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Oct. 4, 2024

Austin Theory Reveals Behind-The-Scenes Creative, Working With The Rock, and Career-Defining Moments

Austin Theory Reveals Behind-The-Scenes Creative, Working With The Rock, and Career-Defining Moments

Join us as @WWE star, Austin Theory, talks about his involvement in major storylines, and the surreal moments that have shaped his career. Theory also opens up about working with The Rock and other WWE legends. 

Follow us on social media:
Instagram:...

Join us as @WWE star, Austin Theory, talks about his involvement in major storylines, and the surreal moments that have shaped his career. Theory also opens up about working with The Rock and other WWE legends. 

Follow us on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/battlegroundpodcast
X: https://www.twitter.com/battlegroundihr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/battlegroundpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/battlegroundpodcast

Transcript
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Welcome to The Battleground Podcast, all things pro and exclusive

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interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.

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Podcast stop It, What's up you guys? Welcome back into

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iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, The Battleground Podcast.

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It is Battle from one.

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O five to nine the Right Nashville's classic rock station,

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and of course, Friday Night SmackDown is here in our backyard,

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literally down the street from us Bridge Don Arena. And

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joining us on the show, we got the Man, the myth,

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the legend, and he's been on this show multiple times,

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so we can now consider him a friend.

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Austin Theory joins the show. Austin, how are you doing, sir?

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I'm doing great and I'm super excited to be coming

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back to Nashville. It's always a good time in Nashville.

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That's where the party is at.

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Absolutely, and you and Grays are gonna hit up Broadway

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after the show on Friday night or what?

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Oh, me and Grayson we got so many plans for Friday.

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You know, we might beat up the Bloodline. I don't know, Wait,

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that might have been too far. Let's see, you know,

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maybe Cody Roads. Maybe we'll beat up Cody Roads. That's

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you know it's a better option, and uh yeah, Broadway, man,

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there's a lot of bars over there. There's a lot

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of you know, opportunities to showcase your singing skills. So

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maybe Grayson can do that. You know, he's a good singer.

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If you guys didn't know.

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Oh really, no he's not.

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I wouldn't.

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I would not be surprised if as it gets he's

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just got the accent, you know, that's.

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All he's got. He's got that accent. That's it.

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Of course, WW right now is tremendous that it's on fire.

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The product is great.

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You can grab tickets still available ticketmaster dot com. But

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let's just kind of dive right into it. You've been

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in some high profile storylines recently. What's something about the

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creative process behind the scenes, pulling back the curtain a

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little bit that fans would be surprised to know about

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your involvement in.

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I would have to say, man, with the creative process now,

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it's very hands on and there's a lot of opportunity

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for us superstars to you know, make tweaks, make changes,

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have our own ideas and you know them, not be

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shut down them, you know, actually having the opportunity to

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be looking at and say, well, you know, maybe we

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could go somewhere with this, or that's not really the plan,

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but you know that that might have something to it.

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So it's very hands on, but it's also very uh,

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you know it being the creative. It's very creative for

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all of us because we're all being able to create.

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And you know, when it comes to what we do

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as sports entertainers professional wrestlers is showing our art. So

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that creativity is so important for us to have in

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our own hands. And I feel that way now that

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we do have it.

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Yeah, and it's you can you could tell as you're

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watching it from you know, previous regimes. Now with Hunter

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and Sean taking over and everything else, you could tell

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like it's a little bit more relaxed that the camera,

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the production, the pyros, the vignettes. The thing that I

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really like is shooting the interest ins, like for example,

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Jay Uso coming in from the crowd.

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I know you don't really want to hear me talking

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about Jay on the show, but you know what, I

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love though.

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You know, and I'd love to beat him up, so hey,

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we can talk about him all you want.

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I mean, he's got a he's got a title around

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his way, so there's obviously a target on his back.

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So I mean, maybe we see Austin after that IC title.

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Hey never been in the Continental Champion, you know. But

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I'm definitely marking off the boxes of all these titles

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and briefcases and whatever you want to call these achievements.

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I'm taking them all.

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Yeah, absolutely, for sure.

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We recently saw you guys in NXT popped in from

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her parents there. Well, I mean, do you guys, is

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there any motivation for any like, are you just looking

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for a fight anywhere at this point?

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I mean, Grayson, we you know, we like to really

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look at the field of you know where we're at,

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and it's huge. You know, you have NXT, you have

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Monday Night Raw, you have SmackDown. I've been on Monday

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Night Raw. Grayson hasn't, but I'm sure in the future

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you'll see him there. But SmackDown. You know, we've been

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running smack Down. We're always in the main event. You

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always see us out there with celebrities, Hall of famers,

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World Champs. It doesn't matter because me and Grace and

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Waller are the two guys you put out there with anybody,

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and we get the job done, and you know we're entertaining.

