The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 216 - Maybe The Best Show We've Ever Done. The Undertaker, Bill Polian, James Connor, & Legend, AJ Hawk Stop By. Let's Go.

Episode Date: June 19, 2020

On today's show Pat is joined by Hall of Famer, Super Bowl Champion, 6x Executive of the Year, former GM of the Bills, Panthers, and Colts, the man who drafted Pat, Bill Polian. Pat and Bill chat about what the most important ingredient in building a winning culture is and how things can start to go sideways if teams don't have that, Bill walks Pat through the moments leading up to finding out Peyton Manning would need season ending spinal fusion surgery, the perception that the Colts were "sucking for Luck," despite the fact that Bill was fired after the season, and where he thinks Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton could potentially end up (:41-28:58). Next, on another installment of McAfee & Hawk Sports Talk, Pat and AJ are joined by 7x World Champion, the longest tenured wrestler in the history of the WWE, holder of one of the most impressive streaks in the history of sports with 21 consecutive wins at Wrestlemania, one of the greatest wrestlers to ever live, The Undertaker. Pat, AJ, and Taker discuss what it's been like finally peeling back the curtain after all these years of avoiding media to support the character, how the wrestling business has changed before his eyes, his presence in the locker room, his relationship with Vince McMahon, and he tells a few legendary drinking stories from his earlier days in a can't miss interview (31:51-1:11:25). Pat and AJ also discuss AJ's apparent hatred for Aussie Rules Football, and they judge the breakdown of best conferences by QB in the NFL, and everything else happening in the sports world (31:12-1:41:46). Lastly, Pro Bowler, current starting Running Back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and now author, James Conner joins the program. Pat and James discuss his new book, "Fear Is A Choice," which chronicles his battle with cancer and ultimately defeating it, and staying and playing for his hometown team in the Steelers. James also details his workouts this offseason that has him looking like the Hulk, and gives Steelers fans some hope as he gives an outlook on Big Ben's progress through his Tommy John injury (1:44:57-1:58:55). As always, don't forget to send in the hashtag #ThisIsWhereImAtPat with a picture of where you're listening to the show for the chance to win some free merch. Have an incredible weekend, we appreciate you guys. Come and laugh with us, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello! It is June 19th. Also an unofficial holiday in this country. Juneteenth. A day that should be celebrated a lot more. I think we're all realizing that. A day that should be an official holiday. Look it up. Look into it. Big day in this country's history of becoming a better place. It wasn't perfect, but it was a step forward, which I think we're all taking currently. And I'm happy to see what we become after all this. Look into June 19th, 1865. It'll be well worth it for you. Today's show is a good one. Let's have a hell of a Juneteenth here. Let's get after this. Cheers. Being joined now by a man that I owe a lot to.

Not only did he choose to draft me in the seventh round and trade with the Eagles for the 222nd pick of the 2009 NFL draft to put me in a position that neither of us were 100% sure I was going to be able to figure out an NFL punter, but also after I got in trouble and I got arrested for a public intoxication for an alleged swim, the conversation that he had with me the next day, whenever he was informing me that he was going to suspend me, was one that hindsight changed my entire life, my entire perspective, and kind of changed my life for the better. A man that I owe a lot to, Hall of Fame General Manager, Bill Pauley. Speaker 1 1

Speaker 2 Thank you, Patrick. Nice to be with you. Speaker 1 1 manager, Bill Pauly. Yeah, Bill! Woo! Thank you, Patrick. Nice to be with you. Hey, Mr. Pauly, and I can't thank you enough for joining us. Inside Football with Bill Pauly is a podcast that I think a lot of people are going to enjoy. I've said it on numerous occasions. You have forgot more about football than most people know, and I'm excited that you're getting into the podcast game.

How'd you decide to dive into this? Well, I talked to some people that had suggested it to me. I didn't know much about it. As you know, I'm technologically challenged. So they said, you know, give it a try. You've got so much experience, so much history. You've done so many things in the National Football League that by explaining those things and talking about them, you can relate them to what's happening today and give listeners an idea of why things happen as opposed to just how they're happening. long form, obviously. So you get a chance to be a little more detailed and a little more nuanced.

And apparently it's been received pretty well. So thus far, it's been fun. We listened to the first 30 minutes of the show this morning, trying to get a kind of a grip on it. I like the fact that it's somebody who, I think his name's Scott. He sounds like a casual fan, but getting a chance to ask you questions and then listen to your brain has been beautiful. I can't wait to dive into it. I think a lot of people are going to enjoy it, but let's dive into football a little bit now with a man who has been there, done that with damn near everything. Whenever you're thinking about building a team like you did in Buffalo, Carolina and Indianapolis, how important is the culture of the team? Because whenever your regime left in

Indianapolis, the culture completely changed and it just became a very different operation. For you, how do you ensure that the culture of the team that you're putting together is one that will be successful? Because that's a big X factor that does not get accounted for enough. Well, as my original mentor, Marv Levy, used to say, it's simple, but it isn't easy. You set a set of principles upon which you're gonna work, and then you bring people in who believe in those principles and adhere to them, and then you get the theory of multiplication,

because when one person believes they can only affect one, when 10 people believe they can affect 100. And as you know, having been in that locker room, when you have Jeff Saturday, when you have Peyton Manning, when you have Edger and James, when you have Reggie Wayne, when you have Gary Brackett, then they're all believers. Those are guys that share the same value system, the same approach to the game. And as a result, they make believers of everyone else. So that's the way to do it. It's the only way to do it. And you have to be very careful about who you bring on board. You have to have high standards. And once you deviate from those standards, one deviation, strangely enough, can cause a big crack in the foundation. So you have to be very careful about that.

It was, and I always talk about this, the regimes, the regime that I got drafted into, winningest decade in NFL history. I mean, I was too young to fully get a chance to really enjoy the own thing. I only had a few years in that culture. And then when we moved to the next culture, it was just a very different operation was like let's spend money on free agents let's get people in here and it was just when the locker room wasn't completely together it was a whole different world the the team that you built there in indianapolis that i got to see a tail end of with all the guys that you're mentioning and also the people that you brought in just like for special teams

it was just you walked in that building you had had this feeling like, OK, this team is a team that wins. This is a team that works hard. And I want to ask you about the year whenever we did not win a lot. It was your last year as general manager for the Colts. There's always been a lot of conversation like, did they suck for luck? Did they try to lose? And I always answer, well, the players didn't try to lose. And Bill Pullian got fired after that.

And all the coaches got let go. so that conversation is an interesting one did you know going into that year that it was potentially going to be your last year being general manager and what were the decisions that you had to make whenever you find out that one of the greatest players in the history of the game is going to be out for the season there well how much time do we have take your time take your time this is a real because I've had this question now for like seven, eight years now, because your position is one that is not easy in this whole thing, because, I mean, you've got to balance the greatest of all time with outside expectation that there's the next John Elway coming in.

I mean, there's a lot that you had to juggle in that entire world. Well, let's go back to August of 11 when the lockout ended. We then, only then, found out that Peyton had had serious surgery and it really hadn't taken as well as it should have. But we still had hopes that he was going to be fine. He and I sat down and met and we talked about when both of us might leave, which looked to be in general terms about four years hence. And we basically agreed that we'd like to go out together if that was all possible. And I let Peyton know that it was my strong desire and Jim

Irsay's strong desire that he finished as a Colt. And I think he wanted that pretty badly. I said to him, you know, you're Derek Cheater and you should be. You should go out as, come in as a Colt, the greatest of all time. Lucas Oil Stadium's here because of you and you should go out as a Colt. So that was the decision that we hoped to fulfill. Then on the day of the cut to 53, which was the Saturday following the last preseason game, I was actually in a meeting with the coaches discussing the structure of the squad. And one of the doctors came and got me and said, you have to come down to the training room. And I knew it was serious because they wouldn't interrupt such a meeting. I went down there and Dr. Foyer, who you know was our spine doctor,

showed me the MRI and he said, Peyton's going to need to have a fusion here and he's going to be out for the season. So, boom, you know, knockout punch. So when I finally cleared my head, I said, okay, I've got to go back and at least tell Coach Caldwell, and then we'll finish cutting the squad, and then we need to get Peyton in here and talk to him about it. So I went back and I took Jim aside and said to him, there's going to be a long-term problem with Peyton. I've got to talk to Peyton about it.

You finish cutting the squad, and then I'll come back and we'll deal with it. And in the interim, just before I went back to meet with Peyton, I called Jim Irsay to tell him that this was going to be the subject. Now, postscript here. During the original meeting with Peyton when we talked about what the future would hold and he was going to sign a new contract, which he did. And the new contract, by the way, anticipated that there might be a situation where injury would prevent him from fulfilling a contract. So we addressed that in the contract. And

he was very upfront about telling his agent, I want this done. This is the fair way to do it. I told him, I said, look, it's my obligation to the franchise to make sure that your successor is on board. So I'm going to go and try and find that person. It doesn't mean he's going to succeed you before his time comes. And it certainly won't be this year. And it may not be for another couple of years. But I do have to look. And it doesn't do either of us any good to deny it publicly.

George Ruff, Aaron Rodgers, yeah. So we had taken that decision as well. So we had taken that decision as well. So when I finally got back with Coach Caldwell, he said, we probably need to tell the coaches. So I got the coaches together and said, look, Peyton's got a serious injury. It's going to require surgery. The likelihood is he's out for the year. And so we decided to go forward as is. And then later that night, Coach Caldwell and I discussed about whether or not we should bring in a veteran quarterback.

And we did. It was Kerry Collins, as you recall. And we tried to get him ready to play as quickly as we could. But that was going to take some time. The assistant coaches were in absolute shock. Jim Caldwell was phenomenal. He said, and obviously he was the closest coach to Peyton because he had coached him for seven years as the position coach. And he and Tom Moore said, okay, hey, we just go forward. But there were a lot of other coaches that were absolutely in shock. And I don't blame them. I don't blame them. It was a momentous, earth-shattering deal.

And so at that point, we just had to go forward. And our approach, I mean, everybody in the football operation and every coach, and, of course, you were in all the meetings. You know what Jim said to the team oh yeah what we're going to try and win every game just like we did in years past we don't have Peyton we'll find another way to win uh it took us a long while half the season to figure out and of course Kerry got hurt killed he got killed I mean it wasn't just he got hurt. I mean, he got absolutely slaughtered, concussion. Yeah, concussion, and that ended his career.

So, you know, we then had to readjust the whole offense again. But I've said this on numerous occasions, and I'll say it again as loudly and proudly as I can. We won two out of the last three games. So if we were sucking for luck, you and I and everybody else in that locker room and that football operation never got the message. And by the way, the celebration after that first win by everybody, yourself included in that locker room,

it felt like a playoff win, to be honest with you. Like, thank God we're not the Lions. Okay, we got a win. But we were pumped. and that's why it was so interesting because everybody outside was like oh they're sucking for luck but then i see you and everybody else celebrating after we win and almost blow it at the end i was like i don't know if that is the case in this entire thing not at all not at all it it became an issue where you know i've said I've never been prouder of a team or a coaching staff than that group. Because, I mean, how do you sustain the loss of a guy like that, like Peyton? It's my fault that there wasn't a veteran backup quarterback there.

And I take full responsibility for that and feel terrible about it because it costs so many people their jobs. So I'm responsible for that and bear the burden of that. But the fact of the matter is we never quit. We never threw in the towel. We never said, oh, this is over. And we knocked the Houston Texans right the heck out of the play. That felt good, didn't it? That felt good there, Bill.

Now, Bill, I have this question for you. When that season ends, are you assuming, okay, I will draft Luck because I have the number one overall pick. He's so highly sought after. I'll keep him and Peyton. Peyton will be able to be like a mentor for Andrew, which I think, by the way, would have helped Andrew Luck's career immensely if he could have seen how Peyton would work off the field.

Not just, I'm not talking about on the field they both had incredible work ethics but I'm talking about the way you talk to coaches general managers when you have a maybe a strength coach an athletic trainer the way he handled himself as being a CEO of that team as opposed to just being the quarterback it's a different level I think if Andrew could have seen that he would have been in a a whole different position especially now was that your plan though is okay, we'll bring in Luck now. He'll secede. Peyton will hopefully be healthy back that next year.

