Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Vampiro: why Lucha Underground ended, Sting, heat with Chris Jericho, WCW

Episode Date: January 16, 2020

Vampiro chats with Chris Van Vliet in Las Vegas, NV. He shoots on Chris Jericho and talks about the heat he has with him, he also explains why Lucha Underground ended, discusses his feud with Sting in WCW, his thoughts on AEW and more! My audio equipment provided by Samson Technologies: http://bit.ly/CVVSamson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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It's Chrysomania, brother. That's a great question. Look at you, man. What's the powerful question. Woo! This is the Chris Van Bleach Show. Chris Van Bleach Show. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Bleach.

Greetings and salutations, my friends. Here we go. Thank you for joining us on the Chris Van Vleach show, a top 10 wrestling podcast in the world all because of you. This episode is brought to you by Untucket, and I'm so grateful that you enjoy these conversations as much as I do. And let me just say, Vampiro in this interview does not hold back at all from start to finish.

We touch on it a little bit during this interview, but it's because of you guys, and because of Twitter that this interview happened. I mentioned on Twitter that I was flying to Las Vegas where I interviewed David Benoit, and a few people said, if you're going to be in Vegas, you should interview Vampiro.

Vampiro ended up seeing those tweets. Within a few minutes, we were DMing each other, making plans to make this happen. Gotta love it, right? Gotta love the internet. So thank you guys for putting this out of the world and making this happen.

And I can't thank you enough for continuing to subscribe and leave those reviews on Apple Podcasts. Speaking of Twitter, someone reached out to me on Twitter the other day and said, Hey, CVV, are you going to keep reading reviews in 2020? And the answer is absolutely. I mean, number one, it's super cool that you guys are even listening. I'm so grateful for that.

But number two, thank you for taking the extra time out of your day to leave a review. So yes, of course I'll keep reading them. I owe so much to you guys. Of course, there's fantastic guests on here and great stories. but without you guys listening or watching, there would be no show. So thank you so much. This review is from Dalton 87, who lives in Canada. Love that place.

It's my home country. Hello there. My name is Dalton, and I'm a big fan of the podcast. I listen to it walking to work and school. Keep up the great work. You're the whole effing show, CVV. Thank you, Dalton. You keep up the great work as well.

So keep those reviews coming. The specific goal for 2020 is 1,000 podcast reviews. Right now we're very close to 600. We have 11.5 months to go. I think we got this. So please keep them coming. Thank you so much. Man, I say thank you a lot.

Don't I? They always say Canadians are like guilty of saying sorry too much. Oh, I'm so sorry about that. That's me being a Canadian there for a second. But I also think we say thank you a lot, or at least I do. You know. The Imperial. What an interesting guy.

And if you're a long-time wrestling fan, you'll be familiar with his work in WCW, some great matches with Sting there. Of course, he's had an amazing career in Mexico, and most recently, he was the color commentator for Lucha Underground, although he admits it several times during this interview that he was never a good commentator.

He does dig into what happened with Luch Underground. He digs deep into why that all fell apart, because I was a huge Luch Underground fan. I'm sure you were. as well. So he talks about why that didn't work there. I'm also blown away by how much of a problem he has with Chris Jericho. He calls

him out here in a way that I think only Vampiro can. So you'll hear that and you can make of that what you want. He also gives an update on his health. Last year he revealed that he had Alzheimer's. But his positivity towards this is it's truly inspirational. And I think it's something that

we could all learn from. So, here we go, my friend. Enjoy this very candid chat with lots of swearing with Vampiro. Thank you so much for making this happen. Thank you, dude. I mean, it's random. I was here in Las Vegas for the interview with David Benoit, which we've already posted. And someone on Twitter said, well, if you're going to be in Las Vegas, why don't you interview Vampiro? I said, I'd love to. Then you tweet it back and said, let's do it. Here we are. There you go, just like that. It's the power of the internet.

So thank you guys. Thank you for making that happen. Why Vegas? Why is Vegas your home? Because when I got, I was getting sick, like really, really sick about four years ago, around season three of Lucha Underground. It was really prevalent that I was, I wasn't, I was just deteriorating and I couldn't figure out why.

And then I, because in Mexico, over the years, I just couldn't find out why I, I just couldn't find out why I had this chronic pain. I mean, I knew because pro wrestling is not ballet. And my memory was going, and I was just in suffering major depression. And I didn't know what was going on. And I got diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's because of all the accidents and headshots and things like that and concussions. And I couldn't find the treatment that I needed in Mexico.

And the stress of Mexico doing business in Mexico, living in the city of 32 million people, I had to do something to save my life. Because I was dying. I had a stroke. And in Spanish, they say pre-infarto. So a stroke is like not a heart attack, but it's before the heart attack, right?

Or it's kind of. Sure. So it was like, I'm not ready to die yet. I mean, I've survived kidnapping, stabbing, shootings, gang life, this is that, the other thing, drug overdoses. life and I was like this is impossible that I'm so happy to be part of the human race that it's going to be taken away from me because of pro wrestling and I was like no I can't do it so I came

here because I'm determined to see my daughter grow up and that was my motivation to get better and uh at Lucha Underground they introduced me the medicinal marijuana so I got off all the pain pills and because when you have major concussions and neck injuries and things like that medical especially in Canada they cry about the opiate problem but But in the United States, I was taking maybe 6 to 700 percocets a week. Oh, my God. Just to function. And they were like, that's what you need.

Would you consider that an addiction? It was going to kill me. It wasn't an addiction. Because before that, in Mexico, it was like, look, I have chronic insomnia because of these things. Well, take these sleeping pills and take this pain pill and mix this and mix that. So for years, that's what I was doing. When I came to the States and stuff, and I was taking these major things, I was like, I'm basically a heroin addict here, commos. You know, I'm going to die.

And at work in Lucha Underground, somebody saw me and said, you're dying. I said, I think so. And they said, sat me down that converted me to medicinal marijuana. Within two days, I quit all the opiates, all the pain pills after 20 years, just like that. Wow. Then John Joseph from the Kromaggs was doing a radio interview. and I listened to it, and I converted to veganism within 30 seconds of listening to his interview, and that was six years ago, and it's brought me to Las Vegas to get better, and it's working.

How are you feeling as you're sitting here right now? Amazing. What I'm doing now, I just finished a documentary, and it's doing the festival circuit, and it's doing real well. What's a calm? The Fall and Rise of Vampiro Nail in the Coffin. It's about the relationship of me trying to, get off of these medicines and raise my daughter as a single dad. She doesn't know anything about Vampiro.

She just knows Ian. Kind of. And so during the week, I was dad, and on the weekends, I would fly back to Mexico and be Vampiro from Canada every week and do Luce Underground. So that's the movie. Yeah.

So the people behind the movie were like, you know, we see the, because I started talking about mental health and that and exploded on the internet. Every time I talk about wrestling, I lose the world. When I talk about mental health,

it's like, you know, two, three million views per video. So we decided to do this project of every day I'm recording my journey as what it's going to take for me to get over this using ancient techniques, Chinese medicine, ritual magic,

which I'm really into, as meditation and things like this to cure my chronic arthritis and Alzheimer's, and it's working. So we're recording that every day, and the end of the first phase is in May, and we're going to do a spiritual journey. We're going to walk across Spain. It's called the Camino de Santiago, who was a saint,

and it's on a special if you're into conspiracies and ancient aliens, we can get into that. It's on the line where things were made, where creation started, and it's just this 600-mile walk. That's what I'm going to do to confront my personal demon. my fears, my addictions, my horrible years that I spent ignoring my family, things like that. So that's what's going on right now with me. And it's so intensely amazing.

I feel alive. I feel great, a humble, because I'm helping people. So it's awesome. It's awesome. You posted a really personal video to Facebook, very emotional video where you were crying, you were sitting in your car, you were like, I don't know what to do. Tell me about the headspace you were in. You know, when that was happening.

