The Rosenberg Riyadh Royal Rumble Extravaganza

0:03Peter Rosenberg! Shout out, Zach. I got you. The major stick. Oh my goodness. It's professional wrestling. The king of KFC. 24 seconds. Championship. A thousand percent confirmed. M-Mage. Stay mage and enjoy yourself. M-M-M-M-M-M-Mage. Mal-muzzer M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m It's still rooted M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m B instit

0:46Oh, I'm sorry Oh, oh, I'm Sorry Oh, oh, I'm Sorry Oh, oh, I'm Sorry Oh, oh, I'm Sorry Oh, oh, I'm Sorry Oh, oh. Sweet, sweet Peter Rosenberg. Shout out to that guy, Greg. I like delicious chicken. It was Rappaud. It was Rappaud. It's professional. It's professional. Wrestling. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome, welcome. The world's number one sports and recreation podcast, Cheap Heat, is back. Woo. It is back, baby. And this time, I'm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. you are listening to us live on Sirius XM channel 156 yes I'm in in Riyadh Saudi Arabia SGG is in Philadelphia Pennsylvania how are you SGG I'm great I'm just happy to be a part of Rosenberg's Riyadh Rumble extravaganza because I was like all right he's over there he's with the team, his colleagues, his fellow champions, legends.

1:51I might get bumped out the seat, but here we are. No, you're not getting bumped out the seat. Well, you may get bumped out the seat. We're going to see what happens. SUG, let's get right to it, though. There's a lot to talk about. I don't think we're going to have Depristine today because the schedule, handling the schedule, It's one time for me. It's another time for SGG. It's another time for Dipperstein. There's too much going on. Let's get right to it. The Rumble Week is here. What are people saying? What's the biggest conversation leading into the weekend? People want to know, are we saying goodbye to AJ Styles?

2:34I think people aren't sure, but they're also not ready. Like you said last week, he says he's going to retire this year. People don't want it to be that the end of January this year, the Phenomenal One is just gone and retired. We want not necessarily a Cena-esque retirement run, but we want some type of tour to say goodbye to the Phenomenal One. um yeah i i um i feel weird if this is it and i'm like sort of like i don't know i'm kind of getting convinced by people that it is like that where is the other way for this to go you know that's the thing i really like the thing the caller said last week about it ending wwe and he spends the year at tna i really didn't hate that sgg i didn't hate that either but I just feel like that's that's a big old heap of cope like people are trying to trying to come up with something to to let themselves down easy I don't I don't see it ending that way I think especially because if AJ Styles goes to TNA he's gonna have to perform at an even higher level and even faster pace because it's a lot of young hungry guys out there he's not gonna be able to go down there not to say that he was coasting in wwe but he's gonna have to go down there and just remind them who he is if that's a door he's willing to open um and for somebody who recognizes that he's getting older and that his body um you know might be slowing down that might be a door that if i were him i would leave shut what what's that dealing going up against younger talent yeah going to TNA and just trying to be the AJ Styles of old because he you know he's still fantastic in the ring but if he's the one saying that his body is giving him the signs you gotta you gotta listen well that is a fact that is a fact um we obviously spent a lot of time on this matchup last week and and you know we got it since then we got to see him have a banger with Shinsuke.

4:47If anything, SGG, I don't know how you felt, that made me think even more, is this the end? It did. Same. We got the banger with Shinsuke and we got another banger with CM Punk. But it's not what happened in the ring that made me think, is this the end? Back to back. Yeah. Heaters on top of heaters. But it was what happened outside the ring on the internet that made me think, damn this might be the end uh first shinsuke nakamura posted a letter that i think has since been deleted but it was you know really heartfelt and in the letter he says you know i asked aj you know when's he retiring and aj told me i'm retiring at the royal rubble um but then also john cena posted um aj styles on his instagram and now you know cena's instagram There's no caption, so it's up for interpretation.

5:45But the timing of Cena posting a collage that's just AJ Styles from different eras tells me that Cena knows that this is the end. Why else the random post from Cena, too? Yeah. This close to the rumble. All right. Well, let's talk about a happier possibility then. Okay. Is there a world in which Sami Zayn gets the hero's pop and turns Drew McIntyre into just a, I mean, truly, truly transitional champion and takes the title on Saturday night? Is there any chance? I think there is a chance. And I'm hoping that's how it works out. A big chance or a chance? A chance. Because Drew got a lot of ops, too.

6:38And let's remember, Drew became champion because one of his enemies couldn't help themselves, interfered, and he was able to slither away with the title. Made another—so now he has Cody on his ass and Jacob Fatu, and I don't think that the two of them are going to be polite enough to just hang back this Saturday at the Royal Rumble. especially given what Drew did at Saturday night's main event during their match I don't think they're just going to let that slide we might get more answers tonight on Smackdown but I really don't think they're going to let that slide so if you're picking it are you picking Sami or you think there's a chance for Sami I'm picking Sami I'm picking Sami right because you know what it's Riyadh he's like a god over there you know you're going to see this better than anybody with the crowd where his music hits It's like they go up like we've never seen.

7:36I guess the other time we saw it was last week when he was in Montreal. But Riyad loves Sammy. I see a rumor that Pat McAfee may be coming back to some level of duties in the commentary booth, SGG. It's possible that it's just a Rumble entrance. If they do commentary booth, though, I mean, I guess that's to be expected, right? College football is done. His sports duties have been fulfilled. the season yeah i mean no one ever quite understands why he leaves or comes back so like whether it's based around college football or something else or but i i can't see him being at the rumble i can't see either but stranger things have happened because i'll say this there's a there's a bunch of people that we think we could think of right now and say oh i can't see them being in the rumble and a handful of them are actually going to participate in the royal rumble Brock Lesnar's announced, so he can scratch him off that list of I can't see it.

8:36And they really didn't listen to our show last week. The whole idea of if we're not going to tell a story, don't bother announcing. Yeah, they went rogue. No, they didn't care. Maybe they didn't despite us. Maybe they heard it and was like, no, we do what we want. Yeah, no, we're going to announce everybody. We're going to have Brock just call into Pat McAfee and announce. Because that was one to me that like, here's the thing about Brock. Brock is absolutely a needle mover. He's a big draw for wrestling fans. I don't know that Brock is getting you tons more eyeballs of people who weren't going to watch.

9:24so even though it's not a huge surprise i still am like but why did we why not just let that be a mini surprise yeah just let the music hit because like you said we all knew he was going to be there but just let the music hit and can i tell you the one thing too about brock announcing on mcafee that i thought was funny like almost a little strange i was just threw me for a loop a little bit i was like oh brock facetimes i didn't take him as like a facetime person but he he facetimed McAfee to make the Rumble announcement. He looked comfortable holding the phone for FaceTime. That is true. I didn't take him as a FaceTime guy.

10:04It's hard to picture Brock FaceTiming. It is. It is. But he looked like he does. That's just what he does. Can you imagine your phone ringing a FaceTime and it just says Brock Lesnar calling? You might get scared to answer the phone. You just won't answer. I wouldn't believe that it was him I think it's a prank or maybe a different Brock Lesnar like this one is like a a dentist or something Dr. Lesnar not not Lesnar Doc Lesnar exactly now did you speaking of being scared did you see me slumped over on that roller coaster ride I will say you look like you were handling better than Xavier Woods he was in front but still No, no.

10:49Woods was bad by the end. He was shook up for sure. But that I went on a ride called Falcon's Flight at Six Flags in Riyadh, outside Riyadh. Nothing. I've been on a lot of rides. That was holy smokes. I, SGG, 150 miles an hour is too fast. Is it? it no so um i have i have the i i i have i'm not allowed to put it out because we're going to use some on our show but i have the gopro that i was wearing on my hand i have the footage oh you see the moment when it goes from i'm yelling i'm scared i'm yelling having fun to I'm quiet for the last minute. Which is more scared, by the way. For those of you who are not rollercoaster aficionados, the quiet is the most terrified you can be on a rollercoaster.

11:50Quiet is I'm not having fun. I just don't want to hurt myself or get nauseous. I want it to end. I just want to go home. The thing was about this, there are two things it did that really effed with me. it it messed with my entire thought process about a roller coaster um yes i dread the click click click click click slowly up the hill uh-huh sure you dread that but let me tell you something when it doesn't do that and it speeds up the hill it is very well-putting you look like you're still scared i don't know s-u-g i'm sitting there talking to jackie i'm like hey so she's because she was freaking out beforehand i'm like it's gonna be fine is this first drop the big one is the second one the big one and then as i'm talking first drop is never the big one the first drop is the like you thought this was the big one the first one and the first one twists a little bit so it's not as crazy the second one sg you're up it goes after the first big one you think you're done and then it flies uphill again and you're like no no we are flies back uphill and then you end up at the top and all you see is desert mountains like you're just yeah insane and then it goes down into hell and you come out at 150 miles an hour and it's doing all the regular things roller coasters do you know like like you're flying between the metal of the roller coaster and it's supposed to feel close and kind of scary bro at one at 150 the feeling of if anything happens I'm so dead so immediately just I couldn't get out of my bruh but when you see the metal like you said though I know that the metal is there to protect and like it's at a safe distance that it's I'm okay but when I see the metal my hands don't go up they don't go out not like I'm in the seat I know they've done all the calculations I know I can't hit the metal nah so it was listen it's a bad sign when you're about to get on a roller coaster and you're feeling nervous and then you look over and rhea ripley is more nervous yeah it's very unsettling it's very unsettling these are people who do crazy things for a living and you said it was on a mountain but it goes in the mountain too at one point right like it goes through it goes in it goes up i'm getting myself i'm getting myself worked up again um so so let's get to it are we going to have any legit surprises first of all jericho done deal you saying it's happening i think it's happening i think it's happening now are we getting judas are we getting countdown or are we getting countdown and then judas countdown and then judas would be cool but i think i think you for the for the wwe audience you got to go countdown break the walls down and then because even like when adam pierce toyed with everybody and he got the whole audience hype and everybody was like okay jericho showing up this monday he didn't he didn't mess around with judas or any of like his other monikers.