And then you just get fired. Is that kind of how the whole thing played out? That's exactly the way. Saturday before the Jacksonville game, which was the last game of the season, I met with Jim Irsay, and he said, which of the two quarterbacks do you think is the better one? And I said, with all the psychological work still to do, but of course, my son had been on the Stanford staff, so I knew a great deal about Andrew Luck. And I'd been to Stanford twice already

that year, and I'd been to Baylor twice already to see RG3. And I said, you know, Andrew is by far the better choice. But if we win the game against Jacksonville and we don't end up with the first pick, RG3 probably still a pretty good pick for us. I think, you know, he's very different than what Peyton is and we'll have to change the offense. But still, I think he's a pretty good player. But Andrew is by far the choice if we have one. So that was the decision it was made and then um early monday morning we lost to jacksonville early monday morning i called from a reporter friend who said i just want to give you a heads up uh you're going to be out and uh and

then you know about 10 30 or so monday morning j Jim called me in and said, you know, it's done. So that's the way it went down. And as I say, we never had any intention of doing anything but our than the effort, a coaching staff than the effort that you guys put in all season and then winning those last two games was really pretty special. Watching that whole thing unfold, nobody had a clue what was going to happen. Good friends, obviously, with Dallas and a lot of people, Joseph Adai, you name it, Gary Brackett, the whole group there, I was very lucky to kind of, they kind of took me in and very welcoming to me,

even though I was much different than them as a human. It was like the family atmosphere there. I started getting texts from people that were like, hey, man, they just cut me. They're cutting Peyton. Don't answer your phone. Don't even answer your phone. It felt like there was an entire clean sweep coming through there. So I turned my phone off for about a week and just saw if I survived on the other side

of it. I was very thankful to still have a job, but that was a wild time in the history of football. I mean, just an insane time. Peyton gets cut inevitably, still had good football left for another three years after that, which your four-year deal was agreed to. I mean, so much could have changed there with the way that whole thing was handled. It's just, I'm happy to hear you talk about that though. I don't think I've ever heard your side of the entire thing. I was

always intrigued on how you actually felt though, uh, throughout the entire process and how it ended to be honest. Cause you had a, like a 95 year in the NFL, a 95 year career in the NFL. And then that's how it kind of all ended. Uh, how was that moment? Did you think about taking on another job? Did you think about going anywhere else? Or were you like, you know what, that's probably it for me? No. You heard me say, and I hope you remember this, when I talk to the rookies every year, the NFL is terminal for all of us. Yeah, true.

The ax falls. We don't leave willingly. No one leaves willingly. So you've got to be prepared for that. So I was. I mean, it wasn't it didn't shock me to my shoes. Peyton's injury was far more shocking and unexpected or the surgery, I should say. So, you know, I wound up what I had to do in Indianapolis, tried to help as many people as I could get situated. And that's never an easy task.

It's just hard, you know, when people lose their jobs. That's the hardest part of it because – and it made it doubly hard because we'd all been together for so long. Yeah. 14 years. That's a lifetime in professional football. So that part of it was difficult. But once I got back, I guess maybe two years or two and a half years later, but it came in conjunction as it happened with my nomination for the Hall of Fame.

And I got a call from a selector who said to me, look, if you go back, the likelihood is that you won't be elected, that the voters will turn you down because there are a significant number of people who believe that your career should end on the steps and can't. Oh, wow. And so. Hey, that's what was the team. Can you say the team or is that not need to be said? No, I'd rather not say it. But at that point, I said, let's have a family discussion here.

And so we queried basically all the kids. My wife was a no. She didn't want me to go back. She might feel differently now by the way after this quarantine the kids said absolutely no you know the hall of fame's forever that's your legacy so i said okay and and thank the people that were interested in me, and it's worked out great. I wish that we would have been able to come to your induction.

I think from what I've been told, Ursae was ready to send a plane full of us over there. That obviously didn't work out for whatever reason, the business of egos and stuff like that. Let's talk about the current state of the NFL right now because there's two quarterbacks that are on the market that a lot of people are asking questions about. Colin Kaepernick, after Roger Goodell has said, hey, I think a team should sign him. I would implore a team to sign him. If they don't sign him, I would like to give him a job within the

NFL to help us make better decisions. And then Cam Newton is also on the market right now. What is it about? We'll start with Cam Newton. What is it about Cam Newton? Is it the timing of the quarantine? You think you live in Charlotte, so you're very close to this situation. I don't know if you've seen his workout videos because you have said to your technology challenge, but it feels like Cam Newton is ready to go. He's back healthy and still he has no home right now. If you're a general manager, what is holding you back from bringing in Cam Newton? Is it strictly you don't want to challenge your starting quarterback? You want to empower your starting quarterback? Is that what you think? It's probably 85% that.

And then the other 15% is how does Cam feel about being a backup quarterback if it came to that? And the only way you can determine that is to sit down with Cam and talk it through the financial issue the financial part of it is also an issue because if he's going to be a backup quarterback then he's going to make backup money and he may not want to do that i don't i have no feeling one way or the other for that but those are the questions that need to be answered also the docs individual club docs need to get answered. Also, the docs, individual club

docs need to get their hands on them because they want to find out the status of the shoulder. The foot is one thing. Liz Frank, we know Brandon Stokely came back from that. You know, that's, while not commonplace, it's not career ending. But certainly the shoulder for a quarterback is a big issue. They want to get their hands on him. So there, those are the three questions that need to be answered. And now let's talk about Colin Kaepernick. I always said that there was probably a conversation amongst the owners about, Hey, let's not bring in Colin Kaepernick. Whenever the whole thing was going down, Roger Goodell has even admitted that they didn't handle that properly four years ago, but now he's four years out of the game. Okay. And that's a long time. That's an eternity

to not have live reps, not have conditioning, not have practice and all that stuff if he was to prove though that he still had it and he was like yeah i'll take a backup quarterback role and earn whatever i got to do to prove that i still got it is that a guy that you would bring into your franchise because it's like hey he was once a freak as well on the football field. First of all, he's got to fit what you want to do offensively. He's not Peyton. He's not Brady. He can't operate from the pocket exclusively. So he's got to fit what you want to do.

That narrows the numbers of teams for whom he plays. But theoretically, and I don't want to farm Ozzie's land here or John Harbaugh's land here, but theoretically, that kind of an offense in Baltimore, he would fit perfectly. So if you're looking for a backup, if anything happened to RG3 or the kid from Penn State that they have who fits equally well, if those guys weren't there, that's the kind of offense he fits so the first thing you look for is offensive fit what can he do anthony lynn has said in san

diego yes he fits for us los angeles hey hey los angeles bill los angeles excuse me you're gonna get us kicked off the air i gotta put a dollar in the fine jar. So bottom line, there's only so many teams for whom he fits. So that's point one. That narrows the market a little bit. Point two, what is he willing to take financially? That's really important because whoever was representing him for both spring leagues the xfl and the aaf uh he was asking for money that they certainly couldn't afford and and was actually a little bit more than than mainstream backup money in the nfl which is probably what he's

looking at and then the third part of it is let's get a workout, a physical, a real legitimate workout run by Tom Moore or somebody like that, you know, who knows quarterbacks. And let's find out how sharp he is after three years out of the game. So there are those three questions that have to be answered. If the answer is affirmative in all three, then the owner has to say in an election year, I am likely to get beaten over the head by the talking heads and the chief talking head about bringing this guy in and disrespecting the flag and the anthem. I just have to be able to recognize and say to people, I respect people's opinion, but I also respect his opinion and what he represents and the dignified way in which he's doing it and let the chips fall where they're made.

It is interesting because there is that whole aspect of it, but I feel like now we're in a much more unified world than we were four years ago. So hopefully that last part of it isn't even in the conversation, but it's real life that is something that's going to come up. Bill Pullian, I can't thank you enough for taking this much time with me, man. I love talking to people who have a wealth of knowledge in football and people that are great at things.

You were great. It was awesome to get to watch you. One final question before we go. There's all these rumors and these hearsay stories that I've heard. Peyton Manning, whenever you were thinking about drafting either him or Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning walked in with a briefcase and interviewed you. Is that a true story? Absolutely true.

And what was your relationship like with Peyton? Because I got to see him work on practice and everything like that. He was a guy who knew everything, knew what he wanted. He literally knew everything, knew what he wanted, and had the command and the control and the respect of everybody. What was your relationship like with him in those conversations that maybe the rest of the team couldn't see? It was the same as it was with Jim Kelly and the same as it was with Frank Reich and any veteran quarterback that I've been with throughout my career. This is not boss-employee relationship. We're colleagues, we're teammates. What you have to say, I want to hear. There are times when I'll disagree

and I have two votes and you only have one, I'm going to bend over backwards to make sure that A, your voice is heard and B, you have everything you think you need to win. So from the day that he signed his contract and we drove together to training camp up at Anderson University to this, we've been colleagues and friends and remain so well you guys were a great tag team I was lucky to see the tail end of it thank you for drafting me that is very nice of you thanks for having faith in that my athleticism would be able to figure out how to punt I can't thank you enough sir thanks for what you did for us you were great and I'm happy that your career has progressed the way it is.

You're one of my favorite guys. Thanks for having me. Ladies and gentlemen, Bill Polian. Hey, Bill. Hey, Bill. That was awesome, man. Hey, when you get a chance to talk to people like that, you have to just try to drain the orange as much as possible.

How can we get as much information on that? That whole 2-14 year suck for luck thing because when everybody was saying now granted there were some players that were questioning some of the coaches calls and be like listen we're not trying to suck for luck but there has been some calls here that really make us think that we are not trying our best to win but maybe that was the coaches legitimately trying to just throw something at the end of the fire see if it'll stick so i mean the thought that Bill Pullian was purposely trying to suck was always hypocritical to what happened or contradicted what happened where he got fired immediately after. So it's like, did Bill Pullian know that, hey, we're going to suck for luck, let's do it. And then you're going to lose your entire job, all your staff, everybody that you've worked with for the last 30 years from Buffalo all the way to Indianapolis is going to get fired.

There's no way he knew that and the fact that he said the the day before the Jacksonville game Jim Mercy was like brother which is the guy luck's the guy obviously he's like we're gonna draft luck man do you know how different the quotes would be right now if luck had a chance to sit behind Peyton for one year and I know that that would have been a big contract because it's a first round uh first overall pick but with the way our our salary cap was set up if you payyton he's one of those guys that was able to win games regardless of everything else around him now that i didn't get to ask this question he never gave a single damn about bringing in a special teamer you know to help out never gave a damn never ever that was that was just a part of the blueprint for the bill pulling thing we're

gonna pay a kicker we're gonna pay a punter the blueprint for the Bill Pullian thing. We're going to pay a kicker. We're going to pay a punter. You two have to take care of everything else. We're going to spend money now on rush ends because we're going to have a lead because we're going to pay a quarterback and a couple weapons. So he had his blueprint on how we were going to spend money in this way.

This is our strategy. This is how it's going to go. But in lieu of that, you obviously have some drop-off points. And for me, it was just, we never really had a real special teamer, which would have been nice back when I was trying to figure out how to punt. I didn't even know how to punt those first couple years. But it was awesome to watch that regime, dude.

It was just like the most put-together, professional, been there, done that thing. And then you go right into a rookie GM, rookie head coach, and everything that they were trying to put together. It was very – that transition was tough. It was a very, very tough for anybody that was around, equipment managers, athletic trainers, everything. It's a whole new world. 14 years together, that entire building was basically just the same thing.

And then all of a sudden, it's, see you later. Here's a new guy. We're going to paint over the walls as well. It's always hard to get the proper nutrition into your body, whether you're on the go, whether you're working, or maybe you're just lazy and don't really think about it a company has come along and made one scoop to make your life a better one and that's our friends at athletic greens athletic greens is a one-stop shop for everything that your body could possibly fucking need from a nutritional standpoint in one clean scoop i i am a big fan of this Athletic Greens. I've never taken care of myself. I'm a

noted poor eater, poor drinker, poor liver. And now that we've been on this run here for the last 11, 12 weeks, the thing that I've noticed that has saved me just a little bit has been my scoop of Athletic Greens. And I also have travel packets, which have worked out perfectly for everything we have to get going right now. You need to get this into your daily routine because your nutritional needs need you to have you ready for whatever the day throws at you. You struggle to get in nutrient-dense fruit and veggies. You're looking to overcome gut health issues or nutrient deficiencies. You just don't feel as good as you used to. You travel frequently. You struggle to eat as well on the road. You're an athlete or professional seeking enhanced performance. You don't want to take multiple supplements at home or on the road. If all of

these things are yeses or any of these things are yeses, you need to get with Athletic Greens right now. Your body's nutritional needs change due to stress, travel, sleep patterns, exercise, and the imperfect diet. Even with a balanced, healthy diet, it can be tough to cover your nutritional bases. That's why top performers, athletes, executives, and entrepreneurs trust Athletic Greens. Right now, you can get 20 free travel packs, which is valued at $79, with your first purchase whenever you go to athleticgreens.com forward slash pat. That's 20 free travel packs, which is valued at $79 for free

when you go to athleticgreens.com forward slash pat. Respect your body. Appreciate your body. Fill it up with the right shit. Athletic Greens has all the good shit for you athleticgreens.com forward slash pat 20 free travel packets hello it is thursday june 18th 2020 this is mcafee and hawk sports talk i uh am the first part of that name mr pat mcafee i am wearing a calling wood magpies official kit,

taped over one of their sponsors because all the sponsor paid Collingwood. They did not pay me, no love here. This company, small business, I believe over in Australia will give them a little bit of love, but I'm all about the Magpies. Let's go, Pies. Let's go, Collingwood. Thanks for the kit this morning. Can't wear the shorts all day because they are way too short. My nuts would be hanging out of the bottom of them, but I appreciate everything that the Calling Wood Magpies have done. Sitting to my left is Mr. A.J. Hawk. How are you, A.J.? I'm doing great, Pat.

