Insight with Chris Van Vliet - LA Knight On "YEAH", The Undertaker's Return, Bray Wyatt, Changing His Name From Max Dupri

Episode Date: January 26, 2023

LA Knight (@reallaknight) is a professional wrestler signed to WWE. He is known for his work in IMPACT Wrestling and NWA under the name Eli Drake. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about his Mountain Dew Pitch Black match against Bray Wyatt at the Royal Rumble, being in the ring with the Undertaker at the 30th anniversary of Raw, being managed by the legendary Paul Bearer, and what he learned from him, doing motion capture for WWE 2K games, celebrating his 20th year in wrestling this year, moving on from the Max Dupri character, reacting to people thinking he sounds like The Rock, his WrestleMania plans and much more! For more information about Chris Van Vliet and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All systems are going. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Blit! All right, it is awfully good to see you, my friends. Welcome back to another audio adventure on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet, and yeah, L.A. Knight is with us, just days before his Mountain Dew pitch black match at the Royal Rumble, which of course is streaming live this Saturday on Peacock. and what's so interesting about this match

is that no one really knows what to expect from a pitch black match. Sounds like L.A. Knight doesn't even really know what to expect from this. But so good to have him back on the show. This is our first interview in, wow, almost four years. Me and L.A. Knight, Eli Drake, Max Dupree, we go way back, whatever you want to call him.

I've known him since when he was an impact. That was before he was in NWA. and you'll hear us talk about it here. But when he lived in L.A., and yeah, by the way, he's L.A. night because he lived in Los Angeles for so long. But when he lived in Los Angeles, he would throw these epic Halloween parties.

His birthday is on November 1st, so it would be a Halloween party, then we'd count down and then at midnight, boom, it would be his birthday. So, man, those were good times. Such good parties. But so good to see all the success that he's had in W.E.

and that he's continuing to have in WWE. And I love that his talent has been on full display each and every week because I think you already know this, but he has a lot of talent. Snap a screenshot, let us know that you're listening and tag us so we can share it out. He is at Real L.A. Knight. I can't really say it like just L.A. Night. He is at Real L.A. Night.

There we go. I'm at Chris Van Vleet and Jack's Honeybeck Badger, thank you so much for this review on Apple Podcasts. It says, came in skeptical, left impressed. While listening to one of Conrad Thompson's podcast, he mentioned that he was on the CVV show. Conrad then talked about how he couldn't recommend Chris's show enough, so I decided to give it a try. And I was very impressed. Chris doesn't interview people.

Instead, he has a simple conversation that draws the listener in. Now I've become a loyal listener, so do yourself a favor and give Chris a listen. I'm more than confident you'll enjoy. Well, thank you, Jack's Honey Badger for that. And since you're a loyal listener, I know you're hearing this right now, so I appreciate you. And I'll keep reading one review on every single episode

is my way to say, thank you for being on this journey with me. All right, let's do this thing. Ladies and gentlemen, L.A. Knight. Oh, my friend, so good to see you. Yes, indeed. Look at this. Long time.

long time coming here you are last time i saw you you were a single male about town and now uh what you're married at this point you got a baby on the way is that correct i can't believe it yeah married on the way married baby on the way last time i saw you you're like yeah i think i might be leaving los angeles i don't know probably going to probably going to Vegas might go to vegas next thing you know you're signed by wa that was legit uh we were looking at uh going somewhere and uh somewhere presented us with itself. And here we are now in Orlando. And look at all of these accomplishments behind you.

This is incredible. I mean, it's pretty wild. It's been a wild ride, that's for sure. So we need to set the record straight once and for all here. What is the correct way to spell? Yeah. Well, see, now, if I do it, it's just straight up. It's all capitalized, full caps, Y, E, A, H.

I mean, I see people go Y-A, I see Y-E-A, but I mean, it's got to be, it's got to be full caps, Y-E-A-H. There's definitely an H on the end of that. You can hear. Several H's at the end or several E's or A's in the middle. Well, then they're like, yeah. No? That's not it. No, I'm a too much.

