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Nightcap WrestleMania Takeover ft. The Undertaker LIVE from WWE World

Nightcap

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Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson are LIVE from WWE World in Las Vegas for WrestleMania 42 featuring The Undertaker. Undertaker breaks down his WWE legacy, AAA booking, favorite matches in history, and much more!

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Nightcap WrestleMania Takeover ft. The Undertaker LIVE from WWE World

Nightcap

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NightcapNightcap WrestleMania Takeover ft. The Undertaker LIVE from WWE World. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.

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Exclusions apply see home depot comm slash price match for details shop now Service opens doors and at American military university it can open doors for the whole family If you have a loved one who served in the military you may qualify for reduced tuition AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you Learn more at amu.apus.edu slash military Open doors to the future for you and your family with the help of American military university Support for the show comes from public the investing platform for those who take it seriously on public You can build a multi-asset portfolio of stock spots options crypto and now generated assets Which allow you to turn any idea into an investible index with AI It all starts with your prompt from renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work

It screens thousands of stocks builds a one-of-a-kind index and lets you back-test it against the S&P 500 Then you can invest in a few clicks Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities Completely customizable and based on your thesis not someone else's go to public.com slash podcast And earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio That's public.com slash podcast paid for by public investing brokerage services by open to the public investing Member Finra and SIPC advisory services by public advisors LLC SEC registered advisor generated assets is an interactive analysis tool Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures You're listening to a podcast So you're doing something else too like maybe scrolling home listings on redfin Saving places you like without thinking you'll get them because that's what house hunting has become But redfin isn't built for endless browsing. It's built to help you find and own a home Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents Which means when you find a place you love you've got a real shot at getting it

Redfin helps turn saved listings into real addresses Get started at redfin.com own the dream W-W-E world Please welcome to the stage the hosts of nightcap Three-time Super Bowl champ and NFL Hall of Famer Shen in sharp and Bengals rim the fame honoree Chad Ocho Sinko Johnson In What's up, dummy dummy Up he could sit there. No, you said you sit over there. He goes in the middle. How y'all doing y'all good?

That's what's up, man. This is unbelievable. This is my first time being here, Ocho and As a wrestling fan my entire life If somebody would have told me this was what wrestling was coming was going to become I wouldn't have believed it No, this is dope. That atmosphere has been awesome. The fans have been awesome Being able to meet some of the rasters. Oh, that's the best part about this and here and here in their journey And how they got here to what most consider the finished product on why we're all fans of them has been really dope the experience It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable experience. I mean they do an unbelievable job This ain't Oh

Seven-time world champion the w of the e 27 manual appearances He's 25 and two. He has 21 straight WrestleMania victories. Harry is undertaker, but we know him is taker Takeer you within your your hello 25 and two so you've been to 27 of these things 21 straight victories from the very first one till now What is the biggest difference that you think in WrestleMania when you started as opposed to what it feels now Man just the just the spectacle. I mean look out here. Yes. Look at all these people It's unbelievable man. It's electric This this when I started at WrestleMania 7 This did not this did not happen this access the the ability to come and and and meet superstars take pictures It was at a much more limited scale right just this part alone is just

It blows me away every year when I come and and do an autograph signing or pictures signing It's incredible seem like it's getting bigger and bigger and I think the thing is that I love most about what WWE is done Is that it allowed the fans to have access it gives you an opportunity to show your personality just outside of the ring And to get an opportunity to meet you guys because I don't know how much meet and greet you guys had when you first started this Not very many You know we we got here and just kind of focused on well most guys focused on on their match early on I focused on a lot of things They didn't necessarily have the fans involved but uh, but as as we again as we grew man this became this is almost as important As WrestleMania. Yes You know, I mean this is this is an incredible Opportunity for people to get really close to you know the the people that they support How helped me understand this you come and you create a character you and the WWE create a character

How do they help you develop that character? How did you embrace that character? It's okay. I'm the undertaker This is what I mean because when you think of undertaker you think all black you think of a mortician And you think of something cold and sinister how do they help you to develop that character and how did you embrace it so well I think it varies between talent to talent. Okay For me I was presented I was presented a look in the name. Okay. Say this this is what we think is you know They needed somebody big with zero personality And there I walk through the door But for me once once I was given the the initial Image and then told me you know, okay, this is going to be based off of an old western undertaker And then the lights just kind of started going off for me So there it not a real set pattern like some like for me I took the ball and started ran with it started running with it and figuring this thing out

There you know some guys come in and they're like I don't know So they need a little bit more help and direction and you know, you have other guys that are already been here that kind of There's it's amazing the amount of input that you get from from other wrestlers right That you know, they're they're driving up and down the roads back then and say I'll give you a I give you an example You know, I've heard it was the time there where I carried people After I beat him I put them in body bags, right? And everybody think that's just some sinister shit, right? And of all people to give me that idea Was the nicest guy in the world, which was Ricky steamboat the dragon. Yeah, he came up. He says he goes Hey, you ever thought about this and I was like that's that's genius So you know Some guys they need help and in that development and then other guys just take that ball and you know They just kind of go down that rabbit hole and figure out okay How am I going to make this my own and that's the key to being successful successful you can you can have the greatest

