Michael Che

24:10Steph McMahon:Yeah. It was that part I thought was the coolest for me at that time. That's extremely cool. Yeah. Oh, man. Welcome to New York. Yeah, exactly. It's Saturday night. That feels like a New York thing. Yeah. Like, it's, you know, Saturday Night Main Event would come on. That's right. Yeah. So when Saturday Night Live wasn't on, Saturday Night's Main Event would take its place. That was my, uh. See, we're like, you know. Yeah. No, I think it's, I think it's a very East Coast thing. I think it's like Northeast thing where like that's how we grew up. Saturday Night Live, WWE, and the Apollo. It's showtime.

24:49Showtime at the Apollo. Yeah, Sandman Sims.

24:51Steph McMahon:At the Apollo. I know. Yeah, it's very, very New York. I would have killed to have seen that. Yeah. The number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest, returns to the Javits Center in New York City from July 16th to the 19th, 2026. Fanatics has just announced the return of Fanatics Games, bringing back its high-stakes cross-sport competition where everyday fans go head-to-head with some of the biggest names in sports. The 2026 Fanatics Games introduces an expanded format with a$2 million total prize pool and new nationwide qualifying opportunities for fans to compete alongside elite athletes. The inaugural winner, Tom Brady, as well as reigning fan champion Matt Denish will be back.

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26:25Either way, Sling lets you watch the playoffs your way with no long term contracts. Learn more at sling.com.

26:33Steph McMahon:So what's the best lesson you've learned from Lorne? It could be about anything. Or maybe not the best, one of the best. One of the best lessons, earlier lessons, like one of the first lessons he always told me was to be comfortable at home. He was like, you're going to work really, really hard in this business and you're going to do it for the rest of your life. make sure when you're home you feel comfortable like even if it's a little bit more expensive than you'd like it to be or a little bit just make sure it's convenient it's comfortable you like it because when you're home you want to be happy and you want to be able to rest and you want to be able to get back to work you don't want to be stressed out at home and then stressed out at work and that's helped me a lot in my career because I would be on the road or I would be in these hotels or I would be you know working all the way through the morning and coming home and I don't even got two or three hours but I would come home two or three hours in a nice apartment that's maybe even I couldn't afford but it was just I just was comfortable and I was happy to do it and I was happy to be home and um it's terrible financial advice but it's amazing it's amazing emotional advice like i i always love that and i remember he told me one time he was i've never heard that before i've never heard it either he's the only one that said it now he also told me don't trust the nighttime yes that was that's my favorite thing i always i always say nighttime yes so what do you mean like if you're pitching something and somebody says yes and it's at night that doesn't mean that's going to happen.

28:17Doesn't mean it's going to happen.

28:18Steph McMahon:Is this just in comedy? I think it's everywhere. Yeah, no. Because when I pitched you to be on the show and you said yes. But I really wanted to do it. I really wanted to do it. Absolutely. I really wanted to do it. I'm so grateful you're here. I really am. No, this is honestly, yeah, no. This was not a nighttime yes. This was more of a when can I do it? You know what I mean? Like literally, when could I do it? Because we just got back from Indiana. last night. This is our weeks off. So like we were just trying to find a time when I could definitely do it because I'm like working on a special.

28:54So every time I'm not at SNL, I'm on the road or I'm doing shows. So it was just tricky of, I don't know when we could do it.

29:03Steph McMahon:And you're, when you say you're on the road, are you like practicing, you're doing standup, are you practicing bits that you then want to put into your special? Yeah. Yeah. Because that's important, right? That's, yeah. Repetition. sort of repetitions the key you know you kind of got to say it like you're thinking of it in a way you got to know the the off ramps and it's so so boring but how do you keep it a secret right like your bits because tricky i imagine people are with their cell phones or whatever that's actually slowed down a lot knock on wood uh if you're watching this and you're a fan please don't take this as a personal challenge but I used to lock up phones like up until about this year and I kind of stopped because I feel like the gotcha moment has sort of ended I think fans are kind of better at it but it used to be they would tape your whole set and put it on it doesn't happen as much anymore thankfully but there was a time when I was like I'm not performing unless the phones are locked up because they'll just put it wherever they want.

30:14And there's still somebody who sneaks the phone. And a lot of times it's not, they don't want to get the gotcha moment, they sort of want to just take a picture. Well yeah, but I think sometimes too

30:25Steph McMahon:they want to, well, I don't want to speak for anybody, but it makes them important that they have your, you know, part of what you're going to be doing, so they put it out. Not to try to hurt you, but to try to help them. yeah and they don't realize the effect it has absolutely i think it's you know everybody kind of you know that last episode of seinfeld is sort of prophetic you know where they kind of go to jail for taking a video of a guy getting assaulted and it's literally all the culture is and it was like it was a camcorder which is crazy right but now that's kind of sort of people's first instinct is you see something you you take a picture you record it you take a picture of your food if it looks nice.

31:09Take a picture of everything. So it's just a natural reaction to be like, I'm somewhere fun or cool. Here's what it looks like. And it's just, I don't know. It's weird. It's a weird way to live, but I get it.

31:21Steph McMahon:Yeah. I get it. I mean, and you don't have to get it, right? You must not be able to go anywhere, though. No, no. I'm fine. Really? Yeah. I find that so hard to believe. No, I'm really, my husband can't go anywhere. Okay. But I'm scared. No kidding. it shocks me I remember I was talking to I was talking to Tina Fey one time and I was asking her how does she get around in the city where we were doing something I was like how are you getting around she was like get on a train I'm like how are you on a train like you must be in New York City you see Tina Fey she was like no yeah I'm fine people leave me alone it trips me out that there's people that could kind of walk around that famous.

32:10Steph McMahon:I think, well, and I'm not Tina Fey famous, but I think, no, I'm definitely not. But what I get a lot... Two very different types of people. But what I get a lot is like, you look familiar. You know, it's like, where do I know you from? We usually catch like, you're walking and someone's like, oh, that's Stephanie McMahon. Yeah, it is. And we're like, just keep moving. There's always someone that notices you. Not always. maybe because you're with me when we're doing business stuff. But like at the mall or whatever. I think you just don't know what it looks like when people notice you because you've been noticed for the last 30 years.

32:48I'm sorry to put it in.

32:49Steph McMahon:I can just skate though. 30 years. Yeah, I know we were talking before. I used to watch you when I was a kid. I'm 70 years old. I'm like, that's not possible. No, but I'm just saying like you probably don't even track it when people are literally just gawking at you because they're like, oh, me. No, but I swear, I am out and about all the time. And, you know, baseball, but I'm not even trying to not look like anything. But, like, you know, also I think my character's always very done. Makeup, hair, you know, the whole thing. So when I'm just being me in my sweats and stuff. You really believe that?

33:28Steph McMahon:I do. Yeah, I do. I'm looking at you, I'm like, you really believe this? Okay. But I'm looking at the team because we were just in dinner when we were shooting in Orlando. Okay, but that was Orlando. As soon as we're leaving the restaurant, spot it. People know you. It's okay. I think this pod has got some new fans from the pod. But you started off as an artist and you went to fame. That's, yeah. Right? So you. That's true. Were you like, what type of artist were you? Okay, I went to LaGuardia High School, Fame. Which is the coolest because I watched Fame all the time. I loved Fame. I wanted to go to Fame.

