Insight with Chris Van Vliet - How Colt Cabana changed indie wrestling, CM Punk, ending his podcast, AEW

Episode Date: September 11, 2019

Colt Cabana chats with Chris Van Vliet at Pro Wrestling Tee's ALL OUT Side Party in Chicago, IL. He talks about why he started creating wrestling merch, starting and ending his podcast, how he almost became a commentator for WWE, why 2019 is the most exciting time to be a wrestling fan and more! Audio equipment provided by Samson Technologies: bit.ly/CVVSamson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up, y'all? It's Druski, and I've teamed up with Mountain Dew to produce a hilarious new basketball podcast called The DoZone with Drewski. Learn the backstories of your favorite ballers and celebrities like Jamal Murray. Did you have like a favorite team? Was it the Raptors at the time or no?

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It's Chrysalamania, brother. That's a great question. Look at you. man with the powerful questions This is the Chris Van Vleet show Ladies and gentlemen Chris Buhn't!

Okay, my friends Welcome to the show. Thanks for joining me. Thanks for being with me. This is a very special episode of the Chris Van Bleach Show. Not just because of my very special guest, Colt Cabana, who is

the guy when it comes to wrestling podcast. You could say he's the pod father if you will i mean he's really the pioneer uh anyone who has a wrestling podcast like me or anyone who listens to wrestling podcasts also me has colt to thank i mean he really uh you know kind of paved the way for this uh this episode though is special because it's my first ever episode my first ever interview done in front of a live crowd uh yeah this was at the pro wrestling t's all outside party just a few hours before all out in chicago go last week. The crowd was amazing. This was so cool to hear the instant reaction from them.

We got some very interesting chance, including one for a napkin. You'll see. And if you were there, you know how fun this was. So thank you for being a part of this. It was so awesome meeting you guys there. Thank you for all the kind words you said, especially, you know, for the kind words you've been saying on the podcast. Thank you for the reviews you've been leaving on Apple Podcast. I'm going to say it every episode because it's super, super important that you subscribe and you leave these five-star reviews. That's why I'm going to keep reading him. Mr. Rhetoric says, I've yet to hear Chris Van Vleet do an interview that I haven't enjoyed. If you're a fan of pro wrestling, his podcast is a must subscribe.

Thank you. He makes my commutes home actually enjoyable. Please keep it up. Thank you. And please keep these reviews up. Take like 27 seconds out of your day. they really, really help. It also helps to have these sponsors.

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of people who take it. I take it a little bloop, bloop. That's the noise that dropper. Blu-plu. Not really, but I'm making it up. Blu-blop under the tongue. It really helps with focus. I'm not like a super-stressy person,

but it really helps with like, I'm in different time zones. Like this was a different time zone. This was in the central time zone. I live in the East Coast time zone. So kind of just helps with like focus. Also helps with rest and recovery. I go to the gym like five, six days a week.

So it helps with that. The relaxed gummies are also great if you don't want to do the oil. I use my coat. Chris 1-5, Chris 15. You'll get 15% off your order at greenroadsworld.com. CVV show. Also brought to you by the pro podcasting pack from Samson Technologies.

A huge shout out to them. Because the better your podcast sounds, the better it is. I mean, that's the bottom line. You don't want to listen to a podcast that sounds like this. And there are a lot of podcasts that sound like that. So go to samsonTech.com. You can check out their full line. enough. This interview with Colt is a lot of fun, partly because of that crowd interaction,

but also because of how good Colt is at this. I mean, he's a pro when it comes to interviews on either side of the mic. But speaking of podcasts, he talks here why he's ending his podcast. After nine and a half years, Art of Wrestling is going away. He also talks about how he, I mean, let's be honest, he really changed independent wrestling from being like a side job you did on weekends to like a viable way to make money as like a career. option for people. He was one of the first ever wrestlers to create t-shirts, one of the first ever wrestlers to have a merch table. And we talk about that and how he's changed the game to, you know, make it where it is today in 2019. He also tells a really interesting story about how he

was almost hired by WWE as a commentator. And then when CM Punk walked out, he got let go not long after. Coincidence. Hmm. You be the judge on that one. But here you go. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Colt Cabana How has your day been so far? Oh, well, what a beautiful day in Chicago can complain about that. For all you outsiders, this is what the weather is like every day of the year.