Idea the greatest look, but if you don't make it your own These people are here. They're not going to buy it right and they're not going to invest in it So, you know, that's the key. Yeah, when you when you look at when you look at the state of rassing as as great as it is now as as a product in general Internationally globally has your perspective changed from a business aspect now that you on the creative side Yeah, but you you always want to have your your thumb on on what it is that's that's reaching your audience um, you know, and that becomes It it becomes difficult like when you do begin behind the scenes you have to remember that you're not necessarily You know, you're you're not necessarily creating for yourself anymore right So you're you're creating for the masses so you have to not only be able to take okay. Well, this is what I like Okay, well, that might be great, but that's only going to affect like 20% of these people right you have to be able to

To get your fingers out there and make it a net and get that get everybody when everybody wants to enjoy So it's a pretty difficult process to do 306 foot under podcast that platform How has that allowed you to engage with your fan base on a different level than say, you know, you're going You know doing something like this because they get an opportunity to see you in a totally different life What they've ever seen you before yeah, it's it's taking me a while to embrace that Because I was for so long You know, I protected my character right there was nothing there was undertaker and there was nothing else That's all that anybody ever got to see right and I think that that contributed to the success of it correct But I think with the with with with the podcast and getting out there and hearing Some of the stories that I you know that I've that I've had with some of the guys and If truth be told I don't I don't like talking about wrestling

You like talking for what are you fishing hunting? What do you like? No, all that's good. Okay But I as far as like with the podcast like the best podcast episodes Or when I got with my boys and we're talking about what we did after rest after okay, right? I guess that's what everybody wants to right you can go on YouTube and watch All the wrestling matches you won't right But what happened with me and the godfather in a bar down the street right, you know That's that's kind of what I think kind of peaks this These people's you know, they're they're interests now. They can they get plenty of wrestling. They want the they want the juice as a older wrestler that doesn't do it anymore You adopted that you're helping and bringing along this generation of wrestlers Ocho now we played football and a lot of times we try to give back We try to mentor the younger guys and try to tell them what to expect how to go about their business be professional Be yourself would be professional. Just remember one thing the football team is a team It's not always going to be about you What is it for the best interests of the football team and how can we all win not just you

Is that something some things that you try to share with these young generation? Yeah, absolutely because As a talent if you're fortunate enough to get on that wheel and then have that run Right, and when I say run Something that's going on with with like Roman Reigns right now. He's on a Incredible run. Yes Cody Rose all these guys are on a run But it's not it's not necessarily always going to be like that If you're you're always always use it as an analogy the wheel right so you're here That wheel's moving right so there's a good chance and not necessarily all the time But there's a good chance that it's going to end up down here right and you have to be able to One you have to figure out. Okay. What what do I need to do to get back up there? And two while I'm on my way, how can I help the product How can I help the product because if the product gets better that's going to give everybody more opportunities So you just you got to you got to roll with it You can you can never be content in this business as soon as you're content you're done

Yeah, because there's always somebody coming along this younger faster stronger and more hungry but as as veterans you have to You say all right Okay, it's my it's my time now. It's my embrace it But knowing that it might be someone else's time later Let me help them yeah absolutely when my time comes back again I'll be ready. Yeah, yeah, and that's that's the hard part is when It that climb up man there that climb up is awesome. Yeah, did you feel it right? You know it and then you get there Yeah, and then for you guys like you get that ring right you try to stay there as long as you possibly can absolutely You crack you scratch and fall and you hang on to it. So yeah, it's important for the veterans to To help those guys and you know what being a veteran Helping some of the young fighters now that are up and coming you know Given them the knowledge on what it takes to be great what it takes to be consistent having that structure Having that discipline everyone here is a fan of rassing everyone here has a specific raster that they like and enjoy watching today

so for you Today's rassing landscape. Who is your favorite raster to watch? Oh, man, I tell you Because he's such an old school guy probably won't won't be received very well. Yeah, but I love Gunther Okay, I do I absolutely There's there's no flash There's no flash what you get is somebody going in there and he's gonna stomp your guts out, right? He's gonna chop you up He's gonna beat you up. Yeah, and You know he he flying around doing a bunch of silly stuff. He's in there and you I mean He's just a serious character and he's a throwback. Yeah, he's a throwback to a different generation Okay, and it just let you know that you know old what is old can't be new again. Yeah Is there anybody that in today's wrestling reminds you of taker now?

