Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Open Mic 18: Heel Liz
6 Plays1 year ago
In this episode of Open Mic, The MVP travels to SoCal (not really) to chat it up with the lovely and talented Heel Liz! They talk about women's pro wrestling, her start in the SoCal indie scene, deathmatch wrestling, the growth in the community of women in wrestling content creation, and much more!
Use code CHICKFOLEY to save 10% at www.ringsidecollectibles.com
Find all things CHICK at www.CHICKFOLEY.com
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Welcome
Filling Gaps and Supporting Friends
00:00:39
Speaker
Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of Open Mic with the MVP Marco. I am of course. I can't even talk tonight. Of course, your host, the MVP Marco. You're probably sick of hearing me. I've been going for the past. I usually don't do these shows every week, but I've just been on a roll just trying to get as many people as I can on the show.
00:00:50
Speaker
Who the hell told you tonight was open mic night
00:01:04
Speaker
Um, doing, uh, do an old Sheena favor and, uh, and Seth and, and Jordan, since we don't record the chick Foley show every single week, we really only record when there's like a big pay-per-view happening or a big, uh, weekend in
Pod Foundation Overview
00:01:16
Speaker
wrestling. So we, we like to do these filler shows. So I'm trying to do my best to, uh, you know, stack up some interviews and things like that. So if you're sick of hearing me, I'm sorry. There's no Sheena, there's no Seth. There's no Jordan. I know.
00:01:28
Speaker
I know we all love them, but you know, you have to get used to hearing me a lot more about myself. But anyway, since I'm speaking about the Chick Foley show, the show is brought to you by the Pod Foundation. The Pod Foundation is a group of
00:01:43
Speaker
of like-minded people in the wrestling world. We're podcasters, we're content creators. We have a great crew of people. Some you may know, some you might not know. The Chick Foley show, obviously, like I said before, that's Chick Foley, Sheena, Seth, and Jordan, and myself.
Gear Design and Wrestling Shows
00:02:01
Speaker
We round out that crew.
00:02:03
Speaker
We also have the extra cooler show. If you're familiar with Nick, Nick is doing pretty big things right now. He's like, you know, he's working with Matt Cardona on his gear and, you know, and all his merchandise and stuff on the jarring aspect. And he's on all in. He actually designed FTRs.
00:02:20
Speaker
gear for all in and he designed some gear before that that they've sold on t-shirts and stuff so extra cooler and his uh and his friends they do a show they're a part of the network um definitely they'll be coming back pretty soon because he's a he's a teacher um shoot that's a shoot work um
00:02:38
Speaker
he actually he's a teacher so you know he had to change his schedule a little bit but his show will be back at some point we also have uh coming down the iowa j-bone um he's a great guy i mean he's uh on this another show that i do um on the uh turnbuckle tavern who i'll get to next uh the turnbuckle tavern they literally have a show every single day of the week
00:02:58
Speaker
There's nothing that they don't cover, AEW, Indie, Impact, and WWE, which I am on. I'm on the Turnbuckle Tavern feed as well. I'm the forbidden door of the Pod Foundation. I kind of hop around to different shows and things like that.
Roles in Turnbuckle Tavern and WWE vs. AEW
00:03:16
Speaker
But yeah, on Thursday nights at 8 o'clock,
00:03:19
Speaker
on YouTube, on the Turbuckle Tavern channel, we do a live show called The Raw Down, where it's myself, Jay Bone, from coming down the aisle, and Young Anthony, and we cover The Week and WWE, because the two bad chads, as we call them, they cover A.W., and they needed us to cover WWE, so that's what we do. You can hear our stupid takes and horrible musings on the product. But that rounds us out.
00:03:44
Speaker
Let's get to our guests.
Introducing Heel Liz and Her Influence
00:03:47
Speaker
This person I've been trying to get for a while. This person's always traveling. I was actually joking a little bit before we got on and I started recording. This person travels a lot.
00:04:00
Speaker
A lot of uh, you know you could tell this she's very passionate in what in what she does and uh and in wrestling It's gonna be focused on that more than anything and I definitely want to you know Talk about her travels and things and you know, she's a she's a big part of the Wrestling community will say For me anyway in my in my own opinion. Let's bring her on. That is a heel Liz. How are you? tonight
00:04:29
Speaker
I'm doing great. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for that introduction. I always try to I try to make like a I get everyone every time I always try to, you know, do an intro that I seem that I don't write it down. I just kind of go off the top of the head on what I want to say. But yeah, no, you're definitely you're definitely a big part of the wrestling community. And, you know, one of the things
00:04:55
Speaker
when I first started, you know, talking about doing the show was, you know, I was talking to Sheena Chick Foley, um, about obviously it's, you know, I have to use our name as Chick Foley presents the open mic. So, you know, one of the main things is like, obviously I had the idea of, you know, interviewing people that, you know, I, you know, follow on Instagram or I follow on Twitter and you know, that it's a lot of wrestling content and collectors and things like that. But, you know, everyone I find very interesting, um, in, in,
00:05:22
Speaker
with her anyway, obviously she being the female of the group, the only female in the group and actually the whole pod foundation.
Early Interactions and Women's Wrestling Discourse
00:05:30
Speaker
And her being like in the beginning stages of Instagram, like in around 2013, 2014, her being like one of those like startups for women in wrestling, not only, you know,
00:05:41
Speaker
uh like giving her takes and things like that but you know you know um putting over other accounts like i'll give an example like the wrestling classic we spoke about that it was like her the wrestling classic um extra cooler at the time and a few others they were like you know starting up their you know pages around 2014 and they all you know helped each other out and promoted each other um and like i said she was one of the first uh women that i followed that actually you know really gave like her opinions on wrestling
00:06:08
Speaker
She wasn't just like, you know just being like kind of like a pretty face in that sense like she was actually like, you know put not posting pictures of herself all the time just you know posted a picture of like Something that happened the night before and giving her opinion on it and and going to test with people in the comment section too If uh, if they didn't like her her commentary, but yeah, I think since since she started there's been a huge boom with women and wrestling and you're definitely one of those I
00:06:32
Speaker
those ladies that have taken shape.
Authenticity in Wrestling Content
00:06:35
Speaker
Do you see yourself like that or is that something that you're hearing for the first time and you're like, no, I actually think about it.
00:06:41
Speaker
Um, honestly, I am not used to it. Um, I do get, you know, a couple of people that send me messages and times like, Oh, you know, thank you for, you know, posting what you post and, you know, your content. And I'm just, to me, I'm just like, I don't, I don't see it as content. I know it's considered content, but I don't see it as content. You know, for me, I'm just like, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time doing what I love. Like I'm just filming what it, like I, I haven't.
00:07:08
Speaker
opening my wrestling page was, uh, something that I kind of thought about for a cool minute, but it's following like people like them that encouraged me to want to do it and be like, Oh, you know what? Like there's real wrestling fans out there. I'm just like, I don't have to, cause I had a personal page where I feel like I was kind of pushing a lot of wrestling and to people that weren't interested in, you know, uh, watching or seeing what was going on. Like it was people that, you know, I went to school with and stuff like that. So.
00:07:34
Speaker
not everybody watched wrestling, at least not as much as I did. But then I started slowly seeing that wrestling side of Instagram. And I'm like, Oh my God, like these people are,
Diversity in Wrestling Styles
00:07:46
Speaker
you know, are posting what they love, they posting, you know, the people that they admire, things like that. I was like, and they legit know people that love this, like that they can have a conversation with about
00:07:58
Speaker
um wrestling and what's going on with you know the current wrestling or even you know conversating on things in the past so um you know or what we're looking forward to the future and i'm just like i want to have friends so for me opening my thing and like when people approach me that's i'm just like i'm just doing it to gain friends that like wrestling i'm just like that's what it is but again it goes back to you know networking with people that are you know want to
00:08:25
Speaker
actually associate there's a lot of people that are bad on here that you know they just put down all your ideas and then there's other people that encourage them even though they don't agree with it yeah okay well i see that point of view it doesn't have to be mean um so i think that's more of like what my page is about like i just kind of want to showcase you know good
00:08:47
Speaker
You know, positive vibes, like you can like wrestling and have different points of views. I was like, but still enjoy it. Like wrestling is amazing. I think we're in a great stage or years of wrestling. So. Yeah. Yes. No one on topic. No, no, definitely no. That's a.
