The Art of Long-Term Storytelling

The Art of Long-Term Storytelling

Released Thursday, 24th April 2025
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The Art of Long-Term Storytelling

The Art of Long-Term Storytelling

The Art of Long-Term Storytelling

The Art of Long-Term Storytelling

Thursday, 24th April 2025
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Long-term storytelling. And it's

0:53

something that... Probably over the

0:55

last 10 to 15 years,

0:57

we haven't really seen a

0:59

lot of, but it seems

1:01

over the last year, we've

1:03

seen more and more of it.

1:05

The bloodline probably being the biggest

1:08

example of long-term booking and long-term

1:10

storytelling. And bully, it's something that

1:12

we talk about a lot, you

1:15

and I on busted open, about

1:17

it and how it's missing. Do

1:20

you feel like it's come back,

1:22

and if you do, why? Why?

1:24

I think there are some

1:26

storylines that have come back

1:29

that are being told long

1:31

term fold. Obviously

1:33

the bloodline is the

1:35

first one that comes

1:37

to mind with Romans

1:39

championship rain closing in

1:41

on a thousand days

1:43

now and everything that

1:46

we've seen with him. with

1:48

Hayman, with the usos, with

1:50

solo, with Sammy, with Kevin,

1:53

with Cody, and everybody involved.

1:55

I've always been a fan of

1:58

long-term storytelling. long-term storytelling in

2:00

my opinion has always worked

2:03

in the wrestling business. I

2:05

don't know why there was a portion

2:07

of wrestling history that got away

2:09

from it. I think we do

2:12

live in an age of instant

2:14

gratification, the microwave generation of I

2:16

want it and I want it

2:18

now, but if they want it

2:20

and they want it now and

2:22

you just keep giving it to

2:24

them. Well that means you're going

2:26

to burn through a lot of

2:28

things and the best wrestling is

2:30

not burnt through because if you're

2:32

just giving them match after match

2:34

after match they don't have characters

2:36

in stories to invest emotionally in.

2:38

Thus it just becomes about

2:40

spirited contests and you can

2:42

do that all day long

2:44

but I don't think that

2:47

Just wrestling matches for the

2:49

sake of wrestling matches has

2:51

ever truly drawn the big

2:53

money in pro wrestling when

2:55

we think of the biggest

2:57

Wrestle Manias Hogan and Andre

2:59

rock and Austin Storytelling

3:01

deep defined characters good

3:03

versus evil black hat versus

3:06

white hat We get it

3:08

My favorite part of my

3:10

own career is when there

3:13

was long-term storytelling involved, the

3:15

longest story I was involved

3:17

in, obviously, the Aces and

3:20

Aits with the most defined

3:22

characters. That was, you know,

3:25

a favorite time of mine

3:27

for my business. So whenever

3:30

I can watch pro wrestling,

3:32

sports entertainment, fighting opera, whatever

3:34

you want to call it.

3:36

I like to watch it

3:38

the same way I got

3:40

hooked as a kid on watching

3:42

the young and the restless

3:45

with my grandmother. No

3:47

young teenage kid want to

3:49

watch soap operas with their

3:52

grandmother. But one day I

3:54

started watching the young and

3:57

the restless with my

3:59

grandmother and whatever story

4:01

they were telling on that

4:03

particular day with the characters that

4:05

were telling that story hooked

4:08

me enough that for the

4:10

next two years I watched

4:12

the young and the wrestlers

4:14

with my grandmother. Now how do

4:16

you just come in on one

4:18

day as a young teenager and

4:21

get hooked on a soap

4:23

opera? They must have been

4:25

doing something right and when

4:27

pro wrestling has clear cut

4:29

to find characters with cohesive

4:31

storytelling. That's when we do

4:33

our best business. That's when

4:35

it's the most entertainment. Dream

4:37

matches to me, Holkogan and

4:39

Andre the Giant was a

4:41

dream match. A lot of

4:43

the stuff that's being pushed

4:45

today as dream matches are

4:47

just for instant gratification. And

4:50

all you're going to be responding

4:52

to is a bunch of spots

4:54

and a bunch of moves and

4:56

not to the actual wrestlers because

4:58

you're really not connected to them.

