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Live From Podcast Row At Starrcast w/ The Curtain Jerks & MJF
63 Plays7 years ago
This week the boys are coming to you live from Starrcast with Chris & Fax from The Best There Ever Was podcast! Also around the 29 minute mark Predetermined is invaded by their longtime rival Maxwell Jacob Feinstein!
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Transcript
Introduction to Hosts and Guests
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey folks, this is ECW original and for WWE Superstar the blue meanie and you're listening to pre-determined a pro wrestling hangout
00:00:48
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 is currently decked head to toe in his own merchandise, Derek Halpern. It feels pretty special to be in an event like this, repping your own merch, right? Oh, I feel fantastic. You feel cool? Yeah. Kevin Nash is wearing a Flip Gordon shirt. Really? Yeah. No, I'm just joking. You're currently here. Oh, damn it. I got really excited. I thought that was the story. Well, we have a couple of special guests. We have a couple special guests today. Introduce them, Derek.
00:01:16
Speaker
We got a couple of gentlemen here from the Best There Ever Was podcast. You guys are from New York. We are. Welcome to Chicago. I'm Chris. Yeah, I'm Fax. And we're the curtain jerks. Yeah. That's how our show sort of starts. You have some nice jackets. Thank you. Yeah. We felt like if we're media, we needed to look sort of like media. And so we now look like 70s sports announcers. And certainly, yeah, anyone listening to this can probably check out our YouTube channel and see us in our blazers.
00:01:45
Speaker
doing some stuff at Starcast. Yeah,
Podcast Promotion and Wrestling Merchandise
00:01:47
Speaker
go ahead. Plug your social media. Plug your show here at the top. I'm going to fuck it up. So, Chris, why don't you? Oh, wait, can I curse on this? Yes. Absolutely. I'm going to fuck this shit up. The best there ever was on the Atlantic Transmission Network. You can find it on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can subscribe to our channel on YouTube, which has our more current content. We talked a whole bunch about the New Japan G1 Climax and all in. And we'll talk about a lot more things as things happen.
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah, and Twitter, it's curtain underscore jerks. Nice. Twitter is probably the best place to get all of our stuff. So this is kind of impromptu, but you mentioned Kevin Nash and we were talking earlier about the new WWE like custom t-shirt shop. Right. And how I feel like I'm my summer style for next year. I'm just going to get those like Wolfpack tank tops. Yes. I'm just going to channel Kevin Nash just all summer.
00:02:35
Speaker
Because that feels like a reasonable thing to do, right? The best thing you could do is get, like, one of the old N.W.O. shirts that has the split down the middle with the red and the white on there and cut the sleeves off of that. Maybe one that sits for life underneath of it. Of course. I was trying to seek out Kevin Nash all day yesterday. I threw my neck out. And I thought of everyone that's a part of Starcast, his hands look like they'd be the most pleasing to work that knot out.
00:02:57
Speaker
He was talking about that all day. He was like, I want Kevin Nash's meaty hands on my shoulders. I think I said meaty mitts. Well, you know, I mean, he was in Magic Mike, so he knows his way around the human body. He was also spared by John Wick. Well, there you go. He was in The Punisher.
00:03:13
Speaker
Yeah. He was in the turtles too. He's probably got a super shredder. Yeah. Absolutely. What about you. Massage from a wrestler. Who are you picking. Oh I mean you got to go with. I think I like a nice hard one. So I'm going to go with the king of strong style shinsuke Nakamura.
00:03:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I got to think. So you think about your back. But sometimes your forehead hurts. I think Barry Wyndham with the iron claw. OK. That was a nice nice forehead massage. I'll be like I submit. And that's how that's how it ended.
00:03:48
Speaker
You don't see the iron claw very much anymore. No, it's a terrible move. I also feel like, Chris, have you ever gotten a massage and get the point of it? I mean, if you're submitting during your massages, you're tapping out and going at the same time. I don't know. I think you're doing it right. You're paying someone else to do this?
Debating Kevin Nash's Influence and Matches
00:04:03
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, that's what it's worth. What's the right answer? How is massage supposed to impact? Well, I don't know if kids listen to this. With a hand massaging your temples. Depends on what kind of tip they want to get. You know what I'm saying?
