Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Shawn Spears On Giving Me Those 20 Chops, AEW Return, Becoming A Father, Cody Rhodes

Episode Date: April 20, 2023

Shawn Spears (@shawnspears) is a professional wrestler with AEW and is known for his time in WWE under the name Tye Dillinger. He joins Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood, CA to talk about why it has been so long since we have seen him in AEW, recently becoming a father to his son Austin, how his wife Cassie Lee is doing, we reflect on the 20 chops I took with him and Tyler Breeze at their wrestling school Flatbacks, what they look for in a great student, life lessons from your 20s, 30s and 40s, his friendship with Cody Rhodes, how he became "The Chairman" with the chairshot to Cody Rhodes at AEW's Fyter Fest and much more! Check out Flatbacks Wrestling School: https://www.flatbackswrestlingschool.com/ For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.  Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All systems are gathered. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Blurley. Hey, that's me. I'm Chris Van Bleet. Thank you to Justin Roberts. As always, for the amazing introduction. And hello, friends. Welcome back to another audio adventure on Insight.

And, man, I just love Sean Spears. Yes, despite all of the chops that I got from him and Tyler Breeze and all of their students at the wrestling school flatbacks, despite all of that, I love him. He is such a great guy, probably because he's Canadian. I don't know. And now that I say that, I realize we've had a lot of Canadians on the show lately. Four out of the last five guests have been from Canada. Will Sasseau, that was our last conversation.

It's such a good one, by the way. As soon as this episode's done, if you haven't already, please go listen to that and enjoy his many impersonations of Jesse Ventura, Brett Hart, Vince McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Arnold, and the list goes on and on and on. So Will Saso, Renee Piquette, we're in Italia, and now Sean Spears. And it's been a while since he's been on the show. I think it's, I think the day that we did the chops, which was like right before the

world shut down in January of, yeah, January of 2020 is when we did that interview. So it's been a little over three years since that interview. And it's been a long time since we've seen him in AEW as well. And for good reason, the last time we saw him, he was in the main. event on dynamite. This was October. They had a show in Toronto, and he got on the mic afterwards, and he basically was explaining what had been going on, that his mom had recently passed away, but he was grateful that she was the first person that he was able to tell that he and his wife, Cassie Lee, were expecting. I mean, that story makes me tear up as I think about it. It's just,

it's such a touching story. And if you haven't yet, go check out that promo. We talk about it quite a bit during this interview, but it's so good. And now their baby boy was born in January. His name is Austin, and, man, Sean just has this glow about him now. And I just love hearing him talk about his son. So we talk about all of that and his perspective on wrestling. I love it. And his perspective on just life in general, it's so good.

So I know there's going to be a ton from this conversation that you're going to be able to take away from this. there's been an astonishing amount of people who are listening right now who aren't subscribed or following insights so it would really mean a lot to me if you could just click follow wherever you're listening right now

so you'll always know when we have a new episode coming out and I don't want to give too much away here if you follow me on Twitter or you are subscribed to me on YouTube you've already seen this post but we may or may not have an interview with a certain rattlesnake

from Texas next week Take a screenshot. Let us know you're listening to this episode and tag us so we can share this out as well. He is at Sean Spears. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. Now please enjoy this conversation with my friend, Sean Spears.

Dad. Hey, man. It is good to see you. Dude, thank you for doing this. And let's talk about this for a second. This setup is awesome. Thank you. I appreciate that.

Yeah, this is our Hollywood setup. Third Wheel podcast studio here. Not bad. Dude, you know, good things happen to good people. This reinforces that for me. You know what I mean? You are living proof that good things happen to good people. Oh, I got the little boy.

I got, I got the wife. It's what more can a man ask for? So how different has dad life? Like, how much has it changed you? So I have a lot of friends. I'm a little older. Like I had my child, what many people would consider later in life. You know, the deal when you're growing.

up, everybody, you're supposed to get married and have a house and kids by 30. Just kind of what society is thrown out there, at least for me growing up. So some people might say I'm a little late. But a lot of my friends have children and they've had kids for years now. And they've given me so much advice and, hey, wait till this happens and wait till that happens. And it's you can get all the advice in the world. Nothing prepares you for when you're holding your own. Then everything just, you kind of forget everything that somebody had told you.

And things kind of make sense, but they're not supposed to. And it's just, it's a whole new world. And I'm still trying to figure it out. That's why I'm still trying to find the words for it. But it is the absolute greatest thing that I have ever done and will ever do in my life. We might have another or whatnot. But this is, that will be by far that my greatest achievement will be my children. Look, I'm right around the corner here.

Right. Are we allowed to say how long? When is that? May 21st of the due date. and it's a girl. Dude. So, like, as we sit here right now, it's like, so a girl dad.

Yeah, six weeks away. Dude. I know. It feels like it was yesterday that you made the announcement. We were liking the post. Same for you. Like, I cried watching Cassie's video. She put that together.

I was upstairs playing video games. And she comes up, she goes, hey, can I post this? And I'm kind of, she asked me that about a lot of the photos. And I look at it. I'm like, when I start, the lip starts quivering. I'm like, you just, She just made this downstairs.

I go, yeah, post this. Like, she just whipped that up and just tugged on the heartstrings. But again, like, you're going to find those moments or where she's playing or where she's kicking around or you'll catch your wife and her playing and you'll just record. I'm getting ulterior. I'm choking up thinking about it. But it, and that's the stuff you'll remember. That's the stuff you'll think about every day. This whole journey for me.

My daughter's not even here yet. It's opened up this entirely different emotional side of me that I didn't know existed. It is okay to cry. It is okay to cry. Funny thing, I would have bet everything that I had on the fact that I was going to have a girl. I had this inkling. I knew I was going to be a girl dad. I was really looking forward to be a girl dad.