Well, that's kind of what was the grand slam for the start of this project, because my doctor was like, anytime you get lost, because I'd have these panic attacks or anxiety. And I, like, I was sitting in my car and I, here, close to where we are now. Yeah. And I had to pull over because I didn't know why I was in my car. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't know how to get home. Wow.

So I just started to cry because I had nowhere to turn to us. What are you going to do? Go into a pharmacy and say, hey, I'm lost. I mean, I was in a very bad mental breakdown right there, and it just happens. So my doctor said, record everything. So I said, why am I going to just record this? Part of my fear is gorophobia in public places. I can't be around people.

So I know there's got to be somebody else like me. So I put it out there, and I got like a million responses within a day. And it was like, thank God you're doing this. oh my God, la la la. And it was like, I'm on to something here. Yeah. Because there's a lot of people that need a voice. And being one of those kind of guys

that just doesn't give a fuck what anybody thinks, I thought, I'm looking for cures and solutions, and I need information. When I heard John Joseph from the Kromags, who grew up in the streets of New York, speak to me in the language that I understand, which is every second word is motherfucker and this and that. It's like basically, look, don't eat a hamburger

because it could clog your heart. If you eat meat, motherfucker, could die. That resonates with me a lot better. So when I started talking to people about mental health, but using that dialogue, it's phenomenal because there are so many people, as you should know, that need solutions or alternatives, but don't want to go the traditional route. Yeah, and it's so funny that there are very few people that are actually talking about this, because for so long it was stigmatized, oh, you have mental health, there's something wrong with you. And now it's just like, no, we all deal with depression in some sort of way. It's all in our lives in some sort of way. And now,

people are talking about it. People like you were talking about this now. It's like, it's like, yeah, okay, so here's this, I have severe, severe, I got 86% of my body has incurable chronic arthritis. And I have this head trauma. And I'm like, so what? It's kind of like, I'm still breathing. I still playing my guitar. It's fucking awesome. Because when you have Alzheimer's and all that, you forget everything. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, greatest thing because I love to play video games, but I only spend money on one game a year. What's your game this year? Call a duty, man.

And it's like, I can play that motherfucker and finish the game. And 10 minutes later, I won't know what the hell happens. So I just keep playing the same game. And every single time it's new. Wow. It's fucking awesome. So with great respect to you, like we chatted yesterday on the phone, we texted. Is that going to be something that you might not remember today?

I don't know what we talked about yesterday. I know we talked. Wow. If I don't read the texts, I don't know what we texted. Wow. Are there things in your, you know, obviously memory is linked to pain or pleasure. Are there things that, you know, if it has a real effect on you, that you will remember it? Like, I have moments that have marked my life, like the birth of my daughter.

Sure. But no, I don't know what I did an hour ago. I don't know the details of, I know I was getting ready to come here. Wow. But I told you that somebody came to fix my internet. Yes. So if we hadn't texted our plans for today to meet at 930, I wouldn't know what's going on.

Oh, my God. So I have alarms on my iPhone throughout today to remind me of things I need to do. I have, you've got to learn how to adapt. And it's really not that big a deal. I mean, you're on your computer all day anyways, right? So you have those little post-its, and I put them all over the house. and now it's just habit. I go to bed at night.

I plan my day and I have to alarm things. And, you know, part of the symptoms are like OCD, you check the door if it's locked 20 times. But, you know, I'm a single guy. I live alone. I have my life set up that I'm comfortable. I'm totally happy. I don't see anything wrong.

I can't have relationships and it's really tough to deal with people. But I'm not stressed out about it because, you know, I ain't got the fucking time to worry about what you think of my shit. I need to figure. away how to fucking enjoy this

and still survive and exist in the world right so I have and it's fucking awesome it's the greatest thing in the world man I can read the same book

every day and I don't know what the fuck I read the day before I appreciate your positive attitude about this are you not worried that you know

it's going to continue to get worse over time perhaps I mean of course it is but it I mean you know if you read Twitter

you know Donald Trump in Iran and Iran and Iraq are going to end the world tomorrow. It's like, it's all bullshit, dude. The world ain't ending. It's going to get worse. But the moment you're born, you're dying anyways. So if I sit here and say, oh my God, I can't do this because it's going to get worse. Well, fuck, of course it's going to get worse. But who cares? But I'm doing everything. Like, I'm in therapy.

When I say therapy, I'm not sitting there talking to a counselor. Fuck that. I'm doing the physical therapy. I'm on the medicines. I'm doing the brain exercises. It's like, thank God, I'm a musician because part of combating or slowing down the onset of Alzheimer's is doing memory work. So I'm a Freemason. So Freemasonry is all memory work. Everything you have to recite, right? Being a musician, I have to learn to remember the notes on the guitar. I'm the singer in my band. I need to know the words of the songs. So I have to force myself to do memory work every day. I mean, it's all the matter of perspective. You got to find something that you're going to commit to

and just put your fucking head down and stop whining and do it. Yeah. Well, with that said, could you still work in the ring? Yes and no. I like that you hold the mic like a musician. Look at this. Like a lead singer.

You wrap it off the card. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. I love it. And you know why they do that, right? Is it so it doesn't get unplugged? Yeah.

I don't know when you fucking crack a guy. Yeah, that's it right there, dude. So yes and no, you could work? Yeah, but that's kind of a trick question. Okay. We could all work until we're 95 years old. I mean, it doesn't take much to pantomime anything in life. But should I work?

That's another trick question because one wrong move and I could die. But you can walk down the stairs. and take one wrong step and die. So in saying that, is it dangerous? Not really. What's dangerous is if I took a storyline or I took a match or I did it just for ego and to hear the fans clap and I wasn't paying attention and I got hurt because I'm not into it. And the way things, you know, I go to indie shows sometimes every now and then I do them,

I work on them or I participate some way. And God bless the fans and God bless the kids, the younger crew. who's coming up trying to do it. But motherfucker, I mean, you know, Lucha Underground is guilty for so many things. And, you know, I'll use Phoenix because he's a name that everybody can identify with quickly. Even Ray Mysterio, you got to remember in Mexico,

guys are smaller. It's very acrobatic. And there are schools, almost like gymnastics. You learn how to do this stuff. It's not like here you have a beer and a fuck, I'm going to do a moonsault. You just kind of go and do it off the top rope to the floor. Yeah, it looked cool and you didn't die, but you probably blew your knees out.

You could have hit somebody wrong. You could have really fuck yourself up. So if I go in the ring and I got some gung-ho dude who thinks I want to see that because I'm from Mexico and I'm hardcore, it's like, no, you stupid motherfucker. I do not want to see that. And at the same time, don't do that because if I drop you, you kill yourself. I'm the guilty one. And because I'm a nice guy, I'm not going to fucking drop you.

You're probably going to blow my back, my knees, my neck out. So if I do do things in the ring, it has to mean something to me on the inside that I care enough about not to put myself in the position to hurt myself. Does that make sense? That makes sense for sure. Nobody wants to you get hurt. And there we go, and that as well. When you signed with Looch Underground was the plan at any point to wrestle or did that kind of get worked into it as the seasons went on? I mean, I've had the experience in my career that every time I've come to the United States,

I've been shut down. You know, I had so much fame in Mexico that it was for all the wrong reason and this kind of transcended things into the United States. When I got the job in Lucha Underground, I was out of wrestling completely. I was only doing my Krav Maga schools and playing in bands and stuff. And they called me to be a commentator. So I went in and I looked around and they didn't know who I was. Krista Joseph did.

He worked with WWE, didn't he? He's back there now, yeah. Good for him. God bless him. But once they saw that, because, you know, all the other political players were already there staking their claims. And once the Hollywood people saw it,

no, fucking Vampiro is not a pain in the ass. He is weird, but he gets it. He can offer us so much more that we're missing as an agent, as a guy who spoke Spanish and English, as a talent to help enhance other people, as of the Vampiro character. And they said, can you do all this? And I said, probably if you let me try.

