McKenzie Mitchell on Her New Book Threads Of Triumph, Natalya's Inspiration, Mercedes Mone Foreward
In today's episode, we explore the fascinating intersection of professional wrestling and fashion through McKenzie Mitchell's brand new book, "Threads of Triumph", out April 7th 2026 and discover how wrestling gear shapes identity and storytelling in the ring.
In the world of professional wrestling, the gear worn by wrestlers is often as iconic as the athletes themselves. From the flamboyant robes of Ric Flair to the striking ensembles of modern stars, wrestling attire tells a story that goes beyond the ring. In this conversation, we'll delve into the insights shared by McKenzie Mitchell in her book "Threads of Triumph," which highlights the importance of fashion in wrestling and why it matters to fans and performers alike.
About McKenzie Mitchell:
McKenzie Mitchell is a recognized voice in the world of professional wrestling, currently with TNA Wrestling and known for her work as an announcer and commentator. With over a decade of experience in the industry, she brings a unique perspective to the often-overlooked aspect of wrestling: the attire. Her latest book, "Threads of Triumph," explores the intricate relationship between wrestling gear and the characters portrayed in the ring.
📕 Catch McKenzie Mitchell at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ on April 8th at 6:00 PM EST for an exclusive book signing!
📕 Pre order the book here for the book signing: https://www.book-ends.org/product/mckenzie-mitchell-book-ticket-photo-op-booksigning-ring-announcer-host-for-tna-wrestling-wed-april-8th-6pm-each-person-needs-a-book/2IHCX3MPQ6C2C5NFUTVPWOUI?cs=true&cst=custom
📕 Pre-Order The Book: https://bio.to/threadsoftriumphEnjoy!
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There's a reason why Hulk Hogan wore red and yellow and he kept that way because he knew
that it made sense.
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But then you look at the varieties we talked about Chris Jericho, when we go, well, he's
got so many evolved looks over time.
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Macho Man, Randy Savage going to Macho King all the way down to like, or even before Macho
King and wearing some of the gold robes.
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one of the robes he had that I got to like touch, feel, look at was from the 1970s before
Michael Braun came away or came into the picture to where, Randy was at the end of his
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career.
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for me it was just who has done something that has.
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really carved this path for the next generation to take and apply and make it their own.
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Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest for you today.
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She's releasing her brand new book, Threads of Triumph on April 7th, Professional
Wrestling's most iconic looks.
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And she's going to be doing a book signing in Ridgewood, New Jersey at Bookends on April
8th at 6 p.m.
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She's been in TNA, she's been in WWE, she's been all over the map for over a decade in the
world of professional wrestling.
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You've also seen her on her show Threads with Mackenzie Mitchell talking to all different
wrestlers about their gear, their seams and the world of professional wrestling.
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You can catch her on TNA.
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You can catch her on our interview today.
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I'm so excited to introduce today's guest, Mackenzie Mitchell.
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Thank you so much for making the time.
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And I'm glad that you're here too.
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And you have this book that you've just put out that we're going to talk all about today,
threads of triumph.
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It, first off, we were talking about this before we went on and I'll pull up mine also.
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This book, before we even get into the content, This book is one of the most aesthetically
pleasing books I've ever seen in my life in the world of pro wrestling.
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It is absolutely gorgeous.
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You see the legend Macho Man Randy Savage right here, and you have this beautiful lining
right here that matches the aesthetics.
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amazing job just on the visuals first and foremost.
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Thank you.
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Well, you know, if I was writing a book about fashion and um perspective and wearing um
outfits that are really connecting to an audience, I had to make the book appealing.
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It had to be a connection point somewhere.
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So we really focused on the details of this book from, as you mentioned, Machimay and
Randy Savage on the cover in this iconic photo that he's got to the little details.
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If you can see as you move the book up and down.
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um
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the text actually glitters to the side blocking on the side that has the glitter that
matches everything on the front.
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So we really put love and attention and time into the details of this book.
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em So I'm thankful that people are recognizing that and really taking a note of everything
that we've done to make it the piece that we wanted it to be.
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The tagline of it is professional wrestling meets fashion.
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And it's something that many times when I talk to people who come on the show, I say that
this is underrated or a lot of fans may not think of this element or that element.
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That's not the case when it comes to the threads of pro wrestling.
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I think all of us can think back to when we got into pro wrestling or even for the pro
wrestlers that we all know and love right now and think of our favorite wear
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wrestlers are just doing all different kinds of things with their outfits what was the
importance on having a book that highlighted the threads of pro wrestling?
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Well, you said it, we all have a moment, we all have a favorite, we all have a superstar
or a wrestler that has gear that they bring to the table that you're like, wow, I love
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that.
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I really think that that's cool and it connects to me in a deeper way.
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But the conversation wasn't being had.
