Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Nick Aldis On Facing Gunther At SummerSlam, What's Next, Cody Rhodes, Getting RKO'd By Randy Orton

Episode Date: July 30, 2026

Nick Aldis (@nickaldis) is a professional wrestler and the General Manager of SmackDown. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Nashville, TN to discuss his match against Gunther at SummerSlam, whether he thought a match in WWE was actually possible, how he became the General Manager of SmackDown, if he was considered to face Randy Orton at WrestleMania, if a match with Cody Rhodes might be possible in WWE, hilarious segments with Chelsea Green and R-Truth, wrestling AJ Styles and Sting in TNA, what happens after SummerSlam, and more! Please support our sponsors: HELIX SLEEP: Flash sale! Go to https://helixsleep.com/cvv for 27% off sitewide! COZY EARTH: Go to https://cozyearth.com/CVV for up to 20% off! BEAM: Go to https://shopbeam.com/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT for up to 40% off Beam’s Dream Powder DELETEME: Use the code INSIGHT to get 20% off your DeleteMe plan at https://joindeleteme.com/INSIGHT FACTOR: Get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year with the code INSIGHT50OFF at https://factormeals.com/INSIGHT50OFF 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/cvv SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV 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 PrizePicks app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 bonus credit in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://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 Vlee! Great to see you. Good to see you. How you feeling? Good. Yeah? Good. Yeah.

The, I think the big nerves are still to come, obviously. But I think because I feel like I've got my body right, now I feel a bit more comfortable, you know, in the beginning when I first sort of realized that this was on the horizon. I think my biggest concern was my physical ability. And I don't mean like my ability to execute a body slam. I mean like my conditioning. And I had to, I suppose I should take it as a compliment. Sure.

That upper management didn't seem to have very much concern about that. You know? But I was very concerned. And I remember saying to Ed Koski, there's a big difference between physique shape and ring shape. And I only have one of those right now. Well, you look enormous. Well, I don't, honestly, I say this with all sincerity, my focus for the last couple of weeks, or a little more than that, has been entirely on conditions.

like performance and conditioning. Like I've had, you're not going to make very much, you're not going to make a whole lot of difference to your physique in four weeks. Obviously, you can make some significant dent in your, like, body fat and you're, you know, so you can tighten up. But I'm not going to add any muscle. I'm not going to, you know, make any drastic changes to my, proportions or composition or anything.

But the focus had to be on being able to go. So, and I basically just decided, okay, whatever happens with the physique, it is what it is. Like, the physique's somewhat there. So, like, I have to be able to go. But you've stayed in great shape over the last three years. Well, thank you. I mean, great-ish. Look at the first.

the size of your arms. I understand. It's like a body guy thing. Like, you know, because for me, I'm comparing myself to all the, all the people who have way better physiques than I do, right? So in my mind, I'm sort of going, well, it's okay, you know, it's not great, right? But then obviously, I do appreciate that compared to the average person, yes, it's, you know, significantly different. But, like, you know, it's funny, I had been, I attempted fate when we were in Saudi Arabia, which was sort of when this whole thing got started, right? Gunther and I got into the big shoving match backstage. And it's funny because I had lunch that day with Abyss and with Sammy Zane and the food in Saudi Arabia is unbelievable. Like one of genuinely my favorite things about

going to Saudi Arabia. I really like going to Saudi Arabia. you know, I understand that our experience is somewhat curated, you know, and I don't purport to be an expert on Saudi Arabia outside of the very nice hotels and resorts that WWE, you know, is treated to when we go there. But for me, you know, I remember having a conversation with, with Hunter about it when we were getting ready for a meeting in Saudi, you know, just having this like amazing coffee, you know, like this beautiful spread everywhere and, you know, everything's like top quality. Like, and I remember saying, I can get used to this, you know, but the problem with that

is the temptation is always there. Sure. So, and I'd been, I had lunch, like I said, with Abyss and Sammy. And we were like, they have these unbelievable dessert spreads. And all the desserts are like little. sort of one or two bites type of hors d'oeuvre size kind of desserts, you know, you've got like creme brulee and cheesecake and lemon meringue, you know, everything you think of. And it's just so tempting, you know, and I was just, and I think it was Sammy who had said, oh, you, you're so surprised

that I was having dessert, right? And I kind of went, well, you know, that's probably the main difference between now and when I was full-time active was like, well, now I, now I let my, now allow myself for dessert, you know, and I'd had dessert with every meal. Obviously, that has stopped. Yeah, but like I say, as soon as I got home, I just fully just immersed myself in training and prep, you know, meal prep. went to my local gym. Shout out, Just Be Fit in White House, Tennessee. And my buddy, Chris, who owns that gym, we call him Bull, he comes in and he sees me, and I'm doing like burpees into box jump, like kettlebell swing, like some crazy circuit, right? Like trying to blow up. He's never seen me do

anything like this. Sure. So he comes in right away and he's like, what's this? What are you doing? And I kind of go, well, you know, look, don't tell any ways. I knew it. I knew it. He's like, right, that's it. I'm taking over. So he's been doing all my conditioning workouts and they have been horrendous. Did you always have it in the back of your mind that a match in WWE might be possible? Yeah. Yeah, might be. But that doesn't mean that this one didn't come as a like total shock because it did um you know what's funny there were two people who when there were other moments where it looked like that might be on the cards two people that said to me you have to stay somewhat ready because you know they're not gonna they're not gonna

I'm going to give you like three months, though. It's like you're going to get like a couple weeks. One was Mickey and one was Randy. Because last year at WrestleMania, a lot of people felt like maybe that was a possibility. It was never discussed with me. And Randy even kind of leaned toward it on TV. And I, you know, like I said, I try to make a point to stay out of it in that respect. I wasn't lobby.

I didn't lobby for anything. Sure, whatever happens. Yeah, yes. But I remember Randy talking to me at WrestleMania and kind of saying, like, you know, you need to stay ready because like it's going to happen and they're going to do it like that. Like, it's going to come out of nowhere. Did you think, I mean, there was someone. much buzz online leading up to that

WrestleMania 41 match with Randy Orton, his mystery opponent. Did you think it could have been you? Yeah. It could have been. I mean, could have been anyone. Yeah. Right? Like, it was a great spot for Joe Hendry. Yeah. You know?

And it was a, and I thought it was a really entertaining segment. It was a, you know, a great piece of business for WrestleMania. But had they decided, hey, it's, it's there. Yeah, like, that would have been great. But I will say, this has real meat on the bone, you know. This feels personal.

That would have been, yeah, like with Randy, that would have been, it would have been cool. Yeah. But it would have been very much like a sort of, oh, hey, let's have a wrestling match kind of thing. And, you know, it would have been nice, but it would have felt very sort of, this, this has, This has sort of some genuine emotion. This is a real angle.

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Make sure to click the link in the description to download the app, and that code will automatically be applied to your account so you can use it later. Big shout out to Seekek for sponsoring this episode. Scrolling with Haley. I am Haley Kareenia.