15:27He went straight to break the walls down and people ran with it and said, we're getting Jericho. And I think that told them all they need to know is that the people still, like that's still a trigger for people. And so they don't have to try to remix it, try to mess with it. The wheel is not broken. Just say, break the walls down. That's what we're going to get. So will Jericho be the biggest surprise of the show? that's a good question in terms of like the person that we haven't seen in the longest time I think he could be I think he will but the biggest surprise I mean is there anybody that the audience missed more than Jericho like would like if Bianca came back in the women's run rumble would that be a bigger surprise than jericho or is jericho the biggest just because of all the other you know outside factors of you know he jumped ship and we haven't seen him in what like seven or eight years or or ronda or ronda yeah what you said no i said bianca but ronda would be a big surprise too i thought i thought ronda because i thought that earlier i don't think ronda's happening bianca is the one I've predicted to come back and win.

16:49But again, that's hoping against hope. Like, I don't know what her situation is. I know it's been complicated.

17:00I think Bianca would do really well here. I feel like Bianca might be a bigger pop here than Ronda. I don't know if Ronda's getting a huge pop anywhere. Same. And she's not coming back. I mean, maybe she will one day. and it'll be annoying but i don't see it happening right now yeah i don't think she's come back right now i think i think it's jericho i think jericho comes back i think that's the biggest thing by a long shot let me ask you a question will it be considered a womp womp if it's only jericho and really nothing else of note yeah yeah because this is the rumble like we need like two or three you know what i mean it can't just be it can't just be the one because once you complain about scg why they have to let us know that oba's in it yeah uh couldn't that have at least been a like a quick little something yeah it's i i agree even like the vision all four of them are in it like couldn't we couldn't we toy with that a little bit right and then they keep coming out and it's a fun thing like oh wow they're all here yeah like or even roman roman's my guy but he got a whole video package that was did that do anything like to announce it like we know roman's gonna be there but why yeah you know what's interesting is um logan logan took the charter and has been here at the hotel with the boys all week i don't know that i ever recall logan being around in full like this.

18:36He's really, really here with everybody. He took the charter with the talent that the same one that Damien Priest was on dressed like Spider-Man, Logan Paul was on. Yeah. Logan took the video of Spider-Man. That was his video? That was his video. I got to say, that's kind of mage. In his IG stories, that's how I saw it. In his IG stories, he was like, wow, these charter flights really are crazy. And it was Priest. thank thank goodness it was that kind of crazy and not not the dark side of the red crazy that we hit no no no just a spider-man costume nothing just a spider-man costume light work light work i'll let you know well when i when i come back i'm coming into philadelphia so you want to wait for me at the airport when do you get in uh i get in first thing sunday morning i want to sign or no i got you just show up with um an autograph book oh yeah i'll never get that back no i still have your uh wrestlemania program from three years ago now uh so i am concerned that it will be jericho and nothing else and that that will be a disappointment for people like i I do worry about that.

19:50Curious from you guys. Please weigh in on it. Hit us up on social media. Rosenberg Radio. Stat Guy Greg. What are your thoughts? 877-344-4893. Do you need it to be more than Chris Jericho? Again, I am here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Now as we're just one day away. Also, SGG, I did not realize until a few days ago that the start time was 2 o 'clock Eastern time, making it a 10 o 'clock start time local. And I figured out why that's the move. This place runs late, bro. Does it? Very late. I mean, because it's a place that most of the year is so hot, even though it's not right now, it'll be pretty cool out there on Saturday night.

20:46Because it's a place that gets so hot, everyone does stuff at night. So, for example, when I went to that local restaurant the other day and had some delicious baba ganoush and hummus and pitas and all kinds of delightful everything. I saw some falafel up there too. I was like, oh. Falafel, the mixed grill plate, the tajina. It was awesome. We were in there probably 11 o 'clock. And it was rammed, like prime dinner time. And this wasn't like a cool, trendy place. This was like a regular, you just worked a long day, grab a bite to eat kind of place. And rammed at 11 o 'clock. so not dude all the restaurants at the hotel open midnight 12 30 1 o 'clock the the six flags is on on weeknights four to midnight on weekend nights four to 1 a.m that's how we need to be living out here though like is it is it that hard to just stay open late they're outside out here It's very – it's a different kind of thing.

22:02So it's going to make it interesting and I wonder if it will make it in some ways a better crowd than we're used to even getting at the Saudi shows because it's going to start later. Dude, the post show, we won't go on the air until 1 a.m. local time for the post show. That's wild. So it's going to be a very different thing but also then works well for America because this is the biggest – remember, this is the biggest. Saudi PLE there's been. So you don't want to have the Rumble on the West Coast at 9 a.m. So it is good that it's 11 in L.A., 2 in New York, 10 in Riyadh. I think it is probably the best play possible.

22:45Also, I do want to note, speaking of the Rumble and our coverage this week, 9 a.m. on Saturday, you have Denise Salcedo and Robin Lumberg. lumburg 12 to 2 special edition of off the ropes with scott stanford and nick nemeth um taking you up till two o 'clock when the show starts and then at 6 p.m busted open after dark with dave lagreca and tommy dreamer that will be their rumble reaction show it's all happening of course you can tune in after you watch me on the post show don't be ridiculous plus um so so enjoy that um and yeah we have a lot of action all weekend now scg coming up uh i can't tell you who i have but stay tuned everyone big royal rumble guests coming up on the show i'm in riyadh it's the least i can do that's how we're doing it that's right from here the rest of the way.

23:45So we have a really, really big show to take you up until 2 o 'clock Eastern time. Assuming you're listening to us live, of course, subscribe to the podcast. Cheap Heat, wherever you find podcasts. Cheap Heat Live on Patreon. Cheap Heat Pod on Instagram. SGG, enjoy the rumble. Stay mage and enjoy yourself. I'm about to enjoy this extravaganza. You know what? Sit back, relax yourself and enjoy the extravaganza coming your way. Big, big weekend here on Pro Wrestling Nation 24-7. Hang tight. Freak out, freak out. Oh, yeah. Zillions of people all around the world are going to be watching. Yeah. And at the summit in Houston, Texas, it's the Royal Rumble.

24:28Yeah. 30 big-time wrestlers. Yeah. With reputations to match. No partners. Every man for himself. Yeah. Uh-huh. I'm on top of the mountain, and I feel like I'm alone now. Yeah. And I'm warning each and every person that comes into the squared circle that I am the World Wrestling Federation champion. Yeah. And I'm used to being number one. And macho madness will be felt in the summit in Houston, Texas, and all around the world. Zillions of people will witness. Yeah. And the people that come into the ring will feel the pain. Yeah. They'll feel the intensity of the macho man Randy Savage. because I didn't become the World Wrestling Federation champion by letting big-time things slide by.

25:17I'm the champion now, and I'm going to be the champion of the Royal Rumble. Ooh, yeah. All right, you know the vibes. It is the, what did Greg call it? The Rosenberg, the Riyadh-Rosenberg Royal Rumble spectacular on Pro Wrestling Nation, Sirius XM Channel 156. I am in Riyadh, and I am. You heard the music. you know the vibes i'm with the young og javon evans yes sir what's up with it man bro what what is what is this what is this particular week feel like this has been a hell of a run but this week traveling the charter you're with everyone yeah on the main roster yeah royal rumble what does it feel like uh it feels surreal you know i wouldn't even say that because i feel like i was very uh i was ready for it like very expecting of all this um but honestly that's a great time bro you know it's fun i've never been uh to saudi arabia before you know so eating their food fire you know some delicious middle eastern food mediterranean vibes fantastic you feel me um yeah hotel room go crazy i don't know if i was having a great time you know hanging out with the homies all that you know we're just having a great time and and um yeah just preparing for the rumble do you have uh generally speaking what's like your level of nerves when you work or have a big match oh it depends like um i know when i had the match with randy i was nervous all day uh but then since then probably i i haven't been so nervous because of that moment so i think this is like another achievement for me and um uh i feel confident right now but then you know before i go out and the countdown starts then i'm like oh all right it just got real you know what i mean so i think i think in that moment you know i'm gonna start having butterflies you know so before we go back a little bit and and learn more about you let's talk about that match with randy um what what was what was he like um throughout the day yeah working with him obviously I mean, I'm sure you've heard the stories.

27:30This, this version of Randy is a different version of Randy, right? Facts, facts. Very much the calming, influenced, veteran-friendly vibes. But like, what was that? Like, for your age, he must be the highest level icon basically there is. For sure, for sure. Honestly, for all day, I was just, like I said, I was nervous. But actually, it's funny because he just came back recently prior to that. So he was, you know, 290. You know what I mean? Big muscles already. So we're like, me and Terry Taylor, we're walking. And Terry's like, yeah, I think Randy should be here by now. We're like on the ramp.

28:17And it's a dude in front of us that has like a hoodie on. But he's just big, bro. You know what I mean? I know. I know. I know. So we're like trying to like walk past him and kind of find out that it was Randy. So, you know, at first, like talking to him, it was just great vibes. You know, he was chill. You know, he watched my work. You know, he was cool about everything. You feel me? But it was great, bro. He is. I've said this on the show before. randy is like alarmingly big in person yeah yeah yeah if you saw him in real life and you and like he was walking towards you you naturally would just move out of the way you're like this is just not a guy i want bro 290 and it's straight muscle too bro so it's just like i don't know i know i was after that thought i ran into him he was on the same flight as me and i ran into him and his wife in the lounge and uh i was thinking about i guess you know i've never been out here before either yeah so i was like uh i was happy to see him like oh someone i know on the flight oh and like i texted my wife i called her i was like hey i made it to airport i'm about to go i was like randy's on my flight she was like oh you're good randy orton's there what's gonna happen what could possibly happen we're gonna mess with you randy orton's there that's great i'm like he's a different like i i guess technically uh me and randy orton are both men yeah it's a our life like we could do like if there was a movie about us being switched bodies it would both be like you know that remember that little dicky chris brown skit for you friday i would be like i don't know what to do with this much body he'd be like oh what what am i i'm weak and flabby and pathetic bro we are he's a beast yeah randy um i'll go randy so uh so obviously you're not going to give anything away right but but you know your style the bounciness if you will and certainly lends itself to the royal rumble for sure and and it does seem like the chatter there's chatter about like does javon become the new young kofi in the rumble how much without giving anything away like time thought or energy have you put into what you might be able to doing a match like this.

