The volume the sessions is presented by Fan Duel Sports Book. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fan Duel. They're America's number one sports book for a reason, y'all. It's so easy to use. It's safe and secure. That's one of the main things for me. I don't want any BS. I love that there's no BS with Fan Duel. Plus, you get your winnings fast now. Winnings are delivered in as quick as two hours. Plus it's super fun to combine multiple bets from the same game into a same game parlay. It's awesome. So if you're new, just download the Fan Duel Sports Book app to get started. Now sign up with the promo code Rene that's r E N E so that they know that I sent you. Disclaimer twenty one plus and present. In Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wyoming, or West Virginia, gambling problem called next step or text next Step to five three three four two in Arizona one eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org slash chat for Connecticut one eight gambler or visit fan duel dot com slash RG for Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, in Virginia one eight seven seven seven seven oh stop for Louisiana on seven oh seven one one seven for confidential help in Michigan one eight seven seven eight Hope and Y or text hope and Y for New York, Tennessee red line one eight nine nine seven eight nine five to two four seven zero zero four Wyoming. Visit www dot one eight hundred gambler dot net for West Virginia. Hey, guys, welcome to the sessions I have on a fellow Canadian today. In one and only Sean Spears is with me today. You guys know him of course from a e W The Perfect ten. He has been in the professional wrestling world for quite some time, and we get to like a really personal side of Sean. I mean, is going through such a personal time in his life from his wife Cassie Lee. You guys of course know her. They are pregnant with their first child do in uh, just a couple of months, so exciting. He may or may not have talked about the name of the baby. We get into it on on this episode. It's really really cool, really sweet. And he's also just recently dealt with the passing of his mother, so you know, a really interesting time in his life to kind of be dealing with the good and the bad UM. And he was such an open book talking about all of those things. So I think you guys will really enjoy this just insightful conversation with Sean and just really a stripped down, bare bones version of not performing and not being a wrastler, so to speak. This is a man talking about his life, UM, and his experiences also within the ring. We talk about UM, his career, that the things that he still wants to achieve, what the future looks like for him, UM, as he says, as his career eventually starts to to wind down, how he sees that looking. Really cool conversation, UM and just great insight. So thanks to Sean for just being so open and honest with me during this entire interview. M here you go, guys, this is Sean Spears. All right, we're recording us. We can still keep talking about this. So no, I have not started my full Christmas decorations yet. But I went to Target the other day. My basket was a low dead. I got pillows, I got some foliage, I got like, I got this like count down Christmas thing. I'll at least wait to put up full Christmas stuff until you know, Thanksgiving, but I will start to head in that direction. Certainly, we already had about another tree. I already saw her post. She's full Christmas. As soon as this ship goes down, Christmas goes up. That's your favorite time of the year, and it lasts about last about mid March. People usually take down their Halloween decorations pretty quickly, but Christmas lingers, you guys, go all the way to March. It can. It's very possible. So it'll slowly start to one or two decorations might come down after Christmas time. The tree is the very last thing to go. But we we make a whole. There's things hanging from We have like a bridge in our house that goes across that's got stuff hanging from it. It's Christmas time and it was up to cast if be Christmas time all year round, but it's but it makes it feel like a home like it's weird. No, it does. And there's like there's sort of like a morning that happens when you take the decorations down. You're like, oh my god, my house sucks. Now it's like not magical anymore. The vibe goes away. You're like, yeah, what's what's with these bad vibes? Yeah, So I get the I get the idea. Um, I think it'll it'll linger even longer now this time next year when I have a little one running around, because he might not like taking down the decorations. That might be a problem. Okay, so let's talk about Christmas with kids. Well, okay, so wait, how much longer until you guys are do oh just under three months so January? Okay, so you'll still have baby in belly by Christmas time and then then it's on. Does it feel even more magical right now? I mean everything is more magical when there's a baby on the way. I get so like elated and I'm through the moon, over the moon, whatever you want to call it. But I can't like be overly joy because she's doing all the work, she's she's carrying all the weight, she's her back is sore, her feet are sore, she's so tired, And he gets mad he pushes on her bladder and he kicks her in the ribs, and you know exactly what I'm talking about. She is the most adorable mother to be in my eyes ever, And I'm sure all fathers and husbands feel that way about their wife that's carrying this. He did, he did, He might not say. I told my friends about this, my close friends. It almost feels like now I have like purpose that makes any sense. Yeah, everything is different now, everything is more important. Everything does change, and it's such an exciting time, especially like where you guys are at now, where you don't even know the baby yet. You've not met the baby, You've not got to hold the baby. I don't know if you've named the baby. I don't know where you're at with any of that stuff. I will not poke in proud because I know that's like the sacred thing that's like no one touch it until the baby's out and it's been announced. But like then you get to know this baby and you like see their little personality and they just become these like human beings. It's it's the best thing in the whole world, and everything just shifts into the place that's supposed to be it's so great. I'm so happy for you guys. Thank you, And that's what that's what I'm hearing. So like, you know, wrestling, for example, or the entertainment industry thing as you you've been chasing it for so long, so many years. It's been about what I can accomplish, How can I accomplish? And you're so tunnel vision and so driven, and then all of a sudden you're gonna response will for another human life, and your whole perception of how you think it changes. And you want to be a good example and you want to guide down the right path, and but you got to let them learn on their own as well. It's just it's just it's not about you anymore. It is like a really interesting thing because I think to the point of like what you're saying too of like when you have your career and something you've been working your whole life to be doing and you're excelling at it and their success with it, and that's great, and you want to keep doing that stuff because you're like, man, I want my kid to see the things that I've done, and I want to be able to set this example. I want my kid to think that I'm like kind of interesting and kind of cool, But then there's the other side that kicks in that goes, oh my god, I don't want to be away from my kid ever. I just want to stay at home with my