Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Chris Masters On Bobby Lashley Using The Hurt Lock, Returning At The Royal Rumble, NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship

Episode Date: January 12, 2023

Chris Masters (@chrismasters310) is a professional wrestler known for his time in WWE and also in IMPACT Wrestling and NWA where he performs under the name Chris Adonis. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood, CA to talk about getting signed to WWE when he was 22 years old, his impressive bodybuilding physique, the people he looked up to as a kid including Mr. Perfect, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart and Ric Flair, the changes he has made both personally and professionally over the last 2 years, his pitch to make a return at the Royal Rumble, his thoughts on Bobby Lashley using the Hurt Lock and much more! For more information about Chris Van Vliet 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 going. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van! Greetings and salutations, my friends. Welcome back to another audio adventure on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. I've said it before, and I will say it many, many more times. I haven't met a Chris that I don't like. And that holds so true with my friend Chris Masters.

This is our third interview together. You can check out our last one. It was in April of 2020. and he's just such a laid-back, easy-going, California type of guy. I love chatting with him. And I think there's a lot of people that only remember Chris Masters from his two stints in WWE, and they really haven't seen anything that he's been up to since he left WWE in 2011. And he's been up to a lot since then.

We get into it during this conversation, maybe possibly a run at the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship. He's been doing some great stuff in NWA under the name Chris Adonis. He also pitches a really fascinated idea for a return at the Royal Rumble. I mean, Bobby Lashley was the first person to break the MasterLock. Bobby Lashley now uses that move. He calls it the Hurt Lock, so maybe we could set up some sort of MasterLock versus Hurtlock type of thing. Snap a screenshot. Let us know that you're listening to this and tag us so we can share it out.

Chris Masters is at Chris Masters 310 on Instagram. On Twitter, he's the alter ego. He is Chris Adonis on Twitter. So just at Chris Adonis. I'm at Chris Van Vleet and hey, Phil D-115. Thank you so much for this review on Apple Podcast. This is a really nice one. Thank you, Chris, is what it says.

Like many people, I suffer from anxiety. My mind races and I just need something calm to listen to or watch on YouTube. We can always count on you, Chris, to provide calm, peaceful, and entertaining interviews. Thank you, Chris. Time to pick up an episode on YouTube to watch. Five stars. Man, that is very kind.

I appreciate that, and I will keep reading one review on every single episode because, man, it's been so cool seeing the show climb up the charts over the last month or so. So I really appreciate you guys. Let's dive into this.

Please welcome the masterpiece, Chris, Masters. I feel like anything could happen here in Hollywood. Like right before we started, someone was trying to deliver randomly food to the door here. This is, uh, and now we're making this happen. We're making this interview happen here. Actually, I ordered Uber Eats is what it was. Yeah. I, you know, I just, I thought it would get here in time, but unfortunately starting the interview. It's so good to see you again and so glad, I'm so glad we're able to do this in person. The last interview we did was great, but, you know, it was, it's never the same over Zoom. It's never the same. Well, it was in the middle of the pandemic, wasn't it?

Yeah, and like, you know, life's a little bit different. Yeah, oh, very different. We're totally on the other side of that, at least in terms of like being able to meet in person and do this stuff now. Thank God. Yeah, and what people don't know, maybe they've seen the clips online. We did a little workout, Gold's Gym workout. We did that last week, technically last year. And this is a good little tease.

Look a little teaser to go check that interview out, that podcast, that workout out when it happens. So, you know, I did want to ask you now. that you brought that up. So how are your arms feeling? Yeah, it was, it was pretty deadly. Well, I mean, well, you did also take a master lock at the end. So between the arms and the neck, yeah. You're doing okay. Real. I was hurting. Hey, man, you were to, you were in some street credit taking that master log, though, although that thing's no joke. Hey, you tried to give me the sweet chin music. Yeah. It was more like sweet shin music, but it's okay. Oh, come on. Hey, you're taking a lot of heat online. I was. I posted that clip and I'm like, oh, man,

I'm so proud of this. I go for the sweet chin music. You would turn it around into a master lock. I can't get out of it. And there's all these people online. Everybody's a hater online. Yeah, you thought it was going to be like your barbershop moment, right? You thought you were going to super kick me and then throw me through the window at Gold's Gym Venice.

But, uh-uh. No. I saw it coming. The best thing is you catch my super kicking, you go, are you kidding me? I did. And then you turned it into the master lock. I was like, oh my gosh. How could he do this?

I just put him through a masterpiece. armwork out. I just taught you secrets that I've acquired over the last 20 years and then you're going to repay me like that. Unbelievable, Chris. I'm so sorry. But I will, I will stand true to I've never met a Chris that I don't like. And, you know, we did talk about this, and that is saying something because there's about a million of us. I mean, it's not a unique name at all. I don't know about you. I'm named after my grandfather. So, like, my parents, like, which I'm obviously incredibly honored to be named after my grandfather, who's an incredible man who's still with us. But I feel like my parents weren't really, they weren't really trying here, you know?

It's like, you know, like, that's good enough. Yeah, no, anybody who chose Christopher or Christopher name without, they weren't trying hard. When we were growing up, Christopher, Michael, Jonathan, like, when the teacher was reading the names, there was three of each of those, at least in every classroom. Did you, and you're Christopher as well. I'm Christopher, yeah. But did, like, are you okay with Christopher or? Were you as a kid?

As a kid, my mom forced people to call me Christopher. Like, my friends would call and be like, hi, is Chris there? She'd be like, no, but Christopher is. And I'd be like, come on, mom, come on. What about you? Yeah, I don't know. I didn't like Christopher. There was something about the tougher that got to me as a kid.

You've got a lot of syllables between your first name and your last name, too. Yeah, that's why they change it to Masters. They were like, this is too much. Christopher Todd Mordetsky. So what did we got there? That's six, sevens? a lot of syllables. Too much.

Chris Masters. Who came up with that? Don. Well, Don, this is, actually, you know what?

I just found this out recently. I just walked into OVW one day, and they just told me my name was Masters, but I never really investigated, like, who came up with this Masters? It was just, like, given to me.

You are this. Yeah. It's like, okay. And then I, you know, Dr. Tom now works with us, Dr. Tom Pritchard and NWA,

and he actually told me the story about how he came up with Masters. and it actually came from a, another wrestler. Forgive me, Dr. Tom. I can't remember all the details, but he told me the story about how he came up with it. I was like, wow, I'm finding this out

20 years later. This is amazing. I can't believe you didn't know that before. No, I mean, honestly, that's how it happened. I walked in the OVW. Nobody told me who came up with it. I don't even remember.

