Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Lana: Rusev Day, WWE Legends Deal, The Rock Segment, Bobby Lashley Wedding, Romantic Storylines

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) is a professional wrestler and valet best known for her time in WWE as Lana. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, CA to discuss the launch of her new podcast "Identity Crisis", taking time away from wrestling, her husband Rusev and his return to WWE, how the Lana character was pitched to her, being part of a hilarious moment with Nia Jax, being involved in multiple romantic storylines, and more!   Please 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 FACTOR: Get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year with the code INSIGHT50OFF at https://factormeals.com/INSIGHT50OFFSTASH: Go to https://get.stash.com/INSIGHTto see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures   SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV2025 Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount   NORDVPN: Exclusive deal! https://nordvpn.com/cvv Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! PRIZEPICKS: Download the app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup!  TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!   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   ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and reach your financial goals faster: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv MIRACLE 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   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 Flee! Great to see you. Great to see you, too. Congratulations in your podcast. Thank you so much. Thank you for coming on mine, but congratulations. You just launched it. Thank you.

It came out last Monday. It was out every Monday identity crisis. How were you able to get Roussev on the show? Well, I don't know if people know. He's my husband. I know that it's Lana's first ex-husband, Rousseau. but Miro is CJ's real life husband. I love how you always say Rusev.

Like I say Roussev with like just like this. Yeah. But the way you say it. Roussef. Why do you add all these letters to it? Well, I speak Russian. I speak Bulgarian. I speak English.

You speak three languages? Like actually. Yeah. Like CJ does, not Lana. No, CJ speaks three. Lana speaks like sex. Wow. Yeah.

Which other ones does Lana speak? C. Spanish. Latvian. And she's right now, learning Chinese. Incredible. Yeah.

Thank you. How did the first episode go for your podcast? It went really well, like shockingly well. People are subscribing, people are commenting, people are invested. Our editor actually reviewed everything. They were shocked. They were like, this is the best podcast, the highest we've ever performed. So it's really encouraging.

You're actually a big inspiration to me. I am? Yes. What do you mean? I mean, I've studied your podcast. like no other. And I've studied last year and a half, probably about two years ago, I was really wanted to start a podcast and I shot my first pilot. And it was not up the par. I was like, ooh, I need to go and do more research. And I'm a big person that when I decide to go after

something, I dive in fullheartedly. So for two years, I would spend about four hours a day watching podcasts. Oh, wow. And dissecting it and everything and what works, what doesn't work. And you, like, I just am always amazed because you do mainstream media, but you also do wrestling. And yours just perform always so well. I've been following you for five years. Well, man, thank you so much. Really cool to see how you've blown up. Thank you.

The thing that I love is that these are just conversations. And there's so few parts of our life where we just have a conversation like this, right? Because even if you're going out for a drink with somebody, you're going out for dinner, your phone's on the table or, you know, you're looking at every once. in a while, right? Yeah. But in a podcast, you're locked in. Like, you're right here for an hour or however long the conversation ends up being.

Yeah. And there's a lot of pressure, right? There's a lot of pressure on, like, carrying the conversation and like... Oh, my God. That's the hardest part. Yeah. Like, I thought, oh, it would be easier because I love talking. I love being on podcasts, but I'm always on this side.

Yeah. So I could, I always felt like I could almost control my own interview, even though I was the guest, but I found, I've already done 10 episodes, are edited then. in the process, just to have some ahead of time. And I noticed I was having challenges controlling it. And I'm like, so my respect for you and any successful podcast host or any host in general that are great, it is a skill set. And not everyone can do it.

And I just, I applaud you. I give you your flowers. Man, thank you again. I think the biggest thing that people don't key in on is the key in hosting a podcast is not the talking. It's the listening. Yes. And that's the biggest skill. Larry King has this great quote, which I love. I never learned anything while I was talking. Wow. And the idea is you ask a question and then you shut up and you

genuinely listen to the answer from the other person. Yeah. I think that's what I've been really enjoying about doing a podcast because I love learning and I love hearing people's stories. And so I do really love listening. And one person came onto the podcast just to get his feedback. And he was like, CJ, I never knew you were such a good listener. So that's really encouraging that you're saying that, and I'm just going to continue to do that. Well, we'll send all of our subscribers over to you. Identity Crisis, if you're watching this on YouTube,

or wherever you're listening to this, they can find your podcast as well. Keep up the great work. Thank you. Thank you. I've just come to you with a lot of questions. Oh, happy to help. I've been a guest on a podcast in a while.

No, I haven't. I haven't been on, well, your podcast, I was on two years ago, and then I took two years off. of basically doing any media or podcast. I was really focused on my marriage. And I was, you know, we were on and off a lot there. And I had to really focus on my own mental health and just myself. And I felt like I was not in a place at all to get on a podcast and talk.

Where did that focus on you begin? I think it happened before separation. I was really unhappy for a long time. And I think I first. got triggered when I got released in 2021 from WWE. It was like my whole life. It was my dream and I loved it. And all my friends are there. You know, you spend 300 days of the year with these women and men. And then you can't even come backstage again. And that was like I struggle with being very ADHD and severely anxiety, anxious. And it just triggered me into like this manic time of my life that I

couldn't, I didn't understand that that was an issue for me. And so actually it was Kendall Jenner on Jay Shetty's purpose podcast that she was talking about anxiety in 2021. And I was like, wow, that's me. Like my- I resonated with you. Oh my gosh. And I didn't realize how much my relationships were suffering from anxiety and my marriage was suffering from me being severely ADHD and severely anxious. I think divorce rate is 50% more in ADHD people. Depression and anxiety is 50% more in ADHD people. And suicide is 50% more in ADHD people. And I, because nothing's good enough. And you get bored and you want to move on. And so WWE was the perfect storm for me because I was go, go, go, new city, stimulation, stimulation, dopamine hit out when you go and perform. And then when I

to have all that, and I had to make myself happy, I was turning to all the wrong things. And that's kind of like, I was even turning to Miro too much to make me happy. But, and also he was turning to me to make him happy. And in reality, the only person that can make us happy is ourselves. And I had to do some severe changes. In 23, I think, you know, I got Mercer, remember, with my finger. Yeah. That was gnarly looking. It was so bad. And I think, a lot of, and I think, a lot of lot of it was because I was so stressed and so anxious. And it shows you that your body, like, stress can kill us. And so we really have to take care of our mental health and our emotional health first because that will affect our physical health. Did your WWE release in

2021 comes as a surprise at the time? Oh my God. I was shocked. I was on television and big, storylines the whole time. I had a great relationship with Bruce and Vents, everyone. I was devastated. But, you know, now looking back, I'm thankful because that's life, you know. And sometimes our hardest moments are moments to teach us. And it was now looking back, I realize not in a mean way, but like nothing's guaranteed in life, you know. Nothing. We can't compare ourselves to other people because we all have a different journey. And also, you know, we don't live forever.

