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Road Trip After Hours w/ WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long and Host Mac Davis
The Fastest 30 Minute Wrestling Show with WWE Hall of Famer TEDDY LONG and MAC DAVIS! It's FAST, It's FUN and it's FREE!
Road Trip After Hours w/ WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long and Host Mac Davis
Celebrating Teddy Long's Legacy: SICW Fan Fest Highlights, WrestleMania Buzz, and Wrestling Nostalgia!
What happens when you gather WWE legend Teddy Long and acclaimed promoter Herb Simmons for a podcast episode? A whirlwind of laughter, nostalgia, and exclusive reveals! We catch up with Teddy and his loyal sidekick, Mr. Rufus, before diving into the exciting announcement of SICW Fan Fest 3, where Teddy is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Herb shares his journey of orchestrating this much-anticipated event, and we revel in the tales of camaraderie and mutual respect that define the wrestling world. Get ready to celebrate Teddy's storied career and the friendships forged in the ring.
As we unpack the logistics behind making SICW Fan Fest a hit, we ponder extending the fan meet-and-greet to cater to the boundless enthusiasm of fans and guests alike. The legacy of legends like Sam Muchnick reminds us of the importance of treating everyone with respect, ensuring a memorable event. Our conversation takes a turn to the buzz surrounding WrestleMania, where we weigh the thrill of this year's show against previous years, touching on the business side of wrestling. While some dream matches remain elusive, WWE's financial success speaks volumes. Tune in for an engaging conversation that takes you on a joyride through the wrestling universe and beyond.
We'll be right back. Hey y'all, this is WWE.
Speaker 1:Superstar Sammy Zayn, we'll be right back and a bona fide stud. And I'm not even talking about me, I'm talking about Teddy Long and my man, mac Davis. How you guys doing. Enjoy the show, guys.
Speaker 2:Well, hello everybody, and welcome to the second edition of our live stream of Road Trip After Hours. I'm your host, Mac Davis, and of course, with me, as always, WWE Hall of Famer, Mr Halla Halla, Teddy Long. Hey, Teddy.
Speaker 3:I'm just laughing because I'm just trying to figure out. What have you screwed up? There's something wrong somewhere. No, no.
Speaker 2:There's a possibility that might happen, because we do have a guest coming in in just a moment here. So I don't know what happens when I add a third person. It'll be the first time we've done that, so we'll find out together In the meantime, teddy, what you been up to this past week.
Speaker 3:I've just been kind of taking it easy. Man, me and my dog, mr Rufus, we just been hanging out having ourselves a ball and just staying in the gym trying to stay healthy and stay alive man.
Speaker 2:I hear you. I hear you. You know, we've got a big event that's coming up in May the SICW Fan Fest 3. And you know, I was thinking it'd be a good idea, maybe, to have somebody come in and join us and talk about Fan Fest 3 in St Louis. And before we get there, though, I do want to mention those of you who are watching right now. I know we got some questions. I've already got a few questions that have already come in. We'll get to those in just a moment. But if you have a question for Teddy, it is Ask Teddy. So simply leave your comments. We'll get to your comments as soon as we can. We'll have a guest come in real quick and talk about the SICW Fan Fest, and our guest is none other than one of wrestling's best promoters, and that is Mr Herb Simmons. Hey, Sir.
Speaker 4:Herb how you doing. Oh man, now that I'm with you guys, it's better. It can be a bad day, but anytime I can share it with the WWE Hall of Famer. Like Teddy Long and you guys, I try to catch your show all the time and your live stream is going to be a hit. I'm telling you, in fact, send me a commercial and I'll put it on our Sunday night show and we and we'll help get your numbers boosted up there.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Now, herb, before we get into the FanFest people who will be there at the FanFest again this year. I know there's a big announcement and I've been teasing Teddy for a long time that something's coming. Well, this is it.