34:19Steph McMahon:No, no, the show. Yeah, yeah. With Debbie Allen. Debbie Allen. Oh, my God. Love her. And then I saw her in Grey's Anatomy and I'm like, Debbie Allen. Debbie Allen. Yeah. I seen her at a hotel one time. We were doing like something in D.C. Oh, I think Lorne was getting like the Medal of Freedom. Something crazy like that. Wow. Yeah. Not the Medal of Freedom. Is it the Medal of Freedom? Yeah. Is it? It was one of them things. Really? Yeah. It was like at the Kennedy Center or something. And she was getting one too. And I seen her in the lobby. And I was like, you're Debbie Allen. And she was just like, yeah, hi, how are you?

34:59Amazing. Same thing that you're trying to do. With that stick. Same whole I'm not really Debbie Ellen kind of thing. No, it was really cool, though. And that school is famous for a ton of people that went there. Chalamet, who's probably as famous as I am.

35:20Steph McMahon:Not quite. Well, a lot of cool people, a lot of way cooler people than me have been there, though. But I went for painting. I used to like to paint. and I wasn't very good at it. But you had to audition to get into the school. Yeah, but it's easier to get in for art than it is for like piano. Because why? Well, because how many pianos are you going to put in that school? Everybody could get a drawing pad. Do you think art is more subjective? Art is probably more subjective, but I just think like for an art program there's a lot more space. Paint and pianos. Yeah. Piano is such a specific thing.

36:08They might be able to pass like 20 kids that can play piano.

36:14Steph McMahon:You had to have been pretty good. No, I think I don't know. Do you have any of your art anywhere? No. That's a sign that it's not that good. Up until you were like 25 and Tommy Hilfiger hired you that's true but so you had to have been somewhat talented I mean I think I was I'm embarrassed by because I think I don't think I was very good I think I once I learned how to do comedy I realized okay this is what I was supposed to be doing right I think that there's certain things like there's like a lot like you could you could be excellent at one thing but if you don't get to that one thing you could be sort of good at other things like if you were a great baseball player you might be an amazing football player but you play baseball so you can kind of do it because of the skills that you have yeah just pure athleticism you know like i'm sure you guys get people that are you know wrestlers that are probably was better at another sport But since they could do that well, they transitioned pretty well in doing this, you know, or vice versa.

37:24Steph McMahon:So what are the synergies then? I think there was like a level of expression and composition that I sort of had naturally that taught me how to, I know how to write jokes in that way. But to paint was a little trickier for me, but it made me good enough that I was passable. So composition in terms of the structure of a joke? the composition, the balance of a joke, where it should be. I could sort of see jokes in like art kind of way. So that's fascinating. It's hard to say. I heard Kanye one time, he was saying how he can hear colors in a way. And it doesn't sound like it makes sense, but I was like, I know exactly what he means.

38:11No, no, there's someone, oh God, I can picture his face.

38:15Steph McMahon:He was just on Joe Rogan talking about frequency of colors.

38:22Steph McMahon:I'm not going to think of his name. You guys could find it. But there's people that I've heard say things like that. Maybe it's not just a few. But I think there was things that I could do in learning about art and composition and balance and lighting and texture that I use for comedy and it's like fluent. It feels like that's like my second language. Like art painting feels like a second language sort of. Like I don't, I can understand it a little bit better than I can speak it. Or like I kind of know what it is, sort of. I can sort of do it, but I think in comedy in a way that when I tried it for the first time, I was terrible at it, but I was like, oh, this is what I should be doing.

39:11Like it just felt natural. It felt like this is like how I dream. This is how I think. It's a weird thing.

39:19Steph McMahon:It's pretty cool. It's fascinating. And who? Yes. Unlikely, I think. Yeah. This isn't a great list, but. But you should hear him. I guess I'm like Kanye and Terrence Howard. You know, very short list. so who were some of your influences oh no what is wrong with me can you look up if Terrence Howard sleeps in twin beds does he do the thing does he not like made up beds does that have a name reindeer did you say reindeer yeah the rain reindeer reindeer the bed But so were there any like, so you grew up and it wasn't easy. No. Growing up the way you did. Well, no, it wasn't easy. But I mean, as a kid, you don't know it's not easy.

40:21Right. You don't know it's like your life wasn't easy until you start.

40:26Steph McMahon:Thinking back. Comparing notes with people that didn't grow up like you. And you're like, oh, wait a minute. Wait, what? What? So you've never had water and cereal? No. Yeah. But yeah, we was broke. But did you find an outlet in art? No. Or a teacher? Yeah. I found an outlet in art as I started learning more about it and getting better at it. it was a great way to I didn't know it at the time but it taught me how to think so like it kept me busy because I would paint the way I write which is I would just hole up in a in a room for like a day or two and just paint and just like play music and paint and I would be thinking and I didn't realize it, but I was actually thinking and writing.

41:27And so my arm would be going and I'm thinking and I'm trying to execute this picture or whatever and getting it right. But I was really just alone thinking my thoughts through and repeating them. So when I got to comedy, I sort of knew how to focus on bits. I kind of knew how to write. I knew how to lock in because I had already been doing it. It was strange. It was like I was working a muscle. So I already had the muscles developed by the time I learned how to do the thing. I did it backwards in a way.

42:00Steph McMahon:My new legacy title is an original, fully custom designed from the ground up to commemorate my career inside and out of the WWE ring. The belt features 907 crystals, golden metallic prints, a black velvet strap, and the center and side plates contain artwork in reference to the McMahon family crest. You can get my legacy belt now at WWE Shop and Fanatics. So have you been watching WWE recently? Definitely. You know who Obafemi is? I should have did the walk when I came in. Missed the opportunity to do the walk. Yeah, I know. But he is an artist. No kidding. I know. I was thinking of that as he was describing.

42:46Steph McMahon:As was Triple H. No kidding. so a couple of other you know references and it's actually one of the things i was talking to paul about this morning because you know of course he says hi by the way hello and i was saying i wonder what that is like what's that connection with art and performance art and you're you're illustrating it a little bit right now i think i mean that's what it is for me you know I don't know. They may have a different answer, but I think that that's, you know, it teaches you sort of how to think. It teaches you precision. Visualization. Visualization. Easy enough for me to say.

43:32Teaches you how to enunciate. It teaches you sort of how to see things through. Like in art, you kind of know where you're going. You see the destination on a blank canvas. You know, you see what you're trying to get to on a white board or a piece of paper. So you already have a step ahead of people that are kind of just blindly going into a situation. They don't really know where they want to land. You know exactly where you're going. You know what you need to get there. You know which colors you're going to need. You know the time it's going to take. You know where you want to start. You know what's going to be the difficult part.

44:11The different brushes. Yeah, you know the different brushes. You know all of that.

44:15Steph McMahon:The tools you have to play with. All of that. So I think knowing those materials, you have the shopping list. You're sort of ahead of the game a little bit as opposed to somebody that's just sort of like, tell me what to do. You know, like it's a little bit easier. And it's in your control. I think we turn out to be sort of a little controlling because we create the environment in a way that other people aren't responsible for. Yeah. Because I feel like that with actors, a lot of times they're not like I never liked acting. I hate I hate acting, but I just don't like doing it. but I do feel like the business of acting you have to wait for someone to hire you or you have to wait to get casted or you have to wait to whatever for something with stand up I could work every day I could go to an open mic I could it might be three people in the audience I could go to the club I could go every day and sort of I feel like the master of my own destiny yeah yeah I love that Yeah, it's sort of, it spoils you though.

