Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Ricochet On His AEW Debut, Samantha Irvin's WWE Exit, Will Ospreay Match, Logan Paul. Randy Orton

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

https://cvvtix.com  Tickets for the first ever INSIGHT LIVE the day before the Royal Rumble on January 31, 2025 in Indianapolis are on sale now! Ricochet (@KingRicochet) is a professional wrestler currently signed to AEW. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to discuss his debut at All In inside Wembley Stadium, his decision to leave WWE and why it was left open-ended, his fiancée Samantha Irvin leaving WWE and the backlash that came with it, if he was told to tone things down in WWE, potential new dream matches, his many viral moments and more! Quote I'm thinking about: “Well done is better than well said.” - Benjamin Franklin Sponsors: 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 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 MAREK HEALTH: Get a 10% discount on Marek Health's Optimization Package with code CVV: https://marekhealth.com/cvv BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at https://bluechew.com ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv MANSCAPED: Get 20% off plus free shipping when you use the code CHRISVAN at https://manscaped.com 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/ 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oh, how are you, my friends? Welcome back to another one here on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. Hope you had a great weekend. What did you guys think of Crown Jewel? We will be talking all about that and the fallout from it on this Friday's AskCV number 56. So if you've got a question, just leave a comment on Spotify, send it in using the hashtag AskCVV on social media. Or shoot me an email.

CVV at Chris Vanfleet.com. Hit a shooting star press on that follow button on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or wherever, so you don't miss out on every single episode that we have coming up. Also, also, tickets are on sale now for the first ever in sight live. I'm so excited about this. We've been talking about doing this for a long time, but it's finally happening. It's the day before the Royal Rumble, January 31st in Indianapolis. Tickets have been selling fast, especially those VIP ones, which are super limited.

So you can grab them at CVVTICS.com. That's CVVTIX.com. Rickashay back on the show, and a lot has happened since we had them on last. On July 1st, he became a free agent after being with WWE for six years, and he decided not to resign with WWE. There were a lot of rumors that he was going to go to AEW, and then, on August 25th, he made his AEW debut at Wembley Stadium in London, all in. We talk about all of that and what went into his decision to leave WWE,

why he thought that AEW was the best fit for him. We also talk about his fiance, Samantha Irvin, and her announcement that she was leaving WWE on October 21st. So tons to get into in this one. We also talk about all the insane moments that he's had in his career. He said it best. These are his word, but they're so fitting. He's the moment maker.

Think about all the moments, right? The mid-ring collision with Logan Paul, the double moon salts off the cage in NXT, the shooting star press off the top rope to the outside. The way he sold that RKO from Randy Orton, crazy. And these are just a few of the moments. So we get into all of that stuff and also some of these dream matches that we can look forward to in AEW. So snap a screenshot, tag us so we can share it out.

he's at King Rickashay on social media. I'm at Chris Van Vleet. And here we go. Please welcome the one and only ricochet. Dude, how you feeling? I feel great. Look at you. You know?

This looks great. I feel better. I feel better than I look. Wow. That's something. That is saying a lot then. Yeah, I appreciate it. How these last few months been for you?

Man, they've been great. They've been awesome. There was like a two-month period where I just didn't even do any. I didn't wrestle. I didn't do anything at all from like middle of June to like August, maybe late August, I guess until all in was it? Yeah. I just was not doing it.

Just at home, chilling with my family, working out, eating right, like doing. It was great. Honestly, I was like, I could, I can feel retirement. I can, you know, because some people retire and they're like, oh, I got to do something. Oh, you know. Yeah. Yeah. No, if that two months showed me anything, it showed me that retirement's going to be a breeze.

Well, that's because you were go, go, go for so long. It's probably true. Probably your first break. Yeah. It really was. It really was. And I've never, like, taken a vacation. Like, I've never, like, went to Hawaii for a week.

I've never went to Jamaica for a couple days. If I went anywhere, it's because of wrestling for a couple days. And I just went right back to somewhere else. So it was nice to just be able to just turn my brain off. Right. Yeah, that's great. What was the timeline? between leaving WW and appearing in AEW.

I think my last match was against Andrade on speed. I think that when he won. I think that was my last like a WWE appearance. Unless you count, I guess, except for the Bronn Breaker segment. So whenever that was until All In, like, it was like early June to, yeah, late August. Yeah. I think something like that.

I mean, your character got written off in WWA. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or did it, you know. I think they kind of left it open-ended for a reason. You know, nobody really knew at that point what was going to happen. I think we were just, we were, I think they were trying to leave it a little open-ended. I think we were still talking. So I think that's why they kind of did it the way they did it to, you know,

especially because Rickettsay, he could have came right back in a couple weeks, you know. So, but, no, it just didn't go that way. And, you know, it went this way. And, man, I really, I'm really happy with everything that's happened so far. And yeah, it's been great. Did you know at that point when you're in that storyline getting decimated by Braun Breaker and basically being written out? Did you know that you were done with WWE at that point? Not even necessarily no.

Because so I knew my contract was ending in June, mid-June, give or take. But, you know, all the way up to that point, there was never. There was never a point where I knew I was leaving. I think it was just, again, like I said, I think there was a point like three or four years, well, like three and a half years ago into my WB career where I just said, like, this isn't what I want to do, but I'm just going to do whatever's asked of me,

whatever they need me to do, whatever they want me to do, like whoever they need me to lose to or whatever move, they need to make look cool or whatever. I'm just going to do it because I'm here, and like, you know, I want to put in the work and show that I'm willing to do what they need me to do to, like, get other opportunities. And, you know, I feel like they did give me a bone here or there just to, you know, and I was always on television. I was always showcased on television. So that was, that was always nice.

But I felt like it was always for Shinske, for Sammy, for Seamus, for someone else. It was never like Rikoshae's story. Like, even with, like, Logan, it was like, for Logan. You know what I mean? They gave me little bits and pieces, but it was really for Logan to move on to something else. And after a while, it's just like, oh, man, like, and again, anything can happen at any turn of the road. Like, it could have been like the next week they could have been like, oh, now we're doing this. And so that's always a chance.

But at the end of the day, I think I was really just trying to find out where I was going to be the happiest. You know, and like I said before, when I was younger, I always loved watching the WWE or WWF at the time, WWE now. I always grew up with the figures and loved it, but I never thought I was going to be in the WWE. Even when I started wrestling, I just started wrestling because it's something that I enjoyed and I found friends in it and I found camaraderie. And it's something that made me feel good. again, just again, maybe from being like from Paducah, Kentucky, like a little kid, like you never think you're going to be on that stage. So that's why maybe I never thought about it.

I just happened to chance and chance and chance happened. And I just, something else bigger happened and something else bigger happened. And then the landscape kind of changed. And then luckily things started changing. And NXT happened. And so. But yeah, I don't think there was ever a point where I was, this is what I'm doing. But I think just, I just want to do what's going to make me feel good now.

What's going to make me feel good? What was the deciding factor? What was the final thing where you're like, I'm not resigning with WWB because? Again, I think it was just the, I got to thinking like, okay, what will I be doing? Where will I be in like three years? And after that, where will I be? And again, anything can happen. You don't know what you go, you know, you don't know circumstances, but you just kind of have to play.

from your experiences, because again, especially in the wrestling industry, everybody has a different experience. Sure. And just from my personal experiences and what I feel like Rurcée has been put through,

I just, I don't know, I felt like I had already not paid my dues or whatever, but I felt like I was able to, like, be on the next level of rest like performers there, I guess. But I was still, I felt like I was starting over again.

