Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Omos On His WWE Absence, Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley, Wrestling In Japan

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

https://cvvtix.com - Get your tickets for INSIGHT LIVE in LA and NYC with VIP Meet & Greet!Omos (@TheGiantOmos) is a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Los Angeles to discuss his time away from WWE TV, his recent work in Pro Wrestling NOAH, wrestling Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, being endorsed by The Undertaker, day-to-day challenges of being tall, setting the record straight on incorrect information and more!   Quote I'm thinking about: "Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly." - Marcus AureliusPlease support our sponsors!   PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibcloux  SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount   TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!   VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv   ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv  HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF   ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight   BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv   BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for free with the code CVV at https://bluechew.com   PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com   For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.    Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet. And welcome back to another audio adventure here on Insight. How are you, my friends? I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. Thank you for hitting play on this episode. And thank you for making Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Hit a choke slam on that follow button on Apple or Spotify, so you don't miss out on any of the episode.

that we have coming up, including Insight Live, which is happening next Friday, June 6th in L.A. So if you live in Southern California or if you're coming into town for money in the bank, I would love to see you there. You don't want to miss it. Grab your tickets at CVVTX.com. That's CVVTX.com. We have a huge guest on the show today. And it was such a pleasure to have the Nigerian giant Omas in the studio, for this. And yes, for those of you who asked, we scheduled this on purpose. Hornswoggle and Omos, back to back guests. And thank you for noticing. You know, in wrestling, they talk a lot about

the airport test, which is the idea that if someone's walking in the airport, do people turn their heads and go, whoa, who is that? What does that person do for a living? It's a look. It's a presence. It's a swagger. And Omar's has all of it. Actually, I was a wedding over the weekend. And omas was seated at the table with me and my wife rvvvv rachel it was so funny seeing how many people were taking photos with him whether they were wrestling fans or not like they were wrestling fans of course a picture with omas makes perfect sense but the amount of like aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas who took a picture with him just because he's this larger than life seven foot three gentle giant and the thing i love about him is as you get to know him he is such a

a good guy with this boisterous laugh that just fills up the room. He spent some time in Japan. He wrestled for Noah. But before that, we haven't seen him in WWE. He hasn't been in a match since the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, which was before WrestleMania last year. So we get into where has he been? What's next for him? And think about the feuds he's had. AJ Stiles, Bobby Lashley, Bronz Strowman, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rawlins. And of course, that includes one-on-one matches

with Bobby and Brock at WrestleMania. Amazing. So we get into all of this, an amazing story and an amazing career, and he's just getting started. I can't wait to see what's next for him when he returns. So snap a screenshot and tag us online. He's at the Giant Omas. I'm at Chris Van Vleet.

And here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only, almost. It is so good to see you. It's good to see as all. Have you gotten taller? I hope not. I hope not.

Jesus, I hope that because it costs so much damn money. No. I am satisfied with what God has given me. I'm okay. What are like the inconveniences in everyday life? Like as you were walking in here, you had to duck your head to walk in. Duck, that's one.

Shopping for clothes. Should be difficult. pretty much having to buy really expensive furniture so I don't break it. What do you mean? So I broke in couches. I remember living with my friend, space, one of my best friends,

Dennis, he lives in Arizona, Arizona. And before I got such, I was living with him. And I broke his bed because he gave him bed. And I sat on the bed for like four months, and I just broke it because it couldn't hold me.

So I have to make a constant effort to make sure that I invest in pretty, actually well-made furniture to sustain my size because I will break it. Like when you sat down here, I'm like, is that chair big enough for you? And you're like, I'll try not to break it. Yes.

No, no, no. That's, no, no. That was partly joking and also partly serious because that's, that's happened. I've broken chairs. I've broken chairs at my email's house. I'm like my wife's grandparents's home. Like, I broken chairs, couches,

door handles. It's happened. There's this great video of you boarding a plane. And like, you don't even come close to fitting on that little plane. I remember that day vividly because I think we had a show in, I think it was Syracuse. No, we had a show in Buffalo and we were flying to Syracuse the next morning. And it was one of those tiny planes.

And yes, those planes suck. Like what is, what, like, what's it, when you board a plane, are you, you have to be sitting in the first row or your legs are going all the way into the aisle? Pretty much, I try to, on those tiny planes, yes, I always try to make sure I sit in like, especially, I'm blessing up with my first class. I try to sit in the front. And then I just try to do what I have. Sometimes this face is tiny. And sometimes I have to stick one leg out this way,

the other leg out this way. But I just make it work. How many times a day do you get asked how tall you are? If I count it, I'll be a multi-million. Like I promise that people ask me every single day. Like multiple times a day, it never stops. And then is it like, do you play in the NBA or what do you do? Oh, do you play in the NBA?

What do you do? How are tall are you? And, you know, I actually have fun with it. My wife hates it because she cringes. And let's go, I'm not a basketball player. I'm going to count it. I'm going to go, whoa, whoa, no. I'm like, what do you think?

Yeah. And I go, what do you think? Just because I'm tall, you think I should play basketball? And they go, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I just go, I'm just joking. And it's like, just to light up the move. But I love having fun. Although when you are this tall basketball, like, becomes a lot easier.

Oh, yes, it does. Yes, absolutely, yes. I was in thrusting to basketball, you're engaged because of my height. Do you have to even jump to dunk? Oh, yes, you do. Because it's still 10 feet tall. Okay, but when you stick your arm up, you're now... So I think I'm probably like...

Look at this. I don't think I've ever measured the height of my hand all the way up. So I don't know. But I didn't know I can touch the bottom of the neck. Okay. So you don't really have to jump. You just kind of like, just a tiny little hop. A little bit, yeah.

I'll say like maybe two inches of the ground. Maybe two or three inches of the ground. You know, if I jump really, really high, I can touch the rim. Oh. That's impressive. Hey, people don't understand. I say, if you can touch the room, that is a pretty, like,

a really good ethic to be able to do that. So for you to be touched the room, I applaud you. That's pretty impressive. It sounds funny, but it's really impressive. At what age did you have, like, the big growth spur?

I was always a tall kid. I remember my primary school teacher should call me tall man as a kid. I never remembered. But I do remember, by the time I was 11, I was already six foot. Wow.

And then by the time between 11 and 13, I had this huge growth spread. By the time I was 13, I was 6-7. And at what point did you realize maybe this isn't happening at a normal rate? Not until I came to. Not until I got to college in the States.

It took me years of playing basketball and nothing. And then I realized like, oh, this is actually not me. And doctor realized that what's going on with you is not normal. And up to that point, you just thought, Oh, just a grown kid. That was it.

Back in Nigeria, like, oh, he's just a grown kid. This is a grown kid. Like, and we joked about it at the start of this, But is there a possibility of you getting any taller? No, no, no. Bigger, yes, but taller. You can only grow in one way now? Yes, I can only grow up this way.

So, no, no, taller. No, please God, no. If that doctor hadn't found out, would you have just kept growing? Oh, I don't have been dead. Wow. Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. What's it called? So it's kind of similar to what Iron Age the Giant had.

It's called Agrimegli. I think Bigshaw has it as well. But mine is kind of unique because I have. I have agramagely. I also have gigantism, which is gigantic. Gaggantism just means that you just grow really, really tall. Then I have what you call partial cushion disease.

I don't know how to explain. It's kind of complicated, but I have all three combined. And it was the first time that in, like, endocrine history that they found a patient that has, like, all three combined. So, like, I'm, like, a really, really rare case. Wow.

To the point where, like, they had, like, a journal published about my case. Wow. Yes, it was, like, a treat for, like, endocrine doctors to seem Like, oh, wow, like, this is, we have about this in text, but you're the first person we've met that actually has this condition. So in your day-to-day life, are there things you can't do because of this condition? No, no, I can pretty much do everything.

