Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Nick Aldis On His WWE Role, Leaving NWA, Mickie James, Favorite TNA Moment

Episode Date: September 5, 2023

Nick Aldis (@realnickaldis) is a professional wrestler known for his time in IMPACT Wrestling and NWA. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at his house in Nashville, TN to talk about his recent trial as a producer for WWE, he clarifies that his in-ring career is not done, what's next for him after his recent stint in IMPACT Wrestling, why he decided to leave NWA, being the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion for 1043 days, his iconic match with Cody Rhodes in 2018 at All In, what his favorite memory from TNA is, what it was like working with Sting, the best advice he received from Bret Hart, turning down an offer from AEW and betting on himself, his wife Mickie James and much more! Sponsors:  To get 15% off go to http://mudwtr.com/cvv to support the show and use the code CVV15  Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com  MANSCAPED - Get 20% off and free worldwide shipping with the code CVV at manscaped.com   Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to http://TryMiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF Quote I'm thinking about: A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings. – Charlie Wardle For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All systems are gathered. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Bleas! Oh, baby, good to see you here, my friends. Welcome back to another one on Insight. It's your friendly neighborhood, CVV, Chris Van Fleet. Thank you for joining us on this one. And thank you for making Insight one of the top wrestling podcasts in the world by coming back each and every episode. Hit that follow button with a big old DDT if you haven't already.

Not only would it make me very happy, but you would also make sure that you're not missing out on any big interviews that we have coming up. And I just finalize the details for a huge one. But I just need to eat my vitamins and say my prayers a little bit more if you catch my drift here. This one here today, though, is a huge one with the real world heavyweight champion, Nick Aldus. I always love spending time with him. him and his wife, Mickey James, were so hospitable here. They invited me into their beautiful home just outside of Nashville to record this episode. And Mickey wasn't home when we started. And then we had to stop halfway through. You'll hear it. She's like knocking on the door and like

ringing the doorbell. And she comes back home and she had tacos for us. So we paused the interview. We ate some delicious tacos. And then the conversation continued. You'll see it's kind of like a part one, part two. But yeah, so good there. And you may have seen the reports that Nick has been working backstage in WWE as a producer. So we talk about that and him saying, no, my in-ring career is not done, not by a long shot. I've got so much more left to do in the ring. So we talk about what's next for him because he was in impact wrestling earlier this year. He made his return there. He was Magnus before. Then he returned under his real name here. He left the NWA last year and everything that surrounded that. I mean, he was the champion there for

a thousand and forty three days. Tons to talk about. He also has a supplement company. It's called Legacy Supplements. LegacySups.com randomly, you'll hear it here, but randomly is like, oh yeah, if you go to LegacySups.com and you use the promo code CVV, you'll get 20% off just for listening to this episode. So I highly encourage you to check out everything he has going on there, especially if you struggle with maybe sleep. That's a big thing. He talks a ton about the supplements you should be taking for sleep and also for testosterone and how those two could really be working together. So he explains it much better than me, but CVV is the code at legacy subs.com. Take a screenshot. Let us know that you're listening to this. Let us know what stands out for you here

and tag us so that we can share it out as well. He's at at real Nick Aldus on Twitter, at Nick Aldus on Instagram. It's just his name. And it's just my name, Chris Van Fleet, everywhere, except for TikTok, Chris dot VanVlate on TikTok. But I doubt you're going to be tagging this on TikTok.

But tag us and we'll share it out. Let's do this. Please welcome the one and only Nick Aldis. Well, sir, good to see you. Welcome. Thank you. It's very clear after spending some time here at your house and thank you for inviting me here.

You're welcome, yeah. Very clear that this is not. a gimmick for Mickey James. There are horses over there. Yeah, I was telling you before we started recording, you know, she's, she's been around horses a whole life. She showed them. She's got a whole box full of ribbons and trophies and, you know, all sorts of stuff

upstairs. And yeah, it's, yeah, not a gimmick. We live the life here. Did you ever think as a kid growing up in England that you would be living on a horse farm just outside of Nashville, Tennessee one day? Well, no, no, probably not. But at the same time, I grew up in the country too. I mean, I grew up in the countryside in England.

I was from Norfolk, which is a very rural area. You know, my father worked in agriculture. So I've been around this. You know, I'm certainly more comfortable in a rural sort of country environment for the most part. And where we are here is, you know, kind of ideal for us because we're close enough to the city, close enough to all the things we want, but we still have acreage and space and peace. That's beautiful. Yeah, thank you.

It's very beautiful. Yeah, we're very blessed. I was wondering if you would answer the door here wearing a suit, or if we would get casual in the call this. Sorry, it's 100 degrees today. I think it's higher than that. Yeah, it's very hot. And I was in the pool earlier.

So I do my morning swim when it stays like this. I get my, for my cardio, I take D to school. I do my morning swim. And then it's usually gym clothes for me. Because if I wasn't doing this, you know, that's probably where I would be or at least have been. So, yeah, gym clothes when I'm at home. Yeah, how are you feeling? Because you put it out not long ago that your back was some problems. It was an injury. Okay. Like, you know, I mean, look, I'm not, I'm not about to say that, you know, I'm sure I have, I'm sure I have any number

of underlying long term issues. Like any wrestler who's been doing it for, you know, 15 years would have. But no, I had, I had an actual back injury. Uh, I can't remember the, the thing that I injured but it was the way that they described it was like a sheet like there's a thin sheet of muscle like near your lower back that can sometimes just get sort of strained and inflamed so while it felt like a disc issue and I'm you know I've I've had MRIs and stuff like that to rule all that out because of course the first thing you start thinking of is oh god like it's a disc or it's this or it's that right And by the time I went, I'm like, I'm not alone.

I'm like most wrestlers, I would say in this sense that by the time we go to the doctor, it's like... Too late. Well, it's serious. If we're going to a doctor, it's because it hasn't gone away with ice and, you know, some Advil or whatever, right? Because you can't, you know, you can't be falling now, you know, as part of your job. Yeah. Yeah. And so I pulled out, look, and I really take a lot of pride in the fact that in most of my career,

I think with the exception of when I tore my bicep in Mexico, there's not been many times where I've missed shots, like from being hurt. And this was the first time where I sort of had to call up a couple of, you know, promoters, one in Chicago and one in Puerto Rico and say, I'm sorry, I just can't make it because I was just, it was just, it was just every. Every time I would, like I had worked the two weeks before, one week and I was in England, and then the week, and then North Carolina. And, you know, the next day, I was just like, every day I was, every time after I, after the match,

the next day I was just like, struggling to get out of bed, struggling to get dressed and all that. And I was like, whatever this is, it's not, you know, this isn't, this is smart. Turns out that it was actually just like huge amount of inflammation that was just getting aggravated, you know, from this injury. So, you know, just took some of them. So you're good now? Yeah, yeah, 100%. Because, you know, there's the rumors that you're working backstage with WWE. Then I saw a tweet. You retweeted something about WWE ticket sales for WrestleMania. Yeah, yeah. Oh, this is a thing. Well, you know, I thought

that would that would help them because, you know, they need all the help they can get with selling 92,000 tickets in like one day. All because of that one tweet. Yeah. Yeah. I, that's one of the, that's one of the most fascinating things of being there is like listening to kevin done and and hunter break down the you know the numbers because they they break down the numbers and stuff and it's like holy cow it's just you know you know this stuff but it's like when you hear it broken down sort of internally like that you just you just kind of go man alive this is a like this this is the real deal this is the big time well it's you know they're focused a lot on business yeah yeah i mean commercially they're you know absolutely untouchable i mean you wrestling is subjective in a lot of

things and people can have their favorites or say they like that the way that one company does this or that or whatever but like with w w there's one thing that you absolutely can't deny and that's their commercial success i mean their profitability is just astonishing well and as a publicly traded company we can all look at yep you know how much money are they making and you can own stock this is true which i do that stock's been very good to me. And let's face it, with the way the stock market's been lately, it's like having some strong stock like that that's like just doing nothing but

kicking ass is like it's a great thing to have in your portfolio. So yeah. I owned that stock in 2019. I own that stock at like $55. I sold it like 60 something. I went, look at me. Oh my gosh. It's like a 10% increase.