I felt like I was starting over with the brawn breakers and the Elias and the Carmelos and the new guys just coming in. Like I felt like Ricochet was with those guys coming back in. It's like, man, I've already been here for five or six years. Like I want to be doing something else, you know? And again, I just, at the end of the day, just, again, I wasn't going to go to the highest bidder. I was just going to go to whoever is going to make me feel good. ignite that that spark again because I felt like that fire that was burning inside of me

was like still there but it was just like little embers that needed that the gasoline on it to like really make it ignite you know yeah and I just felt and at the time I felt like AEW could be that gasoline for my my fire and since being there I felt I I feel like I made the right choice just even getting to be in there with the guys that I've been in there with the leos and the AR Fox and even Nick Wayne so when I've never been in there with Sammy Gavara, as Mortos, like, people I've never worked with that I've been excited with, but also people like Air Fox and Leo, who I've worked with before years ago that now we're both different performers. So I really think that had a lot to do with it.

But there was no, there was no, like, specific moment where something happened, and I just, it flipped the switch. I'm like, that's where I'm going. I just think it's what felt right. and I, even when I find myself walking around the bowl and looking, that's like, man, I think, I think, I know I made the right decision. I know I did. So it's like, I'm leaving WWE, and then you're a free agent, right? Yeah. It's not like I'm leaving WWE for AEW.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's I'm leaving WWE. You probably had a lot of offers, a lot of opportunities. You could go pretty much anywhere you want. What made AEW the right call? Honestly, I went and had to talk with Tony. I went and I flew to Chicago and I had to talk with Tony. and we sat and we talked for hours.

We talked about, really just talked about wrestling. Honestly, I don't even think we talked about business. If I'm being honest with you, not I'm thinking about it. I don't think we sat down and talked about figures and story and what I'm going to character stuff. I really think we just talked about wrestling for like three or four hours.

And I think honestly, maybe after that, I was like, man, that was cool. That was so cool. Like, because I felt like a fan, again, just sitting and talking. So maybe that had a lot to do with it. But I mean, obviously, I got mad homies over there. Allspray was over there. Chuck Taylor's over there. You know, a lot of people are over there that I've had mad connections with. And like I said, I think I said it on Jericho's podcast. Like, when I really sat and thought about the time when I was having

the most fun in my career, I was hanging out with all those guys over there. I was traveling the world with those guys over there. And I think that had a lot to do with it, too, just trying to, again, find that spark, find that fun, find, and I knew they would give me the opportunities to just try stuff, and AEW would give me the opportunity to go out there, and whether it's talking or in a match or backstage or whatever, they're just going to give me an opportunity to try something, and it might work, it might not, but at least they're going to let me try. And I think, for me, so far, I've enjoyed everything, everything that I've done in AEW. I've enjoyed my whole time there, So, yeah, honestly, maybe Tony himself had a lot to do with it.

Did you ever feel like you had to tone down your style in WWA? No, that's funny. Even I see it online and not a lot. People are like, people try to say that, oh, I'm so glad he got to AEW so he could be unleashed, but he's like doing all the same stuff. I've said from the beginning, I've said, I probably said it on your interview last time, however many years ago that was. Yeah.

I've said this on social. I've said this before, but I have not changed anything from jump. Even in WW, I was doing springboard 450s to the outside on to the announce tables. I was doing 630s. I was doing double jump shooting stars to the outside. I was doing double moonsaults off the cages. I was doing double springboard corkscrew splashes. I was doing, I mean, I gave Logan a Spanish fly off the top.

through the table because I wanted to, because I wanted to. You know what I mean? I just think it's the opportunities in how often I get to be in there. And also, I just, I didn't win a lot. So, like, I'm personally not going to do the 630 in a match where I'm not, like, going to win the match, you know what I mean? So I think that kind of had a lot to do with it, too. But as far as, like, my moose set goes, I have not toned down anything.

I think it's time and place. And obviously, the opponents that I'm in. in there with, like if I'm in there with a Leo or an Osprey or Nick Wayne, it's going to be a lot different match than I'm in there with a Randy or Drew McIntyre or Seamus or Bobby Lashley or Samoa Joe or Baron Corbin. You know, because that's usually who I was in there with. I was in there with Bronson Reed. I'm not going to be able to have the same match with Bronson than I am with Leo.

You know what I mean? So my move set's going to be different with Bronson Reed than it is with Leo or whomever. So as far as my, as that goes, I really don't think that I've, I've toned down anything. And I don't think I didn't personally come to AEW to be unleashed moveset wise either because I don't feel like I've toned down or really done anything differently. I feel like I have tried to evolve. Yeah. Especially now, I'm 36 now. I'm not 26.

And I think that has, I think my, my appearance has a lot to do with it as well. it's a it's like is he older is he younger is he what is he Brazilian or is he

half black what is he you know what you mean so I think that has a lot to it but it's like I think people

think that I'm like 26 or this guy's from Kentucky seriously yeah so I so when all that

comes into play people like don't know what to think because it's like oh so much stuff yeah so I think

you know just that has a lot to do with it too so I do feel like I have tried to evolve my style just, again, for longevity. You know, I'm trying to, I'm trying to be on my LeBron. You know, I'm trying to be on like my AJ styles. He's been doing.

Like, look at him. He's still going. Yeah. Ray Mysterio's still going. You know, killing it. So I see those guys as, you know, the bar. And they've changed their style. You know, Ray's not doing the same stuff.

He's doing some crazy stuff still. He's not doing the same stuff. Yeah. You know, he's not doing the same stuff. He's still doing the same stuff. So I felt like I have tried to evolve my style. But as far as like toning it down and stuff, I tried to do everything that I can still do,

other than like the double moonsault, which I just haven't done. Will you ever do the double moon salt again? I mean, probably not. What? Probably not. It's beautiful. Yeah, yeah, but I'm not 26 anymore.

I'm 36. You're kidding. Of course you could still do it. I mean, I'd have to practice it. I for sure have to practice it, But when you get out there and you're, and you've already had 20 minutes in a match and you stand on the rope and you're gasping for air,

it's a lot different. It's a lot different. But even that, like, I still feel like I do some crazy stuff. How do you even learn that you can do at 630? Just trial and error. I mean, you get a crash pad. Well, I guess trampoline is where I started.

I've had trampoline since, dang, jump. I've had trampoline since I can remember. or probably went through six or seven growing up, you know. That's probably where it started. And you get in the ring and you get a little crash pad and you just try things. You just, again, because I didn't go through the gym, I didn't do gymnastics. I didn't do any type of training, like flip training. I just kind of trial and error.

And that's kind of, you use the stuff that you learned in the ring and you try. and hope there's no error kind of because that move is balls to the wall yeah you stay tucked you have to until the very end yeah yeah you have to really um it's funny me and osprey we're talking about and maybe pack too we were talking about i used to have uh he's still my buddy but he used to wrestle used to be in the pc his name was a stacey irvin and now he uh he's got his thing online he's like influencer like a like a trainer fitness influencer he's killing it right now but he used to do gymnastics like like competition like he's like a national champion gymnast like type stuff and he was just like popping double moons to his feet when we were in the PC on the they have like a soft ring

for practice and stuff like that he was just popping him to his feet and it was just and he just you know I think wrestling just wasn't his thing it wasn't for him You know, he loved it, but it just wasn't for him, you know. And he left, and I was like, I told him. I said, I understand. I said, but man, I am so glad that you left. So glad. I said, because if you, and he was actually getting pretty good.