I just have to be a meds to stop me from growing because I still grow. Like I said, I don't grow this way, but I can't grow this way. So I said, I'm like, man, it's not grow, yes. So, like, is there any pain associated with this? Oh, no, pain. Like, I'm pain free. I'm great. It's just like, you know, the thing about it is like, you want to keep on growing, your heart keep on growing too.

And that gets like cardiac arrest and things are sort. So I have to make sure like, it's a protein call. I've probably heard about this in bodybuilding. It's called IGF1. My body produces. Growth hormone. Yes, my body produces too many growth hormones. So I have to take a medication to stop my body from using the growth hormones so that I don't get any bigger.

There's a lot of people on the shorter end of the scale. Yes. That would wish they had this problem. Yes. Would you wish this upon them? No, no, no, no. Because I think how many, I had, I had discovered it during my freshman year

at the University of South Florida. Shout out to Dr. Vesely, because he pretty much saved my life. And then pretty much I've had to bring surgeons after that and I've been a meds ever since. How did this doctor find out about it? Oh, he just saw me in a basketball game. It was weird.

During my freshman in South Florida, I was a partial qualifier of that year, this is when SWC had the BS rule back then. So I had to practice with the team, but I couldn't play in the games. So I was on full rights scholarship the whole nine yards.

I remember that year we were playing, it was one of the games before we went to the conference tournament. This has been, you know, the biggest was still the biggest. I don't know if you watched college sports. A little bit? Yeah, so this is like, you know,

because like ACC, biggest is like early 2011. Like, Biggie is like one of the best college leagues in the country for basketball. So we're playing Cincinnati and we won by like three points. And then, you know, it was a great game. I remember the next day it was, the game was a Sunday. And I remember on Monday, go to practice. I go to go get taped. The PT tells me, hey, man, if I can get tape, go talk to the coach upstairs.

I'm like, I don't talk to the coach. Like, I might be in trouble. Like, I hate, I'm not a very confrontational person. So, like, to go talk to the person, I'm like, shit, I'm in trouble. So I go upstairs. I hit this goes, hey, just, Jordan, come on, sit down. So I sit down. Says, I want you read his email.

He turns his computer to me. And he goes, like, hey, my name is Dr. Wesley. I'm one of the doctors, sharing ratio, South Florida. I saw your, one of your players, General McBain. I think by the size of his hands and by the size of his, of his jaws, like his facial features, I think you might have agro-mic. and you get to check him as soon as possible. And I'm reading this thing.

And I'm like, this is a prank. And I look at my question, I'm like, this is a prank. He goes, no. He says, because I was sitting in an email. This email was sent to the president of the university. Wow. So whoever this guy is, it's a pretty big deal that he has access to the president. So they're like, so I know, you know, may not like it, but we have to go do some tests

as a as possible. So I said it's a good at the MRI. This whole time I thought it was bullshit. I'm like, ah, I'm going to be fine. Come back. It's going to be nothing. I'm going to go about my day.

And then I did the MRI that Monday. Wednesday. Go to practice. I'm walking and everybody tells me go to the coach's office. I'm like, oh, man. I go up there and everybody's in there. Doctors are in there. The president of the university is in there.

All my coaches is in there. And I just go, shit. And I walk in and they pull out my MRI. And they go, hey, I'm so. We did the MRI. And because it's my brain. And they go, I see this little dot right here? You have a pituitary tumor.

And you're going to take it out. One or two options. Either you're going to go blind and you're going to have a heart attack. Because my buddy was producing so much growth hormones, it was making my heart enlarged. So they said, we need to get it's fixed now. So that's how I found out about that.

Oh my gosh. I know. I know. It was a blessing. And I was like, I think if it's, I was like 18 years old. And it was just me and myself in college.

My parents were back home in Nigeria. I'm like, this huge really just got put on me. I never expected anything that's happened in my entire life. But with this size and this presence you have, what a, what a gift you've been given?

Man, it is a gift. It is, it is a gift. I am grateful. It is a 40 million lot of opportunities. Yeah, like the gift to first play basketball. Yes.

Then the gift to be discovered by WWE. Yes. And to do all the things you've done there. Yes. Like you always hear about the airport test. There is nobody who passes the airport test more than you. I guess you can say that. I try to hide, but I can't hide.

You can't hide? Because think about it, there's obviously a large number of people who recognize you from WWE. Yes. There's probably a ton of people who in public just want to take a picture with you because you're tall. Yes. Yes. I won't hurt in the 10%.

I remember I was talking to my mom the other day, back on the manager, she pretty much called me a goldfish. I was like, you say, you just take out you a goldfish. I'm like, dang, that is like, I never thought to even like, use that phrase to describe like my life experience. Like you can't hide a goldfish. It's bright as hell. That's you.

Yeah. So, yeah. So you've been given all of these opportunities because of this. Oh, yes. A lot of opportunities. A lot of things, like, when I think about, even back from, like, playing basketball in Nigeria, going to the, um, you're from Canada, right? Canadian, yeah, so Toronto, you're Toronto Raptis fan? Yeah, of course.

Okay, you know of Maasai Jiri? Yeah. So, Masayi Jiri found me. Wow. Yes, I met Masayi Jiri when I was... What a small world. I know. I'm crazy.

I met Marciari in 2005 in Nigeria. This is when he, this is when he was just a scout for the Denver Nuggets. So he would come and do a camp in Nigeria. And that's how he found me. And back then, this is going to sound crazy. My aunt walked at the Tennis Federation, the United Lagos, where I'm from. And every summer, we'll go and play tennis. And then I was growing so tall, like I said earlier,

and one of her colleges just said, hey, why is this kid playing tennis? He should go play basketball. So they didn't throw into basketball that year. This is 05. And I remember them hearing that there was a camp coming to Lagos. and they had already did a test run the previous year, and I just showed up. Like, hey, how are you guys doing?

I actually just been like, hey, my name is Jura-Mugbe. They go, how old are you? I'm like, I'm 13. They go, oh, my goodness, you're lying. I'm like, no, no, no, I'm lying. They're like, so who's your proof? I said, my aunt works here. And thank God.

She was a work that I had to go get her in the office. And she goes, yeah, this is my nephew. He's just big. This is this big kid. This is big. And they're like, wait, what? So they put me to the camp. And that's how I got seen.

that's how, yes. Man. Where do you buy your clothes from? Being the size, I've learned that you have to be resourceful. So I remember when I went to high school, when I came to high school in America, this was 08. I was at Morrisch's Christian. This was a Christian private school. And the church went to buy me some clothes because it was a Christian school.

And then the lady who was in charge, she was become my adoptive mom, Michelle Bixer, she goes like, hey, do you know where the stuff? for clothes for your size because they gave me a bunch of shop for clothes for you but I don't know where the back clothes from so I'm like you know what gave me a couple of days then we'll go scour the internet so I says you know scarring the internet and I and I saw old Navy sells a big clothes

I'm like okay so she ordered some give her the website you order some clothes and they fit so I was lucky so old Navy if you're hearing this I can use a sponsor what size is your shirt so this is a this is a 4xLT okay and they only brand

And I know that makes XLTs, which is rich as rare. Because, you know, some make excels or, you know, triple X-Ls, but they're for, like, larger dudes. And I'm not built that way. So I need something that is more slim-fit-in. So Old Davy has come in clutch. Old Navy for the win. Yeah, absolutely. Who would have thought?

Old Navy, but yes. And what is your inseam on your pants? Around between the 36 and the 38. I can go between both. What? The length of your pan? Yeah. I can go between the 36 and the 38.

I thought it would have been like way tall. So this is a thing about, I'm a very proportioned human being. Like, I don't have a long, like my torso. Like, everything is exactly exact measurement. I forget, what's the name of the little science thing with the guy? Oh, yeah. That's me. Huh.