This is such a great week to be talking to you because, I mean, Monday was pretty special. You're in the ring. An insanely busy week in the ring with the Undertaker. Sorry, I just took all your glory. I'm stealing your interview from you. But it's a wild week, man. I didn't even know I was going to be going to Raw. And then last minute, it's like, all right, you guys are going to Raw? Why? Because Royal Rumble's coming around the quarter. We got the pitch black match, the Royal Rumble, all this stuff.

And it's just, it's go, go, go at this point. But let me not steal your thunder, Chris. Get back on that. No, this is what you do best. This is what you do better than anybody. So I feel like I should just, like, sit here and let you talk because that's what you do. You're just an accessory. I'm just going to get, you know. What was it like being in the ring with the man himself,

being in the ring with the Undertaker? Well, I tell you what, he was about this close to getting slapped right in the mouth. But I decided to spare him. But, yeah, I'll tell you the truth. It's funny because you always hear the cliche. When you're standing in that ring and at bell tolls, you know, it's chills. And I'm like, oh, yeah, sure. Yeah.

That's something that's hit. it was chills. It was pretty wild. But at the same time, to be standing there and doing my thing and to be very recognized, that audience was right on top of everything I had to say, even with the entertainment rings. I mean, that's a big feather of my cap as far as I'm concerned. And at the same time, you know, looking at a guy who was undoubtedly a legend,

Hall of Famer, crazy, crazy night leading in this Royal Rumble. Well, and I think a lot of people might not know the, you know, the through line you guys have here. Both of you. Oh, man. Yeah, Paul Bear. Both of you managed by Paul Bear. Three years. Three years that guy led me to the ring.

And I love him. He was so good to me. Anytime I ever had to ask him anything, he was like, it wasn't even like he was willing to give it. It was beyond that. It was like he was so grateful to have an outlet to give any kind of advice or, insight or anything like that like he thanked me profusely for asking um which just to me shows an enormous sign of his character um and uh you know unfortunately he passed away in 2013 i did have his uh he and i had a his last televised uh show that he had at all i mean it only you know

that was in california but still i mean you're talking big television market in l a for championship wrestling in hollywood so that was pretty cool to be a part of that and um Unfortunately, like I said, shortly after that, he did pass away. And he was even in that moment gracious enough to call his assistant and just be like, hey, man, could you please leave this stuff for him, for me? And he like, you know, left me some things in his name. So that was an amazing thing as well for the fact that he was even thinking of me on the way out like that.

He's one of the greatest managers of all time. You've got to work, you know, right next to him. What's something that Paul Beard taught you that you now carry to the ring with you as L.A. night now? I don't know if I can really pinpoint one thing. It's just there's a certain aura on the way he carries himself and all that stuff. But at the same time, when you're in the back with him and he's just talking trash to people in the most playful, goofy way and whatnot, or somebody's trying to do a promo over here into the camera. And he's behind the camera, you know, pulling his ass out.

And stuff like that, just bragging people. people, messing with people. He was just, he was the best. But, but I mean, you get to a point where it's like, all right, well, now I've got to rise to the level to where I look like I belong with this guy, because this is the manager of legends. I mean, if you look at, obviously, the Undertaker, but I mean, even you go to the Percy Pringle, the Percy Pringle dynasty, you look at Steve Austin, Rick Rood, like a bunch of these guys where it's just like, all right, I got a, I got a, be up to this level, if not beyond that, to be standing next to this guy. So I think if nothing else, it was just his presence elevated me,

or made me elevate myself. I don't know. I feel like every time I see you in the ring, and especially on the mic, you just keep getting better and better. What is, are you working on it every week? How is that? I think I'm just, I think it's got to just be muscle memory, comfort. Because I think anytime I go into a new place, there's always a level of adjustment.

There's always a level of discomfort to start out, which I don't think is a bad thing because now it's like, okay, well, now I've got to completely prove myself all over again because there's a whole new set of eyes on me. So I got to turn it up a little bit more. And then as you start to get into that comfort zone, then it's like, okay, well, now I can be a little more loose and I can do this. and then it just comes out even more naturally or whatever than it did before to where it's like, you know, at first you're kind of just like, well, you know, you're second guessing a lot. And I would say a lot of that second guessing is way in the rearview mirror.