00:04:18
Speaker
Well speaking for you guys, our show's about the greatest matches. What do you guys think is the best Kevin Nash match ever? Ooh. Off the top of my head, what is the best Kevin Nash match? Well, I think there's a few memorable ones. I think that's your definition of best. Everyone will always talk about his match against Goldberg because it was the end of the streak, right? Right. Which is a better match than people remember, I think. Yeah. Well, it can't be worse than most people probably remember. If you haven't seen that match in a while and you're just like, imagine Goldberg match.
00:04:46
Speaker
that's the one I think Goldberg in general like I watched the Hogan when he won the title for the first yeah I legitimately love that match Goldberg I think it was I think it was the right culmination of stuff we just had this conversation the other day we were driving somewhere and we were talking about how back in that time period
00:05:03
Speaker
Everything was about ratings on television. And I think people look back now in hindsight and they're like, well, they gave that away for free on TV. And we're like, well, yeah, but at the time that was that was how you were trying to win the war. It didn't really nobody was talking about pay-per-view by rates between WCW and and WWF at the time. Right. Yeah. The problem there is in that one was definitely the follow up and not the fact that they did it on Nitro. Right.
00:05:25
Speaker
Yeah. It would have been maybe OK if Goldberg had a pay-per-view opponent worth talking about for like the six months that followed up to Starrcade. Yeah. I think that was. Yeah. And that match, people like shit on Nash looking back because of the finger poke and the booking run. But I was super into Kevin Nash 1998. I was so excited. And he had great hair. Can we talk about the fact that even the way things played out at the end of that
NWO Era and WWE Booking Decisions
00:05:49
Speaker
Starrcade match with Goldberg, it set things up for something interesting in the weeks to come. Totally.
00:05:53
Speaker
Well, and also, if you could teleport to the Russo era of WCW, you'd be like, how much would you have paid to have Kevin Nash back as head booker over Russo writing that shit? I mean, how many times has he said, like in shoot interviews, he's like, he was the guy who proposed to having Mysterio beat him in the middle of the ring. Well, I mean, Kevin Nash definitely never made David Arquette the champion, to the rest of my knowledge. So there's that at a bare minimum.
00:06:19
Speaker
There's some, I was actually watching a couple of those reasons, there's some good stuff on those like Nash book shows. There's like that whole tag feud with Raven and Saturn against Kidman and Rey and the Horsemen. It's super fun. You can still go back and watch the images. There's gotta be an alternate timeline out there in the universe where things after Starrcade go way better.
00:06:38
Speaker
Yeah, I would totally. Well, and then I think they did a roundtable. I think they did something for the network. WWE Network. Sorry. Where they were talking about how they built up this huge war between NWO Hollywood and NW Wolfpack and then they never
00:06:54
Speaker
did anything. It was kind of a lopsided thing. I've said this on our podcast. The problem with the NWO originally was that you had all these cool heels. No one was believable that could beat them. Maybe, yeah, Goldberg could beat Hogan, but you didn't have another set of guys that could take on the NWO. Then when you split that in the Wolfpack and you made them babyfaces and added Sting and Luger, it's like, OK, they're babyfaces.
00:07:20
Speaker
But what other faction could possibly compete with them? And NWO Hollywood was Hogan, friggin Horace. Haul. Virgil. They still technically had Haul at one point. While he was in rehab, maybe, you know, his vest. Giant. OK. All right. I feel like you think I'm not trying to play devil's advocate with you. Scott Norton. I was just like, represent. Steiner. Bagwell. Kurt Hennig, I think, was in Hollywood, right?
00:07:46
Speaker
Yeah, it's not it's not good. Yeah, I mean, but you had. But this is the thing. If you write it correctly, you totally could have had somebody join them. There could have been another. Sure. There could have been another member to even things up. I know you could have. But I'm just saying, as it was presented on screen without the time machine, it would have never been a fair fight. You could do any amount on any amount. The Wolf Pack is in kayfabe going over.
00:08:11
Speaker
I will say though, the thing about the NWO is that it still sort of endures. So much so that I'm literally staring right now at a Buffalo Wild Wings thing, they have a new wing order t-shirt.
