July 22, 2025 • 44 mins
From the Eyes Up Here vault! The Queen of Extreme sits down with former ROH World Champion Matt Taven for a no-filter conversation on life in wrestling, wild fan interactions, and what keeps him motivated in and out of the ring.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
M hm.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh my goodness. That was It was unbelievable. But our
guest is Exploriskay. We'll talk about that later on. But
it was very funny. Here we got gonna to do
someone here.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
This is Curry, Are we super Star? Matt Teeth and everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I feel like I came in right in the midst
of a good story and I was ready to hear
the rest of it. I feel like I ruined everything.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
In a nutshell. Last week, we did a Patreon we
have a Patreon root here, and we did a Drink
While You Think, and so we were drinking for an hour.
I'm playing a game and chat. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
There was more drinking than thinking. Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Chad proceeded to drink while he had two more podcasts
film and he was bombed because he just kept conceiving alcohol.
So he was just telling me how drunk he was
by the third and.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I had to be serious by the third one.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Too, and it was so hard.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
So I tried so hard to focus, and they were
probably the best podcasts you ever did. Because you're faded
looking at it right here, I'm looking at it.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Sorry on the left hand side. I had to I
went thirty five minutes.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
And eight seconds drunk.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Stone faced, but drunk.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Remember zero.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
I don't remember a thing about.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
What I talked about. I really don't thought I.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Was so I had like Wiki Sei Baseball reference. I
had all these screams up to keep me like looking.
I was so god, I have no idea. I can't
listen to the back because it's going to be a
Macti stake.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That is terrible. You should be ashamed of. I'm Matt.
First of all, I feel bad because we were Matt
and I were in Disney World at the same park
on the same day, and we never crossed the towns.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I heard this. I only heard this as I was exiting,
that you were there, and I was like, wait a second,
I let's go back in the park.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Run into She very key. I believe you were with
the friends of both of ours. She had sent us
to text, and I believe you guys were where. We
had just left home and we just got the kids
snacks and we were exhausted and sweating, and she's like, oh,
come go to the other side of the park.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
You know. Yeah, No, I don't know how you handle
I can barely manage Disney World by myself with kids
and stuff. I don't know how you guys.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Let me tell you. If you ever, I don't know
if you want children or not. But when you go, oh,
I'm sorry, that's okay to each the room. But when
you go with your children and you see things through
their eyes, it is the most rewarding feeling ever and
it makes me so happy and I'm just I don't know,
(03:20):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
On the other hand, I did go to Disney as
a child with my father and my cousin and my grandfather,
I believe, and me and my cousin like went off
to do something and my dad was like, come back
to this very spot as soon as you're done, And
of course we didn't do that because we were kids.
If we're gone for about two and a half hours,
and I'm sure I caused my dad like to have
a heart attack that day. So, you know, the wonder
(03:43):
of children at Disney.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
In Disney, that's scary because there's a million people there.
And if you hear mom, like when I hear mom
at Disney, even if my kids are next to me,
I'm like, who said that? There's eighty seven million children there?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Like, is it?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
My kid is it someone else this.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
You don't know. Yeah, well back up after being missing
for about two and a half hours with those giant
turkey legs if they sell at Disney, thinking like, no
big deal, my dad in your hand. Oh yeah, I'm like,
I'm literally like in fifth grade. It's just after being
gone for two hours with a giant turkey leg my dad,
I can see from far away sweating pacing. I'm like, oh,
(04:23):
we messed up right now?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And were you punished?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Oh? I thought we were leaving. I thought we were
never going to come back. But you know, by the
time we got to the gate, I think my grandfather
talked him out of being so bad. So what what
normally happens with all bad kids is that you're you're
you're forced to go to Epcot, you know what I mean.
I think that's what you're bad at Disney, You're forced
to go to Epcot. As an adult, I love Epcot,
but as you like, please nothing but Epcot. I'd rather
(04:49):
go back to the hotel.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
But but back then, Epcot sucked now for kids, but
I remember like back then it was like, oh, you
want to learn, go to yeah exactly, And I didn't
want to trip after that.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, you have a point.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
See I never went as a child. I never went
to Disney as a child. We went to Wildwood, New
Jersey every year for two weeks. That was our big vacation.
I went as an adult for the first time when
I was in a c W. Yeah, and fell in
love with it. And then, you know, ever since I
got married, we just started going every single year. We
(05:27):
go for two weeks and that's our that's our big,
big deal. But I felt so bad. I was like, man,
if we weren't here already for like six hours and
the kids were just melting, they were just sitting there
with their popsicles and melting, And I said, I totally
would have ran to say hello. So I apologize for that.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I don't know how you juggle kids in Disney, so
pulling that off, I love it?
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Are you a big mark for Disney?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Now as an adult, I enjoy it so much more
now you know, I'm in a theme park guy and
general Like as a kid, you know, a big trip
for us was always to go to a different theme park.
I would go to the Six Flags in New Jersey
a bunch. They had finally brought a six Flags up
to New England, Busch Gardens of West Virginia. But I
have to say, like now, you know, as far as
the Florida theme parks go, nothing touches Busch Gardens in
(06:18):
Tampa Garden. That's exactly why. Like you know, the the
coasters in Tampa that at that Busch Gardens, no one
can touch it. Like the experience obviously at Disney and
Universal is awesome. And like I went down Hollywood, are
horror nights at Universal so good? I'm so scared it's
(06:40):
worth it. It is awesome.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I would need to depend. I would crap my pants.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
There's my life, well, you know, pack of diaper and
head on down there for October, because I think it's
definitely worth it, even for you know, destroying a pair
of pants or two. But I love to.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Do it and blog it or go live on Twitch,
or do it for the site because I am the
biggest bab I hate Halloween. I'm not gonna lie, like
I know I hate it.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, dresses up to the complete like highest extent with
you know, make up.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I do it for the people. I absolutely hate it.
It's not my deal, but I think it would be
funny if I did something like that because my dream
is to live in Florida. Like that's what we're working on.
We want to relocate eventually, do it. And so I
want to I want to like leave wrestling and.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Be a lagger, you know, It's it's the way to go.
I mean, more people are streaming and debuting stuff like
twitch than than anything else these days. It seems like
I think people would would fall If you're that terrified
of Halloween. I think I will tune in for you
walking around horror nights down at Universal because they do
such a good job of it. It's uh, it's it's
(07:53):
not terrifying, I don't think, but it's for someone that
I think would be, you know, a little jumpy during Halloween.
I would be pretty entertained watching you walk through some
of those houses.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
It's not a little dream. It's absolutely horrifying. I can't
I went in one haunted house my whole life and
we got kicked out.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
It's we almost got kicked out of a haunted house
in Vegas one time as the Ring of Honor group
and just as a quick story, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
They had all these people jump up and like grab
you and whatnot, and they had a little person in
a costume come out of this tiny door and everyone
thought it was just like a mechanical thing. So one
of the guys like fake superkicked it, like didn't come
close to it, but I guess on their cameras it
looked like someone just super kicked this little person as
(08:45):
we were walking through. So all sense security came through
and I had to be the dad of the group
and be like, oh no, we're wrestlers. He didn't come
anywhere close. Please.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Took a lot of money when we went through. I
went through with like Tommy Dreamer and signed guy Dudley
and his girlfriend and it was the four of us
and the guy from Scream with the white man. You know,
that white mask had a knife and he went like
this to me and he stabbed my arm, like yeah, yeah,
(09:18):
he kind of got me. And I remember Dreamer threatened
him and while he was getting threatened, Jason, is he
the one with the he whispered in my ear, your
friend's not that bryant Izzy and I turned around. I
started calling a primo on him, and they were just
like you have to leave.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Through this, like this whole group out of here. I mean,
I don't know, I feel like, you know, maybe we're
we're not as compatible as I thought. I have a
giant screen poster in my my theater room as I U.
Literally that face is the I love horror movies.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
You know it's I love I Okay, I loved horror
movies until I became a mother.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Now because the kid's eyes.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
No, I envisioned bad things happening to my kids, like
and it's I think. And I thought I was crazy,
but I asked other mothers and they agreed with me.
So it's a mother thing. I can't watch horror anymore.
I was a big Trauma Mark too, Like I loved
Lloyd Kaufman and Trauma and I had like forty of
the movie sold them all. I was like, I can't
(10:26):
watch it. No, it makes me very nervous.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I guess that's a little more understandable. See, I only
have to worry about myself. So I'm like, I gotcha,
horror movies.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Well, before we go into your career, because I want
to talk about r Oh. I want to know the
story because I just know this much. What is the
third boob story? And you know what I'm talking about?
Speaker 2 (10:52):
You know what's funny is that I just moved to
a new place. So I was trying to actually, when
I knew I was going to do this, trying to
find that photo so bad it must be still at
my parents' house in New Hampshire. But like, well, so
I grew up in the Northeast, I grew up in Hampshire.
I lived in Boston after that, and you know, we're
out of New Hampshire Derry, New Hampshire, so literally next
(11:13):
to the Ice Center in Salem where you guys used
to come for ECW because.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
My dad's from My dad was from Manchester.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, fifteen minutes up the road. Okay, so
I'm a New Hampshire guy, and you know my dad,
I would talk him into driving me and my friends
to go see ECW, whether it was at you know,
at a Revere at Wonderland or in Salem at the
Ice Center. And my dad's not a wrestling guy or fan.
