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Episode 61: Garrett Gets Chopped
50 Plays7 years ago
This week on the hangout Garrett is joined by pro wrestler in training Garrett Keith!
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Transcript
Introduction of New Co-host Garrett Keith
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Predetermined, a Pro Wrestling Hangout. I'm your host Garrett Callender, and with me, as always, a man who has the same name as me, Garrett Keith.
00:00:12
Speaker
Well hello everyone. Isn't this weird? You're replacing Derek this week. Little bit, little bit. So Derek is out with, he's out today. Couldn't make it. He's not here. Me and Garrett Keith have had a couple beers and we're gonna talk wrestling. So guess what? Now you guys get to deal with me. This is, I believe we've mentioned you on the show as the other Garrett. I believe you're older than me so I think technically you're
00:00:38
Speaker
Well, I mean, but the audience is aware of original Garrett.
00:00:45
Speaker
I can be other Garrett. It's fine. It's fine. That does not bother me at all. Hey, you be who you want to be. All right. So the reason Garrett has joined me today, this all came together very, very quickly. Only like I had about a half hour notice called Garrett. He came over. We have had a few beers.
Garrett Keith's Wrestling Background
00:01:04
Speaker
He's training to be a pro wrestler. We're going to talk about that. But first, Garrett, why don't you hit our goddamn music?
00:01:46
Speaker
This is weird for me because usually Derek talks coming out of the music. Oh, does he? Oh, so so essentially what I'm doing is I'm breaking protocol for you. Is that you know when things are happening based upon the person who is.
00:02:02
Speaker
I don't know, more professional than me at this. I'll go ahead and say, I don't know if either of us are very professional. I just know I come in, talk nonsense for several minutes. We eventually say hit our goddamn music and we come back in and Derek says things. What would Derek say here? I feel like Derek would say, hey everybody, thank you for listening. Please follow us on those social medias at, no, that's at the end, right?
00:02:26
Speaker
uh i mean you've listened to this yeah i've listened to the show i mean sometimes it happens at the beginning sometimes it happens at the end sometimes it happens at both well hey guys you're listening we love you i've had a few beers rate reviews is cry go out go on itunes leave that five star review tell us what you like about the show we will talk about anything you want i know you're still waiting on us to talk about marine six and i'm still waiting on fucking red box to have it so that i don't have to pay 14 to watch marine six and hey how could they get a
Nostalgia: WWF Royal Rumble 1991 Memories
00:02:54
Speaker
hold of you on twitter oh
00:02:55
Speaker
at Predetermined Podcast on Instagram, at Wrestle Hangout on Twitter, at Wrestle Hangout on Facebook. Hey, Garrett. What's up?
00:03:03
Speaker
We've been talking for so long at this point. It's kind of weird just hopping in here. But you're doing a thing right now that a lot of us as wrestling fans dream of. And that is you're going for it. Yeah. So I have been a lifelong wrestling fan. I've loved wrestling since I think five years old. The first pay-per-view I ever watched.
00:03:28
Speaker
was WWF Royal Rumble 1991. Holy shit. And part of the reason I remember that so well is because at the tape store that I got it at, they had a promotion where you got a free tape when you rented that one. The free tape was the WBF, the World Bodybuilding Federation tape that they put out.
Funny Rental Stories: Bodybuilding Video vs. Wrestling
00:03:55
Speaker
Wait, WWF put out this video in addition to this and it wasn't in addition to you got a free rental and I being who I am was like, Oh man, if I get one tape, I can get two tapes. I didn't realize that one of them was just bodybuilding was just a bunch of guys on.
00:04:13
Speaker
on a stage flexing how did that sit with you like because right now i'm thinking like this is a weird sport i can get into it's it's not i mean i would say it's as weird as watching professional bowling but on a completely different spectrum i would agree i would agree that that is 100 what bodybuilding is it's like like i understand the art form i understand the function but
00:04:40
Speaker
possibly not for me maybe not this thing that uh just seemed very strange to me as a five-year-old child being like that guy's got like rocks in his body i feel like if my dad walked in when i was that age watching that
Highlighting 1991 Royal Rumble Moments
00:04:59
Speaker
that he would have been into it and probably been like, yeah, this is let me explain to you what he had to do to get into this shape. So so I would say that the best way to describe my childhood would be an unsupervised childhood. So so not a whole lot of parents walking in on me watching some weird bodybuilding tapes.
00:05:29
Speaker
So I would have had to go to your house to watch Terminator 2. Yes, exactly. We were the house that you come over to watch a barbed wire. So when you rented those two tapes, one made a big impact on your life.
00:05:47
Speaker
and the other... Just kind of, I think I watched probably at the time, 20 minutes and I was like, why are these guys just walking out on the stage and not wrestling? I like it, you know, it's wrestling without all the show. Right, right. It is 100% saying show. If you have these large men and they're not talking shit at each other, what's the point?
Brian Knobbs at Riot Fest
00:06:12
Speaker
Right, right.
00:06:14
Speaker
Yep, that is exactly what it was. So Royal Rumble 91, who would have been, who were some of the top guys in 91? So it was, that is the Rumble where Sergeant Slaughter beats Ultimate Warrior for the WWF title and Hulk Hogan wins the Rumble, but this is back when the Rumble didn't mean anything. The last three people in the Rumble were Hogan,
00:06:44
Speaker
Brian Knobbs from The Nasty Boys. Fuck yeah. An earthquake. Ooh. So there was never a moment where you thought, I wonder who might win this. Right, right, right. They really phoned that one in. It was pretty self-explanatory coming in. Oh, Paul Kogan's in. I see that there's no one else in here who's potentially going to win this thing.
00:07:08
Speaker
My last encounter with Brian Nobbs, the title of my book is, no, this is weird. He was at, I know you're from Indiana. Did you ever go to Chicago for Riot Fest?
00:07:21
Speaker
Yes, I did. I remember this would have been, I think it was the year that the Cure headlined Riot Fest. I was walking around just in the middle of the grounds. There was just a card table. It wasn't like there was a line of stands. It was just one stand and it was Brian Knobs with some 8x10s.