I feel like, I mean, you're already so, so good. Bray Wyatt has made you step your game off. Come on, tell me again. Tell me again. Even more. Well, for sure, because look, here's this big anticipated return. Everybody's like, oh, well, Bray Wyatt has. It's coming back.

Isn't that special? And for me, I'm looking at L.A. Knights here. And people are worried about Bray Wyatt. That's fine. That's cool. I get that. But then he walks in onto my territory. If you remember, the very first interaction, I didn't go talk to him.

I didn't go look for him. He came looking for me. So I don't know. In a sense, it's like, okay, well, people have this big, grandiose idea of him. They think he's amazing and he's this and he's that. Whatever he is, I'm just thinking he ain't L.A. 9. And so at that point, it's like, all right, well, I'm going to stand here across the ring in this guy.

And I'm going to look him in the eyes. I'm going to be way, way bigger than him. And I ain't talking physically. We're talking figuratively in the sense that I'm going to be to a level that if he's going to walk into my arena, I'm going to make sure I'm the one that people will remember. I'm going to make sure that I'm the one that people think about. I'm going to make sure that I'm the one that shines above and beyond as bright as I can't. So what exactly is a Mountain Dew pitch black match?

And more importantly, how are you guys going to be able to see anything in there? Chris, hold on. I want you to tell me, what is Mountain Dew pitch black match? Ooh, I mean, this is great. I mean, it's a delicious flavor. That's for sure. Yeah. This is a match.

I actually just had one this morning. Ah, this is a match I would feel really plays to Bray Wyatt's strengths, though, don't you think? why do you say that? He's kind of a creepy guy. This feels like a match that maybe he might have even come up with. The guy plays with puppets. Is that a scary thing? But it's not a puppet room match.

It's in the dark. If there's one thing that doesn't bother me, it's the dark. And so you're looking at what's in store for this? I don't think he knows what's in store for it. I don't know what. I think anybody really knows entirely what's in store for this. I think at some point it's going to be, at least I'm going in with the mindset,

it's going to be a kick-ass fight. And whether that means the lights are completely out, whether it's broad daylight, whatever it is, at the end of the day, you ask me, just because I'm not a creature of circumstance, I'm more of a creator of circumstance. So in my mind, I'm thinking, okay,

Lights are out, pitch black. What do I have to do. I have to adapt to that situation. What that means is advantage LA night. Yeah. What do you think? Look, it's really hard to get a bet against L.A. night.

Yeah. That's what I'd say. I'd agree with that. You've done so many things in your career, but this is your first time being part of the Royal Rumble as a premium live event. So what does it mean to be entering your very first Royal Rumble as an event? Well, it's pretty crazy.

I mean, look, I've been watching this since I was a little kid. I think I watched the very first World Run. You know, so this is, in my mind, the second biggest event of the year. This is enormous. So, yeah, hell yeah, it means a lot. And at the same time, there's a certain level of me where I'm like, I'd love to be in the actual World of Rumble match. But when you're looking at the idea that I'm in my own match,

that puts all the focus on me and Bray. and I dig that because now I'm not sharing the focus with 30 other guys. Is that selfish? Is that egotistical? I don't know. Some people might say so. But if you're in this business, that's exactly what you want. So, you know, to have that primary focus on such a big event, I think that's, I think it speaks volumes to L.A. 9. And really there's no reason you couldn't enter the Royal Rumble match as well. Maybe, but I mean, again, I don't think anybody knows what to expect.

for the pitch black match. I don't think anybody knows how physical and how crazy that's going to be. So I don't know what kind of shape I have us are going to be in afterwards to actually declare it for the world of life. Did you see that clip

from our last interview went viral with you saying a lot of people think that I sound like the rock and now people are like, I can't unhear this. Well, you know what's so funny is as I go online and Twitter

might be the worst thing in the world. Hey, everybody. Sure. The amount of people I've been compared to and said that I am is astounded. And every day I'll see a new one. I'll just be like, wait, who? That too? So, yeah, it's not surprising.

But yeah, I mean, just the voice timbre again, I mean, watching the hero back in 2013, I can't believe it's been 10 years since that. But sometimes you would just hear my voice or you'd hear his voice. And it would be tough to tell who was who. And you're just like, and until the person's face came on the street, you're like, oh, yeah. But I don't know. I don't think otherwise there's a whole, like, it's just my normal speaking voice, but like, I don't think that once I actually get amped up or anything like that, I don't think, I think I kind of lose it at that point. You get amped up.

