Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Todd Grisham Explains "It's Christian", Yelled At By Vince McMahon, Ruthless Aggression Commentary

Starting point is 00:00:00 Great to see you. Thank you for coming in. Thanks for having me. I feel like listening to your voice is like listening to a part of my childhood here. Really? Yeah. A lot of people come up to say that to me. Like, I grew up watching you.

Starting point is 00:00:32 And I'm like, bro, you're 40. Yes. I'm 49, okay? How can you have grown up listening to me? But that's the way it goes. How did that job with WWE even come about? Well, I was working in Tucson, Arizona as like a local sportscaster. You used to do similar stuff.

Starting point is 00:00:45 Yeah. So with the CBS affiliate and I was covering like the Arizona White. Wildcats and the Diamondbacks. I was there for game seven when the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees after 9-11. Crazy. Great experiences. And this guy that, that I know said, hey, WW's hiring, you should send an audition tape in. Because at the time, we would do this Friday night at high school football show. I mean, this guy named Scott Kilbert. We do these outlandish like skits where we do funny things, dress up like the Matrix or cheerleaders and old crazy stuff. and I was like,

Starting point is 00:01:19 I'll send a tape in, send a VHS tape in. That's she to do, record it and send it in. And I forgot all about it. And like six months later, out of the blue, I get this phone call

Starting point is 00:01:28 and it was, I believe like a Thursday afternoon. Hi, this is, her name was Sue. This is Sue from WWE. We'd like to bring in for an audition. I'm like,

Starting point is 00:01:35 whoa, cool, we'll win. And she goes Monday. I go like in four days, she goes, yeah. And at the time, I wasn't watching WWE. I grew up loving it, of course, but I was 27 at the time.

Starting point is 00:01:45 I'm like, wow, okay, well, sure. So I'm just crash coursing. Like I'm watching like reruns of Smackdown and Raw and I'm buying the magazines. It's a great story. I printed out all the bios of every wrestler on the roster made like a binder because I'm like, I had to call matches on this audition and do these things. Oh, you did your research.

Starting point is 00:02:04 Oh, I did my research. Yeah. So they flew me into New York City. This guy picks me up in a limo in New York City. I'm a small town Alabama boy. So I'm like, this is incredible. So I go to the audition. and I remember there was like five other guys on the audition the same time.

Starting point is 00:02:20 I was like, well, this sucks. But they were all taken as like a joke. They were like stupid. And one of the guys I remember worked in Anchorage, Alaska as a sportscaster. He was like, I'm not even going to take this job. I just did it for a free trip to New York. I'm like, bro, you can be on a worldwide TV show juggernaut like this, but you're working in Anchorage, Alaska, and 40 people are watching you.

Starting point is 00:02:40 Yeah. And anyway, so they brought me in and Hacksawl Jim Duggan. was there. And he was the guy I was playing off of. They're like, interview Hacksaw, Jim Duggan. Oh, wow. Do this with Hacksaw, Jim Duggan. So we did that. And then I called matches, and I called it with Josh Matthews. And I remember the first match, they were like, it's Valvinus versus Stevie Richards. So hold on, hold on. So open my binder. I find the Stevie Richards page. And I find the, you know, Valvinus page. And they were blown away that I had done that much research. And I felt like I

Starting point is 00:03:11 nailed the addition. Michael Cole called me the next day, say, where you killed it, I'll get back to you, but I'm just letting you know we work at a snail's pace sometime. It may be a while. And it was like four or five months. I didn't hear anything. And then he called me and said, bro, the fact that you haven't called and checked up on it is a good thing. That you're not driving us crazy. Just stay patient. And then a month later, they called and offered me the job. Had you done any play-by-play at all before then? I'd done high school football and basketball, but nothing like WW. It's not really even play-by-play. It's just like a storytelling, you know, I don't even know how to really describe it.

Starting point is 00:03:44 It's completely different than anything I'd ever done. But the fact that I'd done sports and been a DJ, I'd done a lot of broadcasting, so I knew how to fake it till you make it, so to speak. I think one of the biggest things that people don't pick up on with WWB commentary is that it's not play-by-play. It's not just calling the moves that you're seeing. Maybe you call some of the bigger moves, but you're really just progressing the story alone.

Starting point is 00:04:06 Like, what does this mean for next week's show or for the big PLE match that's coming around the corner? And I don't know if people pick up on that enough. Well, Vince would always say, don't tell me what I can see. If you go clothesline, he's like, I can tell it's a clothesline. Damn it. You know, tell me, look at the impact. Look at the force of that shot.

Starting point is 00:04:24 And that might have decapitated him. So you're almost like, like you said, you're just kind of giving a feel of what it's like to be in there. You're not necessarily saying, first in 10, wide receivers open, 10-yard pass. You're not doing play-by-play. Did you always want to be a broadcaster? Yes. I always wanted to be a broadcaster.

Starting point is 00:04:41 That was the thing you were super passionate about. my dad used to travel a lot and he would do these international trips and be gone for like a week and a half. And we both love watching baseball. So he'd come home and I'm like seven or eight. And I'm like, Dad, you missed it. The Expo scored this run on this play and this guy at the home run and did this. And my mom was like, you could be the next Howard CoSell, to the young people out there was like the It sportscaster back in the day. I thought, yeah.

Starting point is 00:05:06 And then I just started thinking one day I'm going to be a broadcaster. That's what I'm going to do. I like to describe things. I like to try and, you know, explain and transfer the emotion of what I'm seeing and explain it to other people. I love that. But I really wanted to just be a DJ, you know, and I got a job at Carrollton's Just 102.7, where we always give you a perfect mix of music in the 80s, 90s, and today, no hard rock, no rap, just more variety. And I freaking loved it.

Starting point is 00:05:33 We love radio voices on the show. You used to do radio. My first job in radio was Cleveland's 102. Cleveland's 102, better music and a lot of the free work day. I guess I didn't talk in that kind of voice, but... Oh, I did. You did? Oh, I felt like you had to.

Starting point is 00:05:47 That was like, you know, no one wants to hear you talk like this. Nowadays, everyone does with influencers. You're just yourself, but back in the day, if you go, hey, this is Carrollson's Kiss 102.7, and... It's not, no, no, no. You got to project that voice. So that's what I did. And I remember thinking, if I could just be a DJ in Atlanta on one of the big stations, I'll be set for life. One of the things I loved about radio was you would see the countdown.

Starting point is 00:06:10 It was called hitting the post. So you knew. you had a 27 second talk break. Like 27 seconds. That's like two and a half, three sentences. All right. So what could I, what should I talk about here?

Starting point is 00:06:21 And like you take it right up to like the first note of the song. Oh yeah. Like, bam, I nailed it. And it was always live. Like now they can free tape it. Oh, that'd be great. My friends used to make me do it.

Starting point is 00:06:31 I was in a fraternity. And they would like play this game with me where they'd pick a song and they do do something. And they play like, you know, ACDC Thunderstruck. Like, oh yeah, you feel the pain. You feel the power. We're going to bring it to you all night. long and hit it that right to that first lyric. That's a skill, man.

Starting point is 00:06:47 I know. Because you've got that clock in your brain. And the same thing on TV when you're reading a teleprompter sometimes. You know, you're reading the words, but in the back of your brain, you're also thinking, okay, how am I going to use my inflection on this word? And how am I going to end this sentence the right way? And how am I going to transition to the next line? So it's really a skill you just kind of, it becomes second nature after a while, as you

Starting point is 00:07:10 know. But at the beginning, that's what a lot of people struggle. Oh, yeah. I would always get excited when I would see that a band was coming up and playing in town because I'm like, lots of an easy talk break right there. Yeah. I feel like, imagine dragons coming up, progressive field and your chance to win tickets coming up in the next 14 minutes. I remember I got hired at this station. Steve Graddock hired me. I never forget his name. He's, he doesn't remember me working there if you ask him, but I credit him with giving me the start. He hired me. I went to meet him. And he said, well, look, you can't talk on a.

Starting point is 00:07:42 air yet, but you can play commercials. So from 12 to 6 a.m., you would just, there wouldn't be a DJ, just the breaks would just be generic. You know, they'd use the, you know, 102.7. So I did that for like six months. And finally he goes, okay, you can talk from 12 to 6. You can do some of the breaks. And I remember he would give me like four pair of movie tickets. So I'm like, all right, if you give me the phrase that pays, you can get two tickets to the Cinemax Theater and check out the new movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It's Titanic. who's going to go down with me and make that call. 834, 5477.

Starting point is 00:08:16 No one called. So for the next like eight breaks all night, I'm like, eventually I'd be like, listen, if you're listening to me right now, please call me. I'll give you two tickets. I'll bring them to you myself. I'll deliver. And one night, no one called.

Starting point is 00:08:30 No one was listening. No one. Not one person. It was kind of soul crushing. But I was talking on the radio, man. I was living my dream. I would record it and send it to my grandma. Listen to this.

Starting point is 00:08:40 I said this. And yeah. I mean, if you think back, what was your moment where you were like, this is the coolest thing ever? I could do it forever. Oh, it was the very first time I did it. Like, I fell in love with broadcasting when I was four years old. I had a Fisher-Price tape recorder with a little microphone attached.

Starting point is 00:08:55 Oh, yeah, I know you're talking about. I'm a huge Blue Jays fan growing up in a suburb of Toronto. So I would pretend to be the radio broadcasters. Blue Jays baseball is on the air. I would pretend to do this. My parents still have those cassette tape somewhere. Yeah. So, like, that was the moment where I fell in love.

