Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Chris Masters Is Still JACKED! WWE Return, Masterlock Challenge, Best Physiques In Wrestling

Episode Date: March 17, 2026

Chris Masters (@ChrisAdonis) is a professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, CA to discuss making his WWE debut at such a young age, having one of the best physiques in pro wrestling history, never winning a championship in WWE, being the first wrestler to be put in the STFU by John Cena, his pec dance to Crazy Train when Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne hosted Raw, fans calling him "Sexy Jesus", and more! Please support our sponsors: HELIX SLEEP: Flash sale! Go to https://helixsleep.com/cvv for 27% off sitewide! COZY EARTH: Go to https://cozyearth.com/CVV for up to 20% off! BEAM: Go to https://shopbeam.com/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT for up to 40% off Beam’s Dream Powder DELETEME: Use the code INSIGHT to get 20% off your DeleteMe plan at https://joindeleteme.com/INSIGHT FACTOR: Get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year with the code INSIGHT50OFF at https://factormeals.com/INSIGHT50OFF PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/cvv SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount NORDVPN: Exclusive deal! https://nordvpn.com/cvv Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! PRIZEPICKS: Download the PrizePicks app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 bonus credit in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? 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

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Flee! Is that a copper water bottle you're drinking out of? Yes. Is there, like, there's there a reason for that? Well, it's got a ton of health benefits. Yeah? Yeah, well, I had a guy who sold me on it purely on the fact that, so I'm starting to get a little bit of that salt and pepper in my beard.

We're about the same age. Yeah, I get it. Yeah. Which I don't mind. And, like, the ladies actually love. But my concern is the whole beard going completely great. Because then I feel like, oh, I'm going to have to shave it because I don't want to do the, whatever it is, the gist's, I mean, as long, you know what I mean,

because I hate it when it looks obvious that you're coloring in the beard. So I'm just, you know, that's where I'm at. It looked like N.W. O'Hogan then. Yeah. Oh, yeah. If you did, if you did paint it. Exactly. But, like, you know, it was his thing and it just worked, right?

I don't know. Like, I don't think anybody else could pull that off. Of course not. Nor did anybody pull off, you know, the bald with the hair like that. The skullet. Yeah, yeah. Like, he actually was okay with it. So you're telling me this will keep my beard hairs from going gray?

I don't know. You know, it's that. But if you think about it, honestly, like, if you go back, you know, early 1900s or whatever, people were always drinking out of this type of stuff. You know what I mean? The only thing I drink out of a copper mug is a Moscow mule. Right? Yeah, yeah.

It's not a Moscow mule unless it's a copper mug. Well, yeah, it's just, I mean, you got to read up on it. It just definitely has a, it matters what you drink out of. It really does. And, but here's the thing, you can't drink out of this all day, too, because it'll have a complete negative effect. Oh. So that, yeah, it's a whole thing, but, uh, I don't know.

I like it. When you had the beard, people were calling you sexy Jesus. Well, they still do. I just, you know, I have to trim it every once in a while. I like to do the sideburns, you know? Those are good. Those are like 90 sideburns. Nineties are back.

Yeah, yeah, yep. So tell me about sexy Jesus. Oh, oh my God. Okay, so basically, uh, somebody dropped hashtag sexy Jesus in my Instagram comments. And, you know, I just got like a little chuckle out of it, right? Didn't think much of it, but it was funny. It was silly, right?

And so fast forward to its NWA, maybe NWA 77, something. I'm wrestling Tom Latimer. And I have the thought of, like, I have a pre-tap. So I'm like, oh, like, maybe I should drop that sexy Jesus line. But subtly, you know, it doesn't need to be a big thing. I think just subtly drop it in the promo. And so I did. And then you fast forward to the match.

And I'm working with Tom Latimer out there. And we're in the heat of the match, so to speak. And the crowd starts chanting, sexy, Jesus, sexy. And like, it was just really cool because I've never seen something pay off so quickly in pro wrestling. You know what I mean? For me, at least, where, you know, you say it earlier, just hoping that like, oh, maybe it's stupid. Maybe it'll catch on a little bit. And then they're chanting it later.

So I was like, oh, okay. Maybe I can run with this a little. I mean, it's blasphemous, so it's kind of hard to use it in any of the big companies. But, you know, at least gives me something to play off of now. And, you know, I had told you before we came on that I've been working with GCW. So that's a good promotion for something like that. Circle 6, another one out here. I actually was Jesus for the Halloween show.

Perfect. And we had a MasterLock challenge with the devil. It was amazing. I don't know if you ever been the Circle 6, but it's wild, man. I was the ring announcer for Circle Six's first show. Oh, okay. I love Circle Six. J.B.

J.B. is fantastic. Oh, yeah, all of them. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, they're great. It's funny that you just threw Sexy Jesus in there as like just a line, just a throwaway line. Well, yeah, that's where I felt like it had to be, though.

Because, you know, like to make a big presentation out of it. I don't know. I just like drop it in subtly, you know, one of the things I'm calling myself and to see if anybody kind of catch it on. And it's funny, man. A lot of the indie shows all work. like people will chant it and it always kind of makes me smile like because it's just like, wow, like, you know, like it's too bad. I can, you know, how would you translate this on, you know, WW or AEW though?

I don't know. I don't think you can. You can't. Yeah, you can. You're making the most of it now. Exactly. Well, at least it gives me, like I said, it gives me something to work with as far as, you know, evolving.

I just saw you putting a hockey mascot into the master lock. That's one of your mascots. Yeah. We burn over in Canada. You don't think he deserved it? I don't think any hockey mascot would deserve this. I don't know. I hate mascots.

God, you know, getting the guy's way, dancing around and stuff, all jolly. Yeah, he had that master lot coming. I love that you put it on. And whoever else is with, he was like, put that dog down. You know, who was there was Rhino. And I was telling Rino, like, dude,

you should collapse at Fleburne's body and, like, reach to the heavens. What? What? And, like, I was just like, oh, that would have made me die. if you did that. But, yeah.

But the mascots are so beloved. Like, this is mega heel heat when you do this. Because, like, oh, who would attack our beloved mascot? I love it. I love it. You know what's best? The best part about it, if I'm sure you'll probably roll the clip, is them picking him up to carry him to the back, how sad it was.

And just the fact that the whole audience is just like, oh, and then there's a clip actually where they do it from a distance. And you actually have the hockey commentators that are like kind of calling this thing. And it's freaking hilarious because they're not. pro wrestling commentators so they're just like, I don't know you know, it's just, you know, they're like, what is going on out here? You got to see that. Do you prefer working as a heel? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think most guys do, but for me it's because, you know, I feel like I'm more naturally probably a baby face. This is just me, you know, evaluating me. And, you know, if you've

ever heard this actually, most of the guys who are heels in the business are actually baby faces in real life and, you know, vice versa. So, but I mean, bigger picture, though, it's just, it's, it's more of a fun challenge to like, you know, if you're playing the masterpiece or something like that, like you've got to overcome all your little, your little insecurities or whatever is going on in your life. And you got to believe that you're better than everybody in this building. And, you know, they should be lucky to be watching you wrestle. Like, that kind of mentality as a heel is kind of fun to play that out and kind of make that switch in your mind. And, uh, you know, it's like becoming somebody else, you know, and fans appreciate heels too.

You know what I mean? Like, you got to have a good heel. And here's another thing that with pro wrestling is when your heel, it kind of takes the handcuffs off a little bit. Like there's a lot, like, is it baby face? There's a lot of things you got to kind of avoid, like little things. You know what I mean? Like even just stomping a guy in the ring is not very baby face unless you're Steve Austin. You know what I mean?

