Montel Vontavious Porter — MVP — stops by the Battleground Podcast. The vocal representative of the Hurt Syndicate opens up about what makes AEW feel like a true second wind, the organic brotherhood behind Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin, and why the faction might be adding a new member sooner than you think. Plus, MVP explains why MJF didn't make the cut.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen. It's a battle.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Ground, battle Ground.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Battle Brown podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Hey, what's up?
Speaker 4 (00:14):
It is battle Welcome into another episode of the Battleground Podcast.
And before we get into our interview with MVP today,
I just need to take a second because this one
is personal. January of twenty eighteen, that is when I
started this podcast with nothing but passion for professional wrestling
and the belief that we could build something special. There's
(00:36):
no guarantees, there's no roadmap, just a love for the
business and a whole lot of grind. And over the years,
we've set across from some of the biggest names in
professional wrestling past present, legends up and commerce. We've even
traveled across the country chasing events, stories, moments, and every
single mile was definitely worth it because it led us
(00:58):
to hear the Battleground Podcast is moving on up. Yes,
I could not let this moment pass without saying thank
you to a few people. Bobby Bones, Yes, Bobby Bones,
thank you for believing in this podcast when a lot
of people hadn't caught on yet. Morgan Mascow, who is
a part of Bobby's team, thank you for the support
(01:20):
and being a part of this journey and Eli and
Josh who you here on this show.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
My guys, the countless hours you have poured into this show.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Nobody sees all of it, but I see it, and
I appreciate you both more than I can say. And
most importantly, you that took the time to download this
the listener, the wrestling fans, the ones who have been
riding with us since day one, of the ones who
just found us. This is for you. Super excited. We're
just getting started with the show. But as of today
the big big announcement, which is awesome, Bobby Bones's Nashville
(01:54):
Podcast Network is now the home of the Battleground Podcast.
Could not be more excited, and again thanks thank you
to Bobby and Morgan and Eli and Josh and everybody
who's taken the time to listen to our shows every
week and we could have done it without you. And
super excited for this new journey. And without further ado,
let's ring the bell and bring in our guests today.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
MVP one up.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
You guys, welcome back into iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, the
Battleground Podcast. And today we have a very important person
on the show, a guy that has made his name
known worldwide, and he goes by three little letters, and
you know him as MVP.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Sir, how are you doing?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
First of all, let me correct you. I don't go
by three little letters. I go by three very big.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Letters, three very big capital letters.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Excuse me, I can start.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
That's doom Mintel Vontavious Porter, vocal representative of the Hurt Syndicate.
And let's just say that my championships are many world
renowned and.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well known, absolutely very much for sure.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
And of course AEW Dynamite is tomorrow night in Fresno.
You can still grab those tickets at aew ticks dot
com that is ae W t i x dot com.
And I got to start here, Uh the tunnel. Have
you ever had the conversation about bringing it back in
AEW because fans definitely want it?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
And by fans, I really just mean me.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
No, not at all, because that was that was then
this is now moved on. We we evolved, and well,
excuse me, we don't evolve.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
I evolved because you look like you're probably still stuck
in your college mentality.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
You live with your still no, I actually own my
own house.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Well, congratulations, I underestimated you. You don't seem like the type.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
I live in a basement with my mom and go
on X and you know, say whatever on the internet.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
But I stem that type you can across is that type.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
But I'm not that type.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
I'm actually the guy that defends the people that well,
I don't defend the people that talk to you just.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Total on yourself. See, yeah, I those people against those people.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Let me rephrase that. I go against those people that
talk crap about wrestling on social media. There, that's much better.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
All right, all right, we'll go with that. We'll go
We'll go with that.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
And you know, it really feels like with ae W,
you've got a second win.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
What is it about that place that brought that out
of you?
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Oh? You know.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Having an opportunity to work with two of my best friends,
you know, the almighty Bobby Lashley, the standard of excellent
Shelton Benjamin. They're my brothers and my business partners and
my colleagues. So for us to be able to continue
doing what we do better than anyone else else in
the world at ae W has been a breath of
(04:47):
fresh air.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
You know.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Tony Kann is a tremendous boss to work for. He
loves every you know, he loves wrestling, probably more than
anybody I know, and he loves his talent, and he
loves his fans. So be at AEW and being able
to take the hurt, syndicate there and continue our path
has been it's been fulfilling.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Let's see.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Yeah, absolutely, And you know that's been the fun thing
to see with what AW has done, with Tony Khan
has done, it seems like you guys have a lot
of freedom to kind of get into there and do
what you want.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
And Tony's not afraid to say no.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
And from everybody that we've talked to, they're not afraid
to go to Tony with ideas and say, hey, let's
tweak it this way, or let's go this direction.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Let's just cut to the chase here. Oh, it's going
to tell Bobby Lashley, Benjamin and MVP what to do.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I don't think anybody will Nobody, not a person on
this planet, not a person at all.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Now, you have been a part of a lot of promotions,
You've been on a lot of locker rooms. What makes
this AW one different from the other ones that you've
been a part of.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Youth and spirit, extremely young locker room and lots of spirit.
