. Would you consider doing commentary? You know, Steph asked me that when I was coming back. She was kind of picking my brain as to what I would want to do, whether that was join the writing team or come back and do commentary. I don't know that I'm cut out for commentary.

Like we said earlier, Michael Cole makes it look easy, and that is not an easy job. Yeah. And it's not a job for everybody. Yeah. And I feel like there's a lot of people that think, oh, it's just so easy, especially, you know, these Twitter people. So it's not easy at all.

Yeah. I heard, I don't know why I'm throwing out quotes so much, but I heard another quote. It was Dick Clark saying, if I make it look easy, then I'm doing my job right. Like if you think you can do my job, then I'm doing it right. Yeah.

I mean, that's the 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell thing, too, is you don't understand what goes into someone's job that makes them as good as what they are. Yeah, and it's that idea. Like the whole idea of 10,000 hours is like becoming a master of something, like mastering your craft. And it doesn't come from taking one bump, calling one match, doing one backstage interview.

It comes from doing it over and over and over again so that when that curveball gets thrown at you, you can go, oh, yeah, I know what to do. I know what to do now. I feel like you could be in WWE for the next 20 years if you wanted to be. Yeah. I mean, last time I was there, they would joke, if you want a job until you're 87, you got it. Where's the contract?

Good job security, I think. Like, I'll sign a 50-year contract. But yeah, that was when I was doing stuff at digital and just creating different shows. And we did really get to have a lot of fun. What shows did you create? The Bump, right? Yeah, created The Bump. That was actually a really long process for getting that one done.

But Talking Snack was another one of my favorites. Talking Snack. Talking snack. Yes. It was originally supposed to be called WWEats, but we also liked the other play on words. And, yeah, I mean, it was a very collaborative effort, but even coming up with the WW now brand that is still around today. At the time, I think when I started at WWE, the digital space was still a fraction of what it is now. And there was really not any subsidiary content.

they just took a lot of the clips from the shows and threw them on to YouTube and hope for the best. And as you know, YouTube is a beast in itself of there's algorithms, there's editing, there's, you know, you have to have the right photo for people to click on all of the things. So it was just a lot of trial and error in a lot of ways. I was like a guinea pig for a lot of things. WWE does not get enough respect for how big the YouTube channel is. Like, their YouTube channel is one of the biggest YouTube channels in the world. They're almost at 100 million.

Yeah, I think it's 97 million right now. But I think they're like, I'd have to look this up. Number six or number eight of like the biggest YouTube channels in the world. Yeah. And that's why I knew that it was a huge opportunity to work for digital. There were so many, I mean, I still think there are so many aspects of it that are untapped. And I hope that more and more, because it was an uphill battle for that. team as well. But there's so many opportunities for WWB to start storylines or being able to

showcase talent in different ways on that platform. There was a long stretch of time in WWI when backstage interviewers really weren't allowed to showcase any sort of personality. I feel like that shifted for you. You were able to have personality. It's interesting because when I was, when I started, I was told you have to be very stoic, especially when the wrestler is talking. You have to and I don't know where that edict came in, but you know, you're very limited in that capacity. And then being at NXT, you get a little bit of the reins taken off and you just go for it. And I think coming back, I just got a little more ballsy in what reactions I have. But that's also, you know, credit to certain superstars there.

Like Kevin Owens is someone who I always love working with him too because he kind of, he's the, person, my guy who says, hey, instead of having Kathy leave when another superstar comes in, why don't we have her stay there and get her reaction so I can play off her as well? Who's the superstar that can get you to break character the easiest? Good question. I don't know that. I don't want to give him this credit. But Dom, Dom, Mysterio, there have been a couple times. Dirty Dom. Honestly, I love working with Kevin Owen.

and Sam Ezenes, too, because I love the whole, like, Larry David is my guy, but, like, they just have this dry humor that is unmatched. The stuff you do with New Day is also, the energy those guys bring. Yeah. Those guys are fantastic. They're great.

I also like how you, I like how you hit back at Grayson Waller the other day. Yeah. He was like, you know, stop trying to slide into my DMs. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. He actually, I don't know if you saw this, maybe an hour or two,

before we sat down for this, crafted a fake screenshot of me texting him. Oh, wow. Which anyone who knows knows that I don't use capital letters when I text, but full of capital letters on that screenshot. We got you, Grace. Mm-hmm. Geez. Boy's a liar.

