Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Mickie James & SoCal Val: Injury Update for Mickie, GAW TV, Nick Aldis, the term "Divas"

Episode Date: July 2, 2020

Mickie James and SoCal Val chat with Chris Van Vliet about their new YouTube channel "GAW TV" and their thoughts on the Speaking Out movement. Mickie James also talks about her ACL injury and her recovery from it, the real story of how she met her husband Nick Aldis, we find out why SoCal Val never became a wrestler, the celebrities that they have been mistaken for and much more! Thanks to Bet Online for their support with this episode! Use the code BLUEWIRE for a new welcome bonus on your first deposit at http://BetOnline.ag Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up, y'all? It's Druski, and I've teamed up with Mountain Dew to produce a hilarious new basketball podcast called The Do Zone with Drusky. Learn the backstories of your favorite ballers and celebrities like Jamal Murray. Did you have like a favorite team? Was it the Raptors at the time or no? Was the Raptors even started around that time? Come on, bro. I ain't that old, fam.

You're talking like I'm 50. Taylor, Rokes, Asian Wilson, and many more. You won't want to miss this. Listen to the Doozone with Drusky on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcast. This is Brandon Kelly, the host of Blue Wires, new podcast, Golden Gold. From Lionel Messi to Marta to Pele, our show takes a deep dive into soccer superstars.

From Zlatan Ibrahimovych's brash confidence with the play to back it up, to Megan Rapino's heroic outspokenness and World Cup flair. Each episode examines a personality of the world's game. We'll dig into Maradona's Hand of God performance, and subsequent downfall, the teenage trio at Dortmund that signal the next generation of superstars, and that infamous headbut that slung Zinidine Zadan from glory. Golden Gold, soccer stars, and the moments that made them, premiering this summer on Blue Wire. It's Chrisomania, brother.

That's a great question. Look at you, man. We're the powerful questions. Woo! This is the Chris Van Vliet show. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Flea! Welcome back to another audio adventure on the CVV show. I am your host, Mr. Thursday morning, Chris Van Podcast.

Although lately, we've been putting out more than one podcast a week. But you know that every single Thursday morning, we will have an episode for you like this one. And this episode is brought to you by Bet Online. and it's the first time since quarantine started that we've had not one, about two guests on at the exact same time. Mickey James and SoCalVal were kind enough to hang out with us. And if you haven't seen their new YouTube channel yet, Gaw TV.

I just love saying that, Gaw TV. It's G-A-W. It stands for grown-ass women. And if you haven't seen this, you're missing out. It's the two of them with Lisa Marie talking about, I mean, talking about like pretty much everything right and that's kind of what we do in this interview too so take a screenshot tag us let us know you're listening and i love sharing these when i see them on social media when i see these on instagram or twitter i'm like ooh you're listening with us this is great

i'm at chris fanvlet tag me mickey is the mickey james and val is official so cal val and since you're listening right now please take a second to subscribe and leave a review so grateful if you could do that because it's the biggest thing to help the show out. So please leave a review, subscribe, and you can be like NJG1988 in the UK who left this review titled five stars. Exclamation mark, exclamation mark. Chris has a fantastic, thoughtful interview style. As a fan of wrestling himself, he asks those in-depth questions that hardcore wrestling fans

want to know. The CVV show has quickly become my. favorite wrestling podcast. Well, that's very kind. Thank you, my friend. I love seeing the word favorite spelled with a U. As a Canadian, that's how we spell it. And since moving to America 10 years ago, I've had to remove the U's from my words like favorite and neighbor and color. Although I know, my UK friends, I know that's the correct way to spell it. Mm-hmm. It's true. So I wonder where you are in the UK, NJG 1988, because SoCal Val lives there now. Maybe you guys are close to each other. She talks about exactly where she is during this interview. Actually, she and Mickey James talk about a lot here, including their new channel, Gaw TV, which they will tell you all about.

They also talk about the speaking out movement, and we get their thoughts on everything going on with that because this really changed the landscape of wrestling over the last few weeks. We also get into Mickey's ACL injury last year and how painful it sounded. Her recollection of this. And her recovery from this has been great. Sounds like she's ready to go as soon as she can get cleared with everything that's going on right now. I guess we, I think we'll be seeing her back in the ring soon. We also talk about why SoCalvow never got into the ring as a wrestler. She says she's allergic to it.

And we get the real story. of how Mickey James and Nick Aldous met. Because Nick told us his version of the story when we had him on the show in January. So Mickey James has her version, which she says is the real version. So there's so much goodness in here. So please enjoy it. It's Mickey James and SoCalvall. Okay, now we're doing.

I got two thirds of God TV here. Mickey James, SoCalvow. How are you guys? Very well. Thank you. Doing great. Yeah. We're all in, like, completely different parts of the world here, but through technology, we're able to come together.

I know. This is amazing. Yeah. And Val, you're in. Val's in the UK, right? Yeah, SoCal Val, who's only lived in SoCal a couple years, calls Orlando, Florida home is in England. You got to keep up, really. I just make no sense.

My name makes no sense at all. Well, everyone just must assume you live in SoCal because it's in your name. You know, they're saying it all the time. Yeah. Most people don't even know what SoCal is, which is even funnier. I've been announced as like Socavia, like people don't, especially over here, it's not a thing to say the word SoCal. So that usually it's social vowel. I have a mug that Simon gave me that says social vow. Social vow.

And you're in Tennessee, right? I am. I'm in Nashville right now. Very nice. And Nashville is like opening up quite a bit, I believe. They have been. That doesn't mean. I've not been as much. I've gone to, you know, I go to the gym, but you have to wear the mask and stuff in the gym. but Virginia, I'm still back in Virginia and Nashville. So it's like, it's funny because one week I'll be in Virginia and everything's still. Like I think they just started to reopen. I think the gyms just opened today in Richmond, which the gyms here in Nashville had opened a couple weeks ago,

but you had to wear the masks and everything in. But I think last week they actually opened to where it's just suggested that you wear the mask. Wow. You're extra cautious being a mom, right? For sure. for sure. Well, not just being a mom. I was like, I said this on an Instagram live I did the other day. It's more about, you know, my mom who gets like asthma and bronchitis certain times of the year and she's just got allergies and stuff. And then my grandma who also, you know, she smoked forever and she's 77 years old and she's feeble. And so if she was to catch this thing, it would be the end of her in that sense. You know, I really, I hate to say that. But like, that's because that's what this virus really like jumps on. And that's who's been the. most affected on that side. But so that's why I wear the mask the most, you know.

I think me, Nick, Donovan, we'd all be okay. I don't want us to catch it because it's terrible, but we'd be all right. Whereas other people who we would come in contact with would not be so fortunate perhaps. So I don't want to be that guy. Yeah. I got to. For God. Oh, God.

I got to say this is the first time I've had two guests on this streaming platform here. I'm so glad it's working here. You guys do this all the time. though. And for people who don't know what God TV is, it's you two and Lisa Marie basically talking about whatever it is that you guys want to talk about. That's right. I have to give Mickey the credit for the name because we just thought it was so all-encompassing of like what we're trying to kind of portray, you know, grown-ass women. We're in different kind of phases of our lives. We're going through different, you know, career things and relationship things. But what we're trying to do is be grown-ass

women in every sense of the word. And it's funny because it's a show with people from wrestling. and we sometimes have wrestling guests on, but it's really not a show about wrestling. It's a lot more personal than just the interviews that you get a lot of times how you get started in wrestling and things like that. It's a lot more about our current lives now. We want to do with our lives.

We have a lot of female fans that tune in because obviously wrestling is a very male-dominated industry, which is fine, but it's kind of a place where you can come and have a slumber party with us, have a glass of wine or five. We're not the year to judge. And we talk about life and love, and we play silly games.