It would have doubled if I'm still on. Where's that now? 110. 110? 110. 110? 110. 10.

Around right around around 110? Thanks. Yeah. So what exactly is the role that you have with WWA? None at the moment. Oh, that's right. Just retweeting about Russell media. Yeah, yeah, social media, signal booster.

No, no, I'm, I'm just, they just invited me to to come and, you know, see how everything works. And, you know, Shadow as a producer and see, you know, and just sort of be part of the meetings and oversee the whole, you know, the whole. the whole television operation, which is, I mean, it's, it's, again, it's a, I've done a lot, I've worn a lot of hats. I think people who have followed my career, particularly in the last few years, know that in addition to wrestling, I was wearing a lot of hats behind the scenes, you know, at my last place. And so I certainly don't feel like it's a, it's a, a completely new sort of situation for me. Having said that, there's pro wrestling and then there's WWE. So, you know, just taking in this sheer sort of volume of the operation and just the, you know, the number of people involved and the, this, the scale of everything is like, just that alone is, is the sort of has been the basis of like my time so far.

But it's, look, it's all very much, it's all very much a sort of a handshake situation at the moment, very much a, hey, why don't you come in and, and. see how all this works, see if you like it. I will say this. They've been very, very good to me and very, very accommodating as far as they've said, look, this is as much about whether you like it, you know. Now, where that goes? I don't know. And I'm okay with that.

Like it's not, it's tough with the internet, you know, and social media because people want to put this sort of definitiveness on everything and this finality. Like, oh, that's it. Yeah. He's with WWE. He's with WWE. That's it. Game over. You know, like, he's like, and so now, you know, people, oh, are you not wrestling anymore? Have you retired? Are you not wrestling? I mean, even the guys that, even the, even the boys are saying that like, are you done wrestling, you know? And it's sort of like, well, I think the people go back injury, pulled out of these dates,

now in a producer role. The timing of that was, yeah, the timing of that was. Yeah. Yeah. that I can I can accept and concede that and I knew that even when I did it you know I was kind of like man at the timing of this isn't great because now people are going to put two and two together and go oh you must you know you must be injured and must be you must have a back problem and can't wrestle anymore not not the case so you can still 100% I just took a couple more dates recently you know I have I have a few dates in September like I know that I'm going to I know Mickey and I are doing a show in in Canada, at an Indian reservation. And I know there's another show in Ohio that we're both doing. And, you know, so I mean, I've had stuff on the books. And I've already, and I told Brett that I would, whenever, whenever he has a date for Calgary. Yeah. Because I'm the Stu Hart, you know, champion for his son's promotion for dungeon wrestling.

So it's like, I was like, look, I'll make, I'll always be there for that. You know, so it's not like, you know, that's the frustrating part, right? is when you just go, you literally go and try something and just go and, you know, see, try it on, see if you like it. And it's, and next thing you know, it's like, oh, that's it. You know better than anybody. This is a business of perception. Yeah.

And perception is reality. I mean, in general, but especially in pro wrestling. Yeah. So when people connect those dots for themselves and you're certainly not doing that yourself, they connect those dots. They go, well, that's the story that I know. now believe about Nick. Yeah. Well, look, and everything could change next week or the week after or anything like that. But I guess to sort of to put a pin in this, because obviously there's

only so much we can discuss. And it's not like I'm trying to be secretive or anything. It's just it's not that interesting. It's just like, yeah, they called me and said, hey, how would you feel about coming in and, you know, seeing how things operate on the production level and, you know, shadowing the producers. And I was like, that would be interesting. That would be fun to see how that works. Even if nothing comes of it. And again, I have to make this point.

They also were very open with me about it and said, look, if you don't want to do it, like if you're not cool with this, like absolutely no hard feelings. You know, like if you don't ready, now, this ain't for me or I'm not ready to do this yet, that's totally cool too. I may as well say it. obviously I would love the other thing.

But until that day comes or doesn't, you know, I'm going to explore other opportunities because ultimately that is absolutely something that I would want to do in the end. I just, it's, you know, the question it will be, I guess, whether or not I'm ready to do it now, you know, and we don't know that yet. I don't. Look, if there's talk of WrestleMania being in London one day, you know, first ever internet, well, first ever UK,

WrestleMania. You might want to be there. They're definitely going to do that. I mean, that's going to happen for sure. It sure feels like it. Yeah. Yeah. They don't send out John Cena to,

gee everybody off about that without, without at least having some sort of acknowledgement that, like, one way or another, they're going to do it at some point. So, yeah. I mean, that's, yeah, look, what do you want me to say? Like, you know. Yeah. I, I, there's no way to talk about this stuff without coming across, without coming across

as like fake and phony, right, where you sort of go, oh boy, I sure would, you know, I think I would, I would, I would be happy with whatever and, you know, or coming across like a complete arrogant douche and being like, it should be me. Of course it should be me. All I will say is that, uh, to, to, to you and to a lot of the, the talent that I've been, you know, interacting with and to, the fans, you know, many of them who have sort of have said very nice things, very positive things with regards to me, you know, and my future, right? Ultimately, it don't really matter what you say to me, you know. I appreciate it. I always have and always will. But it doesn't really matter what you say to me, it matters what they hear, it matters what you say to, you know, to,

and ultimately it's a subjective thing. It's going to come down to, you know, one guy. I would feel like, you know, with your wife being Mickey, you've spent time backstage. You kind of understand, really. Actually, you know, it's fine. I was having this conversation the other day with someone at TV. They were like, I said, you know, like, my first, the first show I went to was in Minneapolis. I said, it's actually the first time I've ever been backstage at a WWE event. shocking yeah i mean i've been to the hall of fame sure right uh and they were always very they were always very nice to me at the hall of fames too like in the sense that they would say hey as far as you're concerned you know you're one of the boys like don't feel like you have to you know do anything

different or anything like that so you know should be so respectful and careful and everything um but yeah no as far as like i i never went for a try out like never did extra stuff you know never did like dark match like none of that stuff because I wasn't ready to do that um you know when that particular opportunity would have presented itself I wasn't ready to do it then and then I got picked up by T&A and then I was there for you know years yeah yeah and then after that it was sort of like by the time I left there I was kind of like established so now I'm sort of you know now it's now you're in it now it's all fall into a different bracket right like I'm not sort of of sort of not like a development or prospect, I guess, or something like that.

It's like I've been world champion and, you know, stuff. Any wrestling fan knows your name now. Well, come on. They may. No, that's not true. That is true. There may be WWE, you know, there may be WWE fans that just watch WWA. Yeah, exactly.

But I would imagine that they would be like, oh, I've at least know what that person is. Within the world of wrestling fans who follow the broader picture of pro wrestling, yes. I mean, I guess, yeah, I'm, you know, widely known. Right. You said just such an interesting thing the last time we sat down. And my goodness, so much has changed. That was, I think, January 2020, right before the world came to an end. He was in Atlanta.

Yeah, yeah. You said something so interesting, and it stuck with me. You're like, depending on who you ask, I am either overrated or I am underrated. Right. And then you went into it, and I went, my goodness, that's so true. Yeah. Depending on who you ask, you're the best or you're the best kept secret. Yeah.

