Dangerous Dan Matthews On Training Wrestlers And Building NetPro Studios; BONUS: The Batmobile Guy Tried To Start A Wrestling School

We talk about why independent wrestling feels hotter than it has in a long time, then sit down with Dangerous Dan Matthews to get real about training, safety, and what it takes to build a wrestling school that lasts. Dan shares how NetPro Studios and Innovate Pro Wrestling keep raising the bar, plus the hard lines he draws against shortcuts that can get people hurt. 

• upcoming independent wrestling weekend plans across Knoxville and Kingsport 
• quick reactions to an Appalachian Mountain Wrestling show and live production realities 
• Kentucky Championship Wrestling booking a new hometown venue in Whitesburg 
• Dangerous Dan Matthews’ origin story from Memphis wrestling to running NetPro Studios 
• why wrestling “language” works and how lucha libre flips the usual sides 
• mentorship and community, including veterans visiting to help students 
• training advice, school research, travel expectations, and getting in ring shape 
• why scam schools and untrained promoters create real danger 
• licensing, insurance, and athletic commission differences across nearby states 
• upcoming NetPro women’s show and Innovate’s Collision Course ladder match hype 

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Transcript

Cold Open And Catchphrases

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, the team that brought you the show and color podcast and T4 Productions proudly brings to you the greatest wrestling podcast in the world. Wes Claybo. And I'm Heavy D, the Workout Shoot Podcast. And if you don't like that, we got two words for ya. Wrestling Rocks. What's up, guys?

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Dangerous Than.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Ooh, Klay said two words. Nice. Two words. Easy's gonna be super excited that you said two words, Clay. Easy's biggest, easy's biggest take from the podcast. He was like, hey, it's two words, bro. Actually, I think didn't Klay get two words last week. I got two words last week.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Yeah, you might be on a on a day one. You got one more.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

We call that a winning streak. One more you're warming up. Boy, do we have exciting things for Marks today?

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Yeah. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

On this beautiful episode of the Worker Shoot Podcast Monday, May 18th. Yeet, we have for you an interview with a real trainer and coach and owner of a wrestling studio, our favorite wrestling school, Dangerous Dan Matthews.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

He's a real promoter.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

He's an actual promoter. He's the king of promoting. He's the king of promoting. The real king of promoting.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

He's a real promoter. He's a real nice guy.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

He's a real nice. Oh, let's let's chill on the nice guy. Oh, nice guy's finished last. Don't forget. Uh yeah, that's we got dangerous Dan for you. We have an interview with Dangerous Dan that we're gonna share. That usually our interviews are like 15, 20 minutes. Uh this interview with Dan is what we it's probably it's gonna be 45 minutes. Yeah. We got with Dan. Yeah. 45 minutes or an hour or 50 minutes something. Uh Dan, Dan tells all kinds of awesome stories, been around, been around forever. Um, been around the wrestling world forever. And uh some he tells us some really cool, really cool stuff, really good stuff coming up from Net for NetPro and for Innovate. So, boys, not much going on in the WWE or AEW world, just because um professional big show wrestling right now is kind of on a lull. Life is ebbs and flows, wrestling is ebbs and flows.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

It is the time of the beginning of the season.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

It is, and it's the time of the indies right now.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Oh, support indie wrestling.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

Well, support indie wrestling, it's booming,

A Three Night Indy Wrestling Run

SPEAKER_02 3:17

it's awesome everywhere. Right? It's it's been it's been it's been amazing the last few months, and and this next week coming up, we have one of the biggest weekends of independent wrestling this side of the Mississippi. Three-day weekend.

SPEAKER_03 3:37

It's actually yeah, it's it's a three-day weekend, it's Labor Day, so it's it is three-day weekend, sorry all within about an hour and a half radiance radius.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Oh yeah. Super pumped about it. So Friday in Knoxville, Tennessee at the Joe, Cot Night Joe's I've been married a long time ago. Is NWA JC Joe Kazanna promotions? Uh AJ KC and the book AJ and KC and the boys.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

Tailgate takeover. The Tailgaters. Did you see BB Boys? Yes. Did you see that they got some of those baseball players gonna be there? Uh-uh. I didn't see that. That rocked. So yeah. We need to buy tickets. Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

We're gonna buy tickets tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 4:26

That's we need to find out if Clay can go. Do you know? I'm pretty sure you can. I'm pretty sure this edits for all ages. Okay. Yeah. Pretty sure.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Joe wasn't open last time, though, so yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:36

It's fine. We'll figure it out. I'm pretty sure I saw a comment from Joe or from the JCP page. Well, that's okay. We'll buy tickets tomorrow then. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

So that's Friday. Saturday is at Net Pro Studios Innovate Pro Wrestling.

SPEAKER_03 4:50

Collision course. Collision course.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Clays Long will be there.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Yes. Maybe.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

Collision course Saturday. What's the main the main event? Is the ladder match? I would think. The well, it's our main event is gonna be the ladder match for the V for the fight VIP fast pass, which is essentially their version of Money in the Bank. So that's that we're really excited about that ladder match. But it's indie, so it's already going to be more exciting. And you and Dan was telling us stories about how insane these matches are.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

Oh yeah. So Which dude, that's like uh they posted a couple weeks ago from the collision course 2016. Ace Austin was in the match. Oh. That rocks. Yeah. Well Ace Austin, Kincaid, Canel uh Conley, uh, I think Nicole Payne was in it. Nicole Payne was on the double, yeah. So I mean it's is that what he was talking about? It might have been the same match. It might have been the same match he's talking about.

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Nicole Payne went through a table from she is actually hardcore as hell.

SPEAKER_03 5:52

Yeah. That's a hardcore bitch.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

Got a shoe fight. Shoe fight.

SPEAKER_03 5:57

And God knows how many at the show. And God knows how many of those have happened. Yeah, all the time. Better than the me.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

And then Sunday, the party bowl.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

NGW. NGW at the mill in mine. The mill in mine. Yeah, where's that at? Somewhere in Knoxville. That's all I meant. Somewhere in Knoxville.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

We actually don't know anybody there.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Uh well. Habibi's. Is Old Mance Warner. Oh, Mance Warner's. Oh, I can't wait for that.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

Old Manser. No, I was so excited about this show, Wes.

SPEAKER_03 6:31

I'm truly just excited about Mansur.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Wes, are you excited?

SPEAKER_03 6:36

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

So we're going to go.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Waino, are you excited?

SPEAKER_02 6:40

We have a Waino, what do you think? Okay, so there's the whole thing. We're gonna we're gonna stay all night too, and I think we're gonna make a whole wrestling vacation out of it. It's gonna be our mini vacate, and we're just gonna go to wrestling three nights and then we're just gonna sleep the rest of the time. Because I don't have school Monday. Nobody has anything Monday. It's Labor Day.

unknown 7:01

Oh yeah, it's all right.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

And what's great this is farther ahead, but as long as things pans out, we're gonna have another three-day weekend come July.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

Oh yeah. Yeah, I feel like we watch more wrestling than we watch more wrestling than the average person. Than anyone. Maybe than anybody. Wes, do you think we watch more independent wrestling than most people?

SPEAKER_03 7:24

I would say yes. I would say other than the wrestlers or the people in the business themselves.

SPEAKER_02 7:29

Yeah. We travel more than a lot of wrestlers will travel at all. Last night we were last night we went to Hazard and Perry County baseball field, uh, Commodores, uh, Appalachian Mountain Wrestling show. What was the name? Grand Slam.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

You want to review that show?

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Grand Slam. May I be real? Reviewing that show would just hurt some feelings.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Yeah,

Quick AMW Show Talk

SPEAKER_01 7:49

I think so too.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

Cause I the I'm gonna I'm gonna stand by the fact that uh I love AMW shows if they're not recording a television show. I agree. I I think that I think it I don't I don't think it's as good.

SPEAKER_03 8:02

But they always are.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

But they always are. But we did see the faction. That match was good. Um the wrestlers are good. I mean, like the workers are good. I just it's something about the production value I'm just not crazy about. There's also some audio issues last night.