45:26How so? Well, because you... Because that's not real life. You're not always in control. You're not always in control. And when it's time to surrender, it makes it a little tougher because you're not, you don't have those tools.

45:39Steph McMahon:Yeah. You're looking at it. So how did you learn how to surrender? I'm still learning. I don't know how to, I really don't. I'm still learning. Do you believe in surrender? Yeah. I mean, definitely believe in it. It's more, believe in it in what way? I'm not sure. I think it exists. When I think of surrender, I think of like, you know, sort of faith. And like ultimately, but I know that's not necessarily what you were talking about. No, but it could be. But it could be. It certainly could be. I think it's tough for me because of the way I grew up and the way I've made a living that it's hard for me to trust surrendering.

46:25You know, it's times where I don't have a choice. Right. Right.

46:30Steph McMahon:If you're working for someone or whatever that is. Exactly. Yeah. And you have to learn to work within the system. Or even in relationships, even in friendships, even in, you know, just living in the world. There's certain things you just cannot control. And it makes, it's tough. Yeah. But I don't know who it's easy for. That's true too. You think it gives you a leg up a little bit that you're not accustomed to surrendering and it makes you maybe fight harder or not take shit, but like a certain amount of it? Like does it give you more confidence in negotiation or in whatever?

47:21Maybe. I never thought of it that way, but I can see how it could. But I think it's, yeah, I think there's a certain level of delusion that you need to be successful in.

47:37Steph McMahon:Like people saying you can't do stand-up at 26. Yeah. Right? I'm sure they said that. Oh, my God. I wouldn't even tell people I was doing stand-up because I knew they would say it. And I kept it a secret for a few years. But, you know, I also like where I grew up, well, like my family structure or my friends, like my community, the way I grew up, I know that a lot of times people are just scared for you. It's not that they don't believe in you. They're just scared that if I've never seen it work before. Right. I'm worried that you're taking this chance on a thing that I've never seen work. I can understand why they would be sure.

48:23Steph McMahon:Yeah. So I wouldn't even put that on their plate to worry with me, you know, because I was sure that I knew how to do this, even when I didn't know how to do it. Who did you trust? I trusted my desire to want to do it. And I trusted that I see the pace in which this is coming to me. And so I just trusted that. And I also, even more than trusted, I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, which is really kind of the 1 % of the 1%. Right. Bombing was fun. you know like bombing was it wasn't fun in the moment right but afterwards you gotta rush afterwards it was like i want to go again you know like i just enjoyed the whole process i enjoyed like every part of it and so it was like in my free time that's what i wanted to do so people i people used to think i was lazy they used to always say i was a lazy guy because i didn't want to work and then I would do that and they was like you work too much and it's like I don't know what's I don't know which one's true I just know that this is what I love I tend to work harder when I like working when I like the work you know I think a lot of people would yeah so it was that but again it makes you selfish because now you've buried yourself in work well I'm not calling you selfish so what is that process when you bomb like what how do you get the rush afterwards are you analyzing what worked what didn't work did you know what didn't work did you feel it yeah you could feel it and yeah I've experienced that but how could it's like worse and people will be like why why would you think even me like I could feel it leaving my mouth and I'm like why do I think this is funny what made me even try this you know like oh it's the it's like you fool yeah crickets is the worst crickets just it yawn no I remember one time I was doing a show in uh Baltimore and uh it was a rough it was a rough it was like a I did three shows that night, and it was the third show, which started at about midnight.

50:55And it's just the drunkest people. Everyone's drunk. Everyone's kind of ready. They're ready to go when they got there. It's midnight. You only got about three more hours to drink. You're with your friends. And I remember I told the joke that went over. It was good. But as they were laughing, they started talking to each other. And as they started talking to each other, they forgot I was on stage. And I'm sitting there struggling trying to get them back on. And this guy, his back was sort of turned to me because it was like a club. So the seating was sort of like sideways.

51:32Steph McMahon:And full, not full? Yeah, it was full. It was pretty full. It was like three quarters full. Okay. And this guy turns and like notices that I'm on stage because I'm interrupting his conversation. And he sees me and he goes, boo. And I was like, boo? Boo? And everyone goes, yeah, boo. Boo, boo, boo, boo. And then everyone just starts booing. And I'm like, what? No, no boo. No boo. I had to get off that stage in record time. They were all just like, yeah, sir, get this guy out of here. And it was fine. I was doing okay up until they decided that they wanted to have a conversation. And that one guy booed over.

52:14But it's that. It's just like you feel it in your bones. Even when it was going good, I knew this is going to go bad at any moment. You can just feel it. You're just not there for it.

52:26Steph McMahon:And then in hindsight, do you, because sometimes you're testing material, right? So do you just know immediately, like you said, sometimes as it's coming out of your mouth? Or like you just cut that joke and now you're... Well, it depends. It depends. Like sometimes. Because you've said it's how you tell the joke, too. Yeah, exactly. I look at comedy like, it's not only stupid comedy analogies, but it feels like trying to get directions in a country you've never been to. So, like, you know what you're trying to ask them, but they might not know. So, like, if you can tell if they're offended, like, no, no, no, I'm trying to say, you know.

53:11Or if they just clearly don't know, then you're like, all right, maybe they just don't know. I'll move on. You know, so it's sort of like that. Like, I know why I think it's funny and I'm trying to get you to understand it in the way that I understand it. And if it's something that's just not you just don't know, then I'll let the joke go. But if it's something that you're not clear on, maybe I'll try it another way. So it's literally just communicating. It's literally like if I know it's funny, if I believe it's funny, I know I'm not the only person that believes it's funny. I just I'm just stubborn that way.

53:45Like, I just don't think that I am the only one that's experienced this funny. I just got to find someone else. 200 people to agree. Right. Well, you have. Yeah. Yeah. That's how that works. You have. Absolutely. How do you guys know this is going to work? Like segment-wise or angle-wise?

54:12Steph McMahon:Gosh. Because it's not like you can go to a club. Right. You know what I mean? Well, live events, we used to be able to work a lot of things out. And that's why I was asking you about things getting stolen or whatever. Because certain, you're working on a match structure. You're seeing what works, what doesn't work. You know, all that kind of stuff. Chemistry is important. Yeah. It's the number one. Number one. You can be two of the greatest wrestlers in the world, superstars in the world. And if you don't have chemistry, it's just not going to work. Oh, you tell her. Yeah. It just doesn't work.

54:44When we would do an update, we had such a rough start. And people always say, well, there's no chemistry between me and Jost. And I would get frustrated because we were friends and we did have chemistry. Right. But we're never telling jokes in a two shot. right we're on singles so how do you have chemistry with somebody you're never on camera with yeah it was impossible i was like he starts his joke and i go over then he goes and i said where we fit chemistry yeah and they would tell us not to write bits for each other because lauren would always be like don't write the chemistry just feel it and i'm like that doesn't make sense how do we do that yeah but then i realized just like just small things like once he tells the joke instead of me starting my joke I'll roll my eyes now they know I didn't like the joke and then when it's his turn after he tells the joke the second time he might look toward me like did you like that one you know and then we would find our chemistry in these little moments and it changed the dynamic and they started watching two friends telling jokes to each other as opposed to just two guys struggling to read cards so like that was like but it's that it's like chemistry like you said it's everything because then it The joke doesn't even need to be as hard.

