The Truth in This Art Wrestling Announcer and Commentator Larry Legend

Welcome to The Truth in This Art. I am your host, Rob Lee. Thank you for tuning in to my conversations at the intersection of arts, culture, and community. Today, I'm gonna be a bit more transparent and let you guys know that there are few things that I enjoy more than professional wrestling from the storytelling, the athletic prowess, and just watching legends do their thing. The wrestling is where it's at for me.

And today, I am privileged to speak to a professional wrestling announcer, interviewer, commentator, recognized for his ring announcing he's a hall of famer and a Price is Right winner. Please welcome the great Larry Legend. Welcome to the podcast.

From one announcer, to another, that has had, you know, dabbled, of course, mostly with the ring introductions, but also the commentary when you're sitting down. That was a legendary intro, Rob. That was a legendary intro, and I think you said it all. So thank you for having me, and I'm I'm glad to be talking to you.

Thank you. It was funny. I was in the other I was in a different Zoom because I was, like, sometimes when I switch the dates, the Zoom's dying, and I'm in the other one. And I did one, and in it, I was like, I feel like he's gonna do this better than me.

Uh-huh. Well, no. No. I mean, I I'm at the point in my career now where I'm being introduced a lot. I I this is kind of becoming part of the course myself having started in the wrestling business as a as an announcer, introducing others.

I'm now 21 years in. Really relishing being on the receiving end of the introduction and and and kinda given the, hey. That's that's my role. My role is to make you attentive and and and engage in whatever is coming out of my mouth. And now I I love it when someone gives me a good intro when they're not, like, stumbling over whatever or, like, you know, clearly reading online, like my or, you know, whatever.

That I mean, I've been I've been on interviews where someone is clearly, like, just reading my IMDB bio or something. And I'm like, oh, okay. I know it. This you know, whatever. So thank you for that, and I'm glad to be here.

Absolutely. In in in that vein, right, of sort of the IMDB bio and the online bio, you know, what I find in doing all of these interviews, like, I'm coming up on 800 interviews for this podcast. Right? And I find that when I get information from the guest, there's always something missing, something inevitably missing that really shows and peers into sort of the soul of who the person is. So I wanna give you the space to introduce yourself.

Maybe there's something I left out. Maybe there's something you wanna add, but tell us a bit about yourself and a bit about your work.

Sure. Well, I mean, you laid it out, bingo, bango. You set the table. If the listeners, or viewers wanna eat now, I will say that I am the overall grand master of ceremonies, Larry Legend, CZW, hall of famer, Price is Right winner, and, just all around legendary figure in the, the combat sports realm. I've done shows at Madison Square Garden where Donald Trump, former president of the United States has sat behind me, I've done a

lot. Yeah.

And, in between doing that, I connect with people just in everyday walks of life, like you Rob. And in doing in doing that, that's why I'm here right now. So I I would just say that if there's 2 if there's a one two punch that I like to do with my own intro, it's that I'm in a recognized hall of fame and that, you know, I won The Price is Right because when you, when you go out there and you introduce yourself as Larry Legend or someone says, oh, this is Larry Legend. Well, a lot of times people will be like, well, what's so legendary about you? Yeah.

Who who well, let me choose legend. It's either. I mean, I I got I got a couple couple plaques, a couple of trophies, a giant head of myself, you know, and I'm right here on, this podcast right now, so that that that checks a couple, boxes.

100%. And, you know, if for for a brief period and you're making me wanna dive back into it a little bit. It was the legendary Rob Lee. That's what it was for a while, and I was like, nah. Let me bring it down a little bit.

Let me, you know, I don't wanna, But no. No. You're making me bring it back a little bit. I feel like it's Well,

I mean, you you kind of told your own tale of the tape there with 800 episodes. I I do a podcast of, my own, or I'm a co host of the podcast of my own. And just last night, we celebrated our 100th episode.

Congrats.

Thank you. But, you know, I've gotta say, I don't know if I can last 800 of these things. Like, if this if we are at the milestone of a 100 right now and I'm dedicating 2 hours of my life every Tuesday, and that's probably why I never did a podcast of my own. It's because it's the dedication that I feel like everyday life would get in podcasts on Apple, and then I'll see their last like, podcast was from, podcasts on Apple, and then I'll see their last, like, podcast was from, like, June of last year. And I'm like, I'm like, woah, what happened?

You obviously grew a fan base, you know, and this is content for the people to go back to, but I'm all about the live. Like, what's going on right now? Talk about the topical things, you know, in in as well as what's going on in wrestling or whatever. So, you know, that's that's pretty legendary to have 800 under your belt. So I

don't know.