SPEAKER_03 8:16

There always is.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Yeah, there's always I told him that too. The uh my buddy that was working was working the sound booth or whatever. He was like, yeah, he was like, their mics just won't pick up. And I was like, the receivers are not good. I told you they're not. Every show I go to, their mics don't work. But anyway, it was fine. It was wrestling. I was happy to watch wrestling. That's that's what I want to say. It was very cool to see, Mr Anderson.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

I took a picture with him actually in the ring.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

Anderson.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

There you go.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yeah. Clay Clay, I clay got a picture of him. Uh it's right here. I gotta write that time down. Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

There. Um more pig news in the indie wrestling.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Oh, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Breaking news. We we don't have that button. Somebody do a move. One the world. Um Kentucky Championship Wrestling coming to Whitesburg, Kentucky.

unknown 9:20

Whitesburg.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

You best believe it.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Woo! At Lecher County Rec Center.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

In Whitesburg, Kentucky. It's easy to find. It's gonna be awesome. There's there's

KCW Comes To Whitesburg

SPEAKER_02 9:30

four restaurants, I think, within within a block's walk. A walk walking distance. Yeah, literally a block's walk. There's four restaurants too.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

There's not a waffle house, but there's a street side.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

There's not, yeah, there's not a waffle house, but there is a there is there is a bar that that would be open till midnight that night. Yes. Two bars in downtown that'll be open till midnight that night. And I am so excited. The venue's awesome. That venue's gonna be so fun for it, I think.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

There's there's so much room.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

I I I mean, are you gonna seek people? Can we go to the rafters? Like, can we go to the upper deck and watch them watch the event?

SPEAKER_03 10:02

I mean, I I pay a membership there, so I I should be able to.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

I don't think you can work out when they close, though. I don't think that's gonna work. I'm excited about it though. Wes, don't you think the opportunity is gonna be in Whitesburg? We only gotta drive five minutes to get the rest of it.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

I think that's the best thing that I've heard in a long time. And that pizza is gonna be good.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

Dude.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Hillbillies, but it's gonna be good.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

I don't know, bro. Are we saying Hunt's brothers ain't as good as hillbillies? Like it's pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

I love hillbillies.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

Yeah, it was it was pretty good. Rip Rip the Nest. Rest in Paradise. Rest in paradise, the nest. It's that, you know, things go on. The show must go on. The show must go on, and we're here for all the wrestling, and Kentucky and Championship Wrestling has our full support on Shockwave. What is that, June 20th, June 13th? June 13th. June 13th at the rec center. Not at the nest. Not in Vergie, Kentucky. In Whitesburg, Kentucky.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Can you can we Whitesburg, Kentucky?

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Is it safe to call it the Nest 2.0 or is that too soon? Uh it's nest adjacent.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Let's see how the show goes there.

SPEAKER_03 11:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

It might be miserable.

SPEAKER_03 11:12

You're right. It could it could be the birdhouse.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

It might be.

SPEAKER_03 11:16

Like Tony Hawk.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Maybe I guess. Birdhouse.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

We're so glad the worker shoot crew got to uh get them a venue for now.

SPEAKER_03 11:27

Yes. And shout out uh shout out Seth for uh Myers. I don't know who that is. You know who Seth Myers is? I don't think. Seth Rollins.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

He's too young.

SPEAKER_03 11:38

That hurt my feelings.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

Did that hurt your feelings, Wes? That hurt my feelings. Yeah. It hurt my feelings.

SPEAKER_03 11:43

Shout out Seth over the Rec Center for you know making it happen too.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Hopefully this can be their permanent home.

SPEAKER_03 11:51

And let's hope it is. Yes. We'll be we'll be there. If I just gotta drive 15 minutes to go watch some of the best wrestling in the state of Kentucky.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

Uh just hanging out. Hey, and we are re-upping on that, just so everyone knows the best professional wrestling in the state of Kentucky is Kentucky Championship Wrestling. And and it's for me, but as many shows as we've been to recently, I think we are we are the we are the the judge on it. Like I feel like we're the judge and jury on on we we all have such different flavors too of what we like that we can all consistently say what we like is is Kentucky Championship Wrestling. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

I had one of my friends reach out to me, Cena. It's uh Cena. It's Hunter's cousin, Dad. You couldn't see him. What's he talking about? He's from South Carolina. Um let me get to my point. He's from South Carolina, and he was like, hey, I want to come to Kentucky Championship Wrestling. Put your hands up in rec at the rec center. And I was like, Alright, come on. And he was like, it's not up to me, it's up to my family. And I was like, We'll give you a ride if you want to go. We're not going to North Carolina. No, I mean, never mind. I I don't even want to say it no more. No, just say it.

SPEAKER_03 13:13

I'm all ears, Bubby. What we're what he's trying to say is KC Dub is getting so damn big that it's already getting down there to what, South Carolina you said?

SPEAKER_01 13:20

South Carolina.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

Yeah, it's getting down there to South Carolina.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

What?

SPEAKER_03 13:23

And some folks. Throw your hands up.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

What?

SPEAKER_03 13:27

From take your shirt off. The Carolina. Or wanting to come watch the greatest wrestling.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

What?

SPEAKER_03 13:35

In the state of Kentucky.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

What?

SPEAKER_03 13:37

I think that's what Clay is trying to say.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

What?

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Alright, I'm done with that button. That's all I gotta say. There's too many what's honestly, he's being honest, guys.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

He's honestly being honest. But I thought we were over that. No, we're not.

SPEAKER_03 13:52

I thought we were over the fucking hot dogs.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Uh there were hot dogs. If they were hot dogs, you wouldn't be making maces with them. They were chili dogs.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

You brought them up. Hey, we didn't say anything. Nobody said anything. You're the one that brought them up.

SPEAKER_03 14:05

Not yet.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

What do you mean, not yet? This ain't pre-crime shit.

SPEAKER_03 14:09

It's probably it was coming, so I might as well just be the first one to point it.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

What are you talking about? That's a really marked.

SPEAKER_03 14:20

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

Yeah. Oh, speaking of family, listen. Appalachian Mountain Wrestling last night. There was there was a very non-Apalachian Mountain Wrestling fan there, and she was like flipping it off and like flipping them out. It was obviously an old lady. She's flipping everybody off and saying like and giving like F you chance. And it was she really didn't like Stanciera either. She did not like her and Stanciera's grandma gonna get a fight. Oh god. We broke Tony once again. Hey, Murphy Coskin's a good guy now. I don't know where that came from.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

He's a baby face.

SPEAKER_02 14:54

Yeah, he's a baby. Yeah, that's bullshit. He's gonna turn on Marty. He's working. Yeah, he's the work. He's gonna turn on the hell out of us. Yeah.

unknown 15:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Marcus Johnson was a special guest referee. Marvelous Marcus Johnson. Yeah, dude. He was awesome.

SPEAKER_03 15:07

It was sick.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

It was a KHSA shirt, whatever it was.

SPEAKER_03 15:09

It was. Actually, I ain't gonna say it. I'll say it off camera.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

Oh, he's gonna say something off camera. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:14

We'll put it on the Patreon.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

Yeah, I told I told Marcus though we were gonna post about him. I'm gonna post him in that in that referee shirt because that referee shirt was so cool. He looked awesome in the referee pants and the shirt. He had a flat, he's got a flat top one on right now. He's awesome. It's right here. What?

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Marcus right here. Marcus is right here.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

I don't know what he's he's pointing at it. He's pointing. There's nothing here. There's nothing here.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

So he's saying that you can't see anything.

SPEAKER_02 15:40

Oh yeah. Uh Deaf World Order does a you can't hear us thing where they do like a that's awesome. Is it? It doesn't make any sense though, because I can hear them.

SPEAKER_03 15:52

Maybe it's maybe it should be we can't hear you.

SPEAKER_02 15:57

Yeah, I suppose. Maybe okay. So we're gonna see you on the other side. We're gonna send you to send you to the interview with dangerous Dan Matthews from NetPro Studio. I don't know what I just did, but I don't know. I don't either. That was like

Introducing Dangerous Dan Matthews

SPEAKER_02 16:19

welcome in Marks. We have a very special guest for you on the worker shoot podcast today. The the head, well, I'm gonna say head head trainer, the the the man in charge, the showrunner at Net Pro Studios in Kingport. In King Kingport. There's just one King. Kingsport, Tennessee. Dangerous Dan Matthews.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Hey Dan. Hello, fellas.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

It's good to have you on the show, man. I probably pressed the applause button on it. It's good to have you on the show, man. Long time coming. We've been coming to NetPro since um Going on six months. Yeah, going on six months. I don't I think we've only missed one show. We've not missed a one. As a collective, we've not missed a show at all.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

Yeah. Right? I believe so.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

Yeah, but we've not all been to everything. So uh welcome in. Uh if you're not familiar with the worker shoot podcast, we're completely full of crap, but we know everything about wrestling. So you can't you can't tell us a damn thing.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Love it. So yeah. Uh what should we hit first?

