You are a great example of taking every opportunity and turning it into gold,
wanting to learn, what else can I do?
Can I do this?
Can I do that?
What is behind that mentality and
how important is that mentality to someone maybe who is in NXT right now,
that is currently listening, about learning every facet of the game?
>> The two sides of that as a talent, and I used to,
so 35 starred in TNA and I would tell a young AJ Styles.
I can't really impress upon you how important it is for you to,
at least, know your camera man's name, your coposition or grill position.
Know everybody's name,
because they're the ones that are gonna make you a better talent.
Know them, they're forgiving of that, you just kinda work together.
Also, I'll go back to my father and my grandmother is that you're in ring,
I don't say it's like the NFL because there's still folks,
Bricklayer 70 he's still wrestling, but
there's only one that very few can have it.
>> The exception not the rule, right?
>> Yeah, but like Cory, he didn't do anything wrong.
But wow, you can still be a part of this industry in a massive way,
if you learn all facets of the business.
So, if there's a kid in NXT listening,
I know your goal is to main event WrestleMania, I promise you,
it will make you a better talent if you understand every part of it.
Go up to a camera guy, go up to a director, what do I need to do so
you can make me look better?
It's kind of selfishly that simple.
And I can think back, I just did Broken Skull with Stone Cold, and
I could remember him sitting beside merch, Jimmy Miranda.
And having discussions about his merch and designs and all that,
and he was super engaged in okay, this is selling, maybe not selling as good.
All right, let's go this direction, so it's so much more.
So much more involved in this business than bell to bell, there really is.
And that's where the guy takes it to another level,
when he understands the business is a business but still has that love for it.
>> And our conversation we had before you joined the call,
this is right in the same vein, this is awesome just keeping it rolling.
You mentioned TNA, a company that you started.
Now 20 years ago this past weekend, they celebrated their 20th anniversary.
Obviously, your career and life have taken different paths but
this was your creation.
And what does it mean to you even from your position you sit in now.
That something you created has had that much longevity and success and generated
a litany of stars, some of whom are still on WWE TV today, AJ Styles in particular.
>> This weekend, Sunday was Father's day, so
I got to spend time with my father and I'm getting goose so we went back.
>> I saw the photo your wife posted on Instagram and I saw all of you sitting on
the back Porche and I was like, wow, that was that's really cool.
>> Yeah, so we were chatting, but just him, me going to him and having that
conversation and I wanted to do this, dad do you want to be a part, yeah.
You want me to be a part, we just had that conversation and
we had to make that kind of decision like all right, is it 50, 50, is it 75, 25?
And he said, I want you to make that call.
So I said, all right, you've taught me there's got to be a boss.
Literally, 50 50 isn't going to work, but in my mind, I want him engaged,
so let's go 66, 33, two thirds, one third, so we had that conversation.
And then, Conrad I think is the one was telling me, he's like,
do you realize VMAs lasted longer than WCW, ECW combined?
>> Wow.
>> I would have never- >> I never thought of that.
>> And for me and I know it's a hybrid
because WCW to me is NWA but as an entity,
Ted Turner's baby didn't last 20 years.
So, and but also think about just the trajectory of the company and
it's no secret.
There's been a lot of ups, but there were some downs and quite a few downs, but
it's still rocking and rolling and creating content, so,
hat's off to that group in so many ways, pretty cool.
>> What do you accredit your success when things were down, when you were running
a company that was your responsibility, your creation and things went down?
And it's been pretty well publicized you've had some battles over the years
in hindsight.
What do you credit you're willing to keep moving forward and
soldiering forward in this business rather than saying, all right,
I've had a good run, enough is enough?
>> I'm delusional, I'm an idiot.
>> [LAUGH] >> Crazy, no.
>> I think a lot of people, I know we talked to a lot of people on here who get
frustrated usually with being on screen sort of issues, but
a lot of people this business is not like anything else on Earth.
So, to be as tied in and having this be such a major part of your life, I think
it'd be understandable if every once in a while you just kind of stepped away or
you finally went, all right, I'm done.
But you're still here and you're still trying to do more than you've done before.
>> I've got a passion for it that I can't really describe.
I'm one of five kids and I'm the only one out of the family that
even really gave it a good shot, let alone have a passion for it.
So I don't really under, I can't explain that but getting into the business and,
that poem, don't quit, is something I just read and
Conrad brought it up that was- >> I'm gonna cut you off only because I
listened to that episode and that poem resonated with me to the point that when I
got home I was listening in my car, I looked up the poem and
I sent it to my son.
>> Wow. >> And he responded back and
it just hit me.
It hit such a chord when I was listening to your story and your tale and for
anybody listening to this episode of ATB, checkout Jeff's podcast, My World.
Where you go in depth with your struggles with addiction and alcohol and what not,
and it just is such a powerful, powerful story.
So hats off to you and congratulations for doing what you've done since then.
>> I appreciate that, I think at the very core of it,
we all have different kind of life moments.
I had a high school basketball coach that really, I mean he drilled it,
sometimes we hated to hear it but you got a lot of options out there.
Just make sure you cross off the list, don't quit.
You can rest in that point really gets into, you can take a break.
And look throughout my career and it's been documented, me and
Road Dogg, we took a break and walked.
Yeah, was that the smartest thing to do?
But there are certain things that just bubbled to the surface, and look,
talent that are currently on the roster and wherever you're at in life,
things are gonna bowl up.
The best thing to do is just kind of take a downbeat and
take a deep breath because what we think, all of us collectively,
we're all in this for kind of a different reason.
But again, I've said this, in Nashville we have different conversations with
musicians, and tour folks, and agents, and all that.
And they will tell me, and you guys really are a different breed, and
I said you have no idea.
[LAUGH] I said you have no idea, but
I think the passion in me that I really, really, really love,
I just I think we're lucky, I'm lucky, I'm blessed.
That I got into industry that I love and I do, I like to try.
I told Conrad almost episode 3 or 4, I said yes,
I am a delusional optimist because look, the worst thing, we're all gonna fail.
It's getting back up is the problem, so hey man,
I've struck out a lot of times in my life but getting back up is the sweet sauce.
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