Hey, everyone, it is the Queen of Extreme fran scene and you are listening to Eyes up there with Francceine on the iHeartRadio network or wherever you get the podcast tonight.
I do not have my co host Chad. Instead, I have the.
Most handsome man in the universe, my friend Steve Corino from NXT, which I've been seeing you all over in XT. I just saw you as a detective. I saw that, Yes I did, because we follow each other on.
Socials, right Officer Dick Richardson.
I saw that. It was. Let me tell you, that was an Oscar winning performance. You were very very stern as you let me.
I might quent and become a detective if that's the what you're supposed to do it.
I would have been really scared if I was the one sitting in that chair, because you were just you were.
Throwing the book at him. How well, how are you?
How crazy? How about you?
Well?
I'm doing fantastic, can't complain. Very good, very very good. We had a really nice, uh nice holiday, went to PA visited my family, so it was really good. The big gift for my kids we bought them like a regulation air hockey because they really like air hockey, and I thought, well, it'll get them off their devices and then we can all have tournaments and play. And uh, the one well, the one thing I forgot was my daughter.
She's fifteen.
Now, yeah, my daughter's fifteen, my son's twelve, so they're they're getting up there. Yeah, but she's like super competitive.
And so am I. But she was like really like trying to hit that puck and she was hitting it with such force that she bruised. So she's a little salty about hurting herself.
But like they want to win me, and we're playing Disney Trivial Pursuit and we're all just like this over the table, ready to get each other.
Like we're very competitive. Yeah yeah, yeah, we have the Disney Trivial Pursuit. We're well, we're going.
To get into all this because we have some some special stuff coming up together.
Which all right, how was your holiday, by the way, It.
Was great, Like I had almost three weeks off. Like one of the cool things about NXT is we shut down right before Christmas and we don't go back until well I go back tomorrow morning. You gotta fly to LA But like it's almost three weeks off and like you don't know what to do with yourself, but like it had a great time. Like actually went to Florida, which was weird considering I wasn't working, and yeah, we did like SeaWorld and we did these springs and all that,
and you know, it had fun. And you know, it's just I'm excited to go back to work though, but like it was, it was fun having like just a fun no stressful Christmas. It was great.
Three weeks in a row, off three weeks in a row. That's exciting. That's yeah, that's a rarity. So let me just so for NXT, I know you have home base.
Where you have like the n XT Arena. Is that what you call it?
The I don't know what we call it. We just called PC. Yeah, I guess it would be the n X area.
I think it's the X anyway, the where you have your shows, where you tape your your TV.
Shows and stuff.
When I was talking to the girls, when when I was invited to the show last month, and I was talking to the girls, and I was telling them like, you know, everybody's pretty much based in Florida, and they were like, yeah, because that's where you know, we perform a lot.
How often do you guys actually travel to do TV?
So right now we're doing like twice a month like this. This month we got like La and Atlanta, and then in between we're back in Orlando. So I don't I don't know if that's like a thing that's going to be, you know, forever or what. But it's fun to get out of Orlando every once in a while, get in front of a different crowd and stuff like that. And but you know, selfishly, I kind of like driving eighteen minutes to work every day. So it's good.
Yeah, yeah, I can imagine, because getting on a plane every weekend, I can't even. I I love working now, you know, I pick and choose what I want to do. But when I have like three weekends in a row, I'm grateful for the work, but I'm just like, oh my god, I have to fly three weekends in a row. Like it kind of gets to you sometimes. So it must be nice to be able to just jump in the car and be there.
Oh yeah, because you know, I fly every week into Orlando, right North Carolina. But then now it's like going to La. I'm leaving North Carolina to go to La to go back to Orlando was in back to North Carolina, so it added another little bit of travel for me.
But yeah, well I don't I don't want to talk about it too much because we have so much more to talk about, like fun stuff that I want to cover. But the whole uh you and wwe Because when I heard that you signed there, I was like super happy for you, but then I was like, you know, I didn't.