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Oh so the I know I know Clay Clay's been Klay's been waiting to ask you a few questions, but really the the you know the first question that I have for you that really just want to get you started out, and I know this was this was a while ago, Dan, but what got you into professional wrestling?

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Um I saw Saturday night's main event as a kid as uh you know uh during the uh Hulk Hogan era. I can tell you exactly when I started watching too, it was the uh Hulk Hogan earthquake feud. Oh, sweet that started on Saturday night's main event.

How Dan Fell In Love With Wrestling

SPEAKER_00 18:05

And uh I caught that and it caught my eye, and I had to have more. Um, you know, my uh my grandfather, come hell or high water, was glued to the TV every Saturday morning uh watching Memphis wrestling, and it would come on at 10 and 11, and you know, it'd move around sometimes because there'd be a football game or a college football game or something going on. Um but yeah, uh and my grandmother did not want me watching wrestling. She thought that was too violent, and she I mean it was time to take a bath because you know Dan's gotta Daniel's gotta go take a bath because uh you know this this is way too violent for him to be watching and everything. So uh but uh uh that WWF was my intro. And once I started realizing more and more, I was just like, wow, there's so much to watch right now. And it was it was back early 90s, uh late 80s when I started watching, and it was just you know, prime time for WWF to get out there during Saturday night's main event. Um, you know, it was Memphis Wrestling was still a cornerstone on Saturday morning TV. Um, you know, and just you know, I it launched me off into a whole new world, basically, just seeing that first episode of Saturday night's main event.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

And did you did you grow up here?

SPEAKER_00 19:32

That's where I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Oh, that makes that that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

That checks in the case. I grew I I've I I've uh I spent the first 38 years of my life in Memphis, Tennessee, calling it home. Um I traveled for the first seven years uh chasing my dad around all over the country, but Memphis was always home. Uh we'd always come home to Memphis. Uh I spent the first seven or eight birthdays in different states, uh, from Florida to California to Arizona, uh to uh Colorado, um Michigan, uh just all over the place. And uh you know, I got I got to do a lot of traveling that I don't remember because I was way too young to remember it. But uh my dad was a construction superintendent for Walgreens for 33 years, and uh he built I couldn't tell you how many stores kind of cool uh just from one end of the country to the other.

SPEAKER_02 20:26

So that's very cool. Yeah, and you know the the the work you do in in Kingsport is it's it's awesome. It's it's our favorite, it's you know, it's it's our favorite thing, and you it's this a school that's renowned for for the work you do and and some of the wrestlers you've trained. You know, there's been insane insane names have come through, you know, that you've worked with. Uh what's the you know, what's what drives you, you know, to to keep going and seeing those dudes wrestle.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Uh just you know, seeing the guys, it's always good to see your guys do better than you did. Yeah. You know, that's the thing. Uh that's the goal. If and I got started late. I got started at 29 years old. Um, and I did. I I had about a depression, and I mean it wasn't even like it was it was more like just sitting there watching it and knowing I may never get the opportunity to do it. And finally, my wife, I was like, I I've me and my wife were talking, Erica, me and Erica were talking, we said, I've got to do this, I've got to figure out if I can do this or not, because it's going to absolutely kill me to know that I could do it and I didn't do it. And she goes, Okay, well, go and get it out of your system. And that was at 29 and I'm 48 now.

SPEAKER_02 21:55

20, she's still waiting on you to get out of your system.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Yeah, we're still waiting on it to get out of my system. Um, so yeah, uh, but yeah, I'm I was 29 when I got into the business, and I'm forty eight now, and I've I've been in the ring with um Bill Dundee, Bobby Eaton, um I've worked for Jerry Lawler, uh I've worked for Randy Hales, who is the head of PowerPro Wrestling in Memphis. Uh yes, sir, that's the one that's the one King. Yeah. Uh so uh but um I have I've worked I've worked for so many people and I can count so many people as friends in the business like Ricky Morton and downtown Bruno. Um, you know, and just if you'd have told me when I made that decision at 29 that I'd be sitting here like I am today with my own wrestling school, partnered up with Innovate Wrestling, doing shows. I've got 30 students, and they were on three different three or four different shows just this past weekend. Yeah. And two hours in a two-hour radius from Kingsport, not even in Kingsport, but a two-hour radius of Kingsport. We went in every direction last weekend. We went up to Kentucky and we went all the way down to Rome County and Harriman. And we we you know, we were we still some of us stayed in Kingsport. I wrestled the faction in Kingsport at Gypsy Circus. And I, you know, it's just everything, not only just the students being able to do stuff, but I being able to get in there still and and do what I do, um, it just it's it's humbling to know that I still have this ability, you know. It's like, and I don't know how long, you know. I I'm gonna tell on myself a little bit. At seven years in, I had a retirement match. And uh I I because I'd gotten a little bit jaded with the wrestling business, and I decided I wanted to step back from end ring work and everything, and then I moved to East Tennessee, and Tony Givens, hooking up with Tony Givens in Innovate Wrestling, which was NWA Smoky Mountain at the time, yeah. Uh he gave me a chance as an as a as a ring announcer, and then from that I went into commentary, and from that it just grew from there, you know, and now we're I think me and uh Tony said it a couple of times. I think me and him are gonna be joined at the hip for the rest of our lives, probably.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

We're stuck with each other for better or worse.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

I th I think so. I think I think we uh I think what we're doing complements each other very well.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

It really does, man, and it's it makes a special product, it really does.

SPEAKER_03 24:41

A great product at that. Noah, you got questions? Yes, the question I got it's it is a wrestling question, and you being a coach, you'd be the one that probably can give me an answer.

Ring Language And Lucha Differences

SPEAKER_03 24:55

And I mentioned it to Clay a while ago, and he had never realized it, and it's something I've always wondered. So, you know, any kind of suplexes, DDTs, any any kind of headlocks like that it's always done with the left arm. Is there any reason to that?

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Or predominantly done, I should say. We were there, we were there, yeah. Yeah. So that's the thing, is like if you train properly and you know how to do stuff, and Jeff said it best in the chat group uh today when he was talking about working those guys, is like wrestling is a universal language if you do it right.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 26:00

So and I I firmly believe that, you know, it's like uh the the the only difference is if you go to if you go to Mexico, they work the right side instead of the left side.

SPEAKER_03 26:11

I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

Uh lucha libre, they work the right though if if they're working the left arm in uh US wrestling, lucha libre, they're gonna work the right arm. That's crazy. Lucha libre, yeah, lucha libre is completely you know opposite. Uh you'll work the right arm instead of the left arm. So it's it's uh unique in its own styles and everything, and as well as its own psychology. For sure, for sure. Some of the things in lucha libre, I'm still trying to figure out.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

I bet you do a mad hurricane runa, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I can do hurricane runa when somebody when I trust somebody to hold me up for it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Now we watched your your Iron Man match. The with um uh Xander.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

Xander Xander. Xander, Xander, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

Yeah, that was that was cool. That was really cool, and really cool ending to that.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

I really appreciate that. Um, yeah, um that that kind of like uh wrote off a chapter for me. Um the first wrestling school I ever join I ever joined uh was Nightmare Ken Wayne's in West Memphis, Arkansas. And I stayed there for four years, and about halfway through it, uh my buddy uh Kevin Nickel, um, who went by

Mentors Memories And Loss

SPEAKER_00 27:33

Knuckles Madsen, uh, who was murdered last year by his ex-wife. Wow. Uh I did I I don't know if you guys saw the headlines or not, but there was a lot of the dirt sheets that got a hold of it. It was like former NXT talent murdered by an ex-wife. That was that went that was my one of my best friends in the wrestling business. Um and uh it's crazy the way it happened and everything, but I started with him in the wrestling business over at Nightmare Ken Wayne's in West Memphis, Arkansas in like 2008. And uh two years in, he got a contract to go to FCW, which was NXT before it was NXT. Yeah. Um so uh he he actually helped them move into the performance center in Florida. That's pretty cool. And uh yeah, so he was there, he uh he was probably one hair away from being a part of the original Wyatt family. Because Bray Wyatt loved him. Bray Wyatt loved him to death. Uh and uh Eric Rowan just happened to be in the right place at the right time and got that spot instead of Kevin.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

Rip all those guys gone now.