00:07:41
Speaker
I don't know if that's his market. I don't know like some 41s playing in the background, slayers playing over there, Brian Knobs not selling these 8x10s. They are not moving. No, I don't think those 8x10s were selling on top of that. I don't believe that that was a riot fest sanctioned event. How the fuck did you get the card table in then? My guess is that whatever venue it was at,
00:08:09
Speaker
He just brought it in. It was probably setting off to the side. It was like an auxiliary table. Like he stole it from catering and brought it over and just set it up and was like, this is where I'm selling eight by tens and taking pictures with fans.
Childhood Costumes and Memories
00:08:25
Speaker
This version of Brian Knobs, let's face it, he didn't just steal the table. He ate everything that was on top of it so that he could take the table. If there's no evidence, then you can just go.
00:08:36
Speaker
I gotta get rid of all the things on top of it so that I can sell these eight patents. So it's 1991. The Royal Rumble is happening. Earthquake might be going over. We don't know. At this time, who's your favorite wrestler? Who's your guy? Who's the guy that you have to tune in for? But I guess this is the first show you'd seen, right?
00:08:57
Speaker
but i will say this that it definitely informed who i was a fan of um i really loved ultimate warrior i don't know what it was about that stupid face paint and those stupid tassels around his arms but i ended up being the ultimate warrior the next year for halloween fuck yeah and my my mom
00:09:20
Speaker
Like I said, unsupervised childhood, but very active when it came to those types of things, sowed me a suit of muscles.
00:09:31
Speaker
to be the ultimate lawyer. It was amazing. I wish I could find pictures of it because she made me that and the year after that, she reused that exact same costume to make me Captain Planet. It really, Muscles is a universal child costume. If you can make a suit of Muscles, you're good for like six
First Meeting in Nashville
00:09:52
Speaker
years. Yeah, a couple years ago, you could have used that for the Rock and Moana. Throw that on right now.
00:09:57
Speaker
But yeah, so Ultimate Warrior and then the Heart Foundation. I was a big fan of the Heart Foundation.
00:10:06
Speaker
I found them via the Rumble actually. Bret Hart was the first entrant into that Rumble and I was like, this is different. This is different than what I'd just seen with the Sergeant Slaughter Ultimate Warrior match where there was not a lot of anything in that match. It was mostly let's just bump into each other for a while.
00:10:30
Speaker
Derek and I have been going back and watching old Wrestle manias and there's some of those matches. There's matches where it's just dudes bumping into each other. Right. They're not yet. They're not doing anything that is remotely close to him. How did this guy become a wrestler? He was over six feet tall. Right. So.
00:10:52
Speaker
Whoo, drink it. Hey, and if you're wondering, I am drinking. Derek, I sent him a text, because he's not feeling well, and I said, is there anything I can do for you? And he sent back, yes. Eat a cupcake, eat a cookie, fuck DDP.
00:11:12
Speaker
And so I am currently drinking instead of eating that cupcake. I remember hearing once that drinking a beer is the equivalent of eating a sandwich calorie wise. I've had a couple sandwiches tonight and we're going to put this as a filler for, for the cupcakes. And actually at the end of this, I think I'm going to let you punish me.
00:11:34
Speaker
Hey, you know what? I'm here to do it. I'm here to do it. I believe that I've said to you once before that we do have a friendship, but that doesn't change the fact that I want you to hurt. Yeah, I get it. I mean, I did wrong.
Nashville Wrestling Scene vs. Indiana
00:11:49
Speaker
I promised people a thing. I didn't follow through.
00:11:52
Speaker
Yes, we met at Southern Underground Pro here in Nashville, and it was weird. It was weird for weeks while I was attending. I just kept hearing people saying, Garrett, and I would turn around every single time. It was never for me, which does hurt my ego immensely. How dare there be two? Well, I will apologize for the ego attack.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah, it was it was so interesting to me because I had only heard. I had heard about you the same time that we had a conversation. I had heard about you the week before and they were like, hey, a mutual friend of ours, Kevin, was like, hey, there's a Garrett that goes to Southern Underground. He has a predetermined, this predetermined podcast. And I was like, well, you know what, I'll check it out.
00:12:48
Speaker
So I had actually listened to podcasts directly before you and I had met. And I was like, oh yeah, I definitely feel like I could hang out with that guy. And then lo and behold, the very next sub show, I walked in telling Kelly, I was like, I'm gonna meet the other Garrett. And then lo and behold, cut to what, six months later? Something like that. Sitting in the kitchen. Sitting in the kitchen and I'm other Garrett.
00:13:17
Speaker
When you moved to Nashville, would you have expected the wrestling scene here to start booming like it is? Not at all. Because again, I'm originally from Indiana and there's not really a big scene up there.
00:13:33
Speaker
There's a couple small promotions, but nothing crazy. Um, down here, it's, it's like there's wrestling every weekend. Like it really does feel that way. Sometimes this is that like, I can drive Chattanooga is what two hours. We can go to Chattanooga. There's a show every Saturday night.
00:13:53
Speaker
And then we've got, what, tried and true? And then one we haven't even talked about on the show yet, which I've been intending to, which is sideshow wrestling, which I believe is it pretty much being run by the carneys? Or are they kind of the, they're at least like the front? They're the front of this.
00:14:14
Speaker
They are putting on what I would call southern wrestling. They are doing what they can to bring back the strength of southern wrestling. It's great. I mean, they're really, really working hard on it.
00:14:29
Speaker
Yeah. So, besides her wrestling, they're just, he's booking a
Cody Rhodes Event: A Crossover Appeal?
00:14:33
Speaker
really good card. Like, Kerry's doing a lot of the booking. Uh, he's working with... Kerry Awful from the... Kerry Awful from the Carnies. I'm sorry. Yeah. Kerry Awful from the Carnies.
00:14:44
Speaker
Uh is doing a lot of the booking and which actually some people might be more familiar with the carneys now because I know I had some friends in southern california go check them out at bar wrestling And immediately after the show because they had heard us talk about them on here I immediately got texts from those friends and like holy shit. The carneys are fucking awesome They really really are. I love those dudes so much. Uh, they're
00:15:09
Speaker
they're working their asses off, working their asses off. And Megan, as they say, they are the heart and soul of Tennessee wrestling. And to me, obviously, I'll never have enough wrestling. Even in a town like Nashville, two wrestling promotions doesn't seem that outlandish.
