Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Queen Sharmell On King Booker, Hall Of Fame Induction, Kurt Angle Storyline

Episode Date: August 1, 2024

Sharmell (@realsharmell) is a WWE Hall of Famer. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet at Reality Of Wrestling In Texas City, TX to discuss her careers in WCW, WWE and TNA, how she met her husband Booker T, the controversial storyline with Kurt Angle, being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, her infamous TNA match against Jenna Morasca, working with James Brown and more. Quote I'm thinking about: Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! - Dr. Seuss Sponsors: PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank which was designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/ PRIZEPICKS: Download the app today and use code INSIGHT for a first deposit match up to $100! BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at http://plunge.com For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes, welcome back to another one on the podcast known as Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Vle. Thank you for being with us on this one. And thank you for helping to make Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Smash that subscribe button or that follow button with a tilt the world head scissors. If you're one of the thousands of people who just play it a little looky loo and you listen to the show, but you don't follow the show. The more of you that follow the bigger the show gets. And as you've been seeing, the bigger the guests get.

I had a blast at Raw on Monday in St. Paul. I was in Minnesota doing interviews with a few Minnesota natives. That wasn't a very good impression, but I think you know where I'm going with this. If you follow me on social media, you know exactly who I'm talking about. You'll be seeing those interviews on YouTube. You'll be hearing them on here in the next few weeks. And it was awesome meeting so many of you guys around the arena. during Raw. I am flying out to Cleveland today for SummerSlam. So if you're going, I look forward to

seeing you at either Cleveland Brown Stadium or at the slammed on six tailgate party on West Sixth Street all afternoon before the show, 1 to 6 p.m. It's just a few blocks from the stadium. This is the place to tailgate. This is the spot for tailgating for all the Browns games. They do it right. And they're going to do it right for SummerSlam. So if you want to go, grab your tickets at W6. tailgate.com, and I will see you there. We had King Booker on the show a few weeks ago, so it's only fitting that his queen joins us as well. So great to sit down with Charmel and talk about her career, which it started as a backup dancer for James Brown. Crazy. She's got a heck of a story even before she got into wrestling and before her career started with WCW. And of course,

the work that she did with Booker in WWE was so good. Tagging. Tagger. us when you snap a screenshot of this episode so we can share it she's at real charmel i'm at chris fan fleet let's do it enjoy this one with queen charmel i've wanted to do this for a long time the queen the queen is in the house i am in the house what a shirt too look yes my hall of fame shirt that's great look at these shoes so i love shoes clearly i love shoes and anything that has any type of hardware or whatever, yeah. If you kick somebody, they would be hurting. It's going to hurt. Yeah, they would be hurting.

I figured I'd bring some decent shoes, but look at those. Those are fly. I love those. Thank you. I'm not a sneaker person until about the last six months. Okay. And then I was like, you know, if you're going to wear something on your feet, that should be something that people, you know, can notice and go. You've got to have some pizzazz to your footwear.

A little bit of pizzazz. Look where we are. Look what you guys have built here with reality. of wrestling. This is incredible. This is our home. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. There's no one else is doing it like this. Yeah, you know, Booker and I like to go above and beyond. So, yeah. What was the idea for this? Because not only is this an independent wrestling promotion, this is also wrestling school as well, but again, nobody else is doing it like this. Well, we really wanted to give our students the chance to feel like they're in the big leagues. And so this is practice for them to get to that level.

That's why we wanted to pull out all the stops, make it as big and, you know, all the smoking mirrors as we possibly could have. So that was that was the goal. And we're well on our way. We still have a few more things we want to do. But yeah, it's shaping up pretty well. Was this design modeled after the PC? Yes. So since Booker's there every week with NXT and PC, he said, you know, this is the program.

They have it down. So let's just kind of model that. And so when our students graduate to that level, they'll feel right at home. And you've got a lot of NXT people that are coming through here, too. Every show, you've got someone who people recognize from NXT and they're like, oh, wow, they're here and I can see them in person. Absolutely. So it's great for the fans, obviously, because they get to see the superstars that they watch on television. They get to see them up close and personal.

And then it's great for our students because they get to work somebody who's there at the next level. So it's a good rub for them. So how does James Brown tie into your wrestling journey? Oh, goodness. Yeah. So I toured with James Brown for three and a half years. That was wild. An amazing experience.

Wouldn't trade that for the world. But we were on the tour bus one day, headed probably from New York to L.A., something like that. But the guys on the tour bus were watching wrestling. They were watching Monday night, Nitro. And all of a sudden, And I saw these dancers on the screen, the Nitro Girls.