Maybe you should maybe you should lean into that a little bit more. You can really stand up proud.

You're probably right. And, you know, it's it's interesting. Like, you know, in doing this and I I I usually start off getting a sense of where the person is at now, but really where it started. So Sure. When did you first become interested in wrestling?

Not even in the in being involved just in wrestling like me. We're we're probably in a similar age group. Me was obviously attitude era for me. Okay. And, but my mom was really into it, so it's probably a little bit earlier, like, whenever WWE had those Saturday night show well, WWF had those Saturday night shows.

My mom was putting me on to that. So it's probably way, way back golden era style, but that's when I first became interested in it and interested in it. And for you, when did you become interested in wrestling? And then when did it lead to this sort of, you know, commentary, ring announcing, things of the sort?

I guess I first got into wrestling when I when I had the toys. And this is something that I've, I've I've caught on to, is really kind of the hook, the hook of pro wrestling in America. It's kind of morphed a little bit more into the games, the video games, but it is getting the actual figures in your hands to mimic what you're seeing on the TV that kind of makes a correlation that, you know, when you're doing a suplex with your Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan, like, that's amazing. That's an amazing feat to be for one human being to be doing to another human being. And then you see that on the TV, and you're like, they're doing this thing.

They're they're actually doing this thing in front of a bunch of people that are screaming, and this is on TV. So I feel that after all of the time that I can look back on what made Larry legend, I can say that it was the first time that I had the action figures and I can replicate on TV what I what, you know, what I was seeing with my with these things in my hands, is what really kind of hooked me, as we call it in the industry. That's what hooked me into wanting to watch it, into wanting to get more French and figures, into eventually, around attitude era, getting a bunch of my friends to to do it. Yeah. That's right.

My my my real origin story is in backyard wrestling. And a lot of a lot of the stars that you see on AEW, and WWE, and all Impact Wrestling, a lot of them were so captivated by what they were seeing on TV, and what they were doing with their action figures, or what they were doing with the games, that they were able to just get friends that were probably watching it with them and playing the game with them and and playing with the figures with them. So let's do this, whether it was, like, on the mattress or down in the basement, or in my case, in my backyard. In in in the my mom's house that I grew up in, My mom allowed me to get my friends together to put some old gym mats down in in really what was her front yard, but had the more space that was conducive to, like, an arena type setting. And around attitude era, and I'm talking WWF 2 WrestleMania 2000, WWF No Mercy for the n 64 around the time of those games Yeah.

Was when I was really able to, like, say to my my my friends, my compadres, like, hey. We could do we could do this. We could do, like we could pretend that we're crashing Bob Holly with the tag team titles and we're fighting Big Show and and whoever. We can we can pretend and we can record it and and watch it just for fun. Yeah.

And that just grew and grew and grew to the point that we were doing regularly scheduled shows in the backyard Really? That led up to pay per views. I'm talking episodic episodic Filings of things that led up to pay per views that would actually get a few people from the neighborhood who would just kinda hear the rockets going on and be like, what's going on? And we would have people that from the neighborhood would come out of their homes when we would do the backyard wrestling. And they would they would they would watch right there at the fence or something would be brave enough and come on down.

We didn't bite them down. But, yeah, it started from the toys and realizing that these feats that we were watching before our eyes were were real. These are things that people can learn to do, can be trained to do. And again, just seeing like the crowd and everything, like the money that can be made off of this, off of people like wanting to see this and buy the toys and the games. I want in.

So I want in.

So then that's and that's good. You're really capturing sort of this this moment. I can you know, this time frame because I I it's it's it's crystallized for me where I'm thinking back to that era, middle school years for me, being there, like, Holland Town out there, you know, Baltimore, what have you. And we had factions from each fed, you know, from the the major feds, WCW, WWF. I I I betrayed my compadres.

I went from being our DX faction and our, like, fed at Highland Town to being in, the one finger nation. Know? We didn't do one war nation. Finger nation. We were just cross chopping.

We were we were jerks, but we would have Oh,

we won too. We won too. Like, yeah. Yeah. No.

I mean, listen. Sophomore beeps and butt in. You know what I'm saying? It's it's that era. We were South Park, rather.

You know,

I'm a little older than I bet you than you. But yeah. You know? Yeah. I get it.

So I I remember it was one time where, we we had this essentially, like, a Royal Rumble. We had, these huge, like, we it was a old, the the school we were in was really huge and some just certain things had, like, sizes that don't make sense. Like, you know, you'd have, like, you know, a bathroom that has your different stalls in there. It was like a big open, almost like, like like just nothing but showers. You would think we were in a gym, but it was a cafeteria floor.