I scroll with the homies here in the live chat because there's a lot to scroll through on X, on Instagram, on TikTok. Cutting through the clutter, one hot take at a time. Love seeing you all in the chat before the show. I tried to jump in just a few minutes before to say hello.

I love the chat interoper. action. Thank you for helping. But I do it to get all of the videos and all of the content that you won't find anywhere else. Scrolling with Haley. Just search that up and I will be there. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. I want to read off two numbers for you here. 1,043. I'm sure you know that number well. And 130. 1403 is how many days you held the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship in your second reign? 130 will be how many days it's been since. your last wrestling match leading up to night one a summer slam yikes how does it feel when you hear those numbers that sort of puts it in perspective doesn't it um yeah yeah look no doubt it's a huge challenge

you know i i'm not going to pretend that i'm completely confident i'm going to knock it out the park right i have every confidence that i've done everything i can do to be ready, but it's a huge challenge. Because it's not only your first match in almost three years. This is your WWE debut match. Yeah. At SummerSlam. In a stadium.

Yes. Yeah. It's the top guy. Are you feeling the pressure? Sure. But I take confidence in the fact that they looked at everything, every possibility and decided this was where the money was. And I was a little, I suppose I was a little perplexed at first at how casual everyone

seemed to be. In what way? Like Hunter, you know, Ed Koski, Michael, right? I was kind of, I was sort of, I was waiting for the, I was waiting for the, for the sit down like, are you, you, you know, are you sure you can do this? Are you ready? You know, and there was, there wasn't, it never came. Well, they're obviously very confident in your politics. Well, that's, that's, that's, I have to take it that way. Um, and obviously, look, I've had conversations with 100, you know, since and, you know, told him I appreciate the chance and everything like that. But, um, yeah, I, at some point, I, I, I just had to sort of make peace with the idea that, no, that they, they're confident that you can do it, right?

Like, it's, and, and all my, you know, all my peers are excited for it. You know, there's a, there's a sort of genuine, there's been like a really, there's been like a really nice genuine sort of outpouring of, like, excitement and support from the boys. The fans as well. Yeah. Fans are so excited about this because anybody who's seen your work, whether it was in TNA or NWA, they know you can wrestle. And everybody is obviously aware of what Gunther can do. And I feel like

these, your styles match up really well for this match. Yeah. It's funny when, when I was running hard as NWA champion, there, they sort of became this little fantasy booking kind of culture that was emerging around me at that time where they were like, oh, we'd like to see Nick Russell, this guy or that, you know, and that's a lot, that's a lot where the Cody thing came from. But it was because there was a lot of that where it was we were making a point then to say like i don't it doesn't matter to us where what promotion you know what country anything like that like the real world's champion and gunther then walter was a name that came up a lot and he was a fan of what we were doing you know i remember i remember him tweeting about about what we were doing

You know, and I remember sort of some DMs and stuff, you know, kind of like, I really like what you're doing. It's really cool and everything like that. So it's, yeah, I think it's a good matchup. I think it's going to be interesting. I saw a comment online. I'm curious what your take is on it. How do we make the guy who's the Smackdown General Manager who wears suits every single week on SmackDown. How do we make him seem like a viable opponent for the guy who retired Goldberg and John Sina and AJ Styles?

It's a fair question. It's a fair point. Well, I think we need to document my career. You know, I think it's, and I believe that, you know, that is in the works. I think it's a, you know, a bit of a crash course for the WWE universe. Be like, look, this is who this guy was before he came here. I think that's necessary. fortunately there's quite a good relationship with TNA and I believe with the NWA as well so hopefully we can put together something you know compelling and you know substantial that really helps sort of fill that gap for people who don't know

and the rest of it's up to me I think if you look at the numbers, it just makes sense. You're 64, Gunther's 6'4. He's billed at 250. You were billed at 242. You're essentially like, on paper, essentially the same. I'm 250 now. There it is.

As Mike Goldberg used to say in UFC, everything else is virtually identical. Yeah, yeah. But it's like when you look at it, you guys are nose-to-nose when you're yelling at each other. Yeah, he's a big boy. And so are you. He's, you know, again, I don't see a ton of similarities in us necessarily sort of stylistically, but maybe in our approach philosophically, we are definitely aligned. He's someone who, like I was, particularly during that 10 pounds of gold run,

was, you know, he's often describes like a throwback, old school. Yeah. You know, and I think we both find that term a little humorous because we're just like, I think we both just have high standards. Like we believe in presenting the business in a certain way. We believe in taking it seriously and, you know, the old, the number one rule anyone should be taught in any wrestling school anywhere. I firmly believe this is if you believe it, they believe it.

like if you can't get that then get the fuck out like nothing else is like what are you doing right i i'm so tired of the fourth wall stuff like the kind of wink to the camera kind of so look every now and then a little bit of that okay fine i got no problem with it but it becomes a crutch and it's much in my opinion, it's, I think it's become much more prevalent because it's much easier to get a reaction by doing that

than it is by fully committing to taking yourself seriously, taking the business seriously and presenting yourself as a serious competitor and as a man. I think that's much more difficult to do, actually. So a lot more people tend to lean toward the whole, like, oh, I'm not taking this seriously.

We're like, we're on it together, we're buddies, you know. Well, this feels very, very personal with Gunther. It is personal. And like some of the lines you guys have been exchanging. Like it kind of started with him going, you're a failed wrestler. Yeah. And then you hit him with a line last week where the guy who retired John Cena is going to get beat by his boss.

Right. Paraphrasing here, making it a little PG. Sure, sure. What a line, right, till I hit him with that. So like, where does it go from here if Gunther's boss beats him in a match? I would say that that puts Gunther's boss in a pretty high caliber of competition. Sure. Look, I have to just concentrate on what's in front of me.

I have to deliver it SummerSlam. As far as I'm concerned, I am treating this. as one match. I have no expectations. I had none coming in. I have none coming out. I just have to deliver and trust my boss that, you know, whatever comes next is the right thing to do. I think there was this misconception that you weren't wrestling.

You were the GM because you were injured. Would you like to clear that up? Yeah. it's funny because some of that was just some interesting timing because no, I was not put in that role because I was hurt. You know, I was not, you know, it wasn't the case of being not cleared or needing time to heal up or anything like that. Having said that, it's been wonderful to have some time to heal up. And actually, the truth is, I probably did have some issues that I was not fully aware of until I actually had time for my body to heal properly, one being my back.

Some of this was magnified by the fact that right around the time that I was, I don't know if I had signed yet, but I was shadowing and I was coming to TVs and getting to know everybody. I had a few dates left. And one of them was going to be a return match with Alex Shelley, actually, an independent show. I believe it was in Chicago, may have been Detroit. And for probably the first time in my career, outside. of being like legitimately injured and having surgery was the first time where I had to call and pull out because my back was really bad. I just had this, I'd had this sort of constant nagging

pain in my back where I was, it was, and it would be, it would really vary. Like some days it would be fine and then other days it, I would, you know, it would just completely ruin my whole day. and eventually and I just I mean I remember being a couple of days out from the from the show and just calling the guy and saying I'm so sorry but I'm just having

I'm having trouble moving around I'm going to have to pull out like my back is shot and I went to Vanderbilt in Nashville and saw a specialist because it felt like I had a like a bulging disc or herniated disc turns out I actually just had huge inflammation. There's like a thin sheet of muscle that sits like behind your spinal erectus, I believe.