I mean, I can't believe that. Amped up, no, never. I'm not actually usually very relaxed. for people who might be familiar with your work as Eli Drake what's the difference between Eli Drake and LA Knight I'll be honest it really isn't the one and the same

and that's the funniest thing is a lot of times again you have social media people be like oh I miss Eli Drake and I'm like you dummy it's the same thing it's the exact same thing LA Knight is Eli Drake with Eli Drake is LA night. So, you know, look, use what brought you to the dance. I know what brought me to the dance. I do a little dancing with it.

That's what I'm doing right now. So the idea that anybody thinks it's any different just because they change some letters around. Is L.A. paying tribute to the fact that you lived in L.A. for so long? Yeah. Most of my don't like. Love that place.

It's that place. But for now, here we are staying in Putt, Orlando. So how different is L.A. Knight from Max Dupree? Oh, boy, who? Night and damn day. Very much so. You couldn't be more opposite to the end of the spectrum. But I will say that one of the most brilliant things that you've been part of over the last, let's call it six months,

was when you were still wrestling as Max Dupree, you were. sprinkling in these little teases of, is L.A. Night coming back? Oh, doesn't seem like he is. Oh, but wait, could he be coming back? And here we are now. There's, there's an undeniable thing there where it's like, you know, you get told that, well, you know, if you want to go legit, maybe you should think about trying this or that. And, you know, in my head, I'm like, all right, well, let me just go ahead and do what I need to do to get ahead here. And so that's what I do for a minute. But at some point eventually, I got to come to terms of the fact that I can't be anything other than myself. And that's exactly what happened, where it's just kind of like,

all right, eventually this stuff starts just sprinkling out until eventually it's just full-blown. It's the new year, which means new habits for a lot of people. Maybe you want to lose some weight. Maybe you want to eat a little bit better. Well, if you're looking to eat better and save money this year, cut back on those expensive takeout meals and get started with Hello Fresh. You'll love how fast, easy, and affordable it is to whip up some restaurant quality meals right from your own kitchen. And they've got so many different options, so much flavor and their perfect sized portions ready in less than 15 minutes. So you can have taste and quality done quick with recipes like falafel power bowls, seared steak and potatoes, or Southwest pork and bean burritos.

They've got a lot of different options of like meal types you can have. Meat veggies, family friendly, quick and easy. I'm on the fit and wholesome meal. And my wife, Rachel and I love cooking up these meals because you open up the box and everything you need is right in there. So no more trips to the grocery stores. No more asking, what do you want to eat tonight? I don't know.

What do you want to eat tonight? Because you just open up the box and boom! It's right there. So go to hellofresh.com slash Insight 22 and use the code Insight 22 for 22 free meals plus free shipping. That's Hellofresh.com slash Insight 22. Use the code Insight 22 for 22 free meals plus shipping. HelloFresh, America's number one meal kit. Save time and have the energy that you need to tackle everything.

your to-do list with Factors ready to eat meals delivered straight to your door. If you've seen any of my videos on YouTube, you know that I've been talking about Factor for the last year, and I love how easy they make it. They not only help you skip the trip to the grocery store, but they help you skip the chopping, the prepping, and the cleanup, too. Factors' fresh, never-frozen meals are ready in just two minutes. Yeah, two minutes. All you have to do is heat and enjoy.

And no matter what your lifestyle is, Factor has all the meals. to help you live it to the fullest. They've got keto, calorie smart, vegan and veggie, and protein plus meals. That's the one that I'm on right now. And they're prepared by chefs and approved by dieticians, and each meal has all the ingredients you need to feel satisfied all day long. So get factor and enjoy clean eating without the hassle. Simply choose your meals and enjoy fresh, flavor-packed meals delivered right to your door

and ready in two minutes. There's really no easier way. to eat well. Achieve and maintain your goals this year with Factor. Get America's number one ready to eat meal kit and start saving time. Start saving time, eating well, and living your best year ever. Head to FactorMeals.com slash Insight60 and use the code Insight 60. You'll get 60% off your first box.

