1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,360 Love this podcast? Support this show through the A 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:07,000 Cast Supporter feature. It's up to you how much you give 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:08,640 and there's no regular commitment. 4 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:11,720 Just click the link in the show description to support Now 5 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:18,000 strictly for the culture brothers and sisters you have 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,120 seen. The T-shirts, the hats, the 7 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:24,960 hoodies, the mugs in the hands of some of your favorite pro 8 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:30,640 wrestling stars, podcasters and influencers out there and now 9 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,480 it's time. Visit strictlyfortheculture.ca 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,280 and you too can be part of the movement. 11 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,880 Bigger than sweatshirts and commercial success Strictly for 12 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:46,880 the culture aims to build with like minded people and elevate 13 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:52,280 their position in the world through knowledge, self love and 14 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,440 desire to unite. So what are you waiting on? 15 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:00,920 Visit strictlyfortheculture.ca. Do it for the love. 16 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,040 Do it for the knowledge. Most importantly, folks, do it 17 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:12,320 strictly for the culture you are locked in. 18 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:15,960 Look at what we have here folks, to the only show that matters. 19 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:19,920 The queen of the crop, Duke, loves wrestling and there is no. 20 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,120 One that does it better. Than your house. 21 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:29,880 I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass and I'm all out 22 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:41,600 above. You brothers and sisters, he's 23 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,640 back. I I tried to warn you. 24 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,200 This man is like that, that Candyman movie, OK? 25 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,720 You keep saying his name and eventually he's going to 26 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,720 reappear. And you know, for those of us 27 00:01:55,040 --> 00:02:01,040 who are on the right side of history, and who respect and and 28 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,760 who uplift our brother here, it's all good. 29 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:09,320 And for the rest of you who keep begging and pleading for someone 30 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:15,480 that you can direct your ire at, well, hey, your hero, you made 31 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,920 him come back. You made him do this thing. 32 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,560 So now it's time to paint the town red. 33 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,600 It's time to to to set the world on fire. 34 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:32,600 It is go time, Jack, because the man himself, Brad Shepard, has 35 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,560 officially returned. What's going on there, Shepard? 36 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,480 Duke, what's going on? Good to be here, as always. 37 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,960 I'm kind of like Beetlejuice. You say my name three times and 38 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,880 I appear. Well, you know what I love about 39 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:49,400 the fact that, at least with Brad Shepard, we know that 40 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,280 you're not begging for cheese boards or or having emotional 41 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:58,080 breakdowns over anything that Triple H may or may not say 42 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,600 about you, Right? Some people just need a little 43 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,080 cheese with their wine. But yeah, there would be no 44 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:08,120 Gofundmes. There'd be no cheese spreads or 45 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,440 anything like that with Brad Shepherd. 46 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,360 Let let's just. Jump right into it Shepherd, 47 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:17,400 because I know that people are are curious about your opinion 48 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:23,880 on this. At the scrum the the media event 49 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,360 that happens, you know after the pay-per-view WWE just had in 50 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:35,000 France, there was a question posed to Triple H and you know 51 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:41,080 what was stated and attributed to fight Full and PW Insider was 52 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,880 inaccurate information. They said that Drew Gulick was 53 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,960 released and that is not the case. 54 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,040 Triple H was able to correct the record and say no, he wasn't 55 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,640 released. We just chose not to renew his 56 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:56,640 contract, which you know, we do that all the time. 57 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:58,720 The NFL does that. That's part of doing business. 58 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,360 So but the thing that everybody latched onto and the thing that 59 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:09,880 made our good buddy the thigh rubber himself sniffles Sean 60 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:14,280 Ross Sapp literally have a conniption was the fact that 61 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:18,839 Triple H said you got to get some better sources more 62 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:23,960 accurate ones you know and and I guess that SAP took that as a 63 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,200 personal attack on him, even though he wasn't the one that 64 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,160 reported it initially. At least that he's not 65 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,000 attributed as being the person reporting it initially and 66 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:38,960 Triple H never said his name but this guy took it upon himself to 67 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:43,080 turn it into a personal crusade and and and he got all the the 68 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:49,360 band of Mary Dirt Sheep gang and and GoFundMe warriors and 69 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,080 goofballs all together and they're threatening Triple H 70 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,400 they're threatening WWE SAP is talking about his emotional 71 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:02,240 stability because he just lost a loved one and he can't believe 72 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,920 that the WWE and Triple H would attack him and his company this 73 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,000 way. He can't believe it's. 74 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,720 And he's gonna, he's gonna and then suddenly you you you going 75 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,960 to give me a public apology? And you and you better do this 76 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,000 and you better do that. And then he's posting a picture 77 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:24,280 of a cheese board that was mailed to him because Triple H 78 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:32,480 and Nick Khan felt so sorry for this emotional, unstable con man 79 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:39,920 who utilized the passing of a loved one to leverage sympathy 80 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,240 at a time when no one was even talking about him. 81 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,760 He pulled a 649. The switcheroo. 82 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:51,680 This, this, this literally morally bankrupt goofball, 83 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,240 right? And he managed to get a gift and 84 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,520 a letter out of it. And and and instead of just 85 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,600 accepting that and and moving on, he's got to put it up in 86 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,360 lights and post it online because you know what? 87 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:09,560 The grift has to keep going. Brad Shepherd, tell us we 88 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:11,560 haven't heard from you in a while, our brother. 89 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:17,200 Tell us what you think about our good man's sniffles pulling 90 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,560 another fast one. Well, I think they wrote a song 91 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:22,200 about it. Yeah, you're so vain. 92 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:25,120 You probably think this song is about you, you know? 93 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:29,080 And and that sums up Sean Rossap in a nutshell. 94 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:34,680 And you know, he presumed this was about him. 95 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:41,160 And because Fightful, you know, was named, He's not fightful. 