What's she gonna do? Brother, when Jeff Townsend media runs wild on your all right, we'll get it going, all right, alright, alright, alright, Bill said. At first, I said, at second, this is Jeff Townsend. We are starting another experience, another experience, actually one continuing experience. I think the Billdemont experience. Like I said, I'm Jeff Townsend joining you live in Longview, Texas in a hotel room with the loud air conditioner by me and my friend Bill Dumont is at home in the usual spot. After a last couple bit weeks you had. Man, Yeah, man, we've been we've been busy. Um. I think I'm I'm rubbing off on you because you're you're becoming a traveling maniac. But you seem existed. I'll tell you, dude, I'm so just worn out. Last week was such a the last week I was just such an emotional rollercoaster in the best possible way, just and it's so busy, Like it's the first time I had a schedule where I was here, here, here, here, here, had to be at these things. But thank goodness, uh, you know, my family was with me, which was great. We haven't done anything be four of us together quite a while, so that was cool. We've also learned that we don't like each other as much as we thought we did after spending so much time in the car. That'll do a great great weekend, man, I really uh, I still I'm still trying to process it. So the weekend you're referring to is or the Iowa the you're inducted into the Hall of Fame. I'll let you talk about it. You're you're You're there, not me. I try. I wanted to be though. I was there, you know with the funny quick side note, Like as I was um reluctantly giving my speech, I kept looking out and I'm like, maybe he's up in the middle of up that I kept in the back of my mind that I'm like, I wondering, feez ober Well it's we were in Warterloo, Iowa. We got inducted into the hold on a minute, right, I'm gonna escape, inducted into the class of twenty twenty three. There it is right there. Yes, maybe that'll be on YouTube. Getting the loof As Award into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame just amazing. I like, I encourage I said this on social media. I encourage everyone wrestling fans, wrestlers take a trip out there. That museum UM really a great organization and I just I turned into like a kid look at it, all the names on the walls and the the you know, the memorabilia and things like that, and then realizing that I just joined that that group. It was a It was an amazing experience to fans were great, from Florida to Canada, from California to Vermont. There were people from all over the country and just you know, we could talk about it forever. Just the legends that were there. That was That was what was cool to me is seeing people meeting meeting some of my heroes and uh, you know, I got to listen to Here's of all the things, one of the biggest things for me was, you know, amateur wrestling people know who Dan Gabel is and if you've been around wrestling, you've heard Dan Gabele's name. Um Ledge and Dairy Olympian Collegiate wrestler. My son and I were looking at the record at one time was one hundred and seventeen and one hey and he spoke on night one of the weekend, and so not only did I get to sit and listen to one of the greatest coaches in the world speak. Then I got to speak to him, and I think there was I put a picture of Dan Gabel and myself and my son on the social media. If not, I'll go I'm gonna go through and make one more big post. But just an amazing man. And like the whole thing about it was everybody was so cool, even even the hustle bustle wasn't hustle bustle. It was just so cool. And the people who were running that museum and and doing all that work and just do an amazing job. And it's just like the biggest word you heard all weekend was family. Like it's just a big goofy hall, short, hairy, bald, athletic, entertaining family. Yeah, I mean, it was just it was. It was cool. In my thirty five years, I've never thought that that would happen thirty five years in the business, but really cool. But I could go on forever because as I'm talking about him, just like reliving things. You know, why did you say we what did you mean? He said? We were inducted we um the Luths Award. And I'm paraphrasing, that award goes to the an individual who's not only I don't know because it sounds silly for me to say stuff like that, but not only gives back to the wrestling community, but then does something with their career, with their fame, you know, with their you know, with the head, Yeah, with the ben used that platform, and we is the Demots carry a Demot Foundation and everybody who who runs that foundation with us. We were honored. So to have my family there with me, And while the wrestling was really cool, it reminds me of why I still love this business. And you and I talk about this business because you know, it's like you have a younger brother. I can do whatever I want to my younger brother, but nobody else can, you know what I mean. And that's the wrestling community. Like we don't always see out to eye, whether it's with the fans or whether it's with each other, but at the end of the day, everybody has each other's back and best interest at heart. So when I got the call from mister Gerald Briscoe that that not only was I being honored, but the foundation was a big piece of that was just really cool. That was that's the way. Jaybe ill I actually tweeted out and said that you had the best speech he's ever heard. I heard that quite a lot that I said to my my wife and my kids. I'm like, like, how about you tell me what I said so I understand why it's a big deal. I kind of go I kind of black out in those things, even when I'm giving a presentation. I know what I'm doing. That's like an out of body thing. Um. Yeah, well, people were just telling me that was a great speech, and I don't know the only thing I could think of it it was it came from the heart, you know, it came It's why we were there. And I kind of kidded around. I remember when I first got to the podium, I said, and I showed my papers, right, my notes, and I said, that's right, this is a scripted promo. And it made me feel better because it got a laugh from from the you know, from the room. But then it made me feel better. But Bradshaw and I had some good time to get it just with everybody, and for for someone of his caliber, a true Hall of famer, uh, you know, football wrestling, commentating all the things that John and John's work in the community and on the islands with the kids and and and rugby and everything. For him to say that to me was really really cool. If for him the post that was special. Did you did you deliver my two messages? My hellos too? A Conrad and Jbil I did. But that was the first time I've ever met Conrad, Like social media is something he likes. I like something like that. But it was really cool. The morning of the inductions, Conrad pulled up with um Bruce Pritchard and and uh you know, some family members and how great it was to see Bruce and then get to meet Conrad and just a wrestling community man, like that's my that's my kumbayam moment like that. That was like, this is the coolest crap, you know, and I wish everybody could have been there to experience it. The room, that's you know, just the room. He does so much stuff. I wouldn't I would have caught herd even remembers come and onto my podcast and stuff like that. It's been a while. He's does so much stuff. We're gonna have to he you know what to hear, Like Bruce k a tremendous um introduction for Conrad and talks about not what he does and people see you know, right because if you follow him on social media, he's he's like the mortgage guy, but he's this wrestling guy and he has this like he's on a mission. And to keep that going and to listen to Bruce tell the story of how they met and and everything Conrad's done for everyone is amazing. And then just get to talk to him. He's like he's like super laid back, super cool, just and it was great. It was great just to meet him and have a couple of minutes from and share the share the the you know, the stage with him. But super good guy. I'd love to get him on here or vice versa, or we get to go to talk to him. But just everybody was amazing. Now I think what he It's kind of and you and I talk about this when we do this, we create this kind of content. It's really a lot of it is like this stuff can last forever. It's a nostalgia. It's preserving events of wrestling in and what pok what Conrad has done, particularly starting out with Tony Schiavanni, Bruce Pritchard, he really got us a lot of us are first besides reading like a Dave Meltzer's Dirt Sheets or no and professional wrestlers, he really gave us the first really good look behind the scenes as some of the things that we've always wondered about. So I think he's definitely done a huge part for wrestling in the last Heck, it's probably been podcasting for seven or eight years, but yeah, I think he's done a part of that because it's just not something you would get to hear about. I mean, you had some good old shoot videos out there on YouTube and stuff, but to go into detailed his very similar format to what we do, notably so right, but yeah, because that's because I listened to those. But yeah, just to be able to talk about the past and get that nostalgia factor and preserve wrestling history is is He's been a cool part of that. Yeah. I think the really cool part for me was, like Conrad, it's not just a job, like he has a I don't like the word passion because too many people I think use it, but he has this. He just has a love for it up he does. He has a passion for what he does and it shows, you know, it shows on what he does, how he presents himself, and how he presents people. He doesn't have to do it. He has a successful family business. Yeah, you know, he says success outside of this. But like I said, it's not a job where you goes Okay, let me put in an hour here and there. The guy knows his stuff. Oh yeah, that's the cool part for me. Like so, and it goes it ties right back into what we're doing that and I always say, this is the cool part for me. You bring me back to you know, the things I love and we get to talk about it and you know, share that a little bit behind the scenes stuff. But yeah, that she's we'll be talking about this past weekend forever. Well, I guess we can move on then. Yeah, hopefully get a next year with or without your bill. I'm going to try to make the drive again. Yeah. Just seeing all the cool photos that you shared made me really want to be there and made me really like it feel like it was a really cool event. So congratulations again, thank you, Thank you so much. I appreciate it. One of the quick quick side note before we get going here, Adam Pierce scrap Daddy, my buddy, amazing career NWA everywhere he's been. I think people should really know more about Adam Pierce than him being the general manager on TV. But it was very cool for my son because Adam and I coached baseball together and our boys were, you know, on the same team, and so Billy, you know, the gigantic kid who sneaks around. He's walking through the museum and there's a robe of scrap daddy Adam Pierce and then you know, the printed parts. So he's like, the plaque's in front of the memorabilia and he's like, is that coach Adam? And to hear him say that, and you know, because he knows Adam differently than the world knows him. So we sent Adam that picture. But I thought it was really cool that he, like my son, really got an idea of who his father used to be and what I used to do from this weekend, so it was it was pretty cool. But for him to see his coach, you know, in the wrestling, you know, all of it was pretty cool. And naturally, when when everybody, my wife, everybody saw Dusty Rhodes, that was we