I guess it might have been Dr. Tom who told me initially, but they just told me, you're Chris Masters now. That's how it works. You know, there were a lot of comments on that video that not only were they making fun of my super kick,

there were people that were doubting that you were Chris Masters. Yeah, like the Ultimate Warrior when he came back at WrestleMania 8 that one time. A fake Ultimate Warrior? Oh, my gosh. By the way, I never felt for that. When he came back, I was so fired up, and I always

believe that was him. Why did he look so different? Oh, you know, it's just, you know, the hair was shorter and he was about 10, 15 pounds lighter. And that kind of goes to what you're saying. Like, some people still, they saw me and they're thinking, you know, they'll always identify me as that 275-pound huge guy that they first, met back, you know, in like 2005. But, you know, I'm a very different guy now. You know what I mean?

Like, and I feel like I'm still a stud, but I'm not, you know, I'm not 275 pounds. I'm 260 pounds. I'm more, you know, athletic as opposed to just being muscle bound and, you know, more comparable to the workers that, you know, that I really looked up to and emulated when I was growing up more. So I'll, but then again, I mean, I did love the ultimate warrior. He got me into watching wrestling. But as time went on, the guys who I really, just looked up to and like admired where the Mr. Perfect, Flair, Brett the Hitman, Hart, Sean Michaels, of course. I mean, those were my guys. But it's interesting because those were your guys, but it was your body that got you noticed. It was your body that got you in. And then, you know,

you just kind of by default, become a body guy then. Oh, yeah, totally. I didn't even see that coming, honestly. I just knew that when I first started in UPW, I started the same day as John Sina and this other guy, Basil. And I had already started working out, you know what I mean? But I wasn't, and I had made progress, but I wasn't like ready, ready yet. And like when I got there, I saw the way those guys were built. And also, just like all the wrestlers we grew up on it, it wasn't any big secret. Like, oh, I got to really kind of invest time in the gym and, like, really build, you know, build myself up. But like, like you said, I didn't really see that coming.

I didn't think I was going to be a body guy, so to speak. But, like, I kind of figured that out pretty early on, like when I got to OVW, like, oh, you're kind of falling into this class. Like, because everybody was muscular, but it was like, I was. was on that level like, oh, well, you're straight up like body guy, you know what I mean? Because like from here up like delts and traps and chest, like you were gigantic. Yeah. And you know what separated me? And a lot of people don't realize it. It wasn't even the size. It was really the muscle maturity that I had for such a young age. Like guys don't usually have that. They can be big and, you know, it can still be impressive. But to be, have like that mature look where you're vascular and shredded and all that stuff.

Because you were what, like 23? 22, yeah. Like, I really, you know, by the time I was 19, I was basically a kind of like masterpiece shape, you know what I mean? Like there was a transformation that happened from 16 and 18, you know, because I got hurt when I first went to wrestling school, but I saw Sina and I saw that other guy, Basil. And, you know, I had surgery on my ankle,

but then I just realized like, okay, I got to really, let me step away from wrestling. I'm too young. I'm 16. I'm already hurt. And let me focus. on the weight training aspect. And maturing just as a person. You're only 16.

And I took a bodybuilding as a hobby. And that's what kind of, you know, it's funny because it led to all this. You know, like the body guy has this kind of, you know, context of like, oh, somebody who doesn't like appreciate wrestling or wasn't a fan or just got in because of their body. But really, for me, it was I've always been a wrestling fan since I was yay tall, you know, since I was seven years old. So, like, for me, that was the only thing that kind of. of bothered me about the body guy stigma. It's like, oh, you know what I mean? Like, it kind of hurt for

fans to think that I was just some guy who was gifted with a body who got in. Like, no, I started working out because I wanted to wrestle. You know what I mean? It just, I ended up, you know, falling into that. And that's fine. You know what I mean? Hey, like you said, it was my ticket in. Sure. The fact that I was built like that and that, like, it was really, it was my ticket in. And do you remember your first impressions of John Cena the first time you saw him in UPW? Oh, just, you know, impressive, just physically. so impressive, you know, and, you know, big personality, just like, you know, everybody knows now. And, you know, I think everybody just kind of felt like he was going to have some degree of

success. But, I mean, I don't think any of us really knew that he would necessarily be like the whole Kogan of this generation. So, you know, but it was funny, man, because I can still remember how us in the ring training those first couple months and just, you can only imagine how clunky it was. And just like, I just always, I have this flashback, you know, there was a guy named Andrew Bernardsky, a good guy. He was on, he played leather face on the chainsaw movies. He was on the program. A lot of people who knows he was a big guy, but he's training for wrestling.

He went to a leg drop Sina from the second rope and literally landed with his ass straight on Cena's head. My God. Yeah, like, he almost ended the franchise before he ever became the franchise. You know what I mean? And so, you know, those were just, I don't know, those were my impressions, you know what I mean? Like, and then, you know, by the time I came back to UPW, like Sina was already on his way.

So it was kind of like, you know, we were always a couple of years kind of behind each other. and, you know, we were never really close, though, which was always interesting. We're just very different guys. The really interesting thing about the era of WWE that you came up in was the era of the vignette. Like, you were over before you even debuted, and that doesn't really happen anymore.

No, it doesn't. Now, those vignettes were cool, too. I remember I saw those not too long ago, because I know that Conrad Thompson did something to wrestle with Bruce Pritchard, and they use those vignettes to kind of promote it. And I was like, oh, my God, I haven't seen these in like years, but they were pretty cool, right? So cool.

I was even having flashbacks to, because I was on this rotating platform, and I remember Vince coming in and directing the whole thing. And, you know, Vince must have loved working with you. Like, you were exactly what he was looking for, I feel like. Well, I wasn't. I wasn't. If you think about it, remember for a while there, WWE was kind of straight away from body guys a bit because of the whole 1993. trial and everything. But like, you know, I also still look like an athlete. And I know for certain that I reminded Vince of Paul Orndorff to the extent where they even had Paul Orndorff work with me

when we did WrestleMania 21. Coincidentally, coincidentally out here in L.A., which it's going to be here again now, like 20 years later. I love how they pretend it's in Hollywood. WrestleMania in Hollywood, it's like, oh, not really. You know how it is. It's branding. I feel like you could just as easily say Los Angeles and it means the same. thing. That would make a lot more sense. Yeah, I think so too. But like, anyways, what were we? Paul Orndorff in WrestleMania 21. Oh, yeah, you know, it was really