So everything has to come to an end. And so let's focus on all the great things I was able to. to have versus like it may be finishing too soon. But I imagine that must be so difficult because like you said, you're go, go, go, go, go. And then you get a call that I'm sorry, we're releasing you. And then it just comes to a screeching halt. Yeah, yeah. And then it's like you got to figure out what's next.

It's so hard. Like you can't even go back to pack your stuff, you know? And even like all the rules, like you can't go backstage and all these different things that are really hard. Natty was so beautiful. She packed all my stuff. and put it in like so beautifully packed in in plastic bags and these like gifts and sent me cards and flowers and just so thankful for women like Natty in the locker room that just help that time

of leaving be not feel like an outsider you know Natty live so many of the girls have um alia they just were dairy Mandy they were all just so there for me um even Alexa Bliss they were those girls I've stayed in contact with, and they really have been my friends this whole time afterwards, and I'm thankful for that. So how are things with you in Miro now? Oh my God. Things are really good. Because there were reports. Did he actually file for divorce? He did file for divorce. Yeah. And you guys were separated for a while before that. Yes. Yes. We were very much on off, on off for about a year before that. and got separated and almost divorced several times before that. And then, yeah, the story on my podcast is true.

According to me, he served divorce papers, wanted them to get to me on my birthday for whatever reasons. On your birthday. I know. I know. It sounds so insane. I don't know if I, like, I don't know what I did to my brain. Like, kind of the whole time I thought he was, like, doing a story. line or something. And I know that sounds so weird. Like now looking back, I'm like, I think I did that to

protect myself, you know, like, oh, he doesn't mean this. He doesn't mean this. Like, he just wants to be separated. That was really hard for me. But it was one of the greatest moments of my life because I had the really, that was when I really cut myself off from the world. It was right after I got released from AEW. So it was like divorce papers, AEW release all in like a week. And I, That was hard. That was really hard because I felt like, Ami, Miro even talked about that. Even if we got divorced, we want to work together still. And so he had gone to Bulgaria. I was waiting for him to come back. And I was like, okay, even I love Mero. He's my family. Like even if we maybe at different moments, didn't see eye to eye. We went on the same page. We wanted different things there for a moment. We still had incredible love for each other because I don't know. We were family. We're best friends. We wanted the work together regardless. So Miro was really unhappy too when I got released because he was also looking at A.W as like, take care of my wife, you know, ex-wife. So it got really complicated, but everything happens for a reason. And that's when I decided to take time off and not do any

anything. Nothing in wrestling. I didn't, I wanted to go into the indie scene because I love wrestling, but I just felt like I needed to focus on my mental health and my health. And that was when severe change started. It sounds like you really believed in your marriage, though. I did. I did. Like you didn't want it to end. I did not. I think me and Mira, our value system is very similar. And it's when we got married, we signed up that this was going to be forever and that things are hard. And I think that's why it was so on and off, on and off because we were like, we've got to figure this out. But, you know, life can be really hard. And especially as performers, I think it's like a nice, 90% divorce rate with performers and athletes and actors and like arts and entertainment sports.

And that was like another thing both of us were like, we don't want to be a statistic. But we had the change. I had to evolve. We both had to evolve. We both had to grow. And I think that's a big part of long-term relationships, right? If you're going to, we had to give each other space to grow. And then we were able to come back together.

When you were stepping back personally and. working on yourself and working on your mental health. What did that look like for you? Oh, okay. So when I got the papers, I literally couldn't get out of the bed for two weeks. I could not get out of bed. And then finally, I was watching Jay Shetty again. And Jay Shetty's like, if you're depressed, change your music.

Get outside in the sun for 15 minutes. Take a walk. Maybe move, if you can, be around new people. And I literally did all of that besides moving. I got out of bed. I started walking every single day for 30 minutes in the morning. And that already helped my mood. That already helped me become happier.

And I just think when I really focused on wellness, like going to therapy, acupuncture, working out better, eating very organic food, taking more vitamins. And then just like really pushing myself to have an active life in nature. Like go to the beach, go hiking, get into nature. That really helped me get so much happy. and relationships, you know. The more I focused on myself, I also got sober. I stopped drinking. That was a huge part. And I was prescribed prescriptions for my ADHD. And I had to come off of that. And that was also a really big change. It is, you know, it's hard for me to read. I'm very dyslexic.

So I do have other challenges, not having medication, but my happiness and my well-being and my relationships are so much better now. that medication, you felt it didn't work for you. Yeah, that at this time in my life, it doesn't work for me anymore. Yes. You seem like you're really happy. Thank you. It seems like you're in a great, like, part of your life right now. I love that. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. It's mindset as I can change everything. And I think what you're talking about is like when you couldn't get out of bed, it's that idea of changing your state. Yeah. Exactly. It just, just something that switches up

what you're normally doing and it triggers something in your brain to like, you know, rewire things or do do things differently. Absolutely. Absolutely. Nature really makes me take it off me a little bit and remind remind me there's something so much greater than us, you know? And also it's proven scientifically that the sun does put more serotonin in our brain. And so there's a lot of different things like that that I'm so thankful for. And also, my grandfather passed away last August and I spent the last two months of his life with him and helping him and take care of him. I'm so sorry. It's, you know, it's a part of life, you know, we all, it's going to happen to every single

one of us. And he was 94, so it was really cool. What a life. What a life. And so it made me, that really was a turning point for me, too, because I felt more gratitude and more purpose and love by giving and helping and serving other people than just pushing myself, you know. So it was very, it's been, and also taking care of the elderly.

I think it's really our responsibility that we need to look a little bit more on in our culture that we're all going to get old, hopefully, if we're blessed enough. And so let's look after the people that have looked after us. So it was big news that you just signed a WWE Legends deal. Congratulations. Thank you. Oh, my God. Thank you.

I'm still shocked. Thank you. Thank you. How did this come about? Oh, my gosh. I'm like, I'm still processing it. So, you know, it's funny because I would say it's been kind of controversial. One of the biggest things that I had on my podcast last week was announcing that I'm at the VIEL legend.

And you thought I like stole their Christmas presents or something, you know? Like, people were so mad. People were like, it's a stretch and they're fighting. And then other fans are coming in and defending me. And so I just want to like acknowledge, I understand. And I was that shocked, too. Like, I absolutely understand that there's a huge difference between the character Lana and Randy Savage on the legend scale. You know?