00:09:03
Speaker
We actually, you know, I spoke to, you know, Justin, um, the wrestling classic about that on, on, on the interview I did with him. And, you know, we talked about how, you know, wrestling right now it's, you know, it's, there's something for everybody. You don't have to force your opinions or force your, your likes on somebody else. Like there's literally, if you, if you're having, if you're having problems finding
00:09:25
Speaker
a certain type of wrestling that you like. And I, we can't, I mean, we can't help you because this is literally like, you can find what you are. If you like deathmatch wrestling and you know, you can watch your local stuff. We'll get to like, you know, kind of the shows that you attend and stuff like that. And that I've attended in person. You know, you have GCW, you have impact, you have New Japan, you have obviously AEW, WWE and all your local wrestling. Like we, like in my area of Massachusetts, we have our chaotic wrestling.
00:09:54
Speaker
Is our, you know, our independent, uh, wrestling, you know, or in general, um, yeah. Yep. Triple A. Yeah. That's I think if you love, if you love that type of wrestling there, there is that for you. Like, so, I mean, there's no reason to complain really, but obviously, you know, you live in that world.
Wrestling Preferences and Promotions Discussion
00:10:13
Speaker
I live in that world. There's definitely, uh, people that complain and, you know, well, I mean, while we're on the subject, what do you, like, how do you feel about like, when,
00:10:22
Speaker
that that that happens like you know you know especially like now like i said where there's a bunch of wrestling out there's really no you know reason to complain do you do you like get like the you know the tribalism and the you know you shouldn't watch this because you know this is awful and vice versa that type of stuff do you do you fall into that or do you get into that honestly i don't only because i enjoy all wrestling like all wrestling is great i mean at the end of the day these guys are
00:10:50
Speaker
know, putting themselves and their bodies like, you know, so I respect that. I was like, I mean, could we say they're all great? Yeah, you know, but there's, you know, things for everybody, like you said, like, there's some things that you just can't do at a kids show. You know, so you're a little bit more mild and more like trying to make it more fun and things like that. And some people don't like that.
00:11:13
Speaker
They're like, well, they look down upon comedy wrestling or, you know, something that's more for legit children, you know, for entertainment. And there's some that are deathmatch shows, you know, like, or it's just hardcore where if you have your kid, you're kind of like, why you got your kid in here?
00:11:31
Speaker
I mean, I'll tell you, however you want to pair it, you know, but, you know, you'll get some eyes rolls and, you know, stuff like that. Because, you know, there's glass and crazy chaotic stuff going on, but not a lot of people like deathmatch. A lot of people I come to realize in the wrestling community.
00:11:48
Speaker
People stand 50-50 when it comes to death matches. It's a really hard topic for some people because some people agree with it and some people strongly don't agree with it. Personally, I grew up just loving horror movies.
00:12:06
Speaker
Just so I'm cool with seeing like I watched saw as I was like, you know, growing as they were all coming out. And I'm just like, I mean, it's horrible. But I'm just like, yeah, insane. But I mean, come on, like, you know, I like it. I'm not gonna I don't look away. I mean, who knows now with this new one coming out.
00:12:27
Speaker
But, you know, deathmatch shows like some people who just can't stand seeing, you know, even like a small, you know, thumbtack going into someone's elbow, you know, as they're going down, like they'll look, you know, they'll look away because you know, some people kind of tend to feel that pain or
00:12:43
Speaker
whatever it is. There's some people just feel uncomfortable with it, but that's okay. I'm like, but it's not for everybody. I mean, if you try, you don't like it. Cool, you know? But don't talk down on anybody who, that's what the one thing I don't like. If you don't like it, move on, scroll, keep going. Like, you know? So people tend to like go in there and like talk bad about like, if you don't like it, cool. I don't, I, why do I have to spend my time commenting on something that I don't like so that somebody can go in there and comment so that I can go back to the, what I don't like? Like that makes no sense.
00:13:13
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Just grow, your algorithm will fix to whatever you do like, if you like stuff. But I think just when it comes to, I'm very open-minded with wrestling. I enjoy all types of wrestling, no matter how
00:13:30
Speaker
crazy or how fun it is. I don't know. I just, I think all wrestling is great. It takes, you know, people, it takes, you know, time to develop even a small character, you know, that people, kids can enjoy. I was like, or building up something super hardcore where you're like, Oh my God, like this person's going to show up to this show is going to get crazy. Nick Gates, you know, for example, like, you know, when he shows up, you know, you know, so.
00:13:59
Speaker
is what I'm saying. Just like, you know, trying to develop that, that takes time and it takes patience and it takes true talent for you to bring out a certain character, no matter what platform you have.
00:14:11
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Oh, that's that's that's like a perfect answer, especially with like, you know, we'll do a deathmatch, you know, death matches and specifically when they're done, right. They definitely something to watch. I mean, you know, there's been tons of classic, you know, types of, you know, hardcore, you know, death matches and those types of things. You go back, you know, ninety five, the deathmatch tournament with Mick Foley and Terry Funk in the main event actually have the DVD of that.
00:14:39
Speaker
That's like barbed wire, landmines, literally everything you can think of. Everything you're seeing now has been done already. So there's really no- I was like, I have a barbed wire bat signed by Mick Foley. I actually seen that video. Yeah. He was like, wow. He was like, you came prepared.
00:14:58
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, like that, like he, like, you know, you have guys like that that are, you know, living legends that are, you know, they've been through that. So they, and they can, and Vic Foley is that type of guy that can do, he can do any type of match if you want. He can do a wrestling match. He can do a hardcore match. He can do just a type of brawl match. Like literally anything you put it, put him in, he could do it. I mean, he has a library to, you know, to show for it as well. I mean, and how was that experience? What did, how was meeting Vic Foley?
00:15:26
Speaker
Oh, he was amazing. He was so sweet. He was really nice. He was very nice about the whole barbed wire thing too. He noticed me before I went up. I was like, I felt like it took away a little bit from the people that were going up, but it was pretty cool. I'm not going to lie. I was like, I came for this experience.
00:15:49
Speaker
But he was great. He was very sweet. Um, got to talk to him for a little bit. Obviously there was still a long line and stuff. And that was around the time that, uh, they were having to limit the amount of people that they can have in. Um, so it was very, uh, coming of here and there, but it was a great experience overall. Shout out to the wrestling guys store. They always have amazing meet and greets.
00:16:11
Speaker
That's where I got to meet him. Because my car got to be so up close to the door, I didn't have to be walking around with a barbed wire because it's legit barbed wire. Oh, okay. That's dangerous. Yeah, exactly. So I was like, I'm not trying to walk all over or all around with it. I don't want the cops called on me. I'm like, I just want this thing signed into my office. So they made it very,
00:16:40
Speaker
very easy for me to be able to do that and stuff and not wander around with it. So they were super cool with me, but I had to, I did ask before even going in, I was like, is it okay if I can do it? They had to check in with him first, of course. So they said that they were fine with it. So they allowed me. So I guess I don't know if he expected it to look like that. So yeah, by the time I got to the front, I was
00:17:07
Speaker
The whole time I was like, oh, I hope, like, you know, I make an impression because I also went with his shirt, kind of like a little bit more of a cosplay-ish type of look, you know, doing his, the played, the plaid coat, everything. So I was like, okay, like, I'm trying to stand out a little bit.
00:17:24
Speaker
Of course, you know, that is what I do and stuff that, you know, I make outfits out of these things. So, um, yeah, he ended up noticing like everything. So it was super cool. Um, he ended up, you know, putting on, uh, the mask and then he brought out soccer. I asked for him just like, can we bring out soccer? Uh, so it was great. He was very, he was very, uh, sweet overall. Um, so it was a great experience. Did you, so did you make the bet yourself? Did you like, how did, how did you, how'd you get real barbed wire?
