Originally published at Jade Cargill shares what Bryan Danielson asks her after her matches, the advice he gives
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
** TBS Champion Jade Cargill previously shared that she has been training with Bryan Danielson. She further elaborated on that while on Complex’s Unsanctioned show. Jade said she would be frustrated after her matches if something went wrong, but since she started working with Bryan, he checks in after every match and asks if she had fun. He expressed to Jade that she should focus on enjoying herself and then the following day, she should go over her performance.
So after my matches, I was just so frustrated if something went wrong, because I’m somewhat a perfectionist and I work so hard so I want everybody out there to see how much I’ve grown and how hard I’ve worked. So if something doesn’t go correct, whether it’s me, my opponent, something in the match that’s just uncontrollable, the time is cut, whatever it is, I used to come back and just beat myself up for it. I used to just like, ‘Aw man, something just went wrong. Now everybody’s gonna bring it on me.’ It could not be my fault at all, but because the position I’m in right now, it’s automatically gonna be pointed at me. Also, because I am so green, people are gonna automatically think it’s me. So, we had this talk when he was just telling me like… after a match, because every time after a match, he’s like, ‘Hey, how did it go? Did you have fun?’ And that’s all he cares about. He’s like, ‘Did you have fun? Don’t worry about the match right now, it’s happened. Digest it. If you had fun, soak that in and then tomorrow, go over it in your head and watch it but don’t beat yourself up because you have another match to focus on right now,’ and I started living like that, because I would go back, beat myself up, ‘What’s next? Can I do this better?’ And I wanted to have fun. Initially, I wasn’t having fun. I was just so focused on getting it right, rather than having fun and then all of a sudden when he said that, it started clicking. Like I was starting to have fun. It’s just like living in the moment. I was just living in the moment and listening to the crowd, hearing them say my name, hearing them boo, whatever, even though I need more people to boo me so boo for me guys but, I feel it, I feel it. I’m just starting to have so much fun so, one of the things he told me is just, you know, ‘Don’t stress yourself out. Have fun, because you’re gonna look at this 20 years from now and think to yourself that all that — you’re not gonna think the same thing you’re thinking of like beating yourself up. You’re gonna think happy times and when you had fun in these matches and like, people are gonna ask you, hey, what was the best match you ever had? Or who was your best opponent? Who was the easiest to work? That’s what’s important. It’s about the memories you make on the journey.’ It’s all a journey, it’s all a journey and I used to always — this is off-topic but I used to always stay in my room after shows and matches. I would really just go right into my room, unwind and just decompress and you know, I hear all these Hall of Famers and these previous wrestlers, they talk about all these great, fond memories that they had with other wrestlers and I wasn’t doing that, I wasn’t mingling, I wasn’t doing any of that so I wanted to come home and relax and I started doing more of that because I wanted to create a journey and I wanna be able to look at my co-workers 30 years from now, ‘Hey, you remember that time you did that?’ That’s what makes the journey what it is. It makes it fun, this all should be fun. All the hate and all this stuff, you already get enough of that. At least make it fun while you’re doing it and why you love coming to work and why you hate leaving. So, that’s the best advice he’s given me and I’ve really thought of that ever since he told me.
She has started taking acting and speech classes to improve her promo ability. Cargill does not get nervous when talking and performing in front of fans but finds herself getting nervous when talking in front of co-workers. The acting classes have helped with that.
Confidence, it’s and I, there’s a camera being pointed at you with like ten people behind you, then at that instant, let’s just say you’re backstage and there are like 40 talents just walking around, going to other wrestlers and somebody tells them, producers, ‘Hey everybody! Shut up! We’re about to film.’ That’s kind of nerve racking. Like because then everybody stops and then stares and these are your co-workers who have been doing this for more years, some of your co-workers have done this longer than you’ve been on this world. So that can be very nerve racking. For me in wrestling, I don’t get nervous, I don’t get nervous being out there at all, especially in front of — the more fans, the merrier, I love it. When I’m in front of my co-workers, that’s different, because they know what to look for, what not to look for, it’s a whole different formula. But, it’s helped tremendously because it’s helped me focus and I go to improv, I’ve done solo classes or private classes, I’ve done that and it’s just helped me tremendously to just block everything out and to just focus and to just take everything in and not just say the words but have people feel it or whatever I’m trying to get over because when MJF cuts his promos, you feel his promos. Regardless of if you love him, hate him, feel indifferent, you feel his promos. But that’s endless experience that he’s been doing this for so long. So, it’s helped me a lot of ways guys.