NWO's Cultural Impact
00:08:22
Speaker
That's just the NWO. I got the Koozie. I got the Koozie. Pop culture. It's just ingrained. Zeitgeist. Yeah. I mean, the Kardashians are wearing... Is that weird? That's why I got the Koozie. It wasn't that it was all in, it was that it was new wing order.
00:08:35
Speaker
This is so weird podcasting in this zone. As we were talking just then Medusa walked by. I think that's been the weirdest thing about doing this all day is just seeing these legends. Any of these people you've named could walk by at any point. Yeah, exactly. Well, and if they do, we should just yell louder and be like, Kevin Nash. So I gotta tell you a story. So we get in here, we get set up, and not too long after we get set up,
00:09:00
Speaker
Scott Steiner walks by and I don't know where I got the gall to do this but he walked by. I was like Scotty. He looked over. I thought I was about to get my ass kicked. Yeah. Like I think he just looked at me as a fat wrestling mark. Like yeah. I'm pleased with the Zeke. I thought I was going to get. But he didn't.
Wrestling Costumes and Mistaken Identities
00:09:18
Speaker
He didn't like you didn't engage. No. I mean just went outside. Yeah.
00:09:23
Speaker
Have you guys been to the merch? Have you checked that out yet? Yeah. We haven't spent a lot of time. I just want to see. I just want a men's bathing suit that is just Ted DiBiase's trunks. I've been looking for that for years. And I don't know if the custom WWE shop might have that for me. I do want the white money ink WrestleMania variant. Oh, that's a good one. I want both. But I want the black one. Have you done any wrestling cosplay? Have I done any wrestling cosplay?
00:09:52
Speaker
Well, we are doing a live stage show soon that we're also gonna post online. In which I do play Macho Man Randy Savage at one point. So I don't know if I'm cosplaying fully because I'm wearing a judges robe too. That'll make way more sense if you see the sketch. I do own a mankind mask, a wig and an actual Mick Foley made Mr. Sacco and I am a fat guy with a beard.
00:10:16
Speaker
I technically bought it for Halloween, but it kind of was just for me. Have you guys done any cosplay or anything? Well, this is a great story. For my wedding, I have a very understanding wife. We got married on Halloween. I was married as the Miz. Oh, wow. That's a good one. Yeah. Wow. And did she go as Maurice? No, she was. She's not a wrestling fan. OK, that there's there is a line to what she's willing to do.
00:10:42
Speaker
But this guy, best man, dressed as KO, had the tattoos and everything for the evening. Real tattoos? I didn't get real tattoos, but I got one of my friends to draw them on. They looked excellent. And I gave a best man speech in Kevin Owens. In character? Yeah. Well, almost. Oh, no, no. There was an announcement made at the beginning of the wedding that if somebody acted out during the ceremony, that I was allowed to pop up powerbomb them through one of the tables. Ooh, correct. Well, I was going to say, did you go through a table? Was there a cage anywhere? I should have.
00:11:10
Speaker
I found out that one of the people attending the wedding had secretly had on Mr. Ass trunks the entire wedding and at the end of the night shouted my name and I turned around and he tried to call me out as Mr. Ass to have a match. That's a ceremony. Mr. Ass versus the Miz.
00:11:30
Speaker
I will say, the Miz is one of the wrestlers. My wife, not generally wrestling, but the Miz is one of the wrestlers my wife likes, in part because she met him in a bar in Hollywood like 10 years ago. OK. What? She was like, he was really nice. Before he was wrestling famous. It was like right. Yeah, it was like just when he started wrestling. And the fact that she knew him as the Miz, he was really happy about that. She knew him as real world Miz. Yeah, but she was like, oh, you're going to be a wrestler. You're the Miz.
