January 20, 2026 • 18 mins
AEW's Josh Alexander joins the Battleground Podcast to talk about wrestling dream opponents like Kenny Omega, and why WrestleMania was never part of the vision. Josh clears the air on turning down WWE NXT and reveals why he stayed true to his path. We explore how his 2015 neck injury became a turning point in his life and career, shaping his mindset on wrestling and resilience. Josh also reflects on the Don Callis Family’s big 2025, hints at what’s ahead in 2026, and responds to the critics.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Btw why from the Parts Unknown Studios into.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
The Double Battle Crown, Battle, the Battle Bound, the Battle Round.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast, your place for all things
pro wrestling.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
The Battle Road, the Battle Round now making their way
to the microphones. Give it up for your hosts.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Welcome to the Battle Crown.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yeah, what's up you guys?
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Welcome back into iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, the Battleground Podcast.
And may I what a time it is for aew
big show coming up here tomorrow night ae W Dynamite
Live from Orlando.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
And uh, I think that this this.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Match that we're gonna be talking about with our guest today,
obviously should not be on free TV for people.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
This should be on a pay per view somewhere.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
But give it up for our friend Josh Alexander George, Josh,
how you doing, man?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
What's up? The all? It's going to be back. As
for what you just said, I mean, I appreciate it,
but I think there's there's a ton of matches that
are given away on free TV by aw week after week.
I mean Darby versus Pack last week. You know, the
list can go on. It just it's a spot where
good wrestling matches happen, and sometimes you can't put them
all on.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
A pay per view exactly.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
And let's just kind of dive right into this because
you've said in past interviews that you didn't dream of,
you know, having that you know, WrestleMania match, but instead
of wrestling big names, and you're getting to cross one
of those names off your bucket list in Kenny Omega.
What's it like now actually getting to face him? After
years of saying I want him, I want him, I
(01:45):
want him, now you're getting it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Oh well, like the first thing, like we've been in
the ring, we've had several multiman matches at this point,
you know, like over five probably I can't even count
right now, but uh, just from like the first you
get in, it's just like I want to see what
this guy's all about. I want to see how he moves,
because like I've watched the matches for the past like
fifteen years from you know him and Kodobushi and DDT
(02:10):
all the way up through his new Japan run with
the matches Litkata and stuff like that and everything he's
done in aew with like Brian Danielson and everybody else,
Like his resume speaks for itself. So it's just when
you're watching that and you're seeing the response he's getting
from fans and everything, and the second we locked up,
I was like, Oh, it's all justified. This guy's this
guy's on a completely different level. It's exactly as advertised.
(02:34):
And I was just like, I guess, you know, I
got to up my game a little bit. So, you know,
I've done a lot of hard work in the first
ten months since I've been in aew and now you know,
culminating finally in this singles match, me one on one
with Kenny Omega, the match that I've demanded and wanted
for so long. You know, I had to go as
far as breaking his best friend's leg and to do
all these things to get his attention. But here I
(02:55):
am walking into Orlando for Diamond on Wednesday and night
finally with a singles match Keny Omega.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
Yeah, I'm so excited to see that. You know, the
don Kallis family gets a lot of heat, but you know,
twenty twenty five was a huge year, so the results
speak for themselves. You know, what are the main goals
for the don Kallis family? Uh? In twenty twenty six,
And what do you say to the critics and the
you know, oh another members in the you know, what
do you say to all the naysayers?
Speaker 1 (03:21):
I would just say that the goal is the exact
same thing it's been, you know, the past, probably all
last year. You know. It started off as just a
way to you know, defeat Kenny Omega and put Kenny
Omega down. That that was like the reason why don
Kallis kind of birthed the don Kallis family. But now
it's kind of morphed into this thing where we just
want to establish that we're the greatest stable or collection
(03:46):
of talent in this company. I mean there's a lot
of stables around there, you know what I mean from
there seems to be groups all over the place. But
we want to be the top dogs. And the way
you do that is to collect all the gold and
get all the power, and with power comes money and money,
and you know that's everything done. So we're we're well
on our way, I think. So we have a I mean,
(04:07):
if you if you hold up let's be honest here, guys,
if we hold this up side by side with the
other groups in the company, I think the pure collection
of talent in the John Collis family is you know.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Bar none staggering would probably be accurate.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
And it doesn't seem like you're slowing down adding new
members every week. It seems like there's somebody new getting
added to the Don Collis family and it's been fun
to watch for short of course AW Dynamite Tomorrow Nights
Orlando eight seven Central, TBS, HBO Max. You look at
the other stacked lineup on this card. You've got Swear
strick Lem and Kevin Knights, Samoa Joe and Speedball Bailey.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I want to know from the you because as of lately, we've.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Seen aew bring in a lot of new talent, some
that you know very very well from your TNA days.
