Hello everybody. This is Rob Shivers and I am the manager of the greatest
stable and professional wrestling today, the Emerald Empire. And you are listening to
the King of Wrestling podcast. This is Johnny Swinger, that King of Swing.
You're listening to the King of Wrestling podcast and don't sing it, swing
it. And you're listening to the King of Podcast number one. Ladies and
gentlemen, my name is Brian Pillman Junior, and you are listening to the
Kings of Wrestling podcast. This is our land. You're listening to the King
Wrestling podcasting. And now you're host. Yes, I am the host with
the most baby, I am Brandon Turner. And well I got probably one
of the second greatest managers in professional wrestling today, none other than the manager
of the Emerald Empire, Rob Shivers. What's going on? Rob? First
and foremost? I cannot tell you what our honor and a trivilege it is
for all of you to have me on this podcast today and second best and
then look, look, look, don't downgrade yourself so bad, brother,
Hey, being second best, there's nothing wrong with it whatsoever. I mean.
Look, Charles Bronkley ever won the championship because Jordan was around. It's
okay to be Charles Bronkley brother. Heyton, nobody's hold against you. Okay,
I can see this podcast is gonna be going south real quick. I'm
gonna I'm gonna remove my ego for half a second, for half a second,
I'm gonna let you have the shine for just one second. I usually
don't do this, the breathing one, don't take a backseat to nobody,
but I'm gonna let the Emerald Empire come in for just a second and take
over. So I'm gonna let you have the floor tonight. Okay. That's
what we do everywhere we go. Man, that I mean, you didn't
have to say that we are to you. That's gonna happen. Yeah,
yeah, I'll see that. Well, mister Shivers, it is an honor
to have you on the podcast. One of the reasons that I'm ha be
that you're here. And I don't know if you know this yet, but
I have a problem with a certain little worm and I heard you took him
out at the AWF show a couple of weeks ago, so thank you for
that. You know what, I heard that you had been having a problem
with him. And I'm always around too, let's just say fixed problems.
That's kind of part of my job as a manager. I am so sick
to death of the worm. Walter the worm. Jeezus, you should have
saw him last night. All I'm gonna say is, I'll send you the
video so you can see it. But he showed up last night to APW
as the ring announcer, wearing dad really new new balances and warm in the
ring. I don't know about you, guys, but before I leave home,
I make sure I have things like I don't socks, pants, shoes.
Come on, worm, you're better than this. No, no,
he's not. But I'll say this though too. I've never seen him prepared.
You know. The night before that he was ring announcing at Awa and
I mean I have to interrupt him. I can't, I tell him mean,
you cannot introduce my guys, you just don't have the voice. Farts.
You gotta get out there because we got I mean, I managed the
Asa Spade, the Truth Star of the Ace of the Awa and that's Charlie
Ace. But uh and he picked up the wind over DJ cit Brown.
But I'm not gonna let that worm ever introduce any of my talent, because
you know, you're pretty much tried about him not being ever being prepared because
his parents had five kids and he was the sixth one. D I mean,
brother, brother is a lot behind, is all I'm trying to say,
Worm, you gotta stif the game up. I would, but you
know our host Brandon Turner here, he was correct when he said, you
can't do better, but you can at least try to do better. Kid,
Come on, yeah, you can try, and just don't do it
with my clients. But Rob, I want to jump into this, man,
I kind of want to get started with the fact I how long did
you before you got into wrestling? Like, were you a fan growing up?
I will, I can honestly say, without one question, I can't
remember a time in my life where there was no such thing as there were
I didn't watch wrestling, like the story goes, I was just a couple
of weeks old and up here around at up here in Bruton, Alabama,
there's a National Guard Army, and like I was a couple of weeks older,
my folks took me to my first matches and been in it and literally
ever since. I mean, like some kids can say I can remember I
was eight years old. Ought, I can't remember not watching wrestling. Yeah,
that's about like me. I man, when I grew up, I
grew up on the Mid South. I grew up on you know, WCWWWE
you know. But I used to go to the fairgrounds with my grandpa on
Friday nights and watch Cowboy Bob Kelly and all them guys back in the day.
And uh it was it was a fun time. So what what kind
of sparked your interest into getting into the wrestling business. It you've probably heard
of ten million times. But like when when up, like when you're growing
up as kids, you always see these kids say, oh, I want
to be a fireman, I want to be a police officer. I want
to be in the military. I've literally never wanted to do anything else.
