Best of WrestleMania 42 Part 1: UNTOLD History of the Samoan Bloodline's WWE Dynasty, CM Punk's most HATED sports teams AND opponents

21:33But also I think wrestling is this. Sometimes the athletes sometimes then you'll find a diamond in the room. Can't just like hey she was a really good athlete so we're gonna find another really good athlete it don't

21:46Shannon Sharpe:doesn't work that way how much time how much time do you spend on your character because it's hard for me to believe that you're i mean you're the what he can say everybody's still he's a rolex wearing limousine ride jet flying son of a gun he spilled more liquor he's here probably spilling liquor over it. Wait, I don't know if I was allowed to say that. Dad, I love you. But I'm saying, I mean, the guys in the rock and stone cold, the way. But you know what I get jealous about? All they have to do is walk out in a little pair of Speedos and I have to like have these like diamonds and bedazzle in their robes.

22:25They have it so easy. Right. Other than my dad and his suits.

22:28Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. That sometimes I'm like, take that suit off and go home. But he had the role with the nature boy. When he came to the ring, he was a mess. But the hair, the hair was... He's still holding on to it. But the hair didn't move for the first five minutes of the fight. Then all of a sudden, it was all over the place. But how much time do you... Because that's a part of it. Like, you know, we were just talking to Jacob. And I said, people just see the destination, but let's see the journey. there are a lot of things that go into it before you ever step foot in the ring there is do people realize that do you think people realize that or understand that or they think you just showed up and you're going to wrestle in that thing I think they think that they I don't want to get no like what you invest in your personal brand your character is your personal brand what you invest in that moment is what you're going to get back.

23:32Right. So what I've invested in Charlotte is why she's the 14-time women's champion. I don't take a day off. Does that make sense?

23:40Shannon Sharpe:It does make sense. Yeah, like you have to come up with everything. Like how you are, I mean, you don't get to come up with a storyline. I mean, you can give advice. That's right. But like what you are presenting to the world is what, that's your vision. Right. Does that make sense? It makes sense, yeah. Absolutely. You just don't become great in the ring. Greatness, when you look at anybody that's been great, professional athlete or anything, there's a process. But you just can't, like, I think the ones that really do become the greats is because they never stop the process. No. They're always, like, hungry for something.

24:16You know what? I like that you just said that. When it comes to the creative side, when it comes to the storyline, how much control or input do you have in that? I mean, you have a little bit of input. but they usually know where they want to go. Yeah.

24:31Shannon Sharpe:Ocho and I, we do nightcap and we talk about it. You know, greatness is really boring. It's monotonous. Yes, yes. Because it's doing something over and over. And I'm trying to get better, but I'm doing the same thing over and over. Routine is boring, but that's what separates you. People don't realize that. Those that can do it, they don't. They don't. They don't. Because people, I like, I can't eat the same thing or I can't go to the same place. but greatness is boring because you're training you're putting in you're working on that craft to be better it is it is so monotonous you have to fall in love with the process yeah i'm in like

25:08the you have to love the monotony yes yes but that's the hard part for a lot of people aren't i think so it is that's the hard part having to do the same thing over and over it is boring in general it is and unless you want to be great and understand the sacrifice that it takes to be great you have to love doing the same thing over and over and over till you get to a point where you don't make the same mistakes but not even that like for me i've been in this for so like i say so long but it just feels like as a woman because like this is a whole nother topic but like men don't reach their prime till they're 40 in the business i feel like where it's like a different standards so i really hope that like i feel like i'm just i'm forever in my prime um but

26:01it's the not relying on what you've done in the business you have to continue to move forward to stay with the because there's the company's ever evolving storylines are ever changing you have to evolve you have to evolve.

26:16Shannon Sharpe:Okay. I see. That's another thing. Yes. Like you have to pay attention to that too. Right. Cause you can't be like, and I probably was guilty of this a couple of years ago. Cause I was like so scared to change the robes or the gear or whatever. And those are minimal things, but like, I can't rely on the fact that like, Hey, I did 32, 33, 34, 135, like main event at 35, done 37. Like you can't rely on like that. Cool. That's a great resume. But like, If you want your resume to continue and make like. What do we say, Ocho? Update your resume. Every time. Update your resume. You got to. And people don't understand that.

26:49Shannon Sharpe:Like, well, I understand what he did, but that was last year. What about right now? Well, like if someone last year was like, oh, we're going to put you in a tag team and you're going to go into Mania in a tag team, I'm going to be like, no, I'm not. I'm not a tag team wrestler. I'm an individual player. That added to my resume. It's going to add to my career. And it only added to the stock of Charlotte Flair with Alexa Bliss. Yes. like some you have to update it whether you can't be like you have to be don't get me wrong it was so hard like my my stylist is over here when he was like you got to change this you got not in the good like update right because you get like because as an individual you look at a certain way but now you got a partner so it's kind of like y 'all kind of need to blend i mean no we're like we're super popular because we're the odd couple like she's goth i'm i'm you're not goth no no no don't know so like we're just completely different how did how did that how does that work so because i asked lash and and naya i was like and she's like you know sometimes as you get a little older you've been in this business a while they'll they'll allow you to they'll allow you to pick but for most time and not they're like we think you guys would be great together how did this oh no this was hard to get us together yeah she was pitching oh she was so i had just lost wrestle mania last year yes and they didn't know what to do with my kid like it was kind of like we didn't know what to do i or creative didn't know whatever right and she kept pitching like hey i want a story with charlotte flair i want a story with charlotte because we'd had history in the past but not like long-term storytelling but because we had real moments in our personal lives together right when she first started and i first started she was going to use that as part of the story where like she was bullied a lot like yeah there was some bullying going on when she first started and not that we were close but she'd be like hey i knew charlotte was there whatever like respect because we'd always kept the respect yes so she was going to use that to tie into the story for us to end up turning on each other to get back to those stories because we were always against each other but it ended up working better together because we were so different so where like i could kind of take the piss out of charlotte being so arrogant and then like her character calming that like the dynamic was funny but also like you said when naya said tag teams sometimes you use tag teams to like lift up the other opponent where like she's a lexi's a stud in her own right i'm a stud in my own so then you see two not having to where they're just like, okay.

29:23Does that?

29:24Shannon Sharpe:Yes. But the thing is, as long as you're still a part of the story, is when they stop making stories about you is that when you need to worry. And they're still creating stories. Oh, I'm not. I know. They're still creating stories about you. And like you said, you're a standalone, but you're a great partner also. I love the part. It's been fun. 14-time Women's World champ, Charlotte Flair. Charlotte, thank you so much. Thanks.