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And I think that that's something that we've missed for a very, very long time is bringing
the conversation to light of the gear aspect, the appeal, the attire, what these people
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are wearing and why we're connecting to it.
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And so from
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My perspective, I didn't grow up a professional wrestling fan, but I've been in the
industry for 10 years.
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um
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you know, as an announcer, a backstage interviewer, a commentator, whatever it is, ring
announcer.
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um And I always say I have the best seat in the house, but I also see things from a
different perspective.
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And so getting to see how much work and love and effort is put into the aspect of the gear
and how people are presenting themselves on a weekly basis.
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wrestling's on 52 weeks a year.
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And so you're having to come up with these crazy looks or something brand new or something
that feels fashion forward on a weekly basis.
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And so I feel like people weren't the conversation the light that it deserves.
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So for me, it was something that I found interesting, I found intriguing from a casual fan
to someone who's now, like I said, been in the industry for 10 years.
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So I thought, why not just?
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really highlight it and put that context behind, go deeper, give behind the scenes inside
baseball stories that have never been told before, and give wrestlers an opportunity to
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showcase some of these hidden messages that may have been there throughout their favorite
moments or your favorite moments or whatever it is, but we never knew.
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um
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So I had this idea for six years and I really thought about it.
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I conceptualized, I pitched it multiple places, it never got approved.
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And then once I was released from the WWE in 2023, I said, you know what?
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I'm just gonna try it on my own and we're gonna see what happens.
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I did, started with threads with Mackenzie Mitchell.
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And then ended up transitioning this into a different medium and threads of triumph
professional wrestling's most iconic looks.
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And so it's been really cool to see the reception and to open this door of what could be
possible.
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of professional wrestling being considered pop culture, being considered in the fashion
industry, being considered fashion icons.
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uh I feel like this is only the beginning of what we're going to see.
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And I love how you brought up in the book, not just the perspective from wrestlers who
you've got quotes from everybody in here, from talent to people in the offices, all where
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you've gone to the gear makers.
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And it's so cool to be able to read these stories.
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Like you said, we haven't heard before.
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Like one that stood out to me was again, going back to Macho Man Randy Savage.
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There are all these photos of him not in the ring showcasing the gear that he's using, but
just being on the street, like outside of his house.
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And you read that the gear makers are talking about, you read that his gear maker is
talking all about, yeah, know, sometimes I would just see him in his boots.
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Other times it would be, you know, without shoes or whatnot.
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But it's just so cool to be able to have those stories of this behind the scenes of
something that's so important in the world of professional wrestling in a way that we've
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never really had the highlight of.
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And for you, you've gotten to work in the world of pro wrestling now for over a decade
now.
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What was the wrestler for you that really highlighted the fact of all this elaborate gear
and made you take notice of the gear in pro wrestling?
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There's so many you know like I've been asked like what's my Mount Rushmore of favorite
wrestlers gears, and I think it's all perspective I think it's all point of view of who
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you are and what you think is cool um Which is a big point of this book was the psychology
behind it because we're all individuals We all have different tastes we all have different
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people that we will we connect to because we're like I love how they express themselves um
For me, I think it's across the board, and I think it's the uniqueness of how each
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specific wrestler was showing up in a different way with the small details, right?
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if you're a heel at the time, you're gonna wear darker colors and maybe there's a little
bit more edge and there's the aesthetic that feels very gothic and deep and dark.
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um Or if you're a baby face and you're like a Tiffany Stratton and you're wearing pink and
glitter and
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It's Barbie, it's all very themed.
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think that there's a point, obviously, to be told in why people are doing that.
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I think that for me, there's not maybe one particular, but more about the concept, the
overall idea and taking note of that, of how these stories are being told in an aesthetic
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way.
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um I think someone that talk about all the time and of course we say, what a legend, what
an icon.
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And I think that those terms are very loose sometimes in the way that we describe them.
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But we talk about Ric Flair and all of the robes that he's worn over the years.
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You think about how much time and effort and money has been spent on these robes that are
now worn once, twice.
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They go in a closet.
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Sometimes they head to a museum.
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um But then from Ric Flair to the Shawn Michaels of the world, where there's ideas that
started as something small.
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mean...
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In this book you think about how many interviews Shawn Michaels has done over the years
and how many times he gets asked the same question.
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So many wrestlers are what's your favorite WrestleMania moment?
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What does this move feel like in the ring?
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Who's your favorite opponent?
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But being able to discover something brand new from Shawn Michaels of the story of being
the heartbreak kid.
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That was something that I thought, why has he never been asked this before?
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We all know the legend goes as Mr.
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Perfect said it on commentary, but it goes deeper.
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It goes deeper and it attributes to a lot of what his gear was and how that all formed
together and molded together to become the Heartbreak Kid.
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um So I think that Sean, we have to give a lot of credit to him.
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There's so many wrestlers today that give homages to him.
