Brewsers #393- Evil Kip Stevens

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Welcome to Bruisers, a podcast about beer, coffee, booze, and Bruisers.
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I'm your host, Rory John, and today we talk to
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Evil Kip Stevens. We talk about how he got into wrestling,
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how he is the greatest, and so much more. I
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could talk all day about Evil Kip Stevens, but obviously
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you want to hear from him first. So, without further ado,
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here is Evil Kip Stevens. I would like to welcome
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to the show Evil Kip Stevens. How are you doing tonight, sir?
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I'm doing better than you, that's for sure.
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Probably so. I mean, I imagine. I hope so, anyway.
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There's no probably. That's definitely the case.
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I know this is audio-only, but I am looking at
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your pathetic setup, and I can just tell I am
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doing much better in life than you are.
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Oh, yeah, without a doubt. I'm struggling, as most Americans are,
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but you're not here to listen to me. We want
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to hear about you. You don't want to hear about me.
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That's very accurate.
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Yes.
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Well, like you said, this is audio only. So kind
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of paint us a word picture. Where are you at
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and what's going on around you?
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Right now I'm in my kitchen and I was going
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to have a beautiful dinner and then, oh crap, I
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have you messaging me. You agreed to this podcast. I've
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given you money to do this. And normally I would
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just take the money and run. But I also like
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to spread my evil voice to as many people as possible.
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So that's why I decided to put.
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Dinner on hold, and educate you and the masses that
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are listening to this episode.
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I appreciate that. We will try to do everything we
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can on our end to make sure Uber Eats at
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least shows up by the time this is over, so
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that way you have some substance in your body afterwards.
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Yes, and thank God you paid me in advance.
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It's the only way to do it, be able to
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pay them in advance. You don't want to have them
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wait afterwards for it.
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And by the way, it took him months to accumulate
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the amount that I am charging for this interview as well.
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Oh yeah.
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It took me a very long time. Like I said,
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the inflation is not great and we're not in a
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great economy and especially here in America.
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So. Yes. And like I said, looking at the dump
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you're living in, I can only imagine the amounts of
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odd jobs you had to do to accumulate that wealth.
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Well, as soon as we're done here, you know, I'm
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going to be hopping back in my car and doing
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more Ubers and Uber Eats. So yes, you know, I'll
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do what I can.
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Yeah. I'm doing air quotes. Yes. We all that's what,
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that's what he wants to say.
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He's making his money on, but we know it's something else.
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Okay.
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As long as something's going in somebody's mouth and somebody's
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getting paid for it. It's fine. So let's go all
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the way back in time. What is your earliest memory
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of wrestling?
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So my earliest memory has to be what got me
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into wrestling.
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I was seven years old.
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And as a young kid, I was always a little
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adventurous and I was climbing up a tree and I
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fell out of that tree and I cracked two thirds
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of my skull.
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Yeah.
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Talk about it. And that summer, uh, I wasn't allowed
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to do any physical activity because of that traumatic head injury.
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They want me to heal.
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So when you're seven years old, all you want to
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do is sports and run around and play baseball or,
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you know, do things with friends and you're not allowed,
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you have to find something to kill time. And that
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was when I first saw wrestling on TV. Like I
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had a vague, like I heard about wrestling, but I
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never actually sat down and watched it. And it was
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to date myself the year it was right around, um,
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it was built up was to SummerSlam 1990. And I
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remember watching, um, WWF superstars and the opening with the
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ultimate warrior with the championship. And he's just harnessing lightning
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into his body.
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And I'm like, I have to watch this.
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The bushwhackers being a part of that episode. I like,
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it was just like, what I, I don't know what
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specifically hooked me, but it had to be the ultimate warrior.
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And I remember seeing that summer slain 1990 pay-per-view and,
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It was taped on VHS for me. And I wore
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that sucker out. And that was a great pay-per-view. The
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Hart Foundation versus Demolition, two out of three falls was awesome.
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Hogan versus Earthquake was awesome. Ultimate Warrior versus Rick Root
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in a cage. I was hooked from that point forward.
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I love that.
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Well, how did you end up finding out there was
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other wrestling out there? Because, you know, I think we're
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the same age. And so, Back then, it was you
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had to flip through channels, or if you were lucky
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enough to go to the Blockbuster, they had other wrestling there.
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So how did you end up finding there was other
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wrestling out there?
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I would say the same way.
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Again, flipping through the channels and all of a sudden
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discovering world championship wrestling. And it was still considered NWA
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wrestling at the time, too. And seeing Sting and Sting
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was another, like when you're a kid, wow, look at
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this guy with the face pain and the muscles. But
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even as a young kid, I gravitated more toward WWF
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because I was a small kid and they were more
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over the top characters. Whereas WCW were kind of like
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guys I envisioned my dad being friends with. But as
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I got older, you know, I appreciated that as well.
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And it was cool because as I've, skipping ahead many years,
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but being in the professional wrestling business and meeting a
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lot of those people on both sides of the track,
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so to speak, it's really awesome. And I grew to
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appreciate world championship wrestling a lot more, especially in the mid-90s.
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And as a wrestler now, I love watching old Jim
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Crockett promotions wrestling. Yeah, right. Hold on, I'm talking.
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Don't cut me off.
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You might be the host, but this is my episode.
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That's right.
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So now, to agree with you, there was a blockbuster
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in my neighborhood and then seeing the old VHS tapes
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and being like, oh my god, Ultimate Warrior and Hulk
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Hogan faced each other?
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I have to see this.
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And renting some of the old WCW tapes. It really
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was a trip and I'm going to do something clickbaity.
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I know on the internets and the Twitters, and it's
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still called Twitter, it's very tribalistic where you'll have people
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draw their line in the sand for either WWE or
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AEW or New Japan. But when I was a kid,
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I didn't care if it was wrestling. I was watching it,
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and that's kind of stuck with me my whole life.