And finally this specialist at Vanderbilt was able to find it. And he goes, yeah, that's why it feels like you have a, that's why it feels like a bulging disc or a herniated disc. He goes, you actually just have like massive inflammation in this muscle. And he said, you're fine, actually. Your spine's in pretty good order. Like, I just got checked out at the Orlando Magic Facility in Orlando a couple weeks ago. And they said the same thing.

It was like, you know, the guy said, you know, you've got the spine of a 39-year-old wrestler. But you're, but actually in this, you know, in the scheme of things, it's pretty good. And it just turned out that I just needed these specific anti-inflammatories, cleared it up like instantly. that was a thing that had been bugging me for like two years, you know. So it was really just a case of just me being a stubborn idiot, right? And just sort of almost almost not wanting to know, you know, and thinking, oh, just figure it out or just, you know, I'll wear a back brace or I'll just do this or whatever.

And all I needed was some anti-inflammatories. And it was just like something had just aggravated this, like, specific. stabilize a muscle and it was just, you know, super inflamed. So you're feeling good now? Fantastic. Are you still the Smackdown GM as you sit here right now? Technically no. Yeah.

Technically no. Where does it go from here? Well, that's not for me to decide. I think it's the wonder is like, is this a one-off match? Is this the return of Nick Aldous, the wrestler? Because you kind of did the GM thing backwards, right? Most people have the illustrious career and then become the GM. You have this great career.

You pause the in ring stuff. You go be a fantastic GM for almost three years. And then now you're putting that on pause and you're going back to the ring. Yeah. But a lot of that is just in the perception because it's not been, you know, it's never been presented as like, I'm coming back to, you know. So if that. that's something that people are perceiving, I would argue that that's almost maybe just because

that's how they want to see it. And like I said, I've been very careful to not try to project my own expectations onto any of this. When the GM, I think we talked about this the last time I did your show. When the GM opportunity was presented to me, you know, it wasn't, hey, be the GM for a little while and then we'll figure out what, no, it was like, do you want to be the GM of Smackdown? And I just, and I said, yes, I'll be the best GM you've ever seen, you know, because you play the hand, you get dealt, you know? Like, some of this stuff with Gunther is. real because he does represent the opportunities that I didn't get. He did have people lobbying for him that I didn't have, you know. He didn't have the T&A stink or different, you know,

misconceptions about him that I had based on my relationship with this person or that person or anything like that. But that's not to say, but I'm not. But I'm not. presenting myself as a victim, I had those things come early, too early. I got signed at TNA was 21. I was not ready for that spot. And I just have to sort of look back and make peace with the fact that, well, what 21 year old is going to turn it down? No one at that age is going to go, you know, I don't think I'm ready. No, you just do it, you know. And I probably paid for it down the line because then when I'm starting to hit my stride and actually really starting to get this and actually, you know, then my TNA career comes to an end. And now I'm in the wilderness,

you know, and then this other thing comes along because WWE is not interested, right? Because, again, unlike Walter, I didn't have guys like Regal, you know, pulling for me and saying, oh, this guy is fantastic, you know, you want to give this guy a look, right? Like, I had the opposite, actually, you know? And so I had to make something out of nothing with the NWA and the 10 pounds of gold, right? Then all in comes along. And again, it's like, it's just been, to me, it's been a series of validations. Like, it was one year from, it was like almost exactly one year from when we started doing the 10 pounds of gold series that Cody and

was standing in a in a sold-out arena like that was shaking like before we even touched right it was Cody's moment at the end but it was my moment at the beginning like and I will argue that point with anybody it was a validation of what I had done I build something that relationship comes to an end things do you know things things come and go I knock on the door again I finally get to reach out and I finally get to you know thanks to dDP bless him who just said to me just he just call hunter directly stop you know stop like trying to go through these gatekeepers and stuff just reach out to him directly and I've thought that this could be this could really backfire but what do I have to lose sure turns out it actually it turns out it worked did it work

exactly how I would have wanted. Of course not. It turns out, you know, then, you know, then nothing happens for a while. Then Bruce calls me and goes, if you want to work behind the scenes, hey, I'll take what I can get. You know, maybe there's some, maybe there's enough sort of consternation that I'm not being used on television. So then they go, you can be the GM. And now we're here. So is this another validating moment? Yes. Here we are a few days. is before SummerSlam. Somerslam, of course it's validation. That's all I can do with it, Chris.

That's all I have to look at, that's all I can do with this is look at this and go, I fucking told you. Was there ever an opportunity 10 years ago or around that time to go to WWA? There was one period where my first TNA contract was coming up. And I was flying back and forth. from England. They were flying me in and out from England every other week and it was killing me.

I mean, it was absolutely brutal because they were house shows, you know, paper views. I mean, I remember there was a, I remember doing a loop that comprised of like L.A., Orlando, Germany, and like, I think, I think it was like Germany and Switzerland and something like, that, some Europe, but not UK. Then back to the US, back to Orlando, back to the UK, like in the space of, you know, a week or whatever it was, right? So crazy. And I remember my then-girlfriend, she picked me up and I went back to her place and I was so tired, I fell asleep with my eyes open. And she freaked out. She thought I was dead. Like for a split second, you know, because she'd walked in and like, you know,

she'd come in and I was like, oh my God, you know. And I was like, well, wow, wow. She's like, I just fell asleep. She's like, your eyes were open. You were so tired. I just fell as well. And I remember that was when, like, that was when I sort of went, I think I need to relocate.

I can't keep doing this, you know. Yeah. And so anyway, I basically say that to color the next part of the story, which was, so now I'm sort of using that as a bit of leverage because I'm, you know, again, maybe some of this did contribute to, you know, some people in management having a, you know, less than favorable opinion of me when I was a young, cocky man. But I basically went back over all my previous years travel because they used to, with T&A, they used to send you your travel, but it would come in the form of like a travel agent receipt

because Bob Ryder, God rest his soul, he was the head of travel for TNA, but he was also a travel agent. So it was all coming through his own. So you were basically just getting the sort of receipt, right? The printout. So I went back through like a year of flights. And I was, and I totaled up the entire dollar amount that it spent on flying me back and forth from the UK. came to like 70 grand or something, right? It was huge. Wow. So I basically took that number and then said, you paid me this much, you know, in year one. But you spent this much. I'll move to Florida and, you know, take that number and put it into a guarantee for me and I'll move to Florida and you'll never have to worry about getting last minute.

Because that was the thing. A lot of those flights were last minute because it was, you know, you know, you. Yeah, it's not cheap. Right, right. Last minute, you know. And let's just say it worked, it ended up working out. It went my way after Dixie got involved. Like, to begin with, I was going back and forth with Terry Taylor, love Terry, you know, and he was just doing his job. But he's kind of going, we don't do guarantee, we don't do guarantee deals.

