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The only interview show that features the biggest names in professional wrestling that's not actually about professional wrestling. Hosted by Chris Illuminati. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/not-about-wrestling/support
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Fight Boyz: A Podcast about Professional and Not-So-Professional Wrestling!
Blake Tanner, Dylan Fehribach, Scottye Moore
Every Monday, the Fight Boyz are comin for ya, brother! Featuring the dulcet tones of the greatest podcasting tag team of all-time, the BS and the Lord of the Smark Side, Dylan Fehribach, Fight Boyz gives you a look into our bizarre world of professsional wrestling and is the only place for you to catch up on Alabama's premier wrestling organization, the JWF!
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Our guest this week is a second-generation wrestler and current SWE Women’s TV Champion - “The Badstreet Beauty,” Miranda Gordy. Miranda is the daughter of wrestling legend, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy. In this episode, Miranda talks about growing up with her dad, living on “Badstreet” as a kid - she actually grew up on a farm - getting into the business…
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Our guest on the show this week is Danny Limelight. Danny truly is a jack-of-all-trades and not just in the wrestling business. A Marine Veteran and former drill instructor, Danny served our country for 10 years and made over three hundred and fifty Marines. After his military service concluded, Danny turned his attention to wrestling, writing, and…
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AND WE'RE BACK! This week, a mini-episode with "The Draw" of IMPACT WRESTLING, Sami Callihan. Calling himself "the real reason fans tune in" to IMPACT, the former World Champion will square off against Kenny Omega at Slammiversary 2021 on July 17th with the IMPACT belt once again on the line. In this interview, Callihan discusses how much fun he ha…
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On this week’s show, we’re talking to artist, cartoonist, and father, Hal Haney. If you’re a fan of wrestling and pop culture, you’ve probably seen Hal’s drawings online. There are so many things to love about Hal’s artwork but we’re sure you’ll love his pieces even more when you hear Hal’s story. He’s a self-taught artist who just started drawing …
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This week, we're talking to a legendary voice in the world of professional wrestling, Tony Schiavone, and writer and comic creator, Dirk Manning. The dynamic duo joined us to talk about "Butts In Seats: The Tony Schiavone Story", Tony's forthcoming graphic novel about his life and career in professional wrestling. Launched in March 2021 on Kickstar…
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James Ellsworth’s rise to WWE stardom was 14 long years in the making. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Ellsworth trained under Axl Rotten and made a living on the independent wrestling scene under the ring name "Pretty" Jimmy Dream. He worked for various promotions over the years - usually in a tag team with Adam Ugly - and made stops in American Comb…
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Welcome to another installment of “Not About Dark Side of the Ring” – a humorous weekly review & recap of “Dark Side of the Ring” on Vice. This week, Steph, Chris, and Don discuss the influential but volatile life and career of Tom Billington, known to fans worldwide as The Dynamite Kid. The Dynamite Kid earned worldwide fame with a riveting, self-…
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Our guest on the show this week is comedian and radio show host, Justin Schlegel. Justin is the co-host of Baltimore's number one morning show, the Justin, Scott & Spiegel Morning Show on 98 Rock, and part of Die Laughing Productions popular murder mysteries. A lifelong wrestling fan, Justin also wrestles for Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW) a…
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Welcome to episode 5 of “Not About Dark Side of the Ring” - a humorous weekly review & recap of "Dark Side of the Ring" on Vice. This week, Chris, Don and Steph try to make sense of the horrific family dynamic of the Smith family, led by patriarch and all-around awful human, Grizzly Smith. Even though Grizzly passed away over ten years ago, his mem…
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This week, we are absolutely pumped to talk to the amazing Rocky Romero. Rocky is a NJPW star and 1/3 of the self-proclaimed “Worst Podcast In The World” - Talk'n Shop - along with Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. Rocky has wrestled for over two decades, debuting back in 1997 after being trained by Antonio Inoki at the NJPW Dojo in Los Angeles. Rocky…
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Welcome to episode 4 of “Not About Dark Side of the Ring” - a humorous weekly review & recap of "Dark Side of the Ring" on Vice. This week, Steph, Chris, and Don discuss the legacy of The Ultimate Warrior. The episode dove into Warrior breaking into the business, his lack of ability in the ring, how charisma carried him straight to the WWF Heavywei…