Yeah. And there wasn't any plans, but we were trying to figure out what to do with Pentagon because it wasn't working. He wasn't getting the American psychology. He was doing really stupid things that work in Mexico, but it won't work here. So we came up with the idea, well, he needs to beat somebody important in order to establish him. Nobody wanted to work with them. None of the stars, it always freaks me out that, you know, 40-year-old men put on spandex and pretend to fight and they're tough guys. That's pro-wrestling,

though. A lot of fingers shaking. And I understood it because somebody did it for me. Birato Morgan did it for me. Sting did it for me. Hulk Hogan did it for me. Hulk Hogan did it for me. Yeah. So I was like, well, fuck, I'll do it if nobody else will. And they were like, you can I, can I, what do you mean? Can I still work? What the fuck's wrong with you? I said, yeah, of course.

I couldn't walk, but I said, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it has to be hardcore and it has to, because I said, I can't do anything else, man. I'm 340 pounds and I'm almost dead. What am I going to do? And I said, but you know what? I felt so jaded in Mexico because I never got to say goodbye in the ring the way I wanted to because of the politics is this bullshit business

I was like I got to at least fucking go one more time and with Pentagon that's what we did and everybody's like oh my God that's the greatest match I watched it

and it was the worst match ever man no it wasn't the emotion was there but I've never been a good wrestler I'm good at motivating scenarios but after that I've been kind of picking

and choosing my stuff and when I'm into it, like the thing with Conan in Mexico, it's the hottest vampiros ever been in the ring right now throughout my whole 38 year career. Wow. It's insane.

So I have no clue to it. But there's legit heat with you and Conan. I mean, everybody thinks so. I tend to think that maybe, but not like you would think. it's kind of like that's my spouse you know what I mean

we've been together since 1989 me and that fuck and uh when you spend 30 years with somebody whether you like it or not you know them and we one day he said you know we've tried 300 million times to bury the hatchet

I have mental health issues he has mental health issues uh different than mine but um any time that you're a creative, successful person, you're a weirdo. And we understand each other, but we're not friends. But we don't dislike each other. We just can't be in the same place. We're too much the same. I got sure. And out of respect from the way I grew up on the streets

and stuff, he was before me. And I will tell everybody that if it wasn't for him, there would be no Ampiro. He's the guy who opened the doors for all the foreigners in Mexico with the different thing. And I came in a little after him. And I say that every time I get the chance. But we don't not get along, but it has to be a special circumstance for us to work together. Yeah. I'm really fascinated as a Canadian myself, you're a Canadian, that you went from wrestling in Canada to making the jump to Mexico. I don't feel like anyone in Canada does that. Most people go either into Toronto and train or they go to Calgary and train. And it's just amazing that you went to Mexico.

I mean, at the time, I was working for international wrestling in Montreal. I started there in 1984 when I was like 14. And when that company was taken over territory-wise, because that's when WD, that was like WrestleMania time when W. Right, yeah, yeah. Still had their offices in Canada. And they were only a local promotion without national TV. So they would come to Canada because they were starting to spread out their territory.

So when they took over Montreal, that company closed down. I asked the guy there, where can I go? He said, you can go to Japan, but you don't have contacts, you're not getting in. There's Memphis. Calgary is pretty much dead. This is mid-80s, so it wasn't what it was or what it became after. So he said, really the only thing is either Memphis or Mexico. And I was like, fuck, Mexico sounds kind of weird.

So let's just do it. Did you speak Spanish? No, dude. I did a robbery. Took that money and got my plane ticket and left. Wow. Yeah. You robbed a business?

You robbed a person? It just happened. Okay. Yeah. We don't know what the statute of limitations is here, maybe. I do. Okay. Well, there we go.

I did things when I was younger with my friend, my crew that aren't normal things. I grew up on different and street life. And we did bad things, but to bad people. Never to innocent people or innocent things like that. My job was different and dangerous and it didn't last long, but it was last long enough to put me on a different path. But, you know, there's certain people doing certain things that are hurting good people, and those people need to be taken care of, and that's just that.

That sounds like a vigilante or something. Which would be the name of my band, yes. It all comes together there. It certainly does. Actually, after this interview, you're playing with your band, right? Yeah, we're rehearsing it. We're going on a six-month tour. three months in Latin America

and then there's a possibility we don't know if we're going to Europe or Japan first and there's also an American thing happening so the band is pretty much it's going to be a big big year for that so we're recording and we're playing for the producers tonight so they understand what we need

in the studio so yeah yeah it's pretty cool so is the band your main source of income now is that your main job? I don't really have a job my job is this project the wellness thing but music I hate to say that would be a job music is a calling and is that what I'm dedicated to yeah that's this is that's I got acting things coming up I'm still involved in wrestling to an extent the the wellness and the self-defense and the Guardian Angel work, that's my main thing, but my dream, my passion, the thing I've been doing my whole life is music. And this is a hardcore band. They've been around for a while. We change

a name. Add more musicians. And I just feel like it's an extension of the character because in wrestling, you have to talk physically with action. But being a punk rocker, that was the reason that the image was so famous in Mexico because that was this rebellious guy. Yeah. But I have something to say and being in the guardian angels and fighting the good fight socially and uh being a punk rock or a hardcore punk rock is you know that's where i learned about veganism that's where i learned about recycling that's where i learned about uh you know um just a lot of community oriented philosophy so i look at it as a as a like a spoken word opportunity or a way to influence people in a positive manner so to me even though it's fucking loud and screaming and aggressive as a

motherfucker, hardcore is home. And yeah, that's it, man. You tell this story about being a bad guy who did bad things when you were younger. Now look at all the good that you're doing. Was there a point in your life something that changed and made you go, I've got to turn things around here? There's a lot of things, dude. But it wasn't one specific thing.

I mean, the way we're educated in Canada is very different. You know what I mean? Most of us going to Catholic schools and our families are Catholic or Christian or whatever. We're raised in an environment. You know, most of us are hockey players when we're younger, so we come up with, you know, team and team effort and family. And so since day one, we're born and bred with that in our heads. And I was fortunate enough to play organized sports.

So I, and my mom was a single mom. And, you know, I was bullied my whole life. So I kind of knew what was right and what was wrong. But when you're poor and you're living on the street and you're homeless, you've got to fucking eat. what do you you learn how to steal that's just the way life is uh just my belief in god my faith in god my faith in me yeah but i'm i have a lot of faith in in god i'm very religious on the inside uh but the thing that kind of i was going to tell you before we started this

uh the only thing that keeps me alive or the only reason that i've changed or the it's the the theme of my documentary. You know, the only reason I'll even tell Jesus Christ if he was here, hey, hold the fuck on. It's because when my daughter, my daughter is my world and my daughter just message me. Yeah, there you go. Is everything all good here? Yeah. It's just, you know, you have to wait.

That's just it. Do you want to respond to her? No, no. Okay. I will after her. I just, she's good. I'm good. Okay.

When she was born, I knew my marriage was going to end. I knew it wasn't going to last. I was really sad about it. We tried. I knew my career was coming to an end because that's when I broke my neck in WCW. But it didn't matter. When my daughter was born and I saw my daughter,

I knew that God kept me alive for a reason, and that was the reason was to take care of his treasure, which is my daughter, and that's it, man. And how old is she now? She's 19, turning 20. She lives here? No, she lives in Montreal. Okay.

But she's moving back to Mexico. She's getting into modeling, and they're calling her like crazy. She's doing really well. Wow. Yeah. Do you also speak French? No.

Okay. I was too lazy. Too lazy to learn French, but you learned Spanish. It had to, dude. Yeah. Do you still watch wrestling? I watch what I like. Okay.