I should send you into space, too, then. Yeah, jibisers, I love to go in space. It's like Da Vinci's man, right? Yes, Divinci's man, yes. So I am perfectly proportional. Like, I don't have extremely long arms. I have extremely long legs. I am raw proportioned.

When you walk into a hotel, are they like, oh, we don't have a bed that fits you, sir? In Japan, yes. But in the States, typically, I can, you know, I can manage the king-sized bed. You know, what's your bed at home? I have a king. I have a king.

I have a regular king. I also have a king, and that doesn't seem right. Okay, so hold up. So I'll explain rationale. So my wife is six foot. I'm seven, three. We're both tall individuals. so when we went to go test out the beds,

we figured out that the California King, although longer, yes, not enough width. Right. So we compromised on the width, you know, so that was the compromise that would be. And, you know, because she's tall, and she's, I sleep one position. I can sit on the back and go to sleep.

My eye feels like a toss and turner. So I'm like, we just need more space on the bed. Have you seen an Alaskan king? Oh, brother, I've seen those. I've seen an Alaskan. Trust me, you talk about the G. The big man king, you're asking an Alaskan king. I've seen the Florida king.

Yes, I've tested all those out. I'm just saying, I'm just saying, one day I'm going to get one of those beds. I'm just waiting. I just don't know where you buy sheets for a bed that's three times the size of a normal bed. What I realize is those companies, those companies that sell those large beds,

they also saw the sheets. So it's almost like you're stuck with one person to buy everything from. So let's say I don't like, I don't like the sheets, and I want to go somewhere else I can't. So that's got like the little drawback. But I'm still going to get one one day. You guys know that when it comes to health and well-being,

I'm always looking for an edge. And that's why I've been taking mitopure for months now. Because I want to be the healthiest version of myself for as long as possible. Like, I want to be in my 90s and still going on hikes, or like still playing with the grandkids. Or I guess at that point in time, it might be great grandkids. Here's how this works. mitochondria is our cells power generators.

They're a key influence in how we age. But as the years past, mitochondrial efficiency starts to decline. And it starts to represent this big gap between the quality of life we expect when we're older and the one we actually experience. One way to think about mitopure is like they're the little Pac-Men in your cells

chomping up the damage mitochondria that make you feel old and tired and we're cycling it into new healthy ones. For me, taking mitopure has really helped with recovering after a workout. I'd start to feel myself getting stronger with more energy and experiencing less inflammation. I think it's worth you checking out as well. Timeline is offering 10% off your first order of mitopure. Just go to timeline.com slash insight. That's timeline.com slash insight. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. Soccer

podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Klinemberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Times ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really take their claimant, and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Henko. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. In the list of the tallest WWE superstar, Where are you on the list?

There you need a little bit controversial here, Chris. You, okay. Okay, I give you, uh, great, uh, giant Gonzalez. He's the tallest. Tallest, okay. Are you in that? What's his legit height? I think it was about like seven, six.

Wow. Yeah, that, that's enormously tall. Right? And I've meant to be bored. It's three inches taller than you. It is. But even that, man, that, which, it's great for me to say, like, because I'm, I don't look up.

So that's, you don't look up to anybody. That's, I don't look. Two people that I've met that I've looked up to in my entire life. Taco Fall and Symbolar ever, but nobody else. Who else? I'll give a number two. I'll give it to Andre. This because it's a legend.

Oh. So depending on who you ask? It depends who you ask. But because it's a legend and I have a great admiration for him because I hope to, you know, be like him one day. Yeah. I'll give it to him. And then you're number three? And I'm number three, yes.

Bigger than the Big Show? Yes. Because they call Big Show 7-4 in WCW for a long time. No, I'm taller than the big show. Is he actually 7 feet tall? Oh, no, he's 7 feet tall. He's a legit 7-footer. So I can't take that away from him.

All right. So those are those are the top? Yeah, those are the top, yeah. Wow. Actually, no. It's me. Sorry, Big Show. It's me.

It's John Gonzalez, Andre, me, Greg Colley. And then big show. Okay. Sorry, big shot. That sounded a little evil there. Sorry, so you got demoted bed.

I'm sorry. But I'd be honest. What's so amazing about you just as a specimen in the ring is we see guys like, Braun Strowman's huge. But then next to you, he doesn't look so big. It's fair. Bobby Lashley's huge. Works a match with you.

Doesn't look that big. Brock Leser, massive. Next to you, looks like. like a normal sized human. Mm-hmm. It's crazy. It's, I tell everybody this, man, once you come next to me,

you just become like a regular person. I just have that effect. I don't know how to explain, but it just happens. What's so interesting, you probably don't ever think about this, is you look at the world, like your way up here, right?

Yes. Your viewpoint of the world's up here. Yes. Down here. So I see everything. We don't think I do, but I see everything. I just choose not to,

I can see when someone is approaching me before they even, I can see when in their head with it and thinking about it before they even come make a step to me. Like I can see. Even if I'm looking at them, I can see it. I can feel it. It's just, I think being this tall has given me a certain type of vantage point that has been to my advantage. What kind of car do you comfortably fit into?

You know, I drive a haunted palisade, which sounds crazy, but it has a lot of leg room. And I reclines it all the way back to drive it. You know, I do need the bigger vehicle. I would have doubted that. But for right now, it does trick. When you call an Uber, do you have to call an Uber XL? So it depends on how cheap I want to be. Sometimes I might call the Uber XL or sometimes I look at the prices.

I go, yeah, I'm not paying that. I'll just get a regular Uber Excel. But if I'm driving Uber and I pull up in my, I don't know, whatever a small car would be, and I see you, I'm probably going, I don't know, put the seed in the front all the way up. I don't know. Hey, he'd be surprised, but I fit in the Prius. You fit into Prius?

Oh, yeah, brother. I was, dude. Because, you know, when you come from nothing, you learned how to accommodate. Yeah. Yeah, so I've been to Pierce. I fit into, my dad used to own a, when I was 13 years old,

my dad used to own an old Volkswagen, the Beatles. And we all had to crime ourselves, and then myself and my brother and my cousins to go to school. So I know how to cry myself into tight spaces. It sounds like you just have a great appreciation for this life now because of where you came from. Oh, yes.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I'm 110%. When you were growing up, did you have a vision for being something bigger than yourself? I've never shared this how much. I never did first time I'm going to share this. So when I was a kid, I never wanted to do sports. Never wanted, wasn't in academics.

one thing I did, I loved art. I wanted to be an artist. I drew every day, morning, tonight. I drew and I painted. And my goal was to be the greatest artist ever come out of Africa as a painter. I was an artist. Until I hate my goals for the dad change.

So I never had any idea of being famous. I just wanted to be a great artist. And you're still doing that. I am, which is kind of shocked because, you know, we performed a canvas. Hmm. Oh, it's funny how it's like that's tied together. Yes.

But on Instagram, Jordan the artist. Yes, I still drawing and paint. Yes, this is something that I take seriously and I, you know, something that, you know, I don't do it as much as I used to, which, but I should. That's more of a personal thing. But is it a place where I know I can just go there and find peace? Is that like your outlet? Yes.

Yes, I can go there and just disappear for four or five hours and not think about the thing. Yeah, the things you're passionate about, you're really passionate about. Yeah, that's that, that, it's. If I like something, I go, like, rabbit holes deep into it. Like, I have no holes. I don't like something halfway and if I'm not going to do it. So arts, one of them, fragrance, this is another. Arts, one of them, fragrance.

What are you wearing today? I'm wearing, um, Star Chaser. It's, it's a very pleasant smell. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. I appreciate it.

I appreciate it. What is, what is your, like, lineup of fragrances look like? How many bottles are in the lineup? This is embarrassing. and before I say this, I do acknowledge that I do have a problem. So I was going to say that first. I don't have a problem.

