A few weeks ago, the wrestling world was shocked by the WWE release of a number of in-ring talents including Samoa Joe, The IIconics, Chelsea Green, and more. However, perhaps the most surprising was that of Mickie James, a former Women’s Champion and a bonafide pro wrestling legend.

Equally shocking to the releases themselves was the treatment of many of the talents following their departures. On April 22nd, James tweeted a tongue-in-cheek photo of the unceremonious manner in which her belongings were returned. The photo took to social media like wildfire, with WWE names past and present both apologizing and vouching for the legitimacy of the situation at hand.

In chatting with NWA World’s Champion Nick Aldis, I asked him about his feelings on the matter given his marriage to James.

“You touched on it earlier, and I don’t want to pry too much on it,” I commented to the Real World’s Champion. “But, just everything that did happen with Mickie over the last couple of weeks as far as the release with WWE, and then – I literally have the word hogwash here, because I can’t describe it any better as far as everything that went down afterwards.”

“Trashgate,” Aldis responded jokingly.

“Yeah, right,” I affirmed. “I don’t want to dig on it too much, and I know she spoke for herself on it on GAW TV yesterday, but maybe just your thoughts, or if there’s anything you’d like to share on that end of things.”

“Well, I hope this doesn’t destroy anyone’s delusion of it,” Aldis laughed to begin. “But, you know, the craziest thing about all that for us was that she really – it wasn’t like she was super offended. It wasn’t like she was really upset. She was kind of laughing at the symbolism. It wasn’t like this thing where she went ‘ah, I’m devastated, I’m heartbroken, how would they do this to me,’ and I’ve seen some people sort of refer to it like that, as if that was the sort of tone. If you go back and look at her post with the video and stuff, she was very tongue-in-cheek about it. She was very kind of, ‘well, that’s about fucking right!’ In other words, they chew you up and spit you out, and that’s just the way the business is.

“And, look,” Aldis continued, “she’s been through a hell of a lot worse. The reality is, is that symbolism and sort of tone-deaf gesture, I guess, is the best way to describe it, it’s not even in the top-10 of the most cold, heartless things that have happened to her or me in this business. So, it’s kind of like, hey, man, we’ve got thick skins. She just thought it was enlightening, I guess, to sort of share with the world like, ‘Hey, you think it’s all special and glamorous? It’s sometimes not so much.’ I was very amazed at the level of traction it got.

“And,” Aldis was sure to note, “I was amazed at the level of response on the corporate level from those guys. From Triple H, and Stephanie [to] Vince, they all – and, hey, I will say that Vince McMahon went out of his way to express to Mickie his respect for her and her contributions. That’s at least some consolation to take from it. Although, I would politely suggest that maybe a little more respect could have been shown to her while she was there.”

I nodded.

“I wouldn’t disagree with you there at all, my friend, but the nice thing – and it’s not as though it really needed to be reinforced – is she’s a damn legend in this business. And, it’s really, really nice to see that be the thing that takes up the Twitter feed.”

Aldis agreed.

“Within minutes the phone was lighting up, both of our phones [were] lighting up. She, again, very tongue in cheek. Very – wrestling fans have a hard time with humor, you know, especially self-deprecating humor is like they want to turn everything into this big drama show. But, she sort of, again, kind of lightheartedly used the phrase ‘golden handcuffs,’ because – and I promise, this is not me trying to sort of polish a turd. Right away, my mind didn’t go to like, ‘oh, man, that’s, you know, that’s so devastating.’ Obviously, I consoled her and said, like, ‘how do you feel? Are you’re okay? I’m sorry, babe.’ But, right away, my mind started going to, ‘well, hey, at least all of those massive contractual restrictions are off now. At least you have the freedom now to go after this, or to go after that, and talk to this person, and promote this, and endorse that.’ Again, I’m not criticizing the contracts. Hey, you sign it. I never understood – hey, my whole thing with this is yeah, maybe the contracts in wrestling, in general, are somewhat…”

“Shitty?” I interjected half-jokingly.

The Real World’s Champion grinned. “You said that, not me.”

“I’ll take it!” I laughed before Aldis finished his thought.

“The fact still remains that once you sign it, you agreed, and I live by that. I don’t have a contract like that. So it’s kind of like I’ve always sort of had that understanding. I’ve always been, you know, the people who have mentored me in the business have always said to me ‘once you sign it, you keep your word you honor it.’ You cannot expect, and you can’t get caught up in what someone else has got. You have to be happy with what you’ve got, and you have to look it over and you have to agree to it or not agree to it, and you have to be – but once you agree, you can’t then complain about it and keep sort of [going]. So again, when it comes to those restrictions, it was kind of like, okay, there’s a pro and a con to this. Obviously, the con is yes, she’s no longer with the WWE, and her last run didn’t work out the way she’d hoped. And, that guaranteed income is no longer part of our revenue streams. But, we have plenty of revenue streams.”

“The good news is, okay, now, the pro is that there are now a bunch of other potential revenue streams that were previously unavailable based on that contract. So, hey, it swings around about.”