interesting though. So like, you know, they have the ring set up for WrestleMania, like, so you can, if you need to go over anything or whatever. So, but they specifically designated some time for me to work with Paul, which was, you know, looking back, unbelievable, right? To be able to work with Paul Orndorff. And I just remember

him trying to teach me about like real intensity and how to translate that in the ring and me just being so young and green though that it's just it was just so you know next level for me like i wasn't you know i was hearing it but being able to receive that as a 20 year old and under all these different circumstances and pressure like it's like what he was trying to show me i think is what you build up when you go through life you know i mean because you build up these like this edge from like you know because good stuff happens but also bad things happen right and then those bad things

you know you build those calluses and like you build that rage that that that that anger that and you know not necessarily negative anger but you know anger that can be channeled in positive ways like do pro wrestling so i just think i was like too young to really receive what he was giving me but it was still useful obviously information to take in and you you were on the fast track fast track to success in w and i wonder how different your path would have been had you got signed at 28 or 29 like after you had spent some time finding yourself and then going to WWE and having these lessons taught to you. Yeah, and the funny thing is, so my whole goal when I was around, you know,

we were talking about that time when I was like 16 to 18 was, I knew what I wanted to do and I just wanted to get there as young as possible. And I did that. Yeah. But like, so when I feel like there's a lot of value though, and when I talk to kids now, I will tell them, like, you might not, like, let's say you do want to be a wrestler and you don't see like, oh, I don't see any use for school now because I want to do that. But the thing is, is whether you're going to use that history, class, or literature, like, in school, you pick up life skills that you need to carry on into your adult life and your profession.

So, like, yeah, you might not specifically need certain things, but you are still acquiring tools. And, like, so I tell kids, I'm like, that's great if you know what you want to do. Like, that's one of the greatest things ever because, like, it's hard if you don't, right? I've seen it. Sure. But, like, don't fast track it, you know, go finish school, go through, you know, whatever you need to. I'm not necessarily saying you have to go to college, but like in my case, I didn't even finish high school. Once I got to about the, from the 10th to the 11th grade, I knew 100% I wanted to wrestle.

I started working a job. And like, I just didn't prioritize school and it just got to the point where it didn't even make sense going. You know what I mean? And but like I'm happy to say now, like, so I, you know, I tell kids, you know, do that because then you can always go into whatever you want to right after. There's not a big rush, you know what I mean? But like, you know, you fast forward now. And like last time I was talking to, you know, I was staying with my dad in Michigan during the pandemic. And I started going back to school.

You know, I decided, you know what? These are life skills that I still need to pick up. Like, yeah, they might not apply. Like, it might not translate to a job for me. But like, hey, why not learn history? Hey, why not, you know, improve literature? Hey, why not see if you can pass a math class. You know what I mean?

Which I was able to do all those. And it was like, it was really a great. confidence booster for me because I hadn't been in any kind of educating, you know, circumstances in what 20 years outside of like wrestling and critiquing wrestling and psychology of wrestling and all that kind of stuff. So for me, it almost felt like, man, do I even have the attention span to get through a math class and pass it? And, you know, I did. So that was amazing. Is this to get a college degree? No, I was literally, you know, we were in the pandemic. And, you know, everybody handled the pandemic differently. You know what I mean? Like it was, it was a tough time.

for all of us. But like, for me, the first few months were very tough, you know what I mean? Because you don't know, you have no money coming in, you know, especially as an independent contractor. I went through a breakup with my girlfriend, you know, who you know, I believe. And, you know, so then, you know, I just, I went to stay with my dad and I just started thinking of like, well, what can I do productive in this time to better myself? And I just started thinking of myself, like, because, you know, it just kind of felt like

my ex-girlfriend had always stressed growing as a person to me. And I didn't understand what she's saying. I'm like, I am me, like, love me for who I am. But like, you know, it was finally after I kind of, we broke up and, you know, going through that. And then honestly, getting all that time for reflection. Because we all had like that whole pandemic and you handle it how you did. It's like, it really gave me time to reflect on the last 15 years or so of my life and

kind of what I had done and not done and what had derailed me. And, you know, I just knew that I had to do a lot of things to kind of like get my stuff in order. And so like that's where like the education thing was strictly just for the education. It wasn't for any like outcome or like, oh, I'm going to go to school for this trade. Like it was literally just to have it. So that's where it began. That's where the personal growth began was with going back to school. Yeah.

Well, and I didn't even anticipate it. Again, it was just like, you know, I got away from here in L.A. I got to Michigan. I was staying on a lake. And it just gave me a chance to like, okay, now I can settle my thoughts. It was far less busy than it is here in the big city. Yeah. And yeah, it just, a lot of things happened.

Like, I did that. Like, there was a lot of debts I had to settle all kinds of little things like that, like life things, you know what I mean? And then, you know, another thing, one of the most important things that happened, too, was like, you know, all this personal growth is going on as far as, like, educating myself and just, you know, just overall awareness of like, okay, who I am and what has happened to get here. And one of the huge things for me was getting in touch,

you know, not just the personal growth, but professional growth. And that came from getting in touch again with the wrestling fan. The guy from before, you know, because you get into the wrestling bubble and it's hard because then it's your job and stuff like that. So like I really spent a lot of time reflecting on stuff, but I also got in touch with like the seven, eight-year-old

who just started watching wrestling. And like a seven, eight year old version of you? Yes, of me. Exactly. And like what did he love about wrestling? What would he like about his favorite performers? And like, like, you know, I essentially became a fan again for a point in time there. But then like it was just more about like how do I translate that?

Like how do I make that seven or eight year old a fan of Chris Masters, the masterpiece or Chris Adonis? And like, you know, I just started looking at all. the different aspects of wrestling, you know what I mean? There's so many different aspects, whether it be your gear, your presence, you know, politics, you know what I mean? Even just like selling, like, and just, you know, just seeing how, like, what I can do, like, what mattered to me as a fan. What matter to me and what can make me a fan of Chris Masters. And so, like I, you know, through that, it was, it gave me a chance to kind of evolve. the bit as a performer, you know what I mean? And some things just kind of fell on my lap, but, you know,

it was just an NWA obviously came on too, which has been a tremendous place to work and a great place for me to kind of show who I am in 20, 23 now, which is, you know, a very, you can see in the ring, like you've had a lot of growth. And that's zero disrespect to Chris Masters and the work you did in WWE. But if someone hasn't seen you wrestle in 10 years and they tune in now, They be shocked. Absolutely. Well, and that was the thing. Like, I just knew that, like, okay, through all of that, I started figuring out, like,

what can I do to change my year or just, you know, all those little things. But then it was also like, all right, man, like you, for the last 15, 20 years, you spent a lot of those years not being the best version of yourself, whether it be because of drugs or just lack of focus or whatever. And, like, you know, and you always had in your mind because you got in so early like, oh, I have so much time. But the thing is, I knew coming out of the pandemic, it's like, no, no, no, this, the level of urgency is this is it.