I never expected you to end up there.
Not not that you're not worthy of that position, because I always thought you had a great mind for the business, but how did you actually end up working for a next team?
Behind the scenes, it was It was wild because I had basically broken my neck in fifteen, like so like I needed the fusion surgery and stuff like that. And I got the first call in October of twenty fifteen, and Matt Ballute says like, would you like to, you know, possibly call him earlier, that's my And I said, yes, sir, I would love to, but you know, I just found out I needed next surgery and he's like, oh the you know, and clung up on me. No, he didn't hang up on me. But that's the story I want
out there. So they didn't put that right, and so like he just said, like, hey, we're going to pass, like you know, our coaches have to get in a ring and stuff. I said, oh, so, uh you know, probably nine months later he calls me back, he's like, they remember that job. He's like, do you like Melick shot at him like yeah, yeah, I would love it. And then uh I went down for tryout and stuff like that, and then tomorrow it'll be eight years.
I know.
The time is why it does. And like the fact that the office doesn't know I work there, it's so helpful. I just just slide under the radar everywhere.
I don't know you worked there, and they don't know you wrestled.
No a world champion, they know not. I changed my look all the time just to be like a chameleon.
Yeah, ridiculous, of course they know who you are. Get out of here. You're silly, do you do you actually have to bump like a lot, not.
A lot every once in a while. Yeah, sometimes sometimes
to prove a point. And uh, my guys, but I got like the my guys are the greatest, Like I've all the tags and like they're the best, and I love it and it's it's it's like it's not going to work every day because and I know that's so cliche, but like, you know, all are all my guys are real tight, and like we have a focus, and the focus is you know, them not seeing this mug every day and getting the rocks back down and you know, you know, eventually, you know, when I'm you know, pee
and my pants every day, like they'll pay for my GoFundMe or something like that. You know, it'll all circle back, but it depends. Yeah, yeah, and uh and then yeah. So it's it's just so much fun. And you know, to teach tag team wrestling every day, like it's great, you know, t be stressful, so stressful and beating up my liver those are worse than the bumps. But like, but it's it's so rewarding because as you know, when we were wrestling, you know, like we create the match,
we create the story, we create the scenario. You go out and like you're in control, like you know, but producing is such a different, you know, such a different thing. It's like you help them do this, you do this.
The second that music comes on, You're like, I have no control, you know, you just hope it goes well, and you know, I hope I'm not calling the wrong shots to the director and like poor director NXT because I always get all the complicated run in and this and that, and like you know, I could just I can feel the life coming out of them on the other end of the headset, like, oh my god, we gotta put up with Steve again.
No, I don't think so. I think everybody admires you. And that's the vibe I got you first of all when I saw you back there.
You looked like a suit You look super professional.
Oh yeah, call yeah, that's such a good thing to be as cool as a cucumber, right, just like I was.
Really not not that I'm not impressed with you as a person or anything, but seeing you in that element, because I mean, look, the last time you and I worked together it was in ECW and we were a bunch of goofballs.
Just yeah, we.
Were young, we were in our twenties having a good time and which I am dying to get into and I will. But I'm just so first of all, I'm happy that I was called to do that only for the simple fact that I got to reunite like with you and see some people that I hadn't seen in like so long.
That was like, plus the money. Not gonna lie, that was nice too, to get a pay I did, but just.
Like it, you know, because I think I don't dwell on the past, but I do think of my friends often. And you and I were just so very close at one point, and then everybody drifts and goes ways, and I'm so happy that we reconnected.
So I me too.
Yeah yeah, And that was one of the things, like I couldn't wait to come there because I was like, oh my god, Steve's going to be there.
This is so great.
Like you, I thought you hated me, so me and ce Dupe thought you hated us at one point.
Really, I think that's just the wrestling drift, like you don't see each other, especially see something. I talked to him every day.
Well yeah, well at the at the time, you guys weren't really talking.
