Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Shaul Guerrero on growing up as Eddie's daughter, marrying Aiden English, burlesque dancing

Episode Date: June 1, 2021

Shaul Guerrero is a pro wrestler, ring announcer and burlesque dancer. She is also the daughter of the legendary Eddie Guerrero and Vickie Guerrero. She joins Chris Van Vliet from her home in Chicago to talk about growing up as Eddie's daughter, how she dealt with her father's death, her career as a pro wrestler, why WWE made her use the name Raquel Diaz, how she met her husband and former WWE superstar Aiden English, her career as a burlesque dancer, working for AEW as a special guest ring announcer and much more! 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.  For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://chrisvanvliet.com Follow CVV on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ah, here we go, my friends, and welcome back to another audio adventure here on Insight. I'm Chris Van Vleet, and thank you so much for coming back for this episode. And for every single episode, we've got a member of the legendary Guerrero family with us. This is most definitely an insightful conversation with Shaw Guerrero. Also a very in-depth and personal one. And for those of you who might not know, she's the daughter of Vicky Guerrero and the late Eddie Guerrero, and she opens up about what a relationship with her father was really like, the good, the bad, and everything in between.

And also what it was like trying to follow in his footsteps when she signed with WWE. And it sounds like maybe WWE didn't want her following in those footsteps because they wouldn't even let her use a real last name. You might remember, she went by the name Raquel Diaz and not, you know, Shawl Guerrero. You can follow Shawl on social media. she's at Shawal Guerrero on Instagram. She is at Guerrero underscore Shawl on Twitter. You can find me.

I'm at Chris Van Fleet. And if you haven't done so already, could I ask you to subscribe or follow the podcast wherever you're listening so you don't miss out on some of the great conversations that we have coming up? And sure, we're not reading reviews

on every episode right now, but that doesn't mean that reviews aren't appreciated. So if you have a chance, please leave a review. They're so, so helpful. and it's what's been making the show climb the charts. So cool to see us at the top of the charts these last few weeks.

Ah, I love it. So with that said, if you could leave a review, it'd be greatly, greatly appreciated. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my guest. Please welcome Shaw Guerrero. Oh my gosh. So good to have you on the show. I'm so excited to be here. I can't even tell you.

I have talked to your husband. I've talked to your cousin Chavo. I've talked to your mom. Now it's finally time that I talk to you. I love it that you are the first person that is said my cousin. Everyone always thinks Chavito is my uncle. I'm like, he's my primal. So like, yes, love it.

Yeah. Well, I mean, what a family you come from, right? Thank you. Thank you. And I think, like I was talking to Chavo about his family tree. And everyone doesn't realize that Eddie was his uncle. Yeah, it's insane. There were more like best friends.

But like, yeah, for sure, it's like a funny little thing. They were so close in age. Yeah, well, so good to have you on. Welcome to the show. Thank you. It's great. I've been following you on Twitter and Instagram for so long. And so much of what you're doing now is so different, I think, from what people are used to seeing you doing. Like, you're deep into the burlesque world now. Thank you. I'm really trying. I'm definitely still climbing the ladder here in Chicago. But I love living in Chicago because the burlese scene is just fantastic here.

And I'm hoping it'll lead one day to me competing. that's like the next step is to, you know, go to Burlesque Hall of Fame and try and, you know, get a title there. There's a Burlesque Hall of Fame? Oh, yeah. In Vegas, it's a whole thing. Teach us. I mean, like, I would just be, well, I, the stage they have there is just huge. And if you get a title there, even if you just say, I've been accepted into the Burlese Hall of Fame to compete.

Like, your chances for booking go through the roof. And it's just such an honor. And not to mention you get to meet burlesque legends there. And it's like a whole networking event. So it's insane. Well, I don't know if everybody's been to a burlesque show. So, Shal, if I went to one of your shows, oh, my goodness, the eyebrows are raising. What would we see?

I mean, you know what? I think the thing I love about burlesque is that you could see anything from, I think, what people are used to saying, like, Adida von T's or like everyone saw the movie burlesque, like where it's very. glamorous. Everything's bedazzled. Everything is very to a live band kind of thing. There's everything from that to the neo burlesque movement, which I particularly love where, let's see, what was like one of the acts I did? I was like a vampire and like I like had a ceremonial knife and I had like fake blood and there was like there was ass. There was titty. There was blood. There was all kinds of awesome stuff and it was lit. So for sure, we got to bring you to a burlesho here in Chicago and I'll show you the road. Next. Next. Next. time I'm in Chicago, I'm there. Sign me up. This is happening. Sounds like there's a lot of like the wrestling world that would be similar to what goes on in burlesque in terms of just the showmanship. Absolutely. I, you know what? The first time, I work with a burlesque mentor here in Chicago, Hot Todry. What a name. Wow. Oh, yeah. Hot Todry. She's insane. She's a producer and a and a wonderful dancer herself. But when we were talking, you know, it was all about

storytelling. And it's all about, you know, like spoon-feeding the audience exactly what you want them to know and telling them exactly what you want them, what you want to tell them. And, you know, less is more, kid, you know, do less and have fun. And it was very much like, the similarities between burlesque and wrestling are very similar. And I remember telling my husband about it. He was like, so it's wrestling. But you're just, you know, it's way more sparkly. And you happen to be telling a story as you're taking your clothes off. I'm like, yes. Wow. Well, how did you first get like interested in this? So actually, it's no secret. I've come out very publicly about I've had an eating disorder and whatnot.