What was influenced to me. A lot of the newer stuff, I can't. I just fucking can't, dude. But I'm a big. big all-japan mark from the late 80s, mid-90s, that era. Great Muda. That stuff is what I watch. If I watch it, or UWF, you know, I was a big fan of Takeda in the kicking and the palm

striking and Maeda and those guys. Because I was never a really good wrestler, but I tried to find something that would distinguish me and help me at least survive in the ring. And I was watching these guys, and they're my size. And I was like, fuck, they look so good when those high kicks come. up and I just started taking Taekwondo so that I can do something that nobody else was doing in Mexico because I ain't flipping and flying I'm not going on the mat. You're also like a giant in Mexico, you know, compared to most...

I'm a fucking giant everywhere, dude. You're a big dude. You are. It's here, man. That's true. It's the energy, brother. No, I'm not, I'm not that. It's an imposing thing when vampiro transforms.

It's like when you see the misfits. You see these dudes who fucking look like death and they play heavy. metal, punk rock at that volume, it's like, yeah, I just saw something unique. Yeah. I brought, you know, my influences in wrestling were Iggy Pop and Evil Knievel. So when Vampiro was there, you knew, yeah, I'm jumping out of the roof. I probably shouldn't do this. You know, that's what you were getting.

Like, is this fucking not going to die tonight or what's going on? So that was the excitement I tried to create every single night. And it kind of took its toll, right? So, yeah. I know there was, you know, you had the face paint. Sting had the face paint. There was some heat there because of that. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, he got all up tight about it. And I was like, dude, because in Mexico, everybody paints her face or everybody wears a mask. Like back in the day, there were four masks. Now there's like 4,000. Yeah. It's kind of like, well, he's the only guy who can paint his face. I mean, it's like, I've been doing this for 17, 18 years already.

This isn't something new. Yeah. I mean, can I get, can I go? released me can i leave can i get the fuck out of here they're like no no no no but is there anything you can do about the face paint and i said yeah i could do more that's when i brought the misfits in and it was like boom and he was like i was like brother i'm i'm sorry man i'm this is really who i am i am in a cult i do vampire stuff i i play in bands like this i'm part of the gothic hardcore punk scene this is since i was 12 you're a fucking hypocritical

lying motherfucker who's just a pro wrestler who doesn't understand that there's another world outside this dressing room. Chill the fuck out. And I guess he didn't. You were the one that had the white face paint first, though. I mean, I had the skull. Doyle, actually, from the misfits,

taught me how to do it. My face, my misfit era face paint was because of Doyle. He said, it looks awesome. And I said, fuck, yeah, it does. Do you mind if I use you as an image? And he was like, no, of course. Yeah, that's badass.

And then Sting, you know, Sting, you know, Sting didn't know. And I, you know, whatever, dude. He was a Blade Runner. You remember when Blade Runner first came out? Yeah, Harrison Ford movie. That's where they got their image from, him and Ultimate Warrior, when they first started and they were a tag team. Oh, wow.

Yeah, so go back and look at, yeah, yeah. So look at Sting with his Brian Bosworth haircut and his, Blade Runner makeup. So that right there told me, and it's not an insult to Sting, God bless him, and thank God, Sting taught me so much. But he wasn't authentic, he wasn't a musician, he wasn't a underground guy. He was a fan who took something from movies and created a character. I came from the streets with this street image and turned it into a wrestling personality.

So it's kind of like when everybody was like, you can't do this. And I was like, I don't just paint my. face and do all the stuff here this you come to my this is what I do every day all if you see me in the airport this is it yeah you better fucking relax that actually that actually makes me think what made you bring the hair back because you were shaved head for so long um well I had braids long dreads for like 16 17 years right and then uh you know I I I like skinhead music and I like skinhead style um you know I'm a big scoff fan and a big punk rock fan.

So, you know, it's just, it was just time to do something that no one else had to. When I first got to Mexico, everybody, only criminals had tattoos and only girls had long hair. So I changed that. And as soon as the rock and roll thing got over with the girls, all the guys started growing their hair long. This was the time of grunge, started getting tattoos. And now everybody does it. I see a lot of dudes out there who kind of look like Vampiro. and it's fucking awesome.

And I keep telling him, go two more. Take it and run with it. I stole it from everybody. I mean, you just fucking go for it. So when I saw that there was just too many dudes that just looked the same, I was like, well, fuck, I'm shaving my head. And that was it. And I just thought, you know, because Matt Stryker on TV,

you know, he's a, he's tanned and he's his head. Hair is nice and he's educated. He's clean cut, yeah. And I'm like, fuck that. I had to do something to counteract that, counterbalance it. Because he's so, and I'm like, this is a chance for a punk rocker to be on TV. And I don't give a fuck. So I thought, I'm just going to do something visually intimidating.

or because if you got clean cut everywhere and everybody's, I'm this guy, but if you're just there and you look like fucking Aryan brotherhood and it's about to come in your house and kill you, who's gonna, where's the eye is gonna be? So, you know, Matt would be studying

and reading his notes and this and that and they were like, are you even gonna look at the sheet? And I'm like, fuck no, dude. I'm not looking at anything. I'll follow you. Wow. and because I just knew my presence and I do everything based on emotion and energy.

So when I felt him that he needed a little, Matt, fuck you, that's great, or you're fucking right it is, or really, that's all I needed to do because that gave him the freedom to go another route because I looked so rough that nobody would say, Matt, you're a guy, you have to be educated,

you have to do this, that. The other thing, it was kind of like, I would, I'll take the punches, I'll throw the punches and you, you know what I mean? So I was kind of like,

that's all I needed to do, because why are we going to compete for the mic or two guys on the camera with all these things? And I was kind of like, I got to be the counterculture. This is a punk rock moment. So what brought the hair back then? I get more girls this way.

Oh, there you go. I'm kidding. Um, because I like to, you know, I was, I'm really in the rockabilly music. So the last two years, like I used to see the country clothes and all that. I've seen it on Instagram. But, you know, punk rock, this is a punk rocker for my whole life. And punk rocker is just, you know, always kind of looking cool and changing up. And now that I'm in a band again, it just looks better, uh, spiky hair on stage than,

than a big fucking skinhead. And you, you mentioned you were 340 at one point, talking about big. What are you weighing now? Like 270. That's amazing. That's a lot of weight loss. But I mean, no, wait. No, I'm 250.

Yeah. 250. Yeah. Even better. Yeah. I want to drop down another 30 pounds for this walk. I mean, you know, going to walk 600 miles, dude. 600?

Yeah. It's a religious pilgrimage, brother. How many days is I going to take? 37. Wow. Crazy. Yeah. But it's all about commitment, man.

And if you're trying to offer a solution to people who are suffering, You just can't be like all these other dudes and put on a suit and tie and give them fabricated things that you read in a book. It's like, look, motherfucker, if I'm going to do this, I'm doing it for you to see that you can do it. I can't. Look, if I can do it, you can do it. That's the whole point. You touched on it a little bit earlier, but I think we need to bring it back up that Hulk Hogan puts you over on Nitro. And I think that's a big thing because a lot of people talked about how Hogan really didn't lose a lot.

But, you know, he lost to you. Yeah, I mean, and that should be a lesson to so many people in this business. I mean, he doesn't give a fuck. He doesn't have to give a fuck. If wasn't for Hulk Hogan, none of us would have a job, right? Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan, whether you like it or not. And that's what bothers me about wrestling today. Nobody understands that they need to say thank you,

and it's not cool to speak bad about those who came before you. All the boys today speak about Hulk Hogan. You didn't even fucking share a dressing room. You never even seen them live. Who are you to opinionate about Hulk Hogan? You know what I mean? It's like, or, you know, Vince McMahon. You might be in the WWE today.