just took a couple of minutes there as well, So very cool. Oh, absolutely, You're right. We could talk about it all day. And again, congratulations that everybody that was in and partook in that weekend activities and auctions and amazing job everyone. Thank you. Yeah, good class. How was thereth you in spirit? Now? I know you were, I know you were. Okay, So what's okay? So Bill, we have been doing this non stop deep dive into the US title. We last we as in you and me and everybody else on the experience journey train finished up or the last episode. The last episode also released was the the really WCW coming to an end and Booker T holding that championship. By the time Booker T wins this in the in March or two of two thousand and one, we have the purchase of w CW by WWF and everything changes a little bit, and that's we didn't get into that, but that's exactly where we left off. We even mentioned Booker T really kind of cool him and beyond that last champion of that company because he really is such a like I kept Sam the last episode. If you take five people you enter are a little bit more and you say name five people would come to mind when you talk about WCW for me, Booker T has got to be one of them, along with some others. So it'd say end on a Booker T note seemed very special to me. Yeah, and it was to me was deservingly so that if that was the end of it, Like Booker was just getting his come up and you know what I mean, he was just everything was starting to fire in all cylinders for him. So I think it was really cool that he was the guy going into this buyout um and naturally, fast forward to the present day, it's certainly paid off. So let's pick up how it started. This this tunnel where it picks up here in the WWE WWF then the So what happens is when that's what's fast forward July twenty fourth, two thousand and one. Booker T at this point in time has both titles, right, he has the WCW Championship, a heavyweight championship, and he also has a United States Championship. So what the storyline tells here is Chris Canyon is given the title by Booker T. This is the twenty fourth ww recognizes it is a few days later because that's when it was on televised. That's when it was televised. But Chris Canyon starts off the WF title run for this championship. Who better than Canyon, Bill to start this off better. I mean, but it kind of follows suit to what we said. Now the belt was being passed around, except this time it literally was just passing. Yeah, you take it. You know, there's bigger things in my future here. Talk about his time before this and how this is kind of a big moment for It's kind of like yourself, Bill, this is a moment for him to kind of show some of the more to the stuff he can do. And yeah, he kind of he had some television time in the beginning of www coming over. I guess that is what I'm saying he had. I don't want to say he had more opportunities. He just had a good opportunity because Chris was such a creative guy and because he I know, he had relationships with some people as we all did, you know in WWF, So he was he was hitting the ground running. I mean, he wasn't waiting. Um. Sometimes, I guess you could call it a knock. One of the knocks if there was one on Chris at that time, was he was too creative right. He was always looking for the you know, he was booking. He was booking himself six months in advance. But yeah, it is a good opportunity. To be honest, I'm not sure, and I know it'll kick back in when you remind me how it ended. But there was so much talk of what was gonna happen with that championship. Then there was talk of is there gonna be Lance Bill? Do we go that route with it? Um? That was a conversation that was presented to me because of what we did in wc W. I don't want to ruin the momentum, but I think a train's involved here coming up in the US Championship. If I if I'm thinking the right way, there's there's there's so many people. Uh yeah, So but anyway to the point before, I don't want to I don't want to jump ahead. But to the point, it was, he had a lot of TV time. It was a good opportunity given to him. I don't mean given to him like he would do it. But storyline wise, White Book or t Relink Reson just gives the canyon um and then he's often running so Chris Canyon obviously recent it was it a biograph, there was a there was a dark side of the ring, actually dark side of the ring. Ye, the detailed that obviously sad. But I guess what we were talking about before we started recording, just briefly, was there were quite a few youth wrestlers that really idolized Chris Canyon. Yeah, he had. I think it's like all of us, right, You there's guys that you were with before you had opportunities, right, And a lot of those guys like Kidman and Canyon were close because of the area they grew up in where they trained, you know, back home to the Northeast. But there was like this group of guys, right and with the Hearties were involved in that, and Shannon and Sugar Shane and they were all buddies and they all did those things. So while Chris was working his way to a steady spot in WCW, he's with those guys all the time. But it was it's nice to hear the influence that he had on you know, he had on, like you said, the younger guys who are now veterans himself. So he ate sleep and drank wrestling. He was always thinking of something physically. A large guy too. He was a big I don't think people appreciated he was a big kid. He was a big kid. He had some size to him. I don't think unless you really think about it, it's like, man, that guy's pretty big. Yeah, but well, I just want to make sure you brought him up for a minute. Another life didn't did far too soon? Which are too unfortunately is a theme on every episode of the Building on Experience. Usually that's mentioned, and that's just because that's the way it, unfortunately seems to be in the industry that you made a living in. Bill. Yeah, it's it's unfortunate, and I think sometimes we talk about it to ease our own minds, and then some I think we when we talk about it, it's always to honor those people and to not just have people think of the last thing they heard, because some of them are not from this generation that I'm from and right, so they don't know who they are. They to see the l end of the story. So hopefully when we mentioned that, it's not a downer. It's to honor them and to have a good thought about, you know, what they brought to the industry and to other people. Yeah, I will say myself that it's always important to really take care of you know, I've struggled in myself, but mental health is so critical and I feel like back then and through all this time period we've talked about your resources and understanding of that weren't very great. I mean they're still not. But yeah, you hear in the NFL and things like that too old school mentality, Right, if you had those kind of issues or concerns, you didn't talk about it, and you certainly didn't let other people know, you know, unless they were very close to you or you know, away from the business. So unfortunately we're all hiding something. But this day and age and the progression of how things go and particularly professional wrestling and sports entertainment is much better, much more aware of the wear and tear of life, not just the business and how the two can kind of lead us astray sometimes, but very important to let people know and people be aware of those signs of just and we can go through it all, you know, exhaustion and all these other things. But the mental game man in professional wrestling weighs heavy on a lot of people. Yep, for sure. Okay, So forty sixth day tot Rain for Chris Canyon. The next champion is September tenth, two thousand and one. Wow, that's close to a certain day, isn't it. It's to Jerry picks up there. They went on a raw in San Antonio, Texas. To Jerry Man talk about did some great stuff that I saw before this. But it was cool to see to Jerry get on the biggest wrestling in front of the biggest audience fund of the biggest wrestling company that there is. He definitely deserved it. Do you know? Do you know how to Jerry and I are tied together? How's that to? Jerry was a young boy in Japan when I was there four wing and four iwa and he was who sold the tickets and ran it was doing all these things and making sure everybody had something to eat. And it wasn't until Paul Hayman told me aside because you know who that is? Yeah, I know who it is? He goes, no, do you know who it is? And so we then he born up all when we started to crash, saw a holy crap and then look at him now like there's there's another success story if you if you noticed. But it was so great that like you said to see him on the biggest stage there is and and doing his thing, and he's so freaking entertaining. I don't know how much we'll talk about se Juri, but he's definitely very talented. And just what about the what about his ability to play that comedic role as well? Did you ever see that coming from him. I'm convinced that every Japanese wrestler, not just wrestlers, all Japanese speak perfect English. They've got the head tilt and the thing that makes you go, yeah, they're they're the best workers in the world. I would it's like they speak English, what they act like they don't understand English, you know, that kind of thing. It's a little funny thing. Incredible body his body language was always amazing. His timing was great. I think his timing started that way when he started doing stuff with Regal. Oh my gosh, Yeah, how great was that stuff. Yeah, his physical movements and his facials and everything he did was was really good. And to be honest, I never saw that. I would never have guessed it ever, And he was awesome. He might through some pretty mean kicks too. Hey man. It's one of those things, like there's certain things. You tell a guy, if you don't move, this is gonna hurt. So if you're not prepared for that kick, you better be nowhere near it because it was coming. Definitely a physical guy, not the biggest guy in the world, obviously, but really did some good business with the company. Why he was part of it, I mean he was. I don't remember being a I mean, Dave Meltzer pri argue with me. I don't remember a bad match. I don't remember a bad moment. Necessarily, he definitely played his dart and excelled every again. It goes back to the opportunity everything they put him in. He just did the best for it and probably made them those things last longer than were intended. Unfortunately, it was only intended to be a thirteen day title ring, and he would and then right I was the next champion on September twenty three at Unforgiven at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Gore Gore, Gore. Let's talk about another physically pressive guy. He's still working, isn't he. Yeah, he's still I think he's still with impact. He does stuff. I mean last run he did w WW was good too, years ago. Now with its heaths later at all that. But he's great, big, He's always great. Yeah, big early son of a gun who could move. Very funny, good guy. But it's funny if you think about it now, think about the time that we're talking about the US Championship and who came in So he did, Like, did ec W come in before we did? Yes, they did, right until they came in after. Oh, they came in after. So w c W, e c W. So you can't give all the belts to the WCW guys. So I'm not saying there was if everybody could have seen me, I'm weaking. I'm not saying there was issues with you know, all the one company getting belt. So maybe we seek a plea. You see w guys in a row get the US Championship, but there's more issues with this belt coming up. But no Rhino. Another guy gets put in any situation and does a absolutely fantastic job. Yes, been a part of more moments than we can