No, not really. I mean, you know, there was you know, there was Bray Bray Wyatt was coming along before he you know for his unfortunate You know demise, but it You know, he he had that that aura that that kind of Other warly type character and I You know, it's obviously it's a shame What happened with with Bray because I I think he'd only begin to scratch the surface of how great right he he was gonna be You've taken it behind the scenes role if I'm not mistaken with triple A Which is if I'm not mistaken wwe purchased it right so so what what is your role in tails? Which would uh triple A? So I don't I don't talk about it a whole lot, but I'm down there in a in a creative role. Okay Um Got an incredible team down there and we are trying uh, you know

Lucha Libre is a is a wrestling style all to itself. Yes, and Kind of going back to my last comment about old school and yes like loot like like Gunther It's kind of crazy that somebody like me is and Is doing creative for a lucha Libre product right because they those guys are Incredible they I mean they will do things like you just like How in the world do they do that? But um, you know We're just what what we're trying to do down there and be involved is to tell better stories. Yes Be a little more physical And be true to to to lucha Libre and that's that's uh and give them some and a better production value They've been doing things for a long time down there right in a very simplistic way So now we have that WWE production machine that we're implementing Um, you know, we we've got a long way to go right

Uh, but um, I couldn't be more happy with uh I couldn't be more happy with the success that we've had so far. We're again. We're just I tell people this all the time. What we're trying to do there is I'm trying to take a step back Like a little bit of a step back and in wrestling right to take a step forward and a little bit of old school Mixed with the new school. Hopefully we're gonna have a very unique and interesting product that not only people in Mexico want to see but all over the world passes It's it's interesting to me because when I grew up I didn't know anything about storylines I just thought two guys getting to ring and beat hell out each other like but there are storylines Does it how long is a storyline is it just for that match or two matches or they trying to build something for say a month two Month three months. How does this work? It's up to them Oh, okay, it's like you can you can you can have this brilliant idea in your mind and like oh man I want to see I want to see wrestler a

Fight wrestler b right and you think this is gonna be the greatest thing ever right and then you kind of start looking Well, when like I would love to get this match all the way to WrestleMania, but then you you put it out there and Sometimes it ain't as good is it is it's just like a it's just like a play call right yes You think it's gonna work practice it works. Yes, but it's the same thing like Copenhagen spit free pouches are packed full of American grown tobacco Made for welders For mechanics stuck on a few spark plug For long haul truckers stuck in gridlock For foreman working late at the field office or anytime. There's no time or space to spit There's Copenhagen spit free pouches Phantom in stores today not all varieties available in all geographies warning this product can cause mouth cancer Service opens doors and at American military university It can open doors for the whole family if you have a loved one who served in the military

You may qualify for reduced tuition AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you Learn more at amu.apus.edu slash military Open doors to the future for you and your family with the help of American military university Spring is starting at the home depot and bringing you every day low prices so you can wake up your yard this season Shape up your lawn with top brand outdoor power tools like riobe 40 volt moors that have up to 50 minutes of runtime Bring in a splash of color with spring blooms and fresh plants from the home depot garden center Then refresh your garden beds and keep them clear of weeds with earth grow mulch Five bags for $10 to make your yard feel like new start your spring with low prices now through April 2nd Only at the home depot Exclusions apply see home depot comm slash price match for details shop now

Support for the show comes from public the investing platform for those who take it seriously on public You can build a multi-asset portfolio of stock spots options crypto and now generated assets Which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI it all starts with your prompt from renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work It screens thousands of stocks builds a one-of-a-kind index and lets you backtests it against the S&P 500 Then you can invest in a few clicks Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities Completely customizable and based on your thesis not someone else's go to public.com slash podcast And earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio that's public.com slash podcast paid for by public investing brokerage services by open to the public investing ink member finraw nsipc advisory services by public advisors LLC SEC registered advisor generated assets is an interactive analysis tool Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures

You ever wonder how far an EV can take you on one charge Well most people drive about 40 miles a day Which means you can do all daily stuff no problem go to work grab the kids at school get the groceries And still have enough charge to visit your in-laws in the next county But they don't need to know that and the best part you won't have to buy gas at all The way forward is electric Explore EVs that fit your life at electricforall.org But again If your audience doesn't resonate or they don't get with it then You know it's I call it pissing up a rope you ain't going to get nothing but your hands wet I'm glad you said that and then obviously it's all about the fans obviously knowing and understanding what they want always being two steps ahead Especially when it comes to creativity and storyline when it comes to those that rattle it comes to those that have creative control on what the Storylines are going to be do you pay attention to what the fans say and what they want