Right, yeah, Like we went like a year without talking day. Yeah yeah, And I love that.
And and then when I saw you, I texted him and I was like, I don't think there's he He's like, there's not, there's not We're all friends.
And I was like yay, and I'm just so happy.
I don't know me my old age, but I just I don't like people not liking.
If I don't know what I did wrong.
Like I feel the same way.
Yeah, yeah, and I want to reconcile everything. So when I saw you.
I was just like, oh, like I saw well, I saw you first at Wrestle Khan, right, but your face when you came up to me, you looked like a scared child.
Yeah. It's just you just stood.
There like, no no expression, and you looked like you're gonna shait your pants.
And I was like, oh, it's he scared to talk to me because I was scared to talk to you.
No. I just you know, I'm horrible in social situation. That's why I don't do the conventions much because like I just sit there like now I'm thinking, oh my god, it's just where I shit my pants, and uh, I would it?
So, yeah, you shall come on the road with us. We have such a good time.
But regardless, I was thrilled to see you again. And now we've been going back and forth and I'm super excited. But we were very very close, and I thought of a I thought of a couple stories that I'd like to go over and maybe you have some that I won't mention that I might have forgot.
What.
Okay, do you want to do? You want to start it?
No?
No, because you want me to start with my first story?
Yeah?
Okay, So I've told this story a number of times and I might remember different than you.
So I would like you because I really.
Feel like you were mad at me when this happened, and I want you to tell then, Okay, this is you and I.
I got us a booking.
Okay, oh good?
Okay.
So I got us a booking at some convention or some show.
And I said, you remember this?
Do you remember I said to you, they are taking care of our hotel?
Good you remember?
Yeah?
Okay, I've told my my version. You have to tell your version because I want to see if I'm correct in my thinking. So I got us the booking. I don't remember how, and.
I was it somewhere in Massachusetts or was a Jersey It.
Had to have been far because we stayed overnight.
We definitely did stay overnight. That's the part of the story.
Right, So I okay, So for those of you who aren't following, because Steve and I could just look at each other, and we know it worked for.
Those of you have no idea.
This was after E c W and because you and I were doing some shots together afterwards.
We're all trying to like help each other get bookings.
I remember this, and we lived kind of close in proximity, and I said, Hey, Steve, there's this show or this convention.
Do you want to do it with me? And you were like yeah.
I said, great, they are getting us a hotel. But what I didn't tell Steve is that it wasn't a hotel room. It was a convent, a convent, a convent, right, We're not with the Catholic convent where nuns lived, and I don't know if they sponsor, if they were one of the sponsors, but like all the boys were invited to stay at the convent. And so I tell Steve, we're staying somewhere, but I never told you when.
And you played it up too. You were like, I heard this pretty nice place. You know it's gonna be good, And I'm like, okay, you know, you know pretty won't let us down.
I know, well, first of all, it was free, so you were like it was free. So all I remember and you take it over. We we had directions after this show. I don't know if it was a show or convention. We pull up and do you remember it was like a kind of like a hill with like.
Lit candles, like yeah, lit pathway.
Yeah, it's where like horror places or horror movies are made, or.
Tell your side of the story.
So the way I remember it was, yeah, like I'm like, I don't see the hotel. You're like, well, it's not really a hotel. And that's that's when you were like, you know, uh, you know. I think you even tried to say it was called like the convent or something like that, like it was some sort of like fair Field in or something like that.
The name of the place they want, the convent.
All right, and we went in and I just remember there was no food, right and yeah, and then you know, we had to pair off and go and it was I don't know if I slept in much at all.
No, why would there be food?
Food? Yeah, but this was common No.
Okay, see he's he doesn't remember. We had to ring the doorbell and then none answered the door.
Oh my god.
You and I had to say that we were married because we were checking the same room.
Do you remember.
Oh my god, now I remember that.
Okay, So I said, yes, this I'm lying to and I God, forgive me.
This is my husband.