kid all the time. It's really like a funny push and pull of figuring out like what the right move is in terms of like and I don't know if it's different like being like the mom. And I was home with Nora for the first year and a half where I was always just with her. So now to like not be doing that and be back on the road is is definitely like a funny thing to like adjust to. But it's like balance I'm assuming correct because I've seen you backstage at a w for months ago and stuff and normal be with you, and like there's opportunities to travel and be with John and the baby can still be with you guys too. I know that's probably not every week all week, um, but the possibilities do exist. So and luckily, now being a little later in my career, I've had the time to accomplish something. So I've set myself up and so as casts in a position to have that luxury of time. If we need it to where you know, we're not stressing about finances, were not stressing about time, so to speak. Um, so we've been very lucky in that regard. Um. We did a four h what is it for? Four D scan yesterday? Oh my god, is it not the craziest thing you've ever seen? Mind blowing? Does he look like you were her? Can you tell already? I can tell everything. I can see, Like when they do the ultrasound and everything, I'm like, oh, there's this foot. She's like, how do you see that? I I can just I can see it well. When they do the you know, forty scan or whatnot, She's like, oh, he has your nose. Oh he has your cheeks. I'm like, how you don't know that? And she's like no, but it's the like you guys see it differently than we do. We just see like an arm. I think that that's an eyeball, Like it's a funny thing. Like I remember when I did that with Nora and I saw her and I was like, whoa there it was like John's profile. I could see like it was like the side of her face and I was like, oh my god, she's got like his like lip. Um, and she does look a lot like John. I think she's really good, a good combination between the two of us. But yeah, she's she's very much so John. But it's also funny, like their little personalities inside your belly, Like Nora was a very active little baby inside me, and now she's just like bouncing off the walls like yeah, so buckle up. That happens on the outside as well, So get ready for those kicky legs to be coming in hot. It's a good thing. I'm probably one of the most childlike adults. You know everything. No, the world doesn't see it. It's all in home, and I just I do my best to we get little glimpses on Instagram. We get little glimpses of it. You can get some small stuff of My goal pretty much every day is just to make cast laugh in the most awkward of times. So all the dumbest of ships with the dogs are just by myself. So to have another little mini me to do that with. Oh, the sky is the limit in terms of what we can do. I already know we're gonna do next year for Halloween. I already know. Oh can you tell us, Oh, we're doing Michael Myers Mini me and me. We're just gonna big little little knives. It's gonna be it's trotting down the street. It's gonna be great. Uh so great. Okay, So dadhood is just around the corner for you. I mean, you're in it. It's happening. How do you see yourself as a dad? Who do you want to be? You? Ah, this is this is tough only because I grew up kind of in a different generation. You want to send an example, and you want to protect your children as best as possible, but you also have to give them some leadway to learn for themselves, you know, as long as it's not harmful or detrimental to their health in any way, shape or form. Like the kids crawling up on the couch and I say, don't do that. Don't do that. Like there's the option to either are going to pick them up and putting them down to their safe or if you take a little tumble, you're gonna learn the hard way. I had to learn the hard way growing up a lot of times. Um times have changed. Like I used to get like the belt and I used to get like upside my head. If need come on or Dad would give me the old dad grip underneath. You know, it's like you can't do some things like that anymore, but the idea remains the same. I just want my kid to be respectful. I just want them to understand hard work and to know like it's okay to push for what you want as long as you're not hurting yourself or hurting anybody else around, you just go for So it's hard, especially with all the outside influences in the world in general. I'm just gonna try to do my best and hopefully you follow suits. I think that's all you can kind of do if you've got any tidbits or golden little nuggets of information. I mean, I feel like I'm kind of on the same track is you in terms of like I'm not a big hoverer like I feel, you know, see, like, of course, if she's like holding a sharp object or something like really bad is gonna happen, of course I'm going to intervene. But if she's going to take a little tumble or she's going to learn a lesson in some way, I kind of like watch from a distance and let her do or things. It really is that, like you want them to develop I also want her to have experiences. I don't want her to just like I think, yeah, yeah, I want her. I want her to be able to just like live her life like all of those things. But she's still so little. So it really is interesting, like as she becomes more of a person and I see more of a personality, she's getting funny. Um, you just yeah, you want you want to protect them, but you also just want to like build them up to be these confident little people that can handle any situation at there. And I just watched something recently about that of this mother was talking about how, um, how to like protect her kid from horrible things on the internet and things that you can't keep your kid away from when they're not in front of you, and he was like, the best thing you can do is to raise a confident child so that they aren't necessarily going to succumb to all the peer pressures and all of these like other things that they're going to happen at some point or another. So I think it's just trying to find a way to like instill that confidence in your kid that they're loved at home and no matter you know, what happens outside that I think like that acceptance at home is such a big thing. So the biggest thing for me, and you're probably probably from the we're saying generation, essentially, my biggest thing was I never wanted to disappoint my mother. So I felt that if it would make my mom upset, or if it would if she would go on disappointed in you, that would that would crush my soul. So I would be like, oh, my mom would not like that. So I'm just gonna sorry, guys, not not today, or I'm not going to go forward with whatever the plan is, because that was my biggest fear that she found out she would be really disappointed in me. So that helped too because of that bond that you have, So I'm hoping that we have that kind of relationship as well. I didn't have. I didn't have a dad for the first like ten years of my life. Um, so me and my mom were very very close. So she essentially raised me to us about ten. So that's probably where that comes from. But I'm hoping I can have that effect on my son early on. Certainly it's like being able to have that relationship. And I was the same, like you know, with my mom, like very close. Um, I would definitely like push her buttons every now and then if I could. But like we yeah, we were really close. And I hope that Nora and I have that. When I see that sometimes of like, oh my god, wait, there's the option for kids to not be close with their parents, Like what that like freaks me out to imagine that happening. I want to