What's it like sharing a locker room with some of
your old colleagues in a whole new setting.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Well, but the second I heard about Jake Something joining
the donk House family and AW altogether, now you know
Jake Doyle, uh, it put this immense smile on my face.
That guy has been one of my best friends for
the past you know, six seven years, one of the
my favorite people in any wrestling locker room I've ever
been in. We just we enjoy the same things. We
(05:20):
like to work out, we like to eat steak, you know,
I don't know, We've always got on really well, so
I think it was a matchmate and having especially with
him tagging up with Mark Davis. I think you're looking
at like a new age version of you know, Hansen
and Gordy when they get just smashing people around. So
I'm elated to see it. But like even Wednesday, when
I walked down, you know, to get on the bus
(05:41):
to go to the show, and I saw the Rascals
sitting there, I was just like, man, you know, this
is this is great, this is like you know, it's
just sleeve ship. Yeah, Steve Macklin was trying to phone
phone call me so well, speaking of old friends.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Yeah yeah, I'll just blame all this on him then,
so well, you know. Another thing we're very excited about
was the recent announcement for Global Wars Canada, which you
will be a part of. It is a landmark joint
event between AW and Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, along with
several other promotions around the world. With you being the
(06:19):
Maple Leaf Champion at the moment, what can fans expect
from this international showcase coming down from Windsor, Ontario.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So I always like fantasy booked a show that I
was going to run one day. I was going to
run like a weekend long tournament and I was going
to book the very best talent in Canada against the
very best talent from around the world. And that was
just my like brainchild of how I'm going to highlight
Canadian wrestling. And you know, soon after that, MLP started
and we started doing this stuff, and I guess great
(06:49):
minds think alike because Scott kind of had the same
thing in mind. You know, it's not just a way
to showcase MLP or you know the specific talent on
the show, you know, coming from all over the world,
you know like New Japan, cmll aw, Ring of Honor,
all these different places. I think it's much like my
little brainschild that I had that I never had the
(07:10):
balls to actually do. This is a way to highlight
Canadian wrestling, and that's something that you know, I have
to be a part of that. So the reason the
reason I'm an MLP, the reason you know I thought
so hard to win that championship is because I've kind
of been the flag bearer for Canadian wrestling for the
past you know, five ten years, whatever it might say,
because I've been the one, you know, hit the pavement
(07:31):
on the independence and stuff like that, trying to see
which talent's out there around Canada that needs to get noticed.
And you know, that's how I discovered guys like Judas
Icarus and Travis Williams and so on and so forth,
who are now you know, in CNA. But I just
think it's a it's a great opportunity for Canadian wrestling
fans and wrestling fans around the world to be able
to see Canadian wrestlers and what they're capable of, because
(07:54):
there's a ton of talent up here and we don't
get seen for a lot of reasons.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Right Yeah, And you're definitely gonna be seen now with
all eyes on it, with with you know, the partnership
with R O.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
H and AW and everything else.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
One thing that a lot of people have been asking
and they've talked about because you've worked with Scott Demore
and of course Jade and if there's a chance that
that it came up, would you want to see them
in that AE W R O H fould And if so,
what would they add?
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I would absolutely hop to see it. I mean Scott's
one thing. I mean, he might take offense more if
I said no to that than my wife.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
But I'm down on traveling for you guys too.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, absolutely no, Uh I would. I mean I
think my wife for first and foremost. You know, she trance.
Uh sorry, she like, uh sorry, I'm missing the word
right now for some reason. But uh. She she like
changed her whole career from a wrestling manager into being
a ring announcer just because they asked her to try it.
