May 24, 2025 • 40 mins
Get ready for a packed episode of Duke Loves Rasslin! This week, we're getting you hyped for one of the year's most anticipated wrestling events and catching up with a rising star who's taking the college scene by storm.
First Half: River City Wrestling Con - Get Hype!
The one and only Simon Sez drops by the podcast with an exclusive preview of what's going down at this year's River City Wrestling Con! With tickets OVER 90% SOLD OUT, this may be your last chance to get in on the action. Simon gives us the inside scoop:
- Star-Studded Meet & Greets: Get ready to meet legends and current stars! Wrestlers confirmed for meet and greets include (but are not limited to!):
- "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair
- Bret "The Hitman" Hart
- Sylvia Sanchez of WOW Women of Wrestling
- Bobby Lashley
- Kurt Angle
- Booker T
- Epic In-Ring Action: Simon teases some of the incredible matches fans will witness, featuring a mix of established names and the hottest independent talent.
- Cosplay Championship: Get your best wrestling-themed costumes ready! Simon shares details about the highly anticipated cosplay contest and the amazing prizes up for grabs.
- Gamer's Paradise: Learn all about the video game tournaments and dedicated gaming zone where fans can battle it out in their favorite wrestling games and other popular titles.
- Don't Miss Out! Tickets are flying fast for River City Wrestling Con. Head to rivercitywrestlingcon.com RIGHT NOW to secure your spot before it's too late! Act now – you don't want to miss this incredible fan experience!
Second Half: Kayleigh "Bug" Savage - College Life & TikTok Stardom!
The second half of the show features an inspiring update from college wrestling phenom, Kayleigh "Bug" Savage! Kayleigh checks in with Duke to discuss:
- Leveling Up: Her exciting and challenging transition from high school wrestling to the collegiate level – the training, the competition, and finding her place.
- TikTok Takedowns: How she's unexpectedly become a TikTok sensation, sharing her journey and connecting with fans in a whole new way.
- Family: The Ultimate Cheat Code: Kayleigh opens up about the incredible importance of keeping her family close, and why their support is the ultimate "cheat code" for navigating life's challenges and achieving her dreams.
Tune in for an episode packed with wrestling convention madness and an uplifting chat with one of the sport's brightest young talents!
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**All views expressed on Duke Loves Rasslin are that of whomever is expressing them. If you like it great. If you don't like it, great! #PullUpYourSkinnyJeans **
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#DukeLovesRasslin #RiverCityWrestlingCon #RCWC #SimonSez #WrestlingConvention #MeetAndGreet #RicFlair #BretHart #Kane #KurtAngle #Cosplay #WrestlingCosplay #VideoGameTournament #WrestlingGames #SupportIndieWrestling #KayleighBugSavage #CollegeWrestling #NCAAWrestling #TikTokStar #WomensWrestling #FamilySupport #WrestlingPodcast #Podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
OK, let's talk about this insanelineup coming to River City
Wrestling Con 2025, because it is stacked.
First of all, Mr. Style and Profile and the Nature Boy
himself, Ric Flair will be therefor the first time ever.
Then you've got Bret Hart, literally one of the greatest to
ever do it. Kane is pulling up too.
So yeah, you have Hellfire and brimstone energy coming in hot.
(00:24):
And if that wasn't enough, we'vegot Kurt Angle.
Olympic gold medalist, icon, Legend.
It's true, It's damn true. Let's not forget the almighty
Bobby Lashley will be in the building as well.
And the Big show, Literally a giant part of wrestling history.
Plus a whole bunch more like RobVan Damme, Katie Forbes, Tay
Melo, Sergeant Slaughter and still more names to come.
(00:47):
River City Wrestling Con 2025 isgoing to be wild.
There will be live wrestling meet and greets, Q&A sessions,
all of it. Tickets are flying, so if you
don't have yours yet, don't waitor you're going to be sitting at
home all sad with FOMO while allof your friends are meeting the
legends. It's all going down in the
historic city of Saint Augustine, June 7th and 8th, so
(01:07):
see you there. You are locked in.
Look at what we have. Here, folks, you're the only
show that matters. The queen of the crop.
Do. Gloves, wrestling and there is
no one that does it better than your house.
I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass.
(01:30):
And I'm all. Out of bubble.
Ladies and gentlemen, and I use those terms loosely, if you
don't know, you should know my name is Simon Says, the Emerald
Emperor of Professional Wrestling, the Jade General of
the Ring, the Mean Green Wrestling Machine, and you are
(01:52):
listening to Duke Loves Wrestling.
Brothers and sisters, the River City Wrestling Con is fast
approaching and I'm telling you right now, I've been warning
you, you want to get your tickets ahead of time.
Do not depend on the door. They are literally, literally
90% sold out. And there's a good reason for
(02:13):
that because there's so many of the great stars, so many of the
great up and coming stars, so many of the great people that
make it all go round are going to be there.
And that's why you, your Mama, your cousin, your girlfriend,
your wife, the mailman, they allgot to be there as well.
Speaking of people that make it all go around, I'm going to tell
(02:36):
you something right now. If there was a championship for
the MVP of RCWC, this man without a doubt would be the
defending champion. He is the man that knows the
trivia. He is the man that can manage.
(02:57):
He is the man that can make you feel good, piss you off and
everything in between. The man, the myth, the legend,
Mr. Simon Says. What's going on This Simon?
Mr. Duke, I have an entire room at Club says here, my Palatius
estate that is dedicated entirely to all the hats I wear
at River City. That's amazing.
(03:18):
Yeah. Now is, is your head that big or
do you have multiple heads? What's?
Going on Oh no, it's just I'm a man of many tasks I do have I do
have an increased cranium due tothe the the the sizeable brain
that it houses. But unbelievable, you know, just
hearing you say the word cranium, it makes me think of
Gorilla Monsoon. The the the upper protuberance.
Yes, yes. You'd pull out these words that
(03:42):
you don't hear too often so theystand out.
I love that. Listen, man, you, you're a guy
and you and I have talked about this for a few years.
I've given you your flowers personally.
Now it's time to do it on the air.
You're a guy that is highly regarded.
It is amazing how many people have reached out to me and have
told me that they are a fan of yours, you, that you're somebody
(04:04):
who is necessary to the atmosphere and that they they
enjoy every time they see you. Not just at River City, but at
all the different wrestling events and tribute and what have
you. Whatever you do down there in
that Florida area, people just really enjoy Simon Says.
How do you feel about receiving that type of feedback?
(04:25):
Well, Duke, you can let them know, and I've already told him
the checks in the mail. All right, you're paying them
off. You're a rich man.
Daddy Warbucks here, you're richman.
So that's why these folks are reaching out and telling me
these things. Yeah, I mean, the big thing with
me Duke has always been to to and it sounds so cliche.
And and I know that a lot of folks stated arbitrarily, but it
(04:47):
really is that there's no bettersentiment to express my
mentality as I've always just tried to carve my own path,
whether it's been as as a wrestler, as a manager, I I've
literally done every job there is to do in the business from
from commentary for ring Warriors season 1 and two.
I've held a camera, I've played music, I've I've ring announced
(05:08):
and and you know, I've got my comparisons.
When I first transitioned from managing to wrestling, people
compared me a lot to to Roddy Piper and Steve Carino.
When I had my dream match against Jerry the King Lawler.
He he told me that I reminded him so much of Andy Kaufman and
I told King, like I've told other people and like I'm going
to state it here on Duke loves wrestling.
(05:29):
I'm not I'm not the next anybody.
I'm the first Simon Says. You sure are.
You are the first. You're the first Simon Says that
I've ever met, so I don't know if that accounts for anything.
So yeah, I believe you, man. I'd certainly believe you.
You. You're the head cook and bottle
washer, as my Jamaican cousins would say at River City
Wrestling Con. I don't know how you managed to
(05:51):
do everything. You're managing.
You're making announcements, you're doing trivia, you're
doing this, you're doing that. Like, what the hell are you, The
Wizard of Oz? You know what I have been?
I have been likened to the Wizard.
There was a there was a short lived promotion here in Central
Florida called Manor Pro Wrestling Dinner Theater.
Very interesting concept and they affectionately began
(06:15):
referring to me as the Wizard ofthe Manor.
That's you I'm telling you, man,they they have accurately given
you a moniker that sticks. It's not a gimmick, it's a
lifestyle, I'm telling you. But let's talk about it,
brother. River City Wrestling Con First
and foremost, what are the datesand when do the doors open?
It is June 7th and 8th at Saint Augustine.