It's been good. It's been a real, real, real busy everything for me, obviously. I just spent the past month in Edinburgh, Scotland. I got home on a Tuesday, and then on a Thursday, I, uh, I filmed an episode of Chicago Fire, and then went right to Starcast, and then wrestled for A-A-W, and then the next day back to Starcast, A-A-W, and now here we are today, and then, of course,

tomorrow I'm doing a free comedy show, so it just never ends with me. It's a constant grind. I'm constantly moving, and I'd have it no other way. You are so much more than just a wrestler, and I think that I honestly feel that A-E-W might not have happened if it wasn't for some of the seeds that you planted early on. You took wrestling from being, yeah, and it's true. You took it from being a guy who was just wrestling in small venues to be basically putting an entrepreneurial take on this. Where did this all begin for you? Oh, that's a very open end of question. But yeah, I was and do wrestle in small venues, and I saw that as, I don't know if I saw it as like a

marketing thing, but I just, I saw it as a cool thing, whereas I think a lot of people didn't understand how cool it was to be in the underground, to be in the VFW halls, to be in the armories. And just like last night, like, I was wrestling for A.W. And we're in this packed Logan Square auditorium. And so many people, uh, they love going to giant concerts, but there's, there is a sect of people who love, you know, when I say giant concerts, like going to the arenas and watching, I don't know, the Bon Jovi is the first person that came to my for some reason. He's living on a prayer.

But then there's those punk kids who went to the small little dingy, you know, the small dingy rock clubs. And for me, I saw what we were doing and independent wrestling as the equivalent to what the kids that were going to those punk shows. And the kids that go to those punk shows, it resonates with them forever. They feel such a badge, and that that represents them.

And I didn't think that the, same way we were doing that with independent wrestling, people felt that proud of it. They kind of felt embarrassed by it. And a lot I thought stemmed from the WWE constantly saying, like, oh, they're wrestling in bingo halls and kind of whenever someone would make it big in WWE when they came from the independents, they would really, really take jabs at it at an independent wrestling. And I didn't think it was something to take jabs at, A, because that's what I was doing for a living, and I'm somehow making a living at it. And then, I forgot the other reason, but...

So there was the stigma of independent wrestling was not cool, and I thought it was really cool, and it was kind of my goal to let the world know that it was cool. And, you know, we talk about AEW and how it's grown, and I know the books were on your show and talking about the influence and stuff, and I did have a... I had a vision, and I got to a certain point with the vision,

with my podcast and kind of in the t-shirt world. And then their vision was so much bigger than my vision. And it's everything that I thought, like, it's kind of everything that I had in my mind when I got fired from WWE, and I wanted to kind of really love the independence. And I'm so proud of what the Bucks have done with it. And then the Bucks have tagged with this team,

you know, Omega and Cody and obviously Tony Kahn and just the world. And so, Well, here's the thing. You were one of the first wrestlers to create your own merchandise. Was that always done through pro wrestling teas, through one hour teas?

No, I mean, I was doing, obviously, I've been wrestling since 99. I've just celebrated my 20-year birthday in the world of wrestling. Hey, congratulations. Wow. I don't know if any of you were in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin

in June 299, but I wrestled a man named Eric Frieda, who was dressed up as Doink the Clown that day. Hold on, so have you been wrestling for more years than you haven't been wrestling? Correct. Wow. And, you know, you hear that stigma of Weekend Warrior. It's just, I've been wrestling full time since I was about 22, 23 years old.

But even when I had, when I was in college and wrestling, starting wrestling, and I had a job and I was wrestling, I was still wrestling almost three days a week, like as much as I could. So that hustle was so intense. And so now, like for the past, literally for 20 years, I've, you know, I'll wrestle anywhere from 100 to 175 days a year, and I've constantly been doing it for so long. So I guess one of the answers to that question about making my own merchandise is when I quit my job of being a teaching assistant at Shepard Junior High School in 2003. First of all, how cool it would it be to have Colcompanis your teacher? Yeah.

I once came to class with this huge black eye because you know that the moonsault DDT that AJ Stiles does where he grabs you? Yeah, yeah. This was basically in a barn in Clarksville, Indiana in 2002, I think, and he went for it and I was a little too close in the back of his head just rocked my eye sockets. And then the next week, the whole week I had this just swollen eye.

And I just know there was kids just being like, Mr. Colton's a badass. And I couldn't tell him like, no, I was just play wrestling with AJ Styles. So when I did stop the job, I had, you know, I wasn't making a lot of money, but enough money to pursue wrestling as a starving artist. And I just knew I had to make a certain amount of money every single month. You know, and I think it was like $700 or something to pay my rent, to pay my insurance and to buy food and a gym membership. And so, you know, I don't think I was making $700 with the bookings. And so I knew I had to supplement that with merchandise, with the gimmick table.

And then there's a lot of crazy stories of the hustle. Like, I would find a guy in Tijuana who would buy me these wrestling masks for $2, and I would sell them for $10. And, like, I'm not proud of it. Yes, I am. But I used to sell the, I used to sell the macho man, Randy Savage, tape cassettes at the merchandise table. Like I would get them...