Starting point is 00:09:11 with it. And then when I found out later that my high school had a communication studies class, I went, what's communication studies? I have no idea what that means. And we have a TV studio in the high school. I'm like, what? Boom. I've been going here for two years. You're telling me it's a TV studio on the second floor? Yeah. That changed everything for me. And we like put together these TV segments and then every Friday, we would watch them. Like we had Monday to Thursday to shoot right and edit them. And then Friday we watched them and like rated everybody's show. That was it for me. I remember I bought this book called. on the air.

Starting point is 00:09:42 And it was like how to be a DJ. Like, I think, and it would say you need deep in your voice, um, or to work on your voice, they would, they had these voice exercises.

Starting point is 00:09:50 So it said every morning when you wake up, before you say a word, you should go, um, and hold the note as long as you can. Wow. Okay. So I would like,

Starting point is 00:10:01 literally, I'd be walking around the house sounding like a monk. Mm. My mom's like, what are you doing? I'm like, mm, so I would train my voice and it didn't do anything,

Starting point is 00:10:09 but, you have a nice baritone voice. I do now, but when I first started at WWE, this is a funny story. Kevin Dunn said, listen, you're really good, but your voice is too high-pitched. You've got to get it lower. And I go, well, what do I do? He goes, maybe you should start smoking cigarettes. I said, really?

Starting point is 00:10:27 And everyone laughed. And he's like, well, I'm serious. Maybe you should start smoking cigarettes. Because JR was, you know, throwing out lung darts like chain smoking all day long. And I was like, should I start smoking cigarettes? But thank God I didn't do it. Did you realize when you got hired by WWE how much that would change the trajectory of your career?

Starting point is 00:10:46 I knew it, but at the time, there were people, I don't know if you remember Sean Mooney. Yes. Backstage in from way back in the day. Yeah, legend. He worked in Tucson, too, when I got the offer. And everyone, a lot of people there were like, bro, wrestling, they equated it back then to porn.

Starting point is 00:11:03 Like, once you do porn, you're never going to be taken seriously as an actor. You know, if Leonardo DiCaprio does a, five-way gang bang. He's probably not going to be in Titanic or whatever. So they were like, bro, you can't. Once you do that, you'll never come back to sports again. And I was talking to Sean Mooney. He's like, well, look at me.

Starting point is 00:11:20 I did it. And I was the main news anchor on Boston after they, just go for it. And I called my dad. And my dad was like, that sounds cool. You're going to be on worldwide TV and travel the world. Yeah, absolutely. But there were a lot of people that thought I was an idiot.

Starting point is 00:11:33 Because I was pretty good. Everyone was like, you're going to be on Sports Center one day. because it was kind of different. The one thing I thought was, especially in a small market, there was three channels, ABC, NBC, CBS. Whatever the, if the Wildcats were playing that day, all three stations were doing the same story

Starting point is 00:11:50 on the same people. And it was every channel would be the same one. But I'm like, I don't want to be that guy. Find me a dog that can shoot free throws. You know, that's something that someone would watch. So I always tried to just be a little bit different. And I thought, even if this WWE thing doesn't work out, what?

Starting point is 00:12:05 I'm going to have to go back and work in El Paso. So what? Yeah. I think not enough people think in that way of like, if you go and do this thing and try this thing and it doesn't work out, you're just basically back in the same spot if it ends. Well, I started my TV career. I graduated college and I was just trying to get a TV job anywhere.

Starting point is 00:12:23 I was sending tapes everywhere. And finally, I got hired in a Tumwa, Iowa, which was market 198 at like 204 markets. It was called the city of bridges and they had one bridge. And that's how small this market was. and I drove my little Accur Integra, packed to the gills. I slept in the upstairs room at this guy's house, paid $300 a month.

Starting point is 00:12:45 But I was only making literally like, I think, $14,000 a year. But that was probably the most happy and fulfilling time of my life. I would just wake up, go do my TV show or do my TV segment on air. I loved it. So I had already like rolled the dice. Usually get out of college your first job at the time you're making, you know, 45, 50 grand. You know, I make it 14 grand and live in an eye. Iowa, you know, hours and hours away from anybody I knew.

Starting point is 00:13:09 So I was already kind of taken risks and just following my passion. So to me, WWE was a massive opportunity that I grabbed with both arms. In WW, what was the first thing they kind of threw you into? Well, when you get hired, it's kind of like they don't hire you for a specific thing. They just kind of bring you almost like a, what do you call it in? And the NFL, like a scout team player. Come in, let's see how you do against the starters and maybe we'll put your wide receiver. Maybe you know, who knows?

Starting point is 00:13:36 So they just kind of bring you in. And Mark Lloyd was doing the bottom line, WWB bottom line. And they were like, you know, maybe you can start doing one of these shows one day. So I was there for like four or five weeks, and I started doing the bottom line, which was a show that recapped the week's events on Raw and SmackDown.

Starting point is 00:13:54 So I started doing those kind of shows. And then they said, all right, we'll put you on the road and I did backstage interviews. I remember the first one I ever did involved Booker T. No one gave me any direction. They said, all right, you're going to interview Booker T. So I thought, you know, usually when the wrestler kind of gets in your face, you know, you're supposed to act scared.

Starting point is 00:14:10 So that's what I did, Booker T. And you didn't even say anything to me. He's like, you know, fool. I'm going to go out there tonight. And I'm going to beat this guy down. And I'm like, scared of death. And, you know, I totally overacted it. But no one said it worked to me.

Starting point is 00:14:21 And then I watched it back. I'm like, this looks stupid. So I kind of worked on like acting scared, but not scared to poop my pants scared. It's like, I'm going to, you know, I'm worried here. But he's not going to put his hands on me because I'm a professional. So that's kind of a skill that I developed. But that's it. They don't really hire you for a specific job.

Starting point is 00:14:42 They just throw you into the deep end and see what you can do and where you can go. And eventually I just kind of get a bigger opportunity and more visibility and up and up. But I do remember the first time on the road that I had an in-ring experience. They give you this sheet at the end of the day after the production meeting. I say, here's the rundown of the show. And I was looking through there. You know you're looking for your name. Am I doing an interview?

Starting point is 00:15:04 and it said Todd Grisham hosting a debate between Edge and Sean Michaels. I'm like, whoa. And I told Coach Jonathan Coach, look at this. He goes, there you go, kid. You're first, you know, in the ring. And then I look down to the bottom and it goes, Todd Grisham takes a super kick. I'm like, whoa, wait a minute. I'm just worried about saying my line's right.

Starting point is 00:15:25 So I get in the, during the day in the buildup, I'm all nervous and stuff. And finally someone walks up to me, I think it was Shelton Benjamin. He goes, hey, you ever taking a bump before? I'm like, no, no. He goes, you just can't flinch. Whatever you do, don't flinch. I said, okay. And right then, he throws a fake super kick to me.

Starting point is 00:15:43 I'm whoa, I'm jumping back here. Whoa, you can't do that. Let's try it again. I'm like, okay. So then he does a fake super kick again, and I don't move. He goes, there you go, that's it. And then Sean Michaels walked up to me and said, hey, whatever you do tonight, don't move.

Starting point is 00:15:58 So the storyline was, I host this debate. it gets out of control. Sean Michaels shoves edged into the corner or something. I'm kind of pushed back behind Edge, and then Shaw Michaels goes to super kick Edge, who gets out of the way, and Todd Grisham eats the shot, right? I'm like, great.

Starting point is 00:16:16 Okay, so the show happens. I do my lines. There's the moment. Edge is right in front of me, and all I'm thinking of my brain is, do not flinch, do not move. But as soon as it hits, you've got to crash like you've been killed.

Starting point is 00:16:29 Edge gets out of the way, and I'm against the ropes. and Sean Michaels, he looks so far away from him. Like, he can be able to kick me. And sure enough, he couldn't kick me, right? So his foot almost kind of comes to my chest, right? Well, I look like, I sell it like the JFK assassination, right? You know, but it hit me in the chest.

Starting point is 00:16:45 And even J.R. commentary goes, oh, you know, he took it in the chest. Well, that's really got to hurt. And whatever. And afterwards, I remember of all people, Mike Kyoto was so mad at me. He came out to you, goes, what the F are you doing, kid? You got to feed into that. You're too far away. You're making Sean Michaels look.

Starting point is 00:17:01 stupid, what are you doing? I said, they told me don't move. They said, do not move and I did not move. Well, God, he lights up a cigarette. Like, oh, God, just I don't get it. I was like, they're going to fire me. But thank God they didn't. What was your first day on the road? Oh, God. I was just another thing, like, someone tells me something. I treated it as a gospel. They're like, look, your first day on the road, you're the new person, people are going to haze you. They're going to do dumb things. They're going to test you to you know, play practical jokes on you. That's what the boys like to do. You know, they're bored all day waiting around.

Starting point is 00:17:36 You're the new guy. Whatever. So just don't sell anything. If someone says you said something, go, okay, you know, because if they go, like the Brooklyn Brawler was the backstage guy that kind of helped run the interviews behind the scenes. And he said, he started telling a rumor to everybody that I say wrestling is fake. The new kids here, and he says that wrestling is fake.

Starting point is 00:18:01 So people were coming up to me going, hey man, you, you work, you really think wrestling's fake? And I'm like, yeah, I think wrestling's fake. Because if you say no, then they're going to say, are you calling this veteran of 20 years a liar? So I was just like, yeah, yeah, yeah. So then somebody, they're doing the practice matches in the ring. And then somebody goes, hey, that's the idiot that says wrestling's fake. And they go, bring him into the ring. I'm like, oh, God.

