Mick Foley aims to have one more match with part of his goal was losing weight in the process and he’s gotten a little help from an old friend in Al Snow.

As of recent, the WWE Hall of Famer has gotten himself involved with Al Snow’s OVW and Foley found a little more than just the squared circle while working with Snow and his talented Ohio Valley Wrestling roster.

In a new Instagram video, Foley revealed that he is receiving help from two OVW talents in cutting weight. Crystal White and Katie Gannon have taken Foley under their workout wing and have assisted ‘The Hardcore Legend’ to drop over 24 pounds.

In the video, Foley talked about he happened to love the Netflix series, Wrestlers, which spotlighted the talent in OVW, prompting Mick to reach out to Snow. Foley wanted to get himself involved with an ongoing storylin and being there is where he met White and Gannon.

One Last Match For Mick Foley

Before he ended his “Foley Is Pod” podcast, Mick Foley happened to drop the bombshell that he planned to shed 100 lbs in order to have one last match and he has a desire to make it a deathmatch. Just turning 60 years old, Foley has been serious in that desire and he’s had several interested parties in obliging him.

Matt Cardona, the self-proclaimed “Deathmatch King”, has made a case as to why he should face the “Three Faces Of Foley,” but fellow WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam also threw his hat in the ring, noting that he was the last WWE Hardcore Champion, but for some reason, Foley has that title in his possession. Despite the fact that RVD and Foley are both ECW legends, the two have never squared off against one another.

AEW has faced criticism from all over the pro wrestling world for a variety of things from their booking to the wrestlers Tony Khan signs to a contract. The fact that injuries seem to be prevalent is also a topic of conversation.

Al Snow is a veteran in the pro wrestling business, and he has a lot to say. He recently expressed the idea that, unless things change, someone will die in an AEW ring.

Al Snow’s Deathly Prediction For AEW

Former WWE star and OVW owner, Al Snow, appeared on Vince Russo’s Youtube channel to share his concerns about the current AEW product, which he perceives as unsafe.

Snow explained to Russo why he believes that a wrestler may eventually suffer a fatal injury inside an AEW ring. Regarding the potential criticism of his views, Snow stated, “You’re going to have those that are going to defend it, and they’re going to get upset and take the… that I’ve got an axe to grind, and that I’m bitter, and I’m not,” emphasizing that he is satisfied with everything.

Snow highlighted his past efforts in advocating for standards of training and safety in wrestling, particularly during his tenure at OVW. He expressed his belief that the escalation of risks in AEW matches may lead to a tragic accident.

We now have escalated to where we watched Will Ospreay go up into a vertical suplex with the guy standing on the second rope and drop straight on his head. We watched Orange Cassidy get dropped bodily on the top rope and could almost be cut in half. OK? How much exponentially has the scale went up, that we’re going to watch someone die? Meaning… legitimately, they’re going to die right in front of your eyes in a match.

AEW & Injuries

AEW just suspended Sammy Guevara for injuring Jeff Hardy. There is also an idea that he ignored concussion protocol in the process. This suspension also sparked a lot of conversation within the pro wrestling fan base.

Tony Khan allows his talent to do a lot of things in their matches that a company like OVW or WWE wouldn’t touch. The use of real glass at AEW Revolution sent shockwaves throughout the pro wrestling world, because that dangerous Darby Allin stunt could have gone much worse.

SEScoops will have more on this story as additional updates are available. Keep checking back for the stories and headlines you need.

According to former WWE head-writer Brian Gewirtz, Vince McMahon once declared a WWE Superstar had picked the “worst name” he had ever heard. McMahon made his disdain for former Superstar Al Snow known during a conversation with Gewirtz many years ago.

First arriving to WWE in 1998, Al Snow widely made himself known for carrying around a mannequin head named “Head.” Amidst his run, Snow notably captured the European Championship, and acquired six Hardcore Championship reigns. In addition, he created a strong bond with writer, Brian Gewirtz — who went on to develop multiple creative pitches for Snow’s on-screen character.

Then WWE Chairmen Vince McMahon was not a fan of those repeated pitches, as Gewirtz recently revealed on Notsam Wrestling. Gewirtz said he fell into a common “trap” of “becoming friends with wrestlers too quickly,” that ultimately lead an outburst by Vince McMahon.

“There’s no name in professional wrestling worse than Al Snow.”

Vince McMahon

“In my case, I’m buddying up with Al Snow. I hit it off with him when we were shooting these vignettes with him and Steve Blackman back in the day. Al’s a great guy and he’s very funny and personable. I would push Al and Al Snow matches to the point of being very detrimental to Al himself because it’s like, ‘Oh, this fucking guy and his Al Snow obsession’ to the point where it was just like, ‘would you please stop pitching Al Snow?’

“I think the fact that I was pitching Al Snow so much probably, somewhere in Vince’s head as we were making a drive in the Carolinas, I think was like, ‘what is this guy’s obsession with Al Snow? Al Snow, [it’s a] stupid name anyway.’ Then just blurting out loud after the conversation about Al that ended 20 minutes ago, [he said] ‘there’s no name in professional wrestling worse than Al Snow.’”

I was like boy, ‘I have done a disservice to this person I’m trying to help,'” Gewirtz recalled.

Creative Pitches

Gewirtz continued on to discuss some of the ideas he initially pitched for Snow when he came on board as a writer:

“Al Snow, basically, he still had the ‘What Does Everybody Want?’ theme music and everything. But when I started, ‘Head’ was still part of his gimmick, but we were trying to do other things with him. That’s why the stuff with Steve Blackman, Head Cheese [happened]. I pitched the idea of him coming out in a different European outfit every time he was defending the [WWE] European title.

“Again, just to make it entertaining, it’s like a cold match between Al Snow and Viscera, let’s say, on SmackDown. ‘Well, what can we do?’Well, what if Al is celebrating Luxembourg because he is European Champion, All right. Then we like, ‘let’s get all these props and magic and let’s have them come out in lederhosen one day’ and all this type of thing. And Al always played it to the hill perfectly. In the midst of accidentally torpedoing his ending with Vince, that we could actually sneak in some good stuff along the way.”

