Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Nick Aldis on NWA, marrying Mickie James, why he didn't sign with WWE, leaving TNA, NWA Powerrr

Episode Date: January 28, 2020

The NWA World's Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis sits down with Chris Van Vliet at the NWA Powerrr tapings in Atlanta, GA. He talks about why NWA is the perfect fit for him, meeting his wife Mickie James in TNA, raising their son Donovan, why he never signed with WWE, leaving TNA, wrestling Cody Rhodes at All In and much more! My audio equipment provided by Samson Technologies: http://bit.ly/CVVSamson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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This is the Chris Van Vleet Show. Chris Van Vleet Show. Ladies and gentlemen. Chris Van Vleet! Well, hello again, my friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Chris Van Vleet Show. And thank you so, so much for making this a top ten wrestling podcast in the world. And if you've been watching my interviews, you'll know that a year or a year or

I had Mickey James on the show. Actually, it was exactly a year ago because it was at last year's Royal Rumble in Phoenix. She said, you know who you should interview, Chris? You should interview my husband. And I said, yeah, like 100%. So I've been in contact with Nick Aldous since then. So a year ago, trying to line things up. And it wasn't until this past weekend at NWA's hard time pay-per-view.

I made the eight-hour drive to Atlanta to do this interview with him, which is awesome and six other interviews. So seven interviews in total. So make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on any of those. But I don't need to tell you that. I know you're already subscribed because you're listening, right? Thank you for subscribing. Also, take a screenshot.

Tag me, tag Nick. Let us know what you think of this interview. Let us know what stands out for you. And so many of you have been leaving these five-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thank you so much for that. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. It's the most important thing and the most helpful thing you can do to help the growth of the show. The specific goal for this year is 1,000 reviews.

We're at 630 right now, and it's not even the end of January yet. So I think we're doing okay. D-Drum 77 says CLE loves the CVV. I love Cleveland. So thank you. Great job on asking the real questions. This is the podcast to listen to CVV. is the real deal.

Well, D. Drum 77. Thanks for leaving that review on Apple Podcasts. And I love Cleveland. Miss it. I got to get back there soon. I spent five years in Cleveland, but I've only been back once for like two days. So Cleveland, I'm coming for you soon. And yes, I'm still a Cleveland Browns fan.

It's painful. But yeah, still a Cleveland Browns fan. So NWA has something very special going on. If you've been watching Power, you know exactly what I'm talking about. And if you haven't watched an episode yet, you're totally missing out. Although you wouldn't be listening to this interview with Nick Aldous if you haven't been watching Power. I think the two go hand in hand. They have this amazing combination of nostalgia and present day wrestling mashed together.

Nick Aldus is the world's heavyweight champion, or as he'll tell you, the real world's heavyweight champion. And he's had a really interesting journey. to get here. You might know him as Magnus from TNA, where he was a world champion, but as he describes it in this interview, I think pretty well, he says he's both the most overrated and underrated guy. People always say, oh yeah, Nick, all this, eh, overrated, or Nick all this, man, that guy is underrated. And I think he's exactly right. That is, unfortunately, how a lot of people feel about him. but NWA is just the perfect fit. And he's such a nice guy.

I loved this conversation with him. And I know that you will too. Give it up for the national treasure. Nick Aldous. Well, thank you for bringing this with you. No problem. I understand that that's the part of the act. That's what people want to see.

I mean, well, they want to see you as well. Sure. Yes. But you've had this for so long. Yeah. that you guys are, you know, merged here. Yeah, yeah, just having this conversation with someone downstairs is just, um, you reach that point where you're, you know, if, if, when part of you're actually sort of

you're known as being the world champion, you know, and it's like, that's, it's good, but it's also, you know, more pressure because then it's kind of like, all right, what, what about when you're not, you know? Yeah. I always felt like that about Brett Hart, like, he was my hero and it's like, but, you know, even when he wasn't the champion, it was kind of like, you. They're like, well, that's, he's the champion. You know, yeah.

That's how I always felt about Brett, you know. Well, I think with this new era of NWA, like, you are synonymous with this championship. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, you know, that's what you, that's what should be the, that should be the goal, I feel like, of everyone in their promotion. They should want to be the franchise player of their promotion, you know, because then it's, like, you've, you've done, you've done everything you can do now as an individual. Yeah. So now you're going to try to lift the rest of the business and the brand and everybody around you.

And it's like, man, last night, the, the, the pay-per-view with, we, you know, close the show with the finals of the TV title tournament with Ricky Starks and Trevor Murdoch. And it's like those two guys who we knew because of the work that they've all done and everyone and everyone on the team has done to, and the way the audience responded to those two guys, we knew that that final, they could carry it. Right. You know, even after being out there two more times. Yeah. And that's, and yeah, it all started with this. You know what I mean? It all started here and that's a cool feeling, very gratifying.

So Billy Corgan bought the NWA in 2017. At what point did you start getting involved in conversations? Quite, quite early on. I mean, summer of 2017, I guess, was, yeah, because Mickey and I were in the process of house hunting, moving house hunt, I forget one or the other, but we were, I just remember we were in a hotel. because we were looking for somewhere new to live. And not, not like, but just for the weekend, we had sort of gone there just while we were doing the last bit of stuff.

And Dave called me and Dave Lagana and just kind of said, what's going on with you? You know, like, what are you doing? You know, because, I mean, I'd just like fallen off the face of the earth in wrestling, you know, I just been like, because everyone just assumed that I would go to WWE, like after I finished up with TNA. Yeah. That didn't happen.

And it was like, I did some stuff with Jeff with, you know, global force and, you know, and like whatever and that kind of fizzled out. And I was just, you know, bouncing around like on the independence. Me and Mickey both were. And it was like then she, she got the, you know, she got the opportunity to go back and she did the NXT match with Oscar, crushed it. Vince is like, bring it back full time, you know, is it. then we kind of go, oh, that changes everything.