Yeah, 60% off. That code is Insight60 at FactorMeals.com slash Insight 60. for 60.60% off your first box. 60% off. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg.

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

but we're just really excited, just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer Podcast, presented by Henko. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. But I will say that you are the type of entertainer that give you anything and you will find a way to make it insanely entertaining. I mean, I guess that remains as we've seen.

I don't know. I can't say one way or the other. I appreciate it. I just said it, though. But, no, I think that, there. I think I can make damn sure anything work, but at the same time, if it's me and if it's authentic, you can't beat that.

So this is 20 years in the business for you as of this year. That's ridiculous. Crazy. Huh? 20 years? God Lord, don't tell everybody. Jeez. I'm a rookie. I've only been here. I've never been doing this for two years. Come on. I just started two years ago. What do you know now that you wish that you You knew back then.

Oh, my God. I've got so many things. But at the same time, in a weird way, I'm also pretty grateful for the path in a certain sense. Because, I mean, like, had things gone the way that I wanted it to long, long ago, it wouldn't have had that long stay in L.A. And I got to tell you, I love that time of my life. I enjoyed all of that so much. Just a wealth of experience and different things.

And even then, you know, I'm wrestling in different companies and getting to see the world in that way. You know, I went to India for the first time to go wrestle, Canada, Mexico, Australia, everywhere. So I can't really wish any of that away. But at the same time, I think the biggest thing I wish I would have known back then or just thought of, the first 10 years I didn't know how to ask for a job. I didn't know how to ask for what I wanted. It was kind of just like, hey, man, if I show up, they'll see me and just be like, Hey man, why don't you come aboard?

And it just doesn't work like that unless you're, you know, seven feet tall and, you know, look like a complete Adonis. Now, I've kind of got the Adonis thing going down. I mean, the body's pretty good, but, you know, I'm not a giant or anything. So it's a little bit of a tougher trek when you're only 6'1. And, you know, at the time in the early 2000, I was probably about 210 pounds. and it was a bigger guy business at that point in time. So just, you know, really trying to beat a squeaky wheel

myself in, that would have been the main thing. So if it's about asking for what you want, this Saturday, Royal Rumble, Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match, you and Bray Wyatt, is this what you asked for? Is this what you want? I know what's funny is in this run, there hasn't been a lot where I'm like, you know, I want this, I want to do this, I want to go there.

The only thing that I can really think of in a very overall sense is I want to be at the top of the mountain. I want to be the guy. And in my mind, this is a stepping stone to that. And don't let me minimize Bray Wyatt at all. He's a big dude. He's a big deal. And Saturday's going to be a hell of a fight.

I understand that. I get that. But in my mind, coming out of that, I'm looking at me stepping over him and moving myself up closer to the top of that mountain. So was this something specific that I wanted, desired, whatever? No, not really. But at the end of the day, is it something that now utilized to move myself forward? You bet you're asked.

When you look at everything, for the last two years, I mean, it's been an awesome run for you. What are you most proud of from your time in WWE so far? That might be it. That's definitely a highlight. And, you know, the origins of this belt, I'm sorry, excuse me, the origins of this title would make you think that it shouldn't be that special, I suppose. After all, Ted DiBiase, you know, created it as an alternative to getting the, the WWE title from Paul Kogan.

But when you look at the fact that only five or six people ever have held this thing, to me, that's a big deal. So to have been able to hold that back in 2021 blows my mind. But aside from that, then you look at the fact that going off the back end of that, I propel myself into the NXT title picture and, You're looking at the NXT audience, for whatever reason, couldn't get enough of this guy and was on top of everything I was doing to a point where every time that music hit, it was a roar in that building. Oh, man.

And I helped put that one together because when I first came in, I was like, look, guys, I made my own music before. And it has a feel that I like, I want, whatever. And I sent it to them. And I was like, can we get something that kind of gives this? this very similar feeling. And when they sent that to me, I was like, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is good.

So I had a hand in it, in a certain sense of, you know, influencing where it went. I wasn't in the studio, you know, turning knobs and stuff. But, you know, I had some influence. So that was cool. Are you still doing motion capture for the WW2K games? I can't. I can't.