Brian Gewirtz’s new book There’s Just One Problem…: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE is available now.

Al Snow struggled to enjoy a nice meal out in peace during the Attitude Era, as staff and other customers didn’t appreciate his choice of company.

During the late 1990s, Snow would appear on WWE programming with ‘Head’ a mannequin head who he’d speak to and who would seemingly speak back to Snow.

Dining Out

Al Snow, like any other wrestler, had to find time to eat during his career, but that was easier said than done.

Speaking to SEScoops’ correspondent Steve Fall, the former WWF Hardcore Champion recalled keeping in character at the time.

“I carried the head everywhere. When I went out to eat after shows I took it to a restaurant, sat directly across the table. I ordered two meals. We’d argue, we’d fight. Waitresses would come up to you. ‘Sir you’re making the other customers uncomfortable you’re gonna need to leave.’

“Sir you’re making the other customers uncomfortable you’re gonna need to leave.”

Al Snow recalls being asked to leave restaurants over Head.

“I’m like ‘well they’re making us uncomfortable how are we gonna eat our food? They [Head] have got an upset stomach. Now I’ve paid for their dinner box it up please we’re gonna go.’ And then I would just take the second meal back and eat it in the hotel room later that night.”

The Comic Book

Snow and Head struggled to have a nice meal together, but the veteran wrestler and his friend have made it in the world of comic books.

Earlier this year, a Kickstarter was launched for ‘The Ballad of Al Snow & Head’ a comic about the fictional life of his WWF character.

The project made nearly double it’s original $3,000 and Snow had plenty of praise for the project.

“The Ballad of Al Snow and Head is about 40-pages long and I was blown away by [it.] I mean these are top talents in the comic book industry that worked on it and the artwork for each and every one of these comic books is different and unique. Absolutely incredible. Just beautiful.

“The story for the first one ‘The ballad of Al Snow and Head’… I’m wrestling an opponent very short and then I land on my head or whatever and then we go off into the post-apocalyptic world. Everything takes place basically inside my mind because I’m quote-unquote insane and I’m running a detective agency in this post-apocalyptic world.”

More information about ‘The Ballad of Al Snow and Head’ can be found here.

For use of these quotes please give a h/t to SEScoops.

Any wrestling fan from the 1990s will remember Al Snow and his run through WWE. You remember, he was the crazy wrestler who carried a mannequin head everywhere and had Help Me written backwards on his forehead. He was quite the character, a memorable character, who resonated with the fans.

Well, Al Snow was talking on a recent episode of the It’s My House Podcast, where he had some harsh words about modern wrestlers and their lack of connection with the fan base.

“The talent isn’t performing for you anymore. That’s a fact,” Al Snow said. “They’re not going in the ring and wrestling for you. Your opinion doesn’t matter. They are wrestling for each other, trying to impress each other, and they are wrestling for that small group of people that write a report and give them critical acclaim and say either it was really a good match, or it was a bad match. That’s the truth. That’s why the talent is so caught up in today and in the locker room calling every single second. They’re not living in the moment, not reacting to each other, to the referee, not interacting with the audience like they used to. They’re so concerned that they’re gonna forget the next thing that’s coming up, and they’re scared to death that they’re going to make a mistake.”

Al Snow Feels Wrestlers Are Too Focused on Ratings than Performances

As part of his rant, Al Snow made big references to the journalists and writers. Those who give the ratings and award merit to stars that put on the best show. Claiming that the need to be pure and faultless is pushing wrestlers to forget the fans, and in many ways, forget about wrestling. Preferring to focus on delivering a flawless performance rather than a real one.

“It’s not that you’ll notice it because you won’t. It’s that somebody in the back will notice it, and we’ll call them out on it. Or someone who’s writing a report will notice that they made a mistake, or they did a botch. You can’t botch anything unless you expose the wrestling, the lie. If you ruin the illusion, that’s the only way you can make a mistake, otherwise, there’s no way to do it.”

Al Snow is clearly still passionate about wrestling. While his words may not ring true for everybody, his general assumption was that when wrestlers cared for the fans, you could identify the star with a single short sentence. Nowadays, however, with everybody out to impress rather than connect, that is getting harder and harder to accomplish.

Former WWE Superstar Al Snow recently did an interview with Hannibal TV to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Snow commented on WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin and what he has done for the business.

Snow told Hannibal TV that he believes “The Texas Rattlesnake” really revitalized professional wrestling when he was hot in the late ’90s:

H/T 411 Mania for the transcriptions

Former WWE Superstar and IMPACT Wrestling talent Al Snow was recently interviewed by The Roman Show at Coastal Championship Wrestling’s (CCW) recent “Breaking Chains” event. Snow discussed his time with WWE’s old developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), and what it was like working with the female talents:

“When we were doing the developmental in OVW the women, which were Beth Phoenix, ODB, Katie Burchill and a lot of those women carried the show and were the main event. In fact, we had the first ever women’s ladder match in OVW in Louisville, Kentucky for WWE developmental between Beth Phoenix and Katie Burchill. They tore the house down. It was more than often than not that the women carried the show. The women can be as strong as an attraction if done in the right manner if treated respectfully.

“The most important, and this isn’t a sexist thing, if the women continue to be women – meaning they don’t become guys with boobs – that they can perform wrestle like a man, act professionally like a man, legitimately like a man, but maintain their feminine quality so they can relate to the men and women in the public.”

Snow was asked about former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey signing with WWE, and said she’s going to need a lot more charisma in professional wrestling than she did in mixed martial arts (MMA):

“It takes a very special person to work the opposite. If she’s capable of taking the charisma she had in MMA, she’ll need ten times the charisma in the WWE. I trained mixed martial artists King Mo and Dan Severn. Both will tell you [like] King Mo, ‘I don’t know how these guys do it. I would rather much prepare for a fight than train pro wrestling because physically there’s much more demand’.”