I have about 350 bottles at home. I know, I know. One for every day of the year. Pretty much. I can wear one for everyone every day of the year and not wear the same fragrance. It works. Do you not have your favorites, though?

It's hard. It's hard to all my babies. So it's hard. All 350 of them? Yes, I love. It's something that I discovered. I've always, everybody likes nice smells. But sometimes I just had a passion for like,

when I went to Saudi Arabia and it just kind of hit me out of nowhere. And I just felt the down a rabbit hole. But I don't have, I don't have favorite. It's so hard because it's all the pain of how I'm feeling. The thing I love about the sense of smell is it's so strong that it can transport you to a place at a time, right? Precisely. Like someone could wear a cologne or a perfume and you get catch a whiff

that and you go, oh my gosh, like, that's high school. A high school. Yep. Or that's this person I used to date or whatever it happens to be. Absolutely. Even boosts of confidence or, you know. Yeah, yeah. Like, it just does a lot.

Even therapeutically, like, I love it. So when you stay in like a really nice hotel. I can smell it. So that's. The hotels have their own scent. Yes. Yes. Like you walk into the four seasons.

I can smell it. So I just got into that. So my friend I bought a house last year. Congratulations. Thank you. She goes, for you having so much sense, the house doesn't smell that good. So I took that personally. So I said, I'm like, oh, no, no, no.

Like, I just, I took the office to that. So I said it's up for, home scents and candles and different, like, humidifiers and diffuses for the house and reeds. So I got deep into that as well, you know. I just love sense. Hey, your house must smell incredible now. Oh, it smells great. It smells phenomenal. You were on Undertaker's show.

Yes. On his podcast. And he had so many. really great things to say about you. Oh man. He's, like I said, I've been blessed, man.

I've been blessed from the, from the first day I met him. I remember the first I met him. I was at NXT. He came to, um, he was,

this is where I sit filming at full sale. Now, walking to Gordon back. And I see Hunter, Hunter, he goes, Hey, I was supposed to surprise for you.

And he just walks out. And I just, I'm ready get starstruck. And I just go, oh, it's your undertaker. It was, hey, big fella. And he just gave me a big hug. And I was, I was shocked. I was shook.

I didn't, I couldn't believe my eyes. And from that day, it just became like a bond. Like, he's pretty much like a, because he can't be my dad. Sorry, take. But he, he's been such a great influence on me. And I appreciate him. We talk quite often. You know, he gives me advice.

he's like whatever I'm trying to figure out a match or a spot I always ask what would The Undertaker do Wow yeah because I I do admire his style of work and how he's been able to able to transcend the business because He has built one of those characters that even after when he passes that character's going to live forever right He said you were cane like what what a compliment That is a hell of a cop. He did. Yeah, how do you receive something like that? Just to grace and just appreciate that he ceases me in that light.

And there's also a lot of weight to because I know that he's, I'm also kind of charged for big men and what it's supposed to look like in a wrestling ring and how to perform and how to carry themselves, how to kind of themselves. Because he was, he's many performed, even until now, he was the almost professional and everything that he did. You know, this man kept cave for four years, 40 years. more the same black every day. I don't know if I had that much commitment to do that,

but that is quite impressive to his professionalism. So I admire him a lot. What are some of the things you took from Undertaker that have helped you in the ring? Keep your size. Protect your size. Is it? Because you're in a really unique position.

Yes. With your size. Yes. You can't go in there and just lose matches to anybody. Fair. That's true. Right? Which is why we've seen you infuge with Bobby Lashley and Brunstromen and Brock.

Yes. Right. It makes a lot of sense, right? You're in there with someone who, if you just looked at you guys standing next to each other, there's a chance. There's a chance. It gives a bit of ability to the show we're trying to put off for the audience. But if someone my size is having a match with you, the audience is going, well, how could that happen? How could that guy win?

With the right storyteller, it can work. Yeah, like you told a great story with Seth Rollins, for example. Yes, absolutely. So the right person you can work is just depending on how you tell the story. But you're in a unique position where you can't work with just anybody. That's true. So what does that mean in the week to week when you have to be building to these meaningful matches all the time? I mean, aspects of like staying ready.

Just in general, like you can only work with a select group of people if the story is being told right. So maybe you're not getting as many reps that way then. You know, I've never really thought about it that way. first time I actually really, you know, thought about it in that aspect. But, you know, one thing Taker told me was, like, you know, if you're a good storyteller, he can work with anybody. So I can, I can have a match with anybody. It doesn't matter the size.

It's just how to tell it. Like, one of our dream matches is, I'm going to put it out there. It's a restroom stereo. And he's one of the smallest things. Like, I would love to rest of him and mystery. That'd be a great match. It'd be a phenomenal match. I've watched all these matches with a big show.

Like, I've seen that, you know, when it was in WCW and had his mask off and he had the devil horns. He was working with Kevin Nash. I've seen those matches. Like, he's a great worker. Dude, telling the meaning story. Yeah. You know, I love to take a 609, you know?

Because I just feel like it's a very captivating TV. Yeah. Your last WWB match was last year, was Theondre, the Giant Battle Royal. Yes. Right before WrestleMania 40. Where have you been? Staying ready, man.

Staying ready, taking care of my body. Staying ready, you know, for any ready for me. And also did it went to Japan. Yeah, how did that come together, wrestling from now? I saw what happened was I saw Tavian Heights of NXT and Josh Breaks go to Japan. I was just watching the videos and everything. And then, as they were doing, show in Japan, any of you came out that,

Grimuda, they asked them, who really love to have in Japan? The first name he mentions is me. I'm like, oh wow, that's, you know, great. Like, I didn't think he would remember me, but, you know, but he did. So I kind of threw the idea to a couple of riders like I would love to go to Japan. I remember seeing a road dog at a piece of like, hey, do you have a couple of his chat, you know, not really busy right now, but I'll love to go to Japan. He said, you know what? Let me think about it.

And then nothing happened. And a couple months later, you got busted. Like, hey, do you have an opportunity for you to go to Japan? Do you want to go? I was like, yes, I want to go to Japan, you know. And to be honest, I am glad I did. Like, I needed to go to Japan. What did you need it for?

Sometimes when you're in this, I saw, you watch MMA. Yeah. Right? I was watching an interview with Dimitius Johnson and Tomah Hospital. And he was talking about just waiting, waiting for John Jones, and how sometimes I can take it until you're, on your mental. And I kind of relate to that because when you're just waiting and you just got to stay prepared, sometimes you kind of bridge this red,

putting this red, actually the space, where you just feel like you just train, you don't know for what. So me going to Japan, I needed to go to Japan and just expression new culture

and you wrestling style, new people. And I hadn't really been on my own since I came to this country and I was just to get away. And then get away, wrestle. I had a blast in Japan.

And then come. back and I just feel like a new person. Feels like your style in Japan was a little bit different too. Maybe you were able to work a little bit differently? I would say a little bit. I took a lot of things that I learned while I was working with MVP. A lot of things that we talked about when we're on the road together because he taught me a lot of that.

I just took out that style. And, you know, when I was going out that, I called him. Because, you know, he raised in Japan. He just goes, you know, I called him. I called Shelton, Benjamin. and it's going to hang in Japan and you're a heel, be a hill. They want, they love it. Like, be the nests here.

I'm like, oh, really? So I really got, I really got to embrace that. And they loved it. Are you still the GHC tag team champion? Technically, technically, no. I kind of headed it to my team 2000 ex partners, you know, Daga and John Morris. So they're currently, you know, champion in the college.

Oh, it's in Japan right now. I'm sure if you wanted to go back and figure something out, you could slide right back in there. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I love to, man. I had fun in Japan. It was so much fun. So when's the next time we might see you in the ring?