I get it. But this is what WWE calls their contracts post, you know, being a full WWE superstar. And so. So you are on a WWE Legends deal. Yes. Yeah. So they called my agent. My agent called me.

I was crying. I was shocked. Yeah. They gave Mero a contract. And they gave me the WVE Legend contract. at the same time. Wow. Amazing.

Yeah, I'm so thankful. I'm so, so thankful. So for people who don't know, this means you can make appearances with WWE, they can use your likeness for video games or for action figures or merchandise, things like that. Yes. And you can also be put in storylines. Mm.

Mm. Okay. So does this mean we could see Lana in WWE? Well, Lana is simply waiting for... Wow, Lana just showed up. First ex has been Roussef to give him. her to recall. She's in the Russia. That's amazing.

Of course, you know, I would love to. And I just think it's all about timing and story. And but I'm always ready. I'm always ready. Was Miro looking to get back in WWE and kind of pick things up where they left off? Yes, he definitely, I don't want to speak too much for him. I've noticed in the past when I talk for him and goes viral. I'm on Twitter a lot, but not even intentionally trying to stir the pot and it's like stirring the pot. But yeah, he, both him and I love telling stories. And W.W.E is a storytelling factory.

And he is incredible at what he does. He's the super athlete. He loves playing a villain. He loves absolutely loves WWE style storytelling. And so I think it was, yeah, and he wanted to wrestle every week on TV. That was a big thing for him. He loves wrestling. It wasn't about a check for him.

So I was like, yeah, maybe he made more money at AEW or something. But he wanted it was more important for him to get out there and be wrestling than it was really hard for him to not be working. Do you miss that crowd reaction? Oh, my God. Yes. I mean, I, gosh. What's it like when 20,000 people are booing you?

Oh, my gosh. It's, honestly, it's the greatest feeling. I mean, don't tell Roussev because obviously being married to Miro is the greatest feeling. But professionally. Yes. I mean, it's, that's why I was hard leaving because it's a dopamine high that it's the greatest adrenaline rush I've ever felt in my life. So all the stress and anxiety when you go out there and you make this personal connection with all the people out there.

And it's like I have such a connection with the fans. And they cheered for me at times, which was always I'm honored and shocked. But just to like stir the pod and to provoke them and make them boo and them, you know, going nuts when I lose at the end or I'm embarrassed at the end. It just brought me so much joy. I was always so impressed with how you were able to keep a straight face when the crowd's reacting to you like that. When people are saying awful things about you and you just have a straight face the whole time. I mean, there's definitely a little part of me and this is why I love improv and I went to growling's pre-WWE is like, I'm a little menace that loves to stir the pot, you know? And it's like, that's why I love comedy because it was always, you know, someone has to stir the pot.

And a lot of times I was the butt of the joke and a lot of the roles that I did before. And I understood that I had found something I could do well is playing it straight. And that was the, that was the entertaining part. It's like I believe so much in what I did and do that then people want to see my ass whooped. And I'm still taking it so serious. And that's the believable part of it all. This episode is brought to you by Factor. With the holidays here, it's always tough.

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That's code Insight to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, it's good to be right. How did you even get on WWE's radar to begin with? Oh, my gosh, the store is incredible. I first got recruited when I was in college. I was the most downloaded screen saver. What photo is this? Just me and bikinis on the beach.

I know it's crazy. I was shocked too. And then I was on a big calendar, the cover of it, and the big poster in there. And WWE saw that. And so they recruited me. They brought me down to Miami, to a show. I was 22. I was amazed.

You were also part of like a very famous group of college football fans, too, right? Florida State. Yes. Yes. Yes. FSU Cal Girls. Jen Sterger. Yes.

She's got on the show. Oh, nice. Oh, my God. I love Jen. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Her and I have been friends. She was like my mentor in college because I was just this little dancer.

I had never done any makeup or any, didn't know how to curl my hair. And she taught me everything. Yeah. When the camera would cut to you guys, they were like, okay. Well, I guess I'm going to go enrolling that school now. Yeah. It's actually Jen that got me that. photoshoot that I then made all that money from being a top downloaded screen safer.

Wow. Yeah, I was Jen. Yeah, she really helped me in college. So this got you on WWE's radar? Yeah, got me on their radar. But I wanted to finish college. I was still dancing professionally. I had to do a girl group.

Your girl group was called No Means Yes. Yes. It was called No Means Yes. What was your hit single? Would you like that? This is a different time. We were going off. We were all really big Obama supporters, and Obama's whole thing was, yes, we can.

So our whole thing was we got a lot of noes in our careers. And we were like, we're going to turn a no into a yes. No means yes. But, you know, obviously that can mean a lot of other things. But with all of this said, everything you're talking about here, it just feels like you were put on this earth to be an entertainer. Like with the dance, with the photo shoots, with the girl group, with the dance, the break dancing, all of it. Yes, yes. Yes, definitely.

I love performing. I love making people smile. And I think that's why I felt that WWE was really my place, because I love telling stories and playing different characters. And I want to make people feel good for a second. Like give them a little bit of laughter for a second and this crazy world that we live in. So that was why I think I really excelled in WWE, not being like the best professional wrestler. I understood that we were just all cast members in this play. And we just need to do what the director is saying. And I was, I think that was a big attribute that I had and why I was successful over there is because I'm like, okay, whatever you want, I'll do.

Okay, I think I'm better on the mic than wrestling. But if you want me the wrestle, I'll move down to Florida, be in a motel for 200 days, train with Natty and T.J. away from my family, my husband and my dogs. And I'll do the best that I can. And so, yeah. What did your original WWE trial look like? Ooh, that was really intense. I actually was in it with Jojo, Lexi, Eva.

Eva Marie? Yeah. And Lexi being Alexa Bliss? Yes. Yep. And then we started on, okay, so it was a world wide diva search. It started in 2012 September. We had about five or six callbacks.

And I'll never forget one callback. Jojo was right in front of me. No, Jojo was inside seeing her little butt off to the world, you know? And I'm just like, oh my God, what skill set do I have? And then Lexi's right in front of me just finished like winning a competition, bikini competition. And she's like tight and perfect. I just eating a cheeseburger. So I'm like, oh my God. Maybe I should have done some more squats before I got here. Next thing you know, I walk in at Triple H is right there. I'm like, but I started speaking Russian. I was told by Kristen Proudi, actually. was at the door.

And then she walked in with me, and she was like, speak Russian. And I was like, okay. And I spoke Russian. And then I switched to English. I saw Triple H. I got his attention. And then I said, I can break dance. And I started break dancing.