00:15:29
Speaker
Like it seems like they're now and gonna be in direct competition with each other, but they are also using the same guys But Southern Underground Pro I think it's always gonna have more of a punk rock feel because it's an 18 and up Club that you have to go watch it in right you feel like you're in a bar They're swearing. It's it's a not PG wrestling right like if it's 18 and up do whatever the fuck you right and
00:15:53
Speaker
And I saw that, so Southern Under, or Sideshow Wrestling announced this show a month ago, maybe a little longer. But how it was announced is it was announced initially as they said they were gonna have a show. They kind of leaked it out onto Instagram and Twitter, left it a secret. But then Cody Rhodes and Frankie Kazarian announced they were doing this cigar thing. We find out it's combined. There's a cigar party with Cody Rhodes, a pizza party.
00:16:22
Speaker
and a private wrestling show the price tag on this was $300 and as a wrestling fan you don't have to comment on this this is for me just as a fan I thought
00:16:36
Speaker
Uh-uh, like I just, I love Cody Rhodes. I've paid $50 to have a photograph with him. I am not a cigar smoker. And I'm afraid that if I pay $300 to go stand in a room with strangers and try and learn to smoke a cigar, like I'm going to have to go buy cigars now and practice so that I don't look like an asshole in front of these people. But I have to also assume that these people are in the same position as me.
00:17:05
Speaker
Like, I don't know where the cigar market and the wrestling market cross. How much overflow fandom there is on each side? I can't imagine it's a lot, especially for what I can only assume are nice cigars.
00:17:23
Speaker
I'm sure that if you're into cigars that Cody Rhodes is putting out a fine product and I don't want to knock there that you know I love the entrepreneurial spirit I'm you know maybe Damon John or Mark Cuban hop in there and you know we get something going they didn't they didn't buy DDP yoga but that's not to say American Rebel cigars isn't their next business venture
00:17:47
Speaker
But what I'm saying is, again, like you're saying, I don't see a lot of crossover market. I see that even at shows like Southern Underground, there aren't a lot of guys outside smoking cigars. I would say close to zero.
Evolution of Wrestling: Then and Now
00:18:07
Speaker
See, if you want something to market to a wrestling fan, which I think Cody is marketing a thing where he's like, you know what? This is for the fancy wrestling fan. But really, like, what we need is a guy like earthquake that's like, I'm coming back. I'm assuming he's probably dead. Like, I think drugs are still alive.
00:18:30
Speaker
Is earthquake still there? You know what, I may have gotten his autograph in a wrestling crate, a few months ago. Apologies, I have had a few drinks. But you know, if he came out, I was like, I got this new Mountain Dew, I want you to try. Like wrestling fans would be like, do the do.
00:18:47
Speaker
That's right, that's right the moment that they get behind something that is a caffeinated sugar drink I mean the markets killed like forget coca-cola forget Pepsi We're only selling pro wrestling colas now
00:19:03
Speaker
immediately purchased unless it's Rowdy Roddy Piper's bubblegum flavored soda because it's gonna sit on the shelf but I'm not drinking that shit. But I think like what so they're like $300 to smoke a cigar with Cody. We need to give these people something else. You also get to eat pizza with him. Do you think that Cody eats pizza? I think he'll have a slice. Or do you think for just for photo opportunities?
00:19:30
Speaker
He's not holding that piece of pizza in the thing. I don't even know. Like, honestly, I feel like Kazarian's not eating that pizza. Kazarian looks like he is very strict on his diet. Not that Cody isn't, but...
00:19:42
Speaker
right do you think that kazarian is so strict on his diet he goes around and slaps other pieces of pizza out of other people's hands that's a total mjf move but i think kazarian's character like he's like he's a tough enough like just like manly man wrestler in a time of
00:20:01
Speaker
Not necessarily like manly men. Like, I feel like that could be considered offensive. But, you know, like, going back and watching these Wrestlemanias, these dudes look like fucking dudes. Like, these are dudes that if I saw them in a bar, I'm gonna not stand near them because we don't run in the same circle. Me and Ricochet might have a mutual friend.
00:20:26
Speaker
I was gonna say, guys from, I would say the first, let's call it first five Wrestlemanias, look like guys who ride horses, drink beer, and have built parts of their own house. And I have done only one of those things, which is drink the beer, and that's it. I honestly, as you were drinking a beer, I'm like, you built part of a house. And it's something I couldn't even fathom doing.
00:20:56
Speaker
Yeah, building parts of houses is what first five WrestleMania wrestlers are for. I have to call Sergeant Slaughter. I have to call Ultimate Warrior.
Starting Wrestling Training: A Personal Journey
00:21:07
Speaker
I have to call Jake the Snake. Which, speaking of, we're going to continue our WrestleMania talk next week. We did watch WrestleMania 3. I have a lot to say about it. It was a delight.
00:21:18
Speaker
But hey, back to you. I got you here. And also, not a good interviewer. I'm more hangout and just, you know, whatever comes. But you are training to be a wrestler. And to me, this is a thing that all of us as fans have dreamed about at some point. Just some of us know
00:21:36
Speaker
That is beyond my physical limitations. And I have a feeling that Lex Luger or somebody would be like, it's only beyond your physical limitations because it's in your head, motherfucker. And I'm like, yeah. Well, my head's got a really big part of my body where it's not allowing me to do things. Around what point were you like, I'm doing this? This is something I want to do?
00:21:58
Speaker
So I had kind of always assumed that I wasn't going to like I had even had conversations with my wife Kelly, you've mentioned her on the show as well about how I wanted to just be involved with wrestling, not nothing like
00:22:19
Speaker
wrestling I was thinking oh I'll announce or I'll do commentary or I'll be a manager something and she was kind of the one that kind of pushed me she kind of said there like like why wouldn't you want to follow the one dream you've had your entire life
00:22:38
Speaker
Like I've never wanted to be in a band. I've never wanted to do any of that. Like I've never wanted to be an actor. I guess I kind of do want to be an actor, though, to a certain extent, but in a different way. Very specific, very specific type of acting. But she was like, you know, why wouldn't you try?