You weren't there when Vince went to war with the world and made this industry what it is. So shut the fuck up, you know, about, they're creative and this and that. Look, because of the fucking mess that the WWE is, the wrestling industry exists in the world. world today, whether you like it or not. So if you didn't make it in the WWE and you feel jaded, not only are you not drawing anywhere

now and you thought you can do better on your own. And this is for anybody who just thinks that they're better, you know, and there's a lot of them lately, I'm leaving. Where the fuck are you going? You know what I'm saying? And that's why you see all these guys sucking dick to Vince and come back real quick because you ain't shit. I don't know, dude.

It's a whole other fucking monster right now, you know what I'm saying? Well, you've got competition now for the first time in almost 20 years. Do you? Well, you tell me. No. I don't think so. It's certainly given the wrestlers an option. I don't think so.

I think it's given the fans an option. New Japan's been there since the beginning of the 70s. Absolutely. And New Japan's incredible. the only thing is it's not accessible here as accessible as tn t is okay but now it's it's on as this that their inner uh promotional feuds it's accessible dude it is but what i'm saying is wednesday night eight o'clock you know you can turn on tn t and right there it's on cable sure Friday nights eight o'clock fox everybody gets fox on yeah right now we can go on youtube and we can watch any match

that ever happened in the country and in the history of the industry you're right is it different I don't think so. I think the fans have finally, because of Twitch, because of YouTube, because of Facebook, because of anything else that's going on, have access to the rest of the world. What that has done is made pro wrestlers tighten their game up. Meaning, if you and I wrestle in England, we got to be careful of what we do in Georgia tomorrow because they just saw our finish. We can't do the same match.

So the quality of product, regardless of the initials, has gotten better. That's my point of view. Oh, that makes sense. I've been saying for the last year it's the best time to be a wrestling fan and also the best time to be a wrestler because there's so much accessibility. Yes. Yeah, that's fair. I mean, like you said, you can turn on YouTube and look at pretty much any match in

the history of wrestling, which is exciting. Yes. Because of your history with commentary, there's been a lot of people. saying that maybe you should do some guest commentary on AEW Dark. Is that something you might be interested in? If it meant something, yeah. If it's just for my ego to say, I'm the greatest, I am a horrible commentator,

but I'm really good at my role. I don't want to be a commentator. I'm a fan who sits in the chair and says, fuck you that sucked what the fuck are you talking about that's why people like me as a commentator because I

it's a skinhead thing it's a punk rock thing to speak for the common man you know what I mean it's always rebellion I'd love to do it if it was for a reason and the reason would be something creative meaning is there a match coming out of it is there a storyline building

is there a character that needs to be built are you going to put me in there as an employee or do you want somebody to rock the boat? That would be a reason to get excited, of course. But I doubt they would even, you know. You don't think so? I'm here, ain't I? But you're controversial, though. That's what they say.

Do you think you're controversial? No. No, not at all. because it's like all of the cool kids are the cool kids because they band together in school because nobody else wants them. It ain't popular, motherfucker. There's 10 of you. The school has 800 students.

So my point is, am I controversial? I play punk rock shows and, you know, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 people come. When I wrestle as Vampire or do an event, there's 10 or 12,000 people. those people are my people my audience my where I belong right everybody there's on the same page so are we all fucked up and controversial or you just don't agree with our point of view yeah so when I used to think are you're kind of you have to calm down and conform why I don't like this I don't like you uh and the reason I don't like you is because you don't listen you listen to answer you don't listen to understand that somebody else thinks different from you

and you all should think different from me. My whole thing as a commentator or a personality like yourself is our job is to provoke thought or help somebody see things clearly. That's it. The moment we believe our own hype, you're fucked. And that's why I don't agree with when somebody says, I'm a superstar in wrestling. No, you fucking ain't. You clicked with a certain demographic.

But believe me, those 14, 15, 16 year old kids, the first time they bang a girl or they go to a club or they get fucked up, they'll stop wearing pro wrestling pajamas. Pajamas. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So, relax, motherfucker. And the moment that you get to the top at anything, that's the worst moment of your career. There's only one way to go.

Down. Right. So on your way up, you need to understand that you've got to pass the torch, but don't just pass it, carry it. sustain. A lot of younger talent don't get that. That's why I have trouble with. Or they're superstars. Like the women's division. God bless them and fucking A, it's about time. But you can see that unfortunately the culture and wrestling is helping these young women build an ego-oriented attitude that they are better. You're a piece of tits and ass. Just like guys who inject themselves with steroids and I was one of them

were eye candy relax be cool don't believe your hype well I think what the matches the women are putting on now they're fucking incredible yeah they're not just tits and ass anymore you know that statement's gonna get me in so much

trouble I know and that's why I'm trying to clarify it here for you but when I say tits and ass it's kind of I say it to save 20 minutes of explanation your young beautiful women who one of the fears I have is of you being exploited for the wrong reasons. Because when you talk to some of them, like what's her name?

The girl in WWE who had the controversy with the hair, the color of the hair. Color of the hair. She's got blue hair or something like that. Oh, Sasha Banks? Yeah. I remember she said something that she was being treated unfairly and boy, that people jump on her fucking ass. and I was like

how would I handle that and I was like you're just a you're part of women's wrestling is just becoming accessible don't fuck this up because back in the day

if you walked in the dressing with an attitude you know you hear stories about King Haku and all that slamming people's heads through the fucking wall you better fucking believe it there was there was policing

there wasn't that diva-ish and I'm not to speak and bad about the women and forgive me for the tits and ass thing. It came out wrong. So fucking relax and chill. Okay? Didn't mean they hurt anybody's feelings. I even said I'm a fucking steroid drug addict too.

So I'm guilty. Not you. Me. Not you. Did we fix that? I think so. If we didn't. It's up for interpretation though.

Yeah. Listen to the whole clip, okay? Yeah. I don't really care. But when everybody jumped down her throat, I was like, holy fuck, poor girl. I mean, all she did was stand up for herself. And being in this stupid. environment of male

dominated egoism in those dressing rooms boy I'm sure she got destroyed poor thing I felt so bad for her because I would have done exactly what she did I probably would have did what she did too and wait as well I have that no cut contract so they couldn't fire me but she stood up for herself

and you know what fuck yeah because if you don't do that in the wrestling business and in 90% of the wrestling industry came to her defense like the fans so that saved her job. God bless her. But I think the greatest lesson that I don't think a lot of people saw it out of that was Booker T. He came out and he said

and when he said it, man, it cleared up so many things that were driving me insane. He said, it's not about you. It'll never be about you. It never was. And it's not today. And he said I'm not speaking about you or any other woman. Man, woman or child, the industry will continue. You're a piece of sand on the beach.

When the wave comes, the stand's still going to be there, even though you got moved. And it's true, man. You have to be thankful that you're getting paid to do this. Oh, yeah. So the moment you, you know, boy or girl, the moment that it gets out of control in your own mind, you're fucked. When you talk about someone who gets to the top and not just passes the torch, but carries the torch along, what do you think of someone like a Chris Jericho who's 50 years old? at the top he's the champion, AEW champion,

and maybe he's helping to carry that torch along for some of the other people that are coming in. I know Chris very well. I'm sure you do too. We spent time together in Mexico and Japan. We were never the best of friends, but I personally never had any ill will towards Chris. I'm sure he didn't towards me.

I think there were some things that happened in Mexico that bother him to this day. And I agree with those things. You know, we are two young guys who had extreme fame. And, you know, when you're young guys and there's girls everywhere and people are telling you this and that, it's the same thing with Conan. I mean, they play you against each other. And Chris was image-wise was very similar to what I was doing. And that didn't go very well with anyone.

because people wanted to see him and I not get along. Promoters were like, it's the same thing, like Sting in the Face Paint, right? They were like, dude, we've already got that guy here. And look who he is and look what you're trying to do. So it was, and I know that caused a rift between us. I'm sure that's the start of many of them, right?

So that you were over in Mexico and he wasn't as over? He was getting, I think talent-wise, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would say he's a 10 and I'm about a negative 8. I mean, he's 10 times the wrestler I ever was, am. But I think I'm one of the better of being able to adapt to somebody and tell a story. I've been paying attention to Chris a little bit over the last year and a half. Did I step back?

