Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Indi Hartwell On WWE Release, Joining TNA, Becoming NXT Women's Champion, Mercedes Moné

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

Indi Hartwell (@indi_hartwell) is a professional wrestler currently signed to TNA. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, CA to discuss signing with TNA and being in the crowd at Rebellion, her WWE release happening during SmackDown, keeping her WWE name, the Dexter Lumis romance storyline, winning the NXT Women's Championship in a ladder match, wrestling in Australia, finally getting a match with Mercedes Mone and more!   Quote I'm thinking about: “Life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself.” — George Bernard ShawPlease support our sponsors!   PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibcloux  SEAT GEEK: Get 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount   TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!  STASH: Go to https://get.stash.com/INSIGHTto see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures   MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off your next order at https://magicspoon.com/cvv   VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv  FABRIC: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at https://meetfabric.com/CVV   ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv  HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF   ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight   BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv   BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for free with the code CVV at https://bluechew.com   PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com   For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.    Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet. How are you, my friends? Welcome back to another one here on Inside. I'm CBV. Chris Van Fleet. Thank you for being here with us on this one. And thank you for making Insight, the number one wrestling podcast on the planet.

Hit a package pile driver on that follow button, wherever you're listening right now. Don't be like those gibronies who just listen to the show. show, but don't follow the show. And according to the analytics, that's like 65% of you who just listen to the show, but haven't clicked that follow button yet. Following the show and rating it on Spotify are really the only things I ever ask for. So I'll thank you in advance for that.

And as the show keeps getting bigger, the guests will keep getting bigger as well. You'll know my guest today, Indie Hartwell, from her time in WWE, both on the main roster and in NXT, where she was the NXT women's champion. Indy was released from WWE in November of last year, but she crossed the line at Rebellion on April 27th. She is now officially part of the TNA roster, and there are so many great matchups for her in TNA. The knockouts division is stacked.

Actually, the TNA roster in general is just full of talent. Do not sleep on TNA. It is so, so good. Snap a screenshot. Let us know you're listening to this and tag us when you posted on social media. She's at Indy underscore Hartwell on X. She's at Indy Hartwell on IG.

And she tells me a story about how she was able to keep her name from WWE. That's a WWE name. She was able to keep it. And it's a fascinating story. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. You can also check out her website. It's Indy Wrestling.com. Indie with an eye, of course, wrestling.com.

And here we go. let's get right into this one with Indy Hartwell. Well, it's great to see you. It's great to see you. And congratulations on TNA. Thank you. Thank you. You've officially crossed the line.

Yeah, I have. I've been wanting to cross the line. Finally did it. It feels like there was an opportunity to maybe do it before, right? This partnership has been so interesting with people being able to go from NXT to TNA. You're now full on TNA. Yeah. I think that partnership.

came about after I had already left, I believe. I guess, I guess, well, I don't know, because Joe Hendry was in NXT like sometime around last summer. Yeah, but I was gone. Oh, I was on the main roster. Main roster, that's it. That's it. Which, that would have been cool if I could have done stuff as part of NXT, like with TNA.

But now I'm with TNA, so we'll see what happens. I'm sure I'll be mixing it up with some of the NXT people. Yeah. How have these last few months been for you? It's been. it's been like up and down, like a roller coaster. Like I remember the first week after I got released, I just felt like really grateful.

Like this is how my emotions went. First week, I was just super grateful for what I had, you know? I'm kind of like you. I like to saturate my mind with gratitude. And that helps me like keep perspective. So first week I was really grateful. Second week, I kind of got like frustrated and mad. Third week, I kind of got sad.

And then after that, like, I felt, I felt fine. And now it's been like five months, I think, six months, almost. And, yeah, I've been feeling really good, excited because, like, there's just so much to do. It feels like the hardest thing about it would be the fact that you have no control, right? Like, it's just taken away from you. Yeah. You have no say in it. Yeah.

Did you feel like this was coming? I didn't honestly feel like it was coming, especially when it happened. And so my whole time at WWE, I was always scared of getting released. And added another factor to it is that I'm an international. So people don't really understand like visas, green cards. You understand. But that was something that was like always in the back of my mind, like being scared of being fired. But it wasn't until my last two weeks at WWE, I finally felt like comfortable.

And I finally felt like, yeah, okay, I'm part of the roster. Like I did the Netflix shoot and then and then I got released. So are you good on your visa, your green card? I have my green card. Amazing. And shout out to WWE because they did it for me and they paid for it. This was a few years ago. Oh, good.

Yeah, I'm super grateful. Like, I know a lot of people, they have to worry about that. I saw what Steph SDL went through when she got released. And it's something that, like, Americans don't really understand the whole the visa thing, but I'm good. Yeah, I remember the iconics being like, we don't know what to do. We were supposed to take care of that. Yeah. And then.

I don't work there anymore. Yeah, and then when they get released, it's kind of like you're on your own. So they had to go through, like, all these hoops to get there. So, yeah, I'm grateful that WWE did mine for me. So where did the shift happen going from being scared you were going to get released to going, I'm good. Like, things are going well. I think Candice and I started working with Bailey and Naomi, I think. We were supposed to do something with Meachin and Bailey and then the segment got cut.

And then the next week we started something and like I had the tag match with Bailey and Naomi, which was my last match. And then I did the Netflix shoot at the headquarters. And then I was like, okay, I finally feel like I'm like a little bit safe for now. But then I got the call. Was it was it difficult that you get released, but the match that you had already taped airs on the day you get released? It was so weird. It was weird. like when, well, fun fact, I missed the call when they called me to release me. So I made the call

to get fired. Oh, no. Yeah. Like, I had a text message. I didn't see I had a missed call. And then I had a text message saying, hey, it's blah, blah, blah from TR. Like, can you call us back? So I called back and I thought it was like for a completely different topic. And I had lost my voice as well. So when I called back, I was like, oh, hey, sorry, like I lost my voice. Ha ha. They're like, oh, we're calling with some unfortunate news. And I was so confused because I wanted to say, but like, what do you mean? Like, I'm on the show tonight. Like, my match was taped last week.

Like, I'm on the show tonight. But, yeah, it was weird. Was there any talk of that match being removed from the show? No, I don't think so. I mean, it was already filmed. Like, it was part of the story, I guess. But, yeah, it was weird because that's happened a lot with back in the day with like 205 live and stuff. People had filmed a match that week and then got and released.

the day that the match was going to air on 205 Live. So, yeah. It's a nice little promotion for you. Like, hey, this person doesn't work here anymore, but they're good enough to be on the show. And some people didn't know that that SmackDown was taped the week before, so they thought that I got released and then had to, like, go out that night and wrestle. Could you imagine?

That would be crazy. How'd you get to keep your name? I just asked. Oh, wow. Yeah. And that's it. Well, this is how it went. So I've had this name my whole wrestling career.

When I started at NXT, when you start wrestling on live events, they make you wrestle under your real name. So I wrestled under my real name for a bit. And then I think I had a dark match at NXT. And I just asked Road Dog like, can I be Indy Heartwell for this? And he's like, oh, yeah, I'll ask. Why not? And then they let me be indie heart well for the dark match. And then it kind of just like kept going.

And then I got on TV with it. I got my action figure with that name. I got in the game with that name. And then I think it was when NXT 2.0 started. They went through that whole weird thing of like, you have to, you can't have your real name. And you also can't have a name that we don't own. So they gave me the option to change my name or sell it to them. So I sold it to them.

And then it was always in the back of my mind like, oh my gosh, if I get released, like, what name am I going to be? Like, that's a big deal to me. So then when I got the call that I was being released, they said, okay, yeah, we're releasing you. I said, okay, cool. So I sold my name to the company. Is there any way I can get that back? And then we got it all figured out. I got the rights and stuff to it.