Like it isn't. But that's just one thing of many, you know? So like, you know, I just think it's a little more freeing as a heel. heel and like you can F up and it's it's always kind of okay if you're a heel. You know what I mean? Like LA Knight's botch would actually been okay maybe if he's a heel, but as a baby, it doesn't help very much. I say this frequently, but like if you're a baby face and you're getting booed, there's a problem. If you're a heel and you're getting cheered, it's like, not my fault you're cheering for me. Like, I guess I'm, I guess I'm just that good.

Yeah. Like, and that's an interesting thing because when you're a heel, any reaction is fine. When you're a baby face. If you're not getting cheered, it's like, ooh, you're right. You're right. You're right. That is, and that's, you're not a lot of pressure. Especially when you're first coming in, that's why I was kind of glad I was a heel because, you know, they might have, they would have probably rejected me. I know, actually, I know they would have because my first match in OVW, Jim Cornett had me wrestle Joey Mercury. And this was the first time any of these people are seeing me. And I was supposed to be a baby face. And I walked out there and they just booed it out of me. Just because you were

jacked and good looking. And I probably just came off like an a hole. I don't know, like a cocky kid, you know what I mean? Like they just could not connect. And it was just funny when I came to the back gym corner, it's like,

you will never be a baby face again. You know, and I was just like, oh, wow, this is, interesting experience here. I didn't know what to expect from them either. Like,

I don't look at myself like, I'm like, I'm like a 19 year old kid over there and it was just booing the hell out of me. I'm okay. When you started in wrestling, you started out here at UPW, which is in Orange County,

right? Yes. Were you there at the same time as John Sina? Yeah, and so I don't know this for certain, but we might have even started the same day. So, yeah. Yeah, my earliest memories are with Sina, and there's another guy named Bad Boy Basil, UPW.

I was only 16 years old, and I ended up Copper Cup. So year 16, Sina would have been early 20s. Yeah, yeah. And what happened is, so I can remember some of our trainings together. remember one practice specifically where um you know Andrew Bernarski from the program no he's a big dude but anyways he was training with us and he went to give a leg drop off the second rope and literally landed with all of his ass on john Cena's head like almost killed the franchise before he ever became the franchise you know what i mean but uh yeah and it was clunky as hell man like some of the

stuff i remember like as i remember us working uh you know some tags and stuff over there because it was originally in Huntington Beach. And so, yeah, we did, you know, and it was maybe three months in that I was doing a leaprog, again, with Andrew Bernardsky, and I didn't clear him. And so I kind of landed on him and then landed on my ankle. Yeah, yeah, fracture my ankle. And, you know, I tried to keep training on it,

but I knew something was wrong. And like literally a month had gone by and I couldn't extend my foot. So long story short, I ended up having surgery. And then I took a couple years off in that time. Sina obviously got signed, went to OVW, and then I ended up coming back to UPW, you know, like a couple years later by the time I was like 18, I think. So 16, how jacked are you at that point in time? Not very.

I mean, I started working out, but like, you know, when I got to UPW, that's how I realized, like, oh, you got a long way to go still. You know what I mean? You're not anywhere where you thought you were, you know, like, because, again, John Cena was so built. and then there's another guy named bad boy basil and like those were the guys that were really getting w w w's attention so you know i just realized like yeah i had made progress for myself but um i had a long way to go so that's why i kind of you know i had the surgery and i kind of just

um like just completely like indulged in bodybuilding and for the next couple years took it up as a hobby um even you know went to the mr olympias watch those and stuff like that and you know flex wheeler lee priest you know all those guys actually actually class. I just saw Lee Priest a couple weeks ago. Awesome, awesome dude. He's at Golds Venice. Oh, wow. You still work out of Golds Venice all the time. We did a workout video there, which people can check out. The crazy thing about Golds Venice is like you never know who you might see there. Like Arnold works out there almost every morning, right? Michael O'Herns there every morning at like 5 a.m. or something. You know, and Arnold had, I never know what to say to Arnold. It's

hilarious. You know, like, he is the man, but like there was a time not too long ago where I was doing pullovers and he comes up to me at golds and he's all like you know you mind if i work in yeah and i just i start laughing i'm like are you kidding me uh you can work in wherever you want you know and it was just you know he goes very started doing pullovers and like you know i'm just like wow this is pretty cool man like you know not only is it arnold but then you start thinking like of the original gold's gym just the doing pullovers like is kind of a cool exercise to do with him yeah it was Is there a conversation between sets or is it just like, all right, do your thing? Well, he always has that tall guy from Gladiator with him.

So they were kind of, you know, going back and forth. So there was little stuff. But again, like, I don't know what to say to him. Like, honestly, like, you know, what do you say to him? Like, Terminator 2 was freaking awesome. I was. Yeah, I know. But like, yeah, exactly.

Like, everybody is, I don't know. It's just a tough thing. Like, you know, actually what I do want to talk to him about? What I think might be good conversation is superstar Billy Graham asking him about him. Because I don't even know if Arnold knows I wrestle or anything. And I don't want to even impose that on him. Like, oh, hey, I'm a wrestler. I was with W.D., you know what I mean?

Yeah. In my mind, a guy like that is probably not going to care. But if I bring up Billy Graham, that might be something. He kind of reminisces about a little bit. It's pretty cool, though, that you always have that story that you and Arnold worked in together on. Oh, I know, I know, I know, I know. You know, we've had a lot of cool people. You know, Apollo Creed, Carl Weathers would come in there.

And I always felt bad because I never got a chance to give him his flowers, too, because, you know, you always seem very unapproachable, which I get. When I go the gym, I try to look as unapproachable as possible, not to be an A-hole, but just because, you know, that's how I... Yeah, you're in the zone. Yeah, I try to, and I'm trying to get to the zone and stay there. And, like, so I can very easily be taken off of that and start, you know. Yeah.

I always see Mike O'Hern. He's there every day. Billy Gunn, whenever he's in town, it's like, Mike O'Hern and Billy Gunn together is just... Oh, my God. ...the banter between those guys. Oh, my gosh. And also, Billy Gunn looks ridiculous. Like, he looks way better now than he did in his prime.

Just hanging out with Michael Hearn. I guess it's just by osmosis. But, no, he does. It's actually pretty amazing, man. I mean, you got to give those guys their props. Like, I don't think anybody has aged, like, and, you know, maintains like that. You know, it's pretty. Who's older?

Billy's older, but, Billy's a few years older, like five, five years old. Yeah, we don't even say the age is called him out or anything. You know, it is very cool. It's inspiring, too. And it's funny hearing the banter between those guys. Oh, yeah. And I see them in the gym here and there, you know what I mean, doing their thing. Like, I steal stuff from Mike when I can.

Oh, yeah. Just because, you know, he's always got something. I still stuff from a lot of guys. Like, I love flipping through Instagram and just seeing exercise that might intrigue me. You know, like, I'll see, like, one thing I see Michael Hernd do is he'll do a shrugs on a machine, but he'll turn his wrist this way. And so, you know, little stuff like that is very interesting. It really changes the movement.

It takes your arms out of it. And, yeah. I don't think it's talked about enough that you were only 22 when you made your WWE debut looking as jacked as you did. I think because you had that much muscle, people assumed you were only. 21. Yeah, because I was, I know that because I was turning 22 when I worked the elimination chamber.