00:17:54
Speaker
on a back. Yeah, well, I had help. Okay. So you actually get to it. Yes. Okay. It's actually, you know, a legit crafting project that I wanted to do. I was like, I'm like, this is the only way that this my idea was to have, well, it is to eventually get in a glass casing on and then obviously get my little my picture with him and everything on. Yeah.
00:18:20
Speaker
You know, but yeah, it's legit home depot stuff. Just go in there, get a role. How long did you like? How long did it take to to do? I would have been like like 20, 20, 30 minutes. Yeah, it took some time, obviously, getting it wrapped. I didn't do it. The person that was helping me did all the all of that. They had all the cuttings. I didn't.
00:18:49
Speaker
I was just encouraging and I bought the supplies. So, uh, okay. You did your, you did your part on it. Yeah. You want to get all sliced up with that stuff. And you, you would think like my guy, like Mick Foley, like, you know, they would have to ask him if you could bring you like the amount of things he's seen and that he's been hit with. Do you think he'd be scared of a, uh, I don't respect. I was like, I got to ask first. I'm like, I don't want to show up. And then he's going to think I'm going to jump him or something. I'm just kidding.
00:19:19
Speaker
He's like, I'm in LA. I don't know what to expect. That is true. He might have some enemies out there.
Meeting Mick Foley and Creating Cosplay
00:19:25
Speaker
He might have been someone he, you know, a relative of someone he had a feud with in there. Exactly. They might have to take revenge on him. And I'm just like, I was like, my bad. I'm sorry. No, but I had to ask. So, but yeah, it didn't. I'm a very, I'm more of a, there's particular looks that I've done that it's more of a
00:19:44
Speaker
I do it myself type thing like they're like DIYs and stuff like that so I like to add my own. My own thing where I know you won't be able to find it elsewhere even though it's like an inspired look you won't be able to find that product somewhere where you know so I like to do my little DIY stuff so
00:20:01
Speaker
That's kind of where this came from. I did search on Amazon. I think they were doing, I think the only barbed wire bat was like a plastic one from the Walking Dead or something. Which is what a lot of people have used in a lot of his meet and greets that I have seen. Because I did wonder and I was like, I wonder if I'm the only person, like I doubt I'm the only person. I was like, but I would expect people to have done like, you know, maybe other weapons.
00:20:28
Speaker
But a legit barbed wire, I've seen a couple other people, but not too many have done it. But that plastic, that plastic one, I did see a lot of people on social media using them like, Oh, so when I saw on Amazon, and I was like, I'm not a fan of it. Like for me to have in my collection, I was just like,
00:20:49
Speaker
I think I like, I like this one better. No, that's awesome having that. And like, actually, let's kind of, you know, pivot to that, you know, like you said, you do like cosplay and stuff like that, because I interviewed over the moon salt. Yes, I interviewed her like I'm the
00:21:05
Speaker
Like in the beginning she might be she's early in the archives But yeah, she was she was awesome when I interviewed her we talked about like, you know her process and how she you know how she creates everything and all that stuff and how like is it do you like how is how is your process like when you're when you're like, you know the idea like from the idea to the actually to the actual execution of the of the outfit well, it depends I genuinely I
00:21:35
Speaker
I start getting my ideas as they are posting. So on Instagram, I mean, I'm probably pretty sure some people use the save buttons. So I have my own folder where I have inspired looks that I look and that I see and I'm just like, Oh, that'd be dope. And then once I start kind of getting an idea of what I want to do, or if I'm like legit set on a look,
00:21:58
Speaker
Then I start breaking it down to how I want it to look, at least for myself, because I'm very particular on how I place things on myself. I'm very nitpicky, especially because I just love wearing t-shirts. I'm a t-shirt person.
00:22:16
Speaker
So when it's something more showy, I'm very particular. So I start kind of breaking everything down and how I can adjust it to how I want it to look on myself. But I think that's like the biggest process of taking a look is just kind of like morphing it to something that I feel comfortable with.
00:22:33
Speaker
And then once I have that, then it's a little bit easier to start dissecting each piece to like, okay, I'm willing to do this off scratch or I'm willing to purchase something that looks similar along these lines. But when it comes to like things that I legit have to sew and put together like this John Cena dress,
00:22:56
Speaker
My room is a mess because you see all the little pieces. You see everything everywhere. I did a recent look with a DIY jersey for the Giants. My room was like, I had fabric everywhere from the jersey.
00:23:13
Speaker
I'm a very messy, chaotic person. I have to have everything spread out. I have to have it within eye. I need to be able to see it. So that way I can start putting things together. But it's a whole process. I think I just mentally mean dissecting everything that is very
00:23:36
Speaker
I think is the most stressful part. But when I like start putting it all together, I'm just like, Oh my God, yes, it's starting to look what I was like envisioning. And it just kind of just flows from there. Once I get that to that piece where I just feel like it's legit looking how I want it to look. It's just that the end is easy putting it on.
00:23:54
Speaker
sometimes is easy. But yeah, I think it's just the whole dissecting like the whole just that middle section of morphing it to my likings is what takes the most time because
00:24:10
Speaker
I'm very, like I said, I'm very particular in how I wanted to look on me. Yeah, yeah, definitely. As you were saying that you said you like you have to have everything, you know, kind of like scattered. It's like, it's kind of like they call it like organized chaos. Yes. You know, that type of thing. You know, you have it's, you know, it's it's all over the place. But in your mind, it's like, you know,
00:24:31
Speaker
It's organized. Yeah, like it's where it's supposed to be. But like, so what's your do you have like a favorite thing that you created like an outfit or favorite like cosplay that you've done? I mean that John Cena looks pretty cool.
00:24:49
Speaker
The John Cena one was legit. I think the main reason why it's on there, I think I've said it before, it's because it's the last time that me and John Cena were breathing in the same stadium together.
00:25:06
Speaker
That's the reason why it's on a mannequin aside from him being like the reason why I love wrestling. But yeah, that's the reason why that's on there. Every stitching on there I legit did my hand because I didn't have a sewing machine at that time. So I think like that's one of my favorite pieces because it's just the most meaningful. I put a lot of work into it. And like I said, is the last time me and him were breathing in the same stadium, which was in Las Vegas for SummerSlam against Roman Reigns.
00:25:33
Speaker
So it's been sitting there for a little minute. But so far, that's the most meaningful piece. But I think I would say my favorite so far right now has been my Charlotte Flair look that I did for WrestleMania that I still have pinned on my
00:25:52
Speaker
Yep, Instagram. I see that as actually is pretty impressive the yeah the I always like, like, even when I was speaking over the moon salt, like just like the amount of work that goes into doing something like that, whether it be the, you know, like the, like the smallest outfits are like the biggest thing it's like,
00:26:10
Speaker
It's it's it takes a lot of time and stuff like that, especially, you know, the dedication that that goes into it. You definitely want it to look right when it's finished, because if you do all that work and then it's like, like you said, it's oh, my God, does it fit right or it just looks weird? Like that that process is like, what the hell does that start from? Don't get me wrong. It happened to me once. It happened to me once that it just went terribly wrong by the time I had to put it on for the show.
00:26:37
Speaker
that I had to switch my whole outfit. And I was so devastated. And since then, it's a reason why I have been the way I am with my stuff. Because of that, you live and you learn. It's a learning process. If you don't fail, then how are you supposed to learn? Or continue progressing and stuff. So that was back in 2000,
00:27:01
Speaker
18 when that happened to me. I was trying to cosplay as Carmela for Royal Rumble. And my outfit went terribly wrong, that I was just like, I'm not wearing this. And then I just luckily I had her t shirt. So I just wear a t shirt through a skirt on and through some sneakers and I left. I
00:27:22
Speaker
But that was, it was very hard on me. Because it hurt, I was just like, I was really, it was my first real rumble. So I was just like, I really kind of wanted to be meaningful. And like the fact that my outfit didn't go as flat. And I was one of those, I was one of those.