A lot of my friends have little girls. So I was like, oh, I'm going to have a girl. And I'm so excited and everything. and I'm going to do her hair and I'm going to screw up the ponytails and the dress. I would have bet everything. And then we did a little reveal party

at the house with some friends and family. About two weeks before we did the reveal party, she's like, I don't know, I think it's a boy. I'm like, how do you just, you're with me? They know. Right up until two weeks. It's a mother thing. She's like, I don't know.

There's things like, and I'm going to screw them up if I even try, but there's certain things like if she has like an upset stomach on occasion, then he's got a lot. of hair or there's little things like that. And the way they carry it like higher and lower. Right. So about two weeks out, she's like, I think it's a boy.

And she was 100% right. Rachel knew from like, she's like, this is a girl. I'm like, you don't know. Come on. It's your first kid. Mother's instinct, man. I had a moment where I got in my car. I was driving to go down here, actually, to do an interview.

And I got into my car and it just hit me, like the realness of all of this. that at that point was going to be a father in whatever it was six months. And I just broke down like the happiest tears. Because things kind of make sense now. All of this when you're running and gunning and hustling. And that's why I, you know, any chance I get to see you, whether it be here in L.A. That's why, like, I reached out. As soon as I knew I was coming to L.A. for this, like I got like, Chris, hey, if you have some time, let's sit down.

Let's just talk. It's so good to see you. It's good to see you. But like, you know, you're hustling too. You're running. you got things going on here, you got things going on in Vegas. And, you know, when sometimes things are not at their best or things are tough or things are typed and you're just like, what am I doing or how am I going to do this, then something like a little boy or a little girl comes along and you go, that's the reason. And now no matter what, that's the reason.

So it's totally changed my perspective on life. It's changed my perspective on how I feel about wrestling. It changes everything career-wise for me. it's just no matter what every time he smiles that's the reason and it's okay you know yeah it's you'll know it's i'm so excited for you man i'm so you'll be one of the first people i i can't wait i cannot wait how's cassie doing wonderful an incredible mother um but just uh she is i was a mama's boy growing up he is 100% going to be a mama's boy them together just kills me. I can just sit back and watch them all day long.

He just keeps getting heavier. So she's like, oh, shit. Because she's like literally shrunk right back down into her former physique, which incredible athlete and an incredible shape. So now she's got to carry around a 12, 13 pound baby. And she's like, her arms are going to be more jack then. Right? She's got those triceps and delts going. But she's doing great. She's so happy to be a mom. She's just an incredible woman. And we set it on the ride here. Like, there's

no, we've always, I think we've always known it, you know, growing up, or at least we're told that the hardest job in the world is being a mother. Yeah. And it is 24-7 attentiveness. It is all-day love. It is constant understanding. Like, it's just different. You know, when you're flying and you're on the plane and there's kids crying, you're like, oh, gosh, I just want to sleep. Like, I've literally, when I've had him on my lap and he starts wailing, crying, for whatever reason, I think it's the cutest thing in the world. So I start laughing, holding him, and I start kissing his mouth as he's trying to scream.

And she's like, can you cuddle him? But I'm so smitten that I think it's adorable. It's just different when it's yours. Fatherhood looks good on you. Man, it is, it's wild. Did you have the name picked out way before? No, no. We were kind of on the fence about a few names.

She had a list. I never made a list. But she had a list. and I ex-nade a couple on the list. I just didn't. And I don't know. We just kind of settled up on Austin. Jay, his middle name is Jay, and that's named after her brother.

Is he going to be an AJ? I don't like the, I'm not good with short stuff. I'll never call him AJ. But I'm assuming growing up, a lot of people will. Are you a Ronald? I am, man. So you're a short form. You're going to use my government name here on camera and stuff.

Come on, man. That's a quick way to. Sorry, Sean, Sean, yeah. No, no. Yeah, no, I am a Ronald. But even I don't, like, my mom just called me Ron, and I, oh, and my sister, Ron. Oh. So it's usually Ronnie, but, yes, Ronald is it.

He was never going to be a junior. That was never a consideration. Never, never consideration. But you obviously know, you know, the name Austin has, you know, certain implications in the wrestling world. It does. It does. And at least some pretty grand ones.

Yeah. That's the case. So, there's some big boots to film. So, a massive ones. Good luck, son. I tried. So if you can. pick up the ball, you know, go for it.

Yeah, I think that people, you know, I love that name for a boy or a girl. And actually, that's good. If it could have been, if it was a girl, you could have used the same name. We had, oh, I don't know if I should say that. No, you might, you might, your next one might be a girl. The next one might be a girl. And that, I'll say it. Oh, okay.

It might give me a try, I don't know, but we don't know. But if it's a boy. So we had Harley picked out if it was a girl. So that, that one we had, like, set. Another wrestling name. Yes. Yes, it is. now that you're bringing it up.

Again, big boots to fill. Yeah, so a nice little trend. What if your son one day wants to follow in your bootsteps? Oh, we thought about that. The chances are... The chances are fairly good, and he's going to grow up and he's going to see, and he's going to ask what you guys do. He'd have a pretty great wrestling trainer.

And the good news, I don't know if I train him immediately. I would need to know how serious he is first, I think, because it can be very... it's different than it was back in the day trying to break in. But even when I broke in, you know, I got roughed up quite a bit just to see if I would stick around. Times are a little different, thank goodness. And even at our school, we don't try and physically run you out of the, that's not what we're about. We teach you the professionalism that comes along with this.

But I have enough friends now that have schools or training facilities and things like that, that I would kind of, you know, I'd send them to T.J. Wilson. You know, I'd send him, depending on what he's doing if he's not running the world by then Cody. I'd send him to Cody to see if, you know, because I know that A, he's in good hands and B, they'll push him because I'll push him. But it's different. I'd rather him get a little bit of a hard shell first so that he's able to handle that pressure. How hard is it being away from him right now? It's the worst. This is the longest I've been away.