Yeah, like that's how that always stands out to me. So, yeah, it was, I definitely didn't look my age. And I think most of the guys didn't even treat me like I was. my age because of that, you know? Like I was a kid who was like me, Muhammad Asan and like, you know, Renee Dupree, just a few young guys amongst a locker room of men

that most of us kind of grew up watching. So, and yeah, I just think most of them just kind of treated me like I was a grown man when really, you know, I was a kid if you think, because I'll see, you know, when I'd do seminars or, you know, even just Indies, you know, I'll see guys who were right around that age and, you know,

they still look like kids. Yeah. And so I'm like, well, That was me. I was that age too. I just looked older. It doesn't mean I was necessarily more mature, you know, had any kind of wisdom or anything like that at that point. But the amount of muscle you put on at that age is so impressive. Yeah. And my body was just very receptive to it. And I really kind of focused on it. And also, I had good genetics. I at least knew that through my dad. I didn't know my dad at this point. I didn't meet him until later. But one thing my mom always told me

about him is that he was fit and shape. He lifted weights. And, And I had one picture of them, so I got to see a little bit of it. But, and yeah, and you know what kind of actually separated me, most people might not realize is you can give, there's other guys who've been that big, but it was the muscle maturity. Like, you know what I mean? I had a muscle maturity of a guy much older. You know what I mean? It was didn't, you know, most guys, if they're that size at that age, they're very puffy and, you know, it's not quality muscle yet like that. You know what I mean?

So mine looked like a guy who had been maybe late. 20s, early 30. For sure. You know what I mean? And it's a different look. It really is. It's just a more, you know, more quality, less, you know, water and bloat and, you know, more hard.

And you're the youngest person to ever compete in Elimination Chamber. Am I? Yes. 22 is? Yes. Yeah, see, I was wondering about that because there was somebody recently who there was an Instagram. Devon Evans.

So you were the youngest to that point. Ah, okay. Yeah. Because there was an Instagram post where they were saying I was 23 again. And I had to correct them like, no, no, I was 20. Well, the fun fact came out that Javon Evans is younger than elimination chamber itself. Yeah. So he just competed in this last elimination chamber.

That's unbelievable. Right. And he's an unbelievable talent, right? Like, as it makes sense, man. Like, a lot of time is gone. That's true. When was the first one? It was like 2003.

Yeah. Yeah. I was the one with Sean's brown tides. Did you feel the pressure being an elimination chamber? One, at that age. and then too, like really early into your WWE career? Yes, I did. And also I made a huge mistake by,

I took a red eye flight into New York, it was, and that was a mistake. I learned that at that time because I was so, like, kind of off for the day, you know, like it's hard to get back on track if you take a red eye, you know, like you got to get a really good nap in, I guess. But yeah, it was a lot of pressure too, because it's such a different match.

Like, you don't necessarily know, you know, how it's going to feel. necessarily, you know what I mean? Like when you have a one-on-one match, you kind of know kind of the flow of it and you have a better grasp of it. With a match like that, though, there's so much going on and stuff that can go wrong,

like in the first 100, getting his throat, you know what I mean, squashed. And, uh, but I just remember, you know, it was a lot of fun though. I just, you know, things that stand out to me, I always see the clip of Kurt Engel entering and I always remember being in the pod and watching him and just like,

just being like, my God, he's one of the best. ever. Like, you know, and I already knew that, but I'm just saying, watching him in that intensity that he brought, it was just like, oh, he's my top five, like, in ring work. I mean, he could do everything, obviously, but, like, it was at that intensity that he brought. I was like, oh, man, like, this is. And you're in the pod watching this, thinking that. Because I have to come out after him. So, like, you know, and I did pretty good in my entrance in there, but, you know, you're seeing something like that. It's like, you got to try to match, you know, you're not going to outmatch that

intensity, but you've got to definitely bring it. And I don't know, it was always cool, man. Yeah, I just had this realization. Like, Kurt is just freaking amazing. And then, you know, obviously Sean was in it, which was really cool. Cain, Carlito. And the story of it was... Stacked. Yeah, and the story of it was real cool, too. You know, how Carly and me tried to band together, and then he screws me. And honestly, none of us knew about Edge coming out after. None of us knew. I mean, Sean probably knew, I guess. But I just remember that day, Carlito just being... kind of like just thinking the finish was odd, you know, because it would have just been a roll-up. Cina rolls up Carlito, that's it.

Yeah. So it just kept saying, something's not right. Something's not right. And then, you know, we're out there. And then Vince comes out and then edge. And then, like, you know, I didn't suspect anything. I don't even know if I thought about, but Carly knew something was involved. You know what I mean?

But they didn't even tell you. No, no. And I get it now, though, because it's just one of those things, just like nowadays, sometimes the less that know, the better. It's not really about being disrespectful or, you know, trying to be. be secretive. It's more just like the less that know the better because everything gets reported, stooged, especially now, even more maybe with the social media and stuff. So, you know, I didn't, at the time, I was kind of like, why did you have to keep us in the dark about it? But again,

you know, you just, you just get it with time. It's just like, it's just better, less people know. Like, you know, when they talk about the screw job and like, you know, some of the guys they didn't tell on that, you kind of get it. It's like, okay, well, yeah, certain people needed to know, but, you know, You didn't necessarily have to tell everybody. The more than no, the more hands are dirty, right? Yeah. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg.

And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Times ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really stake their claim. And they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are.

The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Henko. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. I had Buff Bagwell on the show recently, and I, he has a great physique, right? Legendary physique. I asked him his Mount Rush more of best physiques in wrestling. Yeah. He listed four legends, but there were so many comments saying, what about Chris Masters?

And I actually brought you up in the interview. Where do you think you fall in terms of best physiques in wrestling? Uh, well, like that 20, 21, 22 range would definitely be probably in, like, I don't know, maybe top 10, top 15. I mean, I go, you know, it's hard, man. It's hard to compare yourself against guys you kind of, you grew up watching and you kind of looked up to and all that. I just know, the guys that stood out to me always were like, you know, Ultimate Warrior, Lex Lugar, Rick Rood and a buff, Scott Steiner. I mean, and there's guys that weren't necessarily known for their bodies that obviously had good builds too. But I mean, those were the guys that really known for it.

And then I think more in this area, I guess it was Bobby Lashley was. Bobby Lashley, Batista. I mean, you could even say, oh, yeah, Triple H. Yeah, Triple H had a run there too. Like, yeah, so like, what was it that one where he came back at the garden? Oh, my gosh. So he would be like, you know. After the torn quad.

Yeah. So like that version of Hunter would obviously be probably somewhere in the top. 10 too, you know what I mean? Like, it was just, he was pretty ridiculous. But it's interesting, you know what I mean? Like, you have to go to the certain years, you know what I mean? Like, then you look at like any year for Bobby Lashley, right? Yeah, he doesn't change. Any year for Brock Lesnar. Yeah, yeah, they're just, right. Yeah, there's just monsters. Like, those are, those guys you're talking about, though, are just, are mutants. You know what I mean? They're like, they're not just fit. They're also like freak athletes and like, you know, just don't mess with

You know, they're not only are they big, but they're fast. And for them, it's like, yes, it's great genetics, but it's also a ton of discipline and it's hard work. And it's like all of that comes together to make them a top 1% athlete. Well, and people don't mention it, but like, Cina's a guy who, you know, Cina's got a good bill too. Of course. He just didn't make it part of his thing.

He didn't. It's a great point. Yeah. I mean, and that's what I mean. It's like, there's a lot of guys that be easy to just not mention because they didn't make it their thing. And that's kind of where I'm, when I think about it, I kind of go. to is like, okay, who made,

who's made it kind of their thing? Like, I even love Rick Rude, you know what I mean? Like, again, he had a great, honestly, now that you're mentioning, talking about this, though, it's funny because my perfect physique were, like, to me, we were talking about Schwarzenegger, right? Sly Stallone.

