My Mom's Basement - EPISODE 158 - PRESTON "10" VANCE

Episode Date: October 6, 2021

Pres10 Vance of The Dark Order joins Robbie to discuss the recent Brodie Lee Tribute Show held in his hometown of Rochester, the inspiration behind his masks, Brodie Jr's booking ideas, how he grew to love the "10" character, training in New Jersey, and more! 3Chi: Use code MMB at checkout to receive 5% off at 3Chi.com Cuts Clothing: Go to CutsClothing.com/BASEMENT for 15% off the Only Shirt Worth Wearing HelloFresh: Use code 14robbie at HelloFresh.com/14robbie for 14 FREE MEALS! Subscribe to My Mom's Basement on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIeZ96PqdsJYQ7DFLRx6MHw My Mom's Basement Merchandise: https://store.barstoolsports.com/collections/my-moms-basement Intro Music: “Basement Noise” by All Time Low Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/basement-noise/1499013757?i=1499013968 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3Aq9W9BBCjsFOQqcYyO6IA?si=d9d0f74cf54a48deYou can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/mymomsbasement

Hey My Mom's Basement listeners, you can find our episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, and Prime members in the basement, noise in the basement. Just stupid boys making basement noise in the basement. Yeah, yeah. Hello and welcome to My Mom's Basement. I am here with Preston Vance, number 10 of the Dark Order, ahead of Dynamite tonight. I can't wait. Wednesdays, you know what that means. It's AEW Dynamite and I love it every Wednesday. First, let me remind you about our presenting sponsor. It's 3C. 3C is the industry leader in Delta-8 THC products. I tell you guys each and every week,

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Also now has Delta eight root beer, taffies, Delta eight balls, candy and disposable vapes. So make sure to check those out on their website. Again, go to three cheat.com. That's the number three CHI.com to shop for Delta 8 vapes, gummies, tinctures, and oils that can be used to make homemade edibles. Use code MMB at checkout. You'll receive 5% off your order. Welcome to the show. Thank you for doing this. How are you? What's up, Robbie? How are you, man? I'm doing well. I feel like to start this

interview off, we need your side of the Tony Khan story that Cody Rhodes told in my mom's basement last week. This is kind of how the whole interaction started. So why don't we kick things off with your side of that story? So it was, it was pretty accurate. It wasn't like he just drove off and left me. He was, he was already on the road and I was like standing, waiting for the shuttle with like a few other, like there's some production people, whatever the shuttle did end up coming. And we all knew it was coming. But anyway, so I'm just standing there waiting. There's like fans walking by and I see this suburban drive by and I just hear,

Hey Vance, let's fucking go. And Tony Khan is halfway out the window hair all over the place. Let's fucking go. And I was like, that just made my whole night. I't know what to do I just said I'm like you're the man Tony aside from when he's you know in an escalate driving away from you what's it like working for Tony Khan oh he is the best he's literally the best boss ever I went to a Jags game two weeks ago in his suite and I was talking to his mom and I told her that too I was like your son is the best boss I've ever had in any job anything like he's like like some people are like uh oh does he just fund it like no like he's the most hands-on person in that whole company I mean he he watches everything so it's like it's super cool to work for him and he like truly care cares about

all the the whole roster like it, it's like, like, I know people are like, Oh, like we're a family. Like we are legit a family. It's crazy. Yeah. You could tell, I mean, the attention to detail and even the Brody Lee tribute show you guys just had in Rochester. That's what a family would do for a wrestler. You know, it was such a nice event. It was so cool. What was that experience like for you? I mean, so many of these shows, you got signed during the pandemic or right before the pandemic, right? So these shows, it's like you're wrestling in

front of a huge audience for the first time. Yeah, it's, it's, uh, it's crazy. So I got signed in April, 2020. Uh, it was like right at the start of the pandemic, I did a dark match with Darby and Jacksonville. And I think the pandemic had just started. And then the next, next week when it aired we did all the tapings in Atlanta at the Nightmare Factory which is where I'm from where I train and stuff and that's where I met Brody and he walked in and uh he was asking QT and Cody like you know what's up with like Vance is your guy right and they're like yeah he's like why isn't he signed anywhere you know like he seems nice like he looks good like is there something wrong with him and they're