And I'm going like, yeah, you do, you know. And anyway, I sort of, so you can imagine as a 22-year-old kid, like, that was pretty ballsy to be kind of making that kind of request, right? But I stood pretty firm on it. I was like, this makes sense. And like, if I'm going to relocate my, I'm going to pick up my whole life and leave my entire life behind, what difference does it make? I just want some kind of security.

I just want some kind of guarantee. Like I said, ended up going my way. But there was a period there where he was doing his job, trying to make me think that it wasn't going to go my way. So I reached out to WWE, to Canyon Seaman. and I just I don't remember I'm sure it was a pretty

I'm sure he got emails like this all the time but I just had my resume you know like I'd been on the TV show Gladiators and I've been you know I think at that time maybe by then I had been

maybe Joe and I had been to Japan I don't recall you know it's a long time ago now so your memories all sort of blur together, right? But I had a pretty good looking, you know, sort of resume at that point. Yeah, especially at that stage your career. Yeah, yeah. Right. Right. And I remember distinctly getting an email back from him saying, wow, like, call me ASAP. Great. So I'm, right. So I'm,

shit. So I call him and, you know, da da da da da da. And then we're talking a little bit more. And then he goes, wait, wait, wait, hold on. Like, are you still under contract? And I went, yeah, for like another, like, three weeks or something. He's like, oh, we can't talk. We have to end this conversation right now, and like hung up on me. I was like, three weeks, you know, but I was naive. You know, like, I didn't think it was a big deal. You know, evidently it was. And that was it. That was the only time where I really, where there was like a, where I thought, oh, there's a bite here. But so, well, and then because of that, even, you know, in spite of the fact that obviously that conversation had ended quite abruptly and I was a bit sort of, oh, no, did I just kind of ruin

my chances there? I still just went, screw it, penned an official request, like basically said, not a request, but like a, penned an email to Dixie saying, I appreciate what you've done for me, an opportunity, but I think I'm going to move on. And within hours, TNA came back with the deal I wanted. Oh, wow. So when you left TNA a few years later,

was there ever a conversation then? You're a free agent now. Yeah, I tried, but reached out to Regal. Nothing happening. But then I feel like everything happens the way it's supposed to happen. Yeah. Everything happens in life the way it's supposed to or when it's supposed to. fast forward a bunch of years,

you get this opportunity to be the Smackdown GM and you knock it out of the park. Thank you. And you get these comparisons all the time. Everyone says the greatest Smackdown GM is Teddy Long. Yeah. Right? Those are big shoes to fill.

You're right there with him. Yeah, just different. Different for sure, but like you're a GM with a backbell. Right. That was the direction from Hunter from the beginning. Was, you know, he, he, he made that point like i don't you're not going to be like a you're not going to be an evil GM you know although

i still think that when the time is right that could be i could be really good at that um who healed GM yeah but like he said you know that i don't want to do that that's been done a lot i don't want to and you know and obviously he said i want you to use your physical presence because in the beginning there was some I suppose there were some conflicting opinions, let's say, on how I was supposed to be sort of physically presented. And I don't know whether it was just certain people who still had a mindset based on the previous administration, where their thought was, he's not a wrestler, he's the GM.

he can't look bigger than the boys. Like, he needs to be diminutive, and he needs to stand further back in the shot, and, like, he can't make the guys look small and all this kind of thing. There was a lot of that in the very early, in the, you know, we're talking about, like, the first couple of months.

There was a lot of that. I think Paul Heyman helped put some of that to bed. There was a moment, a few months into you being Smackdown GM, where you're on the couch with Roman Raines. Yes. And it is clear what kind of GM you are. after that exchange with Rome. That was a very significant couple of minutes of TV for me.

Yeah. It almost felt like a scene out of a movie. Well, that's Roman's M.O. Roman is a detail freak in the best possible way. He is meticulous in the way that he approaches anytime he's. on screen. He thinks through every facial expression, every reaction, every pause, every word, and I get that. And Haman obviously has been a big influence in that regard with Roman. I'll say this. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude to Roman because if he didn't want to do it

like that. He wouldn't have to. You know, he chose to sort of show me that level of respect and essentially sort of establish this character. And Heyman did too. So to continue my point, it's a funny story and I feel like it's far enough gone now where we can actually talk about it and laugh. But the first time I eat RKO from Randy. Yeah. I'm in Brooklyn.

And the, let's just say at that time, that's when there was still a lot of this, make sure all this stands further back. Don't let him be too little. So Haman and I are getting ready to do, it's, Heyman's coming into my office.

And the idea is he's furious that I've got Randy Orton coming to Smackdown. Like, did you run this by the tribal chief? You know, da, da, da, right? And we're going live, because Haman likes to go live. And we sort of spitball.

And right before we do it, word comes again from on high. Make sure Nick stands in the background and Haman's in the foreground. And Haman just looks at me like, And Haman goes, when I come over to your desk, stand up. And I'm like, what am we going to do, not do it? You know, we're literally like in five, four, three, you know.

So that's how we do it. And of course, Paul is like, you know, like there's a complete opposite. It just, you know, completely like sells, you know, oh. And we do this. It comes off great. That was the first time I met Vince McMahon. He was there that day. Just came by to say hi. I want to make that point. But Vince was there. And so imagine where I'm at. I have not yet met Vince McMahon. Now we've done this. Where we've, yes, it was Heyman, but we have completely gone. against the direction. And you're just a few months in, right? I think less than that. I think it was like maybe a month, maybe six weeks.

Okay. And now it dawns on me. Like, I have to go and meet Vince McMahon for the first time right now. Right? And like, I know Paul's in charge. but it's Vince McMahon, right? And in my mind, I'm thinking, oh, my God, like, the first time I meet him, he's going to chew me out.

He's going to, like, he's going to tear me apart for, like, you know, not doing what it's tough. And it doesn't go that way. He was very gracious and, you know, very complimentary. You know, he's like, oh, that was awesome. you know and I was just kind of like but Heyman you know he did a lot for me

you have a line when you're sitting there on the couch with Roman Raines it's like I'm an executive I don't have feelings I don't have feelings where'd that come from we just we were just we were working it I think I forget how the I think he had said something about or Adam would have done it or something

and I was sort of, you know, and it was basically my wife going, well, you know, Adam's not here. I'm, you know, now you have to deal with me. And, and I think he, I think it was like whatever he said was a little bit of a dig. So then I sort of went, oh, you're just trying to hurt my feelings, you know. And then I was, but now I'm executive. I don't have feelings, you know. I just thought it was a cool sort of, I thought it was a cool line to sort of establish, like, I'm a businessman.

Yeah. Right. Like, I think that I was, I think I did, I, you know, I watched a lot of suits, um, uh, succession, you know, those kind of shows. Yeah. To sort of get that steely kind of debonair like executive, but like a cutthroat, you know.