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That's what this is about, you know, But yeah, man,

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we're just I feel like when it came to NXT,

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you look back, I never got a championship opportunity in NXT.

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Grayson never got one as well. So tag team championships,

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grab those, go to SmackDown, grab those, like, just take

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all the tag championships. But I feel like also too,

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when you look at NXT and you have two guys

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like us come down there, I think we kind of

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straighten everybody up and they're like, oh wow, like these

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are two young dudes that are getting it on the

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main roster. And we're young too, but we're in NXT,

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which NXT is amazing, and I mean you saw last

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night the arena full, the new championships, the matches, the

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way the superstars are in the ring, their next level.

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But I think when two guys like us come down there,

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it really makes everybody go, oh whoa, Like there is

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another level and age really isn't the thing here, Like

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it's about just being that good and being able to

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prove yourself.

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Right for sure.

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And I know recently we had a conversation with Tamaso

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about you know, superstars being up on the main roster

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and then going to NXT and how fans kind of

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think that that's like a punishment per se. But what

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is your thought on that, because I mean it seems

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like everything is cohesive. You have everybody on this brand,

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this brand and this brand. But again, like you said,

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we could show up anywhere and it's not like a

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punishment according to the you know, IWC.

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I think you know, like we all saw NXT right,

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Like you have the Performance Center, that's where I started

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when I got signed, and then you slowly get on

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NXT TV and then eventually you make it to the

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main roster. But it's crazy how the feeling of NXT

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has changed and the caliber of superstars that they have

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and the level they perform on the arenas they go to,

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how they showcase those stars. Man, you can't really argue

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that it's not a main roster feel. So to me,

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I feel like WWE, it's this universe and we have

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all these different you know, almost planets. You know, you

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got smacked Down, you got RAW, you got NXT. So

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I think it's it's so cool to look at it

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as Wow, there's all these new characters there's all this

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new talent. Let's see how an Austin Theory would collaborate

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with this star, or Grayson Waller would collaborate with this star.

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So I look at it more so as you know,

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anybody that's on TV and the WWE, whether it's NXTTV, SmackDown,

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or ROW, you're looking at a superstar. That person made

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it out of millions and there's a reason they're there.

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So for me to go to NXT, it's not a

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step back, it's not a downgrade. It's not a know

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like do I have to like get worked on or

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do I have to get better at something. It's none

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of that. It's just about elevating everybody and all of

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us being in there together. It just makes us all

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better and it improves the WWE for sure.

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So the three current tag team champions would be the Bloodline,

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Judgment Day, and then an NXT. Nathan Frasier in axiom, Yeah, well,

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I was just say objectively, if you had to go

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after a set of belts, who do you think would

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you would have the best chance of defeating?

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You know, I don't really look at it as like, oh,

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what's the best chance, because me, I love the risk.

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I love to be all in. I love the chaos.

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A lot of people would say, hey, you know the

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blood Line. I made that joke at the beginning. Lead

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the blood Line out of it. The only reason I'd

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leave the blood Line out is because, you know, anytime

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you got a close chance of beating them, there's like

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a new guy. I'm like, who is this? Who is

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this guy? Get this USO out of here? You know

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what I mean? Hard to keep up, Yeah, but as

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far as you know the other tag team championships go

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Judgment Day, me and Grace and Waller would drop them.

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We could do that on Raw and NXT. I mean,

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we've already made a point. You know. We got little

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Nathan Fraser that looks like Kurt Cobain, and we got

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the Power Ranger Axiom over here. These two guys they

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call themselves Phraxium. Now as we do make fun of them,

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they're both very impressive. They both you know, they've they've

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done their thing, They've proved it. That's why they're the champs.

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But we definitely know we're taking those NXT Tag Team championships.

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Me and Grace and Waller are on the same page.

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It's scary, man, and there's only one way those people

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are gonna go, and that's atown down under Oo.

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Man, that's gonna be fun.

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Of course, speaking of fun, SmackDown is at the Bridge

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That Arena Friday night, WW makes their return.

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You can still grab tickets ticketmaster dot com.

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Now, a little bit ago you had mentioned talking about

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working with legends and Hall of famers and whatnot. Has

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there ever been a moment while working with his legends

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where you're like, in your head, You're like, man, this

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is unreal, Like I'm really doing this.

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What was that feeling and what was it for you?

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Man? I have to say, like every opportunity or a

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moment that I've you know, had the honor of being

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a part of, I really take every moment in Like

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I can remember a lot of moments, so specifically, I

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remember the Rock promo. I've never met the Rock before.