And honestly, the ultimate epitome of recovery in my mind and the ultimate way for me to love my body was to put it on full display and to do something I'd love to do. I've been a dancer ever since I was a child. And so merging those two worlds seemed like something really. challenging to do. I did my first act as Austin Powers. And it was very funny. I had a whole like hairy chest and a whole thing. And like I did a dance in tidy whiteys and morphed into a fembot on stage. And I was hooked. Absolutely. Wow. Yes. Look, I think that's a huge step. You're right. You're owning it. This is amazing. That's a huge step to take to go. You know, I went from having an eating disorder to going, I'm going to do burlesque now. And it's still a struggle.

I mean, believe me, there are still some days where I'm struggling mentally with my mental health. And I'm like, God, the last thing I want to do right now is get on stage completely naked and like do this thing. But, you know, it's at the end of the day, I always have the best time. It's always so empowering. And, and I love that burlesque. It's getting better like with highlighting more bodies.

but when you go to like a burlesque Hall of Fame or you go to a burles show, you're going to see every single body type. And, you know, you're going to see just so much of people's creativity and vulnerability because they're bringing whatever they want to the stage and trying to communicate with you through it. So it's pretty cool. So your husband, Matt, better known to a lot of people as Aiden English, he's super supportive of this. Oh, yes.

And why wouldn't he be? Yeah, he doesn't mind. I think the one, the only thing he's ever quarreled with me about it was when I keep getting shipments of just random crap. And he was like, what is this? Why do we have a flesh like body suit? Why do we have a, what's this leather harness thing? Do I need to know what this is?

And I'm just like, it's for less. It's fine. So he's, it's never a dull moment in our house. Well, you mentioned the struggles with your mental health. And in February, you posted that you had a mental illness. crisis, you weren't taking any more bookings in wrestling. How are you feeling now? I mean, it's May as we record this.

Yeah, I really appreciate you asking me. I am doing better. I don't think anyone ever fully heals from mental illness. I think we're, especially with anxiety and depression, PTSD. That's what I officially got diagnosed with after I posted that. I had a really scary episode when I was in Texas. I was supposed to do a mission pro wrestling show. And I just, yeah, I knew I needed to step aside because my mental health was completely breaking.

I got diagnosed that like two weeks later with all those fun, fun things I just said, the anxiety, depression, PTSD. And I'm on medication now. I've never been on medication in my life. And honestly, it's helped me so much. I'm going to therapy every single week. And it's really fucking hard. but you know what I feel better and I'm just really focusing on things that maybe are not as triggering for me as wrestling can be so wrestling is a trigger point for you

it is it's really breast I want to be very honest that wrestling has been a huge blessing in my life obviously like it's always been the thing that puts food on our table from me being a child all the way to now like even up to when my husband was in w.E that's all I've known. But with it, with me wrestling, comes so much pressure, so much expectation. And even then, I just,

I think I put so much pressure on myself because I've just the hugest, huge issues to fill that I just, it was getting to an unhealthy point for me. And I keep trying, I really, really keep trying to like be a wrestler and be the wrestler. Everybody wants me to be.

but I think I'm truly, honestly, very content with, like, my skills on the microphone, doing managerial stuff, announcing, commentary. I love that stuff. That's where I feel more at home. And hopefully, maybe the wrestling world will still have me. I don't know. Nobody could possibly expect anybody to be Eddie Guerrero. There's no way that anyone could expect you to be your dad, too, though.

I don't even know how he was Eddie Guerrero half the time. I'm just like, my dad loved this business so much. I mean, he was constantly thinking about wrestling. And, you know, yeah, no one can be him. Yeah. Well, I mean, look, there's two, it's difficult, right? Because he's one of the greatest wrestlers to ever put on boots, to ever step in a squared circle.

Thank you. So, anyway, that's just obvious. I was just stating facts here, right? So that's obviously very tough to live up to. And when your last name is the same last name as his, I think people might think, well, you've got to be at least, you know, half as good as him. Yeah, it was just, it was getting pretty overwhelming in good, in good ways. Like, I think when I announced I was going to come back and I was training again.

Like, I was having a lot of bites from promoters, which is so, so very humbling, very exciting. But they also wanted to put me in very top positions, which I was, that's amazing. But I was also like, yo, I haven't wrestled in six years. Like I was feeling very overwhelmed. And then there is a lot, um, how do I want to put this? Uh,

I think my first, so when I first went into wrestling, I went into the largest company in the world, the most elite company in the world, which is like, I know I'm very privileged with that. But with that came the biggest amount of pressure and just, it was just so intense and not to mention the Guerrero way,

the way we're raised. we go hard or you go home. Like it's just, we have a very tough family to grow up in and high expectations just in the family. And so when I was training to be able to come back and make this wrestling comeback, I was having panic attacks before I would go in just for a training session, just to train.

Supposed to be super fun. And I was just like panic attacks were before and after almost every time. And it was just getting so much so hard. And when the bookings were starting to happen, And I was just completely overwhelmed. Do you think this is pressure you were putting on yourself? Absolutely.

I think part of it, the majority of it was pressure being put on myself. But then there's also this other point where people are expecting like, yeah, she's a greer. She's going to be good. And I'm like, it doesn't work like that. Like, and even then, like my dad had like years of wrestling experience before he was, you know, on TV. Like he was constantly wrestling. And so. And for me, like, thankfully, I have other passions in my life that I have devoted my time to.

And, and they're not as triggering for me. So, yeah. Did you have a chance to talk, I'm sure you've talked to Chava Guerrero about this? Not only does he share the same last name as his father and he's a second generation wrestler, shares the same first name as him too. Like, there's a ton of pressure on him. Oh, my God. Yes.