like no like he's cool so Brody's like well I kind of want him with me like I'll take him under my wing like on screen and off screen and I'm like this is awesome because you know I grew up a huge fan of Brody you know with you know from WWE and stuff like that so like I was watching him you know through college and stuff so this is really cool and then uh but it was so weird like we got so accustomed to just like performing in front of like the boys you know like the the crowd was just us and uh i think my first match with an actual crowd was i want to say my or i know it was dallas and i teamed with uh pillman and griff and alan angels and i was like super nervous because there's like it was so loud i'm like oh my god but the only

time i've gotten nervous and now it's just like like we did the one in arthur ash stadium with like 20 000 some people and that was like that was by far the loudest crowd i've ever been in front of and i remember looking over at silver and i remember just saying dude this is so fucking cool and like now now it's like and i'll do like indie shows and i get more nervous for those actually because in my mind it's like if 500 people are there and half of them are cheering for you you're kind of like wow it's not very loud like i saw but like if 20 000 people are there and half are cheering that's still 10 000 people you know chanting your name so it's like oh this is it's like a drug it's like you almost feel like you're getting a high from it it's

really cool and then the uh brody show we just did was obviously super special um my parents came that was the first time they've ever ever seen me wrestle actually and because they wanted to meet like amanda and the kids and stuff and uh i mean yeah just hearing the crowd just so you know in his hometown just so like the brody chants and it was like it was like it's like the whole it was like a whole replay of the first tribute show where like that that's why at times like that, I'm like, I'm glad I wear a mask. So no one can see me like tearing up, you know? Absolutely. But it debuted a new mask too at that show, which I loved.

Yes. I thought that was really cool. I thought you also had a very funny tweet about it. Cause people were tweeting you like death stroke things. And you were like, not to go heel on yet, but I don't know who the fuck death stroke is. So I'm not, I'm not a big superhero guy. Like I don't, I can't tell you the difference between Marvel and DC.

I know Captain America is Marvel, I believe. Right. He is. Yeah, I think so. Cause people are always tagging me in Captain America stuff. That's the only reason I know that.

But some fan like drew it and like tagged me in it. And I love it. Like, I absolutely love it. Cause like, I can't draw like no artistic abilities. Like I love it. So half the new mask you're talking about was based off fan art yeah like even my old mask was uh someone drew

all my t-shirts i do some this fan art but so then i keep getting deathstroke tweets and i'm like what i'm like i don't know who this is you know so stew grayson had to explain to me what deathstroke was in catering after after the match and uh but yeah it was literally just a fan just drew it, and I was like, oh, that looks really cool. I'm going to get it made. Yeah, that's really cool. Fellas, the sport of business means demanding excellence from your craft and wardrobe.

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They got the plain tees, plain hoodies, amazing stuff, really cool colors. It's versatile. Wear it to the gym, on a date, to dinner, to a wrestling show, to a movie premiere, wherever you want to wear Cuts clothing. It works. I promise you. And I'd be remiss not to mention the relationship that you have with Negative One. And I was backstage. It had to be early this year. It was like we did a little segment with Jericho and MJF when they did the match leading up to them versus the the young bucks. And the way that I saw negative one treated backstage was heartwarming because it really did seem like everyone's taking that kid under their wing,

but maybe no one like more so than you, do you feel like he's like a little brother to you at this point? Yeah, definitely. So a lot of people think like I've known like that family forever, which I have, I actually actually didn't didn't know them till like uh till uh brody was like was sick you know and uh i was backstage and i saw amanda and and the kids i knew who they were i wasn't in gimmick or anything but like i don't think they knew i was you know so i said hello whatever and then when i put on the whole 10 gimmick brody