Just some young peopleeople that are extremely hungry and they
want to make a name for themselves. They want to
make a career for themselves, and they're constantly battling amongst
each other for who can be the absolute best. No
one's skating on past accomplishments. Every week. Everyone's trying to
(06:16):
go out there and compete for the best match, the
best entertaining segment, and the fans win in the end.
So I love the youthful exuberance that I find in
the locker room week after week.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Absolutely, of course MVP is our guest here on the
show right now. Aw Dynamite tomorrow Fresno eight pm, e Sterree.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You can watch it on TV now.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
One thing that on this show I've been a fan of,
including my youngest kid, has always been a Hurt Syndicate fan.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
And when it came.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Together, did it click right away or did it take
a little time to feel like this is something special?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Well, we know it was something special from the very
beginning because it's organic, it's real. Lastly, and I have
been friends, training partners, and colleagues for.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
A very long time. We made money together.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
At Impact or we had a faction and we had
being Shelton Benjamin have been friends and brothers. We lived
five minutes away from each other, and Shelton Benjamin was
my tag team part I brought him into New Japan
to be my tag team partner in Japan, so we
have a very real, organic relationship. So when we decided
(07:27):
to put our efforts together and create a syndicate, if
you will, it fit, it was a very natural fit.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
We didn't have to force it.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
We weren't or we aren't characters playing roles. We are
who we are what you see on the screen. The
reason it comes off so well, and the reason that
you want to believe it and you want to buy
into it and you want to be a fan of
it is because it's real.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
One thing that has always been fascinating to me when
it comes to you on TV, You've always had that presence,
that swag, that aura about you. Do you think people
fully appreciated you from when you started or did it
take time to get to where people are like that dude?
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Is that dude?
Speaker 1 (08:11):
No?
Speaker 3 (08:12):
I know from the moment I stepped on the scene,
people realized I was that dude. I mean, how could
you not true know what to do with all of
the aura and the swagger, if you will. So I
have people nowadays come up to me and go, yo,
I used to watch you when I was a kid,
and I absolutely hated you, and that means I was
(08:33):
doing my job well. They knew that they couldn't see,
they couldn't articulate it, they couldn't understand, but they just
saw me step out and they went, this guy is
that dude.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I could never be that guy, so I automatically hate him.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
And that's how that works, right, absolutely, And that's got
to be one of those cool moments. Like for me,
I grew up watching you on TV, watching you wrestle,
and now I get to experience that with my kids,
and that's got to be one of those cool moments
for you. And they're like, you know, I watch you
growing up as a kid, and now my kid is
getting involved in watching you now.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I'll say, really, honestly, as far as professional wrestling goes,
one thing that I truly enjoy man. One of the
things that I enjoy most is when we're at a
show and you can see three generations of fans sitting
together or usually standing and yelling together. I can't tell
(09:22):
you throughout the years how many times I've seen granddad,
dad and son all together, or you know, whatever variation
they're are. But you have three generations enjoying wrestling together
and that's just the organically.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
That's just a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
And it's it's one of those things like I know,
when I take my kid to wrestling shows, he loves it,
and it's getting to spend that moment like when I
think about when me and my dad would go to
wrestling shows, and now me and him get to go
to wrestling shows. And I think right now, in today's climate,
the one thing that I have loved what AEW has
been able to do is make it affordable for families
to still come to a wrestling show. And I know
(10:04):
you've been very vocal about this before and past interviews
and of course on your podcast as well. AW has
done a really good job at giving something for everybody,
like we saw recently with the death match, but they
also give you wrestling, they give you storytelling, and you can,
you know, get a whole family in and not break
the bank.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
That's one of the things that I've been talking about
for some while. Now it's the affordability. You know, right
now in our country, we have a problem with affordability
across the board.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
You know, I don't care what your political affiliation is.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
It's tough and whatever your wrestling affiliation is, you have
to admit that there are some companies that are charging
more than the average wrestling fan can afford to go
and see some good live wrestling. AW affordability matters, and
we love the fact that Tony Kahn has set up
(10:58):
a company where we get.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Down to wrestling. It's where the best go to wrestle.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
And you know, a father of two or three, a
family of four can go to an AW show and
have a great time.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Case in Point in Fresno, save Mar Center four thirty pm.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
We go live at five, you have AEW Dynamite Live
and then after that you have a Collision taping.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
So you get two shows for the price of one,
and you can sit. You can buy affordable seats ringside.
You can sit just a few rows back from ringside
and not have to spend two months salary to do it.