Like, I need to come out here. There's no holding back at this point anymore. There's no, there is no tomorrow. You know what I mean? I'm 39 years old, but like the beauty of that is I'm in this unique position where I have 20 years of pro wrestling experience from some of the best ever throughout that. And I also haven't reached a few. physical decline. So like I have this kind of like this this point in time where I can really

capitalize and I think put on some of the best work of my career. And so like I'm just taking advantage of that. And again, at the bare minimum for me, this sport, this line of work is so important to me that even if I didn't get a big opportunity again in, you know, whether it be WW or whatever, it's important to me to be able to look back on my last few years and professional wrestling and know that like and be proud of that body of work you know what I mean I want to be proud of all of it obviously but really be proud of it because I mean I can honestly say this for a good for a good first 90% of my career I wasn't even a fan of me it wasn't even until in the last year that I was able to watch myself and be like you know actually not be so critical that I can't watch it and like

you know making the Instagram reels was the thing that kind of actually made me do that in conjunction with all this. It's like, okay, so I have to advertise, you know, Instagram, we're able to monetize it, but also I want to advertise myself. And so I was forced to watch my matches. And, you know, because a lot of times I got to the point where I would know if it was good or not. I didn't even have to watch it. And I knew I was going to be so critical that I was like, bah, probably just shouldn't. But now I had to. And like, honestly, it was the first time in my career, I watched myself. I was like, oh, wow, that sell was pretty damn good. And then. Yeah, you're selling so good now. Yeah. And like little. And, but like, and I don't mean that.

It doesn't meant to sound arrogant because it was, I had an aha moment there where you also realize that you have to be able to be a fan of yourself. You can't expect anybody else to be a fan of you if you're not a fan of you. And like, I realized that really quick. And I was like, oh, yeah, this was an important piece of the puzzle that needed to be tended to. But like, you know, yeah, it came late, but, you know, better late than never, right? But like, you know, it's an interesting thing to say, but like, you know you need to be a fan of yourself. Yeah. we're both the same age, and you turn 40 next week. I turn 40 in May. Does that number

kind of mean something different to you when what you do for a living is so physical. You can't do this forever. Yeah, absolutely it does. And that's why like everything I said to you, range true, talking about the urgency and all that, because, you know, I do understand that at least, you know, yeah, I've acquired all the knowledge and information, and I've been, you know, I've seen almost every then you can see a professional wrestling, but physically, you know, there will be a decline somewhere. You know what I mean? So, but I also then at the same time, I look at some of the guys in this business who are having the most success of their careers, speaking of like Bobby Lashley and AJ Stiles and Jericho.

Yeah, like, I mean, honestly, when you look at professional wrestling, it's the type of work where really you can kind of peak in your 40s because, I mean, yeah, it's competitive, but we're competitive in a different way, right? And we do work with each other. And it's just that kind of, and honestly, it's such an art form that it almost takes that long to really kind of, I don't even want to say master it.

You know what I mean? Exactly. But like it really is, it's an art form that you're continuing to develop. And that's actually what makes it fun is like anybody who feels like they have this shit figured out in the first three years, the first six years, even the first 10 years,

no, you don't. But that's the beauty of it is you're constantly learning and getting better because there's so many little aspects to it. You know what I mean? It's not just what you see. It's not just, oh, it's a fight between two guys. It's an art for, man. The selling, the offense, the believability, you know what I mean? The showmanship.

The all of that stuff packaged together. Since you brought him up, I feel like there's something there with Bobby Lashley, some, some unfinished business that could be settled in WWE at some point. I'm glad you brought that up. You hit all the good points. Yeah. So, you know, all of this stuff has happened. And, like, I've never even thought about going back to WWE, honestly, because, and then it's not out of anything bitter. It's just, you know, I had a couple runs there and it ended the way it did.

And, you know, I just realized that my love is for professional wrestling, even if it's not with WWE. But, you know, with all everything that I've gone through the last couple of years. And then also seeing Shelton, Carlito, MVP, all my buddies, you know, I finally see. started, you know, looking at it. And it was more out of this, what you just mentioned. It was more not out of Chris Masters coming back. It was more out of, because I remember what, through getting in touch with that young wrestling fan, I remember what is it that we're always looking for? We're looking for that, oh, shit moment. You know what I mean? Like that ultimate warrior comeback at wrestling. And it's not to say anything I could do could measure to that, but the Bobby

Lashley scenario is fascinating because I haven't been there for so long. But everybody knows. Everybody knows that the Hurtlock is the Master Lock and that he's the first person to break the master lock. Oh, there's a lot of connections there. I'm kind of like a ghost from his past at this point. But like, I just feel like, you know, in the right scenario, you know, you have Lashley dominating with the Hurt Lock. And then you were to hear that OG Chris Masters theme. I feel like, and again, this more is because everybody, you know, I feel like since I've kind of started with

in last year and this year to petition for the Rumble. Again, it's not, and I don't feel like I'm ever coming back to WW full time. For me, it would just be, it would be great to come back to the Rumble to, you know, sort of make amends with certain people within the company, but also, I'm to show, like you were saying before, show the WW universe, the polished performer that I've become. And like, yeah, I wasn't able to do it there, unfortunately, but I did get there. And so for me, there would be, that would feel good. And like, again, but the biggest thing being about that, oh, shit moment of having that moment of me coming down the aisle and having, like, some guy, you know, sitting next to his buddy, slap on the chest.

Like, oh, my God, it's Herlock, Master Lock. It's going to happen. That's what it's about. So, like, it's really not out of the place of selfishness. We're like, let's have a Chris Masters come back full time. But, like, for all those reasons, it would be awesome. What are your thoughts of Bobby Lashley using the Hurdlock? People ask me this all the time. I mean, like, the thing is, is if you were to look at the situation and you see that Bobby

Lashley was the one to break it, it only makes sense for him with me not being there to kind of be the guy to adopt it. Yeah. But it doesn't change the fact that the master lock is the OG. And I know a lot of people are going to bring up Hercules and Ken Paterra, but we're talking about in the modern era, ladies and gentlemen. Sure. So, I mean, I think Hurtlock, Master Lock would still be kind of interesting.

