If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
** MMAFighting has an interview up on their YouTube channel with MJF. While speaking about his contributions to AEW, he told the publication that his contract with AEW is for five years. He signed with the company in 2019.
“And if you don’t make it in AEW, the only person you have to blame is the person you see in the mirror. You’re not being held back in AEW, nobody’s handing me a script in AEW because they know if they did, I’d chew it up and spit in their face. That’s what All Elite Wrestling is. We’re all going out there and we’re doing our thing, we’re doing our version of what we feel the sport of professional wrestling is supposed to be and what I feel the sport of professional wrestling is supposed to be is just me, my face, 24/7 and if we can be honest here, it’s working out for All Elite Wrestling which is why they signed me to a five-year deal.”
** The latest ‘Shot of Brandi’ episode featured Kris Statlander. As the conversation between Brandi and Kris progressed, Kris was asked how her recovery is going following an ACL tear over the summer.
“Pretty good, going well. I’ve heard that I’m a little bit, maybe two weeks ahead of where most people are at. Maybe it’s just my alien genetics or something but, I don’t know. I just work out very hard. Every day, I do way too much rehab but it’s more of a mental challenge than it is a physical challenge for sure. Being just sitting on the sidelines and watching everybody else and you’re just like, ‘I just — like that’s my family and I can’t even help them.’”
** FOX Sports’ Ryan Satin interviewed Paul “Triple H” Levesque ahead of NXT TakeOver: WarGames. Among the many topics covered during the interview, Levesque shared that on top of NXT Champion Finn Balor suffering a broken jaw at TakeOver 31, he also blew out an eardrum.
“Look at where NXT is right now and when you take in the last few months, man, there was a moment there where we were snake bitten by a bunch of things, to Keith Lee transition[ing] and Karrion [Kross] gets the title but he gets injured and at the same time you gotta take the title off him, Finn [Balor] gets the title. I don’t even think anybody knows this but Finn gets the title and in that match, blows his eardrum out and as he comes out of that like, ‘Okay, he’s good on that.’ Right on the flip side of that, breaks his jaw.”
Paul Levesque mentioned Karrion Kross and prior to discussing Balor’s injuries, he talked about the progression of Kross who is recovering from a separated shoulder. Levesque heaped praise onto Kross for tackling the recovery process head first and keeping himself in the mix as far as staying in touch with the powers that be in NXT.
“Yeah, I think to quote him, tick tock, any second. He’s there. He had one of those tricky injuries where you don’t know and that was the difficult process for us is like, the separation was to a degree of like questionable. Does he get surgery? Does he not get surgery? If he did get the surgery, how does it heal? Does it get better? Does it take longer? So there was a lot of questions there. But, he’s a machine and that’s the one thing so, the moment that he was injured and the moment that the assessments were done and he was like, ‘Okay, here’s what I’m going to do.’ When I say left no stone unturned of everything he could conceivably do to make himself better during that period of time, he was doing on a moment by moment basis. Connecting with us at all times, trying to work on every aspect of it. Even the stuff he couldn’t be doing, in-ring, everything. Just all in and he’s a sponge so, he’s one of those guys that again, you wanna run through a brick wall for but he’ll run through the brick wall for himself, and that’s the other thing. He’s not gonna sit back and go, ‘Man, I hope this heals well.’ If it doesn’t heal well, it’s not on him, it’s not on lack of effort and everything else. He did everything conceivable to get there and he’s ready to rock and roll. It’s just a timing thing now.”
WWE announced the latest Performance Center class and included in the class are Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz of The Rascalz. Levesque expressed his excitement to have them in NXT and sees how hungry they are for success.