I always tell everybody, like, Slice Stallone around that Rocky 3, 4 and Rainbow. Rocky 4, he's ridiculously ripped. But not even just how, he was just the coolest guy on the planet. Yeah. The voice, the, the, the, aura, as they say nowadays, right? Like, and even the build, man, and I know that, like, it's very easy.

A lot of people are like, oh, he wasn't very big. And, like, you watch him at the time, or you thought he was a lot bigger than he was, but he was just so conditioned that it's just like I still watch those. And even the guys he fought, Apollo and golf, those guys were so well conditioned that I just love the presentation they brought in those movies. So that, I don't know, that to me was always, Slice Stallone was the guy. You know what I mean? What do you realistically think has built with, like height and weight?

What do you realize? Oh, very tiny, you know, probably 5-9, 5-8, 5-8, 5-9, I'd imagine. But I could be way off. And then what, 180? Yeah, yeah, I'd imagine somewhere between that and 205, maybe. I don't even know if he's 205, he's so lean. That's true, actually. They were so conditioned.

I mean, they were probably really light. I don't know. I'm probably going to be way off, but either way, though, dude, just the way, I mean, do you remember those boxing matches, the training month? just like, slice Stallone, man. Rocky Four is my favorite of all the Rockies. He's the body guy to me.

Really? Stallone. Well, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, not only like he was the coolest guy, but also just that conditioning and that physique, you know what I mean? I know like Arnold Schwarzenegger was the bodybuilder and, you know,

the bigger guy and all that, but I don't know. Pretty crazy, though, that if you put Chris Masters in your prime next to Stallone in his prime, you would be gigantic compared. to him. Oh, yeah, yeah. He would dwarf him. Yeah, but I mean, you know, I try not to look at it in those ways because then, like, you know, we talked about Lee Priest, right? Lee Priest, I didn't have the biggest frame either, but he's still, you know what I mean? He was dialed in, you know what I mean? So, like, yes, Stallone is going to look tiny next to me, but, like, I was more of a monster anyway. You know what I mean? If I, if I tried to box with him at the time, like, he would land

50 to my one. So, you know what I mean? Like, you know, size matters and stuff, but, you know, And it's an advantage in a lot of things, you know what I mean? But it's not everything, right? So if you had to give me a Mount Rushmore of your best body guys in wrestling, who are they? Okay, Mount Rushmore. Okay. Shit, this is going to be tough. But I'm going to probably lean Scott Steiner, Lex Lugar.

Oh, man, this is tough. I, you know, I guess we could say that version of Hunter, Madison Square Garden, in that one. Oh, two hunter? Yeah, like, he's just ridiculous, right? Yeah. Oh, Ultimate Warrior, let's not leave him off. Yeah, we got put Warrior.

I mean, that's four, right? That's it. Yeah, so I mean, you know. You have almost the exact same one as Buff. Oh, is that what he said, too? He said, so he would have replaced Triple Age with Batista. That was his. Oh, okay.

But the other three were the exact same. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes sense. And then a lot of comments saying, what about Masters? What about Rick Rood? Honorable mentions. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't even put myself in the Mount Rushmore, but like, I think you could take.

you could take that version of me in 0506 and put them somewhere in the, you know, like, you know, hunters in the top of the top 10 or something like that, you know what I mean? How hard was it to stay that condition? It was hard, but it was more about just making, making it a habit that, you know what I mean, that you always, you did everything you could to not miss the gym and get your five workouts in a week, get whatever cardio it is you intend. and then, you know, it got harder on the road, but I mean, I would even, like, when I go on the road initially, I would pack enough food so that I'd have food to get me through till Saturday and stuff like that. Yeah.

Little stuff like that. Like, I won't do that anymore, you know, like Bryant Cage will walk around with a big thing of food, you know, he's got it all for the day. That's a monster. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Do you feel like you were ever close at any point in time in WWE to winning a championship? It's pretty crazy to think you didn't win one. No, all of them.

I was, there was a point. I mean, Carlito and me were supposed. to win him at that WrestleMania, but it literally got switched like the day before. Like it was, yeah, we were penciled in to win it, but then Carlito, they wanted him to turn baby and the Spirit Squad. They kind of wanted to get the belts on them somehow to give them some steam. And so that was that. And then the Intercontinental title, I was actually supposed to win that, but it was the same point where they had given me intervention. And for, you know, my prescription painkiller, you know, abuse at the time.

So, and they even told me, I remember having the meeting with Johnny and because there was a four-way match that night, it was in Vegas for the Interconnell title that I was slated to win, but then they have caught win that I had the issues I had and I had an intervention and, you know, basically told me you're going to rehab. And so, you know, I screwed that. So tag belts, I had no control over. That just happened. I see. I effed up. And then, you know, there was a point there like because you can even watch back to those old raws where Vince was playing with the idea of making me the youngest champion. Um, but you know, he was feeling out a lot of guys at that point, you know, and I'm pretty sure Sina gave me probably the thumbs down at some point.

So I don't know, maybe. Oh, yeah, we, we never mixed too well for whatever reason. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know, Massachusetts guy, California guy. I don't know, just kind of oil and water, but, uh, you know, I don't take away anything from the fact that he's this generation's Hogan and he. And he's, He definitely worked harder than anybody probably would have in that spot, especially for that long. So do you feel the weight of you're about to win the intercontinental championship? Now you're not winning the intercontinental championship. There's this intervention and you're being sent to rehab.

It's got to be a lot of weight that you're feeling with that. Yeah, yeah, it sucked. My priorities just weren't in the right place because I remember being bitter about it and wanting to stay in that place of addiction and being unreasonable. you know, but it's tough. Like when you get there, like you aren't. You're, you can be irrational. You can do irrational things. It starts to control you and stuff like that. And, you know, it's just nice to have so much separation from that. And even just for the business, the business is such a cleaner place than it was when I entered. And I say that. It's just,

it's nice to not walk into a locker room and have somebody, you know, who has, you know, issues like that going on or passing out in the locker room. And it is. It's just a cleaner business now. What do you think that can be attributed to? Where did the shift start to happen? It was just, you know, Eddie, Eddie Guerrero, then Chris Benoit. And so it started with Eddie, but then it got really serious with Chris. And then from that point on to like anytime anybody had an issue, like it was dealt with. You know what I mean?

And it was much easy, you know, there was a point after the Chris thing happened where, you know, it became fewer and fewer guys. You know what I mean? That had it. And, like, you know, I think everybody who had an issue ended up having to get, go in at some point, you know? But yeah, I got serious. And then, like, it just, it was very gradual.

But I think, you know, to the point where we are today where, you know, now, like, guys don't even party. They play video games. You know what I mean? I had a buddy who's in a band and he reached out. He's like, hey, we're in town the same night as WWE. Can you give me a list of everybody's going to be parting tonight? And I said, it doesn't really work like that anymore.

Like, they might be hanging out of the hotel. tail playing video games. It's weird, but I'm kind of happy that I came in when I did because I have like one foot out in with the old generation and then the new generation, because I get the tech thing. You know, but I was also came in around a time where everybody on the raw crew

would go out and see karaoke. And, you know, I remember Jericho wanting all the young guys to go out to build the camaraderie of the team. And, you know, it was definitely very different. But, you know,

it's definitely just nice to, you know, there's not as much drinking and stuff like that. You know what I mean? Again, just to be cleaner. You were there during a time when a lot of your colleagues, a lot of your friends were passing away. That was a really rough period,

like 2000s. Yeah. Really rough time. But I mean, I don't even think it was just pro wrestling. If you look at the grand scheme of the country, the U.S. had an opiate problem. And, you know, obviously the pro wrestlers had it.