Speaker 4:This is the big announcement and I want you to give it. Well, you know, I'll tell you this whole FanFest thing that I took on. This was our third year and everybody said I was crazier for doing number one and crazier for doing number two, and they just think I'm really out of it for doing three. But I'm telling you, it's so great. You get to meet so many guys and you know, you and I, through those FanFest, became friends and of course I finally got to meet Teddy after all these years and I always heard about the man, the myth, the legend, and so he does really really exist.
Speaker 4:And so during this whole FanFest, you know, we've had different guests come in. We've had the Sam Muchnick Award that we give away each year and it always goes to somebody who has really contributed to the business, especially into the St Louis market area. And then we started in a Lifetime Achievement Award. They kind of did that without my knowledge the first year and they gave that to me, which I don't do this for any of that stuff, I do it for the love of the business.
Speaker 4:Uh, you know, last year we cause Jimmy Hart was involved in that first year when he surprised me. So last year we flipped the script on him and we we gave it to uh, to Jimmy Hart. And so this year it was no brainer. Nick Red and I are good friend, friend, I know of your guys and mine he's. My right-hand guy said we've got to come up with an award this year and I'm happy to report here tonight that Mr Teddy Long is going to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at FanFest III in St Louis on May 16th and 17th. And congratulations, teddy, you earned every bit of any. You should be an award. You should be in every hall of fame that's out there.
Speaker 4:Well, thank you so much, I really appreciate that man.
Speaker 3:I really appreciate that. Like Herb said, we finally got a chance to meet. I've heard a lot about him, you know, through my career and everything, and it's always been good. Nothing bad about Herb, I can tell you that. So I'm just happy to be associated with you and to be a part of SICW. You know, just to receive this award is really something. So, herb, once again, thank you and Nick Rittenaar and everybody else that is responsible for me being, you know, being able to get this, thank you. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2:And you know I've said this for a long time, herb. I say it on any podcast I go to, anytime somebody asks me a question about Teddy and it's simply put he has earned his way to anything, like you said, any Hall of Fame that's out there. Simply because of how he came through the business, he earned every single bit of the success that he has today.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, there was nothing given to him. I mean my, my research that I've done with him and guys that I've worked with over the years that has known him, is bragged about how he he started off even helping sweep the floor, set the ring up, referee and you name it. This guy right here has done it, and if that isn't, shouldn't earn him a spot in every hall of fame? And you know the knowledge that he has. I mean there isn't a promoter out there who shouldn't want him coming in and talking to their locker room and expressing that business to them because he's done it all and I mean a little award. You know it's probably not going to pay his bills for him, but it makes you feel good to know you're appreciated. I know there's a lot of fans out there that love to holla, holla. I'm telling you.
Speaker 3:Thank you again, man. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Herb, tell us about some of the other guests that will be at the Fan Fest. This, by the way, will be taking place in St Louis, at the Hilton St Louis Airport, may 16th and 17th. A lot of people will be there. Name some of those names for us, herb.
Speaker 4:Yeah, the list is still growing and so, just to name a few of them, I was real lucky. Another good friend of mine I finally got to lock him down and Kevin Von Erich is going to be joining us and Kevin's been busy, uh, out there since the movie the claw came out and so he's going to be there. Abdullah the butcher is uh making a return trip there and anytime abby is in the house, you know he's going to bring the and uh, he'll never be sure to be being able to eat because he'll always have the fork with him. The rock and roll express, ricky martin and robert gib Robert Gibson scheduled to be there. And of course, another dear great friend, tito Santana, will be there.
Speaker 4:Sabu, making his first trip there. Gangrel Dan the Beast Severin. Of course, cowboy Bob Orton Jr he's my right-hand guy and loved by everybody and so he's really great. And Dr D David Schultz, and yeah, it's just, I was on the phone just before I came on the air with Buck Bagwell Hopefully I can get him locked in and you know, last year I had 60 legends there. There's one thing I promised myself there will not be 60 there this year. It was a logistical nightmare with getting everybody into the airport, and I know people like Teddy. They've been in and out of so many airports in their career. They know what it's like to miss a plane.