was in front of me a little negative one and he's like mom that's 10 so then ever since then he was like really really like attached to me and like I've always like Thunder Rose always tells me I have like the the gift because like no matter we do these charity things like kids are always drawn like to me you know and like I was always the youngest brother so I always wanted a little brother you know so I So I think that, I think that's why like, I'm very, I'm never like super serious. So I think in a time when it was like really hard, especially for him, you know, I was like, could get him out of the element and just like just have fun and play video

games, you know, and kind of take his mind elsewhere. And I've heard you talk about him already pitching you ideas for the future, which I love. I can't wait to see you guys 10 years down the road tag. He's he's he, he pitched when we were in Orlando for the dark tapings the other day. He's like, he's like, yeah, I think maybe like we win the tag titles. And then like, maybe we lose them. And, and like afterwards we're hugging. And we're like, oh, it's all right. And then,

and then you just kick me in the face. He's like, that'd be the biggest heel turn ever. I'm like, that's perfect. I love that. He's already booking your heel turn. you don't have to do anything you were you step back give it to brody yeah yeah um i saw you talk about in other interviews kind of growing to love the 10 character not loving it at first but really understanding like oh wow this adds like a different dynamic to me having the mask and all that what was it that actually helped you learn to love it yeah i don't know the exact switching point but because when i first got presented with i hated it because i i didn't ever wear a mask in indies i was and like at that point we were healed so it was like it was like we're this dark like cult you know like i'm not like a

dark like like a mysterious person um so i'm like this isn't me at all but like i'm not gonna say no you know obviously and then the more i got to do but i'm and like i would watch myself like on tv i'm like this is actually really cool because it's now it's like no i'm not just like a body like a normal looking body guy like all the guys look the same in like 2005 you know and i was like i have this mask and it's like they didn't want me to hide my identity so it's like no still like post up and be yourself but it's almost like you put the mask on you're a different person and i'm like oh that's really cool that makes sense who pitched the mask initially for you was it tony was it brody i think it was i think the whole 10 character was tony wow yeah and then uh and and brody obviously

because it's part of the dark order so we kind of had to wear a wear a mask but but i think the whole 10 character was tony do you have like inspirations for the 10 character now like that even if it's outside of wrestling like do you see something and you're like oh i would like to incorporate that into 10 yeah and honestly it's like as far as the look goes it's all like all the stuff i wear is literally like pictures that fans have like like drew of me it's like a cool like little detail to the character that i feel like more right and that's like it's cool because like i'm thinking like when i was a kid if i drew something and sent it to like my favorite wrestler and i saw him wear it on tv i'd be like this is the coolest thing so like that's another aspect to like connect with

the crowd you know and not even in like a physical way but like more of like it's like super sentimental you know yeah no i mean i have one of my tattoos is like a listener drew it for me. I reached out and was like, I think it would be cool if I just had a tattoo done by a listener. So can anyone do this? And I found an artist that was incredibly talented. And I like the same like dynamic of like that connection is very cool. As far as the mask goes, do you see yourself dropping in the future and wrestling like you did on the indies uh honestly i don't know so i'm the type of person where like we have such a cool job and it's like we can be creative and stuff but at the end of the day it is still a job so i'm just

going to show up and do what they want me to do if they want me to wear the mask forever i'll wear the mask forever if they want me to drop it next week and be something totally different i'll drop it next week you know uh because like at the'll drop it next week. You know? Uh, cause like at the end of the day, like it is a job. So yeah, I don't like right now though. I really do like the 10 character.

Oh yeah. I like it as well. I think you should stick with it. Um, who were your favorites growing up? Who were the ones that like got you into wrestling to be like, Ooh, I think I want to do this.

