The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi - #152 The Downside of Independent Wrestling with Bobby Orlando (Patreon Exclusive)

Episode Date: August 3, 2023

Professional wrestler Bobby Orlando (aka Your Mom) shares the downsides of discovering his high pain tolerance from an electric fence, going to wrestling school (which is pretty much acting class), crashing through real doors and tables, and having conviction in your promos. Gianmarco lies about his age, shares his short lived middle school wrestling phase, and walks off stage during Russell’s blessing. Join the Patreon to watch and listen to the full episode!  Get tickets to our next live podcast recording on September 11 at Sesh Comedy in LES. Watch the episode clip HERE! Follow Bobby Orlando on Instagram & Twitter Bobby Orlando is a star of of Brooklyn’s Catalyst Wrestling. If you are in NYC and want to see him and Bobby Jr., check out Bell Time at Chilo’s Greenwood in South Slope on Sept 24th at 4 pm or go to Premiere Streaming Network to check out his most recent matches. Check out catalystwrestling.com for tickets and more info. Follow Gianmarco Soresi on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, & YouTube Subscribe to Gianmarco Soresi's email & texting lists Check out Gianmarco Soresi's bi-monthly show in NYC Get tickets to see Gianmarco Soresi in a city near you Watch Gianmarco Soresi's special "Shelf Life" on Amazon Follow Russell Daniels on Instagram E-mail the show at [e-mail] Produced by Paige Asachika & Gianmarco Soresi Video edited by Dave Columbo Special Thanks Tovah Silbermann Original music by Douglas Goodhart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by A Real Pain. From Searchlight Pictures comes one of the buzziest films at Sundance Film Festival, A Real Pain. Written, directed, and starring Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg alongside Emmy Award winner Kieran Culkin. Witness a hilarious and moving story about two mismatched cousins as they tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. See A Real Pain only in theaters November 15th. Shalom, Debbie Downsiders. This is Joe Marcus Araizi. I am hoarse from Just for Laughs in Montreal, but I wanted to make a quick... Oh God, I'm dying. I wanted to make – that's horrible podcasting, coughing on a mic. I still don't know what I'm doing, guys.

Podcasts are really tough. I mean, it's a lot of content, you know? Like White Lotus, they did eight episodes. We did eight episodes this morning, okay? So give me a fucking break. Okay? So give me a fucking break. Okay. This is an excerpt from a live episode we did

with independent wrestler Bobby Orlando. I know some of you are like, I don't like wrestling. Listen, it's theater. Wrestling is theater for really straight guys and really closeted guys. So it's

a very good episode. Even if you're not into wrestling, I promise you're going to dig it. This is an excerpt, though. If you want to listen to the full live episodes, you've got to join the Patreon. Patreon.com slash Downside. We put it in the show notes. You get bonus episodes. You get access to my

Patreon-exclusive comedy special, The Rats Are In Me. You can only get it on the Patreon or if you listen to SiriusXM. And yeah, it's a good way to support the show. It helps us get nicer studio stuff, more guests. Once we hit a certain number,

Russell and I are going to record a duet CD, like four songs of male musical theater duets, which is my dream. And we also have another live episode coming up on September 11th. Don't forget the date, 7 p.m., September 11th in New York City at Sesh Comedy Club. Link to that will be in the bio as well.

So again, enjoy this excerpt. You can watch it on our YouTube. We just got an Instagram, The Downside Pod. Join that if you want even more podcast clips on Instagram. And, yeah, I'm really – we got a lot of cool things coming up. I don't know if I mentioned before. We started – we recorded a live episode with Joel Kim Booster while we were at Just for Laughs. Normally, that would just go on the Patreon.

But guess what? It's too good to put behind the paywall, so that's going to come up on the main feed towards the end of August. But yeah, enjoy this. Subscribe to all the things. Tell your friends, baby. We're trying to get some advertisers,

and they say we need more numbers. And you know what? Fuck it. Let me read you a joke. I haven't even checked if this is a good joke from the joke book. Here it is, here we go. Snyder's wife dies.