And I think that's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
Now, speaking of beautiful thing, there is that working relationship
that you had mentioned earlier with Lashly and Shelton, Benjamin,
are there ever moments that even you're like, yeah, these
guys are scary.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Well, it's kind of like I tell people all the time,
Bobby and Shelton, there are.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Different species for most people.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
And it's kind of the guy you see walking down
the street and he has two like big Rottweilers on
short leashes or some vicious looking pit bulls or something.
That guy's not afraid because those dogs won't bite him right,
but they'll bite the hell out of you. And that's
kind of where I dwell understandable. I mean, I don't
(12:26):
I don't blame you. I've I've passed.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
I've crossed past with Lashly and Shelton in a room
once and I was like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Those are some bad dudes, even though you know they
were nice and they said hi and everything. I was like,
I don't ever want to be on those guys bad side.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
I was gonna say it, but hey, hold on a second,
let's not discount the kid. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Just because I'm a vocal representative now people refer to
me as a manager. You have forgotten or many people
have forgotten that I'm still over six feet tall, over
two hundred and fifty pounds. I've beaten Shelton Benjamin for
a championship many years ago.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
We've gone at it like catching dogs, and I have
wrestled before.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
I know firsthand, being on the opposite side of the ring,
what those guys are capable of, and I know that
they've only gotten better with age. But uh, don't sleep
on your boy.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I mean, I'm not an n.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Cuba All American like Shelton Benjamin, or a collegiate champion
like Bobby Lassity, but I am a Brazilian jiu jitsu
black belt and world champion. So don't sleep on me
just because these guys are, you know, the the frightening bohemas.
I'm the the the intellectual assassin.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
If you will, I mean, that is very true, and
I will say to uh, to my defense, you are
not in that room at the time when they were
in there. But I'm sure if all three of you
would be in that room, I would shake your hand,
say hello, and then walk the other way, because all.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Three of y'all together, what's scared of the happening to me?
Speaker 4 (13:48):
And I'll just keep it moving and say thank you,
it's been great watching you and I go on that way.
I don't get hurt because that's what you do. You
guys like that what we do better than anybody else
in the world. Now, I gotta ask, because you know,
one of the things that I love about wrestling growing up, like,
it was really awesome to be a fan of the
bad guy, right, but how hard is it to be
(14:10):
you know the quote unquote bad guy the Hill. When
the crowd clearly loves you, they're singing your song when
you're out there, they're doing that. We hurt people, chance.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Uh, that's the beauty of it. I don't change. I
am who I am.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
We are who we are, We do what we do,
and just you know, it says more about the human
condition than it does about me or my colleagues, because
everybody does love a bad guy. Doesn't love Darth Vader. True,
if you're really really good at being bad, people love you.
And you know, and I say all the time, booze
(14:47):
are my cheers, boomy boomy.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
I love it. I love it. It makes me feel great.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
And it is kind of funny because the last time
we saw you guys. My youngest kid was doing that
we hurt people thing and somebody was booing you next
to him, and he gave him like the stankiest look
ever that he was booing you, guys.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
That's the funny thing.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
People will sing our theme song when we come out,
and then when we beat up somebody that they love,
they'll boot because they don't want us to beat that
person up. But man, we do it with such style.
I mean, we're fashionably violent. We're so good at what
we do. It's like, man, I hate that they're beating
up my guy, but man, they're so good at beating
people up and they look great when they do it.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
It was not to like exactly absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Now you have worked with legends in your career, and
you know, if there's that one person ad aw right, now,
who do you look at, thinking, hey, that could be
the next guy outside of obviously Shelton and Bobby and yourself.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
The first person that comes to mind would be Jet Night.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Okay, Yeah, he's a young guy that I think definitely
has all the tools to be a big game player
in the future.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Kyle Fletcher. There's another standout young talent that I see
great things in his future. He's got all the tools
to be a player.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Those are the two that that just pop into my
head right now, two guys that I absolutely have.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
What it takes to be big game players in the future.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Do you think they could also maybe be players in
the Hurt Syndicate maybe down the road potentially.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Both of those guys have the prerequisite skill set and
ability to be in the Hurt SYNDI get they dress exceptionally.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Well, they're they're they're not afraid.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Of inflicting extreme violence on an opponent. And uh, but
they're young, you know, so they would need some grooming
and you know, a little uh, a little educating, you know,
to teach them the best ways to go about it
and to understand at the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
It's a business. Don't don't make it personal. Don't get
you both it.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
But yes, and you mentioned they're a little young, and
they've got some time to earn things. What better way
to go under you know, MVP Bobby and Shelton's wing
and maybe learn some things and get some gold along
the way with you guys.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
But you know, it's a possibility. We are currently discussing
adding a new member. Yeah, we're talking about. You know,
the last go around we tried it with MJUFF. It
didn't go well because he just didn't make the cut.