Well you you do you there's there's a lot there's a lot that goes into that because obviously They're not in the know of what the big the big picture is right right and sometimes people get impatient And don't want to they don't want to wait right and and that's part of the story telling aspect But you have to be able to Have these beats in the story that keep them like oh okay I want to captivate it. I want to see like every you know back in the day and you know in the in the In the Monday Night War like everybody was like we would go off with a cliffhanger and everybody like and we didn't have so we didn't have as much Um cover, you know, you couldn't just go to YouTube whatever right you had to wait You had to wait till the next Monday night to see what was going to happen so you know So yeah, so so to answer your question. I mean you have to have you have to have good creative And it has to it has to resonate to a certain extent

With your audience right and you and you have to listen But you can't let it dictate either right that's I think that's kind of a problem If you if it solely dictates on that then you you get you lose focus of what it is you're trying to do AJ's now revealed and uh recently that you gave him the gloves in your final match the bone yard match During the pandemic. How did that come about? Because I guess in wrestling like when you're done with it you leave your boots in the center ring And so you knew this was this this was it for taker Yeah, there was no coming back from the bone yard when lose that draw that That was that was definitely it for me. I got everything out of the sponge that I could possibly get right I rang it up. So You know, I always my WrestleMania opponents. I've I've just always um, you know When the street came into play and then just my part as WrestleMania. I always wanted to leave my My opponents was something that they were gonna Remember that with so at the conclusion of the bone yard

Um, people say I'm crazy for it, but I took my the I gave the the gloves that I wore you know in that match to AJ styles um and and he has him he has AJ has the last pair of gloves that I ever That I ever used so yeah, and it and it means the world to him and it's cool And he sent and he gave me his so I have his gloves that he you know, he fought in and he's got mine And it's kind of a cool deal guy look up on the shelf and like you know what We tore we tore it up that night. So you knew going into that match 20 plus 20 plus two decades plus, you know, yeah, this is it for me This is the ride stops here with whether they wanted to stop with that. I'm getting off this ride Yeah, your body beat up. Oh my gosh. Yeah My body was beat up 10 years prior Yeah, no actually the At that night in the bone yard like I was I was looking for one particular match

That I could hang my head on and walk away like I could put my six shooters up and and and go home and stay and it just happened You know that that match Was was filmed all it was it started at about eight o'clock at night And we finished that match at sometime at like five in the morning wow and it was at about three in the morning When I'm I was standing there and I was like this I had a moment and I was like I'm done right like there there is no this is it and it was a moment of clarity And it wasn't any sorrow there wasn't any like man I should I wish I'd have got to do this it was as clear as day I knew that I'd got everything that the desire was still there, right But I knew my body could not it just couldn't deliver And I didn't want to live on equity that I'd built through the neck, you know the last 30 years You know, this is a very gracious audience But there's at a point you got to decide like

my legacy becomes involved in this and And and I was already scurrying that, you know, I was they deserve the best taker absolutely. I would hate it always it always would kill me To know like a father like and I had a lot of them today in my in my In my signing today and my photos With their with their kids and they had watched me as a kid and they hyped me up like to their kids like man We're going to see the undertaker. He is so awesome, right? Right, and then you get there and you like oh Hey, he ain't quite what I remember right but so Just just the thought of that It bothered me and I just didn't I didn't want to I didn't want to end up in that and I didn't want to be a a character or you know of my former self. So I knew it was time and You know, I got back. I got no regrets and I got no no no no no no regrets no worries and it was a moment of clarity and

I got I got to leave with the match that I wanted Have you found something else to feel that boy think about as long as you've been wrestling That's something that we love that's you you you get up You you forced to to to want to work it gives you inspiration it gives you motivation like unk unk Football was all we had right that was my identity. It's all I knew so every single day That's what I wanted to do and I loved it What has feel that void now that you stop wrestling that you can't wait to get up for and you're excited for once again I don't know that I have like just one thing it When you're focused like when you to play in the NFL you have to you have People just don't understand the amount that goes into that like they say oh well man You know, there's Ojo Siko on the sideline with his hall of fame jacket on you know cutting up. Yeah You don't just do that by by chance you have to be great. Yes to be able to do those things But what people don't see are

You in June in July Which you know where your boy is going and working out in the in the heat and all the effort and the work that goes into all that so you know It it does become your identity and everything Everything that you do is revolved around not only being on a team That's starting being great winning Super Bowls and the same it's the same thing for me my whole identity was involved was just Being the undertaker and I don't know that I You know hindsight being 22. I didn't I don't know that I built a exit strategy I thought I was gonna do it forever. Yes, like you know, you're not but just Think about it. I said I'm gonna. I'll do this forever and then forever got here one day So it took me a minute to to like okay. Well now what right? You know and I love like I mean I love hunting fishing and doing all that but you know You guys do a great job at like podcasting. I don't know that it's it