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If it's wrestling, I'm watching it. So if it's WWE, TNA,
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New Japan, AW, I may not be plopping my butt
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down and watching it. I'm dedicating 8 to 10 to
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watch it live, but I'll keep up with as much
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as possible.
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If it's wrestling, I enjoy it.
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And it's a great time to, if you're a fan
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of wrestling, to be a fan because it's so accessible now.
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So you can watch all the other trash wrestlers, or
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you can be smart and watch evil kit matches and
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really see what good wrestling is all about.
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Exactly. Yeah, I've said it multiple times on the show
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that if I were growing up now as a kid,
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I probably wouldn't have friends outside the internet because I
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wouldn't leave the house because I could just watch wrestling
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all day. Literally from everything that was, hell, even all
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the way back to the 50s. And now you could
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have multiple screens on watching multiple wrestling because You'd be
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watching stuff from Nebraska, or you could be watching the
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latest AEW, or literally every single day of the week,
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there is wrestling, whether it be AEW, WWE, Ring of Honor, MLW, TNA.
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And again, like you said, New Japan, which is going
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through the G1 right now, which is everyone loves what's
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going on with the G1. And so there is so
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much accessibility when it comes to wrestling that it is
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funny hearing how many people in the industry now Yes,
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they'll kind of keep up with what's going on now
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just to see, you know, friends or how big companies
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are doing. But everyone is seem to be watching older
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wrestling to kind of get ideas and say, you know,
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because nostalgia will always be huge. And so now if
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they could bring that back and be like, hey, we're
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going to work a Tito Santana match or we're going
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to work a, you know, a even a.
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Anybody, any tag team, any wrestler from the back in
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the day, they're like, oh, I'm going to start including
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that in my matches now.
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Yeah, Evil Kip looks at himself as a student of
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the game. And if I was doing what everybody else
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is doing, either on the indies or in the major promotions,
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then I'm just a dime a dozen. But I always
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like to look to the past and see something and
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be like, oh, how can Evil Kip put his spin
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on that? Mm-hmm. Oh, Rick Martel did this, but you
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could do this and do it more vicious because Rick
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Martel sucks and I could kick his ass.
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He's looking like the Crypt Keeper lately. But that's the
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whole thing.
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But back in the day, you know evil kit might
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have had a little bit of a sweat worked up
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against him and what did he what did somebody like
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him do and what can i take from it and
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make it my own uh that's the that's what i
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find to be fun about wrestling as a wrestler yeah.
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Yeah Well, so I saw that you were trained by
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Mikey Whipwreck. How did you find his school and what
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do you, what do you think you learned the most
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from being trained under him?
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Uh, so I think cage match says I was trained
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by Mikey Whipwreck and that.
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Is a bit of a misnomer.
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Um, classic cage match.
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No, no, it's okay. I'll clarify, uh, with the long,
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with a very long answer. So thank you only because
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we got time. Uh, I was working, uh, at a
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trade show. There was, um, a fitness guy named John
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based out. He used to have infomercials on TV all
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the time and I was his assistant. So I was
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working that trade show. And at that trade show, uh,
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there was a wrestling booth for New York wrestling connection,
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which is Mikey Whipwreck's, uh, school, like where he was
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the trade. And, uh, I was like, oh, I should
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talk to these guys. And they were like, they were
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showing some of their shows and I got to meet
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a few of the wrestlers and I got to meet
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their champion at the time, Dickie Rods. And, you know,
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he was really nice to me and we're talking and
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he's like, oh, wow, you should come to one of
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our shows. And I don't know what prompted me to
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just ask him, but I was just like, hey, it'd
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be really cool if you had a school because I
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would love to learn how to be a wrestler. I
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don't know how I convinced myself to say that. You're laughing,
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but at the time I was maybe 115 pounds.
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Oh, wow.
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Yeah.
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Athletic ability of a slug, uh, not be, you know,
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being generous. And again, like I never had that dream
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as a kid to be a wrestler because I never
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in a million years thought I could do something like that.
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I mean, I, I couldn't envision myself in the same
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ring as an Ultimate Warrior or Hulk Hogan. I don't
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look like them or even later, I will never be
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as good as Bret Hart or I can never be
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Chris Jericho or as buff and intimidating as The Undertaker
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or Triple H. I couldn't foresee myself in the same
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shoes as them. The only time I started having those
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thoughts is when I discovered independent wrestling and went to
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a Ring of Honor show. And I was seeing that
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show literally with people not that tall, not that muscular.
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And when I saw Colt Cabana's match, the way that
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he was kind of winking at the fourth wall of
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wrestling and interacting with the, even the first wrestler that
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I saw that I was like, okay, I can't be
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this guy's guy, but I can be him.
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Being very sarcastic and interactive.
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And then like, Discovering that not only is there just
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Ring of Honor, but there's independent wrestling all over the place.
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And I never knew this world existed.
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So going back to the trade show, I asked about
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to Dickie Rods, the champion of NYWC at the time,
247
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if they had a school.
248
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He was like, oh yeah, of course.
249
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Yeah, maybe you should join the school. And I couldn't
250
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believe that he didn't laugh me out of the building.
251
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Really?
252
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He's like, yeah, you have a lot of passion.
253
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You know, give it a shot.
254
00:13:33.779 --> 00:13:36.889
I couldn't believe that a wrestler was telling, encouraging me
255
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to become a wrestler. So from there, I saw one
256
00:13:42.169 --> 00:13:43.970
of their training classes, went to one of their shows
257
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and I'm like, I got to do this. I don't
258
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know how at the time I scrounged up the money.
259
00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:53.879
I don't know how I convinced myself to try this.