He was getting pretty good. But, you know, it just wasn't for him. And I said, man, I'm so glad because he was just popping double moonsaults to your feet like it was nothing. Yeah. So, no, like, I couldn't imagine if he really had like the itch and was just doing. crazy stuff I couldn't imagine. Prize Picks is America's number one daily fantasy sports app with over five million active users. It's the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports because unlike

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When you left WWE, do you feel like it planted a seed for Samantha to also go, I'm also thinking of leaving? No, I mean, she's been talking about that for a while, even before I was even, my stuff was up. I think it happened at WrestleMania. I think last year's WrestleMania was for her, because especially for her announcing was only supposed to be like the way into WW. So you talking about WrestleMania at 40? Yeah, with like Roman versus Cody and then The Rock and then Undertaker and all the stuff. Again, because she first and foremost is a fan. You know what I mean?

Before all of that, you know, she grew up with it. Her dad watched it. Her and her brothers grew up with it, you know. So of course, yes, she's a performer. So she, her time performing and traveling the world performing. got her to a position to where, like Mark Henry found her and said, oh, this girl is amazing. We need her for something.

So I think, and then, again, like I was telling you earlier, the pandemic happened, she used to live in Vegas and did, like, Cirque de Soleil, and she did, like, Vegas to show, and she did, you know, stage shows. Yeah. So when the pandemic happened, you know, luckily Mark Henry got a hold of her during that. She actually did the full tryout. She did, like, the full tryout. Like, because they didn't know, they didn't know, they didn't know she was going to be a ringer now.

Yeah, like to try out to be a wrestler. Mark Henry said, we just need this girl for something. She's so talented. We need her. And she did, like, she's got pictures where she was, like, hitting the robes. Like, her tailbone is bruised and her back is, like, bruised. Like, brig bruises on her back. She did the whole trial taking bumps, body slams, did the whole thing.

And then I think she was in NXT as actually an interviewer. And then I think once, I think Greg Hamilton. did his thing and she replaced him on Smackdown because she was already interviewing, but they needed somebody. And then they were like, oh, she could do it. So they just kind of said, hey, can you do this? And she was like, yeah, sure. She was already doing 205 live and she was doing things like that.

But again, I think ring announcing was only supposed to be the way in. She wanted to be like a character. That's what she's been her whole life. She's been stage performing her whole live, drama club to stage performing to traveling the world. doing stage performance, you know. So that's kind of what, you know, she hoped. But then I think once WrestleMania happened, I think she was like, that's the highest I'm going to get.

That's the, that's the, because for her, she's a performer, she, it's funny because it's hard to explain, like, when you're just a performer, like, I guess announcing, because now she's getting kind of hate because she said she didn't enjoy announcing. Yeah. But she enjoyed making the WWE, universe feel emotions and she enjoyed using her voice to to help promote and help you know move the the company forward but just literally the act of like coming to the ring and weighing at 230 like

she just it's like I this is just my this is just my example it's like having maria carry but she's just a ring announcer. And you don't get in any other other stuff, Maria Carrie was able to. When they start to give her more like she's singing the national anthem or singing, I think God bless America, bad blood. Is that like, all right, here's some more stuff.

Here's another chance to show you can do. Yes, but also like, but she like, she wants to be a stage performer. Like, it's hard to, it's hard to say. And it's funny because a lot of that stuff, she was like, man, I don't, I don't even like, she's like, I'm so nervous. Like, I don't even want to do this because,

because it's so nerve-wracking. Especially she says, like, the anthem, singing the national anthem. It's, like, the hardest song you can sing. I've heard that, yeah. I don't want to say, like, just the pressure, you know, singing the national anthem when you're on a pay-per-view or you're at the, you're at Allegiant Stadium and all the fans are watching. She's like, it's the hardest song to sing, and you've got to pick your breath properly.

And, but again, at the end of the day, she loves them. respects the position, and she loves and respects wrestling, but she just wanted to be, you know, she wanted to be like Paul Heyman, you know what I mean, like a manager or a something. But at the end of the day, it's like, like me, for example, I loved WB and I love my time there and I loved everything that I did. But at the end of the day, like, I felt like, and I say it's a huge production. It's the biggest production. you know, in entertainment, like it travels. It's huge.

It's the biggest show on earth. And I think in that production, people kind of have their roles. And once I feel like, oh, this is what I was telling her. I feel like she broke tradition. I think that's why people are kind of upset. Because, again, how long was Sphinx doing it? Yeah. How long did Lillian do it?

Even like Justin Robert's still doing it. You know what I mean? And the fact that she only did for like four years. And then she found out like, this isn't what I was born to do. isn't what I like love to do like but in that time she became so good I know and she says she's like honestly it's like that's my fault she goes and I just she's like I don't know she's like I don't know how to like change that part like fans were saying she was one of the greatest of all time absolutely she's like but it's funny because it's again it's like if you had again I'm using these names just again

these are my examples but what if we like we had Whitney Houston but she was just a ring announcer even like one time I went behind Sam and I saw her, she had a little book open and she had like the whole like the music bars, the treble club. She had it and she had like music notes. And I was looking there for a second and I just looked over his shoulder and I said, what does that say? What does that sound? And she was like the music notes that she wrote is a Rhea Ripley. Wow. So she like, she broke it down like that.

And like I think that's why she was making little jingles, the American, Nightmare Cody Rhodes, Jay Uso, main event. Judge, she was making jingles. She was trying to time it with songs. She was trying to time it with the beat. So when the beat dropped, she was done saying it, so the beat could go. And she was really trying to tie it all together. Because she's an artist.

She's a musician. Like, that's what she naturally does. She's just not an announcer. So she wanted more. And it's like, obviously there's no disrespect to any of that. It's like, just because that's not what you were born to do and that's not what you love to do. It's like, it's just crazy. I saw someone on Twitter say she left her dream job, and she's like, it's a great job. It's not my dream job. Absolutely. But again, people take offense

to it because, again, I think she just broke tradition. I think traditionally, especially in WWE, they build off like, I don't want to say anything that's going to get taken out of context, but you know, everything does. You know, they build it off like repetitiveness. They want And, like, you know, like, when you find something that works, like if you smell what the rock is cooking, he's going to say it every time because then the fans are going to say it. Like, why would he change it up? Yeah.

You know what I mean? Why would he change that up? It works. It's working. It's going. So even when the rock quit, everyone was so mad at him because he just stopped doing it and to do movies. Like, it's funny because I was never mad at the rock.

When he started doing Walking Tall, I was like, I guess I'm just going to watch walking tall. You know what I guess I'm just going to watch? That movie's great. The runaway. I'm going to watch, you know what I mean? The rundown. The rundown, I'm sorry. He just got excited.

So that's the way I see it. It's like she found, like, she found just like the rock found, this is great. I love this. I have so much respect for this. I put my heart, my soul into this. I gave it literally everything that I have to make WWE better because of the love that I have for it. But at the end of the day, it's just not what like, it's not what I was born to do. And just like me, I told her, if you feel even half the way that I feel like, I feel like, this isn't what, you know, I want to do.