It's cold. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, like cool, like, yeah. Cool. but cold, like a sort of Yeah, that's a good way of

cocky, but yeah, like, it's because, yeah, it's because I'm dead inside. Jim Rome takes on sports. I will always have a complicated relationship with this game, but people evolve. So do sports. Do not make me regret this. Do not

make me devolve. Back to that guy that so many clones wish that I still was. And do not embarrass the entire country. Now, I can go back. I can get there fast lose tonight and you got a real problem do not blow it the jim rome show podcast you've been warned follow and listen on your favorite platform before the lead up to this summer slam match when was the last time you took a bump a back bump well your last wrestling match whatever that match

october 7th 2023 yeah sounds right i'll take your word for it so like well and but i but you know he clothes lined me when he attacked me on Smackdown a few weeks ago. And he puts you through a table. And he put me through a table just this last week, yes. But you've also, you've taken a few RKO's. Yeah. I loved what happened at Backlash. It's like Randy did, I think it was four or five RCAOs.

You're the first one. Yeah. It's you and then it's like Davari. And then it's Jamie Noble and then it's a few others. That was fun. Yeah. Yeah. I remember coming back.

And there was an extra there. He took a huge, you know, took a massive. What a sell. Yeah, big, huge oversell on it, right? And so everyone was, and Randy was putting him over like, oh, it was awesome. And but then he was, you know, he's kind of thanking everyone. And he looked, and he points to this guy who's an extra. And he goes, and he goes, he pointed me, he goes, I'm glad you were the first one and I'm glad you were the last one.

You know. Yeah. I love working with Randy. Well, maybe there's an opportunity at some point in the future here. I just don't feel like this is a one-off. It feels like you've got more in the tank. Well, like I said, I come in with no expectations. I came in with no expectations when I agreed to come in as a producer,

no expectations when I took on the GM role. I can say with all sincerity, completely, you know, 100% truthfully, I have never, never once gone to Hunter or Bruce or Michael or anyone like that and said, give me a shot. Like, let me have a, you know, like I, trust me. There are many times where I've wanted to, many times where I was in a certain situation or I was witnessing a certain situation and going like, I could fucking nail this, you know. or obviously when like when it felt like it was heading that way with Randy or with Drew

there were times where there was part of me that was kind of maybe you should just go and ask for it maybe you should just go and say what you want you know maybe go and tell them that you know you could deliver it right like maybe you know and but I didn't I held my tongue I tried to you know and tried to be a man of my word because Because when I reached out to Paul Vec, I said, I want to have the opportunity to contribute to WWE in any way you see fit, you know. So I did not want to go back on my word because I didn't want to go, well, any way you see fit, but really I want to do this, you know.

So how do you think you got this match? I think that, and I have to tread carefully here, because I certainly don't want to ever try to speak on behalf of Triple H. But I think that maybe he looked at the landscape, looked at the possibilities, and decided, I think there's money in this over this guy, that guy as an opponent for Gunther. I think that's... I only say that because that's how I would look at it. Yeah. Where it's like,

well, we could do Gunther against this guy. Yeah, it'd be all right. It'd be okay. We could do Gunther against that guy. Yeah, yeah, that'd be a good match. You could do Gunther against Nick. All this. What if we do this?

Yeah. There's money. You know? And it makes sense. Right. And he's a good... He's a good... antagonist for this story.

How much thought have you put into your gear, your entrance, your theme, the whole presentation? Yeah, yeah, of course. This is WWE. Again, I've been very, very flattered and humbled by, for example, when I said like, gear, attire. No, I want Nick Aldous. I want the, you know, I want the Nick Aldous that... The National Treasure. Yeah.

Yeah. So there's a little exclusive for you because I know there's been a lot, there's been some speculation about like, is he going to wrestle in a suit? Stupid. Can you imagine? The worst. Like, you know, but again, I understand, like,

sure. when I was a kid nothing else outside WWF meant shit to me like I appreciated all the height of WCW and all that after the fact at the time I was like 10

you know at the peak of WCW 10, 11 to me I was like that's not the WWF you know Obviously, that's different in the UK. And, you know, it was the strength of the, you know, the branding, like the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the whole whole that the W. And, you know, over any other brand, until TNA, actually.

That's right. You know, was so significant. And, like, WCW, even at its peak, in my opinion, I always felt like, as a kid, or at least amongst kids, I don't know about adults. but amongst kids even at its peak of the Nitro Monday Night Wars era I felt like in the UK WW was always kind of looked at

as a sort of second rate like it wasn't thought of as a sort of not certainly not considered number one you know yeah it was number two right but like so yeah I mean I can understand how

kids would you know are seeing this and just sort of going what's he going to do? You know, is he's going to, like, wrestle in, like, sweatpants? You know, or is he going to wrestle in a suit? Like, you know, it's all, I mean, but it's, but again, I don't, some of that is, some of that's good because it's all a part of the magic of wrestling is the theater of the mind, is letting

the audience, you know, imagination run wild. Right? And like giving them these different possibilities that they can play with in their head. So I don't know. I think it's all, I think it all works out in the end. There seems to be a renewed love for Magnus over these last few weeks. Yes.

Where were all you lot? Ten years ago. 12 years ago, whatever it was. Oh, he's a terrible champion. That was a terribly booked champion. but like, I know. Everyone now is like, man, Magnus is great. Oh, you don't know what you've, you know,

you just wait till you see it. Go watch some Magnus matches. You don't know your myths. They're going to bring out Magis. I'm like, where did this come from? But I think, again, maybe it's because a lot of them were kids. So now they're adults. So now it's like a sort of nostalgia.

It's like a childhood nostalgia where they're sort of looking at it and, you know, and kind of going like, oh. Or they're just. seeing clips or gifts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, maybe. There's this one gif of you that gets played all the time. It's you posing on the top rope and like, you've got this like, I don't know, like, rigid, like movement. Right.

How does he even do that? Yeah, I don't know. You know what I'm talking about? I think I do. You're like on the top rope. Yeah, I played around. Yeah. And then.

Yeah, yeah, I played around with different sort of things like that. That's, I think that's your number one gif. Really? Interesting. That gift is on like almost every nickel, all this clip. They get to put out there. Interesting. But with great respect to everything you've done as a wrestler in the ring,

this for a lot of WWE fans, it's going to be the first wrestling match they ever see. Yep. Yeah, sure is. A lot of expectations on you. Yeah. Or maybe none at all. Yes, that's a fair point as well.

Like, there are pros and cons to the situation that make it fun and interesting and challenging. Yes. one side, uh, how many of the audience are going to know any of my stuff? But on the other side, well, it means that they, you know, they don't know what to expect. So then they're sort of a little more pleasantly surprised. What is the match that people need to go back and watch? If they want to do their homework on Nick Aldis to see what you're all about.

What's the match they need to see? Oh, I would say probably. the rematch with Cody, NWA 70, the two out of three falls in Nashville. Here in Nashville, yeah. Yeah. Just this, you know, it's a really complete sort of story. And I thought we worked tremendously hard. And it's like the first fall is wrestling, like, you know, very much wrestling.