(06:40):
Doors open to VI PS at 10 PM, 10AM my apologies, and then to the
general public at 11 AM and the convention runs till 5.
World Golf Village, which is a very ritzy, upscale place.
So, you know, everybody has to wear their deodorant at the
World Golf Village. Don't be showing up smelling
sour there, folks. You know we don't do that.
(07:03):
And I will and I will call you out on it.
Cyber will get on the bike and play and call you out.
He's going to ask you, your wife, what your name is, and
then he's going to tell everybody, you know, Joe, Joey,
Big belly with the red shirt on,He's smelling like yesterday's.
And even not just the olfactory offense, if you look like you
smell like pee, I will make sureto put you on blast on the
(07:25):
microphone. Where your deodorant, please, we
beg of you. Seriously.
But anyway, Simon, what are someof the things that folks can
expect, especially when they seeyou at the River City Wrestling
Con? What are you going to be up to?
So primarily there at River City, the last four years I've
been known as the quizmaster, the trivia host.
(07:46):
My number one question I love toask all of our fans is who is
your favorite guest at River City and why am I?
Because I'm all over the place. I host trivia every hour on the
hour from 11:00 AM till 5:00 PM.I host a costume contest.
I I've managed Jack Talos every year in the past.
This year I'm shaking things up with my clients that I'll be
(08:09):
accompanying to the ring for thewrestling portion, I'm
everywhere. You can literally find me
roaming the floor at all hours if I'm not in the ring actively
performing my duties. And you can't really miss me
based on my attire. You'll never lose me in a crowd.
So I I literally do a little bitof everything.
And this year they've upped my duties as the Co host of the Q&A
(08:33):
sessions because the the individuals that they have had
in the past have been as intellectual as a fart and
they've had the charisma of a wet nap.
So of course they shown the bat signal, the emerald bat signal
in the sky and called upon my expertise.
And I will be your Co host for all of the Q&A sessions.
So we've got some pretty interesting ones lined up
(08:57):
Pretty. Interesting.
Q and as lined up do you, are you able to give us a spoiler
here? Do you what kind of Q and as you
have lined up? Duke, I will give you the
exclusive. I have not yet put out a list or
announced the names that I will be partaking in the Q&A sessions
of, but I'm going to drop some names for you.
How does Kane sound? Duke?
(09:19):
What about Kevin? Nash, Kevin Nash is going to be
doing Q&A too. Yes, Sir, DDP.
Wow. The entirety of the Hurt
Business. Wow, wow.
OK, Sir. And Conan.
And I'm going to, I'm just goingto wet your whistle with those
names. But there's a, there's a few
others that I'm going to keep tucked under my very expensive
(09:41):
hat. But yeah, those names.
I do believe this will be the first Q&A session with the
entirety of THE Hurt Business, Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley,
Cedric Alexander and MVP if I'm not mistaken.
Incredible, incredible. I I love that.
And and listen, those guys come highly regarded.
I have a hurt business shirt, sothat'll tell you everything you
(10:03):
need to know. It's one of my favorite shirts.
Still wear it. You can call yourself the hurt
syndicate all you want. You're going to be the hurt
business as far as I'm concerned.
Damn right. So I love that man.
So so you got the the Q and as down pat, you said you're still
going to be hosting the trivia. What else you cooking up?
Well I am bringing a couple of members of my Emerald Empire
(10:23):
stable that are running roughshod through FIP and WWN
here at Clearwater Full Impact Pro.
Two of these guys will be makingtheir debut at River City.
Never before seen talent. They are two hot prospects, 2
top independent free agents, Dirty Devin Diaz and Buckshot
Brian Brock, and those guys are such throwbacks.
(10:46):
Duke, those guys. I don't know how familiar you
are with either of those guys, but you know, I take on talent
as a manager because I see the monetary potential.
But I can honestly say with 0 hesitation that Devin Diaz and
Brian Brock are guys that I am such a genuine fan of.
Their looks, their attitudes, their work, their vibe, the
(11:08):
aura, all of it. And I'm bringing them to River
City. I love it.
I love it. I know exactly who you're
talking about there, 'cause Diaz, he, he got a, he got a
fresh mouth. He has a fresh mouth.
And I'm not surprised that you hang out with people like that,
Simon, because I know that you do as well.
So I'm going to be looking forward to seeing somebody
(11:29):
straighten out Diaz in particular.
You know, Brock is all right, but I don't know about this Diaz
character. You, you need to get away from
people like that. Yeah, he's he's got a bad
reputation. And it's honestly what allured
me to him the most because as you just referred to, I as I as
well have a reputation for having a silver tongue.
And that's why it's so surprising at the at the top of
(11:50):
the show when you mentioned thatpeople are fans of mine, because
I find that to be that the complete opposite case.
It's takes a very specially warped mind to openly admit that
you are a a fan of mine. I love it.
It's well, hey, I guess we're all warped.
We're on a Warped Tour here as we head on to the River City
Wrestling con by goodness gracious.
(12:13):
Is there any other hats that youwear there, Simon?
Are you going to be somewhere else somehow, someway Flash,
because you're you're bouncing around.
It sounds like you're going to be every, anywhere and
everywhere all at the same time.I really am everywhere, you
know, I contribute to the operations of the locker room.
You know, they don't call me Simon Says just cuz I need a
moniker. You know when Simon Says it,
(12:35):
people do it. So I am one of them.
The the people that is instrumental in ensuring that
the paying public of River City receives a quality card of
professional wrestling action. Folks, I'm telling you, everyone
from baby to grandma and everyone in between, you want to
be here. It is the premier family
(12:57):
friendly event, the River City Wrestling Con.
It is the most successful wrestling convention in all of
Florida, one of the most successful per capita in the
United States of America and there's a reason for that.
It is a great time. Folks like Simon Says are there
to make sure that the atmosphereis right, that we're having a
(13:19):
good time, that there's stuff todo in addition to some of the
big names who were going to be there, like you said, Kane and
and Kevin Nash, Conan. I know Thunder Rosa is coming
back this year. Sylvia Sanchez from, from Wow
Women of Wrestling, AKA Micah Madrid, she's making her
triumphant return. You know, Scotty Sosa, she's
(13:42):
going to be taking on Aaliyah. James, you heard that promo
battle that they had here, folkson, on Duke Loves Wrestling that
went viral. People are are clamoring.
They want to see what's going tohappen.
It's an international incident. I'm not sure if King Charles is
showing up for this, but I do know that there is a ticket
waiting for him. He needs to see what's going to
(14:02):
happen here. So I'm just saying.
I'm just saying, Simon Says, if you want to represent the United
States of America, you know, if the king shows up, I think you
may have to do that there, Sir. Hey, I am up to the task 1000%
and you're absolutely right about the popularity as well.
Duke of of River City, 90% of tickets are sold out.
(14:24):
VIP is completely sold out at ontop of the fact, as you said,
there is always something to do there.
You will never find yourself bored.
If you are actively bored at River City, it's because you
want to be. There's there's there's
interactive events. There's my trivia segments and
man, the names you we, we haven't even touched the tip of
(14:45):
the iceberg as far as guests. You know Ric Flair, the nature
boy from the Carolinas to Georgia, he's coming to Florida.
Brett the hitman heart and and the big show.
It's just a who's who of holy cow.
Holy cow, you got that right. Holy whole farm.
(15:05):
The cow, the goats, the emus, all of them, all of them.
I'm telling you, listen again, World Golf Village, It is a
beautiful, beautiful piece of property there folks.
Great place to vacation as well.St.
Augustine, FL. I know that the, the weather
usually agrees with folks down there.
So look, you got to get out there.
(15:26):
You got to find a way, but get your tickets now.
Do not wait. Please do not wait.
Get your tickets now. That way you ensure that you and
the whole family could be there and have a great time.
Meet all of your favorites from yesterday, today and tomorrow,
you know, and you get to hang out with Simon Says.
Who doesn't want to do? That right and dude, that's the
(15:47):
big part about it. It's not just legends that that
nostalgia purposes, it's it's, it's, it's legends from the
past, it's current big stars. We have folks from all walks of
professional wrestling, knife life I should say, and the the,
the future, the folks that you can say I saw this guy, I saw
this girl at River City Wrestling Con before they were
(16:10):
on TV. There it is.
There it is, including Simon Says.
Including myself. That's right.
I'm putting it out in the atmosphere.
Simon Says is going to be the new Samuel L Jackson.
He's going to be everywhere. He's going to be in every movie.
So much so that you're going to you're going to be naming things
(16:31):
like, oh, yeah, Simon Says. He's in that one even if he's
not in it. OK, That's how much you going to
get used to seeing this guy everywhere because he's that
kind of talent. Seriously, Simon, I appreciate
you. I respect you, brother.