We try to keep it very, lighthearted. I have to say that we've had some more serious conversations before, and we really think it's cool to the fans like when we sort of open up and we get a little serious. But for the most part, we've been sort of called an escapism for what's going on right now, and we keep it light and fun. So I think it's good timing to have something like this to watch every Wednesday night at 5 p.m. Eastern. Damn. Was this ever part of the plan, or did quarantine happen? And you three went, you know what? Now's the time to do this? I would say it's been a little bit of both.

You know, Fowell's very, like, she's always done show. She did Pillow Talk when we were in TNA, which is very similar to this show, right? Like, that was so fun. But we separately have always talked about, like, doing some type of, like, female inspired, empowering type of show. But we've never found the time or, like, I went back to WWE full time. And then everything's just kind of been, we're like, oh, maybe one day or we just joke about it. And we still, like, would just be on our boxers laughing at it. at each other, you know.

And Lisa, I think equally, she's like at such a different phase because she retired from the ring last year. So she's in that transitional phase of like, okay, this has been my life for X amount of years and like, what is this next step? And if you don't know Lisa, she's literally one of the funniest people.

Oh my God. She's so funny. To give you an example, the first episode, she, with, unbeknownst to us at all, shows up in a dinosaur onesie. Don't know why she just decided to be dynomania run and wild. She's so random and funny. And honestly, our boxes together were so funny anyway that it's just like,

that's exactly what you're getting is us off the cuff. And I always sort of describe it like if there was a signing or a show that you went to, you would find Mickey, Lisa and myself in our pajamas, drinking wine in our hotel room, cracking up and telling stories about exes and hilarious, horrible jobs we've had and whatever. And it's sort of like your way to hang out with us virtually. And it's unfiltered. We should warn you about that.

A lot of shots. That's what's great about it. though. Yeah. Yeah. Is it too early to pour a quarantini or to have a glass of wine here? It's never too early. I wish you would have told me.

I mean, I'm trying to. It is. It's not even noon yet. Well, here. It's like, about wine.

Yeah. Well, I'll have one after. And then when people watch it. You know, about Alan's arm bar, you know, our special gall mixologist.

Mm-hmm. Special quarantinis and all kinds of drinks for our guests and for our sponsors. He's personalizing a special concoction for ODB who just debuted on the show last week. We sort of left everyone on a cliffhanger. And this week, she's doing a full episode for us. So she's going to have her own special drink courtesy of Gaugh TV mixologist, Alan Ayers, who's also my husband, who also we've recruited into being our mixologist and creating a

whole show from behind the bar. Because, again, let's be honest, when we're winding down after a long day, we like to do the show having a cocktail or do it. or five or a couple yeah well this might work for cheap chris yeah believe it so while this might be a product of the time that we're living in right now product of quarantine this is something you guys plan to do for you know a long time even after this situation's over absolutely absolutely we're going to keep doing because it's so fun and i think it's a way to we tell wrestling stories too like we've gone back and told some like from the road or from the locker room or like this so it's kind of funny especially when we

bring on our guests and we have some cool guests lined up. And what I love about it is that it's not just wrestling guests. You know, it's people from all kind of walks of the earth. Like we had Mel from Beyond the Bale who she's a ghost hunter and an astrologer and a psychic medium. And so she was telling us all these ghost stories and her and her wife go out and do all this like ghost hunting stuff. And she showed us the ghost clip. It freaked us out. I had to edit the thing. I still can't even talk about it. It was, yeah. Chris, you could come on. You could be a grown-ass fan on our show. You have men on the show? We will have men on the show. No, seriously, you should come on because obviously we'd have a ball. We'll get you a few quarantines. Might make a personalized cocktail for you,

Chris. But we did want to sort of establish the show with just us on it for the first few episodes. Okay, this is what you can expect. Not every time we'll have a guest, but we slowly start to integrate some of our female friends, like Mickey said, even ones that are not involved in wrestling. And we're so pleased at the response to male, for example, because not everyone could be into paranormal or ghost hunting or astrology, but a lot of our fans and friends are. So she was a great guest to have on. Now we're slowly integrating more females because, you know, we do talk a lot about female empowerment and what it means to be a grown ass woman, but we certainly will have guys on the show. We have a laundry list of hilarious guys. I mean, just to rattle off some names,

Jay Lethal, Chabu Guerrero, Christopher Daniels. Maybe Nick Aldous. I'm not sure we can afford him, But we all this. He's pretty expensive. I know. I mean, we did promise him. 0.0001%. But I think we gave that to one of our, that, or a portion of that 1% to one of the fans, Frank, I believe, his cat or somebody's cat. Frank's cat.

To be, you know, I don't know. Or was it a thought? I don't know. To be Bosley. It was more qualified. What podcast do you guys listen to that maybe, you know, would have inspired? grown-ass women? I've listened to a few,

sorry to answer first, Mickey. No, go ahead. I don't know how, I don't know. Should I direct my question? No, no. Every single week, because we're like, we get so excited and we have so much to say to, we're like, oh, sorry, girl.

Yeah, we, some of us talked about liking podcasts or not being yet into it before, but the ones I have listened to are mostly from Real Housewives and RuPaul's Drag Race. So I love both of those shows. And it's sort of women that I kind of,

think a lot of. I mean, you can laugh about real housewives all you want, but a lot of these women are self-made and have thriving businesses and are really, really smart ladies, some who just like eating bonbons and throwing lavish birthday parties, which is fine, we don't judge. But the ones that I like, you know, like Heather Dubrow and Ramona Singer and Sonia Morgan and some of these ones that have, you know, made quite a name for themselves. And I find it inspiring to listen to them. So that's a few of the things I was listening to before Gaugh TV was a thing. Yeah. Whereas I'm very much the opposite. I don't listen to a lot of podcasts. I always watch like a lot of these shows, like I'm more of like a YouTube show watcher than I am a podcast listener. So I think that's

where we could because we haven't launched the Gaugh podcast yet. We thought about doing this and then we thought, oh, we'll just pull the audio from our edits and then we can turn it to a podcast. And what we realize is that it's very, our show right now is very visual friendly. It's very made. It's made for YouTube. It's made for a visual kind of product. Whereas like we're going to start looking into perhaps developing something that is more podcast-friendly. So that way it's two different platforms and you kind of get the same show, but you get a little bit of a different kind of show. Yeah.

It's really different. Well, the possibilities are endless here. I started mine as a YouTube channel and then eventually transitioned over to a podcast and it's possible. And people are going to consume this one way or another. So I think that the more you can put out there, the better. For sure. That's what I thought.

For all three of you, you are now. grown-ass women compared to where you were when you debuted. So I will start with you, Mickey. What's the biggest thing that you've learned from your debut to where you're at right now? Wow. More, I think, to be more kind to myself, I think. Be more kind to myself and be more forgiving of myself. I think we're so, especially in this industry, like we are our hardest critics.

Like we can, in my eyes, nothing is ever perfect. Even when someone's gone and they're like, that was such an incredible match. In my mind, I'm thinking like, oh, where's this thing I could have done better or that or I'm like, oh, why did I do that there? Or even in my promos and everything, I'm a nitpicker. I pick everything apart. So I've learned to be more kind and to take, like when people put you over like that, to be able to take it and just say thank you. Without being like, oh, yeah, you think so. Oh, thanks.

It's like that assuredness in yourself or like that confidence that like when someone's giving you a compliment, that it's a genuine compliment and it's not, you know what I mean? Yeah. We did that to ourselves. We had this conversation and it might have been episode one or no, episode two because we watched ourselves back and we were like, oh my God, I couldn't stand how I said this word over and over and I kept touching my hair and blah, blah. And we're like, you know, we're supposed to be these confident, grown-ass women. And we're sitting here nitpicking ourselves all the time. It's ridiculous. I am so guilty of that to you.