00:27:39
Speaker
You know, as much as I love wrestling, I'm still like, you know, super, you know, I'm into my outfits. So I was very devastated. So yeah, ever since then, it's the reason why I'm very particular with my cosplays and stuff like that. And even my outfits I put together for regular shows.
00:27:59
Speaker
Yeah, you know, as you should be, especially like you said, it's a craft. So you definitely want it to come out, you know, the best as it can anyway. And I got actually, you know, as kind of as you were like talking, I was kind of thinking like, so the beginning, like what what you said, obviously, John Cena is the reason why you got into wrestling. So when did you start watching?
John Cena's Influence
00:28:21
Speaker
But what is that? What is that thing that pulls you into to the craziness of a professional wrestling?
00:28:28
Speaker
Um, yeah, honestly, it was flat out John Cena. Uh, I started watching ruthless aggression era. So I attitude era. I only know from what particular videos I seen, not that I actually, you know, lived through it. Unfortunately I didn't. Um, I wish I would have loved to, but I was an I'm a 90s baby.
00:28:47
Speaker
So by the time that I like started to know what I like and what I didn't like, I just happened to really like wrestling. John Cena was the main reason why I wanted to get invested. And it kind of just took off from there. It was when he was doing his whole word life.
00:29:05
Speaker
gimmick. I loved it. I don't know what it was, but I really enjoyed it. And I was like, I like that he talks shit on the mic, you know, and he just, you know, rhymes. Yeah. And I think the biggest, the other thing that I really enjoyed was any time that he would show up at a rival city, he would wear the, when he would show up to a city, he would wear the rival jerseys.
00:29:29
Speaker
So I loved when he used to do that. And I loved it when he came to LA. You know, obviously, you want to, you want to, you know, troll and stuff. And him being a Boston Celtics fan, it was just like, topped it. So I, but it was him, I think just
00:29:47
Speaker
I, for me, it was just a bad guy Cena, um, that really attracted me. And I really liked it. Um, I don't know. I just thought it was comedy, which is how I also liked crime time because you know, the whole game, like, I think it's just a rapper vibe. You're a big guy. Are you a hip hop?
00:30:08
Speaker
I was at that time. I was at that time now and more since Daddy Yankee and Gasolina. I've been a reggaeton fan. Now more than ever for the last 10 years. But yeah, at that time I was very much so into hip-hop music and just any type of English music at that point.
00:30:30
Speaker
Um, but I really liked that they were incorporating something that was more of that I could relate to like, you know, like, you know, so it was just, I was like, I thought it was pretty cool. So I liked that when he started flipping to, you know, his baby face to the PG.
00:30:46
Speaker
Um, I didn't hate it personally because it actually cut it. It was like tied to like my childhood things that I was going through and stuff like that. So Cena has been a very huge part of the reason why I stayed committed to wrestling, just his character and.
00:31:02
Speaker
things like that. And even the way that he developed, a lot of people may not have liked it. They didn't like that. He went from the FU to the Attitude Adjustment. But for me, I understood it. Him being the person that has the most Make-A-Wish at the Make-A-Wish Foundation that is home because
00:31:20
Speaker
I had a sibling that went through that, that was somebody that was able to get a wish off of that foundation. So I understood everything that he's represented along the way. So I think that's what kind of got me committed to that particular person.
00:31:36
Speaker
don't get me wrong, Randy Orton was like right behind him. Yeah, I was gonna say that I was gonna ask you like the other people like you know Randy Orton. A lot of people like Batista and Brock Lesnar. Yeah, I mean Randy Orton. I mean Randy Orton is great man. He's hopefully I mean there's rumors of him
00:31:56
Speaker
returning at some point. So that'd be great. But yeah, I was always I was a Batista guy. I Walk Alone. I still listen to that. His theme song is amazing. That whole album, what's it called? It's like an album with all their like
00:32:14
Speaker
all the rock songs or all the theme songs that they have. I still bump that song. I Walk Alone is probably one of the greatest. I think everyone has it on their Spotify playlist. Of course. I mean, come on. You can't hate it.
00:32:30
Speaker
you actually that's a good point because about John Cena because we kind of talked about this with uh with Justin um because you know he was you know if you know Justin you know his his stance on uh on John's on old Johnny boy John Cena but uh I think you know just from you saying that um the the people that didn't like
00:32:50
Speaker
grow up watching John Cena are the ones that aren't gonna be fans of John Cena. Like now you are cuz obviously he's in Hollywood, he's doing movies now. And like you said, it's either that or the make a wish, like him being the most make a wish person out there. You love him just for more than what he did in the ring at his time in WWE now. And I think that's what
00:33:16
Speaker
a lot of people miss. Like I didn't, I didn't watch wrestling when he was in it. I kind of watch it towards like seeing punk, you know, having started rolling and then like, you know, the pipe bomb and all that stuff. And then like, that's when obviously it was in full, like people booing John Cena mode. But like, I think you like in order to appreciate, you know, once we riot.
00:33:37
Speaker
I remember that. I mean, that was an RVD. That was another guy that was like a huge fan of his RVD. So, but like, I think you had to like be with John Cena at the beginning of his entrance. And then like all the way through in order to get, it's the same thing with CM Punk. I feel like if you, if you're watching CM Punk now, or like, you know, even, you know, six years ago, you're not going to like him.
00:34:02
Speaker
You're not going to understand CM Punk, but if you're watching him from then to now, it's like, wow, this guy's an asshole, geez. Who would want to be in his company? But if you knew who he was before, like an ROH, and then him going into the WWE, the trials and tribulations he had to go through, because they didn't really want him there in the beginning. He had to fight his way out. Going through ECW as well.
00:34:24
Speaker
Yeah, like, yeah, with the ECW and being, you know, him being that like the face of ECW, essentially. And then like, and then if you like come in afterwards when he's like, you know, the pipe bomb and then like people kind of like them and then him leaving and all that stuff, it's like you're not going to get who he is. Yeah. But I think that's the same thing with with with with John Cena. It's like you don't get his character unless you actually watch him from the beginning all the way till now. So I kind of like that perspective that you gave that because I haven't I don't think I've interviewed anyone that's actually
00:34:56
Speaker
actually watched John Cena during the ruthless aggression era up until now. But yeah, I mean, anyone else on the route besides Randy Orton, were you like a Brock Lesnar? I think Brock Lesnar at first I wasn't. It took me a couple of returns. A couple of returns before I actually became a full fan, but like right now I think
00:35:22
Speaker
the best version, at least for me personally, because I love how goofy he's being. Yeah. Um, is cowboy, uh, Lesnar. I think so far this has been, um, my favorite version of him, like him just coming out and like smiling, but still being like, you know, that bad ass. Um, but at first it took me, I wasn't, I don't know, he didn't sit well with me for whatever reason.
00:35:48
Speaker
Yeah, because he yeah, he really didn't have a yet. I think I think it's fun now because he's actually being who he is, I think that that because that's if you ever if you watch his interview on with Pat McAfee, that's literally who he is. He's like, like, he's he's like anti social. He's not like that. The most social guy doesn't like go out of his way to like, you know, do like meet and greets and all that stuff. He likes to say to himself, which is a downside. Yeah, I know. I would love to meet him.
00:36:17
Speaker
Yeah, my, uh, my, one of my buddies, not met him, but seen him at a hotel and like try to like get a picture. Like he was, I guess he was like on his phone and now my buddy's like, Oh my God, it's Brock Lesnar in the hotel. So like, he like gets within like enough shot to do like a selfie. Um, there's like, well, Brock Lesnar is not looking. And I guess as he was doing it, like Brock turned, it was like, are you for real? And my friend was like, I'm sorry. Just for real.
00:36:44
Speaker
He was like, dude, I never ran so fast in my life. Like he could have killed me in that right day. I think he's that scary, but I mean, come on, it's him. Like, how do you like miss that moment? Yeah, I told him I'm sure if like when he was off the phone, maybe if you walked up afterwards and then like asked him, he wouldn't.