How are you doing? I know we've got The Undertaker coming on in a short five minutes or so. I can't wait, man. Hey, it's a big deal. The last ride, the documentary that they're airing on WWE Network about his kind of decision on when to retire, how to retire, the behind the scenes stuff it has been very very very well done that cannot go undersold here what we are what he has been on

a big media tour to talk about is his last ride obviously the last dance i think probably had a little bit to do with the naming of it but one of the greatest of all time wrestlers a man who's been loyal to wwe for a very long time they've documented so much stuff and getting a chance to see behind the uh the screen a little bit is awesome and also his personal struggle on when to call it quits when to retire when not to retire what's fitting for the character the undertaker i mean it's really deep it's really good i would recommend you watch it aj and i know you said you're going to but i hope you find enough time with your 55 kids to watch it i am going to find a time to

watch i think i still have the wwe network because i got um if i bought wrestlemania a couple years ago i have it right uh yeah well it's free for new subscribers at the time but you had to put in your card i'd assume whenever you signed up and they've been auto paying that thing since wrestlemania so yeah you definitely still have it for sure so what uh with the undertaker in his career where is he at he's not officially retired is he no i think they're still He's not officially retired, is he? No, I think that's what this last episode is going to be a big part of. This last episode that they have up, episode five,

debuting Sunday at 10 a.m. I think a lot of those questions are going to be answered. He's a seven-time world champion. He's been with WWF, WWE for his entire career. The character of The Undertaker was one that he never talked to anybody publicly for a long time. He was so dialed into the character of The Undertaker was one that he never talked to anybody publicly like for a long time he was so dialed into the character of the Undertaker for so long so all this media that he's doing and I think that's why the last ride has been so good because you get a chance to see a guy that you literally have never really heard talked before great personality great stories cannot wait to chat with him and look how Nick looks today just look at look at Nick

Marauder right there look at him he's wearing a stone cold steve austin shirt he's got an undertaker hat and uh i think this is going to be an exciting conversation we'll probably get a couple clips out of this thing if i had to guess how often does the undertaker show up like it shows now it's a couple times a year depends like if you watch that documentary there was one year where he was ready to go like three four times it almost felt like a conor mcgregor situation where he was like ready to get back in but vince was like okay let's do this there's been it's been an up and down it's been an up and down last couple years obviously for undertaker whether in like he had a match with goldberg in saudi arabia that was underwhelming because goldberg got a concussion early and wasn't able to do anything then there

was a match with in saudi arabia again where uh mr h tore his peck in the middle of it i mean there's just been a lot of situations where he's trying to find that perfect send-off like his last match and i think they're trying to figure that out right now and that's what episode five i believe on sunday we'll be uh talking about why does he even want to have like a last match don't you think don't these guys always seem to pop up though in big moments like old guys come back yeah they do obviously there's like a nostalgia pop that a lot of people can get but i think what the hell just happened rookie on the switcher over here with everybody's email and phone number again foxy what my dad i was just trying to play the media the uh package we had no he's so worried about his damn legs have you seen what foxy did with

his legs he took the same photo i took this morning oh so now we're going to that that's what i was trying to show you my bad he's been so everybody's been making fun of his legs on the internet now he's kind of in a bad spot so he's a little bit flustered but show me the picture uh hold on we're supposed to be getting the taker on right now yeah his uh his person said in uh three more minutes three more minutes okay show the picture can you pull up the picture of um the the thing that you made, Foxy? Is that possible? Yeah, I'm going to have to pull it up here. Okay.

I mean, my legs obviously have been underappreciated for a very long time. I knew it. Anybody that's ever seen my legs has known it. You're making sure everybody appreciates them now. This is the first time that I've ever said, like, I'm fucking done with the conversation about my legs not being in a conversation about that being ridiculously large because they are I mean the upper body of an adolescent but the lower body of mine Greek God I've been saying centaur for a long long time go

ahead show that thing Foxy so there's my legs obviously Foxy you gotta hit the hit a button on the screen there just touch the screen Foxy just touch the screen oh oh oh and look at foxy's little legs there aj it looks like the guy has never done a leg day in his entire life foxy are you okay are you sick no i was born this way aj yeah see that's the thing like legs are very genetic too pat you were born with those cock diesel legs and ass too so you know i earned these squats and you earn them but you also were born a little bit ahead of the curve a little bit ahead of foxy well you gotta remember i was born in a house at the bottom of the hill in a town with all hills so to get anywhere i had to walk uphill to get

anywhere literally anywhere you know the house is up on a hill the nice house is on the hill that's cool i'm at the bottom of the valley in basically one of the most hilly areas. It's actually called the East Hills of Pittsburgh. I am at the bottom of it. So growing up, if I wanted to get anywhere, I'm either biking straight uphill or walking straight uphill. So yeah, Tim McAfee had some good legs on him back in the day, but I think my childhood of having to earn these legs is a big part of this. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have to pivot very quickly.

Foxy does have tiny legs, but that has nothing to do with the conversation we're about to have. Ladies and gentlemen, if you've been watching along with the last ride on WWE Network, you know this man is an absolute living legend who has been battling with when will be his last match in the WWE. I've been a fan of his my entire life.

He's a living legend future hall of famer goat in the wrestling world ladies and gentlemen the undertaker i don't know if i'm gonna be able to live up to all that now oh you already have you don't have to jack in this conversation and you've already lived up to all of that uh mr taker i appreciate your time today man i'm good man y'all go ahead uh aj hawk is obviously sitting on the far right side of the screen that you're looking at right now uh we can't thank you enough for joining us i want to dive right into this watching and learning about the behind the scenes of the undertaker has been so cool because even self admittedly that character was so mysterious you didn't do a lot of media you didn't do a lot of talking now in this like last couple months here i've got a chance to learn a lot about the undertaker

and it's been really cool what has it been like for you to finally come out and get a chance to talk about this character that you've taken to the top of the world well it's it's it's been a work in progress uh it took me a while to kind of get comfortable with letting the guard down um even early on when the we started this and the cameras were following me around i can't tell you how many times i would turn around and like the hell are you doing you know you're not supposed to be filming and then it dawned on me like oh yeah i told you guys to film me you know and they'd be sitting there like it was you you wanted us to do this you know and then you know early on doing

interviews like i've done more interviews in the last month and a half than i have in 30 years so uh trying not to like pick my words and just let it go is like, I've always had that guarded that wall up and, uh, to let it all come down. It's been, uh, it's been pretty cool because you finally get to get some insight into different things that no one's got my perspective on. And, um, uh, I'm getting a little more comfortable as, as, as we move along. Were there times over the last 30 years where you would have liked to kind of step outside

and given your opinion more, or did you want to always make sure you were true to your character? It was always about the character. And I think that's why I was so successful. I didn't worry about, like, the business. And my concern was the business as a whole and the character and what my part in that was and so that everything was focused in that area so i you know back in the day you didn't have to worry about social issues and and everything else going on uh it was just all focused on it was all focused on the product and and uh simpler times everything obviously has changed and

most of it changed for the better but uh that's my mindset my mindset was undertaker 24 7 and and the wwe you know prospering your loyalty to vince mcmahon is i think something that i didn't truly even as somebody who has done a little bit of work with the WWE and also been a lifelong fan, I did not know that the relationship between you and Vince was the way it was because the stories you hear about Vince McMahon is like, hey, that guy is a robot. He's a savage business-wise, doesn't like anybody.

And then in like episode three of the last ride there, the sit-down meeting about the contract where you go into his office or whenever you guys, when you came through the curtain, he walked with you, went to the contract where you go into his office or whenever you guys when you came through the curtain he walked with you went to the hospital with you that relationship is one that i think i've been very very like surprised to see how great it is and obviously he owes you a lot with how loyal you've been but i assume you feel the exact same way towards him absolutely none of this happens without him giving me that opportunity um and what you've probably heard by now, because it's finally come out.

When I was at WCW and I went in for a contract, I wanted to renegotiate my contract. And I was going up on my first year there. And I wasn't looking for a huge bump, but I felt like I deserved just a little bit of a pay bump. You know, I was on the minimum deal and I was happy to get it when I got it. But, you know, I'd been there for a year, been in some pretty big stuff with different guys, so I was just looking for a little bit of a bump. And I went to the offices there in Atlanta,

and Ole Anderson, Jim Hurd, and Jim Barnett. They're all sitting there, and they went, son, you're a great athlete, but no one will ever pay money to see you wrestle. Oh, geez. Exactly. That's what I'm thinking, right? In my head, I'm like, wow, that didn't go well.

But the writing was on the wall at that point because they had already given me my ceiling. And, you know, so finally I had a – I started, you know, getting into conversations with WWE, WWF at the time. And had a meeting with Vince and left that meeting, you know, thinking I'd just blown him away in this interview. And at the end of that meeting, he goes, well, I don't really have anything for you right now. I was like, oh, man. I kind of, I wish I hadn't given my notice down at WCW. So, but he eventually calls me and gives me an opportunity and and like i said i i couldn't you know i'm so blessed that he gave me that opportunity and i never forgot you know i never

forgot that and um we've been through man we've been through good, bad, and different together. You know, our relationship now is more of a friendly relationship. Obviously, he's still the boss. But, you know, our relationship is more we call each other and shoot the shit more than we talk business. And I usually deal with, you know, somebody else in the corporate ladder uh you know when it comes to you know wwe business and our relationship is much more you know vince and mark uh it's awesome but it really is and you know he you know everybody has their preconceived ideas about you know who vince is and what he is But that man has got a heart as big as gold.

And, you know, you're loyal to him. And, I mean, he's going to do right by you. And, you know, we've obviously had that relationship. But our relationship far exceeds that at this point. And, yeah, I think in the episode early on, you know, I'm giving him crap that he's at the hospital. I don't know my name. But I knew he had something else better to do

than be at the hospital with me, so I was trying to give him crap about that. But he left WrestleMania, and it was still going on to go to the hospital to check on me. So that right there, you know, that tells you a lot about the man. Is there anybody out there that can kind of put Vince McMahon in his place? Like, have you seen that over the last 30 years? Is there somebody that can kind of, that can kind of speak back to him,

whether it be his wife, a family member, anyone else? Well, they can talk back to him, but whether it's going to do any good or not. I've come out on the short end of more conversations like that than I care to admit. But I think he needs more people around him that will give him honest opinions and honest answers. As you can imagine, he's got a lot of people around him that says, yes, sir, Mr. McMahon. And they don't want to make waves and all that.

I think he needs a little bit more people that don't fear fear you know the wrath of mr mcmahon yeah so let's talk about that let's talk about the current state of the wwe because it's still to this day i mean the other night christian was on their big pop edge was on their big pop that match with randy orton was was next level i mean great in-ring psychology it was beautiful it was like a trip back in time stone cold i didn't interrupt you but i that's my thoughts exactly i i enjoyed that match so much that uh you know i found myself i watched it with no volume i just watched the match and was mesmerized but anyway go ahead no well you're you're 100 right but then when stone cold's glass pot it still gets a massive pop whenever the bells go off for you the place goes crazy right now there's not a lot of people i mean charlotte flair is probably the most over out of anybody roman was getting a little bit

of a push but what do you think about the state right now not a little bit of a push but with the crowd what do you think about the current state of the wwe and do you think there comes a time where there's some younger guys who are like you know going crazy and the fans really go over for them yeah so there's such an influx right now of a really basically new talent and so they're they're all new so when we came up like myself and triple h and sean michaels we we already had established guys that were there to work against and guys that we were looking to push out. Not in a, I mean, just in a competitive manner. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Get them the hell out of here. You know, it's just like we were hungry and everybody was grabbing for that brass ring. And we were, you know, we were competitive amongst amongst ourselves even though stone cole was at the top well there was rock right after him and triple h and sean and kurt i mean everybody was reaching for the brass ring um and it was a healthy it was a healthy competition um you know right now there's a overall, I think, niceness, too niceness. Yeah. Amongst the guys. You know, nobody really wants to, you know, nobody wants to be that guy.