That's a rare thing. Yeah. I'm very lucky. Yeah, because then you'd have to figure out, all right, what's my new name now? Yeah. How can I market that so people understand that the person that was formally Indy Hartwell is now whatever this new name is. Yeah. The fact that you can keep your name, that makes this transition that much easier.

Yeah, 100%. I'm really blessed because, like, most people, only know me as Indy. So, yeah, I'm so grateful. That was another thing that I didn't really have to worry about. How did you even come up with Indy Harwell? So, let me just, because I used the porn star method. Do you know what that is? Like a date and like that street you lived on or something? Do you know who Iggy Azalea is? Of course, yeah. Yeah, so this was like before I started wrestling. Like, I'm a big fan of her. And that's how she got her name, right? So then me and my friend. And, my friend, we were like just coming up with our

porn star name and it was like your dog name plus your street name I think and then Indy Hartwell was my friend's dog name and street name and then years later when it came time for me to wrestle the promoter was like what name do you want to be and I was like I don't know Indy Hartwell and then that's what it was. It's really good

It's a good name isn't it? It is. There's no other indies in wrestling that I know of but also the whole like Indy Harwell indie wrestling I'm Indy wrestling. So it all worked out very well. And the fact that you have indie wrestling.com is brilliant. Yeah. It's really good. Yeah. And you've been putting out this great stuff on YouTube. Anybody watching on YouTube right now should subscribe to Indy. Thank you. Thank you. Link it below for you. Let's get you to 100,000 subscribers. That's the goal by the end of the year.

By the end of the year. You said I could reach a million by the end of the year. I think I meant 100,000. Yeah. I think 100,000 would be a good goal. You're at 41,000. Okay, 41,000. We sit here right now. I subscribed you on both of my channels. Thank you. I don't see why you couldn't get to 100,000 if you consistently put out the stuff you've been putting out. Yeah, that's it. It's just about the consistency with anything in life, really, consistency.

Your views are great, too. Are they? Yes. Okay. Like, I think that... Some better than others. Sure. But I think that it would be reasonable to think that you would have five or 10,000 views for a video.

You have way more than that. Yeah. Yeah. Some of your videos have hundreds of thousands of views. Yeah. Thanks to Dexter. Is he still your husband? It's complicated.

As you look at your... I'm not wearing the ring. Everyone asks me that, like, all these signings that I've done recently, they're like, are you still with Dexter? I'm like, oh, it's complicated. It's the only, one of the only successful wedding marriages. Yeah. Yeah.

It was good. Because almost every wedding marriage, it either ends in just a bunch of people beating each other up. Yeah. Or it turns into you guys somehow fighting each other or a mix. tag or something like that. I think everyone thought that it would like go wrong. Yes. But it didn't.

No. It actually went very right. And again, one of the very few wrestling weddings that is call it successful. So congratulations to. Thank you. Index. Index. What a name.

So good, isn't it? It's probably one of the best couple names. Yeah. And one of the best couples. I guess so as well. He's a man of very few words. He talks a lot to me. That's why I tell people he doesn't shut up.

up. Like, I just saw this clip yesterday on Twitter. And it was like when the storyline first started and he's on the apron and I'm in the ring and he's just standing there. And I'm saying to him like, shut up. You talk too much. And he's not saying anything. It's just like so good. He has mastered whatever this version of Dexter Loomis is. He's just brilliant for it. Yeah. He's amazing. Yeah. When you guys together, it's like polar opposites. It works really well. Yeah. Who even came up with the idea of pairing you guys together? I don't even know.

I think it was just a, it was supposed to be a one-off thing. I think it started with Johnny was having a match with Dexter and they had me ringside. And we just had this moment where we looked at each other. And I think I backed up and I hit the ring post. And that's something that I did in rehearsal, like as a joke, which a lot of things I would do as a joke. And they'd be like, oh, do that on TV. So we did it. And it got really good reaction.

So then every week, the creative was like something with, me and Dexter. And I didn't know what it was going to turn into, honestly. Well, look what it turned into. Yeah. That's a thing that people bring up still to this day. Yeah. When I do the signings and stuff, like 98% of people will bring up index, which I love. I love that people loved it. If we take it back, where did this begin for you? How did you find wrestling or how did wrestling find you? I found wrestling through my brother. So I have an older brother. and he was watching it. He had the games.

And I don't remember what the first thing I saw on TV was, but I just remember seeing it and being like, what is this? Like, when you have never seen wrestling and you turn on the channel and you see like these big men in a ring and maybe they're wrestling, maybe they're not, it's just like, it's crazy. It's like this soap opera with like sports and it was just crazy. I remember one of the first things, though, that I saw was when Snits ski kicked the baby into the crowd.

So it was like those, those ridiculous storylines that, like, made me, like, really stick to it. So when I got to do the Dexter stuff, I loved it because it's like, I'm getting to do things that people are going to remember. People are going to be like, people are going to turn the channel and see me and him having a pillow fight. Be like, what is this?

Yeah. Yeah, what is that? That's how I got into it. And then my brother kind of, like, fell off with wrestling, and I just became obsessed with it, like, obsessed with it. And I remember in primary school, there were like a few boys that we would all talk about wrestling. And then I started high school. In Australia, we start high school in year seven, or seventh grade.

I went to an all-girls school. So I told myself, I'm going to stop watching wrestling because, like, I don't want to get bullied. You want to fit in. I want to fit in. So I stopped watching wrestling for like two years. Then, like, two years later, I was like, let me get back into wrestling. Like, I missed it. And then it just went crazy.

What sports were you playing growing up? I played basketball and soccer. I also did dancing for 10 years, which is crazy because, like, I'm not a good dancer. Wow. But I'm sure there's a lot of parallels between. Yeah, I guess, like, performing on stage is something that, like, translates over. And also controlling your body. Controlling your body, yeah.

And then with, like, basketball and soccer. Because, like, playing team sports, I know wrestling is, like, it's not considered a team sport, but it really is, like, you're working with other people to, you know, you're collaborating on this thing to. to make it the best it can be. Yeah, the better that you make them look, the better that you end up looking as well. Yeah.

So when did you realize wrestling was a possibility for you? I think I went to like a local grocery store and I saw like a poster for local wrestling. And I was like, oh my God, like other wrestling exists. So then I begged my dad to take me for ages and like he wouldn't because my parents aren't the biggest fans of wrestling. They didn't really want me to like be into it, I guess because it's dangerous. Sure.

So then my dad started taking me to these local shows. And that's when I realized, like, okay, like, becoming a wrestler is, like, a possibility in Australia. But it wasn't until, like, people know this about me. I saw the Bailey and Sasha Banks match, NXT takeover, Brooklyn in 2015. I remember watching that match being like, oh, my God, like, these girls are amazing.

Like, I want to do that. I can do that. I know I can do that. Then, like, I opened a new tab on my laptop and just sign up for wrestling school then. Yeah. Did it feel like a possibility to get to WWE? Because for so long, there weren't Australians in WWA. Tenil kind of broke the mold.

Yeah. And now we've seen many other Australians. Yeah. But as you're coming up, it's like, is it just the Indies? And that's the only thing you're focusing on? I will say without people like Teneal and Buddy and the Iconics, Shane and Mikey, like, it's, they showed me that it is possible. So, I mean, if they hadn't have made it before me, I probably would have thought,

like, ah, it's not going to happen. But I know this sounds really cocky, but I just knew from as soon as I started wrestling, like I knew I was going to make it to where I made it. I just manifested it and believed in myself. Like, I dropped out of university right when I started wrestling training. So I really didn't have like a backup plan. So I had to just go all out on it.