Starting point is 00:18:27 So I get into the ring and they're like, and jazz was in there. Remember jazz? Yeah. And she's like, you really think that? And I'm like, yeah, that day wrestling is fake. So the next thing, you know, Batista's in the ring. And they're like, give him a power bomb Batista. And I'm like, oh, my God.

Starting point is 00:18:42 So Batista grows, sets me between his legs, grabs my underwear and freaking rips him straight up. He's just like a saw going on. Saw. And he keeps acting like he's going to do it, right? And I'm scared to death. And thank God he didn't power bomb me. But my freaking butt crack was bleeding afterwards.

Starting point is 00:18:58 Raw and hell. What a wedge. So they're all just. taking, you know, I remember hardcore Holly getting in my face going, you think this is it's fake. Oh, I'll kill you in the parking lot right now. You know, and I never backed down saying wrestling was fake. And I remember after I was in the ring and finally Stone Cold walked out. And they go, Stone Cold, what do you think about that, him saying that?

Starting point is 00:19:19 And Stone Cold to his credit was like, God damn, get the hell out of my ring. Just get him, get him out of the ring. And someone told Bubba Ray Dudley this. And Bubba Ray Dudley, I'm sure he won't even know him saying this, is the biggest asshole. the WW has ever seen. Everyone else was kind of in on the joke. Like obviously, bro, he treated it like was a real deal.

Starting point is 00:19:38 He was like, you've got to go apologies to every single one of these people. You don't belong here. You should never be hired. And he was very serious. And I remember thinking, bro, come on. I'm 27 years old.

Starting point is 00:19:49 I'm not saying anything. And he just berated me in front of people. Like, I thought he was going to get physical with me. How did it go from there? Like, the next week, was everyone cool with you? Yeah, I tapered off a little bit.

Starting point is 00:20:01 You know, but then you had, and then, you know, that night I went out and had some drinks. And then the next new person comes a couple weeks later and, you know, you move on. And jokes on them. They don't do that nowadays. But yeah, it was, it was very intimidating. But I felt like that's just kind of almost like I was in a fraternity back when hazing was kind of still allowed. So I was used to it. I was like, look, it's me today.

Starting point is 00:20:23 It's this guy tomorrow. You know, it's like when you go to jail the first couple of weeks, I'm assuming you go to prison. You're going to get some grief for a while. So I took it like a champ and eventually, you know, won them over just because I just showed up every day. You famously hosted Byte This. Did you enjoy your time on Fight This? Yes and no. It was kind of the wild west of the internet.

Starting point is 00:20:45 You know, it was a call-in show. But very quickly we found out people would call in. And they would, there was screen the calls, hey, what do you want to talk about? What do you want to ask? And they'd be like, I want to talk about Batista's World title match against, you know, Jeff Hart. or whatever it would be. And then as soon as they'd get on the line with me, they'd say something stupid or call me an idiot.

Starting point is 00:21:05 And at first, I was doing the like, oh, well, obviously that's not the kind of calls we want. And then eventually it just got to the point where I was like, calling people the R were, you retard to stop calling here. DNA's great. I'm like, well, they call their show, you idiot. And it became that kind of show.

Starting point is 00:21:23 And eventually they just took it off the air because it was like, it was just basically me arguing with random 13-year-olds. Did it get to a point where people were prank callers just to piss you off? Probably. Like the people calling in about TNA, like, there's an entire montage of this online. Yeah. Of you being like, yeah, they've got to show you.

Starting point is 00:21:42 You should call into that. I think it's on like four in the morning. Yeah. Well, that's what it was. But that's, I would, I would prepare my brain like every call. I'm like, all right, the first question, he just asked the legitimate question. They'd always be like something like, I want to ask this question. Also, Todd, why do women dodge you?

Starting point is 00:21:59 One kid goes, why do women dodge you? And I'm like, well, women don't dodge. I don't dodge women. Women dodge me. And then he hung the phone up. And I go, now you're dodging me. It was just a constant battle with idiots. Shopping for a car should be exciting, not exhausting.

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Starting point is 00:25:00 But like, if you were a hardcore TNA fan, you were a hardcore TNA fan. Well, it was the counterculture sort of like, you know, I'm not a WW fan. You should try TNA. It's the real wrestling. It's total nonstop action. Yeah. So that was the thing. They were just trying to troll you and get their message out there.

Starting point is 00:25:16 But they were not like, Vince didn't even, from what I remember, no one even paid attention to the time. What was the point then? Yeah. The point of the show was, you know, the internet's here. And we got this cool show. And at the beginning, it was kind of cool. we'd bring a guest on and we'd do fun stuff. But Chris Masters was on there one time and someone was calling him berating Chris Masters.

Starting point is 00:25:37 And it was just, but people kind of came to enjoy it. Like it was like a, I don't know how long was on the year, maybe a year or two years. But I mean, we had a pretty cool thing going with Matt Hardy and Edge with the Lita thing. Oh, that was huge. That blew up on bike this. They acted like it was a surprise call where we had Lita on and then Matt calls in. And that was at the time that we found out that she left Matt and was cheating on him with his best friend behind her back, which was Edge. So Matt Hardy called into the show and they had their little back and forth.

Starting point is 00:26:09 And I remember thinking at the time, I didn't know what was real and what wasn't. You know, you're like, is Matt Hardy going to kill Edge? And well, you know, what's going to happen? Yeah. So I remember that. People still ask me about that. You know, did you know that Matt Hardy was going to call into that show? It's like, yeah, but I didn't know what he's going to say.

Starting point is 00:26:24 At the time, I remember being like, I can't believe. believe these guys are going to have a match. I understand they're both professionals, but like Matt Hardy could actually hurt Edge here. Like he felt like he was that pissed off. Yeah. Well, they had the buildup was, but that's when wrestling is the best when it feels real. And that was, to me, that was the realist, that's the word, realist moment, maybe of the seven or eight years I was there because there were some people like, of course they're professionals. They're not going to, but you never know. I mean, Matt was kind of at the time, I felt like he didn't feel respected. I think he had some injuries.

Starting point is 00:26:59 He's a little overweight. And Vince would be feeding me lines in my ear to make fun of Matt Hardy during matches. Like, oh, you... So he was kind of feeling dejected already and then to find his girlfriend that's doing this behind his back. I was thinking he might snap in the ring

Starting point is 00:27:13 and really go for it and fight edge. So that match, everyone, you know, backstage, people are watching the matches, but there's a lot of, you know, buzzy things going on. But I remember everyone was just sitting there, just staring at the monitor, just wondering what's going to go down.

Starting point is 00:27:25 I feel like he was laying it in a little harder than usual while still obviously working safely. But I was just like, I love, kudos to WWE. I love that they played on this real life storyline. And you're right, wrestling's the best when the lines are blurred. Yeah. When you're not really sure what's going on. But imagine, you know, you're married.

Starting point is 00:27:46 Imagine you find out that your wife is sleeping with your best friend. And literally they're like, okay, now you're going to go do this wrestling match next week. Like, finally I can get my hands on this mofo. Right. finally. So yeah, it was, it was intense. And that's, like I said, that was the rivalry while I was there that just felt anything could happen. How long into your WWE tenure until you started doing commentary? Pretty quick, I would say within a year, but I was doing like Sunday night heat. I swear to you, I called more, more Valvenous matches and more Stevie Richards matches than any human ever should. I ran out of things to say. You know, I would call them and be like, do you have anything for me that I can add in this one? They'd be like, like Stevie Richard was like, not really.

Starting point is 00:28:27 I was like, you don't have anything for me? So I'm just making stuff up. But it felt like it's the same matches every week. Sometimes those shows, they would put a big focus on it and give it a little buzz. And then other times, they wouldn't. And they really always, to them, that was just like a show to get people to watch raw or the pay-per-views. So they really didn't even want us calling the matches per se.

Starting point is 00:28:49 During the match, we'd be talking about, you know, hey, next week it's Batista taking on Triple-A. and you're talking about that storyline while these two guys are busting their ass and you're ignoring them. I remember J.R. getting mad about it. He wasn't really mad at me. We were at airport one time and I was like, hey, you, you ever listen to my play about play? You got any feedback from me. I love to hear, well, you guys got to focus on what's in the ring. It's embarrassing. You guys are talking about this, this and this while these guys are going, it's, it shits all over them. And I'm like, well, I would do that if they let me, but they'll stop me down and be like, hey, stop talking about Stevie Richards underwear and focus on the pay-per-view next week. Okay. Was your first big break, I guess, when you were the voice of ECW? I don't remember. Was that the first one I did? I maybe it was. Was it Smackdown first or was it ECW first?

Starting point is 00:29:38 I don't remember. I was doing those bit-bit shows like Sunday Night Heat. I was hosting WW Experience with Ivory and her cat. She would always bring her cat on these shoots. And she's like, oh, his name was Sprinkles or something. I don't know if you know ivory, but she's like wound tight. We would do the show. I'm going off on a tangent here. Love it.

Starting point is 00:29:57 show in Times Square and I swear she would be 20 minutes late and we'd be like what happened she's like well sprinkles got under the bed and we couldn't get him out and then she's about her cat loves her and I'm like that cat hates you like she would put her she would put it on a horse sprinkles sprinkles was just trying to get out he would hide in the queen never wanted to be with ivory she's always late because of that cat but i was doing w w.m.m. Experience Sunday night heat I was hosting the wbbb bottom line show so they're doing all that stuff. But yeah, eventually, they would have me do auditions when they bring people in, sort of like the one I went on, when they would have someone call matches.