He never understood why I loved wrestling so much. But
(11:43):
he would drop us off at ECW as like a twelve, thirteen,
fourteen year old kid, and he had no idea what
he was dropping us off at.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
So by the.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Way, he just thought it was wrestling and he was
in a wrestling fan, so he was like, oh, I'll
pick you guys up after the show or whatever, and
I'll never forget. Like one time in particular, Steve Carino
had threw his hair back and he was bleeding and
he just got blood all over me. And so like
my dad picks me up. I'm like thirteen or fourteen.
(12:13):
My dad picks me up, I'm covered in sweat and
blood and I smell like someone's beer. That's where are
what is this that I'm dropping you guys off at?
So you know, my dad was already kind of weird
enough by ACW but then my mom put I put
this picture up that I happened to get at that show,
and it's literally mean you and you. All you could
(12:34):
do was like there was a table and they weren't
letting like me get right next to you, so you
had to like lean forward into the picture. So it's
my head as like a thirteen year old and you're cleavage,
so it just looks like like the size of my
head is the same as as your boob's there. So
it's just like, you know, three boobs in a row.
And I had that like right up on top of
(12:55):
my you know, like my desk at or my dresser
at home. My mom was like, what are you guys
doing where where?
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Probably said, what a pig girl.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Oh, I'm like I was like coming home covered in
blood pictures of me and you you know, a lot
of cleavage in the picture. I was like, this is
the greatest thing ever. You guys don't understand. ECW is
the best and so uh. The most memories from those
shows have nothing to do with the matches themselves. It
always has to do with like, you know, things like
(13:27):
that or like Tommy, I had a w CW sucks
sign one time because I thought it was so cool.
It was like a thirteen year old and Tommy Dreamer
like found me afterwards. It was like I saw you
walking around with your WCW sucks sign and like, give
me something else to sign. I'm not going to sign that,
and like it was just so cool. I saw Ball's
mahone again, a fight with a fan, you know, this
(13:48):
classic ECW stuff that yeah, that, Like I can barely
remember the matches themselves, but it was the experience of
always being something always went down at like Wonderland too
and Revere that's Mass Transit happened.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yet where the doll graces were.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Yes, yeah, yeah, so I wasn't there for mass transit
and uh but like after that, everyone knew that that
you know, was that had happened. So everyone was so
rowdy at those shows. I just remember being a kid,
like trying to survive as and not be trampled as
Like guys would fight in the crowd and I'd be
getting pushed and I'd be like, this is the greatest
(14:25):
day of my life.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
I love it, And did you want to get into
the business at that point.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I've wanted to be a wrestler since I was six
years old. Like I saw wrestling on TV my my
great uncle, I guess my grandfather's brother was like a
huge wrestling fan and he got me into it as
a kid staying over our house one weekend just he
was watching it and I like sat down and was hooked.
Ever since, my parents had no they did not get
it at all, and I broke every piece of furniture
(14:51):
they ever owned it even more, you know, doing all
this wrestling every pillow I can find and stuff, and
they never like they were always like, okay, yeah, you
want to be a wrestler, go to college. So once
I was done with college and stuff, and I had
like a I actually started working for the New England
Patriots and the New England Revolution right after college, working
(15:13):
in the office, and it just wasn't for me. Like
I was at this cubicle every day, and even though
it was cool, like the experience with the team, I'll
never forget. Like I called my dad and was like,
you know what, I think I'm going to try to
be a wrestler. And I thought he was going to
talk me out of it and be like, go back inside,
go go back to your job. Stop stop calling me
(15:34):
with this nonsense. And he was like, you're only young once,
you know do if you want to go for it.
And I was like, I'm walking inside right now to quit.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
And this was all in my mind that because I
had the same epiphany. I was working in an insurance
company in a cubicle and I called my dad and
I said, I can't do this anymore now. If you
think I'm lying, go back and listen to any interview
I've ever done. And I knew I was going to
(16:01):
probably start wrestling school that summer, and my Dad's like,
go quick, come down the shore for a while, get
your head clear and then start what you want to do.
So it must be that New England blood and it must.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
It must be because like I, honestly, you know, I
had started kind of I knew someone that, like a
friend of mine who I used to backyard wrestle with,
had started wrestling on the indies, and so like I
knew like someone that was doing it, and I was
kind of checking out what he was doing, kind of
figuring out if I could train here or there. And
I remember like coming up with this game plan. But
(16:34):
in the back of my mind, I was like, my
parents are going to say you're an idiot, and then
I'm going to look at all the bills I have
to pay and be like what are you doing? And
I couldn't believe that they were like, yeah, go for it.
And my mom, who's the sweetest and but her biggest
concern is always me getting hurt, you know, was always
very like, uh, do you want to do that? Why
(16:56):
don't you try to be an actor or something? But
now she's like my biggest band, Like everybody play something
that's like the first like I see is like my mom,
I'm like, oh.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, you huh who ended up training you when you
decided this is what you're going.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
To do well very e c W. This is an
e CW all the way around. Spike Dudley uh trained me.
So I got into like the New England indie scene,
and Spike had was training at Top Road Promotions, a
place called the Lock Up Academy. He had had started
running in Fall River, and I kind of didn't know
(17:33):
what I was doing. I was just you know, bouncing
around trying to get advice and have anyone train me.
And someone came to me and was like, listen, if
you really want to do this, Spike Dudley has a school.
And so I was living in Boston at the time,
and then I just started driving, you know, the hour
down the Fall River every every other day to train
with Spike, and you know, it worked out in the end.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
I may, I think you're doing pretty good for yourself. Jeez,
Yi is great.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
And another and like, I didn't know what I was
getting into, you know, I didn't know anything about necessarily
Spike as a human. I just knew what I saw
on TV. So I'm like, man, I'm going to Spike
Doudle school. What is this going to be like, is
it's going to be like easy, I know nothing. At
the time, I'm like, am I going to be, you know,
doing ECW hardcore type try trading? And Spike just blew
(18:23):
my mind with the amount of knowledge that he had
about every like technical wrestling, bad grappling, high flying. He
knew everything. He was just so smart that he knew
that this was his path to to make money in
the business, and you know, really went for it. But
I always I always bring up there's a match between
Spike and Rob Van dam that's like on a house
(18:43):
show at ECW that I like found one time going
through the vhs' is at the Old School and we're like,
Spike looks more like Rob van Damn than Rob van
dam does. He's doing all this high flying, so he's
like blowing my mind, Like, Spike, where why didn't you
do this all the time? He's like, because I wasn't
going to make money being the small guy doing the
same stuff RBD was doing. They I was going to
(19:04):
make money get it beat up. And I was like, yep, yeah,
I know nothing about wrestling, please. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
His deal was just getting thrown in the audience and
then the fans ate that up. It didn't matter if
it happened once or a million times. They just that
spot was like iconic and they loved it.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
So he was great. He was great to me. And
still you know, to this day, when if I go
back up to Rhode Island or Massachusetts, you know, I'll
try to find a way to see him here and there.
But it seems like he's doing good. He's got a
family now and yeah like that. So you know, thank you, Spike,
Thanks very much.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
I love that. So so you start training, when do
you get your first big break? And how do you
transfer over to r oh So, Like.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
It's weird because I feel like a lot of things
happened very quickly for me, and and it was I
think more because New England had there was so many places,
so many schools, so many so many companies in New
England and then also in New York and New Jersey.
That whole Northeast from Philadelphia to Boston is just a
hotbed of wrestling. And you know, it's like almost like
(20:10):
being born, like raising a pressure cooker where it's like
you got to kind of find your way out of here,
and there's so much pressure in this little area that
diamonds are going to just start shooting out of it.
And there's so many good guys that came from that area,
Mike Bennett, Tomso, war Beard Hanson or Ivar whatever he
is now, and it's like all those guys, we're all
(20:32):
at like the same age at the same time, in
the same place, and we're all kind of we're like,
I don't care how far it is, We're getting in
the car together. We're going everywhere. And it just happened
very very quickly. And there's a place up in the
Northeast called Northeast Wrestling that they get you know, they
do baseball stadiums. They have great, huge shows up there.
(20:54):
And I was just going to do Ring Crew one
time and some guy ended up dropping out of the
show last minute. I had my gear next thing.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I watch the most important thing, always bring your gear
bag with you.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Of course, of course, the next thing I know, I'm
in the ring with Big Daddy V getting like squashed.
I'm like, I have no I'm so green, I have
no business being in the ring with anyone at this point,
And like, those pitches will be iconic for me forever
because it was like the first time that it was
like something big that I did. And after that I
(21:28):
just started kind of rolling with Northeast Wrestling and really
kind of my friendships with other people from Tomaso and
Mike Bennett, and as they were they had been in
the business a little bit longer, so as they were
kind of going to other places, I would just really
tag along and be like, hey, I know, if you
need anyone here, I am uh And I would do
that at a Ring of Honor, And it was just one
(21:49):
of those things where the same situation after a certain
amount of time, if you're that kid that's always around
helping out and it's just there and has their gear,
there's going to be a time where they need to
fill up position. And the same thing happened with Ring
of Honor. And I always kind of told myself, you know,
these opportunities don't come every day, so like, if you
have the chance to do it and get in front
(22:11):
of people, yet you have to come ready to impress.