Those are two skills a lot of people don't have, especially together. Yeah, no, it's crazy. But then from there, they pick five of us, put us through a month camp. No, pick 12 of us, put us through a month camp of learning how they wrestle. And then they signed five of us. What was the original pitch for what Lana would be? Oh my gosh. So Lana and NXT would come to promo class with Dusty Rhodes with at least five different characters and promos. Not even kidding. With boards of storylines. I don't know if you ever saw Glow and like the lead girl. Like when I watched it, I was like, I think she took my real life story because that's what I was doing. And Dusty loved it because, you know, I don't know about everyone else. Everyone else was like, you're doing the most. And but I was just working hard. and Dusty loved it. He's like, you're going to have a very long career in this business.

Because I was always like, oh, you don't like this idea? What about these other five? And so me and Roussev started working. One of the five ideas I was working on was me and Roussev, but we were doing more comedy. And he was the Bulgarian trying to unbrainwash me. I was the Russian that became Americanized and he wanted to unbrainwashed me. And it was very comedy and fun. Were you guys dating at the time? No, no, no. We were just friends. Oh, okay. Yeah. And we were just just he would come over and we would shoot a bunch of promos. And I guess that's how he became close. Yeah, you fell in love.

Yes, yes. And then the next thing I know, Dusty was said to me, he's like, we only want you to do one promo. We want it to be serious and see what it looks like. And I did it. And then the next thing you know, Miro was like, let's do something serious. And then we were put together. We did one serious promo.

He's like, let's not do comedy. Let's do serious. And then next day I was on NXT with him. Wow. Yeah. That was, it clicked. Yeah. And I was just serious without an accent.

And then Hunter pulled me, he's like, I want you to only talk Russian. Let's start this, the cover, and we'll see how far. And then it was just an evolution. Triple H was very hands-on. He's a genius. And he was like, okay, let's try a different hair, a different suit or something. So that's how the suit and the bun came about. Kind of reminds me of the character in Rocky Four, right?

Is there an influence there? Absolutely. So the whole serious thing came from Rusk gave me a call and he was like, come over. We're going to do a serious promo. Let's watch Rocky for tonight. And let's pull some inspiration from that. Because it's Russia versus America. Ivan Drago versus Rocky Balboa. Yeah. So actually directly pulled from that. Wow. You know there's still people to this day that think you speak with an accent? Like their minds are blown right now that you don't speak with an accent. That's so crazy.

I'm always happy to kind of hear that because I'm like, oh, you really bought that. That's awesome. Yeah. We really protected our accents. We really protected the gimmick. Like, they would send me on radio interviews and I would have to do everything in accent. They would send me on a red carpet. I would have to do everything in accent.

So we really lived the gimmick for sure. For people who don't know, you were born in America. Yes. But then you grew up in Latvia, right? Yes, for 13 years. At what age? I moved there when I was five and I moved back when I was almost. almost 18. So you spoke English to begin with, I'm guessing. Yes. I spoke English to begin with. I moved there.

Russian Latvian is like both languages. It's 50, 50% Russian, 50% Latvian. And I learned both. Did you pick it up pretty quickly? I did. And then I went to a Russian ballet school. And so most of my teachers were Russian and most of my class was Russian. So I did end up speaking more fluent Russian, but I speak Latvian as well. What was the big break you think for you and Rusev? Like what was the thing that really got you on the map? Ooh, I think that Vince really getting behind it. And him like, in 2014, we were kind of like his favorite toy. And it's always nice to be, you know, someone's favorite.

It also might not last forever. But it definitely was like, I remember the first two months or three months we were doing vignettes and stuff. He was Bulgarian. I was Russian. And then we debuted three weeks in. He pulls us into the office. He's like, we're doing a little, we're going to change this.

a little bit. You're going to reside Roussef in Madarasha. And we're all like, I'm like, this is genius, actually. This is going to be crazy heat. And he's like, Lana, you have brought him to Vladimir Putin. And he is now fighting for Russia and Vladimir Putin. And it was very believable because I think there were two different athletes at the time that had left their countries to go and move to Russia, the fight for Russia and the Olympics. So Vince would do that often. He would take a lot of inspiration from TV shows, movies, current events. If something was super current happening, we would kind of recreate it on his show. So that's what it was. And we instantly, when I dedicated, I will never forget, I had to walk out there and cut a full-on propaganda

to promo to Vladimir Putin. And Vince made me rehearse it several times in front of him. And he was just like, it has to be believable, has to be natural. And yeah, that's how the whole thing started. It got massive heat. Did you get a lot of negative feedback? Oh my gosh. It was insane.

Like, insane. People booing you in comments, people telling you to go back to Madrasha, you know. It was crazy. I think I did notice a lot of hate, like partly the reason why I don't post on my family on social media too much is because I would posted like my little nephew and people would just come for the child like move back to Russia you stupid child and I'm like oh my god that's like so inappropriate right now so you know I have to just remember I'm that character it's kind of like game of Thrones you know and everyone hated the king or surcy right and people see us as that character

they don't see me as CJ with my little nephew they see me me as the evil Lana, who's being mean to their children in America. So we're going to be mean back. But it makes you realize that you got them. Yeah. You were so good. You were so believable that they took it to heart. Thank you.

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. It was so fun. I loved it. 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 Clevenberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup.

Times ticking. I think you can feel the intense. 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. I love the segments that you got to do with The Rock. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That's, that was crazy. When I think about 2014, we'd only been on the road for eight months.

and they give us this promo, and they're like, okay, and we're against Big Show, and we're memorizing. They're like, okay, yeah, come back here at 715, meet us at the bus, we're in Brooklyn, and we meet them by the bus. We're like 7.15, okay, we meet them, they bring us in, and DJ's in there. Wayne Johnson.

And nobody knew he was going to be there. No one knew. And he had been back in, like, two years. I don't know. It's been a minute. Maybe the WrestleMania or something. It was a minute. So the place absolutely exploded when he came out there.

But yeah, it was phenomenal. I'm still so grateful I was able to work with him in that type of capacity. He completely switched the promo there on the fly. And then he also, this is where me and mirror are very, very fortunate to be able to work with people like Dwayne, John Sina, Big Show. You know, these men are, they've been around for so long. And they know how they listen to the crowd. And you learn by doing that. There's no, you can't just be taught that.

And so the be out there with Dwayne where he's like, he told us, he's going to tell us when the talk. He's going to give us an eggy to tell it. Because he's like, you don't want to step on the crowd. You don't want to step on it. They're going to get louder and they're going to get louder. And so Mero has incredible instincts. And so he already kind of knew the weight that long, but I would rush it a little bit.