And yeah, because of those people that, you know, they kind of like paved the way the people like me. and like Ria now and all the other Australians. So, yeah, crazy. What gave you that belief that it was going to work out? I don't know. I just had a lot of confidence in myself, which I don't know if I had that same confidence now.

I was 19 when I started and I just knew I was so laser focused and everything I did from that point on when I started training was like to get to America, to get to WWE. and everything worked out pretty well. How did you eventually get on the radar? So I was really lucky. I had a tryout really early on. So I started wrestling in 2016.

Later that year, NXT came for a tour in Australia. And my trainer at the time, he helped me put together a resume, which the resume was nothing. I had like 10 matches, maybe. So I sent the resume off and they invited me to the tryout,

and this was the triad that Ria got signed from. Everyone calls it the Ria tryout, because like they weren't looking at anyone else. like they were only looking at her. But I thought that I was going to get signed. Like I was that confident. And obviously I didn't get signed from that. But I was able to like stay in contact with them.

The guy at the time Canyon Seaman, he was the like the recruiter. So I remember after the tryout, I emailed them being like, thank you. And they said, thanks, but we're not going to hire you. Like you need more experience to check back in six months. So then six months to the day. Like I put it in my calendar. I think I went to America. China, did some indies, and then six months to the day, I emailed again. I said, hey, this is what I've done.

They said, okay, check back in a year with us. So then I go back out, do all this, travel around, train, get exposure experience, and then a year to the day, I email again, hey, this is what I've done, here's promo picks, all that matches. They said, okay, get back to us in six months. So it was kind of just like a, like, go away. And I just knew one day that a no would turn into a yes. But it didn't sound like it was a no, though. It sounded like not yet. And the fact that they kept getting back to you is a good sign. Yeah, yeah.

Well, I'm just so lucky that I had that first, like, foot in the door from the tryout. But, yeah, I mean, I'm grateful that they kept responding back to me. But I did feel like they were kind of like, just go away. It sounds like you were pleasantly persistent. Yeah, it definitely helped because then what eventually got me signed was like an indie show that I did in somewhere in New York for Mania Week in 2019 and Canyon and Regal were in the crowd and that's like I came back from my match

and I had an email from them saying that they were going to sign me. It was crazy. Like same night? Yeah, same night. Like I got back to my phone after the match and on my lock screen. I have the screenshot of it and it said, Regal and I saw you work tonight. There's an opportunity for you.

We'll connect after Mania. Because it was like the week before WrestleMania. And at the time, I think it was when like May Young Classic that were going to maybe do a third one. And he said, and just to be clear, it's more than May Young Classic. And I was like, oh, my God. And then I got home like a few weeks later and I got a call one night and they told me that they were going to sign me. Wow.

Yeah. So if the goal for your entire career is to get to WWE, then you get to WWW. Then do you just like flip into another gear? It's like, all right, I'm here now. I've got to prove myself. Yeah. It's kind of like a fresh start. But you probably heard from other wrestlers, like, they don't really take into account

like what you did before. It's kind of like a fresh canvas. But yeah, it was kind of like getting into another gear. Like this is a whole big life change. Living in another country, it was a big life change. Yeah, well, I've moved to America. I've been here now 15 years, but there's so many things that are different. Yeah.

People think it's similar because, like, we speak the same language. But, like, there's a lot that's different. Driving, that's one thing. That was like, as soon as I landed in America, like, they got me a rental car and I just got thrown in the deep end. I had to drive. My mom was with me. She's like holding on to the car and stuff. Because it's on the other side of the road, right?

Yeah. And then like, do I turn right on red? Can I turn right on red? Yeah. Some states you can. Some states you can. I just turn. I turn in every state.

Can you do it here? Because I've been doing it here. Okay. Yeah. Good. But there's some states you can't. Right. I don't know which states those are.

When I went to Australia, there were like, someone was like, have you eaten, uh, ganda? I'm gonna go to macas. I'm like, Macas. What the heck is that? McDonald's. Right, it's called McDonald's. But on the signs, it says Maca's. It does? Yeah, if you look up the Golden Archers with the Big Am, it says macas.

Why do you guys put eggs on everything? Do we? Like, can you go to like the, the Macaazi as an egg on it? Because we do like a burger with the lot. It's like with an egg on it. I don't know what else we put eggs on, though. Pizza? maybe? Yeah, maybe. Maybe. We just love our eggs. I guess. I love Australia, but there were some

things there. The pace of life is so much slower, which I think I appreciated it a lot. Maybe just where I was. I was on the Gold Coast. Yeah, Gold Coast is like a holiday destination. Yes, everyone was just like talking about surfing all day. Yeah, that's like where most Australians will go there for like vacation. Gotcha. Yeah. Okay. That explains it. I'm from Melbourne, though. Different, right? Yeah. Melbourne's still a big city. Yeah. Most livable city in the world, seven years in a row.

Wow. Yeah. It's amazing. I love Melbourne. I can tell. Yeah. Did you get back often? When I was with WWE, no.

And there was a period of time where I didn't go home for three years. I was like over COVID. So I didn't see like my grandparents, my brother for three years. My mom came, I think, during that time. But now my schedule is like more free. So I'm working over there every few. months doing like a, I'm working for an old promoter that I worked for for Renegades of Wrestling. So I'm their women's champion right now. So I'm getting to go back every few months,

which is amazing because I get to help the scene over there. I get to see my family. It's a long trip though. And I think it's important for people there who are coming up to see someone who's been there and done it. Yeah. And then they can pick your brain or ask you questions about it. But like the fact that you've been there and you know what that process looks like. I think that's so helpful. Yeah, especially because when I went back in March, A lot of the people on the show, people that I wrestled with before I was in WWE, plus a lot of new people that I didn't know. So it is cool for them.

It's weird for me because, like, I feel like I don't really have much advice to give. But I guess I do. Like, I've seen a lot of things over here. I've learned a lot. I have a lot of experience to give back. So I'm excited to, like, help, especially the girls over there. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm.

joined by my co-host, Megan Clenembert. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Times ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really take their claim, and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures,

but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Hencoe. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. So when you did get into WWE, what was the moment that really started to change things for you when things really started to work? Work in what way? I think maybe it's the way, maybe when you got paired with them.

Yeah, I think working with the way and working with Dexter, like, helped me with, like, character stuff and storytelling because it really helped me realize it's really not about what we do in the ring. Because a lot of the stuff we did were, like, backstage segments, therapy segments, hillophy, it's, like, all this, like, crazy shit that wasn't. like in the ring. So it helped me like bring out my personality and like just being alongside Candace and Johnny and Austin like it helped me with my confidence.

So it was like maybe a little turning point for me. And then you win the NXT Women's Championship. Kind of feels like it kind of happened out of nowhere. It did happen out of nowhere. I was shocked. I was shocked. Why were you shocked? Everyone was shocked.

Because so this is how it happened. I wasn't really being used on TV at the time. I think I was on like level of. at the time. And then I wasn't even booked in the ladder match. And it was like a week before, two weeks before. I lost my qualifying match. And I just really wanted to be at Mania Week because everyone wants to be at Mania Week.

So I remember I saw Coach Bloom in the gym and I asked him, hey, is anywhere I can help with the tryout just so I can be there. And he was like, oh, like, do you have new gear for L.A.? And I was like, no. And he's like, well, I would get gear if I were you. And I was like, okay. Then the next week, I had like a last chance qualifying match and I got into the match and I was like oh cool that's

that's amazing but then like they didn't tell us the ending of the match till the night before and so we couldn't put together an ending to this match so it was pissing us all off like we can't even plan this and then Sean Michaels pulled us all aside in the hotel and I'm just eating an apple because like he's probably going to say that like Roxanne's going to win it so I'm just eating an apple and he's like oh yeah okay the winner's going to be in the winner's going to be Indy and like everyone, everyone, everyone was shocked. Even like Sarah Amato, like everyone, everyone was like, what the hell, Indies winning it. Yeah, I was very surprised.