30:38No, I for sure have thought about it, you know, and thought about the different opportunities I may run into, you know, with the different situations. But honestly, man, I just want to be the, you know, the new Javon. You know what I mean? I don't want to shout out to OG, Kofi, you know what I mean? But I don't want to follow in his footsteps. You know, he had his own career and had his own moments. And if I want to recreate those moments, I won't recreate those moments. But, you know, I try to one up those moments. You know what I mean? But I just want to, you know, I just want to, you know, be the new Javon.

31:19You know, this is my first Rumble. So hopefully there's more to come in the future. So, yeah, let's just see what happens. Let's see what happens. It's a great way of putting it. And, you know, every time you say it's your first Rumble, it must just be. I mean, you're 21. Yeah. Turned 22 in April. Turned 22 in April. April 29th. Yo, it's crazy. So you'll be 21 at WrestleMania, too? Yeah, I will. And so the era that you grew up on is like the early 2010s? Yeah, yeah. I grew up on Sheamus, Triple H. Punk? yeah punk yeah cena randy uh cody um yeah you're so young you made it into the era that you grew up on but not the same but like they're all still here yeah yeah yeah facts i'm literally my co-workers are people that i grew up watching yeah like a lot of them it's like yeah and so you started training at what like uh 13 13 years old yes sir and how did you first end up in training Who took you to training?

32:30What was the plan? How'd that happen? Basically, I found out from one of my brothers because he was training at the time. And I was probably 12 at this time. And he was training. And, of course, I was just always into it. So he brought me to the school in Firestar Pro Wrestling. And I saw LeBron Cozon. And we were just chatting and talking it up. And he was like, yeah, I'll train you at 15. I was like, all right, cool. you know three years that's cool i can wait a little three years that is forever yeah facts facts but i was gonna count those three years down you know what i mean um and then uh i found out that my best friend jackson drake was training what was his name at the time uh it was just jack yeah just jack and then um you know he was training and i found out so i went back to the school and at the time we was both 13 and Cozy was like, all right, I'll train you, but here's a waiver and I'm just going to let you know.

33:34This hurts, okay? This is not a game. This is a real sport. And I looked at my pops and I looked back and I was like, all right, sign me up. And ever since then, it's just been going crazy from there. So how far ahead was Jackson being in there? Just a short... I think maybe like a year, a year ahead. Okay. Yeah. And you guys had been friends from school? So we met through wrestling because once I found out that he was training, I wanted to meet him. And then we met. And then since day one, it's just been, you know, that's been my dog. And so how many times could you guess that you and him have done something together in the ring?

34:22Oh, man. Is it countable or no? Oh, probably not. Probably not. Because we used to be a tag team when we were younger. So, you know, we had a lot of tag team matches. We've had a lot of singles matches. Way, way more singles matches, honestly. Dang. You guys had a match in AEW together, right? Yeah, we was a tag team. We had a little six-man. So when that happened, did you guys – was that just a tryout? what was that that was um that was uh aw dark so they were so that so i because i don't really know how it works when people do one-off like darks like that yeah so they just bring you in and like hey we want to have you work this match yes it's like doing any sort of one-off it's not any yeah yeah basically it's just um just basically something to showcase uh people that they're looking at you know at the time and um how nervous were you for just that like that had to feel like at the time now we're sitting here you're about to be in the royal rumble yeah but at the time this is now just a few years it was like three years ago yeah just about i'm guessing an aw dark was the biggest thing you could have ever dreamed about yeah for sure for sure um i know like they they wouldn't let me do anything until i turned 18 so i knew my first goal was like hey like wwe's probably not going to pick me up because i'm so young so i just want to get signed as long as i can get signed to a company at 18 years old as soon as you can possibly be pro yeah yeah yeah so So AEW was those opportunities that, you know, I accepted to be like, yo, let's see.

35:55You know what I mean? Like, let's get my name out there so I can get something. Sorry, I'm sorry. Did it go well? It went well. You know, they didn't pick me up. But it was, you know, opportunities that I took. It took advantage of? Yeah. Is that the correct? Okay, all right. I was about to say took for granted, but now I'm like, no, that's the wrong one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the wrong one. Wrong one. But yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. And then how much later after that do you end up getting signed here? Maybe. Those happened when I was 18. I got signed when I was 19. So probably like, yeah, probably like a year.

36:32A year. Maybe like eight or nine months. And you tried out? For WWE. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you remember who else was trying out when you tried out? Me, Lucky Ali, Brogan Finley, Matty Groskowski. I know I said her last name wrong, but Prince Sinclair.

36:56Jasmine, I can't remember her last name. And then a couple others. So needless to say, it has moved very fast for you. Oh, yeah. Everyone's past. At what point and what trainer at NXT was it who was like, let you know kind of early on that there was something special going on with you when this was going to move? Oh, Sean, for sure. Sean was the person that believed in me. I want to say, I would say the most, for sure. Because, you know, I was, you know, smaller at the time. So nobody was really, they know I could wrestle. But, you know, they just wanted, most of the coaches wanted me to put on some more pounds before they wanted to actually sign me.

37:42And then Sean was like, nah, like, let's get him right now. You know, so I really am thankful for Sean because Sean saw that light or that thing in me. And then honestly, maybe, no, Terry Taylor, he also told me like, hey, you're going to be a star. Just don't do nothing wrong and listen to me. And I'm like, all right. What do you think they saw? Was it, because you do have, you know, jump off the page kind of freakish athleticism, right? Like there's just no way to like, you know, there are only so many people who come along that when you're watching TV, you go, whoa, you know, this is crazy.

38:20Someone who kids immediately gravitate towards because of that. Was it the in-ring athleticism that you think they first noticed? Maybe. Honestly, dog, I just, you know, I just try to be myself, man. You know what I mean? I just try to see what I can do, you know, and I just allow my characteristics and my energy, you know, how I portray myself just flow through that. You feel me? So, like, they probably saw that. they probably saw my energy you know because your vibe is always like this yeah from every time i see you this seems to be you all the time for sure most definitely how do you did you did you always naturally have just a kind of upbeat happy demeanor yeah for sure i think um before i got signed i was like i was still having fun but i was taking it a little more seriously because you know i had goals that i wanted to accomplish at um at a certain you know certain age but like now that know what I'm saying bro it's like why be mad bro like I'm working my dream job bro you know I mean I don't let nothing really bother me for real like I'm just here to have fun and you know be the best wrestler ever do people that's all yeah that's it and by the way I mean at your age and where you're at like these aren't crazy things to dream of yeah that's what that's the key to getting after something early is that you go oh i have a chance now to do really really special things you know what i mean and like i was i pursued my career really young early um i'm gonna make myself depressed and i feel like i really oh no more failure no no no but it turned out good but it turned out good i ended up making it to where i dreamed of getting to But I feel like it only happened because when I was literally your age, I first got on a big radio station at the time in D.C.

40:15When I was 21, I got on the radio in D.C. I'm like, oh, I'm 21. All of my peers are still, they don't even know what they're interested in yet. And I'm already on the path. It feels like when you know what you want to do and you're making moves early, to me, I can liken it to, I don't know if you ever liked this in school. But I always like, like, I didn't, I barely did homework. I would always try to do homework in school. Like they would pass out the assignments and like, while the teacher's talking, I'm just sitting there trying to get the work done before I go home. Right. Because I'm like, I'm not a badass.

40:46I'm not going to not just do, I'm not going to not do my homework. Yeah. I just want to get it done as quickly as seemingly possible. Right. It gets on point for whatever the next thing is. So you put yourself in that situation now, you know, where you have an opportunity. But invariably, the way this business goes, there will be ebbs and flows. And like there's going to be moments where I'm sure like this weekend you get to have a big moment and everything type, blah, blah, blah. And then there could be a moment Mania could come around and things are going great. But we don't have something for you at Mania.

41:16Exactly. How do you mentally prepare yourself and you for when those things happen and you're like, hey, for a few weeks, I'm just sitting and catering. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. some cold cuts how do you prepare for moments like that which basically invariably happy to happen to everyone yeah yeah yeah um honestly dog i feel like that you can't really prepare yourself for it until you're just in that situation you know like you can mentally prepare yourself but you don't know how it truly feels until you're in catering in cold cuts you've been in catering for you know a couple weeks now you was just on tv fighting for the world championship you know i mean like you just never know uh so i can't really say that have you ever had a slowdown in nxt were there any slowdown periods for you or was it kind of go the whole time not really it was just go the whole time um when i broke my jaw that with ethan uh that was the only time honestly in my wrestling career uh that i've like taken a break from wrestling wow so that was that was like very how long were you out with that uh probably like three four months i think oh no probably like two or three months and and how how painful was the broken jaw oh it was it was od like it was crazy uh i wasn't really expecting it to be that painful what did it happen on again uh you know so i was trying to help ethan i was trying to you know some high spirits and he took that as disrespect so he attacked me and then uh he put my head in like a chair and he stepped on the chair by how the chair was positioned uh like the the not the foldable part but the the part you lean on that was like right around my mouth so when he stepped on it went straight into my jaw did you immediately know oops that's not how that's supposed to go oh for sure for sure i've never felt that type of pain before so when it happened you know i all that mad me i was okay like something's wrong you know uh but that was like my first real injury.

