R&B singer Toni Braxton, Michael Black, John Witherspoon, Patti LaBelle and more entertainment heavyweights are heading to the Garden State to help fans plan out their Valentine’s Day goals. Beginning this Friday, February 8 with Toni Braxton’s As Long As I Live Prudential Center (Newark) stop, the NJPAC is coming through clutch for cupid!
Ahead of tonight’s WWE Smackdown going down at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, WWE icon Mick Foley talks to SOHH to discuss everything from who is the JAY-Z of the business to why the franchise continues to excel in 2018.
1. Who – is the JAY-Z of the WWE? The G.O.A.T?
If you’re trying to compare somebody to JAY-Z, as far as not only can they hit the rhymes but be a business impresario as well, I think you gotta go with The Rock. He’s the guy who does it all, right? You become bigger than the business. It’s only a handful of guys who have. John Cena. Steve Austin. Hulk Hogan. But I’m going to go, final answer, Dwayne Johnson.
2. What – are the chances – for all the diehard fans – for you giving it one more shot?
The chances are slim. Slim to none and slim just left town. Not unless a team of neurologists tells me it would be in my best interest to get in there one more time.
3. Where – do you see yourself with the greatest? People see you up there with The Rock, Stone Cold, the Ric Flairs of the game. Where do you see yourself?
No, I’m not nearly on that tier. [laughs] Maybe I’m in that ballpark but I’m sitting in a different section. I’m in the nosebleeds section of that ballpark. I never carried a company on my back like those guys did. I’m very fortunate few people disagree with me and they can feel free to disagree with me but I say, I was a B-plus player.
4. When – did you have the best moment of your career? WWE career in particular. When was the biggest and best moment?
I defeated a young man who you don’t hear much about anymore, Dwayne Johnson, for my first WWE title and the bigger he gets, the better I look.
5. Why – does the WWE keep growing in 2018?
It’s all about staying ahead of the curb. It’s about changing things up before the fanbase believes it needs to be changed up and no one has done it better than WWE.
With a highly-anticipated Smackdown show set to go down next Tuesday (October 23) at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, WWE champion Becky Lynch took a moment from her Devils WWE Night Thursday (October 18) to chop it up with SOHH about everything from her rise to the top to naming the Cardi B of her sport.
1. Who – is the Cardi B of the WWE?
The Cardi B of the WWE. She talks a lot, right? Flexes a lot. But has the numbers to back it up. Talks a lot. Has the numbers to back it up. Flexes a lot. That sounds like the camp. That sounds like the champ. I don’t know though. I don’t know. Because I have a different swagger about me. I want to answer this properly. Who would be the Cardi B? Maybe Carmella. Maybe Carmella. She talks a lot. She flexes a lot. She says she’s money. I mean, isn’t that Cardi B kinda says? Things like that? Kind of? A little? Alright, let’s give it to Carmella.
2. What – is your go-to pre-match food?
I love grapes. There are so many grapes. Have you had cotton candy grapes? There’s these things called cotton candy grapes and they’re amazing. They taste like cotton candy. Then there’s the moon grapes. Have you seen them? They’re the lengthy grapes. There’s a whole world of grapes out there. THe other day, I had these little grapes and they tasted like grape jelly. There’s this sugar explosion but they’re just regular grapes. They’re real. Probably genetically modified grapes but my goodness were they delicious. The champs likes a lot of grapes. She likes the antioxidants of grapes. It’s not that she’s a wino and she can’t wait, no, she likes the grapes. And in catering there’s always lots of good, fresh fruit and I don’t know. I like something there’s very light. I try not to eat very much during the day when I’m wrestling. But I need a little energy. I’ll pop a few grapes into my mouth.
3. Where – do you find yourself with the whole WWE Evolution?
Where do I see myself in it? I see myself as the real main event, whether I am actually the main event, people know that I am the real main event. I see myself Charlotte Flair laying on the ground. She’s not standing up. She’s going to be left for dead and I’m going to be the last woman standing.
4. When – did you realize this was your passion? When did you realize WWE was your calling?
I was actually wrestling for two years when I was 15. I started wrestling when I was 15. I didn’t go with the intention of being the WWE superstar because I didn’t believe it was an attainable goal. How does a girl who has failed PE and being a little bit of a chubby kid her whole life go on to be a WWE superstar? But I loved it. There was nothing that gave me such drive and such purpose. After two years of just wrestling and trying my hardest, getting better at something and dedicating myself to something for the first time in my life, I was like, ‘Ah, no, this is really what I want to do.’
5. Why – is right now the Becky Lynch takeover?
I have been the underdog and overlooked for far too long. I have been the carrier of the division. I have carried every single person through that division. I have been a stepping stone for people to use to make a name for themselves. I’m sick of that. I finally got enough belief in myself to say, ‘No. I’m not being a stepping stone for anybody.’ I’m being on the top. I’m the top dog and I’m taking it and I’m not waiting for anybody’s permission. I’m not asking anybody for permission and I’m not asking anybody for forgiveness either. This is my time. I’m claiming it. I own this and I deserve this.
WWE’s SmackDown goes down Tuesday, October 23 at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center.