(08:53):
And you know, she was worried about it. She's like, oh,
I'll give it a try. I've never done it. We'll see.
And like she went to voice voice lessons for a
year and she's still going to this day, even though
she's not doing it anymore. But like, she did all
this hard work, and I think, you know, the hard
work showed and what she was able to do as
a ring announcer, Like she was getting praised from a
lot of people from around the industry that have been
(09:13):
in the industry for a very long time. So I
think it'd be a terrible waste of her talents to
not see her do what she you know, now, loves
to do and is now confident in doing at a
bigger company, and AW would be a very good place
for that. And Scott Timore, like, I mean, the man
has helped me more than anybody else in the wrestling history.
(09:33):
You know. He saw something in me when a lot
of people didn't gave me an opportunity and when a
lot of people didn't And the only reason I'm sitting
here in this you know house that I'm able to
put over my children's heads is because of Scott to
morgan me those opportunities and me making the best of them.
So I owe that guy so much and I would
love to see him anywhere.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Yeah, I think one of the biggest things with Jade's
Ruyn announced it being the official announcer with Impact Slash
TNA was just, you know how limited amount of experience
she had, you know, kind of like taking it, you know,
taking the fish water. I don't know if that's the
same anyways, you know, like she just it just seemed
natural to her. So yeah, I think it'd be very well,
it'd be very good to see her on a very
(10:10):
larger platform at some point. So uh, speaking of don
Kallis family again, You're close to both Fletcher and to Catch,
but lately things of being little tints, to say the least.
What's your read on what's really happening there between them
two together, and then as it relates to the family, I.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Mean, I don't quite know. I mean, everything that you
saw transpire on collision kind of just happened right in
front of my eyes, and I didn't really ask any
questions afterwards. But if you want my opinion, I'm going
to say that. You know, I've been known as an
alpha in the wrestling community from time to time. I
think the alpha Canosi Tiqush has also been known as one.
Kyle is knocking at the door to be one of
(10:48):
those top dogs too, And I think when you get
a bunch of top dogs in the same faction, everybody's
kind of we're all competitives at the end of the day,
so you know, we all want one thing. We all
want those championships. We all want to, you know, stake
our claim as being the best, and it's kind of
tough to do that when two, three, four, five of
the very best are in the same groups. So I mean,
(11:08):
tensions will rise. But I think that's what Don's very
good at I think Don can cool the waters and
steady the ship, you know, and keep us all on track.
So I have faith in done.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
And of course, uh, tomorrow night man, Big night for
you you Kenny omego one on one aew Dynamite live
from Orlando. Of course you're gonna be able to watch
that on TBS at HBO Max eight seven Central. Now,
you know, you've been very open about this. Your neck
injury in twenty fifteen could have ended, you know, your career,
(11:38):
but you turn that into a turning point. What did
that moment teach you about wrestling and life?
Speaker 1 (11:46):
It might be the exact same thing for both, but
you know, it's just that persistence pays off. You know.
I've always said when people ask me this question that
I just followed my heart. Wrestling made me happy, and
without it, I was not happy. So everything I possibly
could to make sure that I could keep doing it,
and I still do to this day. But you know,
(12:07):
over the course of my twenty plus years in the
wrestling business, I have seen some immensely talented wrestlers. I'm
talking people that you know, I would think, if they
kept wrestling, would be on the level of the will
Osprays and all these people that are heralded around the world,
but they quit for whatever reason. Because any industry you
get in it's tough. But wrestling, this is a subjective business.
(12:28):
You could be the very best at what you do
and for whatever reason, you're not getting opportunities when you
think other people might be along the way, and that
can break your heart time and time again. And it's
just persistence pays off and that that's something like I
tell my sons that to this day, anytime they get
let down, it's like, get back up, keep moving forward.
If you want if you really want this, you have
(12:50):
to be persistent, you have to keep pushing because nobody's
going to give it to you. You got to take it.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
So I got chillups.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
That was good.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
That's a good one. Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
So not to put you on the spot, but we
kind of had a little a little fun quiz for
you see what you can do. We were gonna see
how many Don Kallis family members you can name in
sixty seconds.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
You up for it, I'll give it a try.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Are you ready?