SPEAKER_00 28:49

But they Yep, all those guys are gone now. I mean, you know, in uh you know, I got to shake Bray's hand in I believe it was 2013, and Kevin had been let go by that time, and I get I I said, you know, Knuckles Knuckles Madsen told me to tell you hey, and he lit up. He was like, Oh my god, I love Knuckles. You know, and even even um even um Eric uh Rowan and uh Luke Harper, uh they both lit up because they were just like he should have he should be here, he should be here, and they just kept shaking their heads. And uh so but uh such as it is, uh Kevin got let go, he moved back to Arkansas and uh started his own wrestling school. And uh he me and him had been talking on the phone because right after right after I started NetPro, he started Ozark Mountain Wrestling over in Arkansas.

SPEAKER_02 29:48

That's a cool name too.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

And uh yeah, he uh he was running he was running huge shows too. Uh really good friends with Enzo Amore. Uh Enzo kept coming in and uh helping him out with stuff and everything. And uh yeah, and just you know, life such as it is, uh, came around and and uh bit us all in the ass and took us and took him away from us uh about a year ago. So you got no question?

SPEAKER_03 30:19

Um go to Clay? Yeah, go you you hit one with it. You you got you got the good ones.

SPEAKER_01 30:25

Yeah, I got I got a couple. Um so I seen on a video that Ricky Morton came to NetPro to help out some of the students. So what what did that mean to you and the rest of your students, him coming in and helping

Ricky Morton Visits And NetPro Origins

SPEAKER_01 30:43

them out?

SPEAKER_00 30:45

We actually have uh Ricky and Carrie on a two-week schedule. So they uh they show up every two weeks on a Wednesday. Um and they they've been coming in very regular and uh helping out. Uh they stay for about two hours and when on the Wednesdays they come in. And uh sometimes sometimes they'll get on a roll and they don't want to leave. So sometimes it's 8 30, 9 o'clock before they're out of there. But uh, but yeah. Um you know I I hate to mention it, you know, because it brings up old memories and everything, but I actually ran Ricky's school for four years when he was in Chucky.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

Yeah, I thought that.

SPEAKER_00 31:25

So yeah. Um they don't like to admit it. But uh and and that's the thing, is like uh if you know kind of the backstory of School of Morton, School of Morton was not owned by Ricky. Ricky had owners had invested in it, and uh me and those owners just didn't see eye to eye at one point, and it was about four years after I'd started there and started running training there and remodeled the building four different times to make it look better for TV and uh done different things to make the show better, and uh I was running their show and I was running training as well, and um couldn't see eye to eye. I handed them the key one day because they put somebody in charge that I figured was going to burn the place down. And turns out a year later I was right. They'd pretty much you know run everybody off that they possibly could and put the business right in the toilet that they were that I was doing. So, and uh I got a phone call to come back and I said nope, I think I'm doing fine, and uh I'm looking for my own building. And uh about a month after they called me, uh, found my building and started Net Pro actually being in a physical brick, brick and mortar uh building and everything. That that gymnasium building, that Kingsley Elementary School gymnasium building, uh just kind of fell in my lap uh miraculously.

SPEAKER_02 32:48

So that that building's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

We've been off to the races ever since. Yeah, we've been off to the races ever since.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

So that building really is perfect for it's one of our favorite venues. Yeah, it's it's one of our favorite venues for sure.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

Because it it feels it's been absolutely crazy turning that building around. It did not look like that when we started. That's why. It looked like walking dead in there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:10

So I'm absolutely sure you had to put one.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

If you walked through the old school building, even not even the gymnasium, but if you walked through the old school building, it looked like walking dead in the rest of that building because there was wires and plumbing and everything hanging down from the ceiling, and some of the floors were even smashed up and everything. I mean, it looked like it looked like a nuclear war had happened uh in so on the inside of that building, and uh they cleaned it up and turned it all into storage because you know that's what we all need is more storage. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:40

So uh Yeah, and we we we had an extended tour. Baker took us on an extended tour. Yeah, when we were down there when we recorded down there. When we recorded, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:48

When Axon got hit by that car.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Oh yeah, I forget about that. That's that weekend getting hit by cars. That happens. Um Wes, we've got a question. Favorite move?

SPEAKER_00 34:07

Oh, my favorite move is the Texas clover leaf.

SPEAKER_02 34:10

Let's go. Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Oh, yeah. Ian Malenko was my guy. Me too. That's what I want to be.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

That's what I want my finisher to be.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Clay, Clay, Clay, Clay is uh his finisher. He always has his finisher in mind to do Rhea does this. Rhea Ripley does this standing clover leaf that that he loves. Oh, big scary. Big scary. Travis does it, yeah. Yeah, yeah, Travis does it, yeah. We didn't know Travis did it until we send it to the state.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Dean Malinko was always my guy, man. Um, you know, I I would uh I got started watching Hulk Hogan, but uh Dean Malinko made me want to be a wrestler's wrestler.

SPEAKER_02 34:52

The most underrated feud uh in all of professional wrestling is is Dean Malinko, Chris Jericho, and WCW. Yes. The man of a thousand holds and the man of a thousand and one holds.

SPEAKER_04 35:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

I guess that brings me to my next question. Um so I ask this to every guest we have on um what is some advice that you can give to someone like me and Noah who wants to be professional wrestlers and get into the business with training? Um I just want to know your advice as a coach on getting into the business.

SPEAKER_00 35:27

When my best advice is when you're ready, um you know, have a plan. Um I've been a part of

Real Advice For New Wrestlers

SPEAKER_00 35:39

two three different wrestling schools now, including and I'm counting my own. Uh so uh three different wrestling schools now, and and what what I try to get to my guys is you're supposed to move on after a certain point. Uh there's not one wrestling school out there that can teach you everything. Right. You're not gonna learn everything sitting in one place. Um I take note of the guys I see traveling around on the indies. And I when they come through, I make sure and encourage them uh to keep going because I know where they're at and I know where they've been and I know where you know they're scheduled to be. Uh those guys, you know, that you know make the make the runs from California to Texas and then up into New York and over into Michigan and you know going down to Memphis and then you know hitting Louisiana and going to Florida. So, you know, you can hit you can hit one end of the country to the other. And you can get popular doing that. You can get popular going to Japan, you can get popular going over to the UK now. Uh so it's if you're willing to travel around, you can get popular really, really quickly. But I highly recommend you go to at least two, maybe even three training schools and see what they can teach you. Um kind of gauge them too. There are schools out there that are complete scams, and I'm not even talking about the local one that's trying to open up down the street from me. Um there are ones that are complete scams. Uh there are ones that do the bait and switch. You're gonna be trained by somebody. Yep. They tell you that uh this guy's gonna be running training, and you show up, and it's some guy that's been, you know, wrestling for a year that just said he'd run training for free that day, and next thing you know, that guy don't even doesn't even know how to tie his boots right. So um that's the thing, is like you do your research, okay? And I'm not I'm not even saying I'm the only game out there, guys. Okay, I'm not. Okay. Um, I mean, before, even when I opened up, Dr. Tom at JPWA was still open, Cody Rhodes' school is still was still open. Um, you know, I'm not the only game out there, okay? I do what I do because I love what I do. And I'll and I'll be perfectly honest with you right now, I'm not making money doing it. I'm breaking even.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

I was gonna say for myself. Don't you do it for the money?