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Even The Undertaker, um even Rey Mysterio and the legend that he has in the lucho style of
wrestling and the masks um and the heritage that he goes back to his Latino
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So I think there's so many that we could talk about and go, it was this person.
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But for me, it's a variety.
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It's the uniqueness that everyone is bringing to the table week in and week out that
allowed me to recognize that there's something here.
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There's a bigger conversation.
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What a great answer too, because you highlighted so many different people and so many
different points, but I gotta go ahead and talk about how I'm a Shawn Michaels guy.
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I've been a Shawn Michaels guy ever since I fell in love with it.
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My first match that I had seen was Shawn and Bret WrestleMania 12, which everyone's just
like, how is that the match that got you into it, the 60 minute thing?
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But I loved it all the way from him coming down from the rafters.
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I'll always be a Shawn guy.
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And you're so right.
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Maybe as a young man, I hadn't really thought about
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the gear in the way that we're talking about it today.
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But there's something about someone dressed in this just pure white coming down with all
of this shining material, just coming down with such flamboyant attitude and such
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charismatic nature to him that for anybody watching that day and anyone who's seen Sean's
gear over the years, you you can't understate how important the gear is to a character and
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how important the gear is to
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the character itself, right?
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because even Johnny Gargano, you have a quote from in the book talking about Sean Michaels
also.
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And for those listening, Gargano is a huge Sean Michaels fan.
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And while maybe the gear translates a little bit differently to someone like Gargano, it
still highlights the character they're portraying.
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And the influence that Sean Michaels had can't be understated.
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Now.
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In the book also, you go through so many different eras.
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you chose to have a forward written by the one and only Mercedes Monet.
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What was the choice for you to have Mercedes Monet write the forward for this?
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Because in my opinion, she's got some of the best gear in modern wrestling going today.
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there's so many looks that Mercedes has brought to the table, weekend, week out, over
different companies, going back to Sasha Banks, going back to her NXT days, to her run in
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AEW and then what she's doing in Japan and all the things that uh I wanted, I was very
particular about wanting this to be a female.
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I toyed with the idea of a couple different people.
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I had thought about Chris Jericho being also writing this forward.
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I think that
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he is in the conversation to being one of the most evolved wrestlers of all time in the
ring, but also in his appearance and the way that he can tell a story like no other and he
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can make you believe.
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em so I thought about Chris, but then I really wanted a female, so I thought Bianca Belair
would be someone that I would love to have.
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We couldn't make it work for this one, maybe for volume two, that would be something that
we could do, but...
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Mercedes was someone that was at the top of my plate, top of the line the whole time for
me saying, why would I not?
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Why would I not reach out and inquire?
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um I reached out to her, she said, absolutely.
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She got this back to me.
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She got the forward back to me in two days.
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So it also was like, she was excited about the project.
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She's been very supportive about the project the entire time.
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and her words were so beautifully written.
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If you flip through her forward, she talks about the way that we express ourselves in what
we wear is a lot of who we are.
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And so being able to have Mercedes have such a great footprint in this book was very
important to me, but also an honor to me as well to have someone like Mercedes Monet write
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my forward.
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And I have a quote right here from Mercedes Monet in that forward, the fashion transcends
mere fabric and stitching.
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It's an art form that allows us to communicate without words.
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As an entertainer, I have always believed that the way we present ourselves can create
impression.
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And I love the fact of how succinct that is because on my side of the world where I'm
working on the audio craft, the sonic craft to brand a character, what Mercedes is talking
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about here from the visual element.
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can do so much from an angle that you're doing to presenting the character.
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Like you said, you could be a bad guy in pro wrestling and be wearing black.
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But then also you have someone like Rhea Ripley right now, Demi Bennett, right?
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Where she's still got this really heavy metal type character, this really gothic
character, and she's still wearing black to the ring.
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But at the same time, it works for her because she's got all these other things that she's
doing.
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So it's one of these things where Mercedes Monet coming up and being like, hey, this is
such a big part.
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of professional wrestling that we don't even think about.
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can't tell you how good of a introduction that is to the book.
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And you highlighted everybody across the board, right?
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You went to WWE, New Japan, AEW, TNA.
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You have so many different people that you're highlighting in here from Seth Rollins, to
Will Ospreay, to Kenny Omega.
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And across companies you see over the years and even more modern wrestling.
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how different all of these styles can be.
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chose wrestlers to highlight in the modern era, what were some of those choices that you
made?
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And I feel like there are so many different wrestlers I could have added as well.
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I could only really choose 50 or a little bit around the number of 50 because the book is
only so big.
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I think it's 286 pages or something and still some of the pages we had more context.
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We just weren't able to put everything in.
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It was all my own opinion.
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think that you see on Twitter where it says all opinions are my own.
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This is exactly how this book was for me.
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uh I bounced some ideas off of, course, my husband who is in the wrestling industry as
well, Vic Joseph, Sam Roberts to Peter Rosenberg, to different people that are in the
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industry that would consider themselves almost wrestling historians of.
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where does this fit?
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Does this make sense?
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Do you think that this person has had enough variety in their look?
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I think that that's something that was really important to me to consider because so many
people have the consistency in their looks.
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So many people throughout the years have had one singular look and they've never changed
it and it's worked.
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And that's something to note and go, okay, well that's worked for them.
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There's a reason why Hulk Hogan wore red and yellow and he kept that way because he knew
that it made sense.
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But then you look at the varieties we talked about Chris Jericho, when we go, well, he's
got so many evolved looks over time.
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Macho Man, Randy Savage going to Macho King all the way down to like, or even before Macho
King and wearing some of the gold robes.
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one of the robes he had that I got to like touch, feel, look at was from the 1970s before
Michael Braun came away or came into the picture um to where, where Randy was at the end
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of his career.
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And so
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I think for me it was just who has done something that has.
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really carved this path for the next generation to take and apply and make it their own.
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who should we feature that has done something that is so prominent that we have to go
like, yeah, you got to give them their flowers because it worked like it worked and it
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played into their character and they had some of these massive moments in their career,
WrestleMania, Summer Slams, etc.
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um That really it all just came together the moment and the look became magic and we all
talk about it and we remember it and we it's
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deep, deep psychology thing almost.
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I have a minor in psychology and I'm like, what would I ever do with a minor in
psychology?
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And here we are today.
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were so many that I wasn't able to feature that again, I would love to have in a volume
two, but I think so many people that we have to say, well, yeah, no brainer, duh.
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Of course they would be in the book.
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Of course they would make it in, you know, the attitude era or ooh, they were a big part
in swaying how we were thinking about it and how we were watching television at that time.
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I'm excited to see what everyone else thinks about all the people that were put into this
book.
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um Some that go really unrecognized and some that don't give enough credit that I also
felt was important to give them the love that they deserve.
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I love how you also brought up that some people change their looks over time and other
people kind of have a consistency to them, right?
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You bring up Hulk Hogan, but one that I wanted to bring up with you was kind of a compare
and contrast between someone like Sensational Sherry versus someone like Chyna, right?
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If we think about Sensational Sherry, she wore lots of different outfits during her time
in pro wrestling.
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But if you think of someone like Chyna, the consistency of her coming out, generally in
the all black, and she changed it a little bit when she went from DX to doing more of her
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solo stuff or working with Eddie Guerrero and people like that.
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But there's something to be said in knowing when you should change, how you should change,
or just saying, you know what, this is what's gonna fit my personality.
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And the same thing could be said about entrance themes.
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There are some people who keep an entrance theme, Shawn Michaels is a great example, for
like 25, 30 years.
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And there are some people that say, you know what, at this stage of my career, I'm doing
something different, I know when I need to change.
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I have this feeling where I need to address a different part of what I'm doing, maybe
address a different storyline.
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and go in a different direction.
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But the fact of being able to have wrestlers that can go, you know what, I'm going to
embody this now, and that's going to be my look for X amount of time until I'm done in pro
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wrestling, or being able to change over time with what they feel is necessary, I think
it's such a huge, important point.
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And something, again, that goes under the radar a little bit.
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Now, you mentioned Bianca Belair.
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We have to mention Bianca Belair because she makes all her own gear.
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So I totally understand how the highlight of her.
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is so important in a book like this.
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But I want to ask you too, Bianca Belair has created lots of her own gear.
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So we're going to put her in this category too, who have been some of your favorite gear
makers that we can highlight?
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gear makers people seems to assist seems to on the other side.
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I think we have to give credit to Terry Anderson Julie Youngberg who have been on the WWE
team for years, their sisters.
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Julie did all of Sean's things, Terry did all of Undertaker.
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She did some of Rick's robes.
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She did a lot of the Heart Dynasty, Heart Legacy.
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It was funny because when I was interviewing Terry.
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A lot of people I would get on the phone, obviously, if I was interviewing a wrestler or
someone that specifically did work for specific people.
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And I said to Terry, I'm like, I don't even know where to begin because I would be like.
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Oh, so did you work on Brett Hart?
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And she'd be like, yeah, and I worked on Natty's and I worked on Jim's and I was the one
that created the original uh look of like when they had this jacket that had these cap
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sleeves and the fringe that came from the side that Natty's still kind of incorporates
today.
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So it was like, we would start and then I'd be like, and did you create?
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And she's like, yes, and that was mine.
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So it was like, we just kept going in circles.
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Where I could have spent an entire day diving in with Terry and all of the work that she
has done over the years from, the 1980s and she's still there.
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She's still making gear today on the WWE team.
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absolutely needs to get her flowers.
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Julie also needs to get her flowers.
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Surat, that has worked on so many people's gear from Seth Rollins to Shinsuke to the New
Day to all these people.
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So I think there's so many Seamsters, says Seamsters, Jolene.
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Jolene has done a lot of stuff.
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She's also in the WWE team that works on Becky Lynch's, Chelsea Green.
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It goes on and on.
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There's so many because when you find something you like and you do it right, like if it's
not broke, don't fix it, right?
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Like that's where I think these people are very skilled and they're very em undervalued if
we've used that word here.
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of the work that they do because so many superstars have this vision.
253
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Seth Rollins talks about this.
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the visionary for a reason.
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I have a vision, but I need help in the execution.
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I don't know fabric.
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I don't know measurements.
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I don't know details.
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I don't know what would look and pop on stage, but that's where it's a team effort.
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That's where these seamstresses, these seamsters, these experts come into play and go,
well, let me bring your vision to life.
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And so being able to incorporate them into this book and share some of their knowledge and
some of their experience to be able to give
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an idea of new people that are wanting to get into the industry or maybe a seamstress that
has wanted to experimenting in professional wrestling or being able to compare that to
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fashion and couture to switch that mentality.
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So I think it was important to bring light to all of the conversation, not just have
inside baseball from the wrestler themselves.
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Absolutely.
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And the fact that you're bringing up all these seamstresses that also have this legacy in
the industry, this time on the clock, right?
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I think that ties into the other thing in the book, which you address a little bit later
on in the book, is the legacies.
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Like, for example, the Anoa'i, the Samoans, the Hart dynasty, right?
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All these different factions and families that have come through the wrestling industry
over time.
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You know, you have Bret, you have Jim Neidhart, you have Natalia,
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part of the same family and there's this through line from the early times of wrestling
into now that with a lot of these seamstresses, whether they've worked on the original
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gear or not, it sounds like many of them have.
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So that's gotta be a really great experience for them being able to say, you know what, I
worked on the early days, the conception of this all the way up to now the next generation
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of this family or of this faction.
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And I loved the highlight of the Hart family because there's no more iconic gear in
wrestling.
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than the Hart family.
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Exactly.
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Nati was a massive part of this book and I think that a lot of people don't know that and
I hope that they understand that now.
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When I was doing Threads with Mackenzie Mitchell and we were diving into the closets of
some of your favorite wrestlers, Nati was on my of people that I was like, want to talk to
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her.
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It's very important to me to make sure we spend the time because Nati has been doing this.
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She is so experienced in this industry and again comes from the lineage which you
mentioned.
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So I sat down with Nati and we started talking about her gear and her family and all the
things and we had
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an hour and a half of conversation when we finished the interview she uh
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And I said, Natty, I don't know how I would turn it into a book.
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And she's like, you're an interviewer.
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The way we had this conversation, it was just so fluent and it made so much sense.
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And there were things that were coming out that I was like, huh, I didn't even think about
that or hadn't even talked about this in a long, time or ever.
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And she's like, you need to make this more.
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So she inspired me.
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I wrote a 30 page book proposal, got a literary agent.
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We shopped the idea.
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I got four offers in two weeks, which again reiterated to me that there is
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need for this conversation.
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There's interest across the board.
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It's almost kind of peeling back the onion a layer a little bit without going too far and
exposing the business.
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So for me,
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Nati was somebody that I was like, want to highlight the heart legacy and everything that
the family has done.
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One of my favorite quotes and moments in the book, Nati talks about her family and I
thought, what do you ask Nati?
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00:23:03,691 --> 00:23:08,605
Of course we had an hour and a half of conversation in the past about the pink and black
and where that comes from.
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but I said, if you were to create an iconic Hall of Fame look for your family that
embodies everything that the Heart Dynasty has brought to the table, has created over the
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years, what would that look like?
303
00:23:23,892 --> 00:23:30,090
And she was like, I think it would be a beautiful like black suit.
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with a pink bow tie that had classic pearl details that had a little bit of diamonds here
and that like it just made so much sense.
305
00:23:38,350 --> 00:23:40,010
And she was like, was, it would be satin.
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It would have these pieces.
307
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Like I was like, yes, yes.
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It didn't it from Jim from her, her grandfather Stu all the way down to where she is
today.
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00:23:50,510 --> 00:23:55,930
took pieces and homage from everyone that has been in this wrestling lineage over the
years.
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I want
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these conversations to be different.
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I want these answers to be, to feel very intentional and make you think about it and
really think deeply into, yeah, this is why my favorite wrestler did this.
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I just never put the pieces together.
314
00:24:10,601 --> 00:24:15,475
And I love the fact that Nati has that sense too, you know, because you're having these
conversations with her.
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00:24:15,475 --> 00:24:19,708
And I think it's very easy for us to think like, you know, Nati's got this lineage.
316
00:24:19,708 --> 00:24:21,880
Of course she would use the heart logos.
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Of course she would use the pink and black, right?
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But not necessarily.