Like, yeah, we all have jobs, but I mean, like,
if somebody come to me and put a gun on my hands, and you
get to do one job for the rest of your life and it only one,
what would it be? We have to think about pro wrestling. I'm
and like legit, most kids, like when you're growing up and you have
wrestling, you know, friends in school like wrestling you know, you play
wrestling and this guy, I want to be whole Covid or I'm gonna be
Andre. I legitimately understood from the time I was a young child that I
wanted to be Bobby Eating. Oh my goodness, baby, no wonder we're
great, like I mean, even at a young age. And there stood.
Yeah, everybody bought Russellmannia three to watch Hogan and Andre, there's no
question about it. And everybody loves steing Vos Savage, but who really taught
that program up besides the commentators like Gorilla and Jesse and Vince who sold those
tickets. Bobby, Bobby Heenvid and Bobby Heenan gave was the reason. Like,
if Andre would have just attacked Hogan, there would have still been a
lot of fans who were on Andre's side, But the minute he aligned himself
with Henan, it's like, okay, there's no question we hate this guy.
And I mean guys like Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornett, Gary Harp,
those guys. I've always been a heel fan. I never liked good guys.
Yeah, I like Hogan, okay, but my main guys were Flare
and Savage. When he was a heel. Guys like that, I was.
I was always a fan of the heels, so I got it from
a very young age. It's like, Okay, yeah, Hogan's cool,
is big, he's muscular, he's ten, he's got some hair. But
then you look across the rent. Then you switch the channel and you got
Rick Flair, Who's coming out, And literally you knew he was not be
asking you about he's got limousines, he's got women, money, how is
this car? So that what you knew, You could feel that, and
even as a kid, you knew that this guy was the epitome of what
a pro wrestler was supposed to be. You really did. And you know,
you talk about Bobby the Brain hen Bobby the Brain Heenon was my inspiration
to get into wrestling. Absolutely, you talk about the heel factor and all
that. I'm gonna just say this back in the eighties when I was watching,
I'm dating myself a little bit, but Rick Rude one of my favorites.
Yes, God, yes, I loved him. If every wrestler could
look like Rick Rude and everybody talked like Bobby Henan, there would be there'd
be there'd be turning away fans right now, there'd be people still sitting outside
of the building want to buy fin By tickets. But yeah, Rick Rude,
I loved his stick. You know, Bobby Hen could talk his head
off, but all Rick Rude had to do was say, cut my music.
I want right now for all of you inner city sweat holks to feast
your eyes on what a real man looks like. And it was like the
dudes wanted to kill him and the chips weren't to be with him. That's
that's the ticket, That's that's arn. Anderson said it best. He said,
baby faces sell merchandise, heels sell tickets. Because people legitimately fought,
paid money, got in the car to come see somebody steps shove it up
Bobby Hen's ass. Can we ever, by the way, what was that?
Can we cursed on here? Oh? You can do whatever you want
it. Man, you're you're free. This is a free rain. Okay.
I'm I'm trying not to drop me a bombary and feel like that.
I just didn't want to like say asking somebody go We'll wait a minute.
But anyway we can edit that out, I guess. But yeah, people
bought tickets to see Hogan kind of get his hands on, Bobby. And
that's the art of a manager. You make people hate you, but thereby
when I bring you to the ring with me, they hate you too.
You don't even have to work at making them hate you. They automatically hate
you. That that's the art, and that really is And that's why I
modeled myself after Bobby the Brain healing on both when I do when I'm a
manager, I'm modeled by by Bobby the brain When I do commentary, I'm
modeled by Bobby the brain heading. So you know, Bobby the brain heading
was a big part of my childhood as a as a manager and a commentator
exactly. And the thing about Bobby was he taught me Brussel, I'm sorry
he started over each taught me to manage like you're a wrestler and rustle like
a manager. Don't have to go out there and nobody expects you to go
out there and look like rain Mystereo. You your guy lost, so you
your opponent's got five minutes with you. They're not expecting you to fly around
the ring like a Lucador. They want to see you get your ass kids,
exactly. And then if it's a hot enough issue. Maybe my guy
screws screws the fan favorite and I slide out somehow by the skin of my
teeth. Then they're gonna be like, Okay, that's it, that's it,
we're gonna get We're gonna come back next next month, and we're gonna
watch or guy kick your ass. That that's just like fishing man. All
you got to do is use the right fate and set the hook. Completely
agree there. Now, I want to get into it. What how long
have you been a manager? How long have you been in wrestling. I've
been in wrestling now for six years. I'll tell you right now. I'm
forty years old. I got into wrestling just by happen stance. I've always
been going to shows, and you know, bought my ticket and met up
with the right people and come hook or by crook. I got introduced to
Seeker of the Lots and Molins and his head booker at the time was his
son Matt, And Matt said, uh, you want to come try to
be a manager? Sure, absolutely, So I show up the first show
it's at a church, and I get out of the truck, get all
the stuff inside, and Matt goes we don't have a ring anounce. Can
you do the ring announcing? Absolutely, I just wanted a jersey. I
didn't care what position I was playing at the time. I really didn't care.