So it was a huge sort of bathroom set up there and It was just like yo 11:15 we're doing a Royal Rumble so everyone that was part of this thing this wrestling fit that we had, we were just in there getting it. Just super kicks flying, all types of ridiculous stuff. We got into so much trouble, but we were doing it at school, but it was just you see your friends, you're doing the wrestling thing, and we were all at that sort of impressionable age where I can do anything. You know, dudes doing moon salts and all types of wild stuff. This this was, you know, marble floors.

It wasn't we had no crash pads.

I mean, it's interesting that you you you bring that up about, like, kind of the recklessness that we all had for our bodies. When you think of the Walmart guys, I'm sure you're familiar with the Walmart guys. These guys who just like go into Walmart, I don't know where, and, like, just, like, will start, like, doing, like, acai moon salts off of the fixtures and and and and mission up the drivers on the on the thing where, you know, the the the where your you know, the the belt hit when you tip getting yourself checked. And I'm like, woah. They really look like they're hurting the shit out of each other.

They'll take super kicks and do flip bumps on linoleum. And I'm like, that's just feeling some of the effects of doing it in my backyard, honestly, Matt. Yeah. You know, I'm like, that's that's great for all the lights and and the views, but I know the human anatomy, and that ain't good.

See see, the thing is, you met me in person, so you have a a sense of my size, and I've always kinda been big. So I'm like, I'm not taking any bumps.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, big men shouldn't take bumps is is the psychology of wrestling. Like, when the big man finally takes the bump from a character like Hulk Hogan, then the audience reacts because they've seen this big man never taken off of his feet before.

Yes.

That's the psychology of wrestling. That's what made me believe that Yoko Kizuna actually injured Hacksaw Jim Duggan back in 1993 when Hacksaw Jim Duggan was the 1st wrestler to actually knock Yokozuna off his feet. I mean, technically, Macho Man got him off his feet in the Royal Rumble when they were but that was after. The the the taping of hacksaw doing it was filmed before but aired after. But Macho Man was really the first, like, image in WWF of someone knocking Yokozuna, the late great Ron Rodney Anawai of the legendary Onewa'e wrestling family.

First time he got knocked off was hit on TV, that's Onion Duncan did it. And then because of that, when Yokozuna threw the salt in his eyes and attacked him, it was way more like, you son of a mother. You.

Yeah.

How dare you. How dare you. He did it with his own, you know, his own you know? So yeah. I don't know where I was going with this.

No. No. No. We were talking about. But yeah.

Yeah. A big man should not be knocked off their feet. Really is the psychology for wrestling.

And I and I think that's the other thing that, you know, you're you're selling yourself a little short in your your your bio or have you. You're a historian too. That's another thing you you should have in there.

Well, I forgot. I mean, here's the thing. I've forgotten a lot. I I I the times that impacted me to get to where I am right now, I I have them all on VHS. I I I immediately was like, this is one day gonna be gone or they're gonna bastardize it and take the music out, which they've done.

Yes. You know, you WWE Network subscribers, you might have, you know, Edge's debut. But I bet you don't have the actual music that Edge came out to in 1998 when he debuted because there's been all this stuff with, like, LLCs and UMG Music Rights and things like that. So I have the authentic stuff that, like, got me into it. I taped it all.

You know, so this stuff, I I I vividly remember. And also during this era, I caught up on a lot. So I got a lot of old stuff too. I would go to, like, you know, old Blockbuster videos or Errol's videos if anybody knows those names. Like yeah.

And they would have, like, pay per views that weren't one time rentable on sale for like 4.99. I would get like Survivor Series 1989 for like 3.99. Now this is a tape that if you got from WWF at the time was 49.99. But if you if you knew to go to Blockbuster or Errol's Video or Movie Sales or one of those places, you could go to their, like, bin and just find, like, all kinds of old stuff

Yeah.

On tape. So, you know, I I I did learn a lot, but I've forgotten so much now. Pretty much from the time that I really became Larry Legend and started actually doing shows, actually having to, like, remember Human Tornado and Ruckus and, you know, Lio Rush and all of these, like, actual intros. It's like my actual, like, WWE and WCW and impact knowledge is kind of like, oh, well, that happened. Oh, he hit the bell.

Oh, yeah. I remember when Jarrah's show was a thing, you know, like, because I wasn't really watching as much then. I was more doing. So I guess you could say I'm somewhat of a historian.