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00:24:25,402 --> 00:24:34,609
And I think that what she's done over her career and the entire Heart Dynasty, for that
matter, has really continued to pay homage to the past, keep it in the present, and for
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whatever happens in the future, really create
321
00:24:37,347 --> 00:24:41,509
just this synonymous look and the synonymous vision for what the hearts are.
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00:24:41,509 --> 00:24:45,410
I've always thought that the pink and black in the heart was always incredibly classy.
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Whether the hearts were baby faces or heels, ladies and gentlemen, you can't deny that
that's one of the most iconic looks.
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And, you know, I think it's always been very well represented within the heart dynasty.
325
00:24:55,964 --> 00:24:59,796
we're talking so much about the visual side of pro wrestling.
326
00:24:59,796 --> 00:25:04,990
I got to get some of your opinions on the audio side of pro wrestling also, because now
you've been at this.
327
00:25:04,990 --> 00:25:08,454
for about a decade in the world of professional wrestling.
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00:25:08,454 --> 00:25:15,147
As we talk about themes on this side, I gotta ask you, what are some of your favorite
entrance themes in pro wrestling?
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00:25:15,147 --> 00:25:16,468
Hmm.
330
00:25:16,468 --> 00:25:23,742
You know, it's interesting because I, we keep saying interesting, but it is, something
that people don't talk about all the time.
331
00:25:23,742 --> 00:25:27,364
Like I said, they say, oh, my favorite match is this.
332
00:25:27,364 --> 00:25:34,580
Oh, I like this move because like they don't go like, yeah, but this is a, this is the
whole pie.
333
00:25:34,580 --> 00:25:43,647
Like you're only seeing a sliver of the pie, which is the match, you don't see the, you
see the training and the agility and the athlete perspective, but you don't see the other
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00:25:43,647 --> 00:25:46,449
piece of the pie that creates and makes it whole.
335
00:25:46,509 --> 00:25:49,472
I think when we talk about some of the best we have to talk about Rhea Ripley.
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00:25:49,472 --> 00:25:55,016
um She's one in the modern day that we all kind of look at and we go like.
337
00:25:55,339 --> 00:25:59,732
Yeah, it's so powerful every single time she makes her entrance.
338
00:25:59,732 --> 00:26:09,559
you know, it's real Ripley and the fans react and they create this moment to even Cody
Rhodes and like intentionally the lines and the songs and the verbiage that comes out of
339
00:26:09,559 --> 00:26:09,730
it.
340
00:26:09,730 --> 00:26:11,711
As the American nightmare, it makes sense.
341
00:26:11,711 --> 00:26:14,863
He talks about his family, his dad, his being the American nightmare.
342
00:26:14,863 --> 00:26:16,774
He talks about all of that together.
343
00:26:16,774 --> 00:26:20,856
Again, it's a connection point of your feeling.
344
00:26:20,856 --> 00:26:24,138
I talk about this with the New Day in my book.
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um
346
00:26:25,444 --> 00:26:30,557
And something I think I want people to know a lot of this is I wrote everything in this
book.
347
00:26:30,557 --> 00:26:35,580
was every, there was not a moment where I was like, hmm, Vic, do you want to write this
feature?
348
00:26:35,580 --> 00:26:38,572
Like, no, I sat there on the couch, couch, plane, boat.
349
00:26:38,572 --> 00:26:47,087
I swear I was on a cruise um at TNA backstage, like in my store in Nashville up till 3
a.m.
350
00:26:47,087 --> 00:26:52,120
I was everywhere and I made sure that I wanted to make, I wanted it to be my work.
351
00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:55,111
I wanted to make sure that Mackenzie came through in it.
352
00:26:55,111 --> 00:27:05,155
um And back to this when we talked about the New Day, the feeling of an entrance and your
gear and who a superstar is, it should touch on every sense.
353
00:27:05,155 --> 00:27:12,458
Your sight, your sound, like maybe not your taste, but like in terms of like taste if
we're talking about fashion.
354
00:27:12,458 --> 00:27:16,610
But I mean, in terms of all of it, like it should feel like the whole package.
355
00:27:16,610 --> 00:27:21,554
And the New Day was somebody that I was like, they do that.
356
00:27:21,554 --> 00:27:32,603
Perfectly when they were a collective group they would come out and everybody would just
feel happy like you couldn't not smile you were constantly like and they're throwing
357
00:27:32,603 --> 00:27:42,882
cereal and Donuts and all the things and you're like, yes It's all of your senses that
what they're supposed to make you feel is this like rush of excitement It was nailed every
358
00:27:42,882 --> 00:27:45,374
time that you're like, it's the bright colors.
359
00:27:45,374 --> 00:27:49,881
It's the sound the happiness like it all came together in one full piece
360
00:27:49,881 --> 00:27:58,326
I think the new day when they first started with the gimmick that they were originally
going with, The theme I thought was really great But it would have been very easy for them
361
00:27:58,326 --> 00:28:05,079
as they started to shift into more of the fun time throwing pancakes style gimmick for
them to change the theme into something, into whatever they would have.
362
00:28:05,079 --> 00:28:07,209
But I feel like they committed to the bit, right?
363
00:28:07,209 --> 00:28:11,281
And I had Dijak on a while ago, probably one of my first guests on this show.
364
00:28:11,281 --> 00:28:13,642
And he was just like as important as it is.
365
00:28:13,642 --> 00:28:17,703
for the music and the gear to represent you, you have to feel it too.
366
00:28:17,703 --> 00:28:20,914
You have to have buy-in and you've got to be able to make it work.
367
00:28:20,914 --> 00:28:30,478
And I think that, you know, between talking about entrance themes, talking about the gear
and the seams and talking about the talent in general, everything's got to mesh together
368
00:28:30,478 --> 00:28:35,899
in this way where the talent has the buy-in and goes, you know what, this is going to work
one way or another.
369
00:28:35,899 --> 00:28:38,082
This is going to work for me.
370
00:28:38,082 --> 00:28:40,023
Yes, absolutely.
371
00:28:40,023 --> 00:28:50,516
we talk about when we talk about the new day, writing this book, I have felt a little like
nervous in the fact of, okay, well, I've been working on this for so long.
372
00:28:50,516 --> 00:28:54,098
I almost feel like a musician where people write.
373
00:28:54,098 --> 00:29:02,081
these songs, these beautiful love letters, and they take a bit of their heartbreak or
their love or whatever it is, and they write this album, and they're like, I've put so
374
00:29:02,081 --> 00:29:06,593
much love and effort into this, and then being able to put it on display is such a
vulnerable thing.
375
00:29:06,593 --> 00:29:09,784
And so for me, it almost feels similar and like, here's my work.
376
00:29:09,784 --> 00:29:10,361
Do you like it?
377
00:29:10,361 --> 00:29:11,065
Do you wanna buy it?
378
00:29:11,065 --> 00:29:12,445
Do you think it's cute?
379
00:29:12,445 --> 00:29:13,320
What do you think?
380
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,701
and being able to get the feedback from the stars themselves.
381
00:29:16,701 --> 00:29:25,604
Shinsuke Nakamura was one that messaged me immediately and was like, Mackenzie, I'm just
so honored to be part of that, part of this project, which made me immediately be like,
382
00:29:25,604 --> 00:29:28,104
whoo, okay, somebody likes it, right?
383
00:29:28,104 --> 00:29:35,406
And then number two, both E, Big E and Kofi Kingston have been such champions of this
book.
384
00:29:35,406 --> 00:29:41,008
um Big E has connected me to several people and he just sent me an audio note on
385
00:29:41,273 --> 00:29:46,476
Gosh, we were at TNA on Friday, sent me on a big audio note and just how grateful he is to
be part of the book.
386
00:29:46,476 --> 00:29:54,341
then Kofi Kingston sent me a picture of his son flipping through and was like, I just want
to let you know, I knew this idea was supposed to be.
387
00:29:54,659 --> 00:29:59,112
Like we've been meaning to talk about this, but I just didn't know how important it would
be.
388
00:29:59,112 --> 00:30:03,115
And being able to share this moment with my children is so cool.
389
00:30:03,115 --> 00:30:08,269
He said, my daughter flipped through and every girl that would come up, she would go, I
wanna be her.
390
00:30:08,269 --> 00:30:09,609
I wanna be her.
391
00:30:09,609 --> 00:30:10,850
Oh, I love this.
392
00:30:10,850 --> 00:30:11,621
I wanna be her.
393
00:30:11,621 --> 00:30:17,785
And I'm like, those are the moments as the author of this book going, yeah, this is bigger
than me.
394
00:30:17,785 --> 00:30:21,067
This is a bigger conversation that was meant to be had over time.
395
00:30:21,067 --> 00:30:22,028
um
396
00:30:22,028 --> 00:30:32,076
And so being able to fulfill this and open the door for a younger generation or for this
conversation to happen uh was super important and it's so fulfilling and I'm grateful for
397
00:30:32,076 --> 00:30:32,949
all of it.
398
00:30:32,949 --> 00:30:36,661
And like you said, you don't know how important the work is until the work is out there,
right?
399
00:30:36,661 --> 00:30:44,624
And you hear these stories from people that you've had in the book or people that you've
had these conversations with and they give you feedback like that.
400
00:30:44,624 --> 00:30:47,425
I love how it's such a rejuvenating feeling for you.
401
00:30:47,425 --> 00:30:55,238
Like, hey, I have this concept, I have this idea, and then all of sudden when you see the
pages printed and you're talking to the talent or the talent's talking to you, shout out
402
00:30:55,238 --> 00:30:55,693
to Shinsuke.
403
00:30:55,693 --> 00:30:57,199
He's one of my favorites of all time too.
404
00:30:57,199 --> 00:31:02,513
Again, has never had a bad entrance theme either, ladies and gentlemen, and has never had
bad gear either.
405
00:31:02,513 --> 00:31:03,554
right?
406
00:31:04,709 --> 00:31:05,430
I love that.
407
00:31:05,430 --> 00:31:12,995
And as someone with kids also, when they watch wrestling and seeing like my son really
resonate with someone like a Dragon Lee or something like that, like seeing him come out
408
00:31:12,995 --> 00:31:16,357
in his get up and being like, I want to do that or just like, I love it.
409
00:31:16,357 --> 00:31:17,698
Like, it can't be understated.
410
00:31:17,698 --> 00:31:23,993
Now, to wrap up our interview, I got to ask you, Mackenzie Mitchell, what are some of the
songs on your playlist?
411
00:31:23,993 --> 00:31:32,916
Ooh, well, I can answer this in a couple ways because obviously the book is about threads,
it's about fashion.
412
00:31:33,076 --> 00:31:44,030
And when I personally put some of my looks together and what I'm wearing on TNA, what I'm
wearing on television, what I have for years, even at the WWE, um I was always finding
413
00:31:44,030 --> 00:31:47,109
inspiration from Dua Lipa, which is a pop.
414
00:31:47,109 --> 00:31:50,672
artist, a big pop artist, and then Casey Musgraves.
415
00:31:50,672 --> 00:31:59,468
I have this almost like, she's a Texas girl, she's kind of like, she creates, she's carved
her own path, she really is just like a headstrong mentality.
416
00:31:59,468 --> 00:32:06,073
And so for me, a little bit of country, a little bit of monochromatic looks um in both of
them.
417
00:32:06,073 --> 00:32:09,886
And I think I resonate with them not just on their looks, but on their music.
418
00:32:09,886 --> 00:32:11,307
They tell deeper stories.
419
00:32:11,307 --> 00:32:12,608
em
420
00:32:12,870 --> 00:32:15,413
Maren Morris, I love a female artist, I really do.
421
00:32:15,413 --> 00:32:17,004
I listen to a lot of female artists.
422
00:32:17,004 --> 00:32:20,148
um But like I said, Dua Lipa's probably on my playlist.
423
00:32:20,148 --> 00:32:21,850
Kacey Musgraves is on my playlist.
424
00:32:21,850 --> 00:32:23,511
Maren Morris is on my playlist.
425
00:32:23,511 --> 00:32:27,355
um Let's see, who else am I listening to at the moment?
426
00:32:28,050 --> 00:32:28,690
That's really it.
427
00:32:28,690 --> 00:32:30,292
That's really it at the moment.
428
00:32:30,292 --> 00:32:32,493
I mean, I do love pop music.
429
00:32:32,493 --> 00:32:34,685
I do love country music.
430
00:32:34,685 --> 00:32:39,458
I'm born in the Midwest, Missouri, like southern part of Missouri by Arkansas.
431
00:32:39,458 --> 00:32:42,270
So I still love my country music and have my store in Nashville.
432
00:32:42,270 --> 00:32:44,803
So those are probably my top three at the moment.
433
00:32:44,803 --> 00:32:46,135
I'm never going to bash the country.
434
00:32:46,135 --> 00:32:47,727
I'm such a Brad Paisley fan.
435
00:32:47,727 --> 00:32:49,409
Brent Mason is such a great guitarist.
436
00:32:49,409 --> 00:32:51,637
And then for me, throw on some Gretchen Wilson.
437
00:32:51,637 --> 00:32:55,039
Okay, Redneck Woman, yes, I'm right there with you.
438
00:32:55,039 --> 00:32:58,101
Well, thank you so much for making time to come on the show, everybody.
439
00:32:58,101 --> 00:33:01,203
As we talked about at the top, but we're to go ahead and reiterate it again.
440
00:33:01,203 --> 00:33:08,047
Threads of triumph is going to be out April 7th, but April 8th, you can catch her at
bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey at 6 p.m.
441
00:33:08,047 --> 00:33:08,988
I'll be there.
442
00:33:08,988 --> 00:33:09,948
You're going to be there.
443
00:33:09,948 --> 00:33:12,950
And if you weren't planning on being there, you're planning on being there now.
444
00:33:12,950 --> 00:33:14,841
Mackenzie, thank you so much for your time today.
445
00:33:14,841 --> 00:33:15,552
Thank you.
446
00:33:15,552 --> 00:33:18,027
Yes, I hope to see everybody in New Jersey.
447
00:33:18,027 --> 00:33:22,817
I look forward to finally sharing my work with everyone and being able to sign some copies
there in New Jersey.
448
00:33:22,817 --> 00:33:23,614
So come see us.