So I did a bunch of darks for for Ring
of Honor for a while, really almost for like a
year and a half two years, and then finally, you know,
one day, Jim Cornett came up to me and was like,
Matt Tavian, I always thought you were a puppy with
big pause. It's time for you to grow into those
big paus. I think we want to sign you to
(22:32):
a contract. I was like, I don't know what any
of that what you just said, besides you to a contract,
I'm all for it.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
So I don't know what that means. But let's go.
So what year is this.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Now, Jim Cornett, no one here, Oh, this is twenty twelve.
So like I signed, h you know, January one, twenty
thirteen with Ring of Honor, And it was like it
was crazy. There was so much of us that signed
at the same as that time, me Adam Page, Sallas
Young and we're still at Ring of Honor. Ah, we
all signed on the same day, q T. Marshall, and
(23:06):
it was just kind of like a new class had
come in and we were like, and I look back
at it now. I just was at Jay Lethos school
last night and he's got all these old DVDs a
Ring of Honor, and I'm pulling them out and reading
them and I'm like, man, this is like year one
for me, and I have no business being on this
show with any of these all the you know, it's
(23:26):
like Kevin Owens and Claudio and and you know, Chris Heiro.
It's like all these guys that are so good. I
was like, I had no business being on that show
at that time, but I'm glad I was able to
stick it out and stick around for so long.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
See the thing with you and and I'm this the
first time we're actually meeting, but you're you're humble, which
is so nice to see. It's it's refreshing.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Because a lot of ruin my gimmick, your own gimmick.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
By the way you're handling yourself. But he's very attractive
to see because there's a lot of guys who come
in and think that they're the shit right away and
they should be, you know, on top right away, and
they don't want to pay dues and you know, or
they come they come from a you know, they were
on TV as an actor or they did this or
(24:13):
they did that, and they think they're entitled and right
away they should be in a main event spot. So
you sound like you came in the correct way. You
had your mouth shut, listened, you had your gear bag,
you're ready to do. So it's nice to hear.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
I'm sure there'd be plenty of people that say I
had my mouth open, because you know, I'm sure I
ruffled a plenty of feathers along the way. But I agree,
I think that that's one of the most important things.
And luckily as things started evolving in the New England
wrestling scene, you know, there was an opening for kind
of like a new school to pop up with a
(24:49):
promotion up there called the XWA. So me and Mike
Bennett started helping train at the school and that was
one of the biggest things that we would tell people, like,
you're not entitled to anything in wrestling, you know. I
and not to name drop, but I can remember Sean
Michaels saying to like a group of us one time,
like wrestling will make zero sense. It makes no sense,
(25:09):
So stop trying to make sense of it because you'll
drive yourself crazy. All you have to do is continue
to try to do what you're doing and hopefully something breaks.
And you know, I can't tell you how many guys
come in, especially guys that and it's I understand it.
Guys that come from athletic backgrounds, or come from MMA
or some shoe fighting. They'll come in thinking like I
(25:29):
can beat everyone's ass here, Why am I not the champion? Eat? Like,
it doesn't work like that. There's so much more than
just the competition that comes in the ring that you know,
it's nice to kind of pass those lessons down. And
I have to really credit like guys like Mike Bennett
who were always super humble and that they were, you know,
bringing me along to places, and I was kind of
(25:51):
seeing how humble they were and how people will respond
to it. And it's like, Okay, I know nothing about wrestling,
but I know that if you're you know, you know,
Tony tough Nuts over here saying that you should be
champed and like you're too good to set up the chairs,
you're not going to get very far, right.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Yeah, So this is funny. So I used to go
to all those ROH shows, you know, back in your
early days when you were just you know, like you said,
in the dark matches and you could see, you know,
as you worked your way up the card. But what
was interesting about that is exactly what you're saying is
you kind of saw rowhs would always fill the gaps
with whoever left, they would be that next guy up
and anybody who was in those early matches, they were
(26:27):
there for a reason. And to see where you are now.
It's fascinating because I was there at the beginning at
those shows, and you see those guys that you just
mentioned as everybody kind of moved up. You see the
guys who started the bottom move up with them, so
they So how much did you really like kind of
take stock in the spots that you were given at
that point scene, how everybody in r wh kind of
(26:48):
progressed on as they went along.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
I mean, and you're one hundred percent right. It's fill
to this day. You can see all the guys that
are up, you know on ROH started down here underneath
you in dark matches and stuff like that. I personally
was picking up on the same thing that you're talking about, was, Okay,
they're putting you in these spots for a reason because
they want to see if you can go, if you
can move up the ladder here. And there's one match
(27:10):
in particular that really I kind of owe my whole
career on. Mike Mondo was down. He was there at
Ring of Honor at the time, and he kind of
felt like he was a little bit stagnant that he
needed to do something, and they put us in a
match where I really was just to get Mike Mondo
over and Mike was like, listen, both of us need
(27:31):
to really kind of do something today to get on
everyone's radar. And again I'm still like, you know, like
four years in, like show me whatever you think about,
and he kind of came up with something that had
like we're in Baltimore and I'll never forget, like I've
never had anyone chant my name or anything like that,
and there's people are chanting Tavin. I'm like, oh my god.
We had a six minute match that literally when I
(27:54):
walked out, I was grabbed by the Ring of honor
guys and said like, okay, we're going to do something
year and xyz down the line. And it was really
just because Mike Mondo saw something in me and said
like I can do something with this that not only
is going to get myself over, but we'll get him
over as well. And I couldn't be any more gracious
(28:15):
towards him for that night because there's who knows what
would happen to me if if that match never happens.
But without a doubt, the reason why I've been in
Ring of Honor for the last eight years is because
of that one match underneath going with Mike Mondo, and I.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Think I was there for that, to be honest with you,
Itered No, it triggered something and I just again, I
remember you would see him on the cart in those
early spots and you saw obviously he had something. And
anybody that they put that emphasis on you had to
put stock in as a fan because they had their
eye on him. So whether they were telling you or not,
and they were no selling you, you know, behind the scenes,
(28:50):
you could just see from the product itself who was
going to be the next minted guys of r WAH.
And that was always something that I love to watch
about it, you know when r.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Waits really was.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
I mean, it's still, you know, the great presence they have,
but back then it was like if it's a guy,
roh guy, you got to keep your eye on them.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
That's ruere.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
And it's funny because I have to have those same
conversations with like younger guys today that are just getting
into the Ring of Honor. They're like, oh my god,
I don't know what I'm doing. I'm like, there's a
reason why you're in this spot, you know what I mean,
they see something in you in the future. They're just
it's a slow build, you know what I mean. It's
and and I think I'm you know, I don't want
(29:27):
to say I'm humble, but I think I come off
as humble because I went up that slow build and
I could. I felt like that was the way to
go as a wrestling fan in general. You know, I've
been a wrestling fan, like I said, since I was
six five, six years old, the people that worked their
way up. You know, I grew up a six year
old in love with Brett Hard thinking he's the coolest
(29:49):
guy ever. And to see him go from like the
tag titles he hits to contact the title to when
finally he was wrestled for the world title, it felt like,
that's my guy. Here's the beginning. I made this happen
so like I kind of always felt the same thing
as like, as as the wrestler that I want to
be in my career, I always wanted to be that
guy that worked his way up, and you know, luckily
(30:11):
I was able to do that and Ring of Honor.
There was some speed bumps along the way, some setbacks,
but always got kind of back in the in the
into the position I wanted to and and you know,
I really always had in mind from that first day
that eventually I wanted to be the Ring of Honor
World Champion.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Yeah. I think everybody who gets into wrestling has that
dream world champ.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Yeah right. I've had so many homemade belts or you know,
at the little plastic belts and stuff like that that
I was like, here, here I am in Madison Square guarded,
I'm the champion, and for like one day for that
to finally come true. It's still you know, I talk
about it a lot in interviews, but it doesn't feel
real to me at the same time, you know what
(30:56):
I mean, like it happened and all that stuff. But
at the same time, it feels like almost like I
watched a movie that I happened to the end.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
It's it's I almost remember it more through the eyes
of other people than I do.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Yeah, totally understand. I look back, because you know, I've
been kind of semi retired. I do little things here
and there, but I look back and I say, I
don't know how to hell, I did ninety percent of
the stuff that I did, and it's like it's like
a dream to me, It's like that really happened, because
like at this stage, I'm gonna be fifty years old.
(31:29):
I would never in a million years do anything like
that at this stage in my life. But back then,
you know, you're invincible. You're in your twenties and thirties
and you're above the law and no one can touch you,
and you know, it's it's surreal.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Fifty.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
I'll be fifty in February.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
You don't have to tell anyone that you look for
your because like you, I have fifty.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
That caught me off, Duard, Oh well.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Thank you. Well. Now, remember when we the boot shot,
I was probably like twenty five.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Yeah, I know, and that just makes me think like
the years ago and by on my end too. So
I'm trying to be like, no, none of us, we're
still young. We're very worry about it.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
You're fine. I asked this question to a lot of people.
I already know the answer, but I want to hear
you say it. Do you prefer heal or babyface heal?