I have my moments. It's a lot of work. It is a lot of work It's a lot of work and you know I don't know that I'll ever I don't know that I'll ever have that that thing that gets me going on the podcast for wrestling You said something very interesting is that you know people see us play the game or play basketball play baseball Everybody sees the destination nobody saw the journey. Yeah, so that's that's the that's the hard part The destination is it's okay. Yeah, I'm here. Yeah, how did how did he or she get there? That's the that's the the very interesting part. I heard you say on the podcast is that you And maybe I'm paraphrasing maybe I misheard you but you said man I wish we wouldn't tell all the secrets of how the sausage is made Yeah, I'm guilty of it too. I believe you know everything is open Everything's talked about openly now and I'm again. I'm as guilty as anybody about it But I think as a whole For the sake of the for the business there needs to be a look there needs to be a stopping point a little secrecy. I think

I don't think you like I don't know I just I could be wrong there and and you know in my day Obviously I came in the generation where You don't talk about the business outside of you just don't do it people in the business. Yeah, exactly. So I Obviously, you know, we're not I just think they don't the audience Even though they think they might want to know I think that there was a certain amount of secrecy being being able To have that I think it would be I think the product would be more fun. Yes, right? Because if you already know what's gonna happen or if this is gonna have then it's like okay I'm just gonna wait for that part to happen right like that was a great thing about Monday nights again the in the attitude era You had no clue what was gonna happen and you just again you had to you had to wait I think there's just uh There needs to be a little bit more Protection of the business and I only use that word because I mean that's just the words. We've always used right

Um, who revealed that secret because for the longest time my grandfather would put you out if you told him wrestling was fake He'd put you out of the house You could not tell him it was and I thought it was real too for the longest time Who's the first person to appeal the layer back is like X Y and C. Well, I don't I don't know that there was just one person that you know I there was there was the time period where Where events went and and and he had to we were having to fight athletic commissions right and pay an Exorbitant amount of money to these athletic commissions for what right right? Right, so I mean And I know I think like everybody knows what wrestling is But I don't think you want it thrown in your face, right? Yeah, and it and it's okay Everybody's oh wrestling is fake wrestling is not fake It is it is a form of sports entertainment And it's a specific form of sports entertainment What we do is genuinely real for what it is that we do y'all well I'm breaking bones tearing my ACL and McKeeleys. That's real. Yes, but I got I got 20 surgeries that say it's his damage

Realos it needs to be I remember the first. I don't know if you remember this take an Ocho You remember what I think it was Fox had a series where they had this guy that was revealing all the magic tricks And so you remember that and it's like we knew come on But I'm just like I don't even want to know I just after the first I like I want to watch anymore Because I still want to have the illusion exactly that he's doing Something that nobody else can do that is the perfect analogy and it's the same same thing with with wrestling I just I think it's just better if you know, I don't I don't want to go to I don't want to know how the tricks done I just don't I want to be entertained. I want to think about how it's done. Yeah, right? I just it just to me it suspends everyone since the reality and that's a that's a that's a brilliant analogy It's really good. Is there a lot of father sons because we see in basketball father sons We see football father sons baseball father sons are there a lot of father sons in in in in in wrestling? Yes, there there is no Cody. I just no Cody in

Yeah, no there's there's plenty and unfortunately I've wrestled dads and now I've wrestled their sons I've been around I was yeah, but yeah, there's there's there's man. There's tons and there's more coming coming okay, right? I'm sure that Seth and and Becky's kids will probably wrestle You got all the damn Simone's you know, they're gonna. I do so they come. Yeah, I have a daughter that's eight up with it Yeah, wow. Yeah, it's it's I think yes, nepotism in the In the wrestling world is gonna be you got Ricky Charlotte. Yeah, man. It's just it yeah, exactly. So yeah, it's a There's a long lineage of uh second generation third-generation Randy Orton third-generation. Yeah, yeah Cody Rhodes I think he said Dom Mysterio. He thinks he's gonna be the next generational talent He says his work ethic is unmatched And we were talking to a lot. We've talking to a Naya and Lash and talk and and even Charlotte said

You know there are a lot of people just because you have the talent. Right, you know You're athletic. You can spend you can jump and do all these things That doesn't necessarily equate to you being a great wrestler No, absolutely not okay. No. There's a lot of great athletes That try this and just scratch their head and are befuddled like I'm a world-class athlete. Why can I not do this fake thing? Right you there. There's so much to this Yes, you do have to be athletic. Yes, too. You have to have a different kind of mental toughness Um, and too you have to be able once again. You have to be able to connect And just being a great athlete didn't do it. That's not enough. I mean In football basketball, but there's a lot of guys Absolutely that are just incredible, but for whatever reason On that team situation they just they didn't work out right you know, and it same goes with wrestling There's a you you have to have that thing that connects there