So so talk a bit about the the the game part, specifically when it comes to being being in a voice, whether it be in the the announcing side, being in the the commentating side. And the reason I I ask about this, I I forget what I was watching. This was maybe about a year ago.

Mhmm.

I was watching a streamer, and I was like, I know this dude and and noticed a voice. And I was like, because I remember you from ROH.

And I was like, oh, yeah. I was

like, I know this dude, and you were cutting up on commentary. I was just like, this is a Baltimore dude.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, well, so I gotta tell you something.

Yeah.

Rob, I've wanted to sit down and do commentary for so long. But but but I learned I learned very early on that that commentary chair is very coveted in. Mhmm. When you when you get your feet planted down, I'm talking JR, Jerry the King, even Taz Yep. In today's age, when you get your feet planted down and all you gotta do is come in there and sit down.

Okay? That becomes kinda like, oh, and I'm getting paid for this. Nah. I'm good enough. I'm a make sure the promoter always has me.

So I have I have done a lot of ring announcing to finally now be kind of, like, recognized as, like, a pretty decent commentator. And now I'm getting more and more opportunities to commentate. And, yeah, XPW always uses me as commentator. VXS, kind of really used me a little bit. GCW did as well.

And, I just I started doing things with IWA Deep South and they have me both rig it out and commentate. So, yeah, it's it's fun to stretch out my legs after all these

years. It's wonderful. So so what does the the preparation look like between, you know, doing the the the announcing versus doing the the the commentary being there, that coveted seat? Because, you know, it's different. It's it's a skill set, and I think people don't really get it.

Like, when let's say you do an interview because, you know, that's part of the background as well. People think does anyone with a microphone can do an interview, and as you you touched on when we started, you know, there are some people who read the Wikipedia and just try to craft something. So so talk about sort of the preparation and then, you know, some of those early instances where you went into being on mic, you know, as far as I've been wrestling?

Well, when I first started, I didn't wanna mess up at all. So I would spend a lot of time, like, getting to know guys in the back. I mean, even I'm sitting here at my desk. I have my, like, little book. It's a little black book.

I have 2 volumes of these. Right? And these little black books have, like, so many different wrestlers, intros, hometowns, monikers, accolades. There are so many like tournaments with it I've announced where I had to know this person, beat this person, then beat this person to get to the finals and things like that. But I hate to toot my own horn, but my prolificness Yeah.

In wrestling, just like existing in so many different circles on the indies has made me, like, super knowledgeable about a lot of guys that I see regularly. So I can mention names like AR Fox, the good guy Azrael, Grim Reaper, Dan Moff. You know, there are so many guys that I have seen for the past 21 years, whether it be here in Maryland, in New Jersey, when I was a New Yorker. So now it's almost like there's certain guys where when I see they're on the show, I don't even have to approach them. I'm like, alright.

I know him. I know he's in Tribe. I've done it like a 1000000 times. I don't need to prep. But when I first started, I used to like get all the notes and find out the ways to say it and, you know, find out the stipulations for the matches.

Now, at this point, I can pretty much freestyle a lot of stuff. There'll be times where I did don't get chance to talk to a guy in the back. So if I see him coming out, and I'll have to, like, look on Wikipedia right there in the ring to, like, see, like, oh, where's this guy from? Or, like, what are some things I can say about him? And I just have that technology right there in the palm of my hands.

But, you know, I'll tell you a challenge is, you know, when I hear the announcing, it's a lot from the diaphragm. It's a lot it's very big. It's very grandiose. But then when I sit down, you come to me, I kinda can't turn that off. Mhmm.

I I kinda cannot split the switch to now being like, Oh, and I'm in a conversational mode right now, we're watching pro wrestling. I've just gotten out of the ring. I've just announced the Necro Butcher or the Human Meat Grinder Slack, and I've just rung hell's bells. Okay? People are clapping and applauding and ready for this.

And and when I get sit down, I'm usually, like, still humming. I'm usually, like, still, like, rocking off of what I just did. So you think it's easy for me to then kinda talk and, like, kinda comment? No. I'm like, oh, we're about the tireless mud tireless up.

I felt it in the ring, Ron. I felt the the energy between these two cabanas. So that has been hard because, you know, it does it does wear on my voice.

A cabanas.

It does wear on my voice. You know? So a lot of the times, I've had a 3 hour show to do when I'm doing the commentary and the announcing. It it wears on my voice. And there have been times where I've actually had to bail and only been able to do one.

You know, I was legendary as I like to call myself. I am still a human being. And there have been times where, you know, because I'm so good at what I do, I'm also so excited about what I'm doing where I've just gone beyond my limits. And I've had to, like, just say, listen, you, over here, I know you're you're you're an announcer, upcoming announcer, take this headset. You know, you're doing the commentary.