5:00

To me, long-term storytelling will always

5:02

be where the money is at

5:04

in pro wrestling. Yeah, and there's

5:06

a few things I want to

5:08

jump on that you just said,

5:10

Bully, and I feel like the

5:12

W.W.E. right now is doing a

5:15

great job of long-term storytelling, but

5:17

it was also the W.W.E. when

5:19

they had that schedule of a

5:21

monthly pay-per-view, they started telling stories

5:23

that would only last a month.

5:25

They would start right after a

5:28

pay-per-view. They would play out for

5:30

three or four weeks until the

5:32

next pay-per-view, and then they would

5:34

reset with a new story. and

5:36

I feel like now they're doing

5:39

a much better job of letting

5:41

stories breathe. And I do agree

5:43

with you about soap operas. The

5:45

last thing you want to do

5:47

is watch a soap opera, but

5:50

when you actually sit down and

5:52

watch one episode, you're hooked and

5:54

you have to watch the next

5:56

day and the next day after

5:59

that, cliffhangers. So, you know, give

6:01

me a reason to tune into your

6:03

show the next time it's on and

6:05

I feel like Pro Wrestling used to

6:07

do it and it's starting to do

6:09

it again. I don't like, not that

6:11

I don't like, I'm sorry, I don't

6:13

sit there and watch TV. But if

6:16

I happen to be in front of

6:18

my TV when law and order comes

6:20

on and I see the first two

6:22

minutes of law and order, I know

6:24

I'm not moving for the next hour

6:27

because they hooked me so well with

6:29

the story they can tell in those

6:31

first two minutes. I think

6:33

people always say, well, the

6:36

business has changed so much.

6:38

Things are different now. I'm

6:40

not a big believer in

6:42

that narrative. However, I do

6:45

believe in that we live

6:47

in a generation now of,

6:49

like I said before, instant

6:51

gratification. So we have to

6:54

give it to them right

6:56

now. We set the pace.

6:58

We're the performers, we're the

7:00

entertainers, they're the fans that

7:03

are paying admission. So if

7:05

we tell some good long-term

7:07

stories with some good matches

7:09

in between, they're gonna stick

7:12

around for the long-term

7:14

storytelling because it's a different

7:16

way to invest emotionally.

7:18

In some matches, I

7:20

invest emotionally because I'm

7:22

going... Whoa, we, I'm just

7:24

popping for the moves, but

7:26

then what I truly enjoy

7:29

are the segments where I

7:31

can pop and emotionally invest

7:33

for the characters. Human

7:35

beings have a range of

7:37

emotions and wrestlers do not

7:40

take advantage of the gamut

7:42

of emotions that people have.

7:44

They, most of the time,

7:46

they're working for that moment.

7:49

They're working for that pop.

7:51

True professionals know how to

7:54

get those moments and those

7:56

pops through storytelling. Mark, your

7:58

take, keep going. two for me.

8:01

You remember the old Adam

8:03

West Batman? Yes. The

8:05

action starts and

8:07

it builds to a

8:09

crescendo and then all of a

8:12

sudden we're out of time. We'll

8:14

be back next week. Same

8:16

bad time, same bad channel.

8:19

Didn't you tune in?

8:21

Oh yeah, absolutely. Yep. They

8:23

make you we got the

8:25

ability and the control. to

8:28

make people come back. We

8:30

don't use it enough. Now,

8:32

you're not a Star Wars

8:34

guy. Bully is a Star Wars

8:37

guy. So he's gonna pop so

8:39

damn big for what I'm about

8:41

to say. You have the fight,

8:43

and it looks like the

8:45

team is gonna win in

8:47

Star Wars. And then all of

8:49

a sudden, you hear it is

8:52

music. The evil empire.