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There's a couple of guys in the back, you know,

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they've met him at the performance center, or they've met

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him on the main roster, never had an interaction with him.

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And thirty minutes before that whole segment took place, I

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met the Rock and we went out there and just

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how he told me, sorry, how He told me that

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we're going to create magic out there. You're going to

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feel it, so just just feel it out there. And

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I did, and just how the crowd just reacts to

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him and it's just magic man, And that moment really

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stuck out for me. And you know that goof Pat

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McAfee was in there too. Whatever.

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Yeah, And that's that's always a cool thing because you

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can that you could see that that magic happening on TV.

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You could feel it through the TV. I know as

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a fan, like, uh, you know, watching Monday Night Raw.

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A buddy of ours who is a professional wrestler's name

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is Colby. He was actually one of the security guards

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in the Hell in the Cell match or the Hell

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in the Cell promo, and like I'm sitting there watching

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it and I'm like, you could just kind of feel

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him taking everything in as just being like, you know,

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one of those guys.

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And hey, you know your your friend Colby being an extra.

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You know he might become a world champ. You know

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that's usually how it goes, right. Yeah.

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Well, and he was in the ring with Punk and

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Drew McIntyre, so I mean he's he's off to a

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good start.

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You know. It's a good start to his story.

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Dude, Yeah, absolutely for sure. So you know, is there

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a you know, you've you've done a lot of stuff.

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I know, last time we had you on, my my

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son presented brought in some old promos from uh Pass

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Wrestling promotions that you have worked for with Chammpionships and

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you had that on everything. Is there a specific match

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or moment, because I mean your career is still going

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that looking back, you think completely redefined you as a performer.

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M you know, I feel like maybe not specifically a match, right,

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but I think all these little moments, like we were

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saying before, like we had the rock situation, We've had

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the scene of situation, We've had the Stone Colt stunner,

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We've had Jelly Roll, We've had it just keeps going,

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you know, even having the match with Pat McAfee. I mean,

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look what Pat McAfee's doing now and what he was

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doing before. You know, the guy doesn't stop as much

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as he sucks, you know. But yeah, it's just for me,

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I think that all of these moments define me. And

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I think ever since I started on the main roster,

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I'm learning, but I'm also figuring it out more so

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now and I think having these little pieces here and there,

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it's either you know, you could take some stuff from

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there or you can just let it be what it

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is and move on. And for me, it's just little things.

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You know, it builds your confidence. I've always been confident,

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but you can definitely build your confidence the comfortability out

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there grabbing a mic and really just being able to

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flow getting in the ring, the bell ringing and you

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not thinking of anything, just flowing in there, you know.

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And I think where I'm at now, I've definitely grown

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as a performer, and I think it's just hard to

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narrow down a specific match or moment because I think

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it just takes all of those to make me who

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I am. And still, like you said, I'm very early

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on in my career and I feel like, man, the

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stuff that I've done is amazing, especially in the last

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three years, but man, that's nothing compared to what I'm

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gonna do. Yeah.

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Absolutely, And you talk about like just the being in

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the ring with Jelly.

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Roll, Pat McAfee, the Rock, all these celebrities.

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It's got to be a good feeling for you that

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you know, WW could come to you and say, hey, Austin,

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and we need you to go into this ring and

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take a choke slam from Jelly Roll.

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We need you to go and be with this celebrity.

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That's got to be a good feeling for you that

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they entrust you with those kind of things.

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Yeah. Absolutely, And speaking on the Jelly Roll situation, it

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wasn't going to be a choke slam, yea. I heard

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little ideas of, hey, maybe a choke slam or this,

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but I think like a scoop slam was actually going

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to be what it was. And I remember, you know,

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being in the ring with everybody and going to Triple

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H and being like, hey, like just trust me on this.

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Let him give me a choke slam. I'll make it

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look amazing. All he has to do is put his

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arm up and sure enough, man, we went out there

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and it looked amazing. It trended like crazy, it was

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all over the place. But it's just understanding, like that

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job of what you need to do that night. And

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I think always understanding why I'm doing something, and Okay,

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is this gonna, you know, help, this is this what

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we're trying to do for the company right now in

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the position you're putting me in, and I just I'm

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all in. I'm never like ah or disappointed and stuff

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like that. I have a huge opportunity. I got a moment.

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It's the WWE. It's the place I wanted to be

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my entire life. There's not one other place I'd ever go.

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This is it. So I'm locked in, man. So whatever

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the opportunity is at the moment, or whoever the guy is,

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it doesn't matter. If it's the Rock or Jelly Roll,

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doesn't matter. You know I'm all in.

