Talk is Jericho with Chris Jericho
Guest: Alexa Bliss
Release Date: May 12, 2017
Recap by: Andrew Soucek, PWPodcasts.com Editor
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Highlights:
-Nia Jax is Alexa Bliss’ best friend.
-At one point, Alexa was slated to play a country singer gimmick.
-Her grandma used to scare her with stories of The Great Kabuki.
-Alexa was only 96 lbs. when she was hired by WWE.
-The cage and table matches with Becky Lynch are her favorite matches so far.
Timestamps
00:00 – Sponsor Ads
03:11 – Show intro and “Judas” clip
14:15 – Start of Alexa Bliss interview
22:50 – Bodybuilding
30:30 – The Arnold
37:00 – NXT training
46:40 – More on training
53:25 – Cosplay
55:25 – WrestleMania
1:01:27 – Dusty Rhodes
1:06:45 – Main roster feuds
1:09:35 – Vince McMahon interactions
Show Recap
Jericho introduced the show and put over Alexa Bliss as one of the most requested guests for him to interview. He gave a brief rundown of what they would be talking about. He then promoted some future appearances on his “Words of Jericho” tour. He hyped 1.3 million views of his newest Fozzy YouTube video and plugged some upcoming tour dates. He then played a portion of the “Judas” song. Then he listed off some rock stars that said they loved it (if they didn’t, would they actually tell him?). He jumped to another ad.
Alexa Interview – 14:15
Jericho told Alexa that a lot of people wanted her on his show. She was flattered. He said he doesn’t know her that well because of the brand split. Raw and Smackdown really is a different vibe because you don’t see each other often. She agreed. She said Columbus is her hometown and would be on Raw for the first time there, and it would also be in the building she graduated in. She had her prom there too. Alexa talked about having a match against Sasha Banks in the arena earlier in her career, but nobody really cared much. She said she hopes she gets a lot of boos now.
Jericho put over the big reaction she got when she showed up on Raw. She said she had “mad anxiety” over being a heel. She said her old character with the sparkles was completely unrelatable. She said she didn’t know how to be mean and to have someone hate her. Becoming a heel gave her anxiety. She would sometimes cry while doing “heat drills” in the Performance Center. Heat drills are saying something mean to the opponent while working with them. Now she thinks it’s a lot of fun.
Jericho asked her about the transition from NXT to WWE. She likened it to going from high school to college. She loved working with everyone on Smackdown. In NXT they all drove on a bus and wore a tracksuit every day. The hotel is covered and the food is provided. You don’t have to worry about anything. She started traveling with Carmella on Smackdown and figured out the main roster together. Jericho says traveling is much easier now with GPS. Alexa agreed. They talked about how much technology has changed in the past few years. Jericho recalled getting an atlas for Christmas once and thought it was great at the time.
She was a big fan of wrestling in Columbus growing up. Her whole family was. She’s been watching since she was six. She used to pretend she was the Hardys and Lita and wrestle with her cousins in a pool. She was not allowed to watch the Attitude Era because she was about to tell her mom to “Suck it!” once when she was told to clean her room. She ended up watching anyway.
Bodybuilding – 22:50
After college, Alexa was doing bodybuilding to gain weight, but she didn’t want to go pro. She did win a series of amateur shows, though, and heard WWE was having a tryout and went online to apply. She made a video where she tried to cut a promo and took bumps in a gym. She later got a call to come out to LA and was flown out there. There were a bunch of models there, and she assumed there was no chance she’d get a deal. During that time she interviewed with Triple H and was later told she’d receive a 30-day trial. Instead, they ended up signing her. Apparently, Alexa was one of the few people to send in her own stuff for the competition. Most came from casting agencies. She thinks her wrestling knowledge (she name-dropped The Great Kabuki) helped her stand out. This turned into a story of her grandma scaring her as a kid. Grandma said if she didn’t go to bed the Great Kabuki would come get her. Her grandma was a huge Dusty Rhodes fan and thought she would marry him. Jericho relayed that he got into wrestling part in due to his grandma as well. She hated Jesse Ventura, Jericho secretly liked him.
Ads – 28:00
Jericho wears SaXX undies. Good to know I guess.
The Arnold – 30:40
Alexa talked more about bodybuilding. She has met Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mario Lopez through it. She and Chris talked a bit about regulation attire for the competitions. Jericho asked if she knew Dana Brooke pre-NXT, Alexa said she has known her for years. Alexa claimed she would eat asparagus and dry oats in the days leading up to the competition. She would have to drink an insane amount of water as well, until just the days before the show. She would only take sips of water the day before. You’re supposed to dry yourself out. Right after the competition, though, she would go eat like crazy. She’s seen people pass out before shows because they’re so dehydrated. Just one candy bar would throw their body into whack.
Training While in NXT – 37:00
Alexa revealed she was 96 lbs when she started in NXT. She said she was a “stick.” They wouldn’t let her in the ring until she gained weight. Jericho talked about Eddie Guerrero getting super ripped around 1998. He would do cardio then do a match and eat nothing but salads. Jericho told him he had to eat more. Alexa said initial NXT training was difficult. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do and was working with Charlotte, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and others with a lot of experience. Sara Amato (Del Ray) basically tripped her to give Alexa her first bump. Jericho said the first time he hit the ropes he equated it to being hit with a baseball bat. Alexa agreed.
Alexa credits Amato for how far she’s got in the business. Alexa said people thought she was a fitness model and she took exception to that. She said she did do some ring announcing and was terrible at it. She would always screw up Rusev’s name.
Ad – 44:40
Go drive for Lyft and listen to Raven’s podcast.