“You know, when you’re looking at talent — there’s always talent out there and you have to look past where they are, what they’re doing, how they’ve gotten to where they are, what sort of exposure or kind of information they’ve been given to get where they [are]. Did they just figure it out on their own? Did somebody help guide them? All those things. So you look at all these talents, these are two kids that I think — I’m very impressed with the things they’ve done, but I don’t know that they really had a lot of helping hands help them get to where they are. They’ve just sort of figured it out on their own. They’ve figured out personality and charisma. They figured out the in-ring style they have and made it their own. I’m a big fan of that. I’m excited to see what they can do now and when you meet them, they’re really great guys that are humble and hungry and looking for that opportunity. It is a funny thing to me that… when you’re at the level that they are or kinda sorta in that mix of that timeframe, if you’re just going, ‘It’s just about the money’ and there’s nothing wrong with that but to me, it’s the mindset shows a difference in how you think about the business. For me in those moments, when I left WCW to come to WWE, I had a guaranteed money deal that was for a lot more and a position and all those things. I left for the opportunity to do something bigger and become great. I gambled on myself. Not because there was a, ‘Hey, we’re gonna do this with you.’ Not because there was a, ‘Hey, we’re gonna give you the book.’ There’s no guarantee here. You know, all those things but I looked at a track record, I looked at a company that was bigger, I looked at a visionary that ran it and I thought, ‘That can be a long term that makes me something’ and it wasn’t about the moment, that moment. It was about the future and investing in you and gambling on you and when I meet kids like them where they are like so passionate about this and want it so bad and man, they want that opportunity and if you give them that opportunity, ‘I’m gonna run through a brick wall for you.’ It’s not about, ‘Do you believe in me in this moment?’ It’s about, ‘Give me the ball for a sec. I’m gonna make you believe in me where you can’t have any other choice but to do this with me.’ That just makes me wanna run through a brick wall for them and they’re those kind of kids. I wanna run through a brick wall for them to try to make them… have the opportunity to live their dream.”
** Independent wrestler Owen Travers (John Washington) was arrested for sex crimes against a juvenile in Nevada. The Las Vegas MPD believe that Washington is aware of additional victims. Washington competed for Future Stars of Wrestling in Nevada, Ring of Honor and he also had an enhancement match for WWE on a SmackDown in Vegas in 2018.
** Per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AAA wanted to book Jon Moxley, Taya Valkyrie and The Colons (Primo & Epico) for Triplemania XXVIII.
** Former WWE creative team member Matt McCarthy (Nov. 2011-Oct. 2012) joined Wade Keller’s PWTorch podcast. To start off the show, the two discussed the passing of Pat Patterson and Matt shared one of his favorite Pat stories from his stint in WWE. It had to do with Vince McMahon being three hours late for a production meeting and Pat confronting McMahon about being late.
“This particular production meeting, Pat [Patterson] was there and he was just coming loose at the seams that we were waiting for Vince [McMahon], and it built to the point where he was like, ‘We have to do something. We have to do something!’ At first I was like, I start pitching my — if you remember the episode of The Simpsons where Bart is like, ‘We should turn our desks around and face the other way, you know, before the teacher gets here.’ I’m like, this is happening in real life with grown men, and so Pat’s like, ‘We should turn all the lights off and when we walks in here, all the lights will be off.’ We’re like, ‘Alright, Pat wants us to turn off the lights’ so all the lights are off, and we’re sitting there, we’re waiting, we’re waiting and then somebody shows up, I forget who it was —
So somehow we got word, we knew Vince was in the building and he’s on his way up. So all the lights are off and we’re all sitting there with our hands folded, not talking, waiting to see what the hell is gonna happen now, and Vince comes in the room and he’s just like, ‘God damn! Get some lights on in here. What’s going on?’ So he turns on the lights and Pat’s like, ‘Ah! How you like that Vince? How you like that!? Why you here so late!?’… and Vince comes rolling up to the front of the room and he puts down his briefcase and Pat would go, ‘Vince, how would you like it if all of us showed up to the meeting three hours late? What would you do then!?’ And Vince just gets a smirk on his face and he just goes, ‘Fire the God damn room.’”
McCarthy also talked about the interactions between Vince McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque. He stated that from what he was able to see, Levesque was the person who spoke openly and freely to Vince.
“My experience was always Triple H was the guy who could speak his mind to Vince [McMahon]. He had to pick his battles but he was the one that could speak plainly to Vince.”
** Wrestling Inc. has an extensive interview with Gerald Brisco who was let go from WWE in September. Brisco publicly shared the news that Vince McMahon called him and told him he was no longer needed in the company after 30+ years. Brisco carries no ill-will towards WWE and he recalled the company asking to use his property to film a segment for Bray Wyatt. Vince McMahon made the trip to Florida to chat with Brisco in person.
“Well, I was a real fortunate. We did a taping here right after I got let go matter of fact. I’ve got some [property] here in Keystone, FL, and Bruce knew about it. Bruce called me. ‘Hey, would you allow us to come in and do some filming? We want to do some filming with Bray Wyatt,’ and I said, ‘I got the perfect spot for it.’ So they did, and I was really shocked because Vince never shows up to these remote tapings or anything. And we got a phone call in the middle of the afternoon that Vince was coming by for me. He was going to drive over from Orlando. [He’s going to] have a car bring him over from Orlando, come over and say hello to me.