And you know what? Like Chavito has always been wonderful with me and has completely. understood when I vent to him about you know like my family's crazy man he's like yeah they are and I mean honestly what we mostly talk about is

you know just surviving in our family and how to you know I guess be a modern person within our family and also like go after what you love in our family and I'm so proud of him like he's just kicking all the ass and taking Hollywood by storm and yeah

Forever proud. He's doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes in Hollywood that not everybody's aware of. Like he's the stunt coordinator, wrestling coordinator on Young Rock right now. I know. And I'm just like, get it, man. I don't. And he has his beer and he has like, he has so many projects in the works. And we're so proud of him.

And, you know, I hope, I think my family's proud of me too. I think I've been very similar with him. I've taken a road, not really traveled. especially in a family that's highly religious, obviously we're Hispanic and burlesque is not an easy pill for some family to swallow. When you were in WWE developmental, were there other second or third generation stars there at the same time as you? So Charlotte Flair came in right when we were transitioning into NXT mode.

And so I kind of got to work with her for a little bit. She is another very strong, badass woman that I'd love to watch. And, I mean, yeah, there was, I mean, other second and third generation wrestlers. I mean, I got to work with, you know, Rick Eastonboat's son and whatnot as well. And, I mean, West Briscoe and, you know, just all kinds of generation kids. And, yeah, the pressure, though. We all related to the pressure, even if it wasn't. outright, like, said to you, it was implied a lot.

Whose decision was it to not use your real last name? I mean, you worked under the name Raquel Diaz, which doesn't see. I feel like if you went into developmental now, you would be Shaguerre. I remember what I was told, and I won't say who said it, but they were just like, well, you know, if you stop, we can't drag your family's name through the mud. And I'm like, I understood that. I was just also like, you know, that's the whole, like, they never said anything that I needed to be as good as my dad. But there was all kinds of little things like that all the time.

And that was kind of hard to ignore. And so, yeah, that was pretty much like day one. I was like, okay, pressure's on. Don't suck. Yeah. And wrestling is hard. Wrestling is hard, man. Like, it's so much, like, psychology, I think.

and not to mention natural ability that you hope to God you have. Sure. So when you left NXT, were you done with wrestling at that point? I think, God, yeah,

I think I was pretty broken. I was just like so disappointed in myself and I felt like I failed my family. I felt like I embarrassed them and, you know, I gave it my fucking all. I really did.

I was with the company for three years and I was told it was going like I was doing good and yeah. And then when I asked for a break because my neck was so messed up, they just wanted to go a different direction and wish me the best of my future endeavors as we've all heard. Right. So at that point were you like, all right, wrestling's in the rearview mirror. I'll do something else now. I did actually. like I think I was in such like I don't even know like halfway shock and I was just like I think I just felt so not good enough to perform in any capacity. I went right into veterinary nursing school

like that week. I like signed up and like freaking got to work on all right through requisites that week and like three months later I was in a veterinary nursing program. Wow. Did you finish the program? I was about two months out. from finishing and I dropped it all to perform. That always happens in my life. I always drop everything if there's a possibility I can perform. And I got a job as a dancer for a company in Tampa, Florida called Drip. I'm sorry, Orlando, Florida called Drip where you dance in paint water and sand.

And I got hired on as a principal dancer. And I was like, cool, peace. I'm back in performing. Well, with the path you're on in burlesque and performing, let's not drop this. Let's continue on this path. I am. I fully am. I'm so excited. I'm working on so many new apps right now. And I'm scheduled to perform this week.

So I can't wait to keep going. So for anybody in the Chicago area or anybody that's going to be traveling there, where are they going to see you? Okay. So you guys are going to see me. It changes every week, which is fun and exciting for me. But this week, you would catch me at Bordell, Chicago, which is a wonderful speakeasy in the city. or you guys can catch me with the vaudez, which is the dance group that I'm a part of,

which is pretty badass for like a rock and roll, sexy group. Yeah, for sure. Let's take this way back. At what point in your life, at what age did you realize just how famous your father was? Oh, my God. You know what?

That's a hard question because I've always just been used to, I don't know, just wrestling and going backstage to shows and hearing his name being food. or Chan or depending on what storyline we're in. But honestly, I think I really realized when we were in El Paso for a show

and it was honestly just a house show, Chris, but like when people were throwing beer at my dad and when they were throwing shit in the ring and me and my family were in the ring. Like we were in the ring with him and people were throwing stuff because they hated him so much. I was like, wow, that's like, in his hometown?

Yeah. Oh no, like some dude was an asshole. Like, like, and he was just being like, I think it was, it must have been El Paso because we were in the ring with him. But like, someone threw beer at him. And like, but the fact that the crowd, it was one asshole that did it. And then like every, every one of the audience like gathered behind him. And was like, and was just, I don't know. Like the way my dad could move the crowds was insane.

And that was just a house show. And I was just like, man, dad's like legit. He's insane. But even then I. Oh, I think it was like 12. I was like, well, that's, that's quite an experience when you're 12. Yeah, I was just like, that that's, that's not something, you know, maybe my other friend's dad's, uh, had happened with that. Do you remember your first memory of wrestling would have been? Would it be, would it be WCW?

I mean, my first wrestling memory was like, I loved my dad's costumes when he came up. I, like, I loved his gear. And so I was always, I think it was when he was tagging with art. bar. God, way back before WCW. I don't even know what promotion he was in. But like, it was when him and they were the Green Ghost Locos, I believe, and they had the American flags, like the really bedazzled like American flag jackets. And that's my first wrestling memory just playing in his gear and getting to run around

the ring with him. But I mean, other than that, I would have to say my first biggest wrestling memory was when I got to be in the ring and I got to do segments on Smackdown with my mom and dad. That's like huge memories for me. Did you at any point during that go, yeah, I want to do this for a living? You know what? I had such low self-esteem as a child. And I think with watching wrestling, especially the women's wrestling, when my dad was in it and,

you know, in the 90s and 80s, I was just like, oh, there's no way I'm beautiful enough to do this or there's no way I'm going to be thin enough or talented enough to be able to even be considered to do this at all. And then, of course, that all changed, the older I got and I blossomed, if you will. And then, of course, some of the promoters took notice of me. It was like, yeah, let's give her a try out. And then what was your first match that you had? How old were you? The first match I had, well, televised was with A.J. Leap. Like, freaking AJ. And that was on Bridehouse Network TV and FCW in the training ground for NXT.