He wasn't good enough. He's he's uh. He doesn't have
the uh, the drive, he doesn't have the the the
(17:30):
internal capability for true violence. You know, he's a he's
a huckster, you know, so he's I went out on
the limb and vouched for him with my colleagues, but
just didn't make the cut. So that kind of soured
us for a little bit about trying to add somebody new.
But we we think we do need a little youthfulness,
We need a youthful spark, So it could be about
(17:52):
time to add a new member.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
Interesting, and I know you mentioned MJF. Of course tried
to be a part of it. You said they didn't
have that drive. He wasn't very violent or anything, but
it seemed like this past Sunday he got a little
violent during that match with Hangman. Of course everybody's talking about,
you know, the syringe. What was your thought when you
saw all that happening.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I these are my weapons right here right I could
do more damage with these than MJF can do.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
With a syringe.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
So I mean, it's crazy and the shock value, but
beat somebody up.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
I dare you beat somebody up?
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Get that same kind of reaction inflicting extreme violence on
someone without weapons. Bobby Lastly can do it, Shell, Benjamin
can do it, and I can do it. I mean,
it's pro wrestling. The Marquis says wrestling. It doesn't say bells,
whistles and zabadal. You can do that, and some people
want that, But at the end of the day, I
(18:51):
like to see people go out there with their physical
talent and abilities and impose their will on an opponent.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
I don't I don't need it a cinder block or
a syringe to do it.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
And you know, for the guys that get off on that,
they'd like to engage in that.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
You know, I take my hat off to them. Go
for it. And you know, obviously the fans they like that.
But that's it's not your cup of tea. It's undignified.
It's beneath us.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Understand I understand.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Now as we get closer towards the end of our interview,
I do want to kind of I got a couple
more questions for you. When it's all said, and done.
How do you want this chapter of your career to
be remembered.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Oh well, I think it will be remembered as the
final act of.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
An awesome second chapter, if you will.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
I mean, I fell into the vocal representative part by accident.
You know, I was the full fledged wrestling member of
the previous incardation of our group, and I hurt my
knee and my wrestling was diminished. But because of my
gift for GAB, I was, you know, still out front
talking up for the guys, and unfortunately, let's just say,
(20:13):
it took several months before I was allowed to have
my knee fixed. I was asked to please continue, and
I slipped into a managerial role. It was never something
that I sought out, but I love it because it's
extended my career of Physically, my body feels better not
crashing and burning every night, you know, and it's it's
(20:39):
cool my friends beat people up and I get to
talk about it.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
So I think people, and keep in mind there are people.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
That there's a whole new generation of wrestling fans that
don't remember me as an entering competitor, that don't you know,
realize the championships, the historic championship runs that I've had.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
So there are a lot of people that will remember
me as the manager, the vocal representative. But I think
those people who look at my career from starting to
finish will see an extremely talented individual that was able
to excel in any role he found himself in.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
And like you said, you don't have to go in
and crash and burn every night. You don't have to
take a bump as.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Much as to what he said. I have my own show,
Yes with the MDP and Duayne Swayze.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
It's primarily on YouTube, but it also has an audio
component that you can get on moost streaming sites. But
we drop every Monday at one pm Eastern, twelfth Central
and me and my co host Dwayne Swayze and Houston
based rapper who's a good.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Friend of mine.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
He's a massive wrestling fan, and we'd be in the
studio sometimes and hanging out and he'd have those moments
and you'd.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Go, hey, Pete, let me ask you about that pay per.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
View or can I can I ask you about that
time and a conversation with it too, and I thought,
wait a minute, this is the show. So we We
are about to record our fiftieth episode, Marking Out with
MVP and Duayne Swayzey, So come check us out on YouTube.
We just we talk about wrestling. I talk about my
(22:19):
personal experiences, my professional opinion on what's good and what's bad.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
I explain why things are done, how things are done.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Pretty informative if you're a fan of pro wrestling, and
uh and of course it's it's very distinguished where we're at.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
We're at a speakeasy, sitting in front of the bar
and talking to wrestling. So come check us out marking
Out with.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
MVP and Duayne Swayze on YouTube, and we will transition
to your final question.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Final question.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
I know MVP has a lot of famous friends sitting
there in his contact list. Is there somebody right now
that you could go through your contact list, pull them
up FaceTime and they would ans are here on the
show right now.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Dozens of people, dozens like Look, Dave Bautista, who is
an A list movie.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Star, is a very goo.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
If I FaceTime them right now, he'll answer, Well, I
know for a fact as we do it, I got
Bobby last here, I got Selton, Benjamin, Adam Copeland.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
There are so many people of Freddie Prince Jr.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
I was just talking to him the other day and
I hit him up out of the blue, same thing.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
But here's the deal.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Let me explain to see you, there are literally billionaires
in this phone that I have access to, and for
you to think that I would have my time wasted
or waste any of my friends very important time for
you or for your unimportant, scallowag little fans, is an
insult to me.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
And on that note, the pleasure was all yours.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
All right. Well, MVP's gone, so that's the end of
the show.