I can't just take it off, but I have to go, oh, well, well, we're supposed to be. Oh, well, girl, it was only two pounds. Or, oh, well, you know, I got it on sale. You do these things all the time, and you have to, as you get older, remind yourself to just say thank you and to believe someone when they think that you've done a good job, even if you're going to nitpick yourself. So that goes into what I was going to say, I think I was too much of a people please or still sometimes am. I say yes to everything. That sounds cool too.

Not everything. But, hey, to have Ben's who's asking. I say yes to everything. I get too many projects thrown at me, and then I sort of overwhelm myself. Plus, I think being a people pleaser just means like I would just care too much people think and I was always afraid to offend somebody if I couldn't make an invite, things like that. It sounds like small things, but just a couple years ago, my girlfriend and I made a pact to sort of stop being a people pleaser and to write down how we were doing and it really helped.

And nowadays, I'm a horrible person. I'm only pleased myself. I'm so grateful for quarantine. I don't even have to make excuses as to why I don't see anybody. I don't have to hug it. It's amazing. So is this also the type of advice you would give to someone that's maybe coming up, not just in the wrestling industry, but someone who's trying to figure out their career,

someone who's trying to figure out who they are as a person. Is this the same type of advice that you would give to them? Yes, but also to learn how to take corrective criticism, to be able to learn how to, because I think that that is, you know, even before, like I would always if someone gave me corrective criticism like I was kind of instilled in me in the wrestling business very early and I think I took that from when I was training horses and when I was working with horses as a um you know as an early adolescent because I was constantly being criticized as to why like fix your seat like all that stuff for the show ring um so I was already having that and that

most athletes so I think we come over and like we've played some sort of sports but there's a lot of people that haven't. And so then to be able to take that criticism and realize that like your coach or your trainer or whoever is not trying to be, you know, or the person that you're asking for advice. I find that like if people ask you for advice and then you give them the advice, you can tell halfway through the advice that they've stopped listening to you because you haven't told them what they wanted to hear. You know what I mean? Like that old, like they just wanted for you to tell them that it was great. And nine times out of 10, it wasn't great. You know, like, And it's not like that.

Like, that's just me. I'm like, if you ask me my opinion, I'm going to give you my honest opinion. And it's not like, I'm not only doing it because you asked me, you know what I mean? If you want me to tell you it's great, I can totally tell you it's great. But I think that that would be doing you a disservice when you're asking me for my advice. And I think that was a hard thing to learn my first early years of like trying to do something and trying to make it great. Because I would take that and be like, oh, they hate me. Why?

Why did I, like, I beat myself up about it. Yeah, but it's real. And honestly, that's funny you say that, Mickey, because that's how I describe, not to like kiss your ass over here, but hey, when I describe you to people that don't know you, especially here in England, I'll say, you would love Mickey,

and the next thing I always say, oh my God, I want to get emotional. The next thing I always say is that she's going to tell you exactly how it is, and she's so real with you, and it's so effing refreshing because I'm so sick of these sort of surface friends who are like, oh, my God, I like, no, she's going to tell you to you straight. You're such a hard worker, and I admire that about you.

But there's no but I don't mean like, but anyway. I think what you said is true also, but people have beaten themselves up for silly things. And I find that with girls that want to say be influencers or bloggers and I kind of deal with that sort of side of things more than wrestling nowadays, here's an example. I was at a blogger event and I just said, oh, I'm going to make a video for us. So I said, hey, guys, you know, it's Val, as I always do,

my one little selfie area, my one angle that's good. I always say like, see, I just did it. See, I just made fun of myself. And you just don't know what you preach, Val. But I was telling myself, and they were like, oh, my God, you're just so comfortable doing it. that you're so good at it. And I literally was just confused. And I said, but I wasn't always like that. I said, I had to learn. I had to force myself to be on camera. Chris, you'll know, you know,

with the presenting and the acting side, Mickey, of course knows, you have to watch yourself back and critique yourself in a healthy way. And you just have to put yourself out there. Stop beating yourself up. Oh, I could never do that. I could never be on camera. You need to try it. And then, you know, see what you're good at, period. And just try everything. Yeah, I'm a firm believer that anyone can do anything. It's just a matter of, are you able to get past that first speed bump of going, can I do this thing? And for someone that wants to be on camera, you just have to get used to being able to see yourself.

Right. And going, yeah, you do that weird thing with your eyes or your mouth makes that weird thing when you talk. Yes, that is you. And that's how everyone sees you. Yeah. Yeah. It's horrible.

I told someone the other day about, oh, they said they hated their voice on a voicemail. And I said, I think it was Wembley Stadium I walked into. And they were playing a commercial that was like my voiceover. And I was like, oh, dear God, it was the most horrible feeling. And this is like years and years in, but it's still, we still hate ourselves how we sound. It's horrible. Now, what is it that you're doing now?

So, obviously, we have got TV. I do a lot of stuff fashion related here in, I would say in London. I'm in Milton Keynes, half hour north. But it's horrible in a way because before lockdown, I was just starting to get to do some more presenting for like London Fashion Week. I was invited to London Fashion Week men's and I was slowly kind of getting into that vibe a little bit more. And I've done a lot of my own stuff, but this was actually.

actually companies and brands were coming to me more. It hasn't totally slowed down, but obviously being a presenter with events and wanting to go interview people, that part of it, I do miss. And aside from that, I was doing a lot of comic cons. I'd say it had like two or three a month. Weekends, I'd be away for showmasters, Monopoly events. And I, you know, I went to Pakistan, did some re-announcing. I sort of, again, kind of say yes to everything in terms of an opportunity.

So I still do wrestling events here and there, but the comic cons, I do the celebrity Q&As, interviews and stuff like that. That's what I think. That's what I think my skills are the best. I love the modeling. I love the Patreon and stuff like that. But to me, I would be really dissatisfied doing only that. It's with the presenting that I like more than anything. And Mickey, we haven't seen you in a while. So I want to ask you, first of all, how is your knee doing? It's so good. It's actually really good. My knee's doing much better. Because it was about a year ago you had the surgery. I did. I was going to try to show you my ugly bar. Oh, that doesn't look so bad.

It's not terrible. Hold on. We're getting exclusive here. Look at this. Owl. And then it's got all the butterflies from where they went in and like they had to. Yeah. It's great.

No. It's fine. Aside from that hideous scar. I know. I never showed you my scar before. No. Did you? No.

Did you? For you, Chris. Just get those extra. We're going to get five more clicks off that. I can't wait. Wow. That can be the thumbnail. You're me.

You're new, just right there in the sentence. I need you to put that in there. Did you instantly know that something was wrong? Yes, instantly. It was so crazy because I was just a regular match. It was a simple hold. It was like I was the heel. You know what I mean?

I'm like I got Carmela. I was in a, I think, I don't know, some type of cravat or something because we had been, it was literally like the last. we probably had like two more minutes left in this match like honestly like it was that level like getting ready to go home I think and she rolled me off from the hold and there was like I just when I went to pivot pivot pivot I just I heard like a pop in my body pop like I could feel it like I could I felt it like I could feel it in my knee not pain just like an explosion but it was

literally a pop that I felt and heard in my head. It was crazy. And then I was like, that was weird. I went to go stand up and I kind of buckled, you know, and then I went to, I was like, whoa, and the referee is there. Who was the ref? Was it Spider? Who was the rep? I knew I was super hot at him about, because he stopped the match and I was so, so that he stopped. How dare you? He did the right thing. He did the right thing. He did the right thing, because, that's just me and my ego. I wanted to finish the match. I figured, okay, I could get through this. I know how tough I am. And so the first time I went to go, so I went to go stand up again, and it was just a little bit wobbly, and he just wronged the belt. I'm like, no!