My schedule's too crazy. They probably don't want to go up there and be a potential. injury risk or anything like that, even though for, you know, five or six years never, ever had an issue, never was, you know, never got injured and feel like that. Knock on the wood. Yeah. But, uh, I would, I would love to. Uh, yeah, because I, uh, I enjoyed just that atmosphere. Everybody up there was always cool. It was always a good time. Uh, and just getting to do, you know, entrances of some of the different, hell, last time I was with you, I think I blew something that you ended up having to edit out because I was like, oh yeah, I did Hulk Hogan's entrance and then immediately get a call from 2K.

You can't say that. I was like, oh. So what was the last 2K game that you were a part of? I think I I think the last one that came out. So like the lion's share of a lot of the motions there are me down to the basic just like you know, even standing up from a lying position a lot of the entrances, a lot of the strikes and stuff.

A lot of that stuff is me. So, like, it's so funny. Whose game is it? It's L.A. Knight's game. Like, legit. So that's a pretty wild thing. The crazy thing is, though, the new, the entrance they have for me now is not me. Just because they updated as to what I did for it.

That doesn't make sense. I know. Well, because the old, the entrance data they had was old from, you know, an entrance I did for myself as a creative character. because they do that. So they'll get the guys who are up there and the guys and girls who are up there and they'll have them do their entrances. So you can have these kind of like, you know, entrance A, B, whatever. So you can apply it to one of your creative characters or whatever.

And so they had my old one in there, but, you know, stuff was updated since I got to NXT and stuff like that. So they had somebody else do it, which, you know, I looked at it. I'm like, okay, yeah, it's all right. It's up. It's close. Which other superstar entrance are you most proud of that you, absolutely nailed.

Ooh, our truth. I did our truth, and I killed it. That was actually one of the first ones they had me do. And I think that was the one that, like, sealed the job for me, where they were just like, all right, this is pretty cool. Because I had to line up. So they break up the entrances. I'm probably telling you too much about how the sausage you say.

But they break up the entrances in the three parts. You got to shoot one part walking down, another part, walking down the halfway of the entrance. And then the third part is actually, you know, getting in the ring and all that stuff. And so he's got the rap that he does and the dance and all this. So we had to like, I had to figure out beforehand like, okay, well, I guess we'll get to this part of the wrap when we cut. And then because we've got to pick it up right at that the next time we do part B. And then we got to pick up right from the end of that one for part C so that everything seamlessly goes together. So I'm having to do kind of mental gymnastics.

They sent me like the script for the rap the night before so that I could kind of. diagram it out and I told him how, you know, I think it would work like this, this, this, we did it that way and I'm in there doing all the dances and everything while I'm doing the, you know, I'm like miming the raps and all that stuff. So if you go back and check out our truth's entrance, that's this guy. And I would say that was probably, I mean, I've done a bunch of them, but that one was probably the most intricate of them all. And I think it came out really well. Well, look, it's so good. Nobody would even know that it wasn't true. That's how good.

So as we look ahead, obviously we've got this Saturday, Mountain Dew pitch black match, the Royal Rumble, streaming on Peacock. Yeah. If we look ahead, a few months past that, we've got WrestleMania in your town right here in Los Angeles. Where is that? L.A. and L.A. I feel like that could be a big-ass opportunity right there. I'm not one to get into like superstitions and numbers and all that,

but I've always been a big fan of the number 23, also 13 and 33. know what it is about threes. I've got to think for it. And here we are in the 23rd year of the century. LA night's going to be at WrestleMania in L.A. There's a lot of things just coming together here. So I don't know. I feel like it could be a big year.

I have no idea what's going on yet. Don't know where it's going, what we're going to do, but I'm looking forward to it. Well, I guess you can't get there, though, until you get through the Mountain Dew pitch-pitch, pitch black match this Saturday, Royal Rumble, streaming live on Peacock. And, I mean, it's crazy that, I mean, fans don't know what to expect. It sounds like you don't even know what to expect there.

I really don't. I mean, the biggest thing I can tell you is, again, I'm geared up for a kick-ass fight. And, you know, again, it sounds like, are the lights going to be out? It's going to be pitch black in that arena. It might be. So I really don't know. I think a lot of us are going to be in there for some surprises. We're going to find out what it has in store for us.