It didn’t shock me that Bruce was coming over because Bruce is my brother, but it did shock me that Vince would take the time out of his schedule after flying all the way down from Connecticut, going through all the protocols and everything that you got to go through, get in the car and drive another hour and a half, come over and visit me for an hour and a half. So we got to talk a little bit. To get a relationship with Vince, takes effort on your part because Vince, contrary to what you see on TV, is not one of those guys that’s really in your face all the time.
He’s media shy, he’s fan shy and he’s group shy. He’s not good in group conversation, but if you got something that you want to talk to Vince about business-wise, you can go to him and, you can ask a lot of people, his door’s always open. I hate it when people walk out of there with bad perceptions of Vince, and sometimes, I think it’s unfair. And sometimes, I think it’s right, but there’s more guys that don’t feel about how I feel about him, that feel about him like I do, so he’s a strange cat.”
Brisco was asked if he ever sees Vince handing over his position as Chairman of WWE. He doesn’t think it’ll happen and spoke about Vince’s work and training ethics and how McMahon is constantly pushing forward.
“Vince is one of the most healthiest guys I’ve ever been around in my life. He takes care of his body better than anybody. He eats the right things. He drinks the right things, and he can’t go without working out. He would leave TV in the middle of day. Vince is working out. We knew at a certain time and day, Vince would go work out, and we had to keep on with doing what we’re doing there. As long as Vince stays healthy, and I know this is going to be a disappointment to some of the fans out there, as long as Vince McMahon stays healthy, he’s able to make the trip physically, and even though you got your own jet, your own car, limo, I’m here to tell you. I’ve been in that jet and out of those limos. He don’t stop working. Sometimes, we’ll fly across the country, and we’re talking business. They’ll land from New York and LA, and we hadn’t finished talking about business. Vince will not open that door. That door will be opened until we finish our business that we’re talking about.
So I feel he is taking more input from other sources, but do I think, as long as his mind is mentally fit, his body is mentally fit, that he’ll relinquish 100%? I don’t see it in my lifetime, and I don’t see it in his lifetime. I think it’s going to be one of those things where maybe, I hope it never happens, but where he’s not mentally stable or not physically healthy enough to make these trips. That damn guy got a hip replacement on a Friday, and on a Monday night, he was taking a damn bump on the ramp of Monday Night RAW. This guy’s a freak!”
Throughout his time working with Vince, Brisco never had an official title but added that he’s been involved in more major decisions regarding WWE than most.
“I never really even had an official position with Vince, and one of the reasons why, I’ve probably been involved in more major decisions in that company than just about anybody from the very beginning. And I’ve never been on officer or never had an official title in that company, but I was involved in that, and I don’t know why. Maybe because Vince likes me? I doubt it. Because I had something to offer is more likely so I had a great relationship with him and have a great relationship with Vince.”
** New York Times listed their ‘Best Performances of 2020’ and MJF was included on the list for his part in the Le Dinner Debonair segment on AEW Dynamite with Chris Jericho.
** Chris Van Vliet caught up with Nick Dinsmore, better known within the pro wrestling space as “Eugene”. While talking about the on-screen character he portrayed, Dinsmore stated that at the beginning of it, he was concerned that people would think he was making fun of those with a disability.
“Yeah, I thought like that going in, but I just — the time was my opportunity so I was going to either sink or swim on it. But I’ve gotten so much positive affirmation afterwards. So many people, ‘Hey, my brother [has] special needs and he told me that he knows he can do anything because Eugene did it,’ and I’ve heard that more times than I’ve ever been, ‘You’re making fun of people.’ No, you’re giving them a voice. ‘Oh my God, there’s somebody like me. That’s what I want to be.’ That’s what WWE should be. There should be representation of every type [of] person there is around the world, and I can connect.”
Back in 2013, Dinsmore was hired to be a trainer for the NXT brand at the Performance Center. Dinsmore was only there for a year and he spoke about his short stint and why he feels he didn’t perform well in certain roles.