do whatever I can to make sure that that there's never that like distance between us or she feels like she can't talk to me about something or anything like that for me and John, Yes, and I believe it or not. I thought about that as well. But I think there is a time, no matter what where they go, I can handle this on oh yeah yeah. And it's only until they hit a roadblock or they're getting shipped that they go, oh mom, dad, and then you go Now you're learning on your own that this is how life works. I have the same conversation now with the man that I consider my stepfather, but I consider him my dad because he's the only one to ever raised me. He doesn't talk to a lot of my siblings very much. She's very quiet. It's just quiet nature, so he won't necessarily reach out but if you reach out to him, they'll talk to you all day long. It's just the way he is. He'll be like, oh, I haven't heard from anybody in a while. I was like, well, everybody's living their lives. They're all grown up. Now you have to kind of reach out and say, hey, how's your life going. And then they'll tell you, oh, I got this problem, that problem, and you go, okay, you're on your own. But that's how life works. Like everybody just lives their life. And then once they hit, you know, bump in the road, that's where they go, hey, mom, dad, can you help out. So I think there's going to be a time frame no matter what, my son's gonna think. He knows how things go, and he's got to handle on everything in life. And as he goes gonna take over. And then as he goes, gonna get checked. And then I'm gonna go tell this words. All you can do is hope they don't make a mistake that's irreversible. That's all that That's all you can do is hope. Okay, let's go to ten year old you and your your father stepping into the picture, because that's a pretty interesting age for a young boy. I would imagine to now have this father figure step in. What was that relationship like for you guys right off the bat, good because it was it was all I knew. So I didn't have m my real father. I think I've seen twice in my life. There's no contact or anything like that. So this new man stepping in to my mother already had two children. So what a massive endeavor for a man. And this was going when the way was this and they late, Yeah, this would be about early nineties. Getting with a woman who already has two kids. That's that's a lot. That could be a lot to take on for a single man. Um So looking back on that now, I mean, that's what I understand. That's what a man does. A man steps up at least that's what he should do. So he always treated us, even when we had you know, my brother and my youngest sister. He never treated anybody any different. We're all the same. But because he came into my I was able to play hockey, I was able to get into sports. Just he brought that stability. And if I pushed my mother like you said you did yours, I would do the same thing. She'd be my best friend, but I would push it to the envelope and she said, your father finds out and I went, oh, okay, okay, okay, okay, we're good. I'll take care of it. I was actually with him last time was in Canada when we did the show for a W in Toronto. I went some and I was telling the story that he completely forgotten. It was when I was about eighteen. I just turned eighteen, so the eighteen you're a man, you know what I mean? And I was mouthing off to him. I said something under my breath. He got right in my face and I'm already like six feet and he's like five. He's blonde hair, blue eyes, five ten. He's shorter than I am. But he got right in my face and he goes, do we have a fucking problem? I went, butthole puckers. No. Immediately I'm like, oh, there, I'm a I'm a growing ass man. Now there are consequences to my actions and things that I say. And I just went nope, and I told him that I remember that. He goes, no, not one bit, and I was like, taught me a lesson that day, that there are consequences to your actions. Once you get out there in the world. So that was him checking my ego the same way I'll probably have to check my son's ego at some point in the future. So stories like that that you know he was he's a good man, he's a good man. He was a great dad. It's really funny when you have of your own kid. And I remember my mom saying this to me when I was younger. I mean, you know, my dad was always in the picture, but my parents separated when I was really young, so I was with my mom a majority of the time. And you know, I she big, you'll understand this when you have your own kids and that, and I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I meet her with an eye roll. But now it really isn't like, man, you bent over backwards for us and you you know all the especially not like when you're a mom and you're, well, i'm a mom, You're gonna be a dad. But like you're working and you're busy and you're tired, but you still find that time to like play with your kids and make sure that they're happy, and it just gives you like a whole different perspective on like what that would have been like, especially like, God, that generation of our parents too. They didn't have like we can google things on our phones, we can come up with all these different things to do. They were like left to their own devices to make sure that everything stayed on track. So hats off you guys did it. We'll see if we do it about just under three months, we'll see how it goes. But yeah, even a friend suggested to us the other day, just the technology that we have at our fingertips. Nowadays, there's a it's almost like a curry where you can put formula in and then you push a button and it's like baby formula and it's good to go like this, And I was like, that's it. They're like yeah. I was like, I was planning on putting a pot on the stove, warming up some water, old school bottles, drop them in. That's how I help my youngest sister and brother. I was going to old school. They're like, no, dude, like things have changed, and I'm like, oh, ship, I gotta get caught up. Has your guy's relationship you and Cassie's your relationship changed at all since finding out that she's pregnant. Um, I it's tough to say it's gonna sound cheesy. I've always I always like um, we always like spending time together. I adore her. So even like COVID during the times everybody had to quarantine like that to put a lot that could put a lot of stress on our relationship, it didn't for us. We love being around each other. We could be in the same room for hours on end and not say much to each other, But as long as we can see each other, we're good. And I think I can speak for most men. It's something changes different when they know that their wife or partner, whoever they decided to spend the rest of their life with, is carrying something that they created together. It's just different. Like, no matter what, cass and I are joined together for life, you and John are joined together for life. No matter what, we created something together that is gonna live on, hopefully long after work on. So that and I'm getting goose, I'm thinking about it. That mindset alone is beautiful. There's something very comforting in that. Like, I agree, there is something really beautiful and that in like, yeah, I think about that sometimes too, in the sense of like God, like you know, Heaven forbid anything should ever happen it's like to have this person that I've created with this man that I love so much. I mean, it's a bond that's just completely unbreakable. It's awesome. And she's gonna tell her future children's stories about you know what you. She's gonna watch everything you and John have done. Like, I think