ANGELO DAWKINS

wrestler nickname. I'm not even gonna say the other part, just greatness. When any time your nickname involves greatness, I think it's pretty. I think it's really special. And then's your signal, it's your move. You pop up spine buster. Yeah I don't. I don't know how you do the spine buster, but my spine is cringing thinking about it. And also to not to not to hold it against him. He's from Ohio where they still have not fixed football. Thank you. Welcome to the Cut to It podcast. Angelo,

don they no problem. I'm my biggest shirt on for you to Okay. He is a he's a proud Bakers fan, Like that's all you say on your social media, Like you you hold no punches when it comes to your fandom for the Bengers, not at all. Man's I mean, you shouldn't be Finally, you should be excited. You obviously

are living in a state with two teams. I haven't really did much uh most of their u NFL experience, but yet you have this one year of hope that you believe it is gonna change, uh, decades and decades of failure. So I'm happy that you're there. Look, Yo, as much smack as I talked, I can't really lie. So you talked when they went to the postseason, I was like, hey, just give me one playoff win. Yeah, I see playoff win in my life of being on

this earth. And they were one player with winning the Super Like, hey, you know what, y'all gave me everything I hoped for. So we had the miss on and he's a Browns fan. So you said you talked smack like you do you talk smack to the miss I mean he's a Browns fan, you're a Bengals fan. Like, what's that? What's that interact? Are you? Okay? Of course I talked smack to him. You know what I mean. Look,

he was going through it this year. You know, he thought that they were gonna you know what I'm saying, make it to the super Bowl. Everything the Bengals did, he did. He thought the Browns were gonna do everything. Joe Burrow came out to be shot. He was. He thought that the Beings, I mean, excuse me, the Browns were gonna have that kind of success. Brother, do you not watch do you not watch the Detroit Lions fan base. They think they're gonna win every year. I just thought

there was a little bit of sensibility. But we did have the same conversation with him, so it's not like this is this is new he was so we couldn't. It was all over the place. We couldn't. But what what is it like for for you to argue with the mens when pretty much both of the like, you're like, you guys are arguing over the last Now later I would say rose colored glasses, and they would be brown like actually not a non like. It's like y'all are arguing, Well,

you have a bigger piece of moldy bread than I do. Look, you know, we get it. Both of teams haven't been particularly great in the in the last two decades. Yeah, true, true, but really look at it. Cincinnati's had more listen, Cleveland has ever had. We could say that, right, I would agree with one little, one little spur two years ago. But other than that, like at least Cincinnati has made the playoffs. Like the point time, we're like, oh yo,

Cincinnati could be like do something, but they just kept losing. Yeah, I would give you that. I would give you And because of that, that's how you guys have put yourself in a position now to to to really be in a conversation of a young team. That's if they continue to add the pieces that they could be very successful. Oh yeah, so you're cheap man. I'm just happy they invested in the old line this year. That's that's all I'm apping for. You got is right now and y'all

went to the dance. So yeah, but let's get started. Man um growing up? What was your favorite TV show growing up? My favorite TV show? Man um or shows sounds Yeah, you had to look like one's too hard to pick. Yeah, so I mean we gotta go Steve Harvey show, Bernie Max Show. I was a big mad TV guy, when it was still on and it's prime. Take it to a little cartoons. Um, I was a big Recess guy. One Saturday morning, Guy Pepper ran on Lloyden's Space, Street Sharks, Static Shock. Those are my favorite

shows right there. Those. But I was gonna double back on Steve Harve because that's not when you're here all the time. No, I like, what was Steve's name in the Steve Harvey show, Steve Steve hot Tower. He wouldn't even Steve Harvey. He was was he he went the principle he was a teacher teacher because I think the principle said that he was that he was the coach. He was a gym coach. Uh the Regina Regina was Regina was the principal. Yeah, yeah, I missed all those

cartoons though. Yeah, I do remember Recess, but I don't remember some of the other ones. What was something that that was like towards like the later pepperre came on when Recess pep Pepper. See, my mom had us clean and so I missed all that stuff. By that twn the whole house and my life had below. So it sounds like Saturday Saturday morning, it was time to clean up right, Yeah, I was, you know, obviously Batman. Um, but right after Batman though, Oh Batman the animated series, No, no, no,

bat Man. Adam West on Saturday mornings. Yeah, you ushould be on at eleven o'clock. Don't try to say you a little older than me that I thought. I thought you saw about the animated one. We're like a little shorter years. I watched that one, but I'm talking about I'm talking about Adam West, chee Batman. That was. That was Saturday morning and we can't mention it. But that's when wrestling would follow after that. I will watch wrestling, right,