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Then yeah, well, you know it's been incredible obviously, even

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going I don't think you mentioned, but your match for

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John Cena. Obviously the company trust you.

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That's evident.

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We've got a lot of wrestling to go for twenty

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twenty four, Bad Blood's coming up Survivor Series, and then

300
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we're right back at the Rumble in the road to WrestleMania.

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What are your plans or goals for the rest of

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00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:47.600
this year heading into the new year? In the reset

303
00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:48.919
in January.

304
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Man, I have to tell you, when you say Royal Rumble,

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my mind goes straight to winning that thing. For me.

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That match has always been one of the coolest matches

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for me. I can't exactly remember the year. But I

308
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remember when I was living back in Georgia, going up

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to Atlanta and getting to go see the Royal Rumble.

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This is the one I believe Edge returned at. And

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I even remember telling my grandfather. He was sitting next

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to me and we're like right by the stage, so

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you couldn't really see the ring or anything. But every

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time somebody got eliminated, they'd walk to the side and

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I'd have one of those little scroll cameras and I'd

316
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take a picture of them. But I remember telling my grandfather.

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I was like, Edge is going to come back. He's

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going to come back, and he was like, Noah, no way,

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And then he came back and he just kind of

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gave me a look. But those little moments like that,

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I remember when my grandfather because he's always been around

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me and always took me to wrestling. But also that

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Royal Rumble, just how cool that matches. How you can

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just change your career trajectory like so fast. You know,

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you go straight to the main event of WrestleMania and

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you can become a champion. And I think anybody if

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they say this isn't it, they're lying. Anybody that's ever

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wanted to be in the WWE. They've wanted the main

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event WrestleMania and win that title. And that's always going

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to be my biggest goal, I feel like, and once

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I accomplished that, I already know myself. If I don't stop,

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I'm gonna want more. But that's definitely the goal. So

333
00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:08.360
I have to say, coming up, man, it's that Royal Rumble.

334
00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:10.960
I want that Royal Rumble this year. Nice.

335
00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:14.559
Well, you know, you can ask several of your other

336
00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:18.519
wrestlers that have co hosts and well not co hosts,

337
00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:20.840
you can ask several other people on the roadcast on

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this show.

339
00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:24.200
They're in good graces to winning titles.

340
00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:26.639
We had Naya Jackson and while she went on to

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win the Women's heavyweight Championship, and Tiffany Stratton came on,

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00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:31.639
she went on to win money in the bank. So

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00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:33.759
you came on, you put it out there that you

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want to win the Royal Rumble.

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So very good chests, very good chance.

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Austin Theory will be your twenty twenty five Royal Rumble

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00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:43.080
champion there in Indianapolis. And then you can give Pat

348
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McAfee the bird because I'm sure he'll be their ringside.

349
00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:48.039
Hey, I know he will be and he'll love that moment,

350
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every second of it. Like you said, the twenty twenty

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00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:53.279
five Royal rumble, it's mine. But speaking of that twenty five,

352
00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:56.000
I know you mentioned earlier that you know this Friday

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Nashville tickets are on sale ticketmaster dot com. But speaking

354
00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:01.399
of that twenty five, you can get tickets as low

355
00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:05.440
as twenty five dollars. That's insane. You get to see me,

356
00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:08.599
how talented I am, how good I look. Only twenty

357
00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:11.000
five dollars. That's a little disrespectful, but you know what,

358
00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:14.519
you get that opportunity, so don't miss it. Twenty five dollars.

359
00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:15.720
It's how load the tickets.

360
00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.319
Are well, Austin, it's an honor and the privilege to

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have you up.

362
00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:20.599
I know. We got to wrap things up and look

363
00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.319
forward to seeing your Friday night in Nashville Bridge Don Arena.

364
00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.000
Before we let you go, you want to say anything to.

365
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:26.799
People that are watching or listening to this right now,

366
00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:29.400
even though you just did the promo for buy tickets.

367
00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.559
Yeah, hey, make sure you guys watch smack Down this

368
00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:37.200
Friday in Nashville and also next Tuesday on NXT. We're

369
00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:39.759
brand new on the CW you better check it out

370
00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:41.559
because me and Grace and Waller are going to be

371
00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:44.119
the new NXT Tag Team Champions and we're going to

372
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take those titles everywhere. And then, you know, like we

373
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talked about on here, the bloodline, better watch yourselves. You know,

374
00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:52.680
you might have a bunch of family members, but me

375
00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.640
and Grace and Waller, we're yeah, we don't have that

376
00:17:55.720 --> 00:18:00.039
many family members. Never mind, just forget about the bloodline.