So the, the, I have like one definitive match where when I watched it, I was like, I want to do this. And it was Hogan and rock at mania 18. Wow. And it was before they even locked up when they just, just that stare down and the Toronto sky don't going crazy. I was like, that is they're not even doing anything. And like, people love it, you know,

cause I'm not someone who's big. I'm like, Oh, what a cool move. I like the moments like that. Like the literally like icon versus icon moments. So that was the definitive one. cool move i like the moments like that like they're literally like icon versus icon moments uh so that was the definitive one i think like the inspirations for like the how i kind of work is like more cena batista type um and like i like giving a scene of his cred you know some people are still down on scene i think it's crazy yo yeah i like so i'm a huge scene fan and i always have been and it's not even so much about like what he does in the ring. It's all the cool stuff he does outside of the ring.

Like I think he has like the most make a wishes. Like I think he just passed Mickey mouse or something, which is insane. He has the most. Yeah. And like, that's like, like people can, can like bash him, but like, he's where he got, where he got. Cause like he works super hard. You know what I mean? And it's not even from wrestling. Like when I started training, I remember one of my trainers told me, he's like, the stuff you do inside the ring is about 5% of the business. And like, now I understand that. You know what I mean?

Yeah, totally. What was your experience like training in New Jersey? So I liked when I was there, I loved it because there was like a good, a good crop of guys. When I came in, QT was there uh damian priest was there matt riddle was there nick camarada was there so i was like wow yeah really good crop of guys yeah so they all helped me kind of kind of break in you know because they they have all been wrestling for a couple years at that point i think riddle was like two years in uh damian priest was like at least 10 and qt was like 10 and so like they all helped me get into it. So I had a really good group of guys to help train me. And then Danny Cage owns it. Blue Meany was one of the trainers at that point.

Yeah, I had a really good group there. I hated living in New Jersey though. I hated it, man. Where did you live? I lived in, I lived like by Philly, like South Jersey. And I hated it. Okay, South Jersey, the Borkrell side, not the Taylor Ham up North.

Exactly, yes. I hated it there. I'm from Michigan. So like going from like a really small town in the Midwest to like the Northeast was a pretty big, like a shock, just how people act and everything. And now I live in Atlanta and I love Georgia. I told my mom, I think I'll be here for good. The weather's nice. You know, the people are super nice, but yeah, I'll never move back to New Jersey. I live in New Jersey. I don't know if you knew that. That's funny that you're saying that, but my sister-in-law is from Michigan and my brother now moved to Michigan. So we have that New Jersey connection between us. Yeah.

You know where at in Michigan? Michigan. I don't know if you know where that is. Yep. Who have your favorite opponents in aew been the favorite matches that you've had actually in the company darby the tnt match was probably my favorite the tnt that match with darby and even your introduction match with darby on dark like you were back to earlier yeah darby's so good like he is so fun to work he's very willing to do anything um and he's like he's so easy to just beat up you know and like like i love wrestling

guys who are considerably smaller than me because it's like you can just do whatever and he's your favorite style like working someone that's smaller yeah 100 but he's so good um obviously the brody tribute show like the very first one is probably like gonna be my all-time like favorite moment yeah yeah because it was like super real you know uh like i'll watch that i'll i'll still watch that like probably once a week like just like the ending of it so i just remember when i uh i pinned ricky and i started crying and and i was teaming with cody and you know like me and cody like are like real life like really good friends you know and i just remember cody hugged me and he's like brody would be proud of you and i was like man this is like a moment, you know?

Wow. Yeah, absolutely. Do you have people in AEW that you haven't worked yet that you're like, oh my God, I can't believe you haven't gotten in the ring yet. Cutting off the pod one more time to tell everyone about America's number one meal kit. It's HelloFresh. I use this stuff each and every week. I love HelloFresh.