That's what my love for wrestling was. Their superstars. Yeah, the beefcake, get your hair cut? Right. We gotta get to the nostalgia. Yeah, I feel like Angela gonna rock with us a little bit more nostalgia. Um. Let's see, man, you're talking about snacks before you got on here. What's what's one of your go to snacks? Gummy words? M hm? Out of that, doun'my worms. That's been my my goal to ever since I was a little kid. Really, so when you go to movies, you get you get gummy worms.

Oh yeah, well not really get gummy worms, sneak them into the movies. I mean this is this is a recorded line. Man, I go a red vnes, I go a red v red vines. Okay, yeah, Like I'm not a twiztlers guy like red vines with the popcorn. I sneak them into because they don't have they don't have red vines. They got Twister. I don't know why you want the twisters. Yeah, ain't ain't real liquor, pretty shaky. I'll pay for the popcorn, but candy I gotta sneak

in on my own, like seventeen dollars. It's like, Tim, you know it's it's funny. Just it's way off topic, way off topic, right, is it, Tim Bucks Small? Here's here's the craziest thing you want to talk about. My dad used to we used to go before we went to the movies, we will go to nine nine cent store right and get candy at the nine story. Was like five of them for nine nine sent And I never understood, like, why are we going to nine nine

sisto with a good candy is at the register? We was parsed, that's why you should have just told me, But I didn't realize yet that and I still do it now. I'm I'm leaning towards that way too. My kids don't go to nine nine story dog like because I had realized, like the economy, some of the candy at the nine s story ain't up to date. Dog. That's your responsibility as parents, check check the days. But

it built that a music. Right, there's COVID, which is contagious, but then there's salmonella for black folks were good you never heard of yeah, you know when you heard about it. Though, when you eat the mother folks potato salad, that always get you potato salad, it's true. Well, you you eat, you get your old kid. That's a that's an inter at your home. Somebody else potatoes. You eat some old candy.

So questions some questionable protein, right, you see. I wasn't gonna say you eat some questionable protein and still make it. But you eat some other folks potato salad, man, they'll run through you about three am. I'm here, we're fresh off the more your da up up? Oh man, all right, let's get into it. A man. Well man, where are you from in the place you call your hometown? I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio. Grew up in Fairfield, which basically Cincinnati,

just like ten minutes away. Uh. Yeah, I grew up there the same schools Jackson Carmen, one of the Bengals old linemen. Yeah, I was gonna google It's like now they go to school with Jordan, just some lineman we don't know about. I like it. I love your pride, man, I love your pride. I'm the same way with uh l a bro So. I love the pride. Is where you from, is where you're from. I can't deny it, you know. Uh, if you're proud of you, always represented you,

always cheering for it. Um. So, man, that's that's remarkable. That's awesome. Uh. You know, tell us growing up Fairfoot, Ohio slash Cincinnati. Um, what are some of the things that you experienced that that has impacted you when you sit down and think about it. Uh. Some of the things that impacted me, Um, just being able to uh you know what I'm saying. Grow up. It was just me and my mom, so Uh it was I just pretty much had to grow up and be a man

pretty early. Uh, and just learn how to be the man of the house and be able to take care of things and being able to answer university and my mom was pretty tough for me anyway, Like with school just kept me out of trouble, put me in sports, So I was pretty busy during the summer when school wasn't happening. Um, yeah, like I just stayed busy, stayed playing sports, and stayed out of trouble. You made the statement of have being a man in the house. What

did what did that mean to be the man of house? What? What? What were those responsibilities that you're referring to? So like ere every times when my mom would get off late from work, so like sometimes I had to cook dinner and stuff like that, make sure my homework's done, uh, sometimes clean the house up and make sure everything's good so my mom ain't really gotta worry about it to