Right. And I was like, wait a minute, who are they? I want to be one. So that's how I transitioned from James Brown to the Nitro Girls. I found out about them and auditioned and got a spot. But let's back it up here. You're talking about how he has worked with James Brown and no big deal. How does that even happen?

Oh, my goodness. Well, he was looking for one dancer. And, you know, the dance community at that time was very, very small, professional dancers. Everybody knew everybody. And I was friends with Isaac Hayes' daughter, Heather Hayes, and she has an amazing voice just like her father, who was a legend in the music industry. And she called and said, hey, James Brown is looking for another dancer.

You think you can come to Augusta? So I went to Augusta, Heather and I in his office, and they were just like, let's do a routine. And I got the job from that. Wow. So dancing was always in your blood. It's something you were always passionate about. Dancing is my first love.

Yes, love to dance. Where did that begin? My mother said I was dancing in her womb. So I guess before I can even remember. But there's a difference between dancing and dancing at a professional level. So where did that jump happen? Well, you know, it's really, I was really blessed because I didn't have the training that my fellow dancers had. But, you know, I just had the belief in myself in a God-given ability.

So I trained at a later age, but I found myself, and I really didn't have professional training. When I say trained, I just worked with people who actually trained at Dance Theater of Parlam or Alvin Ellie, Philodanko, places like that, world-renowned places. But I never had that training coming from Gary, Indiana. And it's almost like Booker with the wrestling ring when he says when he stepped into the wrestling ring, it's a place he had never been before, but felt like, like he had always been. It was one of those situations with me and dance. Being from Gary, did you feel the influence of the Jackson family? Like, people, you know, may not know this.

Michael Jackson and the Jackson's are from there. Absolutely, yeah. And, you know, they started from very humble beginnings. Their house is, you know, they've got a big clack up by their house. But their house really was like the size of a garage. Wow. Yeah. How many of them were living there?

A million, right? So you look at that and you look at the type of work ethic that people from Gary have because you really want to make it. You want to get out of there and do something with your life. And, you know, you look at the Jackson 5 and you see how far Michael Jackson went and it makes you think I can do this too. And that's what I thought. And you did it. And I did it. Yeah.

Look at you now. I did it. Yep. James Brown is such a larger-than-life icon. He's a legend. Yes. What's he like behind the scenes? So he treated all of the dancers like we were his grandchildren

Because he had grandchildren our age And it really was a family environment I appreciate that more than he will ever know Professionalism I already had But I learned it to the nth degree from him He was very serious about his craft We always joked and said we did two shows a night Because Soundcheck was a full-blown show

And then we had the show And he was always on top of it. He could hear every little thing. So if you were not on the right note or if the dancers missed a step, he saw everything it seemed like from behind his head. But then offstage, treated us like family, cared about us. So it was just such an amazing experience. This is amazing how the world works because I just had Teddy Long on the show recently.

Yes, and Teddy Long, right. Teddy Long worked with James Brown as well. So how is James Brown responsible for both you and Teddy Long getting into wrestling? I don't know, right? Is it that wild? It's crazy, yeah, yep. And our past didn't cross then, so I didn't know until later until I got to WCW that WWE that Teddy Long worked with James Brown.

So it's a very small world. It's just crazy how the world like has a way of just figuring things out. Figuring it out, yeah. Right? Like you were meant to do this for a living. That's right. That's right. How do you go from seeing the Nitro Girls on TV to being there?

Well, again, I heard the Nitro girls were looking for one more dancer. And the dance world, again, was small. They had a closed audition. You had to be invited to audition. And I simply said, I'm going to get this job. Like, I claimed it before I even stepped in there. And I just gave it my all and ended up, it's funny because I was getting ready to go on tour with James again for another two or three month stretch. And the day before we were getting ready to leave, I had already auditioned for the Nitro Girls, but it had been about a month.

And so I called Kimberly Page, who was the head Nitro girl at the time, and I said, listen, I am still very, very interested in this job. But I have to go on tour tomorrow with James Brown because that's, you know, my job right now. She said, hang on, let me call you right back. And in about five minutes, she called me back and said, if you could just please stay at home, we're going to go ahead and hire you. So, yeah. Why were you so certain that you were going to get that job? I just felt like that's where I was meant to be because I always wanted to be on television. I didn't know how.