Do you still feel that way? I guess. I just, I just to be, the point I was making when I said that was just that like, it's subjective, right? Like,

but, wrestling fans, particularly the very opinionated ones, God love them, you know, they tend to conflate their opinion with fact. So it's sort of like, everybody knows that insert name here is the best wrestler in the world.

And it's like, do they all know that? Like, because I think that's what you think, right? Like, the same way that, you know,

ever like they'll say a lot of the time they'll qualify it with that like oh everybody knows this is a thing or yeah people do this with movies too like it's it's subjective everybody loves pulp fiction that's clearly tarentino's best film it's like well the best way to yeah the best way to sum this up is to go who's the goat because some people will argue to death that it's flare some people will argue to death it's hogan rock austin brett the list goes on yeah yeah it's subjective yeah you know and it's like hey there's a case for a scene There's a case, you know what I mean? There's a case for all kinds.

But there are some people who you would say seen it to and they'd be like, what are you talking about? The same way that they're, you know, believe it or not, there were people from different eras who would have scoffed at you saying that about Flair, right? Like, because everybody has their own sort of, you know, definition and interpretation of like what great is. Well, who drew the most money or like who had the best matches or who, you know, or who got the most five-star matches. You know, whatever, right?

Sorry, I don't want to, I don't want to, it's a big, kind of heavy subject. I don't want to touch a nerve, you know. So it's Will Osprey. Great, okay. Hey, I love Will. Me too. I think he's the best right now. He is. Yeah, but there's a very good, certainly, certainly in-ring, certainly as an in-ring performer.

Yeah. He's in the discussion. This is maybe why people do the Mount Rushmore because they can go, oh, like, you pick four, and at least I can agree with one of those people. Oh, good. We have one over-off. God, I hate that question, man, because it's like, because you just feel like you're, you're slighting somebody.

Because you can only pick four. Yeah. Someone was like, because I'm obviously from Canada, very proud to be Canadian. Someone's like, what's your Canadian Mount Rushmore? I'm like, oh, I can't do this. That's easier. Is it? Yeah.

But then you're going to leave off some. I mean, sure, Brett's on everybody's. I would imagine edges on everybody's. Yeah. And then you're like, well, Jane Kineski. Chris Jericho. Yeah. You know, then the list can go.

That's it. And suddenly, wait, you're at four. That's it. Sorry. You're like, okay. Wow. Now who did you slight? Right. Yeah. Owen. Oh, mm-hmm. Right. There's a lot of people. Leo Burke. Roddy Piper. Yeah, shit. Jeez. There you go. I mean, already.

Look, how many people we've upset. Right. Exactly. Already it's like, Nicoddy Piper isn't on the Mount Rushmore of Canadian wrestlers. Then by the end of the day, it's like, Nicodas says Roddy Piper was terrible, but the worst wrestler ever. I remember running into you at some point during the pandemic when NWA wasn't operating. You're still the NWA champion at that point. I'm like, you're going to be the NWA champion forever at this point.

I think some people felt that way. When are you going to defend it if there's no shows happening? But does it feel like when you look back at your career right now, it's certainly not done? Is that something you're super proud of? Absolutely. Yeah. A thousand, forty three days? Yeah, yeah.

I think that sounds right. A thousand plus days. Yeah. I'll take your word for it. Yeah, look, you know, there's an asterisk with it for sure because of the pandemic and everything like that. But yeah, look, I look at that as it's certainly like a, it's sort of a definition of my career in a lot of ways. You know, a lot of my body of work is going to be tied to what I did with that championship, you know. And a lot of people would say what I did for that championship because obviously it was not.

in a great place prior. I was just very fortunate and glad that I was, you know, through all the various different things that happened, that I could have this sort of opportunity to do something that I felt like had very little risk, you know, because it's like if, for example, When I won the TNA world title, right? Like, the company was, that was a really, that was a, looking back,

there was a really tough time for me to get that belt because of the AJ situation. Because they're not, they low ball AJ. They kind of, you know, from what I understand, like the offer they made to him was a bit of a slap in the face. He, and that backfired hugely. And the company was, you know, vilified. the fans are turning on the office and like who's the sort of representation of this new direction and sort of decision making it's me and I'm already green and I'm already like they're already sort of rolling the dice by we're going to we're going to pull the trigger

with this guy like he's been here he's like earned his spot he's like young and he's coming up and he's you know he's got he's got the support of like top guys and stuff we're going to go with it. We're going to, you know, we're going to pull the trigger. Problem is that like, now they're going, oh, we don't get AJ and we get this guy, right? And I can completely understand that. And so as a 26 year old kid or whatever I was, it's like, I don't know how to process that day. And I look back at it now and I can articulate it. But at the time, you know, I didn't handle it well, right? So it's like, there can be a blessing and a curse because now you're under this microscope go and suddenly it's like, oh, it's, in a, in a much, in a much less significant way,

it's sort of like being the president, right? Like, everything that goes wrong is now your fault, right? Like, oh, because you're in the face. Right. Oh, look, under your, you know, well, with him as champion, like, this is, this is bad. Actually, like, if you look back, like the house show business went up a little bit and the ratings held pretty steady, like when I had the belt. But of course, you know, know, that didn't fit, that didn't fit the narrative. Everybody in TNA goes, well, it's not like the numbers you guys did in 2010, 2011, 3 million people a week.

It's like television ratings are never going to be like that. Yeah, but I think, I mean, all I'll say is that, you know, the really significant drop-offs at TNA, I was long gone as champion by the time that happened. Anyway, but my point is, when I get the NWA world title, it's like, you can't really get any lower. You know, it can't really have that much worse of a perception that it currently had. Not in the sense it had a bad one.

It just had no perception, right? It had no presence. It had no buzz, no interest. So for me, to, when you look back, I think I won it in December of 17. So then to fast forward to All In, which was September 1st, 18, like nine months. to go from, you know, to go from where it was to, to all in. For that moment in time, that day, Cody and I were talking about this the other day. That day, that moment in time, like the eyes and ears of the whole world were, we're on us, you know, in pro wrestling.

Yeah. And it was like, I can't, I can't think of any way. I can't do any more than that, you know? Yeah. Right. Like, if your assignment is, your job is, if you get a championship. your job is to create interest in that championship so that then eventually when someone beats you for it, it's a big deal, it's a box office, it's a it's a money match. I can't think of any better example

of like, I did my job, you know, than that particular run and then obviously, you know, got it back and then had a long run with it because of, you know, all the other circumstances. But it's like, of course I'm proud of that body of work. I mean, I redefined that championship. And that championship redefined me. That all in match with Cody was kind of the proof of concept for AEW. You know, that worked that, you know, three months later, and AEW's announced. What kind of pressure did you feel going into that? I also would say that it was a proof of concept for Cody as well. That's a great point. That's a great point. But the pressure I had was can I had to make sure that I wasn't just just a guy there to

facilitate Cody's moment, right? Like if we hadn't done all the things we needed to do to really get people genuinely going like, I don't know. I don't know, may, will they?

Like, if everyone had just thought like, you know, here comes, like, it's obvious. Yeah. I don't think it would have had that. And I've said this before. So anyone who's heard me talk about this is probably, you know,

ready to switch this off. But for me, I always felt like the eruption at the beginning of the match was sort of their way of acknowledging like my contribution to it, right? Like, because it was sort of that thing of, we think we know what's happening here, or we know what we want, but we appreciate that you've made this matter, right? because if it had just been a coronation, you know,

I think I would have backfired on Cody, right? Because when we got there, we'd created enough doubt and put enough credibility on me, and I owe Cody a lot for that. Because by the time we got to the bell, people believed that it could go either way. It wasn't this thing of like, well, he's obviously going to beat this guy, right?

Yeah. Like they went, I don't know, actually. That was a goosebumps moment. You guys are staring at each other. The crowd's going crazy. You can't. And again, Cody and I talked about this the other day. We did that with no machine behind us, right?