00:22:56
Speaker
And so I and so she ended up finding out where a school was and talking to me about it and said like, Hey, Carrie runs a school. She was like, I've reached out. I've told him that, you know, you're interested. And so I ended up started texting with Carrie awful crux wrestling.
00:23:16
Speaker
on all social medias and just asked him what I needed to do to try out. And he was like, come try out, see if it's for you. And I got in there and as a 33 year old man, it all hurts. But it's also the most rewarding thing I think I've ever done for myself. I spent a majority of my life, a very large man, very, very large, 300 pounds.
00:23:46
Speaker
Lost a bunch of weight and then was like, why am I losing this weight? Like she loved me when I was at 300 pounds. Why am I? And what I'm finding out is, is that I think that it was kind of in my head for a long time that I wanted to try. I at least wanted to have one match. Now I want all the matches. I want to keep, I just want to finish training and get out there.
00:24:08
Speaker
So going into it, you know, you're going to do this tryout. What kind of preparation did you have to do in advance to go to this tryout? Or did you just be like this? I'm going in the way I am like this. We're starting from here kind of went in the way I was like I there were a lot of nerves, but I went in the way I was because I wanted to know the real answer because it was the first time in my life I've ever asked wrestling if it loved me back because I've always loved wrestling.
00:24:36
Speaker
I needed to know if wrestling was like, Hey, I love you too. And, and it kind of did. And I was like, okay, well first practice went all right. Let's see how next one goes. Because I know a lot of people drop out early on.
00:24:52
Speaker
Like me and the trombone in the fifth grade. Like I could tell it quickly, it wasn't gonna work out. So I just split. I'm not gonna be in a ska band. We're better as mutual friends. I will appreciate the trombone from afar. But yeah, so I went and it went well the second time and it went well the next time and the next time and the next time. And now like I'm in full swing of this
00:25:20
Speaker
of this preparation to have a match, to have somewhat of a wrestling career. I'm well aware of the fact that I'm 33 years old and there isn't, I don't, I have a finite amount of time comparatively to
00:25:37
Speaker
You know, most of the people who are in WWE who are in their twenties, but I'm still going to give it my damnedest and keep going. Like you can't stop me. Well, it's one of those things where you look at guys like DDP, who's one of the top guys for quite a while. And he started at what, like 36. Yeah, he did not get his first title until 36 years old.
00:26:01
Speaker
That's yeah, so I mean, it's doable. It's just putting in the work. That's all it is like, just like anything else. Like, and as far as the work goes, because like you said, I imagine a lot of people have to drop out after the first time like I feel like the first time is a test where they're probably just like putting you to it to see like, are they going to come back after this, right?
00:26:26
Speaker
What happens on day one? Like you're going in for the very first time. Like what kind of shit would you expect to happen in your first day? So the thing that I found out was that there are a lot of Hindu squats.
00:26:41
Speaker
which is just a squat where you bring your arms up. There's like a lot of those. Like I don't even remember how many I did. Like it got to a point where I feel like I stopped counting because I was like, this is never gonna end. This is just where I live now. I live in a constant and perpetual state of doing Hindu squats. There is a lot of neck stretching because
00:27:07
Speaker
A lot of tuck in that chin. A lot of tuck in that chin. You got to tuck that chin. And then the other thing is we did a lot of bumping and a lot of rolling on the
Importance of Training and Ring Time
00:27:18
Speaker
first day. Oh, day one. You're already bumping. It's not just like cardio. It's not just cardio. Like it was a lot of bumping. And like I said, rolling because
00:27:30
Speaker
You gotta find out if it's something that your body can even physically handle. And when we started doing that, I was like, oh, this always sucks. And it does always suck until it doesn't suck anymore. Until like, it's, it's never not jarring. It just, your body kind of acclimates. Like it becomes, oh, okay. This is what it's like. This is what it's like to hit the mat.
00:27:59
Speaker
How many days, though, do you have to be doing this before you're like, this feels natural? Are you still in this? Because I'm still sometimes in a state where I can still take a bump wrong and it still feels like day one. Like it does happen occasionally.
00:28:20
Speaker
But the only thing you can do is you can just move forward and go, oh, I did that wrong. I'll make sure to try to never ever do that again. So yeah, between day one and how many days where is this like a once a week thing that you're going to? Yes, we do it once a week right now, but that doesn't mean that.
00:28:37
Speaker
It's always once a week. Okay. Once a week is the scheduled. Um, a lot of times it turns out to be a couple extra days because if there's the ability to get in or if there's the ability to travel to a show and getting a ring there, you know, because, you know, I'm paying dues right now. I'm setting up rings. I'm making sure that everything
00:29:01
Speaker
Get set up for the show before the show. And then the way I get paid is through. Experience in the ring. So I get to get in that ring that I help set up and I get to take bumps in and I get to do roles in it. I get to learn a new, you know, learn a new hold, learn a new slam, whatever.
00:29:23
Speaker
and yeah it's not like you have a ring at you're ready like it's not like you're learning to play guitar and you can go home and practice this is something where you basically any chance you have where there's a ring you have to take it to go be in that ring absolutely i will say that for people who uh you know there there may be listeners out there that want to start
00:29:45
Speaker
trying to wrestle. What I would say is is that be available. Like if you're going to start be available be ready to go wherever you need to go.
00:29:56
Speaker
to try to get some time in the ring because it, that's the unfortunate thing is, is that rings are expensive and they're not everywhere. And you can't go to like title boxing club and bumping those rings because it's not the same. It's 100% different. And so you just, just be ready, be willing to just learn everything you can. Cause that is mostly what, that is a majority of what my time is spent at shows is a setting back, listening,
00:30:26
Speaker
being available and making sure that nobody has a stressful night because that's what I'm there for.
Role of Trainer in Professional Readiness
00:30:33
Speaker
I'm there to help facilitate.
00:30:36
Speaker
Your Metallica is roadie. That's exactly right. And listen, being a roadie, I was a roadie for three years. Being a roadie isn't a bad thing. Like it's a pretty fun gig. And right now I'm a wrestling roadie. Were you like touring as a roadie? Yeah, with small punk rock bands. Nothing, nothing. We'll throw some punk rock band names out there. The band called Ingsoc.