8:54

And dog Vader comes walking

8:56

through a door that

8:58

opens smoke is following him

9:01

lights and and he

9:03

is and everybody is like,

9:05

oh shit. And then they say,

9:07

go, I'll hold him off. And

9:09

he takes this guy and

9:12

he just crumbles him like

9:14

a beer can and throws

9:16

him away. And he's power

9:19

walking. And then it goes to

9:21

like a break to be

9:23

continued. Everybody watches. Everybody

9:26

comes back for that.

9:28

I guarantee you bullets watching

9:30

the Mandalorian. I know

9:33

Andre is. I can't wait to watch

9:35

the episode today. But I got

9:37

to get done with my work first.

9:40

And I'm looking forward to

9:42

the story because I've watched

9:44

the other six episodes. I

9:46

got, I don't, there's nothing

9:48

else in this world is more

9:50

than me right now. They're watching

9:53

the next episode of The Mandalori.

9:55

We have that in wrestling. Well,

9:57

and Mark, what you just said

9:59

is. 100% true. There's certain series that

10:01

it's like I can't wait for next

10:03

week. I can't wait because I got

10:05

to see the follow-up. I'm not one

10:08

of those people that bids watch anything.

10:10

I don't have the time to binge

10:12

watch. Go ahead bully. Guys, let's forget

10:14

about my example of the Young

10:16

and the Restless. Let's forget about

10:19

Mark's example about Star Wars. Some

10:21

great examples. Georgia championship wrestling. Yep.

10:23

How did Georgia championship wrestling go

10:26

off the air every week? As

10:28

kids, remember, we would be looking

10:30

at the clock going, oh my

10:33

God, 30 seconds left, 15 seconds

10:35

up, and with fans, it's breaking

10:37

down, it's also, we'll let you

10:39

know what happened next. Oh my

10:42

God. And then what did you

10:44

do every day? Oh my God,

10:46

six more days till... Georgia. There

10:48

you go. Mark got two spots.

10:51

Five more days till Georgia champions

10:53

are pressing. Four more days to

10:55

Georgia champions. Okay, it's only three

10:57

more sleeps until Georgia.

10:59

Couldn't wait to tune in. I

11:02

hate, what'd you say? Said it's

11:04

breaking down in Tulsa's from

11:06

mid-south, but I get your reference.

11:08

Okay. I hate that wrestling opens

11:10

the book at 8 o'clock and

11:13

then closes the book at 10 or

11:15

11. I love to

11:17

be continued. If you think

11:19

about our generation, if

11:22

we missed the show, that's it.

11:24

We missed the show. We're from

11:26

before VCRs. Now, like with

11:28

all the recording devices

11:30

also, like, I mean, we have

11:33

callers that call in and be

11:35

like, oh, I caught up on

11:37

social media. Well, to that point

11:39

and that generation, cool.

11:41

But you miss a lot of the

11:44

fine points. I'm going based upon

11:46

your clip, me and you clip

11:48

from rebellion, where all the referees

11:50

are holding the ladders. And they're

11:52

like, didn't bully Rable and like, you're

11:54

going off of a clip, but if

11:56

you didn't watch the entire match, you

11:58

don't know the story. And when you

12:00

post something, then you're an idiot.

12:03

Because you're just going on a

12:05

clip. That is, again, and like I

12:07

tell you, like I go to concerts

12:09

with my daughters, and the entire generation

12:12

just holds up their phone the

12:14

moment the concert comes on. Nobody

12:16

watches with their eyes. Or if

12:18

they are watching with their eyes,

12:20

they're making sure they're doing other

12:22

things. And listen, I get that. When

12:25

we're talking long term. A

12:27

thousand percent it will always work.