where like she just comes in. She can just you know what I'm saying, get off her feet for a little bit, watch a little TV, eat a little mill, go to bed, make sure everything's good, and then do whatever she needed to do. And I just basically just took care of that as much as I could. Whenever I saw that I had to pick up the slap that she was not gonna be home late. I always made sure when she said, hey, take the chicken out, the freezer was out the freezer because you learned the

hard way. Yeah, I learned the hard way about what is the alternative? Uh? You know, the plug out your mouth, get your teeth straight, hongry dog. I don't know what you're saying, so as as what were you when you were when you were growing up? What were those initial dreams? What do you want to be when you grew up back then? What do you dream about? Honestly, wanted to be in the NFL. Actually I wanted to play football when I was younger, um, but that ended up not

working out necessarily. Like, I had no plans of ever wrestling. I didn't even know wrestling really existed until I knew w W existed, But I didn't know like amateur wrestling existed until I was a junior in high school and our security guard at the school he was one of the wrestling coaches, and he was like, he should come tryal for the wrestling team. Hold on what I'm saying, like, hey, to help you out with football. My mom wasn't really up for it. She wanted me to play basketball. So

I was like oh no, I go try wrestling. And I tried it. I mean the practices were hard, but the tournaments and the duel meets a lot of fun and I just became like really good at it. Um. But I still like focused on football. Ended up graduating high school and going to Juco College and Harper College Harper College in Illinois, and I played football there. I had no intentions of wrestling after high school, Like I

had to cut weight to get the two fifteen. I wanted to enjoy Thanksgiving, enjoy Christmas, be able to eat a lot and uh get ahold of uh some potato salad during those holidays. But uh but now um, but yeah, like I had no plans of wrestling in college after high school, and so a bunch of heavyweights got hurt and the wrestling coach came and tried to recruit me to come wrestle for him in college, and I was like, nah,

I'm I'm gonna go home and enjoy myself. And then second some master started and our defensive coordinator tracked me down on campus dragged me to the wrestling coach's office, say hey, you got your heavyweight here, and I was like, oh, I guess I'm wrestling, And so I ended up wrestling in college. I was like one match away from all Americans, with like half the season already done. And then I ended up getting recruited to go to w W. So I just I wanted to be a football player and

I ended up becoming a professional wrestling. Well, let's unpack that one. Who's the security guard in high school? That? Uh, that that introduce you to wrestling? Kenny Poe, defensive coordinator at your college where there's four year community. I don't care what it is. It's still at college and you're pursuing that. How did that sit with you a little bit at that point in time? I was like, all right, I guess I ain't got no choices about it. Did

you play football after that? Or you just you Oh no, I still played football. I did both. I did both football and wrestling. So like we had just got done with football season, um and we uh ended up winning the national championship for Juico that year for non scholarship Juco, and like guy, like it was like the season was done, was getting ready for the off season, getting ready for next season and all that stuff, and they just told me to go, like, hey, I want you to go

join wrestling. I don't know if it was just to keep me busy, just like make sure I don't like like do anything crazy and like make sure I keep my head like keep my head straight and focused all year so I can like do be good and be the best I could be. But it was just like h and I also think it was like we a

bunch of the guys from the football team. We had like a little deal or like some of us wrestled, so like some of us will get together and wrestle, and I ended up beating that everybody, so they're dogs is pretty good. So they was like, hey, we got this kid on the football team. He was like, he's pretty good at football, but he can help you out

and wrestling. So that's how that came about. That he just dragged me to the room, was like, hey, got your heavyweight, got there, wrestled, and then uh, that's ended up how I ended up here. I love cut to It and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, where where at that's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What about Twitter? At? Cut to It? Facebook? Cut to it featuring Steve Smith singr what about online?

And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com, where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my answers questions. Uh yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, cut to a podcast dot com. How did you get the attention of w W when you were wrestling in college? Talk a little bit about that. That um, that transition.

So uh that transition. We were at national dues, um so like I'm getting ready for a match, and like our coaches are wrestling coaches likes gonna play tricks on us and stuff like that, play a little jokes. So like they were like, hey, yo, Vince McMahon's right hand managed here to see you. He wants to talk to you. I'm like what And I'm like, nah, whatever, man like leave me alone, let me focus on this real quick, and so he is. They were like no, We're dead serious.