This isn't what I feel like I could feel like I could be doing more as well. And that's kind of why I left. And she just feels like she could be doing more. And honestly, at the same time, maybe she doesn't want to do anything. Like at the end of the day, we got two kids together. We got our house. We got dogs. And I know it's crazy.

but again, just the way she and I both kind of grew up, she wants to be at home a little bit more and she wants to be able to take care of our kids and make sure they're getting to school on time and doing their homework. And she wants to make sure, like, when I come home, my house is clean and stuff. And, like, that's what she literally wants to do.

And so she's like, I might not even do anything for a while, whether that's make music, make whatever, do, like, she's like, I might not just do anything because this is kind of what I want to focus on. And I just, I'm there with her. I'm like, hey, baby, whatever you want to do, I got your back. Like, if you don't want to do anything and you want to chill at the house, that's my dog. I got you. You can do that.

You know what I mean? Because now she can travel with me whenever she wants. She can go with me wherever she wants. And she can, we can take the kids now together. And we don't have to worry about if she comes to a show or people are going to. to think something or, you know, we kind of just want to do, live our life a little bit, you know what I'm saying? Your schedules were pretty flipped, right?

They were pretty flipped. She was gone Sunday to Tuesday? I would leave Tuesday to Thursday. Right. And then, you know, depending on where the people are. It was kind of, you know, I didn't really get to see my daughter a lot either because I was gone, you know, the days we normally have her. I'm just gone now.

So it's just, I think at the end of the day, like, we just, It landed. We just had to really figure out what was best for us individually, because that was going to be best for us together. And it's funny because, again, we have our conversations, you know, private. And she was always talking about, like, she's like the biggest thing that's, not that I regret, but the biggest thing that's going to hit me about this is how the fans are going to feel. Because she knows the impact.

She understands and she appreciates it all. But it's like, man, at the end of the day, if you're just not, if you're not enjoying what you're doing, even though you have mad love and you have respect for it, it's like, man, it's just, and that's anything. I'm sure people who worked at, you know, I worked at a factory forever. I worked at this fiberglass factory and I just hated it, you know, because I knew that was not for me. And the same thing, if people were working, like, you know what I mean? Look at you now. You're killing it, doing your whole thing. I'm sure you had a job before this, but you just did not like, even though you probably.

were succeeding at it and you probably, I don't know, and that's obviously different scales for everybody. Yeah, there's a lot of fans that seem like they're, they feel betrayed by this. I think she, like, broke the tradition of wrestling, you know, again, you have people who are in it forever. Again, like, I said, look at Ray Mysterio and AJ Stiles because they've been doing it for so long and they're still in it, you know, they're still doing that. So I think, especially when wrestling fans find something that, that makes them feel good. and makes what they like watching better, they just wanted forever.

Of course, you know, I watch One Piece. It's like almost, it's on 1,100 episodes. I want more episodes. I don't want it to stop. You know what I mean? So I get it. I feel the same way about The Simpsons. Exactly.

I don't want it to stop. So I understand. I understand. Again, I feel like she broke tradition, wrestling tradition in a way by just stepping away. But, man, again, And if it's anybody, you can't blame somebody for it. If it wasn't for her, she is so good at adapting to the job and figuring it out because

to go from, I'm not this passionate about it, but I'm going to give it a try because it's an opportunity and then becoming, in some people's eyes, one of the greatest. That just really speaks to the talent that she has. Yeah. And it speaks to the respect she has for the art of it. It speaks to the passion she has for the art of just, performing in general. But yeah, I mean, I'm really proud of her.

I knew I told her it's going to take a lot of strength. It's going to take a lot to a lot of resolve to do this. Again, I just, again, because I think a lot of people see it. And again, you're on the WWE and it's like the big platform and there's millions of viewers and it's this big spectacle. And when you step away from it, people are like, like, wait, what? Why?

And it's like, man, because, again, at the end of the day, it's like, she wants to, like, just do other stuff other than just ring announcing. She just didn't want to be labeled as a ring announcer. Yeah. And, you know, being able to do the national anthem and stuff, I guess it helped show that she could sing. I'm not even show that she could sing. It gave her a platform for her to be able to show other talents.

But then it's like, but like even those are the talents that she, she's, I don't want to say not worried about. But it's the stage performing in general again. And as people were like, how could you be the general manager of all? Like it's like it's wrestling anybody like literally it could have, it's wrestling anything that happened. But she just, she's been doing it her whole life. And whether it's here or in a movie or in a TV show,

she feels like one day that's what that's what she kind of wants to be doing. And I support her fully. Like I'm here for her. Like I said, and I told her again, if it was different, like I said, like, if it was different and she every week was excited about going in and she was like, I can't wait to do ring announcing, I would be like, yeah, babe, I love it. But it's just like, I just, again, I just want you to do what you do, live a happy life because, you know, we got happy lives.

I feel like there's nothing. I feel like why, like we are in control of what makes us happen. So we got to choose what makes us happy. It just, it sucks because on the other end, what we do makes other people, you know, feel happiness, fill emotions. So when you kind of take that away, again, it's upsetting. It's upsetting. I totally understand. I totally get it.

Did you feel like you needed to clear up that, no, she's not coming to join me in AEW? No, but I just kind of, again, I kind of think it was. funny just no i guess i didn't need because again none of that's real it's not real twitter's not real no it's not uh and yes you need social media for a lot of promotion you need it for a lot of stuff especially nowadays but like as far as like our lives again it's not real because no one says that stuff to us in real life no one anytime i meet anybody and i've traveled the world No one's ever said, you made a big mistake going, you know, no one's ever said, you need to change the way you wrestle.

No one's ever said. That match with Will Osprey. Yeah. All you did was gymnastics. No one says that stuff to my face. And maybe now they will. And I hope you do because, but don't be afraid what I say back. Anyways.

But. You've been letting loose on Twitter. Yeah. Just having fun? Yeah. Like that one day, like I was on my way back from Gleet, I think. overseas in Japan. I was just up on my flight, and people were like,

oh, he's replying back awfully fast. It's like, yeah, because I'm on a 10-hour flight doing nothing, and I'm bored. But, yeah, and also, it's like professional wrestling, right? Isn't the whole thing, like trash talk? You know what I mean? Yeah. Your tweet, when you quote, tweeted that GCW match?

Yeah. And you were like, I'm going to paraphrase. It was nothing but gymnastics and flips. It was horrible. It's hilarious. Yeah, you know. No. But what are you trying to do with that, though?

He's trying to have fun, trying to piss people off? No, for one, I just wanted to retweet it because it was an awesome clip, like Jack Evans and Sydney freaking killed it. But I think it was just to kind of stir the pot a little bit for no reason because I knew some people were going to say, oh, that's funny. Ha, ha, ha. I thought it was very funny. What a funny joke. but I knew some people are going to be so mad about it and or or something.

I don't know. But yeah, it's obviously I just wanted to retweet it, but I wanted to say something. I didn't want to say, oh, this is cool because it was cool, but I just don't want. So I just said what they say about me because, again, this is just me. But when I go back and I watch like me versus Will

or like that Reggie match or like even the triple threat we had or something like that. It's me, again, I think it's awesome. I said these three guys would be my favorite wrestlers. If I was a kid watching Will Osprey and Rickishay wrestle, they would be my favorite, because Ray Mysterio is my favorite wrestler.