It is so cool that you and the folks at River City Wrestling
Con are back better than ever. It's going to be a huge event
this year. Can't wait for it to go down.
(16:52):
But with that said, what's the best way that everyone listening
can keep up with you personally?Well folks, as far as tickets
go, you can head to River City Wrestling con.com, get your
tickets there for the event and come meet me in person.
It's presented by Farrah and Farrah.
Those guys have been amazing. But as far as following yours
truly, I am on the social mediasfacebook.com/the Simon Says on
(17:15):
Instagram and Twitter at Emeraldunder score Emperor and I am the
top quiz master of Central Florida.
You can catch my trivia nights five nights a week.
Check out all the social media at Simon Time Trivia.
Come put your useless knowledge to use.
(17:36):
Hey, this is your Olympic hero, Kurt Angle.
Come see me at River City Wrestling Con on June 7th in St.
Augustine, FL Grab your tickets today.
Oh, it's true. It's damn true.
Hey, this is Kaylee Bug Savage and you're listening to Duke
Loves Wrestling. Brothers and sisters, you know
(17:57):
that we are continuing to celebrate the 9th year
anniversary the Duke Loves Wrestling podcast.
And throughout this year I'm going to continue to bring back
some of your favorite guests, check in on them, see how
they're doing and all that good stuff there.
And certainly one of our all time favorites is a young lady
who has taken the wrestling world by storm.
(18:19):
You know, she made it happen in high school, went on to college
and she she was learning some new things and and figuring it
out in the ring there. And she's back to report on how
she's been. So without further ado, welcome
back to do close wrasslin, our favorite bug, Kaylee Savage.
What's going on there, Kaylee? Nothing much.
I mean, I just got back and you know, I've been training a lot
(18:43):
too though. But how are you?
I'm doing fantastic. I mean, I I still don't have
muscles like you do, but I'm kind of I'm, I'm working on it.
I've been doing my push ups. So I want you to know that just
because you could take me when you were in high school, that
doesn't mean that you can take me today.
All right, I'm just telling you that right now.
Oh. Are you sure about that?
(19:04):
No, absolutely not. I'll run away from you.
I'm not. I'm not wrestling you, Jesus.
I saw what you did to that Lady on the news, so I'm not.
I'm not playing those games, youknow, Jeez, what's, what's your
favorite wrestling move that youdo?
I would probably say I do doubles but like whenever I shoot my
(19:27):
double I do a trip at the same time.
Like I hook my leg around theirsand triple as I'm doing my
double and I think it's really fun and it catches a lot of
people off guard sometimes. OK, so you're giving me
wrestling terminology now. I'm a.
I'm a not just a pro wrestling fan but I'm also a collegiate
wrestling and Olympic wrestling and I'm also an MMA fan so I
(19:48):
know what you mean when you say double s.
But for for those listening who don't understand what you mean
explain exactly. Like give me the full
terminology for what you mean bydouble s.
All right, so a double leg is whenever you're in stance with
someone else and their legs are kind of open.
And you're shooting one of your knees in between them, and the
(20:10):
other one is on the other side of it, and you're bringing your
arms in to grab behind their knees there.
And then you hook your leg around their ankle and it trips
them. Wow.
So again folks, you're, you're shooting for both of their legs
and you're using your momentum while you're tripping them at
the same time in order to drive them down, right?
(20:33):
Yes, exactly. So in, in, in any scenario,
that's a pretty effective move in order to, especially if
you're going up against a biggeropponent, this is an easy way to
take somebody down to the ground, right?
Oh yeah, it definitely is. Wow, that's so that's your
favorite move? I thought you were going to say
like a a suplex or something like that, but you just want to
(20:54):
get people on the ground and twist them up, huh?
Yeah, suplexes are fun though, but this is not my cup of tea.
What? What what is the best way to
practice and improve doing a double leg takedown?
Because like you said, you also have to get your leg wrapped
around one of their legs in order to trip them and then the
(21:16):
momentum is point is driving their other leg that's standing
it's driving them down. What's a good way to practice in
order to improve upon doing a double?
I mean, usually I would get withmy practice partner and I
usually start off slow to make sure that I know how to do it.
And the more I do it, the fasterI do it and the harder I'll do
(21:38):
it. And sometimes I'll get them to
resist back. So I know like that I can do it
with force coming at me. Got it, got it.
You're you're somebody who had alot of fanfare coming out of
high school and you know, wrestling in high school, Big
star and all that stuff. But then you go into college and
(21:59):
it's like starting all over, so to speak.
What was the biggest difference between wrestling in high school
and wrestling in college? Well, obviously you know the
style, but it was also differentbecause I didn't know any of
these people. They didn't know who I was.
And it was harder for me becauseit felt like all the girls knew
(22:20):
each other and I was like, I wasjust there.
But I mean, it wasn't like a lotof differences to say for the
least. Just that was just like one of
the biggest ones to me because it kind of made me feel like an
outcast at first in a way. That's interesting.
(22:41):
So you you had to basically re establish yourself.
How long did it take before people got used to you and you
were truly part of the team? Probably a couple months.
I would say. Whenever I got back from
Christmas break is whenever I started getting closer to people
because that's whenever I becamea starter on the team.
(23:03):
I love that. I love that.
Talk to me about coaching because I know that when it
comes to any sport, coaching is a is a vital part of that.
And you were able to be so successful in high school and
now you're you're in college. What was the coaching style
differences like? Well, to me, it just seemed like
(23:27):
our coaches were more about everybody.
There were no favorites on and we also had a variety of
coaches. We had a coach that favored in
Greco and then our head coach, he knew folk style and
freestyle. And then we got our first
women's assistant coach this year and it honestly helped a
(23:50):
lot as a girl because I'm not used to having like a female
coach that actually knows what she's talking about.
And it felt good to, like, be able to talk to a female coach,
you know, girl on girl. What what you just said is very
interesting. It was the first time that you
had a female coach who knew whatthey were talking about.
(24:11):
Did you experience throughout your career, did you experience
having female coaches who who just didn't have enough
professional experiences themselves and maybe that was
why they didn't always necessarily have the best
coaching advice? Yes, so last year and I, our
high school team, our coach's wife, she became a coach, but
(24:37):
she like, it was more like no hate against her.
Like she still did a really goodjob.
And I could tell that she tried.It's just like she just didn't
know how to teach them. And she didn't teach us
anything. But she she would sit there on
the mats and like, you know, cheer for us and everything,
which I still applaud her for that.
How important it is it to have experienced coaches, especially
(24:59):
when it comes to trying to achieve success in wrestling.
It's very important, especially to me.
Yeah, that's fair. That's fair.
Talk to me about the food. I mean, you, you went from
having mom's home cooking and and having your favorite Mexican
food down down there Mississippi, and then you go to
college and it's like it's a whole new world here.
(25:20):
So. So what was that experience like
with the food? I mean, it was kind of hard at
first. I ate a lot of hibachi at first
because we have our fast food hibachi place like on campus,
and then the cafeteria. It was very iffy.
So sometimes it was good, sometimes it's bad.
I mostly ate breakfast. I would just eat one meal a day
and it was always breakfast because they made really, really
(25:43):
bomb omelette. Oh, OK, so So what is the Kaylee
bug Savage omelette Like if you if you were to give us this is
what you need in your omelette in order to eat like the bug.
What are we talking about here? Oh this is very simple.
I just get spinach and tomato with cheese and then I put lemon
(26:03):
juice on it. Whoa, what's up with this lemon
juice business? Wait, I didn't.
I didn't see that coming. I was like a little bit of Tang,
and I like Tang. Oh Tang, OK.
And lemon juice helps burn fat, so.
Interesting. Is that why people like to drink
that lemon water stuff? Is that what that's all about?
Honestly I think so because that's why I mostly drink it and
(26:25):
it gets water flavor so. Interesting, interesting.
So hold on, let me let me stay on this because I know that
you're a Mississippi lady here and you know, half of my family,
my father's side of the family is from Mississippi.
So I know a little something about down there.
You like Tang so so when it comes to hot sauce, right?
I, I don't want my hot sauce toospicy.
(26:45):
I prefer Frank's hot sauce because it's more tangy than
spicy. What say you, Bug?
What kind of hot sauce do you like?
So we have a Louisiana hot saucein our fridge, and that one's
really, really good. What is Louisiana hot sauce?
OK, wow. All right, that that's
interesting. So is it, is it, is it more
(27:07):
spicy, more tangy? What is it?