I don't know. I'm just waiting, fishing the waiting, you know. I'm kind of in a, you know, a great scenario where, like, I'm kind of like a special attraction show. Whenever that time comes, you know, I'll be ready. Yeah, you've been in some, like, real special attraction matches. What's the one that has meant the most to you? Wow.

The one, man, I don't really have one. They all mean a lot to me, because I think from each one, I've grown and I've learned something from it. So let's go through them one by one. Okay. So let's talk about you versus Bobby Lashley,

Russellman at 38. Actually, you wrestled him a few times, but... Yes, but that was the first time we wrestled. Yeah. Myself from Bobby Lashley, that was the first time that I'd just been separated from AJ Style. and I was on my own.

So I think, you know, being with AJ, AJ, and I love AJ styles. One thing I left from him is him as a performer, he's always learning. So I kind of take that to my own stuff like I am always. So the matter how I'm working with, I am always learning to get better for my next outing. And then when I left from him, which I needed to do, to go from him to, or that, I didn't like how we ended it because we had so much left on the bones. but that's a stir for another day. When I left him and I went to go have my funeral, Bobby,

I needed that because I needed to grow as a performer. And there's a certain edge that I needed that I was trying to figure out as a big. Because, you know, when you're my size, you know, playing college sports, when you get to, you know, be careful, don't hear anybody. So you kind of like always kind of protect people in a way

in this business, that doesn't work for big guys myself. So I needed someone like Bobby to, push me to that point. And I told Bobby this, you know, if not, I think we had a feud for six months, six, seven months. I said, because he's very intense, when he gets into, he's very, very intense. I said, man, if not for the six months that you're in a high end of the ring and all those matches, I don't think I'll have been ready for Brock Leicester at all. Like, that six, seven months that worked together was extremely profound, you know, on my growth as a performer in the ring.

Because it took me to a place that I didn't know how to take my, myself to mentally. And then going from him and then that was him. And then I think... When Bobby Lashley jumped off the top rope in that cage match, you caught him like it was nothing. Like we have so rarely seen Bobby Lashley get manhandled. That's true.

You know the funny thing about that match is that... That's also one of my favorite matches, the cage match, because that was also on my birthday. That was... I think it was 2022. And I was sick as a dog that day. I was so sick. Oh my God.

Like, I remember a couple days before we had the show, it was Barry. And we had a dark match. So, and this is when we used to do the big man class. Shout out to Adam Pierce and Jimmy Noble. This did the big man class. So I told me we could do the class.

Had a little snuffles handy, but I was fine. And then catch a fight on Friday morning to Philadelphia. End of my flight. I don't know what happened. Whether it was the atmospheric fresh shirt, but I just start sweating balls and having a headache and I just feel so horrible on the plane. I'm thinking maybe it's just a plane.

I'm lining in Philadelphia, go to the bathroom, you know, splash a couple of waters on my face. And then I'm like, okay, I'm okay. Get my luggage, you know, try to get a rental. I was like, yeah, I'm not driving to it works, Barry. Called Uber to the hotel, thinking like, you know, give myself a couple hours, take a nap, I'll be fine. And every hour that I woke up that day,

I got even more progressive sick. Someone saw that I had to call the doctor and said like, hey, I'm here. I'm at a hotel, but I am so sick. Like, I had a flammar coughed up in the sink, and it was just like gunk of like this colored mucus in the sink. And they're like, we're going to send you like a COVID kid to test and make sure you don't have COVID. Luckily I didn't. Spent the night in Brooks Barry. The next day I felt better.

drove from McVaray to to Laura Maryland because my wife was doing the rotation of time for how much was in medical school we drove out there and when I drove out there she drugged me up that whole weekend

like she's like because we had this cage match we had been advertising for the whole week and it was my birthday there was no way in heck I was missing that match

so that whole weekend was just recovery hydration and then we drove to the show was in um North of Virginia at the scope. We drove Sunday night,

got there, got them Monday morning. Everybody goes, are you okay? I'm like, oh, I'm fine, I'm fine. I was like 50% okay.

And did the match and I was, I, there's something that just happens to me and just happened to the ring. I just performed that. Whatever you're feeling just disappears. So I was like, I felt amazing in the ring.

Bob and I put on a great show. everything was great. And then on the drive back, just felt sick and get out of it. Oh, yes. I got sick on the way drive back because my wife drove half away. She also fell sick.

Then I drove the other half. And it was a miracle that I made it back to our apartment that night. But yes, that's the story of that day. So that deal which sticks in my head. They spoke about the cage match. It just came back to me. Are you working that whole cage match

wondering when I throw him through the cage, is it going to break? Oh, yes. I was like, please have a break. Please break. Because if it doesn't break, it is going to be a shitty spot. So I was like, please.

I said, please, please, please. I'm like, it was on my birthday. I said, you cannot mess this up. Like, you have, you have to throw this man through this kid with all your mind. And I'm glad that he'd be the cage, because if it didn't,

ooh, wait. Is there also in the back of your mind? What if it pops too early? What if it pops like halfway through the match in another spot? You know, I wasn't thinking about that because I was so in the match that I just forgot until we got to the spot.

I was like, I was just in the match. We're just having fun until we got to this. Like, okay, time for you to break. You better break. That was such a brilliant way to have you lose the match. But I'll be, yes. But looks super strong.

Yes, absolutely. Like even the way Bobby gets up, he stumbles to his feet, takes a little while, then the bell rings. Oh. Oh, okay, Bobby wins. It was great, man. I had a lot of fun. Like, stuff.

I had a lot of fun during that match. Yeah. So, WrestleMania 39. So I did him. And then from him, I wrested Braun, Strom. That's right. Okay. So that was, we, uh, he had just come back and we had this shit showdown and we

did to Saudi Arabia and even him. So that was like a continuation of what I'm there from Bobby to him and we just, and then that was also evolution because one, because, um, during that show, MVP and he gets to go with me in Saudi. He was just me. So, you know, I got to, you know, we had a press conference, go on the mic, called, come my press conference, I'll come my promotion in the press conference,

and then we have the match, and I think that was the first time I really got to show my personality because I said if we're comfortable as a performance, and I could be able to speak and just free them, you know, just talk trash.

I'm a basketball player. What else can I do? Like, just talk trash. I started talking trash. So, you know, I was able to try to figure out myself in the ring and my character who I was in the ring as a personality. So yes.

And then you pick Braun up, and again, Braun's not someone we've really seen, handled at all. Yes. You give him a one-armed power slam. Brun is a big fella, man. Bron, you know, I love him, man. He's a big fella, but he's a great worker, man. So obviously, man, to have a great match, man, he takes two great dancing partners. You guys have this, it's like tango. You made it look good. Yeah, he did, man. I got to give him a lot of credit, because, you know, he guided me, he helped me because I'm still learning. So I give him credit, man. But yeah,

That was a great match. Yeah. So from there, is that? So from there, it's Brock. And then I remember when that happened, and I, we had, oh, we did. I remember what happened. So, Elinition Chamber, it just happened in Montreal. I think we had the show in Ottawa, that Monday.

Go to Ottawa, do the show. Now booked on the show, we just there. I'm like, cool. I have a flight that night I'm saying out of Montreal said to myself, I can get a haircut then after get a haircut, I'm going to bounce and go get my

stuff and get up, get to the air, get to get to Montreal. As I'm getting a haircut, I got to text and I'm right. It's like, hey, almost I used to here. I'm like, I'm here. Whatever you do, don't leave. And like, I spoke earlier, I'm like, shit. I'm not in trouble. Like, what did I do? Like, he comes to say, oh, no, no, no, no, you're not in trouble.

But you're on the show tonight. I'm like, oh, cool. What do you have said? I don't know. begin the show. All right. Put my suit on. Everything goes on the show. We're just going to promo. And then we get a script. In the script.