And I don't know. I hope so. It just it's so hard to figure out now how to connect with our audiences. I protected my character for so long and did all the things that I did because that's what I felt like I couldn't have that disconnect. When people saw me in public and when people saw me on TV, I wanted them to see the same thing. In this day and age, you see people out trying to do something on TV, and then they're on

their phones and doing social media, and there's something completely different. I agree. You know? So there's a big disconnect there, and any mystique that you might have is lost. And then it's like, oh, okay like oh okay oh he's acting he's doing he's doing this now i'm not saying the way i did things was was right it was right for me worked but but i it worked for me and i lived it and i have i have no regrets because here i am you know 30 years later and we're having this conversation so i think you know i 30 years later, and we're having this conversation. So I think, you know, I don't know if you can put the toothpaste back in the tube or not,

but I think there needs to be kind of a little bit of a pullback and not so much exposure to the guys and let them try to figure out what it is they want to, what they want to present on TV, and then kind of live it a little bit uh just so that there's some authenticity to it yeah how is everything everything away now everything's given away it's interesting too because you see somebody on social media right this was the big lana lashley rusev angle that really i don't know what the expectation was inside the company but outside the company everybody's like well we know lana and rusev angle that really i don't know what the expectation was inside the company but outside the company everybody's like well we know lana and rusev are married this is kind of a weird thing to happen because the behind the scenes now you're learning a lot more about for whether it's

social media and the human behind the care it's a very interesting time to kind of balance that whole thing it really is and it's i kind of look at it it's kind of a detriment really I really do I mean obviously I understand you know everybody understands what sports entertainment is now but you still you know magicians don't don't show their tricks they don't show you how to do the tricks if you do that then it's you know it's okay oh and I understand how he does. So, and that's kind of what we've done with our business to a degree. There is, there's no mystery, there's no mystique to it.

And I think it's a, it's a detriment to, you know, obviously, you know, everything's progressing and evolving and, but there, there, there is something to some, some old school stuff that's been lost that I think they need to get back to. Do you think there's going to be someone that comes up that obviously there's never going to be another undertaker, but will somebody be able to come up and keep that mystique throughout their whole career as you have for so long? Like, is that possible nowadays? It's going to be really hard. Like I said, I didn't have to battle social media for the first, you know, 10, 15 years, really. I didn't have to worry about cell phones and cameras as much as guys do.

I mean, you can't do anything or can't be anywhere in this day and age without somebody taking a video or taking a picture uh you know posting it to whatever so i mean it's going to take such a big effort by someone i mean hopefully someone is motivated enough to do it uh or at least try to do it um but i i, I just can't see it happening in this day and age. There's just, there, everybody's so overexposed. Let's talk about not having to live around the, the camera phone, uh, timeframe or the social media timeframe where everything you're doing is being documented. The story that I heard on Steve Austin show, uh show on the WWE Network about you putting Cypress Hill to sleep is probably my favorite story that I have ever heard when it comes to legendary, you know, go ahead. Yeah, it was awesome. So, AJ, for those that don't know, I'll summarize.

I don't want you to have to tell the whole entire story again because it is a little long but i guess i guess old mr taker here sitting next to us here uh mr taker was a pretty legendary drinker legendary drinker and there was this one tour they were on and uh he was going to go to bed because i guess he had a long night before and stop me if i'm ever wrong on any of this please mr it was several it was several long nights before i was just gonna take one night off that was it just gonna take one night off you were heading to your room walking through the lobby and i guess cypress hill was either there with the wwe or not and they kind of gave him like uh oh you're going to bed like like uh like oh are you tired like oh is that is that kind of how it went yeah that's kind of how when i was on my way up to the hotel had to pass the hotel bar

i was just going to stop in and say, hey, what's up, guys? I didn't even know Cypress Hill was in there. And so I was just going to say hello to the WWE guys and then go to bed. Next thing you know, hey, Tate, hey, you guys from Cypress Hill, they're on tour over here too. Hey, guys, how you doing? It's nice to meet you guys. Yeah, I've had a rough week i'm gonna i'm gonna go to bed and somebody you know cracked off like oh man

i heard you could go we heard you could party i was like yeah well not tonight you know kept kept chirping and it was just like okay boys here we go and that and if i'm not mistaken that night ended with you and xpac in one of their rooms and that once you saw the final cypress hill member fall asleep you woke up xpac and was like hey our job is done here let's go to bed exactly and it was like leaving the uh gunfight at the OK Corral. There was a plume of smoke that had come down to about three feet above the floor. And, you know, as I was looking around, it's just like bodies strewn everywhere.

X-Pac was, he was laying on my shoulder like that, unconscious. And I grabbed him and leave no man behind. that unconscious and i grabbed him and leave no man behind the door opens up out of the room and yeah it was uh there was a rough there was some rough uh rough rough dudes in the lobby the next day that's what i was about to say i think my favorite part of the whole story is the fact that you said you had an early call time the next morning and you just no sold it because you didn't want anybody to think that you were in a terrible spot, but you were absolutely getting crushed inside your head. Oh, I was still drunk. I stood in a cold shower for five minutes just trying to, you know, get it together. And, you know, finally I said, all right, here we go. And I walked down and, hey guys, what's up? You know, and everybody, you know, like road all right here we go i walked down and hey guys what's up

you know and everybody you know like roadies were holding on to dudes it was it was a bad scene is there any is there anybody else that you guys because there's a not as legendary story as what you did to cypress hill in the wwe world mark henry had to carry me home uh summer slam new york city back to a hotel I mean we had a hell of a night but was it I think back in the day that was something that was kind of like understood like hey the wrestlers the hotel lobby after the work is done a good time is going to be had was there any legendary partiers that you ran into whether it was in the WWE business or outside because the way Stone Cold was talking about you were the guy that the WWE was like hey this is our

guy if we have to have somebody drink, hey, this is our guy. If we have to have somebody drink against somebody, Taker is our guy. Was there anybody else you ran into? Was there anybody else that you encountered? That's getting warmed up. Not anybody that I really, not, no, not anybody that I can really think of that, most people stayed clear of us. No, not anybody I can really think of. Most people stayed clear of us. We were still kind of the pariahs back then,

and nobody wanted to associate much with us. So we associated with ourselves, and we just demolished ourselves. We didn't miss out on any good times, that's for sure. I have this quote that you know because nowadays with nutritionists and scientists and all this shit they're everybody's like i always had this quote that a team comes together a lot better around a keg than they do kale those moments though where you're sharing a beverage with each other and kind of learning more about each other that carries into your workplace and football teams that carries into the locker room the chemistry is higher whenever you're talking about a wrestling locker room

that chemistry has to be very high i'd assume for the show to go on every single week is that accurate is it has there ever been a time where somebody in a locker room was like kind of i don't want to say an outcast but a little bit indifferent and kind of fucked up maybe what everybody else had going on oh yeah you've always got i mean, and it doesn't matter, I don't think, what sport it is or entertainment genre. There's always somebody that's a little different. And, you know, we were pretty much a pretty inclusive group, you know, because we traveled together everywhere, overseas more so.

When we were in the States, we traveled separately. overseas more so. When we're in the States, we travel separately. But there was always an opportunity for you to be part of whatever. And then my role, I think what people valued with me is they knew that I went out and I had a good time. And they could trust you know they could trust that okay well you know he's doing the same thing as we are but they always knew that when it came time you know when it came bell time you know it's time to go and you can't you can't uh say hey oh well we had a long night remember yeah i was there all night with you time to go it's time to work and then we go do it all over again but you can't you know you can't you can't dog it in the ring because we had a late night and i think that's what you know a lot of guys respected that because you know more

times than not i was one of the last guys standing at the bar and then the first guy one of the first guys on the bus the next morning. Legend. And, you know, I think they appreciated that. You know, they knew they could trust me, and they knew that, you know, regardless of my relationship with the, you know, the corporate side, that I was still one of the guys. And I definitely agree that that kind of camaraderie that you share, you know, having a beer or whatever it is, it didn't matter.

You know, if you didn't drink, you didn't drink. That's fine. But be part of it. And, you know, people ask me all the time. I don't know if this is kind of in the same elk, but, you know, people ask me all the time about writing a book. And I tell people, I was like, look, the things that would make my book good are the things I can't talk about. One, my mom's still alive. Two, I enjoy being married to Michelle.

And I'm pretty sure the Statue of Limitations don't run out. I'm kidding there. But the things, you know, everybody's like, yeah, that would be a great book. But all that stuff that I shared with those guys, you know, I value that stuff and I don't, you know, I don't need to tell the world about that. You know, it's not fair to, you know, somebody else's life that, you know, we had that time together. We did these things and I think it's just better having those memories and, uh, and having that trust amongst, you know, good friends.

How was that changed that behind the scenes that camaraderie from when you started till now? Like, I'm sure you've seen it morph like it. Do guys still hang out like that behind the scenes? I don't think you know, there's a there's a few guys now that are starting to hang out again. But there was there was a period of time, I guess, where like no one no one went out. They all I got nothing against video games. Video games are great, but, you know, they would bring their video games out on the road and sit in their hotel rooms and play video games.

And I was just like, hmm. I'm not going to judge you. I'm not. That's your deal. If that's what makes you happy, because you've got to do whatever makes you keep sane when you're out on the road as long as we're out on the road every year. But, you know, it wasn't my deal. But I think there's a few of the guys now that are, you know, they're young and they've got a little bit of ching in their pocket and they want to have a good time here and there so i i just think there's more there's there's there's more to this lifestyle than obviously than just being in the wrestling ring you know and like

i said it's like you're saying the camaraderie that you have with some of these guys are going to last for a lifetime i remember yeah i appreciate you taking time with us right now i don't know how i was told 25 30 minutes so we'll get you out of here as soon as possible i have like one or two more questions and i appreciate your time here you were the leader of the locker room in everybody's eyes everybody like anybody that talks is like hey taker's the guy taker's the guy no granted when you were young you there was a story i think it was on maybe uh i forget if it was the steve austin show or one of the last rides where you thought there was a chance that you were going to get into a fight in the locker room because of what happened in the ring it was when you were a younger guy but as you grow older

you became the leader of it was a tag team match i think somebody would beat the hell out of somebody and you thought there was a chance that there was going to be a scuffle in the locker room it was great i think it was with steve austin yeah yeah yeah it was a great conversation but you became the leader of the locker room what does that conversation. But you became the leader of the locker room. What does that entail, whatever you're the leader of the locker room? Because right now everybody says it's Roman Reigns is the leader of the locker room. And that's like a big deal in the wrestling business is who's the leader of the locker room. What does that all entail? And did you know that you were the leader of the locker room when you were the leader of the locker room?

You know, I guess I was a leader and had no clue, really. You know, I guess I was a leader and had no clue, really. I fell into a really precarious place because I had this relationship with the corporate side. They trusted me. And then our talent, they trusted me. And, you know, they knew that anything that happened, like most times when a situation would come up, I was able to defuse it long before, you know, the top brass had to come down and, you know, and do something. Like, we were able to police ourselves, and I think guys trusted me enough.

Like, if I pulled somebody aside, like, I never tried to be that guy that would, you know, cuss everybody out or cuss somebody out in front of a bunch of people. I pull somebody aside and say, Hey man, look, you know, you're screwing this up.

You really are. You need to take a long look at yourself and figure out, you know, are you, are you with this? Are you with it? Are you not? You need to figure it out because, you know, such and such about to come down on you, you know, are you with this? Are you with it? Are you not? You need to figure it out because, you know,

such and such is about to come down on you, you know. Got it. You know, and then they were like, oh, okay, all right. Okay, I appreciate that. And usually that's all it would take, something like that. And then, you know, other guys had to learn hard ways. But it was, especially early on in my life, I was on the road 270 days a year. Jeez.

You know, I'm with these guys more than I'm with my own family. And, you know, and unfortunately, I guess, you know, I handled things better at work than I did in my personal life early on. And like I told someone asked that question recently. I said, yeah, if anything happened at work, I had the answer. You know, I could give you some type of advice that would help you get through or diffuse a situation better than I did in my personal life. You know, I'm kind of catching up on that aspect and this aspect of, you know, this is where I'm at in life now. But it, you know, it was just nothing.