What? What's the flavor profile of?
It more spicy but it's really good.
OK, OK. Did you pick up any extra home
making skills while you were living on your own?
This is the first time you're living on your own in your life,
right? Yeah, it it actually was.
(27:27):
There's been times I would ask my mom to order me stuff.
It was mostly snacks, but towards the end I was like, I'm
started missing some meals. So I told her to get me
ingredients for a sushi bowl andit was really good.
A. Sushi bowl.
What do you What kind of fancy nonsense are we talking about
here? A sushi.
I mean, it's nothing too fancy. It was just like imitation crab
(27:51):
rice, kimchi, avocado, cream cheese, and then I would get
seaweed. So hold on a second.
All right? I, I got you on the spot.
Now, folks, we're talking to Kaylee Bug Savage.
And I got her. I got her pinned down now on
this one. Hold on a second College kid,
you're supposed to be living offof ramen noodles and and, and,
(28:13):
and like Pepsi. Like, what the Hell's going on
here? What do you mean?
Sushi bowls? What's this all about?
Well, it's. Time to eat healthy.
I got to sink somehow. Were you were you eating a lot
of fish as part of your protein?No, I mostly ate chicken.
I would make a lot of shredded chicken salads with vinegar.
With vinegar. OK, cool, cool, cool.
(28:35):
Yeah. That's wild.
So what advice do you have for other folks, especially, you
know, some of our because of you, and I want to give you
credit for this, because of you,our audience in terms of young
people has grown tremendously. Their parents are listening, but
now they're starting to pay attention as well.
So kudos to to you Bug for helping grow our, our young
(28:59):
population, so to speak. What advice do you have for
anybody who's making that transition from high school to
college? If you're starting to feel like
you're going downhill, make a change as soon as possible
before it's too late, because it's not going to end the way
you want it to. Wow, that's deep.
That's deep. Yeah.
(29:20):
So and that's in terms of major classes where you're going to
school, all that good stuff there.
Yeah, and make sure you're waking up on time.
You get to class on time. If you feel like you're not
going to wake up, ask your friends around you to just like
stop by people and make sure you're up and ready to go.
Listen, I'm I'm going to put it out here right now because I'm
(29:41):
glad you brought that up. One of the biggest mistakes, and
I was in college many moons ago,I'm a couple of years older than
you or a couple more than a couple, literally your parents
age. But one of the mistakes that I
saw people make is that they would schedule early morning
classes on Fridays. And I'm sitting there shaking my
(30:02):
head because Thursday is thirstyThursday.
It's when everybody gets dressedup and they go out and they have
a good time and they're staying up late.
How are you going to get up for 7:00 AM or 8:00 AM class when
you've been out all night on Thursday?
It just doesn't make any sense, you know what I mean?
So. So.
If no, it really. Does what time would you say is
(30:23):
the best time to schedule class on a on a Friday if you have to
take a Friday class? My Friday schedule was I had a
9:00 AM class and then one at 11.
But I would say maybe like around 10 or 11 would be a
better time because it's not tooearly and it's not too late.
(30:44):
So you also get it out of the way during the day still.
I agree 100%. I agree because what time are
you normally going to bed on a Thursday?
Usually around 10 or 12. No way.
No way. Come on.
Yeah, I don't go out until the weekend.
Oh, OK, maybe things have changed since since my day.
(31:06):
OK, I'm an old man here. Maybe things have changed.
I mean, we we were up until like2-3 in the morning.
You know what I mean? Like that it just that's the way
it was. Wow.
All right, So you but you know what?
You were an athlete, so of course you're getting to bed on
time. I get it.
You you had a good experience. Yeah, you had a good experience.
Now, I heard that you you did some cheerleading in addition to
(31:26):
wrestling. Is that true?
Yes it is. I don't have any experience but
you know I tried out for fun. So this, this big strong
wrestler doing cheerleading, is it, is it safe to say that you
were a base or are you trying todo these flips and tumbles and
things like that? Don't flatter me.
(31:47):
I was a base. I was the the one in the back
the back base. Got it, got it.
So you were catching everybody? Yeah, and holding them up from
their ankles. Well, you were probably the
strongest one on the team, so that makes a lot of sense there.
But you could have, hey, listen,you could have been up there.
You could have been a flyer. Come on.
I mean, I could have, yeah, but I don't know how to do flips so
(32:10):
that wouldn't work. Got it.
That's fun. That's fun.
You know, it's, it's interesting, Kaylee, because
your parents, great friends of the show, including your
grandma, who got a big shout outfrom WWE Hall of Famer Devon
Dudley and his sons Terrence andTerrell, TNT.
(32:31):
We've embraced the whole Savage Bug family, so to speak here.
But it's been a real joy to watch your progression and to
see you continue to develop into, you know, the the young
lady that you are and it and it's cool to be able to check in
and hear about your journey and to know that you're still making
(32:54):
it work out there. You're still figuring it out.
And most of all, you're still remaining very close to your
family. I think that's probably your,
your superpower. The the, the secret ingredients,
so to speak in, in this, this big bowl of gumbo here that is
Kaylee bug savage in the in the savage family.
(33:14):
So if there's any advice that I can give you, it's, it's just to
keep doing that. Continue to stay close to your
support system there, which is your family.
And I say that to everybody listening out there, you know,
whether it's by blood or by choice, find the people who you
know truly have your back and make sure you have their back as
(33:35):
well. And just support each other
through the good times and through the bad times and
through the in between times. It matters, you know, it truly
does. And I think you found that out
completely in the end there. That's like, thank God I have my
family right? Yes, definitely.
Like having a good support system is something really good
(33:58):
to have, especially when you go to college, like so far away
from home. You have to like rebuild
connections and find good support systems.
And it's definitely good to be able to stay in contact with
your family, which I did. I literally called my mom almost
every day. I love it.
I love it. You know your mom has the
coolest name in the in the world, You realize that, right?
(34:20):
Yes, I love her name. Say her name, say.
How do you pronounce it properly?
Oh, I believe it's Jolie. See, that's right.
That's that French stuff there, folks.
Jolie, see that? Such a cool day.
But even the way it's spelled. So definitely shout out to mom,
Obviously, Billy, that's my homeboy right there.
(34:42):
All of your siblings, of course,the the the pets.
You got dogs, right? Yeah, we have two dogs and we
had two cats, but now we only have one.
OK, so shout out to the cat and the dogs and obviously grandma,
that's my home girl, the whole family, just really, really cool
stuff. And keep in mind folks, that
(35:05):
Kaylee still has a dream of one day becoming AWWE superstar.
So the interesting part about checking in with Kaylee is that
you're hearing it step by step, how a person continues to grow
and make certain decisions and what have you.
And, and then we see what happens in the end.
So it's it's really a front row seat, so to speak, to see the
(35:28):
development of this incredible, highly intelligent, highly
skilled young lady here. It's really cool.
And before I let you go, I hear that you've become a TikTok
star. Oh yeah, that's me.
That's me. How?
How has that journey been? It's been pretty fun.
(35:49):
I mean whenever I first started I only had like a small amount
of followers and it's only been a year and I've gained over 7000
followers since then. Wow, that is huge.
That is huge. OK, So what, what are you doing?
(36:09):
You doing dancing? Are you, are you demonstrating
wrestling? Like what do you what, what?
What do people get from the Kaylee Savage channel on TikTok?
I mean, whenever I do live streams, I usually just like you
know, do my makeup and talk to people.
But for content wise, sometimes I post wrestling clips or videos
(36:29):
like about wrestling funny videos or I just like do like
little fit checks you know? Little fit checks all right, so
she she's out here showing off her her her incredible style,
all right, letting everybody outthere know you know this is what
it's all about here. So all you brands out there, if
(36:50):
you're looking for brand ambassador or the next face of
your brand, then you you may want to reach out to Kaylee the
bug savage here she she has it going on That's right that's
right well, it's about that time.
What's the best way that anyone listening can keep up with you,
especially on TikTok? Do do you want to advertise
that? Oh yeah, I would love to.
(37:14):
OK, how do they how do they findyou on TikTok?
OK so my TikTok is Kaylee dot Savage, 16.
There you go, Kaylee dot Savage 16.
So if you folks want to support Kaylee, check out her live
streams. I know that on the TikTok as
(37:36):
well. There's opportunities.
So if you want to, what do they even call it?
If people want to, you know, send you a couple of bucks so
they can continue to support thechannel, how do they do that?
I mean you can send gifts through the live streams but
also in my bio I have one of my like you know those payment apps
(37:58):
like I have my username in it for just in case.