43:20Did it have to get wired? Yes, it did. Oh, you went full Kanye. Oh, yeah. Through the wire. Through the wire, dog. Through the wire. What was that experience like? It was trash, dog. It was so horrible. Then I had to go to North Carolina and see my family and see my baby sister and my mom. And I can't really eat. You know what I mean? I can't really talk to them because my freaking jaw is wired, dog. So it was horrible. and generally painful too the pain the pain lasts with that one for a while yeah yeah yeah for sure and then um then the doctor cleared me to wrestle but i don't know it was it was just me being uh mad and emotional at the time so i kind of i wouldn't say i forced him to clear me but it was just like bro like i'm good i i need to come back you know i mean and he was like all right well i let you come back but you just can't get hit in the jaw right well i was gonna say it does have to be the kind of thing that you have some level of control over protecting it yeah yeah it's not it's not a foot situation yeah me like yeah your jaw you can kind of avoid hopefully having any sort of thing happen to it yeah for sure like you can but um there was there was times where like i wasn't supposed to be at the pc and they had a show and i was just so frustrated it like i just put up to the pc and saw ethan and started you know trying to rock his world and then he'll punch me in the jaw and it's like dang now i gotta restart the whole process you know right i just i just do that whole time i i for sure let my emotions speak for myself um which was just a bad idea that's a good thing to learn early yeah yeah yeah but you know it paid off you know i got my payback i got the dub i'm straight there you go you know how did you see like the look on his face when it happened did he know right away it happened uh i think i'm pretty sure that was his intention uh maybe his maybe his intent was to wrap it around my neck and then just luckily boom boom you know it hit my jaw and he was you know either way he was smiling you know i took that very just that's terrible guy yeah as you should yeah yeah yeah um so you you you're 21 years old.

45:35Royal Rumble is right now. What do you have on the next what's the next thing on the ledger? You know, you're a Raw superstar now, so you had that moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Man, I'm not really sure. We got the Rumble. Of course, I want to win the Rumble. I think if I win, I'll be the youngest to win the Royal Rumble. I'm pretty sure. I think because I don't think Randy didn't win it that young. Yeah, no. My guess is you'd be the youngest to ever win the Rumble. So I feel like that would be a crazy accomplishment. Of course, you know, Main Event WrestleMania. I've never been in Elimination Chamber.

46:13I think that's like the next big show that we're going to do. That's right. Chirac, you know? So I think that would be fire. But, you know, I have so much time to accomplish all these things. It's like I think patience is my biggest enemy right now. I'm just so excited, you know, ready to do any and everything. and it's like, hey, you know, we got time, bro. You're 21. Chill. I'm not trying to hear that. How much do your friends and family, and of course we're talking to Javon Evans here, GP Live Pro Wrestling Nation 24-7, the Rosenberg Riyadh Royal Rumble spectacular as we get you ready for tomorrow.

46:53Do your friends and family understand the wrestling business? How much, like, are your parents into it? Do you have to explain? Do they speak the lingo? How much do the people around you in your life get what you do? My parents, they've always watched wrestling. They're my biggest supporters. So, you know, I don't tell them everything. But the things I do tell them, you know, I tell them about, like, oh, if I'm hurt or, you know, this is what Shawn Michaels just told me. You know, stuff like that. I never really go into detail unless I just need them to understand what I'm saying. You're working your family is what you're saying.

47:33Oh, yeah. This is real to me. I don't tell him nothing. You don't say anything to anyone. Has it been crazy to see people? Listen, you're 21 years old. So you're not that far removed from actually. I'm thinking about all the people you knew back in the day. For the people you knew back in the day, it was like yesterday. Yeah, just about. Are you hearing from people from middle school and high school? Were people surprised or is everyone always known because you were on it so young that it was sort of a matter of time for you? So I think there's some people that are surprised and some people that aren't because going back to the school conversation, I never did my homework.

48:12You know, I never, I didn't do my homework. I didn't do nothing. I was just telling my students, not my students, but I was telling my teachers that I was going to be signed and I was going to wrestle for WWE. So all I needed to know was how to count money and read contracts. Yeah. That was your line that you had back in the, oh yeah. So I didn't do none of my work, but I was telling everybody that. I was telling my friends. I was telling my family. Of course, my family was like, hey, bro, still do your work. My friends were like, hey, yeah, yeah, you know what I mean? Do you, bro. You feel me?

48:43Were you doing athletic stuff at that time? Oh, yeah. So what were your sports as a kid? Bro, I was doing basketball and track. So I would have basketball practice or track practice, and then after that I would go and have wrestling practice. And then even on show days, like I would have track meets and AAU tournaments on show days. So that morning I would have my basketball game or have my track meet. And then right after the track meet, I would drive to my wrestling show. I have somebody pick me up. How nice were you at the other sports? Oh, good. You were always nice. Oh, for sure. What were your events in track?

49:19For sure. High jump, four by one. Not really a four by two because I didn't really, you know what I mean? Then the corners. Corners would kill me. You like the corners. yeah quarters nah quarters will tear my legs up man um i'm trying to think also uh oh and then the 100 so straight down was the high jump your best yeah i mean that was that doesn't take a rocket scientist to imagine you would have you know you know something that you do that thing well but but so the athleticism was always there and as a kid all your friends thought of you as being a crazy athlete yeah for sure like i'm guessing you were just jumping like did it start very young Like when you were little, little, you were jumping all over the place and your parents were like, this kid's crazy?

50:00Yeah, yeah. I was jumping off the couch and all. I would get in trouble for doing stuff like that. And I had like stuffed animals and I would wrestle with them like every day. It actually got to a point to where my mom, she wouldn't take anything from me but my stuffed animals so I couldn't wrestle with them. She took away your opponents? Yeah. That's crazy. You know, I was heartbroken. What were your best moves that you could imitate as a kid? Man, I was doing whatever. How was your RKO as a kid? It was smooth. I didn't really commit to falling down all the way. So I would catch my heels first, then it goes to the ground.

50:36But I think honestly, maybe a swanton bomb. That was my go-to. That's how you know that you are a freak. Because that is literally the move that I see. And I'm like, I don't know how these guys dive head first. How in your brain was it ever like, I can dive head first towards the ground. I do not understand. Like, that's to me, and, like, both you and your best friend, Jackson has the same thing. Like, he doesn't have the freakish ups you have, but he is willing to do whatever. Oh, for sure, yeah. And I don't get how y 'all have that built in. I don't know if, right, Jack, man, he can do it. He actually got me into, like, the half-line game.

51:12Really? Yeah, he's crazy. He told us he's down to do basically anything. Yeah, he's crazy. Like, I'm okay. You know, I'll still be like, ugh, I don't know about that. Jackson would do whatever, bro. You think one day Javon Evans, Jackson, Drake, WrestleMania. Do you see this happening? For sure. I'm not going to retire until that happens. That would be the package. The package leading up to that match going back to when y 'all were literally... That's going to be insane, bro. The only thing I can think of is Hardy Boys. When you think about the age. What they could show of how young you guys were.

51:49It would be so... crazy bro yeah it's gonna happen bro it's gonna happen i have full faith in it now listen i don't want to say anything crazy here but we all know we're here on pro wrestling 24 7 come on everyone listening is a huge wrestling fan who reads and listens to everything obviously there's been lots of like oh my god is jericho gonna come back at the raw blah blah if you heard that countdown music yeah would you be freaking out like just like a fan in the crowd probably honestly i'll probably I don't know. So honestly, I'm either going to hear it and just be in the middle of the ring and just see if I ain't going to blows with him.

52:31Should I just be in the middle of the ring and see... How crazy would that be? It would be insane, bro. Insane. So I've never met him, but like I said, growing up, watching him. That's your era, bro. Exactly. It would be insane. I don't know, bro. It is such a treat getting to know you. I appreciate the audience getting the chance to get to know you too, man. Congrats on everything. Thank you. Take it all in. Move as slow as you can. Enjoy it. And I'll see you on the play at home. I look forward to it. You already know. I appreciate you, dog. Thank you. Javon Evans. More GP next right here. There are 29 men that think they are ready for the Royal Rumble, but yet there is only one snake that is absolutely sure what he's got to do.

53:14You see, I see a lot of men sweating. Not me. I'm cold, brother. ice water running through the veins you see Rick Martell I know what I gotta do like a surgeon brother I will cut my way through those 29 men to get to you well the Rosenberg Riyadh Royal Rumble spectacular continues that's four hours wow and you heard the music you know who's here your boys at least they were your boys this is the thing when we do these interviews now people always have something to say and it's not normally positive when i listen to podcasts or i watch tv shows and there's a guest the guest usually gets a fantastic intro the guest usually gets respect there's no negative tone in the voice of the host when they're introducing the guest so why does that continue to happen for us i'm gonna i think you're right and i'm gonna try it again you're better than that run it back ladies and gentlemen i i bring to you one of the most decorated sorry hold on sorry so let's cut you off right there let's leave the one of out because we're objectively the greatest of all time not most decorated yes yeah who who is it the hardy more decorative the hardys yes who how many title range do they have not 13 not come on man but they've been other places they've done a lot of stuff you're supposed to do the research of the people that you're interviewing on your show bro why are you asking us we work at wwe this is the greatest companies why would i care that you won a title at a company that's not the best i don't care congratulations you won a county fair tag team title i don't care wow i'm gonna do it again yeah do it again ladies and gentlemen simply the greatest tag team of all time kofi kingston xavier woods the new day there we go i would prefer that you use objectively instead of simply because we are not simple no we're not but that That's about probably as good as you're going to get.