And it's like two days? This is the second day. Yeah. This is the second day. I can imagine how difficult that would be. And this is just a short trip to be, you know, part of RussellCon, right? Russellcom? Yep.

And then it's right back. What would it be like if you're back to the AEDW schedule and it's two days every week, two or three days every week? It's going to, it's, it has to happen. Yeah. Daddy's got to go to work to quote the rock. What fast and furious. Daddy's got to go to work. Nice.

That's not a bad. Yeah, there you go. I think she hit him with that next time you interview him again. He'll be like, get out of here. I don't know. I don't know. He might if you start off like that, I think you should surprise him. I should be like, last time I saw you, I told you I was going to be a dad.

Now I'm a dad. And daddy's got to go to work. I think he'll bite hook, line and sinker on that one, brother. Try. At least pop him. Try. But the hardest is going to be when he realizes, then I'm going to work. Right now, he has no idea.

But when he's able to, like, follow me to the door leaving and he starts crying, that's what's going to be the worst. And we all, as parents, we have to go through it. We have to explain. We have to go to work. Yeah. Like, they don't understand until they do. But I remember, Dax, Harwood,

One of my closest friends, that's what his hardest thing when he was traveling with WWB all the time. Like Finley was, you know, three, four, five. She was getting to that age where she would understand that daddy's leaving. And it broke her heart. And so it broke his heart. And he's like, oh, I just got to get home. I got to get home. So he's told me about it.

I'm kind of trying to mentally prepare myself because, you know, they tell you it goes by quick and they grow up fast. So, but it's going to be, it's going to be tough. It's just a matter of time that you'll be back on the road with A&W. you. I hope. I hope. I've tried. We put some feelers out there and some ideas out there. It's just a matter of trying to get the wheels in motion. It was also, they've been very, very good. Last year was tough. I lost my mom last August. So sorry. Thank you. It was just, we kind of knew it was coming, but then it happened very suddenly. Yeah.

So that was up, but at the same time, Cassie was five and a half, six months pregnant. So, like, I'm expecting and losing at the same time. And then, you know, I'm in Florida and I'm trying to settle my mom's estate. She's in Canada? Yeah, all my family. I have no family here. Same. Yeah.

So everybody's home. And, you know, my family doesn't come from any money. They don't, we didn't have anything growing up. So it's just a matter of making sure everything is handled and taken care of. And my sister, my older sister, she's doing a lot of the running around. And like basically, a lot of them didn't have a chance to like mourn. I didn't have a chance to mourn because I'm way over here and I'm not with them. And then you're going home quick and then you have to get back to your wife.

And like it's, it was just a lot. And AW has been very good about kind of allowing me that time. Your speech that you gave in the ring talking about losing your mom, but then becoming a father. That got me. That got me good. That got me. Pretty good. But I felt like I think I said it.

I think I owed people an explanation. You know how to... That's the best promo you've ever cut. It's the most real one. That's for sure. It's the most real one. And I think it was because I was home. And I think it was because I just felt like being honest.

And I was, you know, I've been playing pro wrestler for a very long time. And it's been great. And it's been fun. But I'm at that point now where. where, you know, I also, I care, but I don't care. So I'm just going to say what I want, say what I feel. And if people can gravitate towards it, wonderful. If people just want to toss it to the side, that's fine too.

But I think more so than anything else, I'm just going to get back to being me. Did you tell them, like, hey, I want to, this is pretty personal for me. I want to share this with the audience. No. You just grabbed a mic? No, we were last. So I think it was a six-man tag and it was rampage. So it was last match for the night.

And FDR, a very hot tag team, very hot act. We're out there. And I think they kind of said their piece to the crowd. And then back said the microphone. He goes, I'm going to let the hometown boy talk. And I went, oh, I should. I don't know exactly what I'm going to say, but I should probably just explain to them why I've been gone.

And I keep a lot of stuff personal. Like, no one knows a lot about me. If people dig, it's really hard to find, like, my contract status. It's very hard to find, you know, if I'm injured or anything like, that I keep things very private. But I just felt like I owed them an explanation of being gone for so long. I'd been gone five months up until that time. Yeah.

Which is weird because then I showed up in Toronto, said what I said, and I was gone for another five months. You owe it's another explanation. So you might see me again in another five months. Yeah. So, but a very emotional night, a very, and the DMs that poured in, man. Ooh, a lot of people just not only saying nice things and comforting things, but sharing their experiences. Like, hey, I just lost my uncle. I lost my dad last week and going to the show was

to help me take my mind off it. And I'm like, oh my God, I'm so sorry. And they're like, no, like, it's just nice to know that everybody feels the same pain. And no matter what, like, the reality is it doesn't go away. It never goes away. I think about my mom like driving on the way here, thought about her. I used to, I used to call her on the way to the school all the time, like 25 minutes and we talk all the way there. And sometimes every now and then, if I'm not paying attention if I'm in a hurry, I'm getting ready to turn out to the highway, and I push, and I'm like, I can't call her. You know what I mean?

Stuff like that, you go, that stuff will never go away. But I hope that you realize how far that you've come. Like, I remember watching you at, I think it was blood sweat and ears. Was that? Oh, man. Is that Toronto? Yeah, of course. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Before I moved to the States, I remember watching you. And it was kind of like a farewell match, like Sean Spears is going to go to WWE developmental. And you were doing this at a time when not a lot of Canadian independent wrestlers were really getting discovered. The indie scene wasn't what it was then, like it is now. So, of course, there was Edge and there was Christian and there's Valvinus and Test, but like, you know, obviously some other ones, Trish Stratus, but it's not like now where like you make a huge name for yourself on the Indies, draw a lot of attention because the internet is what it is and then get signed. So you were like way ahead of this curve, I feel like.

it was a different time, just like you were talking about. Like nowadays, God, it's wonderful to be a pro wrestling fan. It's wonderful to be a pro wrestler or ballet manager, whatever you are. It's a great time to be in the industry. I got picked up when you had to send in tapes and do submissions when they were coming to your area. So you'd send in a tape. And if they liked what they saw, they would put you on a list. So I think my trial was in Buffalo.