96 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:45,120 He's part of Fightful, but why would that automatically be 97 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:46,880 about him? Well, that's an ego thing. 98 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:53,360 He is so vain. You said, you know I'm going to 99 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,440 puke, right? I'm going to puke. 100 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,520 That's how I felt. Listen to that. 101 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,040 Look, I mean, we have all lost loved ones. 102 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,120 I sympathize with him. And everyone who has lost a 103 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:07,320 loved one, they're close to that. 104 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:11,800 They've cared for. I can totally sympathize and 105 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,720 relate with Sean on that. I'm not criticizing that. 106 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,680 I'm criticizing that Sean Ross Sapp has to use things in his 107 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:23,840 personal life for sympathy and share them with the world. 108 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:27,360 I have challenges. You have challenges. 109 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:29,120 We all have challenges and hard times. 110 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:33,200 And you know, we, we don't share those with the world for 111 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:37,760 sympathy and and certainly don't make things about us that 112 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,680 aren't. And so that is where I take 113 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,680 issue with Sean Sapp. And I shouldn't use his middle 114 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:47,320 name. I don't know why I'm doing that. 115 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,120 Who goes by their middle name usually only douche bags. 116 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:55,480 So Sean Sapp, Sean, that's who he is. 117 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:57,400 We shouldn't call him Sean Ross Sapp. 118 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:00,000 So I'm going to call him Sean or Sean Sapp. 119 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,400 So excuse me for that. But yeah, that's my issue with 120 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,600 Sean. And I see not a lot has changed 121 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,800 with him. He can't stop mentioning me or 122 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,960 putting me over in some way, and neither can his friends. 123 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,400 And then again, you know, hey, maybe they're they're rubbing 124 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,280 the magic lamp and they're asking the genie for their one 125 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:23,640 wish, for Brad Shepherd to return. 126 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,560 But they can't keep my name out of their mouth, whether it's 127 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,680 public or private. Well, and and that's got to be 128 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,960 disturbing just to be on the receiving end of that Brad. 129 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,919 I know they do it to me, certainly not even close to the 130 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:40,080 scale. They do it to you. 131 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,440 But when they do it to me, it's always bizarre because it's 132 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:44,720 like, I'm not even talking about you. 133 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:49,280 I'm not even thinking about you. Why are you talking about me? 134 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,120 Why are you posting about me? Why are you taking shots at me? 135 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,960 This is what these goofballs do. And then they cry foul when we 136 00:08:55,960 --> 00:09:00,040 have to do an episode where we start doing a little dive into 137 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,800 them, right? The fact that every single 138 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:09,000 solitary day, whether it be Twitter, X, whatever the hell 139 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,600 you want to call it today, whether it be Instagram, whether 140 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:13,120 it be Facebook, whether it be Reddit. 141 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:18,440 The fact that every single day, these goofballs and they're all 142 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:23,240 connected with each other, by the way, they will mention Brad 143 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:28,080 Shepherd in general conversation that has literally absolutely 144 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,240 nothing to do with you. The fact that they mention your 145 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:36,160 name every single day, I just don't know what to do with that. 146 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:41,160 I got to ask you, Brad, are you flattered or are you disturbed? 147 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,480 Honestly, a mix of both. You know, I am flattered that 148 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,000 they think so highly of my opinion because if they did it, 149 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:54,720 they wouldn't talk about me. I mean, my opinion only holds as 150 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,040 much value as they allow it to. So that's why I'm flattered, 151 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,040 because clearly they allow it and they care about what I have 152 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,560 to say. I mean, I've, I've been out of 153 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:09,760 the spotlight for quite a while now and they are still 154 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,400 mentioning my name on X, on Instagram, on Facebook, 155 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,520 Podcasts, you can go down the list and these are you know, 156 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,480 professional wrestlers and people in the media and 157 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,760 wrestling fans. So that is flattering. 158 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,720 It's also a little disturbing because generally speaking, 159 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:30,640 don't know these people and don't know why they're so 160 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:32,800 invested in me. And a lot of them don't have 161 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:34,920 good intentions, you know, people who are not my 162 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:39,000 supporters, for example. So it is definitely a mix of 163 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,640 both. But you want Brad Shepherd, 164 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,320 you're going to get them because every time I try to go away, 165 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:51,360 Duke, they pull me back in. They want Brad Shepherd. 166 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:56,920 The pro wrestling community genuinely wants Brad Shepherd. 167 00:10:57,480 --> 00:10:59,920 I mean, and there's a lot you can look at. 168 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:03,480 You can look at my podcast Numbers, a top ten global 169 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:09,600 podcast, and I have it recorded an episode in almost a year. 170 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:14,000 Think about that. The people want Brad Shepherd, 171 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,080 whether they want to admit it or not. 172 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,840 So I'm going to give the people what they want, Duke. 173 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:24,320 Plain and simple. And what they want is they want, 174 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:26,520 you know, some people want a hero. 175 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,960 They want someone that they can believe in and and and blindly 176 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,960 follow. In your case, they want someone 177 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,640 to blame. And there was something about 178 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:37,840 Brad Shepherd. He it's like you're their 179 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,400 favorite stepdad. You know what I mean? 180 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,800 That it's just they they cannot make it in this world without 181 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:45,440 you. And without you they start 182 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,960 turning on each other. They cuss each other. 183 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,480 They threaten each other. You know you have, since we 184 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:53,400 talked about them already. You have SAP. 185 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,480 He's going around bragging about head butting Billy body, which 186 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,480 is legitimately one of the more bizarre things that I've ever 187 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,760 seen. You don't score points because 188 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,520 you head. But a guy that's barely 130 lbs 189 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,440 with a brick in his pocket? I don't know what to say about 190 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,800 that. Literally. 