And so. What was the Iggy? He would just like, his head. hand, like, or something. Yeah, he just kind of like give you a look that you knew. You just, I don't know. I just knew. Yeah. And it was incredible because a couple times I almost, I wanted to go and say something and the, the rocky chants were building. And he was like with his hand. So I knew like, okay, and they got louder, rocky, louder, louder. And then it was like, okay, go. And so, gosh, the be able to have those experiences is, I mean, of course, little CJ is so thankful. Grown CJ's

thankful. But also, I grew so much as an artist and a performer. And I understood why waiting for that sound is important. If not, you kind of stop your own pop. He hits you with some great lines in that first promo. Something, Streetwalkers. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yeah. He's funny. He's funny with his one liners. That's for sure. And then when you got to do another segment with him, this one backstage. Yes. And he's talking about all the fun, things that happened back at your hotel room. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. The Wisconsin Wheelbarrow. Oh, my gosh. Yep. The funniest thing about all that is both me and the rock had to try so hard, not the laugh when Mir Rousseff came into the shot. Because it's like, I don't know. He just plays

that character so well. And it's, it's, he kind of pops me. And so me and Wayne were like trying not the crack when he's like standing there. Yeah, it's cool because him saying I was flexible is what led to Miro coming up with the hot and flexible wife. And he's like, if people are going to say that about you, we're going to freaking own it, you know? What do you think was the funniest line that The Rock delivered to you in that backstage promo? I think it was the flexible. What was exact? Like, I think it was those things.

Flexible. He said, remember how he said you don't like Rusev? Yeah. Smells like old testicles. The whole thing. was so funny. And I, like, you can see by my reaction, I wanted to play it straight. Like, Lana, the cold, like, not happy with this, but I, I couldn't. Like, I was getting all giggly and giddy because he's so charismatic and so funny. I want to pull it up here and we can look at it. Oh, yeah,

let's do it. I love that. Yeah. We'll slice it in here, but like, uh. Oh, my God. It's so funny. You see, I'm trying not to laugh. You're trying not to laugh. It's right there again, trying not to laugh. Rotten testicles. Wow. That's awesome. I'm like, Roussep's there. Roussef's there. No, no, no.

No, no, Rousseff's there. It's so funny, too, because I think when he said, you playing coy, I literally almost, that's why I'm like, because that was not in the script. I'm saying that. That whole segment's hilarious because he's running into people from his past. And he's like building him up but also making fun of them at the same time.

Yeah. I love him. He's so great at what he does. And he's always been just so nice and kind every time I've ever met him or worked with him. And I just think that's truly amazing. You know, to be at that level of fame and success and still take a moment to talk to someone and be a real human. And not only did you get to work with him once, you get to work with them twice. Yes.

Yes. Not everybody else gets to work with John Cena. Oh, God. Another huge, another huge thing I'm forever thankful for. I learned so much.

And I think it really carried into my in ring wrestling because I knew sound. So like John Cena is another person calling all the spots, right? I'll never forget when the We Want Lana thing started. And it started at live events.

Well, it first started on television, and then it really carried the live events. And so John, And Sina's like, okay, you're going to get up on the apron. I'm going to tell you where the stand. And he would literally go, go here, go here in the match because it's getting louder and louder. And then he said, the ref is going to kick you out at the end. The ref kicks me out. The place booze. The whole place booze. And then nothing got louder after. Like, they didn't boo that loud for when, like, anything else. And so John comes back and John's like, okay, I got to think about

this, but that's not it. He's like, and that's what I loved about John is like, like John would always say, you have to take calculated risk. And then he's like, then if it doesn't go as plan, you have to take ownership and say, sorry, that was my bad. I'm going to do something different next time, right? And so he comes back the next day and he's like, okay, we're going to have Rousseff kick you out. I get up, we want Lana, get up there, Rousseff kicks me out. The place boos leads right into the finish. The place explodes. Come back, John's like, that's it. That's it. And then we did that on television at Extreme Rules, and that's what set my baby face right. Wow.

Yeah. Early on, you were there for Joe Henry's WWE debut. Yeah. Played Rousseff's lawyers. Yeah. What do you remember about that segment? I remember he was better than the Americans that were trying to play it. His accent was way more believable.

And I think, so we did something in America for a ceremony with American actors, and I was, like, traumatized because I'm like, that is very bad. You know, we need to work on your accent. They're Russian accents? Yes. It's just like an American actor. And I'm like, are we going to- So now you've got a Scottish guy.

Yes, yes. Who's doing this accent. Yes. And it was way more, it was very believable. I thought like, I was actually really impressed by him. And I'll never forget, that's what I said to him. And he brought that up. He was like, you put my accent over.

And I was like, because I was impressed with how well you were doing. And so I thought he was very believable as our lawyer. And I was so happy to see him at WrestleMania. I couldn't believe it. And it's those stories that just make me love this business and make me love life because it's like, yeah, you had a dream and you persevered. It's like Chelsea Green the same way. You know, they played these little parts on the show years ago.

And then they kept going, going, going. And the see their payoff now is so beautiful. I love that you guys took this photo. I think it was 10 years later. Yeah. Literally at, we were staying at the same casino. Yeah, you, Rusev and Joe Hendry. And it's like 10 years later and like look what you guys have all done with your careers.

Yeah, it's so cool. We're big fans of him. He is absolutely crushing it. Yeah. It's mind-blowing. I just, it just shows you like it's not about how fast you get there. It's the journey. And often the slow and steady one.

And then the interesting thing about that is like you don't fail unless you give up. Wow. Right? Like if you just keep chipping away at this, opportunities are going to pop up here and there, and you never know when it's going to happen. Yeah. But like, you'll never fail if you just keep moving forward and you keep doing the thing. Yeah.

That's, I like that. That's a lot of wisdom. It's true. Like, there's the idea of, like, it's not win or lose. It's win or learn. Like, you're going to learn from these opportunities. You're going to grow from them. Yeah.

And, like, we're sitting in Hollywood right now. Yeah. And I'm a firm believer that, like, everybody gets a break. Like, you can act until you're 100 years old. Yeah. It's not like a sport where you have a short window. So true. everyone's going to get a break at some point in time, whether it's a commercial or it's a movie

role or whatever it happens to be. But it's like, are you able to keep persevering? You moved here when you were 21. Are you able to keep persevering if you don't get your break till you're 40, 50, 60, 70? It's so true. It's so true. It's a marathon. Right. Yeah. You've been known so much for your promo work, but you had so many matches. So if we were to go back and watch one of the matches that you're most proud of, which matches is it? I think my matches with Naya Jacks. I did really like some of my matches with Oskah, too. They were short. It was during the Thunderdome era. So a lot of the matches were more concise. But I was training with T.J. and Natty's a technical wrestling genius. And so I'd trained a lot with fit before in Gold Duss. And they just had different styles.