that's going to be really exciting too. If my kid grows up and he's of agent, he's able to look back and kind of understand what I did and when hold on and it gets to ask you questions about that, and you can be like, oh my, this is mind blow. I never thought I thought you might go back and watch this stuff, but I never thought we'd be talking about it all these years later. It's just something really cool about that. I think that alone will be in a somewhat underbelly way of being inspiring. I know. It's so funny. Like Nora just started playing with um with John's action figure. She like carries it in the cars like dat da da da dat da. She always she like knows that it's him. It's like the sweetest, sweetest thing ever. So for for your son to be able to have that with like you and Cassie and like it's it's pretty unique, it's pretty cool. Um, Okay, baby is happening. Congratulations, cannot wait to meet this little man, and I'm sure everything is going to go really great upon his delivery here into this world. And Chef kiss. I don't mean to stop. Let's just I've been waiting a long time to get on this podcast. I'm so glad it happened, and thank you for getting me on and I greatly appreciate it. So I'll tell you his name. I might get in trouble, but at the same time, it's there's a reason I'm going to tell you the name because essentially some people have already found it. So his name is going to be Austin J. The J comes after Cass's brother. That's his name, so that's going to be his middle name would be Austin J. But I also haven't already kind of on my arm, so I don't can kind of see that, so we can't change our minds now. It's basically what I'm Oh, my gosh, how exciting. Yeah, so I had this done us probably but I'm a little over a month ago now, But it was part of the idea all the way through. Um, it's kind of just a little backstory. My mother's earned she has angel wings on it, so that's where this comes from. But then the light that shines through kind of shines down on him. And before she passed away, she left him a message on one of those stuffed animal dolls with a voice box in it. She passed before she knew his name, but she knew he was going to be a boy and stuff, and she said, I'll always be looking out for you, always be watching over you. Still the light kind of shags down on him, but eventually someone's going to see this. So what better place to put it out than right here on your podcasts. I love that. That's It's a beautiful name, beautiful sentiment. The artwork is fantastic. Um. And yeah, I wasn't sure if you were going to want to talk about your mother's passing because I know obviously it's so recent. Um, how have you been doing? How is everything going for you? It's been a it's been okay, And of course i'll talk about anything with you. Um, it's been okay, it's been good. It never goes away. Going back to eight of You in Toronto was a big moment, kind of after the cameras went off, the air had a moment to kind of let loose. I've been gone for so long and no one knew why. So I could have went out there and said, oh, it's great to be in Canada, and it's great to be home and w but the elephant in the room is where's this guy been for five plus months? So I thought it was a good opportunity to not only to kind of pay tribute, but just be honest, be honest with everybody for the first time in a long time. But the messages I received after that night, the d m s came like flooding him, and a lot of people were like, I just lost my grandfather in June. I just lost my mother this year. I just lost like everybody. Everybody loses somebody, and I was very fortunate from a young age to not experience that much loss. But no one escapes this. It's part of life. And I hate saying that because you know it's it sucks, but it's it's reality. We can't escape it. But I'm getting into that age now where the majority of my family members are older, and I'm going to experience it and go through it a lot more having lose her first probably doesn't get more difficult than that. In a weird way, she still taught me one last and before she passed like she still all she wanted. All she wanted was to be surrounded by her children and pass away at home. So she had in Canada, you can kind of set yourself up if you have terminal cancer, you can kind of set yourself up to how you want things to go. Um. So that's what she did, and she wanted to go at home, surrounded by her children. And she made me promise that if something happened to where she wasn't able to walk, speak, anything like that, that it was time to go. I was actually supposed to go to a signing on a Friday and she was doing well, but a major stroke had hit on Friday and basically that paralyzed her ability to speak, walk, move anything. So when we were finally back home, all the kids were there and things like that, I had to make the decision to to go ahead with the process. She could squeeze your hands, so I was asking her if you're ready to go, and she would squeeze and let me know that she was ready to go. But everything was on her own terms. That was the most beautiful thing and that was the thing that brought me comforts during that time, was that it was her call and we're doing things the way she wanted them done. But the lesson that I learned in that the final one that she left with me, and it's something I always knew, but it was made more paramount in that moment, was that family was everything. That's all that mattered to her. So all the money that I have would not have been able to take away your cancer. All that mattered was that she wanted to be surrounded by her kids. And once she passed, it was just like you don't believe it, but it's it's right in front of you. But it's just like you can have everything together. You can have your job, your life, your marriage, everything is together. But then all of a sudden, you feel absolutely lost, like you don't know where to start, you don't know where to go, you don't know where to move, and it kind of freezes time for a little while. But after that moment in Toronto where I kind of got to pay tribute and at least speak the way I wanted to do, once the cameras were off, the amount of messages that I got from people, UM, and I did my best to answer as many as I could. I responded to tons because people would say, oh, I just last month, I lost my uncle, I lost my grandmother. I lost my mother not long ago, and you know, we went to the show to kind of get away from it, and you brought it back up and I was like, oh, I'm sorry, and they're like no, But it's just it's okay to know that we're all human and we're all going to go through this kind of thing in life. It's just how we deal with it. And I don't think it gets better. I don't think it's easier. I just think we learned to carry on the best memories as possible and pass on their teachings to our little ones. So um, just a beautiful woman, and time cut way too short. Start the NFL week off right with a know Sweat Same Game part like every Thursday from fan Duel, America's number one sports book. It doesn't matter if you're new to fan Duel or you already have an account. Every Thursday night, you'll get free bets back if your NFL same game parlay doesn't hit. Same game parlays are the perfect way to combine your bets for a chance at a bigger payday. I'm talking game lines, total spreads, player props, touchdown scorers, so many to choose from. You can build your own or choose from one of the popular Same Game parlay's pre built in for you and fan Duel's top rated sports book app. However you want to play, you can bet the NFL every Thursday night with a no sweat same Game parlay. Just sign