I'll just do the announcing for the remainder of the night. And the you know, no one's gonna tell me no. Yeah. I know what I'm doing. I've been doing it for 21 years, going on 22 years.

So, yeah. That's, I mean, preparation was very, very kind of, you know, intense at first, but now 22 years in, 21 years in, I'm I got this as like a layup. Everything's a layup.

I love it. So when you think back, because I I think, you know, we there's this sort of, like, side, like, you know, when I look at those wrestling highlights, whether it be or any sporting highlight, right, it's about the call. You know, it's just like, man, like, you know, like, Buckner missed the baseball or Stone Cold Stone all of this stuff. Right?

Yes. Yes.

Is almost as important as the, athletic spectacle. So how do you incorporate how do you incorporate elements of, like like, storytelling and drama into your commentary to enhance sort of the the viewer experience?

Great question. If you wanna talk about announcing Yeah. I'm talking about ring announcing, MCing, like, calling them out. I always love when the guys give me more. I always love when the guys have, like, multiple monikers or they have, like, a very kind of, like, embellished way that I can announce them.

I kind of I kind of really took off in wrestling by being the personal announcer for Ruckus Yeah. Baltimore zone, multiple time hall of famer, in the worldwide global international sensation. But the way that I used to announce him was he was the Jake the snake of getting bait. The Teddy Long the Teddy Long of hitting the bong. K?

The the Vinny Mac of the dime sack. The Michael Hayes, a purple Hayes. The Chris and it there were all these rhyme couplets that dealt with cannabis culture. Yeah. That was really my way that I was able to kind of establish myself as a voice.

So when it comes to ring announcing, I always say to the guys, give me more. You're from the 7th circle of hell. Oh, I love that. Mhmm. And you're, you know, evil as flesh, Michael Krueger.

That's so much more for me to color with my voice to paint this picture than if I just said, and his opponent from Los Angeles, California, Michael Krueger. No. You're from the 7th circle of hell. That's what's coming out of my belly right now before you do battle. So that for the announcing.

For the commentating, it's really just knowing the story.

So

when I'm when I'm there, I know these guys again from over 21 years. I can talk about, you know, Schlak's no he's no stranger to ultra violence. His his story comes from CZW, which is a place where I first met him, where I first used to announce him. And all of the fans that have followed Indian Wrestling and know me, they know I know what I'm talking about. So I really can kind of build the story just by being knowledgeable about what Kevin Owens' or Kevin Steen's origins were with Ronnie Strong before they were both in NXT, you know, knowing that Sami Zayn was El Generico.

You know, all of these all of these little things that, like, I was there for. I can bring that to the booth. And promoters recognize that now.

Is there a a voice that you think of, not necessarily to like ape or kind of like model what you're doing after them, but one that you get that inspiration from. Like, I I have inspirations for this podcast and how I approach and how I ask questions, and sometimes I've been able to to actually interview some of them, which has been really cool and almost surreal. So is is there a voice that make up sort of, like, combat sports, macroly speaking, or wrestling specifically, that you're like, I really like how they do this. I really like how they add this flourish. I like how, you know, they approach their job and and being in a voice.

I'm gonna mention a couple names right now, and it is it is a great question. Because, if you know wrestling jargon, at the end

of the

day, regardless of who I say I am, I'm a mark. I'm a mark. Okay? I'm a mark for it. And there were times where someone like a Lilian Garcia from WWE, when she really got when she really got it when she really got it and was at the top of her game, there were times where matches that I wasn't even invested in because she bought that to the table.

I'm like, oh, Lillian just Lillian just set it off. Lillian just set it off. So she's one that I find inspirational. Of course, Michael Buffer. Yeah.

Of course, Michael Buffer because Michael Buffer was the first one to kind of, like, establish that catchphrase of, like, that signature thing that you hear that's now in hip hop and, you know, movies and and and and, kids, you know, radio ads, you know, his signature phrase that is his. He owns it. It's copywritten. Yeah. No one else is gonna say that but him.

That's why I won't even say it right now on your case. You know? But that that, he is definitely an inspiration. Also, really inspirational to me as a young child to see someone, or a coming of age teen, see someone from boxing appear on wrestling. Yeah.

It bought a level of legitimacy to me. Even though I wasn't really a big WCW mark, I wasn't a big WCW mark. But when they used to bring Michael Buffer out to do Hogan versus Flair and he wouldn't do the whole show. He would just do like you know the title but bro, that to me was like, oh man. This shows me that the announcer role exists in all types of combat sports.