00:37:03
Speaker
the worst he would have said was no. But to try to catch him while he's still doing it. Yeah, to try to catch him and then he turns and sees you. Now you're scared that he's going to murder you on the spot is crazier. But I kind of want to skip, because we obviously talked a little bit of wrestling. Are you a fan of
00:37:23
Speaker
Uh, what the women are doing now and not, not just obviously WWE, but every all over, like, what is it, what is your stance on women's wrestling as you see it right
State of Women's Wrestling
00:37:32
Speaker
now? Do you think it's on a downswing and upswing? Do you think it's kind of even, I think TV wise, I mean, I would love to see more women, obviously, um, with WWE, of course, we're starting to see it a little bit more than what we used to. Um, and even, you know, in
00:37:49
Speaker
you know an aw but i think impact is doing a very wonderful job with the woman oh yeah definitely uh you know the indies is doing a phenomenal job with the with the woman uh they're allowing them you know now you're starting to see from
00:38:04
Speaker
city to city, state to state. Now you're starting to see more all women shows. Not everyone may agree with it, but I like that right now there is a main focus on the women because at the end of the day, this is networking, allowing all these women to be
00:38:20
Speaker
with amongst each other and being able to wrestle each other that brings eyes to not only that promotion but all these other wonderful women that you know can travel from state to state depending on who's traveling from where so I think right now they're killing it um I love what SoCal the SoCal women are doing here
00:38:38
Speaker
A lot of them are very, they're amazing. They're great. And we're just lucky to see them right now. Because you know, you see a lot of these girls like Shotzi being, you know, from California, I think she's from the Bay Area, you know, being able to go into WWE and flourish so well. You know, you want to be able to see more women.
00:38:57
Speaker
I think right now they have a, WWE has a very large roster of women as AEW as well. So I feel like just getting them on TV is the biggest concern, getting them more spots throughout the show. But I think right now they're doing great and I think it's only getting better. But I love what they're doing, that they're allowing them to have women-based shows and you can see what they can bring to the table.
00:39:27
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah. I want to get into that too. Like, cause you, like I said, you travel a lot, you, you go to a lot of like the, like local wrestling shows and stuff like that. Like, how did that come about? Like, how did you start getting involved with, uh, with your local, you know, promotions and
Local Wrestling Involvement
00:39:46
Speaker
stuff like that? Yeah.
00:39:47
Speaker
Honestly, I don't know how it happened. Great answer. Moving on. Honestly, I don't know. I started going to shows. I started posting clips, posting pictures with them, things like that.
00:40:10
Speaker
It just went from there where they were allowing me to come in and film a show or do anything like that. But it was literally from one day to the next, but also my biggest leap as well with working with promotions was also with Lucha Libre Online. When they opened their doors for me, my doors everywhere were allowed. I was allowed the opportunity to.
00:40:39
Speaker
to go in and represent them. So I think they also had a very, very huge part on what I do in the independence scene. I don't know what I do, but
00:40:54
Speaker
But I do it. But right now, I think for me, I just enjoy going to the shows, filming, and I enjoy editing. I think that's one of my main focus where I kind of want to continue growing. But it slowly happened from me just posting their matches and tidbits and stuff like that.
00:41:18
Speaker
My other question for you is, I see that you got involved in one of the shows recently with the little light tube action there. How did that come about?
00:41:33
Speaker
Honestly, well, the whole backstory of because obviously a lot of people just see that tiny tidbit. I had one of my friends go on there and was like, how are you always getting yourself involved in something is like, you're getting out of control. And I'm like, first of all, I wasn't self defense.
00:41:52
Speaker
But our host backstory to what happened was that I was basically tired of him trying to overpower my hosting. So I was hosting the show and he's the original host. So the whole thing throughout the show, me and him were just going back and forth, throwing shots at each other. Not literal shots, but literally just going back and forth, just wording each other off.
00:42:20
Speaker
Um, and then it went on through intermission, um, where it got really, you know, deep. Uh, so by the end, it was just more of like, I'm tired of your shit. Shut up. Uh, so yeah. And, um, you know, and they, I had to back up LA. He w he wanted to talk down on LA because he's from the Bay. Uh-uh. No, we're not doing that here, sir.
00:42:43
Speaker
to get a represent. Yeah. So that was fun. But, um, as you know, I mentioned earlier, like a deathmatch, um, deathmatch shows and stuff like that. Honestly, it was, uh, it was like the fan in me and it was like something to check off my, uh, my bucket list. So was that, was that, uh, was it frightening at all to do that, to hit somebody in the head with the, uh, yeah.
00:43:06
Speaker
I don't care what anyone says, but at the end of the day, if I would have hit him in a certain way, or right in his face, it's horrible.
00:43:22
Speaker
So I think that was like my biggest theme where I'm just like, ah, shit. I mean, you know what, let me do it. I was like, let me swing from up here because there's no way I'm not doing that. No, I'm, I'm going up here and there's no way in hell it's going anywhere under your head. So, um, that was, it was, uh, there was a little bit of nerves doing it. Yeah. But did they, did they give you any, like, uh, like any direction or they were just like, Hey, here's us. Just go out there and do it.
00:43:52
Speaker
Yeah. It was just go out there. It was super last minute. It was literally probably like, uh, right when that, that last match started, uh, they were like, Hey, you're down. I was like, okay. Is that the first time you've, is that the first time you've done that? Or is I've got involved in a match or.
00:44:09
Speaker
Um, no, I feel like I remember it. I feel like I've seen you get involved in other matches before.
Director of Authority Role
00:44:17
Speaker
Is that something, you know, is that something that do you like imply to do it or is it that they ask you to do?
00:44:25
Speaker
it's so I'm very open like when I go to shows and they asked me like if I'm there to film I'm there to film but in this particular case I'm the director of authority so in the general the general manager in other words for this promotion um so it was not my idea I was just I showed up and we were just like what are we doing today let's go and everything um
00:44:51
Speaker
Like they were just like, hey, they pulled me to the side and like, you're down to do something more involving. And me, I'm hella open to it. Will I ever train as a professional wrestler? The answer is no. That's my next question. I was like, if you get the bug, do you want to
00:45:07
Speaker
You want to hit the ropes? No, adrenaline honestly is insane. I see why they love to do it. I see why they continue to push themselves to get back out there and always better their craft. I see why. Honestly, that was the first time that I ever had been involved in that particular thing. I came in as a ref. I counted my one, two. It was a two. He decided to touch my hair.
00:45:35
Speaker
Okay. We don't do that. We don't, we don't do that. Um, it took me like an hour to like, you know, do right before the show. So I was like, boy, sit down. Um, and then, yeah, so I had to smack him real quick and then it was a one, two, three had to get out of the ring. Um, because it was not my fault. He decided to mess with my hair. Okay.
00:45:56
Speaker
So that was the first time I got involved with the light tubes. That was more hardcore. So I think like me going from breath to like full deathmatch mode, like it's in spade, the adrenaline is different. I will say that.
00:46:12
Speaker
Give me another one. I want to do another one. Low key, I would have done another one. So let's recap. So no bumps from you, no hitting the ropes, no light tubes to your head at all, probably. I don't know. Honestly, I think there is one time I did say I'm down to go through a table, but who knows?
00:46:37
Speaker
I mean, see, you know what? If I had to pick something to do, it might be that a table might not be as bad and white tubes, shards, a ladder. I think that would definitely have to be hella drunk for me to offer ladder.
00:46:54
Speaker
I mean, not that I would, not that I'm like the most hardcore guy ever. Those edges are, you know, they look, uh, no matter how you land, no matter how you land. Okay. So I don't know. But let's think, would you do thumbtacks? Oh, hell no. What about professionals? What about, well, take a step down. What about Legos? Have you ever seen where they, they give off the Legos? Those hurt like, do you ever step down a Lego? Yeah.
00:47:23
Speaker
No, that's, yeah. Dump tax and one thing, Legos I think are far worse than any Thump Tax. But maybe, maybe. Just because I know they're not, they're not going through my skin.