The former WWE Hardcore Champion also has a new clothing brand out, Collar and Elbow. Here’s what he had to say about it:

“I wanted to create a brand for wrestling. At the time, I didn’t know there was one for wrestling. Ultimately the biggest fans of wrestling are wrestlers. You have to be such a fan of wrestling. There’s nothing wrong being a fan of wrestling. The problem is the general public if you wear a wrestling shirt and identify as a wrestling fan, they get the usual ‘you like that? That’s fake.’ They don’t want to wear it.”

The veteran superstar, Al Snow, has featured on The Steve Austin Show, where he discussed Matt Hardy’s winning formula found in the Broken persona, as well as the industry as a whole.

The detailed podcast is well worth a listen, given the opportunity, as Al Snow goes into some detail, with disagreements about the style and purpose of professional wrestling.  Below are just some of the highlights that are worth noting.

The main concept that Al Snow disagrees with centers around the professional wrestling industry.  Snow states that many in the industry say that “wrestling has changed” and is focused primarily on putting on a performance.  From his perspective, Al Snow disagrees and explains that wrestling has always been and should always be about competition and fighting for a championship, and to be the best.  Why else would you have titles to compete for?

“Give the audience what they paid to believe, which is that it’s a real competition, that the outcome has gravity to it, that the guys are prizefighters no different than a boxer or an MMA fighter in that they actually try to win, not just put on a physical performance. And the wrestlers worldwide have gotten so far away from that concept that makes you wonder.”

The 6-time Hardcore Champion explains that modern day professionals use this excuse to cover up weak psychology or execution.

It isn’t clear exactly who Al Snow is referring to, whether his words are a sweeping statement which covers the entire industry, or if he is singling out a mid-card selection; but as a trainer, he’s extremely passionate about the topic either way.

Later in the podcast the two legends discuss kayfabe, with Matt Hardy being used as the ultimate example.

“Matt Hardy got over so well when he did his ‘broken’ thing in TNA was because he never broke character. He never gave the audience anything other than what he sold them. He sold them a ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy every time he was in public.”

Snow’s comments go against the flow of someone like Austin Creed, who uses a behind-the-scenes approach to engage the audience in his own YouTube channel UpUpDownDown.  Creed hosts videogame tournaments on SmackDown Live and RAW, where both heels and faces appear outside of their in-ring persona.  Although Snow didn’t comment on this specifically, it is easy to see how something like UpUpDownDown can break kayfabe.

Al also praises Matt Hardy for utilising several easy to grasp and clear points within his persona; this enables anyone to describe him in a clear-cut setence, rather than a confusing and convoluted paragraph.

“You need that character that they can relate to because they can’t physically relate to what we do in the ring. But now, and that was the thing, I think, with Matt. For years, he was solid. He was always kind of just in the background with Jeff, but you couldn’t define him. You couldn’t turn to somebody and go, ‘there’s this guy, Matt Hardy, and he’s A, B, C, D, E.’ But now, you can turn to them and say, ‘wow, there’s this guy – he’s crazy! He talks with this weird accent. His hair’s all messed up.'”

Opinion/Discussion:

Is Al Snow correct in what he’s saying?  Has Wrestling changed, or is it an excuse used by those who haven’t seen the success they expected?

Former WWE Superstar Al Snow recently did an interview with the Pat Buck WrestlePro Show to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics. Snow touched on wrestling being labelled as ‘fake,’ the art of selling inside the ring, and why wrestling is more scrutinized for being ‘fake’ while other forms of entertainment such as movies aren’t. You can check out the highlights here:

Wrestling being dubbed as ‘fake’:

“It’s just the outcome. All the wrestling moves are quite real. All the stuff you know, you know how to actually go in there and truly, not competitively, you know how to apply an armbar and break a guy’s arm. You know how to hook a guy in a hammerlock, you know how to hook a headlock, you know how to take a leg, waist lock a guy, all those moves are quite real,” Snow said. “They are all legitimate moves. Some of the bumps we take are ‘video game-esque,’ but when you take the bump it is quite real. One thing that is fake is the outcome, where the fact that when you go out there I am going to win and you are going to lose.”

The art of selling:

“I don’t sell the pain, I sell the fact that it might create an opportunity for you to beat me, and that is what I am selling because physically the audience never relates to what we do,” he said. “I mean there are eight things to what we have experienced, but if we were to tell them after the show tonight to stand outside the door as they come out and ask the audience what do they think the ring is made of? They will tell you it’s a trampoline or a mattress and we all know it is not. But you can’t convince them of that because they see the ring either give or that the padding provides some sort of cushion. They don’t understand because they have never done it… Before you step foot in the ring, you have never once took a backdrop, took a dropkick, did something off the top rope, you can’t physically relate, but audiences have known since the late 30’s that Wrestling is predetermined.”

Wrestling being scrutinized for being ‘fake’ while other forms of entertainment such as movies aren’t:

“Because for a long time we have tried to, initially when everyone first tried to smarten up, we still tried to perpetuate the lie, and even though it is kind of an odd situation, even though everyone knew that it was fake, that they were being worked (predetermined), which is where the code word, ‘Kayfabe’ came from,” he explained. “You never yelled the word out or made it obvious, we always integrated it into a sentence so that the ‘mark’ or the fan did not know that you were signalling to everyone that they were in the locker room. Kayfabe, of what it is being used now, that wasn’t protecting the business, that was protecting the audience. Kayfabe, in the way that it is used now is like when you are going to watch a movie. The producers of that movie spend an ungodly amounts of money for one reason: that is to protect you that not one solitary thing is not out of place where for one second it takes you even for a second out of that movie.