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Our guest on the show this week is director and producer, Tim Disbrow. A New Jersey native, Disbrow’s work includes feature-length and short subject documentaries, narrative short films, non-scripted television and branded content. He's done several wrestling-focused films and shows over the years, including the 2010 release "Card Subject To Change…
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Welcome to episode 3 of “Not About Dark Side of the Ring” - a humorous weekly review & recap of "Dark Side of the Ring" on Vice. This week, Steph, Chris, and Don discuss "Collision in Korea." The professional wrestling event - officially known as the Pyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace - was jointly produced by NJPW and WC…
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Kenny Casanova has done just about everything in wrestling. He’s performed inside the squared circle, done ring announcing, promoted, created original theme music, provided color-commentary and managed some of the biggest names in professional wrestling. Casanova helped guide the careers of names like King Kong Bundy, Luke Harper, Damien Sandow, an…
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Welcome to episode 2 of “Not About Dark Side of the Ring” - a humorous weekly review & recap of "Dark Side of the Ring" on Vice. This week, Steph, Chris, and Don Povia of Transition Sports & Entertainment discuss episode 2 of the show which focuses on Nick Gage. Nick Gage is the self-proclaimed "king of deathmatch wrestling," but his road to the to…
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Welcome to the debut episode of “Not About Dark Side of the Ring” - a humorous weekly review and recap of Dark Side of the Ring on Vice. This week, Steph, Chris, and special co-host Don Povia of Transition Sports & Entertainment discuss the season 3 premiere focused on the “Flyin” Brian Pillman. Chris and Don relive their love of Pillman as kids an…
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This week, we're joined by Evan Husney, co-creator of the popular and controversial "Dark Side of the Ring" series on Vice. Evan discussing the upcoming season - premiering this week - with the two-part episode on Brian Pillman. The producer and director of "Dark Side" talks about the process behind picking show topics and setting up interviews, Co…
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Roy Lucier is a collector of not just old wrestling tapes and Lucha Libre figures but of memories. During our interview, he held up numerous stacks of DVDs, all containing legendary wrestling moments from the last thirty years or more. All of those shows were converted off VHS tapes, Lucier’s original way to get matches into the hands of fans, coll…
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On this week’s show, we take a deep dive into the year 1998 to discuss Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman’s involvement in Bash at the Beach ’98. At the time, Malone and Rodman were arguably two of the biggest stars in the NBA and were slugging it out on the court in the most-watched NBA Finals to date. WCW was in a clash of its own, fighting with the W…
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On this week's show, we discuss the musical legacy of Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II. Hot on the heels of the surprising success of the original Wrestling Album in 1985, the WWF released this 10 song album in September 1987. In addition to the album, a VHS videotape version was also issued in 1987 by Coliseum Video. This VHS featured music vide…
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This week's show is all about romance and wrestling and why wrestling promotions think fans give a crap. Chris is joined by author and social media star, Tara Clark (@modernmomprobs). Tara runs a hilarious Instagram account chronicling her struggles with being a parent and her new book - "Modern Mom Probs: A Survival Guide for 21st Century Mothers"…
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"The Russian Nightmare," Nikita Koloff, was one of the biggest heels in professional wrestling in the mid-1980s. A member of both the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame, Nikita's feud with Magnum TA is legendary, culminating with their classic best of seven series. After a horrific accident forced M…
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On this week's show, we're joined by wrestling announcer, commentator, radio show host, and writer, Eric Gargiulo. Gargiulo is best known for his time as ring announcer for ECW and announcer and commentator for Combat Zone Wrestling. He’s also the host of the longest running wrestling radio show - Pro Wrestling Radio - ever on terrestrial radio. Th…
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This week on "Not About Wrestling", our guest is interviewer, podcast host, and 4-time Emmy winner, Chris Van Vliet. Chris Van Vliet looks like an overnight success when in reality, the Canada-born host has been working in entertainment for over 15 years. An interview with actresses Leslie Mann and Dakota Johnson - in which both women spent the maj…