Of course.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I mean, it's just so much fun and like I've
always kind of I don't know, I always had this
weird relationship with the Ring of Honor fans. I'm very
much baby face with the female fans, but like the
male fans of all hated me no matter what. So
(32:45):
like to be able to like tell them exactly how
I felt for a long time. Oh that was good stuff.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Why are we not healing the women, Matt? What is
Why are we being a baby face to the ladies.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Well, you know what, I would try to be a
heel to everyone. It just seems like they loved it,
so you know what I mean, Like, I don't know
how to make them hate me. And at one point,
no matter what I said, it would get a female
cheer and a male hard male booth.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
So you mean to tell me, if you pick a
lady out of the front row and you call her
every name in the book, and you tell her she's
so ugly and this, that and the other thing, you're
going to get cheered.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
I might actually get cheered for that from the from
the male guy. The guys that if I went and
buried one girl, the other girls in the crowd would
be like, yep, that's right, because I don't know.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Girls aren't loyal to one another. Let's be honest, that's true.
We can roll over with the woman if I buried
one chick in particular.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
That's hilarious. Well, you know. And and for merch I'm
sure the ladies like to show off the merchandise as well.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
I mean, you know, I have a lot of purple merchandise,
which it's a lot better on women than it does men,
it seems.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Well. I am so excited for you. What's coming up
for you in r oh now.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Yeah, we're finally back back at it. You know, we
we've Sinclair Broadcasting. I feel that it's such a good
job during the pandemic just making sure they you know, dotted,
all their eyes crossed, all their t's, made sure that
everyone at Ring of Honor not only was financially okay
because they they didn't miss a beat, which is kind
of crazy. That okay, And like, and this is something
(34:31):
that you know, a lot of people don't know. And
I try to get out there just because I feel
like Ring of Honor doesn't get the credit for it.
But there was stuff right before the pandemic hit, like
a women's tournament in April and these shows in March,
the past first Present show in March where they were
bringing in a lot of people that weren't weren't under
Ring of Honor contracts, that were just coming in for
one shots and stuff. All that stuff had to be
(34:53):
canceled because of the pandemic. But Sinclair and Ring of
Honor paid every single person that was booked for any
single one of those shows, not even if you weren't
under contract anything, if you have been contacted by Ring
of Honor and they had told you they were going
to book you, they made good on their word for
every single person.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
That is a rarity in this vale.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
And and you know, I've been in the wrestling business
long enough at this point is to know how rare
that is. And it's just it's crazy to see it,
to see it done from from Sinclair. We're like no
questions asked, almost like it was just not even a nope,
Everyone's gonna taken care of And uh now we're we're
you know, we're seeing the light at the end of
(35:34):
the tunnel. We're finally having fans back in the building.
July eleventh on pay per view in Baltimore. So for
me personally, it's it's been this weird time where the
fans are everything you know for wrestlers, and it's it's
really it's been so different. As much as I've loved
the products that Ring of Honor has been putting out,
without the fans, it's just not the same, you know
(35:56):
what I mean. You hit that Matt and you don't
hear a response, and it's like, oh, oh, do I
even want to get up at this point, especially.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
As a heel, you're drawing your energy from the crowd.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Well, so that was the other thing. So during the pandemic,
I've had two surgeries, came back from injury, reunited with
my tag partner who I haven't wrestled with in five years,
turned babyface now the first time, and for all of this,
I'll be in front of a crowd for the first time.
So it's like, my god, there's been you know, there's
(36:30):
been some I don't want to say missed opportunities because
like they were, they were still came off really well.
But I just could only imagine what my return would
have been. That would have been like in front of
a crowd, what me and Mike Bennett reuniting after all
this time would have been like crowd And so like
now it kind of feels like We're gonna get in
front of that crowd. I want to show you everything
that we've been doing this last couple of months. So
(36:51):
I'm just so excited to kind of be back to
normal life. And it seems like July July eleventh, know
that all starts, and then we'll be back in the
ECW Arena for two nights in August as well, uh
twentieth and twenty first. And you know that Philly crowd
if you've missed the if you've missed fans, that Philly
(37:12):
crowd will really give you a shot of life in
the arm one way or the other. You know, the
usually the biggest fans on that team, and so I'm
sure I'll get a lot of booze, but at the
same time, it will be like just hearing anything at
this point exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Well, it sounds like you have a lot on your
plate and I'm very, very excited for you again, everybody.
June eleventh, r oh, pay per view, I'm sorry July eleventh, Yeah,
today's what the twenty four July eleventh?
Speaker 2 (37:41):
What are you?
Speaker 1 (37:43):
What are you streaming on for this pay per view?
Speaker 2 (37:45):
What's we're on regular pay per view? On all your
cable providers. But you know, the smartest thing to do
is to sign up for Honor Club. It's only ten
bucks a month. You get the pay reviews, you get
the TV, you get all the house shows and stuff
like that.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
So can they got r o H dot com and
the Honor Club.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Yep, r o H Wrestling dot com. You can find
the Honor Club and that way you don't you don't
miss the ship. And it's a little tough for us
because we don't have normal house shows. Every single thing
goes up on the Honor Club, so you can't take
a night off. But at the same time, it keeps
us going one hundred and tent percent.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
All right, well that's exciting. July eleventh, all right, we're
gonna we're gonna tune into that. And where can people
find you if they want to know more about Matt Tavan?
Speaker 2 (38:29):
So if you can spell Tavan, which it seems very easy,
but I've had people screw this up so much over
the years.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
It's not Tavn.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
It's Tavin, Tavern, not Tavern, not Taven. I don't know.
People screw it up anyway. Right the first time, it's
Rome's a raven and Maven and you know all that
got tan right, So if you can spell Tavan a
V and I'm on all social media platforms, Matt Tavan
on Facebook, on Twitter, be Matt Tavan on Instagram. Because
(39:00):
some Melvin tried to take Matt Tavan from me and
then hold it hostage, I said, screw that. Be Matt Tavan, buddy.
So I hope you're good with that handle. You know,
Matt Taven up for wrestling tease. Like I said, if
you can spell Tavan, you can.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
You can find me, all right, do it simple Google
search and he's.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Up.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
Well, hopefully we are. We'll be back in Disney the
end of January February, so maybe I'll please we could
go on a safe ride together. I don't do those
big roller coaches. Yeah, no, we'll go. Maybe we'll go
Winnie the Pooh or something. That'll be. But it was
a delight to finally sit down and chat with you.
(39:41):
I wish you nothing but success. And if you ever
could find the old picture, we'll take a new one
and we could do a side by side and it'll
be hilarious and we'll show your mother and she'll love it.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
My mom would be she'll be like something's just never
changed with you. Huh. But I literally have to I
hold myself. I have to find this picture just to
recreate it. So I'm going to hold you to that.
I'm going to find it. We're going to redo this.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
My husband is the coolest man on the planet. He's
just like he doesn't care.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
Well. I mean, you're literally like there's a table between us,
so there's plenty of social distance between us, so we
can It's it's more of like I'm leaning like a
little kid and you're leaning forward, and it's just magic happened.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
I love it. I can't wait to do it again.
Perfect well, honey's pleasure with everything. Can't wait to see
you on the July eleventh. And we'll keep in touch
for sure.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Yes, thank you guys so much for having me. Hopefully
we'll talk soon and hopefully i'll see him.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Disney sounds good. Special look to you. Damn Matt, take care.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (40:42):
And there he goes, here's where the missed opportunity was.
That's where he should have said, And that's the night
I wanted to become a pro wrestler. Oh, the blood,
the picture, the whole, perfect recipe to become a wrestler.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
I can't remember if he said where the signing was,
but it was probably had a mall. We probably had
sunglasses on and indoors because we were obnoxious like that
back then, which made the.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Sense of those pictures popping up too. I love that.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
I know, it's so funny. I saw another one recently.
Somebody put one up and I was just like, there's
another one. Where where are they? I was in a
video store the tapes behind me.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
That was awesome.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
Personally most okay, very good, but yeah, he seems like
a hell of a nice guy. So yeah, hopefully, uh,
you know, bigger and better things for him. And it
sounds like he's doing a great job. And people, please,
if you are going to book a cameo, please use
my link on Twitter. Do not use the site itself.
(41:47):
They take fifty five percent from talent. I don't know
if I'm supposed to tell you this or not, but
it really encouraged them. Tell them it really affects talent.
I mean, if you use talent link, they take twenty
five percent. If you book through the site, they take
fifty five. That's an extra thirty percent in a talent's pocket.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
It's unbelievable. That's like Apple.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Apple takes the extra thirty percent, So you know you're
supporting your favorite wrestlers. Just click the link that they provide.
It's not rocket science. All you have to do is
click the link in the tweet and we'll take care
of you. Do it for me, do it for us. Yeah,
and that's all I got. So hopefully everybody's staying safe
(42:32):
and healthy. And with that that is a wrap.
Speaker 6 (42:38):
Yeah, Francie, Francie franc Queen Extreme, the Extreme, The Queen
Extreme podcasts. It's the Queen Extreme Podcast. It's the Queen
(42:58):
of Extreme and the letter.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
She is the woman nifty dreams lettend on.
Speaker 6 (43:02):
The Scene frand Scene Podcast.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
What you mean?
Speaker 6 (43:05):
What your tramplady to show you what you need? You
been the stand the Queens from the Beginning of Time.
