The Art of Wrestling with Colt Cabana
Episode 288 – Jack Evans
Release Date: February 4, 2016
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Report by Chris Davidson
HOT TOPICS
– Jack Evans discusses Mexican wrestling scene and being an innovative high-flyer
– Jack Evans promotes Lucha Underground’s new season
– Colt Cabana talks about upcoming travel and recent appearances
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Introduction
7:42 – Song of the Week
11:30 – Jack Evans Interview
20:55 – Evans talks drinking, drugs, and Mexico
27:59 – Evans talks early life and getting into wrestling
36:06 – Evans talks in-ring style
43:05 – Evans talks wrestling in AAA
48:14 – Evans talks Lucha Underground
53:18 – Evans talks sleeping on an airplane
1:03:26 – Colt wraps up the show
EPISODE SUMMARY
0:00 – Introduction – Colt opened the show talking about buying a longboard on Amazon Prime, musing that he got a good deal because it’s winter. Colt talked briefly about being a skateboarder and betting that this week’s guest Jack Evans is also a skateboarder. Colt got to interview Evans based on a deal with Lucha Underground. Colt called Evans the Human Pretzel and mentioned the evolution of the lucha style in America, including Rey Mysterio in ECW and WCW, Matt Sydal, Neville, and Ricochet. Colt called Evans a “king and pioneer” in high-flying wrestling. Colt told a story from Nova Scotia where a fan offered to pay for Colt to kick him in the nuts on video. Colt talked through his decision to not kick the fan, because of lawsuits and health reasons. Colt talked about unboxing wrestling items from Wrestle Crate and Highspots, and offered to donate them to a charity if a listener has a charity that need items for children. Colt closed his intro joking about the horrors of the Newark airport.
7:42 – Song of the Week – The song of the week this week is “Babyface Killer” by Antiseen.
11:30 – Jack Evans Interview – Jack Evans opened the interview joking that Colt doesn’t like him, and talking about controversy. Evans then started talking about the Spanglish that he uses in Mexico. Evans said that he loves being in Mexico because it is very relaxed, unlike Japan which is very professional. Evans mentioned breaking his face in Japan, and went in depth with the kick that broke his face. Evans said that he had to come back to America to get his face looked at, but he got lucky because he was able to get the surgery paid for without insurance.
20:55 – Evans talks drinking, drugs, and Mexico – Evans mentioned that he started drinking a lot while in Japan but he did not think he was an alcoholic since he didn’t drink when he came back to America. Evans joked about buying really bad marijuana in Japan, but enjoying it nonetheless. Evans talked about the drug abuse in Mexico, which got cleaned up when a popular luchador overdosed. Colt asked if he was being taken care of in Mexico, and Evans talked about the boom period he entered in and being there for the bust period as well. Evans mentioned spending time with Teddy Hart and having a lot of fun. Evans talked briefly about his wife’s 13-year-old son who is in some ways more mature than he is.
27:59 – Evans talks early life and getting into wrestling – Evans grew up in Tacoma, Washington in a “not too eventful” family. Evans met Jake Evans (no relation) from Calgary who saw his wrestling style, and invited him to go to California. Evans said his mom wasn’t very happy that he was leaving with a stranger, and she was justified because he ended up smuggling marijuana into Canada. Evans had some other stories about that trip and the Hell’s Angels but he didn’t get too in depth telling them, instead he elaborated on smuggling marijuana into Canada. Evans found his wrestling school online and met with Jake Evans to begin training in Tacoma.
36:06 – Evans talks in-ring style – Colt asked when Evans realized he had a “weird floppy body” and how he developed his in-ring style. Evans credited his breakdancing background and his sister’s gymnastic background for helping him establish his flexibility. Evans also credited when the 1-2-3 Kid pinned Razor Ramon with a moonsault as the moment when he realized he wanted to wrestle and be a high-flyer. Evans said that when he was 16, he asked for a ring instead of a car, and his dad built him a ring with springs underneath that made it easier to bump and jump around, but rain destroyed it in about two weeks. Evans talked about 2 Cold Scorpio doing a 450 splash and thinking he was superhuman. He also discussed doing the 630 splash with a friend who did not want to do it in a match. Evans said he tries high-risk maneuvers in dark matches or on house shows to avoid messing them up on TV.
43:05 – Evans talks wrestling in AAA – Colt asked why Mexican wrestling always seems like random people thrown into a match, and Evans hesitated before saying that AAA is family run, so the booker can be overridden by his family members. Evans also said that production problems arise, specifically that the network wanted them to get HD cameras, which almost led to being kicked off of television. Evans said a lot of small promotions make the mistake of not taking small steps to improve that will pay off in the long run.
48:14 – Evans talks Lucha Underground – Colt asked if Evans thinks Lucha Underground is the future of wrestling, and Evans was doubtful, based on the cost per season and different business model. Evans really likes Lucha Underground’s storytelling, making the show similar to a telenovela. Evans said that wrestling in Mexico involves house shows that are not run by AAA, but by independent promoters and you don’t know what you’ll be doing on a show from one day to the next. Evans tries to be friendly with the promoters to help get on more shows. Colt asked about a corporate feel for AAA and Evans said that if it was really corporate, he would have been fired a long time ago. Evans said he did a lot of things, but it was before he had a wife and kids to settle him down.
53:18 – Evans talks sleeping on an airplane – Colt wanted to close out the interview with how Evans sleeps on airplanes. Evans said that he makes the seatbelt as big as possible and then getting on the floor and laying your head and stomach in the airplane seat. Evans claimed he has never been woken up, as long as his seat belt is on. Colt called Evans and “enigma” and Evans joked he should work that in to his Lucha Underground gimmick. Evans shouted out his wife and social media, ranted about Liverpool football, and Colt ended the interview.
1:03:26 – Colt wraps up the show – Colt plugged Lucha Underground and thanked Evans for finally being no the podcast. Colt commented again on Evans living in Mexico, but not learning Spanish. Colt plugged his website, social media, and upcoming events, then thanked Jack Evans and Lucha Underground, his sponsors and tech help. Colt talked about his upcoming travel schedule, laying out the “wild” travel combination of planes, buses, and car rides before signing off.
OVERALL SCORE
Score: 6.0: This was a solid episode of The Art of Wrestling. Colt and Jack Evans have good chemistry together and, while they didn’t go to in-depth with their time in ROH, you could tell they had spent some time together and were friends. Evans had some fun stories, and his method of sleeping on an airplane is very interesting. Overall, this episode will appeal most to those interested in the current whereabouts of former ROH stars, or those who really love Mexican wrestling/Lucha Underground.
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