You know what you mean? So, again, this is just me, but I know some people don't like it, and then they will voice. They will gladly let me know that they don't like it. But it's just, it's funny because why not like say just something bad? Because again, I have,

I talk to people all the time about anime. We have great conversations about movies. We have great conversations about wrestling. We have great conversations about comic books. We have great conversations about so much stuff on my own. But, like, also at the same time, I feel like we should be able to reply to some of the haters, right? I mean, like they always say any press is good press,

but like also it just gets like usually those like if I post something usually those posts get the most engagements you know what I mean it's going to get the most likes it's going to get the most engaged it's going to get the most comments it's going to get the most so and on social media that's really what matters those numbers but um at the same time it's just funny because me and my friends you should see our our group chats we're people like are you guys really friends what you're talking it's like because they're arguing with each other in person. I guess it's just fun.

It's fun to sometimes talk. That's why they're talking. They said something to me. I can I say something back? Well, you're doing it in jest. They're doing it because they, like, genuinely don't like you or don't like your style of wrestling. It's funny.

That's what's crazy. What's crazy is just the way that I do my wrestling, people get mad. It's like, I'm sorry that the way that I do my style of wrestling makes you so angry. And I'll never understand. that. Like, if I go to a buffet, and there's plenty of beautiful buffets here in Las Vegas. If there's a certain type of food that I don't like on that buffet, you know what I do? I look at it and I go, yeah, well, that's cool. And then I move on to, I move on to where the guy's carving the prime rib. What I do is I instantly go online and I tag the place that I'm at,

and I say, even though they got a whole buffet, I say, this fucking sucks. What do you have it? Get it out of here. Get it out of it. That doesn't belong in a buffet. It's not even food. It's not even food. It's not even food. And I tag them. Yeah. And I hope that they respond. Because it is food. It might be a food that I don't like, but it is food.

Yeah. You know what you mean? Like what's your favorite style of wrestling? Your match with Osprey. Ooh. I know is. And so I think if I, like that style, like X Division is probably like 06 to 08 X Division. Yes.

Yeah. If AJ Stiles or Christopher Daniels or Samoa Joe is in a match. but some of my favorite stuff. Yeah, but at the same time. Me too. Me and Swan used to sit and watch the X Division stuff all the time

when we were over in Dragon Gate. But the same time, Triple H was my guy in like 99, 2000, 2001. I guess the Rock's my favorite wrestler ever. Although. So much of what I do is influenced by the Rock. Yeah. And so like,

I don't know, like, again, it's just me personally. I don't look and watch death match wrestling because it's just not my thing. It's not my style. It's not something, you know, there's been great death matches, obviously. Not my thing.

But I'm not going to tell those guys, that's not even fucking wrestling. You're just jumping into barbed wire. You're just jumping into light tubes. You're not wrestling. Who am I to say that? That's how the people who are watching there cheering it on, they think it's wrestling. They're enjoying it. Yeah.

Especially, like, again, the will us very much. Like, if you look at the people in the crowd, not the people online, but the people who paid the money to go there and watch it, they're out their seat cheering. The reaction of that match is fascinating because the crowd doesn't know what they're in for, and it's almost like it keeps building. And then towards like the middle,

kind of the end of the match, they're just like, what is? This is incredible. And again, I just, I watch so much anime. I watch Jackie Chan movies. I watch Jet Lee movies. And I see these guys do some of the stuff that you would never do in real life, ever. But for me, I say, that's awesome.

I want to try it in real life. You know what I mean? Like, I think it's the coolest stuff ever. And I think, again, but some people, they don't think it's done gracefully. Some people don't think that it's done well. Some people don't think that, you know, some people think that it is. You know, it's not what they believe, what they feel is how they view the art of wrestling. And that's okay to me too.

Do you not take it personally? You can't. Dude, it's been 21 years, bro. 21 years of people telling me since I was 16, you're never going to make it. All you do is flips. You need to get a little more rough. You're just doing gymnastics. 21 years, bro.

But it's never people who I like, who I respect, or who I care about. You know, it's never, AJ Stiles is telling me, you're doing too much, you need a, it's never Ray Mysterio,

it's never Cody Rhodes, it's never Stone Cold Steve Austin. It's never, you know what you mean? It's fucking, sorry, it's, it's disco inferno

telling me that it's something. You know what I mean? It's, it's, I'm trying to, you know, it's those guys telling me, And this is that quote, never take advice or never take criticism from someone you wouldn't take advice from.

Exactly, yeah, never take criticism for someone who you wouldn't take advice from. So when, like, Bubble Ray pulls up on me and he's telling me something, I'm going to sit there and listen to Bubba Ray because I respect what Bubba Ray has to say. But like, but even then, he likes most of the stuff that I do. So, like, and again, I just, and again, maybe it's not for everybody, you know, when Jackie Chan's making a movie, he knows. that some people are not going to like it. You know what I mean? So I understand that. Do you think about where your career would be

if you hadn't got all the backlash from that match with Will? Because that's really what took it to another level. Yeah. I don't even know because... Because you guys just went out there and had a match. Absolutely.

Even the people who were... Who's seen us wrestle, they didn't even think that the... Not that they thought the match was amazing, but like, oh, yeah, that was a Wheel Off Spray-Rickshaw match. Because we've had matches before that match. That match is just the one that blew up, which I'm grateful for.

It was crazy seeing it on ESPN. It was crazy seeing it on all these sites and stuff, which is still cool because you still do see it every now and then. But man, I just, I'm such a big anime fan. Like, if you don't like my matches, you definitely don't like to watch anime. Because I feel like that's how I build my matches and that's how I build the story. And that's how I go about them. But I know it's not for everybody. I understand that.

I apologize to the people who absolutely hate it. But again, I love it. I love watching the artistic. I do, because, again, it is gymnastics. It is Cirque de Soleil. It is martial arts. But at the same time, for me, that all fits into professional wrestling.

for me. And I know again, some people just don't like it. Some people just see the flips or maybe they'll just see the one clip of us doing the flippy spot,

but then they won't see me blast will I spray in the mouth with a forearm. You know what I mean? They don't see me drop Leo with a knee that I just gave them. Was this a new finish

against Nick Wayne? Yes. Yes. Okay. Do you have a name for it? I got some things in the barrel. I got some things in the barrel. I am very indecisive. Kind of looks like it's a nod to Will and the Hidden Blade.

It's, yeah, a little nod to Will. Again, we kind of have a little competition, and I just kind of wanted to figure out something, and especially for the people who, for the, for the, for the, It's funny. It's like you can't win for losing. You know what I'm saying? It's funny because, again, I'm trying, I don't want to, I know it's going to get taken out of context,

but people will talk about all the time. All I do is flips, figure out something else, and then I do something else. And then they're like, oh, that's not flashy enough. He needs to do something way more, way more flashy or like impressive. And it's like, well, okay. But, like, I feel like I do so much impressive stuff during the match that at the end, if I want to rock your head with an elbow, that's what I'm going to, you know, that's, you know what I'm saying?

