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00:00:00Hey guys, hello. How are you? How are you? How are you? How's everybody? Great to see you. Thank you for your time today. Thank you for doing this.
00:00:15You got it. You're coming from? Sending autographs. This is riveting. It's going to make the movie. How is everybody today? Good? Good. Good. I really appreciate you doing this job.
00:00:43Hello. Thank you. I have the world's greatest gig and having a chance to have conversations like this is a really prime feature of it.
00:00:56I guess we might be tied for first place. I don't know. Your gig's pretty good too. But John, I'll pop around. Some of it will be about your life, your journey. A lot of it will be. Some of it will be about your career, etc.
00:01:10Ask whatever you want. Okay. I think I've asked this question to people, John, who are really accomplished in what they do and achieve a profile and a degree of success through a passion, through something that they love, which you have done.
00:01:30What is the difference between what you do and who you are?
00:01:40I'm trying to think of the best way to answer this.
00:01:42One might say, or a school of thought might be, we are defined through our actions, but
00:01:52there's no possible way for even the most intimate connection to see all my actions.
00:02:02So, it's weird. I am defined by my actions, but your question, I'm taking for, I'm taking your question as your question of, hey, in the lane of fluency that you have professionally, what is the difference between that and who you are?
00:02:19And what I do does not define me in totality.
00:02:26What challenge, John, if any, is there in maintaining and understanding that difference, especially as a profile and a character grows and becomes as iconic as the character that you've created?
00:02:43So, I actually think it's not difficult.
00:02:47I think once you realize it, it's quite easy.
00:02:51Once you realize that what I do does not define me, the perspective someone has of any effort I put out there is theirs.
00:03:00It's not mine.
00:03:00So, as long as I know who I am, when I look in the mirror, I don't need to be pigeonholed or held down or defined by simply just this or a successful acting role or a funny joke I've told or it, sure, it is a facet of what I'm capable of, but it's not me in totality.
00:03:26So, I think it's actually quite easy when you realize, like, oh, this isn't me.
00:03:33So, if someone else's perspective, which I can't control, changes, it's also okay.
00:03:42What is success as you define it, as you sit here now?
00:03:47Okay, that's a good question.
00:03:48I want to answer all these questions with questions, but I don't want to waste your time.
00:03:52Not at all.
00:03:53I'm trying to dig in here.
00:03:53Not at all, John.
00:03:54What would be yours?
00:03:56For me, it's to know that, I'll give you a micro and a macro.
00:04:03That's great.
00:04:04The micro, John, would be, and to know that I fail at this a great deal.
00:04:12Did I get the most out of what God gave me that day?
00:04:19Meaning that I fill others up the way that I had the opportunity to, and that I also empty my cup of time for that day in ways that matter to me and that add to others.
00:04:31And I fail at doing that a macro, I think it's not only to feel like I led a full and a varied life, but it's that I maximize the curiosity that I carried as a boy.
00:04:48Because life does its best to really limit that curiosity in so many ways.
00:04:56I thought what was really interesting was you outlined what is successful for you.
00:05:03And then when you put forth your guidelines, you followed it up with, I fail a lot at that, right?
00:05:09Because I share a lot of the same track that you put down.
00:05:15To me, success is simply just fulfillment that you did the best with life.
00:05:21And however, that's going to be different for anyone.
00:05:28I know what my lane is.
00:05:31I use the term earn the sunset a lot.
00:05:33Yeah.
00:05:34But that also doesn't mean be this nuclear reaction of productivity.
00:05:41If we look at analytics, the way we grade people, fail is 59 and below.
00:05:49Success is 60 and up.
00:05:53That's success below average.
00:05:55Success starts at 60 and works its way to 100, which is exceptional.
00:06:00To say you fail a lot, I think you probably have a couple C minuses in there, maybe a few D pluses.
00:06:09Me trying to earn the sunset, there's a whole lot of D minus days.
00:06:14There's some D plus days.
00:06:15There's some C minus days.
00:06:16There's a lot of B days.
00:06:17There's very, very few A plus days.
00:06:20But when you get an A plus, it means something.
00:06:23And it sets a standard.
00:06:24And maybe you're like, oh, man, maybe I can try to push a little further than that.
00:06:28What would an A plus day be for you, John?
00:06:31Those moments where you're filled with the euphoria that is life.
00:06:42It's like indescribably.
00:06:43That's the best way I can describe it.
00:06:45That lasting for 24 hours.
00:06:47Or that lasting as long as I can until exhaustion that I have to close my eyes.
00:06:53Gosh, like my wedding is a day that I can say like A plus day.
00:06:58But that also came with tremendous preparation.
00:07:03I haven't had too many A plus days spontaneously.
00:07:11I've had tons of spontaneous A plus moments, even in like the worst of times.
00:07:17But those A plus days usually have to come with a lot of work.
00:07:22So it's like you don't realize the work you're doing now to, one, define your values.
00:07:29Two, try to walk the talk, which is extremely tough.
00:07:33And then three, reflect on it and be like, well, am I living that way?
00:07:38Are these values really important to me?
00:07:40Or did I just get them out of a grab bag or from somebody else's motivational quotes?
00:07:43It's like, that all takes work, man.
00:07:46So I think success to me is just earning the sunset, feeling fulfilled, and being gracious enough to grade yourself where a failure is a 59 and down.
00:08:02Why do you think for so long people have rooted for you?
00:08:10Are we watching the same thing?
00:08:13Has he not seen the thing?
00:08:19Would you dispute that characterization, John?
00:08:24I would strongly dispute that.
00:08:26Why?
00:08:27Because I've been in front of what the WWE calls polarizing audiences.
00:08:32So I don't have a good answer for why anyone is interested in what I do, because I would streamline it to give people more of that.
00:08:46But I wish I had a great answer for it, and I'm glad I don't think about it, because I think we can get lost in trying to give a consumer what they'd want instead of just swinging big and being authentic.
00:09:01Which I think taps into, I mean, a potentially deep vein, John, which I think is pretty fascinating.
00:09:11Again, this is a weakness of mine, without doubt.
00:09:14Who's approval matters to you?
00:09:19So the answer would change over the years.
00:09:26Who's approval matters to me today?
00:09:29Certainly got to run it by my wife, because she's my partner.
00:09:32She is the one person that we run a three-legged race.
00:09:36So her, and that's it, and me.
00:09:42Like, I have to be okay with what I'm doing, and I think the biggest, most troublesome patches in my life are when I have given my approval to other folks and still executed the deed anyway, and been like, man.
00:10:01But those are great learning experiences.
00:10:03What's an example, if you're willing to share, of that, John?
00:10:05Uh, I just think, man, it could be something as simple, whereas in, like, when I was a sophomore in high school, a bunch of kids were making fun of a bunch of kids, and I had just come off getting my ass kicked every day and been made fun of.
00:10:24I didn't want to be that guy, but I started being the cool kid.
00:10:28So I said something just to join the group, and, like, it wasn't within me to say it.
00:10:33And as soon as the words came out of my mouth, I wanted to take him back.
00:10:37And thank goodness that there was a grown-up involved just passing through who happened to be a disciplinarian of the institution I went.