And you can take the announcement from boxing that we are used to seeing announce Mike Tyson and a band or rolling field. You can bring him into wrestling. Yeah. And that takes the whole wrestling field up to another level. So definitely Michael Buffer.

I know I'm being really long winded, but his brother Bruce. His brother Bruce. You watch those UFC shows, and Bruce gets to that main event, and those lights come down, and those spotlights go on him, and he has that card, and he's sweating, and he's talking about this guy in this corner who has this record. Bro, you hear the people start to clap. Granted they're clapping for whoever Bruce is about to announce but those claps they are the soundtrack to this role of announcing.

And and people like Michael Buffer, Lillian Garcia, Bruce Buffer, both of the sisters in WWE right now. Congratulations to Alicia Taylor. I just heard that she got bumped up from NXT and she's replacing Mike Rome on Raw, Alicia Taylor. And, Richie Hayes Girl. I'm sorry.

Samantha Urban?

Yeah. So may bro. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. What?

Mania bro?

Yes. The

rumble. The rumble. The the fuck. You know, you know, they they they bring this kind of like dragon growl. This kind of like dragon growl to their their their shit.

And it's like, it's they're not just announcing, but they're eating up the entire arena through this microphone. And that to me is inspirational. Oh, yeah. So all of those names I just mentioned, Michael Michael Buffer, Bruce Buffer, Alicia Taylor, Samantha Irving, Lillian Garcia. Lot of women in there.

Yeah. If you noticed. Lot of lot of strong women in there. Mhmm. Yeah.

Those are the inspirational voices to me.

That's that's wonderful. Wow. So so I I I wanna segue a little bit into Sure. Sort of other creative interests that you have that kinda influence your your approach to your work in wrestling and combat sports because, you know, that's the thing. I think, like, you know, what makes us unique are these other things that we have that are kinda like side things, side projects, like, you know, were you a singer at Will Boy?

Like, what were those sort of side projects that or side influences that kinda inform your your work in in announcing and commentating?

Well, acting. Yeah. You know, acting. I got lost to my grandmother who kind of was like my mom in a lot of ways because my mom worked 2 jobs. So my grandmother was the one that received me from school, feed me, make sure I was doing my homework and everything.

And she passed away in 1993. And around that time, my mom had kind of like acknowledged that, like, they were always kinda putting me upfront at, like, the pageants at school. Like, you know, the the Christmas pageant, I was always having some sort of role where I was, like, talking into a microphone or narrating something, or they were just always using me, using my voice. And she, kinda nurtured that after I lost my grandmother and got me involved in community theater. And when I got involved in community theater, I did pretty okay with the learning of the lines, which is a direct correlation to, like, I was mentioning, like, some of these guys I know now.

I I know them now. You know, I know their in my heart. You know? So, that's kinda where that skill set developed. But then also, I would often be cast in roles like the archangel of the Lord Gabriel

Yeah.

Or, you know, the royal gatekeeper in The Wiz. I would often be casting these roles where I was like, jumping out and doing some sort of big like flourish or like, I am on the stage, you know? And I guess in a lot of ways I was like, well, this you know, I'm not I'm not asking for this. I'm not trying out for a lot of the times these trolls, but someone is seeing something in me where they're like, this guy is the grand proclaimer of things in this show. He is the he is the town crier.

His voice just resonates as such that a lot of the roles that I got were very big. Also, in being in community theater, we would often do musicals. So I started getting trained in, like, pitch and tone, cadence, and all of those different types of things that now I apply to what I call riding the wave of an introduction. You know, making it musical. So that, you know, everybody is unique, in the way that they're presented.

As unique as the music is that they come out to, the introduction has to, like, match that for this portrait to be painted. And this is all just my upbringing in the theater doing community theater and traveling Shakespeare. You know, that's where I learned about iambic pentameter and, like, kind of like the rhythm of life that if you do it to the beat, people will pay attention. You know? Like, a lot of people don't understand that Shakespeare is so, universal, because of that beat that is to all of the words.

Even though the words are not what we speak right now, you know, dialects and and colloquialisms, typically if you're watching a Shakespeare show, there's a rhythm that the actors are speaking to that you're like, oh, I get it. I see what's going on. He loves her. Oh oh, I get it. I see he's jealous, you know.

So that that is also something that I picked up along the way that I've been able to apply to pro wrestling and announcing and commentating that that just works. And and I I think it resonates, and it's one of the reasons I've got 21 years doing it.

It's great. It's wonderful. And thank you. That that's a good connection there that yeah. It's it's a it's a plus thing.