260
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It was the hardest thing I ever had to do,
261
00:13:56.139 --> 00:14:00.129
but I joined the New York wrestling school. Uh, At
262
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the time, the head trainer there was Crusher Dugan. Mikey
263
00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:07.480
just like, I was like the first class, like part
264
00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:09.639
of the first class at the school that wasn't trained
265
00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:14.419
by Mikey. He just left. So he was at every show.
266
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He knew who I was pretty much right away, but
267
00:14:18.409 --> 00:14:22.830
I wasn't directly trained under him. So like the class
268
00:14:22.870 --> 00:14:27.070
before me was with Alex Reynolds and John Silver. Classes
269
00:14:27.090 --> 00:14:31.600
before them, Radha, Tony Nese and a bunch of other people,
270
00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:35.159
like a guy named Dan Dynasty, who was very helpful
271
00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:37.080
to me. So it was a lot of like their
272
00:14:37.139 --> 00:14:39.899
students and like people who went on to do greater things.
273
00:14:40.570 --> 00:14:43.429
And there was always that weird disconnect of the people
274
00:14:43.450 --> 00:14:45.409
who were trained by Mikey and the people who weren't.
275
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And it was always weird because I can't help what
276
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I joined.
277
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So that's a frustrating thing.
278
00:14:53.710 --> 00:14:58.389
And it took a long time for, to earn Mikey's
279
00:14:58.549 --> 00:15:02.059
trust and respect in the ring. And on top of it,
280
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when I first started, I was terrible, uncoordinated. And it
281
00:15:07.169 --> 00:15:12.200
was like the tail end of when the wrestlers were
282
00:15:12.259 --> 00:15:15.000
trying to be tough on you to see if you
283
00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:19.559
could last. And again, like, and especially since at first,
284
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like I was nervous and over-talking and people did not
285
00:15:24.210 --> 00:15:24.590
like me.
286
00:15:24.629 --> 00:15:26.429
They were like, well, this kid is a joke.
287
00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:30.779
He's never going to get it. He's never going to last.
288
00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:34.360
He's never going to make it. And, you know, so
289
00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:36.840
they were very tough on me at first. But the
290
00:15:36.860 --> 00:15:39.700
joke's on them because not only did I last, I
291
00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:42.259
probably did more in wrestling than a lot of the
292
00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:45.299
other people who were my contemporaries and people who were
293
00:15:45.340 --> 00:15:45.759
before me.
294
00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:50.559
Exactly. Yeah, I mean, right now you're seeing almost 20
295
00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.539
years in the business where a lot of people are
296
00:15:53.610 --> 00:15:54.779
lucky to have five or six years.
297
00:15:56.190 --> 00:15:58.950
Yeah, well, they're all pathetic and they're all quitters. Unlike me, who's,
298
00:15:59.389 --> 00:16:02.529
you know, great, who became great and did great things.
299
00:16:03.509 --> 00:16:06.230
And you're still doing great things as well, considering now
300
00:16:06.269 --> 00:16:07.529
you've joined commentary as well.
301
00:16:08.450 --> 00:16:11.490
Yeah. Evil Kip gets the last laugh. And that's, like
302
00:16:11.509 --> 00:16:15.210
you mentioned, doing commentary as well. That was a goal
303
00:16:15.610 --> 00:16:20.590
I had. So, again, this is a very non-linear conversation.
304
00:16:20.690 --> 00:16:25.580
At CreativePro, one of the owners is Brian Myers, a.k.a. Kirkham.
305
00:16:26.529 --> 00:16:29.750
And one thing he has everyone do every year is
306
00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:33.320
write goals that you have for the year.
307
00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:35.840
And for a few years.
308
00:16:35.940 --> 00:16:38.620
One of my goals was commentary. All I wrote was
309
00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:43.100
commentary because I always felt that Evil Kip would be
310
00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:46.850
great on commentary. That's what I went to college for.
311
00:16:46.889 --> 00:16:49.490
I have a degree in mass communications. It's something that
312
00:16:50.710 --> 00:16:53.250
I always knew I could be an asset for.
313
00:16:53.470 --> 00:16:54.610
And then VPW.
314
00:16:56.019 --> 00:16:58.559
A few shows they put me in the commentary booth
315
00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:01.580
and it was something that I greatly enjoyed and I
316
00:17:04.589 --> 00:17:07.930
know I'm great but I also know that I can
317
00:17:07.990 --> 00:17:13.230
be greater and I like challenges and I set a
318
00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:15.569
high bar for myself and if I don't clear that
319
00:17:15.609 --> 00:17:17.359
bar then I just want to keep doing it and
320
00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:20.740
getting better at it so it's a goal that AI
321
00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:24.970
achieved this year and now Next year, my goal is
322
00:17:25.009 --> 00:17:27.690
going to be, okay, commentary at more than one place.
323
00:17:29.309 --> 00:17:32.509
Do a match and do a match on commentary at
324
00:17:32.789 --> 00:17:37.230
more places. I like to be as valuable as possible.
325
00:17:37.289 --> 00:17:39.529
This way I can charge as much as possible. And
326
00:17:39.670 --> 00:17:42.390
I feel I'm worth every penny. All these promoters spend
327
00:17:42.430 --> 00:17:45.819
money on trash wrestlers. That's not the case with Evil Kip.
328
00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:48.920
At least you'll be paying an exorbitant fee, but you
329
00:17:49.059 --> 00:17:50.940
will get that in return.
330
00:17:52.490 --> 00:17:55.569
With obviously your years of experience, and obviously, like you said,
331
00:17:55.910 --> 00:17:57.269
you can not only wrestle, but then you can do
332
00:17:57.309 --> 00:17:59.730
commentary either before or after or even during the match.
333
00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:03.920
Yeah. Oh, God. Evil Kip would love to get on
334
00:18:03.980 --> 00:18:07.180
commentary during an Evil Kip match because finally there'll be
335
00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:09.279
a good wrestler that Evil Kip can commentate on.