I just said you're a hard worker. That's taking it to a whole other three. Yeah. I was so pissed, rolled out of the ring with my hands. I was like, God, it was fine. And paced myself. I walked myself back to the mat, well, with a little, limpy, but all the way back to the curtain because it was so devastated, so p-oed. But yeah, then come to find out. They thought I tore my meniscus at first. I've had the doc look at it. He goes, this hurt, no, this hurt, no.

Did it hurt when you did it? Not really. What did it sound like? I'm like, a pop. Like a pop. And he's like, ooh. So. We used to hear a pop to match, but that's not the pop you want to hear,

don't I'm saying? I live for the pop, but not that pop. No. How soon after that did you have surgery? That was the catchy thing. So then I had to fly to Nashville because I was going in the studio and going to do stuff that next week. So they just flew me in early. And I had the MRI done or whatever it was done on the knee.

And then not even until I got back out into the car, did the doc have the news back? So he told me with like a torn meniscus, that'd probably be like six to eight weeks, six to nine weeks maybe out. And I was like, oh, that kind of sucks. But at that time, I'd already been transferred over to Smackdown. I hadn't debuted on TV on Smackdown after a WrestleMania. You know, so I was just kind of sitting and waiting. And that was actually my first loop of house shows, which was the ironic thing. You know, maybe it wasn't meant to be me in Smackdown.

Anyway. It's crazy. Yeah. So, but then I like, so I did it. And then I got to the car and he's like, oh, are you sitting down? I'm like, well, yeah, kind of in my car. You know, he's like, so it's. you know, it's not your meniscus, it's your whole ACL.

And I'm like, I'm thinking, like, how is that even possible? Because I'm up walking around. I think players go down from an ACL thing and I see a buckle and like they're wincing in pain. Mine wasn't painful. It wasn't any of those things. So it was a little, I'm so tough. Like walking around, probably wheels and like, you know,

blip-clop, clip-clop. More like a clip-clop. Is this then a blessing in disguise because you get to be home with Donovan all the time? Yes, it was a blessing because honestly it was, you know, being back on the road, it was, I was a lot away a lot. And next year, this is the year that Donovan goes to school. He starts school this year full time. Well, I don't know how that's going to work out with all this, you know, corona. But it was my last year really to be as much at home with him as possible until that starts.

So that was kind of a blessing. But I had to wait like a month to get surgery because I had all this. I was opening for Big and Rich back home, like on the music side and stuff like that. And so I was like, I don't want to, I can't cancel this a month out. So I literally just like powered through it and then got the surgery right after it. Val's right. So tough. Wow.

T, you triple F tough. You were performing on stage with a torn ACL. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if they were happy with. me about that, but it's okay. They seem to have forgiven me. They had like nine months to do so. Wow. So you're good. You're ready to make a good. I'm ready. I'm honestly just waiting. You know, I, it's, you know, it's the process of getting cleared is a whole thing. And unfortunately,

my clearance time came right in the midst of this whole outbreak. And I was actually in Florida. I was at the performance center training, working with Tara, with everybody down there, just kind of see where I was at. I'd already done all my therapy leading up. I'd seen the doc. The doc had already cleared me. So I was literally just getting that like last two weeks to get cleared to come back to in ring action and all this stuff and everything got shut down.

And so I got, you know, I went home and then I just haven't been back since. Which is fine because it's like, you know, like I said, it's like everybody's kind of got different levels of like what's what's handling and I'm like there's no need to take that risk of going there if I'm not doing anything right so I would rather bide my time and wait for the perfect opportunity perhaps another blessing in disguise then perhaps perhaps until I go in I'm going to take all the championships all of them I'm going to be a single I'm going to be my own tag team partner and I'm going to go in there and I'm going to take those championships first and then I'm going to take both of the women's championships at the same time.

So I can be, you know, beyond, I've already been, claim myself the Triple Crown champ a long time ago. So I just don't know, corn, queen maybe or something. Ooh, I like that. It was Becky, you'd be Mickey for. So Becky was Becky two belts when she had both belts. You'd be Mickey four belts. Right.

So that's why I come with the core. Yeah. Some type of quah. Qua, quat, quod didn't. Rolls right off the tongue, the quadruple core. That's going to be so good. Now, with all this, with all this talk about wrestling, was there ever, was there ever a time when you thought you'd want to get in the ring?

No, actually, I'm allergic, and it's, I, you know. I hate that. I heard it hurts a lot. I bruised like, a peach. And all serious is, no. There was like when I was, you know, 11 watching it, I kind of thought, oh, I might be a wrestler, but I didn't, you know, we've had a conversation so many times. I was a WWE Divas fan

and I loved the Divas matches but I was like oh my God they're backstage in satin robes and they're fighting like this is great like I love the more that side of things I never I wanted to do that I wanted to like have the microphone

and like be Stephanie McMahon but I was not like I wanted to be Lita and like come in there and like kick ass I was like oh God no yeah more of Miss Elizabeth of sorts yeah yeah I never mind minded the idea of like playing the damsel in distress and some people are like oh well that's very

like the opposite of progressive. And I'll be like, listen, I kind of like that they were both. There were some girls that were left. What feminism is, isn't it? It's about choice. I choose to be kind of the more soap opera actress. I mean, hello, on impact wrestling. All I did was cry all the time. But I loved it. And then there were more serious wrestlers, too, like the Gail Kim's and the Mickey's and Lisa's.

I think it's cool to have all of those things encompass wrestling. What you've done in your career, Val, is actually very rare. It's very rare to have someone who comes in and is a character on screen, but actually doesn't mix it up in the ring. Right. And I always thought that was kind of more of my thing. And I think the first girl I ever saw,

other than even when I was watching wrestling, they had, you know, people like Maria and Terry and girls like that doing the interviews, but they were wrestlers. I mean, they were kind of more divas and wrestlers. They wrestled quite a bit, you know. But then there were people like Stephanie and Trish, but see, even they wrestled quite a bit.

But the first girl, one of the first girls I saw on TV that was like a more modern character or personality was Renee Young. I remember I was actually watching a pay-per-view at someone's house. I said, who's this girl? They said, oh, she's an announcer. I said, oh, I'm sure she trains and she's in training. And they said, no, no, no.

She had a show in Canada, and she was just an announcer. And I thought that was, I was like, you're kidding me. Because I've always kind of wanted to see that, that this girl was so good at the interviews and stuff. And with all due respect to some of the wrestlers who did that side of it, she blew all them out of water. She just knew what she was doing. She was very quick-witted.

Right. So naturally, but not like, you know, it's hard to be, You can test this, Chris. You want to be a host that's professional and does your host hands and you've got that announcer voice, but you also want to come across as likable and natural. And I always thought she was perfect at it. Yeah, Renee, Renee is very good.

Actually, I was hosting a TV show in Toronto while she was also hosting a TV show in Toronto. And our past would cross a lot. And then a few years later, I'm like, she's on WWE now. Yeah, she's absolutely incredible. And I think that's the thing. I think we try to blur those lines too much of like, because you're in the world of wrestling that you have to be able to be a wrestler. But I, being a growing up a fan of wrestling and everything, I've always appreciated different

elements. I like it the fact that not every girl was, you know, a five-star wrestler. That way, if someone, like a vow was to get into something, there's real jeopardy there when the sense, like, because you know she's not a perfect, she's not in ring trained and stuff. And when you speak on Renee, Renee is incredible. She is my favorite. And she's a lovely person, too. You have to have that personality like you have like she has like for the backstage interviewers and stuff that are quick-witted that are smart that can think on their feet and like organically pull those reactions and emotions out of people and and lead a conversation like you guys do like you know me i just babble that's what i do that's why you're great you just have a show i mean that's how you do

but it's also the thing of respect like rene's so great and the ones that i that i looked up to you and thought we're great and still do. It's like the interview, I've worked with so many people that the interviews, they make it about themselves. I don't know if they're trying to be in the business in a different way or what, but it's like you're there as the interview. You have to be very respectful. If someone's trying to be intimidating, you need to look intimidated.