probably even think of on the top of our head, different things he's been involved in, done, just a variety of wrestling matches, different kinds of wrestling matches versus different kinds of wrestlers, just very verse little on his talent. Like I said, good guy to work with, good guy to work against, speaking a good guy. So Rhino holds it for twenty nine days. Then Kurt Angel is the next champion. October twenty second, two thousand and one, Monday Night Role, Kansas City in Missouri, Olympic gold Medalist. Now that's his first title, right, Oh no, well yeah, the European Champion. No, I don't think so he was European Champion first. I don't have to go back and look because I don't think that's his first title. Was it because he went back? But go ahead, you talk about was one of the best ever where we're well, I'm because well, you know, he's just that. That's it. Now the now we're going back to the back to the history part that we were talking about early on. Now you get these names not only you know future Hall of Everything's, but now you're you're putting that that championship to meaningfully use. Now Kurt Angle now holds it. He is one of the top guys then early on in his career, and it just everybody should know what Kurt Angle has done since and before then. But now you see some to me legitimacy to it. Not that nobody else is legitimate, but this is one of the top guys. Now. The US championship now means something. Yeah, and just I mean just to state what I thought, not only was he that he was the WWF champion before this, So this is a this is really the year before two thousand was a really big year for hurt Angle, which it was crazy because I don't even think he's how long did they say he trained? Not even a year? Didn't he? Oh yeah he in a year? He was. Yeah, he was moving up within a year. He's like the champion, which is pretty telling. Uh. And it's not because it's not because he was some well known Olympic gold medalist. Yeah, but he's not some celebrity champion that comes in. He was just that damn good in the ring too mad. We'll talk about curt Angles so many different times, but to me, one of my favorites, it's just crazy too and I and it's it's for me. There's a lot of fans that are just WWF fans to Dow fans and his work and impact wrestling that went on longer than his first reign. To do it to be was incredible. Stuff he did with Samoa Joe's ding just he was all So I'm sure there's a there's an argument, not an argument, debate on where's best work was done right? And some people say was his TNA right? And then the like you said, the the loyalist WWE fans say no, that's his best work. But I think a wrestling fan of Kurt Angle would say, I don't know. But if we will get into the Invasion, we actually recorded once so but we're back. It's something that I really want to go into. It'll be a very long This one's been four part I imagine it will be at least two. But this it gets over talked about, so kind of waiting to freshen it up a little bit. But nevertheless, his work in the Invasion storyline was incredible. It was stone cold Steve Austin, Vince McMahon that was It's just Kurt Angle's ability to play any sort of character. Also, he can be a tough bad guy, a dumb bad guy, but you know he'll he can be an Olympic gold medalist hero. He's just good enough to do it all and he's not afraid to do make himself look like a fool. He's not afraid to do anything. Really, it's it And to me goes a little bit back to like I said briefly, how I think Regal affected to Jerry's comedic side. Well, how are You're not gonna sit down next to stone cold, who's as serious as the day is long? Yeah, not be goofy to begin with, just to try to, you know, get him to go. And having a front seat to that and being in a lot of those vignettes and things, it was hysterical to watch. Um. Yeah, but I don't even know if Kurt thought he could do things like that until he did it, you know, and again you said it, we'll talk about him. But yeah, it was amazing to watch Kurt transformed from from one version of Angle to the next version to the next version and talented. Yeah, definitely one of the best ever. We could say that about so many people, but Kurt Angle deserverything. So one of my favorites. Obviously that you get in being born in nineteen eighty six, you add on fifteen years of that I'm in high school, the invasions happening, etc. Kurt Angle was a huge part of that So for me, yes fandom being attitude era and post fandom height. This to me was there was so much going on, like you said, every show had so much packed into two hours, and he was always a part of it. So and it's cool that he's also a part of this championship that we've talked about for the last couple episodes. No, I just you know, we talked about the list starting back in the NWA and everything, the list of names, and now you start to see that list grow, you know, with those popular names, the bigger stars and things like that. So it's really cool and there's a lot of stars that hold this title. I mean, we're there. I mean, I'll move on and it'll just be an example after twenty one days chronicle having the title Edge is an X Champion on November twelfth, two thousand and one, on Monday Night Roll in Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, Edge Man. So to my point, this title, not only is it touched and these are guys are all Hall of Fame legendary now, but generations and so many generations if we've gone through of different Hall of famers and people that have had such an impact in the industry. Edge is another example of that. Obviously, I'm glad he was recovered from your moon salt by now. Yeah, it took him a couple of weeks, but he got through it. Yeah. Now now everybody again everybody's important. He's touched it. But now it's got that Hall of Fame rub on it. I mean, you know, the calib the calib ber of talent. While there's an overflowing locker room full of talent, it seems like now and that was the wway you knew if you had that that title or that championship, whatever everybody wants to call it, that belt, that strap, that you were being thought of and you were producing. And now they're gonna find to your point, but all the bodies and people we had, they're gonna find time to get these guys and women, these guys on the shows and at two hours with two hundred plus talent every night in the locker room that you're you're special. This was a special time period for Edge. I don't want to say a rocket was put on them all the way, but during this transition to the purchase of the combined to the company, EDGE was already had had some momentum going, so did some others like like Billy Gunn had a little bit and it died off, but Edge's momentum carries through basically in the end. Ultimately, this is another stepping stone for Edge and a decorated Hall of Fame career. So actually, what happens with the Championship now is they come up with a scenario where they're going to unify the titles. Correct, So Edge defeats Intercontinal Champion Tests and a title unification match, Edge becomes the Intercontinal Champion, and then the United States Championship is deactivated in May twenty twenty two. So this is an end of this title for a few years, and it's there were it was like watching aw there were so many damn titles going around here, and back back then the way things were booked, there was a lot of moving pieces constantly. The titles were changing constantly. So this just seems like a title that got put on the back burner because there was so much going on now with the increased talent and and obviously the increased titles that came from combining to companies. Yeah yeah, and then the creative side got tougher as well, because now you're you're gonna have to create content for another title with these This again goes back to this caliber of of talent now that we're talking about. So I think it was the lesser of two evils. Okay, Like you said, retire that we're going to keep our title, our title out of the United Yeah. Yeah, And I understand that they kept enough of wc W for a certain amount of time and then it was just slowly retire. It were like, let's let's make it be known we're in the wwego. But it does make a comeback, and I like I was, like I was saying, I think this this shelf the title for a while. Put it on the shelf was good for the title because didn't have anything for it. This thing had been passed around and maybe it's time to reevaluate it. And it comes back out and July twenty seven, two thousand and three, the title was reactivated as the ww United States Championship as the exclusive title is SmackDown. And what happens here is we're going to have separate television. So what w TW has done after the WCWECW Hide plays its course, we're going to split the rosters up and have exclusive content, exclusive titles, exclusive people on these shows, I guess as an attempt to kind of and it worked for a while to regenerate some sort of odd competitive edge against each other. And it's hard when you're just killed off all the competition. But then you've got to generate competition from within. And the United States title then becomes a part of this. Well, now both shows of championships, and you're right, you had Cottons under all yea, yeah, you had to create that like we're against them kind of thing, which led us to the current day draft stuff that even back then we didn't stick to exclusive brands. It just doesn't work. It just doesn't work. But that's another one. We'll get into that as well. But yeah, now now the US title, which to your point now to the resurgence right now, Okay, this title is going to mean something for US unspect the next championship. We go over for quite the next few minutes, Bill, are very impressive for this championship, a new generation, a new time for the championship. And you'll be quite impressed here as I start to bring these all back up to your memory. So Eddie Guerrero defeats Chris Juana Tournament finals to the revived Championship. Eddie Guerrero is the first championship as this title, the first champion with this championship being reactivated. He wins it at Vengeance at Denver, Colorado on July twenty seventh, two thousand and three. Eddie Guerre Crispin Waugh, Where do you want to go? Where? Just tell me where you want to go and I'll take you there for the next eight months of this show. You you put it on, it's I I equated to the same thing as book booker coming in as w c W champion. Well, if you want it to mean something, you put it on the guy that's going to take you there. I mean, Eddie came in before all of you, with of course the radicals, right, I mean, it's a well documented. It's a pretty neat thing what they're able to do. When you think about it, some could look at that like, hey, he's kind of he was a WCW guy, right, Like it's he's he's the conditions. The legacy's kind of living on here and it continues to here with that championship. Go ahead with what you're gonna say. My apologies bring you back to the time when Eddie city knew he was in the right place. Was the night um right, forget who he was again, excuse me, but the night he blew out his elbow on the frog splash and he was in the hospital and Vincent's, Stephanie and Shane showed up with the hospital in person. That's when he knew he was home. As him and I were talking, he goes. So I don't think anybody considered naturally we did, but I don't think the fans or anybody else as far as they were concerned. I think Eddie was aw guy from the from the Radicals on forward, Eddie became Eddie. That's where Eddie belonged, you know what I mean, That's where he belonged. Now he's going to carry this thing. Like I said, we can. We can talk about him and the Radicals and all the guys. We will, But if we're talking about Eddie