So she took real good care of me. I am so fortunate that, you know, AJ led me through that match. So it was fantastic. I just can't believe that like you didn't, you weren't ever able to be on like national TV with this. I, you know what? Me neither. I think, no, I don't mean that in like a conceded way. I think I was just, I was being told I was doing a good job and like, and I knew my wrestling was not as strong as my promo skills. I'm aware of that. And, and that's okay because I was just like, I loved the promo aspect of it. I loved the mic work and I loved the pageantry of it all. And I like the acting. And don't get me wrong, wrestling is super fun. But like, did I have that nap? actual ability that my dad had, maybe I had some of it, but like not to the extent that he had. My dad was a freak.

It's insane. And so, and he also grew up with a wrestling ring in his backyard. Sure. Who was your dad to you when you were growing up? This is always a loaded question. I think people, I don't mean to break anyone's heart or to, but I'm going to be real and I'm going to be honest. My dad scared the shit out of me, but when I was growing up, if I'm being honest,

Like we, it's no surprise. Like people know like he struggled with alcohol and he struggled with drugs. And I think unfortunately growing up until I was about 12, 13, that was all I saw of him. And so, yeah, it's a complicated relationship I had with my dad. And I didn't truly get to know him until I was 13, 14, 15. And he passed when I was 15. Yeah. So.

Do you think, and I'm not a. therapist at all. But do you think that that factors into some of the issues that you had later on in life? Absolutely. Oh my God. It was funny when I was talking to my psychiatrist, like for the first time I've never seen a psychiatrist before. And he was like, so why are you here today? And I'm like, and I'm like, well, I'm a little angry. And I'm like, why? And I'm like, okay, like, where do you want me to start? And so I think just between growing up in that kind of household and then also going through things publicly, like when my dad died, we went through that publicly in front of everybody. And that's a really hard thing. And going to school and being like, oh, yeah, you're the chick whose dad died, right?

And I'm like, yeah. And like, I don't know, there's a lot of pressure. And I love my family, but also the guerrero's that shit crazy. and we are also like we have very high expectations of everyone in our family and they're not shy to let us know. So there's a lot. There's a lot. Sure. But I think I definitely have to I idolize my father, but then I'm also very angry in a lot of ways.

And I have to work through that all the time. Yeah. I think there is when he passed away, like, of course, he did not know. We didn't know he was going to pass away that. young and left a shit show in the wake of all of that. And I'm, you know, I wish I had a more steady father figure when I was growing up. And, you know, we were also, we grew up highly religious to where like it was almost traumatic in a way a lot. And I think my dad clung to his religion.

He clung to it because it really helped him get better. It really truly did. But I think growing up in that household of being so strict was difficult. I mean, his road to recovery was very public. And he seemed like he was on the right path, but his body wasn't on that same path with him. He, toward the end, I remember him being constantly in pain. Like, constantly, he couldn't sleep. He, you know, he would take micro-naps throughout the day.

And, yeah, he wasn't doing well. And I mean, and dad, dad lived hard. You know, he rocked out pretty hard, you know, in the 80s and 90s. And, you know, it was that sex drugs and wrestling. You know, it was all that at that time. And also, like, I mean, look at his matches. I mean, he was just so he had, he did a lot of really amazing and traumatizing things to his body. And so I don't even want to know how many concussions he had and whatnot.

So I'm very happy, though, that they take way better care of. their wrestlers now. And yeah. Did anyone in your family step in and become that father figure for you? You know, it was complicated. Of course, Chavito has always been a rock for our family, especially for me and my sister. We always knew we could talk to him. But when my father died, my mom needed stability of her own.

And she needed to move to El Paso to be around. something familiar. And I think we lost a lot of touch with the Guerreros because they were upset by that. And so it was very difficult for us as kids, too, because we were like, I don't know what's happening. I just, I don't know what's happening. Like, our whole world just got uprooted. And my mom handled it like such a G. She's such a badass. And she was dealing with family drama and all kinds of just so, she was dealing with so much. And, you know, my mom didn't have a college degree. She didn't have a career path when my dad died.

And she had to not only handle us and handle the publicity of it all, but she also had to figure out a way we were going to eat. And then she became one of the greatest heels of that era. Like I said, mom is the coolest woman I know. And I'm so blessed. She's my mom. And she's my example. She is the polar opposite in real life of the character that she plays on TV.