The pallbearers are carrying the casket and as they start down some steps, the casket accidentally bumps the wall and they hear, oh, they open it up and she's still alive. She lives 10 more years and then she dies again. The same funeral parlor, the same pallbearers. As they start down the stairs, Snyder says, be careful of the fucking wall. This book is very misogynistic, I got to tell you. And it's not a surprise,

but I think I'm going to try to find like a, a, a book of feminist street jokes. Um, knock, knock who's there women's rights and they're not going away. Um, I am a feminist, not practicing, but you know, I do all the rituals. Like I won't hold the door open or anything like that. Anyways, enjoy the episode. Patreon.com slash downside. And stay sad. This is The Downside. One, two, three. Downside.

You're listening to The Downside. The Downside. With Gianmarco Cerezi. Give me some love right now for The downside with John Marco Ceresi. Hello. Hello. Welcome to a live taping of the downside. How's everyone doing?

You good? Yeah. Well, time this. Be not good. Because this is where we talk some shit. This is where we get negative. This is where it's okay to complain about the humidity. Real quick,

round of applause if you have never listened to The Downside before. All right. That's new. For a while, it was surprising. You heard. I asked a while, it was... It was, yeah. For a while, it was surprising. Yeah. You heard, I asked the negative, not the positive.

Did you think it was... You thought no one had listened? No, no, no, no. But usually, when we have the live shows, it's like 75% has never even heard of this podcast. Sure. So it's strange that they're there. But I think that's when we had a big drag queen.

True, true, true. No, but... Well, okay. So here's the thing. Listen, I, thanks for leaving this row open. I like seats just in case I want to take a break from the show.

Yes, this is brave. We're basically on a date with you right now. Good job. We're so close. So, so here's the thing with these live shows that I've noticed.

Sometimes I think people who love podcasts, and I say this as a podcast lover for myself, don't leave the house very often. And there's a... Sometimes there's a... There's a politeness.

There's a like, oh, this is how I would listen to it at home. Feel free to laugh. Feel free to clap. Feel free to be joyful. Because I'm in a shit mood. Uh-oh. I'm in a shit mood.

Oh, no. I got a flight canceled yesterday, but we're not going to complain about airlines because we do that every fucking episode. How are you?

How are you, Russell? I'm great. I'm a little tired. I fell asleep last night. I was doing a lot of work to fix up the house. Basically, my wife, she's been gone

for a week and a half, and I did that thing where it was, you know, the house it fell, it had fallen on hard times. And so I got home. Because she wasn't there is what you're saying. No, just you have less, when you're alone, your standard of living

is less. You're like, well, there's just things everywhere. I think, you know, there's like a half-light, like how quickly do you think we deteriorate to the guys we were when we were single with roommates? In two days, it's hell. That second that you're shaving your pubes on the shower, you know, you're just...

Dishes, laundry, there's food, there's, like, crumpled up paper towels just in the middle of the rug. So I... It'd been a long time. It was bad. And I had a show. And then there was a going away party afterwards.

So I got home late. And I was like, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do this all tonight. I'm going to do the laundry, do the dishes, do the vacuuming, do everything. And at 2.30 a.m., I was not done. And I said, let me just sit down for a minute. And I fell asleep. I fell asleep in an upright position like this.

And woke up at 7.30 a.m. I hadn't even fallen over. I didn't topple over. I just asleep in an upright position like this and woke up at 7.30am. I hadn't even fallen over. I didn't topple over. I just was like this still. And so, contacts in still. How much did you drink that night? Not that much. I had three drinks

at the after party and then I didn't drink anything at home. That's weird because you tell your doctor you don't ever drink. Isn't that correct? Well, do you mind if I introduce the guests so we can get going here? Okay. I didn't know

I was holding you up. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, here's something that we did I think with this one which I think is interesting. We did announce the show before we got the guests booked.

Yeah. And so I'm sure for some of you and this is no offense to your entire profession, some of you probably are not wrestling fans. It's okay if you're not. We don't want to assume.