There's a lot of guys that come along and you know, we kind of call them ham and eggers They're middle of the road guys. It's this cause they can't They can't spark that extra interest and and And that's that's what makes wrestling so difficult is to make to have people Interested in what it is that you do. I mean the funny thing when I think about it just being a raster fan over the years It's an art. It's an art in itself And everybody paints that picture differently and when it comes to all the attributes and all the variables That makes a great raster Everybody doesn't have it Sometimes there's an it factor like when it comes to football you can look at somebody just based off looking at him And say you know what he has to it factor he passes the eye test But when it comes to playing a position of tight-end or whether it's receiver when it's time to get out there and the lights are on They don't show up. It's different. It's a different ballgame It is the same. It's the same in the wrestling world. Yeah, it's just Some people some people have it and

Some don't man, and it's a and it's crazy like you know We were talking earlier about mentoring and all that and everything and was so crazy for a young wrestler like they'll come up to you and like hey, take You know, I got this match was so and so what Will you watch my match and you know give me some feedback and I'm like, yeah, absolutely And then you'll also see him go in late. I think Sean Michaels is somewhere here, right? So now he's got undertaker watching. He's got Sean Michaels watching. You got maybe he's got triple H watching Now we're all three gonna watch that match and we're all three gonna give you different advice And it's all right. Right. It's all different you because you have to figure out What works for you? Right and what work for me may not work for you and they're working for Sean Michael Exactly and that is what makes It's so difficult to be a top guy For WWE because it's just it's just you got to have something that's different and that resonates again with your audience

But when you look at it the promo is very important. You look at a guy like a rick flair You look at a guy like a dusty roll. You look at a rock. You look at a stone cold They could hold this microphone looking to that camera and convince millions and millions of people To tune in and watch me kick somebody but right You use like a I'm not supposed to have a personality. I'm a night. I'm an I'm an old school western Undertaker. I just come in. I just a this is the body that I delivered to you. Hey, that's it. That's all I had How is it that some guys just have that god-given ability? Oh, Joe now we were best for the god-given ability to just be able to talk Some people can work at it and get good at it. I think Muhammad Ali rest his soul. He just had that god-given ability That was just born in him. How do guys get if you're not as gifted as some? How do you get better at it? Do you have to like practice like you do a like football or basketball? Do you have to practice and practice until you get good at it? Reps reps man. I mean how many

How many routes have you got you got somebody? How many routes have you run? Oh my god And how many times if you figure out how to make that route better? It's the same thing. It's standing in front of a mirror Standing in front of a mirror. Well, let me tell you something brother. Yeah, you know, yeah, uh somebody might be doing that. Let me you know It's yeah, I mean it just it's just time and time again until you figure out to one that you're so comfortable. Yeah, you know like Well, somebody I would have somebody come into the room and just throw something random out and then This is a way even before undertakers like Just get come give me a random topic and then try to riff on it and make it like oh, yeah, that's that's normal like I can't I'm kidding come up with really an example, but Just throwing things against the wall to see what sticks Getting to a point where if you do get stuck how to just Be in your way through it Um, and you know, again, it that's that's the hardest part

If I was that's probably for me like the biggest key if I can give you a mic and you can go out there And you can captivate your audience. I can teach you to wrestle I can teach you well enough. There's been great guys that drew a lot of money That could barely tie their Copenhagen spit-free packs American grown tobacco into pouches Made from when your elbows deep in an engine block They're masked up tortured deep cuts into stubborn pies Her helmet's on riding deep into backcountry When there's no time or space to spit grab Copenhagen spit-free pouches find them in stores today Not all varieties available in all geographies warning this product can cause mouth cancer Service opens doors and at American military university it can open doors for the whole family If you have a loved one who served in the military you may qualify for reduced tuition

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You ever wonder how far an EV can take you on one charge? Well most people drive about 40 miles a day Which means you can do all daily stuff no problem go to work grab the kids at school get the groceries And still have enough charge to visit your in-laws in the next county But they don't need to know that And the best part you won't have to buy gas at all The way forward is electric Explore EVs that fit your life at electricforall.org shoes and Yeah, let's put a microphone on their hand. Yes. Oh my god. Like I want I want to see that guy fight Right. I want to see what he's going to do that other guy Is that all is that all a part of it also? So when you go to NXT or they come see you guys is that all a part of it's just not ring work Obviously you have to get in front of the camera and do other things and things of that nature So is that a part of the the schooling process that you have to go through and not just ring and how to come up for a rope or Drive off a turnbuckle or something like that. Yeah, that's the the actual in-ring stuff. It's probably the easiest part

Oh, okay I mean obviously there's there's guys that are so gifted that can do incredible moves and all that But that to me watching somebody who's gonna be great The wrestling part of it is It's simple Having this and being able to Again, keep them in the palm of your hand. Yep. That is the gift right that I mean there's been a million guy Like I'll take rock for instance With rock debut in Madison Square Garden. I looked at you know, he's a you know, he's a second-general third generation Well, yep, and I remember him coming out and he had that ridiculous Thing around him and he was right he's gonna be right and I think it was godfather. I was like oh this guy who He ain't gonna make it man and I missed I missed him now But somewhere in that time period he he got a hold of the mic and then he separated himself like wow