“It’s a way for you to protect the audience, and the one way you do that is to never stop selling the finish. The two things that an audience pays to believe in, either tonight or anywhere else, doesn’t matter style or how you approach it, because the number one thing in Wrestling is if it sells that is what you do. Two things that they pay to believe in is: who you are, second reason is why did you do it? The magic in Wrestling is once we step into that ring, you and I can absolutely do anything,” he continued. “To prove my point personally I have made a living and made really good living doing this [training] than the 15 years prior making people believe I can knock people out with a plastic head. People till this day, believe that I can win by hitting someone with ‘Head.’ It’s the only time I use it when I want to win. If I hit somebody and did something else with it, I end up pouring it out and it’ll no longer be what it is, and I believe it when I am in the ring so they can believe in it to, which is what they pay for me to do. They wonder when I am going to act crazy and hit somebody with a plastic head. The concept that I can actually render another person unconscious is ridiculous, but has anyone ever question it? Until I bring it up nobody thinks about it.”

You can listen to Al Snow’s interview on the Pat Buck WrestlePro Show by clicking here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Al Snow recently sat down with Harry Kettle of CLICKON Sports to discuss everything pro wrestling; here are the main highlights from the interview:

Al discussed his simplistic view on gimmicks within sports entertainment and selling a character or persona to an audience:

“If they cannot describe you to their friends and family in a sentence or less, then you’re no good. You’re not gonna be successful, or as successful as you can possibly be. If you’re not able to do that, no matter how talented an individual may be, male or female. Steve Austin was always a beer drinking, ass kicking redneck. You have to deliver on what you’re selling to the audience.”

Thankfully for him, Al Snow’s character was very easy to describe in just one word: insane.

“I was involved in a lot of interesting storylines and things like that, and a large part of that was because my character was insane. I was free because of my insanity to do absolutely anything. A lot of guys say Al Snow was a comedy wrestler, but I wasn’t a comedy wrestler. I didn’t do any of it for comedy, I did it to be entertaining.”

However he contrasts the beauty of being free with his view on the possibility of missed opportunities:

“Sometimes you’re in the forest so deep that you can’t see the trees. You don’t even see the opportunities that are there until you get further out, and then you realise ‘oh that was an opportunity’ or ‘oh I blew that one’. As far as regrets though, I never regret being a professional wrestler. I’ve lived an amazing life, and the only regret is that at some point it’ll have to come to an end. That’ll be hard.”

One opportunity that he didn’t miss was the chance to work as a trainer and to help those around him become successful.  For those who are unaware of who he’s helped, here’s what he had to say about training some WWE greats:

“Steve Austin came and spent several days with me at one point when I had my school in Ohio to kind of get the ring rust off. Glenn Jacobs [Kane], D’Lo Brown, CM Punk spent time with me, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox, Cody Rhodes, and I can go on and on. I had a hand with some of these guys either from the ground up or later on, so I’ve had quite a lot of wrestlers who are enjoying some level of success in professional wrestling that I played a factor in.”

Al expanded upon his professional training with how perceives his personal success.

“It’s a big thrill for me to watch my students succeed on any level. I’m just so proud of them, and I really believe and have determined that whatever legacy I leave behind in wrestling is going to probably be my training. I’ve been blessed to have been an in-ring performer for going on 36 years, and in that time I’ve made a lot of mistakes, so that gives me a wealth of experience that I can pass on. They can understand where I made my mistakes, and I can help to prevent them from making it themselves.”

In the final high-light, he offers a piece of advice on permission versus forgiveness.

“You’d be surprised at how much control a performer actually has once they step foot in the ring. Something may work, or not work, but that’s on you. The phrase that’s used the most is ‘always ask for forgiveness, never ask for permission’. If you ask for forgiveness, then you take your chances. You may have to come back and say you screwed up, but at least you took your shot.”

Catch the whole interview with CLICKON Sports here:

Former WWE and Global Force Wrestling (GFW) star Al Snow recently did an interview with Interactive Wrestling Radio to talk about his time in GFW, why he thinks he was released, serving as an agent with GFW/Impact for seven years, and if the negativity from the internet during TNA’s darker days was felt backstage. Here’s what he had to say:

Why he feels he was let go from GFW:

“Yeah, I’m certain it was a budget thing. Jeff [Jarrett] brought his own group, his own guys that he brought with him and there are only so many spots financially and budget wise that you can afford to have as far as producers. And, have a necessity and need for to produce the segments. It was myself and 2 other guys and he had brought in his own group. Somebody had to go! That’s just how it works. I had a great run there. It lasted MUCH longer than I expected. I have no complaints whatsoever. I wish them nothing but the best. I hope they strive and succeed and be a real force in wrestling. Hopefully, someday, I can come back and do business again.”

Serving as an agent in GFW/Impact for seven years:

“In life, especially in wrestling, it isn’t a matter of if it will end. It is a matter of when it will end. You go into it knowing that. You’re going to have a run, you’re going to finish up, and you’re going to leave the territory. That’s an inevitability. You can’t get around it. Things change and then you move on.”

If the negativity on the internet was felt backstage in TNA during its darker days:

“Of course it was felt backstage. I’m not giving lip service. Even if I still worked for GFW, TNA, Impact… I’d still state what the facts are. The facts are that everybody knew there were issues or factors that would occur or come up. But, I’ve got to tell you, one of the things that impressed me so much is that everybody there, and I do mean everybody there, worked so hard on that show.

“From the in ring talent to the production team to the camera crew to the office staff… I mean, you’ve got to think. They put on a comparable product to the WWE with not even a third of the budget, not even a third of the roster, not even an eighth of the resources, not even an eighth of the office staff, not even an eighth of the production staff.”

You can check out Al Snow’s full interview with Interactive Wrestling Radio at this link.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Wrestling legend Al Snow was a recent guest on Interactive Wrestling Radio and spoke to host James Walsh about his 7 year run working as an agent for  TNA/Global Force Wrestling, the company’s darker times, his love for wrestling, training young talent and much more. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

His time working as an agent for TNA/GFW and his departure back in June:

“Yeah, I’m certain it was a budget thing. Jeff brought his own group, his own guys that he brought with him and there are only so many spots financially and budget wise that you can afford to have as far as producers. And, have a necessity and need for to produce the segments. It was myself and 2 other guys and he had brought in his own group. Somebody had to go! That’s just how it works. I had a great run there. It lasted MUCH longer than I expected. I have no complaints whatsoever. I wish them nothing but the best. I hope they strive and succeed and be a real force in wrestling. Hopefully, someday, I can come back and do business again.”