56:02The context is these two guys don't like each other or like each other. Now you're watching your interaction. Exactly.

56:10Steph McMahon:Right? And how you play off one another. Because that's what's the most relatable. 100%. Right. And I think that's part of the magic, right, in making those connections is being relatable. 100%. Like you were saying, if something you think is funny but nobody relates to it, then it's not going to hit because they can't. They don't know what you're talking about. They don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, can't get up there. And that's what I think when you're writing segments or, you know, I think ultimately the struggle of the underdog is like just a human emotion, right? Like you root for that underdog and you root for it.

56:50Steph McMahon:And you can easily write to that. And I think as long as you are telling stories that people can relate to in some form or fashion or getting bullied or, you know, whatever it is, then it's hopefully going to work. Backstabbed. Yeah. Double cross. Exactly. Steal someone's person. Yeah. You know, like all of that. Right. There's only so many different forms of stories. Right. There's it's sort of finite. Right. And it's how you tell them and the characters that make it different and all that stuff. But there's only so many stories you can tell. And the time and the temperature. You know, sometimes it's time for sort of that underdog.

57:34And sometimes it's time for that. Get some heat. That superhero. You know, it's time for that guy that's, you know, just unbeatable. But then sometimes it's that scrappy, the small guy. People were rooting for that guy with the character. that it's just like uh it's a weird thing but you have to be able to listen yeah and be like okay i see where where this tide is going and you can sort of still keep your integrity if you're aware i think the the sign of professionalism for the audience is they wanted they just wanted they've spent money they want to make sure that whoever they spent money to see is in control of the night so like one of the things that i learned at snl was like even if something goes wrong during a show we can't panic we can't look like oh no we wasn't expecting that to bomb if we bomb we gotta bomb on our own terms right cause whatever okay you didn't like it you just didn't like it but we worked on this and I still think it's good and somebody's gonna like it and we believe in it

58:35Steph McMahon:getting back to your Patrice yeah it's literally that and I think that's sort of what brings people on board cause once they know that they control the show then they will become the show oh absolutely they'll hijack it they'll take it right from you like boo boo I'm funnier than this guy boo right that's it yeah that's it yeah so how important I mean I think with comedy it's everything not only reading the room but also like like you say where we are in society and what's happening and how hard is it to to speak your truth without getting blocked? You know, what's it? Canceled. Canceled, thank you.

59:17Steph McMahon:I think it's, I don't... As a comedian, like, it seemed like for a little while... It was wasn't happening as much. Yeah, I think, you know, what's so funny? I think like I don't think that's our job as comics and as performers. I don't think it's really up to us. I think I would like to see more corporations and more companies back their artists that they're paying. I think a lot of times it's not the artists that's being canceled. It's the companies that are like, oh, this is going to hurt our business. Get rid of this guy. Nobody wants to touch him. Don't platform him. And it's like I think there was what used to be a time when it was a separation.

1:00:01It was just like you don't like that guy. Well, you don't like that guy.

1:00:03Steph McMahon:Then you don't watch that person. You just don't watch that person. But now I feel like there's this kind of weird sort of responsibility where everyone is sort of panicking on where to put their money. Eggshells. Yeah. And it's made artists scared because they're like, well, I don't want nobody to ever work with me. Right. As opposed as, you know, they may still, they may be willing to fight, but they don't want to fight alone. Right. And I feel like for me, I try to always come from this is how I feel and this is why I feel this way. So even if you disagree, even if you vehemently disagree, I'm telling you this is how I feel and this is why I feel that way.

1:00:46Steph McMahon:Right. Your truth. That's it. Yeah. You know, like literally. So it's not I'm not telling you to feel this way. I'm not saying you're wrong for feeling your way. I'm just telling you this is how I feel. And I think people can kind of sort of respect that if they believe it. Yeah. If they buy it, if they understand, if they're willing to listen, they'll give you some sort of slack on that. But I think once you start telling people how they should feel, that's when it becomes a little bit more divisive. That's an important piece. Does that make sense? It does. Yeah. It's you speaking your truth versus telling everyone else they should believe what you believe.

1:01:25Steph McMahon:Right. Yeah. Because we could be very different and get along or at least respect each other's space. Yeah. And I don't think that that's practiced as much. I think it's sort of like my side versus your side. And we were on teams and, you know, we're all in a gang. We're all in a gang and my set don't mess with your set. And it's like it gets a little obnoxious because, you know, I like to watch like old school interviews like Dick Cavett and, you know, Donahue, you know, like those old kind of shows where they would just put the craziest people together. And you would watch them have these conversations and you could kind of it wasn't it was combative in that they were, you know, arguing.

1:02:18Yeah, they had different opinions. But people wasn't like, how dare Donahue.

1:02:23Steph McMahon:It wasn't like you deserve to die. No. Yeah. It was like we're talking to each other. We have to listen to each other to know why we don't like each other and find some kind of middle ground. And also you could sort of see who the weenies are that way. Right. You know what I mean? You could see somebody in a silo. This guy is strong and confident. But then you put him next to somebody who's equally as educated and can argue the same point. I mean, the opposite point. And they fold because they've never been confronted before. Right. And they've never been challenged before. And so you can sort of see, well, who do you want to follow now?

1:03:00Steph McMahon:Right. So it's like I think those conversations in order for those conversations to be had, people have to be willing to listen to each other and talk to each other. And and and actually want to potentially find common ground, actually want to potentially find common ground. Like, actually, do you actually want that? Or are you just having fun yelling? Because that could also be it, too. Sure. You could just be having fun knowing that half the population is worse than you. And you can be smug about it. Right. And say, yeah, no, they're the bad people, which means I must be the good one. Okay. Yeah.

1:03:44Look at me. But, yeah, it's nonsense.

1:03:47Steph McMahon:It's one of the things I love the most about WWE is how different our fan base is. Yeah. I mean, it really is as diverse as it can be from all over the world. Different political beliefs, different. The whole world agrees on it. It's crazy. But what do they come together and love? It's crazy. It's crazy. WWE and soccer. It's crazy. Let me ask you a question. Why do you think that is? I don't know. You know what's so funny? I don't even know if this answers the question, but it's something that I always think about, especially this year with Cena retiring. I was at Barclays for, I think it was SummerSlam.

1:04:32I got tickets. I think I got tickets through The Daily Show. And it was in the Barclays, and I remember Jon Stewart was there. It was like he ran in. This was a while ago. This was a while ago. It was like 10 years ago, maybe more. and I remember, you know how the Barclays, you know how Brooklyn is.

1:04:48Steph McMahon:So I was with Jon Stewart. Were you? Talking to him right before he went out. So I know exactly what you're talking about. So I'm sitting in the crowd in Brooklyn and they're booing Jon Cena like crazy. Like this, because it's all like, you know, like all 35 year old dudes. It's like, we hate Cena. We hate Cena. Because he's like super Cena. The women and kids love Cena. There was this kid. He was dressed in all Cena. He had been probably like 11 years old. He was with his dad. He was all Cena'd out. And these men are booing John Cena like he's the worst guy ever. Jon Stewart runs in, hits John Cena with the chair.