And what's crazy is I could have had my family there because it was in L.A. So it was just like a short 15-hour flight. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. But it was a cool moment. Yeah. Yeah, what a moment for you. Yeah. And then I feel like they could have done so much more with it.

Yeah. I don't know. I think getting hurt kind of like ruined everything. thing with that. But everything happens for a reason. So everything, I think everything happened how it was supposed to. Did you immediately know you were hurt? Oh yeah. It was bad. I thought, I thought my ankle was like shattered inside my boot. And I just remember like laying there being like, I'm never getting called up. And then I looked and there was like a doctor next to me. Then they took me to the back. And then they, Roxy and Tiffany had to just like call the match on the fly.

And I was on the medical table taken off my boot. And I was like, no, no, no, I can go back out there. I can go back out of that. Because I felt bad for them having to like do that. And also, I didn't want my title reign to end like that. So I hobbled my way back out there, finish the match. What happened in that spot?

Because it didn't look that bad. Really? I don't know. You see the screenshot? My leg is like bent like. That's because we're slowing it down. Yeah. It's just like a bad like, I don't know.

My leg was under me. too much catching the dive. But I didn't even break my ankle. It was just like I guess like how what Buddy was saying to you it was just like a really bad like ligaments and all that which it probably would have been better

if I did break it. That's what they say. Wow. Because it's easier to fix. Even now it's still like gives me trouble. So you're saying it's still not at maybe 100% it's definitely not at 100% but it feels better than it did a year ago. Yeah. When you look at that screenshot it's like

I tore my meniscus as well in that. Man. Yeah. And it's just like a freak accident. Yeah. It's a freak accident, which like most, most injuries in wrestling are freak accidents. Like, people have torn the ACL just from locking up. So, yeah, it's not really a cool story.

Like, look how Triple H tore is quads. Yeah. Like hitting Jericho from behind. Yeah. It's always stupid things like that. Yeah. At least, like, have a cool story. But, you know, you're on this rise.

injured and then you're like, what now? Like, does it, did it completely throw things off? Yeah, I was like, what now? And so that happened on a Tuesday. And then that Friday was the draft. And I remember I was in PT, like doing my ankle rehab. And one of the writers came up to me and she's like, hey, we're doing a watch party for the draft tonight. Like, you have to be here. And I was like, oh my God. Like, seriously, like, I'm in so much pain with my ankle. Like, you're making me coming on a Friday night to the PC. Now I got to get. get a ride because I couldn't drive. So I go to the watch party and I didn't know I was getting called up. I found out when I was watching it. No. Yeah. It felt like when you got called up,

there wasn't much of a plan for you. I don't really know what the plan was. I think that we're going to do stuff with the way because we had a few segments together and then like the next week the segment would get cut from the show put on Raw Talk and then like the next week it would get cut completely. And then, like, I didn't know what was happening. And I didn't feel like I was in a position to, like, ask many questions. I was just happy to be there. But if you're finding out you're getting drafted the same time as everybody watching, maybe there's not a plan to begin with that. I don't know, because I was still the champion. Like, I had no idea what was happening. Like, I didn't know if that meant I had to give up the title. Like, I just had no idea, especially

because I was hurt as well. But I was so grateful that I got called up because, As I said, when I got hurt and I was laying on the floor, I was like, I'm never getting called up. But I did. And then you've got some great matches when you got called up. Like you got the opportunity to work with Becky Lynch. Yeah. What was it like working with Becky? Oh my gosh.

My anxiety was like through the roof that day. It was like, I don't think I've ever been more nervous for a match. Really? Yeah. But she was amazing to work with. And like, I'm so grateful that she spoke up and. asked to work with me and I think Tegan and Zaya Lee. So she helped us a bunch.

That was like one of my only singles matches on the main roster because I was in the tag team. So yeah, I learned a lot from her and I'm, I just feel grateful that I got to work her. You were doing so much stuff in WWE as part of a tag team. You did have the rare opportunity to work singles matches, but, you know, if you're not working a lot of singles matches, how does your psychology change going into those? Well, you know you're going to be a bit more gassed.

Because even when I got released, I was like, oh, my God, I'm going to be doing singles matches now. Like, I'm going to get my cardio up. So I started running. But yeah, it is different. But I just listened to Becky and I learned a lot from her. And it was just overall, like, such a good experience. You also had the opportunity to work with Ria Ripley. Yeah.

So, you know, this is something if you go back 10, 20 years ago, two Australian women wrestling each other in WWE. Yeah. Would have been unheard of. I never would have imagined that. Like growing up watching WWE, I never would have imagined that we would see that. So that was special. Her and I have known each other for so long,

since before we were wrestlers. We met at the airport meeting the wrestlers. Really? Yeah. Like just as fans? Yeah. Who did you get to meet back then? Oh my gosh.

That day that her and I met, I met like A.J. Lee, Daniel Bryan, Layla, who else? There's so many people. I met CM Punk that day too, but it was like at a signing. But yeah, it was special because like W.D. We didn't come to Australia often. So then when they did, all the fans went crazy.

So what was the biggest full circle moment from? I met them as a fan. Fast forward all these years. They're now my colleague and we're together backstage. Probably with Bailey and Mercedes. because they're the ones that like really made me become a wrestler. So then like being friends with them now and getting to wrestle them. I think that's like a full circle moment.

But there's so many. Like even CM Punk. Like I met him in 2012 as a fan and then I never thought he would come back to WWE. Came back to WWE and I'm on the roster. Like that's insane. Yeah, there's that photo right. Yeah. Have you guys meeting then.

Yeah, we recreated it. I think we recreated it the other way though where I'm at the table and he's the fan. Yeah. So yeah. Did you have a chance to tell Bailey and Mercedes how much that match meant to you? Yeah. They've known that. They knew that, I think, before they even knew me, there's a lot of girls that say that they were inspired by them.

But I think for them to see someone actually make it to a high level saying that they got inspired by them, I know that means a lot to them. So they've inspired so many girls that you see on TV every week. So once you do get released, you now have a. It's a blank slate. You know, you can do whatever you want to do. What did you do during that time? You got 90 days to figure things out. You said you started running.

Yeah, that was like one of the cardio up. Yeah. So I started the YouTube. The YouTube thing was something that I wanted to do for a while. But it was kind of like I kept putting it off. And then when I got released, I was like, okay, bought the camera. Let me start this channel. And you're editing all your own videos?

Yeah, I am. Just doing it on my phone as well. Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah. So I started running as well, which I hate running. But that's why I do it. I do it because I hate it, but I know it's good for me. I know what's going to help me with wrestling.

Because like I said, going from tag team to singles, I got to get my cardio up. So that's what I did. I got to go home for a bit for longer than four days. Because when I was with WWE, if I got to go home for Christmas, it was like for four days. So got to see the family and just like work on myself, work on my body, all that. And then do you think about what do I want to look like? What do I want my character to be like after this is all done? Yeah, I thought about, well, first of all, I had to think, like, do I even want to keep wrestling?

So I remember the night that I got released, Bailey called me. She's like, oh, now you can have your dream match with Mercedes. I was like, dude, I don't even know if I want to wrestle. But then I snapped out of it. And I was like, I'm only 28. Like, I feel like I have so much more to do in wrestling. So I just had to, like, you know, get my brain right. and yeah.

Why did you want to stop? You were so hurt from being released? Not hurt from being released. I think just like maybe the past year or two of not really getting to do much. It kind of like, I don't know, like, rips away your like enthusiasm for it or your love for it or your confidence. Especially confidence. That's a main thing for me that I've had like, I just got to get my confidence back. up and like remember who I was.