So they were coming to Buffalo. And they said, yep, you're on the list. You're going to show up. And it was me and 30 other people. And it was a live event. We did a tryout there. That's just old school way of doing things. It was like you and Tyson Dukes were like the big indie Canadian names that everyone went, they're going to do something.

Hopefully. Like it's always the hope you're hopeful. Yeah. But I was all. I got a visa and everything. Right. But I was also surrounded by a lot of good talent and good people that weren't exactly, you know, really looking out for themselves. They were actually looking to help other people.

And they did a great job at pulling me along. Like you say Tyson, Eric Young, I'd be remiss to not mention. He trained me. He really, really trained me, like start the finish, took me under his wing, took me to all my first shows. Cody Deiner was another guy that really took care of me. Derek Wilde was a guy that took care of me.

I was just in good hands. So, luckily, and, you know, when you have guys like that, you're still in touch with him to this day, and they're still very close friends of mine. But when you have guys like that are looking forward to, like, they're looking out for you, man. Like, it's just, if you're put on the right track can keep your head down and nose of the, like, you know all this stuff.

It's so true. You keep your nose of the grass. It will, if you do it long enough, you push long enough, it will pan out. Somewhere, somebody will cut you a break. It's just a matter of whether or not you stay in the ride long enough. I smile when you mentioned Derek Wilde because I interviewed Eric Young for the first time when he got released from WWE and I said, you wrestled my favorite indie match of all time. It's the pal driver through the table.

Lunatic. You would love that. You would. It was their ladder match. It was Eric, Eric Young and Derek Wild. It was in the falls. It was at Fighting Spirit Pro Wrestling. Yeah.

And it's just funny that I said to Eric, like, you have my favorite ending match of all time. And that was the end of the sentence. And he's like, yeah, I know exactly when you're talking about. Yeah, just like I know the one you're talking about. Yeah. Is that a legendary Ontario or Canadian wrestling like indie match? I think so. I would say so only because like, this is not a shot at anybody today or anything like that.

But no one was really doing pal drivers off ladders because it was to the floor. through a table outside the ring. There's a, I think you can see me in the background of that shot. I'm like third row going, oh my God. No one was doing that at that time. Like it was just, it was wild stuff. I remember watching it. Like, it might have been a little before I said,

but I was like either trainee or still a fan of wrestling. And I was just like, oh, my God. Like, that's what I'm going to have to do. But it was wild at the time and it got a lot of buzz. I think back then it was just some internet, Ontario, Indy message board stuff. That's right. Yeah.

And a lot of guys would just go on there and talk about kind of, you know, just morphed into everything that it is now today. But yeah, that was a big match back then that a lot of people, like, put those two guys kind of in the upper echelon of indie talents. There isn't a week that goes by where someone doesn't send me some sort of a message or a tweet about the 20 chops I took at Flatbacks. Someone told me to do it to you again. Oh, I can't take 20 from you.

Somebody told me to chop you again. They're like, yeah, chop band bleat. It's like, ah, yeah. How often do people bring that up for you? A lot of times people, they say that they either saw Chris Danger's video. Yep. Or they saw the 20 chat. They saw your video.

Because my video between TikTok and YouTube shorts and the full YouTube video has something like 15 or 20 million views. Massive. Yeah. Great advertisement for flatbacks. It is. But you see a lot of kids come in there like, so like, are we doing chop day? And I was like, well, it depends. But like, I think there's a little bit of a misconception.

So this is perfect, because you were there live. Yes. So the reason why we do chop day, the main reason is because you can actually feel a little bit of pain, a slap to the chest, which allows you to sell. It gives you something that's happened to mentally that, okay, so I know what this feels like. I can sell this for real. Well, I can sell a punch the same way. I can sell a kick the same way. It helps them, if they're having a hard time coming out of their shell or making noise or selling, it gives them a starting point.

Right. The other part is which you saw firsthand is that the camaraderie that it builds. Because in pro wrestling, you know this like as much as anybody else. You're trusting each other with your lives. I just met some of your guys today, right here, helping out in the studio. If they're pro wrestlers, and I don't know them, and we showed up today at a show and we're wrestling each other, like, that is a very, that's a reality. I don't know how safe or dangerous this person is. Sure.

That's where professionalism comes in. That's why professional is in the whole professional wrestling. But the camaraderie that it builds is something to be seen. So when you see a lot of these young kids come in, they're 19, 20, 21, and they're shy and they're nervous. And they're kind of scared. And they're like, I don't know what I'm doing, but I just love wrestling and I just want to be here. And they're like, hey, man, have some fun. And smile.

And they go, it's okay, loosen up. Okay. Breathe. Like, there's just, I remember what it was like to be in that spot. So once they hit Chop Day, it's like they just. Oh, okay. And at what point during their training does Chop Day usually happen? It's kind of like fourth or fifth week.

Okay. It's farther in. So, like, hopefully they loosen up and they, you know, we give them time. Usually it's by the time we start doing matches, which is they start doing their first matches by about four or five weeks. Most people will comment that Chop 17 that I took and Chop 19 looked the worst. And that was Breeze's first chop and your first chop. Oh, it broke my heart. but you were a trooper that.

And we had a big class that time, too. Yeah. That was a big, that was a, I think I told you that before. I was like, this is a bigger class than usual, man. And we usually do two each. The kids get two each to hit each other. And the, like, the whole plan was I trained when I was 20. I didn't fully train, but I trained at the squared circle in Toronto.