SPEAKER_00 38:14

I don't do it for the money. I do not do it for the money. The but the the school pays for itself right now. And that that's that's the goal. Yeah. If I can get the school to pay for itself, then I'm doing pretty good. Yeah. So, you know, and with all the benefit shows and stuff we do in the community and stuff like that, I mean, nobody can hang with what we do, honestly. Nobody can hang with what we do. We are active in the community, we're active uh outside of Kingsport and just going and doing and helping with other shows and everything. Um, you know, like I said, we we were at four different shows the other night and just, you know, in two days, in two or three days where it were six different shows. So it's you know, it's all a matter you will get out of the wrestling business what you put into it. If you decide you want to do this for a living, you can do it for a living. You're not gonna be able to do it for a living right off the bat. It's gonna take some doing. But if you if you hold true to it, you can make a bit make a business out of this. Um I Myron Reed is one that um I think he's signed with MLW right now, I'm not totally sure. But um he uh he came through about a year in uh coming through NWA Smoky Mountain, and I he did some of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life. And I straight up asked him, How long you've been doing this, and he's like, I've been doing it for a year. And he's one of the most amazing wrestlers I've ever seen. So it's you know, it's it's how much you put into it is how much you'll get out of it. So uh I do recommend if you plan on doing this at some point, decide on when you want to and start going to the gym now.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

Now, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:08

Get your card get your cardio up, you know, get your definition up, get your diet right, and then at some point you're gonna decide to go that it's time to get in the ring. So and that's that's my first advice for first and foremost is get as get in as best shape as you can. Now, ring shape ain't gym shape. Yeah, I'll tell you that too. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:37

I've always assumed, you know, if you can get gem shape, it might help a little bit with the ring shape, but it ain't gonna be like it ain't no cheat code.

SPEAKER_00 40:45

Mm-mm. No, it is not cheat code. You can run on the treadmill all day long, but I guarantee you you come in and you start hitting the ropes and you think you can hit the ropes as long as you don't been running the treadmill, you are wrong. So yeah. It's it's a completely different game getting in the ring and trying to keep up with stuff.

SPEAKER_01 41:04

And I and I know you have a student. He's what, 16, Logan?

SPEAKER_00 41:09

Uh Logan when he came to us was 15, and he just turned 16 this past year, yes. He's one of my favorite random. Yeah, he had asthma and everything. He uh had really bad blood numbers and everything when he showed up to us. And uh that kid, I'm telling you, man, uh he straight up wants to be a wrestler. And I told him we're gonna learn to be a referee first because he's he's a minor, so we're gonna take it easy on him at first and everything. And he's eased into it and started wrestling and practice and everything, and he's gotten to where he can hang with the big boys. So it's it's gonna be something when it's time to pull the trigger on him. Oh, yeah, and uh you'll see him in the ring.

SPEAKER_02 41:54

Well, and everybody's gonna have a rapport with him by then because you see the dude the guys and the guys and gals are still like are already, you know, ribbing him on the on you know the things and and and oh absolutely and and and doing all the yeah, doing all the things. He's obviously part of the crew. And I and I will say we we have uh we have a reputation on uh judging referees in in in all our shows. There's a few referees that we really just you know just get out of the way. That one last night. Yeah, let's not call him out. But innovate, innovate and netpro have the best referees. That was you know, shout out Chris.

SPEAKER_00 42:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 42:44

Hunter's all good. Well, actually, the first time we saw Hunter was uh NWA.

SPEAKER_02 42:49

Yeah, we sang her at the Joe.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

Yeah, she's uh she's one of mine as well. Uh she uh she started with me at the other place uh at School of Morton, and uh I've been steadily, you know, keeping her active and everything and and trying to you know get her into places and everything. So uh anytime I can get her a booking and take her with me or or whatever I can do for her, uh, you know, she's always got a sp I call her one of my wrestled daughters.

SPEAKER_02 43:19

Yeah, and her listen, her crowd work is unparalleled. Oh god, her crowd work is so good. Oh yeah. Yeah, even as a race, her crowd work is so good. Wes, do you have another question before I ask a big question? Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 43:34

I originally trained her as a wrestler. I originally trained her as a wrestler. So yes. Um, but she uh she decided she would wanted to be a referee. She actually interviewed for uh NXT 2.0 too. Oh wow uh they flew her down to Florida. Uh they flew her down to Florida, all expenses paid for like three days, uh, and interviewed her for NXT 2.0 when they went down there and did that horrible thing to NXT.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

She's got the look and the attitude to be to be uh W ref though, to be a big time ref.

SPEAKER_00 44:05

She's got the Oh absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And uh Gabe Gabe Sapolski has been looking at her too.

SPEAKER_02 44:11

So well and it's a it's a good time for female referees because like the biggest referees the biggest referee in WWE is Jessica Carr. Oh yeah. And and the biggest referee in AEW is uh Audrey. Audrey. Yeah. So like it's you know, it's it's definitely the time for that.

SPEAKER_00 44:26

Uh big uh Big shout out to Alice Lane and uh T and A too. Uh she's on one she has been on our women's shows. Uh I'm we're trying to get her uh on our June women's show, but uh I was told she's flying to Florida and that's all I can say.

SPEAKER_02 44:45

Uh oh. So I gotta uh you it was inevitable we're gonna have to bring it up. We're gonna have to talk about it. You know what you know what you know what I'm gonna ask about.

SPEAKER_00 44:57

Oh, I know. Let's just go ahead and get a big ass elephant out the room. Let's just get there.

SPEAKER_02 45:02

Do you think the king is gonna show up and bring his dudes?

SPEAKER_00 45:05

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_02 45:07

Absolutely not. Not a chance.

A Fake Promoter And Free Heat

SPEAKER_00 45:09

Yeah. There ain't a chance. There are no dudes. Um, see, no, there are no dudes. Yeah, if there are dudes, they're just as delusional as he is. So um, but that's that's the thing. Um, you know, this guy and everybody wants, and here's here's the skinny on it, guys. Okay, everybody wants to know why, why this guy, okay? Why am I obsessed with this guy? Okay, and the truth is I'm not obsessed with him. I'm responsible for bringing this netwit into the business. Okay. I'm responsible for him. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 45:45

I know this story.

SPEAKER_00 45:46

Three and a half years ago, yeah, three and a half, maybe four years ago, this guy shows up. Oh, hey, uh, you know, I'd love to be, you know, a part of your grand opening, and I've got a 1966 Batmobile that I can bring to the grand opening. I said, okay, well, you know, how much do you want? How much do you want for uh showing up or whatever? Oh, you know, well, I know Jerry Lawler, and I know you know, I'm gonna do this thing in Memphis where I'm in the ring with the honky tonk man and we're gonna, you know, do some stuff. And I said, he goes, just give me some ring time, show me how to do some things in the ring. And I said, Okay, well, that I can do, you know. And here's the thing is like I knew everybody he was talking with in Memphis, and there wasn't a chance in hell he was doing anything with the honky talk man or anything like that. So I knew better. So I knew I was just like, be careful who you run your mouth to. Oh, yeah. You may be running your mouth to somebody who already knows.

SPEAKER_02 46:45

He didn't know you literally know everybody in Memphis. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:48

I literally know everybody in Memphis that he was talking about, and I already knew he was full of it. So um, so that was that was already, you know, okay. Well, I get a free Batmobile appearance out of it, right? Okay, cool. So I got the Batmobile, he got 10 minutes of ring time and got to film himself training to be a wrestler for 10 minutes. Uh, and the 10 minutes he got was absolutely horrid. He didn't know you know which direction was up, he could barely stay on his feet. Um, and that was the end of it. I thought that was the end of it. So he wound up going up to one of the local uh companies called Wasp that's it that runs out of Mountain City, and somehow managed to piss everybody off in the building. I'm pretty sure he pissed the fans off, too. Uh and so um, and I I'll say this I know that crew up there. Um you gotta work hard at pissing them off.

SPEAKER_04 47:54

Yeah, I've heard of it. I've heard of that.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

So um, but anyway, he wound up pissing everybody in the building off and got run out of there and told not to come back. And uh so then uh I think he tried to get in his he tried to get his foot in the door at a few other shows, and they kind of told him to kick rocks. So next thing you know, he's bought a ring, he's got the he's got the whole branding package, and this and that and the other, and he's gonna run a wrestling show. Okay, alright, whatever. And see he got every person who has been told, no, we don't want you here at all of the good shows, and put them together to make one gigantic horrible horrible show. It's bad. It's bad. Yeah. And and where is it?