I'm like yeah whatever, bro, Like all right, I'll play along with this guy. Let me want the smatch man. So I'm like getting warmed up, getting warmed up, go out there, ar wrestling matches over with I win, come back well, bearing a chair, breathing hard like you get trying to like barely could drink any water at that point in time. Sure enough, Jerry Briscoe comes up, was like, Hey, I'm Jay Briscoe for the w w E. Like to talk to you about coming to trial for w w E.

It was like, oh, so it wasn't a joke. Yeah. I was like, oh so you guys were telling the truth. But did you have any idea how you got on that? Do you have any idea how you got on their radar? Like were you were you a ranked wrestler or do they just are they sending scouts out to to look like I guess you don't give us insight on it. Um So at that point in time, I was ranked nationally uh so. But Jerry Briscoe he used to wrestling amateurly as well. He was an amateur wrestler as well

for Oklahoma State. He was All American back in the day. So that's and he wrestled in w w E for a very long time and he was in the front office. He would be the one that go recruit like the guys like Brock Lessner, Shelton, Benjamin and like all those amateur wrestlers, Curt Angle. Um, he was the guy that recruited those those guys and because he will go to all the tournaments and whatever and like, hey, like I think you would be really good. You should give it

a trial, whatever you want. And so it was just like we talked from there and he ended up getting me a try out later on that year and then I've been here ever since. In wrestling, right, professional wrestling, amateur wrestling, Why do they need to Why having the history does it benefit you? Because obviously, like miss you know, not everybody has the history of wrestling in college, arrestling in high school something, you know something. Have learned the

professional aspect of it by trial and there. Right, learning the moves are pretty like it got pretty easy. Um, it took a little took a little wild, but like learning the moves are pretty easy just because like athletes can, like I can learn pretty fast. Now, the theatrical part of it, the entertainment part, now, that was a part that kind of like I struggled with when I first got there because I'm always like serious and I'm like

ready to go, like I'm I'm in the zone. But like I needed to be like show my face more, make more facial expressions, be more entertaining after I do a move instead of just like going right on them, like I hit a drop kick, get the crowd wild up and stuff like that, and like what I'm saying, just celebrate. You get into wrestling by you know, being dynamic. In college, you go through the process and you try out. How was trying out for you in your particular journey

getting to the pinnacle you are today? It was actually a crazy experience. I didn't know what I was getting myself into necessarily. Uh, Like when I first got there, like when I was in college, I didn't really have money for a suit, so like I showed up in like house shoes and sweatpants in the hoodie. Everybody else is like decked out in suits and stuff. I'm like, oh, whoa, Yes, I didn't get that memo. So like it was just like oh snapping, Like people are just looking at me, like, yo,

who is this guy pole? Like what is he doing to here? How did he even get like how did he get in the door. I'm like trying to figure it out. Yeah, I'm like, hey, I'm with I'm trying to figure this out myself. Man. I was like, I did not know you were supposed to come with me because in my mind, I don't thinking try out, like nothing about that and saying suit tie like a polo. Nothing. I just showed up. How shoes you to wrestle? Yeah? Like, yeah, I got my wrestling shoes, had my books back, and

that's it showed. But but seriously, though, in those moments, though, did you ever find yourself like playing that comparison game? Because I just know being being a wrestling fan and coming up like you hear those stories of like Brett Hart's dad that would train all those people like in this basement. Did you ever play that comparison game? Because there are so many people that come into the business in various ways. Did you ever have that comparison game?

Because there were there were cats that were there that had the boots and had the suits and had all those different things. Did you ever fall into that comparison game? Uh? Sometimes a little bit um but then like after a couple of years, like once I got hired in like a couple of years, that kind of like left and it was just like, look, I'm gonna be I'm gonna

be me no matter what. And I've always been the guy that's always been very relaxed, very laid back and like never tried to worry about anybody else and try to control everything that I can control for me. And and so for a minute, I did play that little bit like it was like, oh man, damn, this dude miles ahead of me. Like but then again, like the cool part about it was I had zero experience coming in two that sad profession. Those guys have been doing

it for like Double Digy Gears like ten years. Like I was in middle school with some of those dudes. Really, some of the guys there were like wrestling already around the world and stuff like that. The furthest I've ever been was Illinois, pretty much outside of Ohio, so I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. The trial was in Florida. I've never been in Florida before,

so I've never been that far away from home. But like I learned from him, But at the same time, it was just like, all right, I can't really play this comparison game. Because I played this comparison game with him, I'm gonna find myself out of here really fast, and so it's just more of a how can I find a way to stand out? And I stood out definitely with the sweatpants and our shoes. Everybody has suits. I was the only one. They're just chilling like, oh all right.