Starting point is 00:30:38 I'd be kind of the guy they'd play off of. In fact, Mike Goldberg from the UFC came in for an audition. I did the audition with him. And it was interesting because it was like very K-Fave at the time. Like, they were like, you're doing an audition tomorrow. We can't tell you who it's with, but be here at 7 o'clock. I didn't even know who's going to walk in. Mike Goldberg from UFC who had just finished calling the finale of the reality show.

Starting point is 00:31:02 The Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate Fighter, which ran right after WW Raw. And I believe, maybe I'm incorrect, but I think Vince had veto power on what show came on after Raw. Because, you know, you wouldn't obviously put another wrestling show after Raw. But he gave them permission to do it. And that show took off. And it's such a strong lead in, too. You know so many people are going to be watching Raw on U.S.

Starting point is 00:31:25 network, right? It was spike. No, spike at the time. Yeah. And, and, you know, the combat sport element in the storylines, and they had all that. It was Griffin versus Bonner in the final. And that's the fight that made UFC. Yeah. Like that put them on the map. And I think Vince saw the numbers that they got. And that sent, yeah, that sent that show or that brand to the moon. Yes. And I think he was upset about it. And he's like, we're going to take their announcer. That's what we're going to do. And the rumors online is that, like, they brought Mike Goldberg in, offered him a million dollars to do commentary. And Mike Goldberg didn't really know much about WWE at all. Didn't know anything.

Starting point is 00:31:59 And I did the other, but what he was good at was making it feel like it was a real sport. Like I remember Sean Michaels was fighting, the match we called Sean Michaels was taking on some big guy, maybe big show. And they wanted me to antagonize Mike a little bit, see how I handled it. And Michael would be,

Starting point is 00:32:14 oh, what a great move? Sean Michaels is. I'm like, what do you mean? Look how much bigger big show is than Sean Michaels. This is real big show would freaking crush him. What are you talking about? And he would be like, well, no, it's all about leverage. And look how Sean

Starting point is 00:32:25 Michaels does this and it doesn't matter how big you are. He was really good at that. And they offered him a contract, which he turned down. But that was kind of my break. It was a blessing in disguise or I don't know if that's right, phraseology. But Vince heard me on that. He doesn't really watch those smaller shows.

Starting point is 00:32:41 You're too busy. And he's like, well, this guy's pretty good too. Why don't we get him on it? And that's when Kevin Dunn called me in and said, man, Vince likes you, I like you, but your voice is too high pitched. Maybe you should start smoking cigarettes. you know, to get your voice down because J.R.'s, that's how it is. My God, he's doing. So, but eventually they said, all right, here's what we're going to do. We're going to give you the keys to Raw.

Starting point is 00:33:06 You're going to be the face. You're going to call Raw. J.R.'s retiring him. He had like a retirement tour or something similar to that where he was going to retire after WrestleMania. He was going to call WrestleMania match and that was it. But the receptions he was getting in all these buildings and eventually they're like, we can't take him off the air. He's too big. Even though Vince tried to squash it. Vince hated Jim Ross for whatever reason. He fired him 10 times.

Starting point is 00:33:32 One show, I don't remember where it was. It was in Oklahoma from his home crowd. So the show ended and they were going to have Jim Ross speak to the crowd. Thank you very much, blah, blah, blah. So Jim Ross is in the ring and Vince tells me grab a mic and go down there and ask him. He gave me some questions. Yeah. So I go down there, sorry to interrupt you, JR in front of the crowd.

Starting point is 00:33:54 I'm like, but how does it feel to be getting released by WDM fired by Mr. Man because he just doesn't think you're that good? And all these antagonizing things. Wow. And the number one rule, you probably know this, when you're an interviewer, is to never give up the mic. Boxing, UFC, they take the mic, you're out of control. Sure.

Starting point is 00:34:10 So you sit there no matter what. But at that point, Jim Ross looked at me and goes, could not please have the microphone. And I'm thinking Vince is going to kill me if I give me. the mic but i was like i just handed the mic i was like i'm not going to do it and he i'll take the abuse and jr went and said i know you weren't you know those weren't your questions those were his and i da da da da da da da da da da so anyway long story short they don't they don't fire jr so they're like well we're gonna put you maybe that's when they put me on ecw i don't remember but we're gonna give you this show well you're the

Starting point is 00:34:41 you're the guy in waiting until jim ross is done what a tough spot to be in because jim ross is a living legend. He is the voice of WWE in the 90s for sure. He's called all the biggest moments there. And you're coming in and basically being told like you're going to replace this guy. Yeah. Well, I felt like, you know, they put us together for a while. It was Jim Ross on, I was me to play by playing Jim Ross on color, which I thought was a horrible idea. Maybe he can do anything. He can do color or whatever. But his voice is so iconic. So I'd be like, and I had the higher pitch voice, you know, uh, CM Punk off the top of the steel cage and he's got it.

Starting point is 00:35:19 And then Jim Rose, oh, that moment that shows you the kind of fighter that CM Punk is. And he just like dwarfed my voice and his energy. I just thought, I mean, I learned a lot, but it put me in a baptism and put him in an even worse position because he was basically helping me or training me to take his job. So I don't know how much he really was into that. But he was a professional about it.

Starting point is 00:35:44 What do you think is the biggest thing you learned from JR on Playby play. Speaking sound bites. Yeah. If you can't, if you can't say it right here and it takes you this long to say it,

Starting point is 00:35:55 then don't even say it. I mean, and I try and do that in boxing, especially now that it's like your show, it's all about the clips, right? Sure, a lot of clips online. If I tell a story that takes four minutes and you're not going to be able to clip it off.

Starting point is 00:36:06 My editor Troy will make it like 46 seconds. But in real life, you've got to do that yourself. You got to edit yourself. Like, if a guy gets knocked out and I go, um, you know, uh,

Starting point is 00:36:17 goes Canelo Alvarez and his legacy is now tarnished. It's just a horrible moment for his career and the crowd can't believe it. This is awful. What is he going to do? That's just mumbo-jumbo. Sure. It's better. Canelo's down.

Starting point is 00:36:31 His legacy is in question. This is incredible. Boom. You know? So Jim Ross was like, look, whatever you say, they're going to take that and use it to promote the next week's show. And these little bit, boom, boom, boom, they're going to take all those things. So I learned very quickly just to say things in a succinct, exciting way as possible that still was able to tell this the story knows.

Starting point is 00:36:58 C.M. Punk, how could he do that to his best friend instead of C.M. Punk betrayed the one man in his life that he gave everything. That's too much. Yeah, yeah. I think one of the biggest things that I love, I guess from my like broadcasting background, being able to look at it is letting moments breathe. not just in wrestling or boxing or MMA or any sport. Letting it breathe. You say your thing and then we can just listen to the crowd. Well, and the guys that are great at promos do that well. I mean, like the rock was the best. Sure.

Starting point is 00:37:29 He would say something if just one person started like a Rocky chant, Rocky. He'd be like, you know, and then they'd be building and he sit there and just soak it in. So anytime, and that's what Vince would harp on our ear, anytime the crowd was into it or chanting, let them tell the story. anything they say is going to be better than what I say. The same thing with boxing. You know, if the crowd's going berserkow, let them go berserk go. And for people that don't know, you are the voice of DeZone.

Starting point is 00:37:55 You've called some of the biggest fights in boxing right now. Oh, yeah. That's what I've been there since, I think, 2018. And yeah, it's great. I mean, I've always loved boxing. Vanderholyfield was my guy. He was born in Alabama. I grew up in Alabama.

Starting point is 00:38:10 And then he moved to Atlanta. I went to school in Atlanta. my mom lives in Atlanta. And I just loved him. And he fought Mike Tyson, not the earbiting one, but the first time they fought, my favorite fight ever, because my dad,

Starting point is 00:38:24 kind of old school Southern guy, where we're like, Dad, can we get this pay-per-view? And he'd be like, pay-per-view, I'm already paying for cable. What do you pay? I've already paying for your views. So, you know, but for some reason,

Starting point is 00:38:34 that fight, Mike Tyson versus Vander at Holyfield, he's like, all right, let's do it. And, man, no one gave Holyfield a chance. And my dad really didn't show that how much. emotion usually but man me him and my brother were just going crazy and screaming and yelling it was such amazing moment so what are some of the big boxing matches that you've called oh well to to the uninformed they'll probably recognize jake paul i've called it several of his fights a lot of canello alvarez's fights but last year i called the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world between

Starting point is 00:39:04 tyson fury and alexander usick um and that was important because in boxing which is insane boxing has a lot a lot of issues. There can be multiple champions in the same weight class because there's different sanctioning organizations, sort of like in wrestling. You've got TNA, AEW, and WW three different champions. Well, in boxing, you got the IBF champ, the WBO champ, the WBO champ, the WBC champ. But for this fight, for the first time in 25 years, quarter of a decade, all the belts were on the line and whoever won would be the undisputed champion of the world. So historically, that was the biggest fight I'd ever called. And it was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And I just remember thinking, well, if I die on the plane ride back home, I've done it all.

Starting point is 00:39:48 You've called, I remember hearing your voice on a Jake Paul fight. Yeah. Before I saw you on like the shot and being like, wait a second, it's Todd Grisham. Yeah. And I didn't know at the time. And I was like, this is amazing. And I look different. Not really.