now will never Yeah, if we talk about Eddie long enough, I'll be back to the United States. Cham. I love that. H No. I do think that you're right. We could talk about Eddie Gurrow all day. Another guy that just lived, breathed and just everything wrestling how how serious he took it. You talk about respect a lot, and you're notice a guy that talks about respect a lot. Talk about a guy that had respect for the industry. You're talking about him and Chrispinwall here going at it. I can't think of too many more people that have as much respect as they do and commanded let everyone else around them have the same respect. Yeah, not the biggest guys, but damn big guys. It's a great fight. Yeah. And just Eddie Guerrero. Really, people like Eddie Guerrero, Ray my mysterio brought this different style of wrestling to the main stage here in the United States. Yeah, and you know, I think Eddie because Eddie was bigger than Ray. Eddie wasn't considered you know, Edie wasn't considered a Luca guy. Eddie was just a big man who could move. And but that's the way he carried himself. In reality, Eddie was a Luca guy, right, You said it, him and Ray and what they brought and what they did. But the way Eddie carried himself, he was the same size as JBL. He walks, he talked the big man. Yeah, pure greatness. Speaking of Luca after an eighty four day Tittle Reign. The Big Show is the next championship on October nineteenth to I can't say that without even laughing at No Mercy in two thousand and three of Baltimore, Maryland speaking of Luca, you like that, Yeah, because his uh is it? I wonder what it would be? Would it be a six six, one one nine nine? I don't know, but I didn't him go to the top rope and WCW a lot, and yeah, talk about an impressive large man. You're getting athletic thing and Paul Paul is one of the best. Yeah, but you know, there you go. If you're gonna beat Eddie, beat him with the biggest guy in the cover. Literally. Big Show has such an amazing career. In my gosh, how many times did it was he flipped between hell and baby face? How many times did he cry? How many times did he get mad? They did a lot with The Big Show. He another versatile, versatile cat. And I go back to when he started. I don't think he ever saw himself being funny or entertaining. He was always a big, impressive looking like had this way about him, and to me, he was just right there with the way Kurt did things, and you know, like you said it, he's laughing, he's crying, people hate him, people beloved him. He's shaking hands, he's smacking heads and put it on them. And now when you I feel like, now is this we're talking about this progression. Now it's back to being meaningful for people who have it right. I said to two men ago that look at the caliber of men and now they're they're still pushing all and they're still you know, as they're trying to figure everybody out. Now that US Championship to me now is saying, Okay, this is gonna make you, This is gonna make you instead of the other way around. Yeah, I just I just think of all the different storylines he's done now, the different they really he's good enough to live through this. The craziest booking ever of taking this massive giant and making him look as vulnerable and weak as possible. But yeah, he still comes through this. I don't know how many people could do that weren't as damn good as he is. One of my favorite moments are he was. This was when Daniel Bryant first won the heavyweight championship this time period and he was with aj Lee. Somehow Big Show ran into her accidentally. Daniel Bryant's yelling at him. He says something like, she's a hundred pounds, you're a five hundred pound man. You're a bastard or whatever. He said, you know, A Big Shows just sitting there, tears in his eyes, devastated that he hurt a j Lee. The guy should probably have more of her career in acting in movies. Yeah, because different emotions. Yeah, he's talented, and Paul's a really good guy. It was really cool watching him because I came into wc W just shortly after he did, and just to watch his progression over the years and become this legitimate. So you think he gets enough credit. No, no, no, no, I don't think he gets enough credit. I think early on he was a kid and he was sucked into the top spots, and you know, so he his education was living the life of a top guy, right and and all those things. But he paid attention man, and he and he has no problem telling you the times he got into trouble and they they sent them to Louisville, and they sent them somewhere to lose the chip on your shoulder and get better and be be the person we want you to be. And he did and he continued to do that, And I'm not sure we've seen the last of him. I'm sure he's always got something cooking. But yeah, highly underrated, as over as he was, and I know the living he makes and that you know, everybody says, no, he said that, highly underrated. Is there a better big man than him after Andre? Really no, I don't believe so. No, no, not. There's a difference between big men and giants, and giants the answers, that's what I meant, I guess, but no, I agree. It's crazy. To me. I actually never thought i'd see him be at a dead B to B and aw. That was a shocker. The two shockers. I think he wanted to keep going, didn't he. He didn't want to, Yeah, he thought he had a little more to give. Yeah, And I don't think they wanted to give him that position, much like my buddy Mark Henry right, who wanted to do more, but they didn't see him in the role that he would like to do. Those were the two guys to me that I never thought would not retire as WW superstars. Those two guys everybody else. I'm like, I see it or you know it kind of figured it out and called it beforehand, and good. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm just saying, you know, you could see it, not I didn't see it. With Show and Mark Henry, two guys are really shocked and shame on I'll see this. Shame on them for letting those two go. Wressell Many I goes Hollywood on the twentieth I think that was Russell Mania Hollywood, March fourteen, two thousand and four, Russell twenty John Cena as the next champion. This was in Maddis Square Garden in New York, coming off of one hundred and forty seven day Big Show Tattle Rain, John on SENA, is it really picking up momentum now? And here it comes right then? Then that's what I was just saying. You knew the guys that we're getting the rub now they got to be champions, and scene is just on the doorsteps of what he's what he's Yeah, yeah, this is another stepping stone as of who like it was with Edge Um many others, but throughout the long reign of this title. But yeah, man, John Cena one of the best ever the champion now and him a Big Show. I remember that series that matches they did together, and what a cool WrestleMania moment for Johnson. And win this championship and beat the Big Show. Yeah, and it again. Now you're now, you're back. I don't think we remember a time when there wasn't a US Championship, right, you kind of forget all that and go, wow, this is Yes, Like I said to me, it was good to put it on the shelf for a few years, and it's back now and it's a major part of things on on SmackDown. So yeah, the title is vacated. Kurt Engel, the acting General Mender, then strips John Cena the championship on July six so it's after one hundred and fourteen days with the title. Then on July twenty seventh, two thousand and four, Booker T's the next champion. On SmackDown, there was an eight man elimination match also involved John Cena, Renee De Prix, Kansas Suzuki, Roger Van Dam, Billy Gunn, Charlie Hoss, and Luther Raines. So this is when Booker T wins this elimination match. And he is. Then he is once again he added stas champion and that makes him top doll SmackDown right. Yeah, really hard for me to watch elimination matches, but this one I ought to go back to the Dave Meltzer rat. But it's got a lot of people in it, that's for sure, that are either on the Jess missed the mark, you know, like Renee de Prix. And then you also have these other people that we mentioned on it that kind of broke through that the glass ceiling per se. Yeah, and elimination match eight people on the going on there, but Booker t you can't go wrong there. And where they go after that is John Cena. A couple of months later, sixty eight days later and no mercy, John Cena will get the title on October third. This was the fifth match of the best of five series between the two. So yeah, this storyline played out over a couple of months, got a several matches out of it, and John Cena is once again the champion, and it will quickly segue to a storyline that has started around that time with Carlito. A lot going on during this John Cena is stabbed by I don't remember his name now? Anyways, Carlito's guy stabbed John. You remember this whole storyline probably oh h yeah, because he was Yeah, he was an OBW kid. Um, jeez, I can't remember his name, but I got you. I can't remember Aaron U. His first name is Aaron, not that wasn't his wrestling name, but his first name was Aaron. But back to the point of Carly to talk about a guy from a decorated wrestling family, and I keep hearing all these rivers. He's got to be back any day now, how cool would that be to him get one more run? Well, I saw that someone said he's been signed for a while or but I think that he said last time we saw him, So you never know where it's coming from. And I'm I'm a big believer in if it's out there so fast, half the time, it's not true. So I'm just gonna wait to see if he If he shows up, would you like to see him have one more run? Though? I think if it, if it's the right run, I'd like to see him have one more run. I don't know if I necessarily want to see him committing just become part of the I don't want to see part of the show, you know what I mean. I don't want him like I hope he does, I mean, get back in and back with the company. But I'd like to see him have one more solid run. And he to me, he could be one of the guys that is in for a couple of months, out for a couple of months, things like that, and still bring you know, credibility to what he's doing. But I'd like to see him have one more good run before they figure out what they're gonna do with him. Make some money along the way. Yeah, yeah, heck yeah. He's been out of the datab seen a full time for so long now. Such a talented guy, and I've watched some of his work lately. Physically, first of all, he's on a whole other level than he used to be. But yes, I think it would be cool for people to see how he's developed. Another example that is Chris Masters. Yeah, Chris Adonis really well rounded Rustler now and the NWA Carleto has done obviously so much too, But I think it would be cool for people to just to see how much better even is that he was then. And he actually was a part of a lot of storylines during his initial run there and datab Yeah again another another good guy. Whatever the circumstances are, you you start to see who if that's what you want to do, and if it was just one of those things you tried and masters, you know, along with Carlito, who you know, it's in his DNA. But those guys go out and learn from what they had the first time, you know what I mean. They're very good friends. I do cove. I'd run into him a couple of seminars, yeah, yeah, close, And it's cool to see them. And it's just once you get out of that WB scene, you can really round your game even more. And we see that all the time. Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and these kind of guys are still in the process of doing the same thing. So I certainly think that would be cool. I don't need to see him in the LWO though, Yeah, that's what I mean. I don't want to see him just thrown into the brutes like to your point of the LW. I don't want to see that. I want to see him get a good introduction, a good run out of it. Really not only elevates some other you know, some other talent that are there, but bring himself right back to where he left off forty two day tittle rain. Obviously that John is going to win the title back on SmackDown over sixteenth, but this is the end time period of that storyline that he had with John Cena. Kind of an odd storyline. But you think they would have that today activity where somebody got stabbed. No, no, I don't. This is about age it gets. That's all over edgy, that that was edgy then yeah, yeah, I don't know. I don't see that happening at all. Have to be a different way now, definitely adding some real life tension. I guess possibly if because something like that happened in real life would be very impactful. John Cena holds the title for one hundred and five days. Orlando Jordan is the next champion, and this is on SmackDown on March's first, two thousand and five, Albany, New York. So I'm reading a lot of notes about this. The title rain always varies a few days, right because of the television taping of SmackDown back then versus the release of it. Orlando Jordan really through and you'll continue it. We'll talk about him again, the cabinet JBL really having him as a coming up in the mid card for this championship here. Yeah, I think, you know, it goes back to ov W was producing a lot of talent that had been there for you know, it had been a little seasoned in the developmental system, and okay, let's see what they got. And Orlando had the look, he had the athleticism, and I think it was you know, it was time to see what he could do. I think he benefited from JBL. Don't believe his singles run or you know, character or anything could stand alone, respectfully, but I think he benefited from that. And I think it was an opportunity to see and that's a big thing that Okay, let's give it to this kid. Let's see what he's got. What's you gonna do with it? And it's not uncommon to use these belts, these championships in storylines in regards to factions. Right, we've talked about the flock, We've talked about several different scenarios, even yourself. So this is just where the title's fading into the storyline here, and you got to do something with the title. This is the thought mindset, I guess, and you're already gonna build a storyline, So yeah, I guess. What's like you said, we'll put it on this kid and then and see what happens. But I try to add some more make the I try to think of the word to use to make the faction more, trying to kind of build the realness of this actually being a force to deal with a title to the picture. Yeah, for sure. Going back to the timeline here, apparently he does some acting now, which is interesting. Didn't know that after one hundred seventy three days, which is quite a long time, honestly, And to your point, the faction had a lot to do with it, absolutely, and John Cena. Obviously storylines crossed over from the car leto to this then now it just kind of carried across. So Chrispin was the next champion in August twenty first, two thousand and five, I'll SmackDown. This was definitely a frequently defended title, not only on the pay per view but on SmackDown. SmackDown did some decent things around this time, and Chrispin Wall has got the title. Man, Yeah, you're you're like you said, you're giving it to they didn't have more than one. By they, I mean Ben Wall and Orlando Jordan, Right, he beat him the first time. They didn't have a series, right, I don't think I don't think so. No, Yeah, And I think there was kind of they the meaning not that it was a bad way, but the meaning behind it. If it wasn't a series or something like that, it was just time to move on from what they were doing. What it does is actually that when this title goes to Chrispin While, it does become part of a series of matches, and who that series with is Booker T. So Booker T is the next champion after fifty eight days, he holds the title for thirty five days. Then it's vacated shortly after in England because of a Crispin Wall and Booker T had this title defense and edited a double pinfall, so the title is vacated then for book Or T to win the title. On January tenth, two thousand and six, he faced Crispin Wall on the best of seven series, winning the first three matches. Randy Orton's substituted for Booker T after that Dude an injury, losing the next three matches but winning the final match for the vacated title when Booker has that comeback. So no, to your point, it actually it does segue to a series here of matches, and I think that was just smart, smart booking. Yeah, yeah, to get it involved in the best of like several very good matches. Obviously, Chrispin Waugh picks up the title again in February fifteenth after Booker had on January tenth, so kind of putting an end to that for now. But yet several months out of this storyline of these guys competing, these guys being Krispin Awa Booker t Yeah, they had great chemistry. That series is always one of the series that was just talked about in like the best series of all time to too intense, too intense competitors. They brought the best out in each other physically, um, really really good. And this is the time when this this title means more now at that time than it has because look at the players and right now we're back to that same kind of for name circle that we had thirty years earlier. Right so now it's now it's getting now, it's getting cool again. Right now, let's get interesting. And the title now when you see it's not like ho hum, It's like, okay, what where are we going? What are we gonna get now? Chris Benois obviously on a whole other level, but notably here, Booker t continues to develop and get better and better. We'll take a ten week tour around the Booker's career. Heat just you saw it happening in WCW. You saw it. If you were paying attention, you saw it happen. And when he there were certain guys and of us, guys and girls from WCW who truly when they got the ball, they took it and ran with it, and we're not going to get stopped. Booker. Bookers at the head of the list. Like I said, he comes in as as as we know, the really the main guy during this invasion in my opinion, and just does a great job with it and really finds his own place here. And he continued to be a significant players entire time there. Yeah, so Cris bin Waugh after that wins that no way out like we just talked about, he has a title for forty two days. Then John Bradshaw Layfield is the champion of WrestleMania twenty two April second two thousand and six, another physical matchup that's unbelievable. And yeah, I said it's it's time because now John now the fact that faction's over, right, and John, this is when he becomes of all the things he's done in his career or this is the beginning of that JBL error. I think it was a little bit before, but yeah, he's Yeah, he's continuing on here as JBL. Yeah, and man, just talk about I'm sure he had to be a part of pitch in that character, right, like, just let me be, just let me be more of who I am. I know he's a big, rough redneck too, but man, he had a whole lot more to offer besides that. A one of my favorites. Honestly, I've been very vocal about it, and I'm trying to think I heard on a podcast recently. I don't want to say the wrong one, so I won't say who. I guess, But like we've talked about before, I think such a significant part of making. I don't want to say making, because John Cena would have done amazing anyway, but John Cena overcoming that hump and winning that the main title, the big title from the w B title from him was huge and I think JBL plays a huge part of that. And he did a lot of great work with this JBL character when he was given the opportunity to or earn the opportunity to should I say it wasn't given anything. Yeah, but it goes to show you the the progression because the APA you saw that, you saw the ass kicking, you know, funny guys, the asking. Then JBL, you saw the businessman right, you saw But I think that's the evolution of it because John is one of the best businessmen that have come out of the ww you know WWE, and if you know him right, they always say, just ten percent over the top of who you really are is where you'll find your comfort zone. Great character. I love that character. On WWE television, we'll we'll probably do a deep bag into JBL. It's I will admit he's one of my favorites one day, but awesome to see him have the title here holds the title for fifty one days. Bobby Lashley picks up the title and SmackDown on April twenty thirty, two thousand and six. Another guy's still going here man, Bobby Lashley looks the exact same as it did. Then what an incredible forson. I'm so glad he's got to come back and have this run in the company and get that title a couple more times. Yeah, yeah, right in day. Yeah you knew, you knew when he was started out in Louisville and and he had he had he was something special. And as another guy we talked about who left and came back, not not at this point, but yeah he does. He's back and comer. You know, he comes back way later and he's held the title how many times? Yeah, but that's the way he's that. He was that guy in nov w. Hey, we gotta run with this kid and see what he's got. So what do we do? He defeats JBL. Do you like him as a heel more? Because I do? Bobby. I like Bobby right now what he's doing. He's not a heel per se, but he's just he's kind of schwarmy, right, he's gotta he's got an agenda. He's not. I like this this version of what he's done. Yeah, Bobby now definitely a very talented guy. Probably doesn't get talked about as enough as he should either, honest ye speaking it doesn't get talked about as much as you should. Finley's the next champion after a forty nine day reign of Bobby Lashley July eleventh, two thousand and six, then smacked down. Man, talk to me about Finley, Well, he as far as I'm concerned, if he wanted to hold the title still to this day from that time, no one's going to fight him over it. Finley's Finley's the real deal. And by the real deal is talk about a wrestling encyclopedia, talk about body manipulation, and you want to talk about making something real, Finley's your guy. And Finley could work any style with anyone, and Finley could make the biggest man in the world cry. He's an unbelievable now resource to the people he's working with. A what a complete former just across the board. I don't want to with incorrect age here, but Finlay's near forty five years old when he has this ww run. Yeah, and a lot of people, if you're just a casual wrestling fan, you didn't know him or what he's capable of, or what he's accomplished in the wrestling overall. So this is really cool. This time period see Dave Finlay on this stage, in these moments. Definitely a decorated career and a huge part of the women's revolution, I mean, training a lot of the women that we see today that have really broke through the glass ceiling. Yeah, and Fit has a way of getting his student's attention. Yeah, you're a trainer, talk to us about that for a minute. But well, he's just he's just direct. But he you know, the thing is, he's also a dad and he's also a husband. Right, So, and it's gonna sound funny, don't mean to be funny, but he knows how to deal with women. You're married, you better how to deal with your women, and the correct way to off to people and show them things. At the same time, let him know, like, you're here for a reason. Fit had that just a natural, a natural progression to what he did. And so it's another guy. Um, if you don't know him and know what he's done, highly underrated because I don't think he got his do in WCW. But he was there because he was a pro and when he came over, I think