Awesome, awesome. And listen, no creeps allowed.
All right, I'm, I'm telling you guys right now, if I find out
any creeps our our inner inbox, there's going to be hell to pay.
All right, I'm just going to leave it at that.
We don't play that. All right, Uncle Duke is letting
it be known. We don't play that.
All right, that's right. All positivity here again,
(38:19):
Kaylee, I'm proud of you and I, I just, I love the journey.
I can't wait to see what happensnext because you're inspiring an
entire generation out there. So I want you most importantly,
please to just remember, stay true to yourself.
Stay close to your family and always do what you know is the
(38:42):
right thing to do. OK, Yes.
Sir, thank you. That's right.
OK, Kaylee, folks, you asked forit.
You got it. She's the best.
Oh hey folks, I'm WWE Hall of Famer Hacksaw Jim Duggan from
the Golden Age of Wrestling, andI'm looking forward to seeing
(39:04):
you at the River City Wrestling Con, tough guy.
Hello. Strictly for the common joy
every day stepping style. You know you need your way,
pants and colours, so define allabout the perfect life.
(39:33):
Be yourself, let your spirit liein this fashion you'll touch the
sky. Strictly for the culture.
We're so fine dressed to impressand show your shine Strictly for
(39:54):
the culture every day. Snip in style in the you need a
way. Visit
www.strictlyfortheculture.ca. Mr. Tony Shivani.
(40:25):
And we're desperately out of time on Duke Love Wrestling.
OK, let's talk about this insanelineup coming to River City
Wrestling Con 2025, because it is stacked.
First of all, Mr. Style and Profile and the Nature Boy
himself, Ric Flair will be therefor the first time ever.
Then you've got Bret Hart, literally one of the greatest to
ever do it. Kane is pulling up too.
So yeah, you have Hellfire and brimstone energy coming in hot.
(00:24):
And if that wasn't enough, we'vegot Kurt Angle.
Olympic gold medalist, icon, Legend.
It's true, It's damn true. Let's not forget the almighty
Bobby Lashley will be in the building as well.
And the Big show, Literally a giant part of wrestling history.
Plus a whole bunch more like RobVan Damme, Katie Forbes, Tay
Melo, Sergeant Slaughter and still more names to come.
(00:47):
River City Wrestling Con 2025 isgoing to be wild.
There will be live wrestling meet and greets, Q&A sessions,
all of it. Tickets are flying, so if you
don't have yours yet, don't waitor you're going to be sitting at
home all sad with FOMO while allof your friends are meeting the
legends. It's all going down in the
historic city of Saint Augustine, June 7th and 8th, so
(01:07):
see you there. You are locked in.
Look at what we have. Here, folks, you're the only
show that matters. The queen of the crop.
Do. Gloves, wrestling and there is
no one that does it better than your house.
I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass.
(01:30):
And I'm all. Out of bubble.
Ladies and gentlemen, and I use those terms loosely, if you
don't know, you should know my name is Simon Says, the Emerald
Emperor of Professional Wrestling, the Jade General of
the Ring, the Mean Green Wrestling Machine, and you are
(01:52):
listening to Duke Loves Wrestling.
Brothers and sisters, the River City Wrestling Con is fast
approaching and I'm telling you right now, I've been warning
you, you want to get your tickets ahead of time.
Do not depend on the door. They are literally, literally
90% sold out. And there's a good reason for
(02:13):
that because there's so many of the great stars, so many of the
great up and coming stars, so many of the great people that
make it all go round are going to be there.
And that's why you, your Mama, your cousin, your girlfriend,
your wife, the mailman, they allgot to be there as well.
Speaking of people that make it all go around, I'm going to tell
(02:36):
you something right now. If there was a championship for
the MVP of RCWC, this man without a doubt would be the
defending champion. He is the man that knows the
trivia. He is the man that can manage.
(02:57):
He is the man that can make you feel good, piss you off and
everything in between. The man, the myth, the legend,
Mr. Simon Says. What's going on This Simon?
Mr. Duke, I have an entire room at Club says here, my Palatius
estate that is dedicated entirely to all the hats I wear
at River City. That's amazing.
(03:18):
Yeah. Now is, is your head that big or
do you have multiple heads? What's?
Going on Oh no, it's just I'm a man of many tasks I do have I do
have an increased cranium due tothe the the the sizeable brain
that it houses. But unbelievable, you know, just
hearing you say the word cranium, it makes me think of
Gorilla Monsoon. The the the upper protuberance.
Yes, yes. You'd pull out these words that
(03:42):
you don't hear too often so theystand out.
I love that. Listen, man, you, you're a guy
and you and I have talked about this for a few years.
I've given you your flowers personally.
Now it's time to do it on the air.
You're a guy that is highly regarded.
It is amazing how many people have reached out to me and have
told me that they are a fan of yours, you, that you're somebody
(04:04):
who is necessary to the atmosphere and that they they
enjoy every time they see you. Not just at River City, but at
all the different wrestling events and tribute and what have
you. Whatever you do down there in
that Florida area, people just really enjoy Simon Says.
How do you feel about receiving that type of feedback?
(04:25):
Well, Duke, you can let them know, and I've already told him
the checks in the mail. All right, you're paying them
off. You're a rich man.
Daddy Warbucks here, you're richman.
So that's why these folks are reaching out and telling me
these things. Yeah, I mean, the big thing with
me Duke has always been to to and it sounds so cliche.
And and I know that a lot of folks stated arbitrarily, but it
(04:47):
really is that there's no bettersentiment to express my
mentality as I've always just tried to carve my own path,
whether it's been as as a wrestler, as a manager, I I've
literally done every job there is to do in the business from
from commentary for ring Warriors season 1 and two.
I've held a camera, I've played music, I've I've ring announced
(05:08):
and and you know, I've got my comparisons.
When I first transitioned from managing to wrestling, people
compared me a lot to to Roddy Piper and Steve Carino.
When I had my dream match against Jerry the King Lawler.
He he told me that I reminded him so much of Andy Kaufman and
I told King, like I've told other people and like I'm going
to state it here on Duke loves wrestling.
(05:29):
I'm not I'm not the next anybody.
I'm the first Simon Says. You sure are.
You are the first. You're the first Simon Says that
I've ever met, so I don't know if that accounts for anything.
So yeah, I believe you, man. I'd certainly believe you.
You. You're the head cook and bottle
washer, as my Jamaican cousins would say at River City
Wrestling Con. I don't know how you managed to
(05:51):
do everything. You're managing.
You're making announcements, you're doing trivia, you're
doing this, you're doing that. Like, what the hell are you, The
Wizard of Oz? You know what I have been?
I have been likened to the Wizard.
There was a there was a short lived promotion here in Central
Florida called Manor Pro Wrestling Dinner Theater.
Very interesting concept and they affectionately began
(06:15):
referring to me as the Wizard ofthe Manor.
That's you I'm telling you, man,they they have accurately given
you a moniker that sticks. It's not a gimmick, it's a
lifestyle, I'm telling you. But let's talk about it,
brother. River City Wrestling Con First
and foremost, what are the datesand when do the doors open?
It is June 7th and 8th at Saint Augustine.
(06:40):
Doors open to VI PS at 10 PM, 10AM my apologies, and then to the
general public at 11 AM and the convention runs till 5.
World Golf Village, which is a very ritzy, upscale place.
So, you know, everybody has to wear their deodorant at the
World Golf Village. Don't be showing up smelling
sour there, folks. You know we don't do that.
(07:03):
And I will and I will call you out on it.
Cyber will get on the bike and play and call you out.
He's going to ask you, your wife, what your name is, and
then he's going to tell everybody, you know, Joe, Joey,
Big belly with the red shirt on,He's smelling like yesterday's.
And even not just the olfactory offense, if you look like you
smell like pee, I will make sureto put you on blast on the
(07:25):
microphone. Where your deodorant, please, we
beg of you. Seriously.
But anyway, Simon, what are someof the things that folks can
expect, especially when they seeyou at the River City Wrestling
Con? What are you going to be up to?
So primarily there at River City, the last four years I've
been known as the quizmaster, the trivia host.
(07:46):
My number one question I love toask all of our fans is who is
your favorite guest at River City and why am I?
Because I'm all over the place. I host trivia every hour on the
hour from 11:00 AM till 5:00 PM.I host a costume contest.
I I've managed Jack Talos every year in the past.
This year I'm shaking things up with my clients that I'll be
(08:09):
accompanying to the ring for thewrestling portion, I'm
everywhere. You can literally find me
roaming the floor at all hours if I'm not in the ring actively
performing my duties. And you can't really miss me
based on my attire. You'll never lose me in a crowd.