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Three?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Two women go, Kyle Ocatta ta Qushta, Rocky Trent Brian Cage,
Lance Archer, hitch A Sero, myself, El Klan. Oh there's more,
there's more. Who haven't I said? I mean, this is
gonna be like a dead air thirty seconds.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Don Kallas, there's ten?
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Don I thought I had said already, I swear yeah.
Oh Doyle Davis, Oh I missing offend so many people?
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Did we say andrada yet? I know we're passing.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Oh yeah, Andrade? Sorry, yeah, no, my bad. This is
all very fresh guys.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Okay, I'm going to stop it there. I think you
named them all. Well, okay, so the one I don't
think you named which will give you a pass is Wardlow,
which we have not seen in a while. Yeah, honestly,
he might have got injured before you join. I don't
remember when he got injured. It may have been you
guys hadn't passed each other in the hallways.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
He was back for forbidden door, and then we haven't
seen him again since. So I think he's doing some
Hollywood stuff or something.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Yeah, but that was very impressive. That was you knocked
off like eight in like four seconds.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
He knocked about real quick. So well, this is a
common conversation every few weeks and be like how many
members are there? And I'll be like and then you know,
I have to fight for the last three like I did.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
But it's almost like a conglomerate. You gotta have a
weekly sales meeting and like, Okay, here's the roster this week,
and here's the goals this week.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Well, as we're kind of coming up towards the end
of the interview, I know you got to get ready
for the big match against Omega. I know one thing
that that has always been talked about, and you've mentioned
this as well, that you did turn down a deal
with another company. What made you stick to the path
that you're on now compared to going to that that
(15:30):
NXT deal that you are offered that you've talked about
in past interviews.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
At the time, TNA was under a different management than
it is now, and it was a different management than
it was for the majority of the time I was there, obviously,
and the guy in charge that was dealing with you know,
the back and forth of all that, I did not
agree with any of his business practices whatsoever, So that
kind of soured me on it, and it kind of
there was things done to to make me look bad
(16:01):
that you know, I've cleared up obviously since, but I
just didn't appreciate it. So that was like one thing
that just kind of soured me on the whole process.
And then in talking to them and stuff like that,
I just I just always thought I'm a guy that
follows my gut, you know what I mean, Like I'll
have a bad gut feeling. I'd be like something bad's
gonna happen today, and all of a sudden, you know,
(16:22):
my son, you know, falls at school and I have
to go pick them up or something. You know, I
just I trust my gut and I just had a
really good gut feeling about aw from the second they
came to the table and started talking to me, they
were very interested and you know, they just like laid
out the welcome that for me, and it was just like,
if they want me this bad, then they're going to
(16:44):
appreciate the things that I can do for them. And
I can, you know, do things to make the money,
be it you know, promos, pre tapes, matches, anything like that,
if they can appreciate the work ethic that I put
into this to try to pay them pay them back
for you know, taking a chance on me. And signing me.
Then hell, yeah, that's a good relationship for me, and
a ton of my friends are here already, and it
just it seemed like a fit right away.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Yeah, perfect fit for you.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Last question that we have, and here's here's a fun
one to end it.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
You go to Tony Kahan.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
And you say, hey, man, I really want to come
out to this song that's not my theme song and
it's a band or whatever. Who are you picking to
do your theme song for one night only?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
You know? Okay, So the twelve year old of me
would Picklympiscuit right away, of course, just because wrestling it
was like olymp Biscuit, corn disturbed, all these things. But
if I was gonna pick like the one for me
as you know, the guy that is representing Canadian wrestling
and always has, I'm gonna say Nickelback all day long
because they got a bad un man.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
Yeah, I love Nickelback and I'm not ashamed.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
To say it's same.
Speaker 5 (17:49):
I try to find an old R Lady Peace song.
They didn't really get the I don't think they got
the acclaim they should have over here in the States.
They were really big for about three.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Years and then they just they were huge up here.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
But oh yeah, yeah, I know, man, they were massive.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Josh Alexander coming out to nickelback. What if he comes
out to like photograph just throws everybody.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Off of his demeanor like what what is this?