We didn't have this like mastermind team of people with decades of experience of how to create like this buzz and how to promote. Like we did it with a YouTube show. Yeah. And we just sort of between his belief in himself and my conviction in who I was and what that meant to me and the credibility that we put on the championship and everything like that and the history. And obviously, look, his father played a huge role in it. But all the way around, again, it's one thing, it's hard to get that sort of moment. I mean, how many can you think of? I mean, the one that immediately comes to mind is Rock Hogan.

of course. And think of what a huge compliment that is to me to have even, to even have that mention in the same breath, right? Yeah. Now you compare like the infrastructure that that, with like the two biggest stars arguably that ever existed. Sure. To then have like two guys who were in very different places in their careers, but, you know, through through just sort of conviction. and just like a outright belief in what we were doing,

we were able to accomplish that with no, obviously no support, that's not fair, because obviously we had Ring of Honor, and we had, you know, Dave Lugano with the NWA. So it was like his work in that, you know, was a huge factor. But in the end, it's like, yeah, like to accomplish that with a, you know,

sold out arena, like that sort of, that sort of moment. And to, to think, we did this with a YouTube show, man. Like, we just, we just, we just got people into this. Like, they really care. Yeah. You know, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's the, that's the, that's the, that's the thing that anyone in our business is striving for us to, can we, you know, because you know, how hard it is to accomplish that. And some, you know, a lot of people have great careers and never have that once. And that may have been an introduction for you to a lot of fans. Yeah. And then that, goes on 10 pounds of gold, into everything with NWA power.

NWA was riding this huge hot streak, and then the world comes to a screeching halt. And then I feel like there's this thing, there feels like a pre-pandemic NWA that existed and now a post-pandemic NWA that exists. And you've talked about just how it feels different now. Yeah. And I think that you can also kind of group in there

of like you having the championship and you not having the championship, also feels different. Yeah. I mean, look, you know, I've moved on, right? Like it's, and I have, there are people who work there who I care about a lot, and I'm really, and I'm really happy that my contributions to that company sort of facilitated those guys earning a living.

But, you know, again, this is, there's nothing I really need to say, you know. like the the evidence is is there for anyone who wants to to look um you know i i i'm sort of i'm sort of i'm sort of talking about billy and that that whole thing it's like you know he sort of to me i would just say that he's he's he's kind of showing everybody who he is and that's you know that's unfortunate but i'm not i'm certainly not going to spend any more time you know uh saying anything sort of denigrating about him or the company or anything like that, people can make up their own minds and it looks like a lot of them have, you know, and that's pretty much it. So with that said, you know, to return to impact wrestling.

Yep. Which, interesting, you go back to Impact Wrestling under your real name. Yeah. Did that feel different for you? 100%. Yeah. Your legacy there was, oh, legacy. Say what I did there?

Wow. I didn't do that on purpose. LegacySupps.com. That's it. Your legacy there was Magnus. It wasn't Nick Aldous. Did it feel like in a way you were kind of starting over? No.

It felt like they were acknowledging, you know, all of my story, which is what they did. You know, like we didn't pretend that I was never a Magnus. You know what I mean? Like, we did. You know, they, we put together a really great package. You know, that sort of told my story, I thought, in a really, in, you know, in a really good way that was like, yeah, he, you know, he came here very early in his career, had, you know, a very storied sort of run. culminated in, you know, the highest high you could have at that company, world champion, you know. I got to, I got to wrestle, like, legit icons, like Hall of Famers.

and then I moved on and I sort of reinvented myself and went, no, no, I'm like, now you're going to meet Nick Aldous and that's who they met. And by the time I came back, Nick Aldous was who people know, right? Like, so I thought they did a, I thought that they did a tremendous job of articulating that. and there's a lot of things about the company that, you know, for all intense purposes, it's basically a different company, you know, there's a few people there who are the same. That might have been the easiest sort of professional arrangement like I've ever had. You know, it was like, it was just kind of like, hey, what about we do this, you know, and that

sounds great. And they did a great job of, you know, presenting me as a, you know, a person of a certain stature. And I, and I felt like I did business. And, you know, it was just like all the way around. It just was just very, very easy. And I was really, I was really glad to work with Alex Shelley. You know, I've known Patrick a long time. And he was very good to me, you know, early on. So, and I was, I was proud of our match to, like, I felt like we told a really unique story. Like we were talking about Brett earlier and it was like, I feel that's the sort of match Brett would have really liked, you know, like this sort of really, like, we really thought about all the, like the psychology and really thought about like it was a, like a chess match,

like a real physical chess match. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's what I was really like to do with matches, particularly if you're on last. Like, I think when you're on people, I think this is, this is something that, you know, Roman has become such. master at two, right? It's like, if you're on last, you've got everything to follow. So you've got to do something that just totally takes people out of their normal rhythm. And like, you've got to do something and you've got to take a few risks and you've got to take a few chances of stuff that like might really, really work or it might be a bit like, what's this? What's happening? But you've got to do something to get everybody off their game. You've got to take people out of that natural

with them like, okay, well, first comes this, because wrestling fans now, they're conditioned. You know, they know, like even the most sort of, for lack of a better term, casual fan is still smart. They're still smart to what's going on, right? So you've got to take everybody and sort of have, you know, have some, have one or two things or hopefully one real definitive thing that makes them all sort of go, oh, oh, now I don't know where we are, what's happening. Yeah, yeah. Right. Like what's like because now that now they, now they have to pay attention. Yeah. And now they have to go, I don't, I don't know where this is going now, right? Like you don't want to, you know, I'm, I believe in the old Jerry Jarrett adage. Like if you confuse them, you'll lose them. So I'm not saying confuse them, but I'm saying like you've got to, you got to do something that throws them off their natural rhythm. So now they're really invested in what's going on and they can't necessarily predict it. Yeah. I have a, a phrase that I learned from, Kenneth Cole, the fashion designer. I heard him in an interview and it was a business podcast and the guy asked him something to the effect of, you know, how do you, working in fashion, how do you, how do you,

how do you decide, like, how do you tell people what they want? You've always got to figure out what people want and Kenneth Cole goes, no, no, no, my job isn't to tell people what they want. My job is to give people what they want in a way they weren't quite expecting. That's great. I was like, that's pro wrestling booking. Yeah. That's pro wrestling. That's really good. Most of the time, you know what people want, right? Like, all in, right?

We all knew what they wanted. We'd never had a discussion about the finish, right? Like, it was, like, what if I win, brother, you know, what I want to, maybe we'll, you know. We never had that discussion. We'd never, like, there was never actually a definitive discussion of, like, would you mind, you know, doing the honor? Like, I was like, don't even talk to me.

I know what the, you know. Yeah. I know what the, you know. Yeah. want here. We had to give it to them in a way that they, you know, they couldn't predict and they weren't fully able to, you know, expect and predict. Like, that's, that's your job is to, you know, give it, give the people what they want in a way that they're not fully expecting. But with Cody, I feel like everybody wanted him to win at WrestleMania 39. Well, that's, that's a, that's a separate

issue. I feel like the fans are still going to get what they want. Ah, this, this is the point. I look and I I feel weird about discussing too much of this just because I don't want to sort of I don't want to feel like I'm trying to like step on the magic right yeah but where you were going I think is right it is happening it's just a very long process

right like it's you know it's it's giving people what they want yeah in a way they weren't expecting yeah this is all part of that yeah just a yeah you know You don't want to finish the, he's going to finish the story, right? Well, if he'd finish the story already, then what would his story be now? This episode is brought to you by Blue Chew. And if you've ever been thinking of trying Blue Chew, how about your first month for free?