he was more worried about not getting to be a character. First, we all knew that he was destined to be an office guy, at least in our opinion. You know, the people that knew him highly underrated. I think people people he'll never get nor will he ever want the credit he deserves. But he doesn't get enough credit that he deserves him. And you hear William Rigal talk about him and a lot of other people like yourself, just such a talent that he just people never most people will never understand how great he is. Another deviously funny man. Really now, I oh my gosh, Okay, so all gets twenty nine, two thousand and six, The next Champion has missed? Uh Kennedy. It was a triple threat match with Bobby Lashley also in the picture. This is his first rain is this champion? And he was on fire around then here's the guy you could talk. He had a gift, looked good, moved good. Let's see what you got. I've talked with him online a little bit too, and I'm not gonna lie to you. Back of the day, I had a T shirt, the T shirt with the mic coming out in the hand, the blue on it. He really made the best of that character. Yeah, for sure, it was great. I thought it was a great character. It was and that terrible went in the money in the bank and cash and never got a chance to cash it in because they thought he was hurt worse than he was, so he dropped it to edge. Turns out his injury only a month to heal or whatever to mother to not eight months. Just really got unlucky there with that. But this is the time period Ken Anderson's picking up momentum like crazy, and I got another guy for whatever reason. You can hear a lot of different stories about his ww departure that goes to TNA and has a and you got to think about some of the talent they had in TNA. It's astonishing and he goes on it just does great stuff. And to this day he's doing great stuff. I actually watch a lot of because he puts the training up that he does online at a school and it's great stuff. And it seems like he's really able to share what he's gained over the years with the new generation of wrestlers that he's training. Like, like we talked about, there's you know in the WWE's great character. He started to build some momentum. Things happen next thing, you know, you know, moving on, right, But there he is. And then much like we were talking about Kurt, some of some of ken stuff best stuff was in TNA and you know doing that and I've seen I think it was one podcast or sometimes he was talking about his training and stuff my interactions. I thought this a great character, a good guy, ton of potential as it was building. So I'm glad to see that he's doing well. And it's funny that the lessons we learned that people don't think when you're really paying attention, and he's he's a good trainer, he's doing you know, he's doing good work. And I'm not gonna lie. One of my favorites back then during this time period was my favorite. You know how you latch onto a guy for a couple of years when you're a fan it Ken Anderson was the guy that I like, I latched onto. I enjoyed everything that he was doing. Then. I wish he could have done just a tad bit more with the company, but like I said, everything worked out for him. Well. Okay, so after forty two days, Chris been awhile once again becomes a champion. October tenth, two thousand and six. We'll talk about a good two guy here. The story of Chrispina was wrestling career was or not? Yeah, just okay, it's time to light of fire under something Ben was up. Everything was more talk about a utility player. Yeah, we need, we need this to happen. What do you got? It doesn't matter where it's been on. It's been a part of several, so many transitional times with a with a title. It's remarkable. It's like it's just our go to guy to get go to something new, and it always adds credibility to anything he was ever involved in. Yeah, that and that was the thing, like you you aren't going as I'm not really into what this one's gonna be. Didn't matter what it was. So now it's now it's title defenses. It means that much more. The next champion after and this is a two hundred and twenty two day rain pill Chrispin Watt had. Well, that hasn't been that way for Dolly. I'd scroll up through my notes. It's been a long time though, I'll tell you that much. Chris ben Wah holds the title for two u twenty two days and the next champion is a guy they were really building up during this time. Period. On May twentieth, at Judgment Day, there's a best of three falls match and MVP is the next champion. This is another person that they were really working and it got on the radar. Red red Hot coming out of Deep South Wrestling, has the gift of gab, he can talk. He the confidence level. I remembers as h MVP was getting ready for this in Atlanta, he was so much more worried about this guy. Ben Wa was his guy. This is the guy he looked up to. This is the guy he tried to emulate his moves from and all these things, and now he got to work with them. So if you don't think that something means something to the you know, to to warmers, you're wrong. There's a lot that goes into that. And this was I remember this. Did he did he achieve as much as he could have? No? But yeah, he's achieved a lot. But I don't think but that's it, like because if you look at it at face value, what a great career. There's nothing absolutely nothing wrong with his career. He did great, he was he produced. But if you know him and know what he's capable of, and I think that that's a lot for this goes for a lot of people, but even backstage and behind the scenes, there's some people who know what they can get out of someone and they're just not the opportunity. For whatever reason. It seemed like at this time for me my opinion, only at this time, just as things were going, they were swept to the side and started something else. So I've heard a lot of times say, well, they want to they want to make sure they have enough stars in in you know, in the bank, you know what I mean. So but he means something. But to me, you were taking guys and gals and they were getting and I'm talking about Anderson, right, We're talking about these guys, and for whatever reason and injury or whatever the case is, it's let's move on. But MVP was red hot here at the time. He was I think bringing back that that that total package of a guy who can work and talk and look the part and all these things and had knowledge. And he wasn't to me, he wasn't necessarily cutting up promos. It was him talking, It was him being himself. And so yeah, he came in like a ball of fire. One thing he did cut here was a three hundred and forty three day tattle rain, which is hell of impressive. Yeah, Matt Hardy's the next champion at Backlash two thousand and eight. Matt Hardy Version one. Remember that YEP share them more than ECW Branding's the exclusive home of this championship. Okay, so Matt Hardy has a fifty four day rain. Shelton Benjamin's an next championship. He gets the next champion. He gets that title at the Great American Bash July twentieth, two thousand and eight, And this is when the titles returned back to SmackDown two hundred forty day title rain for Shelton Benjaman talk about another OVW success story in a freak athlete. There's not a better athlete. I'd have to be in the locker room to say even now, but Shelton was it. Sheldon was the like everybody talks about how how unbelievably strong Brock was. Well, who was Brock's sparring partner and grappling partner, And the only guy who could meet Brock was Shelton Benjamin. The guy was super fast, super athletic, super intelligent, and just phenomenal. Ass. I'm glad he's got to come back and have another run to make some more money, to show off and just introduce new people to Sheldon Benjaman. Yeah, it's it goes back to like that Carldo thing though, right, because you know what these guys are so capable of, and they're the legacy they're gonna leave on the business. I don't think this last time that he came back, we got Shelton Benjamin. You know, we got safe Leader, valuable to the young guys, show people the way Shelton Benjamin. We didn't get Shelton Benjamin. Um, sometimes you just want to see a guy break out and do his do his thing. Man, just do his thing. It's I hope we see it to your point, to hope you see it. I thought we were going to knock this all out of one episode. I don't think we are. Yeah, that just goes but I'm fine with that. But that just goes to show you that that people we talked about how glorious this title has been in the history of wrestling, These people are still really freaking good. And it's it's so many, so much glory still with the hands that are on this title. It's incredible. Yeah, it's just blowing my mind here. You think this is going to be something, so dang quick, it doesn't have to be right, doesn't go ahead? As we get to yeah, I'm sorry, go ahead, I'm sorry. Well we get to we get to branch off and go you know, well, let's talk about this from me because you can't help it, because it's part of the the US title history, right, this is these are the things that happened because of it or or didn't happen because of it. So yeah, I think it's easy if we went down to listen, go, okay, give me two you know word association with each person and move on. But I love that we're diving into this thing and it keeps branching off, and I hope everybody's enjoying art of it. Okay, So this became exclusive too. So a year later, two thousand nine, this becomes exclusive of the Raw brand. Following the draft, MVP is the champion after a two hundred and for today Shelton Benjamin title rains. So significant title rains for the last several years with a lot of different individuals, not just a few select individuals. What I meant to say, So, MVP's back with the title for seventy six days and then the next champion is Kofi Kingston two thousand and nine. On June first, on raw fellow Deep South member, was this hope this Jamaican accent? Kof here? Yeah, I don't remember. This was still I think this was still Jamaican accent. How silly is that? But how great is he? When he first came to Deep South he tried to pull that damn accent. I'm sitting there, listen, I'm gonna is that for real? And he's like he answers me and planning and goes, of course, it's for real. What do you tell? I'm like, you sucker. But that's how he got his job. They thought he was Jamaican because he talked like that. When Dean Malinko on those guys saw so he gave in like that. But there's two My point of bragging on Deep South was there there's MVP and Kofe Kingston, two guys that trained together, live together in Atlanta, did all their things, going through the same journey. And now now you're starting to see the rise of these the these guys that are coming up. So special to see him win the championship when he did, and he is part of the New Day. The New Day is gonna be one of the greatest factions ever. Man, it's it's gonna go down as that. Yeah. Reason has been around for quite a while with the company now fifteen years, sixteen years though more than yeah, yeah, yep, every bit of it eight eighteen years. A good bee he and he has been in so many different storyline matches, made event, non made event. Just a guy that makes the best out of anything, even if the match of situations kind of crappy, he's gonna make it good. And yeah, and he's he's in the wrestling history books forever, if only for once a year. At the Royal Rumble, yep, I think they finally put in it into that, forcing him to try to try to try to force this moment that it's not really possible to force. But nevertheless, so many years of doing that incredible having that incredible moment at the Royal Rumble. But to me, way beyond that, what he's accomplished and it's cool, Like you said, another Deep South guy here