Show: Interactive Wrestling Radio
Guests: Jessie Belle Smothers & Shane Andrews
Date: 04/29/16
Your Hosts: Patrick Kelley & James Walsh
Ohio Valley Wrestling's "Bad Boys Club" are well represented on this edition of Interactive Wrestling Radio.
Join us as we welcome Jessie Belle Smothers and Shane Andrews to the podcast for the first time each respectively.
Plus, Patrick and James explain the long absence, James' ailment, and we finally get around to discussing what happened
at WrestleMania which we previewed on our broadcast before this.
Click Here to Listen!
JESSIE BELLE:
On getting into wrestling:
Jessie says she grew up a fan during the Attitude Era but had no idea about independent wrestling until her boyfriend, who became her husband, introduced her to it. She said, "Dude, you've got to teach me to do this." That was 10 years ago and she's been involved ever since.
On being Tracy Smothers' character daughter:
Jessie says there's a long story involved in that and shares it. She says she met Tracy during her time with her husband, who was not very supportive of her learning to wrestle. A few years later, she ran into "Pops", as she calls Tracy, at her complex's gym. She was scared to approach him but ultimately did and ended up hitting it off with him. He agreed to train her and even came up with the idea of her being his daughter. She never thought it would work because she had worked as a valet for a few years and people knew that she wasn't related to him. But, he insisted and even doctored up a paternity test online as evidence. She was working for a Doctor at the time and he gave them professional papers to sell to the locker room that they actually are father and daughter. Now, a few years later, some guys who knew Tracy back in the day still won't believe she's not really his daughter. She says they look so much alike and work so much alike, Tommy Rich still won't buy into the fact that it was a work.
On dating wrestlers in wrestling:
Jessie says she'll probably get heat for this but always tells the girls not to get involved with the boys. She says if there's 100 wrestlers, 95 either are married or are womanizers and have girls in every town they travel to, she says some of the girls have guys in every town too so it isn't just a guy's thing. That leaves 5 guys you could get serious about. Well, 3 of those guys are gay which leaves maybe 2 in 100 that are decent, available guys in wrestling. She says, though, that she was married to a wrestler and is engaged to Shane Andrews to be married this summer so clearly there are exceptions.
On why Taeler Hendrix got the break for TNA Gut Check and not her:
Jessie says she wasn't at her emotional or physical best at the time that TNA did Gut Check and that Taeler was physically cut to shreds and gorgeous at the time. She feels wrestling has come a long way from cosmetics ruling the way it is looked at but feels it was Taeler's time. she has nothing but nice things to say about Taeler. Jessie says she's in better shape now than she was back then but fears she may be too old now to get such an opportunity if it came up again.
On a desire to go to WWE or TNA:
Jessie says she isn't actively chasing that. She says if they asked her, she'd go. But, she doesn't have a WWE package prepared to send in and isn't on the application site for WWE talent or anything. She feels she's learned a lot and is a veteran talent now and welcomes opportunities but is happy working for OVW and the various promotions she works for.
On if the WWE's serious approach to female wrestling has trickled down to the Independent circuit:
Jessie says it hasn't because sometimes she still is put in there with girls that have never wrestled before. She says when she's told who she is to work, she googles them if she doesn't already know them so she can watch videos of their work and know what they do. If they don't have a history or are just one of the boys' girlfriends, she maps out a comedy match so no one involved could get hurt.
On working Lei'D Tapa:
Jessie says she loves working larger opponents and praises Tapa heavily. She says being smaller, she loves the psychology of doing different moves to get an advantage on a competitor who is physically more impressive. She says those kinds of matches are her favorite to be a part of.
SHANE ANDREWS:
On being a veteran in OVW:
Shane says he's a veteran for the locker room in OVW and has enjoyed being in that position. He says he has an opportunity to help the younger talent with things that he's learned over the years. But, he is still in there wrestling for himself as well.
On training under Mr. Fuji:
Shane says wrestling under Mr. Fuji was intense. He says he taught you the right way to do it and that is the only way he'd accept.
On Mr. Fuji rib stories:
Shane laughs and says there are a lot, one in particular he'd love to share but can't because it might incriminate himself. He says Fuji was still a rib master even as an older trainer. He does, however, share stories about getting a large ladder and taping the bags of the boys who showed up late or skipped training to the ceiling to teach them a lesson.
On his reported match with Rikishi on Velocity back in 2002:
Shane laughs and says it never actually happened. He isn't sure where the reports came from but now, on a lot of profiles online including Wikipedia, it talks about this match that never took place. He's worked Rikishi since on the independent circuit but never in a WWE ring. He has done dark matches for WWE and TNA, however.
On his plans going forward:
Shane says if you had asked last year, he'd have said he's got his eyes on WWE. But, he's 36 now going on 37 and says the window of opportunity might be closing. Instead, he's putting his focus into working Ohio Valley Wrestling and will take opportunities as they come.