Brock, let's die go. What? I looked at him, loose in me. And literally, everything that's went silent. Because I couldn't believe it for it. And at first, I thought it was being jumped. I was like, no, no, no. This is not real.

Like, I'm not working Brock. Like, no, this is not real. call the promo and I'm thinking it's going to change this is not going to happen it's going to change in the week

you know you know you know we're saying in our business you know skip subject something to change

so I'm like okay you might change next week who knows next week comes up when Saganon walk into

you know CIPP CIP Cipohemman a group of him and he goes in a big he's coming

he's here I'm like I'm like yeah we'll see when he gets here talking like yeah we're doing this I'm like, oh shit.

Like, oh, dude, this is a thing. Like, I was, oh, I was like, oh, no, no, no. We're doing this? I'm like, okay, we're doing this. And then he was like, yeah, we're doing this. But I was extremely grateful because, you know, to work someone that caliber, man, you don't get to work a legend like that. That is a rarity for someone who's just come up in the business.

So to get to go in there and, you know, and go to the toe to him was great. And even I remember that time, I've never shared this person. I'm sharing this. You know, after Saugno, I go home I'm training, getting ready. I remember, middle of the night, go to go to the bathroom,

bender was open a toilet sit, and my back gives out. I'm going to go, what the heck. Your back gives out. Yeah, sit on the toilet. You know, I open the toilet seats. I'll go to open a toilet seat,

and my back gives out. And I'm looking like, what the hell am I young? I'm like, I'm 30 years old. Like, what the heck? Look at my life. She goes, I don't know. So she said stretching.

We're stretching. go to civil the following Monday and let's go get checked and I was like I can't feel my feet like I can't feel my toes

and they did the testing I'm like there's a testing way you do like you push they push the toes down that you push up and I couldn't do it and they go

you might have something you're back and I was like oh snap and I guess I got a sky like maybe this might prevent from

doing the match at rest of media so the day goes on me and Brock we had this we had it what you do that day

rehearsals where you know just trying to get a feel you know I just thought you know rehearsals walk through that dude

he's uh he's intense we do this rehearsal and then um it's like oh no it's going to be a walkthrough and I think

you know because we did um like a segmented follow they didn't go as smooth as we wanted it to so I think this week

you wanted to make sure it went well So I'm in my suit, you know, and every people like to make fun of me because I like my suit's very tight. And this was the wrong day. Because he goes, you know, we go like 50%, 80%. I'm like, okay, cool, we can go. I'm like, well, we're here now. And see, Paul, Paul goes, don't forget, this is a former UFC heavyweight champion.

And most of the said, I think it really does send like, okay, don't forget who this man is. Yes, you guys in the ring, but this is like, this is. Like, he's done great in UFC. He's done great in WWE. Like, he's conquered both. He's legit. He's legit as they come. Like, he's, okay.

So we're doing the spot. And I think he tried to see if he could knock me down. For real. Yes. I think he tried. I think so, you know, throw the line, he ducks it. And he comes and he throws himself at me. And I wasn't ready.

So he hits me. And I remember just feeling myself with jolt. And I clenched my teeth and I felt my, my cheek. my cheap off. And for me, it says, oh, that feels bad. For me, I'm like, and I'm getting good. I was like, oh, this is what we're doing.

Like, I love this. This is where you're telling me we're going. Like, oh, yeah, look. Like, this is the type of physicality you're telling me you're bringing, like this is this rehearsal. Oh, I love this. I love this.

So we did this spot on TV, which is where I boot him, regular on TV, give me the boot in the face. But I put it in there. And I remember going from, He was happy about the segment and he just goes, you know, my back was hurting, but he just gave me a chiropractor adjustment from your boot to the face.

I'm like, oh man, you're a psycho. But I love it because, like, I've never really, like, Bobby's, you know, he's very intented, he's physical, same as Bronn, but Brock is just, he has, like, this level of, like, psychosis to his own. Like, he has a different aura to the way he dust it. And to me, I was like, oh, this is where we're going. I loved it. So I had the back pain the whole time of the, he's.

The whole time we did that match at Mania, I had no feeling in my right foot. So none. I was doing rehab. Shout out to the folks at the Performance Center. CJ, Tara, Christian, JP. That whole month, leading on to that match at Mania, I could not feel my toes on my toes on my toes. Were you concerned at all that the match might not happen? I was concerned, but when I went to the trainers, when I went to the trainer's got an MRI done,

they realized I had to bulge in discs. and they say, you know, I got the Corazon shots and then they said, hey, since you're young and this is your first you know, we were back that you ever had, like, we don't think you need surgery, so like, we're actually like

pretty intense rehab for it. I'm like, okay, cool. So for like a month straight, I was in the PC every day, do rehab for it and get ready for the matchamania. Did you, were you worried at all? Brock might not be able to get you out for those German suplexes? Oh, no, no, no. No, no. Brack?

He's a specimen. I wasn't worried at all, man. That's, you forget, he's a farm boy. He throws hay for a living. So he picking me up at 300 and 300, 400 pounds. Like, I knew who's going to be able to do that. If Bobby can pick me up, I knew he could pick me up. Yeah.

He throws you on a few of those suplexes. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That is my first time ever taking a suplex. Ever. Yeah. Ever, ever. I've never taken it in training.

Never done it to PC, not from anyone. That was the first time I really took a German suplex was during that match. You didn't even do it the day before? No. No. No. He's such a great dude, man.

Because I remember during rehearsal, he just goes like, hey, how many Germans do you want to do? I'm like, brother, you're Brock. Like, however much you want to give me, brother, this, we're doing this. Like, you do me favor with this match. So however many Germans you want,

that makes you look good, we're going to do it. And he goes, okay. And the F5, he just picks you up like it's nothing. Yeah, to be honest, the F5 was easy. That FFL was easy. The German sucked. The German sucks.

The German sucks, but I've never felt for the first time my entire life. I never felt someone like hooked me that way. Like for a real, and like, filled the muscles contracting and they picked me up. And for the first time I felt, oh, shit, I can't do anything. You're like, this must be what it's like to be small. Yes, yes. I was like, I was like, whoa, like this is, this is, this is my. the awkward, you know, I've never felt this, you know, in my entire life.

And I was like, oh, I can't do anything. Yeah, no one's going to throw you around. No, no one, no one throws me around. But that experience was like, but it was great because, like, he's, I can work him every day of the week. He's such a great worker. He doesn't get enough credit for he's selling. Like, he, I say that all the time.

He doesn't get enough credit for how great he's selling. Man, he's so good. He is so, so, so good at what he does, like, so good. Like, he doesn't get. Like I said, enough credit. Why was the F5 easy work? Because, you know, it's picking up and the way it's done, it just took your face bump.

The Germans, because you go here. They don't suck. I just have my colleagues that take Germans on a regular basis. Yeah, you get your ass kicked. I get you to see you guys. Because I did the match, and my journey was pumping through the roof. So I didn't feel anything.

The next morning, your brother, my neck was stiff as rich. So, like, I was like, shit. All right. This is what it feels, you know, to take at five on a regular. You know, this is what, you know, rest is God. You don't take time off for it because, you know, the next herding. I'm like, oh, shit, okay. But it was great, man.

I would rest with him every day of the week, twice on Sunday. You did really great stuff with Seth Rawlins. Oh, man. That was, uh, that was an, I think that was a match where everything that I've been learning all to that point came together as wonderful for me as a performer. Like, you know, the pacing, the timing, you know, the salad, the continued trash talking. And, you know, and Seth is a good worker himself. So, like I said earlier, you have two great, you know, two great dancers. You put them together, do this make magic?

And that's what we did. Like, I had a blast in that match as well. Even to the finish, man, I got to give credit to Mustafa Ali because I'd never taken a, you know, all the road of DDT until I met. You know, I had a match. I think that year we, during Christmas tour. I had my first match was with Mustafa Ali. I would put a match against like, he wanted to take it to the DDT.