12:29

I will I will quote Dustin

12:31

Rhodes all the time. Old school

12:33

never dies. There have been, we

12:36

had Sergeant Slaughter on this show

12:38

and he called up right after

12:40

WrestleMania because he

12:42

knew Vince didn't know that he just

12:45

lost his GI Joe gig because

12:47

they had canceled it. And he

12:49

called in to say what a great

12:51

show it was. Just blah blah

12:53

blah and he was out for

12:55

the company. And he goes, and

12:57

Dave, you were there. Vince literally

12:59

called. They got rid of the how

13:01

you been, how you doing, and Vince

13:03

laid out a one year angle for

13:06

Sergeant Slaughter's return for

13:08

the WW to get him

13:10

to WrestleMania as the heel. And like,

13:12

think of that in between. I

13:14

don't know how many hours it was

13:16

for that. When Bully mentioned Hogan

13:19

Andre, it was the dream match.

13:21

You saw bits and seeds of

13:23

it being planted, but then. Think

13:26

of the long-term storytelling after WrestleMania

13:28

3, which got you to what?

13:30

WrestleMania 4, which got you to

13:33

Saturday night's main event, like all

13:35

these different things. That's long-term booking

13:38

at its finest. Me personally, I

13:40

know it works because you're talking

13:42

to someone who's supposed to have

13:44

a feud with Raven for three months,

13:46

and then Raven was supposed to

13:48

go back to the WWE, and it was three

13:51

years. You're also talking to

13:53

somebody who... currently helps

13:55

write television and

13:58

I book this is where I I'm

14:00

going to go. How do I get

14:02

there? And I mean, Mickey

14:04

James last rodeo. It started

14:07

with a conversation between

14:09

her and I. And then I

14:11

was just like, hmm. Now I know

14:13

how to, this is what we're going.

14:15

How do I get there? What

14:18

stops along the way? And then

14:20

unfortunately, we have the

14:23

sidetrack of her injury. And

14:25

these things happen. The beauty

14:27

of the bloodline, and we all love

14:29

it, it's generated so much money, you

14:31

have this one person who's amazing

14:34

at this, is Paul Hayman. I got to

14:36

know, like, number one, like, and I

14:38

see bits and pieces. The best

14:40

part about the Raven Dreamerfield, what

14:43

I always talk about, is all

14:45

the characters that have emerged from that

14:47

in the industry. Think of

14:49

all the characters that have become

14:51

not emerged main eventers because

14:54

of this one storyline. The

14:56

other part I got to witness

14:58

and so did bully firsthand

15:00

Taz versus Sabu For one

15:02

year we're gonna build this paper

15:05

view main event and Never

15:07

have two guys touch and I got

15:09

to watch that beauty and That

15:12

straight up listen was from

15:14

Paul Heyman. I had I had

15:16

nothing to do with it, and

15:18

I don't think Taz or Sabu

15:21

had anything doing it that was

15:23

all from Paul and had like

15:25

that is unheard of today because

15:27

of two guys not touching.

15:29

But it's, listen man,

15:32

we've heard it, we've seen

15:34

it, we've lived it with

15:36

Becky Lynch losing in seconds,

15:39

right? Like that happened, and

15:41

then it was like, that

15:43

was a six-month story arc.

15:46

If I had total control

15:48

over whatever company I'm

15:50

writing for. I use every

15:52

bit and piece of social

15:55

media that I can to

15:57

further those stories and hook

15:59

people. because it's so easy to

16:01

do it. We think like everything

16:04

that happened like behind

16:06

the scenes of companies if

16:08

you let people in just a

16:10

little bit, but you could control

16:13

that entire environment.

16:15

I know it because I've done it

16:18

and I still do it and you

16:20

get people emotionally invested

16:23

into it. So. Yes, it does work.

16:25

And if it doesn't work, or

16:27

the storyline isn't setting, or the

16:29

people like, they're not reacting the

16:31

way we want them to react,

16:33

it's so easy to set up, well, this

16:36

is where we're going to blow this off.