Acting is a profession that has caught the interest of Jade. She stated that she would like to portray the ‘Storm’ character in a Marvel film.
That’s my favorite. I love Storm. She is everything that a Black woman should be. I’m infatuated with Storm. She was my go-to. She was like somebody that’s inspiring to me and it’s something that I would love to play! If they want me to ever play any type of superhero, I’m going for Storm!
I know, I know . I’ve been taking all kind of acting classes. I need them to jump on this. Yes, I’m ready for this. I want this. This is something — that is a career that I think is so unmatched is to play a superhero and being that my daughter already thinks I’m a superhero — do not tell her different — I just think it’s amazing for her to look at me, her mother and think this is a superhero, my mom’s on TV, she’s portraying this strong Black woman. Nothing can touch that.
** Maven filled in for D-Von Dudley on an episode of ‘Table Talk’ and welcomed former NFL player and wide receiver coach Phil McGeoghan onto the show. Phil currently coaches at University of Colorado and he revealed that he was recruited by WWE in the early 2000s. There were conversations held between him and John Laurinaitis, but he mentioned that WWE was not willing to cover his neck and shoulder injuries which ended his pro football career.
That was interesting. So when I did get hurt and I was trying to rehab and still play, Mark had got me a couple conversations with Johnny Ace, talking about going to Louisville and this and that so, they got me recruited to the WWE. That is a real thing.
I actually met him three times. We got into even the disclosures of the injuries and that’s really kind of where it went. You know, they weren’t willing to cover the neck and the shoulder which is realistic. I mean those were what forced me out of my career so, that for me, I had to do something else so it just wasn’t a viable option but it was fun to go through the process of that for sure.
** The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast has an interview with Jimmy Wang Yang. He had been on a trial run with WWE as a producer in late 2021 and finished up that trial by the end of the year. Jimmy described the mood of Vince McMahon and fellow colleagues at WWE’s UBS Arena show and said it was weird. He thinks it had to do with AEW selling out the venue and those respective show dates being close.
And they backyard. That was a really weird day because you know, New York is the king of media on the east coast so there’s a lot of people there, NBC was there and Vince was in a weird mood that day. Everybody was in a weird mood that day. I think it was because AEW kicked Vince’s ass in his backyard with all his NBC media or people there and everybody else is like hey, that other company sold this place out. You could only — so that was a weird day for me as a producer. But everybody was weird that day, so that was… yeah. They are drawing more.
Yang has had multiple stints with WWE and he doesn’t think that his most recent time there will be his last go-around with the company.
Yeah, it was just a tryout . Actually, it’s kind of weird this time. There was no paperwork. It was like an old school wrestling deal. It was just a handshake, say hey, you come every week, we’ll pay you this much amount of money and hopefully it leads to a future. If not, we just part ways and parted ways this time. But, I don’t think you’ve seen the last of me in WWE. So we’ll see what happens.
While on the topic of the agent position, Yang said he was paired with talents who aligned with his in-ring style. He worked with the likes of Ricochet, Mustafa Ali, Chad Gable, The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) and Drew McIntyre.
They would pair me up with guys, like my style of wrestling, they would put me with. Like I would work with Ricochet a lot, Drew McIntyre, Street Profits, Chad and Otis, Reggie, R-Truth. I’m trying to think… but yeah, they would pair me with who they think I would help the most, like my style, like a Ricochet. You know, or Mustafa Ali. ‘Oh yeah, put Jimmy with him because they’re very similar in their wrestling.’
Jimmy has been making the rounds on the independent scene alongside his daughter Jazzy. He said teaming with her is the most fun he’s had in wrestling.
Really, I was telling people this week, this is actually the funnest time I’ve ever had in wrestling. Teaming with my daughter , it’s just an unbelievable experience and I’m just having so much fun being with Jazzy, teaming with her, coaching her, traveling with her and everything, and it’s probably — it is the funnest time I’ve had in wrestling.
** Episode #111 of D-Von Dudley’s Table Talk podcast featured Samuray Del Sol, formerly known as ‘Kalisto’ in WWE. Throughout his run with the company, Samuray was able to capture the United States Title twice. He enjoyed working with The Miz and shared that during one of his reigns, he and Miz pitched ideas for him to drop the title to Miz.
Miz is one of my favorite matches too because he’s such a great heel. Man, he’s such a great heel, he’s so easy to work with and so easy to just not even plan anything. I can just go out there and have a match with him. He’s that good. I admire his work and everything. I had fun working with Miz too.