So, so, and Dave was, I think he was, you know, he was sort of in the same position as a lot of people where they were going, like, what is he, are you, have you quit the business? What are you doing? You know, like, why, like, why are you not in WWE and like what, like, what, why, what else are you doing? You know, like, what's the deal? And I, I just very candidly told him that for whatever reason, there seems to be some sort of problem with WWE. and I just didn't really fit in anywhere else.

You know, like there was this sort of new, like this new style had like taken such a hold on everything, like this, you know, celebrating this very sort of high impact, fast-paced, you know, kind of high-spots style. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it was kind of like, you know, you could, that was where everybody was leaning that way. So, of course, nobody was really thinking, oh, let's have a guy like that.

And so it was just, one of those things you have hot and cold periods and I just was you know I was cold and I and I just went I don't know like I said there's just nothing really there's nothing's grabbing me yeah you know there's nothing that's and if I don't have passion for it like I can't I can't commit you know and it's and then he basically said Billy bought the NWI I said yeah I know I remember seeing the headline and thinking huh I was the thing that most surprised me about it was the fact that I had kept sort of half an eye on on on all the the drama with t and a with him you know with impact and like i just all i could think of was geez like he's like just jumping right back in you know after all of that

debacle and like millions of dollars and you know and just sort of all the stress and everything and i thought now he's bought the n wa and i just remember thinking all right i wonder what he's going to do with that and uh i didn't really give it another thought and then they've started explaining what their philosophy was and their vision for what they wanted to achieve and explain Billy's vision for you know the things he missed in wrestling because I have to explain when Billy came to impact he literally his first day on the job was my last day so we so we kind of you know we say hey how you're doing and he helped produce this one last thing I was in and then it was kind of like all right bye so there was so it was like so there's been this very very very big and

brief sort of professional interaction. And, um, you know, it's, I described to Dave, what I felt was missing in the industry, what I wanted to see more of in the industry and the stuff that grabbed me as a fan. And I basically said, look, I'm a boxing fan, but I'm not a boxing officinado. I love boxing, but I'm not going to, I don't, I can't, I'm not going to watch two Gibroen's fight for no reason. Like, I need to be invested, right? So it's like, it's like, Canello, Triple G was that year, like, you know, obviously Mayweather McGregor, and they'd just done a fabulous job, like, you know, once in a lifetime type of thing. And I go, what happened to the prize fight feel? Yeah. You know, like, what happened to the price fight approach

to promoting, you know, I was like, Vince McMahon's the greatest promoter of all time, but now he's like an executive producer of this giant sort of Nickelodeon wrestling, you know what I mean? And that's nothing against them. Like, they're an incredible business model. But the promoter element has kind of gone. You know what I mean? Like, there isn't that kind of, this is the match. Like, it's like, there's another pay-per-view two weeks from now, you know, and it's too, it's too much.

Like, everything's just kind of, it's a machine. And that's, and again, I can't say I would do anything differently because they're making money hand over fist. Sure. But it left. to me, a gap in the market for, okay, so they're kind of doing their thing of like McDonald's, you know what I mean? Like they're going to be in every corner of the globe and everyone going to, you're going to know what you're getting. You know what I mean? It's like it's reliable. It's there. It's the brand. And then you've got like this, you know, New Japan and then, you know,

the fledgling sort of promotions. And then there's Ring of Honor at the time. and they're kind of offering that that that hipster wrestling you know like that kind of like niche thing right where it's kind of like the cool kid you know the cool kids wrestling and I went I think there's a bunch of people that miss like the classic like irresistible force immovable object

here's the showdown who's going to win and who's going to be the world champion the world champion and we just like I got off the phone with Dave and he goes I well, let me, you know, let me, let me talk to Billy and, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah. Billy called me two minutes later and was just like, just gushing about, like, Dick the bruiser and the crusher and, like, oh, I said, no, I want to do, I want, I want, like, I want, I want,

like, I want, like, I want, I want a bunch of big raw bone men and I want like this, and I want, like, this, and I want like this, and I want like, right, you're speaking my language, just, you know, we can, we can absolutely do that. And between us all, we, you know, we formed what eventually became the 10 pounds of gold series because it was like well what can we do now we don't have a ring we don't have a roster we don't have a i think we have a brand we have like you know you bought this you bought this intellectual property yeah and you have me you know and we have tim storm and it was like we happen to what a gem you know like we just it i remember dave saying to be current champions this guy called tim storm he's like you know he ain't ricky steamboat but

Just let me know what you, you know what I mean? He's like, there's something about this guy, right? And they show me this interview they did with Tim in the classroom. He's a teacher. Yeah. And I just went like that because the promoter in me, like that's how I look at everything, right? Like I look at an opponent. I don't, I don't look at somebody and think like, oh yeah, he's good.

Like I immediately think like, can I make money with him? You know? Because that's how I was taught. Like that's like the guys that I sat under the learning. turning tree of like Kevin Nash and Sting and you know Mick Foley and Kurt like they said you know just can you make money with someone right you know and I just I remember just looking and thinking immediately I just the whole story is just right there like here's this honest to goodness like you know Texas good old boy he's a school teacher he's like the most likable human you could ever meet he's just you

know and but he's also a big imposing raw bone man, you know, like a real red-blooded male. Right. And then you've got this guy in his early 30s, you know, he's had lots of opportunities. He's, you know, he's, he's a lot, in a lot of people's eyes is this sort of typical example of like, you know, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, And I've got a little bit of a chip on my shoulder based on the sort of, you know, the trajectory of my career over the last couple years.