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On a very special episode of "Not About Wrestling", Chris and Stephanie take a trip back to 1989 to revisit a failed idea that might have been way ahead of its time. The best way to describe “The Bobby Heenan Show” would be to take parts of “The Larry Sanders Show” and “The Howard Stern Show” and mix them together with David Letterman’s “Stupid Hum…
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This week on Not About Wrestling, we’re joined by author, actor, and wrestling shoot interview host, Sean Oliver. During Sean’s introduction, Chris jokes that he’s the “godfather of the wrestling shoot interview” but it’s hard to argue the title. In fact, Sean’s production company and wrestling shoot interviews were a huge influence on Chris starti…
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Our guests on the show this week are All Elite Wrestling’s Scorpio Sky and Funhaus creator James Willems. Sky and James are the hosts of "Wrestling With The Week", a podcast dedicated to wrestling, pop culture, sports, music, movies, and more. In this episode, Sky and James talk about the idea behind the show, people screwing up James's last name, …
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Our guest today on the 47th most popular wrestling podcast on iTunes is Ring of Honor star, Rhett Titus. After graduating from the ROH Dojo, Titus debuted in Ring of Honor in 2006. He teamed with Kenny King to form "The All Night Express" in 2009 and captured the ROH World Tag Team Titles in 2012. Titus later left Ring of Honor in 2013 but returned…
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My guest on “Not About Wrestling this week is future WWE Hall of Famer, Rey Mysterio. Rey Mysterio is arguably the greatest cruiserweight in pro wrestling history. He made his American wrestling debut in ECW in 1995 before jumping over to WCW and helped make the cruiserweight matches one of the must-watch segments of the "Monday Night Wars." In thi…
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My guest on the show this week is “Mr. Monday Night” and “The Whole F’n Show,” Rob Van Dam. Rob Van Dam has won a total of 21 championships in his career and he’s the only wrestler in history to hold the WWE Championship, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Rob and I talk about his weird life growing …
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My guest on the show today is comedian, wrestler, and adopted son of Ireland, Dan Barry. THE Dan Barry. Dan has wrestled for a slew of different indie promotions including the New York Wrestling Connection, Combat Zone Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, and the House of Hardcore. He's also the good half of Team Tremendous. In this interview, Dan and I di…
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My guest on the show today is the self-proclaimed "Queen of the Book Nerds," the incredibly engaging Jamie Hemmings. Encouraged to watch and write about wrestling by her neighbor and mentor, Bob Leonard, a famous Canadian professional wrestling promoter, photographer, and author, Jamie went to college to earn a degree in Journalism and once dressed…
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On this episode of Not About Wrestling, I'm talking to "The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo. Deonna Purrazzo made a statement when she signed with IMPACT Wrestling and almost immediately dethroned Jordynne Grace at Slammiversary to become the new Knockouts Champion. Deonna and I talk about our love for our home state - New Jersey - how she got into the b…
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My guest today is former ECW announcer, commentator, manager, and the "Quintessential Studmuffin," Joel Gertner. As a rabid ECW fan, I don’t remember the company without Joel Gertner. He joined ECW in 1995 - at the age of 20 - to work as a part-time ring announcer and official timekeeper. Eventually, Gertner transitioned to being the heel announcer…
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Welcome to season two of Not About Wrestling! This year kicks off NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis. During this discussion, Aldis and I covered a vast array of topics including bodybuilding and fitness, life on other planets, the NWA world’s heavyweight belt, his HEAT with Planet Fitness, making moments in the wrestling ring, and the fu…
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Relive some of the best, funniest, and most inspiring moments of season one of Not About Wrestling. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/not-about-wrestling/support
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This week, I’m talking to Tom Green. No, not that Tom Green. This Tom Green is a former wrestling promoter. Green started booking shows at the insanely young age of 18 and he got into the business in an incredibly odd way. Green’s friend somehow stumbled upon the home phone number of former New Japan and WCW star, Scott Norton. So they called Norto…