00:31:00
Speaker
A band called A Failed Escape. A band called Currently Held Captive. A band called
00:31:12
Speaker
I'm sure there's somebody listening right now that is like, oh, I know this. I know that I'm very tickled by this. They were mentioned on there. So I know with like, I guess in my head, I'm trying to think of it like this. Like I did standup comedy for like three years, but with that, it's easy to find an open mic and do it. And you're basically doing it until you get good enough that people are putting you on shows.
00:31:41
Speaker
Where does that fall in? How does that fall for a wrestler? Do you have, I don't think you're necessarily like, you've hit this many months, you're ready to do it. Or is it your coach watching you being like, now you're ready, it's time. So it tends to be more your coach. One of the things that we're going over right now is running through a match. So that I know these are the spots that I need to hit. Because I can run over a match 50 times
00:32:10
Speaker
And I know I need to be here. I need to be here. I need to be here. Um, so it's kind of up to where he thinks I'm at. Like I've, I'm putting my eggs in that basket. I'm saying you tell me when you think I'm ready, because then when he says I'm ready.
00:32:32
Speaker
Boom, I'm gone. Like, okay, I'm gonna have matches as far as I possibly can. I'm gonna have as many as I possibly can. So yeah, it's more based on where they think you're at because of course, you know, there's a lot going into that. You know, they have to make sure that I'm being safe because essentially I'm trading on his name or her name or whomever trained me. I'm saying this person trained me to get in the ring and be safe.
00:33:03
Speaker
And if I get in that ring and I'm not safe...
00:33:06
Speaker
Like that can reflect poorly on them. And I don't want like I don't want to be a guy people can write exactly. I want I want it to be OK. And for it for the amount of vouching that has already happened for me, I want it to always be OK. I want to always be as safe as I possibly can. I'm not saying here and saying accidents don't happen and that every single wrestler who's ever made a mistake is a had a shitty trainer. What I'm saying is that is that
00:33:36
Speaker
I especially I feel like when you first get in, it's about almost paying homage to your
First In-ring Experience: Character and Audience Reaction
00:33:47
Speaker
trainer. Like I want to make you proud. So that's kind of where I forgot the fucking question because I've been drinking.
00:33:59
Speaker
No, no, we were just talking about like where, you know, like when the first time you get to wrestle is. And I know like for you, you were just telling me that was it over the weekend? You got to make your first in ring appearance, not necessarily in a wrestling role.
00:34:17
Speaker
But as as a character, as I would say, a character characters. I feel like that's not a negative word. I don't think so. I would. I would say there's a lot of wrestlers that, you know, when you hear them on a podcast, like they go in and out of character. Like people, the people know at this point, like we all like the same thing. Like this isn't a secret. Yeah. So I get I I have been lucky enough to. Travel with my trainer.
00:34:47
Speaker
with my coach to a show in Indianapolis called Bazaar Lucha and they have been more than
00:34:59
Speaker
willing to allow me to play a role there. And it's... That has to feel fucking awesome. It feels fucking great. Like this, this much, like, you know, just four months in. Right. Like regardless of whether or not you're in there having a match, they trust you enough to bring you in and they like your look enough to put you in there. To keep bringing me back. To keep bringing you back.
00:35:19
Speaker
The thing that I would say is I've never had 100 plus people boo me all at the same time, but wanting people to boo me, I've never had that feeling. And what I will say is it is the greatest fucking feeling in the entire world to be able to elicit a response from that many people at
Learning from Indie Shows
00:35:43
Speaker
one time.
00:35:43
Speaker
Oh, just to get that immediate reaction. Like immediately they were like, fuck this guy. I was in ring, I was in character, a little bit of blood rush to my penis. I had to think, tone it down. Calm down.
00:35:59
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you were on a show with some fucking names, like people that you watch as a fan. Yeah. How does that feel to be like backstage when you're around people that you respect from the fan side? So what I would say is that I would say that it took some getting used to it first, but now
00:36:25
Speaker
I've realized that all of those emotions that I have, I will just bottle them and then I will release them on the car ride home because I think it's super unbecoming for me to be like, oh my God, I can't believe you're here to every wrestler on the show.
00:36:47
Speaker
It's cool. Like when Bizarro Lucha is one I haven't personally attended, but I see the bill for each show and they're having some pretty great indie wrestlers come through there. Yeah. I mean, on those last show, they had Jimmy Jacobs and Nick Iggy in the main event and then Penelope Ford was also on it. Oh, fuck yeah. And a triple threat with Trip Cassidy had a match with Penelope Ford and Boomer Hatfield.
00:37:15
Speaker
I love Penelope so much. She's one that when I watch her, I'm just like, fuck, I want to see her be such a big star. So she in this match, it was great because she just spent the entire match hitting on Boomer Hatfield like he wears like a baseball lucha mask. And it was fantastic because I'm not saying that he's not of age.
00:37:41
Speaker
But I'm saying that if he wasn't, it would make sense based upon his body type. And so the entire match she spent hitting on him and trying to get him involved with her. And it was, I mean, just her ability to story tell even at that level was so awesome to see. It was really interesting. And I feel like like as somebody who's just kind of starting out, like I feel like I learned something from that. Like, oh, you can kind of
00:38:11
Speaker
do whatever you want in that ring. Not that, but do whatever you want as far as selling and creating a story.
Studying Wrestling Matches for Skills
00:38:20
Speaker
As far as watching things, what are the things that you watch at this point is like game tape. Like what is the thing that you go to to be like, this is a good thing to learn from. So as a man who is 6'3",
00:38:34
Speaker
um it's difficult to find guys who are my height that were super into technical wrestling like i am like there's not a lot of guys that were this tall and they were like you know what i want to do i want to do an abdominal stretch
00:38:51
Speaker
So I watch a lot of Chris Hero from the FCW days and then I watch a lot of Nigel McGinnis because Nigel was that guy. He was the the the technical guy that would then in the middle of a technical move would just chop the shit out of you or kick the shit out of you. And I love that. I think it's such a good wrestling style to me.