Because I was, like, you know, you're you're a charismatic dude. You got a lot of energy, so it makes some sense. I was like, oh, yeah. You you're you're an actor. It makes sense.

Yeah?

Yeah. Well, you know, I was I was actually pursuing maybe real acting, like Denzel Washington and stuff like that, in New York. I was a New Yorker for 10 years, and I was undergrad at NYU studying acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting. And you know what? The end of our second year, like, our, like, guru was like, hey.

I don't want y'all to waste your time. Some of you are destined to go on to do great things. Some of you will be struggling forever. So right now, at the end of your 2nd year, I want you to listen to your heart and follow it. And as much as I love all forms of performance, theater, acting, musicals, all that stuff, pro wrestling is just the thing that it's my thing.

It's like, it's the greatest thing. So, I dropped out of, like, acting school and just joined it. I didn't just join a pro wrestling school. I wanted to get back involved into something that was performance based. But the words of our teacher that was like, don't waste your time.

Don't waste your money. Follow what's in your heart. You wanna be a damn whatever. Do it. Don't waste time up here now that you've done 2 years.

And I really appreciate that because 4 years of NYU, well, I would be even further in debt, you know, out of it. So I appreciated that she did that. And that's kinda like when I was like, you know what? The acting that I like the best is pro wrestling acting, and you're gonna be damned if you tell me that there's not a whole lot of Internet.

I mean, you know, I I had I had another question, but I think you got it. I mean, and that's a good spot for us to to close on the real part of the podcast, the real part. But now, it's time for the rapid fire part of the podcast. This is the the real

What's up?

The real fun part of it.

Let's go.

And, you know, as I tell everyone, don't overthink these questions. So, the last thing that I went to this is for just context. Last thing I went to, I went to, NXT in Philly, for WrestleMania and all of that stuff. And This past 40? Yes.

Okay.

And and and it's like I always go out with a particular buddy or what have you, and we always joke after we've, you know, did the, you know, we do the, the the the debrief. Right? And we make we make fun of, like, yo, there's a lot of people double fisting hot dogs and ice cream, and I was like, yo, I have french fries and beer at 10:30, and we'll talk about the food habits. Right? What do you eat at a show?

What is your go to thing to eat at a show? I'm very curious about this.

So I am not I am not as good. I'm not as disciplined as I once was. Mhmm. But as an announcer, I would always have an apple. Mhmm.

I would always have some cut up pineapple. You often have grapes and other things like plums, things that would soothe my palate as we were doing the talking thing, and I was, you know, running my vocal cords raw. Yeah. Depending on which venue I'm in, hot water is not always as as accessible and plentiful, but I do drink a lot of tea. I don't drink as much tea as I drink coffee, but I should.

And my my tea of choice is by traditional medicinals and it's called Throat Coat. And just kind of a pun in double entendre, but, yeah, I like Throat Coat by traditional medicinals. I have a box of that on me at all times. So yeah, those are the things that, nowadays though, I I really I'm really, like I said, I've gotta stretch my legs out. I'm commenting.

So I I like, I like chicken tenders and french fries. Like, if, when we go to the we do a venue in, Newark Newark, New Jersey, the Hartball Room, and there's a place across the street called the Newark cheesesteak or it's just called Newark cheesesteaks. And I always get chicken tenders and fries from there. It's crap, Cisco food, but comfort food as well. But when I was more when I was actually doing shows in Madison Square Garden, in the theater in Madison Square Garden, if you ever, like, looked at the table where I was sitting, you would often find, like, fruit that I would be, like, eating in between announcing because the fruit, cleanses your palate and also, like, soothes your your your vocal cords as you're out there given the old heave ho.

That makes sense. That's, that's a good one. It's a good one, and thank you. I I was I was looking for that fancy answer you gave me, the ones like, oh, this is chicken tenders and fries. But, also, I was like, look.

If I'm doing this, it's gotta be the food, and that's Well,

I don't think so. Yeah. Like, Like, I'm thinking about and and I I have I I was in Birmingham this past weekend. I had grapefruit on me. You know, I had all the things on me, but I like I said, again, I'm just like I don't wanna say I'm lazy, but I'm just like, I did a show in a a field in Birmingham, Alabama.

I'm not I'm not that concerned about my voice like faltering. You know, when I do a Muay Thai show in Brooklyn, New York, maybe I'm a little bit more disciplined about what I'm having before and after. So

Very good. So here's one. You touched on it a moment ago and in in in in it's a circle because we met formally in this sort of setting. So I gotta ask, how do you take your coffee?