Yeah man, he’s just so good. Man, he’s just so easy. I was having so much fun working with him on house shows and we even — he even pitched some good ideas of me dropping the title to him. I even pitched to drop the U.S. Title to Miz. But at the time, I’m like man, I’m having so much fun and he was pitching — we did a couple promos in the back. Like bro, if you just talk crap to me, I can just talk crap back to you. I’m like, ‘ can play off each other. This is cool and this is fun.’
Samuray began to brand himself as the ‘G.L.O.A.T’ which stands for ‘greatest luchador of all time’. He created that in hopes of one day facing Rey Mysterio one-on-one. He feels there was a lot left on the table between him and Rey in WWE.
I was having fun creating the G.L.O.A.T, the greatest luchador of all-time. I was just doing my promos and I was just having fun with it. That’s another thing too, I’m still gonna continue as the G.L.O.A.T, I am the G.L.O.A.T and that’s pretty cool. I told Rey the whole thing about it. ‘I created this character because in the long run, I want to go against you.’ I’ve never wrestled against Rey. We’ve been on the same game show, Rey Mysterio and — but we never, ever wrestled and that’s one match I’ve always wanted.
No, never. The only thing we did is very… I tried so hard. I didn’t care when I am gonna get eliminated, I want this moment, this part. This is — I just feel like this needs to happen. We just had like two seconds, which those two seconds meant a lot to me man. That face-to-face and I didn’t even say anything. He just came to me, like man, that whole — my whole career, I’ve always been compared to him which is an honor and I’ve proven myself to be a different person, to be a different character too, outside of WWE too as Samuray Del Sol, bringing ‘lucha lucha’ to the world of WWE and yeah, I just thought it was one of those moments and projects that I feel it was left on the table and I feel a lot of fans and a lot of Rey’s fans wanted to see too, because they always compared. They thought we were the same person and we’re not. But we’re in that ring, that moment, man, the messages, everything that I got, people wanted to see that match. They were like, ‘We had no idea you guys were the same. We thought you guys were the same.’ We’re like no, we’re different people, we’re different persons and we’re different — I’m the G.L.O.A.T., he’s the G.M.O.A.T, the greatest mask of all-time but I’m the greatest luchador of all-time and that’s the story. That’s the story. I’m the greatest lucha, why not?
He told the story of how the ‘lucha, lucha, lucha’ chant started. It began while he was at the Performance Center and lost track of something Bill DeMott said and when he came back to, he blurted out the chant to a positive reception. Samuray said he did not think he would be hired, so he wanted to have fun with the experience.
When we did promos . But, it was great. It was a really great experience. Yeah, I didn’t really think of anything. I didn’t think they were gonna hire me. I just thought, eh, let me have fun. You know, I’m not coming here with no expectation so, I want them to see me as Manny and I think I kind of misheard the time Bill DeMott, he said something and I’m like, ‘What?’ And I’m just, ‘What? Oh, lucha, lucha, lucha!’ And they all looked at each other, they’re like, ‘Woah, that was awesome. All right, cool.’ I’m like, ‘Wait, what? I just didn’t hear you guys.’ I just started screaming lucha, lucha. Like, all right, they loved it.
** To promote Friday Night SmackDown at the Barclays Center on 3/25, Hot 97 brought Kofi Kingston onto the show. Kingston opened up about Big E suffering a broken neck and described it as the scariest night of his career.
It was easily the scariest night of my career word and it’s so strange to say luckily, he only broke two vertebrae, you know what I’m saying? And he put out a pretty — I don’t know. Just a tweet that put everything into perspective yesterday where he said he went in to meet the doctor and the doctor said if he had broken his neck a millimeter in one direction, he would have had a stroke. If he broke his neck in a millimeter the other direction, he would’ve died and there’s — so really, the fact that he was so strong and he had so much muscle back there really, really saved him and you know, it could have been way, way worse and he’s just been in great spirits the whole time. So many people have gone to visit him and just sent him so many positive messages which he really, really appreciates for sure and yeah, we really lucked out because like I said, it could have been a lot worse and we’d be having a different conversation right now but like you said, it’s just rest and recovery and we’re all just kind of taking it one day at a time, we’re obviously in contact with him every day and he’s in really, really good spirits and he does appreciate the support he’s got from everybody.
** Ariel Helwani conducted an extensive interview with MJF. The current AEW talent touched on his relationship with Bruce Prichard, which dates back to their time together in MLW. MJF said he garnered interest from WWE prior to signing with AEW, but his decision came down to AEW being the better launching point for him and questioning if WWE would let him be who he is on TV.