00:11:58
Speaker
Yeah, she uh, she's like she's like you should kiss me and he did and so she's ever ever that My wife has been a miss van. She's like, I'm just Yeah, we and weirdly we ended up having a baby like a week before the miss did hit you and your wife not Me and my wife and the miss and me and Maurice we all very complicated Child he kissed her so I showed her I had a baby with him
00:12:23
Speaker
Neither Chris nor the Miz are going to do any DNA tests for either of their recent babies. You're afraid of the results. But there's some stuff going on. And also, you named your wife. His wife still has not said who is the best there ever was. But your baby is Monroe Skye. And it was just weird that, yeah. Yeah, of course. We have two babies named Monroe. It's very confusing sometimes for the children. It's going to be very, when they turn old, when they're old enough, it's going to be very rude for them. Yeah. That's a good story.
00:12:53
Speaker
But yeah, it's a, I would say the cosplay though, we've talked about like, should we have like a Halloween party? And we realized that like the best costume for most of our wrestling friends is just Kevin Owens. Yeah, we were literally, we talked about doing a Halloween party where you were going to dress as a wrestler and there was going to literally be a rule of no Kevin Owens. And then see what people can do. Yeah. You better believe. But then I already claimed mankind, so that was going to be too hard. Oh, that's a cop. I can't, I can't say no Kevin Owens and then I take you. Yeah. Yeah.
00:13:21
Speaker
It's funny how self-aware wrestling fans are sometimes like we know what we what we look like. That's why we like he represents us Right. He is what I look like wrestling. I think in my head pretty yeah, I mean we're all sure that yes Kevin Owens is what we would Yeah, that's part of the appeal though, right
00:13:40
Speaker
Yeah. Well, that's exactly the appeal. I think it's like we talk about who you see yourself as. And I think a lot of wrestling fans see themselves as Kevin Owens. I don't have the confidence to see myself as a Johnny Mundo somebody. Yeah, that guy's got a lot of abs. Or even Daniel Bryan, right? It's like, yeah, he doesn't have the look of a wrestler. And he's not maybe a classically handsome man. But man, he does a lot of work.
00:14:07
Speaker
Whereas Kevin Owens obviously does a lot of work, it just doesn't seem like it. But that's what makes him better as a character? Because he's got that look. His look is a weapon, right? If you're a 10-year-old, you want to be and you think you can be John Cena, right? When you're 30,
00:14:30
Speaker
You're like, maybe if I really started going to the gym, and I finally went to that wrestling school, I think I can cut a good promo. Maybe I could do Kevin Owens. I mean, I'm a native English speaker. He's a fucking Frenchy. I mean, I kind of am ahead of him already in some ways. I think you realize that John Cena wears headbands for armbands, because that's how big his biceps are. And you're like, I'm not making it.
Personal Stories and Wrestling Fandom
00:14:53
Speaker
I'm not getting there. Kevin Owens has given interviews. He's talked about his like, there were points in my career where I thought to myself,
00:14:59
Speaker
You know, should I just go to the gym and not eat this pizza? And you're like, yeah, I think that all the time. Yeah. And that's why when I'm in the pool with my 12 year old nephew and I give him an FU, I'm done for like 15 minutes. I need like a slice of watermelon and a Gatorade before I can even get out of the pool. Well, you should tell the story facts.
00:15:19
Speaker
Didn't your nephew believed you were Kevin Owens? He did. So what? Yeah. So so I have family, you know, that lives in the Chicago area. As I mentioned, I'm from New York and my nephew, who's like eight now, so he was probably like six at the time, six, seven.
00:15:38
Speaker
And I was coming into town to visit, and we were doing it while, and he's in the restaurant. It was his first house show, and it was also the night of Orton Lesnar 2. So it was kind of a big house show. It was on the network, I think, WWE Network. So- At the house show, was it September 24? Yeah, because it was right before my birthday. Yeah, I was at that show. Holy crap. So hey, man, Small World. It is, right? At Starcast in Chicago. Hi there. We're besties now.
00:16:06
Speaker
So my brother had kind of been telling me, he's like, hey, doesn't your uncle look kind of like Kevin Owens? Does he look like Kevin Owens? And I didn't know that. So like the second I got in the house, he comes up to me and he just goes, I know you're not Kevin Owens. And I'm like, what are you talking about?
00:16:26
Speaker
And he's like, I know you're not really Kevin Owens. And I'm like, you're right. I'm not Kevin Owens. And then my brother, after dinner that first night, smartens me up. He's like, oh, by the way, he totally thinks you're Kevin Owens. And I may or may not have kept that information going.