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Or oh man, well, Josh Alexander, it's always an honor
and or privileged to have you here on the show
with us. And before we let you go, anything you
want to say to the fans watching or listening to
this right now, just keep.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Tuning in the dynamite and collision and all aw content
and I'll keep you know, either talking into a camera
not blinking. Ll you see, you know, random people getting
thrown behind me? Or I'll be up in the ring
with Kenny Omega on Wednesday night
Btw why from the Parts Unknown Studios into.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
The Double Battle Crown, Battle, the Battle Bound, the Battle Round.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast, your place for all things
pro wrestling.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
The Battle Road, the Battle Round now making their way
to the microphones. Give it up for your hosts.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Welcome to the Battle Crown.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yeah, what's up you guys?
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Welcome back into iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, the Battleground Podcast.
And may I what a time it is for aew
big show coming up here tomorrow night ae W Dynamite
Live from Orlando.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
And uh, I think that this this.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Match that we're gonna be talking about with our guest today,
obviously should not be on free TV for people.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
This should be on a pay per view somewhere.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
But give it up for our friend Josh Alexander George, Josh,
how you doing, man?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
What's up? The all? It's going to be back. As
for what you just said, I mean, I appreciate it,
but I think there's there's a ton of matches that
are given away on free TV by aw week after week.
I mean Darby versus Pack last week. You know, the
list can go on. It just it's a spot where
good wrestling matches happen, and sometimes you can't put them
all on.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
A pay per view exactly.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
And let's just kind of dive right into this because
you've said in past interviews that you didn't dream of,
you know, having that you know, WrestleMania match, but instead
of wrestling big names, and you're getting to cross one
of those names off your bucket list in Kenny Omega.
What's it like now actually getting to face him? After
years of saying I want him, I want him, I
(01:45):
want him, now you're getting it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Oh well, like the first thing, like we've been in
the ring, we've had several multiman matches at this point,
you know, like over five probably I can't even count
right now, but uh, just from like the first you
get in, it's just like I want to see what
this guy's all about. I want to see how he moves,
because like I've watched the matches for the past like
fifteen years from you know him and Kodobushi and DDT
(02:10):
all the way up through his new Japan run with
the matches Litkata and stuff like that and everything he's
done in aew with like Brian Danielson and everybody else,
Like his resume speaks for itself. So it's just when
you're watching that and you're seeing the response he's getting
from fans and everything, and the second we locked up,
I was like, Oh, it's all justified. This guy's this
guy's on a completely different level. It's exactly as advertised.
(02:34):
And I was just like, I guess, you know, I
got to up my game a little bit. So, you know,
I've done a lot of hard work in the first
ten months since I've been in aew and now you know,
culminating finally in this singles match, me one on one
with Kenny Omega, the match that I've demanded and wanted
for so long. You know, I had to go as
far as breaking his best friend's leg and to do
all these things to get his attention. But here I
(02:55):
am walking into Orlando for Diamond on Wednesday and night
finally with a singles match Keny Omega.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
Yeah, I'm so excited to see that. You know, the
don Kallis family gets a lot of heat, but you know,
twenty twenty five was a huge year, so the results
speak for themselves. You know, what are the main goals
for the don Kallis family? Uh? In twenty twenty six,
And what do you say to the critics and the
you know, oh another members in the you know, what
do you say to all the naysayers?
Speaker 1 (03:21):
I would just say that the goal is the exact
same thing it's been, you know, the past, probably all
last year. You know. It started off as just a
way to you know, defeat Kenny Omega and put Kenny
Omega down. That that was like the reason why don
Kallis kind of birthed the don Kallis family. But now
it's kind of morphed into this thing where we just
want to establish that we're the greatest stable or collection
(03:46):
of talent in this company. I mean there's a lot
of stables around there, you know what I mean from
there seems to be groups all over the place. But
we want to be the top dogs. And the way
you do that is to collect all the gold and
get all the power, and with power comes money and money,
and you know that's everything done. So we're we're well
on our way, I think. So we have a I mean,
(04:07):
if you if you hold up let's be honest here, guys,
if we hold this up side by side with the
other groups in the company, I think the pure collection
of talent in the John Collis family is you know.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Bar none staggering would probably be accurate.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
And it doesn't seem like you're slowing down adding new
members every week. It seems like there's somebody new getting
added to the Don Collis family and it's been fun
to watch for short of course AW Dynamite Tomorrow Nights
Orlando eight seven Central, TBS, HBO Max. You look at
the other stacked lineup on this card. You've got Swear
strick Lem and Kevin Knights, Samoa Joe and Speedball Bailey.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I want to know from the you because as of lately, we've.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Seen aew bring in a lot of new talent, some
that you know very very well from your TNA days.