So I I literally do a little bitof everything.
And this year they've upped my duties as the Co host of the Q&A
(08:33):
sessions because the the individuals that they have had
in the past have been as intellectual as a fart and
they've had the charisma of a wet nap.
So of course they shown the bat signal, the emerald bat signal
in the sky and called upon my expertise.
And I will be your Co host for all of the Q&A sessions.
So we've got some pretty interesting ones lined up
(08:57):
Pretty. Interesting.
Q and as lined up do you, are you able to give us a spoiler
here? Do you what kind of Q and as you
have lined up? Duke, I will give you the
exclusive. I have not yet put out a list or
announced the names that I will be partaking in the Q&A sessions
of, but I'm going to drop some names for you.
How does Kane sound? Duke?
(09:19):
What about Kevin? Nash, Kevin Nash is going to be
doing Q&A too. Yes, Sir, DDP.
Wow. The entirety of the Hurt
Business. Wow, wow.
OK, Sir. And Conan.
And I'm going to, I'm just goingto wet your whistle with those
names. But there's a, there's a few
others that I'm going to keep tucked under my very expensive
(09:41):
hat. But yeah, those names.
I do believe this will be the first Q&A session with the
entirety of THE Hurt Business, Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley,
Cedric Alexander and MVP if I'm not mistaken.
Incredible, incredible. I I love that.
And and listen, those guys come highly regarded.
I have a hurt business shirt, sothat'll tell you everything you
(10:03):
need to know. It's one of my favorite shirts.
Still wear it. You can call yourself the hurt
syndicate all you want. You're going to be the hurt
business as far as I'm concerned.
Damn right. So I love that man.
So so you got the the Q and as down pat, you said you're still
going to be hosting the trivia. What else you cooking up?
Well I am bringing a couple of members of my Emerald Empire
(10:23):
stable that are running roughshod through FIP and WWN
here at Clearwater Full Impact Pro.
Two of these guys will be makingtheir debut at River City.
Never before seen talent. They are two hot prospects, 2
top independent free agents, Dirty Devin Diaz and Buckshot
Brian Brock, and those guys are such throwbacks.
(10:46):
Duke, those guys. I don't know how familiar you
are with either of those guys, but you know, I take on talent
as a manager because I see the monetary potential.
But I can honestly say with 0 hesitation that Devin Diaz and
Brian Brock are guys that I am such a genuine fan of.
Their looks, their attitudes, their work, their vibe, the
(11:08):
aura, all of it. And I'm bringing them to River
City. I love it.
I love it. I know exactly who you're
talking about there, 'cause Diaz, he, he got a, he got a
fresh mouth. He has a fresh mouth.
And I'm not surprised that you hang out with people like that,
Simon, because I know that you do as well.
So I'm going to be looking forward to seeing somebody
(11:29):
straighten out Diaz in particular.
You know, Brock is all right, but I don't know about this Diaz
character. You, you need to get away from
people like that. Yeah, he's he's got a bad
reputation. And it's honestly what allured
me to him the most because as you just referred to, I as I as
well have a reputation for having a silver tongue.
And that's why it's so surprising at the at the top of
(11:50):
the show when you mentioned thatpeople are fans of mine, because
I find that to be that the complete opposite case.
It's takes a very specially warped mind to openly admit that
you are a a fan of mine. I love it.
It's well, hey, I guess we're all warped.
We're on a Warped Tour here as we head on to the River City
Wrestling con by goodness gracious.
(12:13):
Is there any other hats that youwear there, Simon?
Are you going to be somewhere else somehow, someway Flash,
because you're you're bouncing around.
It sounds like you're going to be every, anywhere and
everywhere all at the same time.I really am everywhere, you
know, I contribute to the operations of the locker room.
You know, they don't call me Simon Says just cuz I need a
moniker. You know when Simon Says it,
(12:35):
people do it. So I am one of them.
The the people that is instrumental in ensuring that
the paying public of River City receives a quality card of
professional wrestling action. Folks, I'm telling you, everyone
from baby to grandma and everyone in between, you want to
be here. It is the premier family
(12:57):
friendly event, the River City Wrestling Con.
It is the most successful wrestling convention in all of
Florida, one of the most successful per capita in the
United States of America and there's a reason for that.
It is a great time. Folks like Simon Says are there
to make sure that the atmosphereis right, that we're having a
(13:19):
good time, that there's stuff todo in addition to some of the
big names who were going to be there, like you said, Kane and
and Kevin Nash, Conan. I know Thunder Rosa is coming
back this year. Sylvia Sanchez from, from Wow
Women of Wrestling, AKA Micah Madrid, she's making her
triumphant return. You know, Scotty Sosa, she's
(13:42):
going to be taking on Aaliyah. James, you heard that promo
battle that they had here, folkson, on Duke Loves Wrestling that
went viral. People are are clamoring.
They want to see what's going tohappen.
It's an international incident. I'm not sure if King Charles is
showing up for this, but I do know that there is a ticket
waiting for him. He needs to see what's going to
(14:02):
happen here. So I'm just saying.
I'm just saying, Simon Says, if you want to represent the United
States of America, you know, if the king shows up, I think you
may have to do that there, Sir. Hey, I am up to the task 1000%
and you're absolutely right about the popularity as well.
Duke of of River City, 90% of tickets are sold out.
(14:24):
VIP is completely sold out at ontop of the fact, as you said,
there is always something to do there.
You will never find yourself bored.
If you are actively bored at River City, it's because you
want to be. There's there's there's
interactive events. There's my trivia segments and
man, the names you we, we haven't even touched the tip of
(14:45):
the iceberg as far as guests. You know Ric Flair, the nature
boy from the Carolinas to Georgia, he's coming to Florida.
Brett the hitman heart and and the big show.
It's just a who's who of holy cow.
Holy cow, you got that right. Holy whole farm.
(15:05):
The cow, the goats, the emus, all of them, all of them.
I'm telling you, listen again, World Golf Village, It is a
beautiful, beautiful piece of property there folks.
Great place to vacation as well.St.
Augustine, FL. I know that the, the weather
usually agrees with folks down there.
So look, you got to get out there.
(15:26):
You got to find a way, but get your tickets now.
Do not wait. Please do not wait.
Get your tickets now. That way you ensure that you and
the whole family could be there and have a great time.
Meet all of your favorites from yesterday, today and tomorrow,
you know, and you get to hang out with Simon Says.
Who doesn't want to do? That right and dude, that's the
(15:47):
big part about it. It's not just legends that that
nostalgia purposes, it's it's, it's, it's legends from the
past, it's current big stars. We have folks from all walks of
professional wrestling, knife life I should say, and the the,
the future, the folks that you can say I saw this guy, I saw
this girl at River City Wrestling Con before they were
(16:10):
on TV. There it is.
There it is, including Simon Says.
Including myself. That's right.
I'm putting it out in the atmosphere.
Simon Says is going to be the new Samuel L Jackson.
He's going to be everywhere. He's going to be in every movie.
So much so that you're going to you're going to be naming things
(16:31):
like, oh, yeah, Simon Says. He's in that one even if he's
not in it. OK, That's how much you going to
get used to seeing this guy everywhere because he's that
kind of talent. Seriously, Simon, I appreciate
you. I respect you, brother.
It is so cool that you and the folks at River City Wrestling
Con are back better than ever. It's going to be a huge event
this year. Can't wait for it to go down.
(16:52):
But with that said, what's the best way that everyone listening
can keep up with you personally?Well folks, as far as tickets
go, you can head to River City Wrestling con.com, get your
tickets there for the event and come meet me in person.
It's presented by Farrah and Farrah.
Those guys have been amazing. But as far as following yours
truly, I am on the social mediasfacebook.com/the Simon Says on
(17:15):
Instagram and Twitter at Emeraldunder score Emperor and I am the
top quiz master of Central Florida.
You can catch my trivia nights five nights a week.
Check out all the social media at Simon Time Trivia.
Come put your useless knowledge to use.
(17:36):
Hey, this is your Olympic hero, Kurt Angle.
Come see me at River City Wrestling Con on June 7th in St.
Augustine, FL Grab your tickets today.
Oh, it's true. It's damn true.
Hey, this is Kaylee Bug Savage and you're listening to Duke
Loves Wrestling. Brothers and sisters, you know
(17:57):
that we are continuing to celebrate the 9th year
anniversary the Duke Loves Wrestling podcast.
And throughout this year I'm going to continue to bring back
some of your favorite guests, check in on them, see how
they're doing and all that good stuff there.