00:16:43
Speaker
So then afterwards I'm just like you know I start playing it up a little bit more because he was just like like after dinner after maybe the next morning he's like hey well I mean I know you're not but if you were Kevin Owens and this is when he was still a Universal Champion I believe so he's like you'd show me the Universal title right and I'm like I don't know depends how well you behave
00:17:07
Speaker
You have blackmail over this you're gonna be good well and cuz he was watching wrestling and he's kind of like the case study for why if you have a boy you maybe don't introduce pro wrestling them to like eight or nine because he was literally just doing like macho man elbow off the top like every eight seconds is super ADHD and So like there was a lot of that stuff and then and then like right before we're literally about to leave to go to the Rosemont Horizon He goes to me he sits down. He goes
00:17:33
Speaker
Listen, I know you are Kevin Owens. And he goes, I know you're not allowed to tell me. He goes, but please, please, can you show me the universal title? So I go, listen.
00:17:52
Speaker
If I win the title, if I retain the title tonight, and your dad says that you behave good at the show, and I notice you behave... I'll show you the universal title. So then, to keep kayfabe. And at these house shows, you don't necessarily know the order. So like, Lesnar... That wound up, I think, being the last match, the title match. The title match was the last match, yeah. Yeah. So at one point, I left just because I had to pee, get a soda.
00:18:16
Speaker
And I was just like, let me see what's on next. Because I'm like, I literally was going to miss the main event just to keep kayfabe. But it wound up being like another two matches that I missed. And I eventually went back. And he's like, the match started like actual Kevin Owens gets introduced. And he's like looking over to me. He's looking to him. He's looking over to me. And like the first thing goes through his mind is like some kind of alternate dimension evil twin stuff. Because now he can't comprehend that I'm not Kevin Owens. And I'm like, yeah. He's like, kid.
00:18:46
Speaker
real Kevin Owens only does TV and pay-per-view. He doesn't do house shows. They have a look-alike that does that. And I can't show you the universal title because he has it right now because I said I needed to spend time with my nephew. This is one of Kevin's helpers. Exactly.
00:19:03
Speaker
Exactly, so this is a very intricate life. I'm pretty sure I've seen them multiple times since I'm pretty sure he's been wizened up 100% that I'm not Kevin Owens, but there might still be a slight slight doubt of like maybe they really do use look-alikes for house shows and maybe my uncle really is
00:19:22
Speaker
Well, that would explain why sometimes Randy looks like he really, really cares and other times he does. Yeah. Right. Right. Which Randy are you getting? Well, this is actually Steve. This is Steve. Steve O.
00:19:39
Speaker
But before Kevin Owens, who did who did we have to look like? I mean, well, Mick Foley, right? I guess. Yeah. I mean, if you go back further, I mean, let's just like, oh, well, I love Hillbilly Jim because I relate to his whole hillbilly. Jim was like six foot seven and jacked. So yeah. Duggan kind of came. Would we would be a really like Jim Duggan. I like Jim Duggan when I was a kid. I mean, he did get busted for like weed in the car. Right. So he's cool. Yeah, exactly. You're like, yeah. I mean, I guess I guess it would be Jake the snake if you're really in the mess.
00:20:09
Speaker
But yeah, I wasn't it really just depends on what your drug preference was You were an alcohol guy Scott Hall, even though you you're maybe if I keep drinking I can look like Scott Hall and Hawk Raven is Ray. Oh, yeah, Tommy dreamer definitely. Oh Tommy Yeah, the real dude cuz he doesn't even dress up. He doesn't give and he talks about white castles by the dozen. He just wears anybody's shirt to that
00:20:34
Speaker
Oh yeah. Well that's I think if you look at the ECW crowd, that's why the Dreamer Raven thing was so perfect. It's because Raven kind of looks like half the crowd and the other half of the crowd just looks like Dreamer. Right. It's a personality clash right before their eyes. Either way we're all shirt on wrestlers. Exactly. Exactly.