He's a liar. Gotta call him out. I mean, I think you just did. Mm-hmm. Jeez. Your DMs must just be a very interesting place. Yeah, yeah, sometimes. I imagine all the time. Yeah.

Do you even go into the extra, the request? Very occasionally. I imagine there's just some very interesting. I mean, that's where I found Grayson. I mean, I'm not surprised. Yeah. I just think there's probably some people going, hey, I feel like I know you from watching you on TV for so long.

You must get asked out all the time on there. Yeah. I don't go, honestly, I don't really look at DMs too often. I've actually in the past, like, a couple years, been trying to stay off of reading things on social media just because, you know, if you even take the good, you also take in too much of the bad as well. And really just like goes back to what Booker said about listening to yourself, trusting your gut. And also, you know, certain fans being not so nice all the time.

So you got to, I mean, I feel like I get a lot of criticism when it comes to how I look, which I think the women are more subjected to than the men a lot of the times. And so that was something that was really hard for me, especially when I first started. so I kind of stay away from reading comments. I don't think it's fair because I worked at news stations for a long time in my career, and viewers would call the news station and say, tell so-and-so, tell this female anchor to stop wearing this or that. It's like, so, hold on, were you listening to the news that they were reporting at all? I mean, it's insane, and I've struggled with eating disorders in the past,

so that's something that's super sensitive to me. and I know that I just can't listen to other people, but you can, you know, if I post something from the gym, they're like, why do you even squat? You don't have an ass. Things like that constantly, constantly. If you ever want to feel good, you should read the comments from your last broadcast

with Triple H and NXT when you were leaving. Everyone's like, I can't believe Kathy's leaving. Probably just cry again. That was a really heartfelt moment. Did you know that AAA was going to say anything? No. I mean, because typically when people have left in the past, they haven't really addressed it. So I expected really nothing.

I certainly didn't expect flowers. I don't know. I have said before, like, how much I enjoy working with him, working alongside him. And, you know, my time at NXT as a whole. So to me, that was really special. I really appreciated that. What do you think is something that you learned from Triple H that you now bring with you every single time when you're on air? He's just so comfortable in himself.

And I'm sure that, you know, you get to a place where you've been doing this for so long that you're able to laugh off, you know, any sort of negativity. But he's genuinely friends with the people that he works with. He genuinely cares about people he works with, similar to Stephanie. And I think that that's true. just creates such a great environment to feel comfortable and to create this magic that, you know, if you don't feel like your boss believes in you, you're kind of going to be a shell or a timid version of yourself. And when you have that trust from someone who's not just a leadership role, but someone who's done it before, that's, I think, where magic gets made.

Does this time around in WWE feel any different for you? Yeah. I definitely, I definitely, I feel more confident. I feel like I'm doing what I was supposed to be doing all along. And so it feels a lot better. I think there's a lot of people who would love to be in the role that you're in. And that's their dream. What's the first step that they could take to hopefully one day achieve that dream? Go to championship wrestling.

Move to L.A. No, no one. But is it finding an end? independent wrestling company and start to do something in that space? I don't think that there's one specific avenue that you can take to get to, you know, that. But you can take little steps every day, whether that's, you know, if you've never been on camera, get out your phone. Everyone has a camera on their phone.

Get out your phone and tape yourself talking about wrestling or talking about whatever you're passionate about for a minute a day. Yeah, and get comfortable seeing yourself on camera. Yeah. Because that's not easy. I mean, there's so much that goes into it. But if you can just take little steps every day, you'll eventually get there. I think the idea of just getting comfortable on camera and going, yes, you do that thing with your

eyebrow when you talk or your mouth. I don't know, that's a weird thing in the left side. Yeah, that's what you do. That's how the rest of the world sees you. Yes, this is your voice. I know it doesn't sound like that to you. But that is how you sound. I think like that's a big step of just like, okay.

