Welcome to the Busted Open podcast. This is the Busted Open podcast. You can listen to the full show Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern on serious XM Fight Nation Channel 156.

Yeah, welcome in Busted Open Nation here to the podcast edition weekend edition of Busted Open. I'm Ryan McKinnell got my tag team partner the innovator of violence Tommy Dreamer in for the world's strongest man Mark Henry and you do not want to miss this episode. It's the official not official celebration day of the one and only John Moxley John Moxley dominating the week in more than one way we talk about it.

We talk about it inside this edition and of course it wouldn't be a Saturday edition of Busted Open if we didn't give you weekly winner for the best show that was in the week of professional wrestling. All you got to do is sit back, relax and click play. Let's get it going Busted Open on a Saturday.

What a great week for John Moxley. John Moxley, Ryan and I had hosted on Monday and we talked about him returning on GCW and I was like, you know, I'm kind of surprised that's happening and not happening in AEW and wouldn't you know it. He shows up on AEW and what an amazing.

A passionate, truthful promo and it really, really he looks great and he was open and honest. Now when you have that open and honesty with your audience and you have your open and honesty with your fan base that loves you. Everybody is pulling for you and I have talked to other wrestlers here that when you talk about the most important thing in your life is sobriety.

Today that's the fight and not the biggest fight you're going to be in and he looks and seems to be in the best shape I've seen him and that's coming from Wednesday to tell you a story.

The one of the hardest parts for me I suffered a lot of loss, you know, especially in wrestlers in the 90s. My hardest loss was at the time Luis Picoli he was the first death I had to deal with at I was 26 years old and I lost someone who was so close to me and it was it shouldn't have happened and we used to joke about oh look he's messed up.

And I felt and still feel to this day that I wasn't a good friend because here's somebody that I loved and yes I understand that I'm 26 years old and I'm but I'm a man and the first time I had to meet his mother his grandmother and his sister who I'm still friends with was at his funeral and his wake.

I was just like I was devastated because and I was like this shouldn't be and this is why I am that way and also I was blessed because like I said you hear a lot of the horror stories and I remember at times like oh gosh they're all the wrestlers they're partying I'm a young kid in this business I don't want to be peer pressured into anything but then I was like you know what no one's going to peer pressure me because I don't want that and that was it was a different different time.

And I said this before but like we're all there in his corner and just like we're in there for everybody's corner and with social media if you're having these moments if you're having these mental health issues of of suicide or or hey man I'm fighting you reach out to somebody and and that is the best part and I've had it a lot of times on my social media people have raised out I will never ever go to another person's funeral.

That I wouldn't try to help because you're I'm older I'm wiser but it messes up everybody's life it really does and or seeing my friends children that I knew when they were little and then they asked me about can you tell me a story about my father because I don't know that it hurts because they should be there and I'm a 50 year old wrestler still wrestling but I should be here celebrating with my friends that I've lost.

And I don't want that for anybody but like I said your his promo was great because it's a human story and we all battle with issues doesn't matter what they are and when it you're a star it doesn't matter how much money you have I always say we all believe the same but when everyone is in your corner it makes you feel like you're the greatest person in the world.

And there's no difference between the guy you paid to see wrestle and the fan that paid that money and that's why the business has changed in the business change for the better so well I'm crying it's but it's freaking 940 in the morning.

You're crying because it's an important subject there's no crying and bullshit that's exactly what we're talking about about the promo on Wednesday there needs to be more honesty there needs to be more crying this alpha you know everyone's like this yes 100% there's enough alpha shit and pro wrestling and I'm not trying to one up you I'm not trying to I've never talked about this there's no one up in Tommy dreamer first of all let's get that straight but to put some kind of

context to it 20 years ago I was addicted to pills I was addicted to every drug that you could possibly imagine I was selling drugs I was not in a good place right I was making a lot of bad choices.

Find myself here now 15 years later I guess I got an epiphany I started on my path in combat sports and focus and actually becoming an adult finding sobriety it wasn't an easy path but I wouldn't be here without those trials and tribulations if John Moxley's speech or if anything helps someone to keep them away from those bad decisions right

or if someone had that conversation with me you don't know how much it might mean to someone I guess that's all I'm saying and to your point Tommy dreamer the conversation needs to be had because addiction alcoholism drug it doesn't matter what it is far too many people have suffered in silence and this macho alpha keep it inside never share your feelings whatever you want to call it

right it's to your point it's gotten people hurt and John Moxley I don't want to I mean trend center might be like you know too strong of a word I don't know it doesn't even matter you don't even have to define it just a very very important week in the business of pro wrestling it feels that way to me Tommy John Moxley is having his best week ever but you know it's when we had Renee on Dave and I and she was just like guys I got to go because

John's take care of the baby and I got to get in there like ha ha ha but yeah yeah yeah yeah you know he's you know John Moxley's a father John Moxley's a brother to many many professional wrestlers John Moxley is a husband he's like I said this is this is everybody's story and yeah some people could

look at as embarrassment some people could look at it as man I'm too big or you know you think of all these stars who go into any type of facility and you know it's hush hush or the news breaks that they are in these it was to be the quiet

secret no man you're open and honest and you know we're even having these conversations during the break where you know I shared my stories you

shared your stories and it's these conversations need to continue because we need to have more of these conversations for

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