Yeah, when you use the promo code CVV at checkout at bluechew.com, you'll get your first month for free. You just have to pay $5 for shipping. Guys, this is the same active ingredients as Viagra, Seales, and Lovietra, but it's in chewable tablets and a fraction of the cost. And the best part, it's all done online. There's no doctor's visits, no awkward conversations, no waiting in line at the pharmacy. And look, even if you don't struggle in the bedroom department, this is kind of a fun thing to try. And I promise you, the Mrs. or the girlfriend or whoever it is is going to be a big fan of this too.

Bluechew.com. Use that promo code, CVV at checkout, and you get your first month for free. You just have to pay $5 for shipping. That's bluechew.com. The promo code is CVV. There's lots more to get to in this conversation, but this episode is brought to you by Mudwater. I love mud water.

I drink it every day now as part of my morning routine. And no, I'm not actually drinking mud. Mudwater is a coffee alternative. made with four adaptogenic mushrooms. So it has just a fraction of the caffeine of a cup of coffee, and you get all of the same energy, but without the jitters or without the crash or without the poor sleep that is sometimes associated with coffee.

And look, I get it. A lot of people drink coffee because it's something that they've done for years. It's a part of a routine. Or you like just the taste of it, but it doesn't have the same effect that it used to have. It doesn't pack that punch anymore, and you find that a little while after drinking it, boom, you just crash. I definitely encourage you to give mudwater a try.

And if you go to mudwater.com slash CVV, that's M-U-D-W-T-R.com slash CVV. Or if you use that code, CVV-15, you'll get 15% off your order of mudwater. I love this stuff. I now can't live without it, and I know that you're going to love mudwater, too. So I recently had Kurt Engel on the show. And I think people forget he was in TNA for 10 years. Right. Longer than WWE.

Way longer than WWA. And I asked him, like, you were there for so long, what, in your opinion, were the prime TNA years? You were there for seven years. Yeah. What's your answer for you? Well, I think I came in at the peak. Like, 08.

I came in, I was signed in 08, but I didn't actually start until 09. I felt, I feel like 08, 09 was like the peak. So that's like Hogan and Spike T.B? No, prior to Hogan. Right before Hogan, I think, is the, is peak TNA. I felt like, I felt like they misjudged. There was, I felt like some of the decisions that were made, you know, like with Eric and Hogan were, you know.

you're saying still under Russo, right? If you want to put it like that, yeah, I guess. I think of it more as when there was that balance of Dixie, Jeff Jarrett, you know, Vince, Cornett, Dutch Mantel. There was a melting pot of philosophies and ideas, Jeff being the sort of wrestling, sort of talisman, right? Like the sort of that kept everything pointed in the direction of drawing money or trying to draw money and, you know, trying to sort of have payoffs and, you know, trying to sort of build to, you know, significant conclusions. I think Dutch is brilliant at that too. Dutch is such an underrated mind like behind the scenes of wrestling. He was a fabulous agent, producer, whatever you want to call it. He was a great booker.

and I listen to his podcast now because I just love listening to him break down the business because he just knows it. Like you just like he that that way of thinking cannot die out. It's absolutely imperative that people learn from people like Dutch, right? And whether people want to want to accept it or like it or not from Cornette. You know, WW has Michael Hayes. That's the same, right? Michael Hayes, I'll say this at the risk of coming across like a massive brown noser,

right? But just in the short time that I've been sort of, you know, privy to some of those discussions, Michael Hayes is such an important voice back there, like, because he just cuts through the, he cuts through the people trying to sort of tread carefully and, you know, trying not to, I don't want to say Michael goes out of his way to, like, hurt people's feelings. I not what I mean, but Michael cuts through the chaff, right, and just says, hey, it's got be like this, you know, and you go, yep, yep, that's it, right? And I'll say this too, again, at the risk of coming across like a massive sucker. But, you know, Hunter is like, I don't know if people really fully understand.

Just how like sharp he is as far as like a wrestling mind like finishes and you know executing a certain piece of business. It's like people could be sort of kicking something around and like I've even I can say even there's the short time of that like I've seen him just immediately go oh it's this this isn't this and you suddenly go oh yeah. You know like and I had this conversation with regal. And I was sort of explaining that. And I said, like, I like to sort of give myself enough credit to think that, like, I might have thought of that in, like, two hours. You know, like, if I'd had enough time to really, like, flesh it out and, like, go talk to a few people and, like, you know, bounce it around a bit. But it's like, he just, like, like, right. There it is.

And you go, oh, man, you know. So what are you most proud of from the time you spend in TNA? I think breaking the glass ceiling. I won the world title. You know, a Brit had never done that. Like, and I'm not, you know, I, the irony is, is that guys like Dutch or Russo and people who were working behind the scenes back then might laugh at that now because one of the things I used to say a lot and I'm sure it drove them crazy was I would be like, I don't

want to be known as a British guy, right? Like, stop just, you know, it doesn't matter if I'm British. a shit, you know, because I'd be like, I don't, I don't want to be the token British guy. Like, I just want to be, like, I want to be a top guy. Like, it doesn't matter where I'm from, right? And then I won, you know, and then I won the world title. And there was like this outpouring of, like, love and support from British fans. He was, he's like the first British guy to, like, win a world title.

And I was like, oh, my God. You know, da, da, da, da, da. And I was like, oh, yeah, there's sort of, you know, like, suddenly you're like, all patriotic again, you know. So, you know, I think both things can be true. But, you know, that, look, I was it, I guess that was, that was, that was part of it that I didn't, that I wasn't really thinking about. And then once it came, I sort of went, well, that is kind of cool. And. It's also how you want it. Yeah. But to look at. Be it sting. Well, I beat, no, I beat Jeff Hardy to win it. But I beat, but yeah, to get it to beat sting. Well, look, that is, as I was going to say that next, like, that's the other thing, you know, that I will never. never stop appreciating is that, you know, sting for whatever reason, like back when I, you know,

when there was, when he had no reason to other than to just because he wanted to and because he had a gut feeling, he said, I want to work with that kid, you know, give me him. And it's like, you know, I remember like literally being like, you know, me, you know. And Steve just being like, yeah, I told him I wanted to work with you. And I was just kind of like, okay, holy shit. Wow. Right. Like, this is a funny story.

So the first of my Russell Sting was on an episode of Impact, right? And I think I'd been there like six months, not even, right? Something like that. And I'm part of the tag team with Doug Williams, you know, I'm part of the British invasion. So I go out and he goes out and Doug comes out with me and I'm stood in the ring and I'm, you know, sort of doing my sort of, you know, heel stick. and then stings music hits like place goes bonkers or whatever yeah and i like for a minute i just like forgot where i was and i was just sort of standing there going like and dug and dug literally

snapped me out of it and went hey like game face you know like and he's like game face all right you know go get him sort of thing and then went you know and then got out the ring wow like because i think he could see like i was like for a second there i's like forgot like oh shit i've got to go to work here in a second. That's, you know, that's what it meant to me. And then, you know, Sting also, you know, like, allowed me to call the match and, you know, that's like, I look back on it now and go, that was, like, astonishing, you know, that I was trusted with that, you know, at 21 or whatever it was.

Wow. Yeah. There was someone you worked with in Impact. And NWA. Eli Drake. Yeah. Who, I've known for years. you've known for years.

And now the WWE audience is getting to know just how damn good he is. Killing it. Yeah. Look, it doesn't come as any surprise to me. And I don't think it has come as much of a surprise to anybody who's really, like, followed his stuff in the last few years. I see it as, you know, great inspiration. And, you know, there's hope yet, right?

Because it's like, dude, he, he's, he's, he's on he's like literally like on the ascent now and it could be the run of a lifetime. Yeah. When I interviewed you last was the day that he cut the now infamous shoes of a champion pro. Oh right. Yeah. Yeah. See this jacket?