A lot of athletes, some more than others, are able to process or eliminate um the internal dialogue, right, the

mental aspect of it. But I do think there is some people who I think, and it's just me, there are some athletes who that's the only way they can operate is by comparison, right, that that compare And I think, uh, hear and hearing everything you're saying is you basically walked in there knowing you were inexperience, and you were okay with being inexperienced, right, And so you know, where where did the comfortability come from for you with being okay

with being inexperience? Because not everybody, not everybody likes being in experience, Not everybody is comfortable being a young bucker, being a person who doesn't know everything. It had its uh moments where just like it felt it felt pretty bad, like I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I had no idea how to operate and stuff

like that. But once I started getting more comfortable, I have to give credit to like my coaches that were there, like coach Norman Smiley um at the time when he was there building Uh, Billy Gunn sorry, um, Coach Billy Gunn when he was there, he was the one that that was like digging in trying to like bring me out of my comfort zone and like just to express myself and like, look, it's okay that you're inexperience, but you like, there's a lot of people that come in

that are inexperienced. Heck, there's a lot of people that come in here that are experienced and they're still inexperienced because they don't know what they're doing in a way, So it's like, okay, just to be inexperienced. As long as you're learning and you're getting better and you're starting

to have fun, that's all that matters. And once him, Norman, Robbie Brookside, and Terry Taylor all sat me down and told me that that's when I was like, all right, you never traveled outside of Ohio and then obviously going to college, you travel to Illinois. Yeah, so other than that, what places and where have you been? And you never thought a million years that you would you would be

sleeping in the hotel. I'm I was, you know, I and I and I asked that is there are sometimes when I I can try I travel, I will sometimes look out my hotel room and it's not always a you know, if you're in a hotel enough, you know, and not every hotel room has a great view summertimes, like if you go to New York, you could be in a five star hotel and in New York, we're looking at a brick window right, looking outside your window and a brick wall, right, it just happens to be.

That's just how that that concrete jungle. So you know, when you sit back and look at atty one years old, Uh, you know where you where you started, how you traveled, very limited knowledge. But yet today you've been able to travel beyond where even your imagination can take you. Right, I mean yeah, I have to say the UK. Never did I ever think I'll be in the U K? And what you what'd you experience? What do you experience in the UK? That was that that made you glow

and light up the way you just did? Um? It was just like the whole atmosphere. So like that was when I got introduced to soccer because I never really watched soccer over here, so like going over there, we're like when we first went over there, there was like a huge soccer game happening, so like I was just like it was just like how we are with football here, just like everybody just gets together at a bar or whatever, drinking it up or whatever, just having fun watching the game,

doing cheers and stuff like that, talking smack. But yeah, it was like that I got to experience that, which was nuts. Um being near Wimbley Stadium. We haven't gone inside of it, but we're at the hotel right next to it. I believe that's where it's like some of the NFL games are played at Wimbley and like we've had shows at like the Wimbley Hall, and like being there, like that whole like little city right there is just insane,

just because like it's just nuts. The fish and chips are good, um, and and not like the people are just really nice. Took me a minute to get used to the accent, but they're just really nice over there, and it's just like I don't know, it was just it's just cofferent over here. What about where are some other places? Uh for starters, I gotta say in Miami, Well, yeah, the first time I went there, that was an experience. Uh never never be in Miami. You have some money.