And certainly one of our all time favorites is a young lady
who has taken the wrestling world by storm.
(18:19):
You know, she made it happen in high school, went on to college
and she she was learning some new things and and figuring it
out in the ring there. And she's back to report on how
she's been. So without further ado, welcome
back to do close wrasslin, our favorite bug, Kaylee Savage.
What's going on there, Kaylee? Nothing much.
I mean, I just got back and you know, I've been training a lot
(18:43):
too though. But how are you?
I'm doing fantastic. I mean, I I still don't have
muscles like you do, but I'm kind of I'm, I'm working on it.
I've been doing my push ups. So I want you to know that just
because you could take me when you were in high school, that
doesn't mean that you can take me today.
All right, I'm just telling you that right now.
Oh. Are you sure about that?
(19:04):
No, absolutely not. I'll run away from you.
I'm not. I'm not wrestling you, Jesus.
I saw what you did to that Lady on the news, so I'm not.
I'm not playing those games, youknow, Jeez, what's, what's your
favorite wrestling move that youdo?
I would probably say I do doubles but like whenever I shoot my
(19:27):
double I do a trip at the same time.
Like I hook my leg around theirsand triple as I'm doing my
double and I think it's really fun and it catches a lot of
people off guard sometimes. OK, so you're giving me
wrestling terminology now. I'm a.
I'm a not just a pro wrestling fan but I'm also a collegiate
wrestling and Olympic wrestling and I'm also an MMA fan so I
(19:48):
know what you mean when you say double s.
But for for those listening who don't understand what you mean
explain exactly. Like give me the full
terminology for what you mean bydouble s.
All right, so a double leg is whenever you're in stance with
someone else and their legs are kind of open.
And you're shooting one of your knees in between them, and the
(20:10):
other one is on the other side of it, and you're bringing your
arms in to grab behind their knees there.
And then you hook your leg around their ankle and it trips
them. Wow.
So again folks, you're, you're shooting for both of their legs
and you're using your momentum while you're tripping them at
the same time in order to drive them down, right?
(20:33):
Yes, exactly. So in, in, in any scenario,
that's a pretty effective move in order to, especially if
you're going up against a biggeropponent, this is an easy way to
take somebody down to the ground, right?
Oh yeah, it definitely is. Wow, that's so that's your
favorite move? I thought you were going to say
like a a suplex or something like that, but you just want to
(20:54):
get people on the ground and twist them up, huh?
Yeah, suplexes are fun though, but this is not my cup of tea.
What? What what is the best way to
practice and improve doing a double leg takedown?
Because like you said, you also have to get your leg wrapped
around one of their legs in order to trip them and then the
(21:16):
momentum is point is driving their other leg that's standing
it's driving them down. What's a good way to practice in
order to improve upon doing a double?
I mean, usually I would get withmy practice partner and I
usually start off slow to make sure that I know how to do it.
And the more I do it, the fasterI do it and the harder I'll do
(21:38):
it. And sometimes I'll get them to
resist back. So I know like that I can do it
with force coming at me. Got it, got it.
You're you're somebody who had alot of fanfare coming out of
high school and you know, wrestling in high school, Big
star and all that stuff. But then you go into college and
(21:59):
it's like starting all over, so to speak.
What was the biggest difference between wrestling in high school
and wrestling in college? Well, obviously you know the
style, but it was also differentbecause I didn't know any of
these people. They didn't know who I was.
And it was harder for me becauseit felt like all the girls knew
(22:20):
each other and I was like, I wasjust there.
But I mean, it wasn't like a lotof differences to say for the
least. Just that was just like one of
the biggest ones to me because it kind of made me feel like an
outcast at first in a way. That's interesting.
(22:41):
So you you had to basically re establish yourself.
How long did it take before people got used to you and you
were truly part of the team? Probably a couple months.
I would say. Whenever I got back from
Christmas break is whenever I started getting closer to people
because that's whenever I becamea starter on the team.
(23:03):
I love that. I love that.
Talk to me about coaching because I know that when it
comes to any sport, coaching is a is a vital part of that.
And you were able to be so successful in high school and
now you're you're in college. What was the coaching style
differences like? Well, to me, it just seemed like
(23:27):
our coaches were more about everybody.
There were no favorites on and we also had a variety of
coaches. We had a coach that favored in
Greco and then our head coach, he knew folk style and
freestyle. And then we got our first
women's assistant coach this year and it honestly helped a
(23:50):
lot as a girl because I'm not used to having like a female
coach that actually knows what she's talking about.
And it felt good to, like, be able to talk to a female coach,
you know, girl on girl. What what you just said is very
interesting. It was the first time that you
had a female coach who knew whatthey were talking about.
(24:11):
Did you experience throughout your career, did you experience
having female coaches who who just didn't have enough
professional experiences themselves and maybe that was
why they didn't always necessarily have the best
coaching advice? Yes, so last year and I, our
high school team, our coach's wife, she became a coach, but
(24:37):
she like, it was more like no hate against her.
Like she still did a really goodjob.
And I could tell that she tried.It's just like she just didn't
know how to teach them. And she didn't teach us
anything. But she she would sit there on
the mats and like, you know, cheer for us and everything,
which I still applaud her for that.
How important it is it to have experienced coaches, especially
(24:59):
when it comes to trying to achieve success in wrestling.
It's very important, especially to me.
Yeah, that's fair. That's fair.
Talk to me about the food. I mean, you, you went from
having mom's home cooking and and having your favorite Mexican
food down down there Mississippi, and then you go to
college and it's like it's a whole new world here.
(25:20):
So. So what was that experience like
with the food? I mean, it was kind of hard at
first. I ate a lot of hibachi at first
because we have our fast food hibachi place like on campus,
and then the cafeteria. It was very iffy.
So sometimes it was good, sometimes it's bad.
I mostly ate breakfast. I would just eat one meal a day
and it was always breakfast because they made really, really
(25:43):
bomb omelette. Oh, OK, so So what is the Kaylee
bug Savage omelette Like if you if you were to give us this is
what you need in your omelette in order to eat like the bug.
What are we talking about here? Oh this is very simple.
I just get spinach and tomato with cheese and then I put lemon
(26:03):
juice on it. Whoa, what's up with this lemon
juice business? Wait, I didn't.
I didn't see that coming. I was like a little bit of Tang,
and I like Tang. Oh Tang, OK.
And lemon juice helps burn fat, so.
Interesting. Is that why people like to drink
that lemon water stuff? Is that what that's all about?
Honestly I think so because that's why I mostly drink it and
(26:25):
it gets water flavor so. Interesting, interesting.
So hold on, let me let me stay on this because I know that
you're a Mississippi lady here and you know, half of my family,
my father's side of the family is from Mississippi.
So I know a little something about down there.
You like Tang so so when it comes to hot sauce, right?
I, I don't want my hot sauce toospicy.
(26:45):
I prefer Frank's hot sauce because it's more tangy than
spicy. What say you, Bug?
What kind of hot sauce do you like?
So we have a Louisiana hot saucein our fridge, and that one's
really, really good. What is Louisiana hot sauce?
OK, wow. All right, that that's
interesting. So is it, is it, is it more
(27:07):
spicy, more tangy? What is it?
What? What's the flavor profile of?
It more spicy but it's really good.
OK, OK. Did you pick up any extra home
making skills while you were living on your own?
This is the first time you're living on your own in your life,
right? Yeah, it it actually was.
(27:27):
There's been times I would ask my mom to order me stuff.
It was mostly snacks, but towards the end I was like, I'm
started missing some meals. So I told her to get me
ingredients for a sushi bowl andit was really good.
A. Sushi bowl.
What do you What kind of fancy nonsense are we talking about
here? A sushi.
I mean, it's nothing too fancy. It was just like imitation crab
(27:51):
rice, kimchi, avocado, cream cheese, and then I would get
seaweed. So hold on a second.
All right? I, I got you on the spot.
Now, folks, we're talking to Kaylee Bug Savage.
And I got her. I got her pinned down now on
this one. Hold on a second College kid,
you're supposed to be living offof ramen noodles and and, and,
(28:13):
and like Pepsi. Like, what the Hell's going on
here? What do you mean?
Sushi bowls? What's this all about?
Well, it's. Time to eat healthy.
I got to sink somehow. Were you were you eating a lot
of fish as part of your protein?No, I mostly ate chicken.
I would make a lot of shredded chicken salads with vinegar.
With vinegar. OK, cool, cool, cool.
(28:35):
Yeah. That's wild.
So what advice do you have for other folks, especially, you
know, some of our because of you, and I want to give you
credit for this, because of you,our audience in terms of young
people has grown tremendously. Their parents are listening, but
now they're starting to pay attention as well.