So I know how to bump and run the ropes not well anymore, but. No, you ran them. I had the basics down. I could lock up, right? And you were like, well, what if I gave you a chop? And I was like, I'll take a shop. Like, for sure. It'd be a lot more interesting, though.

And nobody realizes this was my idea. Let's put that out for sure. Yes, it was my idea. I said, it'd be a lot more interesting if we'd lined up all your students and each one of them gave me a chop. And you're like, let's do it. And then after I had already committed, you're like, oh, by the way, everybody gets two. And I'm like, oh, what do you mean? I immediately went, eight students, two, 20?

Yeah. Oh, what have I got myself into? And the next thing you know, you're like, take off your shirt and get in the corner. I was like, and coaches go last, by the way. Yeah. Well, you took him like a champ, man. I think around Chop 12 or something, my chest just went numb. You made the wall.

There's a picture of you on the wall in flatbacks sitting there just look like you got clotheslined by a giant anaconda snake about 15 times. Just, just welts. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it kind of would it look like. I hope that there is at least one student that has come to you in. said, I didn't even know there was a wrestling school in central Florida. And then I saw that video. Yeah. Oh, great.

Yeah, we've gotten the submissions. Hey, saw CVV's video. What? Just want to know exactly what the course schedule is like, yeah. What was the commission rate that we negotiated again? I can't remember. We'll talk to Breeze. Let me run out the ladder.

Let me get an answer for you after. Figure that out. You know, I got your back. It's Breeze. You got a way up. Right, right. How's he doing? He's fantastic.

That guy's, I always tell him he's the smartest dumb person I know. And I mean that the most loving way. But I wish I met that guy. I've known him for 10 years now. But business partner, my best friend. Real estate mogul. Yeah, he's very smart. He's got multiple properties.

He's got his fingers and everything. He still works for WWE. He's in a different department. He's got the school going. He's got a lot going on for himself. Very happy, very healthy. And that's, I keep bugging him now. I say, hey, man, now you've got to have a kid.

My kid needs a friend. Yeah. You're my only friend, so you got to, my kid needs a friend. And he's like, ah, leave me alone. But, yeah, things are very well. When a new student comes to you guys, what are you looking for? Heart. Heart.

Our biggest thing is, and I know that might sound a little cheesy. Our biggest thing that we harp on most is safety and footwork technique. Because if you kind of get that down, then the danger levels kind of drop. But like, man, just the will to not want to stop or not quit. It is so hard to instill. And it was great because I was out last night a little bit in L.A. After we did the live with FTR, I went to the comedy store. And I saw Ziegler.

And Ryan. And yeah, so they were performing. But the best part is I had like my kids out there. And when I say kids, I don't mean that they're children. I mean like the kids that I've trained. So like Austin Gun, Colting Gun, Keanu James and WWE, one half of the women's NXC tag team. Harley Cameron, who's now with 8.

AW, like, when you kind of stand back for a second, you look, like, you're so, you're so proud. And then you kind of remember, you know, they were sweating their guts out and basically dying during training. And I'm in their ear. I'm in their ear. All of them. You can quit if you want. You can stop at any time. You can take a break.

You want to go get some water? Go ahead. And they refuse. Some of them even tell me, fuck off. Like just, but that's me going, you don't know. your limits yet. It's my job as a coach to find your limits. So I'm going to push you towards them. They're going to be uncomfortable. But if you're able to break through those limits, not only will it help you in pro wrestling, it'll help you in life. You got to remember getting

young kids. Right. So I push them because that's what they're paying me to do. I don't push them to a point where they completely fold because they're still very impressionable. They're still very young. But they don't know their limits yet. Push yourself to find those limits. You might surprise yourself. you might surpass them. And, you know, if you get the ball rolling for there, like, who knows what you're capable of? Yeah. It's a very powerful thing if you can kind of wrap your mind around it, but it takes a long time to wrap your mind around. I just have someone in your ear saying you can quit or you can keep going.

Yeah. The choice is yours. I would think you're quitting right there is a lot lower than other wrestling schools because you have to make the commitment of going every day. And like for a lot of people moving to Florida to make this happen. Whereas I think there's a lot of people that go to wrestling schools. school on Tuesday night and then Thursday night and then they don't go again until next week. I would think you're quitting rates a lot lower. I don't, I'm not sure.

I have talked with like a few people, Cody and QT and stuff like that. And it's kind of the same. It seems like it's the same, at least between those two schools. I think a lot of people underestimate how much cardiovascular conditioning that is required in pro wrestling. It blows me away how many people want to be pro wrestlers and don't go to the gym frequently. That is work too. What are you doing?

You have to pick people up. You have to work out. You have to be strong, not just to protect somebody else, but protect yourself. Yeah. And then once you start getting into getting hit and falling, usually in the past couple classes, this class actually hasn't. We haven't had any quitters yet, which is fantastic. Last couple of classes, there's usually one or two that quit during the cardio week, which is the first week. Once we get into bumps, usually one might fall out or one might get hurt or one might sit out, depending if they're legitimate injured or not.

it's up to them, but usually a couple are out. Yeah. Because it's a, it's not for everybody. But the same thing we tell them at the beginning of every eight-week course, just you have eight weeks for the rest of your life. Yeah. And a couple of them live in my houses. Like, we have student housing, so I put them in there.

Yeah. So if you guys are coming from an estate and you have nothing else to do, you're not working here, you've already paid your fees, you're good. What are you doing with the other 21 hours that you're not here? We have class three hours a night for the next eight weeks for the rest. rest of your life, find out if this is something for you. That way, you're not 70, 80 and go, I wonder if I would have, could I? Like, do you know what I mean?

Like, that's so, so vital. It's, I think it's so important. So we make sure we make that clear on day one. 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 Klinemberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Times ticking. I think you can feel the intensity.