1:05:31Seth Rollins, I believe, beats him. The crowd goes nuts. And this kid crumbles.

1:05:38Steph McMahon:Oh, no. And I'm like, oh, that's what it's about. wow, that's why John Cena wins. Because this kid wants to see him win. It's not just about our selfish, nerdy kind of, go get these, like, no, it's about everybody. So can I ask you a question? It made me appreciate John Cena in a way that I never thought I would appreciate anybody. I was like, damn, that's what it's about. So is it ultimately about hope? I think I don't know that it's hope but I can't think of a better word for it like I can't think of it but it's gotta be because I you know in my previous career and I guess still to this day I always think about position how to position WWE especially to people who don't get it right and you know I talk about all different things um but hope is sort of a theme that has come up I've heard Cody say it I've heard Natty say it I've heard Becky say it I've heard a few different people say it and it's like this is that ultimately damn what it is you know after that after that mania in what was it in Philly when Cody had that match and you sort of seen everything like the storytelling of everything breaking his way made everybody so like yeah for Cody I guess that's what it is just watching that happen that way that's got to be the best way to explain it.

1:07:29Steph McMahon:I mean, it seems like it. Yeah. I think people just want to be able to root for themselves the way they're rooting for these people. That's right, to root for themselves because shit happens to everybody. Right. And you're trying to get to this one place, whatever that is, and it seems like everything gets in the way. Yeah. Yeah. Damn, I guess I never thought of it that way, but that's 100 % correct. That Philly Mania was incredible. Philly Mania was incredible. That was something. That was one of the best live experiences I've ever had. Because of the ride? The last match? Just everything. Yeah.

1:08:09The last match? It was just like, it felt like a culmination of everything. Like it felt, it was a nice build.

1:08:18Steph McMahon:I mean, it really was if you've, but I mean, even if you followed this whole career. But way beyond that, when you think about it and what he did leaving, you know, and then coming back as a bigger star than he ever was. Yeah. I mean. When he came back, were you guys prepared for this payoff? Or was he sort of slow playing it and that just felt like the natural progression? It was complicated. there was one plan that had it happening right away and then some other things happened and the plan changed but we were all in on Cody as soon as he came back I think it playing out the way it played out was so perfect because it was you could believe that something went wrong because even like if like even outside of the story I always feel like in wrestling there's like the story and then like the outside story.

1:09:21Right. And you feel like the outside story sort of like matched the inside story like we want this guy to win. Let him win. Let him win. And then him finally winning and the way he won and everybody getting their comeuppings was like oh this is fun to watch. The payoff. Yeah the payoff was really made the whole thing worth it. And it's like Dave told me something Dave Chappelle told me something that I'll never forget the first time he hosted SNL it was during like it was like this 2016 election it was emotional like everybody like it was just like everybody was fighting and you know whatever but Dave did the show and it was a fun show and it felt like people were laughing together and he said at good nights he turned around you know everybody's hugging he turned around and he looked and it was such a stressful week and he was like, I just, I looked at you guys and I realized, oh, you guys got to come back and do this again Monday.

1:10:28And I'm out of here. Like, I'm going to take a week off. Like, you guys have to do this again. And that's what I felt watching the, like, that WrestleMania. Was it 41 or 40? Yeah. 40. And I'm like, that culmination and all that. I'm like, oh, they still got a show tomorrow. Tomorrow. yeah after all of that like it's not like and then we live happily ever after no they gotta wrestle tomorrow yeah the next season starts the next day and get that interest back like it's just crazy I was like that's I was thoroughly from performer to performer I was thoroughly impressed by that seriously yeah

1:11:09Steph McMahon:we are with Fanatics and they have a question for you Michael okay Saturday Night Live has had an amazing history of co-anchors on Weekend Update. If you had to choose two wrestlers from any time who could handle the Weekend Update desk, who do you think would be up to the challenge as a good co-anchor duo? From any time? Yes. Wow. Number one, it's got to be, I got to go Piper. Piper jumps out to me as just one of the best public speakers there are, there's ever been. now does he need a straight man yes not two wild personalities one straight man one wild or no I'm going to go Heenan Piper and Heenan update who's not watching that who's not watching that absolutely Piper and Heenan that'll be my update I wonder if AI can make that happen I bet it could.

1:12:12Steph McMahon:Probably could. Yeah. Awesome. Wait, who would you like to see? Oh, my God. Well, Piper and Heenan was a great one. Yeah, okay, I won. I mean, really. Heenan doing anything. Heenan doing anything. I love Bobby Heenan. I love Bobby Heenan. I love Bobby Heenan. Oh, my God, so smart. I think what I love is when, like, and I think comedians who are successful are really, really, really smart. Yeah. And so I love when humor makes me think. and Bobby was always just like so fast I love that and he was always Bobby and he sort of had that slight mania I don't know how slight it was but he was like he's the best if I needed somebody on my side I wanted to be Bobby yeah I agree hands down have you ever had sort of like like a white whale of man I wish that person could have been a wrestler or at least did like a program um that's such an interesting question I have always wanted Serena oh that's cool amazing I really do oh that's really cool I think she would have been awesome she could talk shit and back it up you know i like that yeah i like that serena williams oh i like that and and she would she'd stack up like she would certainly look the part yeah i always thought she'd be great that's that's really cool oh that's cool how about you who would you love to see in there um oh that's a good one it is a good one oh well no no a name came to mind but I don't know I don't know if that's a good choice well but man who would be good who came to mind McGregor oh yeah just because of the way he talks but I think he might be crazy now but we're not talking reality based anyway this is all hypothetical but that's who came to mind I was like oh that would be like a fun McGregor versus Pungin on the mic can you imagine the program yeah the build would be outrageous it would be insanity man yeah he would be someone that's kind of fun to watch or like one of those like an Indomitian Sioux or somebody like a terrifying football player you know what I mean somebody like that like a Ray Lewis or somebody like oh man this guy starts from I remember the Lawrence Taylor and I remember how tired he was afterwards literally carry him and Salt-N-Pepa sang him to the ring what a man I remember I was there I just like the era of the wrestlers that come out that I'm like, oh, I haven't heard that name in so long or whatever.

1:15:28You know, you kind of people that you forgot. And then also like, as I've gotten older, I didn't realize, like when I was a kid or at the time, I didn't know that certain characters were other characters.

1:15:38Steph McMahon:Right. So like, you know what I mean? Like there's like people that you might like from somewhere else that you're like, oh, that was Texas Tornado? I didn't know. I never put together that that was Carrie Von Ack. Right, right. So like stuff like that was like really cool. Like, oh wait, that Papa Shango's The Godfather? Yeah. How is that possible? So like I love I love stuff like that. But I like Roy Rumble is my favorite. And I like the house shows. Yeah. Like just random house shows where it'll be like Adrian Adonis or, you know, people like people that you really don't see that often in pay-per-views because there wasn't a lot of pay-per-views back in those days.

1:16:17At that time, no. So you didn't see all of the wrestlers at WrestleMania.

1:16:21Steph McMahon:Yeah. But, you know, at a house show, you can see Ken Patara or something. You know, like, whoa. You know what I mean? Like that kind of thing. So I like those old ones or like Afro Andre.