And then the second fall is sort of brawling out on the floor. And then the third fall is bombs away, you know, big, fin, finishing moves, kick out, you know, so it's sort of like you get a little bit of all three. And there's some angle in there to, you know, there's some stuff with Camille and Brandy, there's a bit of sports entertainment, there's some, you know, and we have all the luminaries at the beginning, we have Dory Funk and, you know, some former champions and stuff like that. So I think the whole thing's just a sort of fun, you know, really good sort of pro wrestling main event feel to it. And it's a good commentary to,

Tony Chivani is, Tony Chavani, Joe Galley, and Jim Cornett are calling it. And I thought that was really good, too, because they, you know, because they all bounced off each other well. And, you know, when you have guys like Chivani and Cornett, it's like, it's always going to take up your. Legends. Yeah, it's always going to take your stuff up another level. With that said, fans know there's some history here with Cody,

especially that match you're talking about there. Does that history possibly come over here to WWE? Who knows? It's not up to me. I mean, we've definitely, I mean, I think that we've probably, we've already leaned into it from, you know, from time to time anyway. Like, and I think, again, trying not to speak on Hunter's behalf, I think his general philosophy when it comes to that kind of thing is like, if you know, you know. So we're not going to, we can't make it the whole story, but it can be part of. story, which I think has been a healthy, I think has been a generally healthy approach to his

storytelling. I think you could say the same for like some of the stuff you've seen with guys who were in the bullet club. Yeah. You know. If you know, you know. Yeah. There's like nods to it, but it's not necessarily like, but you're not making it where you're completely in the, you know, like out of the know if if you're unfamiliar with what they're referencing yeah um but i think that there's a lot of value in that kind of thing because now you're because i always thought it was short-sighted for a w w-dbd to pretend that there was no other wrestling outside of their walls you know yeah but maybe that's just me because i was a part of that outside world for so long you know maybe that's just my ego talking was like why did they acknowledge us yeah

But it's... But they are now. Yes. And they're acknowledging your resume. Yes, they are. And, you know, that's exciting and flattering and validating and makes a lot of the sacrifices worth it. How much thought went into this segment at Saturday night's main event where you kind of cross over the line, right?

You get physical with Gunther for the first time. What went into that? Well, it's a, you know, it's a top angle. So, you know, all the, all the big brains are on it. You know, Hunter, Michael Hayes, Bobby Rood, you know, everybody's, everyone, you know, everyone, it's a team effort. There's, you know, a lot of, a lot of input. You really took your time with it. Like, you really let that.

breathe. Had to. Then you hit him with the championship. Very important. You know, in WWE, and look, obviously I had had six years of TV experience in TNA, but not a lot of TV direction. You know. What's the difference?

I remember being at WrestleMania, and it was the second day. And I think this was the, not this one just gone, but the one before. but it was day two and we were getting ready to have another meeting with all the producers Marty Miller, director, the camera guys. And this is where you're basically describing the story you're going to tell and maybe describing the shot you even want, but obviously Marty's there to sort of go, all right, yeah, so you can take that. At any point, you know, working with different camera guys, like you can take that and then you can,

you know, we can, you know, pull out and get to take your shot. whatever right i remember that sitting there before we got started but we're still waiting for everyone to arrive and the camera guys they're sitting around arguing with each other about who had the best shot of like some big moment from the night before and they're going like hey do you see my you see my shot of that you know dive or whatever it was and they're going like yeah it was good but mine was fucking better because you i came up from underneath and then pulled out and that you know they're on no way like mine was a you know they should have used my shot they're like they're like healthy you know competing with each other yeah and I was just like this is a

elite level you know they care they care so much yeah they are so vital right like some of these guys are like you know decades doing this and just like it's so important because if we're you know you're everyone's supposed to communicate but you know shit happens in the day there's a lot going on and a lot of the time stuff isn't always communicated as thoroughly as it needed to be those guys their instincts are just they just know um but with that thing at the garden for me like i've been at the garden before but never haven't done anything like really sort of significant, like wasn't part of a moment, you know. So I think for me, I was trying to tell myself, like, do not rush, you know, I knew it was

going to need time to breathe and to, but not too much time because obviously you're still, you know, it's moving parts and, you know, I'm a small part of a big story. So I'm, you know, and worked with Hunter on it. And yeah, just, you know, one of those moments where WW is the only place where what you see in your mind's eye can literally be exactly what ends up coming on the screen. And that was, you know, that's a good example of that. When we talk about TNA, you were AJ Styles last match in TNA.

Yeah. Why is that your reaction? That's, it's a, you know, It's a dubious honor and something I'd probably rather forget. You know, it was horribly booked and it was, didn't do me any favors. Those were not great years into yet. It didn't do me any favors at all. You know, it kind of hurt me a lot, actually.

But in the, in the fans' point of view in hindsight, there's the image of you standing over age. It's like, hey, look at that. Yeah. The guy who retired AJ in WWE and the guy whose last match was against AJ. in TNA, they're going up against each other. That helps. That's probably the, that's probably, that's the, that's the, that's the, that's the,

this the first time where any of that's actually, you know, been of any use to me. Being painted in that light. Yeah, because honestly, um, yeah, for a long time, I felt like that's, that's, that's, a lot of that, I felt like that got hung around my neck, to be honest. I think that my, TNA, you know, AJ's TNA career came to an end. And that was such a tragedy for TNA fans that I think a lot of that negative energy ended up being directed at me. I became the sort of face of it. And I didn't have anything to do with it.

I was just doing what I was told. So, you know, I think for me it's, I don't want to be overly dramatic here. And so it was like traumatic or anything. But it is definitely a part. it's definitely something that I sort of tend to compartmentalize and, you know, keep locked away because I don't, because it's like, that hurt my career. That was, it was kind of the end of my TNA career, too. Do you have better memories working with Sting, the TNA? Yeah, apart from the end.

You were, because they did the same thing with Sting, the same bullshit, like 20 run-ins and, you know. Yeah. You were Sting's second last match in TN. Even Sting hated that, like, you know, because, Steve Borden is a absolute class act human being. And for whatever reason, God bless, he took a shine to me and wanted to do a lot for me. Right from the start, I had a match with Sting in 2009. I'd been in the company like three months because Sting said,

give me that guy. Sting had worked with Samoa Joe on a pay-per-view. and I think Joe had won the match. So the next episode of Impact, Sting just needed a win. You know, he just needed someone to beat this to sort of get him back on track. And I think he just, I'm pretty sure that he just said, you know, give me that British kid. I like him. Because I was part of a tag team.

You know, there was no reason why I should have been having a singles match with Sting in the main event of impact at that point in my career. I was 22 or whatever, like, you know, completely green. What an opportunity. Yes. And it went quite well, you know, all things considered, because it was just a short TV match, you know, where I basically just let Sting to all his greatest hits

and flew around for him and then tapped out to the Scorpion. But that match helped establish me with, like, a lot of the veterans, like Nash and Steiner and stuff, they sort of watched, they saw me, they kind of, they went, this kid's, this kid's starting to get it. Like, he's generous and he bumps around a lot and he's, you know, he kind of gets his role, he knows his role. And Kevin then really started going out of his way to help me because of that. But, you know, staying right from the beginning, that even from back then, you know, he always said, like, I want to help you. I think, you know, I can help you. But fast forward to four years later.

year. I'm wrestling Sting at Bound for Glory, TNA's biggest pay-per-view. And all the way leading up to that, it had been, you know, Sting will go over. On the day of the show, Sting said, you know, I think I want to tap out to the clover leave tonight. And again, I had no words, you know, so they went, okay, you know. Sting made that call. Wow. And after the match, Sting came back and looked at Dixie and John Guburik. Burek and whomever else was there behind the curtain and basically pointed at me and said,

now make that mean something, which in other words meant put the world title on him. So Sting, you know, I don't know what to say. That's amazing. I'm always so blown away by if this person's not in your life at this point in time that does this thing. Right. That's a perfect example of that. Right. Also, another great example of like things lining up for this match with Gunther at SummerSlam.

