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.
** Hip-Hop artist and one-half of U.G.K., Bun B, appeared on Busted Open Radio. He dove into the parallels between the music and pro wrestling industries. He discussed how he is enjoying seeing people in both fields branch off and find other avenues. He mentioned Westside Gunn and Action Bronson appearing for AEW.
I mean, I was a big Junkyard Dog guy. Those days, that’s the era that I grew up in. Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka, transition of course into André the Giant, Hulk Hogan, guys like that, ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan, I was a huge fan of him. I liked the early Ted DiBiase. I did like that guy, Ted DiBiase, but I love the artistry, you know? And I love how people, you know, ever since ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper have learned how to transition and take these skills they learned in boxes into other areas. You see Mark [Henry] doing these podcasts. I love the idea of transition, right? The idea of guys coming out on the other side and not having the industry take everything from them. I come from Hip-Hop where the very early pioneers of this trade did not benefit monetarily, they never got the level of fame that new people got, they weren’t really taken care of, they kind of left ‘em out to die to be very honest so, I know that there’s a parallel between — because it’s all entertainment, right? It’s all entertainment. We all sacrifice our bodies and our lives and our time for the people but the powers that be get all the money and the glory and we’re left with baggage. But I love how nowadays, guys are smarter, they’re getting more out of it, they’re making more money, they’re transitioning. You look at John Cena, you look at The Rock, I’m out here [in Texas], I see Booker T now starting leagues and I love them putting the power in their hands in the same way that these young artists are now more independent. They have YouTube and Spotify because they don’t have to go to a major label to benefit off it and the crazy thing is now I see these worlds colliding where you look at guys like Westside Gunn. I just saw Action Bronson just made his debut I think at AEW… in the ring. This is amazing. I got a homie from Texas, his name is ‘Le$’ and he’s getting into the wrestling world as well on a very localized level. He’s actually in Booker T’s league but, this is all entertainment. We love the people. We’re familiar with it. That’s why it works on both ends. That’s why when a wrestler decides to become an actor, he knows how to go out, do his lines, play his position, hit his marks, hit his cues… It’s muscle memory at that point so, I love it.
** On the latest installment of The Raven Effect podcast, Raven briefly commented on his forthcoming induction into the IMPACT Wrestling Hall of Fame. He does not know who is going to be inducting him as of the podcast recording.
I believe that it should be ‘Sir IMPACT Hall of Famer’ [Raven jokingly said to his co-host] … Albany, New York it takes place… Yeah, I don’t know who’s inducting me.
** At AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, Saraya f.k.a. Paige made her debut for the company and she is going to speak on the 9/28 Dynamite. AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa discussed Saraya’s arrival on Busted Open Radio and dove into what the 3-time WWE Women’s Champion brings to the company. She added that she’s inspired by Saraya’s personal journey and ventures. Rosa touched on the competition aspect of it and wants to return to AEW in a way that the crowds have not seen her before.
The question you asked earlier about AEW. You said how do I feel about bringing a different type of person into AEW and this happened [at Dynamite Grand Slam]. Probably caught me off guard. I was watching and I was like, ‘Wow.’ The reaction of the people was pretty amazing. I’m talking about Saraya, Saraya Knight. I’m pretty familiar with her mother. I wrestled with her mother on the same show a couple times. So, she’s definitely bringing something different to AEW. Not only her experience. She’s been wrestling since she was 14 and a lot of things so, it’s gonna be very interesting what we’re gonna see in the women’s division and I’m seeing, I’m watching everything from the backburner now because I know I can’t go back until I am ready to go back because of my injury. So sometimes that makes it a lot harder because you get more eager to get back in the ring and be like — and take what you know belongs to you, right? I consider myself, regardless [of] how things happen at AEW, that I’m one of the people that AEW created, one of AEW’s stars. That’s how I feel and I feel like not only now, I have someone of that caliber of talent. She’s very talented. I hope she comes and she’s completely cleared to wrestle but she’s gonna teach a lot of the girls a lot of cool stuff that otherwise, they wouldn’t have an opportunity to do. Again… wrestling was her bread and butter for a long, long time and she knows the grind and before she got signed, she was on the indies and she was struggling just as much as everybody else was and I think one of the things she, Saraya has is that she hasn’t changed her core. She continues to be the same person that she was before and I’m really interested to get to know her at another level and I know the fans are very excited to see her because they haven’t seen her wrestle in a while and they’re very, very eager for that so, company-wise, rating-wise, this is gonna be great for the ratings, this is gonna be great for the women’s division and you cannot deny that. You cannot deny that. But I think in other aspects, people are gonna be on their toes because again, I think it’s always an uphill battle with people feeling like they need to protect their spot, right? And for me, still as a champion, I’m seeing a lot of things unfold and it is important that when I come back, I come back with a plan… I wanna come back in a way that you guys have never seen me before and having Saraya there, I’m like all right, yeah, just even more competition. Yes, I’m on top but when you’re on top and you have bigger sharks in the tank, well, you better start eating because you gotta get bigger than the shark that wants to take what you have. So, it’s gonna be very interesting.
