There’s truly not much Brian Johnson hasn’t done in Ring of Honor. Whether it be his first appearances as the #1 ranked prospect in the promotion’s Top Prospects tournament to recently establishing himself as the #1 contender to the Pure Championship, ‘The Mecca” has been at the promotion’s forefront for the past three years.

Unfortunately, the news that Ring of Honor will be undergoing operational changes in the near future has brought whole new meaning to the name Final Battle. With the upcoming pay-per-view marking the end of an era for Ring of Honor, I asked Johnson about his mindset heading into Final Battle 2021.

“Well, I think I can speak for everybody on the roster, the news sucked,” Johnson stated. “It was a kick in the balls, right?

The Legacy of ROH

Johnson continued to speak of the legacy of Ring of Honor, noting that many of wrestling’s top stars of the past two decades have established themselves in ROH.

“I don’t think I’m surprising anybody when I talk about the influences of Ring of Honor throughout wrestling,” he commented. “Any promotion worldwide has their fingerprints with Ring of Honor on them. The biggest moments in wrestling throughout the last 19 years have moments of Ring of Honor on it, whether it’s a YES Movement or someone in Chicago. Those guys all have the roots with Ring of Honor. That being said, to know that so many eyes and so many influences around this wrestling world are probably going to be watching because it could be an end of an era. Or, it certainly is an end of an era. Who knows what the future holds, right?”

“I think in the long run it could be the biggest opportunity in my life, and I’m looking at it that way,” he concluded. “So, I’m gearing up. I’m pretty tunnel vision heading into the 11th.”

Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any of the above quotes.

Things are about to get Outlandish, and for all the right reasons.

On January 15th, 2022, Zicky Dice will host his first-ever wrestling show, Zicky Dice’s Outlandish Paradise. The event, streaming live on Twitch, promises to be a wrestling event like no other according to the IMPACT Wrestling star. Given that, I had to ask Dice who – or what – he could be looking for in booking talents for the show.

“Is there a specific trait? Is it a specific look? Something in between?” I asked. “What do you sort of look for in a pro wrestler?”

“Well, we’re shooting big,” Dice stated emphatically. “We’re shooting the moon for this event.

I’m looking for someone that is quite entertaining. Someone that can not only put asses in seats but can entertain. Twitch is giving us a front-page stream. I’m expecting over a million in foot traffic through the stream. We’re limiting this event to 1,000 in-house. I promise you this: you will see stars in a small capacity that you won’t be able to see anywhere else. That’s what Zicky Dice’s Outlandish Paradise is bringing to you.”

“So what do I look for?” he said, circling back. “I look for someone that is truly going to entertain and captivate the attention of the masses. Although, there’s so many people that claim that can do that. I’m sorry to cut you off, but can they really? Can they really? If you’re a professional wrestler yourself and you’re asking yourself, ‘hey, I want to be booked on Zicky Dice’s Outlandish Paradise,’ can you keep me entertained?

Can you? Ask yourself deep down, and you’ll know the honest answer. It’s probably no. But, that’s what I’m here to showcase.

”

The Hey Brother Battle Royal

I, of course, had to pry a little bit more. Though Dice was unable to name names as far as confirmed talent goes, he was kind enough to give us a scoop on one of the event’s upcoming matches.

“There are certainly a couple of names that come to mind on the former of what you said, that WILL be able to bring that entertainment and put the asses in seats,” I mused. “But I have to ask, and I know that you’ve given some scoops in the previous interviews you’ve done before. Are you able to let me in on any specific names that’ll be there?”

“No, I can’t do that at the moment,” Dice admitted. “No, I apologize. What I can do is I can do this.”

“Ever since announcing the event, my messages and social media and DM’s have been blowing up, and every single message starts with ‘Hey, brother!’ That’s why I’m introducing the Hey Brother Battle Royale! When I announce the match online, the first 100 people to respond with those – you know that ‘eye’ emoji that everyone comments on that doesn’t really work? Well, this time it will! The first 100 people to comment those eyes, I’m selecting 20 of them to be in the Hey Brother Battle Royal.”

“Guess what they’re gonna win? I just ordered it. A big fat check of a million exposure bucks signed by Outlandish Zicky Dice!”

Please credit Love Wrestling with any of the above quotes. Stay tuned to Love Wrestling on November 19th for our full conversation with Zicky Dice.

Zicky Dice has been called many things throughout his wrestling career, but one thing you can’t call him is unambitious.

Dice has been known to refer to himself as a Swiss Army knife of entertainment, and for good reason. Far from just a professional wrestler, the Outlandish One has been known to perform magic, host games shows, and, of course, for fronting his own band, Heart to Heart, for over a decade.

When I recently had the opportunity to chat with Dice, we dove into not only some of his ideal wrestling bandmates, but a few projects that the IMPACT star has been mulling about.

A Wrasslin’ Band

Though Dice is one of the most prominent musician/wrestler combinations, he’s far from alone. Jericho, The Blade, Mickie James, and R-Truth are perhaps a few of the more well-known out there, but again, they’re far from the only. For that reason, I was excited to pose my final question to Dice.

“If you were forming a band exclusively consisting of pro wrestlers who would be in it?”

I laughed before continuing.

“They made sure to specify by no means do they need to have musical talent. You don’t have to pick people in bands.”

After a few seconds, Dice chuckled and began to answer.

“Now there’s a few people that I know that jam,” commented the Outlandish One. “Rich Swann plays a nasty guitar. Chris Bey plays guitar. Brody King is in a hardcore band. Mandrews plays in a pop-punk band. Oh man, who would I have in this band though? Chris Dickinson plays drums! I’m trying to see – do I know any wrestling bass players? I feel like those are the first ones that come to mind.”

“Like anything else I do, I want it to be the best. So, although someone may look pretty and may think they can sing, I’d rather get someone that I know can. I don’t know. I know I’ve heard some people sing, too, and I’m drawing a blank now.”

“You’re not putting yourself in the slot?” I asked incredulously.

“Of course I’d be in the band!

” he exclaimed. “Of course, yeah I’d be there! I’ve been talking about starting another band for a while, and I’d love to play an instrument and sing backup.

I love to have like a female-fronted band [that] kind of sounds Cranberries-ish, you know? We’ll see what happens there. I’ve also talked about doing a solo project for a little bit and just releasing some Zicky Dice music. So we’ll see what happens there.”

Please credit Love Wrestling with any of the above quotes. Thank you!