1:16:34I like Andre when he had the big Afro. Yeah, he did. Athletic and all of that. Yeah. But that's like I used to have the doll. He was like this.

1:16:42Steph McMahon:I had the doll too. The big Andre doll? Yeah. He's like this when he got the big old Afro. He's in the trunks. Because they have one with the singlet. With the singlet. But I remember remembering the trunks too. The blue trunks. Yeah, blue. Yeah. I can picture the same thing. I think Big John Studd was like this. Yeah, he had the white pants. With the stars on the side or something. Yeah, he had like blue stars and red boots. Red boots. Yeah. Those dolls were hard as hell. They were really hard. If you got hit with one of those dolls. And I have. Yes. I have. I had a little cousin. I still have him.

1:17:14But I have a little cousin. His name is Donovan. and he used to get those dolls and you better keep your head on the swimming. Yeah. Because he will whip them at you and they hurt. He will whip them. Yeah. It was oh man. I had Greg Valentine and I had Magnificent Morocco. Oh yes. But so Fuji Vice was a take off on Miami Vice.

1:17:40Steph McMahon:I had a Fuji. And it was pretty funny. Was he a good one? It was like a skit that aired within TNT. Oh. Who was he with? Oh, my gosh. Well, I'll tell you, Bruce Prichard can tell you all these stories. But he was with Don Morocco. I mean, that was the idea. Oh, okay. All right. All right. Okay. But I've heard Bruce tell a lot of these stories. You should hang out with him and just pick his brain. I would love to. I mean, as you can see, I could talk this stuff all day. I loved it. I'm a big wrestling fan. It's awesome. Is it? Yeah. I have one question. Okay. Just one question. Who were you the most shocked by being a huge wrestling fan?

1:18:26Steph McMahon:Oh. Like, really? I think I'm more surprised when people aren't fans than when they are. Like, really? You've never heard of it? Like, that is usually shocking to me. Yeah, that does. Yeah, I don't know how that's possible. I've never understood that. I think Lin, I was pretty surprised that he was such a big fan. Yeah. That wouldn't shock me. And then I had heard that he had been even in the UK to like an NXT at that time. Like, I mean, with the limited amount of time that he has that he would want to come to WWE like that. I think that one surprised me. Was there anybody that ever like asked to be a part of it?

1:19:11And you were like, no, man, you don't, you're not going to be able to wrestle.

1:19:16Steph McMahon:I don't make those decisions.

1:19:22Steph McMahon:But I'll tell you who was. Michael Che and Colin Jost. Yeah.

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1:21:17Steph McMahon:Battle to the top for rewards with bonus spins, mystery wins, and cash collect moments. This is WrestleMania Road to Gold and it only lives at Fanatics Casino. must be 21 and over. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Not available in all states. See Fanatic's casino app. Did your grandmother get to see you perform stand-up? Martha, right? Martha. Martha did not get to see me do stand-up. Martha is a very, very religious woman. Martha's never heard me swear Martha's not coming to the show So the whole sex analogy off the top was No, no, no, no, no Martha would be washing my mouth with a toilet brush right now

1:22:12But, incidentally, funniest person I ever met Really? Funniest person You know, she's funny in a way that's like she doesn't know Right And it's never on purpose trying to be funny no she's just she was just one of those like no filter brain to mouth and you're just like horrified like literally will horrify a room where you're like grandma you cannot do that but yeah she was so funny and everything she said would be she would say like the craziest funniest things but nothing was would make me laugh harder than when she laughed hard because her laugh was like she couldn't breathe like she was like like you know people laugh like you're like are you okay she would laugh in a way where it'd be like no sound for five minutes oh my god that's awesome

1:23:13Steph McMahon:And then suddenly the big. And then suddenly, yeah, just like, oh, she laughed so hard. And it would be like, she was just the best. She was like such a, she was a tough, tough, tough lady. And she could be difficult. As grandmas could be, she could be difficult. She was tough, though. She meant what she said. And she was funny, though. She was pure, pure. Is there any story that comes to mind? There's a few. that you're able to tell without getting in trouble i don't know i don't know come on oh man i don't know well yeah she was i don't know i don't know that's a tough one grandma's stories are the best grandma's stories are the best i remember she she before she passed away she was um she needed she there was a point where she needed like 24 hour care yeah and uh she couldn't remember and all that but i remember i would go i would go to the hospital talk to her she would forget who i was like four times in in two hours or whatever and she would talk about her plans to go to wherever and you're just you know she would talk like she was single and you're like what but if i asked her about something from the 60s or 50s or a song or anything oh she remembered it like it was happening just now i could tell her if i asked her like what she wore to church she could tell you about her fox and her this and that she would make all her clothes really she would make all her clothes she would just all she did was was pray and so cook, love that was her so it was pure and my grandfather was my introduction to professional wrestling my grandfather the only thing he watched was the news Sanford and Son and wrestling the only thing he watched on TV news, Sanford and Son and wrestling and when I was a kid I kind of learned how to talk with my brothers and sisters obviously but I would go to my grandfather's house and I would watch wrestling with him and I would tell him about last week's show.

1:25:35I would tell him about the Iron Sheik and I would tell him, oh, these people, you know, I was two, three years old and he would just be so interested and I had no idea. So like later I was like, oh, he was just encouraging me to talk.

1:25:49But he would act like he needed to hear this. You know what I mean? He would eat peanuts. He made you the most important person in the room. And I was the most important because I had this information And I thought I needed to bring it to him. I was like, oh, Grandpa's got to hear this. You've got to tell Grandpa. No way. I've got to tell him what Piper's up to, you know. He's not going to believe this. But, yeah, but he loved wrestling. We would talk wrestling all the time. And that was sort of my introduction to New York's Madison Square Garden. The microphone, I'm telling you, I love that microphone.

1:26:21Yeah, funny people. My grandfather was like a ham on purpose. Yeah. He was a preacher. He was a pastor. Okay. for many years. So he was an orator. He knew how to speak. He knew how to command a room. Well, there are some dots connecting. Yeah, he knew how to do that thing.

1:26:34Steph McMahon:Yeah. But my grandmother was just purely funny. Just offensive. So you're kind of like a combo. My grandparents was Patrice O 'Neal. Together. No, yeah, they were great people. We lost them both, but man, they lived a heck of a life and brought a lot of cool people in the world. Yeah. They really did, yeah. And did your brothers and sisters watch as well? Or mainly just you? My brothers, yeah, they watched a lot of, they was savvier. So they knew, I guess they would have known a different generation. But because I'm by far the baby. My closest sibling is eight years. Oh, eight years. Okay. So I'm by far the baby.

1:27:20And yeah, they would watch. But they wasn't into it the way I was into it. Because by the time I was into it, they were like outside. They were like older or whatever. It was like whatever. But when I was into it, I was like obsessed with it for years and years. I used to get the supermarket plastic bags and I would cut the bottom of the bag and I would put it on like a tank top and I would rip my shirt like her crazy. Did you not do that? Did the kids not do that?

1:27:52Steph McMahon:Can I just say that's the smartest thing? because the actual t-shirts are very hard to rip. You can never rip it. They're very hard to rip. If you got a ShopRite bag, it was yellow and red. You cut the bottom of the bag. You wear it like a tank top. You're so smart. It looks like a spaghetti strap because the straps are here. Then you just rip it. That's so smart. It's Hulk Hogan. That was a big deal. You're a genius. You've never heard this before? No. Now there's no more plastic bags. Yeah. They're hard to come by. But I'm shocked that other kids didn't do that. Maybe they did. But I've never heard about it.