No, we're good. Because I think as a professional, I think it's important for, man, I hope you girls don't fucking freak out about that tits and ass thing. It was just a phrase, so fucking please chill. I think that a lot of young people, because when I was coming up, you know, I was fortunate enough to work with Bruiser Brody and Abdul the Butcher and the Road Warriors and people like that in Montreal in the early 80s. I in Mexico the stars a lot of people that I grew up with are passed on so um you know I was

very fortunate to work with Terry Taylor for example I had good teachers there's not a lot of good teachers anymore because now it's become a all about me me me me me give me my money um Chris Jericho is I think become a template for the complete person at that level level in pro wrestling. When Goldberg was a superstar, Goldberg wasn't a businessman. Yes. As much as Chris is. Oh, God, yeah. Chris has the podcast. He has the crews. He now has the bubbly. I mean, Chris is, it's not so much he's not a dumb guy. He's an example of, it's not easy. You need to commit. You need to be driven. And if you chip away at the

you'll eventually come up with a great statue. Chris has put in... That's 30 years, I think. Maybe a little more. But he's certainly... Like, there's eventually going to be the next generation of Chris Jericho's. So I believe he's set the bar quite high.

Because even when I was growing up, it was like Hulk Hogan, oh my God. Who was going to surpass Hulk Hogan? Right. Pretty much everybody has in one way. or the other. Like before the companies had one superstar, um,

Lucha Underground, everybody was a superstar, talented, could blow the fucking doors off the house. But Hogan's still the most famous wrestler in the world. There's no doubt about it. Yeah. But the next generation has come.

And now, uh, out of Ray Mysterio, there's Phoenix, there's Pentagon, there's, there's, uh,

there's, uh, la la la, ricochet. There's, you know what I mean? Who saw Ray, in Hoven 2 do the Frankenstein or off the top rope.

Now, they're doing tight rope walking, backflips, and landing on their noses and standing there and then doing something else. So these guys are going to be the next generation of influencers. Chris, I think, is in a unique position that he can be the influencer on the business end, not just in the ring, which will only last three or four years until you break your leg and time goes on.

Chris has the ability to have survived at the top. for so long. There's only a handful of guys that could have done that. Hogan, not even Sting. Sting's famous. Sting's well-known, as are the Steiner's, as is or was Vampiro. Chris is the only one who's done it at this level. I think Chris has been able to be successful now because he took some time there and it was 08, 2009, I think it was, 07, you guys will correct me if I'm wrong. to step away, to do stuff with Fawz, he do stuff with his band. And he didn't even watch wrestling, he said, for a couple of years.

And I think that was able, that was the chance to give him some perspective on it and go, Probably. Oh, I can miss it now. Yeah, probably. I mean, I've gone through that phase. I mean, I don't know if you've ever had those experiences in life with a relationship of friendship, music. Like, I'm a Ramones fan.

I'll fight you if you speak bad about the Ramones. But I haven't listened to the Ramones in years, but I can play you. Every single Ramon song on the guitar, if you put on a record, I can, it's just in my DNA. Sure. But I need a break from it. Yeah. Because it's just, you just do. Is wrestling still in your DNA?

It's coming, it comes and goes. Every now and then, not really because of what I'm doing now, especially with the band and with the mental health stuff. And I'm happy. But I'm very well aware that Vampier. did something. I'm very well aware that Vampiro was kind of cool for a lot of people, you know. For sure. In that era, Vampiro was super cool.

Yeah, I don't know, you know. I'm so influenced by spontaneity. I'm so influenced by the car wreck. You know, I'm so influenced. That's evil can evil. I keep saying it. You know, I didn't, I never, I did watch the jumps. I understood the mentality.

I approach wrestling like that. I know I'm going to crash. I know the cage is lighting myself from fire with thumbtacks in my eyes. It's not a good thing, but I fucking can't wait to feel it. I love that. So if the opportunity was there to do something that was going to fucking rock, meaning I was going to crush myself again, if I was going to be in front of people that wanted to see the fucking thing,

and if there was the right guy or scenario that it meant something. Because sometimes they call me to do indie shows. I'm like, ugh. And I always say, who's, okay, you're beating me. And they were like, I don't get anything of beating you, man. Your family's here, your friends are here. This is your local, this is what you do right now. It's better for you to beat me.

It means more. That's a lot of self-awareness to know that, though. But it's the love for the business. Why go in there and crush the local promotion? We need him to be the star so we draw us people so that you have your inner promotional angles. If there was something going on or something out there that it would be like a holy fuck moment, then that would motivate me to have the mindset to go for it. Yeah.

I guess you and Jericho do have that band thing in common, the band and the wrestling. Man, fuck Chris Jericho. Okay. You just did so many nice things about it. Yeah, but I didn't say. that we were best friends. I think he's an awesome role model for so many things. But me as a person and a guy who knows Chris,

yeah, you know, if you were going to do business and you were going to ask me, because in Mexico, I've been away for a while and I came back, when I came back out with Conan and Triple Mania last year, I didn't know it was happening. They called me. I thought I was doing the commentary.

Where's my music? Yeah, no, that was like the year after. Yeah, Triple Mania, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, where's my music? So I was sitting there and I was like, so where's the notes? I got to, I'm commenting. No, no, no, you're in the match with Conan.

What the fuck are you talking about? And I saw him and I said, what do you? He said, and I was like, really? And I said, what are you going to do? He said, just come out and just be you. And I was like, oh, fuck. When I came out, that was the biggest reaction I ever had in my career. There was nothing like it.

The building shook. I was like, fuck me. This is like, what's going on? but it was just because of people know his history and they know mine. There was no buildup. Nobody even knew I was in the building. But it's there and the fans want to see it. Like if Mayweather and Pachial stopped in the lobby of the hotel and they started pushing,

Las Vegas would be here in two minutes. Of course. Because they want to see that. There's not really many things out there that people want to see me do. but I know with Chris, for example, like Muda. I'm doing a tour in Japan with Muda this year because we were partners and it's his nostalgic goodbye tour or whatever they're calling it. So that motivates the fuck out of me because he's my hero.

Chris, and this is going to really probably bother a lot of people, but, you know, it is what it is. I think he's a poser in a lot of things. I don't believe in him as a musician. I don't believe in him as a rock and roll guy. I just see him as one of those guys who he was the cool kid in school. He was that crowd that I just described that I didn't want to be a part of that. It was like, man, fuck that guy, that Bon Jovi looking fucking acid wash of jeans, pointy cowboy boot guy.

That ain't rock and roll, motherfucker. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, it's that kind of. And that bothers him because he's music to the. bone to die for right and he's chris jericho and yeah well i'm a vampiro motherfucker and and it's like i would if chris or any of the other fuckers want to see that happen if the fans see you know this is something that i think the fans can help with i mean chris wrote about me in the book he spoke bad about me some of you really think i'm a big asshole and you hate me and you want to see him kill me

and almost all you want to see me fucking crush him so it's kind of like that would bring me back to the dance in a fucking heart beat. I think my band is better than your band. I actually know my band is better than your band. Wow. And that's just the way it is. Man, Vampiro has some stories. We'll get back to them in just a sec. Just got to thank our sponsor for this episode, Untuck It. And you ever see an Untuck Button Down? They just look bad. Why? Well, because they're not meant to be worn that way. Thankfully, though, there's Untuck It, the original Button Down shirt that's actually designed to be

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And the promo code is blue 20% off. Fuck all those guys, even fuck Phoenix and Penta. Fuck Phoenix. Fuck Penta. Fuck him in his ear. Fuck Penta. Fuck them ten times over. It's a lot of fucking.