Was I going to be an actress? Was I, you know, I just didn't know. And then when I saw with dance being my first love and I saw these dancers on television, I said, this is it. And then I was always athletic growing up, a gymnast, all this kind of thing, all these kind of things. And so to be in the world of sports entertainment, they weren't called. it back then, but, you know, it's a sport, it's entertainment. And then to involve dance in that, it was everything and television, it was everything all in one that I wanted. So it wasn't specifically that it was wrestling. It was that you could dance on TV. At that point, yes. Yeah. Yes. When did it

become about wrestling? It became about wrestling after Kim called me and said, your homework for the next month is to stay at home and watch the show. So you'll know what's going on. And then once you come to TV, you know, you'll be all caught up and ready to go. Well, I stayed at home for a month and watched and got hooked. I was like, wait a minute, this is like a male soap opera, right? I got hooked on the storylines and the characters and the entertainment of it all. So right when I got hired and had to stay at home, that was it. I knew it was it for me. So who were some of the big characters at that time? Okay, so my favorite was Disco Inferno because of the whole dance of it all. Right. Yeah.

But, you know, I loved Ray Mysterio, Hooventude. I more so gravitated towards the lucha wrestlers. Those were just my favorites. But, and then, you know, the big guys, Kevin Nash, just everybody. I can't even, I can't even say I had a favorite. I mean, I was partial to disco because of the dance. But it seemed like everybody was such a superstar, macho man.

Just, I mean, you know, it's endless. Harlem Heat, of course. Do you remember seeing Booker? for the first time? When I first was hired, Booker was out. I don't know what he was recuperating from. I think maybe he had his knee scoped or something like that, something minor, but he wasn't there when I first started. Stevie Ray was, and then a couple months or maybe weeks after I started, I don't remember then Booker came in. Yeah. Do you remember your first interaction with Booker? Well, I just remember him walking down the hall, and I was like, wait, who's this? I've never seen

him before. And so then I saw him and Stevie Ray together and I'm like, oh, okay, so that's Harlem Heat. But I was always very impressed with him because Booker has an aura about him. Even if you don't know who he is, and that happens to this day. Even if you don't know who he is, you know there's something about him, his presence, there's something. So a lot of times when we're in the airport, there might be an elderly couple and they'll come up to him, oh, are you a preacher? And we just crack up, but they just know, you know. I mean, he does cut promos like, Like their sermons. Yes, he does.

So I guess more importantly, when did Booker start noticing you? You know, probably not for a while because Booker always was about the business. It's almost like he had blindfolds on or blinders on. He would come to work in a suit tie, do his job, go back home. So it took a while before he even spoke to me, maybe ready to rumble time period. Yeah. Oh, nice. Yeah.

Being around wrestling that much for you, did you start to get the itch of like, maybe I could do this? I did, but of course, dance was still my first love. And so it wasn't until, and as you know, WCW kind of kept changing leadership for a while right towards the end. So I don't remember who was in charge at the time that they decided dance has no place in wrestling. And if you want to keep your job, you have to go to the power plant and learn how to wrestle. Well, of course, at that point, I was hooked. And what they say is true, this is not ballet. So wrestling was not dance.

But, you know, I gave it my all. I just enjoyed being a valet much more. Do you remember taking your first bump in the ring? I do because the next morning I could not move. I couldn't even get up out of bed. It's like I was stuck. So my whole body was sore. Yeah, yeah.

And were you like, oh, this is not for me? No, I came right back and tried it again. I sure did. And I love Medusa and I love Nora, Molly Holly because they were charged with teaching us and they were so patient and gracious and they are so

wonderful, you know, but yeah, I came right on back. At what point in WCW did you feel like this might not stick around for a while? Like there were whispers that it might go under and then it ended up getting bought by Vince McMahon. When did you start to feel it?

I never thought it would go under. I mean, yes, we all heard the whispers. And maybe it's just because I didn't want it to go under because that was home, that was family. But really right up until the very, very end, you know, and like I said, we heard those rumors it was going under, but then we kept changing management. So I kind of just thought it would keep going like that until something stuck. And then where are you left when WCW gets bought out?

When WCW got bought out, the Nitro Girls, because of course, again, we're family. We decided we were going to be a singing. group. So we thought we were going to be the next spice girls. And we, you know, so that's what we were focusing on. We thought everything would be okay. But it was really bittersweet because it's like the family was breaking up. And we didn't know who was going where, who was moving with mom, who was moving with dad sort of thing. And it really was bittersweet. But the Nitro girls, we were at Diversity Five by then, our singing group. Is this album out there? The two songs are out there, yes.