00:10:45I was actually a junior.
00:10:47He's like, you, office, now.
00:10:50Sat me down.
00:10:51He's like, tell me why I don't kick you out of school.
00:10:52And I said, sir, I can't give you a good answer for that.
00:10:56He said, what I saw wasn't you.
00:10:59Wow.
00:10:59Let's not let that happen again.
00:11:01And it was, like, serendipitous.
00:11:04But that's an example of it.
00:11:05I just tried to fit in with the group, because for the first time in my life, I was getting some social acceptance, and that feels good and rewarding.
00:11:12And I did something against my values, and somebody called me on it.
00:11:17Thank goodness they called me on it.
00:11:19But, you know, early on, I was like, all right, I didn't want to do that anyway.
00:11:23These kids will probably still hang out with me for being me.
00:11:25And if they don't want to hang out with me for being me, then forget it.
00:11:30There are turning points, John, in anyone's journey.
00:11:34And you've had, obviously, multiple turning points.
00:11:37I just wanted to pick a few that I've either heard you mention or that I've read about.
00:11:42Sure, sure.
00:11:44One that I heard you mention, which was really striking to me.
00:11:48There was a point where you believed you were going to join the military.
00:11:56You were going to join the Marines.
00:11:58What happened?
00:11:59I got lucky.
00:12:00And I don't say that as a career in the military is a bad thing.
00:12:04I think I would have been great.
00:12:05I basically, so I grew up in a small town, the very short story.
00:12:13I got an opportunity, a lucky opportunity, to go to a preparatory school, which widened my scope.
00:12:17It ignited my curiosity.
00:12:20From there, they encouraged me to go to university, which was a larger pool where my curiosity was even wider.
00:12:26Then, in my four years of discovering myself as a completely formed brain, I was like, man, I should travel more.
00:12:32I should go out to the West Coast and try to apply my degree because it was in health and fitness.
00:12:37And at the time, this is 1999, everything went through Los Angeles.
00:12:42So I went out there to try to apply the piece of paper I got and, like, failed at every corner.
00:12:48I just wasn't a good fit.
00:12:49So then I began to, like, evaluate myself of, like, what are my skills?
00:12:54What do I feel I'm strong at?
00:12:55I do like uniformity.
00:12:57I loved being an athlete because it was like schedule.
00:13:01I loved discipline.
00:13:02I loved the value system.
00:13:03Tried being a cop.
00:13:04Failed the test.
00:13:04So the military seemed like a great answer because the Marine Corps base was in San Diego and I could drive down there and get in.
00:13:15And I was like, man, they probably won't turn me away.
00:13:18I was 22.
00:13:20I was 235 pounds and I could move.
00:13:24I felt good.
00:13:25Like, and I loved everything they stood for.
00:13:29I knew I would be fed.
00:13:31I knew I would be paid.
00:13:32I knew it would be an adventure, but I also knew I would train.
00:13:36I'd always have a place to work out.
00:13:38I wouldn't have to worry about being stylish.
00:13:40Like, there were so many things that lined up with what I envisioned myself as being proficient at at the time.
00:13:48And the weekend I was going to join, a friend was like, man, you seem to talk a lot about wrestling.
00:13:54We trained down in Orange County.
00:13:56That same weekend.
00:13:57The weekend I was going to join.
00:13:59He's like, would you ever think about doing it?
00:14:01And I delayed my trip.
00:14:06I said, I want to, I'll check it out.
00:14:08And I remember when we pulled into LA Boxing in Orange County, I saw the ring through the glass.
00:14:12And I was like, man, I'm, I will work any bull**** job I need to, to make this my weekend hobby.
00:14:18Like, it became my boat.
00:14:20I use that reference because my, my brother loves to spend weekends on the boat.
00:14:24That became my boat of like, okay, the, the suck is working nine to five.
00:14:30It's something I don't want to do so I can be my own boss and be this superhero on the weekends.
00:14:36And so I started in the business very lucky.
00:14:41Like it found me in the last seconds of decision-making.
00:14:45And I did it as my boat, as my hobby, not like, oh, you're a big dude.
00:14:52You're going to make a killing in this business.
00:14:54I just liked working in flea markets and barbecues.
00:14:57It was fun.
00:14:58What was it about looking through that window, seeing that ring, John?
00:15:03I think it was, it was the same feeling I got the first time I got handed my first helmet at 15 years old to play football.
00:15:11It's like, this is possible.
00:15:13There was no youth football in West Newberry.
00:15:14I didn't touch a football like to play until I was 15, but at 15, when you get your first pads, your jersey and your helmet of like the Pintucket green with the white face masks, this is real.
00:15:29And when I saw the ring, it was like, I'm going to walk through that door and this is attainable.
00:15:34It became real.
00:15:35It was not a sort of fantasy.
00:15:37And WWE does a great job of pointing people in the right direction nowadays.
00:15:4226 years ago, it was a very protected carnival business of like, I'm not telling you how to do this because I'm going to protect what I have.
00:15:53And it was very secret.
00:15:55And there was still, the business is kind of based off of fraternity.
00:15:59So it held the secrecy of a fraternity.
00:16:03And nowadays it's, it's great because we can get the best of people.
00:16:08But then I really wish it would, I will.
00:16:12Everything happened for a reason, but it would have been so easy for me to find the place because the school that Triple H was trained at was like 25 minutes from my house growing up.
00:16:24And I never knew it was there.
00:16:27The Killer Kowalski.
00:16:28The Killer Kowalski school was like 25 minutes from where I grew up and I never knew it was there.
00:16:33I'm going to get to the next turning point, but I'm a fan of points again in anyone's journey.
00:16:38John, what would you say was your lowest point?
00:16:43Uh, man, I think when I just, those moments that there are, that I emotionally don't feel, not only not good enough, like I feel worthless.
00:16:54Uh, and those have happened, it's not too often, that's great, but man, anytime, like I can't, I just can't get out of my own way.
00:17:08Uh, those are probably my lowest points and, and that has nothing to do with, um, economic success or fictitious title or anything.
00:17:23Uh, those moments have happened to me along my journey in every chapter of the book, but they've been a paragraph and I'm very, very fortunate for that.
00:17:35What's one you'd be willing to share?
00:17:38Man, I, I think those got to remain for me.
00:17:44Uh, yeah, I think those got to remain for me.
00:17:50I understand.
00:17:51Yeah.
00:17:53Another point, Stephanie McMahon.
00:17:57Yeah.
00:17:57Hearing you on the bus.
00:18:01Yeah, yeah.
00:18:02What happened?
00:18:05Uh, so, um, we all, we all tell our own story.
00:18:11Like, uh.
00:18:12Very smart, very smart disclaimer.
00:18:15So, but, um, you know, her view of that will be different than mine.
00:18:21Sure.
00:18:21Anybody who I was rapping on the back of the bus with, it'll be different for them.
00:18:25But for you?
00:18:25For me, I was supposed to be fired from the WWE.
00:18:30Um, they would do cuts, like, every Christmas time and every spring, every year, no matter what.