Ladies and gentlemen. It's a battle.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Ground, battle Ground.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Battle Brown podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Hey, what's up?
Speaker 4 (00:14):
It is battle Welcome into another episode of the Battleground Podcast.
And before we get into our interview with MVP today,
I just need to take a second because this one
is personal. January of twenty eighteen, that is when I
started this podcast with nothing but passion for professional wrestling
and the belief that we could build something special. There's
(00:36):
no guarantees, there's no roadmap, just a love for the
business and a whole lot of grind. And over the years,
we've set across from some of the biggest names in
professional wrestling past present, legends up and commerce. We've even
traveled across the country chasing events, stories, moments, and every
single mile was definitely worth it because it led us
(00:58):
to hear the Battleground Podcast is moving on up. Yes,
I could not let this moment pass without saying thank
you to a few people. Bobby Bones, Yes, Bobby Bones,
thank you for believing in this podcast when a lot
of people hadn't caught on yet. Morgan Mascow, who is
a part of Bobby's team, thank you for the support
(01:20):
and being a part of this journey and Eli and
Josh who you here on this show.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
My guys, the countless hours you have poured into this show.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Nobody sees all of it, but I see it, and
I appreciate you both more than I can say. And
most importantly, you that took the time to download this
the listener, the wrestling fans, the ones who have been
riding with us since day one, of the ones who
just found us. This is for you. Super excited. We're
just getting started with the show. But as of today
the big big announcement, which is awesome, Bobby Bones's Nashville
(01:54):
Podcast Network is now the home of the Battleground Podcast.
Could not be more excited, and again thanks thank you
to Bobby and Morgan and Eli and Josh and everybody
who's taken the time to listen to our shows every
week and we could have done it without you. And
super excited for this new journey. And without further ado,
let's ring the bell and bring in our guests today.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
MVP one up.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
You guys, welcome back into iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, the
Battleground Podcast. And today we have a very important person
on the show, a guy that has made his name
known worldwide, and he goes by three little letters, and
you know him as MVP.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Sir, how are you doing?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
First of all, let me correct you. I don't go
by three little letters. I go by three very big.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Letters, three very big capital letters.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Excuse me, I can start.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
That's doom Mintel Vontavious Porter, vocal representative of the Hurt Syndicate.
And let's just say that my championships are many world
renowned and.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well known, absolutely very much for sure.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
And of course AEW Dynamite is tomorrow night in Fresno.
You can still grab those tickets at aew ticks dot
com that is ae W t i x dot com.
And I got to start here, Uh the tunnel. Have
you ever had the conversation about bringing it back in
AEW because fans definitely want it?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
And by fans, I really just mean me.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
No, not at all, because that was that was then
this is now moved on. We we evolved, and well,
excuse me, we don't evolve.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
I evolved because you look like you're probably still stuck
in your college mentality.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
You live with your still no, I actually own my
own house.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Well, congratulations, I underestimated you. You don't seem like the type.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
I live in a basement with my mom and go
on X and you know, say whatever on the internet.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
But I stem that type you can across is that type.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
But I'm not that type.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
I'm actually the guy that defends the people that well,
I don't defend the people that talk to you just.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Total on yourself. See, yeah, I those people against those people.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Let me rephrase that. I go against those people that
talk crap about wrestling on social media. There, that's much better.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
All right, all right, we'll go with that. We'll go
We'll go with that.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
And you know, it really feels like with ae W,
you've got a second win.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
What is it about that place that brought that out
of you?
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Oh? You know.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Having an opportunity to work with two of my best friends,
you know, the almighty Bobby Lashley, the standard of excellent
Shelton Benjamin. They're my brothers and my business partners and
my colleagues. So for us to be able to continue
doing what we do better than anyone else else in
the world at ae W has been a breath of
(04:47):
fresh air.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
You know.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Tony Kann is a tremendous boss to work for. He
loves every you know, he loves wrestling, probably more than
anybody I know, and he loves his talent, and he
loves his fans. So be at AEW and being able
to take the hurt, syndicate there and continue our path
has been it's been fulfilling.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Let's see.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Yeah, absolutely, And you know that's been the fun thing
to see with what AW has done, with Tony Khan
has done, it seems like you guys have a lot
of freedom to kind of get into there and do
what you want.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
And Tony's not afraid to say no.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
And from everybody that we've talked to, they're not afraid
to go to Tony with ideas and say, hey, let's
tweak it this way, or let's go this direction.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Let's just cut to the chase here. Oh, it's going
to tell Bobby Lashley, Benjamin and MVP what to do.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I don't think anybody will Nobody, not a person on
this planet, not a person at all.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Now, you have been a part of a lot of promotions,
You've been on a lot of locker rooms. What makes
this AW one different from the other ones that you've
been a part of.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Youth and spirit, extremely young locker room and lots of spirit.