Starting point is 00:40:03 Really? Your hair's just a little gray. My fate used to be fat. I used to wear those little glasses. Did you get LASIC? Did you get LASIC? I got LASIC. I got LASIC.

Starting point is 00:40:11 I got LASIC. I did you get LAC. late. I was like, no, not back then. Not back then. But yeah, people still all the time, they'll hear a Jake Paul fight or some sort of clip that goes viral from boxing. That's Todd Grisham. I've been hurting anything from him for 15 years. So there's not a lot of crossover between WW fans and boxing fans. But the Jake Paul clips go mega viral and your voice is always attached to them. Yeah, it's cool. I mean, say what you will about Jake Paul, but if it weren't for him, like if I go to a certain city and I'm in an Uber and they go,

Starting point is 00:40:44 what do you do? I'm a boxing announcer. They'll always ask me about either Jake Paul or like Floyd Mayweather. There's only two people they know. So whatever he's doing, he's been able to capture the public's imagination that no other boxers nowadays seem to be able to do. Do you have a favorite Jake Paul call or a fight that you've called? I'll tell you one of my worst calls.

Starting point is 00:41:06 It was Logan Paul fighting KSI. Yeah. Right? So I never write stuff down. All my calls, 95% are organic. You know, some people write the things out ahead of time, the ringwalks, whatever. I'll tell you two stories. Logan Paul is finding KSI, which stands for knowledge, strength, and integrity.

Starting point is 00:41:25 That's what KSI stands for. For some reason, I write down on the paper, knowledge, truth, and integrity. So KSI is making the ringwalk. I'm like, here he comes, KSI, which stands for knowledge, truth, and integrity. And I got just freaking destroyed. Idiot. Those words don't even match up. And then the fight that I believe was the Alexander Usick Tyson Fury fight. It may have been the next one after.

Starting point is 00:41:51 I wrote this whole thing down because I wanted to get it right because Alexander Usick was dedicating his performance to his father who passed away a long time ago. And basically, I don't remember exactly how I phrased it. But I was saying like, you know, his dad told him one day, you know, you're going to be the greatest greatest box in the world and I hope I lived to see it or something along those lines. So I wrote it out. He's dedicating this to his front. So Usick comes out.

Starting point is 00:42:13 There's like 30,000 people. There's flames, a huge ringwalk. You know, the Saudis blow the budget out. You've seen enough of the jewel fights out there. Yeah. He's coming down. They're like, Q, Todd, go. Here comes Alexander Usik, who's dedicating this fight to his late father,

Starting point is 00:42:27 who once told him, son, you can be the best in the world today. And this is that day, Alexander Usik, a chance to be the undisputed heavyweight champion. And then I go, oh, sorry, your mic was clipped. Do it again. But it's okay. Yeah, sure. The same thing. Alexander Usick dedicates his perform, but, but.

Starting point is 00:42:46 And then I look on Twitter afterwards, you're like, you stupid idiot, how many times you're going to say the same thing? The mic was open the whole time. Oh. So I go to, I say it twice in a row back to back. I'm like, you got to be kidding me.

Starting point is 00:42:59 So that's, so every time I write something down, it somehow gets screwed up. What do you think your biggest blunder in WWE was? Blunder. Oh. Well, I don't know if the blunderer, but Vince McMahon went,

Starting point is 00:43:12 insane on me one time because I said that John Morrison, who was a heel at the time, loved poetry. Now, normally I wouldn't say that, but there was a new WW magazine. They just transformed it from being like a results-based boring magazine. Like last week, Eddie Guerrero beat JBL by Penfall. Here's the description to more of like a maxim style, lifestyle magazine, get to know the superstars better. So they're like, anytime you can incorporate stuff from the magazine, do it, it helps sell

Starting point is 00:43:41 the magazine. It helps tell their story. It sinks everything up. Great. So they did a whole thing on John Morrison. His finisher was called Starship Pain. Yes. What a finisher. He wrote a poem called Starship Pain. So he's in the ring and I go, John Morrison, Starship Pain. He's a big fan of poetry and wrote a poem about the finisher, Starship Pain. And Vince goes insane in my ear. Did you just say that our number one He was an effing poet, you stupid F! What the fuck? Shut up. Just shut up. Don't say anything else. Jim Ross. So I was working Jim, Jim, you call the rest of this fight. I don't want to hear another effing word out of you. So literally the match starts, and I don't say a single word for like five minutes. And then the match ends. And we got to do like the promo going to the next fight.

Starting point is 00:44:36 And he goes, okay, you can talk now. I'm like, coming up next. Shelton Benjamin goes, on one with the heartbreak kid, Sean Michaels. But he was so angry at me over that. Oh, for that? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Would you normally hear Vince yelling in your ear? All the time.

Starting point is 00:44:54 Like every day? All day. I used to describe it to my wife at the time. I would say, I go to WWE to get mentally abused for two hours a week, and then I come home and I get paid well for it. That was my job description. Like, it was my voice,

Starting point is 00:45:11 but that's not how I am. That's not how I would call wrestling matches. It was basically trying to avoid landmines from Vince Rickman. Don't say this, don't say that. So you're just like, okay, that's why I think I lasted so long. I was there eight years. Look at the other announcers that could come and go. I mean, Joey Stiles in and out, Taz, in and out.

Starting point is 00:45:30 McFoli, you know, just they couldn't handle it because they would just be like, I'm not going to do this with my life. I don't want to get screamed at. I'm a grown man. But I learned how to just stay on the straight and narrow. I think a lot of my calls maybe aren't memorable, but I was thinking to myself, they can't be memorable because if they're not good,

Starting point is 00:45:47 Vince is going to fire me. What's he, is he just yelling at you what not to say? If Vince could, he would be everyone. He would be the referee. He'd be the two wrestlers. He would be the commentators. He'd be the fans in the stands.

Starting point is 00:46:00 So he would just micromanage everybody. He would yell at cameramen about their shots. But, yeah, he would say, and he would love to say, you know, for instance, one time he told me to say, say the WW divas are strong, sexy, and powerful. That was the line they were going. And I added like one word like the, like the WWE divas.

Starting point is 00:46:21 Everyone knows they are very strong, very sex. No, I didn't say very. No, it's not what I effing said. Can you do the job or not? Meanwhile, I'm still talking. Oh, my gosh. I'm still talking. Oh, yeah.

Starting point is 00:46:35 It was brutal. But again, I kind of learned how to navigate it. And I would say, oh, I'm not going to, I'm not even going to bring this. subject up. So I was very vanilla more than I would ever normally be just to stay employed. Would he ever give you praise? Was there ever, hey, good job, Todd. Yeah. Okay. But that would, there was two kind of praise you, like, because I would, usually I would call that they would do, what was it, what was the show before Smackdown that we record? Sometimes ECWB before. So me and Matt Strike or whatever would do the matches and we got to walk through guerrilla and Vince

Starting point is 00:47:07 is sitting there. The worst thing that could happen is him call you over. He's not going to call you over to tell you good job. But if he, if he made eye contact with him and he just looked down, you're like, good. And every once in a while, he'd be like, and that was like, wow, oh my gosh. I got a head nod from Vincent's Man. So yeah. But in your ear, he wouldn't be like, hey, that was good. I don't recall that. Wow. Yeah. But he was like the, you know, the way he grew up, I think, I think his father was abusive to him. He had a rough childhood from what I recall. So I think that's kind of why I tell him a good job, that he just did his job, you know. I mean, you can talk to some superstars who've had like five star matches and he doesn't give him praise, you know?

Starting point is 00:47:46 What's the most upset that he's been with you? Well, it started at WWE headquarters. I'm in the gym working out. And as I'm walking, I'd only been there for like three months and just been hired. And I'm walking out of the gym. Vince is walking in. He goes, hey, Todd, how are you doing? I'm like, oh, hey, I'm like, Vince does my name.

Starting point is 00:48:08 Yeah. This is cool, right? So that was on a Thursday or Friday. So then Monday, I'm backstage about to do an interview with Edge and Christian, I believe. So we're standing there waiting to do the interview. And Vince is walking by. And he was, oh, hey, there's my boy. And I'm like, he's talking to me?

Starting point is 00:48:26 Yeah, yeah, you. I'm your boy, right? He starts walking a little closer. And he's like, I saw you going into the weight room the other day. I said, yes, sir. He goes, you were lifting those weights, weren't you lifting those weights? I said, yeah. goes, you put the, you put the weights on the bar, right?

Starting point is 00:48:43 I said, yeah, he goes, but you forgot to take them off. I said, oh, he goes, no, no, it's okay. It's okay. I did it for you. Which makes me, your fucking boy! And he's like this close to my face, screaming. I've only been there three months. Everyone's, like, backing up.

Starting point is 00:49:02 I feel like I'm pissing my pants at this point. And he just, he's turning beat red. And then he just stops and just walks away. and I look over and Edge looks at me and he goes, that's pretty cool. Vince is your boy. Yeah. How did you not get fired?

Starting point is 00:49:20 If he's yelling at you like this. And you know what? It's like when I talk about micromanaging, John Gaboric, they call him big. He was one of the producers backstage. He would later tell me that he was in the gym and Vince was Matt. It wasn't me, by the way, that left the weights on, by the way. There was someone else, but he just thought it was me.

Starting point is 00:49:37 And he said that Vince thought about how to, how to, how to, approached me about that all weekend. I can't call him the N-word. I'm not as N-word. What can I call him? I'll call him, boy. Yeah, okay, and what shit? He, like, planned it.