55:07Let's keep it moving. I'm not capable of doing better. Maybe 15 years ago you could have, but you've been on a downfall. It's been a long slide. I'll be honest, from where I was at the top. Like Titus coming out of the ring. Speaking of which, it is Royal Rumble. That was the greatest. That was the greatest. You see what I said? You see what I said? That was the greatest Royal Rumble. Yeah. Here we are, Royal Rumble in Riyadh. At this point, so I just talked to Javon Evans. Ooh, I'm sorry. Yeah. No, he's a nice kid. He is? I think you guys would like him. Yeah, yeah. You see, he hasn't come to pay his respects yet, so I don't know.

55:44Yeah, he hasn't introduced himself. He hasn't said anything to you guys, no. Nothing of merit. Nothing of significance, no. What do you expect from, like, a young talent these days when they come up to the main roster? Probably a gift. Yeah, a gift. What kind of gift? Get creative. Surprise us. We don't want to tell you exactly what to do, and then you just do it. You know, they used to bring Taker, like Jack, you know. A bottle of Jack. A bottle of Jack, something like that. When you think about it, we are the equivalent of Taker to the roster right now, you know. Longevity-wise, accolades-wise.

56:17Legendary status. Work rate-wise. Work rate-wise. Status-wise. I mean, you know, the list goes on. It's funny that you just, that you mentioned your work rate, because before we started the interview, we were talking about your guy's work rate. And how high it is. And how high is it? Because you're working all the time. I mean, you're just in there. You're in there. You're running around. You're bumping. You're doing it all. How are you guys having – is this the most fun? Is it – where does this era rank for you guys in terms of enjoyment in the wrestling business?

56:52You think they're being pensive. If you're listening, guys, pensive thought. Yeah. It's hard to say. It's hard to say. because we've had a lot of fun so much we've had so much fun like to even like to rank it i mean i don't know to like think well i have more fun here and i we're just having fun all the time but for me in particular i think like this right now is one of if not my favorite time period especially winning the tag team titles at wrestlemania uh i've been on both sides you know winning a title at mania when everyone wanted you to win and winning a title at mania when no one wanted you to win and when no one wants you to do it and you just and you do it and you look at everyone's face and they're just pissed off and they're just you know they're disgruntled this isn't what i wanted and they can't do anything about it no and here we are you know what i mean like that it's it's a hell of a feeling it's lovely that's that's that's the word for it it's lovely this era of the new day it's just it's something that i've wanted for a real long time something that i've wanted do you want it the most oh i did you were the most on the this would be fun oh yeah okay oh yeah for a long time there's specifically there's there's been many moments where i've tried to go this route uh just rogue you're like i'm gonna just say something yeah you hear someone booing he's booing he's booing you can tell i heard that one guy over there he's booing why did you why did you want it you just thought there'd be another layer to get I knew.

58:26I knew. I know how I feel. And I know what I want to do.

58:34And I think that's what you can do to produce as a performer. I heard this thing and it was if you squeeze an orange, what comes out? Orange juice. Because that's what's inside it, right? Right. Somebody says something crossed to you, something mean, it's essentially squeezing you. What comes out? That anger, that rage. But when you're bouncing around in bright colors and unicorns and all this stuff, even if they say something across to you, here comes something that's not actually in you coming out. Right. Now I get to let out years, decades of all that that's been inside. That's a great way of putting it.

59:12And it feels amazing. I cannot express to you the joy that swells from my soul. I can't even find my heart from my soul, from my lower intestine up to my lungs. Your loins even? My loins. The cockles of my loins. When we're overseas and there's a little four-year-old girl who's being held by her mother because she can't see over the barricade. And she's weeping. Face blushed red, crying tears of anguish and sadness. because of us wow there's nothing we did that there's no better feeling on the planet than a child that upset that they are weeping because of your work oh that means you did your job better than anyone could ever do it we are going to do everything that we can to bring back what wrestling is supposed to be there are supposed to be guardrails broken there are supposed to be riots happening there are supposed to be trash being thrown in the ring old school wcw style That's what we're going for.

1:00:15Is that when you hear those stories, you know, like JBL loves to tell the stories of, you know, him and Eddie having matches and he thought he wasn't going to get out of Puerto Rico or Mexico alive. You know, when that's not like, yes, that kind of stuff that gets you going. And it always has. You wanted to live that old school life. But here you go. Here's some happiness for you. Here's some inspiration for you. How hard is it too? Cause like I've talked almost everyone I've ever talked to here. Once they've had a taste of both, always would prefer to be on the bad side of things on account of how hard it is to find a way to make people love you over and over again when you can't really be cutting you know yeah you can't i mean how funny how funny is anyone in the world you know and by the way i can i can translate this because i make everything about myself i sometimes feel bad that i'm a heel in life and i'm like why do people see me as a heel like i'm not a heel but i realize if you're if you try to be professionally funny in front of a microphone you're never the nicest guy all the time no there have to be jokes at someone's expense at some point and day after day to be that good guy it must be i remember like i think you know becky this is becky's favorite i mean she she was struggling a couple years ago when she was that becky it seemed like it had just taken a toll of like how do i keep going um it must be just challenging and do you feel a different level is there a pressure removed from you when you get to be bad because the goal is to boo.

1:02:00In other words, when you're a good guy, do the boos kind of hurt? You're a good guy. People are supposed to cheer you. So is there a certain level of when you get the boos, like, oh man, these people actually don't like my work? I don't know if it hurts. I think sometimes it's aggravating because I think a lot of people will boo and give their opinions without realizing what we have to go through to give you what we gave you. You don't know what it was that we were supposed to deliver to you and the fighting that we had to do to get what you got. And there's sometimes a lack of appreciation of, it's like if you're a chef in a kitchen and you make this wonderful, fantastic meal, but you only had three ingredients to do it, and somebody takes a bite and says, and they give me give me some i don't want this give me something else you know oh this food sucks you'd be a little like perturbed i don't like i don't want to say like hurts you know what i'm saying but it's annoying but it's like sometimes you want people to appreciate the work but we also know fully that like if you're not in this world like you can't there's just no you don't have all the the facts you don't have all you know what i'm saying like all everything that went into it.

1:03:20You can't possibly know, even if you do appreciate what is being presented to you, you can't possibly appreciate it to the full extent because you don't know like what went into it, you know? So there's that aspect. And I think like in this job, you know, this profession, we're supposed to move people emotionally, good, bad, indifferent, whatever. Well, not indifferent because that would be not. That's what you don't want. But, you know, you don't want indifference, right? So when we go out there and people are crying, it is like a feather in the cap to us because that's what we're supposed to do.

1:03:52We're supposed to make you move you emotionally in a way that you feel something and that you remember what it was that you felt. You might not like the way that you're feeling now, but in the grand story of things, you know what I mean? Like you put all of those emotions together and really kind of like take you on a ride between us and our opponents. On the flip side though, Woods, like if people cheer you when you're supposed to be booed. Does that bother you at all? Or is it the opposite? You see it as an appreciation No. It's a different thing because if you're cheering by the time we come out by the time we get up to you, you're not cheering anymore.

1:04:30I fully believe we are very good at what it is that we do. And you will make sure that they're not cheering you anymore? 100%. I have not had a situation yet where that has happened. I can hit the right insult. I can tell you that you should have put more makeup on before you left the house. I can tell you that, of course, those are your kids because they're hideous just like you. I can tell you, of course, I don't come to your job while you're flipping burgers and tell you to put the fries in the bag. I can tell you that the reason you are on that side of the barricade is because you will never, ever be what I am.

1:04:58You will never be as good as I am. I don't care. I will find something and I will make sure that you do not leave this building liking me. Who is your favorite? Do you have a favorite all time at having that ability to say the things that would make an audience hate them?

1:05:21Probably the Dudley Boys. Yeah. Old school ECW civic center type arena Dudley Boys. Because that's when there were no, it wasn't about sponsorships. It wasn't about shareholders. It wasn't about anything except for wrestling and like that true passion. And Bubba and Devon would come out there. Big Dick Dudley, Spike Dudley. We had Joel Gerdner and they would grab you by the neck with their words and make you want them dead in the streets. That, that is, is the, is the energy that I need from these crowds that Kofi needs from these crowds. Because then when somebody else comes out and you're, Hey, here's your good guy.

1:06:01Now you love him. now you really want to see that fight. But without that energy, now we're watching a show. Now we're watching Game of Thrones, watching a TV show. I don't want you to watch a TV show. I want you to have a full experience. And I think that's the mentality that people have when they come in and they're like, oh, I'm going to go and cheer for all the bad guys. You know, you go up north, you go to Philly or whatever, and people think that they're cool and they want to cheer for all the bad guys. We just, where were we the other day? Was it Toronto? Toronto, yeah. Someone had like a big thank God for the New Day sign.

1:06:30And we saw it both. he got to the sign before I did. Is that like a race? As soon as we come out, we kind of like take a little lay of the land and look down the aisle and we see this dude and he's so happy that he's like, oh, I'm going to come to the show. I'm going to cheer for the new day. Beautiful sign. Put a lot of work into it. Great penmanship. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, it took the time. We see it. And I look for one second to the other direction. I look over. Wood is already there. He's grabbed the sign out of the guy's hand. Now he's in the hard can and ripping it up. And the guy's like, why would you do that?

1:07:00Why would you do that? I came out supporting you. You know what I'm saying? And that's exactly what he's talking about when we're like, you might cheer us on the way in, but on the way out, like the team is here. The team is here. You know what I'm saying? Like you, you can't sit here. You know what I'm saying? Like, so it's, you know, being able to go to work with your day one, man. Like being able to, you know, have your best friend by your side and you know that it's you and him. You know what I'm saying? Like that, that's, that's it. you know that's that's the greatest feeling for us to be able to go out there and again make people react emotionally based on the stuff that we are doing you know so it's yeah but here's let me ask you a question though one of the things everyone always says in in wrestling is that their character is their their regular their real personality just turned up to 11.