336
00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:13.119
Exactly. Finally, they would have somebody in the ring that's
337
00:18:13.140 --> 00:18:15.200
worth your time of actually commentating over.
338
00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:16.420
Exactly.
339
00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:19.140
And again, like, on top of it, whoever else is
340
00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:21.460
doing commentary is usually garbage as well, so I can
341
00:18:21.819 --> 00:18:25.390
shut them up. And I'll class the person I'm in
342
00:18:25.410 --> 00:18:30.019
the ring with and I'll class people on commentary simultaneously. Really,
343
00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:31.819
this is multiverse stuff here.
344
00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:35.099
I think you just walking in the building usually is,
345
00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:37.920
you're already better than the commentators that are just sitting
346
00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:38.319
there anyway.
347
00:18:39.460 --> 00:18:43.269
I'm better than the commentators, the other wrestlers, and the promoter.
348
00:18:43.529 --> 00:18:47.309
The promoters are useless fools.
349
00:18:47.690 --> 00:18:51.170
And I'm amazed that they can string together a coherent sentence.
350
00:18:51.769 --> 00:18:54.009
thank God they bring me on their show to at
351
00:18:54.069 --> 00:18:57.799
least have one presentable athlete on there. Right.
352
00:18:58.259 --> 00:19:01.000
Yeah, the promoters are normally eating all the catering that
353
00:19:01.019 --> 00:19:03.500
they provided probably just for themselves and then not paying
354
00:19:03.539 --> 00:19:04.839
you until probably after the show as well.
355
00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:08.619
By catering, you mean when they go to 7-Eleven and
356
00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:12.529
are scarfing down like a disgusting sandwich that's dripping on
357
00:19:12.569 --> 00:19:15.609
their shirt? That's the catering I see normally. Yeah, the
358
00:19:15.650 --> 00:19:19.130
rolling hot dogs? Yeah. Yeah, thank God Evil Kip eats
359
00:19:19.230 --> 00:19:23.200
well and, you know, brings meals that are prepared by
360
00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:25.859
a world-class chef. This way, if Evil Kip wants to
361
00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.400
enjoy a meal before his match, it's going to be
362
00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:31.589
something high-class as opposed to slot. Right.
363
00:19:31.769 --> 00:19:33.670
And good for your body as well, because obviously you're
364
00:19:33.690 --> 00:19:35.690
paying this person the money. They've got to keep that
365
00:19:35.730 --> 00:19:36.230
body in shape.
366
00:19:37.289 --> 00:19:40.089
I've been to shows where promoters will be like, oh,
367
00:19:40.150 --> 00:19:43.650
I provided pizza. And I look at A, the promoter,
368
00:19:43.670 --> 00:19:46.089
like a friggin' moron. And I look at all the
369
00:19:46.150 --> 00:19:48.750
other wrestlers like morons, like they're pigs in a trough.
370
00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:52.920
You want to eat cheese and oil and have that
371
00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:56.019
all in your stomach. And you think you're going to
372
00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:59.539
wrestle well. Oh, but thank you, Mr. Promoter for trying
373
00:19:59.579 --> 00:20:00.559
to poison my body.
374
00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.240
Ain't going to happen. Ain't going to happen.
375
00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:07.180
But again, all these other quote unquote athletes just, Oh yeah,
376
00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:08.349
I'll have three slices.
377
00:20:09.410 --> 00:20:11.650
Real wise decision. Fools.
378
00:20:12.390 --> 00:20:14.109
Enjoy yourself pooping in the ring later.
379
00:20:16.150 --> 00:20:17.029
Amongst other things.
380
00:20:17.430 --> 00:20:23.319
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, plus the smell coming off those guys,
381
00:20:23.450 --> 00:20:25.460
you know, after they've eaten that pizza is even worse.
382
00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:29.559
How am I going to grapple when you have oily fingers?
383
00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:31.759
It's bad enough they have baby oil on them, let
384
00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:32.799
alone pizza grease.
385
00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.480
Baby oil is the least of my concerns with some
386
00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:37.220
of these slops.
387
00:20:38.589 --> 00:20:40.170
I mean, most of them probably don't even wash their gear.
388
00:20:42.750 --> 00:20:44.109
That's another story for another day.
389
00:20:46.789 --> 00:20:49.289
Well, so, I mean, we touched on it. You all
390
00:20:49.349 --> 00:20:52.130
have been spending almost 20 years in this industry. What
391
00:20:52.150 --> 00:20:55.049
do you kind of feel what your legacy is of
392
00:20:55.150 --> 00:20:56.089
what you've done in this ring?
393
00:20:58.410 --> 00:21:01.410
That's not for evil Kip to decide.
394
00:21:01.890 --> 00:21:03.309
Okay.
395
00:21:03.430 --> 00:21:08.230
It never has been, never will be, uh, I remember
396
00:21:08.289 --> 00:21:11.569
years ago, there was an article when I was in
397
00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:13.849
a different character and a different phase of my life,
398
00:21:13.930 --> 00:21:16.710
when I was the one tough nerd, Francis Kipling Stevens.