Odds here our Heart Radio, Shine only ahead and tell
you a story from the Where the Legend odds up here,
The Queen Nobody's Like Fresh scene IDEs up here here here,
The Queen Extreme Podcast odds up here here head the
(43:28):
Queen Extreme Podcast odds up here here hand the Queen
Extreme Podcast odds up here here, The Queen Extreme Podcast
podcast
M hm.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh my goodness. That was It was unbelievable. But our
guest is Exploriskay. We'll talk about that later on. But
it was very funny. Here we got gonna to do
someone here.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
This is Curry, Are we super Star? Matt Teeth and everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I feel like I came in right in the midst
of a good story and I was ready to hear
the rest of it. I feel like I ruined everything.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
In a nutshell. Last week, we did a Patreon we
have a Patreon root here, and we did a Drink
While You Think, and so we were drinking for an hour.
I'm playing a game and chat. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
There was more drinking than thinking. Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Chad proceeded to drink while he had two more podcasts
film and he was bombed because he just kept conceiving alcohol.
So he was just telling me how drunk he was
by the third and.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I had to be serious by the third one.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Too, and it was so hard.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
So I tried so hard to focus, and they were
probably the best podcasts you ever did. Because you're faded
looking at it right here, I'm looking at it.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Sorry on the left hand side. I had to I
went thirty five minutes.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
And eight seconds drunk.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Stone faced, but drunk.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Remember zero.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
I don't remember a thing about.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
What I talked about. I really don't thought I.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Was so I had like Wiki Sei Baseball reference. I
had all these screams up to keep me like looking.
I was so god, I have no idea. I can't
listen to the back because it's going to be a
Macti stake.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That is terrible. You should be ashamed of. I'm Matt.
First of all, I feel bad because we were Matt
and I were in Disney World at the same park
on the same day, and we never crossed the towns.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I heard this. I only heard this as I was exiting,
that you were there, and I was like, wait a second,
I let's go back in the park.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Run into She very key. I believe you were with
the friends of both of ours. She had sent us
to text, and I believe you guys were where. We
had just left home and we just got the kids
snacks and we were exhausted and sweating, and she's like, oh,
come go to the other side of the park.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
You know. Yeah, No, I don't know how you handle
I can barely manage Disney World by myself with kids
and stuff. I don't know how you guys.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Let me tell you. If you ever, I don't know
if you want children or not. But when you go, oh,
I'm sorry, that's okay to each the room. But when
you go with your children and you see things through
their eyes, it is the most rewarding feeling ever and
it makes me so happy and I'm just I don't know,
(03:20):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
On the other hand, I did go to Disney as
a child with my father and my cousin and my grandfather,
I believe, and me and my cousin like went off
to do something and my dad was like, come back
to this very spot as soon as you're done, And
of course we didn't do that because we were kids.
If we're gone for about two and a half hours,
and I'm sure I caused my dad like to have
a heart attack that day. So, you know, the wonder
(03:43):
of children at Disney.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
In Disney, that's scary because there's a million people there.
And if you hear mom, like when I hear mom
at Disney, even if my kids are next to me,
I'm like, who said that? There's eighty seven million children there?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Like, is it?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
My kid is it someone else this.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
You don't know. Yeah, well back up after being missing
for about two and a half hours with those giant
turkey legs if they sell at Disney, thinking like, no
big deal, my dad in your hand. Oh yeah, I'm like,
I'm literally like in fifth grade. It's just after being
gone for two hours with a giant turkey leg my dad,
I can see from far away sweating pacing. I'm like, oh,
(04:23):
we messed up right now?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And were you punished?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Oh? I thought we were leaving. I thought we were
never going to come back. But you know, by the
time we got to the gate, I think my grandfather
talked him out of being so bad. So what what
normally happens with all bad kids is that you're you're
you're forced to go to Epcot, you know what I mean.
I think that's what you're bad at Disney, You're forced
to go to Epcot. As an adult, I love Epcot,
but as you like, please nothing but Epcot. I'd rather
(04:49):
go back to the hotel.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
But but back then, Epcot sucked now for kids, but
I remember like back then it was like, oh, you
want to learn, go to yeah exactly, And I didn't
want to trip after that.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, you have a point.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
See I never went as a child. I never went
to Disney as a child. We went to Wildwood, New
Jersey every year for two weeks. That was our big vacation.
I went as an adult for the first time when
I was in a c W. Yeah, and fell in
love with it. And then, you know, ever since I
got married, we just started going every single year. We
(05:27):
go for two weeks and that's our that's our big,
big deal. But I felt so bad. I was like, man,
if we weren't here already for like six hours and
the kids were just melting, they were just sitting there
with their popsicles and melting, And I said, I totally
would have ran to say hello. So I apologize for that.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I don't know how you juggle kids in Disney, so
pulling that off, I love it?
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Are you a big mark for Disney?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Now as an adult, I enjoy it so much more
now you know, I'm in a theme park guy and
general Like as a kid, you know, a big trip
for us was always to go to a different theme park.
I would go to the Six Flags in New Jersey
a bunch. They had finally brought a six Flags up
to New England, Busch Gardens of West Virginia. But I
have to say, like now, you know, as far as
the Florida theme parks go, nothing touches Busch Gardens in
(06:18):
Tampa Garden. That's exactly why. Like you know, the the
coasters in Tampa that at that Busch Gardens, no one
can touch it. Like the experience obviously at Disney and
Universal is awesome. And like I went down Hollywood, are
horror nights at Universal so good? I'm so scared it's
(06:40):
worth it. It is awesome.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I would need to depend. I would crap my pants.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
There's my life, well, you know, pack of diaper and
head on down there for October, because I think it's
definitely worth it, even for you know, destroying a pair
of pants or two. But I love to.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Do it and blog it or go live on Twitch,
or do it for the site because I am the
biggest bab I hate Halloween. I'm not gonna lie, like
I know I hate it.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, dresses up to the complete like highest extent with
you know, make up.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I do it for the people. I absolutely hate it.
It's not my deal, but I think it would be
funny if I did something like that because my dream
is to live in Florida. Like that's what we're working on.
We want to relocate eventually, do it. And so I
want to I want to like leave wrestling and.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Be a lagger, you know, It's it's the way to go.
I mean, more people are streaming and debuting stuff like
twitch than than anything else these days. It seems like
I think people would would fall If you're that terrified
of Halloween. I think I will tune in for you
walking around horror nights down at Universal because they do
such a good job of it. It's uh, it's it's
(07:53):
not terrifying, I don't think, but it's for someone that
I think would be, you know, a little jumpy during Halloween.
I would be pretty entertained watching you walk through some
of those houses.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
It's not a little dream. It's absolutely horrifying. I can't
I went in one haunted house my whole life and
we got kicked out.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
It's we almost got kicked out of a haunted house
in Vegas one time as the Ring of Honor group
and just as a quick story, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
They had all these people jump up and like grab
you and whatnot, and they had a little person in
a costume come out of this tiny door and everyone
thought it was just like a mechanical thing. So one
of the guys like fake superkicked it, like didn't come
close to it, but I guess on their cameras it
looked like someone just super kicked this little person as
(08:45):
we were walking through. So all sense security came through
and I had to be the dad of the group
and be like, oh no, we're wrestlers. He didn't come
anywhere close. Please.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Took a lot of money when we went through. I
went through with like Tommy Dreamer and signed guy Dudley
and his girlfriend and it was the four of us
and the guy from Scream with the white man. You know,
that white mask had a knife and he went like
this to me and he stabbed my arm, like yeah, yeah,
(09:18):
he kind of got me. And I remember Dreamer threatened
him and while he was getting threatened, Jason, is he
the one with the he whispered in my ear, your
friend's not that bryant Izzy and I turned around. I
started calling a primo on him, and they were just
like you have to leave.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Through this, like this whole group out of here. I mean,
I don't know, I feel like, you know, maybe we're
we're not as compatible as I thought. I have a
giant screen poster in my my theater room as I U.
Literally that face is the I love horror movies.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
You know it's I love I Okay, I loved horror
movies until I became a mother.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Now because the kid's eyes.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
No, I envisioned bad things happening to my kids, like
and it's I think. And I thought I was crazy,
but I asked other mothers and they agreed with me.
So it's a mother thing. I can't watch horror anymore.
I was a big Trauma Mark too, Like I loved
Lloyd Kaufman and Trauma and I had like forty of
the movie sold them all. I was like, I can't
(10:26):
watch it. No, it makes me very nervous.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I guess that's a little more understandable. See, I only
have to worry about myself. So I'm like, I gotcha,
horror movies.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Well, before we go into your career, because I want
to talk about r Oh. I want to know the
story because I just know this much. What is the
third boob story? And you know what I'm talking about?
Speaker 2 (10:52):
You know what's funny is that I just moved to
a new place. So I was trying to actually, when
I knew I was going to do this, trying to
find that photo so bad it must be still at
my parents' house in New Hampshire. But like, well, so
I grew up in the Northeast, I grew up in Hampshire.
I lived in Boston after that, and you know, we're
out of New Hampshire Derry, New Hampshire, so literally next
(11:13):
to the Ice Center in Salem where you guys used
to come for ECW because.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
My dad's from My dad was from Manchester.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, fifteen minutes up the road. Okay, so
I'm a New Hampshire guy, and you know my dad,
I would talk him into driving me and my friends
to go see ECW, whether it was at you know,
at a Revere at Wonderland or in Salem at the
Ice Center. And my dad's not a wrestling guy or fan.