Due to injury, her career was cut short but it was very beautiful to see someone who started from the bottom, come into a WrestleMania moment. I watched that WrestleMania when she came out. I watched the social media post of her and her mother there. I can’t imagine how proud she felt about that right now and she made a career of her own with the wrestling and now she has, you know, makeup line, she has a Twitch account. She does a lot of stuff so she is — she has her own movie that The Rock produced. So again, I could tell you, she brings a lot to the women’s division. She brings a brand. Something that is needed at the division too. So, that, you can’t deny. I know Tony [Khan] does a lot of stuff because he knows he wants ratings. We wanna be number one, right? If you start something, you wanna be number one, otherwise, don’t start. But for me, as an athlete, for me as a champion, that’s top competition right there on every single aspect. Experience, persona, character, how well known she is. She’s a star. She has what I want and I’m striving for. That’s who she is to me and another thing that I like about her, she owns her mistakes, she owns what happened to her previously and she moved on. She continued to live her life like the way she wants to live her life so I respect that [about] her. It’s gonna be interesting. I think I’m gonna start doing some videos on my YouTube, reaction videos on the matches from the women’s division just to keep everybody on their toes.
** Over the summer, Aron Stevens formally announced his retirement from pro wrestling. He would make his in-ring return at NWA 74 night two. On the most recent episode of The Tyrus and Timpf Podcast, Stevens was asked if he’s truly retired. He explained that he’s assessing himself and mentioned that he often wonders if the on-screen manager role he’s in is a cop out for not being what he was earlier in his career.
Oh God, you seriously doing this? [Stevens laughed when asked if he’s truly retired from wrestling]
Here’s what’s going on like with every athlete: We had the conversation about three weeks ago or maybe it was a month ago about the [Ric] Flair ‘Last Match’. I’m at a point in my career and not that I’m even close to what Ric Flair was in the ring, but it was presented to me that, ‘Hey, you should manage’ and personally, in a subjective business like pro wrestling where I have — and again, I’m not trying to sound funny now. I’m actually being serious for a second — where people have said, ‘Oh, you’re this, you’re that, you should be here, you should be the champion, you should be the top heel,’ whatever. I never quite got that from the office, right? Or the bosses for whatever reason, one reason or another and I’m not blaming external factors. People can say one thing and reality is a different situation. My thing was though, I’ve always kind of been able to get the crowd to do exactly what I want them to do when I want them to do it and not really no enemies that I’ve known of. It was just really frustrating so I was like, well, is this manager thing — when it was presented to me, is this just a cop out? Is this saying, okay, I’m not what I was in the ring? And that’s a very, very hard thing and I know that’s the first time in my career when I was forced to look at that and you know, like with all of us, we have to kind of honestly assess ourselves and that’s kind of what I’m doing right now.
Stevens was told that throughout his career, he has always tried to make others happy and never took for himself. He said he needed to hear that and specifically speaking on NWA, there are talents on the roster who are not on his level in-ring. He is not sure what he has to do to reach the next level.
Even now, because there’s — I’m not even in the conversation to be a top NWA talent and frankly, there are talents that are being discussed that in my opinion, they can’t even lace my boots. Straight up. But I don’t know what the hell I have to do or maybe is it from a marketing standpoint, I am just really good at this particular role? But the ‘selfish’ thing [Stevens needing to be more selfish with his career], again, I’m not a dick. I really try not to be but, you know what? I think I needed to hear that so thank you all.
** Steve Maclin looks back on his experience with WWE in a positive light. He expressed that to PopCulture.com during their chat. Maclin said WWE did him right and he was able to learn a lot. He added that one never knows what could happen in terms of going back but he’s happy where he’s at in IMPACT Wrestling.