It just kind of happened. And it was just the way, you know, it was always business first. And, you know, having a good time was part of it. But it was always business first and you know having a good time was part of it but it was always it was always business first and i think everybody appreciated that that you know yeah i demanded you know i demanded everybody work their ass off but you know we could we could have a good time too and it all works together but you know one you don't you know at the end of the day it's it's what you do in the ring and it's putting asses in seats that matter and you know, at the end of the day, it's what you do in the ring, and it's putting asses in seats that matter.

And, you know, I just – people, I guess, respected the fact that I could do both. And I didn't have an agenda other than to keep growing the business. Hell, yeah. Did you ever have any other wrestlers, like, resent you for this relationship you had with the corporate side and you're one of the guys as well? Did they ever look at you and say, hey, man, how do you balance this out and sometimes have hard feelings towards that? No one's ever said anything to me. Like I said, I don't I'm trying to think if, you know, other than the first couple of years, I don't think I've had really any confrontations or anybody's ever had,

you know, no one's ever said anything negative to my face. You know, obviously I'm sure I've pissed somebody off along the line, but it's very smart. But I don't, I didn't, I've never had any issues where like somebody, Oh, you suck up or, you know, you kiss ass or anything like that. Because even in their wildest imaginations, they just didn't have anything to support that.

Last question for me here. Obviously, one of the greatest gifts of all time is cuzzy in the crowd after you get beat at wrestlemania and the streak gets broken okay that face the the absolute shock and terror of the streak one of the greatest things to ever exist in sports uh was broken by brock lesnar there there's there now that the footage has come out behind the scenes of the ufc with brock and then obviously right before you guys go out there Brock slaps you and he says like hey I'm gonna bring it to you and you say I'm gonna bring it right back like

that moment going into that Wrestlemania what was the mindset of like how this could be perceived who ultimately those conversations that led into that moment like and how big was that in your life like I assume that was a rather large moment in the history of your life, I would assume. Well, the street getting broke. Yeah. Uh, yeah, you a lot of perspective, cuz my memory that day stops at about 1.30 in the afternoon. I got concussed during that match and I don't remember it. I think that was the last memory that I had was about 1.30 when Michelle came backstage and talked to me for a little bit.

And then the next thing, I'm at the hospital at 4.30 in the morning. Trying to get her to tell me my name. Hey, wrestling's fake, by the way. Yeah, I'm glad it's not anymore real or I would have had probably another 10 surgeries to fix things that happened in the ring. You know,

and that's another thing that's changed too, through the years, like early on in my career, you know, somebody says something like that, it's go time. It should have been. And nowadays it's like,

you know what? I got, I got a roadmap. My body's like a roadmap of scars from, you know, fake wrestling. So, Hey,

you know, until you've walked a mile in my shoes, you might want to just keep walking. But, uh, the, the only thing I remember asking Vince, I said,

are you sure? Are you sure that's what you want to do? And, uh, he says, if it's not Brock, who, whoever could do it.

And, uh, you know, I know i said okay that's it it's his it's his baby and uh you know i you know none of that none of the 21 and o happens without him so and at the end of the day uh that was his call and I had to respect it. That's the way it is. On a personal level, would a perfect world go undefeated? Absolutely. By the way, we wanted you to go undefeated. Before you get out of here, I want to show you. How do you feel about this right here? Does this look like it's...

Oh, boy. He has a Steve Austin shirt on, hat and wig, trying to do his best Undertaker as a Stone Cold fan. You have captivated people all across the globe, man, for a long time. I don't know what this last episode is going to show on Sunday. I don't know when or how you're going to get your final send-off or whatever you want to do. It's been a hell of a joy to watch you you work my friend well i appreciate that that means a lot

to me man and uh yeah this this this last episode is going to be a good one um we're still putting the final edits to it but uh it's definitely one you don't want to miss it It is Thursday, 1.34, Sunday, 10 a.m. This thing debuts on the WWE Network, The Last Ride, Episode 5. Putting the final edits on it, that's fantastic. Maybe we'll make it. Ladies and gentlemen, Undertaker's awesome! I hope that gets cut in there.

You know what I mean? I hope they cut that in there. We can't thank you enough for joining us, man. You're the best. Hope I get a chance to see you in real life at some point. Nine Line, can you talk about that? You wear a lot of that gear. I assume it's something fantastic.

Absolutely. This is a veteran-owned and operated company out of Savannah, Georgia. They do a lot of work with homeless veterans. They built in Savannah, they built a tiny veteran village where they're giving veterans, homeless veterans, a two year opportunity to go back and go to trade school or get a degree and try and get these guys off the streets and back into society. They just do a lot of great work with our veterans. And I am a big supporter of veterans in general and um i got hooked up with these guys and yeah i wear a lot of their stuff just to get the message out

there uh you know that we should never forget those who fought for us and and and to uh just do as much we can for them amen you can be against the war you can be for the war but you have to be for the warrior because that is literally the badass in the entire thing. Thanks to Nine Line. Thanks to you. And I can't wait to watch episode five, Sunday, 10 a.m. The Last Ride with The Undertaker. Ladies and gentlemen, Mark Calloway, The Undertaker. Thank you, man. You're the best. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you. Hey, that dude's awesome. He's the best.

How cool is he? Just like super cool guy. Legends living up to their expectations. That Cypress Hill story. So when he was on Steve Austin's show, AJ, he had stopped drinking. He has stopped drinking. Like, not fully, but he has obviously gotten away. So Steve Austin brings out like a bottle of Jack into shot glass or one shot

glass. I think I forget how it gets introduced, but he pours a shot and a taker's like, well, if we're going to go, let's go. He starts taking shots with them. And then the party stories came out about Cypress Hill and everything that whole, it's like a traveling family. They're like a circus just picking up and moving. You got to really rely on each other. And that guy was the leader of the whole group. That was awesome. I'm so happy he stopped by yeah do you think

people he said no one's ever said to his face like oh we resent your relationship with corporate whatever i'm thinking well yeah aren't you 6 10 one of the scariest yeah your face you're literally known for being one of the most intimidating humans of all time i don't know if anybody's gonna be like oh look at that kiss ass fucking undertaker right there popping out right in the mouth right in the mouth that was awesome that was really cool that nine line he has and if you watch the last ride wd network he has like long sleeves and nine line short sleeves he has it all i'm like i'm wondering what that is i'm happy i got to ask there the high brain reminded me of it as soon as we got started you should watch that aj i'm gonna watch it i i

i knew of it because i've seen him bouncing around doing a couple other media things and he was always good on him but yeah i was i was when did he start kind of breaking character just recently very very recent i mean the amount of interviews he has done i think it's that's why it's such a big deal for instance there is no way in hell i would take anybody on a show after they've just done 75 interviews in the same week right because there's no reason like okay let's maybe wait a week or two weeks whenever it dies down a little bit everything that you've said has already been basically talked about and let's have a fresh conversation at some point but when it's the undertaker when it's a guy that is hasn't talked much in forever and you finally get a chance to

like interview him and chat i'm i mean you had to do it so it's it's all been in within the last couple weeks really that he's fully opened up and it's been cool man just because he's been there done that with like literally everything he's been there done that yeah we should have asked him a little bit about did he ever hang out with rick flair I know Ric Flair can go. I know. Yeah. He has hung out with Ric Flair. And I wonder how many Ric Flair stories he has about Taker. I wonder how many Ric Flair stories there are about Taker. He's like, oh, I was in this one bar in Omaha or whatever,

and I bought my classic 100 shots for everybody, and then Taker came in and drank all of them. I'm sure there's something. All those behind-the-scenes stories are what make those. And then, by the way, going out, he said he had 10 surgeries, and he was concussed there for, what is that, 14 hours he was concussed for? Doesn't remember anything. I mean, the amount of injuries and physical and athleticism it takes to be a wrestler, and then the travel schedule, and then they're also partying.

You have to be a special breed of human to be able to pull it off. Yeah, you do. I would imagine the wrestlers with this whole COVID situation, it's a much needed break for them when it comes to the travel. Dude, there's always been those conversations about having an on season and off season, maybe alternating like there's those conversations have been happening for the last 10 years. And I think the fact that Vince travels to every single show and he's still at his i think that will be i don't know if they're ever going to change i honestly don't know if they're ever

going to they've made a lot of money a lot of success changed a lot of lives with what they're doing right now i'd assume that they're going to potentially do this until the wheels fall off it's a it's a wild schedule though they're all over that place yeah well Triple H is he's next in line right he's gonna take over I don't know I have no idea honestly I have no idea because that I think that is an interesting conversation as well that I didn't even want to dip my toes into there with uh the old taker because obviously you have Triple H and Stephanie you have Shane McMahon you have other people that have worked there for a very long time. So that is going to be an interesting transition as well.

But Vince McMahon might never die, though. True. Vince McMahon might live forever. I think there are actual people, myself included, who think that is potentially an option is that Vince just lives forever. Yeah, I can see that. If anyone's going to do it, Vince will be the top of the list of people that I think could possibly do it. They say he works out at like 4 a.m. still, 3 a.m.

It's still like... His mom's still alive, isn't she? I think she's like 99. Yeah, so Vince McMahon's potentially never going to die. So that conversation, I don't even know if they've even had that conversation about who's potentially next. But there is... I'm intrigued to see how that business changes, if it has to change or if it does change at all, because I would assume with science and things that are being learned about the body and travel and that something's

going to have to give. But right now they're all kind of operating out of the performance center. Seems to be going on well. Ratings are still over a million basically for everything. I mean, got to feel pretty good here for a long time. Let's transition and talk about some real life stuff that's happening. The MLB, did you learn of any of the MLB stuff that happened last night? Rob Manfred said, at my request, at my request, I, in the middle of a work stoppage and potential burning down of my league, at my request, I and Tony Clark met for several hours yesterday in Phoenix. We left that meeting with a jointly developed framework that we agreed could form the basis of an agreement, which just means we agreed to potentially agree, which makes no sense.

He said, I summarized that framework numerous times in a meeting and sent Tony a written summary today. Basically, Rob Manfred said he's encouraging clubs to move forward as Tony's doing the same. It sounds like that meeting was a lot of Rob Manfred telling Tony what he would like to do. He said, I had to say it several times. And I'm assuming a lot of that meeting was Tony going, yeah, the players aren't going to agree to that. Like, what do you want? And then he had to re-explain it and re-explain it. Every single day that passes, it seems like the MLB, MLBPA drama gets worse, but they are at the 11th hour on top of the 11th hour. They're going to play games. How many will it be? There's a difference of 245 million

right now between the 60 games prorated salary that the MLB wants in the 70 games that the MLB PA wants how can you not just make up that difference and let's get back to baseball and get this drama over with because the MLB Rob Manfred want to win the negotiations publicly that's the only reason why at this point I think yeah he's trying to save face I think a little bit I think didn't you say it to samson like when they had that round table thing like rob manfred is the only one that lost the night yes nights ago like when they did that thing and it's true so yeah he wants to try to make himself look a little bit better because it's pretty rare that the players are the ones

where like fans are siding with when it comes to a work stoppage obviously players it's no one's gonna ever feel bad for players but in this like right now in baseball it's like okay i get it i understand why the players are mad why they haven't agreed to this deal yet it should have been done though i can't say this enough that should have been done whenever their spring training stopped and they went and did some agreement in march about a potential whatever that deal should have been getting done during the thing like hey this is what we're thinking whenever we get back however many games we can do pro rated now it's at the point where it seems as if the mlb is just trying to save some money and cut short on games and that just is not a good look especially when you're a bunch of billionaires in the world is

in the place that it's in it's just a lot of drama a lot of stupidity and rob banford i think is an actual stooge um did you watch the afl this morning yeah i saw all of it everything every snap lie it's not a stand why is he lying why is he lying was it on this morning why didn't you send me a text man if you were up i was up i could have watched been talking about it for the last three days thursday morning 5 40 a.m there's a game richmond tigers uh hawthorne hawks and i'll tell you what it was a blowout so you didn't really miss that close of a game. But the fact that you refuse, just flat out refuse, to give the AFL and Aussie Rules Football a chance is disheartening. I want to let you know it is disheartening to everybody in this office

and everybody on the island of Australia. First off, there's no way that all of the boys have the same passion for the AFL. Oh, yeah. You have no idea. Whoa. Come on. AJ. We are yeah. You have no idea. Whoa. Come on. AJ. We are one.

See that? See that? That's not what they say, Pat. You may not know this, but after the show, as soon as we stop going live, you're like, oh, got to poop. And you go and you leave and you take your dump. And I sit and I chat with the boys a little bit off air. And that's when they give me their true feelings about you

and how they're going to feel about the AFL. Well, listen, the boys and I can have a conversation about that off air if they feel as if they're being held hostage here to talk about the AFL but I will let you know it's the only physical sport in town right now and it's a sport that I'd never seen before so it feels like every game is like my first game watching it I learned something new this morning there was a lot of refs the ref was calling a lot of penalties that I didn't know existed. This morning, there was a lot more penalties than I thought. But, man, I mean, it is a sport that you would love, AJ. You would love.