“I don’t know. I just know that I was probably wasn’t putting out my best performance because I was in an environment where I was uncomfortable, and I was uncomfortable because I mean, these were people that I looked up to that I was in there with. There was Terry Taylor, there was Dusty Rhodes, there was Triple H sitting next to me and I would get nervous sometimes and I might just be quiet and assess the situation, but I’m not really putting out a lot and I feel like in that environment, you gotta be on and going and I would kind of sit back and I would — I knew what was going on and I was aware. My mouth shut, ears were open and that might not have been the situation for it. I loved the coaching aspect of it. Didn’t necessarily care for the producer aspect of it. But, it was a great education. To see the tools that these guys are given now and what they’re expecting of WWE superstars today. The fact that I got to teach that and coach that and still got the manuals and all that so I know what they’re looking for, I feel like they do, but it is an ever-changing process.”
Back on the topic of the Eugene character, Nick said that when he was in public, he had to continue portraying the character.
“Absolutely, yeah. I would travel with William Regal and Tajiri so it was like Barnum & Bailey Circus. Tajiri and Regal had their jokes back and forth and then throw Eugene in the mix and I would drive and I’d come in the parking lot half swerving and I’d jump out and Tajiri [would] act like he’s selling and Regal would come out like he’s having a heart attack and I would say, ‘I just got my permit’ and I’d run in the building real quick and all the fans, ‘Yay!’”
** Former wXw Shogun Champion Sasa Keel announced his retirement from pro wrestling. wXw noted on Twitter that they had a plan in store to give Sasa one more run in the promotion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
** IMPACT Wrestling’s Kiera Hogan sent out a series of tweets on 11/24 that raised concern for her. She recently tweeted that she was overwhelmed with something and mentioned that mental health should always be a priority.
** D-Von Dudley returned to his Table Talk podcast and talked about his sons appearing on AEW Dark and working matches on the program. He thanked AEW for having his sons featured on the show.
“Speaking of AEW, I would like to say thank you to AEW for having my boys a part of their organization and really doing up a storm. I love it. They’re keeping The Dudley Boyz alive and well. The legacy lives on through TnT [Terell & Terrence] and I love it, I love it. Thank AEW for having them there and doing those Dark matches and things like that. Like I told my boys and I said it on social media, now is your time to shine, now is your time to go out there and all the haters that will say things negative about you, ignore ‘em. They’ve been saying it about your father for years and I’m in the Hall Of Fame and I got a ring and not only that, I’m a producer for WWE and been one-half of the greatest tag team in the history of this business so you’re gonna have negative people that say negative things. Let ‘em say [it]. The thing is, they wish they could do what you do.”
** Booker T discussed the life and career of the late Pat Patterson on his ‘Hall Of Fame’ podcast.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HseVhkqbAjM[/embedyt]
** Marty Jannetty underwent successful reconstructive ankle surgery in November. He posted about the surgery on his Facebook page.
ALL IS GOOD IN DA HOOD AND HOLLY WOOD IF SHE COULD!!
It’s possibly my best Thanksgiving ever..hurts a little today but reconstructive ankle surgery was successful..4 more months and we get the other one..Thank you so much Dr Lee Mac!!
Only thing tho’ The SwagStar immediately took my crutches & wheelchair as his own..and the WagStar took my mink-chinchilla skin loofah as his new imitation glass condo second floor crash pad..BUT..
We all 3 are wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!! Did ya hurrrrrd us??
Loves y’all all!!
** Andrade produced a video about his progression in the sport of pro wrestling.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9WmjVPnNvM[/embedyt]
** Taz chatted with Darren Paltrowitz and told the story of how his signing to AEW came to be. Taz’s signing was announced in January of 2020 and the conversations began when he and Tony Khan attended the Gator Bowl that month.
“Tony Khan and I never met, but we clicked right away on that show in Philadelphia, and then he brought me back for a couple more shows to do commentary, and then I ended up doing the — it was just about a year ago. What was it? The January 1st show here in Jacksonville of 2020. January 1st or New Year’s Day or New Year’s Eve, whatever it was and I did commentary on Dynamite with JR and Excalibur and then literally the next day, we, Tony Khan and I sat down. I came up to the Bowl. It was Georgia versus Florida I think. It was the Gator Bowl probably. Yeah, Jacksonville here and we worked out a multi-year contract, Tony Khan and I and so, long-winded form to answer your question, I probably had to keep it under wraps maybe about a week and a half, two weeks and then the word was out there.”
** SmackDown Tag Team Champion Montez Ford told ‘Metro’ that he and Angelo Dawkins would like to take on Dominik and Rey Mysterio.