Starting point is 00:49:50 He's psychotic. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, that's the maddest he's been. But, to be fair, later that night, I did the show, walked backstage, and he gave me the nod. Like, he just, he's on to the next subject. Like, it was all just a performance.

Starting point is 00:50:07 Wow. Almost like I felt like, Like, you know, every once in a while, the mafia boss himself has to kill somebody. Just to be like, oh, he's capable to do. Keep everyone in line, yeah. Like, I was the guinea pig. Like, do not do anything to piss this man. This episode is brought to you by GLD.

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Starting point is 00:53:26 Offer only valid for new factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase. Do you feel like now that you have the freedom with what you're doing now with, I'm sure people are still in your ear, but they're not yelling at you in your ear. maybe telling you what's coming up next or when the commercial break is, you must feel so free. So free. And every once in a while, someone will be like,

Starting point is 00:53:48 hey, you're working with this producer night. Just be careful. He's a little bit of a hot head. I'm like, I'll be fine. Yeah. And it's true.

Starting point is 00:53:55 No one's ever yelled at me like, like he's yelled at me, including my father. No one. No one. I mean, he would sometimes, like,

Starting point is 00:54:04 leave the, leave the, you could hear when, you know, press the button down. He'd leave the channel open. He'd leave the channel open. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:54:10 just so he could instantly get on you. But I learned, he would feed you lines, and you had, like I said earlier, you have to say him exactly how he says it. So I got pretty good at it. So I could do the things that he wanted me to do. So just like Michael Cole, if Michael Cole from the beginning called fights the way, called matches the way he wanted to, he'd sound completely different. But he was able to mold Michael Cole into the Vince McMahon type of announcer he wanted him to be.

Starting point is 00:54:36 Look how good Michael Cole is now. Yeah. Over the last few years, now the Vince has gone. And we get to see who Michael Cole really is. He's having a blast out there. Yeah. Every once in a while, Vince wouldn't be. It shows very rarely.

Starting point is 00:54:48 But like when he blew out both his hamstrings, I was there for that, the Royal Rumble. Good God. So he was out for a while. And, man, it felt like, you know, I think Hunter would sit in. And everyone's like, he'd give you a line like, hey, you know, say this or do that. But God, it was so free. It felt like that slave that had been released from the chains. Why were you so enthusiastic when Christian returns?

Starting point is 00:55:10 You know, Christian was one of my better friends at WW. We'd hang out and catering all the time and talk. And he was the most, I mean, I think even most superstars, wrestlers will tell you, they're all, you got to be a little bit insane to be a wrestler. Sure, yeah. And he was the most normal person backstage. Him and like Shane Helms, the hurricane and Edge, those were kind of the guys I would hang out with.

Starting point is 00:55:33 And Christian, we would play this game called Words with Friends, which is like an app back and forth. So he left WWE to go to TNA for a while And we still hang out and text and talk And he was coming back So I was excited all day long Yeah, that's great, here's his match He was talking to him about his match

Starting point is 00:55:49 And I'm thinking I gotta nail this when he comes out I had something to say I'm standing in a gorilla about to walk out And Vince had glasses on any of his nose And he did one of these I'm like, okay, walk over and he just said to me here He goes, when Christian walks out I want you to say, it's Christian

Starting point is 00:56:05 And that's it understand? It's like, yes, sir. And I'm thinking, oh my God. So that's how I did it. But I felt like, I was like, how do I do it? So I almost did it like, in my brain, like I couldn't believe it. I was stunned silence.

Starting point is 00:56:22 Like, it's Christian. Like, how can this possibly be? So that's how I tried to do it. And man, that's probably the most criticism I get from fans. Like, why does Todd hate Christian? Why did he do that? He ruined it. But Vince just did not like Christian.

Starting point is 00:56:36 I think he thought he liked big guys, and he thought Christian just didn't look the part. But he was such a good in-ring performer. I mean, has he ever had a bad match? He's amazing. He's incredible. And I think especially at that point in his career, he left WWE years before because he didn't feel like he was getting the respect

Starting point is 00:56:53 that he deserved there. Goes to TNA, becomes a main event guy in TNA, and then whatever happens there to leads for him to leave. Then he comes back to WWE, but now he's seen in this main event light by fans. So this is a big moment, right? He's making his return to WWE. And I'm Christian. I ruined it.

Starting point is 00:57:12 But I think Vince didn't even want him on the roster. It was more like buying out competition. Like, he's doing good there so we don't want him to do good there. So he's going to come here, but we're going to put him on ECW against Jack Swagger a bunch of times in a row. And that's, yeah. So I don't think they ever treated him fairly. How do you wish you would call that return? Screaming.

Starting point is 00:57:34 Oh, listen to this crowd. I don't believe it. It's Christian! He's back! What was his moniker at the time? It was... I mean, the peeps would be looking for him. The peeps, but... Captain Charisma?

Starting point is 00:57:45 Captain Charisma! I mean, I don't know. I've been just gone insane. Just like everyone in the building was doing it. Yeah. But yeah. It's Christian. Mom, I poop my pants.

Starting point is 00:58:00 Can you help me out? You took a lot of moves when you were in WWA. I did. Like, you... You famously took an AA from John Sina, kind of out of nowhere, too. Yeah, and I thought that was weird. Like, why would John Sina beat up the announcer? But, you know, sometimes thing didn't make sense.

Starting point is 00:58:17 But his thing was basically his promo was, I'm tired of getting pushed around or not getting the respect I deserve. I'm going to have to go and take it. I'm starting with you, Todd Grisham. You're out here because what? You want to fight? Okay. And then he needlessly gave me the AA,

Starting point is 00:58:31 and I've never forgiven him for that. Did you prep for that earlier in the day? we didn't do it, but he just said something along the lines of just let me do what I'm going to do. I mean, I couldn't stop him in real life. Sure. So I was just like, you know, he picked me up like a ragdoll and slam me down and I acted like I was dead. It was pretty easy. But it didn't feel good.

Starting point is 00:58:54 It did not feel good. But what was cool is that they would give you at the time, I don't know if they still do this. If you were an announcer and you got physicality, they would give you hazard pay. So I remember one time Mickey James slapped me. that was the worst thing ever. I'll take 20 AA's before a slap because they don't trust you to sell the slap because you're not a worker.

Starting point is 00:59:11 So they slap you. And she hit me right here. Right here. She slapped you for real. As hard as she could slap me. And like there's a shot, I get slapped and I'm like, you know,

Starting point is 00:59:22 you got to sell for the camera for like, I call it the TV novella shot. Like, you know, your husband's dead. You got to hold it for like five seconds so they go to commercial break. So the camera's on my face. I'm like, ah.

Starting point is 00:59:34 And people are like, you were selling pretty good. I was like, I was not selling. I felt like my face was going to get ripped off. Wasn't the original plan? It wasn't going to be you getting slapped. It was somebody else. Yeah, but quickly, the hazard pay. So after she slapped me, they give you 500 bucks. Literally, they'd be like, and cut, nice job, Todd. And someone walked her and goes, one, two, three, four, five, here you go, cash. What? Yeah. Not like added to your paycheck in two weeks? Cash money. So I'm like, beat the hell out of me. You want me to go on the ring and let her slap me yet? but yeah, Max Brettos, who I believe was the shortest tenured employee of all time.

Starting point is 01:00:08 I talk about, you know, they hire you just to see where you fit in. He was there for a cup of coffee. But they asked him, did he want to do it? And he was like, no, I don't really, I don't want to do that. And I was like, I'll do it. You're like, okay. That's how it went. And I was like, yeah, and you're going to be $500, you know?

Starting point is 01:00:23 But people remember you more for the physicality moments than anything else. There's a backstage interview that you're doing with Sean Michaels. And you're interviewing him and then kind of out of nowhere. like he hits you with the sweet chin music. Yeah. And that was another thing where I'm, I'm taking everybody. I don't care who you are and what you're doing.

Starting point is 01:00:42 And I'm starting right now with you. And he gives me this sweet chin music. And yeah, it feels like he's so good. It felt like someone had a ping pong paddle and just went like that. Like he kicks, like if someone really kick your face,

Starting point is 01:00:55 they would kick up into your face. Yeah. But he almost kicks kind of death. I don't know what it is, but he almost scrapes you. You know, it's like this. It doesn't hurt. It looked so perfect.

Starting point is 01:01:05 It was perfect. And then, of course, the cameraman knows the tricks. Yeah. You know, they're shaking and moving. You know, I fell off the screen. So it looks like I was kicked into Wednesday. Do you remember when you were put in the ring to be a ring announcer? Yeah.

Starting point is 01:01:18 And you called it the Cruiserweight Championship. Yeah. When it was the Intercontinental Championship. I don't remember it, but it lives on the Internet, so I've seen it 100 times. Yeah. Man, the Internet is forever. I'm telling you, I would, ring announcers don't get enough credit because it. If you're commentary and I say something wrong, I can instantly, you know, like,

Starting point is 01:01:36 here comes Mike Van Vleet, Chris Van Ville, boom, done. Right. You can't be like, and ladies and gentlemen, Mike Van, Chris, you're done. Yeah. So, yeah, and again, at the time I think I was doing, like, I don't know, but boxing has, what I call it, the cruiserweight title instead of the intercontinental. And there was a cruiserweight championship in WWE. Who knows?

Starting point is 01:01:56 But they threw me in there because someone was. I think Lillian was out injured. Yeah. And JR even said, like, well, we sure do miss Lillian Garcia who was injured last week. Yeah, that's the thing. That's the thing about WWE. Other jobs, other people, they will, like, avoid criticizing you and pretend that things didn't happen. WWE, they lean all into it.