00:20:54
Speaker
Spike Dudley probably for some not really. Yeah Because that's the thing is you're either like kind of chubby with a beard or you're deathly skinny, right? Those are the only two flavors Sure, there are two places
00:21:09
Speaker
that this is what the crowd looks like. And it's this and a Kevin Smith show. Right? Yes. Yeah. And just changing out your LIJ shirt for a hockey jersey. And it's central casting. Yeah. Well, we joke all the time. It's like you go to a wrestling show. There's a very distinct smell in there. Sweaty bearded man. Yeah. Yeah. There's maybe a little bit of booze.
00:21:36
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know them as well. Yeah. We're recording this right now. Alex, Queen of the Ring is in front of us. We're not recording video right now. She literally, we were at pro wrestling tees earlier picking up t-shirts and we're just crossing the street and we just hear, hey, curtain jerks. And I'm like, what the fuck?
00:21:53
Speaker
but once again this just shows how small the wrestling community really although not a fat guy with a beard so showing killing our point so who do you relate to when you watch wrestling
00:22:08
Speaker
do I relate to when I watch wrestling? Who do you see yourself in? Yeah, we were all saying we see ourselves in Kevin Owens. Right. And most male fans do. What about you? I guess right now I would see myself more as Becky Lynch, especially as her underdog gimmick right now. Yeah, pretty much. Also, I used to have really bright hair like her, so for a while I really did relate to her.
00:22:32
Speaker
Your father isn't the greatest world champion that ever lived. My father isn't what? Is not the greatest world champion that ever lived. No, but he does look like Goldberg and Stone Cold Steve Austin had a baby. So close enough. Yeah.
00:22:47
Speaker
I associate big bald males with badassness. Yes. Like, I don't fuck with that guy. Yeah, especially with the goatee. Yeah. That's why the big show, I think, did that length. It's just giant stone cold. That was a trend. There was like a five-year period where all the wrestlers suddenly were like, I'm done with hair, Kurt Angle, Rock, big show. And then Triple H joined in. And I was like, god, is it going to be the whole roster is like doing this? Is it mandatory? Yeah, Baron Corbin, not until soon. Is it like Steinbrenner with the Yankees, where he makes everyone get a haircut?
00:23:16
Speaker
Vince is like, my hair is starting to thin, no one can have better hair than me. Cut it off. God damn it. All right, all right, here's my pitch for the next pay-per-view. It's all hair versus hair matches. Except for Roman, the man looks like a god. And then here's what happens, and the winners, they go on to face each other in, you guessed it, hair versus hair matches.
00:23:41
Speaker
It's a tournament. One head of hair left standing. We're going to bring you. And it's Roman Reigns. Live from China. The Undertaker's last hair versus hair match.
Humor in Wrestling: Vince McMahon Impersonations
00:23:53
Speaker
winner gets plugs, you get it back. After that hair versus hair tournament, you get the hair back. Oh, and ladies, don't think that you're getting out of this, too. This is an evolution. Everyone's going to look like Molly Holly when this is done. We're going to find out if Sasha's a natural purple head. How long can we do Vince impersonations for an entire podcast? It's until your throat hurts. We've done this. I'm just thinking, though, about what happens, like what Roman Reigns is like.
00:24:19
Speaker
Jelled up like and greased up hair looks like I'm sure a shave Roman brings his head Does it? Like we're just in a position It just runs away. It's actually sentient It's like his it's like venom It's a symbiote. Yeah, maybe that's why he's so powerful. It could be
00:24:42
Speaker
I wonder why Nash cut his hair back to the beginning. Oh yeah. Punisher is here. Yeah. Oh yeah. Do the Punisher movie. He's kept it. Maybe it's his new thing. Yeah. Oh man. No good. Maybe the wife said something nice when he got home. Like yeah. Much better. Well that shit hanging on your shoulders. Yeah. And then he ignored that. But then next time he went to the strip club they they echoed it. He was like all right. There's going to be something here easier to maintain.
00:25:07
Speaker
He probably saves like a grand a month on shampoo because my god or conditioner Jesus.