What's it like sharing a locker room with some of
your old colleagues in a whole new setting.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Well, but the second I heard about Jake Something joining
the donk House family and AW altogether, now you know
Jake Doyle, uh, it put this immense smile on my face.
That guy has been one of my best friends for
the past you know, six seven years, one of the
my favorite people in any wrestling locker room I've ever
been in. We just we enjoy the same things. We
(05:20):
like to work out, we like to eat steak, you know,
I don't know, We've always got on really well, so
I think it was a matchmate and having especially with
him tagging up with Mark Davis. I think you're looking
at like a new age version of you know, Hansen
and Gordy when they get just smashing people around. So
I'm elated to see it. But like even Wednesday, when
I walked down, you know, to get on the bus
(05:41):
to go to the show, and I saw the Rascals
sitting there, I was just like, man, you know, this
is this is great, this is like you know, it's
just sleeve ship. Yeah, Steve Macklin was trying to phone
phone call me so well, speaking of old friends.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Yeah yeah, I'll just blame all this on him then,
so well, you know. Another thing we're very excited about
was the recent announcement for Global Wars Canada, which you
will be a part of. It is a landmark joint
event between AW and Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, along with
several other promotions around the world. With you being the
(06:19):
Maple Leaf Champion at the moment, what can fans expect
from this international showcase coming down from Windsor, Ontario.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So I always like fantasy booked a show that I
was going to run one day. I was going to
run like a weekend long tournament and I was going
to book the very best talent in Canada against the
very best talent from around the world. And that was
just my like brainchild of how I'm going to highlight
Canadian wrestling. And you know, soon after that, MLP started
and we started doing this stuff, and I guess great
(06:49):
minds think alike because Scott kind of had the same
thing in mind. You know, it's not just a way
to showcase MLP or you know the specific talent on
the show, you know, coming from all over the world,
you know like New Japan, cmll aw, Ring of Honor,
all these different places. I think it's much like my
little brainschild that I had that I never had the
(07:10):
balls to actually do. This is a way to highlight
Canadian wrestling, and that's something that you know, I have
to be a part of that. So the reason the
reason I'm an MLP, the reason you know I thought
so hard to win that championship is because I've kind
of been the flag bearer for Canadian wrestling for the
past you know, five ten years, whatever it might say,
because I've been the one, you know, hit the pavement
(07:31):
on the independence and stuff like that, trying to see
which talent's out there around Canada that needs to get noticed.
And you know, that's how I discovered guys like Judas
Icarus and Travis Williams and so on and so forth,
who are now you know, in CNA. But I just
think it's a it's a great opportunity for Canadian wrestling
fans and wrestling fans around the world to be able
to see Canadian wrestlers and what they're capable of, because
(07:54):
there's a ton of talent up here and we don't
get seen for a lot of reasons.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Right Yeah, And you're definitely gonna be seen now with
all eyes on it, with with you know, the partnership
with R O.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
H and AW and everything else.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
One thing that a lot of people have been asking
and they've talked about because you've worked with Scott Demore
and of course Jade and if there's a chance that
that it came up, would you want to see them
in that AE W R O H fould And if so,
what would they add?
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I would absolutely hop to see it. I mean Scott's
one thing. I mean, he might take offense more if
I said no to that than my wife.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
But I'm down on traveling for you guys too.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, absolutely no, Uh I would. I mean I
think my wife for first and foremost. You know, she trance.
Uh sorry, she like, uh sorry, I'm missing the word
right now for some reason. But uh. She she like
changed her whole career from a wrestling manager into being
a ring announcer just because they asked her to try it.
(08:53):
And you know, she was worried about it. She's like, oh,
I'll give it a try. I've never done it. We'll see.