16:38

Or this is where we're going to turn

16:40

this person. Or the proverbial, and this

16:42

is old school's old school can get,

16:44

you know the person is going to

16:46

turn. You see it each and every

16:49

week, you just don't know when. And

16:51

the moment of the when? is when I

16:53

got you. Mark, you had something? You stole

16:55

my thundertoming, but that was

16:57

not my favorite. I wanted to

17:00

ask y'all, what was your favorite

17:02

story? And my favorite story was the

17:04

two guys that came together by chance.

17:06

Like the acclaim. Just put together

17:08

by chance. Just put together by chance.

17:10

Just put together by chance. Just

17:12

put together by chance. Just put

17:15

together by chance. Just put together

17:17

by chance. Just put together by chance.

17:19

Just put together by chance. And

17:21

then a story forms. And

17:24

then it goes on, it goes on.

17:26

And then all of a sudden,

17:28

one starts to shine too much

17:31

over the other. And the other

17:33

one gets jealous. And

17:35

shit started happening bad

17:38

for the guy all of a

17:40

sudden. And all along, it was

17:42

that teammate sticking a knife

17:44

in slow, just barely at

17:46

a time. And then all of

17:48

a sudden. It comes to fruition.

17:50

Hey, I see what you're doing. If you

17:53

got a problem with me, why

17:55

don't you just come to me? Because

17:57

you didn't listen and then you tell

17:59

that. story and then they

18:01

get they blow up into

18:04

a fight at the end that

18:06

that was always my favorite

18:09

the brothers that come

18:11

to war and that's

18:13

not being done no

18:15

more. Why can't we

18:17

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and the ad council. Well,

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I think you see hints of

20:32

it and when you're giving that

20:34

story I think about the mentor

20:37

and the student That's we've seen

20:39

that story play out many many

20:41

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20:44

about ECW and about Paul Heyman

20:46

it got me thinking about the

20:48

bloodline story Because look how long

20:51

the bloodline story has been and

20:53

and he also mentioned about the

20:55

characters that come out of a

20:58

story Think about the characters that

21:00

have come out of the Bloodline

21:03

story. It's been Roman. It's been

21:05

Euso, Solosakoa, Paul Ammon, Kevin Owen,

21:07

Sammy Zane, Cody Rhodes. Now you

21:10

have Matt Riddle involved, Brock Lesner.

21:12

Like you've had like 12 to

21:14

15 people emerge out of the

21:17

same storyline that's become a part

21:19

in the thread of that story.

21:21

And there's no end in sight.

21:24

There's been so many... Twist and

21:26

turns in this story. I don't

21:28

know how this is ultimately going

21:31

to end I thought it was

21:33

going to end at WrestleMania 39

21:35

with Cody beating Roman that did

21:38

it happen is it going to

21:40

end at summer slam is it

21:42

going to end at next year's

21:45

Wrestleania bully we thought it was

21:47

going to end with Roman meeting

21:49

the rock at Wrestleania that's not

21:52

even that's so far in the

21:54

rearview mirror now I really don't

21:56

know where this story is going

21:59

to go It's a beautiful story

22:01

and it's being told in 2023

22:03

and people are in for it.

22:06

That's why I think that if

22:08

you tell a good... story, you're

22:10

gonna grab fans attention. Um, it's

22:13

been working since day one. Yes.

22:15

You know, it's so funny what

22:17

Mark? Mark described without even describing

22:20

it. Sean and Marty and one

22:22

of the greatest turns and Dave

22:25

you and I saw like, hey,

22:27

the rockers started losing matches. The

22:29

rockers never won the titles. There

22:32

was miscommunication amongst them. One guy

22:34

would move and like the proverbial

22:36

bump into the other guy, the

22:39

other guy was pinned. And then

22:41

the beauty of this, you have

22:43

two talents. Where do I go

22:46

with these guys? And I think

22:48

in the beginning, most people wouldn't

22:50

have thought that Sean was the

22:53

guy. You know? And like, but

22:55

we saw that. One of my

22:57

favorite angles of all time. Mr.

