Alicia Atout is one of, if not the premier interviewers in the professional wrestling scene today. Since founding AMBY in 2013, Atout has become a household name in both pro wrestling and music for her in-depth interviews and conversational approach to interviewing. It’s not only earned her the opportunity to interview some of wrestling’s top stars but work in a backstage capacity with Impact! Wrestling, AEW, and, currently, Major League Wrestling.

Recently, Atout joined me to discuss how she’s passing the time through the COVID-19 pandemic, binge-watching Tiger King, who inspires her, and more.

On her upcoming interviews:

“So, there have been a lot. Today (March 25), I recently, like an hour ago spoke to Session Moth Martina, I have TJP, Melina, and Kylie Rae coming on today, so that’s going to be a really stacked and fun day. Yesterday was super busy; recently I had Chelsea Green on, Francine, Danhausen, Mayra Dias Gomez, like, it was really busy. And the thing is, trying to line all these up, I don’t know why, but I had like a home run yesterday! Everybody was just like ‘this is the time I’m free, this is the time,’ and it was just flawless. I also had Chris Bey on, Killer Kelly, I did some music – I had the Black Dahlia Murder on, so like it’s just been a lot.

But, it’s kept my mind off all the craziness, so there’s that.”

Keeping busy during the COVID-19 pandemic:

“So, I’ve been playing a lot of Galaga, I’ve got two handheld games, so I’ve been playing that a ton. The last three, four days has just been research and interviews, I haven’t really done much else. Around 7:30 I’ll clock out from the interviewing, I’ll chill with my family, we’ll watch some television together.

“I binge-watched Tiger King, which is some crazy s**t! It’s the most bizarre show I’ve ever seen! It’s got to do with big cats, zoos, animal rights, polygamy, murder. It is weird, but it is really intriguing. I’ve watched the whole season, I think it was seven episodes, an hour-long each, in a day and a half.

”

Who inspires her outside of wrestling:

“A lot of that comes down to my family because if it weren’t for them pushing me and seeing a passion and kind of igniting it and keeping me on the go, I don’t know where I would be. They’ve helped me a lot, especially when I first started with the music stuff, so definitely my parents. My sister right now, she’s a nurse so seeing, especially lately with the Coronavirus going on, seeing her clock into work every single day, being one of those health professionals out there right now really helping people, that’s been super inspiring to me. It kind of makes me think if she can go in every day and see the sadness and hurt and pain and push through and still help people, not let that get to her, whatever I’m dealing with, (I) can push through too.”

Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any transcriptions used.

Alicia Atout is one of, if not the premier interviewers in the professional wrestling scene today. Since founding AMBY in 2013, Atout has become a household name in both pro wrestling and music for her in-depth interviews and conversational approach to interviewing. It’s not only earned her the opportunity to interview some of wrestling’s top stars but work in a backstage capacity with Impact! Wrestling, AEW, and, currently, Major League Wrestling.

Recently, Atout joined me to discuss her interview prep, as well as her personal favourite interviewers. She also chatted with us about developing her acting skills as a backstage interviewer.

Researching her interviewees:

“Before interviews, I always try to research just to know what’s going on with people. Like, I’m sure you know this, (but) just so you’re on top of what they’ve been up to, if there’s anything you really should cover, anything they want to promote, too.

So, I do a decent amount of research, probably about like an hour, hour and a half per guest, so I always try to sneak that in the day before so it’s fresh in my mind as well.”

“You can know someone inside and out, but at the same time when you’re doing five interviews in one day, it’s so easy to mix up who’s been where, you know what I mean, like the little things like who likes Doritos over Cheetos or whatever it might be. There’s a decent amount of prep that goes into it, and at the same time, if it’s a guest that I’ve had on for like three times, like Chelsea Green, we follow each other, we keep up with what each other has been up to, so with her, it’s like ‘okay, I want to talk about blank, blank and blank, here are bullet points, let’s just go into it and have a conversation.’ So, it differs on the guest, it differs on how many times I’ve spoken to them and my relationship with them, but I try to go in with some kind of baseline to guide everything through.”

Developing her acting skills as a backstage interviewer:

“Now that I get to actually act off of stuff and have more fun with it and really play off of all the guys I’m in the locker room with, it’s a blast. As far as kind of training for it, I think it’s just one of those things I’ve adapted really naturally and luckily I just didn’t suck at, (because) when I was first told ‘yeah, there’s going to be more acting,’ or ‘you have to react to this a certain way, you have to get angry, or sad,’ I’m like ‘oh, gosh, I don’t know how to do this.’ Literally, the word that ran through my mind was ‘ahh, shit.’ Luckily, it just kind of came naturally and when it comes to that locker room, I feel very comfortable with everybody, so I also don’t feel like if you do mess up, or if they mess up, no one’s judging each other in that sense, which is really nice to have.”

“It was very organic as far as the acting goes. Luckily I was able to pick it up pretty easily, and I don’t really get anyone really saying anything negative about that aspect of my job, which makes me so happy because probably in the three years I’ve been doing wrestling stuff, what I was definitely most nervous for.”

Which interviewers she enjoys watching:

“It’s interesting, because when I first started there weren’t a lot of people I watched, simply because I wanted to craft my own style. Because I end up doing all the research, I find when I watch other people interview, I don’t really discover too many things that are new about a person. So, I don’t know.”

“The only real people that I’ll tune in to – and I’ve seen (Chris) Van Vliet’s stuff for research, and we interviewed each other and it was so much fun to do, but I’ll watch Renee Young’s stuff once in a while; having reruns on TV and that kind of stuff, because I think her approach is very similar to (mine) where it’s just you sit down, you shoot the breeze with someone and that’s that. Otherwise, it’d just be old Mean Gene promos whenever those come on, because they’re just so fun and so full of attitude and frustration, and I just think that he’s the best.