Sorry, CDs, I would dub them... Like, be a man, Hogan? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm... A classic. Yeah, I've always found the cool niche stuff to try to sell to the wrestling fans. Well, when I did the interview with the Young Bucks,

they said that what was the real game changer was they started talking to you and you were basically telling them how much money you were making with the podcast. How they had no line at their merch table and you had a giant line at your merch table. Were you always entrepreneurial though? Like were you mowing people's grass when you were a kid?

You're shoveling people's snow. Not so much. I mean a little bit, I guess. I guess a funny story. My dad used to sell urban clothing for 30 years. So I went to college on Janko jeans. Shout out to Jekyllis. Yeah.

Yeah. My dad used to sell Sean John kids. God, he had a lot. lot of line. Jordash jeans back in the day. So he also he had friends of friends and they would have these samples is what you would call it in the schmata business. And I I had samples of like when Top Dog and Big Johnson was really popular. I don't know if you guys remember those shirts. I would have like a booklet and I would bring it to class and I would I would count the inventory that we had of samples in my garage and I would sell the top dog shirts for like

super cheap at my school. And I guess it all began. I guess that was a side. I've been a I've been a clothes salesman since day one, I guess. Is there a particular shirt or design that you are most proud of? Just that I've been wearing... Yeah, I guess the Ice Star Cold is pretty iconic in a way. Jill Thompson made me a shirt once that I... Yeah, a great artist from Chicago that I thought was so cool. And just over the years, I think because of the relationship with the podcast

and kind of maybe being one of the first people to really reach out to the wrestling fans and let them know that I was a human being and not some kind of megastar. People have been so cool reaching back and wanting to help. From the first year of the podcast, really, I guess, being intimate and letting people know that I'm flawed

in whatever way it is, I think there was a moment of sympathy that fans wanted to help out. So a lot of people have sent over great designs. And through the years, those people have then teamed with, you know, ever since Ryan and I, we kind of put our... I came to Ryan with the idea of a sponsorship who owns One Hour T's,

and I said, you know, here's a sponsorship, you know, I'll promote One Hour T's, you'll make this T-shirt, and you give me X amount of cold shirts that I could sell, so I'm thinking of... That's how it began. That's how... Right, I'm getting these shirts, and I'm selling it for a sponsorship, but then I could, you know, quadruple it through selling the shirts. Yeah.

And then through that, you know, through that partnership with Ryan and One Hour T's and Pro Wrestling T's, you know, so many of those artists in the very beginning have now... come on board. And not on board. There's people working at the shop right now who are just Cabana fans. I think we should all give a big round of applause

to pro wrestling teams for everything. And early on, you had some of your fellow wrestling friends that were making shirts at one hour teas. Who were some of them? That were making shirts.

You know, that were also, like, you were like, hey guys, they're doing them here, so you should also... Right. Well, I, for a while, I was making the shirts. You were making the shirts.

So some of those very early shirts Not even early, probably three years ago I stopped doing it, but I would go into the shop and I would print my own shirts and when people would buy a shirt on coltmerch.com, wink. You know, it was me making the shirts. A lot of people had those headbands that I used to sell and I would go in there and I would sew those headbands

myself. I would go to Joanne's fabrics. I would cut the fabric. I would sew the headbands. I would press on the presser. It was all, and then I was like, you know, I still ship out my own stuff. It's always been a one-man machine. But from very early on, Ryan was like, I want to do this thing where we ship it out,

but I need your contact. He's like, I'm nobody. I need your contacts. And then the first guys I reached out to were the Young Bucks and Joey Ryan and Adam Pierce and Kevin Steen. And I think Beth Phoenix was one of them, John Morrison, who then didn't take me up on it.

And then years later, regretted not taking me up on it. And Kevin Steen is one that I, I always think about, when I think about the idea that the movement of the T-shirt revolution, I don't know if that's what you would call it, but Kevin was working with Ring of Honor, and I think this is no secret. Jim Cornett was not a big fan of him, and he kind of, he iced him for a lot. I think he took him off without paying them, you know, for six months or a year. And Kevin was wrestling as much as he could, but we weren't making much on the Indies,

and he was laid off kind of a lot of dates, and he was working at a factor. overnight. And then he got really hot, but Ring of Honor still didn't like him because Jim didn't like him. So as he got hot, he was still working at this overnight factory, and then Pro Wrestling T's started coming. And then I remember the time when he told me that he could stop his job because the T-shirts were supplementing him and his wife and his children. He was supporting a family.