He never understood why I loved wrestling so much. But
(11:43):
he would drop us off at ECW as like a twelve, thirteen,
fourteen year old kid, and he had no idea what
he was dropping us off at.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
So by the.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Way, he just thought it was wrestling and he was
in a wrestling fan, so he was like, oh, I'll
pick you guys up after the show or whatever, and
I'll never forget. Like one time in particular, Steve Carino
had threw his hair back and he was bleeding and
he just got blood all over me. And so like
my dad picks me up. I'm like thirteen or fourteen.
(12:13):
My dad picks me up, I'm covered in sweat and
blood and I smell like someone's beer. That's where are
what is this that I'm dropping you guys off at?
So you know, my dad was already kind of weird
enough by ACW but then my mom put I put
this picture up that I happened to get at that show,
and it's literally mean you and you. All you could
(12:34):
do was like there was a table and they weren't
letting like me get right next to you, so you
had to like lean forward into the picture. So it's
my head as like a thirteen year old and you're cleavage,
so it just looks like like the size of my
head is the same as as your boob's there. So
it's just like, you know, three boobs in a row.
And I had that like right up on top of
(12:55):
my you know, like my desk at or my dresser
at home. My mom was like, what are you guys
doing where where?
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Probably said, what a pig girl.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Oh, I'm like I was like coming home covered in
blood pictures of me and you you know, a lot
of cleavage in the picture. I was like, this is
the greatest thing ever. You guys don't understand. ECW is
the best and so uh. The most memories from those
shows have nothing to do with the matches themselves. It
always has to do with like, you know, things like
(13:27):
that or like Tommy, I had a w CW sucks
sign one time because I thought it was so cool.
It was like a thirteen year old and Tommy Dreamer
like found me afterwards. It was like I saw you
walking around with your WCW sucks sign and like, give
me something else to sign. I'm not going to sign that,
and like it was just so cool. I saw Ball's
mahone again, a fight with a fan, you know, this
(13:48):
classic ECW stuff that yeah, that, Like I can barely
remember the matches themselves, but it was the experience of
always being something always went down at like Wonderland too
and Revere that's Mass Transit happened.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yet where the doll graces were.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Yes, yeah, yeah, so I wasn't there for mass transit
and uh but like after that, everyone knew that that
you know, was that had happened. So everyone was so
rowdy at those shows. I just remember being a kid,
like trying to survive as and not be trampled as
Like guys would fight in the crowd and I'd be
getting pushed and I'd be like, this is the greatest
(14:25):
day of my life.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
I love it, And did you want to get into
the business at that point.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I've wanted to be a wrestler since I was six
years old. Like I saw wrestling on TV my my
great uncle, I guess my grandfather's brother was like a
huge wrestling fan and he got me into it as
a kid staying over our house one weekend just he
was watching it and I like sat down and was hooked.
Ever since, my parents had no they did not get
it at all, and I broke every piece of furniture
(14:51):
they ever owned it even more, you know, doing all
this wrestling every pillow I can find and stuff, and
they never like they were always like, okay, yeah, you
want to be a wrestler, go to college. So once
I was done with college and stuff, and I had
like a I actually started working for the New England
Patriots and the New England Revolution right after college, working
(15:13):
in the office, and it just wasn't for me. Like
I was at this cubicle every day, and even though
it was cool, like the experience with the team, I'll
never forget. Like I called my dad and was like,
you know what, I think I'm going to try to
be a wrestler. And I thought he was going to
talk me out of it and be like, go back inside,
go go back to your job. Stop stop calling me
(15:34):
with this nonsense. And he was like, you're only young once,
you know do if you want to go for it.
And I was like, I'm walking inside right now to quit.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
And this was all in my mind that because I
had the same epiphany. I was working in an insurance
company in a cubicle and I called my dad and
I said, I can't do this anymore now. If you
think I'm lying, go back and listen to any interview
I've ever done. And I knew I was going to
(16:01):
probably start wrestling school that summer, and my Dad's like,
go quick, come down the shore for a while, get
your head clear and then start what you want to do.
So it must be that New England blood and it must.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
It must be because like I, honestly, you know, I
had started kind of I knew someone that, like a
friend of mine who I used to backyard wrestle with,
had started wrestling on the indies, and so like I
knew like someone that was doing it, and I was
kind of checking out what he was doing, kind of
figuring out if I could train here or there. And
I remember like coming up with this game plan. But
(16:34):
in the back of my mind, I was like, my
parents are going to say you're an idiot, and then
I'm going to look at all the bills I have
to pay and be like what are you doing? And
I couldn't believe that they were like, yeah, go for it.
And my mom, who's the sweetest and but her biggest
concern is always me getting hurt, you know, was always
very like, uh, do you want to do that? Why
(16:56):
don't you try to be an actor or something? But
now she's like my biggest band, Like everybody play something
that's like the first like I see is like my mom,
I'm like, oh.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, you huh who ended up training you when you
decided this is what you're going.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
To do well very e c W. This is an
e CW all the way around. Spike Dudley uh trained me.
So I got into like the New England indie scene,
and Spike had was training at Top Road Promotions, a
place called the Lock Up Academy. He had had started
running in Fall River, and I kind of didn't know
(17:33):
what I was doing. I was just you know, bouncing
around trying to get advice and have anyone train me.
And someone came to me and was like, listen, if
you really want to do this, Spike Dudley has a school.
And so I was living in Boston at the time,
and then I just started driving, you know, the hour
down the Fall River every every other day to train
with Spike, and you know, it worked out in the end.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
I may, I think you're doing pretty good for yourself. Jeez,
Yi is great.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
And another and like, I didn't know what I was
getting into, you know, I didn't know anything about necessarily
Spike as a human. I just knew what I saw
on TV. So I'm like, man, I'm going to Spike
Doudle school. What is this going to be like, is
it's going to be like easy, I know nothing. At
the time, I'm like, am I going to be, you know,
doing ECW hardcore type try trading? And Spike just blew
(18:23):
my mind with the amount of knowledge that he had
about every like technical wrestling, bad grappling, high flying. He
knew everything. He was just so smart that he knew
that this was his path to to make money in
the business, and you know, really went for it. But
I always I always bring up there's a match between
Spike and Rob Van dam that's like on a house
(18:43):
show at ECW that I like found one time going
through the vhs' is at the Old School and we're like,
Spike looks more like Rob van Damn than Rob van
dam does. He's doing all this high flying, so he's
like blowing my mind, Like, Spike, where why didn't you
do this all the time? He's like, because I wasn't
going to make money being the small guy doing the
same stuff RBD was doing. They I was going to
(19:04):
make money get it beat up. And I was like, yep, yeah,
I know nothing about wrestling, please. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
His deal was just getting thrown in the audience and
then the fans ate that up. It didn't matter if
it happened once or a million times. They just that
spot was like iconic and they loved it.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
So he was great. He was great to me. And
still you know, to this day, when if I go
back up to Rhode Island or Massachusetts, you know, I'll
try to find a way to see him here and there.
But it seems like he's doing good. He's got a
family now and yeah like that. So you know, thank you, Spike,
Thanks very much.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
I love that. So so you start training, when do
you get your first big break? And how do you
transfer over to r oh So, Like.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
It's weird because I feel like a lot of things
happened very quickly for me, and and it was I
think more because New England had there was so many places,
so many schools, so many so many companies in New
England and then also in New York and New Jersey.
That whole Northeast from Philadelphia to Boston is just a
hotbed of wrestling. And you know, it's like almost like
(20:10):
being born, like raising a pressure cooker where it's like
you got to kind of find your way out of here,
and there's so much pressure in this little area that
diamonds are going to just start shooting out of it.
And there's so many good guys that came from that area,
Mike Bennett, Tomso, war Beard Hanson or Ivar whatever he
is now, and it's like all those guys, we're all
(20:32):
at like the same age at the same time, in
the same place, and we're all kind of we're like,
I don't care how far it is, We're getting in
the car together. We're going everywhere. And it just happened
very very quickly. And there's a place up in the
Northeast called Northeast Wrestling that they get you know, they
do baseball stadiums. They have great, huge shows up there.
(20:54):
And I was just going to do Ring Crew one
time and some guy ended up dropping out of the
show last minute. I had my gear next thing.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I watch the most important thing, always bring your gear
bag with you.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Of course, of course, the next thing I know, I'm
in the ring with Big Daddy V getting like squashed.
I'm like, I have no I'm so green, I have
no business being in the ring with anyone at this point,
And like, those pitches will be iconic for me forever
because it was like the first time that it was
like something big that I did. And after that I
(21:28):
just started kind of rolling with Northeast Wrestling and really
kind of my friendships with other people from Tomaso and
Mike Bennett, and as they were they had been in
the business a little bit longer, so as they were
kind of going to other places, I would just really
tag along and be like, hey, I know, if you
need anyone here, I am uh And I would do
that at a Ring of Honor, And it was just one
(21:49):
of those things where the same situation after a certain
amount of time, if you're that kid that's always around
helping out and it's just there and has their gear,
there's going to be a time where they need to
fill up position. And the same thing happened with Ring
of Honor. And I always kind of told myself, you know,
these opportunities don't come every day, so like, if you
have the chance to do it and get in front
(22:11):
of people, yet you have to come ready to impress.