And he's just like, hey man, this is my mountaintop. Like this is the, you know. And it was just, it was. And there's me basically declaring like, I'm coming for that, you know. And it's this kind of like, oh, wait, no, don't take it from him, you know. And it just, it spawned everything because people just kind of went, you've seen this. Like we felt every day we would feel just a little bit more just industry people and. Van Zoh, man, that 10 pounds of gold thing

That caught me off guard. It was interesting, you know, and it's Yeah, I'm so proud of those. Like, you know, go back and and this is, this is interesting because we, I basically had a bunch of bookings. I had a bunch of independent bookings, you know, set. So when we kind of said, okay,

we sort of roughly laid out like what we were going to do, I just said, well, look, I have I've got all these bookings already in place because I started doing some stuff with Tommy Dreamer for House of Hardcore and Tommy deserves some credit actually because right around the same time

he had the same conversation with me where he went like why the hell is nobody tapping into you like what a recent you know what I mean he's kind of going like what the hell like why are you just sitting on the shelf right like and he was like can you come and do some stuff at House of Hardcore he's like you're you know I went and found James who did Marty's original villain vignettes. And I sat down with him when I made some,

we did some interview stuff, I did some villain video, where I just, where I just candidly spoke about like, I don't fit in anywhere, you know? And then I went, and I said, you know, I've been underrated and overrated my entire career. It's the dumbest thing in wrestling, right?

Like, literally every year of my career, there's a bunch of people that say, he's criminally underrated. And then there'll be something like, he's so overrated. You know, it's like, do you like him? You like him or don't like him? That's it.

But like I read and I did this promo with James and I went, fitting in is overrated. And it became like this little thing. And we were playing those vignettes on House of Hardcore and like that became, that coincided with the NWA stuff. So then like we sort of married the two. And that really just that was like the whole thing. And then I said, look, we've got an opportunity here organically to really. recreate the traveling champion thing because I've got these bookings in Australia. I've got these bookings here.

I've got the, you know, all over the country and in Europe. And so we were able to, within the space of one year, you know, defended the title on four different continents. And it was like, and by then it was, you could just feel everybody kind of going, that's cool, you know, retro cool. And was the, were you getting booked or was the championship getting booked? Well, originally I was, these were existing bookings, right? So basically what happened was,

the 10 pounds of goals series started coming out and after about three or four episodes people started going like, hey, this is pretty cool. And so then when I won the championship, they did the surprise thing at CZW and everything, all of these promoters that I was booked for. I had bookings through like the next sort of five or six months and they all within the space of like 48 hours.

Hey, can we make us an NWA championship match now? Like, they're so cool, you know, like, hey, would Dave, you know, would he come and film? Like, you know, can we, can we be part of like the £10 of Gold Series and blah, blah, blah? So we started sort of making these deals with these. We're basically like, hey, you know, if you cover the expenses for Dave to come along. And, you know, and I have traveled all over the world together. Like, you know, like, I wrestled in this, in a building in Belfast that was like below freezing. You know, we like went, you know, to China, Australia, like all over the place.

and he's been with me, like with his camera, you know, getting all this stuff and making these pieces and just, you know, just in real time. And then, you know, obviously, as time progressed, we caught the attention to Cody. And we just used everything as like, okay, what can help the overall growth of the NWA and interned me. And I think that All In was a really big platform. Oh, 100%. That was an incredible match with you and Cody. great platform for this championship. Sure. It became the, the sort of the punctuation point of this

that first year because it was like to be able to look back and think by, you know, we literally started doing the 10 pounds of gold stuff around September of 17 and then September 18, it's like 10,000. And I, and if you can go back and find, I forget, I don't I don't know which episode, but there's one of the very early ones where I said, I'm visualizing defending this in a full arena, in a sold out building. You have to. It's the only way to do it. You have to believe. And I'm not talking about like spiritual, you know, mumbo-jumbo. I mean, like, you've got to have a 100% conviction and the courage enough to speak it and put it out there into the energy to say, I'm going to take this from, from, you know, where it was to,

it to, I'm going to, you know, I'm going to make this feel like the real world championship again. And so to then get to Cody and I and like, you know, that, you know, for fans, I understand that the finish is, it was the moment, you know, for them. But for me, the opening bell was the moment. That was my win. You know what I mean? Well, the rest of us were all crying at the end. Sure. Because at the, you know, at the beginning, Earl, does the instructions, rings the bell, and the whole place just stands, you know, and just starts rumb. And it's like, you can't you can't you can't you can't you can't create it it just has to happen and we and it's

like that was the big win for me as the as the protagonist yeah antagonist sorry yes i'm the protagonist in the in the 10 pounds of most of the time in the 10 pounds of goals or but and that was the antagonist you mentioned it earlier why didn't things work out with wa i don't know honestly it's like your wife works there it seems like yeah that that's that's that's almost like that's almost kind of more of a problem. Ah. Like, because then you, then you're, then I'm, I'm looking at it then thinking, well, is this, you know,

is this a favor or is this, you know, and, or it, or then it just becomes, oh, well, that's just an extra, you know, complication we don't want to have to worry about. The reality is, Chris, I, that there's somebody there, who, who is very, very successful, who, you know, for whatever reason, decided that he didn't want to have anything to do with me, you know, because of some of his actions on a personal level. And I just, you know, it's one of those weird things.

They can't, like, there's no way to address it. And I just, you know, and I had, you know, and I had, I've had conversations with them over the years. And I just, and I honestly, I just got to a point where I just went, I'm done chasing that dragon, you know? Like, it's ultimately, what's my vision here? Is it to be in the WWE, or is it to be a big time pro wrestler? Because you don't, you know, yeah, there's one way obviously provides a much quicker path to the other, but it's not the only path.

Yeah, and that one person is probably not going anywhere in WWE. So you've created a much better thing here on your own. Sure. And, you know, And what I realized was, if that's the case, and of course no one will confirm or deny, right? Like, everyone just, I don't know. We can all speculate, though. Sure, sure, sure.