“

“Those are a couple, but it’s weird – as an interviewer, I don’t go down that interview rabbit hole. I think it’s maybe because I’m so consumed with it myself, I just don’t care as much to listen to other people do it. I don’t mean that as a dig whatsoever, there’s so many people who are good at it, (but) for me it’s like, ‘okay, I’ve heard so many people answer these questions, I’ve already heard them answer these questions, I’m just going to step away,’ and that’s when I’ll try to get in my TV time or something like that.”

Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any transcriptions used.

Few broadcasters in professional wrestling today can measure up to Alicia Atout. The AMBY founder and current MLW broadcaster is one of the most well-known backstage personalities in the industry today, with both her backstage and shoot interviews widely praised throughout the pro wrestling scene.

Recently, Atout joined me to discuss her recent time in Mexico as part of Major League Wrestling’s latest set of tapings. She also discussed her dream match featuring MLW-only stars.

MLW’s recent tapings in Tijuana:

“Yeah, it was my first time ever working a show down there! It was crazy. It was amazing because that’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to go somewhere else for wrestling. I’ve been in the States a ton, and the reason I was in both the Netherlands and Finland was because of music, so I’ve never really traveled internationally because of wrestling.

So, when this opportunity came about and we brought like a really small crew as far as film and even talent in the locker room, and they wanted me to be down there, I was like ‘oh my gosh! Yes! Of course!’”

“It was surreal. Just like crossing over the border, you finally get to the Arena, and it’s massive because it was an MLW and (AAA) collab, so that in itself – like, you see the iconic tunnel you hear about in that place that’s been around for years, and you just see all these things in person. There’s 5,000 people, sold-out, and it’s crazy. You could just, like, feel the energy.

”

“I didn’t do in-ring promos, but I did tons of stuff backstage. I think we filmed like – we did tons in San Diego the day before, I think I had like eighteen promos in a day, but the next time I think we shot four or five. It was cool because those ones involved Konnan, who owns AAA and is also with MLW. It’s just crazy, seeing how you’re working with these legends and people who have been in wrestling for so long and you’re in a foreign country.”

“The best part, though, was that they had tacos upstairs, like authentic tacos and they were so good like I went up there twice throughout the day, and man, they were awesome.”

What surprised her about Mexico:

“Just the magnitude of the show we were filming. It was huge. I wasn’t expecting it to be that big, I wasn’t expecting the fans to be so different. I mean, in North America, fans are loud and they cheer, but it’s completely different in Mexico. It felt like the place was erupting 24/7. It was such a cool thing to experience, and it was loud! I stood right by the side of the stage and it was deafening how loud they were. That was super cool. Just seeing the production and how many people were on board to make everything happen, it was a really well-run, tight ship. It was right in the back of my mind, thinking like ‘oh, you’re in Mexico for wrestling finally?’ It was very surreal.”

“Being in the back with all the dudes, they were all excited, it was a crazy crowd, and in the back of your mind all of this virus is going on! It was a lot to take in and a lot to think about, but a lot also to really be happy and grateful for.”

Her MLW dream match:

“I think it would be cool to mix things up and have someone like Lawlor, like Tom Lawlor team up with Jacob Fatu, because I think Lawlor’s such a technician in the ring, and Fatu is shockingly amazing at the high-flying moves. I think them teaming together would be so bizarre, but they both have a great sense of humour, so I could imagine those promos being out-of-this-world. Those two, as hard as they are in the ring, they’re goofballs. I think seeing those two team up against maybe…like, (Alex) Hammerstone and Davey Boy (Smith Jr), because they’re both really huge, I think that’d be really cool. That’d be really neat to see, and I know that hasn’t happened, so that’d be really cool.

”

Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any transcriptions used.

From 2002-2004, Canadian pro wrestling Tyson Dux made a number of appearances for the WWE, a theme that has continued throughout the years. Dux has appeared as recently as the promotion’s Cruiserweight Classic, and potentially had the opportunity to join them at numerous points throughout his career.

Recently, Dux joined me to discuss whether there was ever an offer to join the WWE and if he would take the opportunity to sign if it was offered at this point.

If there were any formal offers to join WWE:

“It was the day that I got hurt. I wrestled (Mark) Jindrak in April of ’04 – no, it was March.

It was March of ’04 where I blew out my knee. I tore my ACL in half in my right knee, and that match there was – I talked to Stephanie McMahon before we were in catering. We were eating together, we were discussing moving and all this stuff because there was no NXT, there was no Orlando. It was you just you go to work or you go to OVW and then they bring you up right away. So I talked to Stephanie in the afternoon and then I talked to Johnny Ace (former WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis) just before I went out, and the word was, from Johnny Ace was like ‘finish up, get yourself done, and then we’ll talk after your match. Me and Stephanie will sit and we’ll talk about what the plans are.’ Sure enough, I blew out my knee that night. Dean Malenko actually helped me to the back, he knew I was really badly hurt. He pulled me to the back. Then, when I was sitting in with the trainer, Johnny Ace came and put his hand on my shoulder and said ‘hey man, we don’t know if you’ll be well. We can’t really – we honestly can’t hire you in this condition, so we’ll have to wait and see,’ and then that was just the window. The window was gone when I came back when I was healed up.”

If a major promotion is still the goal:

“I would never close the door, the window is always open to do a little bit of work wherever it comes from. I’m ready to go, and always ready both physically and mentally to work. I do, I’m not saying I won’t take any opportunities, but I really enjoy being a freelance guy. My school does well, I do well on the road, barring this virus thing. Nobody’s doing well on anything anymore right now, but I do okay.

If it comes, it comes. If it doesn’t, I’m still at peace with it.”

Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any transcriptions used.