But, like, you know, it only makes sense for Bobby. I've never came out on, like, some dirt sheets and buried Bobby. And, like, here's the thing. Think about this. I mean, from my standpoint, would you rather have Bobby Lashy adopted or some guy maybe that they push for a month who doesn't even amount? I don't know. You know what I mean?

Like, it's just one of those things where... Yeah, if someone's going to use that move, Bobby Lash is a pretty good person be using Hibb. Yeah, and I've seen, you know, you've seen certain wrestlers throughout history. Well, after they've worked somebody, we'll kind of adopt some, like, you've seen HBK do that a number of times, you know what I mean? Like, after he worked, uh, Benoit, I think he used the cross face. I know that's taboo to even bring up, but like, you know, like, so it only makes sense.

And then him being the guy to break the master lock again, it just, and like, he's such a physical specimen. Like, like, so with all that being said, you can't really argue, like, okay, if somebody's knew the full Nelson, he broke it. He looks the way he does. He's like a mutant. I can't believe that he still looks this way, too. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

He's looked the same for 20 years. Yeah, right? It's like he hasn't even aged a day. I remember him from OVW, too. So I've known him since way back then. He was my very first wrestling interview in January of 2007. How'd that go? I mean...

He's a little quiet. It's on YouTube. I wasn't very good either back then. It's on YouTube if people want to check it out. Isn't it funny watching your old stuff? You're probably just like, oh, my God. Yeah, but I mean, it's the same for you. Like, if you're not watching your old stuff and you're cringing a little bit,

you're not heading in the right direction. Oh, I told you, I spent 15 years cringing. Geez, like, I finally able to actually watch it. Like, even stuff from like six months ago, I'm looking at going, why did I ask it like that? Like, what am I doing? Constantly trying to push yourself and be better. I think that's what's all about, though.

You know, when you're, when you're passionate about what you do, you're constantly trying to perfect it. And it's just the never-ending thing. But again, you just have to learn to kind of embrace that rather than like, you know, I now that I have all this experience, it's funny because I go to these indie shows and I get a lot of guys in the early 20s and stuff. And they'll come to me of revise and stuff and, you know, maybe something doesn't go right.

But I try to help them see the beauty in that. It's like, you know, the more of these kind of F-ups you can acquire and then have to kind of either salvage or work your way through, that's acquiring the experience so that next time you're in that situation, you're that much smarter in it. So, like, learn to embrace the mistakes. You know, everything's not going to be perfect and, like, you're going to fuck up. And if you didn't, like, what the hell? You know what I mean? Like, it's better to have some kind of feedback than nothing, you know? Yeah, and like you said, like, it's constantly learning. You have to adapt that student mentality. And I remember watching

this docu-series about Tom Brady. It was called Tom versus Time. And it was 39. It was a when they lost the Super Bowl and then ended up coming back and winning it the next year. And he was working with a quarterback coach like privately on his own time and I'm like, the greatest of all time

is working with a quarterback coach and the quarterback coach was saying people don't work with me to like get a lot better. People work with me to get 1% better because when you're in the NFL, when you're in the WWE, when you're in the NWA,

1% is a ton. And that's something that's always really stuck with me is like just trying to always get a little bit better. Oh, and when you say that, and I don't know if Brady maybe adopted some of this, it's Mamba mentality. It's Kobe Bryant. Because Kobe Bryant's, the whole idea of Mamba mentality is it doesn't matter what you do, but it's applying your utmost to it. You're doing it to the best of your ability and constantly improving yourself. Every day it's a constant, every day you're constantly searching for a way to improve.

So that's kind of a big thing that I've just adopted. It's like, you know, for a long time, it was just, okay, like, okay, today I'll go to the gym. But now it's like, okay, you know what I mean? Like, that's not enough. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, you're always done that. But, you know, you got to, that's kind of where the education thing came in. It was like, okay, I've been training my physical body for so long.

It's like, wow, I got to put this brain to work, man. Like, what the heck, you know? And at least with the physical body, you can look in the mirror and go, oh, this is working and this is working. My arms are bigger. My shoulders are bigger. You can't look in a mirror and go, oh, that book I read is really making me, smarter. Well, that's true, but then you, you know, when you get the test results and you

pass, at least you get that, you know what I mean? That's true. I got to say that, you know, getting the email that I passed math class felt better than probably. Hey, congrats. Yeah, felt better than probably. You're Chris Mathurst now. Ouch, that's going to be hard to say. That was a really bad one. But Kobe, what a loss. Like, I remember hearing the news and just being like, And what a huge loss because for as good as he was in his MBA career, he was embarking on some incredible things in his post-basketball career. He just won an Oscar. And he was taken from us like far, far too soon.

And I know you're a huge Lakers fan. So I know it affected you even more than, you know, the average basketball fan. Oh, man, I was so hurt by it. I was so shocked by it that I couldn't even read it. I handed it to my ex-girlfriend to have her read it to me. It's like, is this real? Found out it was real. And then I just drove to the Staples Center.

And me, and there was thousands of others, which I knew there would be. And we didn't even say anything, man. We were just all out there morning because what Kobe represented to Los Angeles, the only way to kind of equate it is like if there was really a Gotham city and a Batman. It's like losing Batman. And so like, yeah, it was hurtful. And like you were talking about like, for a long time Kobe like nationally and inter, well, not internationally, but nationally was kind of a heel.

But like post career, he turned such baby face. He was like father of the year. He was helping all the NBA plus. And it's like he kind of, when he stepped away from the NBA, you just saw that kind of that competitive edge kind of stripped away, but in the best possible way. You know what I mean? It was now he was a much happier guy.

He didn't always feel like he didn't have that chip on his shoulder as much. And he was more welcoming and giving to the world. Yeah. So like, yeah, it was a huge loss. And like, you know, now that, you know, Kobe really signified to me. the beginning of a lot of messed up stuff because it was like Kobe happened then the pandemic started and then Shad Gaspard happened and like I always look back to those three things as the start of wow like a roller coaster ride of uh you know you know all of that but those are three like big

things that anybody can look at and go wow those are three unfortunate things for you those were three pretty personal things that in a time when we really couldn't hang out with other people or travel or for you do your job that must have been tough yeah it was it was it was really tough and it was just it was weird because it was so different like Kobe was like you know somebody obviously looked up to you very much but didn't know personally so like it hurt but it hurt and so like such a different way from shad who i did know personally who was like a brother and like i'm not trying to compare or anything it's just like you know Well, they're both losses.