So I ring announced for that show. And at the end of the
show, Matt aka Rosie Rest in Peace Rosie comes up Tim. He goes,
we're having a show with the Senta Rosa Auditorium next month. Come on
back. So I go out to the ring before the show and some of
the guys that have just you know, having a little run through and they
needed a referee to work out spots and seek As Sammy Diey goes, you
have referee shirt? I said, no, sir. He gets somebody on
the phone and next thing, I got a referee shirt in my hand.
I'm referee. So I spent the last five years referee, just being a
ref and then at the big and then last year, of course, the
pandemic hit, so I guess we can count We were all, yeah,
I guess we can count last year as a year in the business or whatever.
But then at the beginning of the year, mister jacobone of the Emerald
Empire, messes me up. He's like, hey, you ever thought about
being a manager every day since I can remember. Uh, come on,
manage us and the Renstess history. That was in January this year, and
I've been there manager ever since. Wow. Well, I'm gonna just say
this. I'm thirty eight, okay, so I'm right there. I'm knocking
on the forty door with you. Our pasts are very very similar. I
mean almost to the tea the first wrestling show I showed up to, or
not the first wrestling show I showed it too, But the first time I
showed up, they needed a ring announcer, and I ring announced, and
then after that I went to referee and and then here I am as a
manager. That's how That's how it worked with me as well. And I
mean I've put in a lot of time driving and everything. But you you've
managed the Emerald Empire, which has got a Gulf Coast legend himself and it's
Cyrus Lavay and you got jacopone in there. Now you've the Emerald Empire has
been around for a little while, so yes, and it's a pretty good
name down are in Florida. Yes, you're trying to venture out law.
Tell us a little bit about the Emerald Empire and its members. Well,
we started out the original Emerald Empire was managed by Mike Jacobs, who is
currently right now recuperating from next surgery. I guess that's how I got the
spot open for me, But thank you mister Jacobs for paving the road for
me to come in and step in. And it was Aaron James, who
is now partnered up and tagging with Hass Jensen. They are the Southern Stretching
Crew. We've worked in and out loosely affiliated with those guys for this past
year. But the original Empire was Jacob Holme, Mike Jacobs, and Aaron
James. And then of course, like I said, mister Jacobs had to
go off and have next surgery, and mister James decided, you know,
he wanted to try to tag team seeing for a while with a new partner
and they're they're kicking ass. So that left uh Jacob Holme and we got
to thinking about it, and uh, you know, we we kept cyrus
On who was already a member when I joined up, and uh Frederick Yeager,
who is one of the he's he's coming up pretty hot, but he's
still uh an untapped resource in the business. Uh, you got any time
look him up. Frederick Yeager spelt just like the drink. Also, we
have downtown Cleveland Biggs. Cleveland Biggs is an at mora Alabama native. He's
uh. I literally watched him his first day of training there and at War
and the kid is has got nothing but onward and upward for him. You
know, once he once he really taps into that, you know, finds
out who he is as a wrestler is going to be. How I see
great things for this kid. But that makes us up thus far, it's
a Jake of Cyrus Leavey, Fredrick Yeager in Cleveland Biggs and myself as their
manager. And I will tell you right now, buddy, as of last
night, we've got more gold We got more Golden Port Knox is all I'm
trying to tell you. That's good to hear because I mean the Emerald Empires
coming. I'm gonna tell you something, Cyrus. I've been watching Cyrus for
a long time and so a matter of fact, I saw him the night
that he joined forces with Jake Capone and Aaron James. At the time I
was at at More main event back in at More. I'll buy back in
I want to say December nineteen, maybe, yeah, it was nineteen.
I was there for that show. And I've been around and seeing Cyrus for
a long time. And so some of the listeners out there because I want
Cyrus on this show, you know, I don't wanting to get Syrus on.
Tell some stories, but tell the listeners a little bit about mister leave
himself. Saras LaVey is a I would say nineteen twenty plus year veteran of
Gould Coast Wrestling. He's wrestled everywhere you can think of really that that had
open door to it of the mid South. He's wrestled everywhere in the South
that I can think of. I'm not quite sure that very knowledgeable about his
experiences outside of the Southern region here, but he's one of those guys.
If you see him on the poster, you're gonna get a professional wrestler.
He's not out there selling candy bars, T shirts and cokes. He's out
there selling ass weapons and ARUs LaVey is one of the true kings of living
kings of Southern professional wrestling right now. It's it's it's tough to say this,
but you know, the older we get the more legend we lose,
but at the same time, every legend we lose, we get another spot
opened up for another legend to be bumped up. And Cyrus's right there.
It's a tippy talk and I'm not just saying it because he's a personal friend.
I have this weird we had that instant bond because I was at a
referee there at at More's main event, and the first night we met,
it was like, click, Okay, let's go get this. And like
he he came to me the first the first show he was there, I
was gonna he's gonna punch me. He's like, you're comfortable taking a bump?
I was like, yeah, he hit me. I bumped and he'd
been good ever since. I mean, he's one of those guys that you
know when he walks in the building, it's like we get our little puddle
up and just do business. No matter what position we're in, We're just
whether they're scheming, Okay, we can do this, this will be better
for that. I mean, we just have a It's like that instant click,
and pretty much every one of the guys and Empires like that. I've
been like that with the Empires it's like this business, you know how it
is. You get in the locker room, that'll be twenty guys. You're
gonna instantly click with, maybe one or two at a time. But it
seems like all of us, all these guys that I'm associated with, and
that's like click that. But you know what I'm talking about when I say
that, Oh, exactly exactly, bully h. And I think the Emerald
Empires they've got a lot of stuff coming in twenty twenty one. As long
as they don't step on breathing inks toes, they're gonna be just fine.
On who's that now, brilliant ink? I don't clear clear that ear wax
out of ears? Listen, here's a deal. Now. I'm sure over
there and miss a CSD y'aller top ship, there's no question. But when
you come when you cross that state line over there where pople can read to
Alabama and Florida, and that's saying something about literacy, you're going to spind
out that when we step in up olding, we owned that building and we
didn't have to pay for it. Okay, well you got I stepped foot
in Alabama and I had to sign it, said quiet pleasing those people couldn't
read that, so you might want to rephrase that about Alabama. I just
told you, man, I'm just see you're not listening to see turn turn
that belt one up. What I'm trying to tell you is, yeah,
we were not We were good. But I'll tell you what we do do
we will have asked better than anybody in the business. Okay, we're not
out here selling spoons, knives, sports networks, TV shows, uh T
shirts, Barbie dolls. We're not selling none of that. What we sell
is violence, and we give it out for free and then we get the
gold. Because we're only after three things. Pay attention when I'm trying to
tell you, we're after the MPG. That's money, power, and gold.
And I'm telling you right, nasty, I don't even have to join
a gym anymore. I don't have to work out. You know why,
because these boys is bringing me ten pounds of gold. Every time they go
out to the ring, they bring back more gold. I'm out here,
My back's killing me. I'm toting all their stuff, just belt, just
leather and gold. I don't have to go out there and the PEG membership
dudes for a gym Off, Cyrus Levy, Jacopone, fred Vic Yeager,
Cleveland Biggs. They're my own personal goals gym. Literally, Well, I
will say, you got a good clientele list built up there, and uh
so you said you've been in it for six years. Hum, yes,
sir, there's nothing like it is there. If there is, I don't
want to find it because it's it's there's nothing more powerful. No, there
really isn't at all, And that you did. It's just like anything else.
There are people who who are into games thrones or football or baseball or
basketball. You know, everybody's got their their bug, their device, but
until you're in it. And that's why it's so hard, because it's I'm
supposed to be easy. If it was easy, anybody could do it.
But it's it's the most difficult slash enjoyable good in the world because if you
if the fans don't believe it, they're not going to buy it. And
the first thing about it is you got to believe it for them too.
Exactly when I walk you know, when I walk out there in that arena,
I believe every word that I'm about to say. Rather I could go
out there and read you a doctor Seus's book and have those people ready to
stabbing, because I believe it. It's just that something. I don't memorize
stuff, I don't write stuff down. I'm not going over a script.