Shoes of a champion. Little did we know being there that that would be a thing people are talking about now. Right, right. Three years later, I think. Yeah. Well, like that's like I was saying before, you got to do something that cuts through the norm and, you know, that sort of resonates and that people you know it's going to be hard you know it's going to be hard to stand out if you're always trying to fit in you know what I mean and like with that it's like

take a risk take chances like he took he he took risks right and like finally you know it's paid off what do you think's the biggest risk that you've taken uh turning down the competition you know uh i like i hate to sort i hate to sort of i hate to sort of you know you know make it seem that way. But, you know, that is, I just, at the time, I wasn't, I wasn't ready to to walk away from what I was doing. I felt a loyalty, you know, to that because I, because I, because I was, I was building something. And this is the other part that I've never really talked about much, but like, Tom Lam was one of my best friends, right? Best man at my wedding. you know, went through some tough stuff, you know, and has turned his life around clean and sober

for years now, like, settled, married, like, model citizen, like model employee, one of the best wrestlers in the world right now. And he was about to have a full-time job, you know, with the NWA. And, you know, Camille has a full-time gig, right? And, like, there's, like, there was other guys who got full-time gigs. And if I had walked away at that point, I felt like it would have made things really difficult for them to survive. And that's not me being arrogant and like saying, oh, I wouldn't, you know, would have fallen apart without me.

But at that particular time, it would have been very difficult. Yeah. They would have made things very difficult. And then that would have meant that those opportunities evaporated for, you know, people I cared about. So I don't regret it, right? Like it was not, you know, but it was a chance I took because I, you know, because it was like, you know, the train doesn't always stop twice, right? And I, I kind of knew that at the time. Like, this train might leave the station and, you know, and there may not ever be another chance to jump on it, right? Sure wasn't an easy decision.

It wasn't. It wasn't. But I'm proud of, I'm proud of, you know, why did, like, I've, I've, I've, I've been met with a lot of, like, hostility from certain fans about it, like, as if, like, as if somehow I'd sort of, you know, like it was, take it personally. Yeah, right, right. Like, it was some sort of, you know, like, with us or against us sort of thing. And I was, and I, you know, never, it was never about that. It was, I knew, I knew, I knew that place was going to. up, right? Like, you know, I mean, because of the momentum of the guys involved, I'd been, look, I was part of all in, you know, like, like, I'd seen it. And, and then to know, oh, man, now they're connected with Tony Kahn with this incredible amount of resources. And, you know, he's clearly, like, he's, he's going for it. Like, he's not going to stop. Yeah. So I knew what it, what it was, it was absolutely nothing to do with that. It was 100% personal, you know, for me, because I wanted to, because I, because I, I,

I didn't want to let my my people down. That was it. But I mean, look what you built from that. You know, I think that it's certainly in recent memory. You're, when people think of the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship, they think of you. Yeah. And so many people talk about how you made it mean something again. Right.

And that's a huge compliment when you consider the people that have held it. I mean, come on. Yeah. And for whatever happens to it now and, you know, whatever, get, wherever it goes, at least now when the lineage of that championship is discussed, it's like there is this other really significant chapter, right? Like after Dory Funk and Jack Briscoe, after Harley Race, after Rick Flair and Ricky Steamboat and, you know,

now there's this other really significant chapter, right? Like Alderson Cody and, you know, and then the original NWA power run and that sort of thing. Yeah, so it's obviously, yeah. in that respect. Look, I've always been, I've always taken pride in the fact that I'm business. You know, like, I don't want to get too sentimental. But at the same time, yeah, like, at some point, you've got to look at your body of work,

and that's a big part of mine. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. soccer podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Klinembourg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Time's ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really stick. they're claiming and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it.

Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Henko. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. I know you've spent a lot of time with Brett Hart. Yeah. I'm really curious what the big takeaway from spending time with Brett is for you. Um, well, it's been the, it's been a huge honor of my life to get the sort of endorsement of Brett, right? Like I heard him in an interview recently discussing his son's promotion in Calgary, you know, dungeon wrestling and saying like, oh, we've got a goal. It's like one of the best wrestlers in the world.

And I was just like, oh, you're like Brett. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because Brett's like, he's my guy, you know, he's the one. and just getting to just getting to talk shop with him right and like hear his take on things and hear him discuss things in more detail and also getting to hear him say things that he wouldn't say on camera wouldn't say and look let's face it there's not a lot he wouldn't say but you know there's still going to be stuff that he's not going to say to anybody except like somebody you trust in the appear right like um and just you know just just just just just

listening to his philosophy on things and listening to him break down stuff. And, you know, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I'm, I, I'm, I'm, it's like, I'm getting to go, you know, it'd be like, I'm getting to go play football with Pelley, you know, or like, you know, I'm going to go hit with, you know, Babe Ruth, I don't know, some, you know, right, give me a name, you know, but, yeah, and he's going, hey Nick what do you think of this? Yeah. Like I've got an idea for your match. Like he's been thinking about it.

Like he's literally going like, I've got an idea for your match. Wow. And I'm going like, that's amazing. That's incredible. You think about me when I'm not here? Yeah. Like I had this really great idea already. Or like he said, oh, I've got this idea for a finish that, you know, so and so and so

and so did in, you know, in 1988 or something. And it's like, I think you could do it. I think you could pull it off, you know, and all that sort of thing. It's like that's a huge compliment to get that from a guy like him. So Brett's your guy. What's your Brett match? My personal favorite is Brett and Perfect from King of the Ring, which is, I mean, look, there's so many Brett matches. Of course. But for whatever reason, Brett and Perfect from King of the Ring 93, for whatever reason, that's the match that I watch more than any other Brett match. I think it's because it's like a perfect storm of like, I think that's the sort of match you can show to someone who's not a wrestling fan. right and be like watch this and tell me you didn't enjoy it yeah you know it wasn't like it's

rugged it's believable it's athletic it's it tells a great story it's like it's like competitive there's this sort of one-upsmanship like I'll do this to you and then you do this to me and it's like you don't have to be familiar with there's no angle really going into it because it's part of a tournament there's no real sort of um the emotion is built during it and that's what you know Kurt Henning was such a master of his craft. Like he could just do, he could start like on the straight and narrow and then like little, you know, do a little thing. Like there's a bit where early on where he, he holds on to the rope to like break, you know,

to get a rope break. And then just like throws a little like doesn't actually connect, but it's just enough to like make everybody know like, oh, this guy's kind of a jerk. You know, he's not full on going like, oh, shut up. You know, not going like full on obnoxious pro wrestler yet. He's like just doing little things. And then, you know, it's like he lets Brett through the ropes and then gets him with a cheap shot and carries. But he doesn't hit one cheap shot and then, like, walk and talk.

Like, you know, he gets right down, you know, so he's going like, oh, my God, like, he's sneaky, but he's good, you know, which is kind of how you want to feel about a heel. Yeah. You want him to be like, God, he is good, you know, but I want the other guy to beat, you know, I want the other guy to win, right? Yeah. And the way that that match builds, right? builds and builds and builds, it stays so competitive all the way through. And then the finish with the,

he comes in and it's like, again, Kurt being the gun who's leaning a little bit, he's like, he's milking, he's pretending to be hurt. He's milking injury so he can like, oh, snatches a quick inside cradle,

one, two, and then Brett flips it, one, two, three. So it's like, you know, in the space of like five seconds, you're taking on this, oh no, yes, uh, you know,

like it's, this is like a master class right now. because I think there's a lot of people that go, you're already a wrestler, you don't need to watch wrestling anymore because you are doing wrestling all the time. For you to talk about the minute details of this match that happened 30 years ago.

