Under the Ring – Page 4 – Syndication Server

Fred Rosser on being NJPW Strong Openweight Champion: ‘In any industry, everyone remembers their first’

NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Fred Rosser spoke to Under the Ring about his first singles title and bringing the NJPW style to the U.S.

When he was Darren Young in his WWE days, Fred Rosser knew what it was like to win championship gold. But being the current Strong Openweight Champion while working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling can’t help but be a little different and more special.

MrNoDaysOff signed with NJPW in June 2021, and while he’s yet to actually wrestle in Japan (more on that in a bit), Rosser has become a key component of the company’s efforts in the U.S. through NJPW Strong. Earlier this year, he defeated Tom Lawlor to claim his first singles title, which he’s managed to defend three times since.

As Rosser told host Phil Strum on this week’s episode of Under the Ring: Pro Wrestling Conversations, ahead of NJPW’s shows in New York City this week, the experience he’s had as champion has been the best of his wrestling career.

“I think in any industry, everyone remembers their first,” Rosser said. “This to me is like winning an Emmy or a Grammy. It’s my first, and New Japan Strong has been my home. I’ve been the heart and soul of New Japan Strong.

“They’ve given me an opportunity, being an African-American, gay man. They put me on the marquee before WWE, and I’m very grateful. … I’m more me when I’m in a New Japan Strong ring.”

Listen to the entire interview with Rosser above, as he touches on topics including:

What it’s like helping expand the NJPW style to a U.S. audience
His surprising background in musical theater
Why Bob Backlund is still on his bucket list of dream matches even in his mid-70s
Which top AEW star he’d love to share a ring with soon
How he hopes it’s just a matter of time before he wrestles in Japan

Under the Ring drops new episodes on audio each Monday and on YouTube each Wednesday, featuring a different intriguing from the pro wrestling industry each time out in a straightforward conversation with experienced wrestling journalist Phil Strum. Recent guests have included indie veteran Brian Anthony, NWA wrestler Hale Collins and WWE star Raquel Rodriguez.

To make sure you don’t miss an episode, subscribe to Under the Ring on Apple Podcasts or your podcast provider of choice, or check out the Under the Ring YouTube channel to see all of the interviews in video form.

Swerve Strickland on All Out match with The Acclaimed: ‘Nobody saw it coming’

Hear Swerve Strickland discuss the rivalry with The Acclaimed, how he’s achieved podcast success, and much more on Under the Ring.

Labor Day weekend was a crazy one for the pro wrestling industry, with a pair of big time events and a number of highly regarded matches. Swerve Strickland knows that all too well, because he was in one of them that stole the show.

Strickland and partner Keith Lee, known collectively as Swerve In Our Glory, entered and left All Out as the AEW World Tag Team Champions. But before they were finished, they helped elevate their opponents, The Acclaimed, to a level if popularity, and yes, acclaim, that they had yet to reach in their AEW careers.

As Strickland told host Phil Strum on this week’s episode of the Under the Ring podcast (ahead of Swerve In Our Glory’s rematch with The Acclaimed at AEW Grand Slam), it’s something he takes great pride in, largely because it was unexpected.

“Nobody saw it coming,” Strickland said. “It kind of blindsided a lot of people and woke everybody up. And if you’re looking at the ratings, we peaked. … So that goes to show you that people are paying attention, and people are anticipating next week at Arthur Ashe at Grand Slam, and there’s more surprises going to come next week in New York, I promise you that.”

You can hear Swerve’s full appearance above to get his perspective on:

The cultural impact of the rematch
Why Swerve In Our Glory works as a team
What has made the AEW tag team division special, and something that stands out in a crowded wrestling landscape
How important “continuity” is between his music, ring gear and in-ring performances
What makes a good podcast, specifically his SwerveCity Podcast

Under the Ring drops new episodes on audio each Monday and on YouTube each Wednesday, featuring a new, always fascinating guest from the pro wrestling industry. Other recent guests have included Lori Gassie of No Gimmick Gear, WWE star Austin Theory, and AEW’s Eddie Kingston.

Theory on his time with The Way in NXT: ‘We really did feel like a family’

Hear Theory’s thoughts on his time in The Way and carrying the MITB briefcase around as he joins the Under the Ring podcast this week.

When Theory (soon reportedly to regain his first name as Austin Theory) reunited with Johnny Gargano on WWE Raw, it wasn’t exactly all love. In fact, instead of high fives, it ended up with a superkick.