1:28:35Well, we definitely did.

1:28:36Steph McMahon:Yeah, this is going to be a new question. Yeah, no, man. That was a big deal. No, for sure. Oh, man, we was creative. Nice. Yes. This is how I found out. And smart and creative. No, yeah. Which is no surprise. We love wrestling. Love wrestling. We used to go to the video store and get the tapes. Do you remember the name of the Coliseum Home video? Coliseum Home video, I remember they had like WrestleFests and all of those, they had like this weird it was like countries I never even heard of where they were wrestling because I only watched Saturdays and Sundays Challenge and Superstars and then they had a main event when they would come on which was awesome.

1:29:13To this day I hate MASH because MASH would come on like late and then wrestling was over I hated it. I would watch like Golden Girls and then wrestling.

1:29:22Steph McMahon:Yeah. Yeah, I remember it. This is like crazy. Me too. Yeah, when MASH comes on, that means it's time to go to bed. Though I did learn a lot in MASH. Damn helicopter. Damn helicopter. Good characters in MASH though. Maybe. I don't know. I never watched it. I was just like, aw. It just gives me like a bad feeling. I learned how to do a tracheotomy with a pen watching MASH. Really? I don't really know how to do it. Is it actually funny, though? Like, is it good? It must be. People loved it. It was. I mean, now I know why I watch so much MASH. Because it just came on. It used to come on. I remember.

1:30:01Steph McMahon:Yeah, and Golden Girls. I did love Golden Girls, too. Golden Girls was the bomb. It's still the bomb. It was so funny. They still don't write shows as good as they do with Golden Girls now. But I think also, too, we don't, there's not as many seasoned performers as back in the day. Like those, like Bea Arthur and Betty White, these are like performers. And Estelle Getty. And Estelle Getty. They had to perform like decades. Yeah. Decades. Baudrill. Yeah. On stage, you know, whatever. Like they were. Do you think especially as women at that time, was it harder? I think it was just a show business thing.

1:30:40Steph McMahon:Yeah. I think in show business, you just had to be that sort of, you know, like in baseball, five to a player. Like you kind of had to know how to do it. You had to sing and dance and act and be funny and do everything. And I think now it's sort of personality based where if we like this guy as something or we like this lady for whatever reason, then we'll just cast them in everything until people get sick of them. As opposed to them being amazing performers by the time they get on television. So when you watch those old shows and you see everybody's hitting their mark and everybody's scoring and everything.

1:31:16Yeah, the clicking, you know. I mean, I feel like that in wrestling, too. Like, you could watch wrestling and you realize, like, there's guys, like, I remember I would hear, like, wrestling interviews. And they would say, like, who's the greatest wrestler? And they'll be like, you know, they may say, like, Owen Hart is the best wrestler I've ever seen. And I'll be like, he didn't win the championships, you know. but in my because in my head they didn't write him you know to win but for wrestlers that watch wrestlers like they know i can't look good as good as i look if i wasn't going against oh he's carrying it in this way or whatever or whoever it is or or you know sean or you know like what the short list of names that people talk about as these this is the best people i've ever seen like as a layman if you're just watching you're just only thinking about the guys that win the most you're not thinking about the guy that makes everybody look good that makes you care about the story that's kind of bringing people in so it you know does that make sense it does it does so i oh also i just saw step 316 oh yeah congratulations oh thank you congratulations congratulations

1:32:29well deserved i think the undertaker coming out to announce it is such a cool way and did you were Are you really surprised? You look so confused. I was. You're like, what are you doing?

1:32:41Steph McMahon:And Elise didn't know either. And so we're sitting there and, you know, one of our cameramen comes over and he goes, Steph, we want to shoot over your shoulder to get Taker's entrance. And I'm like, oh, okay. I didn't even know Taker was here tonight. But it makes sense. It's a big show. I don't always know what's happening these days. and um you know and here he comes and he makes eye contact with me and i'm and i'm like yeah because he normally would make eye contact with me because i give him shit on a regular basis and the i thought the bike kind of stalled because i thought he was supposed to go around you know and so i'm kind of like you know i'm about to give him a hard time about it but he keeps looking at me and i'm like well this is weird yeah you can read that You can read that.

1:33:27Steph McMahon:And then here he comes and he starts talking directly to me. And then here he comes over the wall and he tells me to sit down and I'm like, okay, I don't know what this is, but we're live. So I'm with it, you know, and you can see him and he goes, so are you ready? And I'm like, always ready, always ready. And then he when he said the word induct or induction or whatever, I was like, no way. that's cool yeah and then i didn't know what to do that's really then it was all too real that's really cool but i love him and yeah he's like a big brother to me my as long as i can remember yeah that was um i remember when we did that that that thing with in um met life going back and seeing like him and vince and hogan and those guys i was just like this is a dream.

1:34:24This is like this is crazy.

1:34:27Steph McMahon:Yeah. Welcome to my world. Yeah. No. I was like it was bizarre. It was crazy. That's how I grew up. It's a fever dream. Literally like after the prom the next day I see Hogan. He's going riding bikes with my dad and motorcycles. That's crazy. And like these people have been there my whole life. I would come home from high school and find Ric Flair in my living room. crazy that sounds terrifying and I have to say it's funny because I'm like a kid you know and it it wasn't terrifying as much as it was somewhat annoying to have my personal space invaded all the time Ric Flair that's nuts and Ultimate Warrior who baffled me that he was a chiropractor he was a chiropractor licensed chiropractor yeah I know can you imagine I'm gonna crack your back no I'm not letting him do anything man don't touch me so last question you speak a lot about sketch comedy and you had the show yes on HBO so it seems as though you love sketch comedy I know where you're going no no that's open ended open ended I wasn't going anywhere like I was just I mean scared me for a second no I mean I could ask you to come write some sketches for WWE oh oh that's I mean that's where I would go but now that would that would be a nighttime yes

1:36:07no I would I would I'm not kidding I wish I never said that because I would love to do that yeah I would love to do that that would be like bucket list

1:36:17Steph McMahon:see that would be fun that would be bucket list Yeah. I, that would be, okay. You know what? I'm going to be mad you said that. I'm just saying. You might regret saying that. Well, I don't think I'm going to regret that. That could be really fun. That could be really fun. That could be really fun. That's like a cool, I'm a fan. You know, the performers now are like, there's some really, really cool, you know what I love is EO Sky. Yeah. and Rio and I was saying Rio Rio yeah together that's what they call them together oh Rio I was like what I was like her name I'm saying Rio this whole time what it's Rio

1:37:03Steph McMahon:okay yeah sorry I'm sorry that's them yo oh yo I almost felt so stupid I was like am I that guy that's just naming stuff not knowing what he's talking about alright cool Rio fair No, I love them. I love Jacob Fatu. There's so many really, really fun people to watch. I love Division. I love Paul Heyman. I have a question for Paul Heyman. Okay. Go ahead, Nils. I have a serious question for Paul Heyman. I don't know if anybody's ever asked him this, but is Paul Heyman, like, did he get inspiration from, do you know where you got his inspiration? I've heard him say a few things. He reminds me so much of the lawyer from The Wire.