Just some young peopleeople that are extremely hungry and they
want to make a name for themselves. They want to
make a career for themselves, and they're constantly battling amongst
each other for who can be the absolute best. No
one's skating on past accomplishments. Every week. Everyone's trying to
(06:16):
go out there and compete for the best match, the
best entertaining segment, and the fans win in the end.
So I love the youthful exuberance that I find in
the locker room week after week.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Absolutely, of course MVP is our guest here on the
show right now. Aw Dynamite tomorrow Fresno eight pm, e Sterree.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You can watch it on TV now.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
One thing that on this show I've been a fan of,
including my youngest kid, has always been a Hurt Syndicate fan.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
And when it came.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Together, did it click right away or did it take
a little time to feel like this is something special?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Well, we know it was something special from the very
beginning because it's organic, it's real. Lastly, and I have
been friends, training partners, and colleagues for.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
A very long time. We made money together.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
At Impact or we had a faction and we had
being Shelton Benjamin have been friends and brothers. We lived
five minutes away from each other, and Shelton Benjamin was
my tag team part I brought him into New Japan
to be my tag team partner in Japan, so we
have a very real, organic relationship. So when we decided
(07:27):
to put our efforts together and create a syndicate, if
you will, it fit, it was a very natural fit.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
We didn't have to force it.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
We weren't or we aren't characters playing roles. We are
who we are what you see on the screen. The
reason it comes off so well, and the reason that
you want to believe it and you want to buy
into it and you want to be a fan of
it is because it's real.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
One thing that has always been fascinating to me when
it comes to you on TV, You've always had that presence,
that swag, that aura about you. Do you think people
fully appreciated you from when you started or did it
take time to get to where people are like that dude?
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Is that dude?
Speaker 1 (08:11):
No?
Speaker 3 (08:12):
I know from the moment I stepped on the scene,
people realized I was that dude. I mean, how could
you not true know what to do with all of
the aura and the swagger, if you will. So I
have people nowadays come up to me and go, yo,
I used to watch you when I was a kid,
and I absolutely hated you, and that means I was
(08:33):
doing my job well. They knew that they couldn't see,
they couldn't articulate it, they couldn't understand, but they just
saw me step out and they went, this guy is
that dude.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I could never be that guy, so I automatically hate him.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
And that's how that works, right, absolutely, And that's got
to be one of those cool moments. Like for me,
I grew up watching you on TV, watching you wrestle,
and now I get to experience that with my kids,
and that's got to be one of those cool moments
for you. And they're like, you know, I watch you
growing up as a kid, and now my kid is
getting involved in watching you now.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I'll say, really, honestly, as far as professional wrestling goes,
one thing that I truly enjoy man. One of the
things that I enjoy most is when we're at a
show and you can see three generations of fans sitting
together or usually standing and yelling together. I can't tell
(09:22):
you throughout the years how many times I've seen granddad,
dad and son all together, or you know, whatever variation
they're are. But you have three generations enjoying wrestling together
and that's just the organically.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
That's just a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
And it's it's one of those things like I know,
when I take my kid to wrestling shows, he loves it,
and it's getting to spend that moment like when I
think about when me and my dad would go to
wrestling shows, and now me and him get to go
to wrestling shows. And I think right now, in today's climate,
the one thing that I have loved what AEW has
been able to do is make it affordable for families
to still come to a wrestling show. And I know
(10:04):
you've been very vocal about this before and past interviews
and of course on your podcast as well. AW has
done a really good job at giving something for everybody,
like we saw recently with the death match, but they
also give you wrestling, they give you storytelling, and you can,
you know, get a whole family in and not break
the bank.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
That's one of the things that I've been talking about
for some while. Now it's the affordability. You know, right
now in our country, we have a problem with affordability
across the board.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
You know, I don't care what your political affiliation is.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
It's tough and whatever your wrestling affiliation is, you have
to admit that there are some companies that are charging
more than the average wrestling fan can afford to go
and see some good live wrestling. AW affordability matters, and
we love the fact that Tony Kahn has set up
(10:58):
a company where we get.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Down to wrestling. It's where the best go to wrestle.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
And you know, a father of two or three, a
family of four can go to an AW show and
have a great time.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Case in Point in Fresno, save Mar Center four thirty pm.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
We go live at five, you have AEW Dynamite Live
and then after that you have a Collision taping.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
So you get two shows for the price of one,
and you can sit. You can buy affordable seats ringside.
You can sit just a few rows back from ringside
and not have to spend two months salary to do it.
And I think that's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
Now, speaking of beautiful thing, there is that working relationship
that you had mentioned earlier with Lashly and Shelton, Benjamin,
are there ever moments that even you're like, yeah, these
guys are scary.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Well, it's kind of like I tell people all the time,
Bobby and Shelton, there are.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Different species for most people.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
And it's kind of the guy you see walking down
the street and he has two like big Rottweilers on
short leashes or some vicious looking pit bulls or something.