399
00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:22.230
And somebody, I can't even remember the person's name, but
400
00:21:22.289 --> 00:21:26.509
wrote an article about the worst wrestlers in the New
401
00:21:26.569 --> 00:21:30.630
York Independence, and they put me on there. And people
402
00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.359
at the time were concerned about me, like, oh, Kip's
403
00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:35.829
going to take this hard. And then I remember going
404
00:21:35.869 --> 00:21:38.809
to a show and five people came up to me
405
00:21:38.829 --> 00:21:41.170
and were like, Oh, who are you wrestling today? Cause
406
00:21:41.210 --> 00:21:42.930
I want to have a match with you. And then I,
407
00:21:43.170 --> 00:21:45.930
you know, laughed about that. Cause I'm like, Oh, this
408
00:21:45.950 --> 00:21:48.809
is a great, like one person is a moron writes
409
00:21:48.849 --> 00:21:51.509
an article about me, but actual wrestlers who are in
410
00:21:51.549 --> 00:21:54.150
the industry wants to wrestle me because they know they'll
411
00:21:54.170 --> 00:21:57.519
have a great match with me. So again, one person
412
00:21:57.539 --> 00:22:02.640
in my legacy was nothing, but. For other people, they
413
00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:05.039
might feel I was a great wrestler or a great
414
00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:10.609
mentor or the best antagonist on the independent scene in
415
00:22:10.650 --> 00:22:15.950
Long Island or somebody who character. There's so many ways
416
00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:19.549
you could describe me. And again, that's up to you.
417
00:22:19.569 --> 00:22:23.849
I don't care. Some people will swear up and down
418
00:22:23.910 --> 00:22:27.910
about my abilities. Other people will be jealous of me
419
00:22:27.930 --> 00:22:30.779
and try and drag me down. Evil Kip never cares.
420
00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:33.099
Evil Kip just does what he's always wanted to do
421
00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:36.180
in wrestling. And by doing it my way, I've achieved
422
00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:37.579
more than I ever thought possible.
423
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:41.210
I love that. That's a great answer. Well, I mean,
424
00:22:41.230 --> 00:22:43.710
you kind of said it. Well, yeah, you said it.
425
00:22:43.710 --> 00:22:45.750
That's why it's a great answer. Just making sure that
426
00:22:45.789 --> 00:22:46.690
you know how great you are.
427
00:22:46.710 --> 00:22:48.089
Oh, I already know.
428
00:22:48.529 --> 00:22:51.470
Okay, fair enough. Well, I mean, you touched on how
429
00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:54.940
there are people that do come to you for wisdom
430
00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:57.450
or for advice sometimes. But when you were coming up,
431
00:22:57.470 --> 00:22:59.430
and I mean, maybe even still now, who are some
432
00:22:59.450 --> 00:23:01.529
veterans that you've kind of, have helped you out along
433
00:23:01.549 --> 00:23:01.769
the way?
434
00:23:05.750 --> 00:23:12.339
That's interesting because at first, everybody was trying to get
435
00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:17.559
me to quit. But again, I was just desperate for anything.
436
00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:22.250
And when I finally did get crumbs, it was so appreciative.
437
00:23:22.890 --> 00:23:27.410
One crumb was from a wrestler named Bruno Marciano, one
438
00:23:27.430 --> 00:23:31.430
thing he's are we allowed to use profanity podcast go
439
00:23:31.450 --> 00:23:34.569
for it i said hey i just i go i'm
440
00:23:34.589 --> 00:23:36.650
struggling what can i do and he told me best
441
00:23:36.670 --> 00:23:38.150
thing you do is shut the fuck up i'm like
442
00:23:38.230 --> 00:23:42.069
what and he was like seriously you're pissing everybody off
443
00:23:42.269 --> 00:23:44.670
just shut the fuck up you make a mistake just
444
00:23:45.380 --> 00:23:48.420
nod your head and then do better next time and
445
00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:51.710
it's it might have been like Some people might have
446
00:23:51.730 --> 00:23:54.650
been rattled and butthurt by that, but I was like, okay,
447
00:23:54.690 --> 00:23:57.259
let me do that. And it was actually helpful because
448
00:23:57.279 --> 00:24:04.900
then I stopped pissing people off unintentionally. At NYWC, it
449
00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:08.849
was set up where I mentioned Crusher Dugan was kind
450
00:24:08.890 --> 00:24:11.150
of like the trainer who would show you all the
451
00:24:11.190 --> 00:24:15.930
basics and how to execute moves and beginner stuff. But
452
00:24:16.900 --> 00:24:20.119
After class and after cardio, then it became open ring time,
453
00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:23.569
and that's when all the veterans would wrestle. And eventually,
454
00:24:23.809 --> 00:24:25.769
if you got good enough, you'd be allowed to do
455
00:24:25.829 --> 00:24:28.190
open ring. And that was always kind of like a
456
00:24:28.430 --> 00:24:31.730
first goal, like, oh, I want to do open ring.
457
00:24:32.589 --> 00:24:39.450
And I remember, like, wrestling Tremperetta and Tony Nese and
458
00:24:39.849 --> 00:24:42.890
Alex Reynolds and John Silver and just being in the
459
00:24:43.009 --> 00:24:47.180
ring with those... I mean, they all went on to
460
00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:50.660
do amazing things. And just being in the ring with them,
461
00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:54.519
you can't help but learn by osmosis. And even when
462
00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:56.779
you mess up, hey, this is what you're doing wrong.
463
00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:59.960
This is what you have to do better. And at
464
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:05.200
the time, NYWC would bring in, like, we'd have seminars
465
00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:10.049
with Eugene and Mike Mondo. And Mike Mondo is somebody
466
00:25:10.089 --> 00:25:14.059
who I can't say enough great things about. I learned
467
00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:17.220
probably the most from him than anybody in wrestling. I
468
00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:19.880
learned stuff from him at the beginning of my career.
469
00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:22.269
And then when he became a trainer at the time,
470
00:25:22.329 --> 00:25:23.789
I was also helping train the students.
471
00:25:24.009 --> 00:25:25.210
Me and him got really.
472
00:25:24.990 --> 00:25:28.450
Close and I learned so much from him about like
473
00:25:28.529 --> 00:25:32.059
philosophy and how to lead a match. It was, I
474
00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:34.200
can't say enough things about Mike Mondo as a trainer,
475
00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:38.220
but Matt Stryker would come down to NYWC because he
476
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:42.490
wants to get reps in. So did Brian Myers. And
477
00:25:42.569 --> 00:25:48.109
I became really close with him. Pat Buck, Matt Cardona.