Well Bruce Prichard and me, this is a shoot, Bruce Prichard and me — everything I say is a shoot. Bruce Prichard and me go way back. When he was in MLW, he was one of the lead producers there and I mean he would watch me do promos and I mean he was floored by me, absolutely enamored by me. I was the prettiest girl at the ball and we would just sit down, we’d shoot the sh*t and I love Bruce. I think Bruce is a hell of a guy and has a hell of a mind. I think he produces incredible television and so yes, I’ve talked to Bruce multiple times. As far as have I’ve been reached out to, legally, it’s not smart for me to answer that question but what I can say emphatically is there’s an absurd amount of interest in me. Tony Khan knows that, Tony Khan claims he’s not afraid of that and that’s good. So, I hope you’re not afraid to shill out a lot of f*cking money.
Oh God, yeah . So I had a decision to make there. I was — I believe I was 22 at the time. I was either 21, turning 22 or I was 22. Again, don’t know, don’t kill me with the math. But you know, I knew there was serious interest in me in WWE but again, I thought to myself, ‘Are they gonna let me be me?’ That’s my biggest thing because I’m not fake, everything about me is real. Are you gonna let me do what I do best and let me be me? And then I got to talking to Tony Khan. I was linked up with him by my good friend Cody Rhodes, hope you’re doing good buddy and we talked for hours on end over the phone, me and my B.F.F. T.K., about Mid-South, about AWA, about Buddy Landel, about Butch Reed and I immediately thought to myself, ‘Okay, this guy gets it and he gets me’ and that’s what was the most important thing to me so at that point in my career, was a no-brainer. Now, you bring me anywhere, I’m gonna be a top guy in your promotion so it doesn’t really matter but at that point, I needed to make sure I had the perfect launching off point in my career.
In 2015, MJF sent WWE his ‘Tough Enough’ video application. He believes that some of the verbiage he used may have rubbed some people the wrong way but added that if he joined the company at that time, he would have been learning the basics instead of being capitalized on.
Yes there is . Trips wasn’t smart enough if you remember the promo I cut.
I was 19. I was 19 years old at the time. So I was about a year in the biz and — or maybe not even a year yet, probably not even a year yet. I was 19 and I wasn’t even a year in the biz and I remember cutting this promo, sending it in and I thought to myself, nobody’s cut a promo than me and I was a 100 percent right. I ended up having the most views at the time of any of the applicants and I still didn’t get in and to this day, I just have a feeling that it might’ve rubbed certain people the wrong way with some of the verbiage I used in the promo. But, I had the most views. I got through one casting call and then that was it. I didn’t hear from them again but if I’m being honest, like I said, everything happens for a reason. I think if I went there at that point in time, I would have been doing f*cking rolls, you know what I mean? They wouldn’t have understood what they had. Now, not only do they understand but they’re gonna be unloading an absurd amount of money by 2024 just to hopefully get a sniff at getting MJF in their company so…
** At WrestleMania 38, Sami Zayn is taking on Johnny Knoxville in an ‘Anything Goes’ match. Zayn told ‘Metro’ that the entire program with Knoxville has been fun and he hopes the audience is enjoying it as much as he is.
I think this whole thing has been a lot of fun, certainly for me. I hope it’s been fun for the audience as well, because we’ve gotten to build the match in some very unique and ways that you just don’t get to do with another WWE superstar. We’ve gotten to do some really outside the box, unconventional and fun things to build this match.
** Ahead of challenging for the WWE Women’s Tag Titles at WrestleMania 38, Sporting News caught up with Rhea Ripley. Ripley spoke about the Australian talent that have found success outside of the country. She hopes that WWE does another Australia tryout.
Growing up in Australia and especially watching WWE, there was no one. There was no one from Australia, especially in the women’s division, that I could really look up to, so being that person for Australia is insane. Following in the footsteps of The IIconics and Emma and having them girls break through that rooftop before I could get here, I owe it all to them. They got Australia on the map for WWE and I’m just here trying to keep it alive. I really hope that we do another Australian tryout, because there is so much talent in Australia and it’s absolutely insane that some of the people there aren’t here yet. I’m very proud that I get to be the person to represent Adelaide, South Australia – it is wild hearing that every time the ring announcer says it, it just blows my mind.
At the last two WrestleManias, Ripley challenged for the Raw and NXT Women’s Titles. She reflected on her experiences working with Charlotte Flair and Asuka on those stages and what she learned from them.