Starting point is 01:02:15 I remember when the Miz was doing the quarter million dollar diva search. Oh, yeah. He was the host. Yeah. And it was at the time, it was like, vote for your favorite. Call the 800 number. It's 800, 55, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6. and he had to write it on his arm.

Starting point is 01:02:31 He was, hey, and call of number 800, three, four, five, five, what I was they say? And the next week on Raw, DeGeneration X was out there. And they were like, yeah, no, no, no, and Hunter had all this stuff written on his arm. Yeah, you know, we're here in Dubuque, Iowa. So they'll berate you. You were there in an era when there were so many celebrity appearances. Mm-hmm. Who do you think was your favorite?

Starting point is 01:02:53 I remember Britney Spears' husband, Kevin Federer was kind of a big deal. He got a lot of attention. Didn't he do something with Sina? Yeah, well, he, for some reason, I remember that, because Jim Ross was complaining a lot because Oklahoma was playing Boise State in the, I can't remember with the game, it was some bowl game. And it turned out to be the greatest college football game of all time. They ran the stature of Liberty play to win it in overtime. But he did not want to be there. He wanted to watch that game, but it was Kevin Federer.

Starting point is 01:03:20 I believe it were in Miami. Maybe I'm wrong. But Kevin Federline was there. And he was so upset that he had to work that show. But my favorite was Floyd Mayweather when he came in. And he was great. And it was to people that don't remember, he was with the Big Show. Yeah, WrestleMania match.

Starting point is 01:03:38 And, well, the start of the rivalry, Floyd was in the crowd. And Big Show basically, oh, yeah, the little man, you think you're tough. You're the best. I'll squash you like a bug. Calls him into the ring. And from what I recall, Floyd was, you know, going to hit him, you know, and Big Show is like, lay it into me. I can take the punches, you know.

Starting point is 01:03:58 just hit me on the side. Okay. So the thing happens and Big Show gets down on the knee and he goes, what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about it? And Floyd, for whatever reason, throws more straight rights and busts his nose and bloods pouring down his face. And Floyd jumps out of the ring and jumps over the barrier. And I think what was supposed to happen was Big Show supposed to run to the barrier and go, ah, you know, I'm going to get you next time.

Starting point is 01:04:26 but he was so enraged because he jumps over the bury and starts chasing him the back. Shane McMahon comes out, no, don't do it, don't do it. And he was legitimately furious, furious. But it set up that match at WrestleMania and everyone was like, what's this match going to be like? I mean, these celebrity matches are hit or miss. You got bad bunny nowadays and Logan Paul hitting home runs, but back then, you never knew. And I remember thinking that match was great. It told a great story.

Starting point is 01:04:54 It was believable because you're like, how's Floyd Mayweather going to beat this guy? Yeah. But he had his posse jump in. He got him with the brass knuckles at the end. I believe that was in Orlando. I thought that was probably the best celebrity match I'd seen there. Up to that point for sure.

Starting point is 01:05:07 Yeah. Like I feel like you're right. Bad Bunny completely changed the game as far as celebrity involvement in matches. Yeah. But if you think about before that, you'd have people come in. They'd train for like a few days and be like, well, here you go. And I hated the matches where the superstar would sell. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:05:25 And you're like, come on. You can't come in and beat, you know, the Intercontinental champion in your first ever match ever. It's stupid. Yeah. But the Floyd made, whether he was a legitimate fighter, he knew how to handle himself in the ring, and then you give him the brass knuckles, and you're like, maybe he could knock this guy out. So it felt as real as it could, and the crowd was into it. And, you know, give credit to Floyd.

Starting point is 01:05:44 He helped the promotion and sold it well, and it was a lot of fun. You've been there for a lot of Logan Paul's career calling his boxing matches. Now you're seeing what he's doing in WWE. what do you think of the transition he's made? From what I've seen, man, it's incredible. You'd have more insight, more insight than I would, but, I mean, he's a freak of nature athletically.

Starting point is 01:06:07 He's willing to do moves that a lot of guys aren't willing to do and nail him. And he's got, obviously, the charisma and the personality to carry it. If you didn't know that he was a celebrity making the crossover, I think you'd say, hey, he's a lifer. Yeah. And I think that if you just objectively look at his, in-ring work and his athleticism,

Starting point is 01:06:26 you can't deny that he's supremely talented in the ring. He's only had something like, as we sit here right now, I think it's like 25 matches. Yeah, and he has a boxer too. Floyd Mayweather in boxing. Yeah. I mean, these guys, the Paul brothers are, I mean, just phenoms. And they built themselves from nothing,

Starting point is 01:06:43 just two kids from Cleveland, Ohio, right? Yep. And starting out on Vine, eight-second videos. And then that's Jake Paul, to his credit, he will always say, this is insane what's happening right now. I'm sure Logan does too. Just looking around just being in this match or being on the stage is just beyond my wildest dreams. Do you think the criticism that Jake Paul gets for his boxing fights is fair?

Starting point is 01:07:04 Like any time he wins, everybody online says, oh, but that's because the fights are fixed. They're not fixed. They can't be fixed. You're going to tell Nate Diaz to take a dive or, you know, these guys, they're not fixed. Tyron Woodley, all right, stand there and get knocked unconscious by this white boy. You think he's going to do that? That was a heck of a knockout. I mean, knockout of the year.

Starting point is 01:07:27 The thing is, everyone criticizes him after the fact. But if you were to say to me, this guy's going to beat Diaz and Woodley and Ben Ascran and this person, you'd be like, there's no way. And the odds before these fights are like two to one. Like even a Mike Tyson fight. Like, of course he's going to beat a 60-year-old. Well, then why didn't you put your money on it when it was three-to-one odds? That's the one he gets the most criticism for. Like, oh, that fight had to be fixed.

Starting point is 01:07:51 Mike Tyson would have just flattened him. Well, I wouldn't say fixed, but I would go in the opposite direction. I think Jake could have knocked him out. Really? Oh, yeah. I think he knew. If he knocked Mike Tyson out, like a 60-year-old man hurt him, like really hurt him sitting in the hospital, I think it had been really bad for everybody.

Starting point is 01:08:08 A lot of people online seem to think that Mike Tyson was pulling punches, like that he was, like he had chances, like openings and he didn't throw punches. Well, they saw those videos of him training, those 15-second clips where he looked like the old Mike Tyson. But if you go back and watch Mike Tyson's like last real fight, like back whatever year it was, early 2000s, he didn't look good then. I mean, he quit on the stool. He wouldn't throw in punches. He lost his head movement. The old Tyson, this guy, he can do it for 15 seconds in a, you know, clip on Twitter or X, but to do it for round after round, I mean, you're 60 years old. No one beats father time. So no. I think, and who's going to tell Tyson? I mean,

Starting point is 01:08:50 Again, you're going to convince Mike Tyson not to throw punches. Yeah. It ain't going to happen. The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. soccer podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Times ticking. I think you can feel the intensity.

Starting point is 01:09:10 All the guys are wanting to really stake 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. U.S. Soccer Podcast, presented by Hencoe, follow and listen on your favorite platform. Was there ever talk of you having a match? Because think about this. You were in an era when almost every announcer had a match. Yeah. Coach had several matches. Lillian had a match. Of course, Cole had a match at WrestleMania. God, that match. Taz had a match, which makes sense.

Starting point is 01:09:41 King had a match. But like, was there ever talk of you having one? No, never was. And I think a lot of it was, like even Jonathan Coachman who made the transition, went and trained and learned how to take bumps and he wanted to do it. I always saw it as, you know, if you do that once, that's going to be kind of the thing. And, and let's say you get beat up and whatever, you could be gone. Like, oh, he's damaged goods. We don't want to use him as announcer anymore. He's out of there. That was never my thing. I've actually been kind of approached about like misfits boxing. I don't know if you, that's, uh, yes. Yeah, they do all these kind of influence. A lot of celebrity and all this. It's been casually mentioned to me, but I mean,

Starting point is 01:10:18 About you having a boxing fight? Would I do it? Would you? I mean, if the price was right, and I was allowed to use steroids. You know what I mean? I'm in pretty good shape. And who would it be against? But, I mean...

Starting point is 01:10:30 You versus coach. He would kill me. He's a big guy. Let me tell you this story. Talk about coach. He had been doing some boxing as well. He worked for Golden Boy to do some of the smaller shows. This is a couple years ago.

Starting point is 01:10:42 And Ryan Garcia, who's one of the most popular boxers of all time. Not of all time, but currently. he was in California and he wasn't a big star yet, but he was online. He millions of followers. So his big thing was, I'm a boxer, but I'm also an influencer. So he was going to join coach for commentary on that show, and they were supposed to do their rehearsal at five, and the show started at six or whatever.

Starting point is 01:11:06 So coach is there at five, and Ryan Garcia is nowhere to be found. And they're like, oh, well, you know, he's kind of a, and no one could get him. And coach was fuming. Like, coach, whatever you want to say about him, he is very professional. He's very succinct. You know, this is at work.

Starting point is 01:11:20 So Ryan Garcia comes up, oh, yeah, what's up? And coach was like, this is what coach tells me. So Ryan Garcia may have a completely different version of this. He said, I'm going to tell you something right now. I don't give a F about your social media stuff. You're here to do a job. You are 135 pounds. I weigh 240.