I'm like, never taking one. He said, this way. And I did it on the show, so I realized, oh, I can do it. So remember I put it out of that much together. And I knew what they were building him for, which was just to win the WW Heavy Championship. I was like, okay, let's go out with a bang.

Like, let him, like, slay the giant, like pull off the top of the giant. So like, yeah, let's throw this in there, the DDT, all the top rope and, yeah. Well, the thing about Seth Rollins, as he doesn't have bad matches. No, he does not. Oh, he's good.

It's amazing. It doesn't matter who he's in there with. Yeah, he's really good. He's really good. And being with him then, you know, I still learn for him and being in the ring with him. And, you know, you know, just I enjoy working with these guys because they just have so much knowledge from all the experience I have. I love this spot where it took six guys to pick you up and throw you through the announce table. Oh, man.

Oh, that was money in the bank. That was, wow, you took him back. That was money in the bank 2020. I believe. And I remember that day during rehearsals and they're like, how we're going to put you out

like, you're going to put you to the table. Like I said, I'd never been put to the table and know what that feels like. And I remember during rehearsals, you know, the guys picked me up.

I think, I think who was in that match. I was myself. Seamus, Sammy, Drew, Matt Riddle, Austin Theory.

I think I'm missing. And, um, thank it. Riddick Moss. Yes. Remember you rehearsals? You all pick me up.

And Seth Rounds, y'all pick me up. And I was like, whoa. Oh, I was like, whoa, this is high. I said, oh, I said,

oh, this is like, oh, wow, this is high. So they go, because they had a crash bat out, and they go, one, two, three.

I'm like, oh, shit. I was like, this is going to suck. I remember during, during the, during the spot, during the action match, when we did the spot,

literally, I'm watching, I'm just laying down like this, I just closed my eyes. And I'm not, I'm just dreaming. You know, I'm going to have a dinner that night. And all here is one,

two, three, and Sammy go, and it was the longest fall, higher, forever. I just saw my buddy go, shoo!

And he kept them going. I was like, okay, where's the table? He kept them going. It kept them going. It kept them going. And hit the table.

And I was like, Oh, this sucks, but okay, I'm here. It's done. My part of the match is done for the night. But I was pretty high. I was like, wow, this is hot. How did you determine what your finish was going to be? Oh, man.

I think he came from me playing around. When I came with a double choke slam, originally I was going to do, it kind of morphed into, it started up as the, because you know how DeLau Brown does the, yes. So it was something similar, right? Yes, and the first I ever did that, whenever did that finish was on,

I used to the woods. When I first, you know, letting notes on our first mania with the new day, I did, I did the spot with him, and did the same, did a brown gimmick, but I didn't go down,

just threw him, so I was the first time I ever did it. And I think over the last couple months, then he just kind of changed it to the choking and this, AJ helping come up with that, AJ styles. He was like, just choke him in up here and just stole them.

AJ's the James. What are you doing now? to like keep your skills sharp. Are you in the ring now? I'm in the ring. Oh yeah, yeah, I've been in the ring. Been in the ring. Shats at the folks on the PC.

I've been in the ring. I also watch a lot. I talk about time, I watch a lot of rest. Like I'm a nerd. Like I said, if I like, if I love something, yeah. I just don't have half-ass do it. Just dive in.

So I watch wrestling. I watch a ton of wrestling. Like I watch every show. Like I watch all the shows as much as I can. I watch Monday Night Raw, I watch NXT, I watch A-HW, watch Friday Night Smackdown, I watch the PLEs. I watch as much wrestling as I can watch,

both to old and then you, because I think when you're not being in the ring as much, that is a great way for you to just learn the psychology of wrestling and just see different styles and, oh, I just got to do this here, and he can flip it and change how you want to change it. So I love watching the wrestling. Like, I am a student of this game.

Like, I watch everything. Yeah, so if you're such a student of the game You're watching everything. What's your favorite match of all time? Bad blood, Taker and Sean. That's a great one. Yes. Wow.

And look, Taker and Sean have had so many great matches. The amazing thing is you can say, Taker versus Sean, and then someone will say, which one? And the answer is correct. Yes. Whether it's WrestleMania 25, 26, Bad Blood. I like that one. And this, I forget, there's a smackdown with Big Show in the Ray Mysterio. Where, yeah, when he's on the show.

stretching. Yes. Yes. But as a big guy, like, that is such, like, you can't, you can watch that match and understand the story they're trying to tell from, you know, the giant guy and the small guy and had to told that story. Yeah. You know, and, you know, that's a great way to learn the psychology of being the big man. Yeah. You know, so those are my two matches that I love. I feel like during the pandemic, we were able to see, like, a different side of you, like, when you were Akira Tazawa's ninja. That was, we were, it's fair. We were. It's fair. We were. We We shot at like 5 a.m. in the morning. 5, 6 a.m.

They were shooting all night because they had all the spots. They had to shoot. Like, I remember the vacuumators went into the glass and the glass exposed, Dawkins, scaring, I invite one of the glass and then he exploded. And he had like glass shards in his body. He had to take out. We just off shooting.

He was fun. It was just so much fun just to be this and pull out this. I remember putting out the katana and sword, you know. Because I'm a huge, I'm a huge nerd. So, like, you give me a sword I become like a five-year-old kid, you know. So I had a blast. Yeah, it looked like you were happy.

Oh, it's fun. Oh, I was smiling and chick-to-cheek under the mask. I'm like, wait, I get to be a ninja on TV. Like, I drew a nis when I was a kid. You told him to go give me a katana? Thank God it wasn't sharpened. What do you think of the name of your fan base? Oh, the almost sapiens?

You know. It's even better when you say it. You know, it's great, man. Shadows to... Almostapians rise. Almostapians rise. Shout us all the almostapians. You know, it's great.

I think... I can't remember the first time I said it. But it came up somewhere and I said it and it just kind of stuck. And sometimes it's kind of set up and I forgot. And someone on Twitter just kind of picked it up and ran with it. I forgot about it. And someone goes, you know you have a fan club? I go what?

Almost safe. It's like, that word I said like years ago, it's like, yes. And it just grew legs. It's great, man. I love all of my. Omar Sapiens. Everybody watching this video is an Omosapian.

Oh yeah. Shout out to the Omisapians. You guys, make sure you guys run the numbers up, you know, make sure this is the highest person video on CCTV.

Let's do it. Yeah. Let's do it. Do you envision what your return will be? Have you been pitching ideas? No, I'm just being patient. I'm just staying ready, man. To be honest,

I've just been taking acting classes, working on my acting skills, you know, you know, you ain't watch the top guys. I realize they all know how to act some capacity. So I've just been brushing that skills up and just staying ready.

That's interesting because I think when a lot of people hear you've been taking acting classes, they go, oh, he's trying to do movies. If that comes, that comes. But I think part of what we're actors. You know, people I don't want to acknowledge that, but we're acting. I call it, I actually call us action actors. Because we're pretty much doing, it's pretty much an action movie you're watching with actors in it. Yeah.

I feel like there is roles for you in Hollywood. I believe so. Like maybe when wrestling's done. That will come and do time. I see the guys who've done it, their focus was never really Hollywood. They wanted to be great at wrestling. Yeah.

And I just want to be great at wrestling and leave my stamp on it. And if that comes, I'm happy. If that doesn't, I'm happy too. I feel like you've already left your stamp on it. Oh, man. There's a lot I want to do, man. I feel like I've only been in this business six years. This is a lot I want to do in this business,

but I believe I have a lot to offer. When you look at the WWE roster right now, you're the only big man. I am. Like now that Braun was released. You're the only one. I am the only one. I have the only giant in the comfort,

which is that hunter's ever happened in a long time because it's always been giants. Yeah. Yeah, I think even when Take her, which was Take her and Kane. Right. I'm the only one.