Nevertheless, the youngest United States Champion and youngest Money in the Bank winner in WWE history looked back on his time in The Way — along with Gargano’s wife Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell and current tormenter of The Miz, Dexter Lumis — in NXT fondly when he was the guest this week on the Under the Ring podcast with host Phil Strum.

“Everything that you’ve seen, and I feel like as much excitement and just the enjoyability of that, that’s how we were all feeling,” Theory said. “We literally all showed up every time we had something to do and it was just a great time. It was just kind of like a collaboration on everything, all the ideas.

“Just really getting to bring everything together, and we just really did feel like a family.”

Listen to the entire interview above to hear Theory’s thoughts on:

His two very different WrestleMania experiences (with and without fans in attendance)
What it was like to work with Pat McAfee and what he thinks about the SmackDown commentator as a performer
How it feels to carry the Money in the Bank briefcase around with him regularly
Who was an important mentor for him in the early stages of his WWE career (hint: you might know him by the initials HBK)

Theory is just the latest high profile guest for Strum and Under the Ring, which releases new episodes each Monday in podcast form and posts them to YouTube on Wednesday. Other recent wrestling personalities to drop in for a chat with Phil include AEW star Eddie Kingston, former WWE head writer and current author Brian Gewirtz, and the dean of pro wrestling journalism, Dave Meltzer.

Eddie Kingston on what he learned from Chris Jericho feud: ‘I learned what it was to be a snake backstage like Chris’

Eddie Kingston joined the Under the Ring podcast to discuss why he hated his matches with Chris Jericho and much more.

For Eddie Kingston, a wrestler who toiled in the independents for years before getting the biggest stage of his career in AEW, a program with an iconic superstar like Chris Jericho could very easily be seen as a career highlight.

But according to the Mad King himself … maybe not so much.

As Kingston told host Phil Stum on this week’s episode of the Under the Ring podcast, the lessons he took from his recent feud with Jericho may not have been the ones you’d expect.

“I don’t like Chris, so being in the ring with him was a headache,” Kingston said.

“Did I learn a lot? Yeah, I learned what it was to be a snake backstage like Chris. I learned how to avoid people like Chris and his group. So I did learn from it. But it was seven months of my life that I can’t ever have back, so thanks a lot, Chris.”

You can listen to the entire interview above, including Kingston talking to Strum about:

The surreal nature of being in AEW at this stage in his career, and the pressure he feels to deliver
Why the Eddie Kingston “character” is true to his real personality from his teenage years
Advice he’d give to other wrestlers on how to get better on the microphone
How he enjoyed his time on commentary for AEW’s secondary shows
Why YouTube has helped him so much as a student of wrestling in general
Who is on his list of dream opponents

Under the Ring releases new episodes every Monday, each featuring an insightful conversation between longtime journalist Strum and a fascinating personality from the world of pro wrestling. Recent guests have included former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz, Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer and WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan.

Dave Meltzer says new WWE leadership “a big, big challenge for Tony Khan” and AEW

Dave Meltzer joined Under the Ring to discuss how Vince McMahon’s departure affects AEW as well as WWE, his famous star ratings and more.

The effects of Vince McMahon retiring from WWE in the wake of his personal scandal are just beginning to be felt within the company, but the impact of new leadership headed by Stephanie McMahon, Nick Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque will pose “a big, big challenge” for AEW.

That’s the opinion of the dean of pro wrestling journalists, Dave Meltzer, who was a conveniently timed guest this week on the Under the Ring podcast with host Phil Strum. With so much goodwill swirling around WWE programming under the new regime, it could mean talent and fans won’t perceive AEW as the clear alternative to WWE it was when it sprang to life a few years ago.

“The AEW thing is that they have to battle this company that’s been around forever and is part of the culture,” Meltzer said. “The fact they’ve come as far as they have is absolutely amazing when you really look at it, but a lot of it was taking advantage of … I don’t want to say weaknesses but the mentality of Vince McMahon, and providing an alternative. And now, yeah, the other company’s going to be doing something more similar to what you’re doing, and they’re bigger and they’re better known and they’ve got the bigger arenas and the better production.”

Meltzer added that talent that may not have wanted to go to WWE while Vince McMahon was in charge may reconsider, given the lessened emphasis on “sports entertainment” and the financial resources WWE has at its disposal.

“It’s going to be a big, big challenge for Tony Khan, I mean, without a doubt.”