23:00

Wrestling 2 and Magnum T. Yep.

23:02

Go back and just like you

23:04

watched that and you're like. How

23:07

is this beloved man like gonna

23:09

turn and think of the beauty

23:11

of that a guy who you

23:14

can't see his face? And then

23:16

when he slaps his face and

23:18

you want magnitude to fight and

23:21

he refuses to fight. Listen, Paul

23:23

did the same thing with me

23:25

and Terry. But it's just this

23:28

is the beauty that you can

23:30

still do today. You see it

23:32

in movies. Why? Because then there's

23:35

always a part two if the

23:37

movies is good. If you have

23:39

all these characters that are able.

23:42

to go and do all these

23:44

things. There's beautiful magic to be

23:47

happened. And by magic, I also

23:49

mean money. You're making me smile

23:51

because you're talking about where I

23:54

love. Because you saw the great.

23:56

Yeah, because you got to witness

23:58

as a kid when we're innocent.

24:01

We had no other thoughts in

24:03

our life. But then you're like,

24:05

oh shit, I got to see

24:08

it. Mark got to see it

24:10

too with Kenny O'Megan Hangman Page.

24:12

And we're back to seeing that.

24:15

And you know what not all

24:17

the time are you going to

24:19

get the the outcome that you

24:22

want case and point a match

24:24

that both you were at and

24:26

Tommy you were at and that's

24:29

Jimmy Snooka and Damarico. What a

24:31

great story that was told and

24:33

and that that ended. Jimmy Snooker

24:36

never won that intercontinental championship never

24:38

he never won that title now

24:40

he had that moment jumping off

24:43

the cage But but what I

24:45

wanted to see was him winning

24:47

the intercontinental title that story was

24:50

played out for months and months

24:52

and months and months and Honestly

24:54

the outcome was not something that

24:57

I never got fully satisfied with

24:59

the outcome of that story and

25:02

when Mark asked earlier on about

25:04

our own individual favorite stories Come

25:06

on now, come on. Burst thing

25:09

that popped into my head was

25:11

the evolution of Jimmy Snooka. Remember

25:13

when Snooka spoke for the first

25:16

time on Piper's pit? That was

25:18

a huge deal. You know, Captain

25:20

Lou was browbeaten him, browbeaten him,

25:23

right? And then either Snooka just

25:25

said, he said, he said, no.

25:27

So, I think he just said

25:30

one word, I think he just

25:32

said no. And you were like,

25:34

no, this is simplicity of it.

25:37

You know who they should have

25:39

did, you know who they should

25:41

have did that with and they

25:44

missed the opportunity? Solisakoa. No, hook.

25:46

Oh, interesting. Yeah, hook. should not

25:48

have ever spoken a word until

25:51

you sold out 10,000 seats to

25:53

hear him speak his first words.

25:55

Good call. That's a good call.

25:58

I told you this before me.

26:00

It wasn't on the show. I

26:02

mean, it was just me and

26:05

you hanging out. And I told

26:07

you I don't remember how many

26:09

times that I cried. about wrestling.

26:12

All I know is the first

26:14

time that I cried in wrestling.

26:16

When Andre took the cross off

26:19

of Hogan's neck, just tears. No

26:21

crying, no sobbing, just the emotional

26:24

pain of my favorite wrestler doing

26:26

something that hurt my soul. I

26:29

want more of that in

26:32

Russell. You're bleeding, brother. Oh,

26:34

man. Can I tell you

26:36

mind, Dave, before you go?

26:38

Yes. Greatest long term. And

26:40

again, we're blessed to have

26:43

behind the scenes to interview

26:45

these guys. Kevin Sullivan and

26:47

Dusty Roads are good versus

26:49

evil. Kevin says this is

26:51

all dusty. He goes, I'm

26:54

losing, we're setting up the

26:56

big match, a loser, leave

26:58

town. This is before the

27:00

internet. He goes, I'm losing

27:03

to everybody. I'm losing to

27:05

Scott McGee. I'm losing to

27:07

everybody taking the pin and

27:09

everyone thinks I'm finishing up.