So I did a bunch of darks for for Ring
of Honor for a while, really almost for like a
year and a half two years, and then finally, you know,
one day, Jim Cornett came up to me and was like,
Matt Tavian, I always thought you were a puppy with
big pause. It's time for you to grow into those
big paus. I think we want to sign you to
(22:32):
a contract. I was like, I don't know what any
of that what you just said, besides you to a contract,
I'm all for it.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
So I don't know what that means. But let's go.
So what year is this.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Now, Jim Cornett, no one here, Oh, this is twenty twelve.
So like I signed, h you know, January one, twenty
thirteen with Ring of Honor, And it was like it
was crazy. There was so much of us that signed
at the same as that time, me Adam Page, Sallas
Young and we're still at Ring of Honor. Ah, we
all signed on the same day, q T. Marshall, and
(23:06):
it was just kind of like a new class had
come in and we were like, and I look back
at it now. I just was at Jay Lethos school
last night and he's got all these old DVDs a
Ring of Honor, and I'm pulling them out and reading
them and I'm like, man, this is like year one
for me, and I have no business being on this
show with any of these all the you know, it's
(23:26):
like Kevin Owens and Claudio and and you know, Chris Heiro.
It's like all these guys that are so good. I
was like, I had no business being on that show
at that time, but I'm glad I was able to
stick it out and stick around for so long.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
See the thing with you and and I'm this the
first time we're actually meeting, but you're you're humble, which
is so nice to see. It's it's refreshing.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Because a lot of ruin my gimmick, your own gimmick.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
By the way you're handling yourself. But he's very attractive
to see because there's a lot of guys who come
in and think that they're the shit right away and
they should be, you know, on top right away, and
they don't want to pay dues and you know, or
they come they come from a you know, they were
on TV as an actor or they did this or
(24:13):
they did that, and they think they're entitled and right
away they should be in a main event spot. So
you sound like you came in the correct way. You
had your mouth shut, listened, you had your gear bag,
you're ready to do. So it's nice to hear.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
I'm sure there'd be plenty of people that say I
had my mouth open, because you know, I'm sure I
ruffled a plenty of feathers along the way. But I agree,
I think that that's one of the most important things.
And luckily as things started evolving in the New England
wrestling scene, you know, there was an opening for kind
of like a new school to pop up with a
(24:49):
promotion up there called the XWA. So me and Mike
Bennett started helping train at the school and that was
one of the biggest things that we would tell people, like,
you're not entitled to anything in wrestling, you know. I
and not to name drop, but I can remember Sean
Michaels saying to like a group of us one time,
like wrestling will make zero sense. It makes no sense,
(25:09):
So stop trying to make sense of it because you'll
drive yourself crazy. All you have to do is continue
to try to do what you're doing and hopefully something breaks.
And you know, I can't tell you how many guys
come in, especially guys that and it's I understand it.
Guys that come from athletic backgrounds, or come from MMA
or some shoe fighting. They'll come in thinking like I
(25:29):
can beat everyone's ass here, Why am I not the champion? Eat? Like,
it doesn't work like that. There's so much more than
just the competition that comes in the ring that you know,
it's nice to kind of pass those lessons down. And
I have to really credit like guys like Mike Bennett
who were always super humble and that they were, you know,
bringing me along to places, and I was kind of
(25:51):
seeing how humble they were and how people will respond
to it. And it's like, Okay, I know nothing about wrestling,
but I know that if you're you know, you know,
Tony tough Nuts over here saying that you should be
champed and like you're too good to set up the chairs,
you're not going to get very far, right.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Yeah, So this is funny. So I used to go
to all those ROH shows, you know, back in your
early days when you were just you know, like you said,
in the dark matches and you could see, you know,
as you worked your way up the card. But what
was interesting about that is exactly what you're saying is
you kind of saw rowhs would always fill the gaps
with whoever left, they would be that next guy up
and anybody who was in those early matches, they were
(26:27):
there for a reason. And to see where you are now.
It's fascinating because I was there at the beginning at
those shows, and you see those guys that you just
mentioned as everybody kind of moved up. You see the
guys who started the bottom move up with them, so
they So how much did you really like kind of
take stock in the spots that you were given at
that point scene, how everybody in r wh kind of
(26:48):
progressed on as they went along.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
I mean, and you're one hundred percent right. It's fill
to this day. You can see all the guys that
are up, you know on ROH started down here underneath
you in dark matches and stuff like that. I personally
was picking up on the same thing that you're talking about, was, Okay,
they're putting you in these spots for a reason because
they want to see if you can go, if you
can move up the ladder here. And there's one match
(27:10):
in particular that really I kind of owe my whole
career on. Mike Mondo was down. He was there at
Ring of Honor at the time, and he kind of
felt like he was a little bit stagnant that he
needed to do something, and they put us in a
match where I really was just to get Mike Mondo
over and Mike was like, listen, both of us need
(27:31):
to really kind of do something today to get on
everyone's radar. And again I'm still like, you know, like
four years in, like show me whatever you think about,
and he kind of came up with something that had
like we're in Baltimore and I'll never forget, like I've
never had anyone chant my name or anything like that,
and there's people are chanting Tavin. I'm like, oh my god.
We had a six minute match that literally when I
(27:54):
walked out, I was grabbed by the Ring of honor
guys and said like, okay, we're going to do something
year and xyz down the line. And it was really
just because Mike Mondo saw something in me and said
like I can do something with this that not only
is going to get myself over, but we'll get him
over as well. And I couldn't be any more gracious
(28:15):
towards him for that night because there's who knows what
would happen to me if if that match never happens.
But without a doubt, the reason why I've been in
Ring of Honor for the last eight years is because
of that one match underneath going with Mike Mondo, and I.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Think I was there for that, to be honest with you,
Itered No, it triggered something and I just again, I
remember you would see him on the cart in those
early spots and you saw obviously he had something. And
anybody that they put that emphasis on you had to
put stock in as a fan because they had their
eye on him. So whether they were telling you or not,
and they were no selling you, you know, behind the scenes,
(28:50):
you could just see from the product itself who was
going to be the next minted guys of r WAH.
And that was always something that I love to watch
about it, you know when r.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Waits really was.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
I mean, it's still, you know, the great presence they have,
but back then it was like if it's a guy,
roh guy, you got to keep your eye on them.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
That's ruere.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
And it's funny because I have to have those same
conversations with like younger guys today that are just getting
into the Ring of Honor. They're like, oh my god,
I don't know what I'm doing. I'm like, there's a
reason why you're in this spot, you know what I mean,
they see something in you in the future. They're just
it's a slow build, you know what I mean. It's
and and I think I'm you know, I don't want
(29:27):
to say I'm humble, but I think I come off
as humble because I went up that slow build and
I could. I felt like that was the way to
go as a wrestling fan in general. You know, I've
been a wrestling fan, like I said, since I was
six five, six years old, the people that worked their
way up. You know, I grew up a six year
old in love with Brett Hard thinking he's the coolest
(29:49):
guy ever. And to see him go from like the
tag titles he hits to contact the title to when
finally he was wrestled for the world title, it felt like,
that's my guy. Here's the beginning. I made this happen
so like I kind of always felt the same thing
as like, as as the wrestler that I want to
be in my career, I always wanted to be that
guy that worked his way up, and you know, luckily
(30:11):
I was able to do that and Ring of Honor.
There was some speed bumps along the way, some setbacks,
but always got kind of back in the in the
into the position I wanted to and and you know,
I really always had in mind from that first day
that eventually I wanted to be the Ring of Honor
World Champion.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Yeah. I think everybody who gets into wrestling has that
dream world champ.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Yeah right. I've had so many homemade belts or you know,
at the little plastic belts and stuff like that that
I was like, here, here I am in Madison Square guarded,
I'm the champion, and for like one day for that
to finally come true. It's still you know, I talk
about it a lot in interviews, but it doesn't feel
real to me at the same time, you know what
(30:56):
I mean, like it happened and all that stuff. But
at the same time, it feels like almost like I
watched a movie that I happened to the end.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
It's it's I almost remember it more through the eyes
of other people than I do.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Yeah, totally understand. I look back, because you know, I've
been kind of semi retired. I do little things here
and there, but I look back and I say, I
don't know how to hell, I did ninety percent of
the stuff that I did, and it's like it's like
a dream to me, It's like that really happened, because
like at this stage, I'm gonna be fifty years old.
(31:29):
I would never in a million years do anything like
that at this stage in my life. But back then,
you know, you're invincible. You're in your twenties and thirties
and you're above the law and no one can touch you,
and you know, it's it's surreal.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Fifty.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
I'll be fifty in February.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
You don't have to tell anyone that you look for
your because like you, I have fifty.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
That caught me off, Duard, Oh well.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Thank you. Well. Now, remember when we the boot shot,
I was probably like twenty five.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Yeah, I know, and that just makes me think like
the years ago and by on my end too. So
I'm trying to be like, no, none of us, we're
still young. We're very worry about it.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
You're fine. I asked this question to a lot of people.
I already know the answer, but I want to hear
you say it. Do you prefer heal or babyface heal?