And so that was the moment where I really felt proud. And if nothing happened with Pro Wrestling T's or any of it, there was a sense of a lot of pride that I knew Kevin, who was such a hard worker, and loved wrestling. And in my mind, I was like, we'll never make it in the WWE, because I don't think Vince likes what he looks like. So I was just sad that he wasn't able to make a living,

and then it all changed for him. And then look at him out. He's amazing. And the business has changed, too, that will allow a guy like Kevin who's an amazing wrestler, an amazing voice and personality, who wrestling just always said,

you can't look like that and be a wrestling. and now I think through the intimacy of stuff that maybe I touched on in the beginning with the podcast and now has grown so much is that the wrestling fans are so much more involved and allowed in that their voice is so big that they can say, we like Kevin,

you should sign this guy, they do, and then they put him on TV, and he does great because the fans like him, obviously. Well, and I think the message through all of this, through Kevin's story, through Ryan with Pro Wrestling T's, and also, certainly with you is, if you have something that you want to do, you can absolutely accomplish it

if you set those goals and chase after it. Yeah. So when I got fired from the WWE, which is 2009, and I know I bring it up a lot, but it really is such a, it's such a before and after in my life. And not so much now because it's been 10 years, but that's like such a pivotal, pivotal moment

in just not my wrestling life, but just my real life of going for this goal, the dream that I always wanted, getting there, not doing that well, getting fired, and being like, well, this can't be your dream, so either go get a real job, and then, you know, it clicked for me as like,

no, I love wrestling, I want to see if I could still do it. And the main thing I, the main thing was I had one, is this lady bringing me burgers? Yes. This is how to get your company. Do we look hungry? Hey, ma'am, come here, please. What is your food truck?

Show your shirt? We're at Chicago Culinary Kitchen. Chicago Culinary Kitchen. Give it up for a Chicago Culinary Kitchen. Thank you. Speaking of marketing and everything, that was brilliant. Now everyone, the hundreds of thousands of people watch you, it's like a line. So I said, we would feel rude to eat in front of you guys.

Believe me, I'm taking it down once this thing is. It'll be. I'm not going to... This is not an eating show. Culinary Kitchen. You can't bring me the sloppiest burger of all time. Get me to eat it on camera. and then not bring a napkin.

Maybe pro wrestling teas will give me a shirt I can wipe my mouth with. And still hasn't come, no. She don't give a shit. She got the burger up here. Oh, here we go. You can get a new napkin. Thank you.

It's a hero we needed to death. You're a hero, sir. You guys are busy. It's a good problem to have. Yeah. Okay. Thank you again. Four and a half.

If it was a Japanese burger, it would be five star. So I had put all my eggs in one basket, which was WWB. And then when I got fired, I didn't want to not have that power again. I felt that power was taken away from me. So I wanted to do stuff where I had maybe five or six or seven baskets, where if something got taken away, I would always able to have other avenues or revenues. And so kind of like as my podcast is going away now, I know that it's not, my whole career

or the idea of paying my rent or whatever isn't based off of the podcast. I have so many other things that I do and can do. Is it bittersweet for you? Because first of all, congratulations. Nine and a half years doing a podcast is amazing. Not an half years of doing anything is amazing. So was it bittersweet for you

when you finally came to the realization and said, you know what, this is going to be it? Yeah, I thought, you know, I changed the way the podcast was. I was doing obviously sit-down interviews with my friends and wrestling for probably eight years. Then I kind of changed it to a road story situation. But I was kind of, after the eight years,

I felt I've kind of done everybody. I talked to everybody I'd want to talk to. And then it just, I like the idea that I can now go to a show and just breathe. And you know this. Like, you've got to find the people. You've got to bug them. Oh, my God.

You're right. Yeah, people think that, like, my DMs are filled with, like, John's seen it in the roll. Rock going, hey, you want to do an interview? No, no. Like, you've got to go way out of your way to make these happen. All right, a quick time out from this chat with Colt. To thank our sponsor Indochino.

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You get paid. Well, I don't want you on my show, so it's a real weird balance. Yeah. Oh, no. Sorry. Was that me? Sorry. No, no, no, not at all.

I'm just kidding. So, yeah, now, like, I could just breathe. I felt, I did the podcast for a very long time. I'm still doing it on Patreon. The old archives are on patreon.com slash cold cabana. Wink. And, but I'm just doing it at my own pace now, which I like. So there's no pressure for me to make sure I have guests or talk to people or bug people.

If there's a story to be told, and I love audio, and I love to tell. the story via audio, I could tell it on the Patreon, or even on my podcast feed, and then, you know, it'll come out a little early on my Patreon, but I'm not like, I don't, because now, you know, and you'll hear from probably Conrad,

like, the advertising is so important now, and what happened was like, I had sold these advertising, and they were like, you need a show, and I just didn't want to have to, you know, be be beckoned to them. Yeah. So with, you said you have six or seven bass,

now with that one basket being the podcast kind of closing up a little bit. What are some of the other baskets? Basketball. I'm joining the NBA. Basket weaving? Basket weaving, yes. I am a best. You're doing a lot more acting now? Yeah, well, I, right, but that's, that sounds so like rock of me, right? And I don't mean rock and roll. I mean Dwayne Johnson. That's a pretty good thing to sound like that. Yeah, I agree. But I, it's just, I guess I've been performing live performance for 20 years from all different situations from, like I said, you know, from the Whitewater, Wisconsin Armory to Madison Square Garden. So I just feel that I love performance and live performance and entertainment. And so when I do some acting and stuff, like I take the challenges of like going over a match the same way I would of going over a scene.