If this thing doesn't happen with this person all lining up right place, right time, but also right person. Yeah, staying ready. Yes. And being, you know, open mind, open heart and just going like, hey, It doesn't matter what happened before or didn't happen before. The only thing that matters now is what's in front of you. You've had some great one-liners as the Smackdown GM. Which ones are you most proud of, do you think?

Oh, gosh. Well, I think the one you said with Roman, I think, was definitely one. You know, I'm an executive. I don't have feelings. I love the one with Chelsea Green where she's like, we're talking about the United States Women's Championship. You're not even American. And you're like, neither are you. or you or you

Chelsea's God talk about someone easy to work with like someone to bounce off of you know that's the most probably the most fun element of the role

is the fact that you get to interact with all the different characters like you don't sort of get siloed into like well I only really interact with like other guys in the world title picture or I only interact with like other tag teams or other intercontinent or whatever right like you can you're sort of bouncing around one minute you're doing like a really serious thing with Cody or Randy or whoever and then the next minute you're

like with our truth you know talking about balls or something yeah what's your problem with our truth balls Ronnie is just the absolute best Like, you know what? The, the, the, probably the most bittersweet thing about working with Ronnie is that the stuff that doesn't make air is so goddamn funny. We will sit there and just like riff for minutes before we actually do whatever we're going to do. and we'll just be like in tears laughing like just bouncing off each other and like and then or he'll like text me later in the day like I should have said this you know like I'm you know just he's just he's just one of a kind like he just has this like energy and spirit that is just like you just can't

help but smile you know you just plug into that energy source and it's just the best has he got you to break. Yeah. He got, it was me and priest. I don't remember the, I don't remember the circumstances now, but. Oh, I know that it was when he was supposed to be this match set up with our truth and Ms. and he was supposed to be doing media. And then he just shows up and he's like, hey, you're supposed to be doing media. Well, that was on Monday. It is Monday. Was that what it was? I think it was. I just, I just remember there was something where, because I just remember everyone being like, like, oh, he broke, you know, like,

pre-stand-oldest and the same, you know. I think, oh, you know what it was? And I got away with it because it made sense for me to laugh. Was he did, it was something with Kit. He said something to Kit where he was like, I think it was a poem. He like read a poem or he had made up a poem on the spot. But every take, he'd do a different one.

So like, and because the idea was, like, well, you had to, it was okay for us to laugh because we were laughing at the heels expense. But whatever he came up with that first time, like, I was a full on genuine, like, just full on, like laughing, you know, and then obviously Kit's like, it was Kit, who was the one who had to work hard because he had to sell it like he was angry. And I'm sure he probably wanted to laugh too. Ronnie's just the best. You had a backstage segment with John Cena. where it's like this heated argument. Yeah.

And Sina flips his hat backwards. This turned into a whole thing. That's quite a meme where the, that's, that's been memed a lot I've seen. Yes. Or jift a lot, I suppose. That turned into a whole thing because people thought, oh, this is the doctor of thunkinomics coming back. Yeah.

Why else would he put his hat backwards? Literally just, he just did it in the moment. I saw it more as like a manager arguing with an umpire and baseball. He literally said that. Like, he goes, I'm going to, he goes, I'm going to, Like, because it was a, um, it was offline audio. So they weren't going to catch any of the audio. It was just going to be kind of, oh, there's a commotion, right?

Like it was, it was shot like that. But then they uploaded a version where you can hear you guys. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think just, I think just because he, you know, he, like John is known to do with a lot of his stuff, you know, made it larger than life. But yeah, I remember right, right before he goes, oh, I'm going to turn my cap around. And he's like, you know, baseball, you know, umpire manager.

And I'm like, yeah. He's like, yeah, they'd think that. I'm like, great, cool. Yeah, and I feel like people read into that way more than they should have. They always do. But, you know, God bless wrestling fans. That's, you know, that's part of their culture, isn't it? It's like to look into everything and go, was that a clue?

Was that an Easter egg? You know? Yeah. Yeah. How do you feel now about the fantasy booking that fans do all the time? between the Smackdown General Manager and the Raw General Manager. Former NWA World's Heavyweight Champion versus former NWA World's Heavyweight Champion. I'll tell you what, it doesn't seem to have slowed down, does it?

No, not at all, especially now that you're getting back into the ring. Yeah. And along the way with this story, Adam and I have had a little bit of, you know, I don't know. Maybe Scrap Daddy comes back one more time. I think he could. I think he's more than capable. Although he's made it clear, like, I'm good. Yeah, yeah.

I'm good, not wrestling. That's in the past, I'm good in my GM role. Yeah. You, on the other hand, were saying, I'd like to lace him up one more time. Yeah. And now you get to. For the validation, you know.

But I'd sort of made peace with it to, to a degree. Just not, like, I think I said this to you. You know, I don't need it to. I didn't, like I said, no expectations. I didn't have any, it wasn't about necessarily specifics. It was just about at least once to,

for the validation. And just to sort of, to put the, I suppose for me, it's about putting the product that I created and molded and perfected. I felt like I had,

put together a package that was worthy of the WWE stage. So for me, it was about what I had come up with, what I had sort of created, deserved that spotlight. People don't understand this. When they look at people's careers in places like TNA or WCW or even WWE, you know, it could happen there too. But there are a lot of wrestlers who go through, their entire career, but they never fully actually got to sort of really be exactly what they

wanted to be. And that perfectly sums up my TNA career. If you look at all the different stuff I did in TNA, it's just, it's half it's just me trying to like find myself. It's me trying to like trying to like trying to sort of develop who I am as a, as a wrestler on weekly television. And it's so hard to do because you're trying to do that and trying to satisfy the creative. Is that you being young in an experience? Yeah, too young, yeah. Or is it the booking? No, it's, it was, it's both because when you, when you show up, you know, you're just

trying to be a good soldier and you're just like, oh yes, I'll do whatever, you know, you don't really have any you don't really have any um sort of capital to be able to to go i i feel like it would work better if i did it like this or this is more me you know you're trying to just kind of be a good employee uh and i i think about that a lot because i didn't even really get good at this until I left TNA because I finally had, I never really got that time on the Indies. I did, you know, I did break in when I was 17. I was a full-time wrestler, I was 18. But I was wrestling mostly for Brian Dixon and the, you know, on the Butlins, camps and Brian's town shows where you're pretty much, you're sort of doing the same thing every night

to a degree. I was almost always a baby face, almost always just a, like just a very sort of white meat, baby face. I know you talked to Gangrel recently and like, you know, Gangrel was like the first name guy I ever wrestled. I love Gangrel. Yeah, he's the best. I was like 18 and I got to wrestle gangrel on a Brian Dixon show and, you know, just he was, he took such great care of me, was such a pro. But like, I did that for, you know, a year and a half. I went to Harley's camp. Because I'm still trying to learn to be a wrestling. Like, you know, I'm sort of wrestling every night, but it's like you're pretty much doing the same match. You know, you're sort of doing like baby face match.

