Former TNA Knockout ODB recently appeared on Interactive Wrestling Radio with host James Walsh. You can listen to the entire episode at this link and below are some interview highlights:
ODB:
On her new BBQ and Hot Sauce:
“It is going good! Since I left TNA last back in 2014, I came out with my own barbecue sauce and hot sauce. I’ve been traveling, of course in my famous trailer, the Silver Bullet, I’ve been traveling the country going to different barbecue festivals, bike weeks… It is funny. I actually landed a really good gig. I am now working with “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart. He has a bar now right on the beach, Daytona Beach. It is called Jimmy Hart’s Hall of Fame Bar. So, I am actually opening up a restaurant called ODB’s Barbecue. It is going to be right next door to Jimmy’s, actually. We’re in a hotel. It is in a famous hotel, we’re at the Mayan Inn right here in Daytona Beach. So, he has his bar and I’m going to have my barbecue joint. We’re going to have a grand opening in February! We have not set a date yet.”
On working as a bartender while working for TNA Impact Wrestling:
“Oh yeah. I’ve been in the bar business for, oh gosh, a long time. Since my OVW days. I’ve always loved the bar business. When I was with TNA, we’d do a lot of shows and I’d get bored. I hate wasting days. There’s always time to make money. So, my buddy owned a bar and I was like, “I’ll try out bartending!” And, I’d watch myself on Thursday nights at the bar and I’d be the bartender. (laughs)”
On pulling a modern day Rick Rude and main eventing ROH’s TV Show and appearing on Total Nonstop Deletion in the same week:
“(laughing) Yep! It is great being a free agent. You can do whatever the Hell you want, you can say what you want… I have been getting a lot of calls… I haven’t wrestled in a while. So, I’ve been doing stuff with Ring of Honor. I love them because they are actually giving girls an opportunity. There’s always 3 or 4 matches on the show. But, I’m wrestling girls way younger than me now. (laughs) Gotta keep up with the new era here!”
On how she ended up on Total Nonstop Deletion:
“I actually brought my food truck to TNA. So, I fed them lunch. I left there on good terms. We were always on good terms. So, we were talking and they were wanting to know if I wanted to do a little show up at the Hardy Compound. I was like, “Hell Yeah!”
On her take on the Total Nonstop Deletion event:
“It was interesting to be there. So, I arrived early in my air stream and I parked it at Jeff Hardy’s house. I couldn’t tell anyone I was there because I kind of wanted to keep it a surprise. We taped it about a month ago. So, I got there about a day early and watched what they were doing… Had some drinks at the Hardy Boys’ house! (laughs) It was cool to sit back and watch that and see Jeremy Borash… It is cool! It is different. There is something really cool there. AND, I got to motorboat a drone. (laughs) I didn’t think that was going to make TV. I just was like, “Ah, I’m gonna grab this guy and see what happens.” (laughs)”
On if the TNA appearance was a one-off or if she is going to be back on the roster:
“Oh boy. You never know. I have a lot of stuff going on. Never say never. I just came back from Japan so I still have wrestling in me. I think I’m gonna make another run at it, accept more indy bookings.”
On her recent tour of Japan:
“It was cool, it was great. That was my first time over there. It is funny, though. Since I sell a lot and grab my boobs, they thought that was funny! (laughs) They like the ODB over there! I’m so different from the other girls. One of the Japanese girls asked me, “Are you gonna put pants on?” (laughs) My ass likes to hang out a little more these days.”
On her former husband Eric Young’s success in WWE NXT:
“I love how all those guys, like AJ Styles is champion! It is like, what the hell? that is awesome! That is where he belongs. It is really cool for all the original TNA guys getting the big opportunity. You’ve got my hubby EY, Bobby Roode, Austin Aries. It is cool to see those guys doing that. We all want to be on the big show, you know? It is what we’re in the business for. NXT is awesome! I haven’t been to a show yet, believe it or not. Jimmy Hart won’t give me a day off! What the Hell? (laughs)”
On meeting Jimmy Hart:
“I’ve known him for years, from back in my indy days. We were both at bike week. We started talking and he said, “Lets work together!” He’s given me a huge opportunity. I can’t screw this up!”
On what BBQ sauce to buy, ODB’s or JR’s:
“Oh shit! You grab ’em both! Get them together. I actually met Jim Ross for the first time about a month ago in Nashville. I went to a show… Jeff Jarrett, James Storm was there. That was fun. That was my first time ever meeting him. So, hopefully I’ll be on the Jim Ross Report soon! I really want to have a barbecue cook off with him! I am challenging him!”
On the growth of women’s wrestling these days:
“I think NXT started… Well, I think us TNA Knockouts set the bar up there to where we all were so different, different characters. We’re not, you know, we’re not… I think with WWE, they’re bringing that back. They’re a big part of the show, they’re main-eventing pay-per-views! That is frickin awesome!”
On if WWE’s appreciation for female wrestling makes her want to go there:
“It does! I get excited. It is like “Oh shit, they’re bringing in all different girls and they’re letting them wrestle and not be… Like they took away the word “Diva” and that’s cool. Women are a big part of pro wrestling. We’re not just managers and valets. We actually can go. Sex sells. But, we’re not doing pillow fights anymore, thank God! There’s a time and a place for that. But, shit, they’re wrestling now in cage matches. It is crazy!”
On if TNA should follow WWE’s example and drop the Knockouts name:
“No! Knockouts is good. We’re Knockouts!”
On Jeremy Borash:
“Honestly he is one of the hardest working guys in wrestling. JB is so talented. He knows his wrestling. I miss him. But, he’s been busy. He’s been with Robert Irvine and doing his shows.”
On what really is in the Flask:
“It always depended on who I was wrestling. Yes, I did put real shit in it. You could kind of tell if you watch my matches… Sometimes I’d take a swig and you’d see I was like, “Oh damn!” I had some good stuff. I had Fireball in there, sometimes Jagermeister. I actually got Gail Kim once on pay-per-view. Everybody thought I didn’t put anything in it! She grabbed it and she was like, “Oh crap!” I also got Jackie Moore with it too. I was like, “Drink it, bitch!” Actually, a funny story with the flask. it was me and EY, we were about to go out. Sting is very reserved, very good looking guy. He’s a gentleman. He said, “Can I ask you a question? What do you put in that flask?” I was like, “Here, you want to taste it?” He was like, “Oh, no, no.” I said, “Come on, you pussy!” I just called Sting a pussy! Oh shit. Then my music hit and I was like, “Thank God! See ya later!” (laughs)”
On TNA and their potential new ownership:
“Lets look at it like a new beginning. They need to get out there more. Do house shows… Be more active.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