And I do that in comedy too. and like stand-up and improv and all that stuff. So I look at it in terms of wrestling, and I like taking that challenge, because I love the challenge of wrestling, and I love the challenge of mapping out something that will get a reaction. And then while in the ring,

knowing that if the reaction isn't being got, you have to kind of bounce and weave. And really the best performers are the ones that can do that. And so I love challenging myself that way. And, yeah, that's something I do like about comedy, I guess, and acting comes within comedy. I don't necessarily love serious acting so much. But if I get booked for a show, I'll do a serious role.

But I do love comedy. And I think that's shown from my years of wrestling. Who are some of the wrestlers right now that you have your eye on or when they have a match? You're like, I know that's going to be an awesome match. You know, so someone comes to mind is a guy that, I was watching Matt Fitching yesterday in AAW. And him and Dave, yeah, him and Dave, yeah,

Him and Danny Vega are two guys that I just don't think they get the love that they deserve, and I think it's coming. I think those are two guys to watch. I know this guy is polarizing, but when I wrestle Orange Cassidy, it is the most fun. That seems pretty all over here. Yeah, and two years ago, he wasn't a person that anyone really knew about. And I did this show on Independent Wrestling.tv. and it was their first show at the time

it was called PowerBomb TV and I wrestled him and we were just thinking about the match we were both chuckling to myself Was this the one with the beer? No, this was before the one with the beer. There's been a couple classics. Five stars, if you will. And not in Japan.

Okay. And I was just thinking like this is so fun to do how come nobody knows about him And it's not about any of my doing, it's his doing, but like, finally everybody's starting to catch on to Orange Cassidy. And so that makes my heart a little warm to know that everyone's getting into him. And I don't know, it's just a lot of, you know, A.W. has been great at getting the great time. I remember I did a show with Sunny Kiss, and I was just like, who is Sunny Kiss?

And why is he amazing? And then boom, you know. And I think that's the thing about I'm on the scene and I was wrestling everywhere. And the Bucks and Cody and those guys were, they were everywhere. So you get to see everyone sometimes, and I hope this isn't the case with AEW as they start to close their gap because they're doing their own shows. You know, I think this happened with Ring of Honor a little bit as they got into their own world. They forget about the different people out there and nobody's really scouting. And that was a grudge I had with WWE for a long time.

And finally, I think Regal was like, I should be out at PWG scouting who's out there. And then all of a sudden they suck up all these guys. And I think that's the right thing to do. So, yeah, like when they see a sunny kiss, I think they're on the right track. And I hope that doesn't, it doesn't, they don't narrow themselves in over the years. Well, we interviewed Sunny Kiss earlier today, so that's an interview you guys will be seeing really soon on my channel. I've been saying for a long time that everything changed this year. 2019 is the best time to be a pro wrestling fan, period.

Yeah, that's true. How is it, like, this is from the outside looking in as a fan. What's it like from your perspective? AEW is coming in, making everyone very excited. Obviously, WWE is changing some things because of it. You being in the industry as long as you have been, what's your take on all this? I just kind of watch it as a fan, to be honest,

and I just think it's super interesting, and I don't play like, you know, armchair quarterback or anything, so it's hard. I don't make predictions. I just like to watch as it goes out, so it is interesting to watch, I guess, the TV wars. You know, like they said two years, ago it was a war, you know, as they were kind of scrapping the independence. So now everyone's like,

no, now it's a war. And I bet in two years it's going to be something different. It's going to be like, no, no, no, now it's a war. So I think it's almost going to be more fun to watch in hindsight and looking back on things. So I'm just, I like watching it as it plays out, you know. I know it's a hard question to answer, or yeah, hard question to answer, but what is, what was your favorite match growing up? Oh. It is a... It's tough to know It's just won

Well, it's different between growing up And like getting in wrestling There's different things But I'll give you two matches that I love Okay One is a match with Les Kellett versus Leon Aris It is a 1960s world of sport

British wrestling match And if you guys like comedy wrestling Please go and study Les Kellett He is my comedy hero He is a comedic wrestler Like none other He was allowed on television He was taking very serious as a competitor,

but he was a real silly goose. And Leon Aris actually ended up becoming a pretty famous actor, which is interesting. And then the other favorite match, which maybe more people can relate to or know about, was Hulk Hogan versus Lanny Pafo on Saturday Night's main events? I've heard of those guys, yeah. Yeah.