All the guys are wanting to really. take their claimant and they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Henko. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. I want to bring it back to what you said about Cody. Like, if he's not running the world by then, he feels, it seems like he's just cut from a completely different cloth. He is. He is. And it's, uh, I get kind of choked up. I get an emotional thing about it now. I'm not going to cry. Because I'm not going to give him that. So I'm a bitch.

But to see where he started, and I was there when he started, to see now where he is. He's a guy that always, always, without fail, bet on himself. Always bet on himself. And, you know, he was just, sounds cheesy, but he's destined to be in the spot that he's in right now in the spot that he's in on Sunday. Or by the time this airs.

Whatever the outcome is, like, you know, when you can't his thing is finished the story you can't write a better story I remember when we were in OVW we were a tag team and Dusty his dad came down he was doing a little bit of like

hey baby we're gonna put you guys together young good looking you got a little bit of experience but Cody was very popular he didn't have much experience he was very popular at the fan base obviously he's a pretty guy so putting us together was a really good idea at the time and it really helped

but Dusty said you know nice baby face tag team give you a little bit of run, but I just need you to know that Cody is destined to be a single star. Told me that way back when. I don't think Cody was in a year. He but he knew it. He felt it.

And of course, we're talking about arguably one of the greatest of all time. But he's not, people might say, well, that's just a father speaking very highly of his son. Okay,

I consider it a prediction because look where his son is now. Yeah. He was always destined to be a single star. And I, he knows, Yeah. And there's no one in my mind that is more deserving than that guy.

It just seems like he works so hard. Well, you can't say do the work and not do the work. Yeah. But he's also a guy that he strives to make everybody around him better. And that is something, as I've sat back and seen, a lot of talent that he worked with in AEW, it's also a challenge because if you do not keep up with him, he will leave you behind. as a lesson and rightfully so and i believe that as well um any show you're on bring your best because i'm going to bring my best and if you can't keep up that it's not my fault i will leave you

behind yeah because that we take professional wrestling very seriously so to see him instill that quality and young talent and to see them up their game to see them where they are now the young sammy gavars and derby allen's and jungle boys mjfs like you can see now that when they first started to where they are now, you can kind of see a lot of his teachings there. And even I, like, you know, I helped him out a lot. He'll tell you, or he'll tell people that I taught him how to wrestle. He's taught me a hell of a lot in terms of how to be an absolute professional's professional in this industry. It feels like Tony Kahn has cut from that same cloth of just like very goal driven and like figuring out a way to get something done.

I don't know how. He does it. I don't I put it to this way I've never seen Tony Kahn yawn Does he sleep? I've never seen him yawn So I'm assuming no

He might be half a cyborg Who knows But that guy has a ton on his plate And just a steel trap of a mind Remembers everything Every detail When I first met him We were having conversations

He's like I remember that match you had I forgot about it I was like really Again it was in such and such city I'm like Holy shit I was like oh you're just butter me up. No, he remembers everything. He's like the rain man of pro wrestling. Yeah.

When it comes to like stats and matches and finishes. But he's not just like that with wrestling. I've walked into his office and I've seen him. He's got his iPads. I hope I'm not going to get in trouble for saying this time. He's got his iPad set up and he's watching like a Jags game or he's, you know, he's watching a Fulham game and he's he can multitask like no one I've seen before. Well, in the midst of putting a card together and getting everything done. And so I mean, uh, yeah. And like I was saying, before just a sweetheart of a man gave me all the time in the world when my mom passed and now that austin's been born i had all the time in the world to be home with my wife uh because it's

just us here like just a good man uh a busy man uh but a good man take me back to the night when you became the chairman no what did the what did the last night too at that ftr thing what did the conversation look like when cody was like i want you to swing as hard as you can at my head and I'm just going to take it. Swing for the fences was the term. I said, okay, get your hands up. He goes, no. I was like, buddy, you got to put your hands up.

And he goes, no. I was like, oh, damn. So, and again, it's Cody. I trust him. He trusts me. And this was supposed to be a gimmick chair. Yeah, but it's, you can, you can shave down a chair as much as you want.

it's not the flat part. It's the lip of the chair that is always the most dangerous part. And that's usually the part that catches somebody. And in this case, it was. And it was just a fraction off. He'll take the rap himself. I'm swinging. So it's off.

I take the rap for it. It's my fault. But I hit him. And it was a wonderful reaction. And it got the shock value that did. And you hear the term red equals green. And it's, you know, blood is money. and all that kind of stuff.

I just remember hitting him, listening, and I had a moment. I look at Brandy, and we have a little moment there, and I look back at Cody, and that's when I see the pool. And I just went, oh, shit. And I look at Brandy,

and she's kind of looking at Cody, and then she looks at me, and I go, sorry, I got to get out of here, and got to the back, and, like, I was, I had tears of, like, I had tears of my eyes.

I was profusely apologizing to her, because I felt so bad. I love that guy. He was like my brother. And then I go to check on him and he's on the table face down and I go, hey, man, look, I'm so sorry. You okay? He's like, you are the most unsafe professional wrestler I've ever seen in my life. He starts just busting my balls.

And I'm like, you can't, you don't understand where I'm at right now, man. I'm having a hard time. He goes, yeah, I'd have a hard time too. I am having a hard time. I'm getting stitches put in my head. And I'm just like, oh, this guy. But that was the night it got business-wise, it got a lot. lot of buzz. It set us up for what would happen at all out. I mean, it really helped you. You got a

moniker out of that. I did. I thought we could have capitalized on it a little bit more. I thought it, you know, when you come into a company like that starting out. I don't think we had TV at the time. That was the other thing about the... That's right. It was like a few months before the TV. We'd either just gotten it or we were in the works of getting it. I can't remember the exact time. But a lot of people will say to me, do you think the match, you know, with Cody, do you think you should have won, like coming in and, you know, do you think that would have propelled you? That's not the match, no, because this match started on the internet. And we did the road twos on YouTube and stuff like that. And the big blowoff was the match at all out. I'm a big

believer in when the good guy and the bad guy are having battles, it's okay for the heel to win a few battles here and there, as long as the baby face wins the war. That was our baby face winning the war. Because we didn't have the three months of television time to kind of bounce back and forth. There would have been five times more promos. That's the part that kind of bugs me the most is I wonder what we could have done verbally against one another because, again, he would have forced me to up my game or he would have left me behind.

