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.
** In 2019, Cain Velasquez made his WWE debut and eventually went on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Crown Jewel. At UFC 121 in 2010, Velasquez defeated Lesnar via TKO for the UFC Heavyweight Title. While Velasquez was on K100 w/ Konnan & Disco, he commented on piecing together a pro wrestling match with Lesnar and said it was professional yet uncomfortable.
Yeah, professional and I would say it was a little uncomfortable [planning the match with Brock Lesnar]. I’m just so new to the wrestling world but everyone that I’ve worked with has been amazing as far as, you take care of everybody. We really do try to put in some good things in there where everyone gets what they want out of it and making it just for the fans. Working with Brock was interesting man, that’s all I’m gonna say. It was very different. You kind of just learn from your life and okay, this is what this was. I know for next time if something else ever happens for next time but… [Velasquez laughed]
With Brock, that’s kind of what it was and again, the best thing about what I do now with wrestling is I can bring my family in and they’re true fans of it, you know? And that is the best.
He went on to recall the preparation for the UFC 121 fight with Brock. Cain said Brock’s weakness was that he liked to get hit but Cain knew Lesnar was going to take him to the mat. He detailed how Daniel Cormier and a ‘national top wrestler’ helped him prepare.
His [Brock Lesnar] main weakness was he did like to get hit. His biggest strength was — he was gonna take me down. It wasn’t like wham, you know? He was gonna take me down. So, Daniel Cormier and another national top wrestler with us at the time and dude, we started a sparring session with me on my back, flat with boxing gloves on and D.C. would be right on me. I’d be in the worst position and all I had to do was just get up. That’s where we started from.
I knew that he was gonna take me down and it didn’t matter how many times he was gonna take me down, I was gonna get up and to do that against somebody, it’s frustrating… It brings you down… your mentality.
** As Chris Jericho was recapping the matches he had in 2022 on his Talk Is Jericho podcast, he brought up a time when he and CM Punk were in WWE and Punk did not want to tag him into a match because of a real-life issue they were having at the time. He said he was planning to use a situation as such for he and Eddie Kingston’s scrapped tag run in AEW.
That was with Santana and Ortiz versus 2point0 and [Daniel] Garcia and this is the one where Santana and Ortiz were angry at me because of what Eddie Kingston said that maybe I was the reason why they weren’t the tag team champions and they refused to tag me in which was funny because that was something I was gonna do with Eddie Kingston which stemmed from a real-life issue I had with CM Punk, probably like 10 years ago when he got mad at me and didn’t wanna tag me in-in a match. I talked about that in The Complete List of Jericho and I always kept that in the back of my head, well what if your partner just refused to tag you in? So we did that with Santana, Ortiz to advance the story and meanwhile, I didn’t even tag in so it was a match but because I wasn’t allowed to tag in, I wasn’t allowed to do anything physical. I think I just did something for the finish to hit Daddy Magic who was just Matt Lee back then. It’s so crazy to think about. Matt Lee and Jeff Parker, oh my gosh, what jobber names, right? In comparison to ‘Daddy Magic’ Matt Menard and ‘Cool Hand Ang’, Angelo Parker.
He went on to discuss his program with Eddie Kingston. He mentioned that it was Kingston’s idea to have a fireball thrown in his face and that’s how ‘The Wizard’ character started.
Then we go into April 13th with Danny Garcia and Jake Hager versus Kingston, Ortiz and Santana in New Orleans and that one was, once again, just kind of a brawl to set the tone which led to the fireball angle which of course started the whole ‘Wizard’ thing and that was an idea that Eddie Kingston had because he had seen it in, I believe, Puerto Rico or something. He wanted to be hit with a fireball and I was like, ‘All right, well let’s see if we can figure that out’ and we did and that started a whole new gimmick and once again, these things just happen because you are, like I always say, letting the story lead you and not manipulating the story itself.
At Full Gear 2022, Jericho retained the ROH World Title by besting Bryan Danielson, Sammy Guevara and Claudio Castagnoli in a four-way. The original ideas were for Jericho to have either singles match with Danielson or Claudio. Tony Khan came up with an idea for a three-way involving them and later introduced the idea of Guevara being added.
The cool thing was the idea originally was to do me and Claudio [Castagnoli] at Full Gear. One other idea was to do me and Bryan [Danielson] at Full Gear for the Ring of Honor Title and then Tony [Khan] had the idea of a three-way, Bryan versus Claudio versus Jericho. We still weren’t quite feeling it and then Tony, once again — he really is a smart guy. He won the Booker of the Year for a reason. He came up with the idea of putting Sammy [Guevara] in there and making it a four-way. Now we have to figure out how that works storyline-wise and we got it.