Listen to the full interview above to get Meltzer’s insights on:

Why the business side of WWE is “idiot proof,” and why he expects the company and its TV deals to grow
What Vince McMahon brought to the table as head of WWE in his most recent years, both positive and negative
How talent development will change at the top levels of pro wrestling
Why “learning about the business” is the best part of covering wrestling and editing the Wrestling Observer newsletter each week
What his much discussed and debated star ratings for matches really mean

New episodes of Under the Ring drop each Monday, with Strum finding a different but always insightful person from the world of pro wrestling to engage in open conversation with every time out. Recent guests have included Dutch, a.k.a. Bill Carr, WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan, and AEW/ROH rising star Wheeler Yuta.

Liv Morgan on being champion: ‘Right now in this moment in time, everything just feels perfect’

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan joined the Under the Ring podcast to talk about how true her character is to herself and more.

Sometimes the underdog does win, and the Cinderella story does come true. That’s certainly the case for WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan.

Fresh off her exhilarating run at Money in the Bank that saw her win the event’s namesake match and defeat Ronda Rousey for the title in the same night, Morgan has already proven a very popular champion, receiving an oversized response everywhere she performs.

Her current character, which is that of the scrappy overachiever who makes a habit of defying the odds, isn’t her first in WWE, but as Morgan told host Phil Strum on the latest episode of the Under the Ring podcast, it rings true to her at this particular point in her career.

“Who I am and Liv feel very synonymous, especially right now in this moment in time,” Morgan said. “But I feel like it’s always and always changing, like who I am today is not going to be who I am next week or even tomorrow. So it’s like who that ends up being, I don’t know, but right now, in this moment in time, everything just feels perfect.”

Interestingly, Morgan also shared how it took her some time to adjust to having all eyes on her as a WWE superstar, saying that she wasn’t a natural performer when she first broke into the business.

You can listen to Morgan’s full interview above to hear her thoughts on the following topics and more:

What her connection to the fans means to her
Whether winning the Money in the Bank ladder match or subsequently cashing in on Rousey was a bigger deal
What makes her vs. Rousey at SummerSlam such an intriguing matchup
If breaking into WWE was what she expected it to be

Under the Ring releases new episodes every Monday, with Strum going one-on-one with a different but always insightful person from the world of professional wrestling. In the last few weeks, Strum’s guests have included ROH Pure Champion and AEW star Wheeler Yuta, legendary announcer David Crockett and WWE superstar Damian Priest.

Wheeler Yuta on mentors Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor: ‘They let me sleep on their couch for a while’

Wheeler Yuta joined Under the Ring and spoke about how Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor helped him, and life in the Blackpool Combat Club.

Though AEW star and ROH champion Wheeler Yuta runs with William Regal’s Blackpool Combat Club these days and is fitting in perfectly, he was presented as the mentee of Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor when he first arrived.

Turns out that wasn’t just something cooked up for creative purposes.

When Yuta was still making a name for himself on the independent circuit, the first person to really show him the ropes was Drew Gulak. But when Gulak moved on (he’s now a member of the WWE roster), it was two of the Best Friends crew who took him under their ring, as Yuta explained on the latest episode of the Under the Ring podcast with Phil Strum.

“They’ve always been really good to me,” Yuta said. “They would take me around to shows and stuff. I would drive them around a lot. … They would always really take care of me.

“There’s a point that’s been mentioned a few times in interviews when I was in-between places, and they let me sleep on their couch for a while. So they’ve always really looked out for me, in and out of the ring.”

Yuta also recalled fondly that when AEW first decided to bring him in, it was Cassidy who called to let him know … while he was hanging out with Taylor.

You can listen to the entire wide-ranging interview above, where the ROH Pure Champion also touches on:

His upcoming title defense against Daniel Garcia at the Death Before Dishonor PPV
How Pure Rules matches present a different but enjoyable challenge
How being a member of Blackpool Combat Club has helped him “immensely”

New episodes of Under the Ring drop every Monday, and each one features Strum having a one-on-one conversation from a fascinating personality from the world of pro wrestling. Recent guests have included legendary announcer David Crockett, indie star Vik Dalishus, and WWE superstar Damian Priest.

Vik Dalishus on battling injuries, dependency: ‘I’m really proud of myself for how I got through’

Vik Dalishus joined the Under the Ring podcast to discuss battling back from devastating injury to become a better wrestler and person today.

Injuries are an unfortunate part of being a pro wrestler, but Vik Dalishus had an experience with them that was worse than most.

In 2017, Dalishus (whose real name is Rob Begley) tried a top rope move to the floor he didn’t normally perform, and paid the price for a bad landing: a broken right tibia, fibula and ankle, along with other bones in his foot, which later led to infection and doctors telling him he may lose his leg.