1:07:49yeah yeah um you guys I don't think anyone respectfully would, particularly Kofi. I mean, I've never had a cross moment with Woods ever in my life. But Kofi, I mean, Kofi is like our truth levels of beloved. Everyone. Nicest guy ever. And yet, it completely works. I would not describe this character as your guy's normal personality turned up to a guy. So people have said that. Is it an inverted person? No, because you have been getting what we have been giving you. That is how good we are at this. That's how you break it down. Well, I just don't see this happening. Of course you don't. Because you don't understand what this really is.

1:08:35You are a fan of this. So you watch the show. You can critique the show, whatever you want. That's all well and good. But at the end of the day, you don't know what this really is. And so if you think you know somebody, you have this what parasocial relationship. Is that the phrasing for parasocial relationship? I believe that sounds like a word. I don't know. But people know what I mean. Yeah. So you think, oh, because I've seen Kofi for this long and he's been such a good guy. This is what he's showing you. Now we get a chance to show you a different side of ourselves. We get a chance to show you how we really feel about a lot of things that we didn't have the chance to tell you before.

1:09:09But if you really break down wrestling like you would humanity, I believe, for a fact, atoms make up everything. Atoms have a vibration. My skin, my body. So my body is working at a certain vibration. How I feel, my emotions, my brain chemistry, all a certain vibration. The more authentic I am, the higher level I'm vibrating at. And that's going to bring things to me. That's going to repel things from me. What is it going to repel? People that are not authentic. so you don't like this because you know that this is real you know that you can't handle this and you know that you're yours you yourself are not authentic are you talking to me specifically however you take that however you take that you know and so when we come out with that energy and people want to ha ha ha ha and then they realize oh no this is not a game now this this this damn near 80 year old woman is trying to jump the rail she's taking swipes at us that's what i need from you i need you to let out i need you to have a cathartic moment because you are holding that in every day that you get up, you sit in traffic, you go to work, you hold all that inside.

1:10:12You don't realize this. We're doing you a favor by allowing you the space to feel these things that you have held back your entire life because you want to fit in with the system. You want to fit into society. You want to be accepted by everybody. Why? Be yourself. And that's what we give to people. They think that we are the bad guys. No, we're showing you the way. This is an inspiring moment for me. This makes me rethink how I've been approaching everything. Let me ask you a question. Speaking of people, this is a tough one. This is a tough one. What did you guys who have been doing such a marvelous job over the last whatever year and change it's been, what did you guys think of John Cena's step into a different version of himself?

1:10:57What, him being angry? Angry John, if you were. I loved it. Did you, did, did you just give me your full thoughts on it? You loved it, Cove? I, I, yeah, man, I loved it because, um, you know, number one, and this is going back to like people appreciating things. The level of performer that John is, is such, I've been doodling over here. I've been doodling over here. I don't know if you can see it. I'm taking it and framing it. That is beautiful. And it's not done. It is not. All right. That is a beautiful piece of art. One breast assist? Well, this was his belly. We're going to work on it. I said it's not done.

1:11:37I said it's not done. It's not a breast yet. It might be a breast. It might not be a breast. I don't know. But again, just speaking to the level of performer that John is and how much he loves his fan base, you know, he obviously gives, he's always given them everything, right? Like his time and, you know, all these memorable moments. And everybody always wanted to see what it would feel like if he were to be the bad guy. And so, again, going back to what you were saying about like, you know, this isn't him or what these feelings and all the words that he said were obviously things that he felt deeply inside, but he couldn't let them out, you know.

1:12:15So for him to have that cathartic moment to be able to take four months, whatever, and say all the things that he's wanted to say to people, I loved it. I loved that he was able to do that. I loved and, again, appreciated the fact that he was willing to sacrifice what his character was perceived as to give these people what they want. They wanted to see that. So the interesting part is, and I want to get your thoughts, was my criticism of it was I just wanted like even more. Like I didn't want jorts. Like I sort of wanted to see if there was a full other side. You know, at times to me it felt like.

1:12:55But now as you're saying it, maybe in some ways it was the ultimate dickhead thing to do. Of course. To not even give us what we really wanted. And that's what he said. Is that how you took it? I don't know if I really saw it that deep because all of this is so much more about what we're saying or what we're feeling. Yes, the total package of, oh, you want a complete personality chain. So get new music, get new hair, get new gear, all this stuff. He did get new hair. He did get new hair. He's always getting new hair.

1:13:32But you know what I mean? So it's more that feeling. And I think that it is a stark contrast to see visually that guy that we love, the make-a-wish guy and the stand-up guy and never give up guy. But what you hear, what you're feeling is totally different. So I think that there's a cool thing there with like the cognitive dissonance almost of what I'm seeing is not matching up to what I'm hearing. Now I'm even more taken aback. Right. So you could see it like that. But again, you could see it how you're seeing it. That's the great thing about wrestling is it's all subjective. There's no objective thing in wrestling except the fact that we're objectively the greatest tag team of all time.

1:14:03Correct. how do you think this run would have been if biggie was still running around with you guys i honestly believe and he won't say this but i believe that he's got some demons i believe that he would have had a fantastic time running around letting his frustrations out but he is still do you know the allegory of the cave i don't so let's say we're all in shackles we're staring at a blank wall and the light comes down and we see triangles. We see circles. We see just these shapes, right? Me and Kof break out. Boom. We get up to the top. We go out of the cave. Now we see that it's the sunlight projecting down.

1:14:47And that triangle that we saw is a tree. That circle we saw is a rock. We went down and we tried to tell E, hey, there's real life up here. You're living in the matrix. He said, no, no, I'm good. I'm good where I'm at. I'm comfortable here. we are experiencing the world as it actually is i think that you would have enjoyed that but he made his choice and that's fine if he were to ever change his mind and say he's now seen the light as you might put it and wanted to get out on the road with you guys and maybe help you from a you know managerial corner support sort of standpoint if he if you felt like he'd really gotten to that place is that something that would intrigue you guys i don't think we need a manager You know what I mean?

1:15:30I don't think we need a manager. I don't really like to deal with the speculation and hypotheticals. You know what I'm saying? We are very much in the now right now. So, I don't know. It's kind of cool to speculate, I guess. I don't really. But you guys feel complete right now. Oh. Yeah. We won the titles at Mania. It's pretty good. We've never done that before. We did that with this greatest version of the New Day, Speed Force. And when people told us that, oh, you guys are nothing. without this is moving the goalposts man you guys are you guys can't win anything without you you'll never win another championship again we did it that's what i'm saying man like when people are casting doubt on you and you go out and you prove everyone wrong and they can't say anything to you so they start insulting you you know the juvenile insults they can't bring fat to arguments like that's when you know you got them you know what i'm saying like you've won they can't do anything about it that's i just i don't know man i love that we have more with the new day kofi kingston Xavier Woods.

1:16:25It's the Rosenberg Riyadh Royal Rumble. Spectacular. We're spending this hour with the New Day. Hang tight. More coming up next right here on Cheap Heat Live, Pro Wrestling Nation 24-7. I've managed to get myself into the dressing room of Ric Flair for this Coliseum video exclusive. Tell me, Mr. Flair, how did you fare in the Royal Rumble draw? Lord Alfred, I drew number three. To a lot of people out there, they'd say, my God, what a disadvantage you're going at. But look at it like this. Your name is Ric Flair. when you're the claimant to the real world heavyweight championship you know that to make everybody a believer that i've got to beat 29 other men so i'm going to number three that means i'll be in there close to an hour it makes no difference when i walk out i will be the world wrestling federation champion against all odds and that's the bottom line that is the bottom line from flair so now back to the ringside welcome back to cheap heat live pro wrestling nation 24 7 we are still here with the new day royal rumble is tomorrow are you guys declared for the rumble we have yet to declare for the royal rumble we are here in saudi arabia we are here in riyadh um you're not at smackdown right now because you're here with me of course so of course so you're so you're here for a reason i presume i guess we'll find out what that what that looks like you'll have to see um kofi so obviously you in the rumble is a thing um and i asked javon evans about you know because a lot of a lot of the nerds in in my in my world are like oh is javon evans going to be the next guy who has a really special rumble moments because he's got that incredible athleticism that you you brought to the game you said that very well i think so you said that so incredibly i want to commend you on how you said that it was i i worked hard to try to get through it the right way and i appreciate your appreciation so at what point was there ever a moment where the kofi kingston royal rumble spot became like an albatross like a i assume it just came about organically yeah and at what point if at any point was like uh royal rumbles coming up what am i gonna do well i'll tell you what man so uh as far as it coming up organically it didn't i stole it i stole the moment from uh john morrison and i always give him credit because you know he ended up getting knocked off the barricade and you know spider-man spider-monkeyed all the way across the underrated underrated freak athlete oh for sure crazy athletes yeah super underrated and he makes it look so easy that you don't appreciate what he's doing this is what it's about appreciation today yeah that's the thing but he did it and then the next year he wasn't with the company anymore so i was like oh man like i'll do something you know what i'm saying and you know ended up doing the handstand with miz pushing my feet and then making it and then um yeah the next year uh people were like oh what you going to do this here?

1:19:31Oh, I got another idea, you know? And I never like put pressure on myself to come up with something. I just said, if at any point in time, like an idea doesn't come, then that'll be it, you know? So yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say like, again, like I just, I don't know. I didn't feel pressure to have to come up with something. I mean, obviously there's a couple of ideas that I tried that didn't work. But again, that is the nature of what we do, right? Would you have nerves about trying the thing? No. It didn't weigh on you. No, no, no, no, no. Because I always imagine that if you know, the amazing thing about this sport is it's live.

1:20:14If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. And with very rare exceptions, you can't cover it up and try to find a way to make it work. It's it, you're out. But you don't get nervous about that? No, so I think there was a point in time in my career where I would get nervous, like match-wise, you know, you're kind of breathing heavy and sweating. Like, I don't, for better or for worse, I don't have that anymore, you know? The nerves I get now are excitement to deliver what we're going to do, you know? And I think it's just like a level of supreme confidence, you know what I'm saying? That we're going to go out there and we're going to kill it.