Here's the thing is, I am, and I love wrestling. It's theater, and it's actually probably a gayer than musical theater, if you really think about it. If we're really being honest with ourselves. So please welcome our guest today, Bobby Orlando, everybody. I don't want to yell too loud. I don't want to break the mic. No, you can go first. So, Bobby, we're excited.

We're going to talk about the downsides of wrestling, of everything. Bobby is... Someone wrote me. They said how... They asked me to ask you how would you describe your persona? Okay. Oh, no. Yeah.

I'll tell you what they said. I'm excited to hear. Yeah. Well, you go first. Oh, what I think that they said or what I am? Well, you are. Yeah. Tell people.

You know, so I like to call myself the goatest of all time. So admit, it's a little play on words. People say, oh, you're the goat, you're the goat.

That's the greatest of all time. Yeah. You think for, I don't think, I don't think, who here did not know what GOAT stood for? I feel like there's a couple. Maybe not. No, there's some. You knew. No, I knew, yeah.

You knew the GOAT. Okay, so the GOAT is the greatest of all time. But this is a tier above. So you're the greatest of the greatest of all time. The greatest there ever was and all that stuff. Sure. What wrestling league are you in again? I'm an independent professional wrestler.

So it's kind of like freelance style, not really signed to any major TV company. So it's kind of like just freelance. Sure. Now tell me your experience with wrestling at all. None. None. I didn't know you were a fan.

I was very much a fan. So when I was a kid. My dad took me to a wrestling match. I was really into this group called DMX. Not DMX, that's the rapper. You mean DX? DX. There you go.

Is it D-Generation? D-Generation X. Okay, you see why I got there? I heard Generation. I had the D. You were very close. D-Generation X. And their whole thing,

and again, I'm like in second. And their whole thing, and again, I'm like in second grade. Their whole thing was suck it. Yes. And they would just be like, suck it. That was really big.

And I'm walking around with my friends in fourth grade, second grade, third grade, and we don't even know what we're saying. Yeah.

I don't even think I put together the P. I just thought it was like, suck, suck, you suck. Yeah. You suck. Exactly. You suck. Exactly. And I remember this.

It's such a weird memory because it's like a memory I understood when I was years older. My dad and I, we were walking and we saw these, after the wrestling match, and we saw this group of drunk teenagers holding this big oblong inflatable. And I was like, and it said, suck it on the side. And I was like, dad, what's that's that and he said that's a middle finger and then like years later I was just sitting and I was like oh it was a penis it was a big fucking penis suck it on the side yeah so for me wrestling was like it had a little bit of the taboo danger it was. You'd watch a pay-per-view on Sunday.

The friends would come over. When, how old are you? I just turned 27. Fuck, okay. Oh, no. I feel really old, though, so. I think it's like you're either alive, you were conscious for 9-11, or you weren't,

and that's the two kind of people. Yeah. We don't need millennials and Gen Z. It really is like you remember, or you the two kind of people. Yeah. We don't need millennials and Gen Z. It really is like you remember or you feel fine with flying still. Yeah.

You're fine if TSA is like not on point. Yeah. And you lie about your age. So... I've never lied about my age. He does. He lies about his age.

And I appreciate it. Lied about me online. No. Okay. I don't want to have this fight with you again but I know that you fed someone a wrong birthday at some point, and online, if you look, it says you're four years younger than you are,

and you're not. So just own that you're in your mid-30s in front of everyone here right now. Honestly, when I'm next to someone in their early 40s, I feel like I'm breaking their heart. Oh, yeah. Tensions are high. Okay. So,

what age did you start getting into wrestling? So, I started getting into wrestling around 2007. That's when I was 11. And,

Thank you. Math is hard, but I'm very proud of myself for figuring that one out. Yeah. So, I watched it when I was 11,

which I feel like is like the normal age group. Like, kids, you know, they transfer into middle school like the normal age group. Like kids, you know, they transfer into middle school and that's kind of when you start, you know, getting new hobbies and stuff like that. So wrestling was pretty much from that moment on my life.

