Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
TJ Wilson Interview w/ Spencer Love: Links & Highlights
TJ Wilson (fka Tyson Kidd) recently joined Spencer Love for an interview covering his experience in the Thunderdome, the WWE Women’s Division, why Bret Hart is underrated, stories about Stu Hart and more. Highlights from the conversation can be found below.
NOTE - This interview took place prior to Wrestlemania 37.
Sasha and Bayley (2:46)
SL: “Yeah, man, once we get back to the real normal, not this new normal that everybody's talking about, right? You mentioned Sasha and Bayley. The last time we spoke you were working a lot with the women's division. Is that still the case? And, even on Sasha and Bayley specifically, how much fun has it been for you to sort of really see them fly the flag and be a lot of people MVPs of this crowdless era that we're in?"
TJ: “I mean, I don't know it'd be. Maybe I'll be - I don't know if I'm biased, but I do work with them a lot. I don't know - if they weren't the MVP's of this pandemic wrestling, then I honestly don't know who are [or] who is. But, the truth is if you watch, a lot of our talent have stepped up and especially a lot of the women. I was very proud of the battle royale on RAW maybe three weeks ago, right before the draft or the day of the draft during the draft. I was very proud of that match. I thought it was very well done. I thought all the talent were great. It's cool to see them - I worded that wrong, but like the Triple Threat this past week on RAW - on Smackdown, sorry - with Natty and Ruby and Zelina and the Triple Threat the week before I thought was very good as well with Billie, Natty, and Bianca. Natty, obviously, her works speaks for itself. She's the longest - you know, I don't know that there's been a woman that's wrestled in WWE as long as her for, you know, without a break. Actually, I take it back. I know there hasn't. And then secondly she has the most matches in WWE for a woman, and the most wins. So her career speaks for itself. But, you got someone like Bianca who has a ton of potential and I don't - you know, the sky's the limit. And, I think Billie Kay is gonna surprise a lot of people as well. Like I think that Triple Threat opened a lot of eyes that maybe hadn't seen Billie in a certain light before. We already know that she has personality for days. We already know that. So, it's good to show that she also has some ring prowess as well.”
Why WWE’s women’s division is the best in wrestling (06:20)
SL: “Yeah, man. It's one of my favorite questions to ask anybody in any of the major promotions, but what do you think makes NXT, RAW, [and] SmackDown the best women's division in professional wrestling right now?"
TJ: “I just think, honestly, across all three brands, and I'm sure to you know it obviously extends further even than that, is just this wave of wanting to prove themselves. I did it as an individual. I was smaller in WWE and in wrestling, and I wanted to prove myself. I understand that as an individual, what's really cool is they're not only doing it as an individual, but they're doing it as a collective group. I've never come across someone to phone it in or just kind of get by. They, if you have an idea for them and they don't - you know, if it works, it works, but if it's not like the - if they think that there's maybe even a little bit better idea, that they want to keep searching until we find something even a little bit better. Something may kind of work, but they want it even to - they always go out with the mindset of making it better, better, better and, of course, going out with the goal of making [the idea] the best and then come back and kind of dissect what maybe could be better. They take it all to heart. I don't know why, but in this last eight months of - I don't know if it's maybe just because my travels so easy - I just drive to Orlando and back, so I'm able to focus on things - I don't know, I don't understand. But, I've really seen it a lot the last eight months. Obviously, Sasha and Bayley have had a big spotlight on them during this whole time, [with] whole time being during this last six, eight months. So, of course them, too, but not just only them. Everybody else on that woman's roster has really stepped up and it's so cool to see. It's cool to see that the ones in the lead are stepping up and the ones that you would maybe consider at the back are also stepping up. So everybody's stepping up, and it just keeps growing and growing and growing. When I think like, 'okay,' there's been a few times where I'm like, 'okay, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to be a part of a match. Maybe he's gonna be better than that.' And then all sudden, a few years later, 'Oh, nevermind. That one may have been a little bit better.' It's a matter of getting trapped in those moments. We're kind of creating these moments, because like I said, we don't have that audience there so we're trying to do the best we can to almost mimic having that. They're a big part. The fans are a giant part of what we do. We and we knew that prior to this, and we know that for sure now.”