And all I know is I'm geared up for whatever is going to come my way. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm going in there to fight. Well, as we wind this down, please, can you say hi to Herman for me? He's such a good boy. Boy, he's trapped upstairs right now. But, yeah, of course. You got to share with everybody your, what was it, the Lion King? Tiger King.

Tiger King, yeah, your Tiger King photo with Herman. That was really good. He was at my Halloween party a couple of years ago. And, I mean, killed it on the costume front. Thank you. And then we dressed Herman, your golden retriever. As a lion, yeah. As one of my lions.

It was amazing. I shared this photo for everybody to see. Hell yeah. Look, I end every conversation talking about gratitude because it's such an important part of my life. I wake up every day. I say out loud three things I'm grateful for. So, L.A., what are three things in your life that you're grateful for right now?

Oh, man. Well, hell, we just talked about him. So I'm grateful for my boy, Herman. And if I'm going to mention him, I got to mention his little sister, Resey. So I'll group them as one, though, Herman Riesie. I'm grateful for, let's see. I'm grateful for my health, that's for damn sure, because I've remained in really, really good shape for a long time.

And somebody was just kind of giving me. props on that the other day. I will also give you props on that. It's incredible. Thank you. I've got, I wouldn't say it's obsessive, but like I track everything because I just want to make sure that there are no chinks in the armor. I want to make sure everything is tip top at all time.

You know, they say always be ready, but like legit, I try to live that. Like I don't want anything to ever be off. So it's like, you know, my workout days, I get 4,500 calories. My off days I get 25 on the couch. So it's like I'm cycling stuff on, you know, my off days I have almost no carbs. My workout days I have carbs. It's like just doing stuff like that, just manipulate that. It's like you can do crazy things in the body just by doing stuff like that.

And then changing, you know, tracking my workouts is something I never used to do. So now it's like, all right, I used this weight last time. Cool. I'm going to now try and go up because I used to just go in there and just kind of, you know, eye the weights and just, eh, that seems right. Yeah, and then you never make progress. Yeah. But anyway, let's see.

So that's two. What's number three? There's a secret number three, but I'm not going to go there. The number three, you know, number three, I'm going to say I'm grateful for the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match this weekend because Saturday at the Royal Rumble, it's going to be a crazy night in the Alamo Dome. It's going to be probably the biggest moment of my career up to this point. and to just consider the fact that legit

two, three years ago I was convinced my career was over and here I am bigger and higher than I've ever been. Yeah, for sure, that's my number three. Well, we'll see it all go down this Saturday, live, the Royal Rumble, streaming on Peacock. This is going to be something else. So I can't wait to see it. And just so good to see you, my friend.

Everybody at home, thank you, but everybody at home has no idea what we're walking into on Saturday. And I love that because I don't even know what I'm walking into on Saturday. So a pitch black match, we're walking in the Alamo Dome packed tight with, I mean, what are we? 70, 80,000 people, I'm not even sure. So with that being the case, man, it's going to be a hell of a night. So make sure you're a peacock. Make sure you're on there checking out the Royal Rumble, checking out me, Bray Wyatt. And of course, it's always good to see you, Chris.

I mean, hell, next time I'm coming to L.A. Massimania. See you then, I guess. Yes, indeed. All right, my friend. Thank you. Thank you. Well, there we go.

We learned so much during that interview. I mean, now we know how to actually spell and officially spell, yeah, it's just Y, E, A, H. I thought there'd be a whole bunch of H's at the end, but now we know. I'm just so excited to see what happens during this Mountain Dew pitch black match at the Royal Rumble. And then also, what's going to happen with Ellis? L.A. Night after that. We're going to see him in Resslemania. I mean L.A.

In L.A. That would make a lot of sense. So big thank you to L.A. Night for joining us. Of course, thank you for being with us as well. Snap a screenshot. Let us know which part of this interview really stood out the most for you and tag us.

He's at Real L.A. night. I'm at Chris Van Vleet. And I'll leave you with the words of Jim Rohn. We must all suffer from one of two pains. the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces, while regret weighs tons. Ooh, that one's heavy.

Be great, be grateful. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air.

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