00:18:36And I knew, uh, the holiday cuts were coming up and they debuted me on TV as, like, the poster boy for Ruthless Aggression.
00:18:43And it, I just didn't connect with the audience because I wasn't authentic.
00:18:47You asked about a time where I let someone else curate my experience that was tough for me.
00:18:54This is one I can share with you.
00:18:55Um, as a young performer in the business, when I, I was always me, even when I was the stupid half robot, half man gimmick, it was me out there.
00:19:06And when I moved to Kentucky, I was courageous enough to be me, even in the face of people who didn't like where I came from.
00:19:15Uh, but I earned their trust through being authentic.
00:19:19And then all the skills that got me to the grand stage, I put them away and just fell in line and did what I was told.
00:19:29And that caused me to almost get fired.
00:19:32And I, one of the things I was told was open your ears and shut your mouth.
00:19:40Great advice, especially when you're not the smartest guy in the room.
00:19:43And I hope to never be the smartest guy in the room, but great advice, have the patience to listen.
00:19:49So I did that, but that's all I did was just observe.
00:19:55And I was never bold enough to show who I was.
00:19:59And you don't necessarily have to prove your worth, your coworkers, but our coworkers are all creatives.
00:20:05They're all performers.
00:20:06So maybe they see you do something and they're like, Hey, you should try that on TV.
00:20:11And I know that that's true because I can't tell you how many times I've done that to performers.
00:20:16Like, where's that guy?
00:20:20I'm entertained.
00:20:21You're holding my attention.
00:20:22Put that guy on TV.
00:20:23I don't know.
00:20:24I've seen it.
00:20:25I've seen myself through the other lens.
00:20:28So in that moment, where were you and what was happening?
00:20:32So we were on a European tour.
00:20:34It would be my final tour before I was let go.
00:20:36And the WWE was like, they're so great about it.
00:20:38They kind of let me know like, Hey, this isn't working, right?
00:20:40Yeah, it's kind of not working.
00:20:43Your name is on the list of people we're thinking about putting on the cut list.
00:20:48I just want you to know.
00:20:49That last little dig of like, Hey man, show me something like a, like a good coach would.
00:20:53And this, I thought this was kind of it.
00:20:57So I don't have to mind my P's and Q's and the back of the bus.
00:21:02That's the only time we all travel together.
00:21:04So again, serendipity of like the only time when we go overseas is the only time we travel together.
00:21:10Other than that, you're like, what's the person you ride across the country with, or you travel yourself or whatever.
00:21:16So we're in a rare instance where we're all together.
00:21:19We're even more rare instance where it's, we're all together and we're filming a TV show.
00:21:23Because back then we used to go overseas for like 20 days and 18 of those would be non-televised events.
00:21:29So the math is even thinner that like, it's a TV day.
00:21:33And the boys start rapping in the back of the bus and in the front of the bus is the head of creatives for TV.
00:21:40So I'm sitting there and I'm listening.
00:21:41I'm like, man, I could, that's something I used to do in college and high school.
00:21:45I know you were a big hip hop fan a lot of your life.
00:21:47I could just, uh, I could just get in there right now.
00:21:50I'm like, ah, nah.
00:21:51And then finally I was like, f*** it.
00:21:53Shove my laptop, went back, just stuck my head in the circle.
00:21:57It came right around to me and I just kind of said what was on my mind.
00:22:00And it went for like four minutes.
00:22:05And everybody was like, man, I like ripped on everybody on the bus.
00:22:10And when we got off the ride, Stephanie was like, how did you memorize all that?
00:22:14I'm like, no, no, no, you don't understand.
00:22:16It's freestyle.
00:22:16You, you try to just come up with something quick.
00:22:19That's why some guys only go for, you know, a rhyme or two.
00:22:22And that's why some guys can go longer.
00:22:23And some guys are creative.
00:22:25She's like, would you mind doing that on TV?
00:22:27And then, you know, of course, there's a moment where be bold.
00:22:32So of course I said like, yes, this is it.
00:22:35This is a chance for me to be authentically myself.
00:22:38Because going back to your question about what I, what I do doesn't define me.
00:22:42I was a fan of hip hop and I still love like my era of hip hop, but that isn't totally me as a human being.
00:22:49But that's the one facet.
00:22:51That's the way I could connect with the audience.
00:22:53The program was very hip hop deficient.
00:22:58I figured people would hate a gangster from West Newberry, Massachusetts, trying to come out and be this character.
00:23:07So I'm like, okay, if I would hate that, I think it would get people to hate that.
00:23:11Like, man, things are lining up.
00:23:13I think I can connect with people.
00:23:14And then the courage to, whenever I was paired with an opponent, hey, you have like 10 minutes and you're going to win.
00:23:23Okay, you can do whatever you want.
00:23:25Is it okay if I talk at the beginning?
00:23:27How long do you need?
00:23:28Two and a half minutes.
00:23:29And then you'll let me beat you up for seven minutes, seven and a half and win?
00:23:33Yeah, is that okay?
00:23:34It sure is.
00:23:35I knew I could connect with the audience like that, and that would be at least something to keep me around.
00:23:41But it was like in that moment of serendipity that I shook the regret of listening to someone else and began to be more authentic.
00:23:54Just to put a cap on that, John, when you weren't connecting or resonating with audiences, how did you feel that?
00:24:03How did you know that and recognize?
00:24:05And I know you're going to say, Tom, have you ever watched?
00:24:08Don't you see what goes on, et cetera?
00:24:09But there's also people who move through things with their own mission, and they have blind spots and blinders, et cetera.
00:24:16Is there a moment that indicated to you, wow, this is not working?
00:24:22So I think once you hit a good golf shot, you know what a bad one feels like.
00:24:29So they brought me out in Chicago with Kurt Angle.
00:24:35Kurt Angle is a Hall of Famer, incredible superstar, and he issued like an open challenge, and I answered it.
00:24:44Ruthless aggression.
00:24:47Oh!
00:24:49It's Stephen King taking Angle down!
00:24:51Chicago's always a hot crowd, and we really had a hard-working match, I guess I could say.
00:25:00My takeaway from that was I got to hear what the noise sounded like.
00:25:03My first time out, I hit a good golf shot.
00:25:06So anything that didn't match that wasn't exactly a good golf shot.
00:25:10And you don't really need to be an expert to know that, oh, this isn't the noise that I heard the first time I went out.
00:25:19And there's just as many people here, and I used to watch all the matches.
00:25:23So like, I would stay around for the main event, and you could hear the noise.
00:25:28Like, oh, it's not people dressed as empty chairs, it's they just don't care about me.
00:25:32You know, so being humble enough to understand that, like, there's not cheering for this, there's not buying it.
00:25:41So I tried everything to stay within the lane of my character, so to speak.
00:25:47But I just needed a reset.
00:25:49And Stephanie was gracious enough to be like, man, to try that.
00:25:53The old man's got a plan, and he's chilling in the building.
00:25:56Did I tell you I'm like light beer?
00:25:57I taste great, and I'm less feeling.
00:25:59And in a very risk-free environment, I started with a small vignette on SmackDown.
00:26:05And this is what people don't understand.