Uh no, Miami bro game he had some money, like me too, play together, you know what I'm saying. Making a good time. But when we first when I first moved to uh Florida, one of the weekends that we actually got off and we didn't have any shows, we uh into Miami for a weekend and just kicked it there. One of our boys, like his cousin lived there, so like we already had a place to stay and it was just like that was like a whole different atmosphere, going to the beach and stuff. I wasn't really used

to that. Um from there. Vegas that was another experience on the company dime, the Company dime right there. Uh. We also l A was another one, another place I was like, oh wow, this is this is insane. And then Dallas where we had WrestleMania this past year and that was our first actual WrestleMania after COVID. So So how did how did you come up with your nickname uh beat. I was beating my roommates and a maddening uh fight night and I was just running the sticks

for like two and a half. I was straight just couldn't lose. And I was just like, bro, like I'm look, man, I don't It's not like I'm trying to do this dog just like I'm I'm cursed with it. Do gonna cursed with greatness right now? It's just not letting me let y'all win like I can't. So you're not being uh unapologetic for you greatness. Yeah, I was just like and I was just joking around and so like. And

that was also the cool part. Two. Like I had roommates at the time they were like also wrestling with me, and they had way way more experienced than I ever had. So like that was still when I was still kind of trying to like find myself on like the entertainment aspect of things and stuff like that. So like the way I am at home, it's complete completely different than the way I was at when we were practicing or

like when we have matches and stuff like that. And they were like, bro, you should you should try this, and so I was like okay, cool, Like what like very next day I went out there and started talking about how great I was, and I just getting booed. So you sw I'm getting cheered. So that's the cool part. So you end up you end up finding yourself. You make your TV debut inve and what was that like?

Like you you've gone through this, this this training program, all these things you've talked about previously in this podcast. But to walk out and what you're getting booed a jeered? But to see all those people and you're now you're in that squared circle and you see all these people whether it's you're in up boring, Like, what was what was that moment? Like I was it was a little nerve racking. It was one of my first time being on tv M. So that you got just go out

there and put on a good match. You got a radio face or TV face? I got a radio face. Yeah, I'm asking you got radio face for TV face for telephison. I mean I got both the strengthening Honest, I like asking that because sometimes people they freeze out there like we'll do you know, they started second guessing TV fas bro. You got radio face, you partner up with montes Ford. Y'all are the Street Profits, w W Raw Tag Team Champions, w W SmackDown Champions, next Tag Team Champions, evolved Tag

Team Championships. What is the what's the culmination or what was what was the coming to age story of the Street Profits? Uh? That was all Triple Age. Honestly, we're me and Tess are already boys before um. I was already there before him. He started in two thousand, fifteen sixteen. I believe I started in two thousand twelve. Uh. At that point in time, Like it was crazy because I

was really young. So I've been there longer than the majority of every like pretty much everybody, but I was still younger than everybody, so I it was it was weird. It was like I was the vet, but not really at that point in time when he got there. Uh. But now, so one day we had a match like right after each other, and Triple h was like, hey, like let's see how those two work together. And sure enough, it was like, oh it worked out because we were

already boys. Anyway, sometimes when you get put with somebody in the tag team, I really ain't that cool or whatever. It's just more of like an acquaintance thing. But we were really cool. We're best friends, and uh then we just took off running from then some triple edgers like, hey, make him a tag took the ball rand with it, and so who came up which one of you geniuses came up with the name Street Profits? It was a universal thing. Yeah, it was saying trips O, you lost

me on that. It was like the label, damn, right, next thing, you're gonna be there. I got an album dropping to about Drake and Harlow just had a collaboration. But now we've got Street Profits drama, Like, right, do me the kind of pro I got a deal? They threw me off. I was streaming on all DSPs. I was like, okay, right. I was like, all right, man, I see you. I was. I was like, dang, I mean these brothers got a whole bunch of tag teams championships,

but now they got a deal. And I was like, I missed that one right that went in the research y'all have y'all have had a lot of success. When you think about tag teams, who are some of those tag teams from back in the day. I know I've got mine, but who are yours? Steve weigh in. But who are some of those influential tag teams that you draw inspiration from. We gotta go first and foremost Harlem Heat, Sir.