00:39:19
Speaker
That's what I love right now about Zack Sabre Jr. I feel like of the people that work the mat, he is the best one to show. And I hadn't watched New Japan in a few weeks. I had been kind of on a little New Japan break. And since the New Japan Cup started, I went and started watching a few matches and had a friend in town over the weekend that doesn't watch.
00:39:41
Speaker
So first I had on a bushy versus nido. Great match. Great match. Like pretty typical new Japan. Like, you know what I mean? It's just, it is what you think it's going to be. It's always going to be as good as, you know, you're never going to be disappointed by that match.
00:39:58
Speaker
When I saw those two were to match, I'm like, this is obviously something I should watch. And New Japan, every time I take a break from it and come back, I never understood why I took a break. Right. I'm like, this is clearly like, why am I not watching this 24 seven? Why is this? Why don't I have a dedicated TV to New Japan? It's like I don't pay for an app monthly to be able to have the privilege to watch this. But
00:40:25
Speaker
I think there was a spot where we kind of thought like, okay, the elites gone. They're going to be in a like a development phase. They're going to have to know they don't like these motherfuckers have one of the strongest like top guy rosters in wrestling. It was almost like new Japan was like, we know that the inevitable is going to happen and all of these guys are going to leave. So what we need to do is we need to quietly
00:40:51
Speaker
and succinctly build our undercard because that's exactly what they did. They build it to the point where I'm like, I haven't watched Zack Sabre Jr. match in one day. I need to probably sit down and watch one.
Enduring Excitement for Wrestling
00:41:07
Speaker
Probably need to sit down and watch a Nido match. Their undercard was so great that now they're all like it's hard to not see everybody in New Japan as a main eventer.
00:41:18
Speaker
Yeah. You can slot anybody into that upper card. Well, even the show we went to here in Nashville, the No Japan Pro Wrestling Show, like some of the young lions, like you could see like, holy fuck, in a couple of years, like they must have some, I don't know what's going on in their dojo, but Shabbatah is like fucking crushing over there.
00:41:42
Speaker
But what I was saying is I had, I had that match on first and she was kind of just here letting it happen to her. Like I had to watch it regardless. So she was here and I, next after that I put on evil versus Zach Sabre Jr. Oh yeah. And I was surprised when I put it on, I thought like she might think this one's boring cause he's going to be rolling around on the ground. But when you see.
00:42:04
Speaker
like wrestling Gumby going up against a guy shaped like a fire hydrant like in twisting him into pretzels it still is fucking entertaining especially when it's like oh he twisted him around he's been on the ground a long time but he stood up and kicked his fucking head off when he was done
00:42:21
Speaker
That's yeah, that's what I love about that this new like kind of like Trent I mean like we've even talked about you've been watching the first couple of Wrestle manias and I was you know first thing I ever watched was royal rumble 91 like the transition from thinking about what those shows look like to what a New Japan show where it's evil verse Zack Sabre jr. Looks like you're just like I don't
00:42:47
Speaker
Those don't connect at all. There's no like connective. The only connective tissue is three ropes and a ring. Like, does the matches look vastly different? It's, man, wrestling's awesome. It is. It's just, I love that there can be a guy like Zack Sabre Jr. Doesn't look anything like the other guys on there. Like, looks like he has zero percent body fat because he's just a small man, like just a thin skinny man. But everything he does looks like it's
00:43:17
Speaker
sucks to have happened to you. Yeah, I've never seen a move that Zack Xavier Jr. has put on and been like, oh, I could probably take that as a man who's training. I don't know that I would want to wrestle Zack Xavier Jr. because I think it would suck.
00:43:33
Speaker
Yeah, like when he does like a European uppercut or a chop or a kick, you're like, that looks like that sucks to take. And then when they're on the ground, you're like, I know for a fact I don't bend this way. Right. Right. I can look at the person he's wrestling and put myself in a similar position and know that even when I'm not completely in that position, I'm already in fucking pain.
00:44:04
Speaker
But okay, so you've been watching Nigel McGinnis and Chris Hero, Chris Hero, fucking master. I mean, honestly, the first time I ever saw Chris Hero wrestle was Chris Hero versus Zack Sabre Jr. And I saw that in person. That was the first time I had actually gotten to sit down. That's a rad match. Fuck. Especially going in and I knew who Chris Hero was, Zack was brand new to me. You look at that and you're like,
00:44:26
Speaker
Like, that ruined my week watching it.
00:44:31
Speaker
Well, none of this makes sense. And then as it's happening, it completely makes sense. But okay, what about now? I know...
00:44:41
Speaker
Current product, there's so much of it. Your training, is it still enjoyable? Like is it the same as it was before you started? Wrestling is still very enjoyable. Wrestling is not the same since I've started. Wrestling is not the same based upon the fact that I'm now getting to get out there and do it. I'm getting to do those things that I've spent 20 plus years watching.
00:45:11
Speaker
and getting to try to tweak and try to try to finite what how I do it how what my style looks like versus what you know Zach Sabre Jr's or what even Chris Hero or Nigel McGinnis or
00:45:28
Speaker
or Craig Mitchell looks like. Thank you for giving Craig some love in here. We we love Craig Mitchell on this podcast. Yeah. Nothing but Craig Mitchell. Hashtag Craig Mitchell. Love Craig. It's it's one of those things where I still will sit down and watch wrestling. I mean, I'm always going to be a fan. I've never I don't see ever not being a fan.
00:45:54
Speaker
You know, I can take breaks. I think that you and I's breaks kind of line up of when I kind of took a break from wrestling because it just wasn't for me anymore. And at the time I wanted to be cool and wrestling wasn't cool. No. And you wanted to try and have sex with girls. Right. I enjoyed sex with women. And then I was like, I don't think that's going to happen if I continue to talk about Batista and John Cena.
00:46:21
Speaker
Which I, you know, maybe I secretly did down in my heart, but you know, it disappeared. I forgot about it, but it all came back. Yeah, exactly. And then, but like, that's the thing is, is that I, when I took that break.
00:46:37
Speaker
I, you know, I was, oh, it was just a passing phase and then roll around 2011 and everybody starts talking to me about the CM Punk pipe bomb. And I'm like, Oh, there's a guy who kind of looks like me wrestling for the WWE and the main event.
Wrestling Promotions: Changes and Trends
00:46:55
Speaker
I'm 100% in because you, I'd never seen anybody like that before. And so then.
00:47:01
Speaker
You know, I can't, I'll never stop watching. I might stop watching certain products, but I'll never stop watching. And even products that I think I'm done with always find a way to get me back. It's always a cycle. There's always can be a guy that get or girl that gets me to come back to that product. So like me and you have talked about before that that NXT resurgence that happened.
00:47:27
Speaker
Where like when Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and I'm trying to think who else was there at that time She had all their big guys. You mean like are you talking like when all these dudes left? Yeah, and they went to WWE There was that like I wouldn't call it the dark ages, but there was a dark ages for NXT. It was unfortunate. They just didn't have anybody There's nobody there
00:47:49
Speaker
Like, it's funny that a rebuild on certain promotions feels like the end of the world. Right. It's like, oh, well, that's over. Like where, for instance, right now with Ring of Honor and New Japan in my head, the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega being gone is a huge deal. Right. But then, you know, like I, I ended up, I had to get rid of my tickets to Madison Square Garden. It just wasn't going to work out.
00:48:13
Speaker
but when I see a match that they put for the junior heavyweight title, when I'm like, I am already sad I'm not in this building, when I see Ishimori, Dragonly, Bandito, fuck. Yeah, I got rid of my tickets too early.
00:48:31
Speaker
But no, it's yeah, you think you think that it's dead and then all of a sudden it turns into better than what you could have ever imagined it was with the guys that were just there. Like WWE even has that ability.
00:48:47
Speaker
Like with the talent that they have right now, it's unbelievable that there are times that I'm like, nah, it's cool. I'll just watch this week in WWE on the WWE network. Like, like I can catch up in five minutes. I can catch up in five minutes because it's just, it's, that's insane to me that that is with the amount of talent they have, that's how it is right now. But eventually it's not going to be that way.
00:49:14
Speaker
Eventually they're, you know, especially with what seems like pretty steep competition coming at them directly at them. I think they're going to have to step it up, especially with this Fox deal.
00:49:28
Speaker
When did I read a thing the other day that said Fox is already asking WWE to try and go racier with their product to compete and you know that has to be like having a major company tell them you need to like write
00:49:44
Speaker
Yeah, they don't necessarily need to be doing like TNA and like, just swearing all the time, but something a little a little more than what you got. It seems like it seems like they kind of have I don't know, like, have but with the producers that they've kind of brought on now, like Bruce Richards back. Jeff Jarrett's back, or I guess here. I don't know. He's there. He's over there. He's over there. You think he's still wearing that outfit?
00:50:14
Speaker
The one that my wife thought he was too sexy in. It was weird to hear double J be referred to as that, like, sexual of a bean from my wife. Like, I mean, she wasn't around for choke on this slap nut, so she doesn't know about all that. But yeah, yeah, I don't know. Is it a good thing, though, to go back to these guys? Or like, should we be bringing in new?
00:50:40
Speaker
Well, they also brought in, I don't know what Abyss's real name is, but Abyss is now a producer there, and Sanjay Dutt is now a producer there who were for TNA for years, I feel like. I don't really know. I don't keep up with TNA. Let's be honest. Every time I praise TNA, they find a way to make me regret the praise I gave them.
00:51:03
Speaker
when I'm like, this is the shit. Do you hang your hat on that statement? And you go, ugh. Well, like, they come, they have, what, Slammiversary? Fucking awesome. One of the best pay-per-views of last year. Or, like, one that I just enjoyed everything I watched. They come here for their show in Nashville. It's fucking awesome. They signed a pioneer network or whatever the fuck. And, like, now they're just a company that's hoarding guys that I wish were elsewhere.
Value of Independent Wrestling
00:51:33
Speaker
They are pro wrestler storage unit
00:51:42
Speaker
Where you stick a guy for a while until the WWE is ready for him or AEW. Yeah, you just have to hope you can trick a guy into signing a long enough contract that they'll stick around. Right. If only Impact had gotten Joey Ryan and he didn't sign into like a thousand year deal with fucking Lucha Underground. I feel like he's gonna be with Lucha Underground for fucking ever.
00:52:06
Speaker
Honestly, I get where he came from, where he's like, I'm the dick guy. No one is going to sign the dick guy. I've got to take what I can get. And now he's like, fucking everybody is here. I don't even get to wrestle because this show isn't on, but I signed it.
00:52:22
Speaker
Joey Ryan was the guy who said, I'm not going to the fucking dance. And then every single one of his friends was like, yeah, I think I'm going to go check out the dance. And he was like, well, I was the first one to say it wasn't going to the dance. So I guess I'm not going to go.
00:52:44
Speaker
So what was, I know you like, it seems like since you've been working yourself, you've dropped off a little bit. Like what was the last product that you, I know you said you watch new Japan recently, but is there anything that you're like, I watch a lot of independent stuff. I use, um, I know it's independent wrestling.tv. Now it used to be power bomb TV. I think it's called independent wrestling.tv. Now I watch a lot of the stuff.
00:53:07
Speaker
just around just so like again so I'm familiar with the guys that I potentially could be sharing a ring with so I know what their deals are versus what mine is so I could be like oh I would mesh well with this guy or I would not mesh well with this guy
00:53:24
Speaker
um so you're looking at like realistically next six months i could be in a ring with this guy exactly i need to know what his deal is i need to be familiar with the crew i'm coming up with exactly yeah i mean i think i think that's important because if you i mean if you really look at wrestling like you see that that's kind of what it is it's groupings of dudes coming up together it's not a single guy i mean
00:53:53
Speaker
Um, I would say that, I would say that, um, Hulk Hogan is the exception to that rule. That guy came up, he came up and then he brought his friends. Whereas it's kind of more like, Hey, let's bring in this whole crew of guys. Let's bring in this whole crew of guys, because we know that they can have really good matches with each other.
00:54:19
Speaker
And so it's kind of like what I have to kind of watch that kind of stuff, because I don't want to go in there and number one, I want to make a fool of myself. And I also don't want to disappoint the person that I'm working with, because if you have a good match, that means that somebody else is willing to have a good match with you. So that's that's kind of more so what I watch now is I'm watching more independent stuff.