** There’s a feature story about Giulia published on Tokyo Sports ahead of her World of STARDOM Championship match on 12/29. She was asked for her thoughts about IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI. Giulia went on to recall the time she spent overseas and stated that she experienced discrimination. She respects KAIRI for overcoming that.
I have also lived in Italy and spent a month in the US. I don’t think it’s limited to Japanese, but it’s hard to live in another country. I also experienced unreasonable discrimination. I think it’s great that she [KAIRI] overcame that and is now working so well. I have respect for that.
When it was announced that KAIRI would be joining WWE, Giulia was at that show as a fan. She remembers running into IYO SKY f.k.a. Io Shirai as they were leaving the venue and added that she’s excited about the possibility of sharing the ring with KAIRI.
She [KAIRI] has brought her experience over there back to Japan and is showing us what she has learned. KAIRI joined WWE in 2017, right? I was there as a guest when WWE held a show at Ryogoku Kokugikan in June, the one where KAIRI was announced as a member of WWE.
From my point of view at that time, KAIRI was above the clouds… Yes, I saw IYO-san leaving the venue as I was leaving, and I ran over to her and shook her hand. and she shook my hand. I suddenly remembered (laughs).
How is that possible [that-that was five years ago]? With someone like that, if you work hard, you have the potential to fight, don’t you? I felt that I had come this far. When KAIRI came back to STARDOM, I felt again that what I had done was the right decision. I thought, I might be able to do it with KAIRI. I am honestly excited about that.
I wonder what I will feel when I stand opposite the mass of aura that seems to take everything with it from the moment she enters the ring. I don’t want to lose though (laughs). I have never felt since my debut that I am inferior in terms of presence, so I wonder how I would feel if KAIRI were to be such an opponent. When I do fight KAIRI someday, I would like to do it in a big venue and on the best stage.
** The newest interview on The Wrestling Classic’s YouTube channel is with Ricky Starks. He further commented on his association with The Undertaker. Starks said whenever he sees the Hall of Famer, he expresses how proud he is of Ricky.
Taker’s like my guy. Taker’s my favorite wrestler of all time. The wildest thing is that as I got older, I actually met him. I had him watch one of my matches for the indies. I sparred with him in preparation for his match against John Cena at WrestleMania. I kept in touch with Taker still to this day when I see him, still the same, ‘Hey man, how you doing? I’m proud of you.’ That’s what he’s told me, he’s proud of me and I’m doing great so yeah, it’s really wild to go from that to sitting on a couch with [someone] that you loved when you were growing up.
Looking back on his time as a part of Team Taz, Starks stated that he learned how to maximize his on-screen time in ways that did not involve talking. He added that it did drive him crazy not having enough time to speak although Taz would try to set him up with more opportunities to get on the microphone.
I learned how to maximize my minutes [as a part of Team Taz]. I learned that if I’m on-screen and I don’t get no promo time even though I can freaking talk, then I’m gonna maximize my minutes in the way that I see fit, in the way that I think is gonna be beneficial to me and if you notice, that is actually around the time where I came out dressed up. None of this is new. I always came out dressed up in knitted shirts and glasses and slacks and all this stuff. But, I maximized my minutes because of my presence and being there and you know, these small little [facial expressions], all that, you know what I’m saying? That is what I learned the most out of that group because at the time, it was me, Brian Cage and Taz. So three to start with and then [Powerhouse] Hobbs got at it. But around that period, it was just Taz really doing most of the talking and Taz would try to throw me a ball here and there but bro, then I only had 15 seconds, 20 seconds to talk and it used to drive me insane.
** As YOH and Lio Rush prep for their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, NJPW1972.com pushed out their interview with the 2022 Super Junior Tag League winners. YOH touched on how much he’s enjoyed tagging with Rush. He said being in the ring with Rush has been inspiring and reminded him that wrestling can be enjoyable.
It was [Super Junior Tag League tour was long]. About a month ago, I met Lio in New York, and then we were all of a sudden a team for this tag league. I’d won the trophies three times before already, been IWGP Junior Tag Champion, so I had that confidence, but I didn’t know how me and Lio were going to gel as a team, and that was exciting, actually.
Actually getting in the ring with him was inspiring, it was a lot of fun, and it reminded me that pro wrestling can be enjoyable, you know? So teaming with Lio vibed with me on an emotional level as well as the ring, and it all led to us going to the finals. It’s a moment in my career I can be so proud of, and I’m so grateful for him. We’ve both come through similar adversity as well, in terms of bouncing back physically and mentally from injury, and that’s just another factor to where we’re both so much stronger together.