What do we think of them? Oh, my gosh. We were dreamers. I'll just say that. We were dreamers. That was also the time, those boy bands. It was like you said, Spice Girls. I mean, it feels like there was a precedent there.

It could have worked. Yeah, it could have worked. The Nitro Girls then was there a conversation from WWE of like, all right, we're going to bring you guys in. We're bringing in all these other WCW2. talent? No, not to my knowledge now. They didn't talk to us as a group. I mean, I eventually got hired and sent to OVW, but it really was a one-on-one thing, but nothing, nothing about the group, which I thought was sad, because I thought the Nitro girls really made a huge impact

in wrestling. How did you get hired and then sent to OVW? I kept calling. I kept calling Bruce Pritchard, hey, you got anything for me, Bruce? Nope. Bruce, got anything for me? Nope. So just persistence. You know, I always believed in myself, always thought I could, and I just stayed ready. So I didn't have to get ready. And then one day, Bruce was probably sick of me.

So he was like, oh my gosh, yeah, power plant. There you go. You were part of the- Power plant, sorry, OVW. You want to move to Louisville? You're moving to Louisville. Yeah, that's right. You were part of the OVW class of 2002, the legendary class of 2002.

We had some amazing people in that class. It's Brock Lesnar. It's Dave Batista, John Sina, Shelton, Benjamin, Victoria. Am I missing out on anyone here? Jazz was there as well. Yeah. You were there? Yeah. I was there.

Yeah. That's a lot of talent. Randy Orton. Yeah. Randy Orton. Yes. I can't believe I forgot. I'm going to get just wrecked in the comments for that one.

That was, what a legendary class that was. Absolutely. Absolutely. at OVW? You know, one person who stands out to me at OVW was John Sina, you know, because back then he was called a prototype. Yeah. And just in every way, that's what he was.

He was all about his business. So he was the prototype of what you want to be if you want to be successful in this industry and then go look at the career that he went on and had. But again, it just enhanced my professionalism. I learned that if you want to stay in this business, there are other things that you can do besides wrestling. So I was blessed to be able to be in the presence of Jim Cornette. That man can cut a promo like nobody's business.

So to just be under his tutelage, that was worth his weight and gold. How many matches did you have there? Not very many. I was part of the suicide blondes. That was Edging Christian, right? Was it? No. No.

They were called that years. before I guess. Yeah, so yeah, but this was just an OVW group. And then once Jazz finally came in, I had maybe one or two matches at that point before I blew out my ACL. In a match? No. So I was running drills with none other than my baby brother, Shelton Benjamin. And Shelton is so fast. So I was leapfrogging over him. And before I knew it, like, I didn't know where he was. Because he had already run underneath. you know, and I just landed funny. Yeah. And totally my fault.

You know, all my fault. But I just landed funny and tore everything in my knee. So luckily, I still knew how to talk on the microphone. Yeah. And that's how even while I was still healing, I got brought up to be a backstage interviewer at WWF at the time. So your wrestling career at that point was pretty much over. Yeah. But you had other avenues to pursue.

Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How do you then go from being aware of who. Booker is to, you know, really noticing him and going on your first date? Well, oh, geez. So when I really, really noticed Booker was Ready to Rumble and because I really didn't

know him, even though, you know, we'd see each other every Monday. But at Ready to Rumble being on set and he drove by and he was blasting Tupac. And I tell this story all the time, but I just never knew he was. listened to Tupac. Don't ask me what it is about that moment, but I thought he would listen to classical music or, you know, something like that. But he was blasting

Tupac. So then I think we just started a conversation around music. You know, he loves music. I love music because, you know, you dance to music, right? So we started a conversation there, but when WCW was bought out by WWF, and then

I was home, because I wasn't hired initially, you know, Booker went straight, there, but I was like, wait a minute, I kind of missed this guy, you know? So then we ended up talking on the phone. I don't remember what our first date was, but I just knew I missed him and just wanted to be around him. So it progressed from there. Who made the first move there? Who realized like, this is more than just someone I see at work? I don't know. Geez, we're talking like 20 years ago. I don't remember, but whatever it was, it was just, it was natural like it was meant to be. So,

I always think, because, you know, my history, pre-dance and all that is pageantry. Yeah. And so how does a Miss Black America? Miss Black America. So how does a pageant girl end up in wrestling, right? It almost doesn't compute. And I really honestly believe one of those reasons was I was supposed to meet Booker. Wow.

