Not About Wrestling

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 later in life, her father’s legacy, and its effect on her career and the best state fair foods.  Plus, we play fantasy booker and assemble a modern-day Freebirds stable and talk about which women’s wrestlers would be worthy enough to walk down Badstreet.  

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 acting.  He's worked for WWE, All Elite Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, and AAA, Danny now wrestles for New Japan Pro Wrestling and Major League Wrestling. Danny made his acting debut in 2019 and wrote and starred in the film, Joe Riv.  In this episode, Danny talks about his time in the military, breaking into wrestling, and writing and directing a movie IN ONE DAY. We're also joined about his friends who helped with the film and the film's director, Mico Saad.   Ladies and gentlemen, now entering the podcast, originally hailing from Brooklyn, NY...this is Danny Limelight. 

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 had putting Omega through a table during their contract signing, the inspiration behind his many different looks over the years, other wrestlers "borrowing" his moves, and the one place he's recognized the most frequently.  Plus, Steph returns from a weeklong vacation and immediately has internet issues and the hosts have so much wrestling to talk about they don't know where to begin. So, Chris complains about soccer. It's good to be back. Ladies and gentlemen, entering the podcast, hailing from Dayton, Ohio...this is Sami Callihan. 

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 for fun and to make a little extra money while raising his young daughter. Hal’s work got passed around social media and the next thing Hal knew, he went from part-time doodler to full-time artist, drawing commission pieces for famous clients. In this interview, Hal discusses falling ass-backward into a full-time gig, the inspiration behind some of his most iconic work, his advice to young artists or anyone looking to start their own business, befriending “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Austin helping him use a sleep apnea machine, and customers getting a little too particular about their drawings. Ladies and gentlemen, entering the podcast from Asheville, North Carolina, this is Hal Haney.

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 Kickstarter, the original goal for "Butts In Seats" was to raise $20K to bring the graphic novel to life. That initial goal was crushed in a matter of days. The project has raised over $135K so far.  In this interview, Tony and Dirk discuss the origin story of their partnership, working together via Zoom because of Covid restrictions, the original sketches and ideas for the comic, and working with different artists on each chapter.  Plus, Tony tells us what it's like being back in front of live crowds, working with the gift that keeps on giving, Taz, and which AEW star was slightly miffed by the original cover art for the comic.  Ladies and gentlemen, now entering the podcast, this is Tony Schiavone and Dirk Manning. 

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 Combat Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling, First State Championship Wrestling and CZW.  Ellsworth made random appearances in the WWE over the years, typically whenever the company ran shows in Maryland or Pennsylvania, usually just filling in as an extra or working as one of Adam Rose’s “Rosebuds.”  One night in 2016, fate stepped in and turned Ellsworth into a household name thanks to a brief promo before getting squashed by Braun Strowman on Raw. Ellsworth’s story about how he found himself on national television involves Arn Anderson and his ability to throw a punch.  Ellsworth putting over Strowman lead to meeting Vince McMahon, getting signed with the company, and being thrust into a program with AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose.  In this interview, Ellsworth talks about his days on the indie circuit, training with an ECW original, getting his shot with the WWE, his run with Carmella, “winning” the women’s Money in the Bank match, and the possibility of being called back to work for the company at any moment.   Ladies and gentlemen, entering the podcast, hailing from Glen Burnie, Maryland…this is James Ellsworth. 

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-sacrificing style, but violent confrontations outside the ring would destroy his family, his body, and his legacy. In this episode, the gang discusses Billington's life and career, Dan Spivey's impressive head vein, Professor Lance Storm, why Dave Meltzer refuses to look at the goddamn camera, crapping in travel bags, Mick Foley quoting The Boss, how Billington's need to make young wrestlers "pay their dues" is a slap in the face to wrestling, and more. ***Support for “Not About Wrestling” is brought to you by MANSCAPED. Use the code NOTABOUTWRESTLING20 at checkout and get 20% and free shipping*** 

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) as King Ryan McBride's royal advisor. In this episode, the threesome discusses Justin’s audition with AEW for an on-camera role, his training, the possibility of a WWE sale to Peacock, do a quick ranking of the hottest women in the WWE right now, and the influx of wrestling documentaries. Ladies and gentlemen, entering the podcast hailing from Waldorf, Maryland, this is Justin Schlegel.  ***Support for Not About Wrestling is brought to you by MANSCAPED. Use the code NOTABOUTWRESTLING20 at checkout and get 20% and free shipping***

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 memory still haunts his children - WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts, Sam Houston, and former WWE Women’s Champion Rockin’ Robin. The kids talk about dad’s constant mind games, manipulation, and constant incest of family members and random kids he picked up in his travels.  The episode also dives into the tragic story of the siblings' half-sister, Jo Lynn, who was abducted in 1979 and never seen again.  In this recap, the gang talks about the demented family dynamic, wonders how Grizzly was able to convince so many families to let him take their daughters on cross-country travels, wishes more airtime was given to the chief of police of Tatum, Texas, and discusses how the family still not talking today.  ***Support for Not About Wrestling is brought to you by MANSCAPED. Use the code NOTABOUTWRESTLING20 at checkout and get 20% and free shipping***

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’s career has taken him through promotions in Southern California, Mexico, and most notably, NJPW and Ring Of Honor.  In NJPW, Rocky worked under the hood as the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger, eventually defeating  Tiger Mask for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He’s a former three-time ROH World Tag Team Champion and a record eight-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. When he’s not wrestling, Rocky stays busy by keeping Anderson and Gallows from going off the rails on their popular podcast and winning the Talk 'N Shop A Mania 24/7 Championship and Lucha Death Matches. In this episode, we talk to Rocky about living in a world that suddenly maskless again, how NJPW was always his ultimate goal, the differences between working in Japan and the United States, the success of the podcast and the family created on Zoom calls during the pandemic, and their upcoming live show at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood on Sunday, June 13th.  Ladies and gentlemen, entering the podcast, hailing originally from Havana, Cuba, this is Rocky Romero.  ***Support for Not About Wrestling is brought to you by MANSCAPED. Use the code NOTABOUTWRESTLING20 at checkout and get 20% and FREE shipping***