Who was big for you at first? Like you at 11. Who's your number one? Day one, Batista. Batista. Batista. Shake the ropes and we go like that. Batista. Batista. Shake the ropes. He would go like that.

It would be really cool. That was the bad thing. People are flipping. People are smashing tables. And then he goes with the rope. And he's like. He shakes the ropes. Actually, when I was a kid, because I really loved Batista, we went to this petting zoo.

So they had these cables that would keep the horses out from escaping and stuff like that. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to shake the ropes. Batista, it was an electric fence. Oh my God. And did you fully... Were you making a noise? Yeah, I was like, Batista, die! And I flew backwards.

You flew backwards. That was like your first body slam. That was my first bump. I was kind of like a dramatic kid, but... You think it wasn't? Your parents were like, it's not electric. Would you knock it the fuck off?

It was electrical because I didn't read the big signs next to it that said electrical fast. How much did it hurt? Did you have to go to the hospital? So, like, for some reason,

this is kind of why I'm very happy that I chose the profession that I did. I have a really, really high pain tolerance. Interesting. Interesting, I know.

Okay, you know pain tolerance? Are you okay? I think I'm okay with pain tolerance, yeah. Okay, I'm fine. Needles hurt. I just know because of my girlfriend that I don't have the lowest. Yeah. Oh, no.

So your pain tolerance is high. Scarily high when did you first realize that was it the electrical fence you went back to the fence and you were like look what I can do

it might have been the electrical fence also growing up as a kid I really liked jackass uh huh and so you know you did the whole thing with your friends

like I had a really cool bunch of kids I grew up with in the same neighborhood and I had this little flip camera right yeah this is before you

could like film so I am kind of old this is before you could film. So I am kind of old. This is before you could film all your things on your phone. Shut the fuck up, you're 20. I don't want to hear that at all. Well, nonetheless. Yeah, I had a flip phone for two decades before. This is before you could film HD videos on your phone.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember. So I would always be the one who would just jump off of tree houses and do front flips in the bushes and stuff like that. Because, fun i guess to some people but um but you like did you ever break anything did you ever yes i've broken many bones i the one thing that i was trying to do as a kid there was like a tree that fell over but like the stump or like something or like the log was like perfectly placed so you get a good bounce off it so i'm like oh i'm doing a backflip uh i did the flip didn't land it well i guess i landed but i landed on my foot which then snapped in half oh my god um but for some reason i was like oh cool

now i get to leave class early because like when you're a kid you had the crutches get to leave class like 10 minutes early yeah uh so that was the major when i was a kid, you had the crutches to get to leave class 10 minutes early. That was the major one as a kid. I also was a big skateboarder, but I stopped that once I started wrestling because I'm like, I'm going to get hurt doing this. I'd rather get hurt doing the thing I'm passionate about. I think that's a big part of I was injury-averse at a young age. That's prevented me from ever doing anything like this. I, in fifth grade, broke my ankle. You were back flipping off a tree as well?

No, I was walking down, slowly walking down a slide, and I fell. And, like, slow motion broke my ankle. And I was too embarrassed to let... It was that thing where you're like, it'll be okay. And I was just laying in the grass. It was like a parent's barbecue. It was like barely any kids there. And I was too old, about to be in middle school, to be walking down the slot.

So I just kind of like, while the parents were having the barbecue, I was laying in the grass for probably like 20 minutes. And one of the parents was like, what's Russell doing? And then they discovered that I broke my ankle. And they're like, he's never going to be a wrestler. Speaking of the crutch thing, getting to leave class early,

I got to use the elevator because I was on crutches. On this journey, this time when I had crutches, I left class early. The class was going down to rehearse their moving up day ceremony. We were graduating fifth grade and going to sixth grade.