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including free shipping on your first order. Hello fresh. It's America's number one meal kit for a reason. Let's get back into the show. I really want to work Miro. Oh, wow. I would love to see that. Yeah. and when he was like when he was the the tnt uh champion everyone always tweeted like we want to see miro versus 10 i was like i want it so bad and i see people tweeting you now about sammy yeah i also want to wrestle uh sean spears well i was going to ask about sean

spears we actually got a listener question from my friend will washington and he said the ten chant used to famously belong to sean spears while he was working at ty dillinger character in nxt now crowds are doing it for you have you guys had any conversations about that so uh this was like when i first got into aw and because the spears and brody were really good friends like very tight and so they so they were talking, I think Brody made a joke, like this kid's going to steal your gimmick. And, and Sean's like, you know, do whatever you want with it, man. Like, I don't care. And then Arthur Ash a couple of weeks ago and the whole crowd was chanting 10.

I went to the back and said, dude, I stole your gimmick. He said, you better hope they don't make me face again. Cause I'm stealing that back. All right. Now I need to see that match. Yeah. For the, i want to work him because i know like before we even lock up the whole crowd is going to start chanting 10 so

that's all i want i just want to i want to work you want that moment yeah um have you thought about the eventual disbanding or breakup of the dark order because there are factions like the new day where anytime they're asked about like hey are you guys ever going to break up they're like no no no we like we're very not interested in that at all. Some people were like, yeah, I think we'll get to that. Have you thought about it? I have because I feel like, you know, like nothing lasts forever. So it was kind of like maybe inevitable that it will happen,

but I don't want it to happen because like, I'm really good friends with everybody in the group. Like, it's not like, Oh, we're just on TV friends. Like, I mean, like you get me sober and Reynolds together oh we're just on tv friends like i mean like you get me silver rentals together and we just we're saying the most like obscene shit all day you know we just crack each other up so like maybe you guys love a podcast that sounds like a that sounds like a podcast oh that would be great you guys should do it um we got a couple more listener questions and then i could get you out of here mike holzer wrote in and, what was the initial internal conversation amongst the Dark Order like after Brody's like a not only a leader on a screen but like we

don't have a leader backstage now so like someone we don't have someone to really like hey i have this idea for the group you know like we don't have that hierarchy now so it's like now we're all you know level playing field so like most of these groups they have like that one like for example inner circle they got jericho so it's like they you know they all have like this one guy who can really like hey let's do this for the group now we we don't have that. Um, and so, yeah, we like we would do all this stuff on bte and and you know like obviously all that stuff is it's an act on bte but it's like it's kind of like ourselves turned up to like 20 you know yeah because like you know i don't actually do cocaine but like you know i like to go out and like and like party and stuff so it's kind of like a it's kind of like uh like ourselves but just turned up to 10 so it's like you know like we

were getting over on bt so they're kind of like you just go out there and be goofballs basically be yourself and then that's when the fans really started getting behind us so i mean i think we have it figured out now there's there's times where i'm like i'll be texting the guys and i'm like what are we doing this week where do we go from here you know what i mean you talked about liking a party if you were putting together like a party foursome, who are you picking? Cody for sure. Ricky Starks. I'm trying to think of more. I mean, so us three, we go to Disney and stuff together and we have fun. I don't know who the fourth one would be. Wardlow is like one of my really good friends too.

But he sometimes is like, he's sometimes like, well, hey, let's go do this after the show or whatever. And he'll be like, okay. And then he's asleep in his room. So I'm like, he's like the king of sleep. That'd be me to be honest. Yeah, I'm kind of the Irish exit, the Irish goodbye person, whatever.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've got one more fan question from devilaria he said if you could recruit any wrestler to join not lead he said no one will ever touch brody but join from any era of professional wrestling the dark order who would it be wow that's hard any era i would probably go with uh i don't know honestly that's really hard i think if i did want an aew i would i would pick wardlow i mean him and mjf they got they got a little friction who knows me and wardlow want to want to do a tag team one day we're like the like the mega powers that's that's what we always talk about. Yeah. So I'd say Wardlow.

All right. I'll take that answer. I like that answer. All right. Preston Vance, I'm excited for Dynamite tonight. Thank you very much for joining the show. Tell everyone where they can find you. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter, both Preston Vance, P-R-E-S-1-0-V-A-N-C-E. All right. Thanks for joining the show. Thank you, Robbie.