Just my learning experience, being able to work TV, listening to producers, the coaches I had at the Performance Center and just the friends I made [is what I take away from my WWE experience]. I met my soon-to-be wife there too so it’s one of those things where everybody looks at it like, ‘Oh, they did you wrong.’ It’s like, no, they did me right for a long time. They paid the bills. I had a weekly check, so there’s no hostility there and you never know, down the road, go back but I’m very happy where I am in IMPACT Wrestling and it’s what WWE taught me has allowed me to be who I am here so…
** The Universal Wrestling Podcast conducted an interview with Davey Richards. Richards is currently under contract to MLW and is the organization’s National Openweight Champion. The idea of returning to ROH was presented to Richards as a scenario. He said he’s very happy in MLW and is of the ‘you never know what could happen’ mindset.
I am very happy at MLW. They’ve treated me very nice. They have opened a lot of doors. I really feel that when we talk about this ‘forbidden door’ — first of all, I have to apologize because I feel like every time someone gets asked one of these questions, they never give a straight answer. But at the same time, it’s like you have to be diplomatic so I apologize but, I’m very happy at MLW. I have nothing bad to say about them at all. They’ve been great and in addition to them being great, they have really — I mean if there is a ‘forbidden door’, I’ve competed and defended the [MLW National Openweight] title at New Japan, I’ve done IMPACT, I’ve done NWA. So kind of checking things off the list. So AEW/Ring of Honor, I’ve got a lot of history there and I know MLW is always open to do business so we’ll see what happens man. There may be some things in the works. We’ll see. I might change this Openweight Title to the ‘open door’ title. That’s what we’ll do [Richards smiled].
He later spoke about WWE’s Seth Rollins and working with him when they were in Ring of Honor together. Richards said he’s always respected Rollins because back when they were in the same company, Rollins made it clear that his goal was WWE even though that may not have been the ‘cool thing’ to say at the time.
Dude, you know what’s cool about him [Seth Rollins]? So, obviously he’s a phenomenal wrestler, he’s a good human being, he’s a good dude but man, there is someone right there who I really hope stays on as a trainer but also like a motivational type person because, so, especially when he was in Ring of Honor, I was there obviously and Ring of Honor was like Japan crazy because we were so closely tied in with Japan and he was always the guy, I remember him vividly telling me this, he’s like, ‘You know… my goal is WWE’ and that was almost kind of not the cool thing to say back then, you know what I mean? But he was like, ‘My goal is WWE. My goal is not really to go to Japan’ and I remember at that time, I was like, dude, I got so much respect for this guy because this guy’s like, this is who I am, I’m proud of who I am and I stand on my own two feet so, I’m a huge fan of his and I think he’s just a such a killer dude man. Obviously a great wrestler. I mean, come on, we knew that since day one [Richards laughed]. But, just a real leader so, yeah, nothing but respect for that guy.
In addition to Richards being a wrestler, he is also a paramedic. Richards said there’s been plenty of times when he works a show and is asked check on someone who is banged up or injured.
All the time [people ask me to check on wrestlers at shows] … Checked on quite a few people. So MLW and yeah, the skills come in handy.
** Episode #16 of the Café De René livestream on YouTube featured Dirty Dango (Fandango). He recalled filming Southpaw Regional Wrestling and preparing for the third season of the show before the COVID-19 pandemic began. His on-screen co-host was John Cena and Dango recalled Cena being willing to leave a movie set for a day to come film Southpaw.
It’s weird because my whole existence filming that [Southpaw Regional Wrestling] was just sitting at a table with John [Cena] probably twice, so we banged out all six episodes each season twice. So like, we would go down one day for an hour or two and him and I would just go bang it all out and they would just cut to all the B-roll that they cut in filming other talent in different locations. The show became fairly successful and kind of got a little buzz and then they were actually gonna put a little money into it on the season three one and John was gone, site somewhere filming a movie and he loved that show, the Southpaw show. He was like, ‘I’ll leave the filming and fly and do it for the day and then fly back.’ Then obviously, COVID hit. I think we filmed the teaser in March of 2020 and then, you know, the world came to an end right around that time so and then obviously April or May, they fired everybody in WWE so, it was bad timing but, if I win the lottery or anything, I’m gonna waste some money and film season three.
Elsewhere during the stream, Dango shared that early in his career, Adrian Street and Miss Linda made his ring gear.
He [Adrian Street] used to make my gear for me when I was a kid. He lived in Gulfport, Florida… I think so, yeah, [it was] ‘Bizarre Bazaar’. I’m like, ‘Just make me some trunks or something and put a star on it.’ I didn’t know what the f*ck I was doing. This is like early 2000s and then he’d call you up, ‘Hey mate. Maybe a lightning bolt or something.’ I’m like, ‘All right, yeah, whatever.’