And so I went early and used the elevator. And the janitor had waxed the floor by the elevator. And I slipped. The crutches slipped. I fell. And the crutch slid across the hall and then my whole class walked by slowly

as I was laying on the ground trying to get my crutches. So, yeah. But I didn't have fun in that experience. Yeah. I, that's,

that's very sad. Yeah, very sad. Because they probably thought you were faking it that second time. They're like, that's Russell again. He's always falling. And then lying down. That's our Russell.

Because when I went through my wrestling phase, which I would think was middle school, like fifth or eighth grade, I used to think, you did a knee drop. You just jumped and you landed with your knees on the person or whatever. And I used to do it raw on the ground, on the wood. And I used to be like, Dad, look at this.

My knees are invincible. And I would jump off the couch just straight. And we had a wooden floor, so a little bit of a bounce. But slamming them. And I'd be like, I don't feel anything, Dad. And my knees are so fucked up now. Yeah. But, okay, so,

when, when, when I was that age, I feel like, I don't know when the golden ages of wrestling were, but it definitely felt like there was, there was a burst. Yes.

And I know that partially because there was one kid who died in Florida from wrestling moves. Probably more than anything. And this is like when parents were, it was just one of those moments where parents were like, like they do with video games or rap music where they're like, this is dangerous. No, yeah, that's definitely probably happened. That's why there's always those don't try this at home things right before

every show. Yeah, and little boys listen to those 100%. I certainly didn't. So I had a friend, he slept over, and I would try a you know, a move of the figure four. You know this. So figure four, here, get up real quick. No, I'm just sitting down.

It's a joke. You wanted that front seat so bad. Get up here. You were ready. You were in the first row. I mean, just not even a moment's hesitation. That's great to know. Wow.

Can you give me a chai latte really quick? So it's basically just a hold where you twist your legs, but ultimately you get them like this, and you apply pressure here. And I applied the pressure for like three seconds. He burst into tears. Wait, was he playing along? Yeah, I wasn't.

It was like, look at this move. And then the moment I did, he burst into tears. Because it's a... It's a real move. Like, if you do it the right way, you're going to cause some damage. So, okay. So, you do gymnastics as a kid, or you just knew how to backflip? I'm, like, deceivingly athletic, where, like, I'll be like, oh...

What do you mean, deceivingly? You're not wearing a single sleeve on your entire body right now. No, because when I was a kid, I definitely didn't do that many sports. I played baseball, but I would always play right field. Right fielder, that's the position you go if you're not really good. So the coach puts you out there. But never did any sports besides that. Never went to gymnastics class.

Never went to just anything but for some reason like when i'd get on that trampoline boy i was invincible trampoline that's that's also what we i had a big trampoline in my backyard and i would take a big i had a big stuff like dinosaur toy and i would do moves i had this big like big teddy bear i just like suplex and stuff on the grass net or no net no net no net we didn't do it either but again it felt like this was the age where they still let kids get hurt like there were kids jumping off trampolines breaking their necks yeah and uh uh so okay so you're doing that yeah you are you have injuries here and there but you're you're you're staying strong you go to the gym

you're working out at this point? When I was a kid? When you were in high school. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I didn't start getting into the gym and working out consistently until I started training to become a wrestler. Okay. Were you doing theater?

I technically was involved in theater, but I was mostly just the guy who would move the props on the stage and stuff like that. Sure. My friends were in theater, but I was really just the guy who would move the props on the stage and stuff like that. My friends were in theater, but I was really shy when I was a kid. So the fact that I'm even

able to perform in a ring and do all this stupid stuff is beyond me. Different guy from who I was in high school. Can you tell when there's a wrestler who was a theater kid versus one who wasn't? I feel like with comedians there's absolutely a difference between me one who wasn't. I feel like with comedians there's absolutely a difference

between me and a good comedian. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. But you know what I mean. Like a groundedness. Or just, you know, I'm moving.