It's one of those things too. So I think she gets it in every sense of the word. All right. We've got to take a second right now to thank our sponsor for this episode, Bet Online, and there's no shortage of action going on on our exclusive partners, betonline.ag. Sports are slowly making their way back. and Bet Online is leading the way with the best odds and lines for all UFC, NASCAR, boxing, and soccer matches.

And if you need even more, well, they have simulated NFL, NBA, and UFC simulations all day, every day, and it's live on their website. Looking for something other than sports? Well, BetOnline has hundreds of casino games, poker tournaments, and prop bets for you to check out. So visit betonline.org.org. use the promo code BlueWire for a free welcome bonus. That's one word, Blue Wire, B-L-U-E-W-I-R-E. Bet Online, you're online wagering experts. You know, you mentioned about the divas wearing the satin-rose backstage,

and that was, you know, when you started watching Val. But think of how different wrestling is now. And especially for you, Mickey, you know, with the incredible career that you've had, what's the biggest change that you think you've seen? since you debuted? I think that it's, you know, I think the way that women's wrestling

is perceived on every level. You know what I mean? It really took the fans changing their perception of like what they wanted to see from women for the company to follow suit because as long as the fans were loving the content of, like, me personally, like I know people kind of go back and forth. And I, you know, I think I've openly said like,

I wasn't the biggest fan of like the term diva or the divas belt only not for any other reason like I saw the marketing I thought it was empowering for girls I thought all that stuff more on a selfish level I didn't like the term because then I felt like well I want to be Mickey James the superstar I don't want to be one of the divas I felt like it clumped me into a group where then it was harder to break out and define myself and it was like me wanting to be a superstar I wanted to be a household name I wanted to be the name on the marquee. Like in that sense, I didn't want to be, oh, and the divas. Yeah.

And one of us jacked up and messed up really bad. It's not going to look when they put the headlines out, oh, that person, because we're not being branded as much like we're a Trish and Lita and Miss Elizabeth. They were all, they had their names. You know what I mean? It would have been, oh, one of the divas. And I was like, wait a minute here. You know what I mean?

If I'm going to make a bad decision, I'll make my own bad decisions or if somebody else wants to, but I don't want the whole everybody to pay for my bad. decision. You're going to know my name. You're going to know my name. Diva's an interesting term because it kind of has a bit of a negative connotation. It's a bit, yeah, it's kind of, it was empowering, I think. It's like just the way you spin it or whatever.

But when you look at the reality of what the context of the word is, it is a bit of a, you know, a backhanded kind of. Yeah, especially when the opposite is superstars. You've got the superstar and then a diva. When someone's acting like a diva, well, that's not a superstar at all. Right. It's annoying. It's like, oh, you don't want to be a diva actually. It's kind of like, wait, what a minute? Wait a minute. I think like Mariah Carey demanding like 40,000 white roses in her dressing room as a diva. And of course, I watched it so long that like I don't think of the WDivas in that sense at all. But if you don't know, for example, when I was starting to work for TNA wrestling, it was real fun to tell people in airports I work for a company called TNA. So we've got to change and roll with the punches. They're like, I'm sure. Right?

Yeah, immediately assumed, right? Like TNA, because even when I first came over, it wasn't impacted transition when they switched over a spike to impact. But so they'd have to say like, oh, yeah, I work for TNA. They're like, oh, what's that? I'm like, no. They were, oh, a TNA wrestling. Oh, well, that sounds cool.

What are you wearing? Would you ever say, like, I work for total nonstop action wrestling? Just rolls right off the tongue. Yeah, yeah. Impact was very welcome in that. And I still refer to it as TNA. because it's old school. But, like, I impact wrestling

was a much more fitting, non-controversial name. But you're right. Most people still call it TNA because it was TNA for so long. Yeah, I know. It's crazy. But to say that, you know,

but I also enjoyed those different, like, fouls talking about, like, people can say whatever they want, but I'll be honest, like sometimes those, like, silly segments of the water gun, the water fight gimmick, like we were shooting each other in the face,

it was so, for me, like, oh, it's demoralizing and everything. Okay, look, I know what I signed up for when I got into wrestling. And I was confident in myself enough to be okay being put in those situations. And like, I made sure I worked out. So I felt good in those situations or whatever the case may be. But in those moments of like, I'm thinking like, okay, it takes time. It takes time to break down all these barriers, right?

Nothing ever happens overnight. So if I, as a performer, can change people's perception of what they expect from a woman's wrestler, And then over time, then hopefully the whole perception will change. But if this is my opportunity to have 10 minutes on television shooting one of my friends in the face with a water gun, I'm absolutely going to do it. And I'm going to pump it as hard as I can. We are going to have to introduce maybe an annual Gaw TV water gunomania paper. Now that I'd listen. No, in all seriousness, she's not kidding.

Like, I mean, this is why feminism is about choice. and because she enjoyed doing those segments. If we were to meet a girl that came on the show that said, I was in those segments with you and they made me feel very demoral lines. That's her choice. But all we can speak for is ourselves and what we enjoy doing and watching.

And in my case, it's firing to be. I love those photos shoots y'all did. They were so fun. They don't do those anymore. Do you know that they would fly us to these locations? Like, I'm like, those were my favorite things doing the photo shoots. Are you kidding?

Yeah. Yes, it's going to an island where I can just like be bougie and hang out and order room service and go take, go get my makeup, my makeup, go get my makeup and my hair done and go out on the beach and look like a princess as you guys are like taking my picture

and then go to airbrush them and make me look even more amazing. Thank you. And you're with your friends. It's not with my friends and I get a whole week there to hang out and just do me. Thank you. Well, Nikki and Lisa and I have talked about it and we are not kidding around. As soon as lockdown's over, we want to plan some sort of

a live gawty, trip that might include, you know, maybe not bikini photos, just depending on how we feel, but, you know, maybe a theme somewhere. We've talked about going to Vegas, recording some stuff on the road, doing meet and griefs with the fans, and sort of bringing it back to, again, a lighthearted, sort of fun place where we're allowed to be glam and silly. And then, you know, you know, at least it's going to bust out some sort of kitty cat onesie or something at night with everybody on stage, you know it. So this is kind of fluff, pun intended, a lot more fluff that we sort of think wrestling could use a little bit more of. Why not? Well, there's been another shift over the last few weeks, I

think with what's going on with women and wrestling with this whole speaking out movement. What's your take on everything that's been going on with that? I just answered this question a couple days ago on an interview. So I'll use the same answer. No, I have to say, you know, our show being so female-oriented and we're always saying we're girls, girls, obviously the first thing I would say about it is we're so proud of these brave women and some men that have come forward and talked about what they've been through. there's always going to be a few bad apples where it's, whether it's someone not understanding the movement or not supporting the movement.

But it's the same thing with any sort of movement that makes a lot of people feel better about coming out with their story. You have to respect that and you have to show solidarity with the people that have been through a lot of stuff. I don't know anyone who in their right mind would ever think that this movement wasn't a good thing. All I can say is that I hope that it not only exposes a lot of the abusers, but that it makes the female side of wrestling kind of band together so it doesn't happen to anyone else ever again. That's got to be the end goal here. So what we've been trying to do is figure out a way to make it accessible for anyone, men or women, that have been in these situations to get help, to get legal representation, things like that.