191 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,120 This guy is an emotional wreck. OK? 192 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:19,200 I'm telling you right now, SAP is an emotional wreck. 193 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,360 He wants to be known as Billy Badass, and it's the strangest 194 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,600 thing I've ever seen in my life. Because you're an adult, OK? 195 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,920 No one is afraid of you. No one is impressed with the 196 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,920 fact that you can go beat up some some little pipsqueak. 197 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,680 Who who? His biggest claim to fame is 198 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:39,240 that he was some reality * and he likes to say a lot of 199 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:40,880 bombastic things. Good for him. 200 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:44,040 But the fact that you think you did something because you 201 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,960 headbutt that guy. I'm just telling you, Sean, and 202 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:49,880 I've told you this directly, you need help. 203 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,280 You have a lot of emotional issues with you, buddy, OK? 204 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,280 And the fact that you want to be known as some tough guy. 205 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,720 Listen, go go go fight in UFC or PFL or something like that. 206 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,920 Go show us what you really can do against professionals. 207 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:08,720 Beating up some little skinny punk who doesn't even really 208 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:10,480 want to fight anyway. Who? 209 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:12,160 Who? Who, as you claimed, he runs 210 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,200 away from you. You don't score points today. 211 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,920 You just look like a goofball and a bully, OK? 212 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,720 That's what you are talking tough online and then picking on 213 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,000 these little scrawny goofs buddy. 214 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,840 You don't get any any Pats on the back for that and all those 215 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,120 weirdos and and emotionally unstable people that cheer you 216 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,560 on for that. Just look around. 217 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,680 What does that say about them? Do you really feel good about 218 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:37,600 that? You need help, man. 219 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,960 You you need a lot of help. Yeah, I mean, I have to agree. 220 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,600 You know, I I think mental health in full transparency is 221 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:50,320 something to take seriously. And if you're a loved one of 222 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,640 Sean, you should encourage him to get help with his emotional 223 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:56,520 issues. You know, I think that's 224 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,520 important. He clearly does have a lot of 225 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,440 issues and could probably talk to someone. 226 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:08,160 I mean, I look at Sean and I just see a guy who's, you know, 227 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,960 in his 30s and is like living this childlike life with a 228 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:17,000 meaningless existence, you know, no kids. 229 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,000 And he covers pro wrestling for a living. 230 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:25,800 He just lives this childlike existence, you know, for himself 231 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,040 and I. It's just kind of a sad 232 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:32,800 situation when you think about it. 233 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,400 You know, I can't relate. I don't have, you know friends 234 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:42,880 in a similar situation but I do think you know he's had some 235 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:47,560 difficult things going on and I I don't think it's a bad thing 236 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,960 for him to talk to somebody and and seek help. 237 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:55,040 But I the behavior that I've seen from him online and again 238 00:14:55,520 --> 00:15:00,520 you know here's a guy in his 30s married you know and and he's 239 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:03,960 you know seeking out fights with people, challenging people to 240 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:07,600 fights threatening them, you know people in the industry, 241 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:12,720 people who are fans etcetera. And I I get the, you know, the 242 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:14,560 threats and the stalking and harassment. 243 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,600 He and his group have been doing that to me for years and 244 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,040 responsible for that. So I'm, I'm well familiar with 245 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,600 that scenario. I would just say he should 246 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,120 address that and it's OK. It absolutely is OK. 247 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:32,160 And this is a thing, you know, his his way of dealing with 248 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:34,800 things. Again, he wants people to 249 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,960 believe he's some kind of Billy Badass tough guy, and he's not. 250 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,200 He, he legitimately is a scared little person. 251 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,680 That's what he is, a scared, emotionally bankrupt little 252 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,640 person. And we know this by the way, 253 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:54,840 that he conducts himself, OK? You don't need to cuss and carry 254 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:59,480 on and threaten and literally and at one point beat up the 255 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:03,360 the, the weakest guy in the room, A person who legitimately 256 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,160 could not do anything to anyone, right. 257 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,360 You do not score points beating up Billy Body. 258 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,600 That's just goofy. It legitimately is goofy and and 259 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,160 and you ought to be ashamed of yourself, Sean. 260 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,520 You know, by the way, Duke, I just want to say he did this 261 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:23,720 allegedly during WrestleMania weekend while he was there 262 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,680 potentially doing work for Fightful, right? 263 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,880 That's what we would presume. So that's how professional he 264 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,040 is. He's on the job, the biggest 265 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,360 show of the year in the industry he covers and he's literally 266 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:42,960 chasing down and physically assaulting other people 267 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,920 allegedly and so and not in self-defense. 268 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:53,200 And so if I'm WWE, I have to remove that guy from covering 269 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:57,280 any of my events moving forward because he is a safety risk to 270 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:02,640 be at events covering them. That's not a good thing for WWE. 271 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,520 And if you're Jimmy Van and FIFO, what the hell are you 272 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:07,319 thinking? Why is that OK? 273 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:10,119 Why has he not talked about it? Has that been addressed with 274 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,280 Sean? A lot of questions surrounding 275 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:15,079 this story that Sean came out with. 276 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:19,119 That's a great point. And I I don't even know what to 277 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:21,720 make of this this Jimmy Van character. 278 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:27,920 I mean, clearly he's finding ways to tap into emotionally 279 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:31,560 unstable people who like being lied to and will pay to be lied 280 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,440 to. That seems to be his thing. 281 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,320 So if he can find the ringmaster, like like SAP, who 282 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,440 is very skilled. By the way, I've never taken 283 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,400 away the fact that this guy is talented. 