478
00:25:48.130 --> 00:25:52.069
And again, like I can't even, we had a Dean
479
00:25:52.089 --> 00:25:57.069
Malenko seminar back in the day seminar. I'm trying to
480
00:25:57.170 --> 00:26:02.619
think about all the Dr. Tom Pritchard, Norman Smiley. We
481
00:26:02.650 --> 00:26:06.160
just had a plethora of people at the time that
482
00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:10.599
would come in and you know, just being able to,
483
00:26:11.579 --> 00:26:13.400
I wasn't looking to get a selfie with them. I
484
00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:16.240
was looking to just more be looked at as a
485
00:26:16.299 --> 00:26:20.420
peer with them and any little thing that they said,
486
00:26:20.500 --> 00:26:21.960
it was gold to me.
487
00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:24.009
And I still hold that true.
488
00:26:24.049 --> 00:26:27.109
Now at creative pro, I create a pro we've had
489
00:26:27.190 --> 00:26:35.539
seminars with Arne Anderson, Tyson kid with we were going to, geez,
490
00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:36.349
there's so.
491
00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:37.700
Many, like I'm, I'm going blind.
492
00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:42.230
Oh, Frankie Kazarian, Eric Young. Those two were really great.
493
00:26:42.769 --> 00:26:46.200
And I always take one thing from every seminar to
494
00:26:47.380 --> 00:26:47.920
this day.
495
00:26:48.700 --> 00:26:49.579
And then I'll even go.
496
00:26:49.539 --> 00:26:54.299
Out to outside seminars. Dropkick Depression held a Simon Gotch seminar.
497
00:26:54.660 --> 00:26:58.089
I always.
498
00:26:58.829 --> 00:27:02.650
Evil Kip wants to be the best wrestler possible.
499
00:27:03.650 --> 00:27:06.869
And... It's a derelict of duty to myself if I'm
500
00:27:06.910 --> 00:27:10.089
not investing in myself. So making sure I'm going to
501
00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:15.890
seminars and picking people's brains, it helps. And conversely, if
502
00:27:15.910 --> 00:27:20.450
there's ever people who want my advice, after I charge them,
503
00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:22.759
I'm able to pass on some of that advice that
504
00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:26.019
I learned onto them. And that's just my way of
505
00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:30.220
making wrestling better, or at least in the vision that
506
00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:30.640
I see.
507
00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:32.759
Yeah, better than when you found it.
508
00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:36.339
That's... that's what you should be doing all over the
509
00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:37.220
place this is.
510
00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:40.930
True well i mean you've been in the industry for
511
00:27:40.970 --> 00:27:43.190
so long and show days can be very long what
512
00:27:43.210 --> 00:27:44.930
are some standards you always have in your bag for
513
00:27:44.970 --> 00:27:45.529
show days.
514
00:27:46.869 --> 00:27:48.359
Or some what i have in my bag.
515
00:27:48.539 --> 00:27:50.559
Some standards you always have in your bag.
516
00:27:51.700 --> 00:27:53.740
I'm not understanding your question what do you mean by
517
00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:54.960
standards If.
518
00:27:54.950 --> 00:27:57.400
We were to look in your bag during show day,
519
00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:01.539
what would be normally always in there? Would it be tape, gear, obviously,
520
00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:05.680
maybe some backup gear, food, drink, whatever it is, chargers?
521
00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:07.960
Yeah.
522
00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.910
Really, ironically, back in the day, I used to have
523
00:28:11.930 --> 00:28:14.230
a CD that would have my theme music on it,
524
00:28:14.289 --> 00:28:15.009
and that shows you.
525
00:28:16.609 --> 00:28:18.970
But, yeah, I mean, I travel light.
526
00:28:18.990 --> 00:28:22.589
I'll have my gear bag, which will just have what
527
00:28:22.710 --> 00:28:26.220
I'm wearing for the day. Uh, and maybe like a
528
00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:28.460
change of like shorts and a shirt just to like,
529
00:28:28.930 --> 00:28:30.910
you know, before the show, if I want to roll around,
530
00:28:31.329 --> 00:28:34.529
I'm able to do it comfortably. My knee pads, I'll
531
00:28:34.569 --> 00:28:42.109
have a bag with my merchandise shirts, eight by tens buttons, uh, stickers,
532
00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:45.519
trading cards, comic book, a comic.
533
00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:46.579
Book, a poster.
534
00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:50.500
Uh, those are like, I guess the essentials. I mean,
535
00:28:50.740 --> 00:28:52.519
usually if I'm going to get, I don't like to
536
00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:56.200
eat heavy food. before a match like i mentioned earlier
537
00:28:56.339 --> 00:28:58.240
people want to look like a slob that's on them
538
00:28:58.259 --> 00:29:01.220
even kip wants to look good uh if i if
539
00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:03.000
i'm getting something to eat before a show i usually
540
00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:06.900
go to a supermarket beforehand i'll get like you know
541
00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:09.680
a banana and an orange like i'll eat some fruit
542
00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:11.259
just to have something like a little bit of a
543
00:29:11.309 --> 00:29:15.289
sugar spike but nothing crazy uh the i guess the
544
00:29:15.410 --> 00:29:18.009
biggest essential will be trying to get a cup of
545
00:29:18.069 --> 00:29:21.710
coffee in me before the show starts and then uh
546
00:29:22.390 --> 00:29:24.839
The real treat, especially if I have a long drive,
547
00:29:24.900 --> 00:29:28.660
is I'll have sunflower seeds, a protein bar, and a
548
00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:31.029
cup of coffee for the drive home. And I'll be
549
00:29:31.029 --> 00:29:35.230
playing a podcast, and that'll keep me keep me going for,
550
00:29:35.349 --> 00:29:36.299
for hours on end.