Kelly Klein, I just saw posted to the day, some numbers and information and hotlines for people to reach out to. So if you were one of the ones that, thank goodness, I have not been involved in anything like that. do is stand back and support everybody and try to make sure that there's resources to make sure it never happens again. Yeah. It's tough. It's so hard and it's so ugly and my heart bleeds for everyone. You know, I am I am already an advocate for child help for child abuse and I've gone to Capitol Hill to like try to change some of these laws just on that side of it. So it's really awful to see. And I think I've been very blessed because I surrounded myself with some really amazing and I was protected. When I say, oh, were my trainers hard on me?

Yes, because I wanted them to be hard on me because I want it to be the best. This business isn't for everybody on that aspect, but we're talking about, you know, sexual assault and stuff like that is something that really just, it really hits me hard because it just, there's so many things that, that even judicially are like so jacked up about it as far as all that stuff. So I just pray that like everyone who is like all these people who are real, real predators, real assailants. And I'm not talking about like trainers who are too hard on you or whatever.

Like that that's neither here or narrow. But I'm like that like if it's been rape or anything like that, like we need to weed people like that out because this, you know, the thing is, it's like I feel like this is perhaps something. I mean, if people knew what went on in Japan, you know, with like young boys and stuff. I think that that it would be astounding.

Like it's, you know, that's, and that's culturally bred in the wrestling business and the fabrics of the culture. You know what I mean? This business, if you go back to the test, like the way back,

it's like it was a circus act. It was like literally we, they went town to town as a circus in these territories. And so at that time, I think a lot more, you know, if we were to be real, you know,

really think about it. There's probably been a fair, like a lot of men. a lot more men who would never come forward because it would deplete their masculinity in a sense that would come forward in some of these same similar situations. And but like so culturally like there is that. And then you look and there was not a lot of females in the business. And so it's come to this involvement of having so many females now and within the business

that have separately or together and maybe in the same kind of environment, experience some of these things and them having that strength to be able to say, hey, this is bullshit. This is happening and this shouldn't be like this shouldn't be happening. And it's, I'm so grateful for those that have had, you know, found that power within them to stand up and say, I'm not going to stand for this anymore because it's a powerful thing. And I think, you know, we have movements like this all the time. And it really does take that unity and people, you know, the last thing you want is like people not to believe your story or anything like that. But, you know, I think there's a lot of parallels too because people then go like, some people are going like, there's no way all these things are true. You know what I mean?

Or there's some, like when Val says, it's like, okay, so when I think about this, and this is maybe because this is the part that personally, like, affects me as the sexual part so that when I hear, oh, my trainer was too hard on me speaking out, I'm going, wait. Yeah, it's not the same thing. It's not. No. Don't model.

Please don't use this platform to do. Like, I get that and that sucks. And if you think your trainer's too hard on you, then maybe transfer your schools or, whatever the case may be, but that's not the same as throwing him in with, you know, in this aspect that then their name is tarnished because not everybody's going to do the research, right, to find, okay, well, what are they accusing that person of or whatever the case may be? Nobody's going to do the research to find out what's the real, like, story on both ends. And we live in a society that is so quick to like just jump on the internet and just

hurl not just accusations, but hurl then just like these insults and just completely destroy somebody without doing any real journalism, without doing any real reporting and basing your opinion as

facts and like reporting your opinion as facts. It's so like, so it can be completely damaging if it turns out to be untrue, which you know, I never want to say that anybody's ever like, but you have think like in a real sense. And then the damage that that does is for someone who's gone to Capitol Hill to do all this. Like it waters down the message to where people stop taking it seriously or they think, oh, they're just being a bunch of wimps or whatever. And it's like, no, no, no, no, this is different. It's like that this is a real thing. You know what I mean? And so you have to be cognizant of what you're putting out there and what you're doing. And the fact that people's, by the time people, if someone is proven innocent, if they are, when they're proven guilty,

You know what, F them. They needed to go long ago. See you bye. But if they are proven innocent at that point, no one's even listening. Like, so they put forward to their mind and they're guilty forever in their mind of whatever they've. And that's like a weird because we live in such a fast-moving media, fake news sometimes, society that it's like you read what you want to read, you believe what you want to believe. And then that's it. And that's, you know.

And so I think that's we have to be conscious and we have to be. be smart. And that's why we want a team with like rain and we want to work with, you know, I already work with child help. And, you know, unfortunately, like all these, most of these people have graduated out of the services of child help. But that's, because that's more geared towards children. And so, you know, it's just crazy. It's crazy. And I think that's the biggest thing that's bothered us is like, you know, like she said, for every 100, 200 stories that are, that are real, there might be one that's completely not in the same line of what the movement's about. And it's like, we need to just keep,

stay in the line of we need to get these people, these abusers out and exposed. And help your other sisters, help your, if you have a social media platform, which thankfully we all do, that's a very public platform, you know, you need to be retweeting the links and the hotlines and things that can help because all we're trying to do at this point is show solidarity and to help others in any way that we can. One of the best things that might be coming out of the quarantine is everybody's focused on the same spot right now. Everybody's online.

Everybody's at home with a lot of. of people a lot of time on their hands. So it's kind of giving that extra boost to this movement that might not have existed had this been a thing six months ago. Right. Well, because not only are people sitting, like you said, online, but I think the reason why a lot of this stuff is coming up, you know, it's been a, it's a pretty tumultuous environment right now within all this. Like, we have, you know, the Black Lives Matter movement and now the speaking out movement and then the coronavirus on top of it. Like, people are scared. People are scared. And they, you know, But when you sit home, when you're stuck at home, you get, if you're like me, you get in your thoughts and you start thinking about that.

And so I think that that has like in tune, you know, ignited a lot of people going like, you know what, this has really bothered me for a very, very long time. And as they have the time to sit with it and sit with their feelings and sit with their thoughts about it, they're like, this is bullshit. I'm not going to, you know what I mean? I don't need to sit here because who's to say how the wrestling business, the landscape, especially on like an independent level, which a lot of these stories are coming from. is going to look like coming out of here. Like I don't know if we're going to see like live wrestling shows, like on a sense of like touring wrestling for another year. Like I really don't know.

I don't know how that's going to look. So affecting their business in that sense, like when you think about like a lot of times when you say a lot of these girls like, oh, I may not get booked or I may not do this or it's going to affect my reputation, they don't have to worry about that because who's to say what this is going to look like anyway. So why not, like, that's the perfect time to go, like, you know, hell to the hell to the now. And everything's virtual now. I just said at Wizard World Virtual Comic-Con.

So we talking earlier about going to Comic-Con, yes, I enjoy going, but to have a job where it's like, you know, I go to events that are huge. And, you know, do a Q&A and there's like thousands of people out there that probably can't happen anymore, at least not anytime soon. So that's why it is best to be home and educate yourself and learn new skills and to do things that can, you know, help you in other areas. because I think a lot of what we're used to is going to change, traveling, everything. Well, with what you just said there, Val, what is the one thing for both of you? We'll start with Val that you miss most about the world that existed before March of this year. Oh, travel, definitely travel. You know, we had this conversation again on God TV about vacations because someone said,

what's your favorite vacation? And we all kind of went, especially Mickey, because she was saying, you know, in WWE, you don't really get a lot of vacations. You go somewhere and you might see a little bit more of it. But the more and more, excuse me, the more I grew up, the more I started to realize that I loved traveling, not just, it doesn't really count to travel and go to see one city and do a show there and see the airport and leave. Like I wanted to go, I always wanted to go to see Europe.