“In life, especially in wrestling, it isn’t a matter of if it will end. It is a matter of when it will end. You go into it knowing that. You’re going to have a run, you’re going to finish up, and you’re going to leave the territory. That’s an inevitability. You can’t get around it. Things change and then you move on.”

Internet negativity towards TNA affecting morale backstage:

“Of course it was felt backstage. I’m not giving lip service. Even if I still worked for GFW, TNA, Impact… I’d still state what the facts are. The facts are that everybody knew there were issues or factors that would occur or come up. But, i’ve got to tell you, one of the things that impressed me so much is that everybody there, and I do mean everybody there, worked so hard on that show. From the in ring talent to the production team to the camera crew to the office staff… I mean, you’ve got to think. They put on a comparable product to the WWE with not even a third of the budget, not even a third of the roster, not even an eighth of the resources, not even an eighth of the office staff, not even an eighth of the production staff… ”

His ‘love affair’ with pro wrestling:

“Oh God, I love wrestling! I’ve been so blessed to get to do what I’ve been able to do for so long. It is probably the most awesome thing that anyone could do. I’m not just saying that. I really love wrestling. I’ve had a love affair with it for 35 years. Every chance I get in the ring, no matter if it is in front of 10 people or 10,000 people, I love every minute of it!”

His new clothing line, COLLARxELBOW:

“Collar and Elbow, I started an apparel line for fans of wrestling because, you know, I’m a wrestler but really I’m just a fan… A fan of wrestling. And, wrestling of all styles. I generally just love wrestling. It is such a great backdrop to tell such incredible stories no matter the style or the form that helps mesh with the audience emotionally. It’s the purest competition there is. One person against another person. I started Collar and Elbow to kind of represent that. I also wanted to… To be selfish. I got a shirt from a supplement company that has to be the most comfortable shirt I’ve ever gotten. It is soft… The company went out of business but I don’t care! I still wear it. So, I said when I start a company, I want to make shirts like that… And, so, I have! Shirts people will genuinely enjoy wearing.”

Al Snow Launches New Business: COLLARxELBOW Has Arrived! #Battleground #WWE pic.twitter.com/yYhSXqcQgq

— COLLARxELBOW (@COLLARxELBOW) July 23, 2017

CollarAndElbowBrand.com

His Al Snow’s Wrestling Academy network:

“It is still very much a thing. I have a school in London, England. But, I also have one in Cheshire, the Midlands, Romania, Denmark, Greece, Chili, and I’m working on one in Italy. My long-term goal is to create a network of acadamies that philisopically all teach the same way. I supply a syllabus. By creating a network, a talent from lets say England… They are going to learn, they are going to evolve, they’re going to grow to a certain level but then they are only able to go so far because they’re only able to get so much of that kind of experience. By creating this network, a student in London could contact a school in Purtugal and be confident that philosophically, it’s all the same. Then, they can travel there, work their shows, and get a whole different variety of experience. Then, if they ever get an opportunity with a national or international product company like WWE or GFW, TNA, Impact… They will have a polish that will help them fully take advantage of that opportunity.”

If he would work with WWE on another season of Tough Enough:

“Certainly! I loved being a part of Tough Enough. I’ve got to tell you, I think it is one of the greatest things I think I’ve ever done in my career. It was such a pleasure. if I’m remembered for only 1 thing, I hope I’m remembered for Tough Enough.”

Follow Al Snow on Twitter @TheRealAlSnow.

Former WWE Hardcore Champion and Tough Enough coach Al Snow recently did an interview with Real Sport 101 to promote his new clothing line: CollarxElbow. Snow talked on a number of different professional wrestling topics, including the idea that some talents in WWE are currently underrated. Snow was asked who he believes is the most underrated talent in the company right now, but claimed that he doesn’t think there is a single talent that is currently underrated in WWE right now:

“Not one of them, and here’s why I say that. Because you have to understand, underrated means they’re not given an opportunity. Every time they’re put on TV, too many wrestling fans, and I understand because they don’t understand, but wrestlers are a product. Okay, they are peanut butter. They’re a car. They’re a hair dryer. They’re a toaster. In order to sell these products, you have to have a commercial, correct? So, you’ve gotta buy television time because you want to advertise your product. You want to build your brand. Thirty seconds of television time in WWE, I don’t know now what it is, but I know at one time it was $50,000 for thirty seconds. I know that in TNA it’s still $50,000 for thirty seconds of television time”

“So, I give you six minutes of television time. I’ve just invested $600,000 just in television time. Now whether you win or lose, how did I not value you and appreciate you by giving you that six minutes of television time and underutilized you? You’re on TV. There’s no way that I can undervalue you or underutilize you. There’s no way, because I just invested $600,000 of my television time for you to perform whatever business I needed performed. Whether you win or lose doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’ve now risked that amount of money. I’m not gonna just risk it in anybody, so you’re not underutilized”

H/T IWNerd for the transcriptions

Former WWE Hardcore Champion and Tough Enough coach Al Snow recently did an interview with Real Sport to talk about working for both Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter, his thoughts on Josh Mathews, and the reason he nearly walked away from WWE back in 1997 before being sent to ECW. You can check out the highlights here:

Working for both Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter:

“For me, it wasn’t much of a difference because it was still the same thing, which was working with the talent. And just so you know when I first started with Impact my primary job was to do the women’s division for several years, and I loved it. I loved working with the girls. But my focus, whether I’m working with the girls or the guys or with Jeff or Dixie, my job was to work with the talent. It was to make them understand what business was to be conducted with their particular segment, help lay out that segment to ensure that that particular business was done.