I was surprised to learn he made all his entrance music. But the more we’re together, the more I realize we feel the same about things. It isn’t just a superficial similarity. He gets me and how I think, and we’re able to communicate nonverbally. I think I’ve undergone a lot of change over the last year and to have him there to help me find what I want to be in the ring is pretty awesome.
** Ahead of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, Kazuchika Okada spoke to ‘W online’. He explained to the outlet why he opts to keep his distance from social media. He feels it has made it more difficult to maintain a mystique as a pro wrestler and Okada does not want to become addicted to it.
Yes, social networking has brought me closer to my fans, but I feel that it has made it harder to maintain my mysterious side as a professional wrestler. I don’t do it very often myself (laughs)… No [I’m not trying to be mysterious], I am afraid of getting addicted to social networking sites… Because I become dependent on it. I try to keep a good distance so that I don’t get distracted by other things I need to do, such as practice.
** While guest appearing on Vickie Guerrero’s podcast, Gisele Shaw recounted meeting Nyla Rose and said it’s nice to know someone in wrestling who is also representing the transgender community.
It was so incredible and she’s such a nice person [Shaw said about meeting Nyla Rose]. I’ve never met her before, so I was just like, oh my gosh. I was nervous and stuff and you just never know, right? So you’re just like, ‘Okay, yeah, how’s it going?’ I was super, super nervous about it but, you know, she’s just so kind and it’s nice to know that there’s another person out there that’s also representing the community who is just as nice or even nicer than me, and I just love it and she’s breaking down barriers and making history for people now and for future generations.
** At Ring of Honor Final Battle, The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Kaun) become ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Kaun reflected on that title win while speaking to Jim Varsallone. He touched on working with Prince Nana and credited Dalton Castle and The Boys (Brandon & Brent Tate), who The Embassy defeated for the belts.
The Embassy’s been great. Myself, Toa [Liona], Brian Cage, Prince Nana who has so much rich history in Ring of Honor. This is kind of the second iteration with Prince Nana doing The Embassy and man, he brought us on TV. That was in a few short months, making history at Ring of Honor. Now two-time Ring of Honor World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. It’s been phenomenal and we’re gonna carry these championships with prestige and make history.
It was super exciting. The first time I won the championship was during the pandemic. It was closed tapings in Baltimore so I won it in front of no crowd, which was still exciting because it was the first time I got to hold some championship gold but this wasn’t the same. This second time around, you could just feel the energy and the people and I wanted to get my hands on Dalton Castle for a while. This guy called us hippopotamuses. I take that as disrespect [he laughed], so kicked his ass but he’s, you know, former world champion. It’s great to be in the ring with him and The Boys, they don’t get as much respect as they deserve. They’re an amazing, talented team. They’ve been going for a while. They kind of handed it to us but once we got going, it was over. It was off to the races. Got the championships, it was over.
** NJPW is going to be releasing a shirt to promote Kenny Omega’s return to the company. Omega is scheduled to challenge Will Ospreay for the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17 day one. L.E.C. (Life, Enjoyment & Convenience) is the official sponsor for the match.
** Jun Akiyama showed support for his brother who plans to run for city council in 2023.
** The winner of NJPW’s 2022 ‘Concurso’ bodybuilding contest is Tama Tonga. DOUKI placed 2nd and coming in at third, fourth and fifth in that order were YOH, El Lindaman and Kosei Fujita.
** NFL’s Green Bay Packers posted the follow video that is centered around WWE’s Braun Strowman:
This Monster of All Monsters bleeds green & gold.
Get to know @WWE Superstar & BIG #Packers fan Braun Strowman 💪#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/O4ROVflgt2
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 27, 2022
** Steven’s Wrestling Journey conducted an interview with Wardlow.
** On the Pro Wrestling NOAH YouTube channel is a video of Jushin Thunder Liger discussing the upcoming match between Shinsuke Nakamura and The Great Muta (Keiji Muto).
** On November 12th, Kazuchika Okada returned to his home city of Anjō, Japan and NJPW documented his homecoming.
** Atsushi Onita is claiming that he’ll be attending either All Japan Pro Wrestling’s January 1st or January 2nd show(s).
** There’s an interview on the Fightful website with Nyla Rose.
** There’s a chat with Lilian Garcia on the Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show podcast feed.
** Takeshi Kato of ‘SPICE’ interviewed Great-O-Khan.
** December 27th birthdays: Yuka Sakazaki, Claudio Castagnoli, Zelina Vega, Goldberg.
** Beyond Wrestling promoter Drew Cordeiro was interviewed by ‘Telegram & Gazette’.
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.