So kudos to to you Bug for helping grow our, our young
(28:59):
population, so to speak. What advice do you have for
anybody who's making that transition from high school to
college? If you're starting to feel like
you're going downhill, make a change as soon as possible
before it's too late, because it's not going to end the way
you want it to. Wow, that's deep.
That's deep. Yeah.
(29:20):
So and that's in terms of major classes where you're going to
school, all that good stuff there.
Yeah, and make sure you're waking up on time.
You get to class on time. If you feel like you're not
going to wake up, ask your friends around you to just like
stop by people and make sure you're up and ready to go.
Listen, I'm I'm going to put it out here right now because I'm
(29:41):
glad you brought that up. One of the biggest mistakes, and
I was in college many moons ago,I'm a couple of years older than
you or a couple more than a couple, literally your parents
age. But one of the mistakes that I
saw people make is that they would schedule early morning
classes on Fridays. And I'm sitting there shaking my
(30:02):
head because Thursday is thirstyThursday.
It's when everybody gets dressedup and they go out and they have
a good time and they're staying up late.
How are you going to get up for 7:00 AM or 8:00 AM class when
you've been out all night on Thursday?
It just doesn't make any sense, you know what I mean?
So. So.
If no, it really. Does what time would you say is
(30:23):
the best time to schedule class on a on a Friday if you have to
take a Friday class? My Friday schedule was I had a
9:00 AM class and then one at 11.
But I would say maybe like around 10 or 11 would be a
better time because it's not tooearly and it's not too late.
(30:44):
So you also get it out of the way during the day still.
I agree 100%. I agree because what time are
you normally going to bed on a Thursday?
Usually around 10 or 12. No way.
No way. Come on.
Yeah, I don't go out until the weekend.
Oh, OK, maybe things have changed since since my day.
(31:06):
OK, I'm an old man here. Maybe things have changed.
I mean, we we were up until like2-3 in the morning.
You know what I mean? Like that it just that's the way
it was. Wow.
All right, So you but you know what?
You were an athlete, so of course you're getting to bed on
time. I get it.
You you had a good experience. Yeah, you had a good experience.
Now, I heard that you you did some cheerleading in addition to
(31:26):
wrestling. Is that true?
Yes it is. I don't have any experience but
you know I tried out for fun. So this, this big strong
wrestler doing cheerleading, is it, is it safe to say that you
were a base or are you trying todo these flips and tumbles and
things like that? Don't flatter me.
(31:47):
I was a base. I was the the one in the back
the back base. Got it, got it.
So you were catching everybody? Yeah, and holding them up from
their ankles. Well, you were probably the
strongest one on the team, so that makes a lot of sense there.
But you could have, hey, listen,you could have been up there.
You could have been a flyer. Come on.
I mean, I could have, yeah, but I don't know how to do flips so
(32:10):
that wouldn't work. Got it.
That's fun. That's fun.
You know, it's, it's interesting, Kaylee, because
your parents, great friends of the show, including your
grandma, who got a big shout outfrom WWE Hall of Famer Devon
Dudley and his sons Terrence andTerrell, TNT.
(32:31):
We've embraced the whole Savage Bug family, so to speak here.
But it's been a real joy to watch your progression and to
see you continue to develop into, you know, the the young
lady that you are and it and it's cool to be able to check in
and hear about your journey and to know that you're still making
(32:54):
it work out there. You're still figuring it out.
And most of all, you're still remaining very close to your
family. I think that's probably your,
your superpower. The the, the secret ingredients,
so to speak in, in this, this big bowl of gumbo here that is
Kaylee bug savage in the in the savage family.
(33:14):
So if there's any advice that I can give you, it's, it's just to
keep doing that. Continue to stay close to your
support system there, which is your family.
And I say that to everybody listening out there, you know,
whether it's by blood or by choice, find the people who you
know truly have your back and make sure you have their back as
(33:35):
well. And just support each other
through the good times and through the bad times and
through the in between times. It matters, you know, it truly
does. And I think you found that out
completely in the end there. That's like, thank God I have my
family right? Yes, definitely.
Like having a good support system is something really good
(33:58):
to have, especially when you go to college, like so far away
from home. You have to like rebuild
connections and find good support systems.
And it's definitely good to be able to stay in contact with
your family, which I did. I literally called my mom almost
every day. I love it.
I love it. You know your mom has the
coolest name in the in the world, You realize that, right?
(34:20):
Yes, I love her name. Say her name, say.
How do you pronounce it properly?
Oh, I believe it's Jolie. See, that's right.
That's that French stuff there, folks.
Jolie, see that? Such a cool day.
But even the way it's spelled. So definitely shout out to mom,
Obviously, Billy, that's my homeboy right there.
(34:42):
All of your siblings, of course,the the the pets.
You got dogs, right? Yeah, we have two dogs and we
had two cats, but now we only have one.
OK, so shout out to the cat and the dogs and obviously grandma,
that's my home girl, the whole family, just really, really cool
stuff. And keep in mind folks, that
(35:05):
Kaylee still has a dream of one day becoming AWWE superstar.
So the interesting part about checking in with Kaylee is that
you're hearing it step by step, how a person continues to grow
and make certain decisions and what have you.
And, and then we see what happens in the end.
So it's it's really a front row seat, so to speak, to see the
(35:28):
development of this incredible, highly intelligent, highly
skilled young lady here. It's really cool.
And before I let you go, I hear that you've become a TikTok
star. Oh yeah, that's me.
That's me. How?
How has that journey been? It's been pretty fun.
(35:49):
I mean whenever I first started I only had like a small amount
of followers and it's only been a year and I've gained over 7000
followers since then. Wow, that is huge.
That is huge. OK, So what, what are you doing?
(36:09):
You doing dancing? Are you, are you demonstrating
wrestling? Like what do you what, what?
What do people get from the Kaylee Savage channel on TikTok?
I mean, whenever I do live streams, I usually just like you
know, do my makeup and talk to people.
But for content wise, sometimes I post wrestling clips or videos
(36:29):
like about wrestling funny videos or I just like do like
little fit checks you know? Little fit checks all right, so
she she's out here showing off her her her incredible style,
all right, letting everybody outthere know you know this is what
it's all about here. So all you brands out there, if
(36:50):
you're looking for brand ambassador or the next face of
your brand, then you you may want to reach out to Kaylee the
bug savage here she she has it going on That's right that's
right well, it's about that time.
What's the best way that anyone listening can keep up with you,
especially on TikTok? Do do you want to advertise
that? Oh yeah, I would love to.
(37:14):
OK, how do they how do they findyou on TikTok?
OK so my TikTok is Kaylee dot Savage, 16.
There you go, Kaylee dot Savage 16.
So if you folks want to support Kaylee, check out her live
streams. I know that on the TikTok as
(37:36):
well. There's opportunities.
So if you want to, what do they even call it?
If people want to, you know, send you a couple of bucks so
they can continue to support thechannel, how do they do that?
I mean you can send gifts through the live streams but
also in my bio I have one of my like you know those payment apps
(37:58):
like I have my username in it for just in case.
Awesome, awesome. And listen, no creeps allowed.
All right, I'm, I'm telling you guys right now, if I find out
any creeps our our inner inbox, there's going to be hell to pay.
All right, I'm just going to leave it at that.
We don't play that. All right, Uncle Duke is letting
it be known. We don't play that.
All right, that's right. All positivity here again,
(38:19):
Kaylee, I'm proud of you and I, I just, I love the journey.
I can't wait to see what happensnext because you're inspiring an
entire generation out there. So I want you most importantly,
please to just remember, stay true to yourself.
Stay close to your family and always do what you know is the
(38:42):
right thing to do. OK, Yes.
Sir, thank you. That's right.
OK, Kaylee, folks, you asked forit.
You got it. She's the best.
Oh hey folks, I'm WWE Hall of Famer Hacksaw Jim Duggan from
the Golden Age of Wrestling, andI'm looking forward to seeing
(39:04):
you at the River City Wrestling Con, tough guy.
Hello. Strictly for the common joy
every day stepping style. You know you need your way,
pants and colours, so define allabout the perfect life.
(39:33):
Be yourself, let your spirit liein this fashion you'll touch the
sky. Strictly for the culture.
We're so fine dressed to impressand show your shine Strictly for
(39:54):
the culture every day. Snip in style in the you need a
way. Visit
www.strictlyfortheculture.ca. Mr. Tony Shivani.
(40:25):
And we're desperately out of time on Duke Love Wrestling.
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