You really are moving. We're just never going to fix this, right, Dave? So, okay, so you weren't doing theater, but you knew about it. I was involved. I also was in the film. I was in film production classes, so that's what I was really passionate about, was the behind-the-scenes stuff. I was like, I like movies and TV shows and stuff,

but I'll be the guy behind the cameras. Now I just switch. I like being in front of the cameras. Okay. And I'm trying to think. Wait, let me say one more major, two more wrestling things. First of all, does anyone here, does anyone here, it's okay if you don't, like, ever went through a wrestling phase or ever loved a particular wrestler? The way that you're shaking your head no, it's like a sadness to it.

Like, no, is there a second guest? So, who... Who said yes? Yes. We're going to talk. We went to musical theater school together. You were acting. And now you run a wrestling organization.

Okay, we'll come back to you in a second. Who else? Anyone? You. Who did you like? Stone Cold Steve Austin. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Undertaker.

That's my favorite. The Rock, your friend. Yes, The Rock. Who went to my college, who saw me in Hello Dolly. Your buddy Dwayne. And then proceeded to get mad at me at Lime because I made fun of him for showering

too much. But, so The Undertaker, you know what would be great if you ever got into wrestling later in life for some reason? The Undertaker, originally, his character, he wore like a suit with a purple tie and purple gloves. Wouldn't it be a great Halloween duo if I was The Undertaker

and he was The Undertaker's sidekick? What was his name? Paul Bearer. Oh, that was his manager. Yeah, Paul Bearer. He had a manager, Paul Bearer. And let's just say we both fit. It's not a flattering picture you're painting. Hey.

It would be so funny. This fat piece of shit manager. You get to carry a cool urn, though. You get to carry an urn the whole Halloween night. You're carrying an urn. You get to put your candy in there. It's awesome. Wait, I have a cool urn, though. You get to carry an urn the whole Halloween night. You're carrying an urn. You get to put your candy in there. It's awesome. Wait, I have a question about wrestling.

Yes. Was there wrestling before Hulk Hogan? Like, in that way. Because, you know what I mean? Like, he feels like one of the earliest of, like, what it is. Or pop culture. He was definitely in pop culture, like, mainstream. He was definitely the one that, like, people, like, that's what got a lot of people into it.

But wrestling's been around for a very long time. I'd say almost as early as the 1920s. It started as a circus attraction. Yes, but I've seen some museums where they talk about freak shows. And it's like the world's tallest man. And then you think of Andre the Giant. And you just think of this collision

or just the evolution of wrestling is part freak show, part gymnastics thing. It's like the circus come to life with it. It's so cool. Yeah. Get into it. So the Undertaker, he was like my favorite.

And he's kind of, he's pretty conservative now. I don't know. He's like, that's what's weird about wrestling again. It's like a lot of like theater, but super masculine. Yeah. It's just fascinating. So he was like the that's what's weird about wrestling again. It's like a lot of like theater, but super masculine. Yeah.

It's just fascinating. So he was like the undead or whatever. And his thing, he would roll back his eyes to like scare his opponents. And what I did when I played basketball in fifth grade to make up for my lack of basketball skills, at the beginning of the game, I would go up to the opposing team, rolling the eyes. Wait, can you, let me see. But here's the thing. We gotta see it.

I can't really do it. So it was like this. So what were you doing? Then someone throw me the ball and hit me right in the face. So I loved, yeah, that was my, so one more over here. You?

Yeah. Who did you love? I really liked Christian and Edge for a while. Oh. I liked Chyna. Chyna. Chyna was the best. There's a Chyna sex tape thing, right?

Okay, well, she had a full career before that. Put some respect on Chyna's name. I'm trying to connect with the things that I know about and I'm trying to like put things together. Did you know that Kim Kardashian is also an excellent actress? Russell Daniels? And has a fashion line?

Yes, I know all of it. Paris Hilton is one of the best DJs of our time. So China was part of the suck it D-Generation X. Yeah. And she was strong. And I don't know, like now women wrestling is such a big part of, but back then it was not as frequent, right? No, definitely.