284 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:48,280 He has figured out how to take emotionally unstable people who 285 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,360 part of their kink is just to give money and and be 286 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:53,840 mistreated, and that's what they do. 287 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,520 SAP is very good at that, and Jimmy Van is very good at 288 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,880 convincing that person to essentially be his, his earner. 289 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,200 Bring me the money and I'll give you a couple of pence on the 290 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:05,440 dollar. Bring me the money. 291 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,160 You know, So is, is Jimmy Van, is is that like a form of 292 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:11,040 pimping? I don't know what that is. 293 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:13,880 I'm just asking a question here. I'm not, you know, I'm not the 294 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,160 arbiter of anything, but maybe Jimmy Van. 295 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:21,240 Maybe this is a question I'm just pondering out loud. 296 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:27,580 Maybe Jimmy Van is the greatest pimp in the history of quote UN 297 00:18:27,580 --> 00:18:34,040 quote wrestling media and he has his his workers who know how to 298 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,920 go and get the tricks. Maybe, Who knows, Who knows. 299 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:42,480 But you know Jimmy, I don't have much nice to say about you 300 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:44,800 brother cause your your business practices are bizarre. 301 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,200 You should have been paying Denise Salcedo the most money 302 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,680 and the fact that you have that woman of color who is carrying 303 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:52,840 that company, especially during the pandemic. 304 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,000 And yet you were paying this emotionally disturbed individual 305 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,680 and SAP who's going around threatening people and beating 306 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,720 up folks from other countries who who can barely, who can't 307 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:05,840 defend themselves. Quite frankly, the fact that 308 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,920 you're paying that guy more when Denise, whether you like her or 309 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,560 not, Denise was carrying that company and you were just 310 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,680 disrespecting her by not paying her as much as you would pay any 311 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:19,480 other goofball Jimmy Van. You, in my opinion, are a 312 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:21,240 disgrace. It's as simple as that. 313 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,280 Well, a wise man once said pimpin ain't easy, but I'd have 314 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,920 to beg to differ because he is indeed the pimpin chief Jimmy 315 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:34,160 Van, and he's made it look easy. He sure has. 316 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:36,320 And and listen, you know, Speaking of which, since we're 317 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:38,280 lining them all up, it's been a while Shepherd. 318 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:40,600 I haven't been cancelled in a while, so I might as well make 319 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:43,600 it good. I want to bring up another name 320 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,320 that popped up recently, surprisingly. 321 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:55,920 Matt Coom. My my favorite Jingle man. 322 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,000 All right, this this guy, he can he can make a Jingle brother. 323 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,080 Let me tell you that man knows how to make a tune. 324 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,800 OK, Matt Coon, the Jingle man found himself in a little bit of 325 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:12,120 controversy recently. He was presenting himself as 326 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:16,960 captain SJW no hashtag boy and all that good stuff there. 327 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,800 He loves to. Try to cosplay, caring about 328 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:25,360 causes and and being anti racist and all this other stuff which 329 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:28,440 is interesting when strictly for the culture. 330 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:32,680 Our friends over there shout out to them and some other folks 331 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:42,920 raised the question about MJFA guy who disrespected all black 332 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:48,360 folk and and anyone who's an ally by essentially comparing 333 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:51,880 slavery to the Holocaust and saying that the Holocaust was 334 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:56,360 much worse, literally pitting different folks, different 335 00:20:56,360 --> 00:21:01,240 cultures who have been brutalized, pitting US against 336 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:03,480 each other. And MJF is Jewish. 337 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,360 So the fact that he would take it upon himself to try to uplift 338 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:11,960 himself and his culture by putting down my culture is kind 339 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:16,520 of strange and kind of scummy and certainly racist in my 340 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,240 opinion. And strictly for the culture. 341 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,960 They felt the same way and they brought it up and they brought 342 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:26,000 it to Matt Coon's attention. And Matt Coon suddenly could not 343 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,240 identify the racism in that situation. 344 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,240 In fact, he said he didn't see it. 345 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,880 So when I observed this Shepherd, I just pointed out, 346 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:37,960 listen, Matt Coon, you know, you your your Conrad's goofy buddy. 347 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:41,440 You're a talented guy. I like when you make the music 348 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,000 and all that stuff, when you make your jingles stick to 349 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,440 making the jingles and stay out of the racism talk because 350 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,200 clearly you don't know what the hell you're talking about. 351 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:53,360 Clearly you you are not honest enough, brave enough to stand 352 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:55,120 firm and just call it what it is. 353 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,560 You you pick your spots depending on what the popular 354 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,800 crowd says. So so let me get your take on 355 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,680 this here, Shepherd. I mean is am I missing something 356 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,080 here with Matt Coon or? Or is he as as phony as a $3.00 357 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:09,160 bill? Well, I think first of all, his 358 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:11,800 name is extremely racist. I just want to point that out 359 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:13,720 for the record. So I think he should change his 360 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,840 name immediately unless he is in fact racist. 361 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:23,480 With that being said, look, the problem with Matt Kuhn is Matt 362 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,240 wants to be liked. I mean, he is mentally ill by 363 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,080 his own admission, so there's that. 364 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,920 But ultimately he's, you know, kind of a loser. 365 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,720 He is mildly talented. I will definitely give him that. 366 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:40,960 But he's just one of those like outcasts in society that wants 367 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:46,000 to fit in, that wants to be liked and wants to be liked more 368 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,080 so than the average person. Because at some level everybody 369 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,440 wants to be liked. But even more so, like in Matt's 370 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:59,880 case, he wanted to be part of this cool kids club with the, I 371 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:04,160 guess, the online pro wrestling communities and with the 372 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:07,200 wrestlers themselves and that's why he would drive them around. 373 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,680 It shows for free, you know, That's why he's made friends 374 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,880 with people like Sean, SAP and others, you know. 375 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,600 So that's Matt in a nutshell. I think pretty much, you know, I 376 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:20,120 don't think he has good intentions. 