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33:29Shannon Sharpe:He's a seven-time world champion and WWE champion for 434 days from 2011 to 2013. a two-time Money in the Bank winner, one-time world champ, many appearances. He's seven. He's three and four with seven appearances. WrestleMania 42, heavyweight title match against the tribal Roman Reigns. Yes, sir. Ooh, that's a lot. It's good to see you, gentlemen. How are we doing today? Beautiful. Doing amazing. How are you doing? I've never been better. Never been better? No, never. Wow. I got my belt. My wife's here. Okay. Main event of WrestleMania. Right. Some people say blessed. I just say I'm fortunate.

34:07I'm overflowing with gratitude. I'm still in there. Stoked to be here trying to get this microphone to work. You guys can hear me okay? I'm just going to leave it right there.

34:14Shannon Sharpe:All right, great. 42 against Roman Reigns. Yeah. I mean, bro, you were the champ way back when. You were a seven-time world champ, WWE champion. What is this opportunity? What does this mean for CM Punk? I'm the kind of captain of the ship right now. Okay. You know, and anytime you're in there with a star of the caliber of Roman Reigns, it's a proving ground. I don't know if he would admit the same, but it's the same thing. This is iron sharpens iron. I'm the current measuring stick. He's been that in the past. So you really kind of can't wait to see who comes out on top and what happens. And I can't wait to see either.

34:57You know, like I'm looking forward to this. This is going to be fun.

35:00Shannon Sharpe:Go ahead. You got one more. I'm looking at you and look I don't bring up because my other guys say he ain't really fond of you, you know Seth he ain't really fond of you so we're not gonna bring up that, I mean what if they'd put you two guys in a Wrestlemania 42 against each other? I mean kind of the same thing, I don't think Roman likes me either you know so who likes you? This ain't the friend business. This is the wrestling business. Pardon my language. I don't give a shit who likes me. You know what I mean? I go in there to do my job. This is what it is. When you lined up, did you care who was friends with you on the other side?

35:41Absolutely not. And you might have had friends on another team. But hey. You didn't particularly care about friends on your own team. Let alone for about another damn team. We didn't win games. When that whistle blows and you're in between those lines, friend or not, family or not, I don't like you. You either apologize before or after.

35:59Shannon Sharpe:Right. Sometimes both. Yeah. Does this feel like validation or unfinished business? To me, just getting here is validation. Right. You know, it's playing in the Super Bowl. You know, like, oh, I have to, as a human being and as a man, take the moment to stop and smell those flowers. Yes. Look around and go, man, I'm here. Like, I'm here talking to you two guys. It's cool. There's levels. And the fact that I've been in the game this long and I'm still climbing ladders and I'm still reaching new heights and different levels. It's all new experiences to me. And it's one big adventure and I'm enjoying the ride.

36:42When you talk about those ladders, you talk about those heights and what you've accomplished so far. Has it been everything you thought it would be before you even started? Because we all have a vision. We all have goals that we set out to do when we try to achieve anything in our respective crafts. in this craft of wrestling has it been everything you thought it would be? It's everything and more plus way more hard work you gotta be prepared to run through a wall on a daily basis and oh you're not gonna sleep and you're gonna fly to another country and then you're gonna hit the ground running and do media and then you're wrestling and then you're on a bus I mean everything about it is difficult but to me it just makes it that much more worth it you know like it makes it sounds really really corny i'm supposed to sit up here and say you know something brother i'm gonna walk in there and i'm gonna knock down the walls and i'm gonna poke them in the eye and i'm gonna but this all just makes i mean so look at this right here yes wwe 2k 26 i'm gonna cover the video game for the second time right i am so fortunate to be afforded these what are what amount to once in a lifetime opportunities right And I've got to do them numerous times.

37:53It's like I'm living more than one life. I'm just overflowing with the gratitude. Like, guy across the ring from me hates me. He wants to talk trash about me. I love it. I'm in the pocket. Like, you cannot rattle me. This is all fun for me. Like, even getting punched in the face, even getting powerbombed through a table, waking up the next morning and not rebounding like I did when I was 26 years old. I love it. I'm like, this is exactly where I need to be, on top. What keeps you motivated after everything you just named, after reading your accolades and your resume, to date, being on the cover?

38:34Yeah. Two times. Yeah. What still gets you up and keeps you motivated to keep going? I think it's I'm partially crazy. I'll always say there's there there's talent here but this is far less about the talent it's about the obsession I've been obsessed with this since I was a little kid and that has carried me through and now I find myself in a position where probably more than half the men and women on the crew on a daily basis say hey we grew up watching you and to me as corny as it sounds, maybe I feel like I have a responsibility to kind of not tell them what to do, but to show them. And I'm not always right.

39:22And some people don't like me. I got a big mouth, but to lead by example, that's something that motivates me. The fans motivate me. They carry me through. It's like a wave. I'm a surfer. I'm just riding the wave. Like there's so many things that still motivate me. I, the fact that I'm 47, I want to get up. I've never, I've never been 47 in X amount of days. I want to be the best 47 in X amount of days I can be. When I turn 48, like who's done it at this level at 48? Okay, well, that's the bar I set. I need to get there.

39:54Shannon Sharpe:I've talked to a lot of wrestlers, and I've talked to a lot of wrestlers, and they always said it was the one my grandfather or my uncle took me to a match, and I said, that's what I want to do. When did that light go on? When did that switch flip for you do you say you know what that's what I want to do you know I think I watched wrestling on accident probably for the first time and it was because it was on network television I think I was trying to sneak staying up late and the only thing on tv with Saturday night was Saturday night live right and then one day it wasn't on what what the hell is this and I'm watching Saturday night's main event you know and I I think just watching how big that was and the spectacle of it all and really it's the first time i ever saw anything like that and it really just kind of captivated me and then i turned it on the next week and it wasn't on and i was like what well how do i get more of that where do i find that and i had to kind of search it out pre-internet pre-google you know it was a different world back then yeah you know i i attribute it to a lot like how i discovered punk rock i heard i heard the ramones or the clash for the first time and i was just like, man, what is this?

41:05This is so great. I need more of this. And then you get into it and you read the lyrics and you read the liner notes and you see they thank this band. And then you go out to a record store and you, and like, that's all gone now. So I discovered it on accident and man, look at me now.

41:22Shannon Sharpe:Rank these in a list that you hate most or least. You got the Packers, the Cardinals the Red Wings Seth Rollins Roman Reigns this is hard I feel like most of my life I have known about the existence of the Packers and the Red Wings and the Cardinals thankfully for a much shorter amount of time I have known about the existence of a Roman Reigns and a Seth Rollins but man that hate burns bright the hate burns bright um i i gotta say red wings number one with a bullet okay because i'm not putting uh roman or seth at number one on anything just cause you know what i mean like yeah i'll say they're a distant four and five they can share a spot together because they're both goofs of equal proportion uh cardinals number two packers number three okay yeah how did you do you did uh did uh vince or did they give you that name because you say you had a love of punk rock you like the ramones and so i understand cm punk so how did you come up with the name cm punk so when i went and got trained i was wrestling in the backyard i was 15 years old i was cm punk okay okay that's always been your that's always been your time because punk was my nickname okay you know what i mean like i was a little punk kid You know, the older parents, you little punk.