1:37:50Oh. Yeah, no one stop that. Yeah, I'm telling you. I was watching The Wire. I was like, this is Paul Heyman. This is literally my client, Avon Barksdale. I was like, yo, he reminds me so much. Levy, I think his name was.

1:38:06Steph McMahon:I think Paul gets inspiration from a lot of places. It could be. He's one of the best people I've ever seen on television. Yeah. Like he's on the short list of just the best. I don't know why he's not a four-time Emmy winner. He's so good on television. And he's, I watch every time he's on, it's like something cool or developing. And I love when his hair turns white when he gets stressed. And when it turns black when he's confident. Like he's got so many little weird nuances of a performer. You know, he takes it so seriously. I could see. I could see. And like when he's supposed to be strung out, he won't sleep for days.

1:38:47Steph McMahon:You can see it on him. Like I saw like last week he had like stubble. The red eye. Yeah, he's so good. He's really fun to watch. And he makes all those guys look, I mean, he's just the hot sauce. Yeah. He's the hot sauce, man. He's so good. But yeah. Multiple levels. Huge, huge fan of all of those folks. So you have a lot to work with. Yeah, no, I mean, oh. I'm so excited. I'm excited. This whole call ride, I'm going to be like. Yeah, no, this is so much fun. No, thank you so much for doing this, really. I'm so grateful that you. No, no, this is a real treat. And it's also like it kind of, yeah, I appreciate, first of all, what you guys did for my childhood.

1:39:34And, yeah, I appreciate the product that you guys are still putting out. and anytime, yeah, this is so much I appreciate being able to go to Giant Stadium, MetLife as they call it I still call it Giant Stadium because I'm 67 years old I appreciate being able to go there and be booed and I never feel that, like that feeling of coming out and There's nothing like it in the world There's nothing like it in the world Pure adrenaline It's pure adrenaline and you guys were like I mean, it was But you guys were great it was so much fun it was so much fun it was like yeah

1:40:13Steph McMahon:do you think Colin had any idea what he was getting into yes he's crazy he's like at the Olympics getting hurt and the gear oh my god the gear was awesome DDP was like when I saw the headgear I popped he's like you popped me with the headgear kid oh my god yeah because odell just went to the browns you guys i can't my favorite my favorite was we did a we did a raw in philly we did a raw in philly we was backstage and we saw naya jacks and uh we was we was she was like she was very nice everybody was so kind to us and uh colin was like yeah since it's philly i'm gonna put on a mets hat to get them to boo me.

1:41:02And she goes, oh, honey, you don't need to put on a hat. She said, you got heel face. They're going to boo you no matter what you do. It was a great moment, man. It was so cool.

1:41:15Steph McMahon:And he was like, I'm not sure how to take that.

1:41:20Yeah, yeah.

1:41:22Steph McMahon:Oh, yeah. Look at how much younger we are. Yeah. What was it, five, two years ago? One year ago.

1:41:31does he put on the hat here is this when he does it

1:41:34Steph McMahon:I think it is

1:41:41Steph McMahon:2019 2019 2019 yeah there we go strap is broken that's even better I never noticed that before that's so much better oh that's so cool man that's so cool and you know what else was cool was at the garden recently when when i asked you the nighttime yes and and you and lynn seem to like really so i had so much fun sitting with lynn like not to name name drop right but he's amazing and he's such a fan yeah and i get to be a fan now too yeah so the whole time we were like going back and forth and i'm like you take that lin manuel and i'm having like the most fun with him no and then here you come and you guys are like such buds and like it's such a it is a community and it's weird because like i never know who's gonna be there whenever we like whenever i get to go to to especially like at the garden you never know who's gonna be there and there's so many people that I wouldn't even I don't even remember a track that their fans because like when we got there for that one Pete was there Len was there yeah Eric was there a lot of people Schultz was there yeah it was just like crazy it was a lot of people and it was like a really fun thing like oh they we all grew up similar we all kind of grew up in the city we all so it's just like that's like Mecca you know that's so cool though for us you know yeah the garden that's the it's the granddaddy and it was watching the scene that was cool as hell that was cool as hell yeah i love him after i told you after that night at barclays i was like you got it i get what they're doing yeah this is special this is this is me ripping the plastic bag that's what it's about You know, it was really cool.

1:43:43And, yeah, he'll be missed. I hope we get to see him do something else in some capacity. I'm sure he'll be involved. You think so? I think so. I'm asking if you think so.

1:43:59Steph McMahon:Really? How do you know? I don't know if he'll ever wrestle again, you know. But I think he's not going to be a stranger. Yeah, okay. You know, he loves this too much. How could you not? There's nothing better. Yeah, some people find it in person and some people find it in world. Weekend update? You know what? Especially when you do the jokes. It's my favorite. Yeah, but that's a time when we can show how we feel about each other. That makes it fun. The pieces are so funny. He's going to read something. It makes it fun. It should be fun. It's where the context comes in. Like, I don't want to take up all your time, but it's just like, you know, there's performers that can get away with certain things on Raw.

1:44:52Like, if The Rock says something one way, everybody can't say it the way The Rock said it. You know, everybody can't get away with it. Especially The Rock. But since he's doing it, it feels even crazier, you know? and I feel like joke swap is kind of one of those things where we could never do any of this stuff in the show but in the world of joke swap we can get away with it right

1:45:13Steph McMahon:and because you don't know what you're reading and you don't know what it's gonna be so the context of it just makes it a lot more fun yeah is the first time you're reading it in the dress rehearsal or is it the live well that's the thing we trick each other so for dress we have to we have to read something for dress rehearsal because we need it for time But then we switch them for air. So great. That's the first time. And who was the first person to do that? It was Colin's idea, but I thought it was a prank. I thought he was pranking me. So he was like, I got this idea where we write each other's jokes and then we read them live on air.

1:45:53And I was like, oh, you're going to try to make me say something really bad. So I'm going to make you say something way worse. and then when I read the jokes I was like this isn't that bad I just went crazy for no reason but then it was like no turning back so that's how it started then he was like what I think yeah it was crazy that's awesome yeah it was crazy

1:46:24yeah I misunderstood the assignment it.

1:46:28Steph McMahon:No, no, I think you understood it just fine. It turned out okay, though. This is so much fun, man. And I love it. This is great. You guys should give me an office. Yeah, I think we should. Well, if you're going to be writing sketches, you're going to need one, right? Yeah, man. Yeah, I would love that. Seriously, bucket list. Well, you're an incredible performer and if you want to catch some of your special, you can see it by seeing you on the road. Yeah, come by. come out I don't know where I'll be ever but it's on your website like where can they find well I don't have anything on the books that's not sold out so oh okay am I right alright that's awesome yeah I mean whatever yeah no but if you ever see me if you ever see me don't boo if you ever see me come out it's a good time And, yeah, this was fun.

1:47:26I want to come see you. Anytime. Yeah. Anytime. Daytime, yes. Anytime.

1:47:31Steph McMahon:Daytime, yes. Daytime, yes. Anytime, yes. Yeah, locked in. All right. Thank you. No, thank you. No, seriously. I hope I didn't take up too much time. I was just having a good-ass time talking with you guys. That's awesome. That's what it's supposed to be. This is so much fun.

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