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

Whether it’s referencing his faction’s name or simply his mentality to professional wrestling, Nick Aldis is Strictly Business. The Real World’s Champion’s business acumen has served him incredibly well throughout his nearly twenty-year career, with his work both inside and outside of the squared circle earning the respect of wrestlers and business leaders alike.

Just over a month into the return of the National Wrestling Alliance, one major storyline playing out is the recruitment of a new member to Strictly Business’ ranks.

“Of course, you don’t need to give me too much, people need to tune into Powerrr as far as that goes,” I began when Aldis and I recently spoke for Love Wrestling. “But, what do you look for in a Strictly Business recruit? And, is there maybe anybody out there that’s caught your eye or you’re considering as a potential recruit?”

“Who’s Nick Aldis got his eye on?”

“Well, look, here’s the thing,” Aldis stated. “Strictly Business was a group that was kind of born out of my real-life friendship with Tom Latimer and, obviously, my association with Kamille.

Then, they fell in love and developed their own real-life romance. So, I was like, ‘look at this! It’s worked out great!’ And so, it’s kind of like our whole – I said it makes sense for us to be a group because we all look out for each other’s back. We’re all going to be, and we all know, and I think this is one of the reasons why for the most part I kind of – I think I’d like to say I have the respect of most of the guys on the roster is that I am Strictly Business. If it’s good for the company, if it’s going to help move us along, I’m gonna do it. As long as it doesn’t hurt me, and that’s okay, too.”

The Real World’s Champion paused to smile before continuing.

“I was having this conversation yesterday with a friend of mine who’s in NXT,” Aldis explained. “I said, ‘you know, somewhere along the line, people have sort of manipulated this narrative that it’s wrong to sort of look out for yourself.’ And I’m like, ‘no, it’s absolutely necessary to look out for yourself. That’s why we’re independent contractors.’ I’m not saying you have to be difficult. I’m just saying you have to – of course, you’re thinking of yourself! You’re your business product.”

“I’m in the retail business,” Aldis stated, making the comparison to the wrestling business. “My sports nutrition company, my supplement company, LegacySupps.com, we’re in the process right now where we’re having some conversations with some major retailers. At some point, the conversation is going to shift to like, positioning on the shelves, and how you guys gonna put in, it’s like, no one’s sitting there going, like, ‘Oh, he’s not a team player! He’s not just happy to be in the store!’ I’m gonna go there [and say] ‘hey, why is my shit on the top shelf in the back corner? Put my shit in the middle!’ You know what I mean? It’s the same. It’s business! Everyone should be vying to be like, ‘I want to be in the main event. I want to be the world champion!’ I’m sitting there going, ‘hey, I want you to try to be in it because it helps make me better because I don’t want you to take over my spot.’ There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not a popularity contest based on like, ‘who’s the nicest to the fans on the internet?’ You know what I mean? Or, ‘who’s the one who deserves it the most?’ The guy who deserves it the most is the guy who’s going to help pull the wagon the best.”

I agreed. “Like you’ve said before, the guy that pulls that wagon eventually does pull everybody along with them, right? A rising tide raises all boats.”

“Right,” Aldis confirmed. “And so, in that respect, that’s how Strictly Business was formed, because it was like, you know, Tom Latimer is – we’re going back to that dreaded overrated and underrated term. Tom Latimer is, in my opinion, the most undervalued talent in the entire industry. This guy is – he’s got everything! He is the total package. He works circles around guys making 10 times the money he makes. For me, it’s like I want to take him and if I can help light that fire to him and be like, ‘you’re considered a top guy in this business,’ then I’m gonna do that. The business needs him. Whoever I recognize as, like, the best guy, some people look at it as like, ‘oh, that’s competition. Let’s eliminate him, let’s cut him off.

‘ Or, if you’re thinking about – if you’re confident in who you are, and you’re comfortable in yourself, you look at that guy and go, ‘we need to get this guy on a rocket ship, boys because it’s going to help the rest of us.

‘”

When it came to the subject of potential new Strictly Business recruits, the Real World’s Champion gave a pair of examples of two individuals he feels would be great fits for the faction.

“As far as other people? I’ve mentioned a few times that I think that Joe Hennig would be a good fit for NWA,” he stated emphatically. “I think he’s a guy that was presented in a way that was certainly not representative of what he offers [and] certainly not representative of his incredible lineage. But again, where we talk about our values [of] legacy, tradition, we more than respect our elders, we revere them. So, for a guy who’s part of one of the greatest wrestling lineages of all time? Hey, man, he could have a jacket. He could earn a jacket.”

“And like, look, let’s talk about Chris Adonis,” continued Aldis. “I’ve known Chris for a long time. I first booked him in India 10 years ago.”

“Oh, very cool!” I remarked.

Aldis laughed as he carried on. “I found him to be insufferable when I first met this guy! I was like, ‘who is this guy? He’s like a complete goof! He’s so aloof. He’s like a loudmouth jock, just not my cup of tea at all.’ I get to know the guy, and I just go ‘no, that’s just his nature.'”