Speaker 2:And that's the great thing about where it's located. This year, Herb. At the Hilton Airport in St Louis. That's great news.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and they have a shuttle that runs every 15 minutes. And I'm celebrating my 52nd year this month and in 52 years I've only missed one person getting back to the airport and that was Coco Beware, and every time I see him he never lets me forget it. He had to take an Uber to the airport, so, but I made myself a promise that that will never happen again. And but no, it's at the Hilton and it's like I said, they have a shuttle every 15 minutes. It's right across the interstate. So that's going to save a logistical problem for me and, I hope, for the legends that come in. And you know that Friday night we're going to be doing. Our friend Bill After will be there. He'll be doing a question and answer session this year. Our friend Bill After will be there. He'll be doing a question and answer session this year.
Speaker 4:You guys know last year he did his one-man show, but this year it's going to be more of a sit down around the table, tell some road stories, kind of like what you guys are doing here. Some of the fans will join us. We'll have some questions Saturday. The doors will open at 10 am. They'll run until 5. We'll do the Hall of Fame. We got some inductions going in this year the class of 2025. Butch Reed, we're inducted into the Hall of Fame, jerry the Crusher, blackwell, ivan Koloff and I'm missing one or two other ones I know and, of course, teddy will get up in the ring and he'll get his Lifetime Achievement Award. Then we round out the night with the Bruiser Brody Memorial of Brody's widow will be there. We've got a lot of guys showing up wanting to take place in that Battle Royale. It'll be fun May 16th and 17th. When Nick told me you guys were coming back, I said bingo, that's a home run.
Speaker 2:I had to tell Nick the other day. I said, nick, I've been laying low talking about the SICW Fan Fest around Teddy too much because I didn't want him to get a sniff of what was coming. So for weeks now I've been trying to hide. But, teddy, when I found this out I was so happy to hear the Lifetime Achievement Award be going to you. I can't wait for this event.
Speaker 3:Well, you've done a good job of hiding it. Good, good, good.
Speaker 2:How do people get tickets? Herb, if they want to be there.
Speaker 4:SICWorg. You can go on there, you can book your tickets, book your reservations. We made it as easy, made it as affordable as possible. There's a room rate if you're coming to the Fan Fest. The people at the Hilton Hotel have been real easy to work with. Of course, a little bit more expensive on my end for renting the ballroom and all that, but you know you get what you pay for and I always like to treat my guests as classy as possible. And I think if you've got a right place and, uh, the atmosphere is good, I think they'll talk about it. And I think right now we've already got about uh, 27 different States that we've got people coming from, wow, uh, so we've got a good contingency from Canada coming down and, uh, I'm excited about that. Uh, oklahoma, florida. So I check it every day, and so the hotel has got a few rooms left in the block.
Speaker 3:If I have to open up some more, I will, but people Well, I'm glad you mentioned that, herb, and the reason I'm glad you mentioned that. I was going to mention this to you and a lot of people have been asking me you know why don't we have two nights of signing? We only have that one night. You know why don't we have two nights of signing, we only have that one night for you know, for people to. You know, do the meet and greet, and so I was just running that by you.
Speaker 4:If there's a possibility, I think it would be real good if we did two nights of signing that Friday and Saturday Well, and that's, and we've been kicking that around and, like I said, the only reason I'm a little hesitant is some of the guys can't get in until either late Friday night or early Saturday morning. I really get worried when I say we want to come in early Saturday morning because of the way the flights are. But I'm really considering that the guys who are coming in Friday night you know, right after that question and answer, the fans have already bought their tickets. They're going to be there, they're going to come back on Saturday to get the ones that they didn't get Friday night. So I think that gives the guys that come in Friday a little bit better chance to sell their gimmicks and meet the fans and stuff like that. So we're really thinking about doing that.
Speaker 3:Okay, I think that would be great, right after Bill, after it does his deal there and then you yeah, yeah that's, that's not bad at all, man, you know cause?