27:11

And this is before even

27:14

smart marks. And then he

27:16

beats Dusty. And now Dusty

27:18

has to leave Florida. And

27:20

seriously, this is one of

27:23

my favorite angles ever because

27:25

of when you think of

27:27

how great it is. Now

27:29

here comes the midnight rider

27:31

and the one stipulation is

27:34

if the midnight rider is

27:36

unmasked and it is Dusty

27:38

roads. He has to leave

27:40

Florida forever Sidebar the midnight

27:42

rider versus Rick Flair No,

27:45

I'm sorry Harley race midnight

27:47

rider beats him pins Harley

27:49

race. He's the new NWA

27:51

champion here's your conundrum You

27:54

in the NWA if you won

27:56

the NWA title you had to

27:59

one mask So now the midnight

28:01

rider if he unmasks He can

28:03

never and it's dusty roads. Dusty

28:05

roads can never wrestle in Florida

28:07

So the midnight rider has to

28:09

give up the most cherished possession

28:12

Because he loves the people of

28:14

Florida so much Now he just

28:16

got another angle over but think

28:18

about that. I'm now the world

28:20

champion everything ever tried to accomplish

28:22

here comes and now I have

28:25

to give it back because I

28:27

love you people so much Beautiful

28:29

beautiful in its in its artistry

28:32

How do you not cheer for

28:34

that guy? Good time Good and

28:36

that but you know what guys

28:39

it takes fans to buy in

28:41

like you have to buy into

28:43

the characters you have to buy

28:46

into the personalities You you have

28:48

to get support from the performers

28:50

as well You know, the two

28:53

wrestlers that are in a feud

28:55

can't be taking pictures together and

28:57

posting it on social media or

29:00

thanking them on social media for

29:02

a great story that was told

29:04

last night. Like, it takes everyone

29:07

to buy in. That's, that, again,

29:09

that goes back to what we

29:11

talked about with all access, you

29:13

know, with AEW. When you show

29:16

me the strings on the puppet,

29:18

I'm always going to know that

29:20

what I'm looking at. is not

29:23

real, it's not reality and that's

29:25

the magic of it. Do you

29:27

guys remember when Rick Flair beat

29:30

Harley race for the NWA championship

29:32

and Flair did his first interview

29:34

and he thanked Harley race for

29:37

a great match and took a

29:39

picture with him for the front

29:41

page of the Charlotte newspaper? It

29:44

would never happen. Oh, you don't

29:46

remember that? No. You know what

29:48

bully I'm going to throw out

29:51

something that we talked about recently

29:53

Mark I'm being sarcastic what I

29:55

mean is I know I don't

29:58

I don't know how this business

30:00

evolved into. taking pictures with your

30:02

bloodstained opponent, who you despise and

30:04

just fought, and posting them on

30:07

social media and thanking them for

30:09

a match. Here's another thing I

30:11

hate. And I have never done

30:14

this, and I have always said

30:16

to other wrestlers, don't do this

30:18

while I'm in the same ring

30:21

as you. Thank you, brother. Do

30:23

not thank me in a fucking

30:25

wrestling ring. Thank you brother. Give

30:28

the fuck out of here. Don't

30:30

thank me. You want to thank

30:32

me? Say it in the back.

30:35

Buy me a shot. Buy me

30:37

a shot. Buy me a piece.

30:39

Buy me a step. You want

30:42

all you have to say that

30:44

you don't say thank you in

30:46

a ring. I don't care who

30:48

you are. Ugh. Hey, when you

30:51

talk about when you went with

30:53

Harley race, Rick Flair, I thought

30:55

you were going to go long-term

30:58

storytelling. camera in the ring. Leans

31:00

into Ricky Steamboat. Thank you, brother.