00:47:35
Speaker
Oh yeah, no, definitely. But honestly, the stuff I haven't really, I'd never kind of put myself out there. It's just more of like, they've asked if I'm down and I'm just like, let's go. Oh man. Yeah. I think like I said, a table might be safe. Thumb tacks, definitely not. Anything with like sharp edges or. Yeah. Barbed wire, all of that. I like, I'll watch somebody who's going to do it, but me. No pizza cutters, nothing like that. No, no.
00:48:04
Speaker
No, nothing that will scar me. Oh my God, man. I don't know. I don't know how, uh, you know, like Matt Cardona and, uh, STL, how they, uh, they frequent GCW, man, as much as they, uh, they just, I think they secretly like doing those shows. It's like,
00:48:23
Speaker
especially with like Nick Gage like he's like the obviously like the you know if you want to say like the the the Hulk Hogan or the uh or the rock of uh of uh deathmatch wrestling right now he's like the uh he's the it guy and if you're gonna do a match I mean it would definitely be oh yeah no definitely um
00:48:42
Speaker
I wanted to get back a little bit because you did mention that you were a fan of horror movies.
Hobbies and Relaxation
00:48:46
Speaker
And so what are the other interests that you love besides wrestling? Oh, well, I like to craft. I think I mentioned that earlier. I'm a very crafty person. I like to do a lot of DIYs. I think I focus a lot of my time on what my next project is. So far right now, I kind of slowed down.
00:49:10
Speaker
Just with a lot of stuff in general, it's been a little bit overwhelming because I overthink. I'm an overthinker. I'm always thinking what I can do next. What's my next move? What's my next project? But I like to craft. Those are one of my biggest, I think, hobbies aside from wrestling. Aside from that, I read here and there.
00:49:35
Speaker
I started picking up reading about two years ago. Just kind of needed something else than a screen. So I like to do that on my downtime, especially when it comes to traveling. And I'm not the one driving or especially obviously, I'm not a pilot. So I get to sit down a lot. So I get to just pull out my book. Sometimes reception is horrible in some of the airports.
00:50:05
Speaker
on some of the areas that I'm traveling through, which is just in California, it's not too much or big as here and there. But there's some areas that you don't get the greatest reception for like, you know, a couple minutes. But for me, I'm like, I just like to take that moment to kind of like just sink in a book.
00:50:23
Speaker
But aside from that music, Jim has been my latest commitment for the last year, I would say, especially more within like the last six months. So I spent a lot of my time there, at least two to three hours for five days a week.
00:50:41
Speaker
weekends if I have time. I think that has been one of my major, my major commitment roles lately aside from anything is just helps me to distress from, you know, on a very overwhelming day, I work a regular nine to five job, which is how I maintain my lifestyle to, you know, wrestling does not pay me. So I, you know, do a lot of the stuff just for fun, like, you know, a lot of the shows and things like that.
00:51:11
Speaker
But I think so far, Jim has been my main, my main squeeze lately. So as far as like horror movies and stuff like that, do you have a favorite?
Love for Horror Movies
00:51:26
Speaker
Do you have a favorite franchise or a favorite movie?
00:51:29
Speaker
Favorite villain, Freddy Krueger, would forever be my favorite, because he was the first man I was ever afraid of. I think we all were, definitely. I think I was just going over this conversation with someone over the weekend regarding two horror movies. So yeah, Freddy Krueger has been a major part. Chucky and Tiffany would also be my top list.
00:51:59
Speaker
I'm a huge paranormal fan. I'm a huge fan of witches, all of that. Also, you know, I like a little bit of everything. I like the sci-fi stuff, absolutely, but I can get more into the paranormal and witches and all of that stuff. I'm a huge fan of the Vampire Diaries. If anybody sees my stories, I tend to watch the Vampire Diaries at least once a year.
00:52:27
Speaker
So right now I recently started it, I'm season one. So I'm a huge fan of just like, just like long series. I'm a Grey's Anatomy fan. So I do a lot of that, but I just rewatch a lot of these old shows, friends, everything. Movies, not so much, only because I think I, except if it's tank tannic, I can sit through that at least once a month or at least once a week.
00:52:54
Speaker
and not have an issue with it. I'm very committed to Titanic, honestly, have been since the third grade for whatever reason. But yeah, I think that would be my two top would definitely be I love Michael Myers too. I think I just like the classics. I'm a huge Ghostface fan.
00:53:20
Speaker
Uh, two. Uh, so, but again, going back to what I had mentioned, saw. Yeah. Can't wait. Like, I like this sci-fi jeepers, jeepers creepers. Lord, this man owned me during middle school. Uh, you know, it was just, I, I love when I'm, when I get a good scare off of a character. Yeah.
00:53:47
Speaker
I think like when there's certain things about it just makes you feel a little bit more. So I think those are like the classics definitely because they had like a tie to my childhood of growing up and feeling like these characters were actually like, you know, real. So I don't know, I feel like they're very good. A lot of there's a lot of good movies nowadays, I think.
00:54:09
Speaker
What about anything, any new horror franchises that you're into at all or any new characters? Definitely The Conjuring is very good. Okay. Okay. Yeah, it's been a good franchise so far. I haven't seen these last ones. I really want to watch The Nun. The Nun is the only franchise I have not seen at all. Okay. Yeah. So I've heard this. This last one is okay. It's good. Yeah. I haven't seen it.
00:54:37
Speaker
But definitely The Conjuring has been a big part lately, the ones that I've kind of been following. But aside from that, another franchise that I'm running into, not horror related, but I would say I follow a lot of, well, anybody that knows me knows I am obsessed with Harry Potter.
00:55:01
Speaker
I'm a Harry Potter fan. Yes, exactly. And if you're not, you're weird. That's great.
00:55:12
Speaker
And then Fast and the Furious. I'm a huge Fast and the Furious. Of course. I mean, that's a staple. Yeah, absolutely. Since the early 2000s, definitely. Yeah, I've been really getting into, for horror, the VHS series. I'm really into a bunch of... The first one had me like...
00:55:32
Speaker
Yeah, the cut the last couple of ones were like, okay. But the yeah, there's a new one coming out. And then a Terrifier. Or if you've ever seen that the you know, the we're talking about it. I haven't seen it. Oh, my god. Yeah. So it starts. So the first movie is all all Hallows Eve. That's where he first, you know, appeared on the site.
00:55:52
Speaker
weird VHS tape that this kid gets while he's trick-or-treating and they pop it in, they watch it. It's almost like VHS. It's like an anthology series with different stories, but he's tied into every single story, but they're all different stories. But then the Terrifier movies, it's more focused on him. The second one is probably the most glorious
00:56:15
Speaker
movies I've ever seen in my life. It's it's pretty if you like it's not a like it's it's a gore movie. It's not really like a scary movie. It's more like like a gore fest, like like people get cut open or get pulled out blood all over the place, that type of stuff. So like, yeah, it's it's very it's very graphic, creepy and graphic. And that does the smile of that. If you if you're if you're if you're afraid of clowns, definitely don't suggest watching the movie because I know that because I am afraid of clowns.
00:56:46
Speaker
I hate clowns. That's a big no, no for me. Yes. I did sit through it and all of that. Oh, okay. So that's not too bad. I mean, yeah, it was like, I'm afraid of them if they're like, you know, around me, like legit, um, you know, within my, you know, if I can smack you, you're too close. Yeah. Uh, you know, but TVs and all that, like if I can look away, I'm good. Uh, but yeah, it was, but clowns is a mess with that.
00:57:15
Speaker
Yeah, I definitely don't I definitely don't suggest Going on YouTube and I think it was like around to 2015 2016 when they were doing like there's a lot of like for some reason if you'll dress up as clouds and standing it across people's houses and like Somebody did this to me. I was like I would I was like I do not care who you are I know you are not gonna be no now that was when that trend was going on I hated life
00:57:44
Speaker
it was for the, uh, I think it was for like, it was like a campaign for the movie at the, when the, when the remake was coming out and nobody knew what the hell was going on. It was like, uh, you know, balloons, like the red balloons, people are turning to like the, um, greats, um, Sheena chick Foley. Uh, she on the earlier shows, she'd spoke about that cause she's a Halloween fanatic and her old neighborhood, they did that. They
00:58:06
Speaker
I went out late one night and they tied a bunch of balloons on their street. They went down and tied the red balloons to everyone's aisle going down the street. So if you would look out their windows and just see floating balloons and stuff like that, I would have moved out of the neighborhood. If something like that happened, I would have been gone. I would have been long gone. I just seen them set up like, nope, bye. I'm giving my notice.