is we continue to as we see that the work's paying off a Deep South and we will talk more about that one day. Well, let's go talk about our next champion, and it's the Miss on Raw on October sixth, two thousand and nine. Kobe Kinkson holds a title for one hundred and twenty six days and then we have the miss And I know that you are definitely on the bus of several of us saying that probably doesn't get enough credit and really a WW guy, first time hold ballot Hall of Famer. Yeah, that's the biggest compliment I could ever pay a wrestler and a true fan. Come on, we this is one of those guys that we talked about. We're gonna bransh out. Not only this was his like, this was a guy who could say this was his dream because this is you see the film you and if you know his parents and you get to know Mike, this was his dream for as long as he can remember. He got on the TV to try to be a wrestler. He was on another reality show, but wanting to be a wrestler. I mean he let the world. He introduced to the world, to the future of the business. I mean, the kid's golden Man, and his journey is like no other. It's he is golden and he was introducing people to wrestle before the man not even heard of it, and then we'll talk about the tough enough one day that he's a part of. But like you said, he's he's wanting to be the miss in WWE long before we even see him in WWE. And what he's accomplished going on twenty years is incredible. And another guy that they have used so much of him in and outside of the ring. He's done so much for the company. He's the go to guy for so many different moments with whoever it may be, may be a celebrity, may be made of a match, may it be a title reign that's gonna be transitional like he had with Bobby Lashley and all that going back recently. A go to guy for WWE for almost twenty years, Mike should be the poster child for how to get it right because there should be trials and tribulations. Nothing should be just given to you, or you shouldn't walk and expecting everything given to you. But you want to talk about a dream and a passion and the I'm gonna show you who I am attitude. Uh yeah, Mike's the guy. Super proud of him, super happy were him and all his success in and out of the ring. He knew what he wanted and he knew what it was going to take to do it. And he went from someone that people thought were gonna was gonna be gone in a week to holding every major title in the company, being the face of the company, the king, media guy, everything under the sun. And now he's paving the way for other other you know, other I see kids because I'm an old guy, but other kids who were trying to come in the same way. And if the if the was in for a blueprint for it, the miss is it, the miss loses too. And I can't about to say this. Bret Hart is okay. The Bret Hart correction is the next champion made seventeen, twenty ten and Rawle. They did Rawle in Toronto and they had this moment where there was a no dq It was like a no count out match. Obviously Bret hartt Sebacca and the company. Now after burying the hash it with Vince McMahon and Sean Michaels and all that, and Vince mcmah excuse me, and Bret Hart has his cool moment in Canada. Man, it was a cool moment. Yeah, it was a it was a cool moment in Canada. It only lasted seven days, right because he uh uh, Bret Hart vacates it when he becomes a general manager. But nevertheless he has he has the title for what's again here for a cup of coffee fit But like like we said, they're the names keep coming back, so the miss holds it forever two hundred days. Uh, And I guess that's the way to transition off of it. Try to put a little bit more on. Bret Hart has come back here and also highlights something in Canada. That's how I kind of That's how I kind of look at it. So that's that was the thing. Okay, we're gonna Miss has got some stuff coming up, and man, man, I can't get over. Sorry to cut you off, and I can't get over man. I'm trying to build it up here and act excited because I knew exactly how you're going to react. I was trying to really sell this to you, how great this moment is, how big it is. It just wasn't that big for the title. Let's let's not lie. Sorry I cut you off. I just can't get everything I expected you to go off on a little bit more of a rant, but it's the same rant. You've gone down about ten ties with this title, so it wasn't even worth it. It was okay, yeah, so okay. A week later it's off of him. Vacated. He's the general manager. Our Truth Beats Them is for the vacated title in Toledo, Ohio, on May twenty four, twenty ten, on Raw Our Truth Man. It's a he never ages talk about finding your niche. Ronnie was with him when we first came to wwf UM then whatever, you know, they parted ways for a little bit. He went on and kept doing his thing. Most under goes. He's in that group of most underrated people as a talent and you know, a performer. But he found his uh you know, little Jimmy. Everybody should find their little Jimmy. That was amazing. Uh is he really? He's got that funny in real life too. Oh its sterical, little Jimmy. Where's little Billy at? Oh? Yeah, little Billy's a giant. He's in the Yeah, we'll get you. We'll get a T shirt made with you, the little billy next to you, like a stick figure. You'll be the tiny stick figure. The little Billy will be the giant and we'll make it. It will. We'll buy one just for him to wear and make him wear it. We we took pictures at the Hall of Fame and I was ending opposite of him, and then the one time we took a picture together. And now my wife thinks that it's funny that everybody looks up to myself. He is taller than you. Now we talked about that in the last episode. I think he's taller than you. Yeah, he's got me. No, little Billy's got it, Billibill. He's just trying to make it into high school, but he's got you. Anyways, go back to our truth. You're right, just very underappreciated and he's done a lot, and I think it's probably one of those people that it's just beneficial him being around. Could go be a part of anything. Really. I also was a part of several main event matches this particular time period, so it's very fitting. But it's only a twenty one day rain and the Miss picks to title back up. It was a fatal four way match evolving John Morrison and Zach Ryder. Also, the Miss is the champion again twenty one days later on fourteenth, twenty But our truth. It's cool just to know that he was a part of this title picture, the history of this championship. Yeah. Yeah, And anytime you wanted, if you were drawing a blank creatively, or if there was minutes that needed to be filled or somebody went under or whatever the cases, or if the crowd was dying, you didn't up to write anything. Just go tell Ronnie, go, do you think here's something? Talk about this? And he those people would turn it up for him. He's just loved. The next champion is Daniel Bryant September nineteen twenty nine. A champions Oh talk about a great wrestler. Daniel Bryan also has had this title, so yourself to be and many others at Daniel Bryan adding to that list just solidifies this title legacy even more. Yeah, it's this this and we've touched on it, and we'll touch on it some more. And this champion ship really did meet a lot. I think at certain times it meant a lot for the fans, and then it meant a lot to the performance because it really lifted a lot of us up and kind of legitimized our position in whatever company we were in, and it did that from Harley Race all the way up now to Daniel Bryant. And Daniel Bryant's work and Ring of Water was always amazing to me. I know you didn't watch a whole lot of Ring of Water back in the day, but I did, and I could tell you that stuff he did there was amazing. So wouldn't you see him come in n XT storyline into WWE and it really was worried something that he was not going to be used or able to find his own way and fit into what was WWE. And this is just the beginning of greatness for Daniel Bryant, and he continues to have amazing matches. Today's was hurt currently but really breaks through and defeats the odds because I think those around him, a lot of you guys knew how talented he was, but there was a lot of people that just for some reason didn't have Daniel Bryan in a main event status in their mind. Well, it goes back to it goes back to a couple of things. And I say that now because I've been a part of the system and run the system and understand the conversations now, then I didn't understand it, but I understand them now. Is one, this is when we're sports entertainment at this time. Is he entertaining or is he just one of the best wrestlers in the world. Two? How does he hold up against the bigger guys? Now if you don't, if you've never seen him in person, Daniel bribes as him all die. I mean he's the same size as them is and Rider and all these other guys and things like that. But the thing that was worth what people were worried about was the same thing with Claudio was Kenny talk. And Daniel Bryan was one of those guys zoo, who there it is here. If that's the thing I need to do, then I'm gonna be really good at it. And once they let him loose and he became entertaining and started talking and people, now that's the old ship moment of this kid's the total package. This is the guy we've been watching, the American Dragon. You're right, I wasn't all over reach guy, but I knew who he was because he had people talking about him everywhere he went. So you added as one of the coaches, you had to follow up on him and see what he was doing. But once he became you know, doing all his things and let it loose and found that other side of himself. Money money, money, money, money, and by the way, he's one of the best. They still after all of his success that it be, still didn't reach his potential fully what he could have exactly exactly. I mean the WrestleMania first of all, amazing that the triple h match. Then he goes on to the main event with Theati Studeryan Jorton in New Orleans. One of the better storylines for out of the decade in the company, the whole just the whole storyline of the authority telling him he wasn't good enough. He was a beat plus player, some of the better stuff that really came out of the company, like I just said, for ten years, but they still didn't utilize him as well as they could have. Yeah, I think he was going to leave one way or another if he could have just to do his own thing, because he's the type of guy that just doesn't care and he wants to do his own thing. There's a lot of people like that, and you still see him continue to do it today. But man just still didn't get the most out of him. I hear this story all the time. I don't know if you've ever heard it, and I could be butchering it. It's like a plane flight or something, and Ezekiel Jackson is picking on trying to Daniel Bryan. And I think it was Regal that put Ezekiel Jackson in his place and told him that he had more talent on his paky figures than Ezekiel Jackson did his whole body, or Ergus thought that along those lines. I always thought that story was interesting, Yes, true story to get the guy. And he was talking about Daniel Brian, Brian Danielson, whoever you want to address him. He would come to the PC when he was rehabbing and he would work with some of the kids, and I would say to him, the one thing a wrestler never wants to year is go, hey, when it's time, you're gonna be a good coach, which he already had been right, Ring of Honor him, austin Aries see him, punk seth Rawlins. They had already trained so many people that in each and we see today that we don't. That doesn't get talked about right because they were training and Ring of Honor, But to your point, and I know exactly where you're going. Just his mindset and his skill and the way he looks at wrestling, you could