1:20:48That's the expectation. That's the manifestation. That's the mentality that we have when we go out every single night, you know? And if something doesn't go according to quote unquote plan, then something else will happen. And to me, that's where it gets fun, right? That's where you see how good you are. That's where you see like, okay, things are off the rails right now. Hey, what? There's been several times that people will never know that things are off the rails. And we're just like, oh, here we go. You know what I'm talking about. We go, okay, what's going to happen? And then we get back on the same page.

1:21:15And then we're getting this is awesome chance. Like, bro, you don't even know like what was what we what we had going on here and how we just got out of it and brought it back. so i like that is that is that the essence of the art in writing that's right we live oh my god not saying that we want to go out and like mess up the thing yeah but when it happens it's like oh hell yeah that's so interesting because at one point in your career so like so i've been wrestling 22 years and at some point you you feel very comfortable out there i'll never say that you you know everything you're learning every day and if you feel like you know everything hang them up because like now you're not here to to do the thing anymore to to evolve your art but at one point you do get comfortable and i feel like we've been wrestling together long enough like i know what he's going to do he knows what i'm going to do and so then when there's an opportunity for us to have a new experience that's what turns us up yeah and and there's no feeling like it because now we're in a situation where the possibility to fail is there and overcoming that is what excites me about wrestling.

1:22:20It excites me about being in front of a crowd of 10 ,000 people, 60 ,000 people, and things are off the rails. What are you talking about? This is on Netflix. Let's go. Because you said something interesting, Kofi, you said you don't get nerves for better, for worse. And I think everyone who's in performance art can relate to that because usually the thing you do every day, that part goes away. And then when you get thrown into something different is when you start to feel the nerves. It's frankly why I get way more butterflies doing this job than my radio job because I only come and do this once a month.

1:22:55So it's like, oh, here I go. Whereas at radio, I might have a huge day where something happened. I'm not feeling, you're just doing what you do. Yeah. And I think, yeah, going back to like the iteration of us now to get the opportunity to have this attitude and to be able to say whatever we want to whoever we want. Very exciting because we could have been new day, you know, happy, clappy. We know we can go out and get the crowd and have everyone have a good time because we're having a good time. Very easy, kind of monotonous. You know what I'm saying? Like after a while, it's like, ah, we feel like we need to kind of change it up.

1:23:30Like, do you guys how blessed that is though? You guys were so successful at being good guys and it continued for so long that you got bored of it like you realize how crazy that is most people don't ever get over they just never get over and then they're gone and then they're like and then they do something else you guys just were continuously over like can we stop being over you know one of the coolest things too and especially you know being alongside him is that like we have this attitude that we we're never satisfied with what we have and you know we talked about it ad nauseum as far as like his journey to get to wwe and me like kind of being there at different points and like watching him like keep on grinding and finding a different way to like kick the door down oh i can't where the door's not open i'm gonna go through the window i'm coming through the chimney i'm getting in this house you know what i'm saying i'm getting mine you know what i'm saying so to see and now to be like alongside of him like and to see like after all these years that we still have that same mentality when we approach what we do it When we feel like we're getting bored of something, we just change it up and find a way to make it interesting for us.

1:24:41And by doing that, it makes it interesting for the people that are watching it. You know what I'm saying? So ambition, I guess. And you bringing that up, reminding me of Wood's journey. It must be crazy for you, thinking back to Consequences Creed and your whole previous life. the opportunity that tna people are now getting must be so insane to you i still can't believe aj styles is in wwe i'm right there with you bro right now so what does that make you feel as like as a guy who was part of tna when the idea of it being connected to wwe made no sense it was impossible in fact you were worried is me being here going to prohibit me from going to wwe i'm So not to be pompous, but I'm the first success story.

1:25:30From TNA? To WWE, yeah. I'm the first one. Who else? Was there anyone else before who wasn't? So I'll say I'm the first long-term success story. So what did he go by here? Brayden. Brayden Walker. Yeah, Brayden Walker came over. Loki came over. But I'm the first one to find like long-term success from TNA. You're pre-Samoa Joe? Yeah. You're pre-AJ? Pre-Bobby. Wow. Pre-Pedee Williams. pre every TNA talent. So if you really want to break it down, I'm the one who came over and washed the stink off. I'm the one who came over and said, TNA is a viable place. We have great talent. We have great homegrown talent because I think that TNA roster at that time is one of the best.

1:26:16I would put that roster against any roster in the history of wrestling. Wow. Some of the best matches, some of the best wrestlers on the planet. So many legends were there. So many. It was crazy. When you really think about it, it was crazy. It's a shame that we had that A and B sort of way of looking at things then. And they didn't get it. I don't know if it was the Six Sider Ring at times or being the channel it was on. I don't know what it was. I don't know. You're right. It was incredible. It was so good. So at one point, Tanahashi came through. And he was just part of the X Division. So I was just wrestling Tanahashi for months.

1:26:45And like, what? Having these awesome matches, building this great friendship. And so being able to make the jump from TNA to WWE, very scary. But then the fact that I was able to like get my, get my claws in and do something successful. Well, let's also be honest. I'm going to, let's say something and get rich. I mean, get paid. Yeah. You got paid. How many contracts have you gotten here now? A few. You got a few contracts and made it to the era where the contracts went up and where you guys, because you know, you were so bored being popular. They just had to bring the bag. The bag was delivered.

1:27:20I mean, there's one for wrestling. There's one for, for YouTube, you know, So multi-contractor. It could not have worked out better, essentially. But the thing is, it was going to work out that way because that's the way that we forced it to happen. You really did. I really do believe that things happen in the way that they're supposed to. But you're going to be presented with opportunities based on where you put yourself, how hard you work, the people that you put yourself around. It's not just working hard. It's working hard and putting yourself around other people with that same mentality. It's working hard and making sure that you are in the rooms that you need to be in.

1:27:52And if you feel like you're the smartest person in the room, get out, find a new room. Always, always be working, you know? And so the fact that I get to be alongside Kofi, somebody who I watched when I was little. Sorry. As a baby. No, no, no. As a child. Infant. I think, so when I was born. Now we're the same age. When I was born, I was watching him and Dolph really just. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Early days. I remember that. But he was from Jamaica. Yeah, yeah. He was from Jamaica. It's crazy how time works. Some people don't believe in time. And it's just, now you've caught up and now we're the same age.

1:28:21It's crazy, bro. It's FaceTime. That's what it is. We've unlocked the key. No, but in all seriousness, being able to be on a team with somebody who I admire so much, like Kofi, who I, you know, he's like a big brother to me. Just not even just wrestling, but like life advice and how to carry myself as a man. You know, I learned a lot from him. So the knowing that he was there seeing me try to like break into this WWE house from time to time to time, being told, hey, you know what? You got to be so different from Kofi because for lack of a better term, I'd say it how it's like to me, like we already got one.

1:28:51you can't you can't be that because people are going to see you they're going to think kofi because wrestling is stereotypical are you going to do like the big sos no but just it's essentially at first glance people are going to look at you and think kofi so you got to be different right so i remember being at some some dinner or something and it was the first time that i was really talking to kofi and uh very short conversation because i was like oh i can't be seen with him because somebody in the office is going to see that they're going to be like oh we can't have two of the same kind of guy and i was i was terrified of that and then realized we By the way, just going back that period of time, the amount of just people of color on the roster, specifically black men, was much less than it is now.

1:29:30Like you immediately, and we know how wrestling is. Yes. People end up together. It's on how it seems all the time. Yeah. Okay. Story on that. The way I debuted in TNA, it was truth with Pac-Man Jones. Pac-Man Jones couldn't wrestle because of the NFL, so they just needed a guy. I was brought in. And AJ brought me in and I got to wrestle for the tag team titles on Bound for Glory, which is their WrestleMania sight unseen. They just trust me. That was your first, that was your. That was my first televised match. I'm in college. I was Javon. You were tagging with Truth? Yes. Against AJ and Tomko for the TNA tag team titles.

1:30:02I debuted as a TNA tag team champion. No contract. I did not know that was how you debuted. That's how I debuted. That's a wild story. They do their entrance. I come out with my Apollo Creed stuff on like, hey, I'm here to you guys. Fast forward. I get released from TNA. I think it back. I understand why people didn't always take TNA seriously. Yeah, yeah. We debuted. I vowed for glory for the tag titles. It was insane. Match was awesome. Then the next day, I was at my 8 a.m. biopsychology class. That is crazy. I'm a senior in college at that point. You were in school in Orlando? I was in school in Greenville, South Carolina, at Furman University, the Harvard of the South.

1:30:33I've never heard that. Then fast forward, I debuted in WWE. How? As Truth's random friend again. Because why wouldn't I? right of course why you couldn't have been friends with anyone else of course not just he's the only person that i talked to in wrestling obviously right yeah you guys interested the exact same everything about you everything also a rapper yeah clearly all the same stuff right just at first glance so it's a it's a blessing that i'd made it this far somehow with the debut like that um i forgot what we're talking about oh kofi being great so So being able to be alongside somebody like this, it's a humbling experience for me.

1:31:14But then knowing that he's locked in with me and sees in me what I see in myself makes me more confident. And now the group is aligned. And now we can set our sights on whatever it is that we want. It's like it's laser focused. Like these people, nobody is safe when we are coming to the ring. And it feels so good. And we've been told it's like that we're like old school heels. That's what it feels like. Yeah. I've been at the shows at the Garden, and I see the – like, the Garden's a very – a really great judgment place. Yeah. And I'm always there, like, every year. I mean, how many years did you guys do the Christmas show at the Garden?