00:26:07I was moved to a Saturday broadcast we have, or had, and it's called Velocity, which is like a, just a show, a content show with very, it's not loose, it's not through lines like Raw or SmackDown.
00:26:20It's just like, here's WWE.
00:26:22I went out there saying, like, this is my show, I'm running it, like I took ownership of the brand.
00:26:26I'm like, man, I'm going to build this brand through the lyrics I was saying.
00:26:30And like, instead of begrudgingly saying like, oh, I'm on Velocity, or I'm on the entry-level show, or the weekend show.
00:26:39I was like, man, let's go.
00:26:40Saturday night's my night.
00:26:41And that started to spread, because I did believe it.
00:26:46Like, if I'm only staying around, and they're only going to give me Saturdays, I will take absolutely that, and this is going to be a good run.
00:26:53It's been more than a good run.
00:26:56It's, yes.
00:26:57Yeah.
00:26:58Yeah.
00:26:59A quarter century, in essence.
00:27:02Yeah.
00:27:03How long does it feel like, John?
00:27:05There are moments where it, every second feels like a month, and there are moments where it, 25 years, feels like a second.
00:27:16Yeah.
00:27:18The latter.
00:27:20What is a moment where the decades feel like a flash?
00:27:25When you ask, like, hey, it's been a quarter century, how long does it feel like?
00:27:29And now I'm forced to reflect on all of those memories, and, like, there are just gaps that I can't even, like, I mean, I don't know what happened in 2006, you know?
00:27:41Like, but if I have some time, and if I have a little bit of guidance of, like, hey, in 2006, you had a, oh, I remember that.
00:27:49That's where, like, the decades feel like seconds.
00:27:51Why do you think, John, you were able to be that face and endure the way that you had in what is a rapidly shrinking attention span where everybody loves the new or everybody hates it, whatever it might be?
00:28:08Why have you endured?
00:28:12I want to try to get your question correct.
00:28:14I'm kind of aging out now, as our attention span gets smaller, so I, uh...
00:28:23Do you really believe you're aging out?
00:28:25Listen, I chose to retire.
00:28:27Yeah.
00:28:28Like, I made a promise to the WWE that I would not stick around when my skills can't match the product, and they can't.
00:28:41Like, I'm 48, I don't, my 40-yard time has gone like this.
00:28:46Like, I can't match up with the products now, and that's okay, because what I do isn't who I am.
00:28:56And the realization of that has helped me come to, like, no, let these guys have it now, because they're really good.
00:29:05And all I would be doing is a disservice to the consumer if I go any point beyond this.
00:29:10If there was a point at which you realized, this is it, this is my last year, what was it?
00:29:18Um, the fact that I thought I was going to have this year completely off, and I was willing, like...
00:29:26So for the longest, I've been kind of, um, a part-time piece.
00:29:31And sometimes I come back just to deliver the opening monologue.
00:29:37Like, no kidding.
00:29:38And it is...
00:29:39That is the toughest spot in what we do.
00:29:44To come out and, for 15 to 20 minutes, tell the audience what they're going to get,
00:29:49and then not deliver anything else, like not have a confrontational war of words, not have any physicality.
00:29:58Just show up with the equity you've built, hoping they enjoy and have to go through, like, 16 talking points,
00:30:08somehow weaving in the energy of the crowd, not killing the house for the match that's about to follow you.
00:30:12Like, it's a very tough spot.
00:30:14So I could kind of see the writing on the wall with, like, oh, we need you to come back and come back into this thing,
00:30:19and we want you to open the show.
00:30:21Oh, of course.
00:30:22Of course you do.
00:30:23I will do it, but okay, you're right.
00:30:27And then, um, the situations where I can come back is a lot more of a give back, too.
00:30:35Uh, I've been paired with new talent since 2013.
00:30:40So that's kind of the symbol of, like, man, it, you know, and just looking at that calendar, like, me being 48.
00:30:49So I thought I would have this year with minimal commitments, and I began to throw around,
00:30:58I began to say, like, something's either going to happen this year,
00:31:01or I'm just going to have to post on X that I retire, and that either one's okay.
00:31:09And when I was presented with, oh, we can do this, and we can do this,
00:31:13finally I just said, it's either this year or we don't do it, and I'd like to do it.
00:31:19So then my next hurdle was selling this idea to the people who would buy it,
00:31:25and that's not the ticket buyer, that's the WWE.
00:31:27So I had to sit down with them and present with them,
00:31:30hey, I know this is kind of catching you off guard,
00:31:33but months in advance, um, this is what I was thinking.
00:31:39Do you think this is a viable business model?
00:31:41Is this something you'd want to do?
00:31:43And, uh, if so, how can I be useful?
00:31:46And they're like, hold, are you kidding me?
00:31:48This is, this is great.
00:31:50Yeah.
00:31:50Uh, and, uh, we kind of went from there, and I, I know my lens through what WWE is,
00:32:00is like 220 dates a year, five dates a week, a different town every night.
00:32:06The WWE in my lens, I, I depend on who you ask, they'll give you a different answer.
00:32:10They have shifted from being a live event driven company to a content company who does
00:32:16extremely great live events, but it's all to produce content.
00:32:20In doing that, they've realized that they can keep their talent healthier if they work them less.
00:32:25And if it ain't on media, there's, there's very little yield.
00:32:32So let's do stuff like this.
00:32:33We could capture the moments and broadcast it to the world.
00:32:37So when I was like, Hey, I'm, I want the whole year off to do one last finale.
00:32:43I want to do 200 dates.
00:32:44I think I can manage that.
00:32:47That face is what the, what I got from when I pitched my WWE.
00:32:52I wanted to do 200 dates.
00:32:53You wanted to do 200 days just to say goodbye to everybody.
00:32:57Like I wanted to try to go everywhere from Perth, Australia to mid Hudson civic center to like,
00:33:03you name it.
00:33:04I wanted to go everywhere I've been to just say thank you to everybody.
00:33:08And the WWE came back.
00:33:10It's like, no, we only need 36.
00:33:12And that's when I was like, Oh man, I can kind of, I think I can balance this and some other stuff.
00:33:18Are you, are you guys okay with me?
00:33:20Doing a movie.
00:33:21Running in two lanes.
00:33:22And I said, we sure are.
00:33:23We would just like you for this block of time.
00:33:27So it worked out great.
00:33:29And just, it was also a great exercise.
00:33:32And just because I think it's good.
00:33:35Doesn't mean that's what we're doing.
00:33:37I had this whole, I mean, I came to him with pitch decks and specs.
00:33:41And like, this is what I think the projected revenues are.
00:33:43And like, I'm not just talking WWE story out of my butt.
00:33:47Like, Hey, I think this is a good business plan.
00:33:49And then they're like, that's not our business.
00:33:52Okay.
00:33:53I'm just going to torch that plan.
00:33:55They said, this is our business.
00:33:57Would you like to do this?
00:33:58I said, yeah, that'd be great.
00:34:00Is it okay if I can balance some stuff?
00:34:02I said, yeah, sure.
00:34:03And what a great exercise.