Speaker 4:you know how fans are. They're going to want to stand around and still talk, and I mean, let's face it and I've heard you say this a thousand times If it wasn't for their fans, the fans, there is no teddy long. Uh, you know there is no. Uh, there's none of us. And you know, um, I, I, I I've told mac this before and you may have heard it I got to sit underneath the learning tree of the late great sam much nick and he always told me. He said, you know, you got to put the butts in the seats and you do that by treating people right. You treat the boys right, and uh, they'll come back. And uh, yeah, you know, he told me, keep your mouth shut and you'll go a long way. And this is 52 years of it.
Speaker 2:So he must have been somewhere. Herb, you always do. You always deliver. Every year that we have been there, you have delivered at these FanFests for the fans and it is one of the most friendliest FanFest that I have ever been to. I tell Teddy this, and Bill knows this as well. This is my favorite show. Every year, I enjoy coming back because I just like the feel. It is a very good, family, fan-friendly feel and that's important for a lot of people. Herb, thank you so much Again. If you want to get tickets to this event, all you have to do is go to sicworg Herb. All you have to do is go to SICWorg Herb thank you so much.
Speaker 4:Hey guys, thank you, appreciate it, love the show. Keep it up, thank you.
Speaker 1:If you want to know more about the event, take a look. S-i-c-w presents FanFest 3. St Louis, may 16th and 17th, hilton St Louis Airport. 16th and 17th Hilton St Louis Airport. Nikita Koloff, missy Hyatt Gangrel, teddy Long and Mac Davis, tito Santana and Bill Apter. More to come. S-i-c-w Fan Fest 3. For more info, s-i-c-w dot org.
Speaker 2:All right, teddy, again fantastic news. My friend, I can't believe that you're getting the Hall of Fame. As far as the Lifetime Achievement Award Fantastic news. I can't wait. And, like I said, I've been keeping that under my hat. I couldn't say anything. I knew if I talked to you too much I'd give it away. So I was like I'm just going to try to hide a little bit and see how that goes, but fantastic hide a little bit and see how that goes.
Speaker 3:But fantastic.
Speaker 2:You did a good job, thank you. Thank you. We got a few questions that came in and I've got to get to these.
Speaker 3:Before we get started, let me give a big shout out to my man, michael Steele. Michael Steele, my man man, he's tuned in with us, live here tonight.
Speaker 2:So Mike just wanted to give you a shout out and let you know we're hollering at you player. Absolutely, I saw him uh, pop in there and say congratulations, uh, while herb was with us, and thank you to herb simmons for being with us. Uh, tonight we'll tell you more about that event as we get closer to it. Trust me, tony hunter now I know you know this gentleman, teddy, and tony sent a message and he said to ask teddy about taking Cain's Tide Pods.
Speaker 3:You got a story to tell. I don't know what he's talking about.
Speaker 1:Oh, no, no, no no no, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:He said you would say that, so now again, tell us about Cain's Tide Pods. What were you doing?
Speaker 3:I don't know, I don't know how I ended up with him, but there's some kind of way I ended up with his. Well, I was trying to buy the tie parts for myself okay, tony hunter you know, on the side he does a lot of hustling, so he so he sells tie parts. Okay. So I bought this bucket of tie parts from tony hunter and I don't know how I ended up, how kane ended up with them, but that's a messed up story there, tony.
Speaker 2:No, wait a minute, hold on. I'm confused. Somehow Kane got your Tide Pods. Yeah, how did he get your Tide Pods? I don't know why did he want your Tide Pods?
Speaker 3:You have to ask Tony Hunter that question.
Speaker 2:Something tells me there's a lot more to this story than we know. All right, let's see Stu's Wrestling Podcast. By the way, folks, if you want a question answered from Teddy, this is Ask Teddy. Simply leave your comments right below here and we'll pop them up on the screen and Teddy will answer them. And, like I say every time, Teddy is not afraid to answer any question. You may not like the answer, but he will answer that question and then let's see why we're on there.