So I was looking forward to that aspect of things. We just didn't have the luxury of television time. Yeah. But is there someone when you do go back that you're like, man, I can't wait to mix it up with them? Um, there's no one's, this doesn't mean I don't want to wrestle anybody, but I've had the, I've wrestled almost everybody I've set up to wrestle in my career, in some way, shape, or form, whether it be a live event when the cameras are off or on tour somewhere in some city that people have forgotten about or whatnot. I've been very lucky, very fortunate to wrestle a lot of people that I set out to wrestle. there's no one that really jumps out at me because there's still a lot of things I would like to do in AW.

But I had a blast wrestling as many people as I did there so far. Maybe Wardlow. I think Wardlow, in a one-on-one singles, give us about 20 minutes and just let us wrestle. No cage, no, no, you know, even a cold, I take a cold match with Ward. Let's just do it on a dynamite rampage. Give me 20 minutes and let us just go. Yeah. Because that guy is, he's still untapped.

I am my opinion. He's very untapped. He's been decorated. He's a two-time T&T champion, stuff like that. But you've seen a little bit of his athleticism, but he's still untapped on what he can do. And I... He's a monster.

I can pull it out. I think he's a monster. He is massive. I'd love to see you guys. But a teddy bear. A sweetheart of a man. Incredible talent, incredible human being. Do you think about how much long?

longer you can do this or how much longer you want to do this? I don't want to do much longer. Not because I'm being forced down or anything like that. Health-wise, I'm in very good shape. Yeah, you look great. Thank you. Thank you. I got to be on camera with you, so I got to kind of keep up. We're not the same shot, though, so it's okay.

The camera cuts between us. But don't cut back and forth so damn quick to where people can judge size and go, his arms are a little smaller than the band. I'm wearing sleeves. Come on. Yeah. I appreciate you. You're such a good host.

See how you just make it comfortable and go, all right. I'll take the W. You look great. I am trying to get in the best shape of my life by the time I turned 40, May 19th. I think you're well on your way, man. I'm on my way. You're well on your way. You got that empty stomach cardio.

I'm working with AJ Sims, cement factory. Uh-huh. That boy knows the stuff. He has dialed in every jacked superstar in WWE at AEW. So, yeah. But that's the key. You just said it, dialed in. tunnel vision focused.

Yes. And not, oh, I can miss it one day. I can miss it this day. Consistency is the key. You know how much I miss pizza right now? How much it will mean to you after May 19th? Oh, I'm going to eat so much pizza. I mean, I eat so much dominoes.

Yeah, you'll go nuts on it, and then you'll go, oh, why did I do that? And then you'll be sick of it and then you get back on the train. Like that's just, but that will, that mentality, that's what takes people from here to there. That's the difference. If you look at what Tomaso Chamba looks like right now or the transformation that EC3 made, Moose, Apollo Cruz,

like, that's the guy I'm working with. Yeah, it works. Right. If. Johnny Gargano looks amazing right now.

And you're talking about guys, that consistency and to a team. You have that same drive, just like them. Just like you. I don't. I can't get up every morning and do 35, 40 minutes,

I can't do it. I cannot do it. I just, I sit on TikTok while I walk in the treadmill for 35 minutes. I'd rather be in a, around 11 a.m. I'll be in my hot ass.

Jim. garage and I'll go an extra hour instead of getting up. I can't. I cannot. That's why I, I, I, my bodybuilders, I, the drive that you have to have the consistency, dedication to that diet. Oh, I had, I died tomorrow, man. I'm having a damn donut. You know what I mean? I'm just, I had to buy a treadmill because I was tired of going to the gym twice a day because I would go in the morning to do empty stomach cardio, come back, work, go back in the afternoon to lift weights and then come back and I was going to the gym like 12 times a week. That's a commute.

Yeah. It's not that far, but it was just... Home gym is a way to go. What a waste of time. Oh, yeah. Well, not a waste if we're getting results. Yeah, but not a great usage of my time. Buying a treadmill for $300 was an amazing investment.

Game changer. Yeah. Game changer. So anyway, back to you. You're in great shape. You feel good, but you're saying like your focus is going to be elsewhere in a few years. More or less, I have just kind of one thing left. that I want to do in pro wrestling,

but I also still want to be... Do we know what it is? I don't know. One thing left. You don't need to say it. One thing. I feel I've done a lot. I don't think I'm,

I don't have any false sense of, I think I'm pretty level-headed. Yeah. But I would like to be, I'd like to win a championship. I'd like to win a championship in a major company. And reason being is one of my favorite photos ever. Is John Humor.

John Huber, Brody Lee. I get kind of, sorry if I stumble a little bit, I get a little, when we talk about him. I think it was his second time as a T&T champion. He has a photo where he's holding the title and he has his two sons with him. And they are just so happy. And they're like, you know, kids, they're so proud of their parent. But the look on his face, to me anyway, is almost like he knew it. He felt that he knows what this moment means to them.

and to him. And I'm not a jealous of any other man or human being on this planet. I'm very happy with who I am. I'm very, what you see is what you get. I'm very good,

but I'm jealous of that photo because he has that beautiful moment with his son. And that's going to live forever that photo. It's going to live with me forever. I want that same thing for me and my son. I want that moment. And it would kind of be,

you know, a nice little, period at the end of a 20 plus year career, but it would be something that he can hold in his hands. And whether he understands it or not, he knows that daddy did this for so long and daddy got this. Yeah. Okay, so if I want a World Series ring,

then I have to go do this or whatever he wants to do. I just want him to know that they're, if you're willing to work hard enough, you put in enough time, there is a prize at the end of the tunnel. If you're willing to go for it and not stop. I just, I just think his kids are going to grow up to be wonderful men.