Rebounding from that setback was a long journey, but one that Dalishus feels has made him a better wrestler and person in 2022, as he explained to Phil Strum on this week’s episode of the Under the Ring podcast.

“It defines who you are as a person, in different ways, when you allow it to, when you view things that are struggles as opportunities to improve yourself,” Dalishus said. “I went through a lot of different circumstances where I could have played the victim and certainly looked at the negative side of the situation that I had created and the choices that I had made.

“And I’m really proud of myself for how I got through on the other side of it, and for the person that I’ve been able to become and prove who I really am.”

Listen to the full episode above for more of Dalishus’ thoughts on:

Why he and Hale Collins complement each other as tag team partners so well
How he got interested in pro wrestling in the first place
His time in OVW in the early 2000s

You can catch a new episode of Under the Ring every Monday, as Strum has a straightforward, insightful conversation with a different personality from the world of professional wrestling. Recent guests have included WWE superstar Damian Priest, veteran grappler Davey Richards and former WCW President Eric Bischoff.

Damian Priest on working with Bad Bunny: ‘You’ve got to commit yourself, which is what he did’

Damian Priest spoke to the Under the Ring podcast about working with Bad Bunny, why The Judgment Day works, the influence of Scott Hall, and much more.

Not every celebrity who dabbles in sports entertainment makes a lasting impression with their in-ring work, but Bad Bunny raised eyebrows with his performance at WrestleMania 37. As his tag team partner, Damian Priest had more insight into how the music megastar was able to look so at home in WWE.

“If you want to do this, and you want to be successful, even if it’s for one match or whatever, you’ve got to commit yourself, which is what he did,” Priest told host Phil Strum on the latest episode of the Under the Ring podcast. “I was so impressed, I think everybody was impressed by that internally. Just his commitment to making sure he delivered.

“He didn’t want to embarrass himself, he didn’t want to embarrass his family, his friends, his fans, and he didn’t want to embarrass our business. That was a big thing for him. He wanted to earn the respect of everyone.”

Priest is now turning heads himself as a member of The Judgment Day, alongside Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley. During this episode, which you can hear in full above, he discussed how he and his teammates align on their look and approach, and why he thinks the best is yet to come.

Other topics Priest and Strum cover include:

Getting to work with Edge, who Priest calls “a wizard” in the pro wrestling business
His specific journey to make it to the WWE main roster, and who helped him most along the way
Learning from Scott Hall and the influence the Bad Guy has had on his career
How his Puerto Rican heritage influences his work and how WWE gives him a platform to share it

Under the Ring drops new episodes every Monday, as Strum sits down and chats with a fascinating personality from the world of pro wrestling each week. Recent guests have included veteran grappler Davey Richards, former WCW President Eric Bischoff and recent NWA Champion Matt Cardona.

Eric Bischoff thinks he was better off not being ‘a wrestling guy’

Eric Bischoff told Under the Ring that his unique, non-wrestling background was perfect for leading WCW to its era of greatest success.

When Eric Bischoff led WCW to unprecedented heights in the 1990s, he was coming at pro wrestling from a different background and perspective than most. Looking back now, he feels that was more of a blessing than a curse.

As this week’s guest on the Under the Ring podcast with Phil Strum, Bischoff said that WCW was looking for someone who wasn’t coming from a family steeped in wrestling tradition to head up the promotion, which helped him become the right person at the right time — particularly due to his TV experience.

“The truth is, had I come from a more traditional wrestling family or genealogy, I probably never would have had the opportunity that I did,” Bischoff said. “Turner Broadcasting was looking for someone who wasn’t a ‘wrestling guy.’ They had experimented with wrestling guys: Dusty Rhodes, Bill Watts, before me, Ole Anderson. … And Turner decided back in 1993 after the Bill Watts disaster that they wanted an executive to run WCW that had a television background and a business background, not necessarily a wrestling background.”

Check out the entire interview above, which also includes Bischoff discussing:

Why he finds doing podcasts “cathartic” once he learned to have fun with them
What one word would sum up WCW’s legacy
How WCW helped integrate talent from NJPW better than ever before
Whether the WCW fan is still out there

Under the Ring releases new episodes every Monday, with Strum using the connections he’s built up during his journalism career to speak with a different, always fascinating personality from the wrestling business. Recent guests have included Matt Cardona, WWE superstar Sonya Deville and AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa.