March 4, 2025 • 19 mins
Join us for an in-depth conversation with WWE's Robert Stone as he discusses his journey from wrestler to manager to commentator. Discover his experiences in TNA as Robbie E, his excitement about commentating for WWE EVOLVE, and his perspective on John Cena's recent heel turn that has everyone talking. Don't miss this insightful interview with one of WWE's most versatile personalities.
🔔 Subscribe for more exclusive wrestling interviews!
📲 Follow us for updates!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/battlegroundpodcast
X: https://www.twitter.com/battlegroundihr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/battlegroundpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/battlegroundpodcast
🔔 Subscribe for more exclusive wrestling interviews!
📲 Follow us for updates!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/battlegroundpodcast
X: https://www.twitter.com/battlegroundihr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/battlegroundpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/battlegroundpodcast
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast, you playing and exclusive interviews
with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Podcast Stop It, What's up you guys? Welcome back into
iHeartRadio official wrestling podcast, The Battleground Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
At His Battle and Uh.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
We are joined today by a man that wears mini
hats when it comes to WWE everybody give it up
for Robert Stone joined the show.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Robert, how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 4 (00:39):
I also wear collared shirts and I did that for you,
like I dressed up for you for this podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well I appreciate you doing that, and I dressed up
for you.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Short of I'm wearing my CM punk Hoddy So, uh,
you you dress up and I just wear a hoodie.
So somebody, somebody's gonna bring class of this show, and
it's not me. Let's just be honest.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
At least you're honest.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
So first and foremost, let's kind of ask how are
you feeling? I know last week you weren't able to travel.
Seems like things are on the up and up for you, right.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Yeah, Well, so this is actually the first interview I've done.
It's the first full day I'm going to have without
the neck brace. No neck brace, no crutches. Ten days ago,
I took a beating from four random dudes who are
going around putting beatings on anyone that they could get
their hands on in NXT. And I'm actually posting a
video later on my social media that's going to show
(01:32):
you the process and how I got that neck brace off.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
So you got to sleep for that that's going down today.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Now, did that process involve working out at F forty five,
because I know that you own a couple of those gyms.
I dj at one here in Nashville, so like, I
know how those workouts play out.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
So did that help a little bit in your recovery time?
Speaker 5 (01:50):
Surely?
Speaker 4 (01:51):
My eight year old twins are the two who helped
me get the neck brace off.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
It's pretty wild how it happened.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
But hey, that's awesome about F forty five because we
DJs for our parties. Also, we actually in the Orlando
area we own five, so oh nice.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah, it's it's it's a wild thing.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Do you do the workhouse?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Uh so no, I so I'm the DJ for it.
I've I usually sit.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
There and watch the saturdays as I'm DJing, and I'll
jump in during the weeks and they're like, why don't you, uh,
why don't you jump in on a Saturday workout?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
And I was like, I'll play the music.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Y'all go enjoy dying out there on the floor when
you rotate and everybody's like dazing.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
You should try one. You could get through it.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, I mean, let's let's let's kind of dive into
this though. I mean we're talking all things, you know,
F forty five, NXT and everything else. I mean, you've
done it all, wrestler, manager, commentator, producer. Which role has
been the most rewarding for you? And is there one
you haven't tackled yet that's on your bucket list?
Speaker 5 (02:50):
You know? I think.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
I don't want to be cheesy, but they're all equals.
So like, obviously, now as I'm getting older and more
years in the industry, I had no put intended for
the Evolve show, but I'm evolving in what I do.
So obviously, when I was younger, wrestling would have been
the only thing on my mind. But then as I
get older and this manager thing came up, it was
kind of like, right time, I could still be a
TV character, get in the ring sometimes, and then that
(03:16):
phased out as an assistant to AVO, where now I
don't get beat up as much and have to do
the physical stuff and now, you know, with a little
producing thrown in sometimes, and then now this commentary thing.
It's just as I'm getting older and my body's getting
more beat up, it's nice to phase away from getting.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
Destroyed on a regular basis.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I love anything in wrestling, you know, checking any box
to like learn anything new.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
That's always cool.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
So no favorite, And as far as other things that
I would want to do, I mean, I feel like
now it's kind of you know, you name them all, wrestler, manager, commentator, producer, coach,
like you know, I've kind of checked off. I've pretty
much done them. Unless I'm gonna, you know, be the
server in catering or something and do that. I've kind
of like done everything, you know.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
So I'm loving it.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Yeah, And it's a it's a cool thing because I
mean a lot of people, including myself, will always remember
the wild days of Robbie and the fist pumping and
everything else. Uh, And I go back to that and
I think of that era of TNA and.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
What a wild time it was.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
What is one of the craziest moments from that era
that still makes you shake your head.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
So I think the craziest thing that makes me shake
my head is just actually when you look back and realize,
like when I started there in twenty ten, if I
looked around and I can name everyone that was in
the locker room with me at that time, the insane
amount of talent. I mean, I think people know, but
then I think when you really think about it, and
(04:46):
you would name everyone in that locker room where they
ended up. How you know, I could name ten guys
who were on the lower card in TNA at the
time who are now wherever they're working on the top
of the cards. You know, future main eventers and hall
of that were just there in that locker room. It's
crazy just to think about how much talent was there
and how much talent TEENA produced, which it's so wild.
(05:07):
You never would have thought that fifteen years later there
would be a working relationship with the WWE. So it
shows you anything get happen.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Absolutely, And you know, you talk about evolve and whatnot,
and you've evolved your persona quite a few times, from
a Robbie to the very proper and polished Robert Stone.
What has been the hardest part for you in your
mind of reinventing yourself while staying true to who you are.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Well, you know, there's really no hard part about it.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
I mean, this is the entertainment you know, the entertainment industry,
right Like you constantly have to change what you do
and be up on your game and be up with
what's out there in the world that's current.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
You got to always even if right now.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
You are in a place where you're a ten, you
got to be looking three months ahead to how you
can maintain an A ten, how you could keep yourself fresh.
You know, things get old and played out very quickly,
so that's what makes it fun. Like I'm always like
looking for new things to do on social media, new
hairstyles or new suits to wear, you know when I
was wrestling, new moves to do in the ring, or
you got to constantly be changing up what you do.
(06:08):
And that's like the exciting part of this. You don't
get complacent. You got to be on the I'm forty
one years old and there's guys in NXT, you guys
and girls who are a lot younger than me. They're
half my age, and I'm saying to them, like, come on, guys,
you gotta do this.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
You got to do that.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
You got to keep moving and they're like, how you
doing this? And I'm just like, that's what this is.
You know, you got to You can't let a day
go by where you're not putting in the work in
some way, shape or form.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Of course, our guests here on the show with us
right now, Robert Stone, who wears a multitude of hats
when it comes to the wrestling business with WW and
you know recently stepped in the common hair's chair for
WW Evolved alongside Peter Rosenberg. What has been the biggest
challenge for you in calling the action compared to being
(06:52):
in the ring yourself.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
So, you know, when I first the first ever time
I commentated and it's crazy to think that I've been
doing this so long, but you know, maybe one time
in twenty years in character, I threw a headset on
and did commentary, but you know, never where I actually
did it or understood.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
So in my mind it was very.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Just like, you know, I put the headset on my heel,
I called what's going on in the ring? This is
not going to be too hard. But the first time
when I ever did it. I was asked to fill
in for Byron Saxton. He was in a Saudi Araba
on Level Up and me and Blake Howard commentator, And
again I'm pretty much going into this, you know, a
deer in headlights, not knowing what's going on, and between
calling the action properly, having conversations with my partner, telling
(07:36):
stories in the ring, being the name every move, having
the headset on, and hearing countdowns to graphics and replays.
There is so much going on and it is so
much more difficult than I think. You know, the average
wrestling fan or even someone in wrestling realizes how hard
of a job it is, whether you're you know, the
analyst or color guy or the play by play guy.
(07:58):
That was just definitely the biggest shock for me, just like, wow,
there's there's a lot more to this. Plus, you know,
I don't just you know, if I have a character,
I don't just want to talk about, you know, if
there's a garbage man, If there's a character that's a
garbage man, I don't just want to say in commentary,
hey here comes a garbage man. I want to know
about the garbage man's family and what he likes and dislikes,
you know, just getting you know, unique and in depth
(08:19):
information about them so I could properly tell their story
to get them across to the WW universe.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
So it's it's not easy, but I love it.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
It's a challenge, so you know, yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
And I I you know, that's the thing that we've
seen with your career, because I mean we've been following
it for a very long time. We could see that
when you when they ask you to step up to
the plate, you don't just swing for a single. You
hit a home run every time you do something.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Yeah, that's with everything you do in life. You got
to be all in on anything.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
You know, why put anything out there with your name
on it if it's going to be you know, not
one hundred and ten percent.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
And that goes And this was always my thing.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Even you know, I'm live events or god, even you
know at the Performance Center will do they're called PC
live shows where we just kind of do an in
house show for new superstars to get reps. Even on that,
I mean, if I'm on those, I'll spray to I'll
wear my best suit. It doesn't matter if no one's
in the audience, if We're on a live event in
front of you know, one hundred people in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
(09:16):
I'm always making sure if someone takes a picture of
me and puts it on X or Instagram, that I'm
gonna look like a million bucks. I mean, that's just
you gotta always be on point. That's what being a
ww superstar is, you.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Know, absolutely, And you know you mentioned this just briefly
at the beginning of this The WWE and TNA partnership
was once unthinkable, WWE working with other companies, it was
never thought of, never thought we'd see the day.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
But now we're seeing this crossover happen.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
As someone who has worked in both companies, what do
you think this means for the future of pro wrestling
moving forward?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
I just think what it means for the future is
that fans are going to have the time of their
lives because it's like, hey, expect unexpected. Who's going to
show up on this show, Who's going to show up
on that show? What dream match can I have actually
happen now that never would have been able to happen.
Title verse title from two different promotions. I mean, what
world are we? You know what I mean, and so
(10:15):
it's a win win for everyone. You know, it's making
you know, NXT more interesting because you know, you're getting
different talent. It's making TNA more interesting because you know,
they're getting.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
Brought up to a level where NXT is.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
So everybody wins, the wrestlers, the producers, the owners of
WW and TNA, the fans.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
Everybody wins absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
And of course, you know, the one thing that we
were all excited about when you know, Oba Fimmy came out.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
To the ring and he was like, all right, come
out here, let's do this.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
The lights go out, You're thinking it's the guys that
potentially attacked you are going to come out, and all
of a sudden, you hear a recognizable name.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Come out and it's Moose, who you.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Know very well from back in DNA days. And like
you said, I mean, seeing the NXT title going up
against the TNA X Division time, this is something that
we never ever thought would have happened.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
Yeah, twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
I mean it's just like, yeah, why not, you know,
And here's the thing, like, it's not the end. I mean,
you saw what happened with John Cena. You know, this
past weekend, it's not the end of WWE fans going
oh my god, did that really happen? Like this is
just the beginning of those moments where you're just like, Wow,
this is unreal.
Speaker 5 (11:27):
You know.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
It's why WW so hot right now, as it should be.
I mean, it's the best wrestling in the world.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
It's always been and it will continue to be.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Of course you're able to watch NXT live on the
CW eight seven Central is when you can check that out.
And you mentioned John Cena for a second, and something
that nobody ever expected over the weekend, an elimination chamber.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
John Cena finally turning heel.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
My eight year old who is a big wrestling fan,
text to me because I was.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Not able to sit there watch you with him. He
texted me and was like we.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
No longer like John Cena, the Rock and Travis Scott.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
That was the text message that he sent me.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
What's going through your mind as somebody who is a
part of the roster seeing something that we never thought
would have happened.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
John Cena turney heel.
Speaker 5 (12:18):
Yeah, I mean the same thing.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
I mean, you know, I'm in the world of NXT
and the world of Evolve, so I'm not in right
now the raw and SmackDown world. So when I watched that,
it's still watching like a fan. You know, I don't
know all those guys and I'm not regularly around them.
So when I watched that plee, I'm still watching and
reacting like a man, and like I didn't think about that,
Like that just happened, Like how cool? Like I and
(12:40):
my wife, who do just you know, she's not the
biggest wrestling fan. I even ran up and told her.
I was like, the clip was on X after and
I showed her and I'm like, you got to see this,
like unbelievable, like what just happened, Like this is going
to change the game, And even she was like, wow, that's.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Cool, you know.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
So it's just, yeah, we shocked, just like your eight
year old was. Just like my eight year olds were.
What are your eight year old's text on a phone
or a watch?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
He texts me on his iPad.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
My my twins have watches that they text on, and
they like spell everything wrong or do voice messages. It's like,
so I'm curious as he texts you all those names
that he spelled them all correctly.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
So he put on the text he says, we hate
John Cena now and Travis Kamas Scott and the Rock.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
Okay, there you go, so you got it.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And I was like I told him, I was I
had to explain to him like certain things because he's
still in that that age of like he doesn't get
that some of the punches aren't real, and so like
I was trying to explain to him. I was like,
just let it play out. Maybe this is just you know,
John Cena faking it. Maybe he'll be good again. He's like, no,
we don't like him, and he like put all of
his John Cena action figures in the trash can and
(13:46):
he was so distraught, and I was like, this is
this kind of takes me back, you know when Hogan
turned and went to the nWo and everything.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
So this obviously a generational shift.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Like you said, wrestling with WW really really hot at
the moment, NXT really really hot at the moment.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
And one thing that you know a lot of fans that.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
I love on social media or the you know, the IWC,
the Internet Wrestling Community with nuts. When you referenced the
Robbie E thing during a recent segment, do you like
to drop those subtle Easter eggs or do you know
going in you're gonna drop it or is it just
kind of on the fly?
Speaker 4 (14:24):
Are you talking about the video where I tried to
get into the building. Yes, yeah, No, I just it
was they were they were having an event a few
miles from where NXT runs and from where I live,
and it was just kind of like, I feel like
this would be really fun to do, so I just
like and to involve my kids because like they didn't,
like they have seen a few matches of me like that,
(14:46):
but like it's you know, they're not they don't go
on YouTube often and stuff, so they don't like get
to see like my old stuff. So I think, then
be a part of it. And then I showed him
like who Robbie was and stuff. They got to kick
out of it and they got to be in the
video and they thought it was funny. And then of
course I had to bring my man Rob Terry back
into it because you know, that's my guy still, he's uh,
he's doing awesome and he's such a you know, just
(15:06):
a great dude, So anything that can involve him is fun.
But yeah, I don't know, I just I thought about
it a few days before, and I said, because they're
right here, I feel like I have to do something
because I think people forget and it's not in a
you know, I.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
Was there eight years and eight good years.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Of you know when like we talked about when a
lot of talent was there and when it was booming,
and uh yeah. I just it's fun sometimes to remind
the fans and w T current WW fans still to
this day when I post something. Every time I post
something from the past, at least one or two will
go I knew you looked familiar, or I knew there
was something it was the hair. Like still people are
(15:40):
not connecting Robert Stone and Robbie, you know, if they
just are just tuning in now or whatever it is.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
So I like to just do that and make people's
jaw drop.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
It's fun and it's great because as a fan of wrestling,
I guess that I've grown up watching this and seeing
that I was like, I remember that. It's kind of
like when when Joaquin was introducing I go back to DJZ.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
That's that's my thing. And I'm waiting for him to
at least drop at Easter Egg just for fun.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
During an LWO promo, that nobody else, But you know,
people of my generation will understand. Just like when you
drop the Robbie thing, I was like, oh my god,
this is the greatest thing ever.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
He works with TNA.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
You never know if there'll be a TNA reunion show
or throwback show or some old characters you know who
knows you know which that would be super cool.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, that would definitely be cool for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
And again n XT live on the CW eight seven
Central every Tuesday night and real quick before I let
you go. We always like to kind of jump outside
of the wrestling world with our guest and kind of
get to really know the guests outside of what they
see on TV and social media. If you had to
describe your your your life story using only three songs,
(16:55):
which would you pick and why?
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Okay, so that is of such a do people come
up with that immediately? That answer?
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Some people do?
Speaker 5 (17:06):
That is rough.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I would need a lot of time to think about.
So what I will do is just give you three
songs that are played either a lot in my house
or that I liked when I was a kid or something.
So one song that my kids love for some reason.
I don't know if you know it Tim McGraw, the
one I had a barbecue stay in them.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
Of what T shirt.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Yep, it probably has nothing to do with my life,
but we play that all the time because my kids
love it for some reason. My favorite song of all
time is Ain't No Fun by Snoop Dogg from Doggie
Style from the nineties, Best song ever. And then my
wedding song Daughtry. All that I'm after is that was
(17:44):
me and my wife's wedding song. So I'll give you that.
But the thig about what would actually tell the story
of my life, man, I would need to give you
really good answers.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
I'd have to really think about that.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Well, you can always come back on the show next week.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Now that we've got all the Dutch in a line
and order, we can make this happen, and then you
can come back next week for that one question and
then we'll go off into the sunset.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Is that as hard to think about just on the
fly like that, right?
Speaker 2 (18:07):
It really is Like some of the guests we've had,
like have got it right off the rip. You know,
when we talked to Steve Macklin, he had three songs
Bam bam bam, and I was like, how did you
come up with those?
Speaker 5 (18:19):
Like?
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Is this like you're getting to go in morning playlist?
These are the three songs.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
He must have talked to someone else that was on
your show and he was coming or something you.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Well, Robert, it's an honor and or privilege to have
you on the show man. And of course before we
let you go, is anything you want to say to
people watching or listening to this right now?
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Yes? Yeah, I can't push hard enough. Wednesday Evolve, huge debut.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Me and Peter Rosenberg will be calling the action to
be eight pm and then YouTube internationally, so check it out.
Speaker 5 (18:50):
It is a brand new show.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
It's got a different feel, kind of a different concept,
intimate studio vibe, and yeah, do not mess it. Just
I appreciate you having me on and I can't wait
for Wednesday.
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast, you playing and exclusive interviews
with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Podcast Stop It, What's up you guys? Welcome back into
iHeartRadio official wrestling podcast, The Battleground Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
At His Battle and Uh.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
We are joined today by a man that wears mini
hats when it comes to WWE everybody give it up
for Robert Stone joined the show.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Robert, how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 4 (00:39):
I also wear collared shirts and I did that for you,
like I dressed up for you for this podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well I appreciate you doing that, and I dressed up
for you.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Short of I'm wearing my CM punk Hoddy So, uh,
you you dress up and I just wear a hoodie.
So somebody, somebody's gonna bring class of this show, and
it's not me. Let's just be honest.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
At least you're honest.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
So first and foremost, let's kind of ask how are
you feeling? I know last week you weren't able to travel.
Seems like things are on the up and up for you, right.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Yeah, Well, so this is actually the first interview I've done.
It's the first full day I'm going to have without
the neck brace. No neck brace, no crutches. Ten days ago,
I took a beating from four random dudes who are
going around putting beatings on anyone that they could get
their hands on in NXT. And I'm actually posting a
video later on my social media that's going to show
(01:32):
you the process and how I got that neck brace off.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
So you got to sleep for that that's going down today.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Now, did that process involve working out at F forty five,
because I know that you own a couple of those gyms.
I dj at one here in Nashville, so like, I
know how those workouts play out.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
So did that help a little bit in your recovery time?
Speaker 5 (01:50):
Surely?
Speaker 4 (01:51):
My eight year old twins are the two who helped
me get the neck brace off.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
It's pretty wild how it happened.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
But hey, that's awesome about F forty five because we
DJs for our parties. Also, we actually in the Orlando
area we own five, so oh nice.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah, it's it's it's a wild thing.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Do you do the workhouse?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Uh so no, I so I'm the DJ for it.
I've I usually sit.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
There and watch the saturdays as I'm DJing, and I'll
jump in during the weeks and they're like, why don't you, uh,
why don't you jump in on a Saturday workout?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
And I was like, I'll play the music.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Y'all go enjoy dying out there on the floor when
you rotate and everybody's like dazing.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
You should try one. You could get through it.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, I mean, let's let's let's kind of dive into
this though. I mean we're talking all things, you know,
F forty five, NXT and everything else. I mean, you've
done it all, wrestler, manager, commentator, producer. Which role has
been the most rewarding for you? And is there one
you haven't tackled yet that's on your bucket list?
Speaker 5 (02:50):
You know? I think.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
I don't want to be cheesy, but they're all equals.
So like, obviously, now as I'm getting older and more
years in the industry, I had no put intended for
the Evolve show, but I'm evolving in what I do.
So obviously, when I was younger, wrestling would have been
the only thing on my mind. But then as I
get older and this manager thing came up, it was
kind of like, right time, I could still be a
TV character, get in the ring sometimes, and then that
(03:16):
phased out as an assistant to AVO, where now I
don't get beat up as much and have to do
the physical stuff and now, you know, with a little
producing thrown in sometimes, and then now this commentary thing.
It's just as I'm getting older and my body's getting
more beat up, it's nice to phase away from getting.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
Destroyed on a regular basis.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I love anything in wrestling, you know, checking any box
to like learn anything new.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
That's always cool.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
So no favorite, And as far as other things that
I would want to do, I mean, I feel like
now it's kind of you know, you name them all, wrestler, manager, commentator, producer, coach,
like you know, I've kind of checked off. I've pretty
much done them. Unless I'm gonna, you know, be the
server in catering or something and do that. I've kind
of like done everything, you know.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
So I'm loving it.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Yeah, And it's a it's a cool thing because I
mean a lot of people, including myself, will always remember
the wild days of Robbie and the fist pumping and
everything else. Uh, And I go back to that and
I think of that era of TNA and.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
What a wild time it was.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
What is one of the craziest moments from that era
that still makes you shake your head.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
So I think the craziest thing that makes me shake
my head is just actually when you look back and realize,
like when I started there in twenty ten, if I
looked around and I can name everyone that was in
the locker room with me at that time, the insane
amount of talent. I mean, I think people know, but
then I think when you really think about it, and
(04:46):
you would name everyone in that locker room where they
ended up. How you know, I could name ten guys
who were on the lower card in TNA at the
time who are now wherever they're working on the top
of the cards. You know, future main eventers and hall
of that were just there in that locker room. It's
crazy just to think about how much talent was there
and how much talent TEENA produced, which it's so wild.
(05:07):
You never would have thought that fifteen years later there
would be a working relationship with the WWE. So it
shows you anything get happen.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Absolutely, And you know, you talk about evolve and whatnot,
and you've evolved your persona quite a few times, from
a Robbie to the very proper and polished Robert Stone.
What has been the hardest part for you in your
mind of reinventing yourself while staying true to who you are.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Well, you know, there's really no hard part about it.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
I mean, this is the entertainment you know, the entertainment industry,
right Like you constantly have to change what you do
and be up on your game and be up with
what's out there in the world that's current.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
You got to always even if right now.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
You are in a place where you're a ten, you
got to be looking three months ahead to how you
can maintain an A ten, how you could keep yourself fresh.
You know, things get old and played out very quickly,
so that's what makes it fun. Like I'm always like
looking for new things to do on social media, new
hairstyles or new suits to wear, you know when I
was wrestling, new moves to do in the ring, or
you got to constantly be changing up what you do.
(06:08):
And that's like the exciting part of this. You don't
get complacent. You got to be on the I'm forty
one years old and there's guys in NXT, you guys
and girls who are a lot younger than me. They're
half my age, and I'm saying to them, like, come on, guys,
you gotta do this.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
You got to do that.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
You got to keep moving and they're like, how you
doing this? And I'm just like, that's what this is.
You know, you got to You can't let a day
go by where you're not putting in the work in
some way, shape or form.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Of course, our guests here on the show with us
right now, Robert Stone, who wears a multitude of hats
when it comes to the wrestling business with WW and
you know recently stepped in the common hair's chair for
WW Evolved alongside Peter Rosenberg. What has been the biggest
challenge for you in calling the action compared to being
(06:52):
in the ring yourself.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
So, you know, when I first the first ever time
I commentated and it's crazy to think that I've been
doing this so long, but you know, maybe one time
in twenty years in character, I threw a headset on
and did commentary, but you know, never where I actually
did it or understood.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
So in my mind it was very.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Just like, you know, I put the headset on my heel,
I called what's going on in the ring? This is
not going to be too hard. But the first time
when I ever did it. I was asked to fill
in for Byron Saxton. He was in a Saudi Araba
on Level Up and me and Blake Howard commentator, And
again I'm pretty much going into this, you know, a
deer in headlights, not knowing what's going on, and between
calling the action properly, having conversations with my partner, telling
(07:36):
stories in the ring, being the name every move, having
the headset on, and hearing countdowns to graphics and replays.
There is so much going on and it is so
much more difficult than I think. You know, the average
wrestling fan or even someone in wrestling realizes how hard
of a job it is, whether you're you know, the
analyst or color guy or the play by play guy.
(07:58):
That was just definitely the biggest shock for me, just like, wow,
there's there's a lot more to this. Plus, you know,
I don't just you know, if I have a character,
I don't just want to talk about, you know, if
there's a garbage man, If there's a character that's a
garbage man, I don't just want to say in commentary,
hey here comes a garbage man. I want to know
about the garbage man's family and what he likes and dislikes,
you know, just getting you know, unique and in depth
(08:19):
information about them so I could properly tell their story
to get them across to the WW universe.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
So it's it's not easy, but I love it.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
It's a challenge, so you know, yeah, absolutely for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
And I I you know, that's the thing that we've
seen with your career, because I mean we've been following
it for a very long time. We could see that
when you when they ask you to step up to
the plate, you don't just swing for a single. You
hit a home run every time you do something.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Yeah, that's with everything you do in life. You got
to be all in on anything.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
You know, why put anything out there with your name
on it if it's going to be you know, not
one hundred and ten percent.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
And that goes And this was always my thing.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Even you know, I'm live events or god, even you
know at the Performance Center will do they're called PC
live shows where we just kind of do an in
house show for new superstars to get reps. Even on that,
I mean, if I'm on those, I'll spray to I'll
wear my best suit. It doesn't matter if no one's
in the audience, if We're on a live event in
front of you know, one hundred people in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
(09:16):
I'm always making sure if someone takes a picture of
me and puts it on X or Instagram, that I'm
gonna look like a million bucks. I mean, that's just
you gotta always be on point. That's what being a
ww superstar is, you.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Know, absolutely, And you know you mentioned this just briefly
at the beginning of this The WWE and TNA partnership
was once unthinkable, WWE working with other companies, it was
never thought of, never thought we'd see the day.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
But now we're seeing this crossover happen.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
As someone who has worked in both companies, what do
you think this means for the future of pro wrestling
moving forward?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
I just think what it means for the future is
that fans are going to have the time of their
lives because it's like, hey, expect unexpected. Who's going to
show up on this show, Who's going to show up
on that show? What dream match can I have actually
happen now that never would have been able to happen.
Title verse title from two different promotions. I mean, what
world are we? You know what I mean, and so
(10:15):
it's a win win for everyone. You know, it's making
you know, NXT more interesting because you know, you're getting
different talent. It's making TNA more interesting because you know,
they're getting.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
Brought up to a level where NXT is.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
So everybody wins, the wrestlers, the producers, the owners of
WW and TNA, the fans.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
Everybody wins absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
And of course, you know, the one thing that we
were all excited about when you know, Oba Fimmy came out.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
To the ring and he was like, all right, come
out here, let's do this.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
The lights go out, You're thinking it's the guys that
potentially attacked you are going to come out, and all
of a sudden, you hear a recognizable name.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Come out and it's Moose, who you.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Know very well from back in DNA days. And like
you said, I mean, seeing the NXT title going up
against the TNA X Division time, this is something that
we never ever thought would have happened.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
Yeah, twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
I mean it's just like, yeah, why not, you know,
And here's the thing, like, it's not the end. I mean,
you saw what happened with John Cena. You know, this
past weekend, it's not the end of WWE fans going
oh my god, did that really happen? Like this is
just the beginning of those moments where you're just like, Wow,
this is unreal.
Speaker 5 (11:27):
You know.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
It's why WW so hot right now, as it should be.
I mean, it's the best wrestling in the world.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
It's always been and it will continue to be.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Of course you're able to watch NXT live on the
CW eight seven Central is when you can check that out.
And you mentioned John Cena for a second, and something
that nobody ever expected over the weekend, an elimination chamber.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
John Cena finally turning heel.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
My eight year old who is a big wrestling fan,
text to me because I was.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Not able to sit there watch you with him. He
texted me and was like we.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
No longer like John Cena, the Rock and Travis Scott.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
That was the text message that he sent me.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
What's going through your mind as somebody who is a
part of the roster seeing something that we never thought
would have happened.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
John Cena turney heel.
Speaker 5 (12:18):
Yeah, I mean the same thing.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
I mean, you know, I'm in the world of NXT
and the world of Evolve, so I'm not in right
now the raw and SmackDown world. So when I watched that,
it's still watching like a fan. You know, I don't
know all those guys and I'm not regularly around them.
So when I watched that plee, I'm still watching and
reacting like a man, and like I didn't think about that,
Like that just happened, Like how cool? Like I and
(12:40):
my wife, who do just you know, she's not the
biggest wrestling fan. I even ran up and told her.
I was like, the clip was on X after and
I showed her and I'm like, you got to see this,
like unbelievable, like what just happened, Like this is going
to change the game, And even she was like, wow, that's.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Cool, you know.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
So it's just, yeah, we shocked, just like your eight
year old was. Just like my eight year olds were.
What are your eight year old's text on a phone
or a watch?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
He texts me on his iPad.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
My my twins have watches that they text on, and
they like spell everything wrong or do voice messages. It's like,
so I'm curious as he texts you all those names
that he spelled them all correctly.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
So he put on the text he says, we hate
John Cena now and Travis Kamas Scott and the Rock.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
Okay, there you go, so you got it.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And I was like I told him, I was I
had to explain to him like certain things because he's
still in that that age of like he doesn't get
that some of the punches aren't real, and so like
I was trying to explain to him. I was like,
just let it play out. Maybe this is just you know,
John Cena faking it. Maybe he'll be good again. He's like, no,
we don't like him, and he like put all of
his John Cena action figures in the trash can and
(13:46):
he was so distraught, and I was like, this is
this kind of takes me back, you know when Hogan
turned and went to the nWo and everything.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
So this obviously a generational shift.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Like you said, wrestling with WW really really hot at
the moment, NXT really really hot at the moment.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
And one thing that you know a lot of fans that.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
I love on social media or the you know, the IWC,
the Internet Wrestling Community with nuts. When you referenced the
Robbie E thing during a recent segment, do you like
to drop those subtle Easter eggs or do you know
going in you're gonna drop it or is it just
kind of on the fly?