And I believe they're going to look back at a lot of those photos. And they're going to be like, my dad did it. I can do whatever I want to. And I know that's the legacy that he's going to leave with them. And I want to leave something like that with my son. So I don't know. We all want to be champions. You know, that's kind of in the mold.

That's why we get into this. But more so now that I've had him, it's just a stamp to kind of wrap things up. Every interview we do is filled with so much inspiration. You know how many times that thing from our last interview or two interviews ago where you talked about, like, your 20s is about doing all the figuring out what you don't want to do, and your 30s is for figuring out what you do want to do? That gets shared like millions of times. But it's crazy because you don't, it's so hard to pay attention to when you're young. You're still trying to find yourself, right?

Yeah. But it's so, I have to remind myself of that too. it's like, okay, like even now, like up until probably maybe five, five, six months ago, I totally wiped out like my care or any thought process on Twitter or social media. Like everybody's having a lot of trouble and a lot of young kids are having issues with the bullying and how to deal with it and all that kind of stuff. And I was like, you know, and we try it. We're people pleasers.

We work for an audience. So no matter how hard we work or how much we put ourselves through and then the audience kind of certain people on Twitter, not all of it, but they don't like your performance, or they hate how you look, or they hate your hair, or you're not entertaining, and it's just like, that can weigh down on you after 20-plus years of service. And then I saw a quote from the baseball great legend, Tommy the Sorda.

And I don't know why, but it said, 80% of people that know your problems don't care. The other 20% are glad you're having them. And I just went, whoa, that's so good. good but you've heard different in kind of it's been said to you different ways but it was said and i read that and i just went that just changed everything how i thought about social media and about what people thought about me personally it just it completely wiped it away it doesn't mean that everybody out there is is an asshole or or everybody's is is is mean it just means that

everybody's doing their own thing everybody's trying to catch up in this world everybody's chasing down their dream. Everybody's trying to pay the next rent. Everybody's, no one has time for your, for your shit or your worries. So if you want to get something done, go get it done yourself because nobody else. Nobody cares. And if you're having a hard time, good. Because that means that someone's

going to go, I can get past them and they're going to go for it. Go get it. That's so good. But things, but you just, you learn this stuff. I think it's an age thing, man. I don't, I think you just, or you watch something like this and then Oh, that's going to resonate with so many people right there.

I hope so because it totally changed my perspective. Rewind that and watch it again, okay? All right? It just changed my perspective on my outlook on things like that. Just wild. So I don't think we were doing this before, but I end every conversation now with gratitude. It's such a big part of my life. I wake up every day and I say out loud three things I'm grateful for.

I do it before I go to sleep. And now we end every conversation with that interview. And as I'm saying this, I notice you have an Austin tattoo on your bicep. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Look at that. Look at the size of these arms, ladies and gentlemen. That was there before he was here. No way.

Once I put it on there, we really couldn't change the name. I was like, I hope you're sure. Because, yeah. But what are three things in your life that you're grateful for right now? My son, my wife. I guess that'd be one of them right there. Yeah, this guy. My son and my, I don't think anything.

So I put it to you this way. I don't think, and this is not me downplaying. my career or downplaying how people may feel about it or whatnot. I'm just, I don't think my legacy will be titles or WrestleMania's or Hall of Fame. I don't think that's in the cards for me. Not because I don't believe it. I just don't think everybody can have that. I think my legacy will fall under three things, whether or not I was a good man, a good husband and father, and whether or not I lived a life worth living. That is what will be my main thing. three things. My son and my wife will benefit the most from that, but they'll be the ones that

carry that forward. So I'll be grateful if I can be a good man, be a good husband and father, and I feel that I am living a life worth living. So I'm grateful for that as well. That's so good. I've heard it said like, at the end of every day, you can ask yourself the question, did I live, did I love, did I matter? And I feel like that's exactly what you're saying. lucky guy. Dude, it's so good to see you. Congratulations on everything. Congratulations to you.

I'm pumped. I am so excited. I'm all of the feelings. You know what? They might go on a date. They could grow up on a date. You don't want to be family? Not to my little girl.

I mean, he'll be a gentleman. He'll be a proper young man. Actually, you're right. He'll be half third Canadian. What is he going to be? Half Canadian? This is very confusing. I'm Canadian.

Your son is American. He's American. He's full. He's born here. He will be a gentleman. He has more rights than I do, I think, right now in this country. All right, 18 years from now, my little girl can go on a date with Austin. He'll be a proper gentleman.

And I can go, you can scare him a little bit if you want to. It's okay. Okay, good. So, yeah, you can put the bad boys to it up. We can both do it. I go on the door and go, hey, boy, we can do it. We can get into it. You know what I'm talking about?

You know what I love that scene. You can insert a little clip in here right now. Yeah. You can do that. It's fine. I'll laugh. Just get it on camera so I can see it. Thank you, man.

Brother, pleasure is always over. What a great guy. What a great conversation. And I'm looking forward to seeing Sean Spears grow as a father. And I'm excited to see what happens next time we see him in an AEW ring. I have a feeling that it's going to be relatively soon. Snap a screenshot. Let us know that you're listening to this episode.

Let us know what really stood out for you. And please share this with a friend. Tag us on social media as well. He's at Sean Spears. I'm at Chris Van Fleet and Robert A. Heinlein. I'll leave you with this quote. It's so good.

Everything is theoretically impossible until it is done. Be great. Be great. Have an amazing day. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why?

Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you, lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand.

He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it. Get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What should be? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.