“I would love to work with Rey and Dominik as well! To get in the ring with Rey Mysterio, that’s mind blowing. It’s giving me chills thinking about all the stuff that’s happened this year. Definitely, Rey and Dominik would be someone we’d love to get in the ring with. Just because of their dynamic, and you know, Dominik has a very nice Frog Splash as well. [laughs] Same thing with Rey, so it’d pretty much be the battle of the Frog Splashes, so I think that’d be a whole lot of fun.”
** Fightful caught up with Jordan Oliver to promote GCW ‘Slime Season’ on December 5th that will stream for free on YouTube. Jordan was asked about the COVID precautions that were in place at the MLW tapings for the organization’s ‘Restart’ and praised MLW for their efforts.
“Yeah, they did a great job. They had rapid testing on site. They made sure that everyone was not — between the tapings, making sure you stay in your hotel room and all that stuff. They did a great job I think. One of the better companies that I worked for so far, with that stuff at least.”
One of Jordan’s mentors in the business is Jimmy Rave who recently announced that he had to get his left arm amputated.
“Jimmy Rave. Jimmy Rave for sure [I learned from him in CZW]. He’s my biggest mentor in the industry, in life even. This guy, he’s so helpful. It’s a shame that everything that’s gone on with him right now.”
When asked about IMPACT Wrestling’s Ace Austin, Jordan Oliver stated that Austin is going to be the next AJ Styles.
“Oh that’s so easy. Ace Austin is my favorite wrestler.
Yeah, we just went through three 25 minute matches across like New Jersey, Indiana, back to New Jersey but, Ace Austin I think is gonna be the best wrestler in the world in a few years. I think he’s the next AJ Styles. I’ve been saying that since I met him when I was 16, that he’s gonna be the next AJ Styles.”
** Elida High School in Ohio issued a press release about their graduate Zachary Wentz signing with WWE.
** Booker T spoke about Sting’s All Elite Wrestling debut while recording his ‘Hall Of Fame’ podcast.
** Lacey Evans spoke with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald to promote WWE Tribute to the Troops.
** Sportskeeda ran their interview with SmackDown Tag Team Champion Montez Ford. At Survivor Series, The Street Profits defeated Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Montez spoke about what that match meant to him.
“It’s one of those things where I look back on it, I’m just like I still can’t believe it actually happened, especially with everything that’s happening this year and all the limitations and stuff that people not only have gone through and been through but for us to still — it happened. It happened and these are gentlemen that I watched and idolized before coming into the business. Kofi Kingston, what he’s done for myself and becoming the WWE Champion. For Xavier Woods to just be a staple and a genius and his creative tag team genius, in-ring work and just stuff I watched and idolized and were motivating me to get here. These guys that are pretty much [an] inspiration and to be standing across the ring with them and share the Survivor Series, another big and huge, historic stage, it’s mind-blowing and it’s definitely a dream match. It still feels like a damn dream because I still can’t believe we had that match with The New Day, and sometimes, so many times things be happening and you kind of just gotta sit back and just take it all in, and it was everything I wanted [it] to be and more and a bag of chips.”
** Dave Marquez announced that the United Wrestling Network would be suspending their weekly Prime Time Live pay-per-views for the remainder of 2020. He and his production team are looking to resume in 2021. They filmed out of Thunder Studios in California and per PWInsider, Thunder Studios is being closed down for the next several weeks due to the new stay-at-home order in Los Angeles.
** Ring of Honor listed off the top ten greatest matches that have taken place at a Final Battle pay-per-view.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIz2aIoan1Q[/embedyt]
** Outsports has a feature up about Pat Patterson.
** NJPW World Tag League Results (12/4/20) Beppu, Japan
– Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma def. Gabriel Kidd & Yota Tsuji
– World Tag League Tournament Match: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (5-3) def. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale (2-6)
– World Tag League Tournament Match: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto (5-3) def. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi (3-5)
– World Tag League Tournament Match: David Finlay & Juice Robinson (5-3) def. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (5-3)
– World Tag League Tournament Match: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (5-3) def. Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb (4-4)
– World Tag League Tournament Match: Shingo Takagi & SANADA (5-3) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare (1-7)
** Fightful has an interview with Allie Kat.
** AEW has a new interview series on their digital platforms that is hosted by Lexy Nair titled ‘Outside The Ring’. Her first guests were Dark Order’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds.
** Former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway turned 29-years old on 12/4.
** Lacey Evans spoke to TheWrap.
** Lee Moriarty was a guest on F4WOnline’s ‘Left My Wallet’ show.
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