00:34:05And just because you think you have a good idea, doesn't mean it's a good idea.
00:34:10It means you think it's a good idea.
00:34:11But it got us to here.
00:34:13And this is a pretty cool spot to be in.
00:34:15What do you think will be the hardest part of stopping?
00:34:19You've said why you're stopping.
00:34:20Yeah.
00:34:22What do you believe will be the hardest part of stopping?
00:34:26I don't think they'll, uh.
00:34:27It presumes there is one.
00:34:30Uh, I don't know.
00:34:33I don't think so.
00:34:34I don't think there is one.
00:34:35Yeah.
00:34:36I think once like, man, like, we're all going to go, you know?
00:34:48And I think I address that all the time.
00:34:51And I think once you address that, once you realize that you're mortal and you don't put
00:34:57yourself on some fictitious timeline that I'm going to try to do my best to live, not
00:35:02to go tomorrow, but we're all going to go.
00:35:05And I don't get to choose what time I go.
00:35:07But the difference, John, is great artists and athletes and performers.
00:35:16This is not my original thought.
00:35:18Okay.
00:35:19They die twice.
00:35:22Okay.
00:35:23They die when a career ends and then they die with the rest of us.
00:35:31Okay.
00:35:31So let's volley that around for a second.
00:35:33What's your reaction to that thought?
00:35:34I think that's, um, I think something like that might indeed happen if the creative or the
00:35:42performer or the athlete thinks that is all that they are.
00:35:47So if that is my, if that is me in totality and I'm not allowed to be me anymore, yeah,
00:35:54sure.
00:35:54That's your mortality.
00:35:55I have to shed this skin and be someone else.
00:35:57I love this.
00:35:59I'm as passionate about this as anybody, but this isn't me.
00:36:03This isn't all of me.
00:36:05I have tons of curiosity in my life.
00:36:07Like without this, without economic satisfaction, I'm not going to go.
00:36:12If the phone doesn't ring tomorrow, I still have so much curiosity in my life and I have
00:36:16so much joy and so much love and so many things to be grateful for.
00:36:19So I'll just start doing that.
00:36:21Like that will be me.
00:36:24Never is a big ass word, John.
00:36:27It sure is.
00:36:28It's a big word.
00:36:29It is.
00:36:30So sitting here right now, the year ends, never come back, never be a part of it, never be
00:36:41in the ring.
00:36:41So the last part is the true part.
00:36:46I will be an ambassador to the WWE.
00:36:48I'm already signed on for another five years of which I was like, please, as long as you
00:36:54can do it.
00:36:55I would like to be in this family as an employee, as a contributing part for as long as I can.
00:37:00But the ring.
00:37:02Physical activity, 100%.
00:37:04And I very rarely speak in absolutes because you never know.
00:37:09I do know in this case.
00:37:10This is why I can speak in absolutes because I don't want to let the people that I made
00:37:16a promise to down.
00:37:18And I think by setting the standard that this can be something successful, it also can help
00:37:26superstars face their mortality to not have to die twice.
00:37:29Like, hey, if you have some time to think about it, you have to plan this long lead.
00:37:35So I'm planning this nine months before the first show in Intuit Dome.
00:37:40Which means I have nine months to think about all this.
00:37:43Everybody's asking, like, oh, what's it feel like?
00:37:45Like, I'm good.
00:37:45I'm good.
00:37:46Because I had nine months to plan the idea to pitch it.
00:37:50I have nine months to think about it.
00:37:52You don't have to die twice.
00:37:58And since I got here, since I started performing at a high level, I promised everybody that,
00:38:03like, man, when I miss a step, I'm gone.
00:38:06So if I break that promise, you can like me or hate me as a performer, but I would do that
00:38:17more for me than anybody else.
00:38:20Never again.
00:38:21And another thing is, there are people spending hard-earned money on these events.
00:38:29And I do not fault multiple farewell tours of musicians.
00:38:35I do not fault that.
00:38:37That's their choice.
00:38:40I'm not going to head fake somebody like that.
00:38:42And that's just my lane that I walk in.
00:38:46Neither one of them is wrong.
00:38:47That's my recipe for chicken soup.
00:38:49I'm okay with it.
00:38:50But I want somebody to be like, man, this was the last time he was in London.
00:38:55And that's it.
00:38:56And I like that.
00:39:01The heel turn.
00:39:02Okay.
00:39:03When did it first begin to take shame?
00:39:11Okay.
00:39:11So what I'm hearing with this question is, hey, you're in the middle of a really suspenseful
00:39:15TV show right now.
00:39:16Can I have some spoilers?
00:39:19You won't get them from me, man.
00:39:21Will, this is what I promise you.
00:39:23And I try to be a man of my word so we can shake on it.
00:39:26I would love to sit down with you again when all this is over, because we have talked for
00:39:32a majority of the time about cool philosophical stuff, which I could talk for hours about.
00:39:37And I will answer that question, but not in the middle of the season.
00:39:41How's that?
00:39:43More than fair.
00:39:44More than fair.
00:39:46We love dynasties.
00:39:49We also love rivalry.
00:39:51Oh, go ahead.
00:39:52I don't know, man.
00:39:54I'll let you finish the thought.
00:39:55No, no, please.
00:39:56Do we?
00:39:58I think.
00:39:58What's your thought on dynasties?
00:40:00So I think if it's your team or if it's your person, there's not a better time.
00:40:10But that is a small segment of the greater audience.
00:40:14In the National Football League, there's a lot of teams.
00:40:18But there's one team that wins all the time, and everybody else is pissed off.
00:40:23What value does Dynasty bring to an overall franchise or endeavor?
00:40:28A league?
00:40:31That's hard to say.
00:40:33Okay.
00:40:34It's hard to say if it's good or it's bad.
00:40:36And I think that's just long-term data.
00:40:40Okay.
00:40:40I'd also suggest.
00:40:41It's hard to say.
00:40:42Okay.
00:40:42I'd also suggest rivalry is a very powerful engine in anything we see where performers or
00:40:50athletes compete, right?
00:40:52Whether it's Drake and Lamar or whether it's the Dodgers and the Yankees.
00:40:57Sure.
00:40:58Surprised you didn't say Red Sox and Yankees.
00:41:00I'm so old.
00:41:01Who would you define as your rival?
00:41:04Well, I want to word this in the right way.
00:41:12The entity.
00:41:15Because therein lies the challenge.
00:41:21You use your performers and the matchups to create something interesting.
00:41:26That's where I think WWE has an advantage over pure sport.
00:41:33Because one team plays well against one team doesn't make one team hate one team.
00:41:38There's a lot more into the Boston-New York rivalry than just teams winning and losing.
00:41:44You begin to hate the culture of New York or the culture of Boston, how they drive, how they talk.
00:41:52They eat their hot dogs like this.
00:41:54We eat our hot dogs like that.
00:41:55Like, it becomes much more.
00:41:59We just continue to try and try again to get our audience invested in, I'm going to compete against you.
00:42:11We know that.
00:42:12Here's why I don't like you.
00:42:16And here's why I need to do this.
00:42:19And we pull a lot from sport, but we also pull a lot from drama.