Well, you've seen the reaction after signing with TNA. So I'm sure your confidence is soaring now. Yeah, confidence is getting back up. Yeah, but people are pumped that you're in TNA. Yeah, I'm pumped. And TNA for a long, long time with the knockout division, has had one of, if not the strongest women's division. Yeah.

I remember when I first discovered TNA in Australia, like I was flicking through the channels. I didn't know other wrestling existed. And then I saw, I saw this wrestling. on another random channel. I was like, oh my God, like, there's another company. And then the knockouts, the knockouts at the time, like compared to the divas, the divas were getting the really short matches. The knockouts were having these, like, longer matches.

I was like, damn, I want to be like that. So, yeah, I've been a huge fan of TNA. I showed it on my YouTube as well. I went through my childhood bedroom and I have, like, all the DVDs, all the merch. I've got belts. I'm a true fan. Well, maybe you have a, you know, a real belt. Yeah, I want to turn a plastic one to a real one.

I like that. Who were some of the dream matches in TNA? Right now? Yeah. Well, I can't not say Masha. She's the champion. Sure. She's the champion, but I'm the knockout.

And I want to win that. She's what I got my eyes set on. I like that. Also, I got history with a lot of the knockouts. Like, I got history with Steph. Her and I, we tag together. We're real life best friends. There's some girls that I wrestled in WWE, so I'm sure I'll come across them.

Yeah, there's a lot of possibilities there. A lot. And I feel like TNA over the last year or so has just been crushing it. Yeah. I am a long time TNA fan. Yeah. And I mean, Samo Joe sat exactly where you sat. And we talked a lot about TNA.

AJ Stiles was on the show recently. You, of course, can't think of TNA without thinking of A.J. Stiles. Yeah, absolutely. They've had so many great matches. And I feel like there might have been people who didn't watch TNA for a while that are coming back and going, oh, my goodness. Yeah. It's the in ring product is so good in TNA.

It's so good. And before I did my segment at Rebellion, I was out there for a bit watching the Mike Santana, Mustafa Ali match. It was just like, it was crazy. Like, they're so good and like the crowd was amazing.

The atmosphere was just so good. So props to them for like putting on that show and getting that amazing crowd. So you feel like your indie heartwell again? Like maybe there was, you know, the last few months you were maybe questioning things. Yeah. I think I'm still like,

I'm still on my way to finding it. Well, you had a match with Mercedes. Yes, I did. Is that like a bucketless moment? Definitely. And that did wonders for the old confidence as well. Like after that match, I was like, oh, my gosh, I love wrestling. I love this.

It was just such a good experience and getting to work her. She is amazing. Like, she's doing amazing stuff right now. I'm just like blessed. Also, that match wasn't even supposed to happen. It's supposed to be like a six-man tag match. and then the night before I saw on her story

she posted the match graphic of me and her so I responded I was like oh we're wrestling like this is happening you didn't know no I didn't know it was supposed to be a tag match but I think things got changed around but no one told me I just find out things either by watching it on TV

or just seeing it online what a nice surprise it was a nice surprise it was good because I found out the night before I didn't really have time to like freak out about it which I guess was good Yeah, maybe then you don't overthink about it. Yeah.

And everything just went so, like, smooth. It was such a great time. Is one of the pinch me moments for you? Is it wrestling in your home country? You're in Perth, elimination chamber, and you get to have a match? Yeah, that's definitely career highlight. And I didn't know that I was going to have a match. Like, I was asking every week, like, is it any way I can be on the show?

And then I think they only announced the match the day before. We were already in Perth. They hadn't even announced the match. So I kept thinking maybe it's not going to happen, but it did. And it was amazing because my whole family was there, all like the other wrestlers that I came up with in Australia were there. So that was definitely a pinch me moment. So they were just going to fly you in and not have you be part of the show?

No, they flew me in to be in that pre-show match, but they hadn't announced it yet. So I thought, you know, in wrestling, nothing happens until it happens. Right. Card is always subject to change. So I thought there could be a chance that they don't put the match on, but they did. So were they just doing this as a nice surprise for you? I don't know.

Maybe, I don't know. Maybe. I'm grateful I got to do it. Yeah, that's cool. The crowd was insane. Yeah. And you're right. They don't go there that often.

No, they don't. So if you're not on that card, it's like, well, will this happen again? Yeah, especially like a big stadium show. Yeah. Yeah. You've had a lot of great moments. Thank you. I also feel like there's been moments where you've been real close and it hasn't happened.

What are some of, what's a moment where you feel like you could have, things could have been maybe taken to another level and they didn't run with her. He didn't have an opportunity. Maybe not going with the index storyline on the main roster. Because a lot of the index and the way stuff was like during the pandemic. So smaller crowds and maybe some people weren't watching NXT because like NXT and main roster like they're. It can be a big disconnect. So I think if we got to do the index stuff on the main roster in front of a big audience, that would have been cool.

And then who knows if I didn't get hurt, I could have had a long reign with the NXT women's title and that could have gone somewhere. But like I said, everything happens for a reason. So I know everything was like meant to happen how it did. Yeah. All of those things happening in the order that they happen lead you to where you are now. Yeah. With the things that you're doing now.

Yep. And what kind of goals do you have now that you? you're free to do whatever you want. Well, I do want to win some gold in TNA. So like I said, I got my eyes on Marsha. I want to get my confidence back. I want to, you know, really put my YouTube out there. And I want to let people in a bit more because I feel like I'm very mysterious.

One of my trainers back home used to say that I was guarded. I was like, what do you mean? Like, I'm not guarded. But I do realize that I am. Like, I don't really let people in a lot to see who I am. That's why I started the YouTube, just so people can, like, get to know me. That's what I'm kind of focused on. Well, if you're putting that out there, I don't know how people could think that you're, you know, not being forthcoming about all of this.

You're letting us behind the curtain. Yeah, exactly. I think, like, the fans really appreciate that. They love to see, like, a little bit behind the curtain. I think you've got to set a day to put out vlogs every week. Now, you're putting me on the spot now. Now I've got to do it. You don't have to pick a day on the show right now, but I'm just saying that if you said,

for example, every Friday you'd have a new vlog out. Yeah. People will be waiting for that vlog to come out. I know. But I should do that. But it also makes you figure out. Now you've only got six days or seven days, I guess, to figure out content. Yeah.

And like if it's a boring week, you got to somehow make a video out of that. That's true. But what you think is boring might be super exciting to other people. That's really true because I love to watch random YouTubers just doing nothing. Yeah. So I'm sure people would love to watch me do nothing. Like ridiculous things. Like you're here in L.A. right now.

People would love to see you go to like in and out. What's Indy going to order it in and out? That's actually a good idea. I had Jack in the box the other day. Is that a California thing? I think it's like a West Coast thing. It was amazing. Was it?

I got everything on the menu. I got the tiny tacos, the churros, a chicken sandwich, a normal burger, curly fries, Zero normal risers. It sounds like so much indigestion. Just a little bit of everything. Yeah. That would have been a great vlog.

I know. It would have. This is what we're talking about here. I know. Sometimes I forget to bring my camera or forget to bring the camera out. You got a camera in your pocket. Yeah. That's good enough.

I know. So I think that it's like, again, things that you might think are insignificant or just whatever. Well, people watch me build Lego on TikTok. There you go. Yeah. So I thought like, that's not really fun to watch. But yesterday I scrolled past someone building Lego and I stopped and I started watching it. That is fun to watch.

This is how people feel when they're watching me. There you go. Yeah. So you're right. But I think that like you go into the gym, you, you did that video where you went and saw Dexter. Yeah. And you took some bumps with him. Yeah.

And that got, I don't know, 150,000 views. Yeah, it did really well. So I think that it's like people love seeing that. Yeah. A lot of people want to see different things. Like people want to see more wrestling training stuff or gym stuff or behind the scenes. like at a show. So I have to figure out exactly what I'm going to put out there.

And just seeing a glimpse of one of their favorite wrestlers out of character. Yeah. So if you're hanging out with someone that they love and, oh my gosh, that person also loves Jack in the Box or whatever. Yeah. True that. I might have to go get in and out today and film it. I think you do.

Thanks. It's like a few blocks from here. Okay. Get something on the secret menu and film a vlog about it. What's on the secret menu? Oh, there are so many things in the same. Is that the animal style? And the protein style?

That's another one, yeah. There's so many things, four by four. Okay. There's lots of different things. Yeah, because their menu is quite small. Very. Yeah. Jack in the box had a huge menu.

Almost too much. Yeah, that's why I got so much. Spent like $60 on the food. That's a vlog. Yeah, damn. Dominic Mysterio was like, have you ever done pickle fried? Or, sorry, mustard fried. Like, what do you mean mustard fried?

He's like, oh, they'll put mustard on it while it's on the grill. So they're like grilling it with mustard on it. So like crisps up or what? A little bit. It just gives it a bit more of flavor. Okay. I didn't know about this. Oh.

His order was intense. Like he knew everything. Oh, really? There's some people that'll be like, give me half well done fries, half normal fries and mix it up. Like that's another secret menu item. But what's a well done fry? Like a little crispier.

Okay. On the outside, a little crunch to it. Damn, making a lot of work for those workers to do all this. They are very used to the. That's the whole beauty of In and Out It's like they're speaking a different language Yeah, yeah, yeah So there's a

Look, we're just coming up with all these vlog ideas I know, right? I'm gonna have to write these down Because I've got a, I've got till Saturday here in L.A., so I've got some time. Pons of vlogs. You go to the beach, make a whole vlog there. Yeah.

Just go to Venice Beach and film all the street performers. I went to Disney yesterday by myself. I recorded some stuff of me on the car's ride. The great thing about going to Disney by yourself is, are there any single, riders? Yeah. Boom. Go past the whole line. I was so silly and I bought like the lightning lane thing.

And then I was like, wait, I could have just gone single riders. Like I went into the lightning lane and the line was longer than the single riders. I was like, what am I doing? Is this your first time going to Disneyland? No, I went like years ago with my family, but I hadn't been in a long time. Yeah. So it was fun. Yeah, I think land has some nice things that world doesn't have.

No, but I was at California Adventure. Oh. Did you go on Soren? It was closed. Oh, no. And that's like one of my favorite rides. Because we had that in Florida. And it was closed for refurbishment from the 28th of April to the 1st of May.

I was like, oh my gosh. You'll have to go back on the second. I know, right? Yeah, I think I will, yeah. Smell those orange fields that you fly over them. It's so good. It's one of the best rides, I think. Look at all these vlog ideas we're coming up with.

You know how many subscribers you're going to have from people going, I want to see Indigo to jack in the box. They're going to go on my page and be like, where's the In-N-Out blog? Where's the Soren blog? Well, yeah. It's all right. It's coming. It's coming.

But it could literally anything you do is content. Like your journey over here. Yeah. That's something that I am learning that like anything can be content. Yes. You just got to pull out your camera and record it. Right. So your journey over here, us hanging out before we hit record.

Like, yeah. That's a vlog. That's true. Or at least maybe it's 10 seconds of a vlog. Yeah. It's B-roll. Yeah, it's B-roll. Yeah.

But I love that you're thinking in that mindset. And I also think that when you start to think of the idea of everything as content, kind of feels like you creep into the space of all, everything is wrestling as well. Like, everything in this world has ties back to wrestling in some sort of way. Yeah, because wrestling is very relatable to real life. Like good and evil. Yeah. All that stuff.

You think about like cutting a promo. somebody, like maybe it's a nice promo. Maybe it's like, hey. Yeah, well, yesterday I was waiting in line and people behind me were saving a spot in this line for 10 family members. So 10 family members cut in line, like, I wanted to cut a promo on them and be like, what the hell are you doing? Yeah, that's not how this works.

I stayed quiet though. I didn't want any trouble. You could have had like a, can I ask you a question? Is it your first time here? I'm just wondering. Yeah. I'm just wondering if it's your first time here, because that's not how this works.

She said, can I ask you a question? What do you think you are? Should have done that. The girl in front of me actually started yelling at them. But I do not like confrontation, especially because I was like by myself and I was just like, okay, let me just like pretend I didn't see it, which is not good. And I understand that. I've resorted to this mentality of like, this happens when you're boarding an airplane

and people are all trying to like get on in front of you. And I'm like, we're all going to the same place. Yes. Does it really matter? Exactly. I'm not going to steal your seat. Yeah. Unless it's Southwest.

Right. This person seems very excited to get on there before me. Yeah. That's fine, sir. Totally agree. I'll see you in 45 seconds. I'll see you there. That's totally fine.

Or when someone, like, cuts you off and you end up at the same red light together, it's like, okay. Yeah. Congrats. Yeah. It doesn't matter. Yeah. It doesn't matter. I want to say we both have a theme song from Downstate.

Yeah. Downstate. They are the best. They are the best. Also, shout out to Chelsea Green because she's the one that made that happen for me. How? She texted, I think the day after I got released, or maybe that night, she put me in a group chat with Zach.

A lead singer. Yeah. And she connected us. I think, I don't know if they reached out to her to reach out to me, but she put us together. And like I said, at that time, I didn't know if I wanted to keep wrestling. So I said to them, hey, like, I'm not sure right now. Like, I'll get back to you. So then a few weeks later, I was like, okay, let's do it.

It was such a cool experience getting to work with them and getting to collaborate, give them like some ideas and see what they came up with because they're incredible. Where did the process start with you? Because for me, they sent me like three riffs. And they were like, are any of these in the ballpark? Okay. Oh, actually, that second one's great. Okay.

So for me, I gave them like an idea of what I wanted. So I really like limp biscuit. Yeah, it has a big limbiscuit feel. And Limp Biscuit is very, like, wrestling and, like, early 2000. So I really liked that kind of vibe. So I basically just told them that. And they, we, they did a few versions. But the first one they sent me, I was like, oh, I love it.

It was great. Like, if you turn that on, it's like, man, this sounds like modern-day Limp Biscuit. It really could be. Yeah. So, yeah, they did exactly what I wanted. And I'm just so grateful that Chelsea got me connected with them. Chelsea's the best. Chelsea helps everyone. She's like so selfless. But yeah, downstate. So grateful to them. And Chelsea's just crushing it. She is crushing it. Yeah. She's like an inspiration to me.

Because she's done the whole, you know, get released, go out on the indies and find her way back there and she's like killing it now. I love to see her getting these opportunities because she works so hard. She makes something out of nothing always. Yeah. She is the epitome of that phrase, maximize your minutes. 100%. Even if she's only in the show for 20 seconds. Yeah, because I think her return to WWE was when she was in the Rumble for like five seconds. Yes.

And that's what people talked about. And it's so funny because people will go, oh, man, they brought her back just to do that. It's like, well, you're talking about her. Exactly. And she's not mad about that. Like, it's, it's funny because I think the fans get more upset for wrestlers than wrestlers get upset, especially the whole, like, with other companies and companies against each other. All the wrestlers are friends.

Yeah. Like, none of the wrestlers are in this, like, conflict with each other like the fans are. Yeah, the tribalism exists solely with the fans. Yeah. Like, everyone's friends. All the wrestlers are friends. Yeah, and they're also, like, rooting for each other. Yeah.