I feel like that's a guillotine. Bam, you know what I'm saying? But again, I just, I saw Will and especially he kind of got taken out Kyle's idiot. Kyle Fletcher had to take him out with a screwdriver, but he'd been gone. So I'm going to give a little nod to him, a little shout to him, let him know he's still here. But yeah, I also at the same time, I just wanted to, like I said earlier, evolve my style a little bit. And again, I was just trying to think of something, again, a little more rough, a little more hard hitting than I knew would also look. Pretty sick, too.

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WWE, you were making everybody looks so good. Delv Ziegler had a similar conversation with me about this. Yeah, I get that. Yeah. Where when you're making all of these other guys look so good, now your role ends up becoming, hey, can you go out there and sell some moves and make them look really devastating? I mean, again, this is just for my own experiences. It's like, I don't know how many times I heard, oh, yeah, do something spectacular and

figure out, you know, like a cool. way to, you know, you know, to lose. I figure out a spectacular way to lose is what I, I heard a lot. You know, I got to figure out. Another spectacular way to lose. All right. You know what I'm saying? So, again, that's why everything that I say, I try not to actually place blame.

Because, again, at the same time, like I said on Jericho's podcast, I place all the blame on myself. Anything that I didn't achieve or I haven't achieved or I didn't get the grass or anything, any shortcomings that I've had in my career is nobody else's fault but my fault. I, it wasn't WWE holding me down and as much as I feel they weren't holding me down, but they did put me in a position to where I was like kind of stuck. Do you feel like you could have stood up for yourself more? Yes and no, because not that it doesn't. matter. But again, this is AEW, this is WV. I'm sure TNA is the same way, blah, blah, blah,

but like if they don't want to do something or if they do want to, they're going to do it or they're not going to do it, you know what I mean? So I think after, and it gets it for me, after so long of like kind of pitching an idea or doing something and then seeing how it goes, for me, I'm not really confrontational person. All right, now I'm just going to do whatever needs to be done, do what's asked of me, show that I'm a ball player, so that I can take directions so that I can, you know, fight my battles for sure, fight my little battles that I need, but at the end of the day, I just, I'm not going to be the one going in every week, talking, trying to get my spot. I'm not going to be the one trying to catch them as they're talking.

It's just not my thing. You put the work in, you show that you can put the work in, you show that you can level up, you show that you can evolve, you show that you can, you can, you can, you know, you can deliver when the opportunities are presented and then you, hopefully from that, just continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger opportunities. But, and again, it takes time. Some people, it does take time. Again, people are in the WWE for 20, 30 years. So I get that.

I totally understand that. And I get. But at the same time when, man, I feel like, again, AEW, you got, it's a little bit. different but in WWE when I am doing springboard four 50s to the outside on the announced table or I'm doing like jumping off of something or I'm doing a lot of stuff that really nobody is doing it's like why can I get not even why again again I blame myself but it's like why was why can I get why can I just win this match I got I on me like I've been on TV for five weeks yeah but I've been losing what can I win this one okay

I just losing again okay is is being a world champion is that like what the goal is I think I mean as far as me it's it's it's just really it's it's like a legacy thing and I guess being holding championships it's funny because in wrestling they say championships don't matter but like they do they really do they say you know they say it doesn't matter but perception is reality and if the perception is just a champion, then that's the reality. If the perception is that you just lose all the time, and that's reality. I have my dad.

My dad was calling me one time. He was like, yeah, I'm excited to watch you tonight. He's like, we got people over. He's like, literally, it's my dad. He's like, we know you're going to lose, but he's like, we're all excited. I said, Mike, is it there? Okay. You know what I'm saying?

So things like that. Perception is reality. So obviously championship gold, yes, is in mind. And that's why I'm kind of headed for Takesha right now. And even before DeKesda, it was all spray. It only got changed to Kestka through circumstances. Yeah. But I mean, when you talk about legacy, there's some matches there that in AEW you haven't had yet.

Absolutely. Like, the thing is, I just got here. I'm here for a couple years. I'm here for a while now. You know what I'm saying? Ryan Danielson. You guys haven't wrestled one-on-one, right? I don't think we've ever been in the ring together.

I think of Royal Rumble, you guys. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't count really none of my rumbles, really, because I came in and then like two spots later I was gone. So, like, I was never in for any significant amount of time. Even when I was in, other than that one, I was in there with maybe Brian Danielson and maybe Edge. I got to do some stuff. So there's a match that hasn't happened yet.

Yes, absolutely. Tana Hashi's retiring soon. There's so many. I mean, Innocent, Edge, Moxley, Swironsley, Swirons. I don't have a swirve in Indies, but never an AEW, obviously MJF. There's still mad opportunities right now. But again, like I said, I just got here. I literally just got here.

But I've been excited with the stories that we've been telling so far, because I know people kind of just watch weekly and they only see what happens weekly. But if you really look at the story of like even Ricochet and Osprey, since I first got here with the family. And if you look at what we've been telling, like there's so much story there. But again, I think people choose to see what they want to see and stuff.

And that's fine. But I've really been, again, like I said, I've been so happy and so proud with what we've been doing so far. I want to go through some of your epic selling. Yeah. The RKO. Yeah. Like land on your top of your head somehow?

Yeah. Yeah. That, I think he's just a heavy dude. So when he like jumps, like I jumped up with him, I think he just went down faster than I was expecting. I don't know. And he just went down faster. And that's just where momentum takes you. Maybe you jumped higher and he's a little lower? I don't think I jumped. He jumped. I was on my feet. I just rolled up to my feet and turned around. It looked so cool. again, I think you always want to make it look good,

especially when you got people like RVD and you got Ziegler and you got these guys you want to, but like, that wasn't all me by design. That was a lot of just unnatural experience that happened in the moment. You know, I always, obviously, again, tried to make things look good,

but that one was more natural than it looked. It was more natural than I was trying to make it look like that. How about the moon-suitary? into the Claymore with Drew McIntyre. Yes. That's always another one that gets some good, some views every time it pops up. It's funny because that's another one.

Like that one, and maybe the one with Adam Cole where he got me. Adam Cole kicked your face off. Kick my face off. And it's funny because even that, that clip, again, people online were like, what were you trying to do at Moonsault while he was standing up?

And it's like, yeah. That's exactly what, like, Cody Rhodes did them all the time. Like, Alistair Black did them all the time. Like, yeah, like, people do it, you know, all the time. That's exactly what I was going for. They just kicked my face off. But, and again, those two guys, obviously, their accuracy is on point, I would say, because it's a lot of them, too.

The suplexes from Brock Lesnar were crazy because he's throwing you, but you're also just flying and that's how that works. That's exactly how that works. He throws you and then you go flying. That you have that that's A and B of it. That's kind of all there is. You have no control. I mean,

especially somebody my size, like he's in there throwing brawn and he's in there throwing Bobby and Drew and stuff. So like, once he gets me, like, again, that's, you always want to make stuff look good, but that's another one where, I just had no control over how it looked because he's just tossing you.

Literally, you feel helpless. Did you know that the moment at the Rumble with Logan Paul would become the focus of that match? Yes and no. Again, it's funny because I can't say anything without sounding a specific way. I think it's just me. Right. But I feel like I'm the moment maker. I'm the guy.