00:58:35
Speaker
I mean, like I said, I could sit through clown stuff. I'm not like paranormal stuff, but little, I can't sit through it. I can't. I went through the, I went through the Zach begins me a museum.
00:58:49
Speaker
And the whole museum, I was fine. Until we had to go through a clown section, I closed my eyes walking through there. I was like, nope. I was just following the crowd. I was like, I'm not doing this. Not today, Satan. I was like, I'll go through everything else. I'm just like, let a ghost put my leg cool, but I'm not going through that clown.
00:59:09
Speaker
Yeah. See, like I'm opposite. I can watch clown stuff. I can't really watch like some paranormal activity movies. I can watch some of them. I can't get, I don't know. It's, I don't know what it is. It's something just innate in me that I can't like, it's, it's, I think it's a suspense. Like they do like the long drawn out, like suspense scenes that I really can't, it just makes me really uncomfortable. And I just like, I tap out. And you hear the bass, but then there's nothing.
00:59:35
Speaker
Yeah, I just need to, I just need to be scared right away. I can't, I can't take when it's like, you know, this camera's just like panning back and forth and it's like doing it for like two minutes and there's nothing there. And then like, you'll see like something moves slightly and then it goes back. And then, and I'm just like, you know what? I gotta, I can't, I can't take it. I gotta shut it off. But, but before we, before I let you go, definitely gotta get to the name. What did the name heal is from?
01:00:00
Speaker
Oh, um, honestly, it wasn't anything specific. Um, I've just, aside from John Cena's baby face, but I've, like I mentioned, what attracted me was him being here. Um, the me being a huge Randy Orton fan. Um, so I think just me being fan of.
01:00:20
Speaker
the bad guys, I guess you can say. Um, I was just like, and when I watch movies like Batman and Joker, I'm a Joker fan all the way. Um, I just just something about it. Um, they just seem more real.
01:00:37
Speaker
genuine, they like, you know, rip off the bandage to something that they're just trying to say, you know, straightforward, get to the point, you know, type of thing that I really like, a dominant role I really like. So, um,
01:00:50
Speaker
You know, baby faces, depending on what it is, but starting off, it's more of like, you know, you're the pushover type thing. And, um, I just liked, you know, them just being the bad guy, being able to make kids cry like Sasha Banks did. Uh, you know, I'm all about the dark humor too. So it's just, I don't know, I really like it. Um, so I think it just came more from that. And I, it was just more of like knowing the, uh, you know, the baby face and the heel term.
01:01:20
Speaker
where I was like, huh, I was like, well, heal. And the crazy thing is that this used to be my username for my personal page, but then I changed it because it was in a wrestling page. And eventually when I opened my wrestling page, I was like, I wonder if his name is still available. And I just, from there, I just took it on. And then when I started seeing people at shows that I was meeting online and they would refer to me as healers, I'm like, huh, I like the sound of that.
01:01:49
Speaker
And I just, it just became my, my name, uh, basically. So I don't have a last name, but, uh, first name heel, first name Liz. I mean, that's, that's, I mean, that's fine. I know that's all you need in the, in the world of professional wrestling.
Spotlighting Southern California Wrestling
01:02:03
Speaker
Definitely. You don't need a, you don't need a last name. Uh, someone, someone disagree. But, um, what do you, uh, what, what are your plans for, for your like brand? Like, do you, do you, do you see like,
01:02:16
Speaker
I mean, if it's not that you could talk about, if you have any deals in place, that's fine. But like, do you have anything like, are you looking to like, are you looking to get in somewhere? Are you looking to make it bigger? Are you find where you are right now? Like, what's, what are your plans for, uh, for Hill is overall?
01:02:32
Speaker
Um, at least for me, overall, I think this year alone, I have a lot of my major goals that I wanted to hit for my page in general, not that it's a main focus to be like, Oh, I'm
01:02:48
Speaker
trying to you know something I'm just like but if the opportunities happen to be handed to me obviously like you know as a fan you want to check things off your bucket list at the end of the day all the wrestlers that are up there they're checking off that off their bucket list plus additional stuff that come under it um you know so it's kind of like for me I'm just what I want to open myself up more to the industry of course but where I want to go exactly honestly um
01:03:15
Speaker
I think for Liz, just Liz, not heal Liz, I think it's just, I love doing the backstage stuff, getting to know the wrestlers and things like that and being able to showcase them in a unique way, each one of them on my social media.
01:03:35
Speaker
But I think overall for heal is I just want to continue to open my platform to give more eyes to SoCal Wrestling. That's my main focus has been my main focus since, you know, being a part of being more involved in the independent scene and stuff like that. But
01:03:54
Speaker
Hila's just kind of wants to open up eyes to SoCal Wrestling. There's a lot of great wrestlers out here, you know, killing it, doing great. So I just, you know, whatever I can do to, you know, get more eyes out here is great. Aside from that, I mean, even mainstream shows, you know, AW, for example, was the one promotion that a lot of us were trying to get out here for many years and the pandemic hit.
01:04:21
Speaker
everything and it never came around until just last year they had their first show and now California is getting two paper views in a year. So being able to be like, hey, we like wrestling too. The wrestling fan base is still huge out in LA. So I'm not the only content creator out here that likes to expose the
01:04:48
Speaker
the independent scene out to social media. There's so many great other pages that are SoCal based as well that, you know, are also helping bring eyes out to, you know, here, not only people that are just legit fans, but people that are, you know, haven't been watching for years and are, you know, now they're seeing a clip go around from somebody that they follow on because they're covering, you know, other stuff like I have friends that cover other things other than wrestling where
01:05:18
Speaker
they're bringing eyes to a community that is not used to seeing wrestling anymore. So I think it's just doing that or just trying to find more open-minded people. Even more so like WrestleMania, for example, when we came around, a lot of people traveled from out of state and were wondering like, hey, what promotions are out here? And me being able to list promotions like, hey, go here, go here, go here, go there, this promotion, this promotion.
01:05:46
Speaker
and all that stuff, which is why I, you know, my stories are sometimes mostly filled with all these posters and all these flyers, just letting people know, you know, wrestling is, you know, very active out here, you know, support, you know, in the wrestling. It helps, you know, it helps them, you know, grow a base, you know, wrestling community in their city, but not only that, it helps the independent wrestlers as well.
01:06:12
Speaker
with moving forward with what they want to do with moving forward with their dreams and wanting to get eyes from particular promotions to reach out to them and stuff like that. So I think just for me is just continuing and opening that platform and keeping my platform large for that to be able to happen.
01:06:32
Speaker
But just being part of the community itself, like it's been amazing. Everyone's great. As much as people like to, you know, talk bad about some fans, like how bad it could be. Like everyone's great. Just, it's a little alcohol. It's okay. Yeah, yeah.
01:06:55
Speaker
Everyone's super nice out here. Everyone's a fan. I think, you know, this last show that I had gone to aside from, you know, getting the opportunity to go up to the Bay Area to, you know, host a deathmatch, you know, show or death, you know, full of like all these hardcore matches.
01:07:12
Speaker
Um, but you have like, you know, all the women's matches that was, you know, Melina's a commentator, like, dude, when the hell do you get to see WWE legend Melina? Um, you know, like on a, on a Saturday night, like very rare. So, um, you know, stuff like that. And like, maybe some people may have not even known about that promotion, you know, stuff like that. So, um, I think for me, it's just getting.
01:07:38
Speaker
getting eyes out more in California like, hey, there's legit promotions out here killing it. And you guys are missing out. Yeah, no, definitely. You know what, that's actually a good point. Because I think that's what I appreciate about your page the most is that that's something that you do focus on.
01:07:58
Speaker
is your local wrestling organizations and the people within those organizations. I think that's very important as far as continuing what's going on now with all these different promotions that are around right now.