You know, out here in Hollywood, there was an issue. just a lot of people. And I think there's a better awareness of the fact that these things can be addictive now and they control that stuff much better. And, yeah, I lost a lot of guys. You know, Lance Cade, I always think about, man, tests. I always think about.

And, you know, the list goes on and on. But I just, you know, it would be sad to lose your life over that. It really, it really sucks. Because I think back to it and, you know, being in it sucked. But, like, I could see, you know, look. looking down from heaven and just being like, oh, my God, why did I, you know, jeopardize everything to do that? Who were you traveling with the most when you were in WWA?

Well, I had a nice little run with Gene Snitsky. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Do you love Snitsky? Oh, I love Snizzle, man. I mean, it was wild, man. I don't know. I hope I don't get him in trouble.

But he was a heck of a real partner, man. Like, he, you know, let's just say this. man. So I'm just traveling with Snitsky and this is back before we had Wi-Fi, right? Like, we literally, I always remember Wi-Fi because Snitsky was the first one that introduced it to me. Like, there was a point where on the road and all of a sudden he had to have a hotel with Wi-Fi. I didn't even know what it was yet. But all I knew is if we found a hotel with Wi-Fi, we wouldn't have to stop at some adult store in the middle of nowhere so he could take out videotapes and pantyhose and buy, you know, penis pills and, you know, like,

honestly, that, that was routine every night, no matter how long the drive we had to stop by whatever adult slash porn shop. And I would try to sit out in the car just to expedite the process, but like 30 minutes would go by and then I have to go in there and then he'd suck me into his crazy world. And I just always remember us, you know, we'd be driving 300 miles and we'd be like 30 minutes, from our destination, Snitsky would be opening a Red Bull and taking his penis pills. And, you know, I just like, what is going to happen? Like, it's four in the morning.

Like, I guess we're going to have a late, we need a late checkout tomorrow, I guess. Yeah, I used to always imagine, like, you know, because there's not, we don't have a woman in the car. I'm not in the room. Like, what is happening? So you're sharing the car, but have her rooms. Oh, yeah. Oh, come on. Let's make that clear right now.

I was not in the room with the Red Bull and the penis. And the rhino, the, you know, the rhino pills you see at like the gas station checkout. Yes. Yes. That's what I'm talking. And he'd also buy a panty hose. But like, you know, like, you know, the kind of the ones for women's legs, leggings, you know. Yeah.

I mean, he loved feet, man. And that was another thing. He's not ashamed about his love for feet. No. It was unbelievable, man. I was always the same, like the girls, they wouldn't want it. No, no, no, no. And by the time he'd actually get the foot in his mouth, they would all.

all of them would just like smile. Like it was crazy. It was like, oh my God, they love it. Like, you know, they're dreading, dreading. No, no, no, no. Then it gets in it. And all of a sudden, like, I don't know. How did you even start traveling with him?

I don't know. It should have never happened probably. But we both needed a trial. We were on the road to this. I don't know. You know, he came in the Louisville, so we'd probably met there. And then we, you know, I was new on the road.

He'd only been on the road a few months. So it probably just, you know, I was like, he probably threw me to him, right? Like, somebody's got travel with that guy. Anybody by us, right? And then who did you travel with after that? Okay, so I had a run with the Mizz and Evan Bourne, Matt Seidel for a while.

Oh, also Tyler Rex, Gabby, and Drew McIntyre, Carlito for a while. And that was probably, yeah, those were probably my road cruise. I feel like you and Carlito are still like best friends of this day. Yeah, I mean, I haven't talked to him as much lately, but I'm going to, like, next weekend, I'm going to be working him over in Maine for a couple of indie shows. So if you're in the main area, check that out.

Like when I had Carlito as a guest for my live show last year, I just reached out to you and I said, you have any good Carlito stories? And you sent me like a ton of voice notes. You're like, well, this one might not be that appropriate, but I'll tell you the story anyway. Yeah.

I played that note for him, and he's like, we probably shouldn't tell that story out there. Oh, yeah, yeah, no. I think that was the one in maybe Australia. I think it may be, yeah. Good story. Oh, God. Good story for us to know.

We've made some memories, that's for sure. Yeah, I've almost, I'm pretty sure I've been on every continent with him at this point. Didn't Sina give you the very first STFU? Yes, yes. That's true? And yes, and you must show the clip right now in your editing so everybody can see it was a shoot. There was a shoot STFU. I mean, again, I'm not saying that STAFU.

I was purposely doing it to shoot on me. You know what I mean? I used to think sometimes with Sina, like he get so fired up in the moment that like, you know what I mean? He wouldn't even know his own strength type of thing. You know what I mean? Yeah.

And so, yeah, he did it to me for shooting. You'll see when you roll it. Like, my face starts turning red. Like, I start trying to freaking, like, get a little bit, get it a little bit looser, but he's just, ah. And I'm pretty sure that I heard later on that, you know, he was working with Kurt

and Kurt had to kind of, I tell him to loosen it up a little bit. And if Kurt Engel is telling him to loosen it up, that's saying a lot. Well, but then Kurt with his neck issues and stuff, I'm sure, probably. Like, when I watched... But Kurt's so tough. Yeah, but, you know, like, my master lock could be kind of brutal sometimes with guys, because I didn't really know how to work it either.

So sometimes when I look back at those videos and I look at me putting on Kurt, I'm kind of like, oh, man, like, I was probably rougher with him than I needed to be. Like, it was probably, you know what I mean? Like, you know, because when you're that green, you don't know how to, you know, Shakespeare as much, you know what I mean? Like,

you do do stuff a little more real than you have to, you work a little more. I mean, I can remember, actually, there was a time with Shane Helms, who we were working at a live event,

and I master locked in my guess, like, way too hard. And, uh, oh, so I released the master lock and he,

they ring the bell, the match is over, and he gets up and I think he tells me to F off and just walks off. Yeah. And like, I mean, I'm not even saying, I'm not even saying it to, you know, heal on him.

Like, I was too stiff. You know what I mean? Again, I didn't know how to work it. So, and it became a big drama with everybody because, you know, then it was like, you know, he knows sold the hold. But, you know, again, I'm obviously doing it too rough. You know what I mean? And I know that too because with Shelton one time, he was telling me like, you know,

I was about to pass out, you know, if it's too tight. Like, and you know what I mean, if it's too tight. Like some of the guys were so broad here that it'd be so tight that it would be tough, man. Like, because, you know, you start twirking their neck. from the start and, you know. What's a legit hold? Yeah, you'll pass out.

You turn, you know, cuts off the blood flow and you'll go out. Who is it the hardest to put the master lock on? Probably Bobby. Bobby? Yeah, he's got, like, just look at his build. I mean, and I say that just because I remember having, like, just holding that thing for a long time on anybody can be kind of tough. You know what I mean?

For a long time, I'm saying, not for 20 seconds. But like with Bobby, I mean, it was hard, you know, because probably by the time I got it around his neck, it was probably not even fully locked just because he was so kind of broad up here, you know? I thought for sure it was going to be big show. Well, I didn't even think it was possible with big show. Like, honestly, we went through this one time, but at a TV where we were trying,

we tried to get it on. Everybody, like, was so excited when I got there to try it. Like, I was like, they got me to the brain. They wanted to see if it. And then we had this idea of maybe using a chain, but I guess it didn't make sense. You know what I mean? Like, you know, like, you wrap a chain and you do it there, but I was like, well, I guess it didn't make sense.