So now I'm moving to the UK, I've been able to go to all sorts of places and mostly just for fun or even if it's a show and I stay another three or four days, I make sure that I really go and see some beautiful places. So I would say traveling is number one for me. Traveling for leisure, really, would be number one. Yeah. Yeah. that's the same for you micky um i miss traveling but traveling like in real time like traveling without

that fear i went to that i had to travel the other day and obviously you know i'm got my hand sanitizer i got my mask on i'm like but then you see different but all the stores are closed all the restaurants are closed the only thing that you can go is to like that little hudson news thing and get like maybe a to go sandwich the airport the airlines are not serving any food like or and even like east of West Coast flight. I think I had to take a east to West Coast flight for Shad's funeral. And they literally gave me like a little brown baggy, like a packed lunch with like a baby water bottle in it and some nuts and cheese it. And that's what I got for my for the whole flight over. So thankfully, I'm smart. So I'd eaten. But it's like that like real like I enjoy like

that first class treatment. I enjoy going to the airport and perusing the shops. And I don't care if it's overpriced, you know? I find a really sweet pair of sunglasses that are on sale, but that are not on sale. You know what I mean? I want to be able to go to the restaurant and belly up to the bar and have a cocktail and order something before I get on my flight. And none of that. Real travel and like even hotels like right now, like this, I had to check into a hotel

and they go, well, we're not, we don't service your room the whole time you're there. So if you need anything, just come down. let us know, call us up, come down to the front desk, we'll have it waiting on you. So if I need a towel or coffee or anything like that. And as far as trash, I just had just left it outside. They had a little bag used to the laundry bag and leave it outside the room. And I'm like, this was a four-day stay. So I'm like literally quarantined myself in my room, the fitness center and everything's not open.

And it's just like that whole thing of like being able to live a life while being on a road. Yeah, stuff we took for granted. Like, it sounds really pretentious, but like I love, my girlfriends now go away and I want to go to the champagne bar, and we sit there and we start to dream about all the things we're going to do and we're there and grab a magazine, stuff that's so frivolous and silly, but it's like that's what I, that's what made me happy with traveling to a little, I took myself to Madrid, like last summer just for four days,

because my husband was working a lot. I'm like, I'm just going to go. I stayed at a gay hotel, a rooftop hotel, very LGBTQ-friendly, rainbow flags, I had a ball. I'm so jealous. I'm going to go next to me. Yeah. When you guys do signings or you're interacting with a lot of fans, I'm very curious to know with the one question that always comes up no matter where you are.

Mickey, what is it for you? Do you remember me from that one time when I met you six years ago at the signing that you did with Maria Canales, let's say, for example, no. The answer is yes. Of course I remember you. Hey, I feel good to see you. Oh, no. It's thrilled. I do get, you do get asked that question a lot of like, do you remember?

And then you feel like such a heel because you probably don't remember. I mean, there's friends that, there's like stories that my friends tell me. They're like, oh, do you remember that time when we all did this, that, the third? And I'm like, not really. And they'll have to go more into detail. And I'm like, oh, yeah, I do remember that. So, yeah. Favorite feud of all time, favorite match of all time.

Those are very, you know, typical. Those are the typical. In the four seconds that you have as you sign the autograph, take a picture, and they walk away. Right. Yeah. It's hard because you get rushed through. We always say, like, we remember those signings and they,

the boys hated us in those, like, when we'd have to do those long VIP signings, where it was all of us sitting at a table because we're yappers. And fans obviously want to have. have that conversation with you and they like are totally they're trying to they'll go into like and you're like and you know that they're like there's a huge cue behind them and that the the security is like okay y'all you know yeah i tend to get not all the time at least at least once a day per comic con or whatever um and now thankfully i'm not thankfully but i don't usually sign as much

as i'm out actually working which i find a lot more like stimulating and fun i feel like i'm actually doing something there's people like so you have all your photos in front of you right at least once a day, if not more than once, somebody will go, is this you? I'm right here. Who is? I'm going to answer it. Okay. You know they don't know wrestling, but it doesn't matter.

Like, I would never go up to someone's table and go, oh, is this? Who's this? Wow. Have you guys ever been mistaken for someone else? Or who is the celebrity that you do get mistaken for? Oh, gosh. in wrestling I would say that I have had and I've gotten super hot at it

like I think it's pretty much any female with brown hair, Nikki Bella and Maria Canales were the two go-toes of like Maria and I'm like, I got Maria! Yeah. Okay. Maria, I love you, but I'm not you.

Just like it's so annoying. Melina! Yeah, everyone with the same color hair. And sometimes I think people think if you're not in a wrestling setting, they just know that you're from wrestling and you must be so-and-so. I've gotten like Maria before Red Hat. I've gotten Dixie many times,

which I always thought was hysterical. I should have her hair. To each their own. Class of your thing. Look them up. But I'm laughing because I was at a signing. And I'm just going to start with the story like this, make it real interesting.

I have no judgment if you like pornography. That's cool. I think it's perfectly healthy. Don't mind. Don't hate it myself. Anywho, we're not taping this, right? Girl, I was sitting next to Gianna Michaels, who I didn't know I was on the signing with only girls

from the adult film industry. And while I think that's fine that they do signings, and they were actually very nice girls, I was a little annoyed because I just thought people are going to think that this is what I do.

And it's just not correct. And I just, it would make it awkward. And so it did. Because it was two girls, they're both blonde. And then the one girl who was supposed to be there couldn't make it.

Not only was she a redhead, she lived in England, and we looked so similar that I couldn't even be mad at people. Because I was like, if I was sitting here, I'm sitting right next to where she should have been, And on the flyer, we look like the same person.

Wow. Her name was so. She just played the role. You signed her name up and you could have gotten double, you know. Yeah. Sorry, what was her name? Sophie something. I don't know what the last name is.

I'm sure she was. Everyone in the comments will be telling you exactly what her name was. That was not me. And how would you recognize me in this position? Because that sounds like a very adult film, sir. It's precarious. Mickey, I had Nick on the show. earlier this year and he told the story of how you guys met.

I just want to run this by you to make sure that this is, you know, completely accurate to your recollection. He said that he was walking, it was like he was walking to like a pre-tape area where or a photo shoot area wearing just his trunks. And he thought, he, you thought that he was out of earshot and you went,

I'm a looking and I'm a lacking. That sounds like you. Come on. That did happen. But he's failing to mention as there was other interactions. Like he was actually, he didn't like me, I don't think, as a person when I first met him because he said that I blew him off. But I don't know if you've met Mr. Aldous before.

But he thinks he, like he would, like the way he would walk around. Like I remember seeing him walk backstage with like Doug Williams or something when I first saw him. This is where he was in his, I think he had like a sweater on or something. like something very like a cardigan or something right and I'm like to recognize that he was handsome right but and then I'm gonna see him he's like walking by with this right hey peacock you'll pay the wrestlers they peacock they kind of you know he's peacock right so I was in the middle of like I think I was talking to somebody and walking but I'm like oh he didn't say how to me I'm saying how to him

like he looks like he's kind of cocky right that was my initial thing fast forward I'm doing something with I don't even know if this was the same week, but that was my first, an encounter with Ney. And then the next time I saw him, I'm in the ring with Al Snow and Lisa Marie. And we have like our angle, we have stuff that we're doing and the stuff. And then here he comes.

Now he's all, because he's going to a photo shoot. Right. He's going to a photo shoot. He's got he's all tanned up. He's oiled up. You know, he's peacocking. He's got his chest out, as far as it go, you know.