377 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:23,680 I don't think he's stable or trustworthy and he's certainly 378 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,160 proven that to be true. So you know I'm not a fan of 379 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:31,760 Matt Coon at all. Like most white male liberal SJ 380 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:36,280 WS I think he is much more likely to be the actual racist 381 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,560 one. You know and and doesn't 382 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:40,160 actually believe in what he's saying. 383 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,920 But yeah, I I, you know, Matt is a is another guy who loves to 384 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,080 talk about me, who loves to lie about me in spite of evidence. 385 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:52,240 And it's all ultimately to get people to like him. 386 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:57,520 Because hey, if you say my name and you say bad things about me, 387 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:03,040 this sort of toxic online Internet audience, you know this 388 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,840 Twitter wrestling group of people, they're going to like 389 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:09,640 that. So, you know, and then they're 390 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:11,840 going to like Matt and Matt's going to be loved and that makes 391 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:16,280 him feel all warm and fuzzy. But you know, Matt needs to 392 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,360 focus on himself, believe me, and not people like me or 393 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:22,200 others. I agree. 394 00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:25,320 And I'm just going to, you know, say this and and this is just me 395 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:27,720 talking. So you know, Matt, you don't 396 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:31,360 need to invoke Brad's name and what I'm about to say, because 397 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:34,240 I'm talking directly to you, You talk to me, young man. 398 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,320 Again, I like the Matt Coon who who's Conrad's goofy buddy? 399 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:44,520 That's what we know you As for better or for worse, when you 400 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,800 start venturing off into things that you're really not qualified 401 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:50,120 to venture off into. You make a fool of yourself and 402 00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:54,360 you and you really make a fool out of Conrad who used his 403 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:57,800 cachet to vouch for you and and help you even. 404 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:01,480 You know, be somebody that anyone knows anything about. 405 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:03,880 Because without him, I don't know if anyone would know who 406 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:04,880 the hell you are. Matt. 407 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:10,040 Now again, I think you're a talented guy, so just do me a 408 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,600 favor And again, this is me talking to you here, Matt. 409 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:20,600 I need you to get up, take your big back self into the studio. 410 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:26,560 Get your Jingle machine and make me something that I could tap my 411 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:32,120 foot to and just do that and stay out of grown folk business. 412 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:35,480 Thank you. All right, Shepard. 413 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:41,320 Moving on here. A little birdie told me that you 414 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,120 are putting the band back together, Shepard. 415 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,200 I am putting the band back together again. 416 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:53,040 I tried to stay away, but these people just won't let Brad 417 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:54,960 Shepherd stay away, so I'm going to give them what they want. 418 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,080 The band is coming back together. 419 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,720 Brad Shepherd Unleashed is returning. 420 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:08,200 I'm very happy to announce that. And every week on Tuesdays, 421 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,880 starting May 14th, you'll have a new episode of Brad Shepherd 422 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:13,760 Unleashed. I'm back. 423 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:18,720 And whether you like it or whether you don't, you know 424 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:20,320 you're going to be talking about me. 425 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:22,840 You heard it straight from the man's mouth. 426 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:27,080 And again, for for all of us who you know, appreciate Brad and 427 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:32,360 appreciates the idea of somebody being able to just tell it like 428 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:36,320 like it is and tell it like they see it, there is no reason why 429 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,000 we all have to sound the same, think the same, have the same 430 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,160 perspective on things. We need variety in the space, 431 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:47,200 and certainly Brad Shepherd provides some excellent and much 432 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,800 needed variety in the space. So for all of us who appreciate 433 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,160 that this is wonderful news and for all of you who have a 434 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:57,080 problem with that, this is wonderful news for you, even 435 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,560 more wonderful news for you, because now you have something 436 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:01,200 that you can hate. Listen to again. 437 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,480 You know, I I kind of love you to sleep with my interviews and 438 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,280 stuff like that because we don't get too controversial. 439 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:10,200 We got to get the sizzle back here with Brad Shepherd. 440 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:13,000 It really gets you stirred up because that's what you folks 441 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,600 are missing in your miserable lives. 442 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,200 So guess what? You're going to get it, OK? 443 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,080 Brad Shepherd is back, baby. Like you said, we got what, 444 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,200 another five weeks before we get the the next episode there, 445 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,560 Brett? Yeah, absolutely. 446 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:32,200 And look, it's coming, and it's coming hard. 447 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,360 No ditty. There it is. 448 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:36,080 There it is. What else? 449 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,240 What else in the wrestling world before before we let you go 450 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,000 there, Brad, what else is something that you want to weigh 451 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:43,640 in on? Because we had again, we haven't 452 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:48,320 heard from you in a while and so much has happened since the last 453 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:51,200 time you were on. I mean the WWE has a totally 454 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:55,000 different ownership company now and Vince McMahon is completely 455 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,360 out. Folks like Triple H has been 456 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:02,360 exalted as you know the the big thing now and and you know 457 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:06,400 everyone is a Triple H guy suddenly you know, which is 458 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,160 interesting to me. Then on the flip side, you have 459 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,880 AW losing international partners who don't want to carry their 460 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,400 programming anymore because of how terrible it is. 461 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:19,840 They still don't have a deal from WBD even though their their 462 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:23,600 current contract, which they had an extension on it ends in 463 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:25,560 December. So it's so literally as it 464 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:29,720 stands right now, the United States of America, AEW has no 465 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:33,200 place to air their content in 2025. 