1:31:53You know, you guys know. And that feeling of, like, the non-televised MSG show will really give you an idea of where things are. Like, you're seeing there's nothing – there's no spice around it. It's just how do the people react to the individual talent. Yeah. And the first time I saw you guys at the Garden Post, I was like, oh, I think I have video of it. I was like, oh, my God, they're really booing them. I really couldn't believe it. It must have been so satisfying. It is, man. And it's different. So, you know, when we had the first iteration of New Day, when we came out as like the preachers or whatever, and people were like, oh, this is cool.

1:32:25Wait a minute. No, it's not. And they started like booing us. I think it was like, play along, boo. You know what I mean? Oh, these are the bad guys. We're going to boo. But like now it just feels different. you know like there's so much hatred and vitriol and and just you it just feels different let me ask you a tough question yeah you think if vince was around you guys still would have been able to do this and do you think he would have if you'd gotten the chance do you think he would have ended up liking this and been into it it's tough to say because you never knew what he was gonna like and when he was gonna like it and that was you know like the day the beautiful thing about you know working for him is that every day was you know just you had no idea what was gonna happen the toxicity of the relationship.

1:33:06He loves it. He hates it. I don't know. No clue. You must have experienced that a lot on the road to Kofi mania. To be honest, the road to Kofi mania, coming out of my mouth when I say Kofi mania, it really makes me actually nauseous. I don't like saying it. To me, it was perfect. It was the one time I feel like, so side convo or whatever side thought. Like, we're all perfectionists. So even when something goes off without a hitch and everyone sees that we have a good match, there's a lot of little things that we, like, want to nitpick and make it better, you know, or leading up to it. Well, we wanted to say this, but they wouldn't let us say this.

1:33:49We wouldn't be here unless we had that level of wanting to have everything be perfect. But I think leading up to it, like, leading up to Kofi Mania was perfect. It was the one time, like, we came into work and we're like, hey we want to do this i think this would be great if we did it this way oh yeah let's do it this way oh maybe we tweak it and do this and everyone was on the same page so for like four months the booking to the point where i'm like something has got something is up man and this has been specifically saying yes to everything too and be like i like this is a good idea because he was in the story yeah yeah yeah for sure he was very very much on board with everything um but but everybody you know what i mean and uh you know even like working with the props guys you know like the things that they were able to provide with us.

1:34:30Like they come up to us with ideas. And it was like this really - What an unsung group of people who do think you know. Everybody in the back. Yeah. Everybody in the back. So unsung and so important. Yeah. But it felt like everybody was coming together. That's why I always say like, you know, it was me out there like winning the title and me in the match, but it was all of us. You know what I mean? Like it was all of us. It was me, you know, Woods, E, my family was in the crowd, you know, my kids, all the sacrifices that they've had to endure and they got to be in the ring and feel like, hey, man, this is why I'm not here that often.

1:35:02You know, this is what I this is what I've been doing. You know, people who who had suffered or struggled or had been told that they weren't going to be anything, you know, saying like if you stuck with your guns and you believed in yourself, you kept on pushing. This is the result. You know what I mean? Like how perfect do you think Brian was the perfect person for the moment? No one could have been more perfect for the moment. And then even like Because you all are actually kind of the same. But he was the bad version. It was the reboot, except this is like the different dimension. What would have happened?

1:35:35And now he's the bad guy. Right. You know, and he was the perfect opponent. And, you know, a lot of times, too, like I know he had a lot to do with, like, convincing the higher ups to go that route. And he'll never admit that. He's not that kind of guy. You know what I mean? Like he's not, he's never wanted any kind of like credit for it or anything, but without him, the whole thing doesn't happen. Everything was perfect behind the scenes. Like, you know what I mean? In the ring, leading up to it, the promos, them having to fight for me to get in. That was what the new day was all about fighting for your brother, you know?

1:36:10So that's the way it had to be, you know, coming, just everything was so perfect. When that debut SmackDown happened on Fox and you lost the title in like five seconds. Eight seconds. I knew you were going to try to shortchange me. I just knew you were going to try to shortchange me. You know what I'm saying? Almost double what you said. Eight seconds. Thank you, sir. Five seconds. Come on, bro. Three is like you think it took me two seconds to get up on Brock's shoulder. You did at least three for the count. No, I didn't. your math bro aren't you a journalist yeah like you get paid well to do this job that's exactly what i'm talking about that's what i'm talking about okay i'm sorry so you you heard i'm sure the audience's response to that yeah um where were you at with it like did you already feel satisfied like was it so you had it already all kind of been what you wanted and whatever was gravy or were you like i would love if it didn't wasn't eight seconds on no no no no that's not what I wanted.

1:37:14Did you want to lose the title? We don't get paid by the hour. Can I get in and get out of there? I want to go see some friends over here after the show. It wasn't my choice. We're going to Fogo the job. No, obviously, man. And again, taking it all the way back to what we said in the beginning, people will never understand what we have to go through to give you what you saw on TV. So to me, and I've never told this story, but it was a very weird day. And leading up to it, obviously, like this when I was told, like, this is kind of what was going to happen. There was a lot of many different ways that are alternatives to it.

1:37:52But again, at the end of the day, like this, we we present what we're supposed to present and what we're asked to do. That's our job. You know, this is this is what we want. This is the direction that we're going. How can we deliver? And we take a lot of pride in being able to deliver what we are given. You know what I'm saying? Again, going back to the chef thing, being able to cook up the meal with only the two ingredients. We're going to give you a five course meal. How are we going to do that? I don't know. But we figure it out. Did you and Brock talk about it at all? Do you remember Brock's feelings on it?

1:38:24Everyone's in the same situation. It's like, hey, that's what they're doing. We're given a task to complete. And it's our job as performers to complete that task. Did it make you feel good to see the fans' response to it? Were you able to take in that people were like, people took that loss seriously. They really were unhappy about it. Yeah. You know, it's yeah, I'm glad that people care. I hate this. It's a long story now. I really want to hear. I'm glad if people didn't care, there would have been a problem, right? That maybe like I didn't do my job the right way. I would have maybe questioned some things.

1:38:57But yeah, it felt good that people cared about the way that things were executed, right? And you overall look back on the whole story in a happy way. Of course. And that didn't tarnish the whole overall thing. Dude, how many people, so there's the term I'm living my dream, you know, living my childhood dream is, it's like a stereotypical term that's thrown out. But for me, like, this is all I've ever wanted to do. You know what I mean? Like, when I was a little kid and I would tell people that I was going to be a WWE superstar when I only weighed, like, you know, 98 pounds in high school having to gain weight to wrestle 103.

1:39:33You know what I'm saying? Like, bro, you know what I'm saying? Eating whatever I want, fast metabolism. You're never going to be a WWE superstar because you're not 6 '8". You know, oh, look at your chicken legs. Oh, look at your weird-shaped-looking head. You can't be on TV. You know what I'm saying? Like, somehow, like, I defied all those odds, and here I am. I made it to the tippy top. I just had my 18-year anniversary of my debut on TV. I've been with the company almost 20 years. It'll be 20 years in September, counting developmental contract, which is crazy to me, you know? and this is uh if i would have listened to all those people that told me that i couldn't do it i'd still be in a cubicle being miserable you know what i mean like a lot of you really you guys both have really literally lived the dream yeah man yeah yeah it could not have been better for the new day i mean it's been incredible when you when you really look at it so i one of my best friends on this earth is tyler breeze and so i always say is it's like as new day like you guys have had possibly like, not possibly, you've had some of the best possible careers that a professional wrestler could have.

1:40:36It's like, it's a crazy thing to think about because I think Kofi and I's stories are very similar as far as like people saying you're too small, you can't do it, all of these things. But when you really take a look at it, we have had these decades, decades long careers. We have been able to travel around the world doing the thing that we love, achieving a dream that a lot of people in this life will literally only dream of. And so I don't know what else you could really ask for. You know, of course we have ambition and we always want more and we want to be at the tippy top no matter what. But the fact that we get to do what we get to do is insane in the first place.

1:41:19In a few years, this is not happening, you know, so try to cherish every moment. And that is exactly why when that theme music hits, you are getting every bit of energy that we have. You are getting all of it. We are not walking to the ring staring at our opponent solely and saying, I'm just going to beat the crap out of you doing that. But I'm also looking at you as a 10-year-old kid. Your dad worked all week to buy these tickets for this show. He got them for your birthday. And Cody Rhodes came out. He signed your sign. And you had a great time. That's Cody's job. It's our job to give you the equal and exact opposite reaction.

1:41:52You're sitting in the front row. You're catching these hands. And you better put that Cody Rhodes sign behind the barricade. It doesn't matter if he's signing him. If it comes across the barricade, that's yours. All right, last thing. Is there one, you guys are such vets. We are. And you know you've wrestled with everyone. Is there like a consensus person in both of your minds that you know you both think is the best person, other than you two, the best person to work with in this locker room? Oh, man. It'll be the easiest. Like, you know, you see their name on a live show. You go, oh, nothing.

1:42:28Usos. Yeah, Usos. Easy. Easy. Like, do you guys have, do you even, if you guys see your names, like, do you even need to have a conversation? Brief. Or does it just feel like straight up live freestyle performance art every time you do it? We could do either. There's, I mean, we've got such a history with them. And we, I think we wrestled them every weekend straight for like two, three years, maybe. So like there's just a chemistry that we don't have with other people. Obviously there's chemistry with other people, but it's not like that. Big shout out to you guys. Thank you so much. Shout out to Javon Evans.

1:43:03Appreciate you. SGG for the top of the show dip. We'll talk next week. Kelly, Emilio, I love you. We appreciate you. Enjoy the countdown show coming up tomorrow, 12 noon Eastern time. Then of course the Royal Rumble. We have great coverage here all day long on Pro Wrestling Nation 24-7. And, of course, you can watch the post-show with myself, Jackie Redman, and Big E. But also, 6 p.m. Eastern time, Busted Open After Dark with Dave and Tommy, breaking down the whole rumble. It's going to be a great weekend. Hope you enjoy today's show. We'll talk to you on the other side.