And fit is like the ultimate heel to learn from. But T.J. is. incredible at just technical combos. And I would bring to him stuff. I'm like, I want to do more kicks. I want to do more, like make it look like it's a kind of like an MMA, like a karate fight with more kicks. And Oscar was the first, like the greatest person to do that with because she has so much of that style. And I would bring Japanese matches to him. And I'm like, how can we recreate this? And that's what we would do in training with Jason Cade and T.J. and Natty. So fun. It was that year and a half was one of the funest years of my life. And I'm like, I'm like, life training. I love wrestling. I love training. And so yeah, and same with on the Naya match.

All that stuff I was doing was T.J. was training me. And Naya is a Samoan dragon. She is vicious. She is strong. She is powerful. And we all know that. So it was an absolute honor to fight that woman in that ring. You were Naya Jack's opponent for the infamous match where she shouts out, my whole. And you're in the Thunderdome, so you can very clearly hear this. Yes. What are you thinking?

I had no idea that it was going to become an international meme, you know? That was nuts. Like, I, you know, I push her through the table. She goes through the table. And I believe it was Triple H and Johnny. I can't remember exactly who gave about joking about my hole, my hole. and rehearsal and then, you know, that's what she did. And I did hurt her whole.

And it became an international meme, which I'm very proud of. It's hilarious. It's so funny. It's so funny. I honestly, I can't believe that I put her through a table and hurt her hole. What a sentence. Do you know how many times Naya Jacks put you through the announce table? Nine times.

Nine times. The most in history. Broke every time. Yeah, nine times in a row. There's never been consecutively a WB.E superstar put, and it's through the commentary table nine weeks in a row. But I would imagine the plan wasn't starting out like we're going to do this nine times. Probably just one, right?

Yeah, it was literally, I was just the biggest heel at the moment in the business because of the Bobby Lashley story. I was teaming up with Natty. And we were heels. and Vince thought it would not, he wanted to have his new stick for Naya was going to be that she was going to put someone through commentary every single week. And he was going to turn her into a massive baby face. And so I was like, I want to go. I've always wanted to go through a table. It's my dream. It's my dream. And that was told the Vents. And Vince thought that was so hysterical that I ever dreamed to go through a table. And he thought it made the most sense if they were trying to make her as a baby face to put the person that was hated the most through the table. And because everyone like, Liv wanted to go through it, like a whole bunch of other girls were like, no, me, me. And so put me through and was the same day that Miro was talking about, he had an AEW interview on a podcast. And it was just something with his interview and me doing that at the same time that the fans assumed I was being disciplined because of Roussef. But it wasn't that way at all.

And it just really worked into my favor that the fans really had my back like that. You know, one second they hate me and like that they turn. I love our fan base. You guys are the best. So, and then the following week, I think originally the plan was to put another girl through the table. And Vince was like, no, I want to try again, Lana. And then by the third week, I was like, had become like a full-blown baby face online. And Vince was like, okay, I think.

And it was so much heat for Naya and Shana. He was like, I think this is going to make them a bigger hero and you know, a bigger baby face. So let's run with it and see where it goes. So that's what happened. And then six more times after that, nine times total. Yeah, I want Survivor Series because of that. And I'm blown away. I'm very thankful.

You were involved in a lot of romantic storylines. It seems Vince McMahon likes a good romantic storyline. Yeah. Vince loves soap operas. I love soapoppers. I love, I'm a big, I'm big into drama TV and romantic storyline. So I think we always connected on that of like, he loved, love, love, love romantic storylines. And his whole thing was everyone can relate to it. Not everyone can relate to winning a championship, but everyone can relate to falling in love, betrayal, heartache. And I identified

with that a lot. And then the numbers always showed like, whoa, people really can. There's something, a connection here. But, you know, I'm a professional. You know, a lot of people I know online say a lot of different things. But yeah, it was a little awkward when I had to practice that kiss with Dolf. and my, at the time, boyfriend was in the room. And the whole thing was so funny because, like, Johnny Ace and Vince, like, show what we need to do. And they get up real close, like, real super close. And each other? Yeah, yeah, showing how it needs to be done, you know? And we're, like, giggling. And Vince is like, no, we're all professionals here. We're all grown adults, you know? And so, like, that already helped me go, okay, if these grown men are very, you know, it is very

professional. And I come from a performance background and I can easily pretend to be a friend, assassin, lover, mistress, and then leave work and turn it off, go back home and do chores, you know, and do life and be together with Miro. And we both understand that. You know, he takes acting class. He's been in movies. He's been a husband in different things as well. So I think we always had that understanding. He's very confident, though. He's a man that he feels totally secure and confident, me playing something that is believable. And I give him his props and flowers because maybe for me it would be a little bit harder or vice versa. But he understood that was what was bringing good money into the household.

So you and Dolve Ziegler are running through this segment. You're practicing making out. And your boyfriend, which ends up being your husband, is standing right there. Yeah. That was so awkward. so awkward. Vince and Johnny also love Dolf. So they had like all these insider jokes that we didn't get either. And this is, I didn't know Dolf very well. Now we're all very good friends, us three. But so we do the kiss. I'm still so floored. Like we're this, we're this close to Miro.

It's like this room, you know, way smaller than this room. And Miro's turning red because, you know, it's a little awkward. And I can't do it either because I'm giggling. I'm like, What directions being given to you? And so the big thing that Vince was concerned about is he didn't want me to look promiscuous or slutty. He wanted to look like it was my first kiss. So he didn't want it to be messy and crazy. He wanted to be very slow. And so the first time we did it in the office very slow, he was like, oh, hell no, hell no.

He's like, that is way too fast. So I'm really glad we did practice it because I went way slower and that would have never happened. that way. I would have just been like a normal time. And now when I watch it back, it's so slow. I'm like, and you feel really awkward. And it's like, okay, yeah, maybe this is this girl's first kiss. Because it's like, you know, real slow. And then we needed the weight and everything was very planned out. Vince was very hands on. This was his baby. What was the approach when you were in the romantic storyline with Bobby Lashley? We didn't have to practice it. Thank God. And what we saw on TV was the first time.

That was it. And I knew that this was very different of a story. I was obviously not the innocent one anymore. I was the mistress. And he, Vince and Heyman pulled me aside before. And they said, you have to make this be like the most ridiculous kiss and needs to be like the kiss that has to save all of y'all's careers. A lot of pressure there, you know.