up with the promo code RENEE and if you don't already have an account, that's promo code renew r E n E to get free bets back if your Same Game Parlay doesn't hit. Make every moment more with fan Duel, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Disclaimer twenty one and select states first online real money wage. You're only refund issued as no withdrawable free beets that expire fourteen days after receipt restriction supply. See terms at sports book dot FanDuel dot com gambling problem called one Gambler, or visit FanDuel dot com slash RG for Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois. In Virginia one eight hundred next step or text next step to five three three for two for Arizona eight seventy nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org slash chat for Connecticut one eight hundred nine with it for Indiana one eight seven seven seven seven oh stop for Louisiana one eight seven seven eight Hope and y or text hope and why for six seven three six nine for New York t N redline one eight eight nine nine seven eight nine for Tennessee when eight hundred five to two four seven zero zero for Wyoming, or visit www dot one hundred gambler dot net for West Virginia. What was the moment like when you were able to tell your mom that casts who was pregnantive. So she because she was doing a little bit of chemotherapy at the time, she carried around with her a oh my goodness, I can't remember drip a drip, apparatison, she whatever. So she had to carry with her everywhere. So we'd actually brought the pregnancy home test everything back home. So we're like, oh, I'll happy Mother's Day and you know, a little surprise for I brought her flowers and everything like that, and she thought it was a little gift for her, so she opened it up and she had never glasses on, and I'm like, I'm filming it, and I'm like, so she finally sees it, she turns it around, it's just, oh, funk, you're pregnant, and then immediately starts to run down the hall, but forgets to grab her things, so where things starts dragging and I'm after her, trying to grab onto her her drip, but she's so excited and running around and it's just I'm so glad I got it on video because it's it's just, you know, for a minute, you forget, you forget that something bad is happening or going to happen, or the inevitable is going to happen, and you just in that moment where you know and I meant what I said. He was the first person to know, and then Cass's mother was the second, so we waited to tell both our mothers that we were expecting, so it meant that much to us. That's so nice, so nice that you guys were able to have that moment and just to be able to share that, and that your mom was able to leave a message for your son. She left it in one of the like is it like a bear or something, Kermit the Frog? Oh house a little voice box in the middle of it. So I lost it when I first heard that because we weren't. We weren't. It wasn't wasn't given to me till after she passed. So she had left gifts for her kids. This is what I mean, where like a lot of people don't have that luxury, We lose people unexpectedly with these people just like this, and then we're like, I didn't get to say everything I wanted to say. We had the luxury of time and she got to plant everything out. So she's leaving me a gift after she left my son a gift after and then I listened to that. It's like, oh my gosh, I bet so. I'll still go upstairs occasionally in his room and I'll push the button just listen to it, just to hear the voice and stuff like what was the best lesson you think you learned from your mom. It's so weird because I joke about this now with my friends and everything like that, especially with casts like I don't know about you, but I had to be home when the street lights came on, and you know what I mean, if you were going to have a sleepover with a friend or whatever, there's you know, rules and be home certain times curfews. I think, trust your gut, just just trust yourself. Booh blah blah. Else. I didn't know exactly that until I got out on my own into the world and whatnot, and probably got out of a few situations that I shouldn't have been in, or dangerous situations just by going gosam doesn't feel right, and then I would just kind of trust that. But she always distilled in me that, you know, be respectful, don't hurt anybody or yourself, treat women well, and trust your gut. And I think those are the main three staples that I will try and instill in my children. They're gonna make mist aches, They're going to learn the hard way. As long as it's not irreversible, it's a lesson. So um, those are probably the main things. When did wrestling become the thing for you? Was it? Was it super early on? I loved wrestling when I was a kid, but no one in my family watched wrestling. My mom didn't watch it, my stepdad didn't watch it like. They just never turned the channel if I was watching it, like, so they just kind of went, all right, he's sitting still, leave him alone. They just never changed. But I remember being I want to say this before my stepdad came into the picture. So I might have been like seven or eight, and I was over at my uncle's house and a bunch of the kids were there, and we were watching a pay per view and I can't remember which one it was for the life of me, but I was sitting at the back with a couple of my cousins and my two uncles were sitting on opposite sides of the room, and all I remember is the Ultimate Warrior came out. I used to love the Ultimate Ware and I was a kid. How could you not the tassels and the hair and the math stuff. But I can't remember who he was wrestling. Might have been Rick Ruder, maybe honky tonk Man, but he when he beat him, my two uncles, not kids, my two grown men uncles jumped to their feet on opposite sides of the room to high five each other and met in the middle. And I just never going like, oh that's how I like, yeah, and I start high five and two, and I just remember thinking like that was an incredible feeling. Now knowing what I know looking back on it, I was like, that might have been the moment where I went, I want to make my uncle's do that. I want to make other grown men and other grown women and kids do that all alike. That probably sticks out in the moment where I really wanted to try and give this a go. But there was, Yeah, it was my two uncles just high fiving in the middle of all these children watching a pay per view. What has like your story with wrestling, Ben, in terms of like getting your start? You know, the yes is the nose being at w W, E going not being at w W now being in a w UM What's the thing that kind of keeps you motivated? What's like your love story with wrestling. I'm glad we get to kind of cover a little bit of this because for a long time and the other interviews I've given the you know, and I apologize to any other interviewees who are going to be watching this, but I've given the general generic answer of oh, it's been great, I love professional wrestling and I'm very happy. The reality is it's been a love hate relationship. It has been um up and down. It has been UM a lot of down, but yeah, there there's there has been times where I've hated this industry, and the reason being is because it's it's it's entertainment, and you know, without pulling the curtain back too much, there are just things you're not in control of. So it can have a tendency to make you feel like you're not good enough, despite um, how hard you're working, despite um, how much time or effort you're giving to the industry, despite what the audience may be doing, it just might not be your number. And this business doesn't know anybody