April 6, 2026

McKenzie Mitchell on Her New Book Threads Of Triumph, Natalya's Inspiration, Mercedes Mone Foreward

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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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Speaker:

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.

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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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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?

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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

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And she was like, was, it would be satin.

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It would have these pieces.

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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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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.

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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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And I think it's very easy for us to think like, you know, Nati's got this lineage.

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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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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

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just this synonymous look and the synonymous vision for what the hearts are.

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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.

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00:24:55,964 --> 00:24:59,796

we're talking so much about the visual side of pro wrestling.

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I got to get some of your opinions on the audio side of pro wrestling also, because now

you've been at this.

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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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Hmm.

330

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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

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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.

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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.

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I talk about this with the New Day in my book.

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00:26:24,138 --> 00:26:25,258

um

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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

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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

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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

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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.