Yeah, this guy is really talented, but you you have to yeah, I mean If you can do it with the mic and you can make people you got to be there you got to make people to love you You got to make them hate you right and know in between and it doesn't matter right and I could care less You can love me you hate me, but you have to have a feeling right if you don't if you don't feel You're you're wasting your time How do they determine whether you're gonna be good or the heel or do you determine that how how's that go? How does that happen if and then how does it flip? Yeah, a lot of times it's it's kind of trial and error, okay, you know some people like oh this guy looks You know, he looks like this or he looks like that and you kind of guy you get kind of stereotyped into a role, right? And then you know, I get it's trial and error like okay, maybe he's not a you know, maybe he isn't a Maybe in a bad guy so let's see what his tendencies are and everybody usually has

Some type of tendency you pick up on really really quick like uh, you know He didn't like losing. He didn't like doing that. Oh, he's a baby face. He's a good guy, okay And this guy he'll he'll you know, he'll put his thumb in your eyeball He's a little more edgy so Again, and again I remember back in the day when the hockey talk man came in yeah And they build hunky talk man up Like he was you know, he was going to be the biggest good guy that ever came down the pipe and the audience absolutely Just destroy him right they could they they They booed him so badly and he turned into an incredible Incredible heel and a continental champion right so again a lot of it It relies on your audience right and that was not the plan right it was the plan was not to Not for the hunky talk man to be you know, he's both be the good guy He's gonna be a good guy and so you just have to sometimes you can't fight it

You just got to go with it and make the most of it Signature move. How do you how do you get a signature move? I mean do you have to have a signature move? I mean some people have to figure four and some people had the uh, uh, the sleeper hole or the four Nelson They're my rescue head to claw. How do you develop a signature move or do they say okay? This is gonna be your signature move Well a lot of guys that come in and they've already kind of got a move set and okay things that they've been doing okay, um One you you're hopefully you're fortunate enough to be in a situation where you have to have a finish and move right You come in and they don't care or you would be you're gonna be in trouble So yeah, so you then you want to you got to have something that kind of resonates with your With your character right like obviously mine being the tombstone right You know in my head envisioned well This old this old undertaker was picking up the tombstone and he was you know, he was planted at the right the grave So it made sense right

But yeah, it's just one you got to do something different and you know and think about all the wrestlers doing all these different You have to have something that That uh is is different and catches people like oh man, you know, it has that that wild factor to it right Of all the of all the WrestleMania if I said okay, take her give me your mount rush more WrestleMania The matches who would you say is is is your four the four best WrestleMania out of here. We are what 42 now Your four best if you could if you could recall Hey Twice uh And and I'm definitely not one to so WrestleMania 25 Undertaker for Shawn Michaels okay if if I if I was going to show a young kid that's coming up in the business what our business Is supposed to be about it's that match that's that's the one

It encapsulates it athleticism story character Years of feuding I think it encapsulated all of those things into one match um What another one uh What Um You know hogan and Andre You know, I mean that was So significant that was the past that was the passing Because uh uh Andre really that was the he started out rumored Andre and Georgia championship wrestling I remember seeing him in Savannah civic center and I saw him in Vallejo, Georgia back then a lot of time That you guys are I don't know if you were back way back then uh take her but they was wrestling in high school gym Yeah, right there was wrestling really really small venues maybe a hundred people maybe 200 people would be if that many And so he was like the old and here come hogan right and out you like I said wrestling used to be very very regional You had Georgia championship wrestling you had florida you had medic landing you had the north Atlantic

You had to Midwest yeah, so now here was the combination and make man and what they were able to do now the wfw Now is that all this was merging together and Andre the child was excuse me Hogan was going to be the guy. Yes to move it forward. Yes And and that was the significance of the their WrestleMania match It was it was Andre moving aside goes what you know Andre was the first global superstar of a wrestler He went he went from territory to territory like he would be in this territory for a couple days And he would go I mean he was a global attraction. Yes, and just Incredible and then again So Vince has taken over. He's gone to cable television and you know Hogan was his guy so There a lot of people don't realize the significance of that match Just in it for the the sake of the industry and Andre did so that's why Andre did business and because if Andre didn't want to

He didn't have to you know what Hogan was uh and and Vince was saying I think it was a documentary or something And they were saying Andre could barely walk at that point time his body had had betrayed him He's so big. He's 500 pounds He's seven foot tall and now all of a sudden his body had started to betray him They brought him out on like a like a scaffolding and these right drove him down to the ring and he guys didn't get in the ring and they're going through it and all of a sudden He tells he tells Hogan slam. Yeah, which means okay body slam me okay now Not a leg and and Hogan's like already Okay, this is what he asked for boom boom and the match is over. Yeah I didn't I didn't realize like and I was asking to lash and Naya yesterday is like sometime you forget the sequence And you know you guys are in their talking and you have a referee that has uh the producer not back then but yes You did so you so basically you had to memorize kind of like an Easter speech You had to memorize Easter speech taker. Well Sort of so back in the day when when wrestling it was kind of at its purest art form. Yes is