I have so many moments. You have a lot. Especially in matches with multiple people, it's like, yeah, but ricochet and that spot, no, that was crazy. So yes and no, especially with Logan, anything he does kind of goes viral. And I knew basically, especially in wrestling, all the athletic stuff that I does usually always goes viral. Did he approach you and say, I want to do this spot? Or did he have the idea of I want a viral moment in the Rumble? And they went, Rickishers your guy.

I don't know if he had any specific conversations before about that that I'm unaware of. But I was approached by Helms, actually, Hurricane with the idea. And Helms has been producing all Logan's matches. Yeah, I think from the beginning. Right. Yeah. It's funny because I normally don't get onto this side. I usually keep everything pretty k-fade because I like that.

But I was approached by Hurricane with the idea. that day actually it was like that day they came to me when i got to the arena um and again with all the you know all the stars that were in that match and everything that they had planned and stuff but again i just feel like everything Logan does is a clip you know and that's before like i've you know since vine you know what i'm saying he's been everything he's done is it's been popular so uh i knew that you again selfishly as performers in general, selfishly, you want it to be

the most talked about thing. But I guess I never really expect anything. I never expect anything to be the main thing. I just kind of like planning something that I think looks cool and feels cool for the crowd. It's going to be a cool moment. But again, at the same time,

I knew that it was going to be a pretty crazy experience. The timing was absolutely perfect. I think poor guy rocked his head. He said he was okay, but he came down hot. Like mine was more of the wind when I landed. It was like just from that high up, you know. But when he landed, it looked like he said he was okay. But I was definitely out of breath.

It's one of those things where you just get hit and it's like the, you know, feel like. But when you pause it, you guys are like perfectly centered. It's wild. I got a little ring. Somebody, I think he lives in Australia. but he sent me a little painting. It's probably like this big of like us, like right when we're about to collide.

And it just looks like Logan, like his position and I'm like jumping. It's like, again, I think of like Morpheus and Neo when Morpheus is like jumping out of the building. And Neo's on the helicopter and they jump at each other in the first one. Again, that's how I, again, some people are like, why are you guys just jumping at each other? And it's like, because it's cool. You know what I'm saying? Like, we just saw each other and I said, oh, what's you doing? He said, what's you doing?

I said, if you, froggy jump, he said, let's go then. Then that's what just what we did, you know what I'm saying? Like, I don't know. It's, I'm always, I've, again, maybe it's just me. I don't know what it is, but for 21 years, I've not been a professional wrestler and I've not done anything other than gymnastics. So, seriously. So I don't know why.

people keep hiring me. Yeah, yeah. What's the spot that you're most proud of? Oh, no one's ever asked me that. Because like you said, you've made a lot of moments, a lot of them. We're just touching on a few of them here. Man, I couldn't even tell you. I think the boom, boom, boom, boom has to be up there.

With Osprey? Yeah, just because it... It had never been done before. It never really been done before. And that also, the timing on that was so hard. It was good. Even the one in our singles match was pretty good. It was pretty good.

But that first one, the timing of it was just on point. And again, like you said, I don't think the crowd knew what was going on. Well, at that moment they did, they were like, oh, okay. But that has to be up there. Man's the six men that we had in PWG. There's a lot in that. That's pretty cool. I like that one.

man, I'd have to really think because there's been so many cool moments that I've had. There's been a lot of times where, like, you're in a ladder match, you're in money in the bank. We've seen a lot of things that have happened in a ladder match, but you still somehow find a way

to jump through the ladder and something we've never seen before. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Again, that's what Jackie Chan would have done. That's what Jackie Chan. He would have jumped through the ladder to do something, you know what I'm saying? one time in Lucha Underground, me and Morrison

at our all-night long match where we had like an Iron Man match. I was on the outside and he was in the ring and he pushed the ladder. We had a huge like 20 foot ladder. And like he pushed it and I just like covered up. And then it landed. And like I was in between the little space

and it landed and I was like, and like that's just something I feel like Jackie Chan would have done. I feel like that's a very Jackie Chan moment. Yeah. And again, so. It's your favorite Jackie Chan movie? movie oh

drunken master is good rumble in the Bronx is good uh honestly I really like his new one is called the foreigner he was like an old guy yeah yeah it was good too yeah uh

I could I don't know he's a legend obviously I don't want to say rush hour man it was so good uh I don't know that was a hard one

that would be a hard one for me to choose I mean you listed off four great ones ones there. But there's still so many more. Yeah. There's still so many more. And there's so many more, like,

fights that he has. Like, just specific fights. I'll go online and just look up, like, Jackie Chan fights and just look up, like, specific fights he had in movies just to, like, get inspiration or, like, think of something else. Like, he'll, like, roll over something and do something else.

I'm like, oh, how can I incorporate that? You know what I mean? I love that. I really, again, I've been saying forever. Rickishay plans, all this stuff after Jackie Chan. You were talking about Lucha Underground. When was the last time you saw Prince Puma? He's in Mexico somewhere.

He's out of Mexico. He's taking care of the orphans, man. He's doing good. I haven't seen him in West, probably since like 2016-17, I'd say. You think Prince Puma would wrestle another match? Could Prince Puma wrestle in A.E.W? I feel like you'd have to ask Lucha Underground. Do you own the IP?

No. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, I feel like you'd have to ask Lucha Underground about that. Well, next time I talk to Robert Rodriguez. Yeah, or Mark Burnett. Yeah. I'll ask them.

Yeah. I don't know. Tony's made a lot of things happen. That's very true. Captain Insano showed up. That's very true. We didn't think that would happen. No, man.

I definitely have some, like, gear ideas in mind for the future, but I think he's down there in Mexico. Hmm. If he showed up in AEW, I don't know how this would work. But what if we saw. I saw Rikashei versus Prince Puma. Absolutely. You'd have to wear a shirt, you know, the tattoos. The tattoos kind of throwing off.

The same. That would be a crazy match. Honestly, I feel like it would be the same thing as like Rikisha versus Will Osprey, though. Pretty much. I feel like it'd be similar. I feel like that'd be similar. But I will say, Luke, that was a great time in my career that I think really helped gain some popularity just for me in general.

We had like a cult, like, following that was, like, real, like, hardcore there for a couple seasons. I went to a taping at the temple. It was what is... It's crazy to see the first taping when we had just a couple people on the bleachers. There were no chairs on the floor, no chairs on the floor. We had a couple people, like, where the steps came down, that we had some bleachers. We had a couple people there.

It was, like, like, not much. but then like the next taping we had people everywhere then like the next taping it was like packed yeah and then like after that it was just off to the races i think it was there like season three and it was everybody in there was die hard yeah yeah it was we really we formed something really cool there for a couple years and i feel like obviously it just got pretty expensive to to continue to make a tv series like like that that's what i assume but man for for For a little while there, it was so cool. And it's just the memories that we got to make and the people that I got to, the friends

that I got to connect with, a lot of them are here at AEW now. And so we just got to, like, respark that, you know, that fire. And it's been, what, six years, seven years since I've seen them. But, like, it kind of was like I saw them last weekend, you know. We started right back where we left off. So, like, that was really cool feeling. How does someone get abs like you? Man, honestly, I'm sorry, but like genetics has a lot to do with it.

Genetics plays a big part. But at the end of the day, you know, it's about consistency. It's about it's about being in the kitchen more than actually the gym. Abs are made in the kitchen. Abs are made in the kitchen and it sucks. It sucks. I saw a clip of Roman actually recently. Roman was talking about you just have to be miserable for so long until you just get used to being miserable.