I look out there in the crowd and I'm like, okay, we am
I gonna kill tonight. And I just picked the entire crowd every time,
because you know, singling out one person is. But if you make an
entire room, hey, you you got it exactly. You're exactly right there.
And but Rob, before we do, we're gonna start wrapping up here
in just a short that I mean, let me just say this, even
though you know you've manage a good faction, good stable there, You're welcome
on this show anytime, no doubt. We're gonna get you on here more
than once. I promise you that. But before we do start to roll
on out, I want to give you the floor. You can plug whatever
you want. I don't care what it is. Man. Even if you've
got cookies to sell, you can sell them right here the floors yours.
Well, you know, folks, I'm just here to tell you right now,
if you were in the sound of my voice, go right now on
your whatever device you're listening listening to this podcast on Go type in the Emerald
Vampire and search bar, go like that page. Then I want you to
go like the American Kai Jacopone. Then I want you to go follow mister
Red Yeager who goes by the name of his real name. I'll tell you
right now. It was Samuel Austin. He's on Facebook. And then you
got Cleveland bigs. That's Cleveland, like the city Biggs b I G G
S. Go follow him. Then what I want you to do is I
want you to go to Cyrus Love Baye. That's L. That's capital L
small a capital V e y Cyrus love A s I R U S love
Abe. And then I want you to do the greatest thing you've ever done.
And you're like, go to your search block and rob r O V
shivers shi v E r S and there you will find us, like all
of our pages, follow us, et cetera, et cetera. Then what
I want you to do is find that world we're gonna be no matter which
one of us city is. I can't be with everybody wants. These guys
were spread out through all the Southeast. I can't be with everybody wants.
But here's the deal. Find that where we are, and when you find
out where we are, get your little calendar book out and type in going
to see the Animals Empire. That's all you have to do. Whatever they
charge the door, no matter what various ways you have are paying things,
cards, cash, bottle, spoons, mile sports, tire of you pay
for things, worre you're from, you come on down and you sit down
and get ready because you're about to watch excellence and action. Now do we
have all the championships? Not right now we don't. But in a very
very very short time. See, here's the thing. We've already got the
let's see the Brian Reese memorial cuff from IPW alpreiser for Frederick Yeger one that
check. We've got the a w F, the Outland Wrestling Foundation Heavyweight championship
check. And last night Cyrus Lavay won the SWO Heavyweight Championship check. And
in a very short time, mister Lovy will be the ip W that's Impact
Pro Wrestling out of our praising Florida. He will be that company's heavyweight champion.
Now do you see the pattern on Lana here for you folks, you
see, you folks like to run around here. I'm gonna speak to these
enigma Alabama Crimson type things. You like a football Pay attention dummies. You
like to run around here, and every year you win one championship, you
had five. See that's how you know you're a Bama fan. You can't
count. You want to yell, oh we got sixteen, seventeen, eighteen,
twenty one championships. Well last week he had teens. Pay attention dummies.
Before long, we're going to have all of the championship gold that this
sport has to offer. See, in the amateur world of college football,
you heltly win one championship. Sit one of years done. We've won one
before breakfast this morning. Okay, you are looking and listening to the greatest
for wrestling manager. President Company excluded the greatest professional wrestling manager and the sport
today. Notice I didn't say the greatest sports entertainment manager in the in the
industry. Note I'm the greatest manager in the sport to day. And that's
not knocking anybody. That's like I said of it. Charles Barkley, Patrick,
you and all those guys Hall of famers, adulation money everywhere but though
championships because of Jordan, I don't wear twenty three. I just wear number
one. Okay, period. But I'm here to tell you folks right now,
if you'll want to see excellence, come see us. But just remember
before you sit, we're the Emerald Empire. You're not. And I'm going
to turn it back over to mister Turner after I say this. All of
you are welcome. Well, thank you. Enjoyed your speech there. I'll
pick it apart later, but but I want to appreciate you for coming on
joining this, and you're more than welcome to come on anytime you get ready.
Mister turned the pleasure was all of you. It was all of your
pleasures. However, you're supposed to say that plurally if that's the word.
If it wasn't it is now. I make up words all the time.
Don't worry about it. They'll be in your dictionary next year. But you
folks be safe out there coming to ten and two in front of the shows.
And because guess what we want your money? Yes we do. Well,
thank you once again. We'll see you lady. Y'all have a good
weekend and we'll check you out next week. Right here on King Wrestling Podcast.
M h a m h this is boring Audio Zoo Production. What's your
thinking, Zoe