42:54And to me, I was like, how is that insulting? I wore that like a badge. I was proud of that. But when it came time to, quote unquote, go pro, I find a training school, I get brought in the right way, broken in. And I'm trying to come up with a cool code name. You know what I mean? And my trainers looked at me and they're like, what are you doing? You're punk. Just be punk. And I was like, oh, okay. I thought maybe I had to kind of leave that behind. And then when I signed with WWE, I thought for sure, that's it. They're going to change it. Yeah, because we do that sometimes. We change people's names.

43:27And I thought I was going to be an astronaut or, you know what I'm saying? Like, I didn't know what they were going to do with me. And somehow I made it to television as CM Punk. Yeah. You know, like, I'm just fortunate that way, I suppose. As we get older, remember in our 20s, even in our early 30s, we're able to do something, whatever it may be, and do it back to back, back to back and get up. The body recovers right away. Yeah. As we get older in our 40s, the body doesn't respond the way it used to. Has retirement ever crossed your mind at any point? Or is that obsession for what you do in that craft still there where retirement is not even a thought at this point?

44:06No, look, I can't say that it hasn't crossed my mind. Right. Because, you know, I've had fans say, hey, we need you to dye your beard. Well, why? This is me, and I think I look good. Right. You know, like, this is it. Like, you know how long I have existed. You know how old I am. Yeah. I don't want to look like a guy trying to look younger. I don't want to have the shoe polish in my beard like Seth or Roman.

44:33Shannon Sharpe:I want the face and the hair to look like a guy that's 47 years old. Not a 27-year-old or a 35-year-old. Because what a shame would it be if I was 47 years old and then I wasn't covered in scars. That is not a life lived. This is it right here. You know, maybe this is because of stress. Maybe this is just something happens when you get 47. I don't know. It's crossed my mind, the retirement thing. But, you know, hey, knock on wood. I feel like I'm operating at a very high level still. I'm still telling the same stories. People still invested. People are going to be going crazy Sunday night. I'm in the main event.

45:09I got to be doing something right. Yes, sir. Why stop now? I also know it could end like that.

45:14Shannon Sharpe:Yes. So I'm not trying to plan anything. I just watched my friends AJ Styles and John Cena retire. So, yeah, it looms. It's on my mind, but not anytime soon. I like it. Roman Reigns has made it clear he doesn't respect your past or your comeback. Yeah. Damn. I can say, okay, you did leave for a little while, you come back. But, damn, he don't respect the past or the comeback. He don't respect nothing. I don't know what to tell you. Like, I get it. Like, I'd probably hate me, too. You know what I mean? He's upset that, you know, after being away, you come back and you got the title. You got the belt.

45:56Yeah.

45:57Shannon Sharpe:Like, nah, hell nah. Not supposed to happen. Right. Yeah. Well, I mean, he's got his opportunity to snatch it. Yeah. That's what it's about. It's just two guys who don't like each other. Going to get to punching each other in the face. I like it. So when you were away from the WWE for those two and a half years, what did you do? Oh, I did a whole bunch of stuff. I did some movies. I wrote comic books, fought in the UFC. I got married, focused on my marriage, my relationship, and my wife. You focused on you. I did. Yeah, I did whatever I wanted. It was great. I ate whatever I wanted. Right. You know?

46:31Shannon Sharpe:Is this life hard on a relationship because you travel so much? Bro, you're on the road 200, 250 days a year. I got married in 2014 after I left. Okay. You know? Yeah. That was by design, I'm assuming. It wasn't, it wasn't. Like, whether I stayed or I went, I was getting married. Okay. But I did always think this life is remarkably hard, especially for people who were married or had kids. I did the bulk of my career just single, not a care in the world, no responsibility to anybody else but the wrestlers on the crew. And I devoted my life to it. Again, it goes back to that obsession. Like I didn't have to split time or split focus.

47:16And the fruits of my labor were the success I got from that focus. But yeah, I left at the right time. I got married at the right time. Now my wife's back and we get to enjoy working together. And it's really been amazing.

47:31Shannon Sharpe:Do you notice a difference between when you were first here in the retirement and post-retirement? Do you notice anything different? Oh, I mean, the entire system's completely different. But I also feel I'm so different. I've grown up in a lot of ways. A lot of things that I would hold on to, you know, like if you're angry about something that happened in the past or you hold a grudge, you know, you're holding on to this hot coal. And after a while, seven years, you realize, like, what? I'm only hurting myself. Yeah. You know, it's one of those, one of the greatest quotes I've ever heard is, you know, people don't think about you as much as you think they do, you know?

48:12True. So just focus on you. Not really worried about other stuff, you know? And just kind of shed some baggage. That helped me be able to come back. Just let stuff go. Right. You know, I had problems with people. And to me, what it amounts to is bad communication on both sides. And then your pride gets in the way. Yeah. You know, and then so to be able to function here in this system now where we're working a lot less than we used to, which helps. But also just, you know, hey, if I got a problem with you, let's just talk about it. Let's have a conversation.

48:44Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. You going to troll? Because that was a nice little troll job you did. Which one? With Seth and Becky. For what? What do you mean? What did I do? What did I do? Everything. Everything. Okay. My man, my man. Appreciate everything you've been able to do. Thank you. Congratulations on the belt. I appreciate you. Definitely going to watch this match on Sunday. Good. I'm going to beat that ass. And have fun doing it and look good doing it. All right, thank you. Copenhagen's spit-free pouches are packed full of American-grown tobacco. Made for welders. Stuck behind masks. More mechanics. Stuck on a fused spark plug.

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51:58Shannon Sharpe:We'll get right back to the NBA, but we got a very special guest joining us. Please welcome a former two-time WWE Intercontinental champ. He's the current AAA Mega Champion, and he faces Finn Balor tomorrow. Here he is, Dominique Mysterio. Dominique, how you doing, bro? What up, Uncle Shannon? How are you? I'm good bro I'm good The first night Was unbelievable What was your favorite part About the first night Are you kidding me My favorite part Was my huarita Winning The women's World championship I mean did you Did you see that entrance Are you kidding me I did That was That was That was The entrance of tonight Was something special Absolutely Absolutely Not only was their entrance special But the whole night From start to finish Was absolutely incredible But But honestly, my favorite part was Lip Morgan.