Like the women's evolution over the past like 10 years has definitely been like something like monumental. And the women have gotten like equal opportunities. But back then, most women, they wouldn't really get that much TV time or stuff like that. But Chyna was definitely not only just out of the women, out of all the wrestlers on TV, stood out the most. Super cool,

super athletic, insane look. Never met, obviously, but I've heard amazing human being. But then what happened is, I believe this is correct, she got pile-drivered, like a move, not the video. Oh, my.

She got pile-drivered, where it's like you basically put their head in between their legs upside down, and you fall. And the goal, I guess, is that your thighs or your ass is hitting before their head, but her head hit, and it fucked up her neck and then she couldn't wrestle as much and then the porn video

and then she OD'd did she really? I mean wrestling it's so I think from the outside I look at wrestling I'm like this is crazy the amount of danger and the potential injuries and the lack of career options afterwards.

So that's definitely something, especially when I first was like, oh, I want to be a wrestler. For my friends, especially my family, they were like, do you understand the risk and the danger that's involved? And there really is. Any wrong move can not only be career-threatening, but also life-ending threatening. People have definitely lost their lives, sadly, in wrestling. It's rare, but the possibility does exist. I always say, if you're a wrestler,

you're stupid, basically. But if you're passionate about it, it makes up for the stupidity. Sure. Literally, I was just in Boston, Massachusetts last night. Drove straight here um my body almost 24 7 doesn't feel like remember before i was like oh i feel old more physically than like actual like mentally but it's something i've always loved since i was a

kid and the fact that i was able to chase my dream of doing it because i went to film school as like i went to film school and dropped out, and I took the risk, like, okay, I'm going to try and make wrestling a career, and now I actually make a full-time living just off of wrestling without signing any TV contract. Fuck yeah. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. That's something to celebrate. So I completely freelance. I'm my own boss, but it's something... What does your health insurance cost? So I just went on my own health insurance because I turned 26 last year. Yeah. Just reminding you of my age.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thankfully, knock on wood, haven't had to use it yet. Uh-huh. But I have pretty good health insurance just in case. But that's on purpose. You researched it. Yes. I just imagine some doctors like,

how did he break his back? No. No, that's on him. We can't fix that. Why through a table? I was watching the night Owen Hart died, which to me felt like – these are why wrestling is seared in my memory so much. So Owen Hart was a very popular wrestler, and he was doing a character at this time where he was getting lowered from the ceiling or whatever. And it seems like these productions, they move fast. And they do fight, call,

or some version of that. But basically, we were watching. It was pay-per-view. I was having a friend of mine sleep over. It was a fun night. And they're playing a montage of his character, like interviews and old matches.

And then suddenly, they just cut to a shot of the audience. A big wide of the audience, not even close. And you hear the announcer be like, there's been an accident, Owen Hart fell. And we didn't know a lot of, we're just watching it. And like, I was young, I was in fifth grade.

And my dad doesn't know what's going on. And then I'm pretty sure the order of events were, you didn't see him at all. They took him out of the ring. and then like right as the final match was starting which was The Undertaker versus someone else they announced that Owen Hart had died and then they finished the pay-per-view

and it was just like and we ended up not having the sleepover we drove my friend back home I think because it just like felt important to take. It just felt, it just, yeah,

like the vibes were off just going wrong. He broke his neck? Yeah, I believe they, I've been told that he hit something, so he fell.

He wasn't fighting someone, he fell. No, no, he fell, and then his head hit the rope or the turnbuckle or something, and it was instantaneous, or you know,

it was, but the next night, were you watching wrestling at this time? No, this was before my time. So the... Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He would have been like... That actually wasn't meant to...

So the next night, a young Hulk Hogan made his appearance on the show. The next night, they did a Monday Night Raw, and it was like the most emotional moving thing. They basically had their regular show the next day but like someone

did a match and did his finishing move in his honor and they played a montage and you saw all of these very kind of masculine men and women

just like weeping and it was like in a way it was like the first funeral or like you that I had ever attended as a child so that's why it's so yeah it's visceral to me of course um wow get into this fucking shit no i didn't know

every one of you go home you become big wrestling fans wow you're listening to the downside with john marco cerezi