Yeah, so fuck them. Yeah. Wow. Just like that. There's no one you like on the roster. I don't fucking like anybody anywhere, dude. I like the fans. you're all right okay thank you

until the interview's done but no you know what I mean everybody's cool dude I love everyone but if there's one guy that I would you know you want to it's like Mel Gibson said in that movie that the last lethal weapon who was gonna he was Danny Glover and they're looking at Jet Lee and Jet Lee's just ready to fucking kill them and Danny Glover's like why you want to you know basically you're gonna die he's like I just gotta know the Rocky Balboa thing just gotta know and Chris I

just gotta know. We didn't get to do it in WCW. We didn't get to do it in Japan. We partnered is enough. We didn't do it in Mexico. Think business motherfucker. You know, when the misfits got back together, they're selling out stadiums worldwide. This is one fight that hasn't happened. I don't give a fuck about your championship. I don't give a fuck about what you're doing in Japan. I don't give a fuck about your shit band. I just don't like you. And you go on your podcast and you go on Colinance podcast and you wrote your books. And that's fucking awesome. I bought your book because I just thought it was so cool. I knew, I know you and you, you know what I mean? Just a support. It's just cool. Just like the

who. You know, I got to meet them and I'm a fan my whole life, but I got to meet them. So I'm buying the T-shirt. So I don't forget that moment. It means something to me. But it's kind of like you didn't get to put me in my place. And it bought you. It bothers you. I know what Farkin does. And it bothers me. So, uh, business wise, it would just make sense because I think it, the fans would want to see that. Because I mean, you, if you, if you talk bad about me on your podcast and you write a book and you talk bad about me. What specifically do you say in the book? I, um, it's not to, brother, I could give a fuck if it was right here talking bad about me.

Nothing bothers me. And I'll forget it anyways. But in his book, he talked bad about me from being in Mexico and things that I said or did to him. And I kind of got the details. Then I heard him on Conan's podcast, what he said about me and things like that. It's like, you know what? And I wrote him and I said, you know what? I apologize to you. And I reached out because when I was going to therapy, part of that was apologizing to everybody in my life that I offended,

which got me talking to Conan again. and I reached out to Chris and I said, hey, man, if there's anything that I've ever done that's offended you, I'm wrong. I own it and I really want to apologize to you. And he said, that's very cool. Everything's good. We survived. And let's just keep going on. I saw him in Japan, like in 2002 maybe, because I was on tour with Rancid and GBH and the stray cats.

And the WWU was there. And we saw each other. and it was really cool to say hello, but that was the last time. But now, motherfucker, it's like if you attack me, but I don't have the forum or the way to defend or answer,

even if you're right, you can't, that's not fair. So, like, this is your show. But I'm fucking telling you. And don't go on your podcast and your Twitter and get all your little fucking minions to start, you know,

this is for the wrestling community and this is for you, motherfucker. Don't go back and forth on video and bullshit shit like that because I don't care. Get a pair of balls and pull some fucking strings. You know that Gibroni Kenny Omega or whatever his fucking name is and all the

other idiots in the office. Make this fucking happen, dude. I don't care about any of those dudes in their fucking fame and their angles. It's you. It's it. Vampiro versus Chris Jericho. I think I'd want to see it. I'd want to see it. Yeah. And I know

that his mind is so advanced compared to mine that I'm sure he would come up something that would be fucking devastating. There it is. So we're putting it out into the universe. Let us know what you guys think. Wow. This is, wow. You said so many nice things about them and the truth came out. The nice things are true too.

Okay. But hey, it's, it's, it's, it's kind of like I've learned with combat. You can't, it's just like police work. Did you see the movie colors? It's a long time ago. Well, Robert Duviles said, to Sean Penn. Sean Penn,

he's telling him a story because Sean Penn wants to clean up the neighborhood. The young bull wanted to go down and bang all the cows. He said, let's run down and bang them all.

Bang one cow. And the old bull says, let's walk down and bang them all. That made so much sense to me. And then he said to him, you can't take your work home. When I put my uniform in the closet, that criminal right there's my brother.

Chris Jericho is my brother. I bought his fucking book to support him. He's one of us. We're pro wrestlers. And I'll support him and protect him. And if we were in a bar and it went down, I'd be right there shoulder to shoulder, thrown down with him.

And I would with Conan. I would with anybody else. But as a professional wrestler, as a combative athlete, as a guy who's got a chip on his shoulder, who's somebody who doesn't really, really stay much because I know when I stand up for myself, people attack the fuck out of me.

because wrestling fans are allowed to do that because without you, good or bad, negative or positive, we don't have an industry. But you know what? Fuck you. And it's kind of like Chris Jericho, motherfucker. Just to get it on, brother. Let's do it.

I don't need no angle. I don't need no buildup. The fucking Tony knows who I am. I mean, you know, you guys were all WCW marks. I'm in your face, brother. Don't be a pussy. and job me out on social media and think it's going to go away.

I could give a fuck if it happens or it doesn't. If the fans want it to happen, do something for the fans, bitch. There's your bubbly. This is definitely the first time that someone's been called out on my show. Yeah. Wow.

There you go. Before we wrap this up, this has been amazing, by the way. Thank you for your time. Thank you, man. Very gracious to be able to sit down with you. I'm so happy we made this work. Yeah, you talk too much. much. No, this is great. You have a YouTube channel of your own. Yeah. And we're going to link it up

below so people can see more of your stuff. But tell us a bit about what's on there. Yeah, well, YouTube's brand new like two days ago type thing. Well, great. Well, then the Facebook is where, you know, that whole, this whole thing. So on Facebook is just Vampiro and it's verified, so there's only one. It would be me. YouTube is Vampiro TV. The content I'm putting up there, the majority of to deal with mental health and my personal journey and the rituals and ritual magic and meditation and nutrition and all that kind of stuff to help you get over your ailments, right? But there's also movie reviews. I do a lot of B horror movies. Sometimes I go to clubs here in town and I interview bands that are on tour. So there's a music part in it. And then there's just like a live question

and answer thing that I do where you can send me all your comments or things and I will do the research for you and I'll give you my point of view. And it all stems from that one video, that one panic attack. So even though that was a very negative, scary thing, I've turned it into something positive. You're really good at turning these things around to positives. I really, I admire that about you. Oh, thank you. That's really great. Now, one of the questions I think that we all need to know the answer to is what happened with Luch Underground. Is it done? Is it coming back? Is it officially, you know, no more? I can unofficially say officially, yeah. I mean, wouldn't you. I mean, 90% of the roster is in AEW and the other 10% in the WWE. The writers are gone.

The production crew is gone. The company is split. I would pretty much put my money on. It's over and done with, yeah. What caused it to end? What always caused is pro wrestling to end. Lack of communication. Too many cheese, not enough Indians. or, excuse me, too many cooks in the kitchen. Is that okay for your politically correct fucking pains in the balls? With no tits and ass thrown in there, by the way. Too much ego. I think the lack of communication and a lack of accountability.

From management? Yeah, from, you know, there was millions and millions of dollars in play. Yeah. And I think our biggest error was not going on tour after season one when it was hot. Yeah. And then by season three, it's classic in wrestling. when you take independent talent who has mega charisma and much talent. Yeah.

And you do not put rules in place from day one when they become powerful and then you try to bring them back down. It doesn't work. It's kind of like a prison riot. And I think the talent did the right thing. Each and every one of them took the bull by the horns and they looked out for their careers and they moved on. And that's life.

It's not good business. but I think they brought it on themselves. And as beautiful as an experience it was, and it's a shame because it was a great product. It was. And I think that it offered a true alternative. Like they were doing something that no other wrestling promotion had ever done before. I agree.

It was a combination of everything. It was the timing, the writing, the talent, the vibe. But more than anything, it was the moment in time in wrestling where the fans were ready for a change. The fans the fans dictate who becomes a star and who doesn't in this industry. The fans dictate what promotion,

what storyline that the fan, fuck the creative and all the bosses and this and that and the people with the big dicks in the office who think it's because of them that this is working. It's not. It's the fans.