Bret Hart vs. Tom MaGee (12:10)
SL: “Yeah, man. Speaking of great matches and rarely seen matches, I know you're a connoisseur of both of those. What was your reaction to finally getting to watch Bret Hart and Tom McGee?"
TJ: “Oh, man, how cool was that! So Harry - people know I have a very good memory. People who know me know that I have a very good memory. Harry also has a great memory, too. I don't know why. I don't know why the two of us have pretty great memory. But he remembers watching that at Bret's house before, and so he kind of remembered - he remembered the finish. And then, when I saw the match, like when they showed it to me when I did that piece on social media whatever, WWE.com [or] wherever they posted it. I kind of remember watching at Bret's house, like [a] kind of fuzzy, foggy memory. Man, it was very cool to watch your back and kind of see like the - what I thought was most cool was that like it lived up to the legend of like this pretty good match that if you later on - and I'm not trying to knock him - but if you watch other Tom McGee matches, they don't look anything like that Tom McGee versus Bret match that we finally got to see. It holds up to the legend of like, Bret definitely did his part that night."
SL: “Oh man. Like you say, it's nothing against McGee, it's everything for Bret Hart. He could proverbially wrestle a broomstick and carry it to a great match, right?”
Bret being underrated (13:45)
TJ: “Unbelievable. I've watched so many - I mean, I've watched a lot of his matches in real time, and I've gone back and watch so many of Bret's matches, especially the last - like I said, my travels much easier, so with this pandemic, I watched so many of his matches back. It just like, it's unbelievable, man, his matches. I think he's maybe even pretty underrated, which might be kind of a weird statement to make, but I think Brett might be fairly underrated."
SL: “I wouldn't disagree with you there, man. Everybody talks about him as a great technician, and rightfully so. But, there was so much more to him as a professional wrestler than that."
TJ: “Oh, man and like the little things. Even like - you know, his promos obviously got better, but even his promos like still in 92, like at least they feel real. They felt real. And, I mean, 97, I don't know what happened. All of a sudden, Bret, like he is really untouchable. He looked phenomenal, his work was just as great as ever, and his promos were insane."
SL: “Right? What was your relationship with like him? When you were brought up to WWE you know, Natalya references you as Bret Hart's number one protege. How much of that is conjecture? How much was he an influence on your wrestling career as a trainer and just as a member of your family?"
TJ: “A huge, huge influence. Because, you know, growing up, and just you know, the way it worked out, like at that time frame, Bret's the guy. So when he's - like, my best friend's uncle is the world champion. It's a cool thing. So, I watched obviously a lot of - I'm gonna probably [be] super biased, but I watch a lot of Davey [Boy Smith] and Owen [Hart] and [Brian] Pillman and other guys like Dynamite [Kid] and guys that like had maybe had starts in Calgary or a little bit of time in Calgary, like a Liger and all these guys later on. But at that time, obviously, I'm watching the family that are in WWF at that time, but I'm really watching - like, Bret's the, at the time where I'm really - I started coming around in like, 1990. So like, '92, Bret's world champion. So, it just was, I guess, a natural progression that I would maybe kind of navigate towards what he was doing.”
TJ: “There was a while in like, '96 [that] Teddy and I were going to Bret's house like every day after school to train in this ring. And sometimes he'd be in there, and sometimes he wouldn't. This is like, right before he came back to wrestle Steve Austin. And he would be there and he would - he took a real interest in us. He took a real interest in us when he saw us wrestle at the
Saddledome at that - I don't know if he's resigned yet at that time. It's October 5th, 1996. I don't know if he's resigned yet at that time, or if he's - he ends up coming back to RAW that month. And then that's when he sets up the Steve Austin match. But, he comes to the show. I remember, like, he loved watching us wrestle. I think it just was maybe - now that I'm 40 and I have my nephews and I brought them to my ring a month ago, I get it. I saw them like wrestling around [and] you kind of get, like, that youth and that almost invigoration. I don't know if that was a part of it or if Bret just - anyway, he's always taken a liking, and he's always been somebody that I've been able to talk about wrestling anytime. As great as the storyteller as he is in the ring, he might even be a better storyteller outside of the ring. So like to sit and listen to Bret's stories are so fun."