00:42:24And we have all those tools.
00:42:27So my biggest rivalry, in kind of paraphrasing and using the word challenge, is the entity, the arena.
00:42:39They're the biggest superstar we have.
00:42:41This is not a, even though I'm going to ask, mention this name next, it's not presumptive in any way.
00:42:47How would you describe your relationship with The Rock?
00:42:52That is timeline dependent.
00:42:57That's a great way for me to describe it.
00:43:00But honestly, so I'll dive into that, too.
00:43:05The fact that it's been such a long timeline.
00:43:07So the first moment I saw The Rock was when I was working the front desk at Gold's Gym in Venice in 2000, because the wrestlers used to come in and work out at Gold's Venice.
00:43:21So I just asked him for a picture.
00:43:25And somewhere I have a picture of me with a blonde flat top and me and The Rock arm in arm, like me and my nutrition club store's polo.
00:43:34Like, hey, and Rocky in his sunglasses, like, hey.
00:43:36That's the start of my timeline with The Rock.
00:43:40And it goes up until now.
00:43:43So when I say it's timeline dependent, I think that's great.
00:43:47Yes, we have had rough roads and, man, we have had some beautiful scenics.
00:43:54I'm grateful for the fact that we've been connected for 25 years.
00:43:58Because that means there's a valuable connection there.
00:44:01If it was just a picture and move on, man, he gave me a great moment.
00:44:06I'm sure it wouldn't be one that he'd remember.
00:44:09But it's so much more than that.
00:44:10And regardless of my perspective or his perspective of our relationship, we each have one, and it spans a long period of time.
00:44:19And I think that that's important in describing that connection.
00:44:21What's one thing you learned from him and perhaps he learned from you?
00:44:28So I will answer them both in me describing how I made someone better.
00:44:36That's up to them.
00:44:38Understood.
00:44:38What I learned, that's a great one.
00:44:41I can't tell you what he learned because that's up to him.
00:44:46I learned excellence.
00:44:49Absolute excellence.
00:44:52I learned what a good golf shot feels like when you go out and make 60 of them and hand in your scorecard.
00:44:59That's what I learned.
00:45:01I learned the noise every time.
00:45:03Even when in your heart of hearts, maybe he thought he could have given more, the noise is still there.
00:45:18There's not a moment we shared without the noise.
00:45:28And that's very rare when you get paired with somebody that you always have that.
00:45:34There's usually always some dead air.
00:45:36Not with him.
00:45:37If you weren't doing this, John, what do you think you'd be doing?
00:45:43Probably being an installation in Germany in a uniform.
00:45:48Right now, either doing push-ups under somebody's command or having a nice office.
00:45:54One of those things.
00:45:57I honestly think that I was built pretty good for military life.
00:46:02And the good thing is I got to discover that on my own terms of like, hey, these are my strengths.
00:46:08And I still do love uniformity.
00:46:11I love schedule.
00:46:12I love early rise and get after it.
00:46:14But I love to still work out.
00:46:18I still model a lot of my values from what they preach.
00:46:26I think I would have done okay over there.
00:46:28Okay enough for them not to send me packing.
00:46:31And that's an institution where you can do a few and get out.
00:46:34Or if you're really passionate about it, they'll have you as long as you'll be in there.
00:46:39So I think I would have done that.
00:46:42I love asking this question to, again, accomplished people.
00:46:47And I've had the chance to ask it to everybody from Serena to Tiger to Sabin to I've been fortunate to do that.
00:46:52Sweet man drop.
00:46:53I know.
00:46:54And I'll come down and pick them back up.
00:46:55And Sina will be one of the name drops that I now include.
00:46:59What's a piece of criticism that stayed with you?
00:47:06Huh.
00:47:07That's a really good question.
00:47:08So to be nonspecific and more general, because I just went through the Rolodex of everything.
00:47:21Hold on.
00:47:22I just went through the Rolodex of everything.
00:47:24What does that mean?
00:47:25So to try to, I always search for takeaways, right?
00:47:30Because a lot of people don't know how to articulate what they're really trying to say.
00:47:33A lot of times you get feedback in this industry.
00:47:39We have what we call rules.
00:47:42And those rules exist simply so you can just be your best.
00:47:45But a lot of them are taken as bureaucratic rules.
00:47:52And I'm the only one to be like, I'm not doing that.
00:47:55Because I know why it's in place.
00:47:57This is why it's in place.
00:47:59You want me to be my best out there?
00:48:01That doesn't make sense to me right now.
00:48:03You're just reading off of a statement.
00:48:05I'm going out there to do something else.
00:48:07So in trying to sift through all the collective feedback that I've been given over the years.
00:48:15A piece of criticism.
00:48:16A piece of criticism or a lasting through line.
00:48:21Is that the best you can do?
00:48:25I think it sums up every piece of criticism, every through line.
00:48:31From criticism I have on screen, to playing football, to getting chastised by that academic counselor who brought me into their office.
00:48:44Is that the best you can do?
00:48:46And when the answer was yes, it wasn't criticism.
00:48:50It was acceptance.
00:48:52But it's almost like I could answer my own question.
00:48:54And it was asked to either say, there have been some great moments when, is that the best you can do?
00:49:03Yes.
00:49:04Then let it go.
00:49:06Lighten your backpack.
00:49:07You don't have to carry it with you.
00:49:09Because all I can ask for is all you got.
00:49:12But there's also been some defining moments where that's been asked.
00:49:16Where it's like, no, I got more in the tank and I got to be better.
00:49:21One that you would share beyond the high school story.
00:49:28Yeah, man.
00:49:29The audience.
00:49:32Their feedback.
00:49:33And the cool thing is you don't have to go fishing around to get somebody to pull this out of you.
00:49:39The you can't wrestle chance.
00:49:42Because I would do the same five moves every night.
00:49:45And win all the time.
00:49:47And what I hear from the audience is, I'm seeing other performers do these fantastic things.
00:49:53And then at the end of the night, I see you do five moves and win.
00:49:58Because I'm in the through line of the story, setting up a dynasty.
00:50:03And if it ain't your guy, dynasties are tough.
00:50:07So I've learned that.
00:50:10And that was the biggest criticism from the audience.
00:50:14Of if you're my guy.
00:50:16Like, no, dude, this guy gets his ass kicked.
00:50:18He never stops.
00:50:19Like, he gets thrashed out there.
00:50:21And somehow manages to find another way.
00:50:26Yeah, but I see this performer and this performer and this performer.
00:50:30And their moves are better.
00:50:31And they look better.
00:50:32And so in hearing that a lot, I just began to do more stuff.
00:50:38And it looked janky and unorthodox, as we would say.
00:50:43But I listened.
00:50:44And I went back to the wrestling school halfway through my career.
00:50:48You know, went to newer performers.
00:50:50It was like, what do you think I'll be good at?
00:50:53Can you teach me some stuff?
00:50:55And newer performers, like Sami Zayn, like Kevin Owens, like AJ Styles when he first came.
00:51:03When you were at the top, you did this.
00:51:05CM Punk.
00:51:06Like, of course.
00:51:08Teach me some stuff.