Yeah, it's just, but they're very different losses, too, but they both hurt, like, you know, a lot. Yeah. And so, yeah, it was just, it was really tough time, you know, it was, it was nice to a lot of people were able to come out for his funeral, even despite the circumstances and being able to see, you know, like Carly and Shelton and Mickey James. And there was a lot of us out here. So that was nice. But it was just a weird time. I mean, especially, like, the Shad story for instance. I mean, both of them, think about it, like Kobe and a hell of him.

helicopter like my god and then chat a beach day like people like a beach day nobody dies on a beach day is just like and he saves his son's life like that's the part that's well i mean he died a legend because of that too and like the thing is is he invited me to the beach like a week before that you know to hang out so like that's why i it and i live very close by i live literally just a couple blocks um east of where, kind of where he was at. So, like, I remember just, I remember being out there and being very close to it in Marina Del Rey, which was very close. And then they hadn't found his body yet and just waking up in the morning to walk the dog and just remembering like, God, my friend's just out there. And, like, I literally did walks on my own with various people who were coming to the area.

Like John Morrison came out and Kira and we did a walk on the beach and we were just like, you know, if nobody, because, you know, they wouldn't do the search 24-7. But, like, you know, you'd almost feel like a responsibility of a friend. It's like, well, we should just walk out there. I mean, it would be scary, obviously, to find him. But, like, it would also be hurtful to know that, like, we're that close and we're not, at least on the beach of Logan, taking a walk down the beach in case, you know what I mean? So what's your favorite Shad memory or Shad's story?

Oh, my gosh. You're putting me on the spot with that one. But everybody just talks about, like, he had this energy about him. And he was always just like a larger than life character. Well, and that's what it was. That's what it was. He was like a brother. He really was like a brother to us.

Like, because any one of his brothers will tell you, like, he could annoy a lot of us. But, like, he was exactly what you said. Like, he was always upbeat, always positive. Like, he was the guy, you know, like, I remember walking into the gym with Matt Seidel one time. And, you know, we're very much on our Zen, just getting ready to work out. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere. And this was very typical, Shad. Shad comes behind him, bare hug Seidel and lifts him up into it.

the air. You know, again, Seidel's on his end. So he's not really, he's not really feeling this kind of treatment out of nowhere. You know what I mean? It's kind of rocking his world a little bit. So, and Chad would do this stuff all the time. And that like, and so, you know, after Shad passed, I remember looking back at some of the stuff and like, you know, sometimes like, you know, I'd always see him at the gym and I'd be like kind of annoyed because it's like, man, I just want to work out. He's going to want to chat. And I'm like, I just want to train. Yeah. But like, again, every time he came around, he was always so positive. He was always smiling.

He was always upbeat. He was always so enthusiastic about the stuff he had going on, which again, that kind of of drove me crazy because it was such an LA thing. I'm like, I didn't ask you all of that, man. I'm just trying to work out. But, you know, it's funny how you look back at certain things and you're like, you know, something that might have annoyed you in the moment. It's like, well, shit, man.

He was that enthusiastic about what he had going on, man. There's a lesson there. I don't know if I've even talked about this. I was supposed to interview him like two or three weeks before he passed away. I was in L.A. right before I moved here. And we were setting it up and our schedules just didn't click. And if I could have made that happen, I would have. And I just feel like a real sense of regret.

Like that could have been such an incredible conversation. I wish I could have been able to share that with him. But I truly feel like everything does happen for a reason. Yeah, it's one of those things. Like when you said it and it just didn't happen. It was just like, well, you know, what can you? You would have never, yeah, you would never have anticipated. And like, the thing is is, yeah, Shad could have told you a lot, but, man,

Shad's actions before he passed told everybody kind of really what they need to know. I mean, you could always look further, but like his heroic actions and like that kind of tells you the character of him and how, you know, he wasn't a selfish guy. You know what I mean? It was like, so even though he didn't, you didn't get to sit down with him, I think, you know, his story will be told for generations. It's unforgettable. I got looped into some tweet the other day where NWA was asking, like, who should get a title shot this year for the World's Heavyweight Championship? And I said, what about Chris Adonis? And then NWA says, we like the sound of that.

And then Tyrus is like, you should be the special guest referee. So I feel like somehow here, we have invented a storyline. Yeah, you're being roped into this one. I'm like, yeah, big time again. I'm in. Yeah, I just wonder who you're. your allegiance is going to beat you. But, like, no, that's a serious thing.

You know, like, one of my goals, you know, we talked about, like, the rumble and stuff like that, but, you know, my real personal goal is, like, you know, through NWA and the work I've, you know, I've worked a lot internationally. I'm about to go to France. I just came back from Pakistan. Like, it's honestly been, and I wrote this in a post, but like, and everything is perspective. But, like I said in a post, like, this has been by far the most fun I've had in professional

wrestling. And it has because of everything I've told you before this. Like my perspective is so different coming out of the pandemic. After getting in touch with the fan and me after, you know, and going out there every night and having, like, pride and trying to go out there and put the best match out possible than you can. And you know what I mean? So, I mean, these are the things that truly motivated.

How did we even get on this? Sorry. Well, we're talking about you winning the championship. Oh, yeah. Like, so that do end up EA the last year. And, you know, anybody can look at the tapes. You can go on YouTube and see the matches. Like, I feel like I've put on some of the best matches career.

And honestly, I feel like I'm one of the best workers in the business when it comes to believability, athleticism, selling. And, like, you know, I just raised the bar and, like, you know what I mean? And all those little aspects. So, like, going forward, I mean, for me, like, my main goal beyond everything else is, you know, to hold that 10 pounds of gold. I think it might be 12 pounds. out just because they updated it.

We still call it the 10 pounds. We could call it the 10 pounds. My friend Matt Schoolfield, who owns Fandu Bels, he designed the new design. But here's the funny thing. You know, when I got into pro wrestling, everything was so like handed to me. But like you fast forward to now. And even with everything I've just stated, it's like I feel like I'm having to work and like, you know, just fight for every little scrap of anything I have to get.

And that's fine because I'll keep doing that. And I'll keep going out there with whoever it is in NWA and putting out great. matches with whoever you put in front of me. And as far as the NWA championship and Tyrus, I mean, it doesn't matter who I have to, you know, they've got the whole idle management going on. They've got the great scion. They've got Clearwater. Like, I'll go through all those guys if that's what it takes to get to Tyrus with you

as the special referee. And for the goal. So, I mean, this is my goal. This is what I'm working towards. And I feel like all of this is obtainable. in 2023. So I'm just going to keep, you know, keep doing what I'm doing and let the chips fall where they may. I am very curious how long Tyrus is going to hold the championship for. And a lot of people have been, you know, they have their opinions about Tyrus being the champion. I think

Billy Corgan is a brilliant marketer. And this is so good for business for that championship to be sitting there on Fox News channel every single night. Like, you can't buy that kind of exposure. Well, and it's not even, it's very much that, but it's also like, I mean, it's a heel stable. You know what I mean? Like, they have all the titles. I mean, it's, it's not, it's like, Billy Corgan is very smart, but it's like, you know, it's a firm that works. Like, you know, it pisses people off when one group is dominate as dominant as. People seem legitimately pissed off.