Many, of course, are familiar with Adonis from his previous work with the WWE as Chris Masters. As Aldis continued through our conversation, the Real World’s Champion began to speak of how Adonis being pushed to the forefront as young as he was, relating it to his own career and early success.

“But, here’s another guy – and I can relate to this – he got a massive opportunity for WWE, got pushed so young, and just was not polished and was not finished yet. He didn’t have enough reps. It just was just, he just wasn’t ready. People had just sort of written him off, you know, like ‘oh, he’s ex-WWE.’ He was in his early 20’s when he was there! Are you kidding me? Look at the median age of the WWE roster now. Most of the champions are over 40, which is kind of funny when you consider, you know, Mickie’s release and all that. That’s another story for another day.”

“But, the point is, the maturity as a performer in this business comes [in your] late 30s, early 40s,” he continued. “Throughout history, the best – every now and then there’s an exception. There are major anomalies. The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton. There are others, Shawn Michaels. But, for the most part, the guys are doing their best work in their late 30s, early 40s, because they found themselves, they’ve got respect, they’ve got a gravitas to them, they’ve got a maturity to them, they look like grown men. They’re people that appeal across the board to children and adults alike. It’s the sweet spot for wrestling, and for whatever reason, people have sort of co-opted that and tried to compare it to real sports, like, ‘what’s the big problem? What’s the major problem with the young guys?’ They’re not getting a push, because they’re not ready. They’re not getting a push, because they’ve got three years’ experience. Do you have any idea how much experience you need to be fucking good at this? It’s a lot! I’ve worked with a who’s-who of wrestling, and I didn’t even begin to find myself until I hit 30. And, by the time I hit 30, I’d wrestled Sting, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode, [and] Kurt Angle!”

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

Trevor Murdoch is a national treasure.

That’s not just a pun regarding his former status as the NWA’s National Heavyweight Champion, but in this writer’s opinion, a statement to the incredible work that he’s done over the course of his 25-year career and, of course, through his time with the National Wrestling Alliance.

Since the return of the NWA just a shade over a month ago, Murdoch has been front and center, taking on the role as the proverbial thorn in the side of Nick Aldis and Strictly Business. While, as mentioned, Murdoch has been beloved by both fans and people inside the business alike since the onset of his career, but for many in the FITE and television audience, this is their first taste of the Fredericktown, Missouri, native in a main event role.

Murdoch’s ascent was something I had to ask about during my recent conversation with the Real World’s Champion Nick Aldis, launching this Tuesday on Love Wrestling.

“Even now you look at it, and a guy like Trevor Murdoch, who’s always been a great wrestler, is moving up onto the Nick Aldis level, which is a pretty good level to be on,” I asked Aldis. “What have you maybe seen in him over the last little bit that’s allowed him to take this step?”

“Well, I’m glad you mentioned Trevor,” began the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion. “One of the things that’s almost really become a calling card of the brand is we’ve taken the guys that didn’t get the chance to really showcase themselves to their fullest potential. Because of the somewhat cold-hearted nature of wrestling, sometimes, it can be kind of like you’re written off. That’s it. If you don’t happen to have the right connections, or you don’t happen to appeal to the right type of fans, it’s like your skillset can be greatly underutilized.

That was Trevor Murdoch.”

“I’ve known Trevor since I went to Harley’s camp in 2007, and at the time, he was on the road with WWE at that time,” Aldis continued. “In my mind, I was like, ‘wow, it’s so cool that this guy’s a WWE star, and he’s taking his two days at home off the road to come and help us. That’s so cool.’ To get it to come sort of full circle – we didn’t give him anything. He took it. All we did was say, ‘I think you might be a good fit.

It was literally just one of the ‘hey, what about Trevor Murdoch?’ And Billy went, ‘oh, yeah, that’s a good shout! Let’s try him!’ He walked out on that first episode of Powerrr, or I think it was the first episode, and you could just feel the people in the building go ‘oh, yeah,’ because now the shoe fits.

“

“He just resonates in that environment,” I agreed.

The Real World’s Champion agreed before continuing. “Finally, Cinderella found the right slipper. You know what I mean? It’s like they go ‘oh, man, we kind of forgot about this guy, but yes! He’s great. He’s believable. He’s a good worker, and he fits so well in this. It was this sort of double whammy, right, this one-two punch where people went ‘Oh, yeah, this guy’s legit.’ And then, they also went, ‘oh, I’m starting to get a feeling of what this show is going to be about, and what this brand is going to be about.’ So it was this kind of one-two [punch]. As much as I represent the NWA in many different ways – a lot of people have been very kind and made some very lofty comparisons, and I won’t share those. But, I try to honor the sort of standard set by guys like [Ric] Flair and Nick Bockwinkel and Harley [Race]. As much as I sort of appeal with that particular taste, Trevor appeals [to] the type of tastes of people who like Dick the Bruiser, or Dusty Rhodes.”

“That’s really what we’re about,” Aldis stated to close out the question. “We just want really good pro wrestlers here. Good, solid, believable pro wrestlers, and Trevor, he’s upper echelon now and I’m sure he’s going to prove it as we move forward.”

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