And you're working with one of about six different heels. And they've all got their rigid sort of match that they pretty much do with everyone. So, you know, I'd work with like Carl Kramer and I'd do the, you know, he was a big super heavyweight guy. So I'd sort of do the, you know, go to slam him. I can't, like, oh, you know, something. Eventually finally get the slam. Oh, you know. and then depending on where you're on the coach, either you go over or you don't.

You work with, you know, whoever else the other heel is. And, you know, oh, they like to do, you know, they like to do this spot where it's like, you know, so and so, baseball slide through the legs, catch the foot, Inzeguri, whatever it is. Everyone's, you just got a sort of set routine. So while my crowd work was good, like I always felt like I had a pretty good. handle on crowdwork like poise and timing and like letting things breathe and you know and all that because that was a skill that was being developed i really wasn't developing like in-ring skills and it really wasn't developing much of an in-ring IQ or an in-ring persona right i wasn't really

developing my style i didn't have a style i was just executing like other people's matches um and then i got gladiators so then i'm like so then i just disappear and go have this other crazy opportunity where I'm doing, you know, something completely different. And they wouldn't let me wrestle, you know, while I was doing that show for obvious reasons. Sure. So then I sort of said, you know, and then by the time that's done, I go to TNA. I didn't know who I was. You know, I, like, I had, I had no, like, it wasn't like a Samoa Joe or an AJ or a Bobby Rude or whoever, who were coming in, who had sort of started to hone and model, you know,

their sort of who they were as a wrestler. Like, I literally came in as just a sort of guy. Like, oh, he's tall, he's got a good body and, you know, we're going to make him a gladiator. You know, thank God that ended. Oh, we'll put him with Doug Williams. There'll be a British tag team. Okay, all right, that I can work with, you know.

And then it was like, okay, now that's done. What's he going to be as a singles guy? Oh, he's going to be a ladies man. You know, I was like a ladies man. I was like a ladies man for a while, you know, and then it's like, I'm going, I want to be a serious wrestler. Okay, well, you know, then, you know, so you never, do you know what I mean? You're kind of, I never developed who I was. Like there was no sort of like, well, I do this.

This is my, you know, it was only, that was by the time I left TNA was when all that started to come together. So, yeah, this for me is like finally almost that it's like like a guy. It's like the old days, almost like a guy who had, you know, coming from the territories, you know, sort of suddenly showing up and just being like, no, no, this is who you are. Like, we're bringing you in, brother. Like, this is who you are, right? Like, it's not like, oh, your name is now, you know, Chad Sexington. I've known you for a long time. We've been sitting down and sharing these conversations for many years.

I think our first one was 2019 or 2020. Really? I think I speak on behalf of all fans when I say, we're excited to see you back in the ring. Well, I appreciate that. I'm really excited to see how this match plays out. I hope that I don't let people down. I don't think you're going to let anybody down.

I think you probably have a lot of expectations for this match too. Yeah. I do, yeah. I mean, it's my one shot, you know. Sorry. This should mean a lot to you. Damn you. First you got Mickey, now you got me.

It's been a, I've been working very hard. I hope it pays off. I'm sure it will. I just hope that when it's all said and done, that the people appreciate how hard this was and I gave everything ahead. Not everybody gets this opportunity. And you do.

You have this. God bless. And I can tell how much this means to you, and I can tell how much you've put into this. I'll say congratulations in advance. Thanks. You get to do this. It's amazing.

And I'll ask you what I've asked you many times before. As we sit here right now, Nick, just a few days away from this match at SummerSlam. what are three things you're grateful for the support of my family it's not been easy on micky we were supposed to be on vacation in the south of fras that went away um and we had to you know had to sit my son down and he was so looking forward we'd look forward to our france trip every year i was pretty devastated too to be honest but you know when you have to go go, well, you have to be at Madison Square Garden, you know, to be involved in this top

angle. Okay. But, you know, that was tough sitting him down and explaining, like, buddy, I have this big chance. So we're going to have to have a bit of a boring summer, I'm afraid, because... South of France will always be there. Yes. I have to have a bit of a boring summer, I'm afraid, because dad's... got to spend a lot of time in the gym and think for me, and I plan to do something with all the

footage, depending on how good some of it is, how usable it is, but my son's actually been filming all my conditioning workouts, and these have been hardcore, like real, that's cool, really hard stuff. And he's sort of become a little budding producer, director. Like, he, like, he likes making, you know, he's making little videos on iMovie and, you know, shooting different scenes and like putting them together and this kind of thing. So I don't even know how it came about, but he just, he just said, I want to film him. You know, I want to film it. And I'm like, great, yeah, let's do it.

And now it's, now it's like, even if I'm going late at night or five in the mornings, I want to come, I want to come. So, think for him, I think, you know, like you said, you know, you know blessings come in many forms and um so that's a cool little sort of core memory i think you know when this is all said and done um but you know mickey obviously again like she's had to make a lot of sacrifices we've done that for each other throughout our careers you know so but it doesn't make it any less difficult um and i've had to be pretty obviously tried to be extremely disciplined for the last few weeks and pretty closed off and just

kind of a lot of stuff's had to go on the back burner because I'm like three years off to then have a match at a stadium is you know not an easy thing for anyone to do so I've had to really just put everything I have into it so I'm very grateful for her and for my son I'm grateful for self-awareness to sort of to know what I have and don't have and where I need help and don't need help, which was not always something I was great at doing in the past. And, you know, the self-awareness, I think, helps with, like, the perception from fans. You know, once you have a good grasp of how people see you, you can work with that and use it to your advantage. And I think that's what we've done with this angle. Like, I haven't tried to pretend to be something I'm not.

Yeah. So I think that helps. I think that's why people have, I think that's why people have resonated with the story because it's real. And I think people like that you're standing up to the bully. It's real. Right. And grateful for my faith in God. It's in his hands now.

Well, thank you for always being so open. I love sitting and chatting with you. Likewise. And I'm so excited to see you back in the ring. The National Treasure is back. Here we go. I love it. Thanks.

Ma'am, thank you. Here we go. Scrolling with Haley. I'm Haley Kareenia. I scroll with the homies here in the live chat because there's a lot to scroll through on X, on Instagram, on TikTok. Cutting through the clutter, one hot take at a time. Love seeing you all in the chat before the show. I tried to jump in just a few minutes before to say hello.

I love the chat interaction. Thank you for helping. But I do it to get all of the videos and all of the content that you won't find anywhere else. Scrolling with Haley. Just search that up and I will be there. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.