SL: “Man, even watching those like Confessions of a Hitman that he's doing right now. Just incredible. Absolutely incredible man."
TJ: “His memory is nuts, man, and his attention to detail, which you see in the ring, too. It's - so my point being, I can text Bret at any time and he might text me back instantly. We have a great relationship [when] comes to wrestling. Again, a great relationship. I'll always be so proud that we got to tag up a few times, including once at MSG. So like, that's something that can never ever be taken away from me. So I hold that very, very dear.”
Stu Hart stories (24:35)
SL: “Wouldn't be the first time it happened, but c'est la vie, right? You talk about Stu there, man, and I love the fact. It's always cool for me: you always hear about him as the shooter and almost like this angry dude. You hear him like giving you guys sh** about the rules of wrestling. Natalya told a pretty cool story a while ago about him holding a picture of Luther Lindsey in his wallet [and] no one else. Have you got any good Stu Hart stories that, I guess, wouldn't get me in trouble with the rest of the Harts?"
TJ: “Just man, like, there's funny ones. Like, he'd come down to stretch us when we were training in the Dungeon once in a while. I remember him coming one time, [and] there was like a film crew. This one guy, who I'm friends with, so I can't out him, but he - I remember him hiding behind the door. And then, kind of once Stu came in, he left! Like, almost like on an episode of The Simpsons where all of a sudden you hear the car peel off. I was like 'dude, what are you doing, man!?' It's an honour to be stretched by Stu in the world of wrestling. Especially [since] we had a bunch of amateur wrestlers and stuff at that time, so we had guys that understood that type of thing. He's like, 'no, man. You know, he's a little bit older. He might not know his own strength anymore.' I said 'dude, I'd rather' - I mean, I didn't know so when he was younger, but I think I'd rather be stretched by Stu when he's older and I feel like he's maybe more of a gentle man then then when he was younger. I feel like I could be wrong, but I got stretched by him a bunch. I'm still here. I'm still alive to talk about it. He didn't forget his own strength or, you know, kind of lose control, though. Still here!”
TJ: “I'm trying to think, man. He had a pretty funny sense of humor. He would - you know, just a very unique person. My Japanese trainer had a funny story that one time after Stampede Wrestling on Friday night in Calgary, they're at a pizza place, and I guess Stu at the time had a beeper. Helen was calling them and paging them and wanted him home. And so, the guys had ordered a pizza, so they were inviting Stu to sit down, but now he had went and called Helen and he had to come back home. And they're like, 'Stu, do you want some of this pizza? Do you want a couple of slices to bring back?' And he's like, he said, 'yeah, no problem.' He took it, and then rather than like, you know, get a takeout container or something, my trainer told me he was like offering - he just gave him napkins to kind of put [it in], he said Stu just like, put the [pizza] in his jacket, his suit jacket, put the two pieces of pizza in his pocket for Helen. Whether or not she ate that, I don't know. Whether or not she knew that it got just put in his pocket. If she did know that, then she wouldn't - then I can tell you she didn't eat it!"
SL: “I was gonna say they're very contingent on one or the other."
TJ: “Yeah, he just is a very unique - but, like, always thinking of other people. Like, there he is probably hungry, but he's getting pizza for Helen. But, he did it in a very Stu Hart style and just put pieces his pocket. And, my Japanese trainer was super sharp, so I know he's not just - he told me a story a bunch times. He's not just making that up.”
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
| Yaarwin | Daman Game | 55 club | vn168 | 92lottery | vn168 | 92lottery | Daman Game | 51 Game | Jai club | Jai club | Dost Win | Pinoy365 | Jai Club | Dostwin | Yaarwin |
Bang On Casino