I love when people are like, she's so nice. And I'm like, yeah, she's nice. She's not just nice. She's like the nicest. Yeah, thank you. I agree. She's this, it's crazy how she turns it on. And like we, we like will forever be so grateful for,

Dusty Rhodes. Like, Dusty Rose was huge in her metamorphosis and into Bicky Guerrero that we know her now. And even then I was so blessed to be able to train with Dusty Roads. as well. And so it's just, mom, mom's awesome. I'm so, I'm so fucking proud of her. So proud of her. And knowing her, like I know her now, it's funny to see like these Karen memes about your mom. I have to say the Karen haircut. I'm like, oh, shit, she has it. I never realized it. Because she's always rocked it. She's always like, looks so good with it. I can't imagine her with another haircut. Oh my God, but she is like, she's the Karen of like WW,

WW or like AEW now. Like she, she's that woman and she infuriates people and I love it. I'm so proud of her. She is so, so good at it. She's so good. Yes, absolutely. Do you remember how you found out that your dad passed away? Yeah, I do. I was woken up by my dad's sister Linda and my cousins. And we were all very close at the time. And I'm still, you know, close with my cousins. But yeah, they woke us up. And I don't know, I've never had anyone like truly like pass away until that, until that day. And yeah, they woke us up and brought us all out in the living room. And I remember it was a beautiful day. And they told us what happened and I think they told me separately from my sister. I remember they pulled me aside and

told me separately because I remember mom wasn't there either. I think she she was upstairs just completely distraught. Yeah, it was a terrible day. Yeah. What does your sister do now, by the way? My sister, she's also a dancer. Oh, look at you guys. dancer, but she's a highly talented dancer and she does like hip hop and she does like the, I don't know if you've seen like the heels, like when people dance in heels like that. My sister is so good at it. And so she does that and she's also, she works for a ophthalmologist. By day she's in, she does like the reception at an ophthalmology place.

And then at night she's dancer. Look at you guys. Wow. We got rhythm. The gerreras have rhythm. Maybe not dad, but me and my sister do. Yeah. And my mom was a dancer too.

She was actually a professional dancer before everything. It all makes sense now. Yes. We got our moves from mom for sure. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. soccer podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Klinembourg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Time's ticking.

I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really 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. How much was Chris Benoit in your life after Eddie passed away? So, wow. I've never had anyone asking that. Well, because I know that they were so close.

Oh, yes. No. And I know that Eddie's death really affected him. It did. you know what Chris and I think I love Chris and Ray together so much just because they really they did look after us a lot after he died and you know people would check in and you know and we would go to the shows I mean it was so hard it's so hard to remember like immediately right after that time I think we were all just in a fog but I remember all I remember really when it comes to like Chris and and Nancy

And Nancy Chris's wife was, we were more close with her. Just, you know, Nancy gave me all of her costume jewelry when she was, you know, when she was woman. And she gave me a whole trunk of like all of her, all of her things she wore on TV. And she was just the most lovely woman ever. And, you know, I remember her and my mom talked a lot after my dad died. And so that's the main memory I remember. And I turned 16 that next year. And all of the boys that my dad knew, like, I know Booker T and Charmel and Ray and like they all sent just beautiful gifts to me on my 16th birthday because they were just like, I think they were just like shit. It sucks. You know, but and they're even still great friends to us today. And I know if I was ever in trouble, I know I could call, you know, any of the guys my dad had relationships with. And they'd welcome us. Did you watch the tribute show at night on Raw?

Oh, yeah. We had a whole family. All the family came over and we watched it. And yeah, I still can't watch it. Like, again, I think it's just, it's such a mess. We were such a mess. That's what I remember. But it was beautiful. And, you know, just seeing my dad's friends crying and remembering him.

It's hard. I mean, it's also made you into the person, the strong woman that you are now. Chris. You are a married woman. But thank you. It did make me strong. And I think that's also something that why wrestling is very triggering for me sometimes because I'm reliving my trauma all the time.

Like with every appearance and whatnot, people want to talk about dad. And I love talking about my father. I love remembering him. That's how he stays alive. I think when I'm doing a lot of wrestling stuff, it's like, like it can get, it can get hard because I still mourn him.

Like, whenever you lose somebody, they're always, you're never, you're never better, you know, it's just like the pain, the pain is like just spread out. You know what I mean?

And so I think that's why it could be triggering sometimes too. Yeah, I mean, there's some quote and I'm just, I'm going to paraphrase, but it's, it's, you don't get over grief.

you just learn to live with it. Yeah, exactly. And I think that that's, yeah, I think that's pretty accurate for people in my life that I've lost. And I can completely understand how thank you for being so open about sharing these memories because there's a lot of people that are watching this right now that are probably crying listening to these memories. And I know that, you know, breaks my heart hearing these stories.

So thank you for being so open with all this. Oh, absolutely. Dad was, even though I have anger and there's things to work through with me and my father's relationship, he was also the coolest dude ever. Like when he was sober and he was healthy, oh my God. He did the coolest stuff as a dad. Like the coolest stuff. Like, and I just like, I don't know if I'm going to be a parent one day, but I hope I can be that version of my dad to my kids.

All right. Tell me your favorite story about your dad. I was just, um, so I'm kind of goofy and I think I get it from him. Um, and he would just do random acts of kindness, um, all the time. Like one day I was at step team practice and, um, and he just brought like a shitload of McDonald's burgers for everybody. And like, just because he was excited that he could be home to see me at a practice. And like one day he saw me and the kids outside were bored. like we were just sitting around just like i don't know um just doing shit fuck all and he went out

to target and bought a bunch of water guns like a bunch of bunch of water guns like those little ones and of course he got himself a super soaker um but he came home and was like here you go kids and we were like whoa and it turned into like this whole like battle on like battle right in front of our house of water guns and of course he came out with super soaker and completely smoked all of us but he would do things like that all the time and he had the biggest, biggest heart. And when my dad was well,

he was the best person to talk to. And he was, I think not only my spiritual advisor, but I think a lot of the guys would attest, like my dad was just the guy to talk to in the locker room. So who was your mom to you when you were growing up? She was, you know what?

It's hard. Like my mom, growing up from like 12 to, to now, like my mom was my best friend and very, we were very close. And she has mentioned before, like, I'm just like my dad in all the good ways and bad. Me and my dad are a little extreme. But, you know, she was always so strong. I think when I was younger, it was hard because we were in a house that was very difficult to navigate. Mom was constantly kind of cleaning up after my dad and just trying to get through every day.