466 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,240 What do you want to talk about, Brad? 467 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:42,400 Well, the wrestling scene has certainly changed a lot since my 468 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:48,040 last podcast, that's for sure. And you know, some for the 469 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:52,360 better and some certainly not. I don't think that knows man 470 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:57,200 Paul Leveque is the savior like many people in the IWC do. 471 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:02,840 There are things under his leadership that have changed, I 472 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:06,480 think for the better, and certainly some things for the 473 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,560 worst. Look, I don't need a video 474 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,280 package on DIY. I don't want to see a video 475 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:14,200 package of them. I want to see them, like not in 476 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:16,880 the company wrestling somewhere else where I don't have to see 477 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:22,120 them because they don't belong in the biggest company in the 478 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,600 industry. They're not at that level. 479 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:31,280 And so I don't want to see DIY shove down my throat every week 480 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:35,200 in any capacity. They don't belong. 481 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:37,880 They belong in the minor leagues like AEW. 482 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:40,160 So that's what I would like to see. 483 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:45,280 So I would like for Paul very much to stop promoting these 484 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,280 little fellas. What's this other one? 485 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:49,560 These little UK guys who were A tag team. 486 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:53,280 Some, they've got some weird name now, I don't even know, but 487 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,440 they came from NXTNXTUK, whatever. 488 00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:59,800 And you know, they formed A-Team. 489 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,680 And I don't know why, but it's like he's taking all these 490 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,120 little NXT guys and tried to bring them up. 491 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:11,000 And you know, I I I just don't understand that mindset. 492 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:17,720 That's to me something that Vince McMahon was smarter and 493 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,440 better on from a business perspective than Paul. 494 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,440 Look, I've said it before, Rey Mysterio is a legend. 495 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,440 Rey Mysterio is someone I want to see wrestle. 496 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:31,760 When you got 30 Rey Mysterios, you got too many Rey Mysterios. 497 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:36,640 You don't need a bunch of little guys in pro wrestling and and 498 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:40,960 that's one thing that that Paul has done, you know, So I don't 499 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,960 like that. At the same time they seem to 500 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:49,360 have more freedom and I think we've seen some positive things 501 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:52,840 out of the product that are taking place even down to 502 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,720 getting rid of Kevin Dunn in the camera. 503 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:00,520 What you're seeing as ATV Viewer has improved tremendously 504 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:05,240 without Kevin Dunn and has really shown how they can take 505 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,640 things to the next level as good as they were already from a 506 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:10,880 production perspective. So they've done that. 507 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,880 Now you look at AEW and again, they're the minor leagues. 508 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:16,920 They're a clown show run by a clown. 509 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:22,680 I mean, that is an embarrassing pro wrestling company filled 510 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,680 with embarrassing pro wrestlers. You know how many times are they 511 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:31,240 going to mention CM Punk's name and put over that he bitched out 512 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,520 Jack Perry. And the greatest thing about 513 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:39,040 Jack Perry is his father. The guy has no charisma. 514 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:43,400 Now he's being promoted as one of the bigger stars in this 515 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:47,800 faction with the Young Bucks who also have been a complete 516 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:52,080 disappointment in AW who haven't really been over, haven't really 517 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:56,000 made any impact whatsoever. They brought in a bunch of 518 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:59,960 people like Mercedes, who's been a total flop, which I knew would 519 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:02,160 happen. They brought in Will Osprey. 520 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,120 They paid these people a bunch of money. 521 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,240 They're not moving the needle. In fact, the needle is moving in 522 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,480 the opposite direction. They're losing viewership year 523 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:14,120 over year over year over year. That's what's happening. 524 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,840 That's undeniable. And then you've got this crazy 525 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:23,880 man with wild hair who who looks like he's on, who knows what and 526 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,960 telling you they're about to get some massive rights deal. 527 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,840 I mean, this is total delusion and the show is unwatchable. 528 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:38,440 It's, you know, when when WWE is doing well, so goes the 529 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,120 industry, It should be providing opportunities for others. 530 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:47,800 But AW isn't taking advantage of that because it's so bad, you 531 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:52,000 know, and Tony Khan has the money to make it work, but he 532 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,480 doesn't have the vision. He doesn't have the creative 533 00:32:54,480 --> 00:33:00,000 ability and so it's not working. Impact Wrestling is awful. 534 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:04,280 It is the shits. Look, this Joe Hendry guy heard 535 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:08,560 a song he did recently. I think he's entertaining. 536 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:11,600 That should probably push him. But when I look at that show, I 537 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:14,560 mean, that show is awful. It sucks. 538 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,840 So pro wrestling should be getting better as WWE does 539 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:22,240 great, but in many ways they're really not. 540 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:28,840 So I, you know, I think overall I've been more interested in WWE 541 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:30,960 recently than I was historically. 542 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:34,280 But at the same time, they're still missing opportunities too. 543 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:37,440 Cody had the big story. He finished it. 544 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,720 Well, what happens next? What happens next is they have 545 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,800 to create a story that's going to keep you invested in Cody as 546 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:48,480 the champion, not a guy who's the underdog trying to win the 547 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:50,240 big one because he's done that now. 548 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,000 So what is the story? And they haven't been able to 549 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:56,000 capitalize on that. And I see Logan Paul come out 550 00:33:56,000 --> 00:34:00,520 and cut a promo with Cody, and Logan Paul outshined Cody in 551 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:04,560 that promo, in my opinion. So they have to figure out what 552 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:06,840 they're doing with Cody because he is clearly someone they're 553 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,520 pushing as the top of their brand. 554 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,960 And frankly, he'll probably be outshined by Roman when he 555 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:17,320 returns, and certainly The Rock when he returns. 556 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:20,920 So they have to figure that out. Those are a bunch of jumbled 557 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,000 thoughts, Duke. I've got a lot more, of course, 558 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,040 which I'll talk about on the podcast. 