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The career resurgence of Pierre Carl Ouellet - now christened PCO in Ring of Honor - has been nothing short of remarkable. Longtime wrestling fans will remember Ouellet from his run in the WWF as one-half of the tag team, The Quebecers. Along with partner Jacques Rougeau, the Quebecers captured the WWF Tag Team Championship on three different occas…
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This week on the Not About Wrestling podcast, my guest is Ring of Honor star, Danhausen. Donovan Danhausen got his start in the Michigan indies, working at a local wrestling school while training. Donovan bounced around to different indie scenes and the character of Danhausen slowly emerged along the way. This interview is unlike any of the others …
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This week, I’m talking to prolific writer, former on-air reporter, and admitted “overrated athlete,” Ian Douglass. Douglass is a journalist and co-author of three wrestling biographies. His first book, The Realest Guy in the Room: The Life and Times of Dan Severn, chronicles the life and career of former UFC and WWE star, Dan "The Beast" Severn. Do…
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This week, I’m talking to Ring of Honor star, Shane Taylor. Taylor is known for his violent demeanor and survive-at-all-costs mentality. Since his 2016 debut with Ring of Honor, the 6' 1", 350-pound has positioned himself as the "problem solver" on the roster and "the baddest of all time." Taylor is completely open and honest about his intentions i…
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This week, I’m talking to journalist, lawyer, historian, and strength athlete, Oliver Bateman. Oliver has produced content for a wide range of publications, including VICE, Vox, and The Atlantic, as well as wrestling-focused content for The Ringer. When he’s not covering professional wrestling, Oliver is the co-host of the popular political podcast…
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On this bonus episode of the show, writer Kenny Herzog returns to discuss all things Undertaker. We take a look back at his early days in wrestling, his WWE debut, the fact that he's supposed to be dead, the character making a scary impression on my life at a young age, the different phases of The Undertaker, and whether Survivor Series 2020 will a…
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Keith Elliot Greenberg is a writer and TV producer, and New York Times bestselling author. He’s co-authored biographies on some of the biggest names in wrestling history, including Ric Flair, Superstar Billy Graham, and Classy Freddie Blassie. His latest book - Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution - is out now. Keith and I discuss growi…
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In this episode of “Not About Wrestling“, I’m talking to wrestler, trainer, actor, and the man with the perfect pipes, Ken Anderson. Most fans will recognize Ken from his run in the WWE as Mr. Kennedy but Anderson has worked for several major wrestling promotions over the last two decades. During this incredibly personal discussion, Ken and I talk …
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In this episode, Chris talks to writer and lifelong wrestling fan Kenny Herzog. Kenny Herzog is currently the Digital Content Director at Entrepreneur Media but he’s written about professional wrestling for countless outlets including Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Vulture, and The Ringer. He’s also the host of his own podcast, Outside Interfere…
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On the show today, I’m talking to Ring of Honor star, Dalton Castle. The self-proclaimed peacock is a former Ring of Honor world champion and world six-man champion. Dalton and I talk about his love of professional wrestling at an early age, not being allowed to watch wrestling in his house, a traumatizing karaoke moment in the family barn, traveli…
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On the show today, I’m talking to Shaul Guerrero. A member of the legendary Guerrero family, Shaul has done just about everything in the business. She’s wrestled for FCW, WWE, NXT, and served as ring announcer for the AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament. When she’s not performing in the ring, she’s working with the burlesque dance group, the Vaudet…
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This week, Chris talks to AEW star Scorpio Sky. Sky has appeared in just about major wrestling company in the world. A member of SoCal Uncensored, Sky is also an accomplished mixed martial artist and appeared in several TV shows and even a Super Bowl commercial. In this episode, Sky and I discuss his second love besides wrestling, the Los Angeles L…
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In this episode, MJF joins Not About Wrestling to discuss dating apps, the only holiday that matters, his distaste for the Yacht Rock music genre, his thoughts on why social distancing rules should stay in effect forever, and why AEW will be much better off with him as world champion. Entering the ring, hailing from Plainview, Long Island -- it’s M…
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