But, you know, when my dad passed, did bring me in her very close. And I tell her everything. And she's my biggest cheerleader. Even when I do things, like when we were on Chris Jericho's Rock and Wrestling Rager last year, she was our biggest fan because the vaudez were on cruise. And it was my first time kind of debuting to the wrestling community.

Like, oh, yeah, Shal does this super sexy rock and roll dance. And she was like, I'm so proud of you. You're doing so great. Yeah. I can see why a mom might not want to watch that. Well, poor, poor Christ Jericho. He was just like, it's awesome.

I don't know how to feel. So, oh, God. Yeah, all my, my, like, my wrestling uncles, like, like Chris Jericho was a wrestling uncle. I, you know, is Uncle Chris. And like, got Adam Birch is another, I'm sorry, Joey Mercury is another wrestling uncle that I'm very close with. And so they're like, we're so proud of you. I can't watch for very long, though. So, yeah.

Are you guys going back on the cruise this year? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's going to be lit. we're so excited i mean october fingers crossed in this covid world i mean it's it's in florida so it should be fine but who knows yeah well we're we're we're really hoping um it'll happen in october because october's spooky season and the vods are pretty spooky so we're hoping for something cool like that but i mean chris jericho is like i mean this cruise has been just so amazing for so

many people um that if it got pushed back the party would still like rock on we would just wait you know wait until it comes time for everybody to be safe and rock out together. You have so much personality and so much charisma that just like jumps through the screen. I love this. I try. I don't know. And it like it totally comes out. If anybody hasn't seen your ring announcing, it totally comes out.

You own it as a ring announcer. I love ring announcing. I have the best deed in the house. I love it. And I love that I get to announce my friends. So if you ever can catch any outtakes from Wow, definitely check out some outtakes from Wow because Thunder Rosa really likes to fuck with me royally in the ring.

One time she licked me from my chin all the way to my forehead in the middle of right as I'm announcing her. Wow. Fun times. You also did Swaring announcing with AEW. I did. I did. I really, I still get nervous thinking about it. I was very honored that Brandy reached out to me and had me come in and do the women's tournament.

It was very cool. I feel like you should be back in AEW doing some more stuff like that. I would love to. I would absolutely. I fully, AEW had a very different vibe than I've ever been used to. I think there, and I'm sure we've all heard it, like where it's just in WWE, you mind your piece and your cues and then you mind them again. and again and again the whole time. You're just, you're, it's, you know, and it's, it's the top company.

You know what I mean? Like, everyone wants to be on their best behavior and everyone wants to, you know, have opportunity there. And AEW is amazing though. I don't know. Everybody just, it was like a big reunion. I got to like be with the people that I used to train with. And it's just a very welcoming environment there.

I felt very privileged to be there. So when you're doing stuff like ring announcing, that's not triggering for you. No, I love it. Because I know, I think I have so much confidence in what I do on the mic, and I have so much confidence with all of that. I think I'm just like, this is my lane.

This is my lane. And so I just feel like really good and empowered. And like I have a lot more to learn from it. And I'm so, I think I loved also being at AEW because not only did I have Brandy there, but I had Justin Roberts. And I know you've had him on the show. and the fact that I was able to learn from him.

Yeah. What specifically did you learn from Justin? Because I've done some ring announcing myself. He dropped some massive tips to me. And I went, I never thought about it that way. Oh my God. Well, you know what?

He kind of blew my mind a little bit because once again, when in WWE and when I was learning to ring announce initially, I did it through FCW and NXT. They very much like things done a certain way there, depending on who your producer is. And so Justin blew my mind when I went to AW. I was like, okay, how do you want this worded? And like how exactly do you guys like to do things?

And he was like, you make your choice. You know what you're doing. And I'm like, I'm not used to not being micromanaged. So I think he just gave me confidence, honestly. He was just like, I have faith in you with what you want to do. And he also, I had to do a wild line at one point for one of the announcements I made. was just a little funky and they were like, yeah, let's just run it again. And I think I was having a panic attack because I was like, oh my God, I'm in trouble. Oh my God. I'm going to get my

ass beat in the back. And he was like, no, it's not a big deal. Just do a wild line. And I was like, oh, okay, I'm not in trouble. He's like, no. And I'm like, okay. And so I don't know, he just called me down and he just gave me the confidence I needed to, you know, have faith in what I was doing. I sat in on the very first production meeting for Dynamite because I was on that first episode. And I remember when they were reading through the rundown for that night, they went, all right. So Justin Roberts, you're our master of ceremonies. You go out there, do your thing. And that was the guidance. And I was like, oh, my gosh. And he just kind of nodded his head. And of course, that night he went out in Washington, D.C. did his thing.

It's insane, though. And I think I've gotten a lot of feedback, too, from, you know, just talking to my friends at Russell on the show. And they're just like, yeah, they, like, it's a lot. like they do, they take into account what the talent has to say and what they want to do as well. And so that's very cool, very, very cool. I hope I can work for them again. And I'm sure that you will. It's just a matter of time. Yes.

And whenever the next women's tournament is, that'll be. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Or when, you know, like lackey or she needs a personal ring announcer. Yeah, sure, absolutely. There you go. It's perfect. Oh, I mean, I think of Gary.

Yeah. I mean, you know someone that works there. You know, someone very close to you that works there. So I think you could probably make this happen. I would say, though, like Justin Roberts did tease me pretty hard because I did get to announce my mom at one point during the tournament. And he is like, well, if I have ever heard a biased announcement. How much did you roll the R's in your last name?