Because I'm a kid in the 80s, Hulk Hogan is this like, he was just bigger than life. He was larger than life. and the match with the genius is so weird and maybe for the maybe it doesn't hold up that much now because of like the weird like stereotypical

things that the genius does like prancing along and is limberous but I think it's I think that it's like the only time Hulk Hogan is kind of doing comedy wrestling and you see him he's laughing and having a good time and kind of making jokes out of Lani Pafo,

and Lani Pappo's doing such a great job selling it, and there's something about the idea of this large in life Hulk Hogan, the guy who wrestles the ultimate warrior and kick him kong bunny, then he goes and has this silly match, which he doesn't do often, against Lani Pafo the genius, and made it one of my favorites.

Well, with everything you've done, with the podcast kind of coming to an end now, and I'm sure there's less wrestling years in front of you than there are behind you. Is there something in your career that you haven't done yet that you'd like to do? Well, I do plan on wrestling until I'm, 85 years old. Okay. Well, then there's many more wrestling years in Friday here.

But I will, I will say this. You know, Ring of Hunter did Madison Square Garden this year, and I know I'm the commentator for Madison Square Garden, but I did go up to the Booker, and I was just like, you gotta, I gotta be wrestling, whatever it is. And so I was lucky enough to be in the Battle Royal and, you know, to hear 20,000 people chant my name and they were chanting Colt Cabana in Madison Square Garden sold out was so amazing. So when you think of the places and the bucket list and the check marks, I think the last one really would be the Tokyo Dome. And I've already, you know, I've started with New Japan. I was in the New Japan tournament. And, you know, I think that, you know, I think to be able to do the Tokyo Dome.

And this is, I've heard nothing or know nothing, but, you know, if I could sneak on the two days of the dome at WrestleMania this year, that would be a goal. And I'm gonna try to do it. Yeah. Well, we're putting it out of the universe. Put it out there. Right now.

You've also been doing a lot of commentary. I know you had tryouts or a tryout with the WWE for commentary? Yeah, you know, when I was, it's a, there's a funny story, and when I was in, which was the developmental territory for WWE. I remember Dusty Rhodes and Steve Kern were doing the commentary for the local TV, and you could tell they did not want to do it. But they just, we didn't have commentators at the time, so I remember going up to Dusty at intermission and going, can I do, like they weren't really doing anything with me or with Goldman at that time.

Like I debuted at Goldman as Goldman and then got squashed with, you know, my first couple of matches. So in SCW they weren't like, oh, let's put a rock. to Goldman. He's obviously got a rocket going downward. So I was just wrestling and I was like, can I go do commentary? And they were so happy to have me go do commentary. And I started, you know, the first, I think the first FCW TV, there was a match between T.J. Wilson, our Tyson kid and low key. And I was doing commentary. And that got a lot of press at the time. And I remember Meltzer really loved it. And then when I got fired, he was like, Meltzer really made a statement of how what a mistake that was to fire me, not for my wrestling. But the, of the, uh,

future as a commentator. Sure. And then obviously I wanted to do Ring of Honor commentating. And yeah, there was a couple of times with WWE where they were trying me out as a commentator. And I think what happened was the punk documentary came out.

And even though, like, I don't know, you know, in my head, Triple H and Punk were, you know, I don't think that's a secret to anybody. And so I think, in my head, this is how in my head it goes. Triple H was curious as to like, oh, let's hear this guy's story.

And I was a talking head on that DVD. And I think it was the first time where he realized, oh, my God, cold cabana can talk, you know. Like, I was in the system for two years. But if you go and you watch me on the DVD, I'm just telling the story. And I like to think that I'm a pretty good communicator. So in my head, it clicked because then in the next week after that came out, he approached me about coming in to do some commentary and signing up as a commentator. and then they sent me to Stanford

and then I remember you know big he's a guy right Big he was Oh yeah yeah tough enough or whatever He was producing at the time I think he then went and took over TNA And I just remember I was doing a web series at the time

Called Creative Has Nothing for you Which is something which is the line Thank you That was the line they gave me when they fired me So I was like oh I'm gonna go make fun of that on a web series because that's how my mind works in comedy like it's therapeutic to make jokes with it and I remember him being like oh so you do a web series called he's like I watched it it's not funny

Triple H said that no big said it and I was just like man you know like this big I thought maybe this big corporation had changed but it just seemed like it just seemed like a bully tactic I didn't like it I didn't and I didn't and I didn't I wasn't gonna you know because I was in this mindset I was doing the podcast I was very successful on my own so I wasn't going to go in there and kiss ass and I was just like well it's not for you man And I just remember like the power of that being able to say that to somebody like not being like oh sorry I'm sorry and stepping on eggshells I was just like it's not for you you know you don't get it you're older you don't understand comedy or something along those lines And then then they brought me down to FCW and I went there for three weeks in a row and I was talking with Michael Cole this time