Well, that can only happen with truly great matches, though. It's like you can watch that match and every time you'll see something else that you didn't see before. That's incredible. And the fact that you just broke down all these tiny little things that none of us would have ever seen is amazing.

Well, maybe. Stop being so humble. that that's incredible yeah i love that match clearly yeah yeah i mean look and there's so many other brett matches i love but yeah like and i think the other thing i would add to that too is that uh for me i've always been like a big picture guy i've always been someone who looks at the entire thing like i've always felt like a successful uh pro wrestling match on television is is not a combination of the two wrestlers it's a team effort but between the two wrestlers, the referee, the agent, the Booker, the TV director, the cameraman,

the commentators, the announcers makes such a difference, right? Like, and I think, you know, because I've wondered before, like, why did that match out of all of Brett's matches? Why is that the one that, like, resonates with me more? Why is that the one that I go back to you more often than others? But I think a big part of it's because JR is on the call, you know, and not to take anything away from who else it would have been, like I guess at that period of time, we asked before him, it would have been a monsoon, you know, but it's like, Monsoon was phenomenal too. I, you know, but at that point, J.R. was coming in, like, coming off, he was so full of

energy, like, from his, you know, because he, and J.R. was, you know, when, you know, when, you know, Pete J.R. was the best, right? But it was J.R., Bobby the Brain Heenan, who, to me, I think, is probably the best overall talent in wrestling history. You can do it all. the most talented performer, like in probably, like, in terms of, like, he could do anything. Manager, you know, commentator, stick him on a talk show, you know, he's there, like, making Bob Costas, who hates wrestling, and he's got Bob Costas just, like, beating out of his hand, right?

Like Bobby Hean, I could talk about Bobby Heenan for days. And you got Savage, you know, who, like, the Savage, you know, obviously, little polarizing when it comes to his commentating, but on that particular one, like, you could tell that Savage loved the match. You could tell that all those guys were, like, enjoying it. Like, there's a, there's a moment in that where, like, Bobby goes, what a great match. Like, it's almost like he's sort of forgotten that he's supposed to be.

You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. And, like, JR's so on his game. Heen's so on his game. He just throws in just enough stuff in there about like, oh, see, that's perfect. He learned that from me, you know, like, that's why he's where he is because of my psychology. And, you know, yeah, shut up, Bobby, you know, that doesn't even dignify a remark. Like, they would just do it.

Everything was perfect. Yeah. Like, there was just the right amount of, like, J.R. calling the action. Yeah. And he's just so on his game, you know, and he's, and again, he's like digging into their past, like, oh, these two men are both second generation stars. Their fathers were big, brawling, rough, you know, like he's, and these guys are so

technically sound, you know, like, really sort of digging into like all of the things that made that match so compelling. And they, you know, they're painting the picture too, right? Like, Brett and perfect are the artists, right? but the commentators of the frame and, you know, they're the ones sort of giving you the, giving you the full picture. They're the ones putting the seasoning on this steak, you know, it's just like the whole, it's all goes together, all of it.

The amount of passion you had telling that story. So good. When we talked last time, you told me the great story of how you and Mickey met. Yes, I'm a looking and I'm a liking. And then when I interviewed her, she told me her version of it, which is very simple. What do you mean her version? It's the same story. Right, right, right.

What's one thing about Mickey James that fans may not know, but they would appreciate to know. Gosh. That they wouldn't know? Yeah, they may know Mickey James the performer. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don't know if they know this or not. So, well, she's a wonderful mother.

you know and she she we have a very really good balance in the house like we've sort of you know part of a successful marriage particularly once your parents is sort of is picking up the slack

you know for each other at certain times like there are times where it's like I heard someone describing this and I wish I could remember who it was but they were talking about how they described their energy levels with their spouse, right, where they sort of went, man, I'm, I'm struggling today. I'm at like a three. I need you to be at seven, you know? And I wish I could remember who

was saying that because I thought that resonated with me so well because, like, we've, we never articulated like that, but we have that same kind of, you know, dynamic. And like, I know that there are certain things that, like, she's going to be much more enthusiastic about doing than me and vice versa. Like, I'm the morning person. Like, I wake up and I'm like alert and I'm ready and I'm focused. I'm going to sort of, I'm typically doing the school run and, you know, breakfast and all that.

But she's typically doing like the homework and, you know, the, like, because by the time I get to the evening, like, if I've been up and doing that and now like working a bit on the business, going to train, you know, maybe been doing some video editing, whatever it may be. it's like now I'm starting to, now I'm starting to decline, right? So it's like, and, you know, just, we had that great sort of symbiotic sort of relationship, right? And a lot of nonverbal communication. But I don't know if that covers your question necessarily, but, but, you know, she's a great wife and mother. That actually really resonates with me now that I'm a new father.

Yes, congrats. Thank you. Thank you. And I feel, you know, every time I go and, you know, work and for work, work for me a lot of times is doing something like this, which is awesome and great. I could just share conversations with. You enjoy it, but it's still work. Yes, but it's tough because I'm leaving my wife, Rachel and daughter Logan. And whether you, matter how much you love it or not, which is a blessing if you get to, you know, do what you love for a living, still, it's a, it's a pull on your energy, right?

Yeah. And it requires energy. Yeah. And that really speaks to me. the idea of like balancing that out a three or seven or whatever it happens to be like hey today i need you to like and you know and and and knowing that at some point it's going to be the other way around like you know all right you're you're a three today okay i'll be at a seven like i'll be there yeah yeah i was shocked to find out you mentioned it here that you you edit video and you edited a lot

of the stuff for the nw yeah yeah what do you edit on by the way um uh phil more is what i use mostly wonder yeah i don't i'll tell you what it's usually premiere or final i have from i do have Premiere as well. I do use Premiere sometimes for stuff that, if it has to be a bit more intricate, like a little bit more advanced. But I don't know, man, I don't know why

Phil Mora, but I just, it's like the interface and the for whatever reason, their particular way of doing things just really resonates with my intuition. You know, it's like a lot of that was a very intuitive with me and I just found it was like right away I could it was it was very easy like and and so I wasn't having to worry about like the technical as much as I could just focus on the

creative you know yeah um yeah I know I I know I say that to people when they go oh really you know like I said you know I'm not I'm by no means an expert and I don't know I'm sure people listening to this have been like what he doesn't use final cut no I know I use a program called edius have you heard of edius no the only reason I use that is because it was free when I worked at the TV station I worked at. Gotcha. They gave me a laptop that had Eddieus on. Right, right.

Sure. Sounds good. I don't want to spend the money on buying a software if I don't have to. Yeah. Like I said, I don't know why Phil Moore just works for me, but I just kind of, I got it and stuck it on and had to play around with it.

And within a day, I sort of went, yeah, this is, I can work. I can, this is easy. I can use this well. And so,

yeah, that's, you know, like I'm, like I was, I'm an enthusiast. You know, I'm certainly not a professional, right? When I, the reason I hired an editor eventually, and I edited,

gee, I started editing my first videos in 2000, the year 2000, when I was 17 years old. I hired an editor not long ago because I'm like, I'm like a four out of ten when it comes to editing. Right. Why not pay someone who's a ten out of ten at editing so I can focus on the thing that I'm more passionate about, which is this aspect of it? If someone watching this right now wants to use a coupon code at legacy subs.com, which one should they use? Oh, well.

Should we create one right now? We could do CVV. There it is. CVV. Okay, great. We'll get that. We'll get that active right away afterwards, legacy subs.com. Okay.

Yeah. What's the top selling product? Our best seller, two best sellers, test X-9 is a natural test booster and recovery PM or sleep aid. I mean, we have people, you know, we've, we've, you know, we've, we've, we've, we've, we've, launched a company a couple of years ago and we've, you know, we've, we've really, really pleased and very grateful to our customers. I mean, we've served thousands of customers, you know, around the world. But the thing that's really, that's rewarding is that we have a really, really high retention rate. Like, we have a really high amount of people who come back over and over.