** As a part of wXw Germany’s ‘Femmes Fatales’ event on 10/1, Amale is going to compete for the wXw Women’s Championship. Amale finished up with WWE’s NXT UK brand as the pending launch of NXT Europe was announced. She told ‘Wrestling-infos.de’ that she is more confident since the last time she wrestled for wXw in 2020.
I would describe myself as versatile. I can be technical, I can brawl, I’ve been able to adapt to the WWE style, etc. I think that has helped me progress and gain more experience since the last time I was in a wXw ring.
I would say I’m more used to working in front of a camera now. I’m still finding myself as a character, but I understand it better. I also feel more confident.
Amale did not lose the wXw Women’s Title in a match but it was vacated in September 2021 while she was still with WWE. She explained what it would mean to her to regain the championship.
It would mean a lot to me. My wXw Women’s Championship has shaped me. Not only as a wrestler, but also as a person. I’ve learned so much through those matches over the years. I’ve been at the top, right where I know I belong. I want to have that feeling again.
** There’s an interview on the ‘Monthly Puroresu’ site with Miyu Yamashita. She looked back on her matches with Thunder Rosa in TJPW and AEW respectively. She would like to challenge for the AEW Women’s World Title again.
Well… I was very happy that Rosa came back to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling after a long time, and not only that, she returned as a really big star. And, that she fought me in the ring of TJPW with the belt. It was a great experience for me to be able to fight for the AEW Women’s Championship belt in the AEW ring, and it made me realize that I have weaknesses and things I need to work on.
But, I want to grow and challenge myself more and more, both in the U.S. and in Japan. The fight with Rosa and the title match on AEW was a key point in my wrestling career, and I think it was the third time I felt this change. I really want to challenge for the title, the AEW Title that is, and of course in the future – I would like to take advantage of any chance I’m given.
At Prestige Wrestling’s ‘Perseverance’ show, Yamashita went one-on-one with Trish Adora. She complimented Trish’s in-ring ability and personality.
Hmm… I think the size and physicality of foreign athletes can be a serious disadvantage [when it comes to facing wrestlers in Japan versus wrestlers in the USA]. Like with Trish Adora, I was very challenged and amazed. Foreign wrestlers have a lot of amazing ideas. But I have to be more physical, and I think that I have to be more flexible in terms of my thinking. My thinking is very rigid, so I have to keep an open mind… I have to stretch my mind [to come up with techniques to match their size and style] and, it almost feels as if I’m twisting my brain.
Trish really enjoyed the fight. Trish really had a lot of fun fighting, and I felt that she directly accepted my reactions and really enjoyed it while we were fighting. That’s why I was able to hit them, and they doubled back on me, so it was a lot of fun. Trish is really powerful, and she also has a funny sense of humor, which I thought was very interesting. It was the first time for me to come to the U.S. and wrestle for a long time, and I had a lot of fun; I really enjoyed the time!
** William Regal reflected on the NXT UK Blackpool events while speaking to Manchester Evening News. He said he’s never felt an atmosphere like it and said it would be nice to return to Empress Ballroom with the Blackpool Combat Club.
I’m staying out of wrestling except for what I’m doing. I’ve heard rumors that we’re [AEW] coming to England but I have no idea. Anybody who were at the Blackpool NXT UK shows know how special those shows were and the atmosphere… I’ve never felt an atmosphere like it. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt because of the acoustics of the Empress Ballroom, the chanting and everything else. It would be nice to go back with the Blackpool Combat Club or maybe we could do Bloomfield Road, I don’t know, why not?
** Straight Talk Wrestling pushed out their chat with Thunder Rosa. She reacted to the debunked rumor that she requested her release from AEW.
** Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Kazuo Yamazaki, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask and El Desperado are scheduled for NJPW’s music festival to celebrate 50 years of the company.
** At OTT Wrestling’s Eighth Year Anniversary show on 10/28, Trent Seven is going one-on-one with Matt Cardona.
** At the Tenryu Project show on October 9th, NJPW referee Red Shoes Unno will officiate a tag match that will see Tomohiro Ishii and Ultimo Dragon take on Don Fujii and Masaaki Mochizuki.
** Episode #292 of “Da” Podcast featured PCO and POST Wrestling’s own John Siino.
** Dave LaGreca and Thunder Rosa welcomed John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) onto Busted Open Radio.
** On the WRESTLE UNIVERSE streaming service, NOSAWA Rongai is commenting Keiji Muto (The Great Muta’s) All Elite Wrestling debut at Rampage Grand Slam.
** Wrestling-Infos.de published their interview with Shigehiro Irie.
** IMPACT Wrestling’s Heath spoke to Hindustan Times.
** September 27th birthdays: Leyla Hirsch.
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.