Of course.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I mean, it's just so much fun and like I've
always kind of I don't know, I always had this
weird relationship with the Ring of Honor fans. I'm very
much baby face with the female fans, but like the
male fans of all hated me no matter what. So
(32:45):
like to be able to like tell them exactly how
I felt for a long time. Oh that was good stuff.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Why are we not healing the women, Matt? What is
Why are we being a baby face to the ladies.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Well, you know what, I would try to be a
heel to everyone. It just seems like they loved it,
so you know what I mean, Like, I don't know
how to make them hate me. And at one point,
no matter what I said, it would get a female
cheer and a male hard male booth.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
So you mean to tell me, if you pick a
lady out of the front row and you call her
every name in the book, and you tell her she's
so ugly and this, that and the other thing, you're
going to get cheered.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
I might actually get cheered for that from the from
the male guy. The guys that if I went and
buried one girl, the other girls in the crowd would
be like, yep, that's right, because I don't know.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Girls aren't loyal to one another. Let's be honest, that's true.
We can roll over with the woman if I buried
one chick in particular.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
That's hilarious. Well, you know. And and for merch I'm
sure the ladies like to show off the merchandise as well.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
I mean, you know, I have a lot of purple merchandise,
which it's a lot better on women than it does men,
it seems.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Well. I am so excited for you. What's coming up
for you in r oh now.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Yeah, we're finally back back at it. You know, we
we've Sinclair Broadcasting. I feel that it's such a good
job during the pandemic just making sure they you know, dotted,
all their eyes crossed, all their t's, made sure that
everyone at Ring of Honor not only was financially okay
because they they didn't miss a beat, which is kind
of crazy. That okay, And like, and this is something
(34:31):
that you know, a lot of people don't know. And
I try to get out there just because I feel
like Ring of Honor doesn't get the credit for it.
But there was stuff right before the pandemic hit, like
a women's tournament in April and these shows in March,
the past first Present show in March where they were
bringing in a lot of people that weren't weren't under
Ring of Honor contracts, that were just coming in for
one shots and stuff. All that stuff had to be
(34:53):
canceled because of the pandemic. But Sinclair and Ring of
Honor paid every single person that was booked for any
single one of those shows, not even if you weren't
under contract anything, if you have been contacted by Ring
of Honor and they had told you they were going
to book you, they made good on their word for
every single person.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
That is a rarity in this vale.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
And and you know, I've been in the wrestling business
long enough at this point is to know how rare
that is. And it's just it's crazy to see it,
to see it done from from Sinclair. We're like no
questions asked, almost like it was just not even a nope,
Everyone's gonna taken care of And uh now we're we're
you know, we're seeing the light at the end of
(35:34):
the tunnel. We're finally having fans back in the building.
July eleventh on pay per view in Baltimore. So for
me personally, it's it's been this weird time where the
fans are everything you know for wrestlers, and it's it's
really it's been so different. As much as I've loved
the products that Ring of Honor has been putting out,
without the fans, it's just not the same, you know
(35:56):
what I mean. You hit that Matt and you don't
hear a response, and it's like, oh, oh, do I
even want to get up at this point, especially.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
As a heel, you're drawing your energy from the crowd.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Well, so that was the other thing. So during the pandemic,
I've had two surgeries, came back from injury, reunited with
my tag partner who I haven't wrestled with in five years,
turned babyface now the first time, and for all of this,
I'll be in front of a crowd for the first time.
So it's like, my god, there's been you know, there's
(36:30):
been some I don't want to say missed opportunities because
like they were, they were still came off really well.
But I just could only imagine what my return would
have been. That would have been like in front of
a crowd, what me and Mike Bennett reuniting after all
this time would have been like crowd And so like
now it kind of feels like We're gonna get in
front of that crowd. I want to show you everything
that we've been doing this last couple of months. So
(36:51):
I'm just so excited to kind of be back to
normal life. And it seems like July July eleventh, know
that all starts, and then we'll be back in the
ECW Arena for two nights in August as well, uh
twentieth and twenty first. And you know that Philly crowd
if you've missed the if you've missed fans, that Philly
(37:12):
crowd will really give you a shot of life in
the arm one way or the other. You know, the
usually the biggest fans on that team, and so I'm
sure I'll get a lot of booze, but at the
same time, it will be like just hearing anything at
this point exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Well, it sounds like you have a lot on your
plate and I'm very, very excited for you again, everybody.
June eleventh, r oh, pay per view, I'm sorry July eleventh, Yeah,
today's what the twenty four July eleventh?
Speaker 2 (37:41):
What are you?
Speaker 1 (37:43):
What are you streaming on for this pay per view?
Speaker 2 (37:45):
What's we're on regular pay per view? On all your
cable providers. But you know, the smartest thing to do
is to sign up for Honor Club. It's only ten
bucks a month. You get the pay reviews, you get
the TV, you get all the house shows and stuff
like that.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
So can they got r o H dot com and
the Honor Club.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Yep, r o H Wrestling dot com. You can find
the Honor Club and that way you don't you don't
miss the ship. And it's a little tough for us
because we don't have normal house shows. Every single thing
goes up on the Honor Club, so you can't take
a night off. But at the same time, it keeps
us going one hundred and tent percent.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
All right, well that's exciting. July eleventh, all right, we're
gonna we're gonna tune into that. And where can people
find you if they want to know more about Matt Tavan?
Speaker 2 (38:29):
So if you can spell Tavan, which it seems very easy,
but I've had people screw this up so much over
the years.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
It's not Tavn.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
It's Tavin, Tavern, not Tavern, not Taven. I don't know.
People screw it up anyway. Right the first time, it's
Rome's a raven and Maven and you know all that
got tan right, So if you can spell Tavan a
V and I'm on all social media platforms, Matt Tavan
on Facebook, on Twitter, be Matt Tavan on Instagram. Because
(39:00):
some Melvin tried to take Matt Tavan from me and
then hold it hostage, I said, screw that. Be Matt Tavan, buddy.
So I hope you're good with that handle. You know,
Matt Taven up for wrestling tease. Like I said, if
you can spell Tavan, you can.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
You can find me, all right, do it simple Google
search and he's.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Up.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
Well, hopefully we are. We'll be back in Disney the
end of January February, so maybe I'll please we could
go on a safe ride together. I don't do those
big roller coaches. Yeah, no, we'll go. Maybe we'll go
Winnie the Pooh or something. That'll be. But it was
a delight to finally sit down and chat with you.
(39:41):
I wish you nothing but success. And if you ever
could find the old picture, we'll take a new one
and we could do a side by side and it'll
be hilarious and we'll show your mother and she'll love it.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
My mom would be she'll be like something's just never
changed with you. Huh. But I literally have to I
hold myself. I have to find this picture just to
recreate it. So I'm going to hold you to that.
I'm going to find it. We're going to redo this.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
My husband is the coolest man on the planet. He's
just like he doesn't care.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
Well. I mean, you're literally like there's a table between us,
so there's plenty of social distance between us, so we
can It's it's more of like I'm leaning like a
little kid and you're leaning forward, and it's just magic happened.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
I love it. I can't wait to do it again.
Perfect well, honey's pleasure with everything. Can't wait to see
you on the July eleventh. And we'll keep in touch
for sure.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Yes, thank you guys so much for having me. Hopefully
we'll talk soon and hopefully i'll see him.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Disney sounds good. Special look to you. Damn Matt, take care.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (40:42):
And there he goes, here's where the missed opportunity was.
That's where he should have said, And that's the night
I wanted to become a pro wrestler. Oh, the blood,
the picture, the whole, perfect recipe to become a wrestler.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
I can't remember if he said where the signing was,
but it was probably had a mall. We probably had
sunglasses on and indoors because we were obnoxious like that
back then, which made the.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Sense of those pictures popping up too. I love that.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
I know, it's so funny. I saw another one recently.
Somebody put one up and I was just like, there's
another one. Where where are they? I was in a
video store the tapes behind me.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
That was awesome.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
Personally most okay, very good, but yeah, he seems like
a hell of a nice guy. So yeah, hopefully, uh,
you know, bigger and better things for him. And it
sounds like he's doing a great job. And people, please,
if you are going to book a cameo, please use
my link on Twitter. Do not use the site itself.
(41:47):
They take fifty five percent from talent. I don't know
if I'm supposed to tell you this or not, but
it really encouraged them. Tell them it really affects talent.
I mean, if you use talent link, they take twenty
five percent. If you book through the site, they take
fifty five. That's an extra thirty percent in a talent's pocket.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
It's unbelievable. That's like Apple.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Apple takes the extra thirty percent, So you know you're
supporting your favorite wrestlers. Just click the link that they provide.
It's not rocket science. All you have to do is
click the link in the tweet and we'll take care
of you. Do it for me, do it for us. Yeah,
and that's all I got. So hopefully everybody's staying safe
(42:32):
and healthy. And with that that is a wrap.
Speaker 6 (42:38):
Yeah, Francie, Francie franc Queen Extreme, the Extreme, The Queen
Extreme podcasts. It's the Queen Extreme Podcast. It's the Queen
(42:58):
of Extreme and the letter.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
She is the woman nifty dreams lettend on.
Speaker 6 (43:02):
The Scene frand Scene Podcast.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
What you mean?
Speaker 6 (43:05):
What your tramplady to show you what you need? You
been the stand the Queens from the Beginning of Time.
Odds here our Heart Radio, Shine only ahead and tell
you a story from the Where the Legend odds up here,
The Queen Nobody's Like Fresh scene IDEs up here here here,
The Queen Extreme Podcast odds up here here head the
(43:28):
Queen Extreme Podcast odds up here here hand the Queen
Extreme Podcast odds up here here, The Queen Extreme Podcast
podcast
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