That guy's not afraid because those dogs won't bite him right,
but they'll bite the hell out of you. And that's
kind of where I dwell understandable. I mean, I don't
(12:26):
I don't blame you. I've I've passed.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
I've crossed past with Lashly and Shelton in a room
once and I was like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Those are some bad dudes, even though you know they
were nice and they said hi and everything. I was like,
I don't ever want to be on those guys bad side.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
I was gonna say it, but hey, hold on a second,
let's not discount the kid. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Just because I'm a vocal representative now people refer to
me as a manager. You have forgotten or many people
have forgotten that I'm still over six feet tall, over
two hundred and fifty pounds. I've beaten Shelton Benjamin for
a championship many years ago.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
We've gone at it like catching dogs, and I have
wrestled before.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
I know firsthand, being on the opposite side of the ring,
what those guys are capable of, and I know that
they've only gotten better with age. But uh, don't sleep
on your boy.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I mean, I'm not an n.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Cuba All American like Shelton Benjamin, or a collegiate champion
like Bobby Lassity, but I am a Brazilian jiu jitsu
black belt and world champion. So don't sleep on me
just because these guys are, you know, the the frightening bohemas.
I'm the the the intellectual assassin.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
If you will, I mean, that is very true, and
I will say to uh, to my defense, you are
not in that room at the time when they were
in there. But I'm sure if all three of you
would be in that room, I would shake your hand,
say hello, and then walk the other way, because all.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Three of y'all together, what's scared of the happening to me?
Speaker 4 (13:48):
And I'll just keep it moving and say thank you,
it's been great watching you and I go on that way.
I don't get hurt because that's what you do. You
guys like that what we do better than anybody else
in the world. Now, I gotta ask, because you know,
one of the things that I love about wrestling growing up, like,
it was really awesome to be a fan of the
bad guy, right, but how hard is it to be
(14:10):
you know the quote unquote bad guy the Hill. When
the crowd clearly loves you, they're singing your song when
you're out there, they're doing that. We hurt people, chance.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Uh, that's the beauty of it. I don't change. I
am who I am.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
We are who we are, We do what we do,
and just you know, it says more about the human
condition than it does about me or my colleagues, because
everybody does love a bad guy. Doesn't love Darth Vader. True,
if you're really really good at being bad, people love you.
And you know, and I say all the time, booze
(14:47):
are my cheers, boomy boomy.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
I love it. I love it. It makes me feel great.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
And it is kind of funny because the last time
we saw you guys. My youngest kid was doing that
we hurt people thing and somebody was booing you next
to him, and he gave him like the stankiest look
ever that he was booing you, guys.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
That's the funny thing.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
People will sing our theme song when we come out,
and then when we beat up somebody that they love,
they'll boot because they don't want us to beat that
person up. But man, we do it with such style.
I mean, we're fashionably violent. We're so good at what
we do. It's like, man, I hate that they're beating
up my guy, but man, they're so good at beating
people up and they look great when they do it.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
It was not to like exactly absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Now you have worked with legends in your career, and
you know, if there's that one person ad aw right, now,
who do you look at, thinking, hey, that could be
the next guy outside of obviously Shelton and Bobby and yourself.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
The first person that comes to mind would be Jet Night.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Okay, Yeah, he's a young guy that I think definitely
has all the tools to be a big game player
in the future.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Kyle Fletcher. There's another standout young talent that I see
great things in his future. He's got all the tools
to be a player.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Those are the two that that just pop into my
head right now, two guys that I absolutely have.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
What it takes to be big game players in the future.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Do you think they could also maybe be players in
the Hurt Syndicate maybe down the road potentially.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Both of those guys have the prerequisite skill set and
ability to be in the Hurt SYNDI get they dress exceptionally.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Well, they're they're they're not afraid.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Of inflicting extreme violence on an opponent. And uh, but
they're young, you know, so they would need some grooming
and you know, a little uh, a little educating, you know,
to teach them the best ways to go about it
and to understand at the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
It's a business. Don't don't make it personal. Don't get
you both it.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
But yes, and you mentioned they're a little young, and
they've got some time to earn things. What better way
to go under you know, MVP Bobby and Shelton's wing
and maybe learn some things and get some gold along
the way with you guys.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
But you know, it's a possibility. We are currently discussing
adding a new member. Yeah, we're talking about. You know,
the last go around we tried it with MJUFF. It
didn't go well because he just didn't make the cut.
He wasn't good enough. He's he's uh. He doesn't have
the uh, the drive, he doesn't have the the the
(17:30):
internal capability for true violence. You know, he's a he's
a huckster, you know, so he's I went out on
the limb and vouched for him with my colleagues, but
just didn't make the cut. So that kind of soured
us for a little bit about trying to add somebody new.