Speaker 3:Man, let's give a big shout out to tony hunter too. Man, tony hunter is one of the greatest promoters of all time. I've had the opportunity to work with him for many, many years and he's a fair promoter. He's somebody you ain't got to worry about your money and got to worry about where you got a hotel room and all that. You know he's first class. So anybody that Tony Hunter calls buddy, jump on the bandwagon.
Speaker 2:Stu's Wrestling Podcast asks you got to manage many talents over the years, but which wrestler would you have loved to have been paired with as a manager? Well, is he asking me, is it somebody that I didn't manage, or somebody that yes, somebody that you would like to have managed, uh, that you didn't get a chance to oh, wow, man, I really.
Speaker 3:I, that was somebody you know well. I tell you who it really was that I done and he I think he's deceased now was, uh, joey mags. Uh, I had, I had the opportunity to manage him for a little bit. Jumping Joey, jumping Joey Maggs. I wish they could have did more with him. And I'll tell you a story, man, and this is a true story One night I was managing him and all they was doing was just beating him.
Speaker 3:So it wasn't no credibility to me, it wasn't helping me at all. So one night, okay, they beat him, man, and so I got in the ring and he was just so embarrassed or something, and he was just hurt and I just leaned over to him. I said just stop, wait, wait, wait. I said what I'm going to do. I said as soon as I settle this down here, I'm going to raise your hand. He said no, no, no, you can't do that. I said, joey, just shut up. And soon as I calmed him down and everybody come settle down after he got beat, because I knew the business A lot of people didn't know, I knew, but I knew, I took and I raised his hand, just like that, and the people come for him Because it's not how it's not.
Speaker 3:You know, it's how you lose. That's the point is how the people see you lose. Look at Chris Jericho. He's the best heel in the world. You can beat him one, two, three right in the middle and he'll still get right up and get his heat back. So it's how you lose. And the way that Joey Maggs lost, the people know okay. So I just raised his hand at the end. Hey, you live to fight for another day.
Speaker 2:But you know why that worked, teddy? Because there was a story, you were telling a story. That's what's missing, though, in today's?
Speaker 3:wrestling and he didn't get the story.
Speaker 2:He didn't get it.
Speaker 3:No, he was cussing me. When I told him, I whispered to him.
Speaker 1:I said I'm going to raise your hand.
Speaker 3:Oh, brother, he flipped. He was no, no, no, no, he just got to shut up. Okay, I got this and it amazed him. He couldn't believe it.
Speaker 2:Teddy, I'm going to ask you a question. I asked this the other day on a different podcast, but I want to ask it here. And fans, you know, leave your comments and questions below. We'll get to them as we go. But here's something I'm curious about. A year ago this time, there was a lot of talk about WrestleMania. Things were at a fever pitch. It seemed like you couldn't wait for WrestleMania to come this year. The question is do you feel the same way? Because I don't, teddy. I don't feel that extra oomph that was there last year.
Speaker 3:Well, in a way I kind of do. I mean WWE. You have to give it to them. They're doing a great job, man. The production on some of their stuff is really outstanding. So I think to me. I feel it's a little bit bigger hype this year than it was last year. You know what I mean, because I think they kind of got the bloodline going, you know, kind of like they wanted. They got Gunter there, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4:They got.
Speaker 3:Gunther there. You know what I mean. They got people there that are going to be all right and I think you know people are waiting on that Seth Rollins, la Knight, all these CM Punk, drew McIntyre the people are waiting on this. I mean, the storylines are great.
Speaker 2:I just don't. Maybe it's just me, but you know the original plans. At least, what we thought as fans were the original plans and what a lot of the fans were hoping for was that we would get Cody Rhodes and CM Punk and we would also get Roman versus the Rock, and neither one of those appear to be happening. So for me it's kind of like yeah, you know, and it's nothing against Jey Uso. I do love the fact that Jey Uso is in the main event. If there's anybody right now that has a story that makes sense to me, it's Jey Uso. Well, that makes sense to me is Jey Uso.