Wrestler Physiques and Fan Aspirations
00:25:15
Speaker
Jesus I'm looking at Brian cage right now He's he's that is a Jack man large. He also could wear headbands as a Bicep sizable. Yes, like when I look at him, it's like clothes look hard Yeah, that's where the Kevin Owens things coming back in like you look at it you go I don't even know where to begin I thought you're gonna be I look at him and I see a lot of myself I
00:25:39
Speaker
What could have been the road not taken? You know, your dream starts with Cage and it gradually devolves. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. When you're when I was good, I thought I could be Hulk Hogan or the ultimate warrior. Absolutely. But by like teenage years, I'm like.
00:25:53
Speaker
Yeah, mankind, that sounds... That's easy. That's achievable. I can throw myself off stuff. Yeah, I can take some pain. You either have to look great and be able to take bumps, or you can look like crap and take, like, devastating bumps. You have to get thrown off cages and shit. But it also harkens back in a way, though, right? Because you look at, like, something like Bruno San Martino. Bruno San Martino looks like a lot of Italian men, I know.
00:26:18
Speaker
As someone who grew up as an Italian in New York, Bruno Sammartino kind of looks like my grandfather. He's just tougher. That's the assumption, is that anyone could be Bruno Sammartino if they were that tough. Did your grandfather think he could be Bruno Sammartino? Is that who he looked at and was like, I could do that? I think he had the same barrel chest and hairy chest. I think he would have been like, I could be Bruno Sammartino. For my grandfather, it was Teddy Roosevelt. That's who he really thought he could be. His dad looks like Jerry Lawler. Ooh.
00:26:45
Speaker
And I make a point to say this every time I see him. Did your mom ever kiss Jerry Lawler in a bar before he was super famous? Have you guys eaten at a Jerry Lawler's restaurant in Memphis? I've not. Is it good? Yeah. Talk about it. No. OK. Well, I don't want to say that. The man's around here. So we had a whole episode reviewing his chicken tenders. Yeah, don't go down there. You're not going to get pregnant down there. It's not.
00:27:14
Speaker
Yeah, I actually feel bad talking about that here now. We did a whole episode where he reviewed the experience at his restaurant and- Yeah, but that was in the comfort of home probably, right? Or at least- I had no fear. Oh yeah, he was a badass when he was in his own room. Yeah. Haven't you guys ever go to WWF New York?
00:27:31
Speaker
No, I wish I'd been able to. It was called The World. It was kind of, I remember, I think I went once. And this is a weird story that I'm remembering now. I think I went with a friend of mine like before a date. I was like, I can't take a date to this place, but let me go hang with my friend at WWF New York before then. And yeah, I think it was kind of fun. It was overpriced, but it was- They were losing a million dollars a year on that. That's a lot of money to lose.
00:27:57
Speaker
And whenever I think of that place, the last memory I have of that isn't even anything from WWF
Wrestling Fandom and Personal Relationships
00:28:04
Speaker
TV. I remember exhibit performed like a New Year's Eve concert there one year from the live from the world. I was like, that's where the wrestler restaurant is. So as a kid, you went there pre date.
00:28:16
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I went there pregame for your date exactly I was like I'm gonna have some lunch because I think we weren't meeting for date We were gonna go like play. I was like high school. We're gonna go like play go to a billiard stall or something So I was like, yeah, I'm gonna like I'm gonna have lunch before this date Is a wrestling fandom ever affected a relationship for you? That's a good question. How do they handle that?
00:28:38
Speaker
My wife was a fan when she was a teenager, which I think helped. She was just like, oh, yeah. I love The Rock. She's not super into it. We watch Total Divas together. See, that is a great husband-wife activity that it's wrestling, but not quite. Totally. It's a gateway drug, essentially. I will say, though, the last season of Total Bellas is maybe the worst season of television I've ever watched in full, other than the next to last season of Entourage.
00:29:07
Speaker
Yeah, next to last season entourage, pretty rough. But you know what? Total Bellas don't even have to worry about it now. We got Miz and Mrs. I was going to say, you got Miz and Mrs. now. I like that, too, because it's like a half hour long. It's much easier to pull it out of it. Oh, shit. All right, well, we might have to let you go here for a second. Yeah, I think we're OK with that. It was nice talking to you guys. This is actually something we've had going on for a while with this man. This is scary. Thank you for sitting in with us, guys.