But we we think we do need a little youthfulness,
We need a youthful spark, So it could be about
(17:52):
time to add a new member.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
Interesting, and I know you mentioned MJF. Of course tried
to be a part of it. You said they didn't
have that drive. He wasn't very violent or anything, but
it seemed like this past Sunday he got a little
violent during that match with Hangman. Of course everybody's talking about,
you know, the syringe. What was your thought when you
saw all that happening.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I these are my weapons right here right I could
do more damage with these than MJF can do.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
With a syringe.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
So I mean, it's crazy and the shock value, but
beat somebody up.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
I dare you beat somebody up?
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Get that same kind of reaction inflicting extreme violence on
someone without weapons. Bobby Lastly can do it, Shell, Benjamin
can do it, and I can do it. I mean,
it's pro wrestling. The Marquis says wrestling. It doesn't say bells,
whistles and zabadal. You can do that, and some people
want that, But at the end of the day, I
(18:51):
like to see people go out there with their physical
talent and abilities and impose their will on an opponent.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
I don't I don't need it a cinder block or
a syringe to do it.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
And you know, for the guys that get off on that,
they'd like to engage in that.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
You know, I take my hat off to them. Go
for it. And you know, obviously the fans they like that.
But that's it's not your cup of tea. It's undignified.
It's beneath us.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Understand I understand.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Now as we get closer towards the end of our interview,
I do want to kind of I got a couple
more questions for you. When it's all said, and done.
How do you want this chapter of your career to
be remembered.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Oh well, I think it will be remembered as the
final act of.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
An awesome second chapter, if you will.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
I mean, I fell into the vocal representative part by accident.
You know, I was the full fledged wrestling member of
the previous incardation of our group, and I hurt my
knee and my wrestling was diminished. But because of my
gift for GAB, I was, you know, still out front
talking up for the guys, and unfortunately, let's just say,
(20:13):
it took several months before I was allowed to have
my knee fixed. I was asked to please continue, and
I slipped into a managerial role. It was never something
that I sought out, but I love it because it's
extended my career of Physically, my body feels better not
crashing and burning every night, you know, and it's it's
(20:39):
cool my friends beat people up and I get to
talk about it.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
So I think people, and keep in mind there are people.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
That there's a whole new generation of wrestling fans that
don't remember me as an entering competitor, that don't you know,
realize the championships, the historic championship runs that I've had.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
So there are a lot of people that will remember
me as the manager, the vocal representative. But I think
those people who look at my career from starting to
finish will see an extremely talented individual that was able
to excel in any role he found himself in.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Absolutely for sure.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
And like you said, you don't have to go in
and crash and burn every night. You don't have to
take a bump as.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Much as to what he said. I have my own show,
Yes with the MDP and Duayne Swayze.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
It's primarily on YouTube, but it also has an audio
component that you can get on moost streaming sites. But
we drop every Monday at one pm Eastern, twelfth Central
and me and my co host Dwayne Swayze and Houston
based rapper who's a good.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Friend of mine.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
He's a massive wrestling fan, and we'd be in the
studio sometimes and hanging out and he'd have those moments
and you'd.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Go, hey, Pete, let me ask you about that pay per.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
View or can I can I ask you about that
time and a conversation with it too, and I thought,
wait a minute, this is the show. So we We
are about to record our fiftieth episode, Marking Out with
MVP and Duayne Swayzey, So come check us out on YouTube.
We just we talk about wrestling. I talk about my
(22:19):
personal experiences, my professional opinion on what's good and what's bad.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
I explain why things are done, how things are done.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Pretty informative if you're a fan of pro wrestling, and
uh and of course it's it's very distinguished where we're at.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
We're at a speakeasy, sitting in front of the bar
and talking to wrestling. So come check us out marking
Out with.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
MVP and Duayne Swayze on YouTube, and we will transition
to your final question.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Final question.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
I know MVP has a lot of famous friends sitting
there in his contact list. Is there somebody right now
that you could go through your contact list, pull them
up FaceTime and they would ans are here on the
show right now.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Dozens of people, dozens like Look, Dave Bautista, who is
an A list movie.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Star, is a very goo.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
If I FaceTime them right now, he'll answer, Well, I
know for a fact as we do it, I got
Bobby last here, I got Selton, Benjamin, Adam Copeland.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
There are so many people of Freddie Prince Jr.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
I was just talking to him the other day and
I hit him up out of the blue, same thing.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
But here's the deal.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Let me explain to see you, there are literally billionaires
in this phone that I have access to, and for
you to think that I would have my time wasted
or waste any of my friends very important time for
you or for your unimportant, scallowag little fans, is an
insult to me.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
And on that note, the pleasure was all yours.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
All right. Well, MVP's gone, so that's the end of
the show.
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