00:54:43
Speaker
So do you have that network, the independent wrestling.tv, I believe is what it is. Okay. And what I know, like, this is basically like, kind of the new territories, right? Like with this, you're getting to see all of the local promotions from around the United States. Exactly. Is there one in particular, or a couple in particular that you're like, these are the ones that you need, the local indies you need to be checking out. So I've been watching Bizarro Lucha.
00:55:12
Speaker
Obviously Indianapolis Indianapolis I have I've watched Sup obviously we go to sup
00:55:25
Speaker
Which it's crazy, which every show I go to, I feel like there's a new guy that I see that I'm just like, I could see in a few months, like I picture this guy being elsewhere. You remember Stokely Hathaway? Yeah. He just signed a WWE. That's insane. He's at the performance center
Wrestling's Adaptability and Appeal
00:55:43
Speaker
now. So I mean, we saw that guy less than two months ago. Yeah. Or maybe two months ago at most.
00:55:51
Speaker
Um, freelance. I'm so sorry. I don't remember freely. No, freelance is out of Chicago. That's actually like, that's like two blocks from Derek. Right. So I've watched some freelance.
00:56:02
Speaker
which our buddy Craig wrestles at, which I know he has a belt there, but he said that he won that belt in a promotion that died. So he said he feels like a man with no country where he's like, he's defending a belt that has no home. He's Tom Hanks in the terminal. I like to say he's Tom Hanks and castaway and he's talking to that belt like it's well. He's Tom Hanks in the terminal. He's stuck in the terminal because he doesn't have a home country.
00:56:27
Speaker
And by that you mean he's collecting quarters to eat Burger King. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, he's returning cards. Love you, Craig. Love you, Craig. But no, like this right now is it's crazy. I would have never expected the boom in like true independent wrestling. Like you can call PWG independent wrestling, but they've got enough money that they're bringing in right worldwide top talent, right? Like
00:56:51
Speaker
Right now, we're seeing these amazing people start coming through the territories. Places like PWG, it's kind of like that.
00:57:03
Speaker
This is the stop off point before I go to WWE, possibly AEW, depending on how big and what they're doing is. Like, yeah, there's people that have been signed to AEW that fucking shocked me that they're all ready to that point. Right. But I mean, some of them like, yeah. Like, I guess if you're ready, you're ready. Yeah. I just hope that I'm glad that the wrestling business is doing so well.
00:57:30
Speaker
Not only because you're in it, but I'm also glad from a fan perspective because if there isn't something I like, I can literally go anywhere and watch it. I can go to literally any other promotion and probably there's going to be something on the show I like.
Preparing for First Wrestling Chop
00:57:50
Speaker
100% and that's what any promotion I feel like I can find at least one thing I enjoy out of each one and then if you tune in for that one thing you're gonna find that there's more things bringing you back over time like I mean even guys now like I've talked about this a bunch but I fucking hated hangman page and now like
00:58:10
Speaker
I love him to death. I would carry his bags anywhere he asked me. And then he's got that full gear challenge thing going. Which is awesome. Online you're seeing all these people that are actually losing weight for all in. I was trying.
00:58:30
Speaker
Speaking of, I'm gonna do this for Derek. Derek's had a bad day. You're here. You are training to be a professional wrestler. I am going to assume that you have chopped and have been chopped. Does it suck?
00:58:46
Speaker
It's not fun. It doesn't feel fun. It doesn't feel fun ever. And I'm going to go ahead and say this. I feel like I'm going to catch some flack for this, but I'm going to go with what I am. I know for a fact, if I were a pro wrestler, I'm a shirt on wrestler.
00:59:06
Speaker
Me and Kevin Owens, me and Earthquake, me and Typhoon, me and these guys, hit me on that. Like, this is who I am. Would you be willing, I know I've earned several.
00:59:20
Speaker
But tonight, would you be willing to christen me like the side of a fucking boat with a bottle of champagne? Will you crack that bottle across my chest? I would be 100% honored. Oh my god. We're going to keep the mics rolling for this. I am going to pass off a camera to my wife, and you are going to slap me in the fucking chest, sir. But first, I'm going to go to the bathroom because I've been drinking beers, and I know I'm going to piss myself when you slap me. Me too.
00:59:51
Speaker
All right, so we are setting up. I am going to do the best to hold this microphone during this. And I'll be honest, I'm comfortable with letting you be the first one to chop me because I feel like you're not gonna hit me in the throat on purpose.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
01:00:07
Speaker
And Lowell, I am talking to you when I say I'm not comfortable that you won't. All right, like I said, I'm gonna be a shirt on wrestler, but I am willing to remove the hoodie.
01:00:20
Speaker
My lovely wife Leah is going to going to film this do it sideways, you know, like what's the best view I know Oh multi-angle, okay, so I'm gonna where where should this be held like about Okay, and just just to be Perfectly up front how much is this gonna suck for me? Oh, it's not gonna be fun. Oh
01:00:48
Speaker
Like tomorrow, am I gonna have your hand on my chest? Possibly will. Fuck. I'm gonna go ahead and tell you up front, I don't do well with pain. And that's why I'm on this side of the microphone. I guess the real question is, how much do you think our friendship will be affected by this? I don't know. Is anyone friends with Randy Orton? I mean, maybe his kids? His step kids. All right.
01:01:26
Speaker
I'm gonna go ahead and tell ya. Rock hard right now. I don't know if it's the beer or the adrenaline, but I feel fuckin' alive. Yeah! Well, Garrett, thank you so much for joining us this week on the show. I know Derek can be here. I hope he enjoyed getting the sound of my chest. Like, I can feel it that it hurts now. Hey, you are more than welcome, and hey, Derek, hope you feel better.
01:01:55
Speaker
Alright, if you want to check us out on social media, we're at Wrestle Hangout on Twitter, we're at Predetermined Podcast on Instagram, at Wrestle Hangout on Facebook. Be sure to leave us those five star reviews on iTunes, rate, review, subscribe. We'll talk about whatever you want. I'm ready to get out of here. Garrett? Hey, you know what? This is your show. Hit my goddamn music.