00:51:10What can I do better?
00:51:10How can I make you look great?
00:51:13That's always my lead.
00:51:16And what can you teach me?
00:51:17So, and that's from the audience.
00:51:21Chanting at the top of their lungs, you can't wrestle.
00:51:24And I know it was just a, like, our audience will continue to lean in until they get you.
00:51:31And it didn't get me.
00:51:34Like, I didn't come back, man, who do they know I can wrestle?
00:51:36No, I'll try to be better.
00:51:39And I'll try to be better and not make it be a hard reset.
00:51:42I'll try to be better and be my authentic self.
00:51:44So, a vehicle to do that was like the United States Open Challenge.
00:51:51When I won the U.S. title, right after, I think two years after main eventing with The Rock in MetLife.
00:51:59And then two years later, I have the United States Championship.
00:52:03And a lot of, this is another through line in my career.
00:52:06Nothing is a demotion.
00:52:08It is simply an opportunity.
00:52:09And I don't know how many performers, after being at such a standard, would look at, I'm not doing the U.S. title.
00:52:20It's beneath me.
00:52:21I was like, let me have that.
00:52:22I can do something with this.
00:52:24And then when I get it, I'm like, well, what are your plans?
00:52:28Nothing.
00:52:28That's great.
00:52:29Because now I can make something with it.
00:52:31And I used it as a way to try to get high-profile matches on TV, longer matches on TV, because at that time we were looking for action and less talk and profile new superstars.
00:52:43So every time I came out, who's it going to be?
00:52:45So I got all this new talent, talent that could teach me.
00:52:50So I'm learning.
00:52:51We're giving these guys a chance.
00:52:53And they get a chance to hear the noise, to hit that one good golf shot, see what it feels like.
00:52:58So now they know when they go forward, if they missed or if they hit.
00:53:01And I'm continuing my education as a seasoned performer.
00:53:05But that was just one of the instances where I could go to people and learn.
00:53:08Your actions speak louder than your words.
00:53:12You've granted more wishes than anyone in history in Make-A-Wish.
00:53:18What have those experiences taught you about the human spirit and about mortality?
00:53:26Well, I can't conceptualize someone learning the concept of what Make-A-Wish is and not doing the things that I've had the opportunity to do.
00:53:50That's why I don't look at that as any sort of accolade or achievement.
00:53:57I think if you were in the same spot, you'd do the same thing.
00:53:59I think anybody here, if they learned what Make-A-Wish is of like, there's someone fighting some circumstances.
00:54:07And the one thing they'd like to do is hang out with you.
00:54:11Do you have time for that?
00:54:11There comes a tipping point, obviously.
00:54:16But, man, if we can do that, 100% we're going to do that.
00:54:21So, I guess that's why I don't like dwelling in the pool of that as an accolade.
00:54:30Because I'd like to think it's common practice.
00:54:33That's just my lens.
00:54:34That's not everybody's truth.
00:54:36And people may have a different opinion.
00:54:37We all have our things.
00:54:39Because it's shown me the power of joy, escape, the energy of a much-needed day off where you can just kind of lighten your backpack and forget about what's going on.
00:54:55The human spirit is only extinguished when it's gone.
00:55:00Like, even through the toughest of challenges, it still lives.
00:55:03And it's beautiful.
00:55:04That's another thing.
00:55:09It's those moments, even as subdued and sometimes melancholy as they are, they're still so beautiful.
00:55:16It's just a reinforcement that we all have the same end.
00:55:25You know, we're all just renters.
00:55:26And I think it also puts forth the reinforcement that I now, today, and this tipping point hit years ago, I should wake up grateful every day that I do wake up.
00:55:42Because I have at least had the opportunity to be in the statistical category of what you would call a full life.
00:55:48And what it's taught me about mortality is loss is always tough for everybody.
00:55:55But, man, the steepest hill there is when we feel someone's taken from us too soon.
00:56:03And to be involved with a charity that allows people who fight every day until there are no more days to have a chance to have some fun, those are usually always folks that are taken from us too soon.
00:56:19So it's taught me to understand that I've lived a full life.
00:56:25And like I said, I'm going to do my best to live knowing I'm not going tomorrow.
00:56:29But it's beyond my choice.
00:56:31And if I do, I'll go peacefully.
00:56:33I have something in my phone, John, called Advice for Living.
00:56:38And I can tell you right now, that answer will be taken off the transcript and clipped and put in that and put in my phone.
00:56:46Because that answer is amazing.
00:56:49And something I need to have in my life.
00:56:52And not just in this moment, but forward.
00:56:55That was an amazing answer.
00:56:57Right on.
00:56:58WWE Champion.
00:57:00Platinum selling hip hop artist.
00:57:04That album is 20 years old this year.
00:57:07Only platinum artists will never have a follow up.
00:57:11Is that right?
00:57:12Yeah.
00:57:12Where's the follow up?
00:57:14It is a young man's game and I'm not in it anymore.
00:57:17No, also a great exercise of what I do isn't just me.
00:57:23And honestly, at the time, gosh, not only was, like, I, my affinity for hip hop came to me through Teenage Rebellion.
00:57:34It was rap music back then.
00:57:36And there was commercial rap.
00:57:38And in, like, the late 80s, it started to be a voice of rebellion.
00:57:43And, dude, for a teenager or, like, a young adolescent to hear that, regardless of what they were saying, and there's no way I could go through the struggles of systematic racism in Compton.
00:57:58But when someone says, f*** the police, my parents are the police.
00:58:05F*** them.
00:58:06Like, it was exactly what I needed as a teenager.
00:58:09I loved the rebellious nature of hip hop.
00:58:13And that's how I became an unlikely source connected to that.
00:58:17I loved the bravado and the strength and the truth and the message.
00:58:21And, like, man, they weren't holding back with anything they were saying.
00:58:24The list, as we say it, and as you add on to WWE champion, platinum selling, hip hop artist, the best-selling author, the really beautiful example of philanthropy and outreach, and the movie and TV star.
00:58:50What is next?
00:58:51That's probably a question you ask everybody, and I don't know.
00:58:57I don't know.
00:58:58And that's part of that curiosity.
00:59:02I couldn't, there's not one of those things that I would have targeted as, like, I'm going to craft my life to do this.
00:59:09All of those things, every single one is an accident.
00:59:13Every single one was not something that I was like, this is the path I'm taking with my life.
00:59:22Every single one of those things you just named, from success in sports entertainment, to catching lightning in a bottle through music, to opportunity to be philanthropic, to a second mountain that also involves a career.
00:59:36Those all just came by opportunity knocking at the door, and me cracking and being like, oh, yeah, come on in.
00:59:44Yeah, right on.
00:59:45And all of them came through a lot of trying and failing.
00:59:52You know, man, there's a ton of lanes of philanthropy, and I've tried a bunch, and the one I feel most at home with is the one that has most of my time, effort, and resource.
01:00:06Sports entertainment was an accident.
01:00:07I'm going to go one way in my life, and opportunity's like, just check this out first.
01:00:12The rapping thing was an accident, and the double accident is I listened to the music they played for me, and I'm like, man, I could do better than this.