SPEAKER_02 48:50

It's in like a plywood room.

SPEAKER_00 48:53

Yeah, I don't even I I don't know. Um he I I know the last one he ran out of the American Legion building in Bristol.

SPEAKER_02 49:03

In the basement, I think.

SPEAKER_00 49:04

Because uh it could have been in the basement. I don't know. He some of his training videos look like he's in a basement somewhere, and unfortunately he made it out of there, but uh um but i but anyway, um my problem stems from oh I'm I'm gonna be a wrestling school now. Yeah, you know, so now you spent 10 minutes in the ring with me, it was already bad enough. You thought you were a wrestler, and you thought you were a promoter, but now you're gonna try to do the exact same thing that I'm doing. And that's the reason why is like all those three things combined, and I'm just like, why did I let this guy in? Why did I let this guy in? Because it's it's my business. The professional wrestling business is my business. Yeah, it's Tony Givens' business, it's you know, Jeter and Axton's business, it's our business. Oh, yeah. Okay, and not everybody gets a chance. Not everybody gets a chance to be in it. You earn the chance to be in it.

SPEAKER_04 50:09

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 50:10

And if you don't do the work to earn the chance to be in it, then you don't deserve to be in it. If you're not gonna work at it, you don't deserve to be in it.

SPEAKER_02 50:19

And nobody's saying he couldn't have worked at it. Right. I mean, nobody's saying he couldn't have worked at it and done it and actually been a promoter and actually, you know, actually do that. You just gotta put the work in.

SPEAKER_03 50:28

But he also like the own the only statement that I've seen him come out and say is he I guess defended himself saying he's an entertainer. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:40

Yeah, he oh, I never claimed to be a wrestler. Well, you're in a wrestling ring with a wrestling belt on, standing across the ring from a guy with a mask on.

SPEAKER_02 50:50

I didn't see that. He said he's a wrestler.

SPEAKER_00 50:54

Yeah. He had a long ass paragraph about how the wrestling business is fake and it's entertainment and this and that and the other, and it was basically a spit, a slap, and a kick to the groin for everybody in the wrestling business. Yeah, tell me you don't know the wrestling business.

SPEAKER_03 51:12

If that's the case, then it'd be an entertaining school or an entertainer school.

SPEAKER_02 51:16

So crazy, you know.

SPEAKER_03 51:17

So crazy.

SPEAKER_02 51:19

And the battle royal that that Noah's gonna make his debut at. Just sign up, just sign up and take an hour of seminar and you can wrestle. That's all it takes, right, Dan?

SPEAKER_00 51:32

Oh god. Yep, that's all it takes, apparently. Uh you know, see that's that's the thing, guys, is that's the thing, is like they're gonna put you in there with everybody else that did an hour, and they don't know nothing either.

SPEAKER_03 51:49

Great idea.

SPEAKER_02 51:50

I also I I do want to give him a little bit of props. I know we're not trying to do that, but I want to give him a little bit of props that there's more than one way to draw, and and I do want to go see a train uh uh train crash. So that you know it it would definitely be a train wreck, and I would buy a ticket to it, I think, to see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 52:11

Man, I don't I uh here here's the th here's my thing about just that. You're gonna get somebody hurt, you're gonna get somebody paralyzed, or you're gonna get somebody killed.

SPEAKER_04 52:23

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 52:24

And right now, right now, right this very minute, you don't have to be licensed, you don't have to have a promoter's license, you don't have to have any kind of insurance or anything to run a wrestling show. That's Christ. You just have

Licensing Safety And Cowboy Shows

SPEAKER_00 52:39

to do what the venue you just have to jump through the hoops that the venue tells you. You've like if you need a if you need an insurance policy to a certain amount to get a venue, then that's the hoop you gotta jump through. You don't have to be licensed to be a promoter, you don't have to be licensed to be a wrestler in the state of Tennessee. And this is the problems that it arises from. You go in. From when you if you go literally five minutes north of my house into Virginia, you have to have a $3,000 promoter's license. You have to give the state a cut of the door. You have to give you all the wrestlers have paid their forty dollars to uh be in the ring as wrestlers. If your announcer sets foot in the ring, he has to have a license. Uh I mean there's it's and then you go over to Kentucky, it's the same thing. You go to South Carolina, they have to be licensed as well. So it's it's just you know, I don't I don't I don't politic to get licenses without reason. Because like the Virginia license is a money grab. You literally just pay 40 bucks in Virginia and they put a stamp on you and they say you're a wrestler.

SPEAKER_04 54:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:01

That's it. It's the same thing. If you get a physical and well, if you get a physical and you send it in and you pay them 40 bucks in Kentucky, you're you're a wrestler within 24 hours.

SPEAKER_04 54:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:13

You know, you're you're good to get in the ring. Okay, I got a physical and everything. So it's a money grab, okay? That's the thing. It's like I want to know, do they run background checks? Because if they did, I'd be all about licenses in Tennessee.

SPEAKER_03 54:32

Oh, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 54:33

You know, if they if they were running background checks and doing stuff like that, yeah. If you're actually going to pay for somebody getting injured in a wrestling ring as an athletic commission, yeah. Let's pay for licenses.

SPEAKER_04 54:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:46

But they don't even do that. They just want their cut. That's it. They want you to pay 40 bucks so you can say you're a wrestler, and that's it, as far as the athletic commission's concerned. Yeah. But Tennessee doesn't even do that. Just recently, Arkansas quit doing it. Arkansas was uh one of the ones I had to deal with on the other end of the state, constantly getting licensed in Arkansas. That's crazy, man. And they they literally went through the budget one year and found out they made $200 off of licenses in the whole state because the athletic commissioners had to drive all the way around and they ate up every last bit of the money they took in on licenses. Because the athletic commissioners drove around, they they paid their gas, they paid their meals, they paid their hotel rooms if they had to stay overnight. The state only made $200 that year. And and it was one of the most ridiculous things you've ever seen in your life, because everybody in the room was like, wait a minute, we only made $200 that year, and there was promoters in the room that were politic and saying, stop regulating pro wrestling because you're not making money off of it.

SPEAKER_04 55:50

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 55:51

And so they didn't stop that year. They stopped like five years later, but they didn't stop that year. So and it got to a point where they actually required ambulances at wrestling shows in Arkansas.

SPEAKER_02 56:05

Oh, where where did we where were we at where they had an a they had to have an ambulance somewhere? I don't know where we were at, but there was an ambulance waiting. I can't remember.

SPEAKER_03 56:13

I can't remember, but something it wasn't one of their shows, was it?

SPEAKER_02 56:16

No, there was something going on where there was an ambulance. I I don't remember. I can't remember where it was.

SPEAKER_00 56:20

We had an ambulance in the parking lot looking after a uh fan that had fallen in the parking lot at one point.

SPEAKER_02 56:27

So there's there's you there's always a worker shoot at Innovate. Um we were talking about last week. The there's always a shoot fight.

SPEAKER_03 56:34

There's either there's something like a good work, and then there's a you know, then there's a shoot that just no one knows that's about to happen. Yeah. Yep, pretty much. It gets that way when when everybody in the area knows everybody. But kind of going with that and with what he's talking about with all the rules and stuff, like I've just recently noticed how for the good and bad, Tennessee is where the cowboy shit happens, really. Oh yeah. Which me personally, I love I love that. And it's for that reason, I think. Yeah. I mean, it's it's definitely, you know, for that reason.

SPEAKER_02 57:06

I'm here for the drama, Dan. I I hope I hope I hope he shows I hope they show up. That would be that would make no they're not going to, but uh either way, I think that's gonna that's gonna draw trying to get the you know, hoping they come in the door. They're not gonna come in the door though.

SPEAKER_00 57:23

Uh that would be I'm gonna I'm going to I'm I I I I think we've sold tickets to promoters that want to see him get killed.

SPEAKER_01 57:34

I hope everybody's looking at the door and then the door opens and they're like and then it's nobody.

SPEAKER_00 57:40

Yeah. It's just somebody buying a ticket. Yeah. Um, but yeah, that that's the whole thing with me. Okay. I let this guy under the business, and I feel like he's my responsibility to like expose. It's my responsibility to expose this guy because I let him in. You know, and that that's the reason why. And I've told I've told this to the big guns, uh, you know, the the guys that are gonna be my tag team partners if they bring two people with them. I've told this to everybody in my class today. I had a huge class show up for uh Sunday. Yes, and I told everybody, I said, after after uh the 23rd, this guy does not exist.