It was incredible – Charlotte and Asuka are phenomenal and are such great talents and they have been in the business for such a long time. Asuka is someone that I had wanted to wrestle since being 17, I went to Japan for three months and wrestled on the same show as Asuka. From then on, I wanted to be in the ring with her at some point and it was wild that the first time we got a match was at WrestleMania. I learnt a lot from her in many different ways – a lot about wrestling in general and how to stay calm – she is so incredible. It’s the same with Charlotte – I have stepped in the ring with Charlotte many times, and I feel like every time I step in the ring with her, I perfect my craft a little bit more. She takes me to the absolute limit every single time. I’ve definitely learnt a lot about that and some backstage stuff as well and watching her stay calm with things, it really does help me and my mindset as well.
** This past Sunday, The Briscoes (Mark & Jay Briscoe) won the 2022 Crockett Cup tournament. They were interviewed by Sports Illustrated and commented on the achievement.
Mark: Legends have won the Crockett Cup. You win the Crockett Cup; it means something. It’s like a NASCAR driver winning Daytona. We are tag team wrestlers, and this is our life, so it means a lot to us.
Jay: Look at who’s won in the past. Those are icons. So to have our names in the same group as those guys, that’s big.
** Anna Jay told the Women’s Wrestling Talk podcast that she hopes Women’s Tag Titles are introduced in AEW.
I definitely think so . You know, we definitely didn’t think it would happen anytime soon, which you never know. It was cool to get the secondary women’s title so I think now, if I had to guess, I feel like the next title for the women’s division should be a tag title. So hopefully that’s the next one. I don’t know when. I do think we need to keep building and keep doing what we’re doing before that happens, but I definitely think that should happen in the near future at some point.
** While speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, Kurt Angle heaped praise onto Brock Lesnar for still being able to main event WrestleManias almost two decades after their main event at WrestleMania 19.
It’s been pretty amazing. What Brock Lesnar has been able to do — not just in pro-wrestling or amateur wrestling, but MMA as well — Brock is a monster. The guy is so talented. Anything he touches turns to gold. The guy has all the ability in the world. To know that he is still main eventing WrestleMania 19 years later is pretty damn impressive.
** Royce Isaacs joined Alyssa Marino on her ‘Let’s Get Cereal’ show. He feels that his on-screen presentation has been more serious since leaving the National Wrestling Alliance. Isaacs thinks he’s been able to showcase that on New Japan STRONG.
A lot of my character development I think since… since I left the NWA has been towards a more serious Royce Isaacs which luckily kind of went hand-in-hand with working with New Japan because it’s, as it’s called the ‘king of sports’, it’s like, this is a sport. You are athletes. This isn’t just like, okay, we’re doing some fun cosplay and this is like a grappling recital. Like no, this is a sport, treat it as such and there’s something about that-that I’ve always, like, I think dug and respected. I think that’s — I don’t know. It’s not for everyone and I think that’s fine if it’s not your style or not what you’re into but to me at least, that was so I think between that and getting to do some stuff like Bloodsport where I got to be a little bit more like that and it seemed to get a really good response. People were like, ‘Oh yeah, this works for you quite well’ and I mean, I was a college wrestler and kind of used to that ‘shooter lifestyle’ and whatnot so it’s like, I think a lot of that stuff has really just kind of naturally evolved.
** Maryland Championship Wrestling posted a clip of The HitMakerZ (AJ Francis, Briana Brandy, Tehuti Miles & Shane ‘Swerve Strickland) making their entrance at MCW ‘Spring Fever’:
** Hart Legacy Wrestling, which is ran by members of the Hart wrestling family is returning to the U.S. for the first time since 2015. They’ll be running the First Arena in Elmira, New York on 3/26.
** Pro Wrestling NOAH ‘Just Fine!’ Results (3/24/22) Korakuen Hall
– Junta Miyawaki, Masa Kitamiya, Mohammed Yone & Yoshiki Inamura def. King Tany, Kinya Okada, Masaaki Mochizuki & Yasutaka Yano
– Super Crazy def. Alejandro
– Kongo (Hajime Ohara, Nio & Tadasuke) def. Atsushi Kotoge, Hao & YO-HEY
– Masato Tanaka def. Daisuke Harada
– Stinger (HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa & Yuya Susumu) def. Los Perros del Mal de Japon (Eita, Kotaro Suzuki & NOSAWA Rongai)
– Naomichi Marufuji def. Daiki Inaba
– Kongo (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh & Manabu Soya) def. Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya & Takashi Sugiura
– GHC National Championship: Masakatsu Funaki (c) def. Hideki Suzuki
** Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes appeared on GAW TV with Mickie James, Lisa Marie Varon and SoCal Val.
** March 24th birthdays: The Undertaker, Lacey Evans.
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.