That is my soulmate. Wow. Yeah. Are there any similarities between the pageant world and wrestling? The pageant world is low-key kind of cut-throat. So, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But there's also a certain, for lack of a better word, pageantry to wrestling.

Absolutely. Right, the costuming. Right, the presentation. Exactly. Even the, like, the way that the, you know, you're speaking in a pageant, cutting promos and wrestling, there are some overlaps, right? Absolutely. And that's why I think the Queen Charmel character was able to benefit the King Booker so well,

because that was authentic, you know, so you could flip the side of the coin. You really think of pageant girls as nice and sweet in the way, but then when we were heels, it's just another side of the coin. So absolutely, yeah. Prize Picks is America's number one

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at the prices you want, it's easy to make your car of the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your ride or die alive today at eBaymotors. Com. Eligible items only, exclusions apply. Hey guys, forgive the interruption. It's Sam Roberts. And as podcast listeners, I wanted to tell you guys about my podcast, not Sam Wrestling, where every single week we get on and try to

break down everything going on in the world of professional wrestling. Sometimes if an emergency podcast is required multiple times a week, and we're leading up towards SummerSlam. There is so much to talk about this week. We talked about it all. Go download. it wherever you get podcasts or on YouTube at YouTube.com slash not Sam Wrestling. I'll see you there. How did Queen Charmel come about?

When Booker was doing the King of the Ring, you know, at that point, we were married when he was doing King Booker, and he just wasn't wanting to be away from home so much. And I don't know. He talked to Powers

that being was, he was like, well, what about bringing on Charmel as Queen Charmel and all of that. I mean, I was already there. They brought me back before the queen gimmick, but it just, when he was going to do the king, he just said, what about the queen? He said that he was just

burnt out from wrestling. Yeah, he was tired. You guys had just gotten married. Yeah. That's a rough time, right? Like, yeah. Eddie had passed away. Yeah. And I think he was just like, I want to be home. Right. With my new wife. Right.

And I guess Vince was like, well, what if I'll do you one better? Yeah. What if she just comes on the road with you. And he's like, oh, that works pretty well, actually. Yeah. So we started out with that whole Kurt Angle angle, which, I mean, I had a blast with that. And then it eventually led to the king and queen and, you know, boogeyman, which was epic. That was so much fun. So, yeah. What was the original pitch for the Kurt Angle? Because for people that don't remember this, Kurt Engel's stalking you. Kurt was stalking me. And I don't, because I was so new at that time, I don't even know. It's just like, you know, they were like, okay, here's what you're doing.

And like, okay, I don't know who came up with any of that. But, you know, I thought it was brilliant. You know, everybody's real touchy right now, this day and age. But it didn't bother me. I thought it was great. It was an interesting story. It was interesting, yeah. Yeah.

But I don't know if you could get away with that in this day and age. Everybody's, you know, it's like, no, you can't do that. It's, yeah, I don't think it would. It wouldn't, yeah, it wouldn't fly. It wouldn't find out. But because I knew it was acting. You know what I mean? Of course.

Now, there are some serious situations out there that are like that. And I don't condone that at all. But when it was acting, it was okay for me. Yeah. That's just me. Queen Charmel was fantastic. Thank you. Thank you.

Like, as good as King Booker was. Queen Charmel was equally as good. Thank you. And you raised him up a lot and he raised you up a lot. It felt like it was lightning in a bottle from the first second you guys were together on screen. Yes, yeah. Because it was natural and it was real. So it just worked.

It just worked. And it was so much fun. One of my favorite backstage promos is John Cena talking to you and Booker. And he's going, I want just one night with the queen. Yeah. And Booker's like, what are you talking? Of course that's not going to happen. And he's like, I'll take care of this.

You go out of the room. I'll take care of this. And then when you leave, he's like, so one night with the queen? Yeah, sure. You probably work something out. I feel like you guys were just having so much fun. We were. It was fun.

You know, it was entertaining. We got to be silly. It just, it was a magical time. It was. King of the ring works best when people lean into like the kind of goofiness of it. Right. You're wearing the crown. You've got the cape or whatever that would be called.

You lean into the silliness of like you're a king now. Yes. Here's my queen. that's when it works best. And I don't think anybody's done it better than King Booker. Well, I appreciate that. You know, I don't want to be biased, but I think the same. It's true.

Yeah, yeah. What are some of your favorite moments as part of that run? Again, definitely boogeyman. Let's talk about it. WrestleMania 22. Yeah. You kiss a mouthful of worms. And I'm terrified of worms.