551
00:29:37.190 --> 00:29:39.640
I love it. There we go. Well, so I have
552
00:29:39.660 --> 00:29:41.140
a segment on a show. I call it the five count.
553
00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:42.319
It's just five random questions.
554
00:29:43.859 --> 00:29:44.799
Oh, how creative.
555
00:29:45.420 --> 00:29:46.400
Thank you.
556
00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:48.839
Number one, what song do you car karaoke to?
557
00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:56.309
I have an eclectic range, but Oasis is my favorite band.
558
00:29:56.329 --> 00:30:00.619
So it's, Any Oasis song, I can usually rock out
559
00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:08.029
to that. But I'll throw a random one in there. ABBA,
560
00:30:08.069 --> 00:30:13.130
I've been listening to a lot lately. And again, sometimes
561
00:30:13.549 --> 00:30:17.299
if Katy Perry's Roar comes on, I heard it. And
562
00:30:17.339 --> 00:30:21.730
I'll just jokingly sing to it. So again, like my
563
00:30:22.230 --> 00:30:25.509
main music at Power Alley will be like 90s alternative
564
00:30:25.630 --> 00:30:28.900
grunge music and mostly rock music. But every now and again,
565
00:30:28.980 --> 00:30:31.079
like a top 40 pop hit will come on and
566
00:30:31.779 --> 00:30:33.539
I'll sing it too just to get a laugh out
567
00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:35.859
of myself and anybody else who rides with me.
568
00:30:35.880 --> 00:30:41.609
I love that. Number two, if you owned a liquor company, brewery, winery,
569
00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:43.990
coffee shop or dispensary, which one would you own and
570
00:30:44.009 --> 00:30:44.630
what would the name be?
571
00:30:44.650 --> 00:30:47.630
It would definitely be a coffee shop because I don't
572
00:30:47.670 --> 00:30:50.650
drink alcohol. I know you're all the brewery.
573
00:30:51.470 --> 00:30:56.380
You're all alcoholics and pathetic in my eyes. Coffee shop.
574
00:30:57.130 --> 00:31:00.359
And just to be a jerk, I'd probably call it
575
00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:01.579
it's five o'clock somewhere.
576
00:31:03.619 --> 00:31:04.720
Okay. That's really good.
577
00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:05.140
I like that.
578
00:31:08.059 --> 00:31:10.400
Number three, who is the last person you fanboyed out on?
579
00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:18.619
I don't really fanboy out. anymore.
580
00:31:20.029 --> 00:31:23.349
When I first got into wrestling, and again, the first
581
00:31:23.390 --> 00:31:27.069
time Matt Stryker came to training my first month, I
582
00:31:27.069 --> 00:31:29.329
was like, oh my god, a WWE superstar is here.
583
00:31:30.549 --> 00:31:34.150
And same thing the first time I met Brian Myers
584
00:31:34.250 --> 00:31:35.950
and Matt Cardona, it was kind of like that.
585
00:31:36.019 --> 00:31:39.079
Oh my god, the Major Brothers are here. It was
586
00:31:39.099 --> 00:31:41.200
before I met him.
587
00:31:42.140 --> 00:31:47.220
But then getting to know Brian and he would bring
588
00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:53.440
around the people he knew. It kind of wears off quickly. Again,
589
00:31:53.500 --> 00:31:55.920
you get that mindset of, I want to be a
590
00:31:56.049 --> 00:32:00.150
peer with somebody.
591
00:32:00.509 --> 00:32:01.329
Like a fanboy.
592
00:32:01.349 --> 00:32:08.470
Going back to this, I'm trying to think.
593
00:32:08.670 --> 00:32:12.059
Here would be a good one. I did AEW....
594
00:32:14.829 --> 00:32:18.279
Actually, I'll give two stories then. I did AEW extra
595
00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:24.019
work at World's End and Sting had a match. But
596
00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:26.819
it was after his match and he's walking by me
597
00:32:26.839 --> 00:32:29.779
and like a little kid, I was like, great job, Stinger.
598
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:35.160
So I guess that's a fanboy experience. And I did
599
00:32:35.880 --> 00:32:42.170
TNA extra work at Slammiversary at the UBS Arena. And
600
00:32:42.470 --> 00:32:47.210
Landstorm is an agent there. I went up to him
601
00:32:47.269 --> 00:32:52.170
and just told him how much I enjoyed his work.
602
00:32:52.190 --> 00:32:58.730
I always thought that Landstorm was probably like.
603
00:32:56.680 --> 00:32:58.559
One of the most perfect wrestlers in so many ways.
604
00:32:58.599 --> 00:33:03.240
He was very smooth. He had great size, great ability.
605
00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:07.240
And people would say his promos, but I always thought
606
00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:12.619
his character fit his promos. And I'm such a huge
607
00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:18.089
Jericho fan too. Jericho I thought was a perfect package
608
00:33:18.119 --> 00:33:19.910
as well, but I always thought Lance Storm had a
609
00:33:19.910 --> 00:33:24.750
little bit more fundamentally sound matches. I guess I marked
610
00:33:24.789 --> 00:33:26.670
out a bit for Lance Storm. The fact that I
611
00:33:26.690 --> 00:33:29.390
had to tell him how much I appreciated his work.
612
00:33:29.890 --> 00:33:32.410
He was probably like, I'm busy trying to agent matches.
613
00:33:32.470 --> 00:33:33.809
Why are you talking to me, young man?
614
00:33:36.390 --> 00:33:37.839
What are you going to do?
615
00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:40.519
Number four, who or what inspires you?
616
00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:43.099
Currently or?
617
00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:44.599
Just in life.