SPEAKER_04 58:25

Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:26

I'm I'm not gonna I'm gonna I'm not gonna acknowledge him. If I see him street, I'm not even gonna breathe in his direction. No more free heat.

SPEAKER_04 58:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:35

No more free heat. No, you your your rent is due the on the space that you're taking up in my head, and it's eviction day, as far as I'm concerned. So, you know, May 23rd, when if he don't show up, I mean I'm I'm never even gonna look his direction.

SPEAKER_02 58:55

Yeah, never know he exists.

SPEAKER_00 58:57

Because it's um I'd I I'd rather just not even acknowledge he existed because you know, after the weekend, after this weekend that we've had with NetPro and everything else, and and the guys going in every direction, and something that's on the horizon that I can't say nothing about, we're just fixing to blow the doors off of everybody.

SPEAKER_02 59:16

Are we gonna find out this weekend?

SPEAKER_00 59:20

I doubt it. We got it, we got a big announcement. We got a big announcement for uh Innovate uh coming up on this weekend, and I already know what that announcement is, and that's gonna be that's gonna be awesome. That's gonna be awesome. So I'll let I'll let Tony make that announcement. If you're in the Innovate Wrestling group on Facebook, you already know what the announcement is. But uh I'll let I'll let Tony make that announcement, but that's that it's gonna be big because it it creates even more space for NetPro. Oh yeah. I'll put it that way. So it's it's gonna it's gonna be even bigger. So but uh not to not to put a dampener on that, but we're about to we're about to do something that ain't never been done before, as far as I can as far as I know. So it's it's gonna be big. Um we've pretty much got it confirmed, but I gotta wait to talk about it.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:19

But you know, workers shoot crew will be there to work or shoot crew will be there to to help you break the news, share the news with everybody.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:27

Yes. You know, we're we're well the the minute the minute that uh I can break it, I will definitely find you guys and we can we can do an exclusive on it. Uh if we're even if we're just at uh if we're just at uh innovate, we can we can throw the record button on on our phone and do it uh an exclusive for you guys. So yeah. Sweet. But uh like I said, I gotta I gotta get permission from a few people before I can make that announcement. So we can't.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:55

Well, you know, we're with we're with we ride with Net Pro. Like we we tell everybody you know we go to wrestling shows all over this side of the country, man. I mean, you know, we the Oh we're gonna be out all this coming weekend. This coming weekend we're going to three shows. So one of which is obviously Innovate. But we're it's hard for us to find a product that we like as good as Innovate. There's a there's a couple places that we like to go, but but Net Pro Studios and Innovate, what you guys are doing is magnificent. And it's obviously like you said, you and Tony have to be have to be connected at the hip because you guys are single-handedly, I wasn't single-handedly, but I we talk about it here on the show a little bit, that it feels a lot like territory days lately. Because there's because there's a lot, there's a lot of independent wrestling promotions that are that are getting TV deals and and working, you know, and then there's you know some there's some promoter heat and some stuff going on that we know you that's that's real. And it's fun, man. We're here for it. Like I said, we we ride with NetBro and in Innovate, and we love everything you do.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:02

I'll say I'll say Innovate, uh Pile Driver, yeah. Imperial.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:10

Um I've been with NWA JCP for the past two years. Uh they've been short on running shows lately because the Kazanas have been pretty busy and you know they're gonna do their own thing. So, but Innovate, Pile Driver, Imperial. Up here in Northeast Tennessee, we haven't set the bar. We are the bar. Oh, yeah. I'm gonna say that right now. And we've yet to see you in the Imperial.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:38

Yeah, we're gonna see Imperial. We're gonna watch Imperial as soon as we can.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:43

Imperial um is on hiatus right now because of uh Hillary Hillary Marie and her health uh issues and everything. Shout out to her, God bless you, Hillary. Uh we're all you know pulling for her. She's she's been uh having all kinds of health issues and everything, and uh, you know, uh Lou at uh Rodney. Some people call me call him Rodney, I call him Lou. Um, you know, and and I stay in touch with him as well, you know. Uh but I think the last announcement they made was they were gonna try to run again in the fall, possibly. Um but but yeah, I'm I'm hoping it's sooner rather than later we can get back to business as usual as over at Imperial too. So but uh but but health and family first, Hillary, and hope she gets better soon. And uh, you know, she's she's on the men though. I I saw pictures of her smiling the other day, and it it made me so happy because uh I've been in the hospital and I've seen her and she's just in constant pain. So um but seeing seeing her smiling pictures really made me happy the other day.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:49

It's awesome. Share some of that info with us and we'll and we'll you know we'll get the word out and some support out for her too. So uh what we like to do at the end of the show, Dan, is give you a second to talk about to talk about what's coming up for you know what's coming up for your group and and what you got going on and let you you know let you let you push uh push your product just for just for a second here.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:12

Well, I'm definitely gonna push everybody to the NetPro Facebook page. Uh Janu June 6th. I'm uh I keep wanting to say January for some reason. January we've already been through. I don't know why. I think we're still stuck. Maybe I'm still stuck in January in my brain because I've been doing so much crap. So, but anyway,

Upcoming Cards And The Ladder Match Hype

SPEAKER_00 1:04:29

June the 6th is our women's show. We uh we put it off for about a month this year because uh uh we uh had some scheduling issues with getting some of the girls on. So uh but June the sixth is our all-women's show. It's a bridge to uh shore uh recovery uh sponsored show. Um and it's all women's uh matches and everything, and uh we're really looking forward to that. Um obviously we've got innovate uh every you know two to three weeks. Uh we do net pro battleground shows on Fridays when there's openings. Um you know, go and see Pile Driver Pro. They have a absolute stacked summer of matches just about every weekend. Uh so make sure, you know, we got I think uh next weekend, not this coming weekend, but the weekend after uh even on the 29th and the 30th. Uh the 29th is Johnson City Brewing Company for Pile Driver.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:28

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:29

The very next night is uh Cobra Corps, uh show for Cobra Core. Um and uh that one's gonna be uh Johnson City Mall. Yeah. Yeah. So and he's he's done he's done two or three shows in the mall now, and they've all done very well. Uh and uh that's usually a rowdy bunch that shows up the bathroom. Um but yeah, um and always go to the net pro uh Facebook page, you can figure out what's going on that we're gonna be on, and I try to keep it up to date with the all the chaos going on. So uh I got my life is a calendar now and I just run through it.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:09

So uh this this show you have coming up uh innovate is innovates like WrestleMania, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:19

Collision Course is a big show for the for the year. Um because it's usually uh the fast pass uh ladder match is you Usually I don't know uh how long have y'all been going to innovate, but the fast pass ladder matches usually are one of the yearly uh happenings.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:36

First show I went to was uh when um Andy Optimal cashed in on Toby.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:43

Yeah, that was our first show.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:44

This will be our first V like VIP fast pass match. We're pumped, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:47

Yes. Well, you're gonna see some stuff. Um, I mean there's there's highlight reels from the past uh matches that we've had in the civic auditorium.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:57

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:59

Excuse me. Um there was there's one clip I remember specifically. Um there were there was one where a table wouldn't break. Uh everybody in the match tried to go through this table, and they they just continuously tried to put people through this one table, and this table would not break for anyone for any reason whatsoever. And then finally, while Bill goes up to the top and puts Nicole Payne through the table. Oh God. And it was one of them one of the most absolutely craziest things you've ever seen in your life for a table not to break. But you know, it it was so it was so crazy because I even I think even at one point Axton was laying on the table and took a double stomp on the table from Jason Kickade, and the table did not break.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:46

And this this last innovate show was there was this last innovate show was like one of the best I've been to.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:54

That speaking of bad speaking of hard tables, that table was when they pulled that table out, I was like, man, that table's gonna hurt to go through.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:03

Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. Uh that that table exploded. It did, yeah. Put Ben through it. So we we got some content up on our the second clip.