Who I don't know if it's cool to talk bad about Michael Cole See sometimes they do it on the internet community but I never had a I never had a better example experience then with Michael Cole of his positivity and niceness and being a human being. And it really, thank you, thank you. It had really, sorry, there was a roar over there. It had really shifted from when I was in developmental, there was a lot of negative connotations to then five years later, and I guess this was at the

time at the Performance Center where everyone seemed really nice. And that was something really cool to see. And Michael Cole was in the head of that where it really seemed he was wanting to be nice as opposed to kind of a bully tactic. And yeah, he was kind of in charge of everything. And I remember talking to Paul Heyman and Joey Mercury about like what I could do or how I can impress. And I remember me and Paul at the time, because Paul just came back with Lesnar. And we were both kind of saying how we wanted to write these wrongs, you know? Like I felt I just, it didn't go the way I wanted it to go in W.W. Scott and

Scottie Goldman, I felt maybe coming back as a commentator if the deal was right. I could really write that wrong in my career and my heart. And then it was going really well. And then obviously, you know, who knows if everything's tied together. But CM Punk quit Raw. And obviously, I was closely tied with Punk at the time. He had quit at the Royal Rumble, I think. Yeah, 2014.

Right. And then, you know, two weeks later, Michael Quentin. had to call me up and be like, ah, we're not interested in the commentating thing. Wow. Yeah. That doesn't seem like a coincidence. It didn't seem like a coincidence, but I'm not saying if it was or was not. I'm allegedly saying whatever I'm saying for legal reasons.

But I remember as I got that phone call, I was in New York City about to go do a taping for the Chris Getherd show, which he was filming a pilot on Comedy Central. And I just, it hurt me a little bit that, you know, they said they weren't interested. But again, those, the buckets and then the baskets, as I got that denial from WWE and the commentating, I was about to go potentially be part of a Comedy Central show. And I just thought that I was in such a better place when I got denied there as opposed to before when I had gotten fired and then, you know, thought my world was over. So, yeah, I didn't get that job.

But I ended up doing a lot of stuff with Chris and with the Chris Getherd show. I ended up, you know, you could watch it on YouTube. I ended up wrestling John Hamm. And so a lot of fun stuff has come from that. And then obviously, in a weird way, I've started doing commentary with Ring of Honor, I think because WW signed Nigel and Steve Carrino and they didn't have anybody and I wasn't doing anything. And then it was the 15th year anniversary for Ring of Honor. And they're like, well, Colt, you've been with the company very long.

Maybe you'd be very knowledgeable. And I went in. And I think afterwards they're like, whoa. you're good at this. And then no one really told me you're not wrestling anymore because the next TV tapings, I came with my gear, and I was like, who am I wrestling tonight? They're like, you're doing commentary.

I was like, oh, okay. And then the next month I came with my gear, and I'm like, who am my wrestling tonight? They're like, you're doing commentary. And then I just realized that was going to be the commentary. There's a lot of people that are here today or watching this on the channel right now. They want to have the kind of success that you've had,

you know, outside of wrestling with your podcast or with a YouTube channel. What kind of advice do you have for those people that are just starting out that want to get to where you're at? So my friend Danny LaBelle has a podcast called A Modern Philosopher. He asked me the same question. I told him the answer that I'm going to tell you and everyone at home. And it kind of blew his mind and he said, I wish I'd gotten this advice when I was younger. But this is how I thought.

Okay. All right. I wish I got this advice. What is it? But it's make short-term goals and just short-term goals. Like we can all, like if you're a wrestler and if you want to get the WWE, fine. But for me, when I was starting, all I wanted to do was get through training. And then all I wanted to do was maybe one day have a match. And then maybe have, you know, a program or maybe be able to get booked in Wisconsin or Ohio.

And the idea that I wasn't, you know, you, it's so easy to give up if you're three years in and you're not in WWE. Because you're so sad or your mentality is so down because you haven't made. that goal and not many people will make that goal but if you set a goal of you know can I have a 20-minute wrestling match and then you achieve that goal there's this there's this pride within yourself that goes I've done that wow and then what else can I do and that's what happened with me is I didn't have these big goals of fame or anything I just had goals of can I have can I have a match can I do this can I you know wrestle a two out of three's man falls match or a ladder match or these little