Everything was more ad-libbed. Okay, okay. It was it was kind of on the spot kind of a deal Okay TV came along and you had to hit breaks and yep live TV. So the product kind of changed then but Yeah, there wasn't say There wasn't anything really to remember back then as it was like whatever Andre wanted to do And uh and that was what and that was what Hogan was gonna do whatever Andre told him right and Andre knew that like you know I they were selling they were selling quality not quantity. Mm-hmm. And when it's time, you know That's a that's a problem that you have to be able to You have to know when to when to go sometimes right when to go home right you can go out there like well I got I got six more moves that I haven't done yet You know right you don't need to get the whole you know the whole hit record in there you just got to get the the key points Take a I look when I was a kid wrestling came on once a week it came on Saturday nights. It came on really really late Was so far but hard for me to fathom is that it comes on you might you're able to see it three nights a week

And the fans are still craving it Just like we did when it only came on once a week and now you get an opportunity to see and you see raw and you see smackdown and you get Manias and and and it's just it's still the same Yeah, it it's crazy because the the amount of content that's out there. Yes, it's incredible I I've always and have for many years like Man, well are we overexposing ourselves? But that that comes from decisions But the pain yes far enough to pay grade then what what what I'm doing but you you you have to again If you're not you know the crowds are full if you're not putting it out there and they want it they want it they want good They want good wrestling now that I think about it too Being a wrestling fan for so long Watching it over the years on myself You've been on the creative side. I want you to think about this

Now you have created control Unk and I Tag team partners Who are we wrestling? Like right now and we really want to make this we want to we want to make this come into fruition Mm-hmm. Unk and I want to wrestle Okay, don't want to wrestle No one math you want to live we want to relive our childhood dream. I want to be Bobby the brain Heenan I want to be Paul Hamlin. I want to be somebody like that You want to talk you don't want to take no bomb. I want to talk. You want to talk no bumps tag team Will you put up against modern day? All right now. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, after the tag teams are out there now Hmm, let me think let's see You You got definitely definitely baby faces, right? Yeah Yeah, yeah, we'll be we'll be good guys. We'll be good guys. Oh, we got to be the heels Um

See we already got we already got dissension. Yeah, don't any wrestle one match and you're already going at it I think we're gonna book a we're gonna book one-on-one loser leave I like that. I like that. I want I want to take I want to book a Texas bullroot match No, you don't That's it those are fun that bullrobes real believe me but There used to be a lot of matches, you know, Texas death matching you have a steel cage match and you had you know Wrap the hands up and all kind of yeah, you guys are kind of gotten to what do are they still still cage matches? So we occasionally they'll they'll do a steel cage. I think we have war games. I guess it's can kind of considered You know a cage match, but then you have you've got Hell in the cell okay, and then you have What's the other one in February chamber? Yeah chamber punchy the bumps are real. Yeah Yeah, so we you know, we have those themed matches. Yes

And occasionally something will happen through the course of a of a storyline where, you know, you'll lock them up and It's kind of it's a different vibe These days, but you know, that used to be that used to be the Be all the end all the steel cage Yeah, yeah, you knew you were gonna get blood and you yeah, it's gonna be a you know Nobody can believe like Rick Blair Nobody can believe like dusty dusty Back to the flare Yeah, yeah, those are those are probably two of the best bleeders While fire Tommy rich. Yeah, they're good bleeder The fabulous free bird Do you are if I'm not mistaken, I think Ray Mysterio might be the only one that still works a mask You know back then they used to have a lot of guys mr. wrestling number one and two the super destroyers There are a lot of guys Yeah, had had masks on you guys don't have guys with masks very much other than Mysterio, right? You well, we've got we've got we've got dragon Lee um, oh, yeah

We got and hey if you want masks guys Come down to triple A we got lots of masks Lucho Libre brother. Yes. Yes But yeah, you know the thing with with wearing a mask Um, and a lot of people don't really think about this is you can't see the You can't see their face right right that might have been their most Is the thing that I've said, but but when you watch something when you watch wrestling you kind of key in on the face Yes, face the face tells the whole story. Yes, the face tell you whether you're happy Where you sad whether you're you're pissed off? Whether you're hurt Whether you're happy to see the other guy hurt So you lose a lot of storytelling ability when you wear a mask, okay, and that's a lot of people You know people don't think about that. I used to love when they try to take the mask off in the ring. Oh, yeah Oh, yeah That's uh, yeah, that's that's big business down south triple A, man Yeah, we got a we got a we got a huge mask coming up or a huge mask match coming up mask versus mask right

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