And they're like, we need to be like a full makeout session, very over the top, very uncomfortable, very, like, ew. And so, and then when they said, like, our careers count on it, I was like, mother freak. And so I just went in. And then, like, of course, when I look back at it, I'm always like, oh, my God. But I felt like I did the job that was asked of me. Well, because Bobby grabs you at first. It's a hug. Yeah. And then there's a bit of space. And then you guys go in for the kiss. Yeah. So actually, that all part, we did practice. Like, Vince, we didn't have to practice the kiss. And, but Vince was like, I want, he directed that all that. That was all. That was

all of Vince thing. And we did it right in Corrilla right before we went out. The Bobby Lashley's storyline is, it's interesting, right? Because it's basically you're directing him to all these things. I would love it so much if you propose to me. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yep. It's a completely different take on a romantic storyline. Yeah. Yeah. It was a completely different take. Paul Heyman was very hands on on that. Vince was too, but Paul Heyman was leading the spear there. And I learned a a lot. I was very thankful to have an opportunity where I had, again, so much mic time. They wanted to me to be very over the top. They wanted me to be very annoying. So even when I look back,

I'm like, oh my God, I'm so annoying. And I remember I was told to be over the top and be annoying. So it's different types of characters. You know, I wasn't always used to being more of a Vicky Guerrero type of character where you purposely are just trying to annoy people. But if that's what they want from you and that's going to give it gave me my biggest contract of my life. What was the Bobby Lashley storyline? What was the original plan for it? That was it. Like we weren't, you never really told too much stuff. I mean, actually, I take that back. They were told at first that they would be one of the main events at WrestleMania. Yeah. So that was, you know, things happen. And I hear things are different over there now.

But back then it was, you know, stories could be dropped anytime. accents dropped any time, relationships dropped any time. And it was our job to make sense of it. We know that every wrestling wedding is going to have some sort of craziness. Yours got interrupted so many times. And then was there ever a talk of a payoff of a storyline with you and Liv Morgan, a romantic storyline there? Oh my gosh. That was so fun.

So this, again, was a Paul Heyman story. And I thought it was great because I thought someone was going to interrupt again. Like I did, I thought Liv was going to interrupt for Bobby Lashley. And I liked the spin on it. I didn't know it was going to be Liv Morgan. He originally said we're thinking about maybe Ruby lived area. All of them really made sense to me. All of them. Yeah, it really connected to me. And we were just told that it's going to go where, you know, week by week we're going to figure it out. And so. me and Liv, we wanted to commit to it fully. You know, we are very close friends. We had spent a lot of time together. And yeah, and I had throughout my life dealt with my own sexuality, not issues, but, you know, what's the right word? I guess not being fully straight, right? Of questioning my own sexuality throughout my life. So to me, it was very, I identified to it completely. The fans were, it was polarizing what the fans' reaction. Some people really loved it and other fans didn't. And so who knows how the fans' reaction affected it? I don't know. But, you know, it leaves the door open. Anything can happen.

So the storyline's still open? Yeah, the storyline's still open. You never know. I mean, it's wrestling and it's WWE. Anything can happen. How long was Ruseb in that cake for? Oh, my gosh. I think the whole segment, I don't, I don't even.

even know, but that was so funny, you know? And I actually was just watching it yesterday again, that segment, because I was editing something for my podcast. And I laughed so hard when Roussev pops out because my reaction is like, not again, not another interjection, the fourth one. I was surprised that was a real cake. Like, that's a giant six, seven foot tall cake. And then your face is getting smeared in it. I'm like, oh, wow, it wasn't just like a prop. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I always wanted Roussef and Liv to go. Like, that's what I was hoping, because I felt like that would also give him like an up. Like, oh, you have this younger, prettier, blue high, blonde hair, blonde.

But they had a different direction. When you mentioned that you're really good friends with Liv, you almost burnt down her house. Yes. What happened? Oh, my gosh. So I lived with her for about three months or maybe four months last year. when I was, like, going through a really hard time. I moved, lived at her house. And, you know, that was, I think it was a day after my birthday. So it was like, everything hit the fan, the AEW thing,

the Miro thing. So I'm like, really missing her. And she calls me and she's like, CJ, I'm coming home tonight from Raw. And so I'm like, yay, I'm going to cook for you. So she comes home and I start cooking tacos and I put it on broil and I stick in the tacos. And I'm not even kidding, three months, three minutes later, we see smoke. coming out. Pull it. There's smoke everywhere. The alarms going off. And then she freaking saves the day, pulls out this fire extinguisher that I didn't even know she had that's in her washer machine or her dishwasher. She pulls out the dishwasher. She pulls out this and starts spraying it everywhere, saves the day. She's like, thank God I had to use this in extreme rules against Rhonda Rousey. And yeah, thank God I didn't

burn her entire house down. But it was pretty close. That could have been pretty pretty. scary. Yeah, it was actually really scary because we opened up the oven and fire comes out. I would not have known what to do if I was home alone. So thank God. What did you guys end up eating instead? I think some protein chates. No tacos. Yeah. Taco nights canceled. Yes, yes. So we can't trust you to to cook tacos now. I mean, I've learned not to put it on broil. You've mentioned your time in AEW. How long were you there?

I was there for about eight months on TV for about six months, I would say. And yeah, AAW was, it was a culture shock for me. And I loved it. I was able to also go on the Jericho cruise and work that. And honestly, that was probably one of my most fun moments of out, like, extra activities or signings in the world of professional wrestling, including WWE. I bonded with so many of the fans, because I don't know if you've ever been I'm going on the next one.

Oh, this year? I've never been on one. Oh, my God. So it's a treat. I can't wait. It's a real treat. And you're on this huge cruise with like 5,000 fans. And I, we had the best time.

I mean, I was drinking then. So I would be like taking shots with the fans. But we had karaoke night and every night and all these different fun activities. And so that was so, I'm so thankful for that. I really got to meet a lot of our hardcore fans that go to all. these different indie wrestling shows and also WWE stuff. And now I go to WDE shows. I'm like, I know you. So that was so cool. But it was also a huge culture shock for me because I came from the storytelling factory. And AEW is a wrestling company. And so I was used to telling

storylines over months versus in A.W wrestling matches are your entry and the storylines are just the garnish. So that was a huge learning curve. And yeah, I'm thankful. But I believe that me and Miro are in the right place now, you know? And I just feel like there's, there's definitely the opportunity here in WVE for you guys. Like I think Mero is at his best. Rusev is at his best when Lana's by his side. I'm popping right now. Yes. Khrush. Think of how, think of how great Ruseb day was. Like, right? Right. And I feel like there was a lot that that, that, That could have turned into something huge. Yeah.