31:02

I owe you one. Set the

31:05

tone. Think of how today, you

31:07

and I and every other wrestler

31:09

that has watched Rocky, we always

31:12

talk about. I owe me one.

31:14

And then how they stopped it,

31:16

both guys. DING. Guess what? Rocky

31:19

two, three, four, five, six, creed.

31:21

You know, they hooked us. and

31:23

they're still hooking you. And think

31:26

about it, it was 33 years

31:28

later that you found out what

31:30

the outcome of that fight that

31:32

you're talking about. It took, you

31:35

know, they didn't tell you until

31:37

the first Creed movie who actually

31:39

won that fight. Well, another reason

31:42

why you should watch Creed, Mark,

31:44

because you waited 33 years to

31:46

find out who won that fight.

31:49

How great was it? You want

31:51

to talk about character development? I

31:53

know we're going way off. I

31:56

know we're going way off on

31:58

a tangent here, right? character

32:01

development. It can be a small

32:03

character. It doesn't have to be

32:05

the main character of a movie.

32:08

What was the name of Rocky's

32:10

opponent in Rocky One? And we

32:12

learned his name in the first

32:15

five minutes of the movie. Oh,

32:17

it was a spider, uh, Rico.

32:19

Spider Rico. How great was it.

32:21

Fast forward. to Rocky whatever five

32:24

six whatever movie it was when

32:26

we see Rocky letting spider Rico

32:28

eat for free and then spider

32:31

washing the dishes and Mark and

32:33

Mark didn't see this movie either

32:35

shame on him Rocky Balboa it

32:37

was it was I guess the

32:40

sixth Rocky movie Mark spider Rico

32:42

is is working in in Rocky's

32:44

restaurant and then. Duke Apollo's trainer

32:47

trains Rocky for the exhibition fight

32:49

that he has at the end

32:51

of the movie like again bullies

32:53

right I'm gonna watch it no

32:56

but but but but the point

32:58

is small characters that are really

33:00

insignificant in the story but because

33:03

we're so emotionally invested in the

33:05

story even those small characters listen

33:07

you guys are Star Wars guys

33:09

Boba Fed Boba Fett was in

33:12

what? Returned to Jedi. The guy

33:14

gets jobbed out at the beginning

33:16

of the movie. Every Star War

33:19

fans knows who Boba Fett is.

33:21

Guy gets jobbed out in the

33:23

first three minutes of the movie.

33:25

But you know his name, you

33:28

know his character because you're so

33:30

emotionally invested in the story that

33:32

even the smallest characters are significant

33:35

because it's because the story is

33:37

so significant. Mark had talked about

33:39

it with Gunther. Gunther Shame is,

33:41

that was, that was in a

33:44

big build. The match got. So

33:46

over and then like I know

33:48

I have something in these two

33:51

guys. But what if I throw

33:53

Drew McIntyre in there and you

33:55

have these guys tagging all the

33:58

way up to WrestleMania and think

34:00

of the reaction when it was

34:02

a backstage reaction when they announced

34:04

that it was gonna be a

34:07

three way for the match. The

34:09

pace went nuts. How we used

34:11

to watch wrestling that old school,

34:14

we're reacting to the old school,

34:16

Titan Tron is what they used

34:18

to call it. But those backstage

34:20

segments, and when you get a

34:23

roar of the crowd for that,

34:25

you know you got them. And

34:27

that was just a way, I

34:30

know I got two guys that

34:32

could work well together. I know

34:34

I got three guys I know

34:36

it could work together. Physical, they're

34:39

going to tear it up. Let's

34:41

stretch this out to what? The

34:43

biggest payoff of you can. It's

34:46

not hard. It's not right. Listen,

34:48

I, guys, I remember my first

34:50

three way I jobbed out in

34:52

two minutes. Want more of our

34:55

masters? Subscribe now to the busted

34:57

open podcast feed for daily, pro

34:59

wrestling reaction, analysis, and hilarity. Just

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