“To ensure that chapter of the story was told, or that character was exhibited, or that idea, thought, impression, or emotion was transmitted in that segment of television so that we can make as much use of that television time as possible and make it as effectively as possible. And that didn’t vary or change whether Jeff Jarrett was in charge or Dixie Carter was in charge. It was a great place to work, not just as a producer but as an artist, as a wrestler, because you’re given the freedom and the responsibility to do exactly what you’re supposed to do which is go out there and create and make it happen.”

His thoughts on Josh Mathews:

“I couldn’t be prouder. Josh is one of my kids. You know, Josh was probably one of the most physically talented ones of Tough Enough [Season] 1, the show. Maven had the charisma. Chris Nowinski had the size, the look, and had that innate heel charisma, just something that made you not like him for some reason. And then Josh Mathews had the physical talent and ability, he just didn’t have the size. A lot of those guys at the time, I remember having the conversation with Josh, saying ‘Listen, if you don’t win the contract, don’t worry, the right thing will happen at the right time for the right reason here, and you’ll have a career.’

“You know, John Gaburick and I saw Josh when we were at Stamford, Connecticut. Josh kinda was joking around and did some color commentary one time when we were at the studio, and I could see he had a talent and so did John, and we got him an opportunity to be a commentator. He had an amazing career with WWE and was able to use that as a way to get an opportunity with Impact Wrestling, and you know he just keeps going forward. I could not be prouder of Josh. His success is my success. I’m thrilled by it.”

Almost walking away from WWE in 1997 before being sent to ECW to reinvent himself:

“Oh, back in ’97. Yeah. At that time, I was pretty frustrated and had a pretty bad attitude and was pointing fingers at everybody else instead of pointing them at myself as far as my not taking advantage of opportunities that were presented to me. That invasion, I think probably saved my career because that partnership and cooperation between Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman allowed me to recreate myself. I tried to quit WWF at the time. I had a contract and asked for my release, and kind of to teach me a lesson, I wasn’t allowed to have the release.

“But I was able to talk to Chris Candido, god rest his soul, and he talked to Paul Heyman, and Paul Heyman talked to Vince and got me put on loan to ECW. So I could take advantage of an opportunity to go somewhere else, recreate myself, and to get myself back over, make myself a brand or product that they would ask me to come back. And it worked, and I’m so grateful for that chance.”

Check out Snow’s full interview with Real Sport by clicking here.

Former WWE Superstar Al Snow recently joined WZ Daily to promote the release of his new clothing line, Collar x Elbow. During his appearance, Snow was asked his opinion on what is the more ridiculous gimmick match – the Punjabi Prison or the Kennel From Hell, in the wake of Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton’s Punjabi Prison match for the WWE Championship this past weekend (Sun. July 23, 2017) at the Battleground pay-per-view (PPV).

Snow ultimately chose the Kennel From Hell match due to his history with it and the fact that he’s always asked about it:

“I would have to say the Kennel From Hell simply because a lot of people ask me about it and I always answer with the same thing. Number one, anyone in entertainment knows the two things you don’t work with are animals or children. Hell, even people in porn know that. You’re always going to get upstaged. Whether in a bad way or a good way you’re going to get upstaged.

“Two, you definitely do not work with animals unless they are HIGHLY trained animals. You literally have a situation where you make the entire story about the animals. Then you bring in animals that aren’t trained at all and then you wonder why it didn’t succeed. I’d have much rather done the Punjabi Prison. Let me tell you that would have been a lot easier and a lot more predictable then building a story around a bunch of animals that aren’t trained and just urinate, defecate and fornicate.”

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions

Gregory Helms and Al Snow have officially left IMPACT Wrestling. They follow the string of talents that have departed the company since the return of Jeff Jarrett, including Matt & Jeff Hardy, Crazzy Steve, Maria & Mike Kanellis, Jade and Drew McIntyre.

Helms took the Twitter to wish the company “all the best in their future endeavors,” and say that “I’ve never been an ass-kisser and I damn sure wasn’t gonna start with an owl.”

Al Snow also commented on his departure via Twitter, he stated: “I want to say thank you to everyone at Impact Wrestling for the great run I’ve had. Change must always happen & I am excited for the future.”

I'd like to wish @IMPACTWRESTLING all the best in their future endeavors.

— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) June 19, 2017

I've never been an ass-kisser and I damn sure wasn't gonna start with an owl. ???

— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) June 19, 2017

https://youtu.be/s_VgjcitzxY

Nashville-based model and branding specialist McKenszie Mitchell is now handling the weekly Impact Breakview segment, looking back on this week’s episode.

Following Impact, here’s the final card for Sunday’s Slammiversary PPV:

• TNA Champion Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley (Submission or KO only)
• Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy (Full Metal Mayhem)
• Knockouts Champion Jade vs. Sienna
• Tag Team Champions The Decay vs. The Bromans
• X-Division Champion Trevor Lee vs. Eddie Edwards vs. DJ Zema vs. Andrew Everett
• King of the Mountain champion Eli Drake vs. Bram
• Mike Bennett vs. EC3
• Maria Kanellis vs. Gail Kim
• Grado & Mahabali Shera vs. The Tribunal (with Al Snow)

Al Snow appeared on the The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast for an almost-2 hour discussion about his career and the direction of the professional wresting industry. Al spoke to John and Chad about how he was wrestling’s best kept secret for nearly 15 years and how his unique character, undeniable in ring work and desire to conquer the wrestling business in nearly every big name company propelled him to be possibly the most respected trainer in modern day pro wrestling.

Here are the highlights:

Is the now non traditional means of getting into the wrestling business making  people more focussed on being famous rather then becoming a star in professional wrestling: 

“To one part of that, certainly. It takes away the mystique of it all. It takes away that being enamored with of wanting to be it, because no longer is it this great, grand thing that only select people get to do or be apart of. I really feel and this is purely conjecture and opinion but I think it really is our society now supports my opinion and that is that maybe seven or eight out of ten people whether it be wrestling or anything anymore are more concerned about being famous for being famous sake or being a celebrity then they are about having a true passion for doing the things they do.