Yeah, Rero. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I was all over it. And come on. I got to go home with her at the end of the night. I can't watch that. Is Guerrero still your legal last name?

It is. Okay. Is it just your legal last name or are you hyphenate or what is it? No, it's just my legal last name. My husband, he was like, if my last name was Guerrero, I wouldn't change it. So I was like, well, somebody needs to fix your Wikipedia then. They do. And what picture is that?

What picture is that? I don't know who chooses the pictures. I'm like, I do all of these photography shoots every month. And I'm like, and that's the picture. Somebody watching this is going to be a Wikipedia editor. So we're going to get this fixed up, okay? Please help me. Please help me.

I mean, Siri, it's a matter of someone going in and typing a few things. It'll take 10 seconds. Yeah, but I mean, it's, I, you know what? I thought I was fully planning on taking my husband's last name, Ray Waltz. That is not nearly as fun as get at all. Ray Waltz. Yeah, no. But like, it's a good, solid last name.

But he's a good man. He is a good man. And he actually, so it's funny, when me and him got together, like, he, he was way more of just, I guess, a modern man. I think then I was, you know, kind of used to. I think I grew up in a very machismo house, you know, when the man is the head of the house and stuff like that. And when I met my husband, he was like, oh, no, this is a partnership. You can do whatever you want. And I'm like, I'm not used to.

This is hard. I have to rewire my brain right now. So he's amazing. I feel very privileged that I get to bunk with him and hang out with him. I'm curious to know the first time you guys met. So we met at FCW. And I remember he came in and I think it was promo day or it was, I don't know. I just knew I noticed him and he was a very pale dude. And I was like, don't they know we team.

in here. And I was like such a bitch. I was like, I thought it was hot shit back then. And I was just like, you, who is he? And then I remember being impressed with him the first time during promo day. And he like played guitar and did a promo at the same time. And I was super impressed with him. He won you over with the guitar.

He did. He serenaded me. No, I'm just kidding. He didn't serenade me. But I remember being very, his promo skills were lit. And, but we didn't talk that much. I was dating somebody else the first time I met him. And the second time around when I went back to the performance center was when we hit it off.

We actually lived in the same apartment complex. He was very- Yeah. Doesn't everybody live in that apartment complex? I've been in that apartment complex. Yeah. The Sunkey or Camden. Which Camden are you at?

But, yeah, he was very helpful when he found out I lived in that apartment complex. He was like, yeah, you need a. me to move anything or uh you know put something up for you i'm like i got it but eventually he won me over and uh what was your first official date then um we were flirting over text for a couple of weeks and then i remember we were talking about true blood and i was super bummed out because i finished season four and i didn't have the DVD box set for season five god I'm old. Anyway, and so I just, he was like, well, I have the box set for season five.

And I just walked on over and we didn't watch it at all and talked for eight hours. And we hit it off. We were inseparable after that. And the rest is history. The rest is history. You've been together, you've been married six years now? We, yeah. Oh, Lord.

I can't. We've been together seven years. years total, for sure five years married. Okay. Yeah, I might did the math wrong there. I don't know, Fred. I honestly, you're probably right. I'm the worst. I'm the, he's better at keeping dates. I'm not the date person. I'm sure you know what year you were married in, right? 2013. I don't think that's correct. I don't think that's right. 16, 2016. Oh my God. I am going to get so much trouble. I'm going to get so much trouble. when this comes out.

All right. Well, you got it right now. So that means five years. You've been married for five years. You were right. I was wrong. Perfect. You nailed it.

Sure. You're really helping me out right now. No, it's true. You got it. January or something, right? Yeah. I married him. It's fine.

We're here. We're still married. Like I said, the rest is history. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. It doesn't.

I think I measure my marriage on when we got our pets. So I'm like, okay, yeah. Like 2017 was when we got this. cat. 2018 was when we got this cat. And then, so I go off the animals. So are you as obsessed with burlesque as Matt is with whiskey? Oh, probably. We're even though he has a full closet for his. Oh, he showed us his closet. Where's my closet? Where's my closet, Chris? Anyway, but I'm sure you have quite the burlesque costume closet somewhere. Oh, I sure do. I mean,

We're working on, we're working on all. Oh, my goodness. We're going to a costume change here. We're working on all kinds of fun stuff. This is a whole different vibe right now. Oh, thank you. Thank you. No, but he,

I'm so proud of him with what he has done with his whiskey, not only from the wrestling with whiskey Patreon and his YouTube channel and everything like that, but God, he really does love it. And it's, and honestly, it's the hottest thing when I kiss him and he has bourbon breath. I'm like, oh, yeah, it's hot. Like, legit, I'm being very honest. Really? Yeah, I love it.

Is bourbon your drink as well? No, I'm a bubbles, bitch. So I, anything were bubbled. So I'm that, I'm that girl. I'm like, I'll have a press that go. That's me. My head immediately went to White Claw when you said bubbles. You're not wrong.

It just kind of depends on where the night's going. Oh, but have you had a high noon yet? Oh. Yes. Yes. What's your flavor? What's your flavor? The pineapple high noon is so good. You? Yeah. Pineapples pretty solid. I like the watermelon too. The fact that high noon is actually vodka, like it's actually a vodka drink, whereas White Claw is like the malt liquor drink. I'm like, oh my gosh. What a better drink to be drinking. I honestly, I really, I'm also a bartender here in Chicago.

and yeah, we have all the high noons, all the white claws, freshy. Now everybody has a silter. Everybody has a silter. And Matt does make fun to me every time I have one. He's like, yeah, Matt's like a hardcore, like telling you the. He's a whiskey prude. Yeah. He's a whiskey crude.