So we didn't do that. And then it's funny because I feel like there was a point where I could have put it on him. And maybe he just was a little heavier when he was heavier. Maybe I couldn't. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I just was never able to get it on him. But it's pretty cool that you have a submission move that when people see it done by whoever, they think of you or they think of Bobby Lashley.

They think of the master lock or they think of the hurt lock. Yeah. And one of the actually the best things for me has been that I didn't really realize is that having a finishing move like that gives you the opportunity. like when I take pictures with people, I will usually give them the choice if they want to take a regular pick or pick in the master lock. And like you, you know, not all guys can do their finishing moves in a picture. So. And like, you know, they usually, you know, and they usually love it.

You know, like usually I do it to one person and then everybody wants it. So, you know, I'm always just hoping their hygiene is good and everything. Like, oh my God. And then there's some guys who are very, let's say, broad or come up. And I'm just like, oh, please just want a regular photo. You know. But then, you know, there's some guys who just want me to try it.

Come on. You could start adding more. Like, you know, regular photo $30. MasterLock photo, 40. You're right. I probably should. I think there's already some legends that do that. Yeah.

But you're right. It's not like you can, you know, it's not like you can take a picture with the rock and he has you up in the rock bottom for a photo, you know? No, like, yeah. Or even like Brett with the Sharpshire, guys got to be on the floor. It's just a big pain.

I do have a photo of Kurt putting me in the ankle lock. Yeah, but haven't you taken a few? I've taken a few. I've given a few, too. Yeah, yeah, you did. I remember when I met Kurt, it was 2008. He was a guest at the TV station I was working at in Toronto. Yeah.

And I'm like, would you mind putting me in the ankle lock for a photo? I'm like, sure, get down. So I get down and I put my right leg up. He goes, other leg, idiot. And I'm like, oh, yeah. I left. I know. And I was like, I was an idiot.

So stupid. Yeah, I just love that he told it to you like that. Yeah, it is. What are you doing? I'm pretty sure I'd probably have the same. You know, it's a pro wrestling thing, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Give me the left. It's funny because I started as a high school wrestler. Everything's on the right. Or just like your dominant side. I think it's still to the right too. I believe you're right. Yeah. But then when I started wrestling training, I'd forget everything I thought I knew.

Yeah. Because everything's on the left in pro wrestling. Yeah. Well, that's interesting, you know. And that's important because there's a lot of parts of a wrestling match that are kind of like a dance. So, you know what I mean? There's a lot of, like, that's why, you know, you need to know it's the left side we're working and footwork and all that stuff.

You know what I mean? Like, it's timing. Yeah. You know, it's an amazing thing pro wrestling. I can see why you're able to, you know what I mean? Like, people just love it. That's one thing you can tell is pro wrestling is so special because the fans love it. They are passionate about it, like Star Wars fan.

They're nerds for like Star Wars fans are for Star Wars. Yes. And like, and I get it too because before I was in the business, that was the extent of my fandom. I mean, I had posters on my C-Wars. Who's the first wrestler that you ever met as a fan? You're going to love this. Triple H. And it was with my friend at Venice Beach.

And Hunter was one of the first, I was a 14-year-old kid with an HPK shirt. And I'm with my friend. And Hunter starts telling us about how the curtain call and how he's supposed to win the king of the ring. And like, yeah, we got smartened up that day. It was amazing. Like, it's not that we thought everything was a shoot, but like he really

he was smarting us up he was telling us about the click telling us about again how he's supposed to be king of the ring and then you know what happens he's in Muscle Beach in Venice during the workout area it's an appearance

so we're me and my friend buy tickets to work out even though we don't work out you know what I mean we do not belong there but like all the fans are outside and we're just with him that's why we're getting

Hunter just talking to us and you know who comes we see down the beach coming is Kevin Nash Scott Hall and Xbox. And they're wearing NWO tank tops, little, little bitty shorts. And like, me and my friend are just like, we're just like, oh, you know, we're like caught up in the moment. Like, oh, my God, is something going to go down? Like, all of a sudden, we're like an episode of Raw or Nitro or something.

And like, you know. Yeah, especially because at that time, WWF and WCW didn't mingle. No, exactly. Yeah. But, you know, again, Hunter just been telling us about the curtain calls. So it made sense. Those guys came up there to make their presence, felt say what's up to Hunter and then they left. And, you know, I think it was more just, it was for a reason, right? Because Hunter was kind of getting the shaft at the time. It was kind of a way for them to send, you know, send notice to Vince probably or whatever. But I don't know. All I know is my friend and I were just tripping.

I mean, we followed Nashville and Xbox for a while. We got, I remember, man, I wish I had some of the pictures I could show you to flash up. But like, yeah. Are they out there? They're on the internet. They're not on the internet, but my friend has them. You'll have to send them to me. Yeah.

We can pop them up. We have a ton because we would also sneak backstage at the Arrowhead Pond Honda Center, and we got pictures with everybody. I want an Anaheim. Yeah, my friend figured out how to do it. And so we would. What was the secret? There's an elevator.

Okay. Like it was that there was like a K-FAPE elevator. You go down and we just, all, the main thing you had to do was avoid Dave Hebner at all costs. Because Dave was like, Dave had thrown us out several times. So we, there was a point where we would be backstage, but we knew like, and it was funny because we got smart as time went on and we realized, oh, like wearing a wrestling shirt it's not the best idea back there.

You know what I mean? Because that's what fans wear. Exactly. And then we also knew to like, hey, we should probably just wait out in the parking lot that way maybe Dave won't kick us out. You know,

have a better chance of getting our photos. But yeah, man, it was cool though. Like that day at the beach, man, I remember from a fan experience, like that was probably the coolest day I had up until that point. It was just like, wow, did that just really happen?

Like, you know, we got to shoot this with Hunter and the outside of the Wolfpack comes and Shamrock's Benchant 405. Yeah, legit, yeah. Pretty amazing the fast forward a handful of years later, and then you're in there working with Triple H. Yeah, and like, you know, I kind of regret that I feel like I never had talked to Hunter about that Muscle Beach thing because I felt, I don't know, you know,

I'm sure I wasn't the only kid he was probably kind of venting to around that time frame about what was happening with him. But it was still, I know that he would have remembered it because, again, it was a very kind of standout. It's Muscle Beach. Yeah. You know, it wasn't just like some appearance he'd forget about. Like even when I talked to, I saw Xbox at the GCW show and was talking to him about that.

You know, they all remember it, obviously. Yeah. You know. Well, there's not many gyms that are set up in the middle of a beach. Exactly. Muscle Beach is iconic. Of course. Yeah.

And then again. The beach is memorable. And like you said, just the interaction between the company just didn't happen like that. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then, yeah, crazy that you lived the dream. Right.

then like fast forward all these years later you're doing it yeah and like i would remember i you know it wouldn't i wouldn't lose uh like track of that when i was out there i remember many times where i was out there at the live events teaming up with honor against sean and flair on some occasions just being like wow you know this is just it was amazing you know because these three generations of wrestler i might have we might even said this in your last interview but and you know sean Hunter idolized Rick and I basically idolized all of them. You know, because I even liked Rick too, man. Like, you know, that's my archetype of wrestler that I like was, you know, the athletic heel that covers the ring.

Rick Flair, Sean Michaels, Mr. Perfect. Like, you know, good sellers and keep the action moving. I mean, and, you know, over the top selling, but, you know, athletic. Yeah. How heartbroken were you that after you get there, you get released a few years later? I was shocked and heartbroken, but I also kind of felt like I would come back eventually. So it wasn't, you know, again, it was a tough time. That was a tough time for me because I was right in the middle of all that stuff we were talking about still.