The show was there after the... Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And then Braun came afterwards, but yeah, I'm the only big guy, which has never really happened. How does it make you feel? I've really thought about it until now that it's buried up.

But, you know, it just means, like I said earlier, I got to keep on current. touch for the big guys and ensuring that, you know, big guys can, we can work, we can talk, we can be just as entertainers as anybody, we can be serious, it can be funny, we can be stern, and just show all the capacities of what a giant can be. And not just a monstrous yelling goof. Yeah, like there's other big guys and certainly no disrespect to guys that are 64 or 65 or 6-6 or whatever. Those are giants. Those are giants. Those are giants.

What do you have to be to be a giant? I think you have to be six. Six, eight and above. Six, eight and above. To be a giant. So Kevin Nash is a giant. Oh, yeah. Kevin Nash. I've seen him?

Of course. Yeah. Kevin Nash is a giant. He's still jacked too. I don't know how he does, but I love Kevin. It's insane. He's jacked. He's jacked.

Oh, man. I love Kevin. Yeah. I love Kevin. You're the last of the giants. Yeah, pretty much. This could be a gimmick. The last of a dying breed.

You are? Like AEW has a giant, but WWE, you're the only one. Yeah. Yeah. I'm the only one. Yeah. There's something there. AW has two giants, I believe,

because they have Big Bill and Saddam. I told I watched everything, so I know. You know everything. You know, that's right. If 6-8 is the bar, then yeah. Yeah, they are two. Yeah.

Yeah. But I just, you know, I just want to, like I said, like I said, man, leave myself in this business, man. I love that. I love this business. Like, I got to sign at the point in my life where I was extremely depressed. I didn't know where my life was taking me. And I found wrestling and rest was just,

gave me life. So I love it. It's changed your life too. Beyond my imagination. It's taken to places I never thought I would have ever gone. Like even just going to Japan, I remember being fascinated with Japan as a kid. My parents, my dad is chuffed to Japan a lot. We were there.

Jared just go for business and come back. And I remember he would bring like, I remember him bringing the, you enjoyed us. Remember the laser discs? Yeah. Yes. We had one of those at home. Right. You had a laser disc player?

My parents had this huge stereo system. You guys were living. I don't know how my dad, but we had one of this old, my dad brought it, but we had the, I think it was 1992 Phil Collins and Tokyo Dome performance. And I remember watching that on laser disc and watching him and the Tokyo Dome performing, and watching Dukkah, which is about Japan and how it was very clean and, you know, the kids are art. And plus, I'm a huge, like, anime and manga fans.

I love comic books. So, you know, it was always my dream to go there. I didn't know, I didn't just know when I was going to go. So to get, so, for a rest, and to take me to a place that I've really dreamt of going, I'm being blessed. Yeah. How many languages do you speak?

I speak too. I speak English and Yorba, which Yorba is my native tongue of where I'm from. But, parlez-Vos-Fer-Fonse? Just a little bit of French. Not too much. Okay, yeah, yeah. I thought you spoke a little more than a little bit.

Oh, no. Wikipedia lies. I'm speaking a little bit of French. We're going to get Wikipedia fixed then. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes. I think Wikipedia also said I was 28 years old or something like that. I'm like, he gets trying to say that now?

I think so, 28 or 29. I promise you. How old are you? I'm 33 years old. We've corrected Wikipedia several times in this show, so this could be another one. Would you like to put that out there? Yes, please. Okay, we're going to, there's a lot of people watching that will have access to Wikipedia.

I am 33 years old. were you born? This says you were born on May 16. Yes, correct. 1994. No. No. I was born in, I was born in 92.

Okay. Well, we need to get this fix. Yes. I wonder what else is incorrect on here. Do you weigh 416? Yeah, we'll keep that. We'll keep that. Does your shoot weight begin with a 4?

Okay, babe. Like the Shepel said, after the fifth. You're asking too many questions. We'll get that fixed. By the time this episode is out, your age will be fixed. Perfect.

And also, happy belated birthday. Thank you. I appreciate it. Mine is just three days later. Oh, man. So, you know, Torres as well? I am.

Oh, stubborn. It depends who you ask. Wife says I'm stubborn. It depends to you ask. I don't believe in it. I don't believe in it. Just out of curiosity. So I just put it from a way.

If you say you want to leave your mark on wrestling, what do you want your legacy to be? Man, one of the greatest giants ever come to the business. One of the greatest giants ever coming to the business. I've always felt that sense to dash them into a WW ring. You know, for meeting everybody, from meeting my care reads, meeting Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Taker. I've always felt like I could be mentioned amongst those guys. And you can move in the ring, too.

To be honest, I give it all the basketball, man. By the time I was doing basketball, I was already burnt out already. But basketball taught me a lot of things, like, coordination, gave me after that. Because like I said, I never played sports. I was not a sports kid. I wanted to join paint.

So basketball prepared me for wrestling. Like the coordination, you know, having perseverance, you know, having a strong, you know, mentality and perseverance and just, you know, It's from, like, cardio, work ethic. Like, basketball prepared me for the life of being a WW superstar. Like, without it, I don't think I'll be able to do it.

Yeah. Thank you so much for coming in here, man. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's such a pleasure to be able to sit across from you and have a conversation. Absolutely, yeah. Thank you. It's my pleasure as well.

You have any more questions? We can talk, man. We can talk all day. We can talk. We can talk. I will ask you the question. I ask everybody at the end of every conversation because gratitude means so much in my life. Oh, brother.

And I know gratitude is a huge thing for you, too. Yes. What are three things in your life you're grateful for right now? My health, my wife, and life. Life is short, man. Life is, I was talking about you the other day, until my adopted parents, my adopted father passed a couple weeks ago.

And I was saying how, you know, the older you get, you know, I think about your mortality. Yes. You know, just letting to appreciate people around you, your family, you know, the little petty arguments you have, they don't really mean anything then

because you can be mad at somebody today And then within the next minutes, they're gone. Yeah. So it's just letting us out to appreciate everyone that's around you and, you know, take a time just to build real relationships, to just realize, like, you know, the petty arguments, the anger, the, doesn't mean anything the end. Yeah.

I love that. I've learned recently that if you just take a breath. Yes. Just take a breath in those moments. Makes you realize that it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you think. But thank you so much, man.

Absolutely, it's a pleasure. Thank for having me. Let me see the size of your hand. Oh, that's silly. Wow. Let's shake hands. My hand just... We should do the...

The mega powers? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is that from... What's the number of that movie? Is it alien? The power handshake with the muscles. Yeah. It's this one.

Yes. You son of a bitch. I love it. I love it. Thank you. Thank you. All right, my friends. How can you not love that guy?

Thank you for listening to this episode and for listening all the way until the end. A huge thank you to Omas for joining us inside the studio for this. Give his YouTube channel a follow. It is just fascinating seeing his passion for fragrances. You can find it on YouTube under the YouTube under the giant connoisseur. And when I think about Omas returning here, I think there's a lot of different scenarios that he could be plugged right into. And I'm really curious to see when and how he makes his return. And I'd love to see that match with Ray Mysterio. Like, if you remember back, Ray and Big Show was

so entertaining, Ray and Omas could be great too. Snap a screenshot. Let us know you listen to this one. Tag us online. He's at the giant Omas. I'm at Chris Van Fleet, and I'll leave you with this quote from Marcus Aurelius. Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly. Be great. Be great, my friends.

We'll see you on the next one for some more insight. We've got Ask CVV number 85 tomorrow. If you've got a question, send it in, leave a comment on Spotify. Email me, CVV at ChrisFamily.com. or leave it on social media with the hashtag Ask CVV. But we'll see you right back here tomorrow for Ask CVV to round out the week. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock,

but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987, Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom.

Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Allie. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.