Roussef de was incredible. I, of course, loved being a baby face with Roussef because he was always a heel. So that was incredible to see. It was kind of like the same we want Lana moment where you're like, whoa, what is happening right now? And it happened with Roussef. Like he was so hated and people loved to hate him so much. It was just like, give them a reason the switch.

And I was singing Roussevde. And they just got so behind him and we were cooking. and it was great, the fans were behind it. But sometimes we don't know all the pieces that are going on. And that's what I really understand is like Vince was playing chess. And he at the time was the only person seeing the chess board. So maybe like moving us up to the top spot as baby faces would have had all these other effects for the company that this wouldn't have made sense. And I understand that.

And I trust, I trust him. I trust the process. And I also do believe, me and Vince, agree that Rousseff is the greatest deal in the business. And it's easy to boo Rousseau. Yes. And that's what Vince love from him, you know? So, like, I understand that.

And he, I just think that he had his reasonings that we didn't know about. And that's okay. And that's, that's the process. Your last match was in 2021. Do you feel like, you know, you need to get the ring rust off? Are you ready to go? Oh, my God. Well, you know, I'm always training.

And I just don't really talk about it. it much. Okay. Yes, I love wrestling and I stay working behind. So you're ready. I'm always ready. Yes, yes, yes. I'm definitely ready.

But I believe that my money pocket is in my best asset to WWE is on the mic. But if they would want me to throw on my boots and throw some slaps and cheat, possibly the win, because that's what I would have to do with all these crazy super athletes now. And the women are like incredible athletes. Like I've never seen the women division. So at such a high level, it's really awesome. So I would love to be the mouthpiece for some of these women. I saw you at Monday Night Raw on Anaheim a few weeks ago.

I ran into you. It was great to be able to catch up with you. Yes. You went backstage that day too, right? I did. I did. Was it just amazing seeing old friends? Yes.

I don't always go backstage because sometimes I just want to go and I'll dress in little rousse of shirts and like put a hat. just want to experience it as a fan. And I love professional wrestling and the crowd and the energy and the people. I get that dopamine hit just being there even. And so it was cool, though, that'd be brought backstage because I haven't been back in a while. And so the C Natty and the C. Nanny and the Cicke Bela and Stephanie. Stephanie, not Stephanie McMahon. She wasn't there, but Stephanie Bacaria. Yeah, she's so sweet and so amazing. I was there on her debut, too. So it's really cool to see her success.

I'm a big fan of her. And yeah, it was just Roxanne and Raquel. I love those girls. So it made me a little emotional in all the best ways. How much do you think Total Divas changed your career? Because I feel like it had allowed us to see you in a completely different light. You were Lana before that. Right.

We were speaking in a Russian accent. Now we see CJ on Total Divas, even though they were calling you Lana. But completely different version of you. Yeah. No accent. That was a big thing, definitely. That was, I think all the fans were in shock. It's so funny.

But, yeah, I'm very thankful. I was able to have two weddings, one in Malibu and one in Bulgaria. The show covered it. So it was one of the biggest blessings. I would have, we wouldn't have been able to afford that, especially in America. Weddings or not. In Malibu. Yeah.

Yeah. So I literally had. Nothing. Oh, my gosh. And so I, it was a dream come true that wedding. and was a dream. And I'm so thankful for that. So yeah, I learned a lot from Total Divas. I learned a lot from Natty. You know, reality TV is everything on TV is a work. How much are they pouring gasoline on the fire? Oh, yeah. I mean, you have to, if you're not willing to stir the pot, if you're not

willing to throw yourself under the bus as well, then you're not going to be on that show for too long. But that has to be tough when these are actually your friends in real life. Yes. And you know how to poke and prod and push their buttons. And now the cameras are on and you're doing that. Yeah. Yeah, it was, you know, Natty, I loved doing storylines with because I knew we were always on the same page. It was love.

It was love. But there were a couple of fights I got in with the girls. That was hard. Like, I think me and Saraya got in a fight. And I just, I love her so much. And again, I was drinking. And when I look back, I was drinking too much. And I wouldn't have act that way.

of us completely sober. My prescriptions with drinking wasn't a good. It made me, like, not be able to control my emotions. And so, you know, I'm glad I'm not. I've evolved and changed. And I'm also really thankful that me and Soraya have mended our relationship because I have only love for her. I love that.

If Lana were to be sitting in front of me right now, what do you think she would say about Rousse's recent work in WWA? Hmm. Okay. Well, Lana right now is in Siberia training. All her people, but what would she say about her first ex-husband, I have to first say I'm proud of him. He looks great. His muscles look great. His abs look great. I don't tell him, but I might have a little crush on my first ex-husband again. So that's one thing. Second thing, I'm proud of him. I'm proud that he doesn't have any stupid women around him.

I'm proud that he's focusing on the right things, but I will be honest with him. He's lacking Lana. So, you know, I support him from afar, but I wait for Dikou. Muchka crush. Sounds like we might see Lana back in WWB. Professional wrestling.

Anything can happen. Also, Roussep might be John Cena's last opponent. I know. I'm so excited about that. I love the tournament. I'm so excited. I love the idea of the tournament. I love the idea of the tournament, too.

someone has earned this spot. We're going to watch it over the next month, how it's going to unfold. There's going to be some surprises. I'm sure there's going to be some shenanigans in here. Yep. I'm so excited. I love everything that Rosafin, John, have ever done. And they have great chemistry.

And I hope he beats him. I love this conversation. Thank you for making this happen. Thank you for being so open and honest about everything in your professional life and your personal life as well. Thank you. I know that you talk. about that's going to be really impactful for a lot of people who are struggling with their own things. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you for letting me share this. And I do hope it encourages

other people because life can have struggling moments, but they're not alone. Everyone needs to check out identity crisis, wherever you're listening to this, wherever you're watching this right now. You've got, you told me behind the scenes, I'm not going to give it away, but you have some pretty incredible guests on the way. Thank you. And I'm going to end this conversation with the question that I ask everybody at the end. Because gratitude is such a huge part of my life. It's changed my life to focus on the things that I have rather than the things that I don't have. Wow.

Yes. So, CJ, what are three things you're grateful for right now? Ooh, I love this. I'm grateful that I'm still married to my lovely, beautiful husband, Miro. So thankful for that. I'm thankful for my sobriety and that I've been able to, I live a much more healthy life now and happy life. And I'm thankful that I'm a W3E legend. Watchka crush. What a way to end. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. This was so fun. 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's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform.

You've been warned.