52:46Absolutely. My bad. Dominic. Dominic. Not Dominic. You can call me whatever you want. At the end of the day, I know you're talking to Dirty Dom. Hey, D, can I call you DM? Can I say DM? I want to feel like we've been friends for high school, like we went to high school together. Of course. What do you feel like? What is that feeling like knowing you have a match coming up tomorrow? What are your feelings like? Like, I think when I think about, take it back to Uncle and I before a game, the nervousness, the butterflies in your stomach, trying to replay everything in your playbook that you went over throughout the week.

53:21What does it feel like the night before a big match like this? I'm going to be completely honest. And this is just how I feel personally. Yes, sir. I was born into this business. So to me, it's the same shit, different day. Yeah. So absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, I was born for this, man. To me, I don't let the pressure get to me. I know what I got to do when I get in there and at the end of the day I'm Dirty Dom so like I show out no matter what

53:47Shannon Sharpe:I like it I like it you mentioned the Judgment Day the new champion Liv Morgan she win and she beat Stephanie by pinfall I mean you know people are talking about man she can't win without interference what's really going on I mean what's that old saying if you ain't cheating you ain't trying right Hello. Right? Come on now. And at the end of the day, I mean, the Judgment Day has been around for a long time. You guys should know the playbook. They should know that we never roll by ourselves. We're a big family. So, you know, I let the girls handle business. And once Liv Morgan got it done, I went in there and celebrated with her.

54:25Shannon Sharpe:And she got carded to the locker room with a golf ball. Right. As she should. She's a princess. She don't need to walk after she just won the title. Are you kidding me? so where were you Dominic where were you watching the match so I was watching it they had me in like a little cause I was I was kind of ready to run in cause I knew she was gonna win no matter what so they had me in like this little tent hidden in the back so as soon as that 1, 2, 3 hit I just sprinted over through time keepers where they ring the bell I just snuck in through there

54:58Shannon Sharpe:the crowd is there a difference what's the big difference between AAA and the WWE Man, them Mexican fans are absolutely crazy. I mean, I'm a Mexican kid myself. You know, I grew up in San Diego, California. All my family is down in Tijuana, Mexico. So, like, for me, being able to go down there, it's a huge blessing, man. I never expected to be able to go down there. And then when the acquisition happened, I was like, game on, let's go. So, like, you know, the WWE fans here in the States, very respectful. they you know at the end of the day I get booed no matter what they're rowdy but man them Mexican crowds are different boy they threw pesos at me a couple months ago they busted my eye open damn we had Taker on yesterday and he was talking about the Nacho Libre down there with Triple A but he says it's a different style of wrestling you guys they're known for high flying and the acrobatics and the things that they do.

56:02Shannon Sharpe:And, you know, and Taker would say, look, the acrobatics, the athletic stuff is a breeze for them. He's like, we get this other part down, they're going to take over. Absolutely. I just think the athletic, like, I mean, those kids start training since they're seven, eight years old, bumping in the ring, doing flips and whatnot. So by the time, you know, they're TV ready at 18, 19, 20 years old, those kids are doing gymnastics and shit. I've never seen before. Like, I can't do that. I just sit there and I do one of these bad boys, you know? So what we saw Speed do, Speed jumps off, do a back, I mean, a salt on Logan on the table, and you see these guys do all this high-flying stuff, and that is so routine to them, because if you watch them, that's just like turning a carton on them.

56:54Yeah, it's second nature for them. That's why they call it lucha libre, because it's freestyle wrestling. You know, them boys do whatever they want, jumping off the ropes, tables. They go into the crowd and get crazy, throw beers at you. So it's a whole different world down there. Hey, DM, you said you were born for this. There's no amount of pressure before matches that gets you rattled. Are you superstitious? Do you have a specific routine before every match that you always follow no matter what? I'm not superstitious, but I'm definitely a little stitious. Yes. And I don't necessarily have a routine, man.

57:30I'm a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. So, like, I say a quick prayer. Make sure I'm safe. The Lord keeps me safe out there. Me and my opponent, make sure the crowd enjoys it. But I don't really have a routine. I just wet my hair, make sure the mustache looks good. We're moving.

57:51Shannon Sharpe:I like it. The neck tattoo. What inspired the neck tattoo? What does it represent? The representation behind the neck tattoo, it's basically the Aztec calendar all the way around. But what I switched up was the Aztec face right here in the middle. I put my uncle, Ray Mysterio Sr., his mask. So I'm a third-generation superstar. And my uncle, so this was his first original mask back in, I want to say the early 70s, maybe even late 60s. So this was just kind of me paying homage to him. And I also heard from a little birdie. I think it might have been my little sister. She told me that my dad, because I don't really talk to my dad that much.

58:36She told me that he was thinking about getting his necktap. And I said, I don't know. I said, fuck that. Let me beat him to it.

58:42Shannon Sharpe:Hey, how long? You got that in one sitting? How long? No, this was three sittings. Ooh. One. Man, that's it. Man, I'm hurt, man. I'm grabbing my neck. You're thinking about that, man. I'm having flashbacks just thinking about it. Oh, it hurt. It hurt. So it wasn't, like, too bad, like these areas, but, like, right in the Adam's apple. Yeah, Adam's apple. And then, like, the outline around the chin, like, right underneath the jawline. Let me get back. That was pretty brutal. Damn. But, uh, but, Harry, if you know, Dominic, a lot of guys now, they're saying they're going under anesthesia because what would normally take, you know, five, six sessions, guys are getting it done in one session.

59:29Shannon Sharpe:Would you do something like that? Or are you going to like, no, I need to go one, two, three, four sessions? Or would you get it all if you wanted to get a whole back or a sleeve or whatever the case may be? Would you do a single setting under anesthesia? I think so. My only – so, like, I'm 50-50 on this whole situation because there's a part of me where, you know, you like old school you feel like you got to earn your tattoos and sit through them but then also like there's that new school stuff that like one session whole back is done but again the issue with that for for me being a wrestler uh we have no days off so i can't just i can't just i can't just do like one session on my back and then go bump and wrestle three four days later you know No, that makes it, like, I remember I got this done on a Wednesday, and then I wrestled John Cena at TD Garden, like, four or five days later.

1:00:25So, like, that, I don't know if I could do that in one session, just fully kitted out.

1:00:35Shannon Sharpe:But your dad, he was denied the, how do you feel about your dad being denied the Intercontinental title? I mean, he's, it is what it is. I don't like talking about him His time is done He's a Man how can I put this politely There's a reason why They call me the greatest mystery of all time I'm 29 years old Multi time champion Done things he's never done Cover a paper magazine I mean he couldn't do any of that He wears a mask because he's ugly I'm a good looking dude

1:01:16Shannon Sharpe:I thought that was the family tree I thought that was the family tree No, it's just, they're ugly I got the good genes in the family But nah, he needs to go, man His time is up There's two Mysterios on the card Of Wrestlemania Sunday And only one Mysterio is going to be victorious That's all I got to say about that I like it, I like it what can we expect tomorrow with this match with Finn? I already know you said you're going to be victorious. I mean, at the end of the day, I've known Finn Balor for a long time. He was a mentor. When the whole situation with my dad happened, he was the dad that stepped up for me.