01:08:14
Speaker
Um, now the focus can be on, you know, the smaller promotions and get the eyes on, on those, uh, the ladies and gentlemen that are, you know, running those promotions and working within those promotions. Um, I always say, definitely support your local, um, wrestling shows. Cause those are the funnest things you'll see. Yeah. They're great.
01:08:35
Speaker
They're amazing, but you will also see people that are coming up to AW. Or even like I said, WWE, like you have Shotzi in WWE. Brody King came out literally from my neck of the woods, like five, 10 minutes away from me, and is now in AW. Samoa Joe's from Huntington Beach.
01:08:59
Speaker
And so it's like all of these guys, you get to see them. I literally have like a throwback video and sitting on my phone of me seeing a swerve against Penta Seromido at an indie show right before AEW. So it's like you get to see all of these amazing people locally and stuff.
01:09:19
Speaker
Talking about Penta and Free Phoenix, they have their own store in Pasadena, California, where they host shows. And sometimes they have, you know, some of, you know, AW stars come out here and it's just a regular indie show you go in and not regular because it's pretty lit.
01:09:38
Speaker
Yeah. But the last show, I mean, who opened up Chavo Guerrero opened up, like, you know, you have like, coming into indie shows and stuff on PCW, for example, you know, had Rhino come in. And I had the opportunity to talk to him, just like, like, they're, indie shows have a lot to offer on a lot of people just don't, they're like, oh, it's independent, or it's not like, you know, it's not like mainstream. I was like, if you're looking for the production, stay at home.
01:10:07
Speaker
I was like, but if you were actually looking for legit wrestling, I was like, and get to discover newer wrestlers and stuff, especially people coming up. Nick Wayne, for example, I got to see him all over. And, you know, we also, everybody here, like as fans, we were like, Dan, like that kid's going to make it. And look at him. He's 18 years old and already in there. Like, Oh, shit. Like, you know, so like it's, it's, it's cool to see that it hits home more when you're like, Oh, Dan, like, you know, like,
01:10:36
Speaker
we like seeing him pushing himself and you know doing it and like now he's you know has a storyline on the main show you know that's crazy yeah it's legit super cool and it's amazing you get to support these wrestlers as they're trying to chase that dream
01:10:52
Speaker
Yeah, no, definitely not. You know, the most recent one from my neck of the woods from Mass is Carmelo Hayes from NXT. He's amazing. I watched him all like literally pretty much every local show around here like for the past, I mean, couple years anyway, before he went into NXT anyway, and he was
01:11:12
Speaker
You could always like you could kind of see like who the breakout I didn't think it was gonna be I I didn't think he's gonna be like you on NXT and then become the NXT champion But you could definitely tell like I was like, yeah this guy He has something you could that you could tell who's who's who and uh, yeah I was I was I was pretty shocked like, you know watching NXT one day and I'm like, holy crap I was like, I see that do like so many times of
01:11:35
Speaker
at local shows like like recently now he's in NXT this is amazing and that's and that's like you said that that connection there um they're just having that like like sense of pride when you do see like someone that you've watched in the local area and then they show up on tv and you're like holy shit i supported this person this is this is amazing um
01:11:55
Speaker
But yeah, one more question before I, this is my last question always before I end the show. It's about wrestling. And it's basically like, it's kind of like a trick question. It's kind of hard to answer. Not really, but.
01:12:11
Speaker
Say there's somebody, like a friend of yours, family member, not really into wrestling, they're like, why do you still watch that? Don't you know it's fake, that type of person? If you felt that you could pull them in with one match, that you could show them that they're like, holy shit, I gotta start watching this, what would that match be?
01:12:32
Speaker
Honestly, it changed to, and my reason would be the WrestleMania match with Bray Wyatt and John Cena.
01:12:43
Speaker
And I know it's cinematic, likewise with other batches and stuff like that. But I think the beauty of it was just because of how well created it was. And it was much more than just wrestling. So I think for me, and it's like how I like to explain it to people, wrestling is a novella.
01:13:03
Speaker
Like at the end of the I don't care what anybody says, but it's a novella So I think with that match and how well how well it was put out on I think it's just identifies like how beautiful and artistic wrestling can be so my and for me my Maybe it's just me being biased because you know, John Cena's life But you know and before that it was the John John Cena and
01:13:33
Speaker
JBL a quick match in 2007 and judgment day. It was my favorite. Bloody one. Is that the one where they like just completely just like
01:13:44
Speaker
Yeah, but I think it was just like the storyline behind it and besides John Cena and JBL, they were legit. It was probably one of my favorite storylines or rivalries. It's just them together. I don't know. It brought in a piece of Cena that I really enjoy watching.
01:14:09
Speaker
But for me now, it would just definitely be that match because of how well put out it was, you know, appreciating the late, great Bray Wyatt. Unfortunately, you know, his passing, we were all expecting him and hopefully, you know, getting another, you know, part two, because especially with seeing Cena back and stuff like that. But, you know, but I think it was the fact that that match was even made, especially during the times that it was.
01:14:35
Speaker
Um, it, it was amazing. So I think for me, that would be now the match that I would kind of bring out. And, but I would have to mention that it is something that you have to be more open-minded to and don't expect complete wrestling. Um, but it had to be full wrestling, like just, uh, toe to toe. Damn. So many great people, but, um,
01:15:04
Speaker
I told you it's hard. It's a very hard question. Let me see. So if I were to pull something up. I would say. Eddie girl and Brock listener. Oh OK, alright.
01:15:26
Speaker
I like that one too. That's actually really, that's a, that's an amazing match. That one, that one has everything it is. Yeah. Like I've heard a lot of answers, obviously that's because that's my last question I always ask. And I always, I don't think anyone's ever said the Firefly Funhouse match with John Cena and Bray Wyatt.
01:15:44
Speaker
only because the one that the person that came closer was was Justin because he said he would show someone it was a match on Smackdown like way back in the day with like it was uh i think it was like Undertaker, Mankind, Triple H gets involved, Big Show gets involved
01:16:00
Speaker
Steve Austin gets involved. It was a buried alive match, but he picked it because all the craziness that's happened that happens in this match. And it's not just a straight up wrestling match. It's just, it just, it just goes all over the place. And that's what, you know, the firefly fun house match is a perfect representation of that. Cause it goes all over the place.
01:16:17
Speaker
Granted, you might have to explain a little bit of who Bray Wyatt is and why this is happening. But other than that, that match gives a perfect picture of what wrestling is, pretty much. It gives you the story. It gives you the background. It gives you the drama. It gives you a little bit of a match, not so much. But it gives you that psychology that wrestling can give you, too, in a perfect small package. No pun intended. No pun intended.
01:16:46
Speaker
But anyway, no, definitely. This is great. Before I let you go, definitely tell everyone where they can find you. Well, you guys can find me on all my social media platforms under heal.liz, unless you are on Twitter or X, whatever it's called, until it's free and y'all don't want to pay for it. It's a healliz underscore. But everything else, heal.liz.
01:17:15
Speaker
Okay, awesome. Again, thank you for thank you for coming on. This is this is great. Definitely, definitely would love to have you on again. I feel like we can talk some more about I had some other questions I want to ask you, but I have to I have to let you go. But definitely, I definitely if you would love to be on again, I would definitely love to have you on. Yeah, absolutely.
Appreciation and Conclusion
01:17:33
Speaker
Yeah, not to hold you to a to a contracted appearance on the show. But no, definitely. Again, thank you. It was a pleasure having you on. And this is this is fun.
01:17:45
Speaker
Oh, thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you for having me. I'm honestly I'm honored like to be here. So thank you so much for even thinking of me for reaching out. I appreciate it. And everyone listening. Thank you guys for you know, allowing this platform to to be here for not only myself, but you know, other content creators and other people in the wrestling community and stuff like that. So thank you guys for all the support that you guys show each and every one of us.
01:18:13
Speaker
Definitely. That's a perfect ending. I'll leave it there. I won't add anything else. And we'll thank you everyone for joining us on this audio journey and we'll catch you down the road. Peace.