I’m not saying that there aren’t people out there that still have a passion for doing it but the real true motivating factor for a large number of people is that they get to be a celebrity and a prime example of this as far as wrestling is concerned is and you talk to anybody and rightfully so, they all want to be in WWE and who wouldn’t because it’s the biggest platform to sell your product, which is you. But the problem is some of these people don’t look at this as a platform to sell your product they look at it as a partnership with WWE and a business relationship. They look at it as an opportunity now to be recognized on the street and for people to come up and ask for autographs and there be all end all is in professional wrestling is to be a WWE Superstar and for a lot of these people they feel like that once they are removed from WWE their careers are now suddenly over and they no longer can exist as a wrestler when that’s not the case.

You now have the opportunity to go out in the world and take advantage of the platform that WWE gives which is such an immense amazing platform and then reinvent yourself and maybe be brought back again in a completely different manner and get a completely different run to WWE one more time. ”

How he originally got noticed by the WWF in the early 1990s: 

“At the time I had been working for probably thirteen years and they weren’t there yet but were just becoming Independents because back in that day you just worked the territories and then when the territories started going away there were outlaw groups. They weren’t aligned with the National Wrestling Alliance or any one particular territory.

One of the last hold outs at the time in 95 and the early part of the 90s was ECW of course and WCW was still in existence and then Smoky Mountain with Jim Cornette. I had known Cornette for quite a few years and he never really seemed to take notice of me because I didn’t have a character or definable personality per-say but that’s the one thing you have to figure out for yourself. I was working with Dan Severn and I had broken him into professional wrestling. He wanted to do UFC, which back then was truly it’s own style of mixed martial arts. We went to Oklahoma City for UFC 4 and I trained and worked with Dan to prepare him for that and I was in his corner. He had won two fights and was being interviewed and I could tell that the interviewer was trying to have Dan put over Royce Gracie as the star of the UFC and they were trying to lead him on into saying something and I just snapped and after another stupid question I said what do you think he was going to do? He is going to have sex in the locker room and they cut us off real quick and got us out of there.

Cornette was watching the pay per view and thought it was awesome and at the time I was working for ECW for Paul Heyman and he brought me into Smoky Mountain to be this smart-alecky chicken heel and unfortunately Eddie Gilbert had been in that spot and had passed away. Cornette had brought me into be Unibomb’s (Glen Jacobs/Kane) partner and I was supposed to be the mouth and pick the fights and Kane would be the muscle and Jim Ross was doing the announcing there and Jim recommended me and suggested me to WWF.”

Why his enormously successful run in ECW ended after being on loan by the WWF and not beating Shane Douglas at Wrestlepalooza 98:

“Paul loved to do the opposite and alternate thing and I think because Paul was in communication with the WWE a lot. I was really happy in ECW and I was prepared to send a letter to ask for my full release (from WWE) because you had to do it 90 days in advance. I was prepared to stay in ECW. But Paul E. never really invested anything in me, other then he gave me the TV time and he took what I did and I never really beat anyone or I didn’t get what you would call a “wrestling push”. I didn’t beat Sabu, I didn’t beat Rob Van Dam, I didn’t beat Tommy Dreamer on my way up to Shane Douglas.

I worked with all the underneath guys, which was fine. But I had gotten over to the point where Paul E and ECW would have to capitalize on it. His great plan according to him was that everybody knows you are going to win. It’s not going to change that fact that I am going to still get myself over and that sounds kind of arrogant to say but it’s the truth so it didn’t matter to me if I won or lost because the one thing that is fake about wrestling is the won or loss doesn’t matter if it still gets you over. I didn’t think it was the right thing to do business wise personally because I thought that people would not be happy about it and I felt that business wise it would have been better to let me win it.”

Outside opinions on ECW’s use of Al Snow and who suggested he rejoin WWF in 98: 

“To prove  that point I had spoken to Terry Taylor when I first went to TNA and he said “I’ve got to tell you that was the biggest mistake I had ever seen because I so expected you to win and felt you should have. The minute you didn’t that was it, I was done. I didn’t care about ECW anymore.” That’s an unsolicited opinion.

So at that same time I had just resigned with WWE and the reason I had was because Vince Russo had contacted me about sending tapes on what I had been doing into the office. I was reluctant to do it and to go back. It wasn’t about the money for me, I just enjoyed doing what I was doing. But then I saw a brand new opening to the (ECW) show that they had just redone it and I wasn’t featured anywhere in the opening. Which told me I wasn’t one of the acts that Paul E. had plans for. That made my mind up and I was going to send my stuff into Vince.”

– The funeral services for the late WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who passed away at age 61 last week from cardiac arrest, will take place in Portland, Oregon on Wednesday, August 12th. WWE will be in the Portland area for a SmackDown television taping that week, so it’s possible that the services were delayed so WWE employees can attend.

– Longtime wrestling veteran Al Snow will be the guest on this week’s edition of Jim Ross’ weekly “Ross Report” podcast. The show will be available on Tuesday night at approximately 9pm EST. at PodcastOne.com.

• SEVERAL WWE Stars PISSED At UFC President Dana White For “FAKE” Comments!

– The Thursday, July 23rd edition of WWE SmackDown scored a final cable rating of 1.79, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 1.79 final draw marks an increase compared to last week’s 1.63 rating. Thursday’s SmackDown averaged 2.35 million viewers, which was also up from last week’s show, which scored 2.153 million viewers.

– NXT Champion Finn Balor celebrates hs 34th birthday today. Balor, real name Fergal Devitt, was born on July 25, 1981.

– Pro wrestling veteran Al Snow will be the guest on Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which drops next Tuesday night at PodcastOne.com. The official description for the episode reads: “Al Snow, gifted trainer, broadcaster and wrestler talks about his unique career and the wrestlers that he’s trained and the 30+ year career that he’s still enjoying. Talks Smoky Mountain Wrestling, ECW, WWE Attitude Era, TNA and much more. Super show if you want to be in the wrestling business.”