00:29:42
Speaker
That's awesome. So I'm sitting down here with what's the name of this shitty podcast? Oh, this is a predetermined to pro wrestling hangout. Oh great. What an original name, right? Super long. I'm sure that really helps with Brandon. Yeah, smart move. I know smart move guys. If you can't tell I'm being really sarcastic.
00:30:01
Speaker
Oh, we can tell. Yeah. Oh, OK. I just wanted to make sure.
MJF's Sarcastic Interview
00:30:04
Speaker
I'm great. Because I know most people that live in this general area, honestly, most wrestling fans in general, shit just right over their head. Where would you prefer to perform? Where would I prefer to perform? Yeah, where would you rather be than here right now? Here's the reason why I'm so upset. Chicago is literally the raging dumpster fire of America. And quite frankly, anybody who was born and raised here is the equivalent of dog shit.
00:30:29
Speaker
human dog shit. You and I actually are finally agreeing on something. Oh, cool. But can I tell you something that we might not agree on? Yeah, go ahead. The fact that if I were you, I'd probably invest in some acne medication. That boil on your nose is bigger than the one from that, what was the name of that movie with that big ass witch? It's huge. She had a huge nose, handed some chick an apple. I don't know. I don't watch Disney, guys. But that is what this dude looks like. He looks like a witch that just wants to hand you a big old red apple.
00:30:58
Speaker
Beautiful beautiful blue eyes though. Thank you. I'm just fucking with you You look like a complete asshole so far away some questions. Let's go. I'm bored. I've made an insane amount of money today So I might as well have you got people paying you for the opportunity just to stand next to you I've had some people one guy paid me $50 to insult him for a minute straight and it was quite possibly a
00:31:23
Speaker
The most fun I think I've ever had since I was in the hotel room with those three chicks last night that I met at AAW. Oh. So it's not all bad here, is what you're saying? No, no, no. Walk that one back. Yeah. Well, to be fair, none of the girls refer to Chicago because I have taste. Oh, OK. But I met them at the AAW show. Did you bring them in from Milwaukee or something? No, three Canadian chicks.
00:31:48
Speaker
So, in other words, you feel better when you leave the country? Oh, absolutely. I feel like I might be the only person from the US of A that is actually not awful at just everything in life in general. Do you guys have any wrestling questions for me? I mean, there's pretty much every single podcast in this row is salivating out the mouth right now, and they're wondering,
00:32:09
Speaker
How the hell did I land on pre-determined a pro wrestling hangout? And they want me so bad. So here's your chance, guys. Prove your worth. Show why I should be sitting here in the first place. Let's go. Well, that is impossible. OK. Because I feel like anything I say, you're going to be able to turn around. No. No. I think you're pretty good at this. Who? Me? No. You're better than me. I know. OK. OK. I'm going to go ahead and just submit. You're right. In a bushy club shirt.
00:32:37
Speaker
Cool, man. You know what else is cool? Not having a double chin. But let's just get some wrestling questions. So we were actually sponsoring one of your matches in Southern Underground Pro in Nashville. Is that right? Yeah. OK. We invested in you. OK. I was in a triple threat match there that some have claimed to be one of the best professional wrestling matches they've ever seen live. Who said this? Me.
00:33:02
Speaker
You were there. You had a front-row ticket. Oh, absolutely. I had the best seat in the house. I was beating the shit out of people through my eyeballs. That's the place to be if you're a wrestling fan. Through my eyeballs.
00:33:13
Speaker
And it was actually an iPoke Mania match. Oh, absolutely. It was me, Mance Warner, and Ethan Page. Ethan Page, unfortunately, he was there too. But yeah, it was a really phenomenal match. The last time I was there, I believe I kicked the promoter in the nuts. That is true. Yeah, yeah. That was fun. It's the only way I can describe that. Super fun. I did wear your scarf that night.
00:33:36
Speaker
It was you. It was me. It was you. We've got some history with you. Well, MJF has just left this interview. He did not appreciate the scarf wearing. Thank you for your time today. Have a great rest of your day, MJF. Oh, that was fun. That went exactly like I wanted it to.