I don't know if it's a it's if it's a coastal thing, but on the West coast, like for US w W, we didn't see I didn't see the Harlem Heat. Is I saw a book book or T was later for me, right, Booker T was in that, you know, and he was like I grew up by that time. I was out of wrestling body. Yeah, see, I grew up, um man. I grew up watching when uh when when when Ricky the Dragon boats, Ricky Steamboat, when he got when they took the bowl and like they cart him

off later. So I was watching back then, Bruce Barbarbiefcake, Jake the Snake, Undertaker, the first Ultimate Warrior, right, you know, So for me it was such a I was watching when I was young, young, right that you know that pay per view like pay per view for the main events, you know, or the main events were like super late at night. So uh, that's why I'm I'm a little bit like when I got older, I kind of phased out of it. My grandpa kind of hurt my feelings

on it. But anyway, so as as w D w W E has risen and became more of the storylines, I was watching it when it was less of storylines more of wrestling, right you know, Hawl Coke And what are you gonna do when you see these twenty two inch pythons wrapped around you? Uh? Mr t You know all these different characters and when wrestling had a cartoon Junkyard Dog, right, Kamala, you know those are those are the guys, uh hacks All, Jim dug In with a two by four. Those are the guys that I grew

up watching that. Kurt Angle was on the back end for me, Like I look at Kurt Angle and I kind of scratched my head. Not anything against him, but I just grew up where man Kurt Ay we wasn't the last back in the day, right the demolition when they was two and then they added the Big Dude and it was the three you know, Bretta Hitman Hard like all these guys that that that was the way

I watched wrestling. Um you know, just in ways that was that was extremely different, Like the story lives were just not as as pertinent or in front of you. They were like the villain was Mr. Perfect right, he was perfection Lex Luger like that stuff that those are the that's the wrestling that I watched. That's a little bit different. And I believe you guys are upgrade, right. You have the you have the wrestling, but the storylines or something to follow and watch. And I think that's

that is the that's the difference. That's the difference of playing catch up that that I'm playing right now. Good, do it good, it's getting down to do it good. Hey, Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? You mean, oh yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys

at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts like Wrestling Today Now is like how you know, like school yard fights, right, there was always a group of guys that would you know, they bumped shoulders and they're going around in the circle, right. That means they didn't want to fight, right, And then old school wrestlers like as soon as they as soon as

they try to have a conversation. Man, they was getting yes, like a maging right they do an interview in the back they're chasing them in the back room, right, Um, who was the cop? I remember to do the big

Big boss Man. Yes, like Big boss Man right, like stuff like that, where like he gets that billy club like get them right, I mean looking on But it's just the craziness, right that that's a that's that's that's the that's the nostalgic of wrestling that I grew up on, right seeing Ultimate Warrior run full speed from when they hit that, when the music dropped, that dude is running

a hunter. His story time was bananas. So you just My other question was gonna be who had some of the best wrestling entrance music that when they as they hit the Ultimate war he was the tassels on this taking the ropes that room or the or when you used to hit Hawk Hogan, he he did hit you. He gets more fired up. That's crazy. I think I'm just thinking about it. When I played that's kind of

where I got some of else theatrics from. He was saying he was Ultimate Warrior Hawk Hogan, Right, Hogan, Hey, I've grown man. Yeah, I just I just be together. It was like I remember, man, you just get hit, I'll be like, oh yeah I did. He get up boy started eating all the punches even affect. That's a pause. But we we went way off an attention who we went well with a tangent? Who were some of those influences for you? Like you started right who you said

hold him heat? Who else was it for you? Harlem heat Um, Hardy Boys, mud least m edging Christian man, skinny dude, don't little skin do with that? Hey? Yeah? They was flipping in with the X on the the Hardies had something that's a yeah. Yeah, they had to pass on their shins and all that stuff. Man. It was it was coming out there knocking the snot out of people. Who was that with d x um the Badass Billy Gunn and Jesse James. They had they had

they had one Um got you are Staner Brothers. Yeah, man Kind they did have a run and and uh and and the rock Yeah man Kind Yeah, man kind of give you some nightmares, bro. Yeah he was. That was scary storyline right there. And they used to get scared of man con lot of people Undertaker he eyes rolled back his head right. Want to take it? Was to take it. He was so agile, all right, last one, last one, no stygia for all of us. Andrea Giant. Sorry,

what you're just thinking of Andrea Giant? Okay that little Yeah, you just got excited talking about a giant though. Andrea Giant like he was like sad squash. He could be and big show, big show, big show, a big yeah. Um best finishing moves toom Stone three d okay, uh rock Bottom, I gotta put the people's elbow up there, the people Stone coast. I was wondering where that was gonna. Yeah, if we wouldn't went through that top five and Stone start,

it wasn't on there. Sharp shooter, that's not top five. I like the sharp shooter. I don't like the sharp shoot. He's a freak out with that sharp shoot. You know what, let's take Let's take people's elbow out. Put the sharp shooter in the Okay, okay, look around what the ultimate Warriors over? He would lift them up. Yeah, he kind of ducked a little power slam kind of thing to give you that night night. Right after that, he come off the top rop with the elbow. Yeah. Look macho man.