Big jest. And he comes out on the, it's not like he walks the side ramp, you know, he, he knew, he knew what he was doing. It's not like he walked the backstage to scoot around. He comes out like the grand entrance, like on stage to walk down said ramp. Like he's really doing it.

And so, of course, how am I going to ignore him? He's like lit up, the slights or thing, the oil is glistening. I'm like, and I look at Lisa and out. I'm like, and I did hit the, I'm a look hit and I'm a like it. I did not think, I forget that we were the only people in the arena, really, at that time, except for whoever was.

So I did hit that. And I did recognize and I look over to Al and then Al, his, him and his, and his, and his interaction was pretty good because Al realized that Nick heard it as well. But being a Lisa and myself, I didn't even really realize that he heard it because we just started cackling like, like, work at our match or whatever. and yeah. I love it in the story, but. I find it funny that my first interaction or first time seeing you guys, I swear, I think I've

told you this story, I know I told Nick this story, that you were doing a photo shoot. Flip that around. You were doing a photo shoot on the ramp, and he was like, he might as well have had binoculars. He was watching and just, oh. And I was like, you're such a mark or is it something like, what do you do? And he was like, I just, he said something like, that he, something really like serious, like, wow, or she's just everything or something. and I was like, okay, like, you're being really obvious.

But isn't that funny that it was the same thing? You were doing a photo shoot, and he was looking at you, like, with the, you know, a little emoji with the heart eyes? Oh, yeah. Bubble head. And he's told me a story similar where Doug told him to pick his tongue off the ground or something. Same day, yeah. Maybe he's twisted this where that happened, like, which one happened first?

The chicken or the egg? I don't really know. And his time and that. And I'll even tell you this, that we were going. going to, I was going to go eat. We were going to go eat one time. And then he and Robbie E were at a dinner. And I did stick my finger in his cheesecake. And then I went over to go eat by myself. I'm like, you're going to eat that? We do the weirdest things when we flirt. Like, you think back to like weird things or like, you know, bold things. And you're like, who was I? Like,

this is pre-marriage of me. It's weird. Turned into a 12-year-old. Yeah. Like, so much is cheesecake. Val, how did you meet your husband? Whenever you ask him how he met me, he says he lost a bet, which was my original joke. That's why I laughed. I just hear him going, lost a bet, huh? No, we actually, when I met him, I was over here for Comic Con, and it was in Milton Keynes, and they said, you're going to go to Milton Keynes, you're going to go to Cardiff.

In Milton Keynes, there's nothing to do it. You're not going to like it, but Cardiff is great. I ended up having a great time of Milton Keynes, and Cardiff, for that trip for me, it was not that great. Yeah, weird. Oh, really? He was the rep and he was the Booker as well. He's a ref, but he also is an agent for the wrestlers and things like that. He brought us to Allen's restaurant that he owned at the time.

It's this big fancy gastro pub. Now I wanted to go out this big meal and I'm thinking like, there's a subway by my room. I'd rather just like, do I have to go do this? But it's the only one that didn't want to do it. I'm glad I did because we drive all the way out to the countryside. It's this beautiful pub, very overpriced. I'm right at an onion tart. I had to chip in like 40 pounds and I'm like, okay, that's weird.

So the whole line I'm kind of like blah But he was there I don't think I knew initially He was one of the owners But he was talking to us And just being real He just saw how he treated people all night It was just lovely

He came to hang out with us the next night Because he knew Lindski He knew MVP Who had previously been in the restaurant as well Because Lindsay always took the wrestlers To this restaurant And yeah we started hanging out I then visited England a few months later

Because my sister lives in London Still does And we just started a little courtship And then months after we had a kiss I had to force myself on him It's a long story He was like to miss him.

Five months went by. We talked on Skype and the phone every day for like five months had our first official date and I said to my mom either this is the rest of my life or have really misconstrued this

and from that first date, done. I would have moved anywhere from at all. Oh. And now you live across the pond. I do. It's like when you get them back. I'm like I'm trying to fish them back.

I know. I think obviously I'd like to go home as soon as lockdown's over. We've always kind of talked about maybe in doing a little more traveling over there and maybe getting like a house or something in Orlando one day. So we'll see.

I love how you keep calling it lockdown because I keep thinking of the TNA pay-per-view. Yeah, that's real different. Real different. That one actually might be more enjoyable. A little bit on page. So where can everybody find God TV? Oh, well, you go ahead, Mickey.

Well, there's gottTV.com where you can find everything. But we are on Instagram, we are on Facebook. the main thing we try to drive everyone to is our YouTube page obviously we have all of our social media channels we have Twitter Instagram um we just launched our Patreon everything is gaw TV is at god TV or at the god TV and obviously like there's but it's the same icon we try to make it really really simple um and even in our bios we have the links to our YouTube so if you are more of a Twitter user you can go to the link in the YouTube and it'll take you to the YouTube page to go ahead and like it and subscribe as well as on Instagram and so yeah it's been nice to put it down on the

description because we are on YouTube we speak right now so I know I'm so excited yeah so that hopefully some people that are watching right now can join you guys on there as well yes go ahead I was going to say you know you were one of the first people that I saw doing a show like this and you've been so successful you're just doing so great like I mean your shows are good I had so much fun the last time I was on the site so it was for you I was excited about it Oh, well, thank you. That's very kind. And that was a year and a half ago. And this has changed so much. I mean, YouTube's my main thing now. And that just goes to show that there is so much possibility out there with it. For sure. Yeah. And we hope that people will watch our show and want to get more social media savvy. You know, a lot of everyone has heard of all the different platforms we're on and our Patreon and things like that. But we try to make the show as fan interactive as possible. You'll see pretty much every episode we have like a video submitted fan question. We've got a Twitter submitted fan question. We've got fan art that we've feature we are in the live chat room every single week on YouTube every Wednesday at 5 p.m. So we now have like a little, we call them team God, this army of people that are just

so loyal and so loving and they're with us every single week and they're on our Patreon. We can chat with them there. We have so much fun with it. 5 p.m. in which time zone? Eastern. Okay. Yeah. It's late for you. Yeah. It's late for you.

Yeah. I can't thank you guys enough. This was so fun. Yeah. Thank you. And thank you for all coming together and making the happened and I'm glad you guys are you know doing well and you're healthy and you know I wish you continued success with gone with everything else you guys have going on thank you so much likewise this was fun this is so fun yeah how great are they and now that you know about gaw tv

give them a subscribe on youtube and since you'll be in a subscribing mood please give me a subscribe as well both on youtube and whatever platform you happen to be listening to this podcast on right now. I still can't get over the fact that instead of getting surgery on her knee, Mickey James went on stage and performed. I mean, she really is tough spelled T.U. Triple F. Tough. That question I asked about the one thing that they missed the most about the pre-COVID world. It wasn't something I planned to ask. It just kind of came up in conversation. But it makes me wonder what I miss the most and also what you miss the most. and I think for me, I just missed like the large social gatherings.

I didn't realize how much I missed concerts and live sporting events, conventions, you know, that type of thing. Or at least even if I didn't go to a ton of them, I just missed having the option of going, oh, this band that I love is in town tonight. Or this band that I love is in town in six months. I'm going to buy tickets right now. And the crazy thing is, if you buy tickets for something six months from now,

because there still are a lot of those bands that, have those tour dates for the end of the year, like, we don't know if we're actually going to be able to go to those. So I'm very curious, A, when we're going to be able to start doing that stuff again, and B, how different that stuff's going to look in the future, right? It also makes me realize, though, and this whole situation has made me realize that it's not about what can happen in the future or what might happen in the future. It's about appreciating the present moment that we're in right now. Or as John Lennon famously said,

life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans. Enjoy your weekend. We'll talk to you soon. Woo! The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s,

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

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