things and before I knew it I was good at wrestling and people wanted to book me and then people wanted to sign me and people wanted me to pay me and people enjoyed what I did so my advice would be have really really small obtainable goals and hit them and then also you'll get a sense of pride and you'll become more confident who you are almost like a staircase headed up to heaven to heaven yeah I've been saying it a lot and anybody that watches my channel knows that I say vague goals get vague results and this is very similar to to what you're saying, that instead of going, yeah, I want to have a podcast. I think it's important to go, I want to have a podcast that is released once a week. Then you have a goal that you're

working towards. I want to have a podcast that gets 100 lessons a show. Then you've got goals that you're working towards. But we're here in the shadow of the Sears Center, A.E.W. All-Out, obviously, tonight. Yeah. Okay. Let's try that again. All-out is tonight. Which match on the card do you think is going to steal the show? I guess I'm really I'm really looking forward to Kenny and Pock I think because well I mean there's a lot of great matches

but I think the idea that there's not much story behind it and I've watched both of these man if you go back and listen to my not a plug for my podcast but I did an episode with Pock where he was... Well I mean I did an episode with Pock seven years ago where he was like I don't know if I can be a wrestler like I have zero confidence

And I did one with Kenny before he was in New Japan, and I think he just started going to DDT. So I know that their mindset and their mentality. Then you saw what wrestlers they became in front of everybody. So I think they're two of the best athletic wrestlers in the world, and I think they know they have this challenge. And I think they're really going to step up tonight. I want to take a second to acknowledge you and to thank you for your time. Yeah, we're going to wrap things up with us.

That's okay. I know we're done when DJ wrestling comes in. We're getting ready to hit your music. Come on. I don't know how that thing works. I want to take a second to acknowledge here. For everything you've accomplished in your career, I certainly wouldn't have a YouTube channel. I certainly wouldn't have a podcast.

Chris Van Fleet. I can plug some stuff myself, right? Do we have any Chris Van Fleet subscribers in the house here? Oh, all right. A few of them, yeah. So if you don't subscribe, it's Chris Van Fleet on all my... on all my platforms. Just push subscribe right here. How did you know?

Right here. How did you know? I've been doing this a while. But I do want to thank you for paving the way for, you know, fellow wrestlers, but also for people like me to have an opportunity to do this. So I would like to give you a big round of applause for that. So thank you. You've completely changed the game.

You know, I said, I was just like, in my head, the internet goes out, you know, everyone was like, you need TV if you want to. be in wrestling. That's the platform. But I've always said, like, the internet, everyone gets TV, everyone gets the internet. I feel it's the same field. And that's why I use the internet to get my message out there.

And I think the idea that you don't need a TV, and I know you're on TV. I am. Right. But to do your own thing, you don't have to beg some producer, you don't have to beg some team. You just do it and you put it out there.

It's very capable to do. And so, So yeah, I think anyone who wants to do anything can do anything because the internet is so accessible. It's not the same that it was in the 70s and 80s. We can do so much more now. And obviously, you're a great example. And if you do something, you get good at it, all of a sudden, you know, years later, you're really good at it.

You're really doing it. And people notice. And now you got a job with AEW, you know, and it's just amazing. And I think that's, you're a great example of how it is done and how it should be done and not going like, I'm going to do this. And if I don't make money, then I'm out. It's just like you do it and you do it because it's fun and you enjoy it and you feel yourself you're working towards something and then

a lot of perks come with it for not being like selfish or greedy just doing a thing that you love so you're killing that Chris thank you give it up well I want to thank you for this and I want to thank all of you guys for this for Coquabana ladies the gentleman you guys so man there you go that was a lot of fun I mean being there live doing it even

listen to it now you feel the energy from the crowd there if you enjoyed it please do me a favor please share with your friends, take a screenshot, tag me, tag Colt, let us know what you thought. That live crowd was great. I think we should do more interviews like that. What do you think? Should we take this show on the road?

Tweet me, Instagram me, let me know where we should bring it. Thank you to our sponsors, Greenroads. They're awesome. They're a pharmacist founded company making CBD oil. You can use my code. Chris 15 to get 15% off at greenroadsworld.com. MyBooky, you can use the promo code bluewire at mybooky.orgie.orgie, and they will double your first deposit. If you want to look good and feel good, use the promo code blue wire for any premium suit for just $369.

That includes free shipping. Indochino suits are money. And you need to look good to feel good. Indochino.com for that one. Also, it's so important to sound good, Samson Technologies at samsontech.com makes us sound good. So thank you to Colt for doing this interview. Congrats to him on absolutely everything. I don't know if I thanked him enough or congratulated him enough during the interview, but if not, there you go.

And here's a great quote that I saw this week, and I want to share with you. Whoever is trying to bring you down is already below you. Boom. Marinate on that one for a bit. Have a great week. My interview with the world's most dangerous man, Ken Shamrock, coming up in just a few days. Ooh, it's a good one. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80.

Flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987.

Hammer Alley. Ever heard of then? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.