Yeah, you add to the store, you do this, you do that, you do the other thing. But it's just like a cake. The icing is not the base of the cake. It's what's on the inside. And it's the fans who drive the industry.

Yeah, so I think the fans made Man, we had motherfuckers that would come Two days before the show And stay in the parking lot and line up I went to a taping It was the most incredible wrestling experience I've ever been a part of It's crazy, right? It was like a rock show.

It was like a rock show slash a TV Like it was It was so cool It was and it was nothing like I'd ever experienced There was no dead spots Yeah It was like right from the get-go pumping him up And the crowd was so,

So hot. Yeah, yeah. And very educated, too. Yeah, yeah. More than we were ready for. Yeah. Yeah. It was an awesome experience.

It's a shame that it had to end. But I looked at it like the sex pistols. I always compare things to music. And a lot of you don't understand that or see what I'm trying to say or do. Forgive me. But it's what I know. The sex pistols were not the founders. of punk rock, but they had one album that changed the destiny of any alternative thought that was

going to go into music. If it wasn't for the sex pistols and the press and the boom and that one album and the failed tour and they never really played their first incarnation of the band, it would not have set into action the chain of events what became grunge, hair metal, punk rock, hardcore. If it wasn't for that and the Ramones, there'd be no green day. There'd no Nirvana. There'd be no, you know what I mean? So without Lucha Underground, there'd be no AEW. I don't give a fuck.

What kind of money that guy put into it or what their initial vision was. Okay, Cody and Young Bucks and Jericho jumped on board. Good businessman. And Kenny Omega doing bullshit YouTube videos in Japan, this would have never happened because the mindset of the fan at that moment was ready to support

something different, a change, just like any alternative in music that happens. Rock and roll, the hippie era, arena rock, punk rock, whatever. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. So Lucha Underground fed the change in WWE, fed the boom in something that was beautiful and existed, which was European wrestling, became popular

because a lot of them are better than the Lucha style of their craziness and storytelling. Puerto Rico came on fire again. Japan had a rebirth. So I believe that we were responsible for reigniting that spark. And that then drove the popularity of indie wrestling to really get driven up.

Yeah. And look at where we're at now. I mean, WrestleMania weekend, it was kind of like in the beginning one company would piggyback two days before. And then there'd be another. And then I remember after season one, I didn't go because Lucha Underground wouldn't let me, but Matt Stryker told me, he said,

the most popular people here is Pentagon and Phoenix. Nobody in the WWE even can touch them. Look what it did for Brian Cage. You know, it really helped him. Sure. Brian's so fucking talented, man. Yeah. Brian's, it's almost sucks that Brian exists in wrestling because I don't see somebody

following him, his physique, his charisma, his talent. Oh, yeah. It's like, dude, what the fuck are you doing? Stop that shit. You're too fucking big. You're not supposed to be able to do that. That's true. He's too good.

I'm a huge fan. He's a great guy. He's a good guy. God bless him. Had him on the show a few times. He's supremely talented. And you're right. Someone who's his size shouldn't be doing the thing.

Shouldn't be able to do the things. No, fuck no. Jeff Cobb's another one. Kevin Cross is another guy who's about to break. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, Phoenix and Pentagon. You know, I love seeing what happened to Pentagon as a man.

You know, he's got a better life for his family, his kids. He didn't lose touch of reality. I'm like, man, I'm so happy I was a part of that. We had lunch together three weeks ago. That was the first time I'd seen him in about three years. In Mexico? No, we were in some little town in California. I don't even know.

And we just sat down. No, I don't. Wait, was it Mexican? I fuck I don't know but we we just sat down me and him for about an hour and just talked about our families and it was like and thank you you know what I'm saying yeah I don't who gives the shit about wrestling and who's over and who's not yeah it's like you okay brother and it's like I said I'm so proud of you man I said I told you if you listened to what I was telling you yeah in in Luchin if you follow our instructions I said we're going to do the whole season and at the end of the

season you're going to do this to me and and he tells me he said brother that's the match that gave me a career. Wow. I'm thankful to God that I had that opportunity. Yeah. Well, I think that's a great note to end this on. And I want to acknowledge you for being so open, so honest. Thank you.

For being you, to the core, your entire career, you've always been you, and you've never been apologetic about it. It can't be. It can't be. And I don't have a career. And I don't have anything. What I have is the, the experience of being part of a beautiful industry that has the best fans.

Because I ain't shit. I was never a good wrestler. I was never this. I was in the right place at the right time and the kids believed in my message and that was it, man. That's it. Thank you so much, sir. Thank you. Appreciate you.

I appreciate you, dude. And thank you to your fans. And congratulations to you, man. You know, you're another one that wrestlers should pay attention to your, tenacity, you're, you know, you take care of yourself, you're educated, you study, you're professional, you know what you're doing, you spend money, you travel to do these interviews. I mean, opportunities there are, but if you don't go and get it and keep your feet on the ground, you ain't going to make it. And you've done that. So all you kids that are,

you know, podcasting and want to be wrestling interviewers and or whatever the fuck it is that you're going to interview, you've got to do it right. So, four-time Emmy winner, I did. my homework. 77 million views that I'm going to boost up to 77 million in one. On YouTube, 77 million. You know what the fuck that is? 77 million, that's my country of Canada, two and a half times over. It's true.

Watch this motherfucker. Wow. So, thank you. You know, people like you influence guys like me because I wish I can get there. So I'm sure me saying tits and ass is really going to piss off a lot of people. Now you've cleared it up like seven times. I think we're fine. But the point of it is you can't do what I just did

because you are going to offend somebody. So if you're in this position, you have to be aware of the shit you say because you can't take it back. Me, I don't give a fuck. But if you're trying to make a living, look at, he swears, he cusses, but he's clean, he's in shape,

he looks good. So your presentation is everything. You've got to do your fucking homework. the guy you should be watching and stealing his shit. Thank you. Wow. That was great. That's for Chris. My Facebook is Vampiro.

I want to see all your motherfuckers. Good or bad. Come back to me. Give me some feedback on this bitch. Make it happen. May I'll go anywhere you want, Chris. I'll take that fucking your inner circle and put that in your fucking ass. Fuck all those guys. I don't need that bullshit, brother.

Get them to fuck out. Being you, homie. Being you. Well, there you go, my friend. What did you think of that one? A huge thank you to Vampiro for the very nice words that he said there at the end of the interview. Thank you. It's so kind.

Also, a thank you to Vampiro for taking the time to do this interview. I know that when you live in Las Vegas, the last place you want to go is to the Las Vegas strip. So a huge thank you to Vampiro for driving to my hotel, valetting the car, coming all the way up to my room, and doing the interviews. So thank you. And thank you to you for listening all. all the way to the end. I appreciate you so much. So take a screenshot. Tag me, tag Vampiro. Let us know what you thought about this one. He had a lot to say. And wow, that Chris Jericho stuff, man, what do you think of that? I also love his positivity about his health situation. I mean,

if Vampiro can feel that way about something as scary as Alzheimer's, I think we should be able to apply that positive thinking to whatever it is in our life that we're dealing with. And once again, to the Twitterverse for making this interview happen, happen for connecting Vampiro and I and going, Vampiro lives in Vegas. Chris, you're going to Vegas. You guys need to make this interview happen. Boom.

We did it in like less than 24 hours. We were tweeting like, I think it was while I was on the plane? Yeah, it was. It was while I was on the plane flying there. And then the next day, boom, we were doing the interviews. So thank you. Amazing. Theodore Roosevelt once said,

the only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything. The only man who never made a mistake never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything. So go after it. It's 2020. The year of perfect vision, whatever it is that you want to go after, go after it. Thank you so much for checking this out, my friends. We will see you next week with a ton of new interviews. Can't wait.

The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 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. Thank you.