I'm not saying I don't like it. Sounds like it. You're awake working out. Sounds like it. You're just being lazy. You keep making this shit up, AJ. You will rest being lazy. You keep making this shit up, AJ. You will rest in peace. Oh, geez.

I thought you were the Undertaker there for a second. Yeah, that was just him talking, by the way. It wasn't everybody else. That was just how deep his voice gets whenever he does his Undertaker. But it does feel like you are slapping Australia right in the face every single time one of these games happen and you refuse to watch. No. I mean, I don't need you to try to bully me into it into watching this that's what i by the way i think that's what

at some point you know the whole i can lead them to water thing can't make them drink i'm gonna stick your head under the water and make you drink at some point is that a garth brooks saying every once in a while you can get a camel and take it to water but you can't force that hump back some bitch drink until you shove its head camel and take it to water but you can't force that humpback to own a bitch a drink until you shove its head underwater and then ride that bitch to the bottom of the ocean. And that is what I did

with Chris Gaines. I can't with Garth. You'll watch Garth but you won't watch the fucking AFL. Good point. Is that not a problem? AFL fan Chris Gaines

you think? No, Chris Gaines and Garth Brooks don't even know that Australia exists. Chris Gaines is Australian. What? you didn't know wait he was on the australian charts it was like keith urban like thing some people he's shot at keith urban so garth brooks did this all the troll that's what some people say oh he was urban around back then so keith urban comes into the country music world,

pops Garth Brooks probably off a couple notches because Keith Urban becomes this guitar savage and country music hero. So Garth Brooks says, and by the way, this might up Garth Brooks a couple notches in my brain if he's so spiteful. He's like,

I'll create an emo character and go down to Australia and fucking just take Keith Urban off the charts down there. If that is how this all played out, I am pumped up about Garth Brooks and Chris Gaines all of a sudden. Is that what you're saying? It is alleged. It's a rumor. Can neither confirm nor deny. But why will you

watch Chris Gaines and Garth Brooks, but you won't watch the AFL, AJ? Yeah. Because it's on Netflix and it's easy for me to go to instead of ESPN. ESPN 2. You're up working out out apparently oh I told you I'm gonna DVR it yeah I said that Tuesday but you've missed all right you've missed it all already you've missed it already I can go online and watch it I'm not sure you can't no you can't

they sent me a full kit dude send me a full kit watch it can we put that photo of me and my entire uniform can we please put me up there aj look at that guy ready to take over the pitch go ahead and zoom in why is there so much like photoshop done to this picture well it's kind of a boring photo i had to make it i got this app i got influenced into getting this app uh that kind of makes you like you can put on backgrounds i can even get like shooting stars in the background now you know that on instagram there's that app the photo app that it makes you stop and look at it it's an editing photo app it brings photos to life I got it I don't know how to make the photo come to life yet but I'll get

into that I got influence into paying 6.99 a month for that thing bought the three-year package too by the way they got all the money out of me I'll use it probably two more times if I had to guess but it's don't worry about the Photoshop let's's just talk about the kit. Collingwood Magpies sent me a kit. Those shorts, not the longest shorts, but boy, I felt good to be in the Aussie Rules football gear. You look good, man. You look like you could go play right now. I think I could.

Now, cardiovascular-wise, it's going to take a little bit. They're going to have to sub me in and out a little bit. But this ball right here, I could bomb this ball probably a quarter mile if i had to this thing this thing would would fucking go aj like undertaker go i don't know i don't like that there's a so this isn't a real game what it feels like because there's a uh oh yeah did they send me a fake one got a mark yeah display ball yeah display ball From a gift shop. It's like when you buy a jersey from the pro shop, and it's an authentic jersey, and it's 6X and gigantic and goes down to your knees.

That's what they sent you. No, they didn't. They like me. They sent me the real stuff. This was used in a game, I think. It even has a couple of notches here where it's been kicked. Game ball. It's a game ball, I think.

They put my name on it just because they're like, Pat won a game ball for his support think they put my name on it just because they're like pat won a game bowl this is it for his support code of authentication yeah that was a that is a barcode of authentication thank you thank you so much this is authentic what what zito just said um the nfl we have to talk about this nfl.com ranked the divisions in the nfl strictly by the quarterbacks that will play in that division. And wait until you see this lineup, AJ. Have you looked into this yet? Yes, I have. It's unbelievable. Go ahead and put it up there, Foxy.

At number one, they have the NFC South. We could have all predicted that. These quarterbacks are in no particular order. They are just the quarterbacks from the thing. NFC South, number one, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater. We all understood that they were going to be number one. Number two, keep it up there. Number two, Kyler Murray, Jared Goff, Jimmy Garoppolo, Russell Wilson. Couldn't imagine them being fucking wrong at number two. They are. There's

no way that's the number two overall thing. You have to think, how come the AFC West is at three and the AFC North is at four? Is Ben Roethlisberger just some schmuck and is Lamar Jackson, the MVP, some schmuck? What do they got going on? How about the NFC East? Dak Prescott, Carson Wentz, Dwayne Haskins, Daniel Jones, all the way down there at the bottom. The NFC South isn't getting a lot of respect in this entire thing, aside from Gardner Minshew.

The other three are proven vets at this point. Ryan Tannehill just had the best season of his life. And then the NFC North, who knows who's going to be the quarterback for the Bears? They're stud quarterbacks. They're at five somehow. I mean, all these rankings that come out, I feel like they're trolling us just to fuck with us so we have something to talk about, and I'm thankful for that.

But I think they got probably six out of the eight wrong right there. Do you think the first number one is right? I think so. Who was first? I think number one's right. The NFC South, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater. That just feels like that's right. But there's a couple other ones where I'm'm like there has to be a little mix and match and we got going on the afc east isn't even last the nfc east is last i mean it's a

fc should be less this feels like sure a troll job here by nfl.com and i i can appreciate the fact that the nfl is getting into the troll game and just clickbait game but that's what we live for to be honest with you yeah the afc east all those guys are are other than Fitzpatrick are kind of not unproven but they're like okay potential like these guys have a high ceiling I know Sam Darnold could be a star Josh Allen is on his way Fitzpatrick slash Tua we know Tua hopefully they want him to be the face of the franchise and Jared Stutum who knows what he's gonna do Connor no nobody even knows if he's gonna do Connor no nobody even knows if he's gonna be sorry my Cam Newton might be the starter for the Patriots this year nobody has a

clue but the fact that they got the NFC East or Kaepernick the fact they got the NFC East at eight that is just to piss off all the Cowboys fans right that's why they did that then the fact the fact that they got the AFC West there I assume that's because Patty Mahomes the NFC West though I don't know how that's number two. I just, a lot of these rankings just, it makes me lose faith in people's brains, eyes, and all overall knowledge of the sport. But this came from the NFL, so I don't even know. Maybe

I'm wrong. Maybe we're wrong here. They must love Goff and McVay, then. Well, it's just the quarterback. Well, the only reason you put up any kind of list, the only reason you have any list is to get people talking, get people arguing and say, no, you're stupid, you're a st stooge you don't know what you're doing the same thing with with those dumb power rankings that come out every six hours every single sport i do love judging these power rankings though people like watching us judge the people that are judging

people does great on the youtube but looking at that list this morning almost made my head pop i was so confused by who writes who somebody's hired by the NFL. They are employed by the NFL to talk about the NFL, put that list together. And does that make me kind of scared for the future of the NFL? Maybe. Maybe this person ends up commissioner. You don't know. Work from the bottom all the way to the top.

We could have a stooge up there. I think the two north and the two west maybe should switch spots there. Yeah, I think the NFC North has some studs i think the nfc north is robbed here yeah absolutely it's robbed i think the nfc north should be up at number three maybe yeah i agree i'm not gonna put anybody at two or anything like that or three but i just know that there's some people that should be a lot fucking lower and the nfc north should be a lot higher at least the nfc east should not be that low the afc east shouldn't be that high i mean there's a lot fucking lower and the nfc north should be a lot higher at least the nfce should not be that low the fce shouldn't be that high i mean there's a lot to dissect here it's almost like they said hey point out where we fucked up as opposed to this is what we think that's almost

what it feels like how can you have an eight thing ranking and get seven of them wrong nobody knows but the nfl.com was able to do it what about where do you think the nfc south would be ranked if it was uh jamis and not Tom Brady in Tampa? Well, where's Tom at? Where's Tom at? Tom's still in New England. Oh, geez. What's higher than one?

I don't know. They'd probably be, I guess, top four. I'd assume they'd be top four because Drew Brees would be there. Technically, Jameis is still in that division. Yeah, but exactly. We didn't account for backup quarterbacks in this entire thing. Blaine Gabbert is getting quite a rub here as well big handsome blaine by the way have you seen the photos he's been posting on the internet he is slinging it right now i remember blaine gabbert

was a stud back in the day he's followed me but anyways yeah i don't know i have no idea about that if he went to la would that change anything if he went to the la chargers would that be anything if he stayed in new england would that change anything? If he went to the L.A. Chargers, would that be anything? If he stayed in New England, would that change anything? Of course. I think wherever Tom is, is probably going to be ranked number one in that ranking system. Really? Just because it's Tom?

Because it's Tom. Because Tom's such a polarizing figure. Everyone knows him. Everyone talks about him. And for the sake of these lists, I think wherever Tom would be, they would put him at number one. Yeah. Patrick Mahomes carried that AFC West over there.

I mean, Patrick Mahomes is the reason why they're there. Derek Carr, I guess he's good. Nobody knows if Tyrod – by the way, Derek Carr was very good. We don't know if he's going to continue to be very good. The Raiders went on a run last year that surprised everybody. Tyrod Taylor, he took the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs, got cut after that. So Drew Locke had good seven games. Patrick Mahomes is carrying the AFC West to number three.

So maybe you're right. Wherever Tom Brady goes, in this person's eye, would carry them up higher in the ranking. But I just, I mean, this is all just a bunch. You know what? It's all a bunch of trash to me if you look at this ranking system here. Throw it out. Throw it out.

I think whoever made this list, they did their job by having people attack it that's what you want like especially now with nothing to cover when they're just trying to drum up ideas hey what can we put out we need some content what can i write oh okay here we go lists are always good it happens on radio a lot hey there's nothing to talk about today let's rank the top five six men coming off the bench in the NBA from 1980 to 1983. And it'll put a list out. Billy tubes is always trying to get me to do that type of stuff. Let's rank like maybe,

maybe we ranked the top hundred football players of all time. Maybe you do that on a day show because those always do well on the YouTube. They always do well on the internet. So I respect what they're doing. I just don't respect the person's opinion that put that particular list together. Dr. Fauci is a son of a bitch. It's right here on the right here on the sheet here. Like I saw that scroll across ESPN at the bottom. Yeah, Dr. Fauci needs to go ahead. Listen, tone, tone

Fauci. I'll repeat the same thing I said earlier. Okay. Tone Fouch. I understand you've had what four decades worth of high end medical research, study agenda, whatever you got going on. I don't dive deep into that. But I don't need you right now on June 18th telling me, well, all these other sports are about to pop back off. That the NFL is just not going to happen.

Doesn't see how it's going to go. It's like, hey, Fotch. Hey, Fotch. Why don't you get back to worrying about saving people's lives and don't try to kill the league that's going to keep me alive, pal. Okay? We don't know what's going to happen next week, Fotch. Hey, Fotch. Why don't you get back to worrying about saving people's lives and don't try to kill the league that's going to keep me alive, pal? Okay? We don't know what's going to happen next week, Fotch. Okay?

We don't need you projecting six, seven weeks down the road here. We're already doing enough of that early. And by the way, that's why we're in the point where we're at right now, Fotch. Okay? So, Tone, I'm assuming in the medical world, okay, dear, I haven't looked into it. You do whatever. But I don't need you telling me that my league is not coming back

because of your thoughts and expectations on June 18th, Fauci. Get the hell out of here. Well, that's the weird thing about this whole situation. Whatever Fauci says, like if he says it's absolutely not safe for the NFL to play if they don't quarantine everybody and kind of play in a bubble and have host cities or whatever, even if he says that, nobody from the league has to abide, right? Like they don't have to.