Yeah. If you want to do anything in broadcasting or content creation, be comfortable being on camera first. I mean, I was a very shy, introverted kid. I still am very introverted, but I could barely pick up the phone to call for takeout, like when I was even in high school. So to get comfortable speaking to anyone, let alone being on camera was a huge challenge for me. Like would you have to like practice like, okay, like when you were calling for takeout? Yeah. I mean, flash forward to college, I had an internship at the Fox in Chicago, and I worked for this guy named Mark Saxonier who had been there for almost two decades. And I remember having to call either to schedule interviews or whatever that was and having to write down exactly what I was going to say before I picked up the phone.

So how do you get from there? To where you're at now being so comfortable. 10,000 hours. No, I don't think I've hit 10,000 hours, but it's... Probably you have. You think? Yeah, I think 10,000 hours is... It's 10 years of doing that thing, right?

Yeah. I think. I mean, I'm definitely... You've read the book. I've read the book. Yeah. But... Does that the outliers?

Hmm. I think it's the outliers. I've read all of his, so... The tipping point. Okay. I think. Yeah, I've read all of his, but he's great. I love...

I love his books. I love reading in general. What are you reading right now? I just started this book on the history of the women that helped with the CIA. Wow. Yeah. You probably have a lot. I forget the name of it, but I literally just bought it at the airport the other day. And you have a lot of time to read on planes.

Exactly. I feel like I like to, when I fly, take an actual physical book in my hand onto the plane. And I'm like, look at me. I am a reader. Have a physical book. You do it just for a show. I mean, I read like two or three pages. My whole thing is if you read two pages every day, it's better than reading zero pages any day.

I mean, that's the mindset to getting to be a good host as well. That's right, just chipping away. Little, just a couple pages a day. Do something that helps you and helps your career, whatever path you want to take every single day. I think that's advice that a lot of people need to hear, whether that's in, hosting or it's podcasting or acting, whatever it is, whatever it is that you're passionate about, do a little bit of that every single day. Because if you want to be a musician, for example, and that guitar goes into the closet, the dream really does die because you're not doing the thing

anymore. Yeah. If you play that guitar just five minutes a day, every day, my goodness, you're going to be a better guitar player a year from now or two years from now. I mean, my guitar is in my closet, and that's why I haven't had a number one single. Kathy, you need to take your guitar out. Do you play guitar? I had a, I mean, like, I played back around the time when I played bass, yeah. Can you sing, too? No.

I mean, I wasn't choir, but no. You can totally sit. Look at all these talents you have. I know, but they're all things that I didn't foster. And I think genuinely, while I like those things, I wasn't as passionate about it. and, you know, that's another piece of advice that I can give. If you're not passionate about something, if you're doing it because it's a means to an ends, you're never going to accomplish that goal or that dream because we see so many

overnight successes or what we think are overnight successes and you don't realize the years of, you know, dedication or classes or whatever that is that have gone into that person's success. Tell me about being a MENSA member. How do you even begin, how do you even know that maybe I'm smart enough to be a MENCIM member? So going back to the part about negative comments getting to me a little bit too much and why I don't read them is because when I was working at AfterBuzz and had transitioned into working on the Monday Night Raw After show, I would constantly get comments, Twitter, you know, responses, whatever that is, usually from men, saying the worst things about how I was, they didn't say like, oh, she's unintelligent. It was you're a dumb C word or whatever that is.

And it really got to me and I was like, okay, you can insult me for a variety of different things. You can even just say like, hey, I don't agree with your opinion, but don't insult my intelligence because I know I'm smart. And so I took that a little. too far and I went to take a MENSA test and I got in. So, like, then what? Like, is it, that you get like a certificate? Like, people that don't know what we're talking about. Yeah. Talk to me like I have no clue at all. It sounds so dushy if I say it out loud. Like, it is, so MENSA is a high IQ society. You have to have, I believe it's over 140 or 145 to to be allowed in. So I'm assuming you were always a great student.

I, no, honestly. I don't think that I, while I was really good at like math and, and, memorizing things, I don't think I was a great student because I wasn't super passionate about the things that I was being taught at the time. Now I love reading, but because there are things that I actually enjoy reading. I'm not a huge fiction, girly. And a lot of the things that were taught school, I feel like, are not applicable to everyday life as an adult. School just in general, it's kind of like one-size fits all of like, everybody's going to learn the same way. That's not how people learn.

It's not how the world works. Yeah, I did well at aptitude tests when I was younger, so this was kind of the adult version of that. Look at you. Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you. Thanks.