anything. You've heard that before, and anybody who's been in it for an extent of period of time will agree. It doesn't owe us anything. It moves on with or without us. If you ask anybody, any wrestlers, come on here, who's your amount? Russian one? Number one? That is the most impossible question to answer, in my opinion, there's so many categories. Can't answer that, So don't ask you that. So what keeps me kind of motivated and it keeps me kind of going is knowing that my legacy, the legacy I leave behind, will have nothing to do with pro wrestling. In my opinion, no one's gonna probably remember me in great detail after I'm gone, but my son will. My son will know what I've done. My future children will know what I have done. My family knows what I have done, So my nieces and nephews will know what I have done and if that is enough to kind of guide them down a path, a good path that can be beneficial to their life and the life that they create with someone going forward, I've done my job on this earth. I know that sounds a little weird or odd. Um, Yeah, it's just about um. If I can inspire people around me, great, wonderful people come to shows, fantastic, Like I mentioned about those d ms that came in after what I said about my mother, wonderful. I will talk with people all day long and hopefully help in any way I can. But at the end of the day, my legacy is going to be remembered by my family the most, and that is what matters most to me. So that's what keeps me kind of going forward, and that's kind of why I've recently had a bit of a change of heart. My son is going to go back and watch a lot of things that I did, and he's gonna question, why did you hit that guy in the head with a chair and why is he bleeding so much? And I got to explain to him it was a time in my life. So with a limited time that I have left and wrestling, I want to be able to show that I can do some good too, and that starts with being honest a lot. It's one of those funny things too, because I feel like when I think about, like my relationship with professional wrestling, You're right, there's the upstairs, the downs. Sometimes it doesn't love you back the way that that you love what you get to do. But then I literally can like look around my household. It's like, Man, I met my husband there, we now have a child, like all of those things, and it's like that hilarious term of like everything is pro wrestling, but like my whole life is that, And if that's the things that I get from the world of pro wrestling, then hell yeah. I mean the accolades and you know whatever, having a great job and being financially stable, those things are obviously great to have, but like my entire family is essentially rooted in this industry. I did not see that on my bingo card. When I started working in this world, I had no idea, not a clue, And I don't know if if any of us do. And um, I don't know. You're the same way as me. And when I knew we were going to do this, I was thinking about it yesterday, like I remember watching you on the score like way way back when. And if we think about it, like fast forward X amount of years that have gone by, just like this, if I asked you to pinpoint a moment where you felt you made it, could you pinpoint one? Probably not? I don't know, could you know? Not at all? That's that's my point, is that all of a sudden, like I remember saying, oh, man, I want a T shirt? How can everybody's getting a T shirt and not me? And I want an action figure? How can everybody get an action figure? Not me? And I hope I'm in the video game one day, and all of a sudden, all these things that you hope for have happened, and we sit here and go, oh, so, does that mean that we didn't take enough time to enjoy those moments when they happen? Are removing too fast? Or do we need to kind of take a step back and go damn, like did all right? I survived the business where a lot of people don't in some way, shape or form. So to your point about taking a look around and going, you know, my kids are going to be okay, my family is going to be okay. This business doesn't have to love you back at all. But how you're able to navigate through all those knows or navigate through those roadblocks, through or around, you're able to at least inspire or help other people go no, don't no, don't take that way, take that way. And one thing I love doing is teaching, and I'm able to prepare students or even talent on the roster that have five, six, seven years in when they're frustrated and they come to me and they go, this is horseship. What the I go, This is how it is, and it's just temporary. The bad times are temporary. The good times are temporary too. You've got to take the good with the bad. I always feel like success takes a lot longer to achieve in professional wrestling than maybe it does whether it's another sport. I would kind of make like liking it more to maybe like an actor's career, that sometimes it takes a little bit longer to really generate that buzz and generate that fan base and whatnot. But what do you think it is about wrestling? I mean, yes, you are your teacher, you're a great teacher. Um, you've got your your training school flatbacks with with good old breezy boy. Um. Yeah, I know right. What is with Canadians and pro wrestling? Jeez? So great? But yeah, it's something about like the you've really got to put so much time in and I mean you mentioned it just a second ago about wanting to be as honest as you can, and you also were talking about how much time you have left doing this. Where do you kind of stand on that? The thing about a wrestling audience, in my opinion, is there there's some of the most critical people of all sports fan base in my opinion that there is, But at the same time, they're also the most loyal case and point and I'm gone for five months is a long time in the world of entertainment. There have been athletes and other sports teams that are gone five months and you're like, what team does he play for? Some people just forget our wrestling fan base does not forget. That's why people can go away and have children and come back five, six, seven years later, and they're welcome back with open arms because our audience just cares. Whether they like to admit it or not, they do. Wrestling is just it's built and based a lot of it on ego. I had people tell me that it wasn't a good idea. Sadly, I had my mother and father tell me face to face, it's not a good idea. You're going to be hurt and home in three weeks. So no, we'd rather go work at a casino, not knowing that I already paid four thousand dollars to go to a wrestling school and I just haven't told them yet. It's it's such an individual drive and a push that it's so hard to explain. If you feel that you're on the right track, you're supposed to be doing something, you've gotta see it all the way through. And when I said earlier about some things out of your control, yes, in the world of sports entertainment, it ain't your showman. So no matter how prepared you are or how good you think you are, if someone else wants something to be a certain way. It will be that way. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't work as hard. That doesn't mean that I shouldn't keep trying. That doesn't mean that I student's shouldn't stay as sharp as I can be because you're doing a disservice to you as a professional. I am winding down. I don't have a lot of time left. That's probably the main reason why I put pressure on myself now, is that like contractually or body wise, both body wise, I'm I'm in really good shape. That I'm a great shape out that's shaping my life. I mean in a sense where I've never been, uh at the main event, top of the card, champion schedule. You understand the champion schedule, John is all over the place. It's a champion schedule. A champion schedule is staying to the end of the night, your last You're going out there thirty minutes every night and busting your ass and then you're jumping in a car and you're driving to where you gotta go. I never had to do the champion schedules. My body after almost twenty one years, is in really good condition based on what I have to have done. But there's very few things that I would like to do left in wrestling, and I've been pushing to try and check off a few of those boxes before my time is done. Uh. And it's been difficult, and it's been a challenge, but not more challenging than anything else I've been through in twenty plus years. So that's where I put the pressure on myself nowadays. From being honest, what are some of those things? How do you kind of see this going? If you're able to just put on like your booker hat and you're writing your next couple of programs, what do those look like for you? So, my favorite picture of all time, aside from anything my wife is currently in or will be in the future with my son, is Brodie Brodie Lee, very good friend of mine. He has a picture with his son, both sons actually holding the TNT title and they're both so happy and they're both so like. You can see it on his face how proud he is, and you can see how proud they are of him. You know, he's their hero. I want that same thing between me and my son, when my son comes to me one day and says, I want to be you know, a world series baseball player. Yeah, you can do it, thinks though. Yeah, here's why. This is what dad did. This is Dad's reward and he gets to hold it and see it and look at it. And you know, that's what I'm envious of John of like nor is one day going to be able to pick up his stuff and go Dad with this and he gets to tell her stories and you get to tell her about that moment and hopefully that inspires her to go, I want my moment too, and then she goes and chases. That's the idea behind that. So my goal is to be decorated, is to win a championship in a major company, a w or elsewhere. That is my goal, just so I can have that time and that prize to show my son in the future. What title is that to you? Which one would you love to have around your waist or shoulder for that photo. Being completely honest, I have always seen myself as an intercontinental champion. I knew you were going to say that. For some reason, you you have that. I see Champ Glow. So I grew up on the Mr. Perfects and the Rick Rude and the Ultimate Warriors, and then as I got into wrestling, it was always known as the workhorse Championship, so I'd always seen myself in that zone. So in a perfect world, yeah, be the Intercontinental Championship. I like that answer to that is a good answer. I feel like that. Yeah, you definitely like fall into that category of like the one that ever won. The locker room too is kind of like, yes, finally, let's like let's get this, Let's get this championship run going. It doesn't have to be long. It just has to happen, you know, you know what I mean. It's just it's a moment in time. It's not about the title. It's about the chase. It's about the journey. That's to me storytelling. If I keep putting it out there positively and keep staying ready so I never have to get ready, maybe but maybe not. We manifest here, We manifest things over here. Um, okay, let's talk flatbacks, um really quickly here, Um, how did this concept come together for you and Breeze to start this wrestling school? That was his idea and I was refused immediately. Yeah, um so he I just actually left w w E and probably about two months later he's like, hey, what do you think about opening up a school and I was like absolutely not, Like I don't know what I'm doing with my life, and I'm thinking of going over here, and I'm hoping I could go over here, and I just don't know the schedule of the time frame because he was still in an x T. He was still wrestling full time as well. But it was mainly decided after I went to do a seminar not long after I left, and I asked in Florida and I asked him to come with me, Just come with me. Da da da da Da helped me out. And um, no disrespect to anybody in the area or to how anybody decides to teach to each their own, but we have realized during that seminar that there was a lot of gaps that fundamentally that young kids were being taught, as to the point where some kids who had five six years and We're like, okay, throw a punch. Andy're like, oh, I haven't been taught how to throw a punch. They were like, oh, okay. So strikes are a big fundamental thing in our industry. So it was things like that that were like okay, and then the mindset of a lot of young kids too um, weren't exactly healthy, Like, how so, what do you mean so a lot of students would be staying at the same place training five, six, seven years in. Okay, I'll have you branched out at all. No, no, no, I just kind of come train here on your shows locally, it's like, look at our school. Once you're trained, fundamentally, you have the very basics. You're not a polished product, you're not a finished product. You have the very basic fundamental tools to go out and start working, start figuring out who you are. You need experience in front of an audience. But I think some places that charge, you know, a monthly d or it's you know, we just want to make sure that we were kind of gonna put young students in the best possible position to succeed one way or the other. You're gonna find out without wasting a great deal of time if this is something you truly want to do, or if it's not. Because at the end of the day, you know, and more than most people like how brutal this can be on your body. This beats the ship out of here. If you're going to do that to your body, there has to be kind of a goal in mind or a reward at the end of the tunnel, something to chase. But it was Breeze's idea, and I was like, Nope, not a chance. And then he kind of based on what everything I just told you, he kind of said like, look, we kind of owe it to these kids, to kind of guy whoever wants to come here in the right direction. He's right, Push those little baby birds out of the nest. Make him fly, baby, make him fly, get out there. That's how I learned. And you know, I can go into stories about God practicing in Puerto Rico while drive bys were happening, and I could tell I could tell you all this stuff that looking back on now, you're like, wow, why did I Why would I there? Why was that situation happening? How was I in that position? But at the same time, we can have a laugh about living baby living that right there. You know, Um, I don't know if you can give me the insider scoop to this, But is Tyler Breeze ever going to wrestle ever again? Or is he just done? Can't be done? So I tell him that at the time too, because he still works out, he's still in shape. You could use a little self tanner. Let's put that out there for a guy who claims to be a male model. Yeah, you better use the best, the best of the best, cell ting um. But there'll be times where we'll we'll hop in the ring and have minutes. We just did that a couple of weeks ago with the guns, just at the school. Just get some cardio in and we'll go five minutes of a tag match. And he can still go. He can still still do everything, still works out, still does. But if I say to him, hey man, you get ready for a second round, he goes retired. So I don't know that's that's the true answer. But I see I see the excitement sometimes when he hops in, so I think he's done very well for himself. He's