Oh, yeah. And like, you know, I mean, it was controversial and it got people talking. And it's like, it just, it is what it is. Yeah. But it's also an opportunity. I mean, like, for all those people on the internet, you know, that complaining about it, who would have thought that, you know, Chris Masters could be your beacon of light? You would have never imagined that 15 years ago.

And you're like, who's that body guy? So, like, hey, I might be your savior. I know Matt Cardona says he's going to save NWA, but I say Chris Adonis. I think people form opinions based on, like, certain things that stay in their mind. And for Chris Masters in WWE, a lot of people go back to that very, very, short promo backstage where Triple H says some not very nice things about you and they feel like he buried

you there. What's your opinion on what he said there? And did he talk to you before and say like, hey, this is going to go down? I was aware of it at a time. It's funny because this has come up almost in all of my interviews, but I mean, there's a couple ways to look at that. Like Hunter, if

you've looked into like if you watch his history, I mean, he's very much a ballbuster. Even to HBK. Right, his best friend. So, I mean, like, yeah, the timing of it. It's more like, it's not something that I don't think he would have. I think it might have been more about the timing of it than anything,

just because of everything we had been through with, you know, you talk about the, you know, Eddie and then Chris and then, and then, you know, for, we were under so much scrutiny. And then, you know, I came back, you know, from rehab and I was, you know, about 20 pounds lighter or whatever. So, I mean, it was just more about like, if it had happened at any other time, maybe it wouldn't have been, you know, as big of a deal, I guess. Because I think, you know, I don't think, again, I just think, you know, he's kind of a ballbuster. So it wasn't like, that's something he would have kind of said at any point in time.

I just think it was maybe at that time, it was probably a bad time to say it. Yeah, it kind of seemed like he was stating the obvious, like putting it out there, like, I know everybody's thinking it, so I'm going to say it. But it just felt like. And that's what they, and if you look at a DX, they have. had a history of that a lot. I mean, even with the Spirit Squad, remember, like, the last time you saw them, they had, you know, shipped to OVW on the thing.

I mean, it's, it's very inside and it's very, you know, some of the DX stuff is, you know, breaking the third wall a bit. And, you know, like, it's whatever the hot thing is on the internet, like taking some kind of acknowledgement. So I don't know. I, you know, Hunter has also been very helpful and supportive at points. So, like, it's just one of those things where at that point in time in my life, man, like I was had just gone through like like opiate addiction and like so like a lot of people

I can understand why I came back and people thought like oh he's off steroids look how light he is but I swear to everybody and I've told this story for the last 15 years like that wasn't the issue like and it's not to say I had never used anything anything like that but my issue at that point was I had deeply gotten addicted to opiates we were off everything oh yeah but like and what happened like I went to rehab before the opiates and like what really actually made me lose weight. And so there's a lot of people say, oh, this is bullshit or whatever. But, you know, I was coming off all those opiates and like, you're just, you don't have any like endorphins. You know, you're, you're, you don't have a

life force anymore. So like I force myself every morning. The first thing I did was put on some clothes and I put my shoes on and I ran like there was this trail. So it was like some rocky Babboa stuff. But I ran like two miles every morning, something like that. I'm empty stomach. And like I didn't really pay attention to how I was looking because I was in rehab, man, we're doing, you know, we're working on ourselves beyond stuff like that. You know, I'm still going to the gym and stuff, but, man, I'm trying to figure out, you know, how am I going to care? Like, I've never been addicted to drugs. I was so young. I was like, what is this? And how do I, am I really addicted? You know, you don't even know at that point. It was so early on. And so, um, really what made me

lose all the weight was honestly that. Like, if I hadn't ran every freaking morning and even just being off the opiates, everything else, I mean, I would have still. at least been probably 10 pounds heavier when I came back. It's just like, I didn't even know, honestly, because it's hard to look at yourself and realize, and then if you're not weighing yourself, like, I wish somebody had told me, like, hey, you maybe lined up too much. I just eat a little bit because then at least it wouldn't have that dramatic thing when it came back.

And, you know, because of my gimmick, everybody thinking like, oh, that's it. He just, you know, he's back from rehab and he had to get off steroids. It's like, no, man. Like, honestly, without the stuff and all that, like, I could still. be fairly like a big dude. You know what I mean? I could carry 260 pounds easily. But like, again, I just wasn't, you know, you run on an empty stomach, two miles every

morning, watch what's going to happen. Yeah. In 0506, do you think anybody look better than you? It was me and Batista, Sina. Yeah. You know, me, Batista, Sina, probably. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know where I fell on that.

But like, yeah, I mean, when I look back at it, too, man, like, I mean, it's impressive, right? Hell yeah. And Cina still looks like that. Yeah, but like I... Like, I look at it and it's just like, it almost reminds me at certain points of like Phanos or something. It's like, oh my God, you're humongous. And like, that was great and all, but like, and people will always point that out like,

oh, he's smaller now or whatever. But like, I don't aspire to be that guy. Again, like, I never aspired to be the big 280-pound guy who, you know, staggers for tackles and just press slams people and is very just. you know what I mean like that type of stuff man like I wanted to be the guy who who looks good but can move that can be the guy to create movement and like create an exciting match and not just be this force to be reckoned with or this base for everybody else to freaking be running around like so like yeah that was great and everything and like impressive but like honestly most of the women

prefer me like this anyway I must say like the attention like a lot of the guys were more impressed with that, but the women How do that works? Well, I mean, the women like a big guy, but they don't want them like, you know, veins bulging out everywhere. You know what I mean? They don't mind some of that, but like, you know, like, they want you to look at least a little athletic

to and not like straight meathead. Right? Like, at least that's what I found. I don't know. I get, you know, I definitely got a lot more guys like, damn, how much your bench or like feeling up your arms, like, wow, but like at that size, but you know, I get a lot more head turns from the females like this.