unknown 1:08:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:14

The second clip I wanted to talk about, though, was uh there was uh one guy hanging upside down in Tree of Row in one corner, and Axton Ray and Blanco Loco literally springboard up on the opposite corners and went coast to coast in on the guy that was hanging in the Tree of Row. So if I can find that if I can find that clip, I'll send it to you guys. But there's been some absolute crazy crap happen in those fast pass matches. That's been absolutely nuts over the past you know ten years that I've been in the area. So uh, you know, I I I think I think last year uh Ben young Ben Atkins was even hanging from the chain that had the fast pass on it at one point. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:59

That doesn't surprise me. He takes all those all the disgusting bumps.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:02

And Brandon And I think I think he got speared off of that chain too, if if memory serves me correctly.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:08

So and uh Brandon Hartsooks in it, so I know it's gonna be good. Oh and Heart Sooks awesome.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:14

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Brandon Brandon put it in a hell of a match with uh JAC. God, I want to see that match so bad.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:23

JAC is a dog.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:24

The the internet the the the the internet's saying that that match is like one of the indie matches of the year.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:31

It could possibly be. Yeah. It could possibly be. Wow. Um I'll be honest, I did not watch it, but I heard nothing but good things come out of that.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:39

So it's on tape, though, I think, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:41

It's so Oh yeah, we were we recorded every one of those matches at the gypsy. So yeah. Uh we should be able to um I th I I think Pile Driver has their own YouTube channel. I'm not totally sure, but we should you should be seeing some footage come out of that show pretty soon.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:56

And we'll we'll plug that pretty soon pretty soon because we got some shows to promote for them. Habibi's in that match too. Yeah, and Habibie. Yeah. So uh just last last couple things, Dan. Um A get you get we need to get some of your boys booked in Kentucky. Uh there's another another group that we that we support. It's uh Kentucky Championship Wrestling just just started, they're gonna book in like our hometown in Whitesburg, Kentucky. So they got a new deal with uh with the rec center there, so we're gonna have start having shows in the rec center there. And we need to get some we need to get some net pro boys over there. Absolutely. I don't think that'll be a problem. We'd love to see them there.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:36

I don't think that'll be a problem. You'd also love these shows. Like I said. Yeah. I I love all wrestling shows. Yeah, bro. You know, I'd uh I do uh you know uh I uh I used to I used to draw uh um a line through Tennessee and uh I knew which shows liked wrestling and which shows like fighting.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:57

Oh yeah, I got it.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:59

Yeah. I like that. Is it like if uh if I went down to you if I went down to um Selmer, Tennessee, they love to see wrestling. If I went up to Union City, Tennessee, or Dyersburg, or uh even uh I think it was Newburn, Tennessee, they just wanted to see fighting. They just didn't care about wrestling.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:18

That checks out.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:22

That's all right too, though, right? It's enjoy wrestling how you enjoy wrestling.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:28

You can do it any way you want to. Yeah, just always remember you're out there to entertain the people.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:36

What King Wrestling doing is not entertaining the people. The last thing we have, the last thing we have to do is have to make sure that you know that the goal, as soon as he gets healthy, is to get Ryan Austin to Japan.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:50

Are you gonna leave him in Japan? What do you want to do with him in Japan?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:54

Well, he just he just likes it there, and we want to send him there because he likes it. Oh, okay. Yeah, I think he really likes Japan.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:02

All right, Dan. Hey man, this has been awesome, dude. It's been a pleasure. I appreciate you putting time out of your day with us. And um, we look forward to seeing you this coming weekend. Uh, we'll see you uh Saturday, May 23rd. May 23rd at May 23rd. Innovate Wrestling Net Pro Studios, beautiful Bobby Eaton Arena in Kingsport, Tennessee. Dangerous Dan Matthews. Thanks, Dan. Welcome back in, Marks. I hope you love the interview with dangerous Dan Matthews. He was so much fun. He was so much fun. Had so much shit to say. He was. That's awesome. He was so good. Also, I think Tony's gonna be pissed that Dan came out before he did.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:47

Probably.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:48

Probably, yeah.

Support Indy Wrestling And Patreon Plug

SPEAKER_02 1:12:49

And you know who is definitely gonna be pissed? Crazo.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:52

Oh, Crazo is gonna be pissed.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:54

Crazo's gonna be so pissed that we got Dan before we got him.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:57

You're the one with the hate, so that's okay. I think I I'm alright. I want the smoke.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:02

I got a little bit of hate from Crazo.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:05

You don't have any hate, everybody loves you.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:08

Who's gonna be the first one to not love you? That's the real question. Braybiker.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:13

Yeah, probably biker. I don't know why I think that, but it's gotta be true. Uh shout out shout out to Boys of the Faction. Also, before we go off the air, I want to be serious a second. Until you guys actually support independent wrestling. Go to shows. Like get out of your house. There's a huge fair show going on, like a fair world tour, and it's it's a hole on this this side of the this side of the the country. Is that every fair is having a wrestling show right now? And you need to you need to go to one of those shows. They're free. They're awesome. They're outside. They're so much fun. Uh we've been to we that was our first outside show of the year. Was uh was uh right? That was our first outshow outside show of this year was last night at AMW or Saturday night at AMW. But really support independent wrestling. Also, we have a new Patreon that we're putting our vlogs on. We're doing uh we're doing the the worker shoot wrestling road trip vlog. And I have to say that our first our first one is phenomenal. It's so funny. It's it's hilarious. Noah Noah Noah's Noah was in the editing. Uh he was in the studio for like a month. I did my damnedest. It was uh it's awesome. But to check it out, you gotta you gotta subscribe to our Patreon and all all tiers get it. Go check out our Patreon, the links, the links on our page. You can go to our link tree through any video or any any podcast episode that you watch, you can go to our link tree and find it. Also on there is YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, uh, Prime Video, uh not Prime Video, Prime Music, yeah, Amazon Music, uh Prime Video, OnlyFans. Yeah, TikTok, Only Wrestling. But yeah, check it out. If you support us, you're supporting indie wrestling because if we make any money from this podcast, it's literally just to buy tickets. It's just to buy tickets for wrestling shows. Tickets or merch. Yeah, so we can wrestle hub. You have money for merch.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:29

Well, if we started making money, we would.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:31

Oh, that's true.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:31

I guess that's true.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:33

Yeah, there's currently a bug on our camera. So I'm hoping it doesn't, I'm hoping it doesn't walk over top of our camera. It's pretty interesting. But yeah, check us out on on Facebook to to keep up to date with all the shows that we're going to and we and we share everything. Check out Kentucky Championship Wrestling coming to coming to the Rec Center on June. Whitesburg. Whitesburg, Kentucky on June 13th. Uh, this coming weekend, got three shows to promote this coming weekend. You can go to the Joe in Knoxville, Tennessee. It's a little far from most of our listeners, but go to the Joe in Knoxville, Tennessee. Uh NWA Joe Kazana promotions, one of the best promotions that you can see. It's fantastic. Innovate Wrestling Saturday, uh, May, I don't know what day that is. 23rd uh Saturday at NetPro Studios in Kingsport, and then Sunday, Party Bowl. We don't even know where that is, but we're gonna share a link to it in our page. So you just go to our Facebook page, you're gonna see all the events we're going to, and we want to see you at the events too. And if you see it, come up and talk to us, and we'll give you a free sticker if you come up and talk to us at the worker shoot. Uh worker shoot sticker if you come up and talk to us at a show. That's and we want you to W OS. Yeah, the the W the WOS. We'd give you merger if we had it. I would give them merge. I'm just kidding. We got we got merch on the way. We've been saying since the beginning of the show that we got merch on the way. We're gonna get more.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:52

We'll give you clay's merch for free. Work or shoot. We got merch on the way.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:55

Worker shoot, yeah. All right, boys. That's all we got for uh that's all we got for you tonight. Uh uh today. I don't know, is it day or night? I don't know when you're listening to this. I don't know when you're listening to this. I hope you enjoyed that interview with Dan. Uh make sure you tune in to the Worker Shoot podcast for everything independent wrestling. Uh support independent wrestling. Boys, you got anything else?

SPEAKER_03 1:17:20

As always, Dusty. God wrestling.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:22

God wrestling's good.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:23

Wesle. Claybo, don't be a mark today.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:31

No, what ring the bell take the foul, and then you can't do it.