I'm terrified of worms. of worms. So I had to go into a trance-like mode, but, um, does he give you any sort of like, does he talk you through? Like, it's not that bad. It's going to be okay. No, other than come on, sis, you can do this. Come on, sis. That's about it. Like, is he holding one worm and going, look, they're not so bad. No, because I didn't want to see anything ahead of time. I was just like, let's just, cameras rolling. Let's get it done. The way boogeyman puts a fistful of worms in his mouth, it's unbelievable. I don't know how he does it.

I do not know how he does it, but hey, more power to him. So when you've got a, you know, he kisses you and you've now got a mouth full of worms, that reaction we're seeing is genuine. Genuine, right. Oh, yes, yeah. And I got backstage and I saw that I still had slant. When I got backstage was when I really freaked out because, Because WrestleMania, you're in work mode, you're in professional mode, and, you know.

And then when I got backstage and looked at myself in the mirror and saw all this worm juice on my mouth, I lost it. It was crazy. I lost it. Are you thinking all week of like, on the one hand, I'm excited about WrestleMania. But on the other hand, I've got this moment with Bougarman. Yeah, I was. I was. And I didn't know how I was going to get through it. But we just went out there and worked. We made it happen. The thing about being King of the Ring, Queen of the Ring, is you can only do it until there's the next King of the Ring. Yes. So you're on this great run, but you know it's got to come to an end. That's got to kind of bum you out. It did.

But the thing is, Booker and I always wanted to do the best that we possibly could do so that we'd always be remembered, right? Because you always remember macho man, you know, you remember the pinky and him twirling. rolling around and all of that. So we wanted to be remembered so that any time the next King of the ring or if there was another, you know, queen that they would always say, oh yeah, but King Booker and Queen Charmel, you know, as well, right? So we'd always be in the conversation. We wanted to do a good enough job. Even to this day. Like King of the Ring was just recently. Right. People still talk about King Booker and Queen Charmel. Then we did our job. I mean, I don't know if anyone can do it better.

I appreciate that. Thank you. It's pretty great. I appreciate it. What do you feel like has been your legacy in pro wrestling? You know, I'm really proud of my legacy in pro wrestling because I think prior to me, you didn't really see someone who looked like me, being a queen. And even though I was crazy and, you know, hitting people with chairs and shoes and that sort of thing, but at least I carried myself in a regal fashion. Why the shoes? You know, that's pretty much all I had at the time. So you use what you have.

But just to have somebody who looks like me be in that position, I hope that I'm looked at as a trailblazer. Absolutely. And I think that you being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, I mean, that speaks for itself. Absolutely. Yes, I'm so grateful for that. What did that moment mean during your induction?

When the crowd starts chanting, you deserve it. I had to hold it together. I almost lost it because I didn't know what was getting ready to happen, just to be quite honest. But to hear that was so much validation in that one moment. And, yeah, I really had to struggle to hold it together. Did you not feel like you deserved it? I felt like I deserved it.

But, you know, I made the mistake of looking at the Internet trolls. Well, look, the internet rarely has anything positive. Right, exactly. And, you know, some people were saying some not-so-kind things, and I eventually turned it off. But, you know, I know that starting out as a nitro girl and then being a valet for several people and a backstage interviewer and then, you know, a little bit of wrestling and then Queen Charmel and then doing this to train the next generation of sports entertainers. I mean, I know I've put my time in. Yeah. Yeah.

After your WWE run, you guys go to TNA. Yeah. And Booker actually did some pretty great stuff there that maybe there wasn't a lot of people watching TNA at that point in time. How did you feel about your time in TNA? It was like a little vacation, a little, you know, downtime because we were in the same spot every week. You know? So, right. So we could kind of take a breath.

Just go to Universal Studios every week? Yeah. And just relax. Disney World every week. Yeah. And then made up. Event Mafia was super fun because then there's legends there. That's an underrated faction, by the way.

That's an underrated faction, but all of us are now in the WWE Hall of Fame. But that was really, really fun. And then, you know, so we did that for a while and then it was time to go. What happened with that match with Jenna from Survivor? Well, it was a match that, in my opinion, just really shouldn't have happened because neither of us, especially Jenny, she had never had a match before, right? Did she train at all? For like a couple of days, not even a week, and which is, and that's not on her, right?