So anyways. What match should people go watch from the last, say, 10 years, five years that really showcases what Chris Adonis is about now? Hmm. That's a really good question. I would say, you know, well, there's a couple, but like, you know, I'll always defer. And I know you're saying within the last 10 years, but like, you know, the HPK paper view match is always kind of a huge checkpoint. But that's going back very far. within the last year, I would say it's hard to narrow it down because, again, my body of work

throughout the last year is kind of exactly what I wanted to be. And that was a guy that can kind of have a good match with almost anybody, if not put guys do their best matches. And like, the perfect example I'll give to you that. And it's not, I'm sure he won't mind too much about this, but I worked crimson a little less than a year ago. And it was for the NWA national title. I was the national champion, and we were in Kentucky, and it was basically like a home field advantage for him, like his family, a lot of friends there. So it was like a big deal. You know, he was challenging me, and it was for NWA. And so, like, Crimson is good, you know what I mean?

But, like, he's one of those. He, like, he just kind of needed somebody to help bring him up just to that next level type thing. And so, like, we went out there and worked, and he kind of left me in charge of the whole thing. And like when we came back from that match, I had multiple people telling me, like, wow, you just put Crimson through the best match of his career. Wow. Now, I can speak to that, obviously, because I haven't seen all of Crimson's matches. And I have always looked at Crimson, like, he's a talent.

But, like, you know, after the fact, and I've seen this with, you know, guys I've worked with even after that, it's just like with guys like that, it's when they're working me, what's fun is trying to get them. Because, you know, there's always this next level to get to. And sometimes they don't even realize it, but then you get a guy like me who can kind of help them along with it. And that's just through experience I've acquired and whatnot. And so just to answer your question without going on too long around, I'll throw out that crimson match. And it's not because we did any kind of crazy high spots or anything.

I mean, it was a simple match, but everything was done well. And that's the thing I stress about my work. It's like, yeah, I'm not a high spot artist. But everything you watch that I do, I do well, whether it's, selling delivering offense and there's no waste in motion like i'm not reinventing the wheel but then again even when you look at some of the best of all time like again let's point out shal michael's what was it that he did that nobody else necessarily did you can't really name something that he innovated that was just so out of the norm you know gentleman chris adams did the super kick

macho did the elbow but everything hbk did looked good you know i mean and like Unbelievable. Yeah, and that's how, like, when I talk to some of my peers, that's what we talk about, like, you know, when people stress kind of this new generation of wrestling and this fast-paced and this high spots is when we came up like, you know, K-Fabe is not dead or it shouldn't be completely dead. You know what I mean? Like, what was important to us was when we're working that nobody saw through it and

they believed in everything. And nowadays, it's a little, I mean, a little bit too much. I think guys have been too conditioned that everybody, oh, it's a work, K Fab's dead. So like, you know, we just need to do impressive high spots and all the in-between shit doesn't matter where it's like, no, no, no, one thing that will never die in professional wrestling, I don't think Nick Aldous for this because he said it made complete sense. One thing that'll never die is the suspension of disbelief and trying to acquire that from

the viewer. Doesn't matter what time we're in. That's what we're trying to achieve. And you can do that. You can do that despite how smart fans are nowadays. You can do that by going out there and delivering believable work by putting everything behind every little thing you do, whether it's a club to the back or a fist to the face, doing it to the utmost of your ability.

Mamba mentality. Full circle on this. It's just been so great being able to sit down with you because it's so obvious, like, how much of a different spot you're in right now versus the last interview that we did. And also it's a great little tease for the workout that we did. Like, I did so many things during that workout with you. I've been working out, you know, since I was like 15. I did so many things during that workout with you that I've never done,

or I've never done them in that way before. And we have stated that you are now a transitioning body guy. So, yeah, you've been working out since 15. Sure. But the goal of being a body guy is still new. So we're taking this up a whole other level now. I don't know if I'll ever be a body guy, but I'm, uh... Hey, I don't know if Carlito never thought he'd be a body guy and look at him out.

Carlito credits you. Hey, for being a body guy. And I credit me as well. I mean, I taught him everything he knows. And like, and it's funny, you know, we were talking about this before the interview and not to get completely derail us, but like, you know, Carlito's comeback to the Rumble was just so hilarious. Because, you know, I've still been working with him all over the world throughout the last

10 years on various indies. But he comes back at the Rumble and just going on to Twitter. Yeah. And typing Carlito, WWE and just grabbing a big bag of skinny popcorn and freaking, you know what I mean? Just watching all the comments about how Jack D. He hasn't seen the memes like, man, that was hilarious. Yeah, people were saying like, you know, he's the best shape he's ever been in, I feel like.

Oh, yeah. And like, see, and that goes to what I'm saying, man. Like, you know, we talked about, you know, both being 39 or whatever. But like, you know, age is all about like, you know, there is a found of youth. And that's, you know, not just the gym, but taking care of yourself. And like, you know, you look at guys like Carlito in his 40s in the best shape of his life. And better shape than he was his 20s, 30s. Well, Bobby's always been in shape.

Bobby lastly. but look at him. He still looks great. Yeah, he's a monster. And then even, of course, the rock. Look at the rock. I mean, like, looks better than he ever did in wrestling, right? Way better. I mean, you know, these are the guys that, you know, everybody should, you know, we look to and that, like, you know, you take care of yourself.

I mean, you know, you can still, you know, be good at that age. Yeah. So I end every conversation with the same question. I don't know if I did this last time. So it would be interesting to compare your answers, but I talk about gratitude. and I wake up and I say out loud three things I'm grateful for every single day. So I end every conversation with that. So for you, what are three things in your life that you're grateful for right now?

I'm grateful for my health. I'm grateful for my profession. And I'm grateful for my perspective as a person at this point in my life. I love it. Chris Masters, Chris Adonis, fellow Chris. Thank you, sir. This is great. This is great, man.

I appreciate it. It was a great time to have an interview with you, so thank you for having to be happening. Yeah, so, you know, this will be out, and then you'll debut at the Rumble or return at the Rumble to be perfect. That would be exciting, wouldn't it? I'll see. Never know. We'll see. Thanks, man.

Thank you. There we go. Such a great guy. I love talking to him, and we talked about it a little bit there. We teased it a little bit, but we've got a very bad-ass arm workout that we recorded at Gold's Gym, Venice Beach. that'll be coming out of my YouTube channel in the next handful of days. So make sure you're subscribed on YouTube so you don't miss out on that. Take a screenshot.

Let us know what you thought of this episode and tag us. Chris is at Chris Masters 310 on Instagram. He's at Chris Adonis on Twitter. I'm just at Chris Van Fleet. Very excited to see what he has in store in 2023. And I'll leave you with the words of the late great Vince Lombardi. Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.

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