559 00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:28,400 Brad Shepherd coming in hot with this one. 560 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:30,760 My goodness, I love it. I love it. 561 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:32,280 This is the stuff we've been missing, man. 562 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,960 Again. You know, things have been a 563 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:37,600 little too too quiet. A little, a little too. 564 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:43,639 What do I say, Sybil? We need a little chaos in here. 565 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:47,400 Brad and you being unfiltered with your takes and just calling 566 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,600 it the way that it is, that's good stuff that that really is. 567 00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:53,840 And I I just wonder about something because we had Devon 568 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,320 Dudley on the show. In fact it was the last episode 569 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:00,720 he made his his second appearance in less than six 570 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:05,640 weeks and Devon talked about his impression of Tony Khan and and 571 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,080 and AW now he said yeah you know that there are some talented 572 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:10,840 wrestlers on that roster and and what have you but they just 573 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:13,640 they're they don't have proper direction. 574 00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:14,920 They don't they don't have a Booker. 575 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:18,120 They don't have agents that they're listening to because if 576 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:19,880 they were then things would be a lot better. 577 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:23,120 And overall the root of the issue is Tony Khan he he just 578 00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:28,000 needs to get his shipping order. Devon told the story of Tony 579 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:33,000 Khan using his sons to try to lure Devon in to AEW. 580 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:38,080 And you know, the sons were were were given an opportunity to be 581 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:40,640 on TV and wrestle with them and things like that. 582 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:44,520 And they brought Devon in for a few meetings and and offered him 583 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:47,800 a position and Devon told them, look, I don't want to wrestle, 584 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,000 you know, my back is in bad shape and what have you. 585 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:54,320 I I I would love to be an agent. I'm willing to compromise and be 586 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:57,320 a manager for my boys just to help them, you know, get out 587 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,600 there and get some visibility. But I don't want to wrestle 588 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,160 because I I don't want to have that kind of problem there. 589 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:08,160 And AW strung him along or, or as I should say, Tony Khan 590 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:12,560 strung him along three meeting. Shepherd strung him along and 591 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,800 then finally said, hey, we don't have any open positions for 592 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,760 agents, but you know, you could wrestle. 593 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:22,440 And Devon, that was the last time you spoke to him. 594 00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:24,440 Thank you for your time. No thank you. 595 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:26,160 And left. And then promptly. 596 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,880 Devon's sons suddenly aren't getting any more bookings in AW. 597 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,000 They were essentially shown the door because their father 598 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:34,240 wouldn't wrestle for the company. 599 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:38,120 That is essentially the story that was told. 600 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,880 Devon was diplomatic and respectful, but he also just 601 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,680 stuck to the facts. What's your take on that type of 602 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,920 way of doing business on on Tony Khan's front there? 603 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:54,000 Well, I think it's awful, but this is the same person who 604 00:36:54,480 --> 00:37:00,280 trashed WWE for their treatment of wrestlers and what is he 605 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:02,640 providing? Is he giving health insurance to 606 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:07,880 his contracted pro wrestlers? You know, what kind of benefits 607 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:12,200 do they have? So he can talk a big game 608 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:17,160 certainly, but what I've seen from Tony, not the words but the 609 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:24,200 actions is not very desirable. It's not impressive. 610 00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:27,200 I think that's an awful way to do business. 611 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:33,440 And again, I think, you know, the biggest hindrance to AEW is 612 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:38,560 Tony Khan, ironically. And without Tony Kahn, there is 613 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:44,320 no AEW because he, along with his daddy Shad, are obviously 614 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,640 funding the operation. So he's necessary, but at the 615 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:53,440 same time he's hindering them. So that's obviously a problem, 616 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:57,240 you know, And he's bringing in people who aren't telling him 617 00:37:57,240 --> 00:37:59,560 no. You know, I don't know where 618 00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:04,320 Will Washington's nose begins and Tony Kahn's ass ends. 619 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:09,000 And that's a problem because there should be people telling 620 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,960 him when he is going astray, when he's doing something that 621 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:15,960 may not be good for the business, for the company, for 622 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:20,280 the creative, et cetera. And that's what Tony Kahn has to 623 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,680 have. I want AEW to fail, just to be 624 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,960 clear. I want to be very clear about 625 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:27,920 that. I do not want them to succeed 626 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:30,840 and I don't have to want them to succeed. 627 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:36,360 That's OK. You know, I don't look at all 628 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:39,800 businesses and think just because I like one specific 629 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:43,200 thing they offer that I should support all stores that offer 630 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,640 that I I'm a Patriots fan in the NFL. 631 00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:51,760 I I don't want the Buffalo Bills to succeed, you know, That's all 632 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:55,200 totally normal and healthy. I don't have to like something 633 00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:57,480 just because it's pro wrestling and I'm a pro wrestling fan. 634 00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,920 I like movies too. I don't want all movies to be 635 00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:04,640 successful or I don't want to see all movies because I like 636 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:09,080 what I like and that's OK. So you know that that kind of 637 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:14,200 trope is overplayed in the IWC. It's OK to not want AW to 638 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:18,160 succeed and and I want them to fail because they are not my 639 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:20,000 style of pro wrestling. They're not something I'm 640 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:23,160 interested in and I think there are numerous examples of them 641 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,960 being actually harmful for the industry and and surely they've 642 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:29,360 done some things that help. I agree with that, right? 643 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:32,000 They've offered job opportunities to pro wrestlers, 644 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,440 not in WWE where they can make a living. 645 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:38,400 At the same time, they've certainly made the business a 646 00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:41,000 negative. Tony Kahn has whipped up these 647 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:47,120 lunatic fans and made this sort of cult of personality worse, 648 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:50,400 And that's been a negative for the interactions in the IWC. 649 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:53,960 And you see that. You see that on X, you see that 650 00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:55,720 on the different social media platforms. 