Black. Okay. Black. Okay. Okay.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Black is best. Black is best.

But Damn right, brother. If you like if you like a little I like art and I like, turning my black coffee like shades of like caramel or dersh. Like I like, I like I like putting a little bit of oat milk in my coffee just because of the visual of the blackness. Okay. It is a very psychological thing that I like to experience.

But typically, I just like it black. It's best that way. And sometimes I have to remind myself by not doing oat milk in my iced coffee or my hot coffee and just taking it black and just being like, oh, that's right. This is the this is the thing that I like. You know?

So that's how I like it. Black and out of a French press, if if available. I like I like French pressed coffee.

It's good. This is the last one I got for you. And Sure. This one is kinda shameless, but also kinda kinda, like, you know, it's aspirational. Right?

So Yeah. Who is someone that you would love to introduce that you have not had the chance to introduce in your 20 near 22 year career?

James, dear, Stone Cold, both Sagittariuses, both 2 that I very much admire and have, have acknowledged that they're, like, to the greatest entertainers' minds. So to keep it in the realm of the Sagittarius, which is what I am, and considering myself one of the greats, to be able to lay it down to be able to lay it down, for either one of them. I guess, always bet on Black. It would be Jay z if I had to make a choice, you know, out of 2 of those. But, you know, I'm a wrestling guy, so that's why I gotta kinda lean forward Stone Cold at the same time I've got to because he attitude, like, we're doing it in the yard, stunner.

We know how to do it. Kick. Boom. Boom. Here, he's at rock bottom.

You'd have to do it. Uh-uh. You know? So, yeah. Never never announced Steve Austin.

Never announced Jay z, but those those are 2 in our 10 minutes that if I oh. I hear you. Oh my gosh.

I hear you. Yeah. And and that's kinda it for the for the questions. We got it. So there's there's 2 things I wanna do to come without, 2 things I wanna do.

1, I wanna thank you for coming on and spending some time with me, and, and 2, I would like to invite and encourage you to tell our listeners where they can, check you out, you know, your social media website, any of that stuff where they can hear your silky tones, hear that voice, see you out there doing your thing. The floor is yours.

Alright. I I don't know. So, XPW, XPW Wrestling, stream, XPW.com, is my primary wrestling company these days. So anything that I do bimonthly, LA, Newark, New Jersey, where we were just talking about, it'll be streamed on streamxpw.com. Now, XPW is an extreme wrestling company.

It is not for everybody. It is very bloody. It is very sexual. It is very offensive. But, streamxpw.com.

You can see me. My, Instagram is at real Larry legend. That's actually my alternate Instagram that I set up while I was working for Ring of Honor because Ring of Honor wanted me to be Larry Mercer, which is my given name. They wanted me to be Larry Mercer. So I set up a alternate Instagram at real Larry Legend.

On Facebook, I'm Larry Legend. There may be a few other ones, but I'm the one with the crown of threes. There were 3 threes over my head, my Larry Legend profile on Facebook. On YouTube, I'm Larry Legend. Again, there may be a couple of them, but somehow or other, Google has allowed me to secure Larry Legend as my YouTube, so I'm on there.

Every Tuesday night from 7 to 9, I'm on YouTube on a podcast called Boulevard Bullies versus the World. And it's myself, Pat, and Ringside Sean, and sometimes bad take Brian. We just basically in a four way quadrant. Talk about this man the third when it comes to indies, bigs, whatever. Very sophomoric.

Very not for everyone. So you can see me every every Tuesday at 7, 7 to 9 on YouTube on Boulevard Bullies versus the World. I think that's it. I also have a primary Instagram, but it's so difficult. Just go to real Aaron Legend and I cross share things on both of them.

So and, Twitter or x, blklkp. Again, 33blklkp, is my Twitter. Follow me on there, although x is kinda not Twitter anymore. So, yeah. And, I've mentioned that I won The Price is Right.

If anyone wants to watch that going to YouTube, Larry Legend on The Price is Right. All you have to do is type in onto YouTube, Larry Legend on The Price is Right. A fan of mine happened to be watching The Price is Right that day. Steve owned it and uploaded it right to YouTube. So you can watch my appearance on The Price is Right, where I won everything, including the showcase showdown for my mom.

It was her birthday, and I wanted to do something special for her. So I we went to LA and I appeared on The Price is Right, and I get to do what I'm announcing on there.

So there you have it, folks. I wanna again thank the great Larry Legend for coming on to the podcast. And I'm Rob Lee saying that there's art, culture, and community in and around your neck of the woods. You've just gotta look for it.