1:01:59So it's going to be hard to have to do what I have to do. But this is a demon we're talking about. This is a whole different version of Finn Balor. But what he doesn't know is that Dirty Dom got some demons himself. and he hasn't seen any of those so I'm going to bring all I can to the table and try to handle business for sure

1:02:18Shannon Sharpe:Dirty you always wanted to be a wrestler is that because like you said you're third generation and that's kind of been in your family, uncles is that the only thing that you've ever wanted to do? I don't think it's the only thing I wanted to do like I grew up you know playing football soccer stuff like that I always I love wrestling. Like my whole life growing up, I remember going to all the shows whenever they were in town, being out there. I mean, shit, I debuted when I was eight years old, you know, in a custody match for myself back in SummerSlam. So, like, it's kind of in my blood, you know.

1:02:53But I went to a small Christian high school. They had all the basic sports. They didn't have any wrestling. But I'm sure if, like, they had wrestling, I would have been, like, jumped right on that. Right, right. You know? And Pops never pushed it on me either. He was kind of lame about it. but I mean there's obviously you can tell why he didn't want me to join it because he's he's like this kid's gonna overshadow me less less than five years which I did so hey DM I you you played soccer growing up do you have a favorite soccer team I'm assuming you you you rep you so you mean you love your Mexican national team but do you have a favorite club outside yeah yeah so outside of it.

1:03:31I was like Liga MX. I'm a Club America kind of guy. That's my team. But overseas, man, my family's always been split between Real Madrid and Barcelona. So I like to go opposite. I went Atlético.

1:03:49Shannon Sharpe:Hey, I like it. Diego, see you? Yes, sir. Who's the most underrated luchador? Most underrated luchador? Man, I want to say, man, there's so many. But the first one that pops into my head is the Villanos. They were Villano Cuarto specifically. They were a family of four brothers called the Villanos down in Mexico. They came down to WCW, had a little run down there. But, man, he was so good. But he's one of those guys where you see his face, his forehead is all scarred up from all the crazy matches he's had throughout the years. So I would definitely say Villano Cuartos. I like it. So you take down Finn tomorrow night.

1:04:38Shannon Sharpe:What's next? Who do you want? Who does Dirty Dom want next? It all depends on how the flow goes tomorrow. Because my boy J.D. McDonough, who's also in the Judgment Day, he has a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. So I have high hopes for J.D. So if J.D. wins that, I'm going to leave the IC Championship alone. You know, we're going to let J.D. handle that. So if that's the case, I'm going to have to see where it goes with, you know, maybe the world championship or maybe me and JD can go and chase tag titles, maybe make him a double champion. You know, I still have my AAA mega championship as well.

1:05:16So we'll have to wait and see.

1:05:19Shannon Sharpe:Oh, yeah. Wow, that's awesome. Well, Dirty Dom, we wish you the best tomorrow, man. Thanks for joining us. We really, really appreciate that. our fans really they're really gotten into WWE as of late and anytime we can have superstars come on and talk to our chat we greatly greatly appreciate it so wish you the best of luck we're gonna say a prayer for you so you stay healthy also and good luck tomorrow and chase the championship thank you guys thank you guys for having me on man it was an honor good luck tomorrow Cardinal thank you Mr. Ocho Cinco gracias

1:05:52later boys see you later

1:05:58Shannon Sharpe:Joining us now, Jacob Artu. He defeated L.A. Knight last year at 41 for the United States title. One-time United States champion, one-time tag team champion. Here he is, Jacob Artu. How you doing, bro? Man, hold on, man. That was a hell of an introduction right there, man. Yeah, y 'all know what I mean, man. We tapped in, locked in, even on a bad day. Hello. Thank y 'all for having me, sir, man. It's a pleasure to be here at Tapped In. Your rivalry with Drew McIntyre, the thing been building since 2025. What makes this feud so personal compared to the other ones that you've had? Well, you know what it was?

1:06:28It was, you know, let me take these. You know, the difference between, you know, having somebody like me tapped in with WWE. This ain't no build-up. This ain't no work. This ain't no, oh, this WrestleMania is going to be the, no, it's none of that. What it came back down to, you know, before I was over here, you know, I was tapped in, you know, trying to figure out my life. I was in and out of the, you know, in and out of front of the block from Northern California, to be exact. And, you know, there's only one thing. My family and my wife is everything. And they're the reason why I'm here.

1:06:59Shannon Sharpe:Right. You know, I wouldn't have been here. And they say, Jacob, you should have, you should have, you should have got a job first. You should have, then you should have had your kid. No, no, no. I'm glad my life went the way it went. Okay? I don't regret nothing. Because it was all God's timing. It ain't my timing. Right. Okay? So to double back up, it just, it went south and it went the other way when he spoke about my kids. You know, I'm a Uso, man, and we Samoan around here. Oh, man. If y 'all know we tapped in, baby, we family deep. You know what I mean? Y 'all gonna have to come with all of us.

1:07:27All right, or you gonna have to get your ass rocked like Troy Palamalu around here. Wham! You know what I mean? But then it just came just from him, you know? You could talk, we could talk, speak like a man, but it's the difference when you're on national TV saying, fuck my kid. Oh, I'm sorry, excuse me. No, you good, bro. You know, forget my kids. You know, screw your kids. Right. And you know it's different. So now you have to see me on that. Yeah, come on now. Come on now, and then I know when people say, how you feeling about WrestleMania? Okay, I'm very blessed, I'm happy to be here. Don't get it twisted, but I'm on a whole nother mode a whole nother time.

1:07:54I came here to take care of business, get that check, man, and go right back to daddy duties, man, you know what I mean? And then recycle, keep recycling it. But as of now, it's a different feeling from being here last year. Right. You know, I'm grateful, I'm happy, but it's out the window, man. I'm just here on some business, that's it. I'm here to protect my family, to be the father who I'm supposed to be, what I'm supposed to be doing. Hey, speaking of that business that you talk about, right, has wrestling been everything from that transition to somewhat of a difficult life that you had, that I had?

1:08:24I had it too, right with you. You got that same story. Has it been everything you thought it would be to this point? Absolutely, and you know what it was too. And, you know, to break it down to be exact. Yes, sir, yes, sir. Man, we took the street smarts, you know what I mean? And we had to learn how to adapt and to do what worked for us. Everybody's story's different. and it might work for everybody. But I know it worked for me. Yes, sir. You know, I know they said, Jacob, you should have been here five years ago. No, Jacob is glad it took me 12 years. Jacob is here where you're supposed to be right now.