And like she went to voice voice lessons for a
year and she's still going to this day, even though
she's not doing it anymore. But like, she did all
this hard work, and I think, you know, the hard
work showed and what she was able to do as
a ring announcer, Like she was getting praised from a
lot of people from around the industry that have been
(09:13):
in the industry for a very long time. So I
think it'd be a terrible waste of her talents to
not see her do what she you know, now, loves
to do and is now confident in doing at a
bigger company, and AW would be a very good place
for that. And Scott Timore, like, I mean, the man
has helped me more than anybody else in the wrestling history.
(09:33):
You know. He saw something in me when a lot
of people didn't gave me an opportunity and when a
lot of people didn't And the only reason I'm sitting
here in this you know house that I'm able to
put over my children's heads is because of Scott to
morgan me those opportunities and me making the best of them.
So I owe that guy so much and I would
love to see him anywhere.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Yeah, I think one of the biggest things with Jade's
Ruyn announced it being the official announcer with Impact Slash
TNA was just, you know how limited amount of experience
she had, you know, kind of like taking it, you know,
taking the fish water. I don't know if that's the
same anyways, you know, like she just it just seemed
natural to her. So yeah, I think it'd be very well,
it'd be very good to see her on a very
(10:10):
larger platform at some point. So uh, speaking of don
Kallis family again, You're close to both Fletcher and to Catch,
but lately things of being little tints, to say the least.
What's your read on what's really happening there between them
two together, and then as it relates to the family, I.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Mean, I don't quite know. I mean, everything that you
saw transpire on collision kind of just happened right in
front of my eyes, and I didn't really ask any
questions afterwards. But if you want my opinion, I'm going
to say that. You know, I've been known as an
alpha in the wrestling community from time to time. I
think the alpha Canosi Tiqush has also been known as one.
Kyle is knocking at the door to be one of
(10:48):
those top dogs too, And I think when you get
a bunch of top dogs in the same faction, everybody's
kind of we're all competitives at the end of the day,
so you know, we all want one thing. We all
want those championships. We all want to, you know, stake
our claim as being the best, and it's kind of
tough to do that when two, three, four, five of
the very best are in the same groups. So I mean,
(11:08):
tensions will rise. But I think that's what Don's very
good at I think Don can cool the waters and
steady the ship, you know, and keep us all on track.
So I have faith in done.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
And of course, uh, tomorrow night man, Big night for
you you Kenny omego one on one aew Dynamite live
from Orlando. Of course you're gonna be able to watch
that on TBS at HBO Max eight seven Central. Now,
you know, you've been very open about this. Your neck
injury in twenty fifteen could have ended, you know, your career,
(11:38):
but you turn that into a turning point. What did
that moment teach you about wrestling and life?
Speaker 1 (11:46):
It might be the exact same thing for both, but
you know, it's just that persistence pays off. You know.
I've always said when people ask me this question that
I just followed my heart. Wrestling made me happy, and
without it, I was not happy. So everything I possibly
could to make sure that I could keep doing it,
and I still do to this day. But you know,
(12:07):
over the course of my twenty plus years in the
wrestling business, I have seen some immensely talented wrestlers. I'm
talking people that you know, I would think, if they
kept wrestling, would be on the level of the will
Osprays and all these people that are heralded around the world,
but they quit for whatever reason. Because any industry you
get in it's tough. But wrestling, this is a subjective business.
(12:28):
You could be the very best at what you do
and for whatever reason, you're not getting opportunities when you
think other people might be along the way, and that
can break your heart time and time again. And it's
just persistence pays off and that that's something like I
tell my sons that to this day, anytime they get
let down, it's like, get back up, keep moving forward.
If you want if you really want this, you have
(12:50):
to be persistent, you have to keep pushing because nobody's
going to give it to you. You got to take it.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
So I got chillups.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
That was good.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
That's a good one. Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
So not to put you on the spot, but we
kind of had a little a little fun quiz for
you see what you can do. We were gonna see
how many Don Kallis family members you can name in
sixty seconds.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
You up for it, I'll give it a try.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Are you ready?
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Three?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Two women go, Kyle Ocatta ta Qushta, Rocky Trent Brian Cage,
Lance Archer, hitch A Sero, myself, El Klan. Oh there's more,
there's more. Who haven't I said? I mean, this is
gonna be like a dead air thirty seconds.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Don Kallas, there's ten?