01:00:21Wait, I could do better than this.
01:00:23And this wasn't now where we have the technology of, like, you can mix on your iPhone.
01:00:28I had to go to a studio, so then I'm like, I think my cousin knows a guy.
01:00:32Might be able to know a guy.
01:00:33And then we recorded Basic Thunkonomics for, like, 10 grand.
01:00:46And I handed it to WWE, and I'm like, can you just play this?
01:00:48And they're like, this is you.
01:00:49Yeah, sure, no problem.
01:00:51And then I was like, man, the accident, the people dig it.
01:00:55We got to have a follow-up.
01:00:57Do you want to, to my cousin, you want to start making music?
01:00:59Yeah, cool, all right, what's it going to take?
01:01:00I don't know, we'll figure it out.
01:01:01Fail, fail, fail.
01:01:04There's like 70 lost tracks of the album that never made it out.
01:01:0970 lost tracks?
01:01:11Yep.
01:01:12Begs a follow-up.
01:01:13It does not.
01:01:15I was able to shave off the ones that shouldn't make it and give you the ones that should.
01:01:21And I'm lucky to get that.
01:01:24Movies, I got run out of the movie business in 2009 for making bad straight-to-DVD movies.
01:01:30Like, I got run out of town.
01:01:32Like, you'll never work in this town again, kid.
01:01:34And then started taking, read the news on the Today Show, hosted the Aspies, did Nickelodeon Kids Choice, started just, okay, what do I like?
01:01:45I like live audience.
01:01:46I like to be in a room with people.
01:01:47I like conversation.
01:01:49I like, you know, hosting is something that's kind of like WWE.
01:01:53I kind of do the opening monologue anyway.
01:01:55All right, let's go for that.
01:01:56And then inch by inch, like, hey, man, I saw you in the Kids' Choice Awards.
01:02:00You want to be in this movie I'm doing about a YouTube character named Fred?
01:02:03You're going to be parodying yourself.
01:02:06Time under tension enough to take myself as a joke.
01:02:09Not take myself too serious.
01:02:10So, yeah, I'll live in a refrigerator and be Fred's invisible dad.
01:02:13No problem.
01:02:15And then, hey, I saw you hosting the Aspies.
01:02:17Would you like to audition for this comedy that I'm doing?
01:02:19Sure, Mr. Apatow.
01:02:20I'd like to come in and read for Trainwreck with Amy Schumer.
01:02:23That'd be pretty good.
01:02:25And then when I'm on the set of Trainwreck, they're filming Sisters in Long Island, which
01:02:29is right up the street.
01:02:30And Tina Fey calls Judd.
01:02:31And Judd's like, hey, man, if you need this, you see you need this drug dealer, hire this
01:02:35kid we got.
01:02:37It's all just accidents.
01:02:39Like, I didn't plan any of it.
01:02:41Which is also cool because it helps me minimize the moments where the answer to the question
01:02:48is no, of is that the best you got?
01:02:52This is the best I got.
01:02:53Like, this hour I'm giving you, I don't know what else I could give you.
01:02:58And when we break, I'm going to an autograph signing.
01:03:02And that's the best I got.
01:03:03And when we break, I get a chance to meet some folks that I'm looking forward to meeting.
01:03:09And when we break, time to do TV.
01:03:11And no one gets slighted.
01:03:14It is like, what is the next hill in front of me?
01:03:16I prep the hell out of it.
01:03:18And I've been prepping for this for a long time, so much so that I'm like, are you sure
01:03:21this is the right time to do this?
01:03:23It is.
01:03:23All right.
01:03:24How can I make it?
01:03:24Great.
01:03:25All I got to do is duck the questions he's going to ask me about wrestling.
01:03:28No problem.
01:03:29We can work with that.
01:03:30So, it's just understand the opportunity that's put in front of you.
01:03:37And if you really have your heart set on something and it doesn't work out, I always believe good
01:03:42work finds a way.
01:03:43Like, if you're willing to do good work, there is a marketplace out there for you.
01:03:47Someone will take you.
01:03:47It may not be in what you want or what you thought.
01:03:52Only so many people are going to get it that bad at the majors, but baseball needs a lot
01:03:57of people.
01:03:59So, if you really love baseball, good work finds a way.
01:04:03And people want people on their team who are passionate about the team, you know, which
01:04:08is okay.
01:04:09Well, it's not my time to perform anymore, but I got a bunch of talent, strengths, and
01:04:14gifts that I can pass on.
01:04:15So, I'm looking forward to the second mountain of being an ambassador, because maybe ambassadorship
01:04:21comes with letting more people know to watch this, which was my goal in the first place,
01:04:25and maybe mentorship to talent that I wouldn't have time to spend time with, where I can sit
01:04:30and be like, okay, who are you really?
01:04:33How do I get the rapping moment on the bus?
01:04:36Because I want that guy on TV, or I want that girl on TV.
01:04:39How do I, I'm looking forward to that stuff, you know?
01:04:42Well, you might call it an accident, John, but if it's not, to me, serendipity, we'll
01:04:49call it serendipity.
01:04:50I have been saturated with it.
01:04:53I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this.
01:04:56You're absolutely phenomenal.
01:04:57I look forward to doing it again.
01:04:59Phenomenal.
01:04:59Where we can talk about good guys and bad guys and pro wrestling stuff, and I'll give
01:05:04you all the juicy deets.
01:05:06But you got enough clickbait here to be fine.
01:05:07You'll be all right.
01:05:08See?
01:05:09There we go.
01:05:09I think we have a lot more than that.
01:05:12I, I, I just, you have so much going on, and your ability and capacity to be open
01:05:21and reflective and earnest and engage with this guy from Jersey with a bad haircut who
01:05:26you've never met before.
01:05:27I'm grateful.
01:05:28Man, you, no.
01:05:29No, I really, really am.
01:05:31John, you're awesome.
01:05:31Appreciate the self-deprecation.
01:05:32That's an ace I lead with a lot.
01:05:34I also appreciate the gratitude because that's one of my values.
01:05:37Yeah.
01:05:37Awesome, John.
01:05:38Thanks, man.
01:05:38Okay?
01:05:39Fantastic, man.
01:05:40I will see you next time, my friend.
01:05:52Appreciate you so much, John.
01:05:53And thanks for all you do for us.
01:05:55You're, you, seriously, and clip it if you want, but film it just so you know, so it's
01:06:01on record.
01:06:01You dedicating your life to being fluid in your profession and then coming over and sprinkling
01:06:08your dust on the wrestling boys, it helps us make, it helps make us more legitimate.
01:06:13So your passion for what you do combined with your passion for this is super cool because
01:06:19you help us.
01:06:21So if I can pay back a little bit of reciprocity by helping you, that's great.
01:06:26This was awesome.
01:06:27I look forward to doing it again.
01:06:28I just wanted to thank you for what you do for us.
01:06:29Thank you, John.
01:06:30That's so helpful.
01:06:30Appreciate you.
01:06:33Thank you very much.
01:06:34Thanks.
01:06:35Thanks, John.
01:06:35Thanks, John.
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