But here's the thing. If that is the case, then what would happen if I did go? You know, like it wouldn't make any difference even if I did go because it clearly it wouldn't be, it would still be problematic. So it's just like, all right, cool. Like, I'll go over here and make a big deal. make a big deal or something else. When you were kind of in that limbo period before everything happened with NWA,

what was the plan? I, well, like I said, I had started talking to James about, you know, doing some, because Marty was a bit of inspiration. You know what I mean? Because for so many years, you know, he'd been sort of struggling and toiling and right

and trying to get, you know, trying to get something to work for himself. He's also the overrated, underrated guy. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, 100%. And then suddenly, you know, the villain hits, and it's like, and he's off to the races, and it's like bullet club and, you know,

and he's like, he's the hot property, right? And so there was, you know, there was some very, very early kind of talks with Ring of Honor and like different, you know, but it was like, I knew that I had to find, like I needed a reinvention, you know what I mean? I needed to sort of reestablish. sure is because everyone's memory move was just this product of TNA. Yeah.

You know, like they had never really seen Nick Aldous. You know, they had seen the entire part, my entire TNA career is a struggle of me trying to, me trying to do me and whoever it was in charge at the time trying to, trying to say, no, you're this guy. This is what you are, you know. And so I'd always find somewhere in the middle and it didn't work, you know. And it's like, even was the world champion, it was just like, you know and then like once I suddenly went I can do what I want I can now I can okay cool like you

you can shape the character yeah like that's why I tell young guys now like it's progressed just in the span of my career it's progressed from you used to send send a promo picture you know but email then it was like then you had to send a promo picture and a link to a you know maybe a YouTube YouTube link or a video of a match. Now you, like, now you've got to produce vignettes, you know, like, if you're going to stand out, you know, if you're going to get booked and, you know, you're going to make it, make an impression. Like, now you've got to, like, produce, you know, you've got to, like, be a producer and director.

Like, Ricky Starks, perfect example. I happened to see somebody retweet, you know, like his, his, uh, 1,800 Starks line vignettes. And I just, I just took one look and went, p. sent it straight to Dave and Billion and went, I don't know if this guy, I don't know anything about this guy, but I can make a pretty safe bet that if he's willing to invest that much in himself, he's good.

So you were the guy that put Ricky Starks in there. Yes. Oh, wow. Absolutely. So I saw, I happened to, I came across the vignette on Twitter and went, that guy's money. But this is the world we live in now. There's no gatekeepers anymore. You know, we don't have to have a vignette produced by NWA or Impact.

or WWE, you can go out with your phone and some decent editing software and do what Ricky is doing. Yeah. And, you know, we're independent contractors, which, you know, we can be, we can discuss the merits or drawbacks of that till the cows come home. But the one thing you have to say is, like, you are an entrepreneur, right? And if you're an entrepreneur, you, you don't have to be good at everything. Like, I'm, I'm not a good editor, you know, I, but I have, I am a good producer. I can see in my mind's eye what I want something to look and feel like. But I don't have the technical skills, but I'll just find someone who does. Right.

And then double down on your strengths. Sure. Which makes perfect sense. Right, right. And it's just like, you know, just you need a team. You know, it's all of this, you know, the power, you know, the success we've had, it's a team. It's all, it's understanding like this is, these are strengths, these are weaknesses.

Like, you know, this will set him off. This will set him off. you know, and all this kind of thing, is understanding personalities too, and it's navigating the whole thing. I always say that I think the reason why, for the most part, are booking or creative, whatever we want to call it, is consistent and solid, is because there's like a three-headed monster here. There's Billy who's very creative and very artistic with, you know, very sort of out of the box. I mean, look at, you know, look at his life and career. It's like, you know, that's his, that's his, that's his world, right? And then there's Dave who's very television oriented, very, and very much on like new media,

very, very on the pulse of like what, what needs, what certain things need to be covered in order to get eyeballs on it and get attention and, and obviously his own writing and creative background. And he kind of leans a little bit more towards like, stick, you know, slapstick and funny kind of stuff a little bit. And then there's me with the very, with the very serious like wrestling, you know, booking 101 and the very like prize fight approach promoting sort of style. So those three influences sort of shape the overall variety of the show. Does that mean you have a job like a behind the scenes job? Not not officially.

Okay. You know, like it's there's there's, I'm not officially, you know, but I mean, because we're a, we're a small team, you know, we're a start. But, but obviously. considering the fact that the entire thing was sort of based off of a show about me, like obviously I'm kind of involved in the process. And then when it comes to this stuff, it's like, you know, it's just a, it's just a discussion. And I'm not the only one, you know, but I'm obviously, I'm trusted because, you know, because of my position, I'm all in.

Yeah. What parts of Magnus did you have to drop to become Nicolus? I don't know really I don't think it was a case of dropping stuff I think it was a case of allowing the rest of my stuff in because I felt like there was you know there was

and a lot of it some of it's just experience too it's just being green but it was like learning to relax and everything but I think I don't know I just think that for me to thrive and succeed I needed to be authentic right? I needed to feel like it was me talking because I feel like my own personality is so sort of strong that it influences anything I would do but I just always felt like well I'm I'm not me I'm playing a part I'm playing someone else you know what I mean and it just didn't

and I think that that you know you when I you back and look at it it's like I just I just I see a guy who just is you know in black and white you know he's not he's not fully in color yet you know it's not there's because he's because he's just trying to

he's trying to stay within all these boxes and parameters and stuff and once I just kind of went well I just do me you know let's just see what happens right what was it exactly that didn't work out the first time in TNA why did you leave well the reality is is that

you know, when you get to that point in a business, in a company, you know, if you're a top talent, you have to have a good, you have to have a good relationship with the office, with the, with the, with the, with the boss. Sure. And my relationship with John Goeurok just unfortunately deteriorated. You know what I mean? It just, it just was like, I just, it was just an unfortunate set of circumstances. I, um, they, they decided to sort of take a punt. right with me almost at the same time that AJ was leaving and they couldn't get the deal done and they you know and that was at the time just felt like a huge loss you know and it felt and it felt

like a real sort of spiritual part of the NWA had kind of been ripped away I'm sorry the NDA of TNA and it then it then became I became like the poster boy for this dark period you know like and I just I could feel it instantly but I wasn't mature enough to know how to deal with that right so I instead of instead of kind of being like all right what should we do like how do we do this I just started kind of blaming everyone and you know and so I take I take full ownership of of the deterioration of the relationship because I didn't know because I was put in this really difficult position with no with no experience of how to deal with that and no one to help and I'll tell you the other thing I at the time it was like I just remember certain top talents I just

remember seeing for the first time like oh here's what time it is because suddenly all these guys who you know two years ago or a year ago had been like helping me out with this and that or give me suddenly suddenly they're all just kind of like oh hey you know like like you know and then you know and then you know and then I would hear him around the corner like you know and I'd think like wow here's what time it is you know and again I don't have the patience and I was too young and immature to know how to deal with I was 27 you know I mean I was just and so I just like I just I I was too reactive and and and uh I just I mean this is people the all the guys with my my friends in TNA at the time they they could vouch for this but

I was telling them when I was the champion there like I'm out of here when my contracts up like I'm done like I'm finished I'm not has the chair has the world champion and I was going I'm out of here when this when my contract's up you know I'm I'm I'm done I had like a I basically had a note cut contract you know at the time like I had a basically that they could only terminate it if I breached contract so I knew I was you know what I mean I knew I was safe but like once I saw like I was like all that's going to happen here is you know it it is just my value is just going to continue to slip so I just I was I was saying then like I'm out of here like I'll just figure something else out.

And unfortunately, that seems to be the story with a lot of people in Impact or TNA at that time. I guess it's a management thing. I don't know. You know, he came in and, you know, managed to get the position somehow. And then when he left, he just went right back to WWE. So what does that tell you? I don't know. Who knows, man?

I just remember. But it was just the, it was such a mess there by then. It would just become, the, the energy was all wrong, you know, it just, it would just become really toxic. But that is the place that you met Mickey. Sure. Yeah. Sure. That's obviously, that feels like a lifetime ago, you know, like that, that TNA, but that was the other thing about T&A.

It was like, every year it felt like a different place because they would bring in, because it was never, they wouldn't change. They would, all they would do is change who the, who was like in charge of creative or the sort of, the next top person under Dixie, the owner, right? It was always like, okay, now Bruce Pritchard's in charge. Now Eric Bischoff is in charge. Now John Gubrick is in charge, you know, whatever. And all the other people were the same. Right.

And it's like, that's the problem, guys. Like, it's the rest of it's like the guys who aren't pulling their weight, promoting the live events. And it's like this guy and that, you know, and it was a mixture of people who were just trying to get a payday versus, and a bunch of lifers who were just, like, yeah, it's an easy gig, like, go along to get along. You know what I mean? Like, and, and then there's the talent going, oh, like, we've got a, we've got a live event with

Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle on it. Why is there 300 people here? I was such a huge TNA fan. No, I get it. Like, that roster. Yeah. The roster, the TNA roster in like 20, 2012, 2013. Oh my God. So, Samoa Joe, Sting, Hulk Hogan, AJ Styles. Like, Kurt, like, oh my God, like, you know, you just, you, Bobby rude, you can't, you can't, you can't turn your head without finding like a top level talent, you know. Yeah. Yeah. What was the, what was the moment when you and Mickey, obviously, you met backstage, I'm guessing, but when was the moment where you went, ah, she's, she's pretty cool. Not to, like, you know, I don't get too personal and mushy here, but.

Obviously, I knew who she was and I'd seen her on TV and everything and obviously identified like, oh, yeah, you know. But she's a very attractive woman, sure. Sure. And but then when I saw her in person, it was just totally different. You know, it was, I just, it was like, I was sitting there and she, she walked past and I, and I just, I just kind of forgot what the hell I was doing. You know what I mean? And Doug Williams was sat with me and he was just like, put your tongue back in your mouth. and it just fortunately it was just one of those chemistry things like then because then she kind of noticed me and so this is a funny story I was I had to go do some promo pictures at TNA and the way it was set up then was like Lee South would do the photos and they would he would be in the in the

back end of the of the impact zone so you'd have to walk through the through the impact zone to get to the thing um And so I put my trunks on, but like, I pretty much just just had like my trunks on and like, and my like running shoes because it was just going to be like waist up shots, right? So and so like so I walk. So they're all in the, it's early in the day. So and Mickey and Lisa were in the ring like with Al Snow kind of like going over some of their stuff. And I walked, I was like walking around the ring and I just, you know, Mickey's not subtle.

Like she's loud, you know. And she just, I just heard her. I get, you know, I get sort of to. the point where she obviously thought I was out of earshot and she goes, I'm a looking and I'm a lacking. And I just like stopped and turned like and I remember it she she obviously then she was like, oh my God, you know, but then I my favorite was just like at Al Snow because Al was just like, you know, it's just like oh my God. Well, we'll never hear the end of it now, you know. And so it was kind of like after that it was just kind of like,

Okay, so, you know. I love that you bring your son with you. I saw you at a big event in New York. Yeah. And your son was with you there. He's with you here today. Does he come with you all the time? Not all the time, you know, but he comes to these tapings, you know, for now.

He's come to every single one. And it was, you know, some of the guys were talking to me about it. And they said, it almost feel weird if he wasn't here now, you know, like as soon as I got it, like, everyone says, is Donovan here, you know? And I'm like, yeah, he's here. You know, you hear him before you see him. He's a bigger star than you now. 100% in a story of my life.

But like, he's, I just, I look at it as like, people ask us all the time, obviously. Oh, he's going to be in, get into business. I'm like, who the hell knows? He's five, you know what I mean? But I, I just think of it as, I like him being around. He's, he, first of all, he's happy. He likes it here.

So that's the most important thing, right? Like, if he was miserable, like I wouldn't drag him to this. I would just get the nanny. But he likes coming. They obviously, obviously the folks at GPB are phenomenal. There's such a great partner for us.

And, you know, the company, again, given my sort of position, you know, they make some nice concessions for me. And one of them is that,

you know, we have a nice little room set up for him. And, you know, because they understand that, because of Mickey's, you know, Dave's work for WWE, right?

So he understands that it's like, it ain't as, easy to just drag him to that. Is he, so he's not as welcome at WW. No, no, he's not,

he's not welcome. I don't, I don't, I don't, I want to make that clear. He's been, and, and, like,

from what I've, from what I've heard, like, Stephanie's great with him and, you know, like he's been on this, he goes running down the ramp and he's on the set and, you know,

and all that stuff. But, you know, it's not as easy to, you can't do it all the time, right? Like, it's, you know, it would be,

it would become a thing, right? So, um, well, and just to travel, you know, it's like, they're going, you know, all over the place. Um, so with here, it's like, but he's, I just, I like the idea of for now, he's getting to be around this energy. Because the energy here is great. You've been here for a day now. Like, you see it and you feel it. It's like the energy here is so positive and so like just, just, it's just, it's just fostering this, like,

like this mentality of like it can be done like let's go out there and crush it and i i've i mean one 100 percent this is the most passion i've ever had for for the business and i'm 15 years in so whether he decides he wants to be a wrestler one day or not or whether he decides he wants to be a botanist you know what i mean it's like i like the idea that he just gets to be around me at my most passionate and engaged so that he can understand that's you know that's what being a professional is like that's like I just think that I just I'm a big believer that your environment really sort of helps you out in that in that regard for the rest of your life which is why I would think that in 10 years he'll start to be like dad I want to do what you're doing maybe maybe or

you go the complete opposite way and be like well yeah well look my father was a was a rugby player, but he was also a very well-regarded plant breeder, like plant breeding scientists. That's why you said botanist. Yeah, right. It wasn't just a random profession. But like, I, you know, my dad used to take me to work with him because I used to love like, oh, cool, like big like combine harvesters and tractors and this and that. But he was, he was like the boss, you know, he was sitting there. He was in an office most of the time. But he would go out in the field with the guys and, you know, because he loved like, because basically his, his, his specialty was barley breeding. So obviously there's a big, you know, very big commercial implications for that, you know. So he would,

so he'd be sought after. He'd have to go to Australia for, you know, and this and to like, to like, to basically figure out like when to plant and like what, you know, what soil and all this kind of stuff, right? Yeah. Um, but I became a pro wrestler. Yeah. Like, you know, it wasn't like, you know, it's just whatever speaks to you, but I, but obviously I felt like I was, I was brought up in a good environment, you know, to sort of foster the, the idea that, like, you know, approach things with, with professionalism and with, you know, you engage your brain and really think about it and get involved and get stuck in. And I, like, when I told my dad, I wanted to be a wrestler, like, my mom was like, what? No, please don't do that. You know, whatever. My dad was

just like, all right, do it, but just approach it professionally. Approach it like a professional. Right. When you talk to your family. family back home, do they think you've lost your accent? Yeah. Because tell us you still sound like... They don't talk about it, but I know that it's there. I get it from fans all the time. Like, what happened to your accent?

I'm sorry, I've been here for the majority of my adult life. Like, you still sound very British to the rest of us. I think that don't live in the UK. Well, and Donovan's probably going to end up with the same accent, you know, for the Well, because he's... But when you're a kid, you know, you just repeat what you hear. So he's going to... So I know I still say certain.

things with a British accent, but then there are certain things I say with an American accent. I know they have like an American inflection, because I've been here so long, it's you just get used to the ebb and flow of conversation. As you can tell, I'm a very conversation-oriented person. I love it. I'm very vocal, you know what I mean? I'm very verbal, you know, in my energy. So it's like Has he started school yet? No. Because that's where he'll, he did, so he was in pre-K. He's, he's a September birthday. Okay. So he'll be the oldest kid in the last. Yeah, so we, it was kind of, it was kind of one of those things where we went, do we want him to be the youngest in this class or the oldest? And we said, let's, let's haven't be the oldest. And it also meant that for a year,

it's like, he still goes to, I still, he still goes to different daycare stuff and things to, you know, to help sort of nurture him and, you know, obviously keep him stimulated and make sure he's up to date and stuff. And I do a lot with him. Like, we do ABC Mouse and he has his like phonics books and stuff with him today. But, yeah, we just, we just, we just decided like, well, yeah, for a year, let's let him sort of just be around the stuff like this and, you know, like get some, you know, cool life experiences that you can't, because once he's in school, it's like he's going to be in school, you know, and so we just, we just sort of made that decision that let's, let's kind of hippie it for a year. He might have like a Tennessee accent. If he's going to school in Tennessee,

I don't know. Who the hell knows? Who the hell knows? Is there someone that you'd like you to challenge for this belt? Is there someone that you would can't wait to have a match with? There are several honestly. I mean, I know that I've said this before. I always I've always felt like to me like the ultimate sort of culmination of this this journey and and you know given this sort of historical context of all of it and stuff would be triple H. Sure. Wow. It's Starcade. You know what I mean? Like Here's a guy who clearly, especially if you go back and look at his stuff in the early 2000s, clearly was trying to replicate the feel and the presence and the aura of Harley Race and Rick Flair and, you know,

Dory Funk Jr. and Jack Briscoe and guys like that. And he achieved it very well for a while. You know, he's reinvented himself several times. he's had different incarnations of his persona. But that period, it was like, you could tell he was like, this is what I wanted to be my whole life. You know, and he had flair with him, you know. And it's like, evolution, yeah.

And so I've heard through the grapevine that he has a replica of the 10 pounds of gold in a case in his office. I don't know if that's true or not. I've heard that. And it's like, clearly he holds this in high esteem. and, you know, and again, I know that it might seem that there's this sort of weird, like, bitterness or energy between, you know, negativity with me in WW. I have nothing but love for those guys, right?

Like, they, and they have been very good to us, actually. Like, you know, we, we, there's quite a, there's quite a steady communication between the NWA and WWE, like, you know, about various different things. And it's like, and it's very kind of positive. And again, like I say, like, if I go to stuff, you know, know, with Mickey or whatever. So everybody there is cool. Everyone, and everyone's watching the stuff.

You know, like, I mean, man, like, just, you know, you know when things are going good when when guys who, like, Edge are happy to say it publicly. You know what I mean? Because he's said some very nice things to me privately, but publicly he's endorsed the show. So it's kind of like, that means that he's not only enjoying the show enough that he wants to wants to help think, but it's also that he, he feels that the opinion is safe enough where people aren't going to go, that bullshit, that's terrible. You know what I mean? Like, he's not, you know, and that's, you know, that's a, you know, that's a real thing. And I know that he's, I'm not

suggesting that he really cares that much about like getting, you know, trolled or whatever, but it's like, but I understand the mentality of it. It's like, it's, you know, he kind of, you know, he kind of, he kind of, you know, he puts the end up here. He's not going to get any, you know, you're not going to get any blowback for that. And that's where we know we've hit the sweet spot. I always joke that I've, I'm one of the, I'm the only person who's been able to unite the opinions of Jim Cornett, Vince Rousseau, Eric Bischoff, you know, because they,

I mean, they all philosophically like, you know, completely disagree. Meltzer, you know, Wade Keller, like, but they all like the show. They all, and they're, you know, and they're all digging what I'm doing. So it's like, that's, you know, again, you take everyone's opinion with a, pinch of salt, but if, you know, if you're able to unite all these different schools of thought, then that's what we're looking to do. I really wonder if this match with Triple H could happen. Why couldn't it?

The only reason it couldn't. People didn't think me and Cody could happen. Oh, Cody's in Ring of Honor. Oh, what, duh? He's like, well, that doesn't work. You know, me and Marty, they were like, well, how is that going to work? You know, like, of course it can happen. I think the only reason it couldn't happen is because WWE doesn't have

these kinds of agreements with other companies. That's the only reason. The thing is, it doesn't really need to be, it's not like they have to work out some sort of long-term, huge sort of set in stone agreement. It's just, let's make a prize fight, you know what I mean? Would it happen here in NWA or would it happen in WWA? See, for me, I always envisioned that it would be Starcate.

If we were going to, you know, they own Starcade, they're in the IP or whatever. And it's like, you know, I've seen the last couple and kind of things. thought, that ain't Starcade. Yeah? Not without this. Right. It's like what, what, what, what is, how is this starcade? Well, it's just the name of another paper view.

Right. Right. How is this? There's not even a paper view. They didn't even do a paper view last time. And I said like, how is this starcade? You know, like, I don't know. And again, I'm not, you know, whatever, right?

Like they're, they're free to do whatever they want with it. But it's like, do you not think there's an, there's an opportunity there to make it really cool and special? You know, I don't know. We're putting it out into the ether now. I've said it before. It's probably having the opposite effect, but who cares? I should have pointed this out at the start of the interview, but look, I'm a normal-sized

human, and look how... Yeah, you're pretty... Thank you. I've worked out a few times before. But look at the size of, like, you're just so significantly wider than me. Yes. I like, you know, one of the funny things that I've seen a lot of feedback recently. And again, I think it's just based on...

on what the majority of the sort of fare is in wrestling now, as far as sort of performers, is like, a lot of people just, they see that they like the fact that he's just like, he's like big and meaty guy. You have a very different build than you had when you were in TN. Sure. And this is like, this is the old school. A wrestler. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Right. Like if, if you told me, if I watched a clip of your match and said, oh, that was from 1983 I'd go, right, right. And it's like, don't get me wrong, I love bodybuilding. And I love lifting weights and I like, but at the same time, I'm also at a point in my life where I'm kind of going, I don't care if I have abs. Like, you know what I mean? I just, I don't want, like, if they're there great, if they're not great. Like, whatever. Is that for like you'd rather eat chocolate

cake? I'd rather be, right, I'd rather enjoy my life and, you know, enjoy things in moderation and just be, you know, and like every, don't get me wrong. Every now and then I might kind of go. go, we're a little soft. You know, we might have to tighten things up for a few weeks. Right. But it's, I've always, I've been through phase with TNA, you know, I went through phases where I would be like, okay, I'm going to get really ripped, you know, and then I would get, I would get, I would get really ripped and lean.

And then I would look, and it just, it didn't come across on TV, you know, it's like, because big works better on TV, right? Like, like, you know, I just wanted to have sort of, all I want is like some, you know, full, I like fullness. is the best way to describe it. Like good like fullness, like rounded musculature, right? What do you weigh as you sit here right now? 250.

Oh my God. And what size suit is this? It's custom made, man. Especially tailored for an age oldest. That's embroidered on the inside. All my suits are custom to, but I put ridiculous phrases in the inside. Didn't we, did we try to do something in Miami? Yes.

Yeah. So Miami, that's actually the guy, there's a guy in Miami, me, Nazir. He's making my, he's making my stuff now. I'll show you the jacket downstairs. Please. It's amazing. He reached out to me based on he'd seen the show and was like, the, I have a red, I have a red suit, like a red sort of plaid suit. And I rocked it one day on one of the episodes of power. And he messaged me on Instagram and was like, this is a killer look. He's like, I'm a tailor. Like, we have this same fabric actually. Like, that's what caught my eye and blah, and he was like, I want to make, you know, I'd love to make you a suit. Like, and I sent him all my

measurements and like we did, we, I, I took some pictures just wearing like a loose fitting shirt and everything, like at his request. I mean, this, this suit came. And I kept thinking to myself, how good is it really going to be like having not met this guy in person? And there's a, and I swear to God, this thing just like fell on. You know what I mean? It just, it just was like, you know, and I just went, wow. Like, and he's, yeah, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, He's fantastic. I could never go back to a suit off the rack now. Custom suits.

Can't do it. They completely change everything. Yeah. I want to thank you for making the time to do this. Oh, no. Thank you. I think we've been talking about this for exactly one year. Yeah.

Yeah. I interviewed Mickey at the Royal Rumble last year. That's right. That's right. And then you, yeah. And then she, she text me and said, hey, Chris Van Vleet wants to. I said, great.

Cool. Yeah. Because I'd seen that you were starting to build some momentum and get some, you know, and building some great numbers. And I was like, cool, that would be great.

you know, like, that would really help us out, you know, because we'd, I'd been doing like Sam Roberts and busted open have been great to us. And, you know, if you were the, if you were the good, big players in the wrestling media. And I was like, this guy's, this guy's getting hot. Like, that'd be great. And then we just couldn't, kept sort of missing each other and not being able to make it happen. Yeah, it was just like we were never in the same place at the same time to make it happen. Yeah.

When I saw you in New York, I'm like, okay, we're going to make this happen. Oh, yeah, yeah. Because that was like two months ago. I saw you at the big event. Yeah. And I was in and out. Yeah, you were walking by. You're like, we're going to do an interview sometime.

I know we are. I had, see, I had Donovan movie that day because, because I had been, I had flown, I'd, I had been in England. And that's why he was with me because we'd been in England. And just the way that it had worked. I had, I basically, that kind of books kind of last minute. And so I already had these other travel plans. So I was going, okay, I can do it.

but you'll have to, I'll have to come straight from England and I'll have to have Donvan with me. And then, and ideally I'd like to fly out that night, you know, so I can get home because I've been gone for like two weeks at that point. Yeah. And so, yeah, that's why he was with me. The, the line that you had, though, for photos and autographs was huge. And I imagine that ever since power started, you started to see that ramp up. There was, yeah, the, the, the metrics are quite, quite obvious. Yeah.

Like the, you know, I used to notice how long Marty's line was, you know, at different stuff, right? And I would think, like, man, that's, you know, that's, that's really impressive. Like, you know, and mine would be okay, you know, it'd be the same as everyone else's, like, you know, a few deep. And then at the big event, it was like, me and Marty had the longest lines, you know, it was like, yes, cool. You know what I mean? Yeah. I signed solid for three hours solid. I think no stops.

Yeah. Before we wrap it up, can I hold this? Absolutely. What? Oh my goodness. That feels like it weighs about 10 pounds. I think it's more than 10 pounds. I think it's, I think the, I think the, maybe the metal is 10 pounds, you know, then the leather adds some more.

This is incredible. It's, I'll tell you what, I've, from, from day one with the NWA. This is my country. So great. I know. We need a, we need a, we need a, we need a UK plate on there. The, um, you know, I had, I had the TNA world championship, you know, and obviously like when I would go back to England, like my niece and nephew and stuff would be like, oh, cool, the belt, you know, whatever. But this one is the only belt I've ever had that adults are like, do you have the belt with you? Can I, you know, like, like guys in the dressing room, you know what I mean? Can I, you know, like, because it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's an iconic thing. Like, that's an asset. Like, like, We joke about that's the asset, like it's one of the main assets of the company. And somehow I'm holding it right now. So I will give it back to your very safe and capable hands.

And I just want to thank you so much for your time. I know, thank you. I appreciate you. And, you know, keep doing what you're doing. It's been such amazing. So amazing to watch this grow. We're just getting started. Yeah.

All right. Thank you. Oh, man. What a chat with the National Treasure. Thank you so much for checking this out. Thank you for listening all the way until the end. Take a screenshot. me tag Nick Aldis on Instagram or Twitter. I love reposting those. I love retweeting those, sharing those.

I'm at Chris Van Fleet. And this interview with Nick is one of seven interviews that I did in Atlanta last weekend. Follow me on Instagram at Chris Van Fleet so you can make sure to find out who those other interviews are with. I always post little teasers or I just flat out say, hey, my next interviews with so-and-so. So make sure you're following me on Instagram to find out about that. I loved his story about meeting Mickey James. And I think that we all know the person he's referring to when he says someone with a lot of power in WWE doesn't want him there. Winston Churchill said we make a living by what we get.

We make a life by what we give. Love that quote. So you know Thursday's my regular podcast day, so this is like I guess a little bonus. We're not calling it a bonus episode, but I have so many interviews that if I just put out one a week, we would be deep into 2021 releasing some of these ones, I mean, as the year goes on.

So yes, Thursday morning, 8 a.m. Eastern time, whatever time that happens to be in the time zone that you live in, I guess that's 5 o'clock if you're on the West Coast. That's the middle of the day if you live in the UK. And, well, that's almost bedtime if you live in Australia or New Zealand. But 8 a.m. Eastern time, that's when my new interviews drop every single Thursday. Make sure you subscribe for those. ones, we will see you on Thursday.

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