I like that. I like Brutus the barb beefcake. He's remember what the sleeperhole and cut your hair? Ye remember that now? Yeah? Out right now it's a vibe. You said that you sat in the barber chair when you're getting your haircut. Why you all right, man, say it's too comfortable. Yeah, that's just growing up as a kid,

you know, doing that. And then you go out there, and then you go out there now and those when those videos go when they have backyard brawls, remember they somebody trying to get slammed, you have, they would make rings in the backyards. Man. People was getting wopped in the backyards, getting hurt, breaking arms and stuff that, right, dit on, I remember we had somebody who got an old mattress, right, but the mattress already beat up, so you'd like, I think we had to do Johnny. Johnny

was an idiot and he was it. He put it on the side where the springs are already coming through the mattress and y'all already had a hell and sale matchup. Johnny wasn't the sharpest tool in the shade, But so what do you think the next ten years looked like for you next ten years, man, next ten years, I'll be forty one. Uh. How you thinking? How you with a lot more tag titles? Huh? I said you like you kind of look he's like forty one. I mean i' still be a pretty pretty ayegile forty one year old.

You know, I'll still be able to move, I think. Uh no, I mean hopefully, uh ten years, more championships, more money in the bank. I was just thinking about it, like, you know, there's always you hear about basketball players. Uh, you're about the beast situations and good situations, right football baseball? You know, obviously baseball has no situation. Them dudes get paid. They're still getting paid. What was that, Bobby Bobby Anila.

I think that's just about to run out next year. Um. Ken Griffy still the six highest paid player on the Reds and this dude they've spun up Bast's one of my favorite players. It's gotta make you feel real good about your Reds when you look at when you just look at that queen. Look you your kids gonna be graduated high school by the time they stopped paying Ken Griffy. Yeah, my dang man, what do you imagine based off what

your experience you right now? What do you what do you what do you imagine or thinking about your future economical league based on some of the statistics of other leagues of professional money. Yeah, yeah, I like my chances. Um, like as long as like, as long as I'm good with everything money wise and smart with it, I'm okay. Like there's situations like I never thought I would be in. This is definitely one of them where I'm like even thinking about that in the long run. But what's that though?

What do what do you mean? That was like thinking about like being that financially set in a way like in my mind, Like it's something you're talking about the things that like catch me off guards Sometimes I've like sit back and be like, oh snap, I'm like really in a I'm a pretty good position. Like I just bought my house two years ago, so like it's just like, oh wow, I just bought it. Aux, Like man, I holy crap, Like, so do you have a you have

a financial guy that's helping you with it? Yeah, okay, Cool, it's been really good. Um, it's been very good. He's helped me out a lot. Uh. It's just like especially um, he's also a family friend, so like that helps out. He's already like we already knew him, so he's he's helped me out a lot. I mean, I haven't really spent anything spent on anything that was like crazy or outrageous or nothing. So like the most I've ever spent

was for this house. That was it, and it's just like alright cool, like obviously like I got a PlayStation or all that, but other than that, it has just been like being smart with my money, saving it and just you know what I'm saying, just living a simple life as simple as I can live it. That's good. Well, man, We appreciate your time. Many looking forward to watching. Thank you for having me man, this was awesome. Yeah, looking

forward to keep watching Cursed the Curse of Greatness. Appreciate it. I'm not to tell everybody that I wrestled now to ice up son, I like that. I like that. You are a unique person, you are well worth it, you are competent, and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith Singer. I'm Gerard little John and this is cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith Senior. That is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Balto Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio.

For more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, SINGR co host Gerard Little John, talented booking manager Joe Fusci, social media teamer Wesley Robinson, and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lab Production

Coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. If you ain't heard about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all