Because you're a Catholic. Right I'm Catholic? Yes, like but like almost struck me as we came in.
I said, this is this is my husband.
They had an elevator that was the crank, yes, yes, never.
They had to pull a chain and you could only go one one at a time. And I was scared to death and I was going steep, come whether you go. No, I'm not on that elevator. Wait, I get on the elevator. They she cranks us up, right, I get off.
There's a huge statue of Jesus staring at.
Me, and I'm like, oh my god. Remember the big Cross was there, and I was like, oh my god.
So then Steve comes up and we go into this room. No TV, so air pods or you had a what was back then walk.
Well, a walkman or a what did they call that? The newer thing?
Yes, you hadn't and I didn't, and you were like so mad at me, and You're like I'm not talking to you, and you put your earphones.
On and you just lay there. I was just like sitting there and I was like, well, what am I supposed to do? Exactly separate beds. You wouldn't look at me. I sat there, grumpy. What did you do? You went and took a shower.
I took a shower, and what did you do in the shower? Watched my body? No, what else you could do?
It was disgusting, And he goes, yeah, I just pleasured myself in the shower.
It's like, you're big, you got.
The Catholic one. Yeah, oh yes, I remember that.
I try to remember that story like little pieces, and I'm like, I know I'm forgetting something, but your your memory is worse than mine is.
Sometimes.
I just thought it was hilarious.
Oh my god.
Right, yeah, and we didn't have like, we didn't have phones that recorded. Could you imagine if we recorded that stuff that would have been a YouTube place would have been Yeah, why yeah, well I didn't see him doing.
I was yeah, I could be lying, Oh.
My god, no, it was so great. It was so great.
It was it was the perfect like you would say, it's the perfect rib but like I but it was me too, So I was ribbing myself practically.
Yeah, we were we were true wrestlers, like taking any free room possible, and like the nuns are like, come on in, come on in.
She was like you're married, right. We're like yes, ma'am.
Yes, what are we doing?
Oh my god.
That was the signing where I got into a little scuttle butt with the dude that was Darth Vader. Do you remember him?
I was gonna say, was it a Star Wars convention or something?
It was It had to be, because like he was reading the morning paper and I was just like, sir, like, when you're done with that, could I read that? And he goes, I paid for this, and I go, hey, man, it's a newspaper. Can I just can I read it? He's like yeah, but I'm in it right, And I'm like, oh god, and like a gravity irene and it's like Darth Vader appears and I was like, Darth Vader, yeah, jamesaw Jones, Yeah, I think he just died.
So I feel that he died a while ago, but okay, hilarious. That's hilarious.
Was already ruling, and I think Georgia Animal Steel tried to sell me on religion that.
Day, to see it was meant to be it was a convert.
They failed. Yeah, so funny.
What is yours?
My story for you.
Is, I don't know this one.
Of course you know this one because I usually start every day out with this one. Trenton, New Jersey c Yo Shu, Yes, okay, I've been with the company three months doing nothing but jobs for Nova and Chetty. In the opening match, Shane is you know where I'm going? Shane is hurt. I think it was supposed to be Tommy verse Shane, right, and it might not have been Shane somebody.
Because if I was already with Tommy, Sheane had left the company.
Okay, so somebody else. It was supposedly somebody way cooler than me against Tommy and then uh yeah, Tommy goes. You know, uh, this is where our relationship starts.
We broke up because this is so wrong.
Where he goes, you know, you know, Dreamer is He's like, or you can talk on the mic. Yeah, I go a little bit, and you're like, all right, my back sore, Let's do a big promo. You got something. I'm like, I'll do something. And uh we walk out and you go, who am working with? And Dreamers like him? You go, we're working with him.
No, no, no, no, no, that's not that I had.
It like, oh no, that is the main event with you too. Yeah, that is not like it.
No, I said, we're working with him because the plans have changed. It was no, it's you so much. It was nothing against you. I liked you. I liked you. I just in my mind we were supposed to do something else and I was just said, oh, we're working with him.
It wasn't I think I say we're working with him, no, because I wasn't like that, and you know, I wasn't like.
That was and then we were there. It has so much fun, right, all right.
Well we'll fast forward that because we remember that differently.
I think that you have in your head something completely different that never happened.
I was like young kid looking for an opportunity. Are you too big that's at the top of the card that have been on pay per view? Or like.
Not at all, not at.
All, that's not true. I did not say it like that. Just everybody know that. I didn't say it like that. I was just confused because I was told we were working with somebody else, and I was like, oh, we're working with him, meaning oh, plans changed.
You're so full of shit, You're so wrong.
You didn't say, like, do you know what a microphone is? I couldn't swear he said that. What, No, I'm kidding.
Well, let's talk about you and I.
Because we we had a hell of a history together back in the day.
Yeah, did you you have like the greatest winning record versus.
Well, see, now, every guy that I have on from ECW that I beat up, I always apologize to, and I think I apologize to you when I saw you at NXT.
I did.
Later.
Well, no, I used to say it in the back too. Are you mad at me?
Be like, no, shut up, and I'd be like okay.
It was fun.
But in retrospect when like okay, Like for example, I did a round table and I was the only girl on the panel, and across for me at the time was Bruno san Martino. He was one of the guys and he looked point blank at me and said women do not belong in our business.
As I'm sitting there, and I was just like, sir, like what do you say?
It's first of all, it's Bruno, Like, I'm not gonna and all I said was I respectfully disagree with you. And that was it because I wasn't going to argue with.
The guy, but received should I'm against.
Well, they see, like when I had like hack on and when I had the Dudley's on and so on and so forth, I had always asked them, and I'm going to ask you.
Paul made me out to be like this superwoman.
Yeah right, And I was like a buck twenty at the time, which was not really too believable, but I had the attitude, and you know, I tried to be tough and all this stuff.
But and you were over too, So like I believe that, not that it puts, you know, weight on, but it puts legitimacy in the fans of eyes when like you're so over it doesn't matter if you're a buck twenty. You know, it's you're superwoman.
Okay, so that he made me out to be superwoman.
But when it's you and I and I have to beat you up and I have to pin you on pay per view or wherever we're at as a man, like, did you ever have like any like remorse or not not remort? Did you ever look at me and say what a bitch? Like why do I have to put this girl over like I know we had a personal relationship, we were friends, but did did like an ego ever get to you because a lot of men won't do that for the girls. You know, a lot of the older old timers, they don't feel like the women belong
in the ring with them. And so I always got nervous because I was just like man Corino's bigger than me, Buba's bigger than me, Devon's bigger than me, Hats bigger than me.
But here I am, I'm running out like a lunatic.
I'm doing all these cool moves and they have to sell for me, and I always felt awful.
Oh really no. So I always loved the one time I remember because we had started doing it around the loop where like it was promo this something here you come, you know, we would do our quick match and it one, two three, And I remember second guessing myself for a second when Paul put me in there with Jazz, and I'm like, oh, I guess you know, I'm not looking at it the way I thought it was, because I'm thinking, like, you know, you and Tommy were interchangeable, Like you know,
if I was in the ring with one of you, I was in the ring with both of you, So I was I was beating off both your reactions. And but then then I got to Russell Jazz and I was like, I am like the guy that just puts the women over. And then like I went out there with Jazz and then she just kicked the shit out of me, and I said, you know what, I'm good with this. Yeah, let me go back to Franny. Franny doesn't beat me up. And but no, I always thought
of him as this way. It was what was the situation was Tommy's back was bad and then but like I don't know, like it was just one piece of the team on that one, because even in those long matches where it was me and Tommy doing the physicality, you were a major part of it all the time. So it was like, you know, I thought it was interchangeable that like here I get to do the promo, I get the you know, get the heat on the mic, and here's the payoff of you know, you beating me.
Like my favorite one was, well we did it, and I want to say it was somewhere in Louisiana with one main gang and uh, you know they here it comes and here's the seven forty seven and you give me the DDT and like the place is rocking like it's nineteen eighty six minutes south like like I don't know. I always thought of like it's more about the reactions
than like an ego. And I tell my guys that too, an NX because you know, if you think about like twenty five years later, it's an amazing learning tool when I say, don't worry about what you're doing, like live in a moment, have fun with what you're doing, because like in a year, you could be totally different. You know, I spent the summer of ninety nine losing you every weekend, right, but then a year later I was a world heavyweight champion.
You know, that's x lestling right there. And I don't think that I would have gotten that opportunity to be even considered for that if like I didn't have you know, Paul knew he could always go to you and I, you know, were we always had fun in the ring, but we always stuck with it, like you know, stuck with the story and everything like that. And you know, I felt like it built like more you know, as
trust as Paul can have. But like if build trust in Paul like like he's never complaining about putting Francine over. And you know we would do what sometimes fifteen second matches or sometimes it was three minutes and stuff like that. But like, I don't know, I always thought we gave
the people what they came to see. They wanted to see me talk, then me get my ass beat, and it didn't matter if it was you or Tommy, it was still the same, like anybody that goes back on the house shows and stuff like that, like tell me what was the bigger reaction Tommy beating me with the DDT or you beating me with the DDT, And it was if it wasn't even every night, it was you were up a little bit like to me as a heel, like I don't know, I was having the time in
my life. And then with Jacko out there, and you know, it was hilarity because now you know, all of us would get back in the car and you know, we would drive to the next town and like we would laugh about it and stuff like that. So it was I don't know, I felt like, Wow, I'm in a program with all my friends. This is so cool.
That's the way I thought, too, But I always was worried about.
The word I was looking for earlier was resent.
Like I never wanted the guys to look at me and resent me for the what Paul wanted me to do out there, you know what I mean. And I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy doing it, because I did.
I mean, like you said, I had a.
Great time, you know, performing, But I just I felt like our relationships within that company were so strong, especially.
The Philly Click, because we had our own.
Little click that we all hung out and traveled and you know, did stuff outside of work. And I never wanted you to look at me and resent me for you know.
What we had to do in the ring. So I'm happy that you feel happy.
I never thought, never in a million, I thought it was remember before you before I got to do stuff with you and Tommy, like I was an opening card heel that, you know, just not lingering, but just like Paul didn't know what he was going to do with me at the time and stuff like that, Like to me, you guys were helping me out with the you know, giving me the rub and getting me to the top of the car because you know now it was you know, after that Jerry wanted to do something with me and somebody,
you know, and they you know, I think they saw that like I was safe with you, you know, and you know, you know I could be trusted in like with their bodies too, so like for sure, yeah, and I didn't and you never cared about losing, you know. It's just so good. Yeah, And I think that anybody who resents it doesn't understand that, Like we're telling stories
out there and it's the reaction. Like I always believe that the baby face pop when they defeat like a heel, like when you defeated me and the crowd would go crazy, like I always took it like that's part of my
pop too. If I stink it up on the mic and or I take Nicolai bolcock bumbs for you like and then you hit your DDT and I take it with hit like and they go, you know, like but like the louder they got, like the more I took pride into like oh that that's mine too, or like you know, one good heel line if you and Tommy gave me a line or something like that like that I could hit out there, you know, and it hit hard.
I was like, oh that was a great line they gave me, like, you know, they're enjoying the heat too.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
I remember this st that I gave you off the Ropes, and I just remember us trying it beforehand and you were like, yeah, yeah, this is great. Do that and I said okay, and we did it, and the place erupted, and I thought when I landed, I kind of looked at you and you gave me like a half shitty smile, and I was like.
I'm so excited. It was a lot of fun. He everyone.
If you are enjoying the interview so far, please tune in on Thursday for part two.
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