Training – 46:40
The subject of training continue. Alexa learned a ton from Terry Taylor. He would watch her matches with her on video, pause them, and ask her why she did certain things. He teaches the finishing class. Jericho put over Taylor’s mind. She revealed she was in the class with Carmella, Big Cass, and Tye Dillinger.
Alexa’s first match was a six-woman tag. She took the pinfall. Bill DeMott helped come up with her ring name. He liked the “Alexa” part of it. He told her it would probably change later. She said she got in trouble for saying “Son of a Bliss” once at a show. The talk then turned to her dyeing her hair. She had to turn it red on short notice to join Blake and Murphy. Jericho recalled dyeing part of his hair red because Ozzy Osborne had done it. They agreed it’s a huge pain.
Cosplay -53:25
Alexa talked about dressing up as Iron Man, Harley Quinn, Freddy Krueger, Super Girl, and Riddler for matches. Her favorite was Krueger. Jericho talked about Rey Mysterio Jr. doing a similar thing.
WrestleMania – 55:25
The conversation moved over to WrestleMania. She said being there was awesome. Her grandma was in attendance. Alexa and Jericho talked about how long the ramp was. Alexa was afraid of tripping, but she needed to walk fast to get to the ring. Jericho said it was like Santino, then dropped a tidbit saying Santino is actually a really good fast walker and has won races.
Originally, the women’s match was supposed to be on the pre-show. She credits people on Twitter starting a hashtag for getting it switched to the main show. Jericho asked if she was in NXT when the Women’s Revolution started. She said she was and credits Charlotte for taking her under her wing and Bayley for helping her develop matches.
Alexa thought she’d never be in a cage match (Jericho had no idea she had been in one on Smackdown). She said her tables match and the cage match are her favorite two matches so far. She said she’s afraid of ladder matches though.
Dusty Rhodes – 1:01:27
Dusty helped give Alexa a voice. She used to shake and couldn’t look at the camera when cutting promos. Dusty pulled her aside and said she “has a gift.” She then did a terrible Dusty impression. Nice try though! Dusty said when she looks into people, she looks into their souls. She didn’t believe him at first. She talked about the various character changes she went through, which included a Southern belle. Dusty also wanted her to be a country singer at one point. She was glad it didn’t last.
She feels that joining Blake and Murphy helped find herself as a character. She’s still not sure why she had to wear a tutu, though, when she started.
Ads – 1:05:00
Main roster feuds – 1:06:45
Alexa talked about Naomi getting hurt before WrestleMania and coming back to win the title at the event. Jericho asked about the brand split. Alexa found out she was going to Raw only the day before the shakeup. She was really excited to join Raw and said her best friend is there. Who is it? It’s Nia Jax!
Vince McMahon – 1:09:35
Jericho asked Alexa if she’s had much experience with Vince. She says she has and that he once told her to “calm down” on her facial expressions a bit. She was nervous when he approached her. She recalled an earlier meeting where she chatted with Vince while painting her hair, this led Jericho to talk about when John Laurinaitis came to the company with frosted tips and Vince told him to get rid of them.
Alexa credits Triple H for having a job. He would give her feedback on her character and always make time for the wrestlers. They transitioned to Sarah Stock (the former Sarita in TNA). She’s the agent for women’s matches on Raw and Smackdown. Alexa put her over as being incredibly knowledgeable. Alexa was star struck when she first saw her.
Jericho asked her what her finisher was and she explained it to him (Twisted Bliss). He said to this day he still struggles to remember the names of moves while wrestling. He then asked who she’s a fan of in NXT. She listed Ember Moon and said she’s one of her close friends. They both put over Asuka.
They chatted about outfits for a bit. Alexa revealed she was working on a Chucky from Child’s Play one. She likes horror films, mainly the villains themselves. They talked about Children of the Corn and The Omen. Jericho recalled his mom looking through his hair as a child for the mark of the beast because she had just seen The Omen that night. One of Alexa’s favorites is The Blair Witch Project. She also used to fall asleep to the movie The Ring. That creeped out her mom.
Jericho asked her if she had one more favorite match and she listed WrestleMania. He thanked her for being on and said they’re now friends.
Ad – 1:22:50
Wrap Up – 1:24:10
Jericho plugged a few other shows and thanked fans for listening.
Andrew’s Review
7.5/10
Bliss truly has a passion for the wrestling business that goes back to her childhood, which was pretty cool to hear. The Great Kabuki story was entertaining, and the bodybuilding segment surprisingly was as well. For me, it’s always weird/jarring to hear a current heel talk so openly about their act. Considering she said she used to cry over being mean to people while in character, it makes it harder to boo her! Overall, though, it was an interesting interview.
Also, I found it kind of striking how Jericho didn’t know certain aspects about WWE storylines and Alexa’s career. He didn’t know her finisher, or some big matches she’d worked, or seen much of Ember Moon. The man is crazy busy, but you’d think he’d at least look up some recaps on the shows he’s not on! Nothing major at all, just found it interesting.
Minor rant: I love wrestling podcasts, but I’m not huge on non-wrestling talk on wrestling podcasts. Maybe that’s just me. But it took over 14 minutes to get to the actual interview. I mean, I get Jericho wants to plug Fozzy, but did he have to play the full song at the beginning of the show? Like he said, it’s on YouTube. Otherwise, he could have left it for the end. Just not my style of music. Now with that said, former Fozzy songs were painful for me to listen to…this one was kind of catchy! Lastly, I don’t get the constant accents he does while not doing the interview. Hold on, let me find that emoji shrug guy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
For more, check out last week’s episode with Dave Bautista.
Be the first to comment