a very smart guy. I know. That's why it's such a question mark. It's like he doesn't need it. He's fine, he does just fine. I think it still creeps in every now and then. And I only know that because of how passionate he is when he teaches to So if he didn't care, he'd be a little more relaxed. I think it's still there a little bit. It's just a matter of timing or the right opportunity presenting itself. But I hope, honestly that he's not done because he still has a lot to offer. He still does offer a lot, But I mean just an incredible coach, good human being, and you know, a benefit to this industry. Yeah, he's I we don't mind him. He's Canadian, so if I tolerate him, yeah, I mean we have to write. I mean, he's from BC makes it a little more questionable, but we'll take that. Um okay, My last question to you, this is not amount Rushmore question. This is a you're starting your own wrestling promotion. Who are your top five guys and girls that you are drafting to build a promotion around. Who's the future of this business. As someone that looks at things through a trainer's eyes, you get to spend a lot of time with different people who you attach in your cart to buggy horse. Is that the thing that's so cart to the horse? I don't fucking know. I think that's worth I think that's well. I at least give you like a little space to move. I gave you five, not ten. Five, And uh yeah, I mean I don't know if you can pick someone that's like you get someone that's a mouthpiece. You can get someone that you know can put on a sixty minute iron match. You can iron man match, you can have a great character. There's lots to work with. The world is your oyster. There's a ton to work with, and and some people that might be offended that I leave them out. I know, so a few off the top of my head. Uh, miss, I'm going to throw the miss out there only because, um, the guy is so reliable, he's so well rounded. I can put him in a wrestling ring. I could also put him on a TV show. I can put him on a talk show. He's very good for promoting. The guy's a professional through and through, and his work ethic is second enough. So Mr is on my list of guys that I would start things up with. Randy Orton things Pound from Pound one of the best professional restaurants on the planet. M JF if I'm building for the future, a guy who gets it at an extraordinarily young age. Two more, but oh my gosh, it's so tough. I throw Cody Rhodes in there as well. Cody Rhodes is a good one to put in just because, um, you know, forget lineage aside. The guy just knows how to carry himself and represent a company at the highest of standards. So you know what me damn it. Hell yeah, good fucking answer. If it's my company, I'm gonna I'm the work horse. I'm gonna get in there, I'm gonna make sure TV's done on time. I'm gonna make sure that we hit all the marks for hitting. And I just wouldn't put the title on myself. It was my company, that's the only thing I would that's a taboo, that's a no. Now fair enough, But to be able to get in there and mix it up with those guys again and stuff like that would be uh, that's kind of copping out on you a little bit on one more. But you know, no, it's all right. I like it. Listen. It was your answer to your question. To answer, I speak for a living Welcome to the show. Wow, I cannot talk today. I think you're holding up just fine. But it's fine. Well listen, I know you're a busy man. You've got lots of things to do. I'm sure your wife needs you to, you know, elevate her feet, get her a snack, rubber back, whatever, she needs you go do that. UM, super super happy for you guys, honestly, like the biggest congratulations. You guys are going to be amazing, amazing parents. If you have any questions, I'm your girl. Oh you you already know that. We've already spoke off off screen and said we're gonna bug you, like a lot of our wrestling friends have not a lot but if you have babies now, but a lot of our friends outside not yet so and we have family scattered, families in Canada, families in Australia, so we don't really have anybody kind of local. So we are going to bug you. How crazy, by the way, that you're going to have an American child while you are a Canadian and your wife is Australian. I didn't see that coming. That wasn't in my bingo car. And I'll tell you that it's not crazy. Can you get your citizenship based off your child being American? I don't think so. Damn it, I don't think so. But if I don't get my citizenship, he's kind of screwed. I think I kind of have to now, but I think you can only get two, so I think they only want you to have too, So he's gonna be American and either Canadian or Australian. Oh ship, he's got a pick. Some places allow you three, but I don't. I don't believe I have to do more homework on it. I think just in passing, I've seen that somewhere. I could be wrong. You guys gonna have to do like power point presentations. You've got to represent Canada. She'll represent Australia and he can make the choice. Cass is going to make the choice for both of us. She's like, no, he's Australian. Was like, and I said, he'll he'll probably do better with the ladies at he's part Australian. Yeah, you're sure. Sure, Hey, it's all under Commonwealth though, so maybe there's some kind of loophole. Yeah, there's something there. There's got to be I'm sure. But what a lucky kid. Uh so lucky. What I would have given to have multiple passports as a child. I would have would have been busy, got the best of both worlds. Correct, Yes, I know. Well, I actually don't have her Canadian yet, but it is on my to do list. I have all the paperwork and stuff to do it. I just need to knock it out. She'll know. Oh, she will know. She knows all about it. No, not at all, not at all. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. And I really appreciate you just so like honestly talking about things. I know, some things obviously pretty difficult to to talk about. And um, you know, my condolences to your entire family in the passing of your mom. She sounds like she was just an absolute gem of a human being. Thank you. It's always easy to talk to someone who's a sweetheart, So you're a pro. I appreciate you and this was my pleasure definitely. All right, Well, hey, I'll see you this week in Baltimore. You got it, buddy, take it easy. Thanks to Sean for hanging out with me. Um, really appreciate it. Again, I do not take it for granted. UM that amazing people like him want to come on this podcast and talk about very vulnerable personal things with me. Um, I definitely I feel like I wear that with a lot of responsibility of yeah, just wanting to create that environment for people to feel comfortable to come on and talk to me about those things. So thank you too, Sean for trusting me with with those stories and talking about those things. Um and hopefully you guys got to learn a little bit more about a man that we've seen on our television screens for for quite some time. Best of luck to him and to Cassie as the time winds down on little baby boy making it here Earth's side. Cannot wait to see him and meet him and decide if he's going to be Canadian or Australian. We'll have to see. We're not flipping a coin. I got to really plead our case here. That sounds like Cassie's got her mind made up already. Alright, guys, thanks for hanging out. Make sure you to check the stuff all out on YouTube as well. If you want to watch this interview, there's a ton of other content all up there as well. Just search my name orn A Piquette up on YouTube. It's all there. Thank you again for hanging out and until next time. This has been the Sessions MS as another one woo Hoover work.