I mean, I've never actually done anything with mentz. Like, I've never been to a meeting. I've never, I, they send like a pamphlet once a month, but that's about it. Well, I feel like you need to now. It was more of the bragging rights, you know? You get a little card saying that you're a mens a member. Did you frame it? No, I took a, that was purely for Instagram to get rid of the trolls.

Or maybe feed the trolls and make it worse. Yeah, that too. I feel like you need to go to these meetings. Like, if the rest of, you know, us dumb people die, then you've got to figure this out. I don't know. I'm not a dumb. Come on. But it's funny because that was something that I actually learned from doing that is, you know, could be called dumb online. And then you can get your MENSA card and literally put it online. And people will say, oh, well, now you're bragging.

So it's a, you can't win in those situations. You know that it's just that, that specific person. But. Well, the thing is, that says more about the person making the comment than it does about, you or whoever they're making it about. But when I was younger, I didn't understand that. The internet's not real life. Some of those people just need to get outside and touch grass and realize what interacting

with people in the real world is actually like. And they're usually the first person to try to get your autograph outside the arena. It's been so fun catching up with you. Yeah, thank you so much. I end every conversation with the same question because gratitude is such an important part of my life. What are three things in your life that you're grave. for as we sit here right now? I am super grateful for my dog, first and foremost.

What's your dog's name? Eugene. He's named after Eugene Levy because he has huge eyebrows. My fellow Canadian. Oh, yeah. A? Sorry about that. Yeah, he's just the best.

He's a rescue dog. I was doing a lot of work with rescue animals and shelters. when I left WWE. And I was not planning on getting a dog at the time, but I had several fosters, and then he was one of them, and he just stuck. So, yeah, he's the best ever network loves him too because I have to bring him sometimes.

I love Gene. I love my mom. I'm incredibly grateful for how she raised me to be a strong, independent woman that is career-focused. and then I'm grateful for all of the people that use their platform for good. I think that the world needs more of that. I think that you are one of those people. Thank you.

Very evident from not just this interview, but from others that I've seen you do. And anyone who, yeah, decides to use their day to spread more positivity. I think especially in the world of wrestling. there's enough negativity guys we don't need more negativity in wrestling i mean i i think that with with every every piece of media that you're consuming there's so much negativity in the world wrestling should be an escape there's a negative bias in every headline i feel like because that seems to generate the clicks i mean having worked in news in the past i i completely understand that right and and we have the coolest job

and get to entertain people every single week. And I think that that should be a very positive space. I like that. And I feel like there needs to be more light that is shined on the positive aspects of all of this. And I appreciate that you are a shining light, your beacon of light, that does have all this positivity. I mean, come on, every time that you're on camera,

you've got this big beaming smile. How could you not be happy? Unless Grayson Waller's there. Unless Grayson Waller's there. But other than that, you've got this big beaming smile. How could you, like it's an infectious smile. How could you not be excited when you see Kathy Kelly on your TV screen? Thanks.

One more before we go. I thought that was the last question. It usually is. You built it up, Chris. One more. What's your favorite match of all time? Favorite match of all time? Because they meant the most to me in my personal wrestling journey,

I really appreciate the initial women's takeover. matches. I think that what those four girls did, the four horse women of NXT, like, I think that they just brought women's wrestling to another level. And I think that there are so many people who came before them who had that in them but weren't allowed that opportunity. But they really, they took that, they made it their moment, and it was bigger than just them. I like it. Great answer. Thank you. such a great conversation with you. Kathy,

thank you so much. Thank you for having me. There we go, my friends. What a lovely chat with Kathy Kelly. And so good to see her back in WWE. I love that she talked about how one of her main goals the first time around was to be on raw or be on Smackdown. And boom, that's what she's doing now.

I feel like that's where she belongs. And I, like a lot of people, probably like you, was so happy. to see that news that she was returning last year. If you enjoyed this snap of screenshot, let us know, tag us, let us know what stood out for you the most. She's at Kathy Kelly on Instagram. She's at Catherine Kelly on Twitter. I'm at Chris Van Vleet and some very wise words here from Tony Robbins.

If you do what you've always done, you will get what you've always gotten. I hope that for at least one person who hears that, that lights a little fire under you. Oh my gosh. Let's get to it. Right? Be great.

Be grateful. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. 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. Ticket banjo, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.