Like as far as like eating chicken and rice and broccoli and asparagus and water and nothing else, you know, like, obviously, you know, you get your cheap meals and you got your stuff. But you just kind of have to be miserable until you're just. But for me, I, and all my friends know, especially around this time of the year, we're getting towards Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. I fall off hard. I really do fall off, especially with my workouts. I fall off real hard around holiday season. It happens every year. And for a while, I'm like, oh, man, every time around this year, I just can't get the motivation.

And someone was like, yeah, it's just the holiday season. You just, plus you're probably going hard, what, nine months of the year, you're going to the gym five days a week. I saw something that was like, it doesn't matter where you eat between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It matters more where you eat between Christmas and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. True. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pretty good.

Absolutely. You're good for 11 months of the year. Yeah. That one month can be filled with pumpkin pie and. And again, I think, again, genetically, I've been, I've been lucky, think genetically. But also at the same time, genetically, I feel like I've been at a disadvantage because I'm a 5 foot 980 pound guy trying to fit in this world of giants type thing. And so that's where also I feel like I've got to find my own form of, of performance. professional wrestling. And again, much like the Ray Mysterios and psychosis and Tiger Mask and

Liger and Saske and all these guys that I just grew up, Hayabusa, you know what I'm saying? Blitzkrieg, Jack Evans, Matt Seidel, you know what I'm saying? All these guys that I just grew up just, you know, thinking they were so cool and the way they, the way they did stuff was so cool and the way they wrestled was so cool. And now I'm just trying to kind of. of do my own version of that. And it's just, it's been crazy. And it's, I just, I have no regrets. But.

Well, you're doing it. Huh? You're doing it. I'm doing it. Yeah. I'm doing it. Even though, even though it's getting some flack, I'm doing it. You're doing it.

Congrats on everything. Thank you for coming out of here. Congratulations on you. I was just talking to someone today. And they were like, what you got late? I was like, I'm filming something. They're like, just for, it's either. a wrestler.

I was like, no, he does wrestling interviews, but he also has, like, he's done crazy famous actors and actresses stuff, too. It's like, it's pretty wild. And they were like, oh, yeah. I interviewed Jackie Chan once. I know, I know. It's wild.

It's wild. And now you're sitting there my little idiot self. No, all of this is wild. Yeah. Thank you for the kind words. No, of course. You've been killing it. Congrats on everything.

I thank you for coming out here to Legacy Club at Circa. No, thank you. This is awesome. I grab a drink here after. I wish I was more of a drinker. I would have to give me a little crown of Coke or something. I'll end this with the same question I asked after the end of the last one. Because gratitude's so important to me. Trevor, what are three things in your life you're grateful for?

Especially recently. My son, he decided that he wants to move in and live with us now. This happened earlier this year. So it's really taught me, I have my fans. My family is first and foremost, because it's funny because for so long, wrestling was always first and foremost. Wrestling was always, maybe that's why relationships didn't last. That's why things didn't, I didn't go to anniversaries, I didn't go to birthdays, I didn't do nothing because I was always wrestling. Wrestling was always first.

But this past, like, two or three years has really showed me family is so important. I couldn't do it without them. So that is one. Just, I don't even know how to phrase it, the ability to enjoy life. Because again, for so long, I think I've been so focused, Lakers focused on wrestling, and that's all I really was for years of my life.

All I was was was just wrestling. I didn't work on my emotional stability. I didn't work on my, nothing. It was just wrestling. So being able to, I don't even know how to say it. I guess just loving life. I don't know.

I don't even know how to say it. It sounds like being present. Being present, yeah. Okay, that's what I would say. Being present, yeah. My family, being present in the moments with them at work right now. Yeah. And making connections.

whether that's my friends, my fans, my fans, family, even the haters, like just making connections with people and letting people know who, you know, the real me and just letting people find out who I am. I think that's another reason why I came to AEW, just kind of, you know, let them see the real me and follow on the journey of why I am and how I am. And so I think that's something that's, that's, I think that for everybody is being like unapologetically yourself.

Yeah. No matter how much that people may not agree with you, you got to do what is right for you. And I think that's something that I've learned these past couple of years. So yeah, connections, my family, and being present and every month. moment that you're in because it's important. Because for so long, I wasn't present. Yeah. Congrats, man. And thank you for coming out here. No, thank you so much. This was great. I'm glad I got to, I'm glad we got to do this, and I'm just glad I got to speak a little bit. Yeah. You look like a million bucks. I appreciate it. You know? I try to always, you know,

look my best. And again, I think Cody said something one time that resonated with me. it's not because he said it's not because i think i'm someone it's because i want to be someone and i think that's what he said and i think that is you know we don't wear the suits because we think we're the man it's like we want we want to be we want to be there we want to be the man we want to be that guy it's funny because i think sorry to keep going that is something that i think i've had to kind of not accept but go through like for so long again i didn't get into wrestling to be the WW superstar, to be the man, to be the champion.

I got into wrestling because it's something that I fell in love with and I love to do. So I think getting in that mind frame of being the man, you know what I mean? That's something that's kind of clicked with me last, you know, year or so. It's like, it's like, especially nowadays, like doing it because you love it isn't going to,

I don't say, going to cut it. But like you really do to succeed. you have to like be in the mindset of like i'm going to be again cody set whether it's even a eweb w will swerve mjf all these guys although it is a company we're trying to build together we're trying to make bigger individually we all want to be the guy that makes it bigger yeah we all want to be the guy that you know is the one on the commercials or going doing the shows so i think that for me recently switching that's switch of like, okay, now it's not just about being that. It's about being the rest of it, too.

Yeah. So I think that is something that it took me a while to just maybe accept, I think. And maybe now that I've accepted that, I think it's going to be, it's great from now on. Well, thanks again, man. Yeah, I appreciate it. I appreciate you. No problem. This is great. All right, my friends. Big thank you to Rickash for joining us for this one. I'm just so excited for those matchups that he listed off there. And most importantly, the biggest thing I took from this conversation is Rickashay seems really happy where he's at in his career. Although selfishly, I'd like to see Prince Puma one more time.

And I think that if it were to happen anywhere, it could happen in AEW. Also, shout out to Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for allowing us to use their beautiful legacy club as the backdrop for this interview. It's the same spot where we did the interviews with Liv Morgan. and Dom last week. Seriously, go check out this interview on YouTube to see what I'm talking about. I think it's the best looking interview we've ever done. Also, while you're on YouTube, hit subscribe on both of my YouTube channels, the main one, Chris Van Fleet, where all of the full interviews are, and then the CVV Clips Channel where we post all of the clips from these

conversations. The CVV Clips Channel is fast approaching 1 million subscribers, and we can't do without your help. So I know I said to just subscribe to the channel, but what I really want you to do is to hit an elbow drop on that subscribe button. It's just so much more fun to just lay your phone down, aim for that subscribe button, and boom, hit it. Snap a screenshot, tag us. He's at King Rickache. I'm at Chris Van Vleet, and I'll leave you with this quote from Benjamin Franklin. Well done is better than well said. I love that because there's so many people. that talk that talk, but do not walk that walk. Well done is better than well said.

Be great. Be grateful, my friends. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. We've got Austin Theory joining us. On Thursday, we will see you then for that one. 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.

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