1:08:56Yeah. I'm glad God said, no, this kid ain't ready yet. Right. Okay, despite the talent, despite I could do this, despite I could do, it didn't matter. If I showed up at the right time. Yes, sir. And I believe that. I went through all the struggles, and they said, oh, man, you went through, but you know what, I needed to. I believe if God would have let me in here, maybe not even a year in early. If God would have let me in maybe a weekend early than when he was in, oh man, it would have been a rap. I really believe in that, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, but I did. And I took it. And you know, you know, like we could read the room.

1:09:28You could walk in the room. We know when somebody talking about us, we know like, oh yeah, that's fake love right there. Because most of the time we so used to just, hey, hey, you know? No, no, no. I need the people around me to tell me, yeah, hey brother, it look like you're letting it get to your head. You know what I mean? Hey, you're changing a little bit. You know, not saying that's ever happened to me because y 'all know I'm humble. I know what it could have been. You know what I mean? But you can't let that. You can't let it go. You know, I can't let it. I need to have people have me grounded.

1:09:56And the people that have me grounded is my wife and my kids. You know, so, man, I wake up and I trip out sometimes. I trip out when I come to work and I see this sign right here. Right. You know, and shout out to my brothers who's been doing it, the Usos, Roman Reigns, Solo Sequoia. But, you know, Tom or T, they've been here and they've helped me, you know, to understand it. So, and I'm very fortunate to have them because a lot of cats come into business, they don't have family. Most of the time it's just, hey, hey, yeah, it's a doggy dog world. They don't know about this business, you know. I'm not trying to put it down, but, man, you better learn how to pull your own weight and learn how to bang it out around here.

1:10:32Shannon Sharpe:But wrestling and WWE is really big in your culture. Yes, sir. I mean, it's like, man, you see the way you embrace it, to see The Rock and to see Rowan Ray, you see Jay, and to see the way you, that you just, like, embrace this. Oh, yeah. Why, you know, Rafiki was one of the first ones. Yes, sir. Come on now. Why is it? What is it about the wrestling culture that your culture has been able to wrap its arms around and embrace so much? Man, you know what it was? It started from The Rock's grandfather. Okay. And we're out here on the West Coast, baby. Hey, man. And then y 'all keep forgetting about the world-famous cow palace out there.

1:11:08Okay. Okay? It started with The Rock's grandfather, high cheap Peter Maville. Yeah. All right, man. I'm about to break it down. Hold on now. We're about to call the story right now. We're here for it. Take your time. It came from the Rock's grandfather, Peter Maville. First one to work.

1:11:21Shannon Sharpe:Yep. For the company, you know? And then he was at a show against Pat Patterson. Pat Patterson spoke about this at a Hall of Fame. He was wrestling Pat Patterson. And, you know, when you go to San Francisco, you're in the Bay Area. There's a lot of Uso, a lot of Tome. A lot of Simone's over here. You know, we come together. You got to rock with us now. So, you know, not only are there fans in there, you know, you in San Francisco, you know, they're security guards too now. You know, we're working the popcorn stands. We're doing a little bit of everything. Pat Patterson did some stuff. He got it.

1:11:51Peter Mavito's work. He's bleeding, and Pat Patterson's going in. Now, you know, he's like Peter Mavito's a god to our people. Yes. You know, especially around that time. Come on now. Pat Patterson's giving it to him. And you know, Samoans, even the ones that's working security, they know that they're at work. But they only could take so much if you beat up on people. Next thing you know, security shirts come flying off. Alpha and Sika jumped over the rail. But what I'm trying to say is, he took Alpha and Sika. And he trained them. And man, they started making money out of him. Not only money, it kept them out of jail.

1:12:28Kept them out of the way. It kept them to be free to take care of our families. and my uncles off in secret realized, you know, now what did they do? We're really one of all families. Yeah. We're not second cousins, third cousins. I mean, it's Samoans. Yeah, we probably are, but we're really one family. Yeah, yeah. So, man, they found out, okay. And this is me just thinking, this might be the play for all of us. Yeah. They took the nephews, took the nephews, and we were growing up in it not knowing we were growing up in it. Right. It's around us. We didn't know we're young. It's around the dinner table.

1:12:59It's in the car. It's at the funerals. It's just everywhere. We're growing up to where it started being accustomed to us. And even with me, you know, I was a proven fact. Like, if I don't feel like if I would have, I didn't grow up and I wanted to wrestle. But since it was around and it gravitated, this was the way for me to change my life and to give my kids a better future, not only for them, but for me as well. You know, man. Kept you on the straight edge. It do. And, Big Bro, let me tell you this. God damn, does it feel good to pay your taxes. You know what I mean? God damn. You know what I mean?

1:13:29Because that's what we all kind of, you know what I mean? But no worries. We back on track right now. I mean, it feel good to do that now because I didn't mean to get the party game. But, man, once the uncle found out we was good at it and we embraced it and we just took off, but we had to learn how to respect it. We had to respect it. Now, there's 30 of us. Like, a lot of our cousins come in. But before they came in, Jacob, this is how we feed our family. Don't think you're just going to come in, train, fucking think you're doing this and think you're just going to get on. No, it's not. It's sacrifices.

1:13:58It's just birthdays. It's funerals. It's everything we miss. Now the schedule is a little bit more lighter. Right. But, you know, there's a lot of sacrifices, and I had to respect that when I came in here. And that's why when I talk about my cousin Roman Reigns and the Usos, like, I'm very happy and proud because, man, they done changed the game. We talking about changing. I'm not saying that because that's my cousins. Yeah. And I keep looking in the camera because the internet, y 'all can switch things up around here. You know what I mean? But, man, yeah, shout out to my family, man. And I'm very happy to be a part.

1:14:24Man, come on. I didn't even know I was coming to tap in with y 'all this morning, man, and I'm over here. You know what I mean? Matter of fact, speaking of coming and tapping in, right? Think about where you are right now. Yeah. What do you envision? What do you see your end goal and accomplishment accomplishing as a WWE wrestler? Like, what do you envision? Man, definitely, definitely, I'm with that belt. Definitely, definitely. I ain't going to speak too much because I know this your weekend right now. You know what I mean? But definitely the accolades, you know, what the best tag team my cousin and Usos have.

1:14:58And, well, Roman, I mean, man, when it comes to me, I speak about my family so much because not only are they the mans on the outside, man, when I was on the independents, they were the ones calling me, keep at it, bro. Hey, keep at it, bro. Hey, we see you on the internet, you need to chill out, you know. And, man, it's just to have what they have. When I brought up the taxes, they broke that cycle for us, you know. And, man, just get in the house and everything, but doing what I'm supposed to do. But in WWE, man, I mean, I think I'm doing pretty good so far. Second year in, I got two matches right off the bat.