you could tell if he wanted to, if he wants to, He's the type of person that has not got to do anything for money, just solely for money or anything else. But yeah, it has so much to share. It's incredible. Sorry I cut you off, but no, no, no, that's you're but you're right. We can he just has. He knows who he is, he knows what he can do and what he wants to do, And you're right, he would up and leave everything to follow his heart follows. Like that's when the guy should say passion that goes back to the world. I don't like everybody using Daniel Brian has a passion for this business and you see it still how hard is it to stay true to yourself and do that? Though? When Okay, Daniel Bryan could make decent money just doing whatever, and daw, what does it say about somebody that's willing to risk that, leave that platform and do that? Is that? Is that? I try to wrap your mind around it. And if you're in their shoes, Bill, you've and a professional wrestler. How hard is it to do something like that, to bet on yourself so much? Always I think we all get in it betting on ourselves, but there's a different level to it. It's very hard for people to walk away from financial because we've seen in the history of this business where money's been put in front of people, Give me this, or I'm leaving. Well, you see the ones who leave because either someone else is going to give it to him or I'm willing to go somewhere else and do my craft that I'm really really good at, that I love doing, and before someone takes that love away from me, I'm gonna move on to me. That's Daniel Bryant, like, he has a love for this, he has a he's creative, he's smart, he's knowledgeable, he's all these things. But he's not done. He's so good it's incredible. And just technically they're speaking and just Liz Breed, you could tell he just and for him to be on Total Divas Total Bella is and to see the whole other side of him that you hadn't seen before. But what it did was it solidified with how much wrestling means to him and to see him have to go through all that with his injury on that show, which I know couldn't have been comfortable for him to have to be that vulnerable, But it just shows you how much he freaking loves it and how it was such a part of his life. And just like it is with a lot of you guys, what do you do when it's not there anymore? Yeah? You yeah, And I think there's a lot of problems, but there's a problem for a lot of a lot of us. Right, this is what you've done first, if you're fortunate. I don't know if there's any more thirty five year or forty year careers. These the flare numbers are out of the never gonna happen again and all these things. But even at ten years on top and running hard, and what do I do now? How do I become a normal person? How do I not live just to travel just to hotels just like and it's not glamorous, it's just but go, go go. And now you've got to settle into a different kind of lifestyle. But he's a simple man too, but still, but that's it. He's a simple man, and he has other interests and he has he has a plan for him and his family, and but I think he's got into where that plan waits till he's done with what he's currently doing. Well, go ahead and end this episode with one more person here, and it's a second and it's a person to this day who continues to be a mainstay, go to person. Shamus is the next champion on March fourteenth, twenty eleven, on Raw. This the stipulation was he would have to quit the WBE if he did lose. Obviously he didn't. Title became an exclusive to SmackDown brand following the draft after this because it stayed with him. But I guess back to the point, Shamus continues what is an amazing career well into his aged veteran, still able to peak. We talked about the amazing five Star match at WrestleMania. He had an incredible match Match of the Year candidate last year. He's still kicking ass Man and he's another guy who's just fit into the You say the system a lot, He's just a guy that is fit into this system and adapted and stayed with it longer than really anybody. Yeah, yeah, watched him from the beginning. Was a fan. I think people need to learn and appreciate the wear and tear of your regular I say regular performer. Let's say me regular performer. But when you're intense in your physical and you're grinding, that wearing tear plays a lot on you. And she is is in for the long haul. Now, Shamus not only is vicious and this and we know he's entertaining. Shamus is another one of those media guys that people don't realize. He gets two hours sleep after driving, has to wake up the tvl did to go TV media and stuff and then go to the shows and do his thing, and to your point, at this point in his career, still performing at a high level. It's another g took full advantage of the opportunity that was in front of him and has definitely capitalized on it and keeps reinventing himself to stay relevant. First ballot, Hall of Famer, first ballot. I don't know if it's possible, how is it possible to say he's undergrated, But it almost feels like to me he might not realize how great he is if he just casually watch wrestling. I just said first ballot, Hall of Famer, and I followed up with an underrated that's kind of silly, but I feel like a lot of people may not realize how good he actually is. And I assume he's another great locker room guy. Oh yeah, locker room leader. Started out the right way, very um let's say respectful, whatever the word people want to use. He came in the right way. He learned his lessons like we all did. But I want to go back to you saying he's underrated. I agree, he's had great Ron's, great matches, all these things, he's been in WrestleMania's, he's been in all these all these things, but I think they missed the mark on reminding us all that Shamus was a world heavyweight champion. Like every once in a while, I'd like to hear more of certain backgrounds at this point, you know what I mean, Like introduce other than being an ass kicker and his big, big guy with the red hair who can go with anybody and go for an hour, and all these things remind the newer viewers and newer fans of who his lineage, you know, of what he's done in the company, so it means that much more. You know, dy w does occasionally do a better job at that. Yeah, I think he just sticks to the storyline. But to your point, you could they could really drive home his accomplishments a lot more to validate even more so what he's doing for sure. Yeah, I would hate to see them and them being the WWE. I would hate to see them wait too long. Instead of giving those flowers. Now you could put a package out, a DVD special on Shamus that would turn on a whole new group of fan and but really help people remember and then appreciate his career because he's he's outstanding as a big man, he's outstanding as a performer, he's funny as hell, and he's just but he's just a good guy behind the scenes and he's the kind of if you had two hundred to him, you'd be in great ship anything had happen in wrestling, And we talked about a scenario earlier. He's another guy where I'd be so surprised if he ever was anywhere else. You're right he would to me, now that we've mentioned a few other names, I would highly I'd be blown away if the Mids where to leave, and if Shamus were to leave. Yep, two guys exactly, bah Man, this is and we're gonna have to pick up on a part five of this, which is crazy. People are enjoying it as much as we are. Uh, this is so much to talk about with this title than individuals that have held it, which is exactly why we're doing it. Man. So another episode will be up a gummy for this, but we're gonna put a book in on this one. And what a great person to stop the conversation on Shamus. Yeah, this has been This has been a really good UM series. As we've been talking about it as always, I say it's great to you know, kick in the memory and you and I go down memory lane with a lot of things and hopefully hopefully people are entertained and a little bit educated and become bigger fans. But this, this has been great. Um, I just want say congratulates just you for creating five hundred plus subscribers now on YouTube for what we're doing the mat one. Okay yeah, man, I have my own YouTube page that but now it's all us not me. People people don't listen to hear me, Yes they do. You're We're like, uh, we're like Abbott and Costello. Oh okay, Okay, I was gonna say no, but they got they did. The cops got on, which we make it okay, so we'll hold on the bonny glide. We'll hold on that modern day. I hope we talked about that one day. Somehow. We gotta figure o where to talk about that. Could that work out today? Bill nop Okay, We'll end it with this. I don't know if it's to end up Billy guns Wrestling, Chris Speakin of Billy put the it's in the ring. If it is the case, I want to take one second to say thank you for all you've done. And I sure hope they are listening backstage and listening and taking everything in that one like Billy Gunn could teach them. Yeah. Yeah, the as I always say, I don't believe until I see it. So if he pulls the Mark Henry on me and cries and retires and then you know, slams the crap out of somebody, then I want to be mad because I fell for it. But if this is truly the end, what an amazing in ring career. And those those cats in aw better realize the resource they have in front of him, because he's not done. Fensick Man's mustache I didn't ignore your question. I don't he want to know what you thought about the blood and cuts man, blood and guts match on a w I don't know if Bill's had a chance to watch it. He was out of town last week. I did watch it, and it was there was some blood. I didn't see any guts. It took some guts to get some That's what I thought of it. Enough said with that, I hope you're happy Vincent Man's mustache Meah, yeah, yeah, Bill, another great episode, man. I do want to tell the people how to find us buildemont dot com to build him on experience is available wherever you want to listen to podcasts. My YouTube page a Jefftowns and Media has the audio only version. I gotta get way better at the video version for ours. I've got a new plan of at least to get the full episodes up then start doing clips. So I already have all the full episodes, but I try to break it down and do clips. I'm going to worry about that down the road, but just make sure we get the full episode up there on your YouTube page, which gets more subscribers growing somehow. And I'm not even doing a great job again. Content on there, I apologize doing a great job, doing a great job. Hey, check out the build on build hmon dot com. On there we have the T shirt for the foundation where the proceeds will go to the foundation. And like I said, you want to learn more about to builddemont dot com. And I'm going to let you plug anything else that you want before I send us home. Uh, we're heading back up to Jersey. The foundation is going strong. I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you. And we talked about the fans in a Hall of Fame earlier, but to all the people that approached myself, my family and gave a donation to our foundation because you heard the message, thank you. Wrestling fans and the wrestling community are some of the best people I've ever met in my life. So don't ever get it twisted. And I always want to make sure to say thank absolutely and everybody listening here's a part of that and a part of what we're doing. We appreciate you, and we can encourage you to keep being you and keep being great because you truly are great. Take a little sense on the right what Molly, y'all slat yourself finish y'all, said Jeff Townsend. Media sees you good night, and the question is do I stay here? Will you be back? Are you gonna come back? Will you be back? Are you coming back?