But you can't train for a couple days and be a wrestler. It just doesn't happen like that. So just, you know, kind of was unfortunate because I was by no means a ring general, you know, And then she had only been in the ring a couple of times. That should have been like a six-person match or an eight-person match. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then have her in the ring. I don't know why I'm pretending like I'm a booker here,

but have her in the ring for 45 seconds or something and do one thing. Yeah, right. Yeah. What do I know? Yeah. No, no, seriously. So, I mean, I'm not sure what it was all about, but again, we did our best.

With being part of reality of wrestling and the way that you look at the business now as a veteran. What's the advice you give to people that are just coming up in the industry that come in here? Letting them know that no matter how seasoned you are in this field, you always learn something new. And if you're not learning something new, there's something wrong, right? So even when you're teaching people, you are learning. So there's always room for growth, room for development. We live in a society right now where everything's instant. And people expect to just make it overnight. Well, put your time in, hone your craft, keep at it, believe in yourself and stay persistent. And then there's always some luck in there as well,

but just keep at it. I think people seem to believe in this idea that it's an overnight overnight success. Right. And you just see the finished product on social media. Exactly. You don't see the years, sometimes decades of hard work that goes into that. Correct. Yeah. So yeah, just come to reality of wrestling and try. train and stay at it. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg.

And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Time's ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really take their claim, 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 Hencoe, follow and listen on your favorite platform. Booker has so many great catchphrases. What is your favorite Booker T catchphrase? Oh, goodness. Well, can you dig it, sucker, has always been my favorite. It always has and always will. Can you do a Booker impression?

Not well. Listen, I'm a professional dancer and can't even do the spinnerooney. Which I'm still mad about. No way. Oh, yeah. I tried it in OVW and could not do it and was mad about it And still, I'm still hot about that. Yeah.

Now can you dig that? Yeah, you do it better than I do. Not really. If you do this, you can say anything. What's your other next favorite booker catchphrase? Save the drama for your mama. And then followed by don't hate the player, hate the game. People forget that that was the start of his entrance theme of WCW.

Yeah, yeah. Don't have the player hate the game. Then his music would have. Right. Yep. Then it turned into can you dig that stuff? Can you dig it, suck? Yeah.

Of Booker's, people say he's the five-time champion, but he's the six-time world champion. Right. Which one of those is your favorite? Um. I mean, he won the sixth one with you. I was going to say with, yeah, Ray Mysterio. But with you. Yes, with me.

Yes. But that match. Yeah. So number six? Yeah. Yeah. I don't, he said this. And I think, yeah, I don't think anybody else won King of the Ring and then went on to

win the World Championship as King of the Ring. Oh, okay. So him doing that. Wow. Okay. I mean, you're in the moment sometimes so you forget, you know? Yeah, yeah. Wow.

Yeah. Do you have a favorite Booker moment? Um, no, because there are so many. Like, you know, I know he's my husband, but I really am a fan. And I'm equally a fan of his entertainment. So the grocery store with Steve Austin, you know, all that stuff with Steve Austin. You know, the bingo game, the nuns, like, oh my goodness. And then the stuff with gold dust.

That was hilarious. Just hilarious, right? So, yeah, I'm equally a fan of his entertainment as well as his wrestling. Was that stuff going on when you, you guys weren't married yet, but were you together when all that stuff was happening? Yes, yeah. Yeah, we were. So I just sit there and laugh. I'm like, you're insane, but okay.

He's just so naturally funny. He is. It's like he was put on this earth to be an entertainer. That's right. I keep telling him that. And I feel the same way about you. Well, thank you. Like you were put on this earth, perhaps to be a dancer, also perhaps to meet your soulmate.

Yeah. But, like, that was your destiny and you're living it. Yes. Yeah. And it's amazing. I'm still out there auditioning, you know, doing a few shows every now and then. My main role right now is mommy. So, you know, 13-year-old twins and that's fun.

But, yeah, so I'm still out there entertaining. I love it. It's what I love. Are the twins going to be wrestlers one day? I think my daughter might. My son, I'm not quite sure what he's interested in. He's leaning more towards basketball. But my daughter is a natural in the ring.

Yeah. What's the scariest moment you ever had in the ring? Ooh. Scariest moment I ever had in the ring was my first match. Because, again, like I said, it almost was like one day we were nitro girls and the next day we were at the power plant. And my first match happened very quickly and it was against Tammy. And Tammy, I believe, was just again so many years ago.

She may have just been coming from WWF over to WCW. Her and Chris came over to WCW. So I didn't really know her. You know what I mean? Because she was just getting there. And so I'm on. already green as green can be. And I'm wrestling somebody I don't know.