Speaker 4 (14:24):
Are you talking about the video where I tried to
get into the building. Yes, yeah, No, I just it
was they were they were having an event a few
miles from where NXT runs and from where I live,
and it was just kind of like, I feel like
this would be really fun to do, so I just
like and to involve my kids because like they didn't,
like they have seen a few matches of me like that,
(14:46):
but like it's you know, they're not they don't go
on YouTube often and stuff, so they don't like get
to see like my old stuff. So I think, then
be a part of it. And then I showed him
like who Robbie was and stuff. They got to kick
out of it and they got to be in the
video and they thought it was funny. And then of
course I had to bring my man Rob Terry back
into it because you know, that's my guy still, he's uh,
he's doing awesome and he's such a you know, just
(15:06):
a great dude, So anything that can involve him is fun.
But yeah, I don't know, I just I thought about
it a few days before, and I said, because they're
right here, I feel like I have to do something
because I think people forget and it's not in a
you know, I.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
Was there eight years and eight good years.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Of you know when like we talked about when a
lot of talent was there and when it was booming,
and uh yeah. I just it's fun sometimes to remind
the fans and w T current WW fans still to
this day when I post something. Every time I post
something from the past, at least one or two will
go I knew you looked familiar, or I knew there
was something it was the hair. Like still people are
(15:40):
not connecting Robert Stone and Robbie, you know, if they
just are just tuning in now or whatever it is.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
So I like to just do that and make people's
jaw drop.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
It's fun and it's great because as a fan of wrestling,
I guess that I've grown up watching this and seeing
that I was like, I remember that. It's kind of
like when when Joaquin was introducing I go back to DJZ.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
That's that's my thing. And I'm waiting for him to
at least drop at Easter Egg just for fun.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
During an LWO promo, that nobody else, But you know,
people of my generation will understand. Just like when you
drop the Robbie thing, I was like, oh my god,
this is the greatest thing ever.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
He works with TNA.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
You never know if there'll be a TNA reunion show
or throwback show or some old characters you know who
knows you know which that would be super cool.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, that would definitely be cool for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
And again n XT live on the CW eight seven
Central every Tuesday night and real quick before I let
you go. We always like to kind of jump outside
of the wrestling world with our guest and kind of
get to really know the guests outside of what they
see on TV and social media. If you had to
describe your your your life story using only three songs,
(16:55):
which would you pick and why?
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Okay, so that is of such a do people come
up with that immediately? That answer?
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Some people do?
Speaker 5 (17:06):
That is rough.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I would need a lot of time to think about.
So what I will do is just give you three
songs that are played either a lot in my house
or that I liked when I was a kid or something.
So one song that my kids love for some reason.
I don't know if you know it Tim McGraw, the
one I had a barbecue stay in them.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
Of what T shirt.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Yep, it probably has nothing to do with my life,
but we play that all the time because my kids
love it for some reason. My favorite song of all
time is Ain't No Fun by Snoop Dogg from Doggie
Style from the nineties, Best song ever. And then my
wedding song Daughtry. All that I'm after is that was
(17:44):
me and my wife's wedding song. So I'll give you that.
But the thig about what would actually tell the story
of my life, man, I would need to give you
really good answers.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
I'd have to really think about that.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Well, you can always come back on the show next week.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Now that we've got all the Dutch in a line
and order, we can make this happen, and then you
can come back next week for that one question and
then we'll go off into the sunset.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Is that as hard to think about just on the
fly like that, right?
Speaker 2 (18:07):
It really is Like some of the guests we've had,
like have got it right off the rip. You know,
when we talked to Steve Macklin, he had three songs
Bam bam bam, and I was like, how did you
come up with those?
Speaker 5 (18:19):
Like?
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Is this like you're getting to go in morning playlist?
These are the three songs.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
He must have talked to someone else that was on
your show and he was coming or something you.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Well, Robert, it's an honor and or privilege to have
you on the show man. And of course before we
let you go, is anything you want to say to
people watching or listening to this right now?
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Yes? Yeah, I can't push hard enough. Wednesday Evolve, huge debut.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Me and Peter Rosenberg will be calling the action to
be eight pm and then YouTube internationally, so check it out.
Speaker 5 (18:50):
It is a brand new show.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
It's got a different feel, kind of a different concept,
intimate studio vibe, and yeah, do not mess it. Just
I appreciate you having me on and I can't wait
for Wednesday.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.