So it's like, and the sleep aid in particular is one where people come back and go, I can't live without this stuff. Now I love it. It's just, it's really helped me. And, you know, sleep is such an, it's such an under, under discussed, uh, element to really sort of unleashing your potential and really sort of unlocking, um, a higher, a better sense of well-being and, and performance all around. Like if you can really, if you can get a consistent high quality sleep, like some people really are just astonished at how much it like improves everything else in your life, like, suddenly your workouts are better, but you're also like you feel more alert, you're happier, you know, you're sort of feeling, and, you know, suddenly you're going like, oh, I'm getting

leaner and I don't know, you know, because like, because your body's actually having a chance to sort of everything you do when you're, when you're working out or focusing on your nutrition and stuff like that, you're giving your body all this data, you know, but then you have to give your body a chance to process the data and actually take the action. and that happens when you sleep. So if your sleep's messed up, none of that stuff is ever really going to fully like testosterone.

That's one of the reasons why when I started looking into this stuff, when I launched a company, I said, nobody has ever made the connection in terms of like supplementation with like testosterone boosting and sleep. Because the majority of your testosterone release occurs while you sleep. Right?

So I said, okay, the ultimate test stack is going to be test X-9 T-assist, which is more stuff to facilitate testosterone, but also to help inhibit estrogen and make sure that those levels stay where they're supposed to be. And then with the sleep aid. So like you do these two, then you follow it up with the sleep aid.

So that the combination and all you're, you know, if you're working out and your diet's good and everything like that, when you go to sleep, you're getting the deep sleep that you need. for those processes to actually kick in and take effect. Yeah. And that's, that particular stack, the ultimate test stack, is the one where guys have, you know, given us feedback of like,

oh my God, like it's, you know, it's totally, totally changed my life. We had a guy who, and it's funny because I've never used this in like official advertising material because I feel like it would be a little bit bad faith. But we had a guy reach out to us and go, my, I, we had, I had a, I had a, I had a, I had one child and my wife and I have been trying for like two years to have a second child and nothing worked and we've done fertility drugs and we've done this and done that and I've done all these things and he goes I'm just telling you I started using the ultimate test stack and for after a few weeks later like we find nothing of hadn't changed anything else like that was the only

thing I could think of that was different and we and we have our we have our second kid on the way and I were reading it being like babe look at the read this like look at this guy And they'd be like, we can't use this. We can't go like, hey, everyone. But it was, you know, to see something like that, it's rewarding. And you go, okay, like, cool. You know, it's not like, I don't feel like a snake oil salesman, right? Like, it's like.

Yeah. So now that everybody is sold because their test is going to be boost and they're going to sleep better. So many people that are listening to this or watching this are going, oh, my gosh, I can sleep better? Oh, my gosh. Thank you. CVV will get them how much percent off? 20 percent. 20%. Oh my God. We didn't even talk about this beforehand. 20%.

There we. CVV. 20% off. CVV. LegacySups.com. There it is. I don't think I was asking you this question, but I end every conversation with the same question now. And by the way, thank you for such a great conversation. Thank you for inviting me into your beautiful home here. Introducing me to your lovely dog, pixie that's behind you. Pixie Carter, yeah. That's not actually. That's not a real name. Just pixie. I just add that extra bit onto the voice. But thank you for this great conversation. And I'm excited to see what's next for you. I feel like you've got a lot left to go.

You've got a lot more matches left too. I appreciate that. Well, we'll see. It's nice to know that there are options. That's the thing I'm grateful for. And you lead me right into our next question because gratitude is such an important heart of my life. What are three things in your life?

that you're grateful for right now? Well, very, you know, very, right off the bat. Yeah, you know,

I have a happy, healthy son. Um, you know, that I have a, a great marriage, uh, and opportunities,

you know, because it's very easy. I think, I think sometimes I think, I think especially recently in a, in, in, you know,

the culture that's sort of being fostered by, you know, bad faith media and social media and things like that is a victimhood becomes a bit of a currency, you know, everyone wants to sort of go, I'm a victim of this. And it sort of gets traded in this way of like, it's not my fault, right? Like, and it's really easy. And look, in our business, it's cutthroat. There's not that many spots, right? There's a lot of people trying to get, like, one, you know, like a very small number of spots. And it's very easy to, start focusing on all the things that didn't happen for you. And, you know, I try to remind myself of, like, think of all the things that did happen for me,

right? Like, for example, if, uh, if I'd have, you know, been one of those guys that was fortunate and got, like, picked up and by WWE right, really early on and stuck in the developmental system and then, you know, groomed and, you know, put on TV, maybe I'd be a multi-millionaire by now, which would be wonderful. But. I also, you know, I wouldn't, maybe I wouldn't know the wrestling business the way I do because, you know, this is not, this, I'm not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, but, you know, the wrestling business is one thing and WW is a different thing, right? And I've seen guys come out of WWE who had that sort of scenario and, and they're lost at sea when they leave because they don't know, because they don't really know the wrestling business, you know, and so I'm sort of go, well, man, I, it's, I'm, you know, I'm, you know, I'm in my 30s and I have, and I'm, and I hear these conversations. and people will discuss all these sort of really significant figures in wrestling history. And I get to go, oh, I've worked with them, you know, oh, I know him. I've met him, you know, Jim Cornett, Jerry Jarrett, Vince Russo, you know, Bruce Pritchard,

you know, like all sorts of different, important historical, you know, figures in our industry. And because of my sort of very, you know, wild ride of sort of different opportunities and things, come along and it's like i've got to you know i've got to work with some even billy you know like i like you know it's when i look back at my you know the sort of tapestry of my life and my career stuff it's like to be able to it's a pretty interesting yeah it's a pretty interesting tapestry you know yeah i got to work with this guy and that guy and i did this and i did that and you know so i i don't focus on the things that didn't happen for me i focus on the things that did and i focus on the things that that will you know and and just and you know you have to be ready to you just have to be

ready to to make the most of anything that does come along like the NWA thing or like you know other things like that you know if you're always if you're always willing to have an open mind and open heart and be ready to tackle something head on with conviction it's like great things can happen you just you just have to sort of you have to stay positive and be ready I think that's a great way to end this but Thank you. Again, it's always so good to see you. Yeah, likewise. And I love how you want to talk about having an open mind and an open heart. I feel like every time we share a conversation, that's what we get. So I appreciate that. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, sir. There we go. Man, I love talking to him. He is so well spoken. And we had such a great conversation before we started rolling what you just heard there. And then afterwards with him and Mickey. And I just feel like we're going to see. something big from Nick before the end of the year. And that's not something that he told me.

That's just me saying he is far too talented to not be signed somewhere. So I will definitely be watching for what's next for him. In the meantime, legacy subs.com use that code CVV for a very generous 20% off. And I think that after what he was saying there with the sleep and the testosterone, I mean, now I am, yes, now I am taking legacy subs. And I feel like you probably will want to as well. Snap a screenshot. Let us know what stood out for you the most from this conversation and tag us so we can share it out. He's at real Nick Aldous on Twitter.

He's just Nick Aldous on Instagram. It's just his name. And I'm at Chris Van Fleet. And I love this quote. Because it's all about taking chances and betting on yourself. And that's a theme here with Nick. This is from Charlie Wardle. And by the way, all these quotes are in the show notes if you ever like, oh man, who said that?

Or what exactly was that quote? It's all in the show notes if you're ever looking for one of these. This one is, a bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings. Oh, that's good. That is so good. Be great. Be grateful. Hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did.

see you on the next one for some more insight. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media

about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it. Get up in here. The Jim Rome show. podcast. What should be? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.