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Don I thought I had said already, I swear yeah.
Oh Doyle Davis, Oh I missing offend so many people?
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Did we say andrada yet? I know we're passing.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Oh yeah, Andrade? Sorry, yeah, no, my bad. This is
all very fresh guys.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Okay, I'm going to stop it there. I think you
named them all. Well, okay, so the one I don't
think you named which will give you a pass is Wardlow,
which we have not seen in a while. Yeah, honestly,
he might have got injured before you join. I don't
remember when he got injured. It may have been you
guys hadn't passed each other in the hallways.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
He was back for forbidden door, and then we haven't
seen him again since. So I think he's doing some
Hollywood stuff or something.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Yeah, but that was very impressive. That was you knocked
off like eight in like four seconds.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
He knocked about real quick. So well, this is a
common conversation every few weeks and be like how many
members are there? And I'll be like and then you know,
I have to fight for the last three like I did.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
But it's almost like a conglomerate. You gotta have a
weekly sales meeting and like, Okay, here's the roster this week,
and here's the goals this week.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Well, as we're kind of coming up towards the end
of the interview, I know you got to get ready
for the big match against Omega. I know one thing
that that has always been talked about, and you've mentioned
this as well, that you did turn down a deal
with another company. What made you stick to the path
that you're on now compared to going to that that
(15:30):
NXT deal that you are offered that you've talked about
in past interviews.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
At the time, TNA was under a different management than
it is now, and it was a different management than
it was for the majority of the time I was there, obviously,
and the guy in charge that was dealing with you know,
the back and forth of all that, I did not
agree with any of his business practices whatsoever, So that
kind of soured me on it, and it kind of
there was things done to to make me look bad
(16:01):
that you know, I've cleared up obviously since, but I
just didn't appreciate it. So that was like one thing
that just kind of soured me on the whole process.
And then in talking to them and stuff like that,
I just I just always thought I'm a guy that
follows my gut, you know what I mean, Like I'll
have a bad gut feeling. I'd be like something bad's
gonna happen today, and all of a sudden, you know,
(16:22):
my son, you know, falls at school and I have
to go pick them up or something. You know, I
just I trust my gut and I just had a
really good gut feeling about aw from the second they
came to the table and started talking to me, they
were very interested and you know, they just like laid
out the welcome that for me, and it was just like,
if they want me this bad, then they're going to
(16:44):
appreciate the things that I can do for them. And
I can, you know, do things to make the money,
be it you know, promos, pre tapes, matches, anything like that,
if they can appreciate the work ethic that I put
into this to try to pay them pay them back
for you know, taking a chance on me. And signing me.
Then hell, yeah, that's a good relationship for me, and
a ton of my friends are here already, and it
just it seemed like a fit right away.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Yeah, perfect fit for you.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Last question that we have, and here's here's a fun
one to end it.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
You go to Tony Kahan.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
And you say, hey, man, I really want to come
out to this song that's not my theme song and
it's a band or whatever. Who are you picking to
do your theme song for one night only?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
You know? Okay, So the twelve year old of me
would Picklympiscuit right away, of course, just because wrestling it
was like olymp Biscuit, corn disturbed, all these things. But
if I was gonna pick like the one for me
as you know, the guy that is representing Canadian wrestling
and always has, I'm gonna say Nickelback all day long
because they got a bad un man.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
Yeah, I love Nickelback and I'm not ashamed.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
To say it's same.
Speaker 5 (17:49):
I try to find an old R Lady Peace song.
They didn't really get the I don't think they got
the acclaim they should have over here in the States.
They were really big for about three.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Years and then they just they were huge up here.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
But oh yeah, yeah, I know, man, they were massive.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Josh Alexander coming out to nickelback. What if he comes
out to like photograph just throws everybody.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Off of his demeanor like what what is this?
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Or oh man, well, Josh Alexander, it's always an honor
and or privileged to have you here on the show
with us. And before we let you go, anything you
want to say to the fans watching or listening to
this right now, just keep.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Tuning in the dynamite and collision and all aw content
and I'll keep you know, either talking into a camera
not blinking. Ll you see, you know, random people getting
thrown behind me? Or I'll be up in the ring
with Kenny Omega on Wednesday night
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!