It's fine. He's a whiskey connoisseur. Sure. You're a lot nicer about it than I am. I'm not married to the guy. I'm like, you're such a snob. But even though I do like a good E.H. Taylor, neat. That's like one of the things I'll sip.

So. Perhaps you should be Matt's personal ring announcer on an indie booking. I mean, I would. Honestly, I would love to travel with my husband and do do things. I would probably be open to wrestle if he was on. Just something about. Like an intergender match? Oh, yeah.

I think that would be absolutely fun. I love training with my husband. Like it's we have so much fun together and it's so weird because we were actually thinking we're like man when we were at FCW Me and him never rolled around. I think one time we had to do a drill together and other than that we never wrestled until recently would he be open to having a match against you? Oh yeah, I think you would. I mean it sounds like you'd be open to that I think it would have a lot of fun. I think it would be a great time. So you never know you never know. I know I know right now, I'm taking time to work through my shit. And so, and I, I'm down to do wrestling things,

I guess here and there for right now as I'm healing. But I believe me, I would love to. I've been, I've been trying to wrestle. Like, I think this is my third attempt of trying to really wrestle. And maybe one day it can happen. But for right now, I understand. I'm like, mental health is first. and but down the line, I would love to. That takes so much self-awareness to be able to go, I've got stuff I've got to work on, so I'm going to work on that first. Thanks, Chris. I'm trying.

It's hard, but, you know, one day at a time. Sure. I mean, the hardest part, though, must probably be admitting, like, I've got to work on this because a lot of people go their entire lives and never do. Yeah, being self-aware is a great gift, and it's also, you're aware. So you're like that. But, you know, we're doing it one day at a time.

And now I have help. I have a great support system. So, and even my husband, he was like, I think you need time. And he was like, I think you need to just get some space from wrestling. And I am. So it'll be good. But I'm ready to announce. I'm ready to get back out there.

I'm ready for a while to do that. So you're taking bookings when it comes to managing or announcing. So how can people reach out to you? My booking email, booking.shall Guerrero at gmail.com, or I mean, I'm on Instagram all the time. So if you've ever DM'd me, I'm sorry, DMs are scary.

It's a scary place. So please use my booking email. Like I will get back to you that day. So booking. Joshal Guerrero, Gmail. But no guys, no creepy messages, okay? Like legitimate booking email. here.

Yeah, legitimate inquiries only, please. Yeah. And no pictures. No matter how much you say, this is a picture of your cat, I'm not going to open it. I've learned the hard way.

It is not your cat, sir. I guarantee it's probably not your cat. I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. Me too. You're awesome. You're so easy to talk to. I'm so happy like I got to, I get to be with the rest of my family now and be like,

oh yeah, me and Chris are cool. Oh, I'm so happy that we were able to do this. I can't wait to see you in person. Absolutely. I was about to say, we need to get, I saw like I was, you know, going through your YouTube and everything and I see you're quite the adventurer. So when you're in Chicago, I have to teach you how to eat fire. I could, you think I could do that?

Absolutely. I think I could teach you at least how to do some fire tricks. I'm 100% in. It's a date. We're going to do it. We're going to get some fire. And I'll make sure you don't catch on fire unless you want to insert. places. I'm not going to burn my mouth, am I?

I mean, you can't play with fire, not get burned. I mean, you are going to do it with Latina heat. You're going to get burned one way or another. I don't like this anymore. I will make sure you're safe. It will be a light burn, like a light scalding. You'll be fine. Okay, good. No, I run towards the things that scare me.

So I saw you were in like water with an alligator. So I think I don't, I mean, the fire might be scared. Casper was super friendly. You could do that. Anyone could do that. In fact, next time you're in the Miami area, I will set you up with my friend Chris Gillette, who has these underwater gator tours, and you should swim with Casper as well. Okay.

Well, me and Casper will have a date once we get our fire date and it'll be good. Yeah, no, I run towards the things that scare me. So yes, I will try to. No, I won't try. I'm going to do this. Absolutely. You're going to be so big. Whatever we're doing with fire.

You're going to be so great. It's going to be awesome. Oh, I'm so excited about this. Well, you know that I end every interview talking about gratitude because if you can be grateful, you'll live a great life. So, Shaw, what are three things in your life that you're grateful for right now? I am grateful for my husband. I am grateful for my family.

And I'm grateful, let's see, I'm grateful for the hard times because wouldn't be here without them. And, you know, we don't get molded and shaped into who we are. are without them. So I am grateful for all of them. So good. Thank you so much. Thank you. I really appreciate you. And thank you so much for having me on your iconic show. Super appreciate it. Oh my gosh. Thank you. That is so kind. Thank you. True, man. Well, there you have it, my friend. That conversation covered a lot of ground. That had a ton in it. It's just so great to see her crushing it in the world of burlesque, which she is so, so passionate about. Take a screenshot. Let us know you're listening, tag us on social media.

On Twitter, she is at Guerrero underscore Shaw. On Instagram, she is at Shawl Guerrero. You can find me at Chris Van Fleet. And you know, I get asked a lot who I'd like to sit down with in the wrestling world who isn't with us anymore. And the two names that I always go back to, and there's so many that you could name, but the two names I always go back to are Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. Both would be such interesting conversations for two, you know,

very different reasons. But I love the fact now that we've talked to Shaw Guerrero's mom, Vicki. We've talked to Shawl Garero's cousin. We've talked to Chavo Guerrero and now we've talked to Shawl. And we've talked to her husband as well. So we've talked to like everybody around that family. So that's almost as good as talking to the man himself. Walt Disney famously said the best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. What is it in your life that you need to stop talking about and start doing?

Get after it. Be great. Be great for my friends. We'll see you on the next one for some more insight. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley.

Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1988. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of then? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this.

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