618
00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:53.539
Wrestling inspires me.
619
00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:54.559
Okay.
620
00:33:55.099 --> 00:33:59.599
I still appreciate the art of wrestling. I still appreciate,
621
00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:02.920
I'll take it for granted that I'm doing something that
622
00:34:03.539 --> 00:34:06.690
most people don't have the guts to do. I don't
623
00:34:06.769 --> 00:34:08.670
take for granted that it was something I didn't think
624
00:34:08.710 --> 00:34:11.340
was possible before. It's something I don't take for granted
625
00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:13.599
that as a young kid, I never thought possible. Or
626
00:34:13.639 --> 00:34:15.219
when I first started training that I was like, I'm
627
00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:20.150
never going to get this. And I am blown away
628
00:34:20.269 --> 00:34:22.530
of everything that I've achieved and everything that I have
629
00:34:22.590 --> 00:34:28.210
yet to achieve. So that's inspiring. And again, like I
630
00:34:28.230 --> 00:34:30.650
want to also make as much money as possible and
631
00:34:30.670 --> 00:34:33.480
be successful as possible this way. One day I could
632
00:34:33.500 --> 00:34:37.519
have a future dog acreage and just be able to
633
00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:40.909
own tons of dogs. So then maybe that's, as well
634
00:34:41.230 --> 00:34:43.889
our future goal is to own and take care of
635
00:34:43.949 --> 00:34:45.590
as many dogs as possible.
636
00:34:45.909 --> 00:34:48.610
I love that and number five what would you tell
637
00:34:48.630 --> 00:34:49.750
your 17 year old self.
638
00:34:53.929 --> 00:35:00.760
You're you're so 17 year old me was.
639
00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:03.559
Not in a good place and now 17.
640
00:35:03.280 --> 00:35:07.989
Year old me hey You know what's funny? You think
641
00:35:08.030 --> 00:35:10.090
you're in a bad place now. Things are going to get.
642
00:35:09.989 --> 00:35:15.489
A million times worse for you as well. Things don't
643
00:35:15.610 --> 00:35:18.610
always get better. But there's going to be times where
644
00:35:18.630 --> 00:35:22.369
things do. There's going to be ups and downs. And
645
00:35:23.869 --> 00:35:26.050
there's things that are going to happen in your life
646
00:35:26.090 --> 00:35:30.039
that you don't see coming. Bad things and good things.
647
00:35:31.280 --> 00:35:33.039
It's all part of the journey. It's all part of
648
00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:33.780
the process.
649
00:35:33.940 --> 00:35:34.619
And that's okay.
650
00:35:35.070 --> 00:35:36.250
There's going to be days where you're going to have
651
00:35:36.269 --> 00:35:39.349
to wake up and embrace the suck and keep your
652
00:35:39.369 --> 00:35:42.719
head up high and just work your way through it.
653
00:35:43.489 --> 00:35:45.219
And there's going to be other days that you're not
654
00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:47.780
going to want to go to sleep because you're in
655
00:35:47.820 --> 00:35:52.440
the best times possible. No matter what, none of it lasts,
656
00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:58.300
and that's okay. Just keep moving forward every single day.
657
00:35:58.320 --> 00:36:04.400
And when you start enjoying coffee, love every cup of coffee.
658
00:36:06.949 --> 00:36:09.750
That's perfect. Well, I mean, the time is about to
659
00:36:09.789 --> 00:36:11.570
run out for us because again, I am very cheap
660
00:36:11.769 --> 00:36:13.130
and I only paid for a certain amount of time.
661
00:36:13.230 --> 00:36:15.150
So I will thank you ahead of time and I
662
00:36:15.579 --> 00:36:17.519
will make sure to put all your social medias on
663
00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:20.699
the show. So that way anybody and everybody can follow you,
664
00:36:20.739 --> 00:36:35.449
support you and buy all of your merch. Thank you
665
00:36:35.469 --> 00:36:37.289
so much to Kip Stevens for being on the show. Again,
666
00:36:37.590 --> 00:36:40.010
obviously follow him on social media because he is the greatest,
667
00:36:40.349 --> 00:36:43.710
and you need to, and you are doing yourself an
668
00:36:43.750 --> 00:36:46.329
injustice if you're not. So obviously support him, buy all
669
00:36:46.349 --> 00:36:48.829
of his merch, maybe two or three times over. It
670
00:36:48.869 --> 00:36:50.309
is about to be the holiday time, so might as
671
00:36:50.329 --> 00:36:52.869
well put it out there that everyone is getting something
672
00:36:52.909 --> 00:36:56.050
from evil Kip Stevens. So while you're doing that, obviously
673
00:36:56.070 --> 00:36:58.070
follow him on social media, and then if you've got time,
674
00:36:58.130 --> 00:37:02.610
follow us on social media at BruisersPod, that is B-R-E-W-S-C-R-S-P-O-D,
675
00:37:02.969 --> 00:37:05.940
on the Instagram, the threads, and the Twitter. If you
676
00:37:05.960 --> 00:37:09.050
want to send us an email, it is bruisespod.gmail.com. If
677
00:37:09.090 --> 00:37:10.750
you want to follow me directly, it is Rodijon. That
678
00:37:10.789 --> 00:37:14.769
is R-O-D-I-E-J-O-N. Rodijon is the name on the Twitter, and
679
00:37:14.789 --> 00:37:16.190
I'm untapped. In case you want to find out what
680
00:37:16.210 --> 00:37:18.190
I'm drinking, maybe we can have a beer together. If
681
00:37:18.210 --> 00:37:19.869
you want to follow me on the threads or the Instagram,
682
00:37:19.949 --> 00:37:22.510
it is officialrodijon. So until next time, make sure to
683
00:37:22.570 --> 00:37:24.219
enjoy life, drink local, and cheers.