651 00:39:55,720 --> 00:40:01,200 So just to be clear again, I want AW to fail and go out of 652 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:05,000 business. I'm telling you, Brad Shepherd, 653 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:10,560 OK, the man that you either appreciate because he tells it 654 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:13,760 like it is and he's not afraid and and he's not going to worry 655 00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:15,920 about the popular opinion. He's just going to give an 656 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:18,400 honest take or you can't stand them. 657 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:22,000 But you also can't stop listening to him because he can 658 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,560 do the thing that you're not brave enough to do. 659 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:27,480 That's the Brad Shepherd we know as the Brad Shepherd we 660 00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:30,040 appreciate. And and and look for all you 661 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:33,040 humanoids out there. You love to try to paint this, 662 00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:37,600 this false picture. Brad and I disagree about a lot 663 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:41,200 of things and we have always through the years openly 664 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:45,000 disagree about things. But the difference between Brad 665 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,720 and I and you is that we are adults. 666 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:52,440 We are actually emotionally stable enough to be able to 667 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:54,440 disagree without being disagreeable. 668 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:58,200 We can, we can disagree on a topic, agree on another topic, 669 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:01,400 laugh about something else, you know, come together about 670 00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:04,960 providing for our family and and and just being decent human 671 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:09,400 beings in society and move on. We don't need to sit here and 672 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:13,520 turn it into some stupid Crips versus Bloods nonsense that a 673 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:17,080 lot of you weaklings. This is all you know. 674 00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:20,480 You want to gang up and and and try to destroy people because 675 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:25,160 they actually had the audacity to have a different opinion than 676 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:27,840 you have. Oh, the horror. 677 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:32,520 My God. But you know, I I really do 678 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:36,360 appreciate you, Duke. And you're right. 679 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:39,480 It it's, it's two adults and you know I'll be honest with you. 680 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:43,960 You know, I don't. I don't have really many 681 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:47,360 friends, or any friends that I agree with on just about 682 00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:49,080 everything. How boring would that be? 683 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:54,400 Surrounded by a circle jerk of, you know, exactly similar 684 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:56,200 beliefs. That'd be so boring. 685 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:58,880 You know, I like to culture myself. 686 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:02,560 I like to have different experiences and backgrounds and, 687 00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:06,880 you know, kind of branch myself out and diversify myself. 688 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:10,360 So I like to surround myself with people who have different 689 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:14,320 experiences just as much as people with similar experiences 690 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:18,360 or more. So I can definitely appreciate 691 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:23,160 what you bring to the table. And you know, I I have friends 692 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:27,560 that have opposite views of me, politically and and otherwise. 693 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:30,320 And that's OK. So you know all the haters out 694 00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:34,600 there, you know who are, who are categorizing me in a certain 695 00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:37,480 way. You know, we may have more in 696 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:39,520 common than you think. You know, I have a lot of life 697 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:41,880 experience. I'm easy to talk to. 698 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:45,520 I'm very relatable. And you know, if you just had a 699 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:49,520 conversation with me, you may realize that I'm not going to 700 00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:50,760 bite. It's OK. 701 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:55,640 Brad, if anyone listening right now wants to keep up with you 702 00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:59,200 and and and make sure that they're dialed in so that when 703 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:04,800 the new content drops they are absolutely there to listen and 704 00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:07,760 and go along for the journey, What's the best way they can do 705 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:12,840 that? The best way to reach me as on X 706 00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:20,000 at B Shep Unleashed. That's BESHEP Unleashed. 707 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:23,840 Follow me on X I'll be branching out from there, but that is the 708 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:27,200 one place right now where you can find all of the information 709 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:30,240 on Brad Shepherd and Brad Shepherd Unleashed. 710 00:43:31,240 --> 00:43:32,880 You know, Brad, I appreciate you, man. 711 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:35,680 It's the eighth year anniversary of Duke close Rosslyn and it's 712 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:39,240 always fun to have you in the mix. 713 00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:42,120 You know since moment one, you you and I have always been 714 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:45,640 straight up with each other and we've always made magic when we 715 00:43:45,640 --> 00:43:49,680 collaborate, which I appreciate. And this show has grown 716 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:53,200 partially because of your contributions to it, man. 717 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:55,680 So I don't take that lightly and I appreciate you for it. 718 00:43:56,280 --> 00:44:01,120 And it's it's interesting because when I reflect back on 719 00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:05,800 the type of individuals that consistently give you a hard 720 00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:10,440 time and who consistently give me a hard time, it's as if they 721 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:14,200 think they are sunny in The Godfather. 722 00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:19,520 They think that they're these rough and tumble badasses who 723 00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:22,080 can beat people up in the streets and they fly off the 724 00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:24,560 handle and that's cool and it's awesome. 725 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:26,800 And you know, the kids are giggling and cheering them on 726 00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:29,640 and stuff. They think they're sunny when in 727 00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:36,560 reality they're bumbling, stumbling goofballs who want to 728 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:40,560 be smart, who want respect because they're smart. 729 00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:45,080 They're Fredo. They absolutely are Fredo. 730 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:51,320 And I just want to tell you Brad Shepherd from 1 Michael to 731 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:56,200 another thank you for always being who you are, brother. 732 00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:03,720 And always remember, Tom, this is business and this man is 733 00:45:03,720 --> 00:45:07,200 taking it very, very personal. I. 734 00:45:07,720 --> 00:45:10,720 Want to remind you to check out Zencastr? 735 00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:17,920 ZENCASTR that is my favorite program to use for all my 736 00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:21,280 recording needs. And the great part is not only 737 00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:26,000 do they have audio, but they also have video options as well. 738 00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:30,120 So whether you're video conferencing, podcasting, just 739 00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:33,480 catching up with friends and loved ones, you definitely want 740 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:36,920 to check out Zencaster. They have a paid subscriptions. 741 00:45:36,920 --> 00:45:39,560 They also have a free version which I'm actually using right 742 00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:42,960 now. Transcripts the whole 9 yards. 743 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:49,040 And even get this, Zencaster has started to do hosting. 744 00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:52,600 So for all you podcasters out there, if you're looking for a 745 00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:56,800 host for your show, please consider Zencaster. 746 00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:59,920 You will not regret it. I'm telling you right now, once 747 00:45:59,920 --> 00:46:06,000 again, ZENCASTR made on Zencaster. 748 00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:14,460 That's right. So next time, be kind to 749 00:46:14,460 --> 00:46:16,740 yourselves and be kind to others. 750 00:46:17,580 --> 00:46:23,260 Take it away, Tony Shivani. Mr. Tony Shivani. 751 00:46:23,460 --> 00:46:26,980 And we're definitely out of. Time on Duke Love wrestling.