1:15:30I mean, damn. But overall, I just want to make sure when you remember Jacob Fatu, don't remember me just as the cousin. You know, you're going to remember for the work, man. Just to show stories to the kids. Man, to the youngsters that's in the hood right now that never get to leave. Like, hey, it's possible, bro. It is possible. Yes. Okay? It's possible for y 'all to leave. And it was scary when I left. It was. But, man, did it feel so good leaving to be uncomfortable to be comfortable, if that makes sense. You know what I mean?

1:15:59Shannon Sharpe:When you, the WrestleMania, that's the cream of the crop. You get on that ticket. Yes, sir. You were really right. They can bring you up to the big show all they want to. Yeah, man, come on. But when they, hey, Jacob, WrestleMania. Oh, man, it was different. It was different. Man, I think I cried the whole morning on my first Mania, you know? And I had my son and my mama and everybody there. Let me tell you, though, man, when I left that weekend, though, I got my room service bill, and it wasn't looking too good. That's why I'm solo bolo this year. I'll see everybody at catering, all right? That's who we're going to be.

1:16:35Shannon Sharpe:Thank you, dog. You said something very interesting. You said now they get an opportunity to see. Because you saw it. You saw, you said, Rock's grandfather started this whole movement. Yes, sir. So that was for the first time, you know, you can see like Ocho and I, for the most part, we didn't see anybody that played in the NFL. We didn't have anybody to come talk to us and talk about the NFL. So now Ocho's been able to start a cycle because there are other guys from Liberty City that made it. They can go back and talk to the kids. My, Savannah State, where I grew up at, they's like, damn, he lived here.

1:17:10Shannon Sharpe:Look at the house he grew up in. Ocho, look at, man, Ocho live right here. So now there are generation after generation. Yes. Yes. The younger generation is going to see this thing go back four, five generations deep that started this. So I don't want to hear this. Man, I ain't have nobody. I don't know. It was hard now. Yes, you did. Oh, yeah, you did. And you've seen it. And you know what? When they were going through this bloodline thing, Roman and Usos, they was the hottest goddamn. I mean, they still the hottest. But, man, when that sting was popping, I was on the independence. So I would be there.

1:17:40Right. And I would see nothing but our kids, Samoan and Tongan kids that look like us, embrace them.

1:17:47Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. walking around Uso and my cousins don't know. You know what I mean? Because I grew up on the West Coast. They grew up in Florida. Ain't no wrong with that. I was born in Atlanta, Georgia. You know what I mean? Okay, that's what I mean. Okay, come on now. Come on now, bro. Come on now. Hey, you doing what's up from Georgia? Tap it in, baby. You know what I mean? But they didn't, yeah, they didn't, a lot of Samoans wasn't really in the South and the East Coast around that time. Now, oh yeah, now they in the colleges. Yeah, you know what I mean? They're like, God damn. Dude, they all got them.

1:18:11I mean, where the hell they come from? But now they're everywhere, but at that time, they didn't know the impact that they had. And boy, did they have a great impact. And it just felt good to be a Samoan cat to see and just be like, damn, my brothers, this is how much they invest, how much sacrifices to where it's pouring out into our own culture, to our own kids. And man, to them, man, they're gods to the kids. I mean, not like that, but y 'all know what I'm saying. Because none's higher than Jesus Christ. I know what I mean. But, man, they just look up to them so much to where it's just such a great look.

1:18:43And now, you know, hopefully they're looking up at me too right now. I'm still here, though. I may pay your taxes, though, if I want to hear something, though. You know what I mean?

1:18:51Shannon Sharpe:If you could have one dream match for WrestleMania 43, who's your dream match? Man, you know, I will, as much as I would like to say Jeff Hardy or Umaga, you know, I would have to be my father. It would be the Tonga Kid. It would be Sam Fatu only because, man, my dad was the youngest one. The youngest one, 18, man, to sell out Madison Square Garden with Roddy Piper. Right. You know, back in the day with Jimmy Snooker and them. But it would be my father. I hear this all the time, and this is something that keeps me in check, though, too. My dad was young, made mistakes. And they always say, Jacob, your dad was the best one out of us.

1:19:31Your dad did. He was the greatest. And I hear this all the time. Your dad was the best one. in my day. But man, if he just would've stayed with it, you know, because Pop got let go through just, you know, his demons that he was fighting. Yeah. And it always wakes me up too, you know, because people always compliment me, but they always, but always, hey, fuck, I don't want to be the, what if I would've stayed with it? What if I would've stick with it? So nah, put all that to the side. I had enough time off. It took me long enough to get here. Now it was work time and, you know, it's just some stuff like that that just keeps me on my Qs, on my P's and Qs.

1:20:04Right. I love my dad. He's great. But my dad always reminds me that. Hey, you don't want nobody calling you. What if? Or what if? Keep your shit straight. Keep it narrow, baby. Let's go to work.

1:20:17Shannon Sharpe:You speak so glowing. Such high regard of the family. How many kids you have? I got seven. Yeah, I'm in the game. Yeah. Oh, I'm good at this, man. 20, 17, 16, 14, 13, 9, and 4. I got eight. You got to stay at this for a minute. Hold on. And I want two more. I want twins. You want two more, big bro? I want two more, yeah. Okay, I want twins too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Twins be running. You got to stay at this for a minute. Yeah, all right. That's a lot of miles to be staying. Yeah, well, see, I ain't had no. I told you I was on the Independence. I ain't had no TV. Yeah, I got a TV now. I got a big one.

1:20:57But yeah, man, we tapped in seven. Man, that's crazy. You say you want the twins. I want the twins though too, man. But as of now

1:21:04Shannon Sharpe:You done now though? Man, she ain't playing around no more She's like, I'm enjoying my life now You know what I mean? So hey, shout out to my wife though, man Does any of the kids want to do it? No, with my girls My girls, they in love with it And man, my girls are the toughest My boys is dope too, you know what I mean? But they like Paul Heyman You know, they might like the cool cats in the back But my girls is definitely tapped in with it So, you know, and shout out to the women of WWE too because, see, don't get the women twisted now in WWE. They will kick your ass just as much as any of the other guys.

1:21:37You know what I mean? I see y 'all had Lash and Sister Jax up here, you know, and these are world-class athletes. So the women, man, shout-out to all the women in WWE because, man, my girls look up to them as well. For sure. And, you know, they always think just because they're girls and, no. Man, the women do the same thing as the guys. Like, we all work together. We all get banged up. We all travel together. and, you know, the girls kind of, I feel like the girls kind of go through a little bit more, you know, because they're females and, you know, there's a lot of guys and more wrestling fans, but, man, shout out to the women in WWE, man.