So whether you work in TNA or WW or AEW or New Japan or wherever. Yeah. It's a lot of, like, hey, you did that really cool thing. Congrats. Yeah. And, like, wrestlers don't want other companies to do badly because then that's less opportunities for them and their friends. Yeah.

So that's, that's annoying to see. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't. Like there's so many more opportunities now than there was 10 years ago. Yeah, like getting released 10 years ago, maybe you would freak out a bit like, oh my gosh, there's not really much I can do. But now there's so much to do. Yeah.

And it also allows your stock to be worth more because it's like, well, I've got options here. Definitely. You know, you don't know where I could show up. Exactly right. And that's what you're doing. And like you're, I feel like we're going to see some different stuff from you in TNA because you now have the ability to basically do what you want. Yeah, I know.

That's kind of crazy because I'm not really, I haven't been in that mindset of being in control of my own stuff. I've always been given a script or being told what to do. So now I've got to let my creative juices flow. Back to downstate for a minute. Those guys are just so talented. Yeah. When you look at all the theme songs they've done. Yeah.

I grew up listening to those. It's amazing. So, you know, Ms. and Dolph Ziegler and now Nick Nemeth's new song, Matt Cardona, Alex Riley's song was such an underrated banner. Yeah. Say it to my face. So good. So good.

And then when you look at the range, like when you look, listen to Nick Nemith's new song versus the Miz's song, it sounds like two completely different bands. Or even like my song with Nick Nemith's song. Like it doesn't sound like it's really the same band. Yeah, those guys are just chameleons. They're so good. So talented. Yeah.

They deserve more. Agreed. Success and. They should be doing a lot more songs. Yeah. And I always tell people, if you're an indie wrestler or you're a podcaster like me, they are available. Like you can reach out to downstairs.

Yeah. And they're great to work with. Right. And I think that people think that this is just, it's not a possibility. Like you can literally. Anything is possible. Like I'm an Australian living in America like wrestling. Like who thought that was possible?

I love that. Anything's possible. But you can literally send a DM to downstate. Hey, I'm an independent wrestler with X amount of years of experience. Would you be interested in doing a song for me? The answer will be yes. Yeah. And they will give you a price and that's it.

But I feel like people go, well, they make songs for all these other really successful people. They'd never do one for me. They will. It's the wrong way to think. Yes. I like to think, and it sounds like you have the same mentality, if somebody else has been there and done it, then that means it's possible for you to do it as well.

But even if someone hasn't done it, like, anything is possible. Like, yeah, you might have like limitations and struggles and things to overcome, but like, if you put your mind to something, like, you can do it. I know it's cliche. It sounds cliche in the whole like, you know, never give up, all that. But it's true. You can do whatever you set your mind out.

Like, you can. I think my favorite word is yet. I haven't done that yet. Yeah. That's a good one. It's like, well, we'll figure it out. Yeah. We'll find a way to get there.

I haven't had the animal style fries yet. You could have them as soon as you leave here. I can do it if I want to. I can go and get them. There's one so close. I won't make it happen. Let me know. Let me know you think.

They're not for everybody. They are pretty delicious though. Right. But I'll let you know. Do you see a path, especially with the partnership now that leads back? to WWE? It's not my intention right now, like, to sign with TNA so I can go back to NXT. I went to TNA because TNA is a company I grew up watching.

I'm genuinely a huge fan of TNA, and I feel like that's where I can thrive the most. But like I mentioned before, I'm only 28, so I do feel like there is a path back to WWE someday. Like, I'm not closing the door on that. All my friends are still there. And there's a lot that I didn't get to do. So it's definitely something that I can see happening. I just can't believe that at 28 you were thinking about hanging them up. Yeah, it's kind of crazy. But I understand. I don't know what I would have done. What would you have done? I don't know, because I'm a university dropout. So. But I understand the mentality that you were in at that point in time. Well, it's just, it's a weird thing like you said, it's just something that just like gets taken away from you that you're not

prepared for, which maybe I should have been more prepared for it. But then you can't spend your entire career walking on eggshells. Exactly. And I feel like I, I did spend my entire career walking on eggshells, but I didn't really set anything up in case. Yeah. In case something happened. But I understand, you know, it's your goal to make it as a pro wrestler. It's your goal to go to WWE, you're in WWE, and then beyond your control, it's taken away from you. It's like, I can understand how that would be upsetting. Yeah. You'd go through the whole range of emotions. Yeah. It's weird because, like, I don't even, I don't think I said this on my YouTube when I talked about my release, but when I got released, I had just flown in for Mandy Rose's wedding.

And so then I got the call that I was released, and then two hours later had to go to, like, cocktail hour at her wedding. And, and then, so then I got the call. And then, so then I was released. And then, And then go to the wedding the next day. So it's good that I had that distraction. And what's weird is that I'm sure she won't mind me saying this. When Mandy got released, she was at my house. And then when I got released, I was at her wedding. Then is everyone asking you about it?

You're supposed to be there for Mandy and Sabby's wedding. Well, a lot of people didn't know about it. So then like, hey, how's everything going? So we, like me and like the NXT girls were sitting at a table and then Sabby comes over. He's like, oh, the NXT crew. And then we all just go quiet. And I was like, oh, yeah, Sabby, like, I just got released like an hour ago. Yeah.

But he's someone that's been through it and like, I've had conversations with him about it. Even before I got released, just about life outside of it and how to overcome it. Because he went through stuff like that in the NFL, like getting cut from the NFL, getting cut from WWE. So he's someone that knows how to navigate it. So talking to him was actually very helpful. Did it feel like it was difficult to figure out the Indies again? Yeah, it's changed a lot. And like, I don't know a lot of people on the Indies now.

Like, when I go to the shows, I'm just like alone. I'm just like the new kid in school. So that's something that I'm still trying to figure out. Like, I've done a few Indies. And yeah, we'll see what happens. I'm keen to get back to it. I feel like Matt Cardona just is able to. Yeah, the Indie God.

It's like literally. He's like a master class of like, all right, you got to do this, this and this, and you'll be fine. Yeah. And I talked, I talked to him a bunch for like hours, honestly, about where to go and what to do and the Indies. Because I told him, like, you are the Indy God. When you think of indie wrestling, you do think of him. Yeah. He's like really reinvented himself.

And along the way he's helped people like Steph. And he's working with other, he's working with some Australians right now. He's like helping bring people up to be on his level. And it's funny that he will lay out the blueprint for people. He'll be like, you got to post a ton on social media. You got to change up your gear. You got to have merch. He'll lay out the entire blueprint.

And the amount of people that actually follow his advice is like so small. And he even says that. He's like, I'm going to tell you what to do. And you're probably not even going to take my advice. Yeah. Maybe he means that more for like people who are coming up. But it's interesting. that he will put it out there.

He actually posted these videos at wrestling schools. And he's like, the amount of you guys that are sitting here watching this right now, you won't do it. And it's like, I'm showing you how it can be done. Yeah, it's true. It's like, here's all the tools you need. It's up to you.

Yep. Do what you wish with that. Yeah. And you're right. He's crushed it. And I have no doubt that you will as well. I mean, you are crushing it right now. You look jacked as ever.

Thank you. Oh, my good. Put those things away. I can't. Oh my gosh. Whoa. Wow. Wow.

Excellent lighting for that. Oh, geez. Too much. Too much. Too much. Now that you've lived here for a few years, do you feel like your Australian accent is going away? I hope not. Like when you go home, do people say it?

Sometimes when I talk to my family on FaceTime, they'll say, oh, you said this word in like an American accent, which I noticed sometimes. I do. Like what? I don't know. Maybe if I, I say car. But if I'm talking to an American, I might say car. Maybe. Sometimes I don't even notice that I'm doing it.