So, you know, you're very kind of, you know, you feel like you wake up every day and you go about your business and you feel like you're sharp. But really, you're kind of living in a cloud a little bit. You know what I mean? So you're not your best self. Yeah, I just, I knew I'd come back. So I don't think it was like, oh, my God, my life is ruined. Why were you so sure you'd come back? Because of the circumstances.

Like, I was young and the mistakes I had made, you know, I was redeemable. You know what I mean? Like, I still hadn't had any real issues where I couldn't be redeemed or come back. And I knew Vince liked me and, you know. Yeah. They didn't want to release me, honestly. But it just, you know, I kind of probably at that point put them in a situation where they had to, based on everything that had been happening at the time.

You know what I mean? Like somebody has to be a fall guy sometimes. Yeah. I mean, especially if he's asking for it or he's, you know. Do you have any regrets about, like, when you were there, regrets about what you could have done, should have done? Yeah, but like pro wrestling, yes, because hindsight is always 2020.

And like, there's a lot of things I can look back on now that I see much clear now than I did back then. But, like, wrestling, it's tough. There's so much to it and you only learn really gradually with time, you know, to master all of it, whether it be the politics or the in-ring stuff or your character and your presentation, all that stuff. So there's a lot of stuff that I were probably done differently or that I wish I had known back then, but I know that I know now, right?

And like, you know, the part that breaks my heart is, you know, like over the last 10 years I've been, like, I'm so comfortable in the ring. It's my place of comfort. And I just know that I've had, you know, some of the best matches of my career and the fact that those aren't happening on, you know, a bigger platform. You know, that breaks my heart sometimes because it's like, you know, it'd be nice for people to be appreciate my work and see what I can do now and the fact that I can, you know, go out here and, you know, do everything pretty darn well.

And, but, you know, again, I'm also still grateful for the fact that I'm still, like, able to do it and I still wrestle in front of, you know, good fans every week, you know, like some bigger than others, obviously, it's the Indies, but, you know, they're still fun. Yeah, like that GCW show out here with Joey. Yeah. Well, it was so much fun. I don't know if fans realize you're not the masterpiece anymore. Like, this version of you that's wrestling in 2026 is so different than the version we saw

20 years ago. And he would be, but like, you know, obviously I'm, you know, I'm not like as massive as I but like I'm more of the kind of time. You're looking at these arms there. You're still, put those things away. Oh, yeah. I like that.

Still got it. Still got it. Clearly. This giant vein popping out of the camera. Yeah. Feeling good about that. Yeah. Well, you should.

Thank you. Should have worn a sleeveless. Oh, you still time. I need this shirt under here, apparently. You were saying? You've just, it's a different version of you. Oh, yeah. Well, you know, like,

man, I wish there's so, you to go back to what you're saying, like, when I watch myself now, like, you know, and I wish I would have done this from the very beginning, I would have just watched myself and just from a standpoint of when I was a fan, like, you know, put your fan head on of when you were eight or ten when you're watching yourself. And do you like your walk? Do you like your gear? Do you like your present? And like if you don't change it, you know what I mean? Or, you know, whatever. But, you know, it's much easier to, kind of please younger you, because there's more like you who will like it, too. You're not going to please everybody.

So I wish I would have just kind of looked at it from that standpoint and tried to make things easier, you know what I mean? And just, hey, you know, make yourself a fan of you. Yeah. You know, just start there and do the best you can with that? And, you know, do you like you? You got to at least like yourself. Were you watching the show when CM Punk mentioned you in that promo that was kind of like

a work shoot promo where he's like, you didn't call Chris Masters. It was right after you got released. Okay. Okay. You know, I didn't watch it live, but I do remember that I think Sam Punk had texted me that day. I think to give me awareness that he was going to say something. So, and we talked about this before, but, you know,

I appreciate it because, like, again, I know that it was, you know, work shoe angle, so, you know, they were using our names as kind of as part of a storyline. it's based on a shoot, right? But what I do appreciate it about it was what he had said. And because he had said that to me maybe a month or two months prior to that. So like to me, it was like, okay, yeah, I know they're using this. But at least he's saying something that's real. And he's saying like you really worked hard this last year. Yeah. And it's a compliment. Yeah. But like it's a compliment that he means that he said to me. And now he's expressing it to

everyone. And regardless of it's for a storyline, like I can appreciate that. And I respect that. And, you know, I've always had an appreciation for punk as far as, you know, when guys talk about, like, locker room leaders and stuff like that. I just felt like he was a guy who noticed, you know, I was. I was working hard. And for him to notice that and say that, I was like, all right, that's cool that. You know, because it's not necessarily something I felt like Cina would have brought up, right? Yeah.

How close do you think you were to get in that end of your way, World's Heavy Way championship? Oh, I don't think I was close. Honestly, I mean, you know, Billy Corrigan has in mind, you know, who he, this is one of those things where I don't, and that was part of the reason why I kind of left NWA is there was a point where I just felt like Billy wasn't really appreciated me and I felt like there was a point for that company where, you know, I was taking the opportunity seriously

and I was ready to run through a wall for that company. But, you know, I don't know. I just, you know, Billy just kind of really kind of de-emphasized how he was using me and I don't know. I was like, there was just the point where I didn't feel appreciated and I was like, I think I'm probably done with this. And, you know. Because you had that match with Tyrus for the championship.

Yep. What did you think about what people said online about that match? Wasn't you. Oh, I don't know. Yeah, they probably buried it, I'm sure, right? But, like, I mean, you know, what am I going to do? I'm doing, you know, the best I can with the situation. I mean, the thing is about Tyrus is he actually has great psychology and stuff like that.

You know what I mean? But, like, you know, just keeping the movement going was, you know, you know, the thing with it. So I don't know. I just knew I was like, I'm going to do the best I can with this. And, you know, he doesn't work regularly either, right?

So that was another thing, too, is like, you know, I find it's crazy nowadays how WWE only works one day a week in AW. Like, it's hard to, you know,

it doesn't surprise me that there's botches and stuff because timing and stuff is really, not to say we need to be working four days a week like we did, but they do need more than just Monday. Because you're basically, you're going basically from cold to Monday night wrong for a million. And like, you know, you might be a tick off and end up falling on your ass or whatever, getting injured.

But anyways, I'm getting off track, aren't I? Do you think about how much longer you want to do this? Yeah, I don't. Because you're 20 plus years in now. I know. It's so crazy. And you've done this your whole career? Yeah.

I don't know, you know, it's all I've ever loved. You know, it's kind of, I don't think I'm going to go beyond 50, honestly. like I do think at least I'm aging gracefully. You know what I mean? I'm like healthy. Sex of Jesus. Exactly. You know,

taking care of myself. So I'm just kind of not putting a number on it. I'm like, you know, I feel like physically my body will tell me at some point like, oh, you're probably not cut out to be taking these bumps or anything and, you know,

hopefully I'll listen. Yeah. Hopefully it's not like something where there's an injury or accident in the ring and it's like, well. Oh, well, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I hope not. But I, I meant more just in terms of probably wear and tear. Like, I try to be smart and not take unnecessary risks in matches nowadays. It's like, you know, I save it for, you know, if there's a place where I know the platform, you know, is appropriate to take that risk. You know what I mean? Enough people will see. So, you know,

I just try to be smart about that. And I'm also, you know, with a lot of the guys, I'm a lot of guys that work on the Indies, it might be the first time I'm working them. You know what mean? So that's another thing is just being like, you know, there's a bit of a feel out process with that. And there's certain things you might not trust that guy with initially because you haven't worked them before. Yeah. Right. Because I've bound into situations where I told guys they can do things in the match and then I feel them in the first couple of minutes and I start getting nervous. So I'm like, oh man, I don't know if I trust them to do that. You know, and that's always kind of a sucky situation because then you're like, okay, am I going to get killed? Do you make an audible where you're like,

hey, let's lay off that move now? I'm sure I have, but I can't think of one of the the top of my head, but I mean, I'm sure I have. Like, I don't do something if I'm not comfortable with it. I know you've been spending a lot of time with Brett Hart recently. Is there some wisdom he has bestowed upon you? Yeah, but I mean, you know, I don't even know if it was a lot about wrestling. I mean, we just talked a lot about life. And he took me to Owensgrave, me and, yeah, me and Mo, which was.