1:22:09All of my co-workers, everybody back there because, man, my girls look up to them.

1:22:14Shannon Sharpe:Your father was in it. Your cousins were in it. Everybody you know was in it. And I remember when wrestling was basically a little regional thing and a little small gym, maybe 200 people, maybe 100 people. Yeah, yeah. And now they're selling out of rent. They're allegiance. and they're selling out 30 ,000, 40 ,000-seat arenas and stadiums. Did you ever, when you were a kid, did you ever think wrestling would get as big as it is? You know what? I didn't. I really didn't. I mean, especially seeing it around the early 90s when they're, like, doing, like, the little Stock to Cons and, you know, like, little bingo hoes.

1:22:45No, I didn't. Even when it was rocking Stone Cold Attitude Era, that's kind of when I felt like, okay, But even I got lost between that Rock and Stone Cold era when they came back. But I didn't think it was going to be like this. I mean, man, there's a lot of people I'm meeting that I'm fans of. I mean, I'm on stage with one of them right now. I'm on stage with y 'all right now tripping out. But it just goes back to for me being grateful like, damn, I stuck with it. I stuck with it and here it is. And actually, I'm glad wrestling got bigger and changed its ways because, man, they've changed so much.

1:23:18But they don't let me in the door. So, man, I'm here now. They let the right one in. Yeah, they did.

1:23:25Shannon Sharpe:But you know, the thing is not, is that you mentioned that some of the trials and some of the mistakes that you probably made before you got here. And I think you have a greater appreciation. Oh, I do. Of what it takes to not only get here, but to get here and stay. Oh, man. And I'm so grateful for them times. Yeah, it did suck. Yeah, it did. But people talk about the good times. No, I love talking about the hard times because they got to understand. It makes you appreciate the good even more. Man, do it. Man, do it. Man, even when we went food shopping the other day, my kids tried to act like they didn't know what Hot Pockets of Noodle was.

1:23:57I'm like, okay now, okay now. They ain't trying to eat ramen no more, Jacob. No, no, come on now.

1:24:01Shannon Sharpe:They ain't trying to get that good stuff. I told them, I said, I appreciate the hard times. And thank you for asking for it because I see people talk about the good times, which is, that's cool. Yes. But sometimes, you know, maybe this story might, somebody might hear something. Tell me about the journey. I see the destination. Yeah. I see where you are now, but tell me about the journey to get to the destination. Oh, man, we was locked in. So, man, I was, I don't want people to take, I come from a great family. I had great parents. You know, my parents still married, great parents. It came from me making the wrong decisions.

1:24:32Yeah. You know, being us, being Samoan, coming from Northern Cali, you know, okay, it's California. Another culture. Yeah, you know, it's California, but, man, you know, Samoans out there, like, we grow up, you grow up with a lot of blacks, a lot of Mexicans. I mean, like, it's not segregated the way, like, how the South is over there. So a lot of races, like we all intertwined and tapped in. Yeah, we all tapped in, especially being from the Bay. They from the Bay. They don't bang colors and stuff. Sacramento, gang's life's a little different. But, man, grew up with a lot of blacks, man, tapped in, playing football.

1:25:02You know what I mean? And then, man, it was me. I grew up with a lot of blacks, Samoans, and Asians. Black Samoans, Asians, and Tongans. That's what I'm saying, bro. You didn't play football? No, man, we was. I was playing well. I had a scholar. I was living with Roman Wayne's sister. If I would have stayed out there, I really feel like I would have went to football. Man, she had me on, got me on my thing. And see, let me let y 'all know, football in the South, oh, man. You talking about, yeah, you talking about the movies? No, bro, yeah, it's just like that, but maybe even worse. Maybe even worse.

1:25:30Like, it's really, it's life out there. Like, when you talk, okay, so when you go to Samoa, a lot of our people enter the Army just to get off the rock, just to get off the island. That's what we call it, the rock. But, man, I feel like, man, when we's playing football out there in the South, oh, you had to make it out. Oh, you had to. No, no, no. This is eat, sleep. No, no, no, brother. Man, my first period was working out in football training in high school. I'm like, damn, you're usually like the last class, dude. They got me fucking breaking sweats on the first thing. But the journey was there.

1:26:02If I would have stayed in Florida, I would have happened. God rest my sister's soul. She passed away in Oakland. I flew back, and that's when I stayed in Cali. That's when everything just went back down. Went back down. I just got locked down, man. It was 16, my scholarship. Man, fucking Fresno. I was playing wheel. It was coming that week. I went to jail the day before they came. I had a 22 on me. Went to the liquor store. Still had my football jersey on, thinking they wasn't going to surge me on it. The cops didn't care and sack. I went into the store, and some told me to take it out because we knew the store owner.

1:26:37Some told me to take it out and put it behind the back of Cheetos, man. I went out there and didn't listen. The rookie cop felt it, pulled me over. I was like, man, I go to high school over here. He's like, I don't care what you do. But went to jail, got locked down, 16 and 18, 211 robbery. You know what I mean? That was it. We didn't even really rob him with nothing. You know what I mean? But went there, but I learned my lesson, though. Then that's when that got uncomfortable. That's when I'm kind of glad. I'm glad. I'm so happy it happened because now I'm up in there. I'm by myself. Nobody. You know?

1:27:07And now it's like, damn, I'm fighting this case for a robbery. And, man, it got scary once they started talking about five years.

1:27:14Shannon Sharpe:I'm sure that's real time. Yeah, they started talking about that real life. You say movies. No, no, yeah. Now you know, and it's real what they talk about. But, man, did that, went on the run for five years, but, man, was on probation for 10. And, man, I did, I just did, I wasn't doing prison terms. I was just doing county years. Yeah. You know, I was too smooth not to go to the prison terms. I was like, no, I ain't going to prison. I was like, hold on. But I was never really like that. But I was just going in and out of jail for five years, and then I stopped. My wife was like, hey, you know, last time you went out of jail, my wife never came to see me with the kids, never came to see me.

1:27:46And I understood that because she was like, you think I'm bringing my kids in the shit hole like that? Right, right, right. Like, come on. Man, I didn't even know my wife was coming. I pulled up when I got out, threw me in the car. Man, we live and direct. My uncle Rikishi started training us, started training us. I was bouncing for$60, and his son gave me a call, Tomiko. And he was like, you want to come check out wrestling? I didn't want to do it. I was trying to figure it out. I was like, nah. But I went over there, and it was the best thing that happened. I walked in the ring, and I just fell in love with it.

1:28:14Man, we started going crazy. And the history's there. Independence, 13 years. Yeah. Been here for two years. And, man, we're doing pretty locked in right now, young man. So it's in and out, baby.

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