Yeah, Tone's got no power. I mean, it's fine for him to say this, but why didn't you say it maybe four or five weeks ago? Tone, just don't say it. Just keep football out of your mouth, Tone. The NFL's doctor did come out and be like, Hey, Tone, I respect you, but keep our name out of your mouth. We're going to handle this the way we want to handle it. And by the way, I

also went to school to learn about the medicine. Correct. And this is my Hey, Fotch, you talk about your shit. I'll talk about my shit, the NFL doctor said. So we maybe got a little Dr. Beef happening, which I don't think is bad. I'm kind of tired of talking about the MLB MLB PA Beef, but I'll talk about high

end Dr. Beef. I'm okay with that. Isn't football the only sport where you wouldn't be able to do the bowl thing? How many hotel rooms would you need for teams with 53 guys on there, not including coaches and equipment? It's not possible. Hey, Fotch!

I'm just done with Fotch. That stadium in Vegas looks unbelievable. I did not expect them to put a pitch-black stadium in the middle of the desert, but they did it. Air conditioning costs are going to be next level, but that thing is beautiful out there. That L.A. Rams and L.A. Chargers stadium, I'm not sure that is done yet,

but the two new stadiums in the NFL is a big deal here for the NFL going forward. Is the Las Vegas Raiders, is the stadium going to be done? Yeah, it's ready. Wow. Look at that thing. They just passed a big test yesterday or something. Yeah, the test was that you could walk in there without getting hit in the head with a fucking screw dropping from the ceiling.

That happened with the Colts. Lucas Oil Stadium, did you know this story? No. So Lucas Oil Stadium, it has the convertible top, you know, take the roof off at the at the lucas oil you can take the roof off and put the window down right so they made that because in indiana weather literally change changes within five to ten minutes you can have a clear sky beautiful day and then boom out of nowhere tornado then bang snowstorm in the same because indiana is so windy

things just come and go it's very flat so it had to be a dome of some sort but whenever it's beautiful outside it is gorgeous outside so they wanted to be able to take the top off put the window down see the city okay that creates a wind tunnel if you're a kicker or punter in there so it's not exactly a thrill but it is smart it makes a lot of sense so with the way Indiana weather is the Colts wanted in a pitch the Rules Committee they wanted to be able to open the top out at halftime if the weather had changed since the predictions of the beginning of the game so if at the beginning of the game there was I don't know like maybe a 60% chance of rain for the first hour they would have it closed

but then if that passes by in Indiana which happens on a very regular basis and it has like 100% no showers for the next five hours, the Colts wanted to be able to open the roof up at halftime and enjoy the sky. Skies out, thighs out. That's what they wanted to do. So they passed this rule. They had to go pitch it to the committee the first time, the first time that the Colts tried to do this. It was a monumental day. I was there.

I was warming up at halftime while the thing's opening. do this it was it was a monumental day i was there i was warming up at halftime while the thing's opening screw falls from the roof that was opening hits woman in head bang she ends up going to the hospital or whatever i don't think she got like serious injury but i assume there was some settlement that happened all of a sudden that rule is thrown out by the way can't open a roof if there's any humans in the stadium fucking take a hike that was this one of those the rule because i knew you can't do that i know you can't do that now like so that's is that what started that yeah it got opened up because of our weather being so unpredictable and fickle they're like we'd like to be able to open it if it becomes nice instead of bad they open it screw falls hits lady she ends

up in hospital have to reject the rule take it back can't do that anymore had no idea they do this the uh test that the allegiance Stadium passed was a super flush test, so they flush all 1,430 toilets and urinals at the same time as all the sinks are on. Smart. You've got to make sure you have good water pressure in there because if you're in the middle of the desert, what do you need? Water.

Water. The hardest thing would be to get 1,400, 1,500 people together all lining up at all the bathrooms at the same time, right? Yeah. I mean, right? Yeah. I mean, especially in this. You think they can remotely do it? It's a brand new stadium. Oh, they probably do have some system that just flushes all the commodes.

And I'd be fucking with that, too. If I knew somebody was going in there to drop a large John, I would be like, hey, pal, let's get a courtesy flush. Got it from the top rope being flushed the toilet. Yeah. Good for Allegiant Stadium getting put together. I didn't think that thing was going to be finished. Just like the Los Angeles one.

I didn't think that one was going to be finished. I think they're saying that's going to be done on time as well. Yeah, it was touch and go for a while, I feel like. So is that soccer stadium not going to be used anymore that the Chargers were using? For the MLS, it'll be used. Yeah, but no NFL teams playing there this year. No. I don't know what you're doing.

It's my name. Technically, it's not. Your birth name is Patrick, right? Touche. Touche. Sharon! Sharon! Sharon!

You know who made this? You know who made the Sharon brand? You know his name? No. Yeah, you do. Have some fucking respect for Thomas William Sharon. Golly, dude. The footy is a real thing.

Guy hates the AFL. Guy hates who? AJ. He loves Garth Brooks, loves Chris Gaines, just won't give the AFL a chance. Why? Is it because they're from Australia? Is that why? Oh, my God.

You son of a bitch. Is that what it is? Why are you standing up? Because I would like to know if that's what it is. Is it because they're from Australia? I want to let you know. They're people, too, okay? They're good people, by the way.

I've got a chance to talk to a lot of them. They're good people down under. I know criminals and the prison thing that you're probably preconceived notions of. They're good people. Great personality. Great sport. Maybe have a little respect for them, AJ. And the dangos eat the babies. preconceived notions of they're good people. Great personality, great sport, maybe have a little respect for him, AJ.

babies. I'm sure I have more Australian friends than you do. Now you don't. Yeah, what are you talking about? kicking punting community? We're a bunch of Australians. You Oh, is that like, oh, you just said I have an Australian friend. Is that? Wow. I don't talk to her anymore. Wow! Wow! See that? If you look this way, we could have a full stare down right now if you want. This way?

Which way? Other way. Other way. Because for me, it's not. Oh, my cord almost came out. Oh, you're losing already. That's pretty good. I can't.

I can't even turn my cords too short. You lose. Oh, he jumps. He jumps. Oh! Too malfunction lose. Oh, he jumps. He jumps. Oh. Too malfunctioned. Oh. Oh.

That's what I saw. It scared me. So scary. You and me are going to take a trip to Australia, and you're going to fall in love with the place, and it's going to be a real shame when you have to walk back all these condescending comments you made about Aussie rules football. I would love to.

They better have those pods, though, right on the playing pad for us. Need a pod. Need a pod. By the way, with this ball, you have to really give it a good a good popper won't go It has a different sweet spot than an NFL ball More similar to a soccer ball or no Would you do tricks during warm-ups Pat like spinning the ball and kicking it up and stuff to try to intimidate the other team? warm-ups pat like spinning the ball and kicking it up and stuff to try to intimidate the other team what's that would you do tricks and stuff with the ball in warm-ups oh yeah assert your dominance early on oh yeah i mean i would have to be confident that i was worth a amongst every

all the other guys who have been kicking this ball their entire life but once i found out that i was okay what i was doing yeah it would become a show immediately he would become immediately be was doing yeah it would become a show immediately it would become immediately be what's up boys see you later i can't run anywhere near as much as them though oh you're gonna be kicking far away though yeah i guess there is a position where you can kind of park it in the middle and it just kind of comes to you and then you just launch it into the box like that's what i'm gonna i'm gonna put it in is there an enforcer position you could be that guy that's a lot of running though i think because've got to enforce. You know what I mean?

I'm more of like a hangout guy. Let me get a handball here, and then let me just bomb this thing and do it. I do believe that I could send this thing a quarter mile, though. I have not kicked this ball yet, this authentic game ball that they sent me this morning. But I think I could send this thing two, three miles. It's a soccer ball meets a football. It's perfect to kick do they kick it like a do they try to kick spirals that's called a torpedo i guess is what they call

it they they they do have that in the game there are guys that do it but a lot of the games i've watched they've all done the end over end because it's easier to control it's like a pooch it's easier to control i guess and it's a higher consistency level. But I don't know why they don't just park it right at the middle of the fucking field and just torpedo this thing through. I mean, it's it's and goes. I mean, this thing goes,

dude. Yeah, I believe you. Yeah, you hate the sport, though. I hate this show. It's done. This show's over. This show stinks. The greatest sports talk show on the internet. From one to two, it's in standard time. So come on down for a mental vacation with the boys on your two lives. It's McAfee and Hawk.

It's McAfee and Hawk Sports Talk. Who hates Australia? Who hates Australia? Who is that tackle quarterbacks. Who hates Australia? You should keep it up after the music. AJ Hock. Oh, okay. You should keep this up. Keep it live.

Keep it live. It's McAfee and Hock. AJ Hock. It's McAfee and Hock Sports Talk. It's McAfee and Hock Sports Talk. Sorry for interrupting this fabulous conversation. I mean, we were really talking good. Huh? Oh, yeah.

Hey, I was proud of what we were talking. Yeah, great stuff. I mean, you're not going to hear that anywhere else. I was like, you know what? Those guys right there, the way they're talking, good. You know? I hear you. Really good.

With the ever-increasing number of makes of cars, you know? Mm-hmm. You got Fiat. Sure. Kia. Yeah. Hyundai. Yep.

Honda. Mm-hmm. Jeep. Yeah. GM. Yeah. Yukon. No, I missed it.

Chevrolet. Chevy. Ford. Yeah. Cadillac. Cadillac. List goes on and on. Genesis.

Eagle. Lincoln. Saturn. Cadillac Genesis Eagle Lincoln Saturn Ferrari Lamborghini Audi Volvo Beamer Mercedes

Did you already use that? No, but I was just in Germany In my head. I couldn't. Maserati. Good Italy. Ferrari. Lambo.

Anyways, there is a never ending number of car mix these days and models. Now let's go. Pacifica. Civic. Wrangler. Camry. Yukon. Escalade. Sportukon escalade sport i'm done i'm done it is now impossible to stock all the parts you could potentially need for a car in a traditional chain storefront why endure the often pointless or seemingly intimidating questioning excuse me is your car the odyssey lx px dx ox or ex it's like i don't know i fucking bought it two years

ago they're like well what type of thing is this it's kind of an intimidating thing because you feel like an idiot because you don't know every single thing about your car which is what the people at the chain storefront need and all they're going to do is type it into their little computer and they're only going to be able to offer you whatever they have in the store. And that's why rock auto is a very rock auto.com is a very different operation. They have everything your car could potentially need. And it's very easy to utilize rock auto.com is a family business business serving auto part customers online for over 20 years. Go to rock auto.com and shop for auto and body parts from hundreds and hundreds of manufacturers they have everything from engine control modules and brake parts to tail lamps

motor oil and even new carpet for your damn car everything you could possibly need rockauto.com has your traditional chain storefront just can't have everything that they have at rockauto.com best of all prices at rockauto.com. Best of all, prices at rockauto.com are always reliably low, and the same for professionals as do-it-yourselfers. Why spend up to twice as much for the same damn parts? Go to rockauto.com right now and see all the parts available for your car or truck.

Write McAfee in there, hey, how'd you hear about us, box, so they know that we sent you. That's right, McAfee in there, hey, how'd you find out about us, box Box? So they know that we sent you. That's right, McAfee in there. Hey, how'd you find out about us, Box? So that they know that we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car could ever need

right now at rockauto.com. Joining us now, let's pivot to the NFL because this guy is now an author. Fear is a choice. His book is out today, running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cancer survivor and thriver from Erie, Pennsylvania, James Conner. James, congratulations on becoming an author.

This is a big-ass deal, man. Man, it's huge, bro. It's huge. I appreciate that. Yeah, today's the day. Fear is a big-ass deal, man. Man, it's huge, bro. It's huge. I appreciate that. Yeah, today's the day. Fear is a Choice. It got released. I can't believe I can add author to my name now. Well, you're going to have New York Times bestseller as well because your story is one that I think a lot of people will be very intrigued by. Let's go back to the fundamental start of Fear is a Choice. I would assume that when you got diagnosed with cancer, there was a lot of things that ran through your head. How did you land on like the, hey, fear is just a choice in this entire thing. I'm going to get through it.

Man, I was actually sitting with one of my best friends. And before I did my press conference at Pitt, when everybody thought I was going to announce that I was headed to the NFL draft before I dropped that news on him, we were kind of just sitting around and he was like, man, you know, just like we were talking about things. It was like man you know just like we were talking about things it was like you know fear is a choice and it was like yeah that really stuck and we said that in the press conference not knowing that that would be the title of a book someday so you know to send back with some of my friends it's kind of crazy how that came about and uh that's the title we we chose and i think it just applies you know it's natural to have fear but then i think once after the fear, you can realize you've got an option

on how you're going to look at this thing, your perspective, how you're going to react to it. And so that's kind of how the title came about. How were you able to get back into football shape? I watched Chuck Pagano, obviously, with Chuck Strong, battle through leukemia. And he came back, I think it was like 13 weeks later to a game, and his body had been through it.