Starting point is 01:11:38 You may be going to throw a bunch of punches at me, but once I get my hands on you, I could break you in half and kill you. Do not be late ever again. And Ryan was like, okay, because no one would talk to him like that. Wow. They would bow down to him. So he threatened to kill basically Ryan Garcia. And, yeah.

Starting point is 01:11:54 So when you asked me, would I fight coach? Absolutely. But you, if the price was right, if it made sense, you'd box? I mean, who wouldn't? I mean, what the... I don't know. I don't know if I would. Yeah, probably would.

Starting point is 01:12:04 Yeah. But again, if I'm fighting, you know, a tomato can and they're paying me... There you go. If the price was right, they'd pay me a quarter million dollars, sure. I got three daughters at home. That's three weddings. That's three college education. patience. You know what I mean? I got you. I got two kids. I got two kids at home. Yeah,

Starting point is 01:12:20 boy and a girl. All right. Put a word in for me. I will. I've never boxed in my life. Really? Awful. But probably been a wrestler or something, right? Yeah, I wrestled in high school. Yeah. I lift some weights. That's what the Paul brothers did. They were big wrestlers. They were. And I think that gets slept on. They're like, they have great collegiate skills. Well, Jake keeps saying he wants to do an MMA match. She keeps saying he wants to cross over. Who knows if he will, but. Well, he keeps calling out Dana White. So it makes sense. Like, all right, well, maybe. Maybe if they're going to have some sort of an MMA match, maybe it's in UFC. Well, Alexander Usook, who I mentioned the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in boxing,

Starting point is 01:12:54 has mentioned maybe doing a crossover like MMA fight, and that would maybe make sense with Jake Paul. That would do a lot of eyeballs. I mean, Jake Paul, to me, he just wants to be put on the biggest fights possible. Yeah. He says he wants to be a world champion, and maybe he does, but I think he's more interested in making memories, making moments, making money, and those kind of fights make a lot of money. Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not in the boxing world. But if he's going to have fights on Netflix, he has to have an opponent that when someone's

Starting point is 01:13:24 looking at the Netflix home screen, they have to go, oh, I know who that person is. Yeah. So it needs to be a big enough name that it draws in a lot of viewers. It has to be a name that you think can be Jake Paul. That's too. He's become the guy. That's what happened to Floyd Mayweather. Like, he was the pay-per-view king, and it wasn't because people loved him because they hated

Starting point is 01:13:39 him. They wanted to see him lose. They wanted to see him lose. So it's got to be somebody that. you want to see or believe can beat Jake Paul, like the Tank Davis fight that just recently got called off. From what I hear, the ticket sales weren't good at all. It's because I don't think many people thought Tank Davis could even beat him.

Starting point is 01:13:57 He's 135 pounds. Yeah, a lot smaller. Yeah. So I think, again, people want to see him get beat up. So whoever you think can beat up Jake Paul, call him, he'll listen to you. Isn't that funny that people are watching his fights with the hope that he might lose? Well, that's why the Yankees are popular in the cowboy. They had their fan base and then they had the anti-fan base.

Starting point is 01:14:17 Sort of like wrestling, you know? Yeah. You hate this guy, so you want to see the good guy beat him. Would you ever go back and call wrestling? Yeah, why not? You're one of the few people that hasn't made a return. No. You know, I'm one of the few people also that left on my own terms and left on a good note

Starting point is 01:14:32 because my contract was coming up. They may not have resigned me. I don't know. But, again, bring Jonathan Coachman back up. He was working at ESPN at the time. So I said, hey, man, listen, you think you give me an audition at ESPN? PN. He said, let me see what I can do. So it was about three months left in my deal that he got me an audition. Thank God they offered me a position. So I went and asked Kevin Dunn if at the end of my

Starting point is 01:14:54 contract, they let me out. And yeah, I remember Hunter came up to me. Thanks for all the years you've been here. Anytime you would come back, let me know. And great job. And that was that. And then you got to live the dream of being an anchor and sports center. Five years. Five years. And that's where I kind of started my boxing career because I would do Friday night fights. I started out as the host, Joe Tessitore was doing play by play. And then eventually he moved kind of full time into college football. And then I moved into his seat doing the play by play by play on boxing. And now he's calling. Now he's calling WWE. Yeah, it's crazy. What do you think about him is it? I love the realism that he brings to it. I've always been a big fan of when I'm watching it, wrestling, feeling real.

Starting point is 01:15:36 And it's not being presented to us like it's a television show. It's being presented. into us like it's actual action in the ring. Joe Tess is just crushing it. Yeah. Well, if you think about it, Vince liked announcers that had like kind of street cred. Like Michael Cole was a war correspondent. Yeah. I was a news sports anchor.

Starting point is 01:15:56 Jonathan Coachman came from Kansas where he was a, so they liked the real people. They didn't want, you know, fan boys coming in there and, you know, hey, is that Rick player over in the corner? Yeah. And they wanted people that could legitimately treat it like. it was a sporting event. Yeah. Joe Tassetor, he's knocking out of the park.

Starting point is 01:16:14 Yeah. What's interesting about Joe Tessitore is he's the, he is the, I don't know if this best is the right word, but he can go from 100 to zero faster than anyone. Yeah. I've got to, if I'm up here, I've got to kind of simmer back down a little bit. And Joe Tessitore could be like, and Oklahoma takes the lead. Oh, my, this is the best thing I've ever seen. I don't believe it.

Starting point is 01:16:35 Incredible. But you look at the other side line. and you've got to feel for the Purdue boiler makers. You know, he's always like that. It's so true. Yeah, they recover the onside kick and this is going to be the greatest game ever. But once again, if you look across this, it's good. Maybe we'll see you back in WWE at some point.

Starting point is 01:16:57 Why not? I mean, they say never, say never. To me, it's all about, you know, if I'm able to do it, if my schedule right now is crazy because I also do glory kickboxing. I go to Amsterdam eight times a year. Wow. The last 70, I've been like over 50 times. All the big matches happened in Amsterdam.

Starting point is 01:17:11 So I do that. I do zone boxing. Yeah, so my schedule is pretty packed. But the good thing about wrestling, it's on Mondays, for generally speaking. So that's why Joe Tess is able to do those, you know, sporting events on the weekend. Yeah. And then wrestling. So that's, you know, anytime wrestling does Saturday night shows, I don't think they do well because they're competing against those other sporting events.

Starting point is 01:17:32 But during the week, it crushes. Yeah. So good to have you on finally. Yeah. You've been talking about doing this for a long time. So thank you for coming in here. Yeah, I wouldn't say I was nervous about this, but I was like, I have to go back and watch these things.

Starting point is 01:17:43 I got to, who knows, he might bring up my interactions with Hornswoggle. I've got to go think about that. Do you want to talk about Hornswoggle? I was like, well, my interactions with Hornswoggle were short. Ah, but he. Dylan will like that joke. But he, that guy can take some pain. You look at those small, I don't, he would always say,

Starting point is 01:18:02 you've got a card. You can use the word midget. You know, he would give you, what a great guy. He said that to me, too, and I was like, I don't know. But the pain those guys must go through. You know, the bumps they're taken from like eight feet up from the big show. Oh, like, so the one he took from Mr. Kennedy off the ladder, the Green Bay plunge. And then the other one that really comes to mind with Hornswoggle is JBL, like, they were in the cage.

Starting point is 01:18:27 JBL does the fallaway slam and throws Hornswoggle like six feet. Oh, JBL. That guy, he was the nicest. He's brilliant. he may be the smartest guy there other than you know he just brilliant always had his story if you listen to his podcast he's talking about stuff from 30 years ago like it was yesterday yeah but he could he was a practical joker i remember so my future wife at the time was a backstage kind of producer so she wore the macdonald's headset you know oh we need to get jBL on set in three

Starting point is 01:18:59 minutes so she's walk around looking for him and him and teddy long were always busting each other's chops, right? So she comes around the corner and JBL's at the end of one hallway and Teddy Long's at the end of the other. And she comes around the corner and JBL is doing the, um, Jim Carrey. He's bent over with his pants around his ankles doing that, doing to basically, hey, Teddy, how are you doing, buddy? Right. She walked around the corner. JBL's bare asses. Let me ask you a question. That's it. And she freezes and he stands up like litter with his pants around. Like, oh, no, no, no. I'm sorry. Don't tell me.

Starting point is 01:19:35 What are you doing? No, no, they need you on set. He's pulling up. Okay. Yeah. Oh, right. Oh, amazing. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:19:45 But that's the stuff you would see during the day. Those guys just wanted to entertain themselves. They just, you know, that's what they are. They just, they're practical jokers. They're on the road 300 days a year. And you're at the building for six hours before anything happens. Yeah. So I get it.

Starting point is 01:19:59 Yeah. So that's whatever it took to entertain them, whether it was, you know, giving Todd a wedgie in the ring or, you know, Whatever it was, they would do it just to be happy. Well, I'm going to wrap this up with the question. I ask everybody at the end. Todd, gratitude, such a big part of my life. What are three things you're grateful for in your life right now?

Starting point is 01:20:18 My daughters, three of them. Three of them. How old are they? 14, 13, and 10. They're great. The 14-year-old is dialed into volleyball. The youngest one wants to do anything and everything, and the middle one wants to do absolutely nothing.

Starting point is 01:20:34 So they're three distinct personalities. So you know, you learn how to juggle that. I'm very happy for them. My girlfriend, I love my girlfriend and Julia and my mother. I love that. Well, thank you again for coming in here. Thanks for having me, brother. Great to see you, man.

Starting point is 01:20:50 Awesome. 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.

Starting point is 01:21:08 They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.

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