Calgary? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And he took, actually, actually, yeah. He took us for a tour of Calgary. on one of the days where I got an extra day there and so I remember him taking me by some of his schools and stuff

and telling me and Mo about you know the fights some of the fights he would have like the big like you know he's talked about him and Steve Austin like it was based off a little legit idea oh I keep dropping my water I'm sorry wine is not spilling for you no but um yeah he told us about some fights he had and about like the buildup to the fight and how he kind of related to pro wrestling

and I've heard him actually talk about this in the summer of interviews but, you know, it's really interesting him talking about, you know, kind of reminiscing about that stuff. And then, uh, yeah, you know, and I just hearing about a lot of the things from his perspective. You know what I mean? I know a lot of people go on about how Brett's bitter, but he's not actually bitter. He's just unfiltered. He'll just say, you know what I mean? He'll just say whatever he feels.

And obviously he doesn't, you know, he don't care. And so you kind of appreciate that in this day and age a little bit. You know what I mean? I just get the vibe that he's not afraid to speak his mind. You ask him a question in an interview. He's just going to tell you what he thinks. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, how about, you know, that last one he did? What was that in Toronto? Yeah, yeah. I texted him about that. And I kept telling him, like, to me, it was all about the way he kept saying it, like, that was just funny. They were, like, they were lovers. They were lovers. It's like, you know, he kept calling them.

I kept telling him, this is the way you said it. It sounds comedic. I understand you're trying to say it for real, but it sounds funny. You know, you sound like you're telling a dry joke that's just, you know, anyways. Give me the pitch for when they told you to pop your pecks to Crazy Train. I don't know whose idea that was, but I didn't like it right from the start. Because, you know, I knew it was going to be, I knew it was, I don't know, I didn't want to be doing comedic stuff really.

You know what I mean? But I also knew that there was a point where I was like, all right, well, if I'm going to do this, let me just try to do it the best I can. And so then I did it and the crowd really responded to it like crazy. and unfortunately is one of those situations where I look back and I'm like maybe I did it too good because then they kept wanting me to do it and then it was just like I just knew I'm like this is stupid like you know like this is funny once twice but to do it like if I was a fan like by the third time of it you know what I mean like enough like you know like it's not anyway so when I always think

about that like it was funny but I always hate the fact that it's like okay now let's do this every week in some fashion and like I was just like as a fan of I don't think I'd like this. You still got it? Oh, yeah, I can still, you know. Yeah. Me too, a little bit. Yeah, you've been working out, man.

Oh, that's working out with Chris Masters. Yeah. You got to do it to the beat of a song. Hey, you know what? So just while you mentioned that, so, you know, we lost Ozzy not that long ago. Yeah. And so a lot of the clips came up of that segment. And one thing I will say that I love about that is the genuine,

enthusiasm that, like, maybe you can roll that clip or in your edit or whatever, but when you see Ozzy's face, he is so, he just loves it. And like, to me, I thought that was really cool. Like, you know, after his past, oh, after his passing, I thought about this and I watched it, but I was like, man, that's really cool that I entertain Ozzy to that extent. Like, you know, he was really freaking, just thought it was hilarious and he was dying. That's amazing. Yeah, it's cool. Yeah. And, like, I was just, and, you know, Sharon was very flirtatious. It was pretty funny. Like, honestly, the funny thing about it is they wanted me to win, right? Like, but like, I don't think that's the way it was worked the whole thing.

There was some gimmick finish, but like, honestly, they, like, I actually won the freaking thing, like if we were doing it legit. So, uh, but I don't remember what the finish was. It was some, whatever, some angle or something. Well, look, man, it's always great to catch up with you. Yeah. You've been doing so much great stuff. The stuff you're doing in GCW, like I said, this is a different version of you.

Yeah, yeah. That's been, it's just been. I was really glad I got to do that show and work with them. You know what I mean? Joey Janelle is just amazing. I mean, I could tell from a moment I locked up with him. You can really tell everything you need to know about a lockup. Rick Flair used to do that.

That was his thing with guys. He would lock up. And I remember being green and not understanding. Like, how can you know everything you need to know by a lockup? But it's true. Because, like, if you lock up with a guy and he's real stiff like this, you know, like, oh, he's nervous, stressed or whatever. And also if he locks up and he's like a limb noodle, you all, you know what I mean?

like there's a feel to it. And like, I think the most nervous you get is when you got somebody who's real stiff. But like, you also know when you got somebody who's kind of a wet noodle, like, oh, this guy's just probably the shit. So, you know what I mean? But, you know, for a minute, I locked up with Joey. And like, I've worked with a lot of green guys recently, too. So, you know, they don't, they're still learning.

But, like, I locked up with Joey and it just like, oh, this feels just right. Like, this is going to be good. Yeah. And just need to, like, right away, you just, it just felt, you know. And for me, the reason I'm even really. is because I don't get that all the time now. Again, because I get a lot of guys who are learning the craft. So, you know, when you get one of your peers and a good dance partner, it's fun.

And especially when it's in Los Angeles. Yeah. So I'll ask you the same question. You've answered this before. Maybe your answers are different today. What are three things today, Chris, that you're grateful for? I'm grateful for my cats. What are their names?

Sam and Angel. Sam and Angel. I love those guys, man. I'm just, I'm a full-blown cat guy, man. I just love their energy. And Steve Austin with macho and poncho. Yeah. Solid-ass cats.

Solid-ass cat. I got to meet him. Yeah. Oh, dude, you did, right? They're solid-ass cats. Yeah. I love that he does that. Like, you never had on your bingo card, Steve Austin and cats, you know, and at this day.

He loves them. Oh, yeah. Well, and I'm the same way, man. You know, and I realize it's just the energy of them. You know, they have that energy to them. It can be very, I can be very uptight and stress and they can, you know, because they don't want to be around that and you don't want to be that way around them because they'll...

Yeah. So you know, it was such a wholesome moment. After we done the interview, I said, could we meet the solid-ass cats? He goes, yeah, they're probably over in the horse barn. So he walked over, he got, here, macho, here macho. This is amazing. Stone Colts calling his cats. I love it.

What a wholesome moment. So I'm grateful for the biceps that are still there, you know what I mean? Still got it. Damn. And grateful for the sexy Jesus hair. Said like a true heel. Exactly. I got some competition here. You had, what is it?

Ricky Saints not too long ago. Yeah, you had a good little heel interview. Yeah. Who else have I had the heel? Hairless Ms. I'm waiting for that one. Hairless miss. Oh, John Morrison. Yeah, yeah.

That one just aired. Yeah. Yeah. That's the first time a lot of people are seeing John Morrison with no hair. Yeah, I got to hear the story. Oh, you lost to hair versus hair. I know, but I want to hear more. Yeah.

Well, great to see you, man. Good to see you. Congrats on everything. Thank you. I'm.