I didn't know what to expect. And that was my scariest moment in the ring. Because I just, I felt like I was a deer in headlights. I don't think I've even watched that match. But just the unknown was really scary for me. You haven't aged at all. Oh, my gosh. Thank you.

It's true. Because I feel like I've aged 10 years today alone. Tell us your secrets. I don't have any. You and books still look so good. You know, I think it's because we surround ourselves by these wrestlers, you know? I mean, it's what we love, it's what we do, and we're still staying relevant and active in the business through training the next generation. So they keep us young.

I really think that's what it is. You guys don't need to be doing this. And I think it's great that you are. Yeah. Why do you think you guys want to still be part of wrestling in this way? We absolutely love it. I mean, plain and simple, we absolutely love this business. And for us to be able to be a part of helping it continue in whatever small way we can

by having reality of wrestling and training some kids to be the next John Cena, the next Booker T. I mean, it's, that brings us joy because it's what we love. Yeah, you guys have built like a feeder system here. Yes, absolutely. That was the goal. If someone's getting ready to get signed somewhere, well, go stop off at reality of wrestling. That's right. That's right.

Our guys and girls are ready. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. I mean, if you look behind, I think it's out of focus on your shop. Yes, our. If you look at some of your very famous graduates. I mean, Missouettes. Yeah. Amir-Givara.

Yeah, everybody. Yeah. Roxanne Perez. It's quite a list here. And then you've got a whole bunch of people now. that are going to be the next class. Oh, they're ready. Yeah, they're ready.

It's amazing. I've always supported women in wrestling in whatever role they're in, but just for wrestling in particular, Promise Braxton, Gigi. I mean, we have some amazing females coming through here. You're dropping some names now

that people are going to rewatch this interview. And they're going to say. Yes, in a year or two or three. That's right. That's who Charmel was talking about. That's right. Yes. I get it. Who's Booker when the cameras are off?

The same as when the cameras are on. With Booker, it has always been what you see is what you get. Now, sometimes if you don't know him, he may seem quiet, but all that stuff you see in the grocery store scene with Steve Austin and all of that, that's him, just silly. He's just so naturally funny.

He's animated. Yeah, he's larger than life. So, yes, that is him. And you are as well. Oh, thanks. It's a natural fit, I feel like. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I it's just so great to be able to spend some time with you and be able to hear some of these stories.

So thank you for this. Thank you for. Thank you for welcoming. Of course. Thank you for welcoming me into your ring. Absolutely. I'm going to be doing a segment here tomorrow. That's right.

I'm excited. I'm a little nervous, but I'm excited. Don't be. This is family. You're home. Been a while since I've, I guess I've been in the ring about maybe a year ago. Yeah. Well, anything could happen here.

So we'll say. Look, I end every interview talking about. attitude because it's such an important part of my life. Yes. I wake up every day and I say out loud three things I'm grateful for. I do it before I go to bed as well. And that's how I end every interview. So, Charmelle, what are three things you're grateful for?

I am grateful that God loves me and my family. I am grateful that Booker chose me. And I am grateful for this wonderful life and amazing experiences that I have had and will continue to have. That's great. Thank you so much. Thank you. What a sweetheart of a woman. And Booker and Charmel together are just a power couple. And they're the reason why reality wrestling is such a great wrestling school and also such a great independent wrestling promotion. Great to be able to talk to both of them. I did, I think it was Booker first and then Charmel a little bit later on that day. So what a great day. And we also did the interview with Chelt

Benjamin that day as well. And then I appeared on. and Reality of Wrestling. You can go check that out on the Reality of Wrestling YouTube channel and I got into the ring a little bit. There, go, go check that out

and you can see what I'm talking about. Snap a screenshot of this one and let us know that you're listening and tag us. She's at Real Charmel. I'm at Chris Van Vleet and I'm going to leave you with a quote from Dr. Seuss

and from my favorite Dr. Seuss book which is, oh, the places you'll go. And if it's been a long time since you read that book, and if you have a free 10 minutes, or so, what a great read. It just reminds you of like, man, life can be, like can knock you down, but life can also be pretty great sometimes. Today, you are you. That is truer than true. There was no one alive that is youer than you. Be great and be grateful, my friends. We'll see you on

the next one for some more insight. It's Ask CVV number 42 tomorrow. If you've got a question, and send it on social media using that hashtag, Ask CVV or shoot me an email. CVV at chris fanfleet.com. We'll see you tomorrow. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes.

So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even. even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack. Ticket banjo, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.