Like chemo kicks your ass, the entire thing. Was there always the thought like, hey, I'm going to get back into football shape? Or were you like, hey, the task at hand currently is to beat cancer's ass and then we'll worry about that later? Yeah, so, you know, I always had my goal was to make it to the NFL. You know, I was just so driven and that's what I wanted to do. And going into the first treatment, you know, I didn't know how my body was going to react to.

I didn't know what to expect. And after I got my first chemo, it beat me up a little bit. I was down and I was I was extremely exhausted, but I still wanted to be there for my teammates, be a leader on that field. And after the second one, I'm like, OK, 10 more. I can do 10 more of these things. It took a toll on me, you know, but I just think that, you know, my faith being strong and with having a goal to achieve in mind, it took it to a new level and it helped me get through. Hey, that's like those summer workouts. All right. I got 10 left. Yeah. Counting down the workouts, man. Now granted, obviously cancer treatment is a lot different than running one tens and puking all

over the field and stuff like that. But your story was one that captivated all of Pittsburgh, right? Everybody, not only did they love you as a football player because you're a beast, but now you're this resilient guy that represents Pittsburgh in a beautiful fashion. You end up on the Pittsburgh Steelers. I mean, it's almost like a perfect storybook, right? And the moment you find out you're going to the Steelers, I would assume you got your chemo at UPMC as well. I would assume down in Pittsburgh. So, I mean, the whole thing coming together had to be a massive moment. Man, you can't make none of it up, man.

I'm just so thankful for it. It's just, you know, the city, I play my college ball in the city, you know, get my treatment in, beat cancer in, and now I'm playing for that professional team. Man, the love is real here in the city. I can't make none of it up. It's just so crazy how I play it out. You know, I'm from Erie, Pennsylvania. that's right up the road right down the street and so for me to just stay

in this area pittsburgh definitely came home and and it's a lot of love here so many great relationships and people i've met through my time here so you know that this is home i'll tell you i ripped like four or five soccer nets up there at Family First. Just up there. The place was the best. Literally right up the street here he is. Let's talk about your time with the Steelers. Whenever you got your chance to shine, it was coming right off the heels of the entire Lev Bell situation, negotiation.

And everybody was kind of intrigued to see how you would handle this. Young running back. Obviously, Lev Bell was a friend of yours. But you've been able to kind of step in and really become i don't want to say an adult but like a vet in this entire thing early do you think potentially what you went through with cancer and everything like that kind of put you in a good head space to become the guy in the running back room no question i think you know and that's what they get my football does you know it teaches you responsibility and it teaches you how to you know just be leader and stuff like that and i i went through cancer at 21. you know it teaches you responsibility and it teaches you how to you know just be leader and stuff like that and i i went through cancer at 21 you know so for i think that that was just

all like and my teammates had my back through through through it all you know and not that they didn't have levions or anything it's just how how they rallied around me and it was like man he beat cancer like this is all just a bonus he gets to have fun and this is just this is extra now you know like the hardest part is already kind of behind me so for me to to go through the cancer and and all that early on it prepared me for life after and you know it definitely made me mature early and man it's just you know teammates like i said they rallied around me and so now i was easy to step into the spotlight and just ball you know i like to think i'm a good football player and i can ball so i'm just gonna continue to do that yeah Yeah, man.

You're a Pro Bowl runner. Yeah, you're pretty good. I think you can get past the I think I'm a pretty good football thing. Yeah, you know, but I still want more. I know I've got a lot of games left. I had the Pro Bowl season and showed flashes in 2019, but with those injuries and stuff, it's never going to be perfect. But I keep my head down and keep working. So that's why i say thank you because i know i know i got much

more to give and i just want to show it oh that's beautiful there's people there's yinzers right now that just won six to midnight right there listening to you speak about that the the thought though of being a running back the real thing in the running back position is you're probably not going to make all 16 games that's just the nature of the beast as a running back you are getting hit in much more even if it's blocking you're taking a lot of contact especially whenever entire defenses are coming after you but it looks like you've transformed your body a little bit that post that i don't want to say it's a thirst trap but sure that's the flex of your back james look at at this thing. What have you done? Have you completely changed your workout schedule, or is this normal and I just haven't seen it?

No, no. It's definitely a lot of work I put in. When the quarantine first started, I said, you know, I got to come out of this thing. I'm going to use this time to get back to the basics. I'm going to take a little bit of breaks from weights and just get my body right with all body weight stuff and change my entire diet. You know, I had time, and my entire diet you know i had time and i have you know people around um and i just wanted to strengthen up that diet you know i've been hitting the gym like twice a week uh twice a day you know throughout the week and so uh you know that's that's what it came to it was just in a weight room getting it in one day

took that shirt off and started flexing on him you're you might have to run sideways through hope i mean that is one of the broadest backs i've ever seen no it's just the way i flex it too you know oh yeah yeah yeah good things i'm not just walking around looking like the hope james i had a question because it seems like coach r Randy has you running out of shotgun a lot. And it seems like you have a lot of success when you're going downhill, maybe out of an eye. Do you guys talk about that and the difference between your running styles versus what maybe the plays have been called? Like maybe a shotgun toss or something like that? By the way, diehard.

This is one of the biggest Pittsburgh Steelers fans in history. Very pumped up that you're here today. Yeah, we definitely talk about it. It's definitely a group effort you know with ben being back there like he likes to you know being a shotgun as well so i mean that's the offense i gotta i gotta adapt i like uh being in in you know i and going downhill running fast and i think we'll have a little bit of a mixture of both um i'm gonna do my part with staying staying on the field because i think i can make it work right out of the gun or underneath. It's just on me to stay out there and continue to make plays.

But we're talking about it. We added some more pieces this offseason to try to get this run game going even more. So I'm going to take the challenge head on, man, and it'll be a big year for us. Pittsburgh Steelers have always been a run team. I mean, it's just the way it goes. Ben Roethlisberger can throw for 500, 600 yards, but the run is always something that's appreciated in the city of Pittsburgh. It's just the way it goes. It goes back, drone, bat is boom, boom.

You go all the way back to bam, bam, the whole thing. But now that Ben is back, I mean, last year almost made the playoffs. No offense to Doc Hodges. He's one of our guys. But, I mean, he threw five picks in one game there that we went to that was like a playoff ceiling game. But last year's team, whenever Minka Fitzpatrick gets brought in, became like this. Okay, we got a squad now.

Ben Roethlisberger ends up getting a baseball surgery, but he's coming back. There was a report this morning on Pro Football Talk that you said that the ball is whistling out of Roethlisberger's hands. What have those workouts been like? And what are the expectations for the team going into this year? They have to be very high, I'd assume. Yeah, well, we just can't wait to put it all together and get back. We're itching to get back there as a team. But, I mean, when Seven comes back, I mean, it's kind of like, let's roll again.

You know, he's our leader. He's our starting quarterback with Super Bowls. You know, so we don't take that for granted. We can learn from him, and he's going to lead the charge down the way. And like you said, when Minka came through and just absolutely started balling, you know, for the defense, and we're going to lead the charge down the way um and like you said when minka came through and and just absolutely started balling you know for the defense and and we're gonna put this put it together like defense that that's that he'll be his second year with us and and you know we got tj watt and bud and and just pieces man so um the expectations are just that

pittsburgh steelers standard and that's every year in and out no matter who even last year when ben went down like he coached T did a great job. Man, that's just what we do. We try to win, and the goal is to bring Super Bowls here. That's all it's about. So when we get our big number seven back and leading the charge on the way, it'll be nice. Those workouts.

We saw the video of him getting his hair cut and shaving his beard. I had to see it through somebody else's account because he had blocked me like four years ago. But he unblocked me, so I'm backames i'm back which is good news um but those workouts whenever you get the call from him it's like hey let's go throw what was the were the workouts all like shorter balls to begin with and then kind of rolled out to deeper things or was he at the point already where he was ready to fly uh the first time you guys back got back on the field together yeah no he just formed a little chat for us,

a little group chat, put it together. We met at the field, and we warmed up. And then as soon as he felt good, you know, he started letting them go. And the video only showed a little bit, but, you know, deep balls. I feel like he's back, and I think he's okay with me saying those words because I know the work he's putting in every day to get his body back ready, and he said he feels great. So, yeah, he just organized it, put it together.

We met up. He did his thing. We all warmed up, and he started letting it go. So I'm excited. I know when it's game day, I know he's going to be back fired up again, and we're going to get it going. This dude is losing his mind over here. He is so excited.

You have no idea. What's that? I said he has he is so excited you have no idea he does what what what's that i said he has reason to be excited you know we gotta we're gonna have a healthy meat bag healthy juju and you know a line coming back we added some pieces to there so it's reason for the hype you know hey juju said that he was going to change his body this quarantine as well whenever you guys were out on that field does he look like he's the best juju you've seen yet? Yeah, man. He really – he was out in L.A. training. And, man, the way he just built his body up, you know, he's going to be that beast for us that we need him to be. And so – but also our young receivers coming up too, man, like Deontay Johnson, James Washington. Even the play pool looking good.

So I think we got – we had Eric Ebron. So, I mean – I don't love that by the way i didn't love that what's your opinion on that well i just i didn't love that he just you know i thought he's potentially going to retire and then all of a sudden i see these videos where he's looking like he's in better shape than he's been the last two years and it's like yeah he's unbelievable he's whenever when ebron is balling he is unbelievable yeah I mean I know he went through the injured ankle the issue yeah man is talking with him he's been hitting that rehab hard and

I know he's been training out there every day and so he when he wants to make plays man I know and we know he's capable of it so we'll see how it plays out is there any chance that you bring back the haircut that really just captured the entire world? We had a guy in our office, Nick, also diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He said, if James goes for a hundo and two TDs, I'll be rocking this on Monday. Bingo, bango. I think he went for almost three touchdowns and 700 yards that game. And he caught it in there immediately.

He lost a bet to himself. game and he caught it in there immediately he lost a bet to himself uh but is there any chance we go back to this haircut the little mullet with a couple hard parts across the top world okay let me tell you that one that that cut right there is retired i don't know if i'm ever bringing that smart smart you know but i might i might bring the you know some length in the back you know just to shake it up but as far as the lines on the top and all that is definitely a one-time thing but i'm happy that he stuck to his word though he probably didn't expect me to do that do what I did oh no I had your back I believed you could do it I was all for it I'm like let's go so now you just got to give me a heads up what the next one is so I can get a

jump on it so I can be rocking a game day with you yeah see that and we didn't know if his hair was going to grow back by the way after that cut he's getting a little thin up there we we thought it was a little bit of an aggressive decision james uh fear is a choice the book is out now i can't wait to be able to introduce you as a new york times bestseller good luck with the promotion good luck with the season and uh keep going man you're the man bro i appreciate y'all for having me on what's the tattoo on your right arm there under on your bicep that didn't make it into the book right there? It says N-E-R at the end. Oh, that's,

it's Conor Strong on my bicep. So that's the last name. Oh, golly, dude. Yeah, Conor Strong. I had to. I had to. Yeah, I understand.

Ladies and gentlemen, running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He's about to get broken off after this next season running into his contract year and future new york times bestseller from the university of pittsburgh running back james clark good luck man all right all right that was cool huh fucking undertaker dude That's crazy.

Those conversations with people like that don't come around often. I'm very, very grateful for them. Now, I'm thankful for all of my guests, obviously, in every single situation. Anybody that takes time to talk to me in a recorded conversation, I am thankful for. But, man, when it's fucking Undertaker, that's a cool thing. thankful for but man when it's the fucking undertaker that's a cool thing check out the last episode of the last ride this sunday wwe network also there's so many documentaries on there they promote like you get the pay-per-views for free with wwe network subscription and all that shit and wrestling the documentaries on their next level i mean it's next level shit if you have any interest in the wrestling business

or have any downtime, I think it's free for new subscribers. I'm not 100% sure if they're still doing that or not, but back whenever I was doing a lot of pre-shows for them, that was kind of the push, is free for new subscribers. It's worth it. And I can't wait for the last ride.

And hopefully we'll have more conversations that make people feel good next week. Maybe learn you up a little bit. Listen along while I get informed about different shit. conversations that make people feel good next week. Maybe learn you up a little bit. Listen along while I get informed about different shit. I can't thank you enough for all of this. Thank you for listening to this show. If you enjoyed it, please tell a friend. If you didn't, just act like it never fucking happened. Okay. From all of us to all of you, thank you so much. Ty Schmidt, please play some independent music. Thank you. សូវាប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់� Thank you. Thank you.