But I did have to start changing a little bit because like Americans wouldn't understand. For example, I'm, say I go to Publix. I'm getting a Pub Sub. And I'm choosing my ingredients. And I'm saying, yeah, I'll get some tomato. I'm pointing at it. They're like, what? I'm like, yeah, tomato.

But it's like I'm pointing at it. Can't you figure out what I'm trying to say? So some things I have to change, like tomato. Now I say tomato. What about the liquid, the clear liquid that you drink? Water. Isn't that a funny one for Americans? They never understand me when I'm asking for water.

I'll have to say, can I get water? Or if I'm with someone, I'll have to ask them to ask for it. Could you order some water for me, please? Like one time I asked for a bottle of water, bottle of water. And she thought I wanted like a bowl of water, like I'm a dog. Yeah, so that's a lot of things. I like that you've Americanized a few words. Yeah, but when I, if I'm talking to my family or if I go home, I'll start talking like really Aussie.

So like really turning it on. So like if you and not like not on purpose, it just happens. So if you and Rear Ripley had a conversation. Oh yeah. The rest of us would be like what? You'd understand, but you'd be like, whoa. Like if I'm talking to Grayson or if I talk to like. Jess and Cass, like the inspiration, the iconics, like, I feel like they have very, like,

Aussie accents. Yeah. So if I talk to them, it might come out. Yeah. Like, I just had buddy Matthews on the show. Yeah. And his accent is still so strong. So strong.

Yeah. But I feel like that is a, that is an intentional thing to, like, stay true to your roots. Yeah. I definitely don't want to ever lose my accent. I like that. That's who you are. Yeah. I did the opposite.

I moved here and got rid of the few Canadian words I said. Sorry. Sorry. What's worried with that? Sorry, eh? Come on. You don't actually say that. My first, like, experience of Canadians was watching South Park.

Oh, no. You know what I'm talking about? I know you. Blame Canada? You blame Canada. Yeah. I get it. I love it.

Yeah, not very accurate, but funny. See? I'm so excited for what's next to you. Congratulations again on TNA. Thank you. And since you watch the show, you know what question's coming next. I know. Gratitude.

You might have even been prepared for this. But you know what? I was trying to think, how do I narrow it down to three things? That's the beauty of the question. I might have to cheat and like put something together. All right. You can lump things together. That's the beauty of it.

And it meant so much to me when you said, oh, yeah, I was listening to your interview with Buddy Matthews on the way over. Yeah. What? Thank you. Watch all. Thank you. All of them?

Yeah, I watch pretty much all the interviews. That's definitely all like the wrestling ones. They're all wrestling now. before they weren't. They weren't. You're right. But that changed two-ish years ago. Yeah. And now they're all wrestling.

Yeah. So I'm grateful for this conversation. And I'm so glad this lined up. Yeah. It worked out perfectly, didn't it? Like, I saw you at the Squirt Circle Expo in Indianapolis this last weekend. Yeah. I came up to your table.

Yeah. Well, I was next to Steph Dallander. Yeah. So you came over to say hello to her. No, because someone told me that you were there. And they said, oh, yeah, he's near Steph. So I went looking for you. Oh.

It was great, too. officially meet you in person. And you're like, so when can I come on the show? And I'm like, well, the studio's in L.A. You're like, I'm in L.A. next week. I'm in L.A. all week. I got some time to kill. A lot of time to kill, actually. You said, are you free on Tuesday? You said, actually, yes, I am. So here we are. Very free. So thank you for making this thing happen. Yeah. Thank you for having me. Oh, I'm excited for what's next for you. What are three things that you're grateful for? Okay. First one, I would have to say my girlfriend and my family. So that's all lumped into one family.

Like my family back home and my girlfriend here, because like their support has meant that I'm able to do this. You know, my parents giving me the tools that I needed to succeed. So I'm nothing without them. So I'm so grateful for my family. Second one, I would say my health, because you know what they say, you could have a million problems until you have a health problem.

then you have just one problem. So I'm so grateful for my health and for the body that I have. That's why I take such good care of it. That's the second thing. Third thing, I would say my green card because that's just like a big thing for internationals that, you know, getting released from the company. People don't know that if you have a visa with a company, it's only valid as long as you are with that company.

And you can only work for that company. You can only work for that company. You can't just go and get a job in and out. But you can't even do like a side gig. Like, for example, if a magazine said, hey, could you write an article about your experience in WWE? You can't. You can't.

Like, they couldn't pay you for that. Maybe under the table they could. Right. But then you're dealing with a whole other can of worms that they find out. Not endorsing that. I'm not endorsing that. But I get it. Like, the day I got my green card was probably one of my career highlights.

Well, I, the day I got my green card was the best day of my life. And I tweeted it as well. tweeted, today's the best day of my life. And no one knew what I was talking about. People probably thought it was to do with wrestling, but it was really getting my green card. Wow. Best day of my life. Just the relief I felt like, oh my gosh, I don't have to worry anymore. Whatever happens, like, I'm good. The American dream is still very much alive. And like the idea that you can move here and chase after your dream, whether it's in wrestling, like you, broadcasting slash content creation like me like it still does exist. Yeah, there's just so much opportunity in America and like it wasn't

really a thought of mine to move back to Australia. I want to make the most of all the opportunities here. So, so grateful for my green card and also grateful to WWE for doing that for me because not everyone gets that. And it's a process. It is a process. Yeah. Like it is, it's not just like you fill out a form and you're good to go. I know. People think just apply. Oh yeah. It's not like. I think I was putting materials together for like three months. Yeah, like a petition? Yes, because you have to build a case for yourself. People don't realize that you have to like build a whole case.

So honestly, like the things that I achieved in WWE helped a lot. Like having an action figure, winning titles and being in a video game, that helps the case. Yeah. Because then they're like, okay, she's worthy of it. Yeah. So everybody watching this, said it before, but they need to subscribe to your YouTube channel. Subscribe. Let's get you to 100,000 subscribers.

Let's get you the silver play button. Yes, I really want that. You'll get it. Put it with my Lego. It's just a matter of time. Yeah. You'll get there. By the end of the year, hopefully.

Well, that is a bold goal. Really? 59,000 away. And you've got seven months to do it. Says the one who said I could reach a million. I misspoke. That was off camera. I meant 100,000.

I was like, damn, you really believe in me. I do believe in. definitely get to a million. Maybe not by the end of this year, though. Maybe I can buy subscribers. That is a terrible idea. Can you buy subscribers? If you can, that is not a good idea. So don't do that. I'll pay people to subscribe. I don't think you should say that. Subscribe to me. There it is. That's it. But great to see you. Congratulations. Let's go get some in and out. Let's do it. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much for being with us on this episode. Thank you for sticking around all the way until the end.

Big thank you to our guest, Indy Hartwell, for joining us inside the West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, California. I am pumped to see what's next for her. Check out all of her stuff at Indy Wrestling.com. That's Indy with an I-I-N-D-I-Ressling.com and snap a screenshot. Tag us online when you host this. Let us know what you thought of this episode. She's at Indy underscore Hartwell on.

Next, she's at Indy Hartwell on Instagram. I met Chris Van Fleet, and we'll wrap this up. Before we get into tomorrow's episode, we'll wrap this up with a quote from George Bernard Shaw. Life isn't about finding yourself. It is about creating yourself. Be great and be grateful, my friends. We'll see you tomorrow for Ask CVV number 82. If you've got a question, leave a comment on Spotify or send you.

it on social media using that hashtag AskCTVV or shoot me an email, CVV at ChrisFambleet.com. We'll wrap up the week tomorrow with AskCVV. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do with rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air.

It's like you get up in the morning only to complain. and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What should be? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.