• VIDEO: CM Punk SOUNDS OFF On AJ Lee Quitting WWE!

Ring Of Honor star Adam Cole recently spoke with The News Hub’s Marc Madison about a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On about training under DJ Hyde, John Dahmer, Al Snow and Les Thatcher: “Well with all four of those guys they sound completely different. They helped me on completely different levels. My two main trainers were John Dahmer and DJ Hyde. DJ Hyde mainly taught me how to be tough, I mean the beatings that he used to give the students as far as wrestling initiations go were as tough as they come and I’m thankful for it. When I left his training, I wasn’t really afraid of anything, anymore and then on top of that DJ is very good about taking his students to other wrestling events and getting their names out there whether it be helping set up the ring, or helping set up chairs or anything like that. It was kind of networking from a very early stage in our career. Whereas John Dahmer taught us what the technique behind a lot of the wrestling and then the multiple seminars I did with Al Snow and Les Thatcher at the time. They really taught me the psychology of what we do. Understanding why and when you do certain things so I’m totally thankful for all four and they were all completely different styles of wrestling for me.”

On his initial tryout with the WWE: “That particular tryout I went down to Afa the Wild Samoan’s training school which at the time was located in I believe may be Tampa, Florida but I may be incorrect on that but somewhere in Florida. We actually got to train for a week with Haku and Afa himself and it was awesome. It was such a good experience. I got my ring conditioning up and I learned little tricks of the trade. I learned how to be more intense in the ring because the Samoan’s are so intense. Then going into that tryout, again the harsh reality of that now looking back as to where I was in wrestling at that time, I was in just way over my head.

“I was a 19 year old kid, I was 170 ibs soaking wet. I didn’t have an identity. I didn’t have a look. I didn’t have the proper gear. I was just a young guy trying to be a wrestler. So to be honest, WWE didn’t even give me a second look. I don’t even know if they looked me in the eyes based on my size, based on my experience. I literally looked like a child there. For me it was more motivating as going forward and now I kind of have an idea of what I need to do. A lot of that just comes with just time. When you’re an independent wrestler, committing a lot of time and effort into honing your craft as much as possible in as many different places as possible will catch the WWE’s interest as far as the independent level goes. It was definitely an eye opening experience for me.”

Check out the complete interview at The-NewsHub.com.

• RONDA ROUSEY Trashes FLOYD MAYWEATHER For Domestic Abuse LIVE On ESPN

– Kenny King captured the TNA X Division Championship from Rockstar Spud in a 4-way ladder match on Friday’s episode of Impact Wrestling. This mark’s King’s 3rd X Division title reign.

– Al Snow joined Josh Matthews on the broadcast team on this week’s Impact, replacing Taz, who recently departed the company. TNA President Dixie Carter tweeted:

Love having the HARDCORE superstar @TheRealAlSnow sitting in with @realjoshmathews tonight on announce. #Cool. On NOW @DestAmerica

— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) May 2, 2015

– Next week’s Impact Wrestling from Orlando will feature Mr. Anderson vs. Ethan Carter III and Gail Kim and Awesome Kong vs. The Dollhouse.

Fans can vote on whether the Anderson vs. Carter match will be an Arm Wrestling Match or Falls Count Anywhere.

LIVE MAY 8th! @EthanCarterTNA vs. @mrkenanderson. VOTE for the stipulation NOW! http://t.co/BlnqyOQAeB pic.twitter.com/1jomnEFJh8

— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) May 2, 2015

– Jeff Hardy suffered a dislocated finger while working an “Extreme Rules” match at the WrestleCon event, a match that also featured Matt Hardy as his partner in a tag-team bout against the team of Rob Van Dam and Sabu. Van Dam also suffered a minor injury, as his nose was busted open after taking a bad shot to the face from a ladder.

– TNA agent Al Snow recently worked a tryout as an announcer for the company.

– Speaking of TNA announcers, Josh Mathews is featured in the following video which previews Friday’s “Tag-Team Gold” edition of Impact Wrestling.

https://youtu.be/pemX3bPNpVA

• Which WWE Star Convinced UFC To Let Rousey Work WM31? + Rousey/WWE Update!

TNA performer Grado (aka Graene Stevely) has launched a social media campaign with the goal of convincing pop artist Madonna to allow him to use her song, “Like A Prayer” for his pro wrestling ring entrance.

“This Friday on American telly I was getting the go-ahead for my match with Al Snow from The Hydro [in Glasgow] to be shown in full, with the “Like A Prayer” entrance — I was over the moon,” wrote Grado on his official Facebook page.

Grado noted that he received an email stating that the song was “denied on behalf of Madonna.” He would follow that up by launching the aforementioned social media campaign called the “#SayYesMadonna” campaign.

For more on the story, which has been generating a lot of buzz in the U.K., visit BBC.co.uk.

• SAMOA JOE Heading To WWE? TRIPLE H Says He’s Interested! Details Here!

As we reported earlier this evening, Drew Galloway (a.k.a. Drew McIntyre) made his TNA debut at the Impact Wrestling television taping in Glasgow, Scotland on Thursday.

Galloway made his debut after the main event of the second show that was taped this evening, which is scheduled to air on Friday, February 20th on Destination America. Galloway made the save for Grado, who was being attacked by the BDC after he defeated Al Snow in the final match of the evening. For video footage of Galloway’s TNA debut at the Impact Wrestling taping, click here.

According to a new PWInsider.com report, Galloway has been in talks with TNA for the past four-to-five weeks. He has officially signed a deal with the promotion and will be working the rest of the TNA U.K. tour dates.

You can read a complete spoiler report for both the Feb. 13th and Feb. 20th Impact Wrestling shows by clicking here.

• PHOTO: BROCK LESNAR Sporting A “TRAMP STAMP” Tattoo!