Speaker 3:Well, you know why it's not happening Because that's what the people want. Okay, they don't give you what the people want. They give you what they want, but they also fix it where you like it. So what they're going to do, that's going to come. Don't believe me, that's certainly going to happen, but they're going to let it die down a little bit and they'll start it all over again.
Speaker 2:I hope so. I mean I'm looking forward to having that same kind of vibe we had last year because I mean it was for the first time for me in a lot of years, it was the first WrestleMania I really cared about and I wanted to see. This year just not so much Not for me at least and it's different for everybody. Like I say, everybody's got their own opinion and their own flavor.
Speaker 3:You're part of the wrestling business, okay, so you don't take things as a fan. You know what I mean, you don't? You look at it at a whole different way, like I do. I look at that a whole different way. Yeah, I look at it as who's going to draw the money, who's, you know who's going to sell this arena out. You know, but that's what I've been taught. You know what I mean. So you just have to look at it at from a fan's aspect at some time and see how they feel. So what, what? What I'll let you know is the attendance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, that's true, there's a lot of that going on right now. A lot of people may not like the storylines and the the quality of the shows, whether it's raw or SmackDown, but at the end of the day, the bottom line, the dollar, is doing very well for WWE, which so you is doing very well for WWE. Yes, so you know, for them it's great For the fans. Maybe it's a little safe, too safe for you right now. That's what I kind of get a feeling like.
Speaker 3:But I think they're doing a good job, man. I imagine WrestleMania is already sold out.
Speaker 2:Oh, I would imagine so. If it's not, it ought to be pretty damn close. I can't imagine they would miss that. It's already gone. Man Talking about WrestleMania not being as hyped as it seemed like last year, herb Simmons writes do you think the oversaturation of the business has hurt it? Too much wrestling Is too much wrestling, not a good thing.
Speaker 3:Well, I have to say, yeah, it's really not a good thing. I mean, geez, how much wrestling can you watch?
Speaker 2:And you know, we get paid to do what we do. We have to watch wrestling for what we do. But the bottom line is I always ask myself this If I did not have to do a show, if I did not get paid to do this, would I watch these shows? Teddy, if I'm being completely honest, times than not.
Speaker 3:I might start, but I'm turning it off well, you know, like I said, I don't watch all of it from beginning till its entirety. You know, I look at some and then sometime I'll look at some and I'm like god, why did they, you know? And so that kind of kills me a little bit, and so so I just flip. My greatest show I've watched is my wrestling competition. Show is Family Guy.
Speaker 2:Family Guy. If it's on, wrestling's off, right? Yes, let's see Mike Steele popping in saying yeet and Justin King also popping in and saying hello. Hey, justin, good to see you.
Speaker 3:We want to thank Justin again for being on the podcast. He's the now head of talent relations for Caribbean wrestling out there, so, man, congratulations to him. He's one of the guys that I watch come a long way and also he's the worst driver in the world. I named him Driving Miss Daisy.
Speaker 2:He is just horrible. Now I know, don't get in the car with Justin.
Speaker 4:I was just talking to him yesterday or the day before.
Speaker 3:He's driving it so bad he'll make you get out and walk. You just want to walk.
Speaker 2:I have actually been in a car with Teddy where Teddy was fussing the entire way to where we were going because he hated the way the guy was driving. I was cracking up laughing. All right, teddy, we're out of time. That went by quick Almost 30 minutes up here already. I can't believe it. I've had a great time Again. Fans, we hope that you'll stop by and join us again on the next show. Make everybody aware that this show is available and out there. It's free. It doesn't cost anything. It's not behind a paywall. You get to join in, ask questions of Teddy and Teddy will always answer those questions.
Speaker 3:And I will tell you the truth.
Speaker 2:Always will tell you the truth Will not lie to you about nothing. Listen, Teddy hated my driving. He's cracking up laughing yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh, he was horrible.
Speaker 2:All right, guys, we'll see you again next week Right here, same time, same place. And this has been Wrestling's road trip. After hours, I'm your host, mac davis, and that's wwe hall of famer, teddy, long see you next week.
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