WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.799 I want you to picture a scenario. And it's a 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:06.139 corporate nightmare, really. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:06.500 --> 00:00:09.960 Imagine you have spent five, maybe six years 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:13.119 grinding away in your industry. You know, you've 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:15.179 taken the really low paying gigs. You've traveled 00:00:15.179 --> 00:00:17.519 to the absolute middle of nowhere. You've probably 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:19.480 slipped in your car more times than you can count. 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:21.920 Yeah, eating out of vending machines. Exactly. 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:24.640 And then finally, the phone rings. The call. 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:27.460 The one everybody waits for. Right. The biggest 00:00:27.460 --> 00:00:30.699 competitor in your entire field, like a massive 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:33.719 global conglomerate, they offer you a contract. 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:37.280 So you sign the paper. You get the company email 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:40.039 address. You are finally, officially... in the 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:42.740 big leagues. We made it. You start the job. You 00:00:42.740 --> 00:00:45.119 put in a few weeks of really great work. And 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:48.619 then 30 days later, the company just dissolves. 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:50.939 It completely evaporates into thin air. Literally 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:53.399 ceases to exist. The assets are sold off. The 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:55.280 doors are locked. And you are standing in the 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:57.520 parking lot with a contract for a job that just 00:00:57.520 --> 00:00:59.619 isn't there anymore. I mean, it sounds like some 00:00:59.619 --> 00:01:02.140 kind of tech bubble horror story. But this is 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:05.000 actually one of the most famous and really one 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:06.980 of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:09.680 history of professional wrestling. Today on The 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.159 Deep Dive, we are looking at this whole concept 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:15.019 of timing, and we're doing it through the lens 00:01:15.019 --> 00:01:17.760 of one specific career. We were talking about 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:21.060 a wrestler named Frank Parris, better known to 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:23.959 fans as Air Parris. And look, if you're a casual 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:26.099 fan, you might not immediately know that name, 00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:30.299 but... His story is this perfectly crystallized 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:33.540 example of the chaos of the wrestling business 00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:37.019 in the early 2000s. It's a real case study on 00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:39.280 the independent grind, the total collapse of 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:42.340 world championship wrestling, WCW, in a career 00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:44.640 that is essentially the shadow of one of the 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:47.319 biggest stars in the world, AJ Styles. We have 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:49.319 been combing through all the documentation, the 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:51.840 match archives, the old National Wrestling Alliance 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:53.819 newsletters, the transaction reports from the 00:01:53.819 --> 00:01:56.060 death of WCW, all of it. There's a lot of paperwork. 00:01:56.379 --> 00:01:59.340 There is. And our mission today isn't just to 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:02.920 read a biography. It's to understand how incredibly 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:06.489 thin... the line really is between becoming a 00:02:06.489 --> 00:02:09.969 global icon and being a regional cult hero. It 00:02:09.969 --> 00:02:12.689 is the ultimate sliding doors moment because 00:02:12.689 --> 00:02:14.909 Frank Parris was standing right next to the rocket 00:02:14.909 --> 00:02:17.050 ship when it took off. He just he didn't get 00:02:17.050 --> 00:02:18.969 a seat. So let's set the stage. Let's go back 00:02:18.969 --> 00:02:22.229 to the mid 90s. The wrestling landscape is very, 00:02:22.310 --> 00:02:24.430 very different back then. Oh, completely different 00:02:24.430 --> 00:02:27.590 world. There's no social media. There's no YouTube 00:02:27.590 --> 00:02:30.229 for you to post your highlights and get noticed. 00:02:30.569 --> 00:02:32.509 If you wanted to be a wrestler, you literally 00:02:32.509 --> 00:02:35.849 had to find a local armory and just start. It 00:02:35.849 --> 00:02:39.009 was the Wild West. Yeah. And Frank Parris, he 00:02:39.009 --> 00:02:41.090 starts his journey in the North Georgia Wrestling 00:02:41.090 --> 00:02:45.289 Alliance. This is April 20th, 1996. Now, usually 00:02:45.289 --> 00:02:47.069 when we look at these old records, the debut 00:02:47.069 --> 00:02:49.490 names are, well, they're highly questionable. 00:02:49.610 --> 00:02:52.050 Yeah, they usually are. And Parris is no exception 00:02:52.050 --> 00:02:54.469 here. He doesn't debut as Air Parris. No, he 00:02:54.469 --> 00:02:57.169 walks out through the curtain as Get This Kid 00:02:57.169 --> 00:03:00.400 Ego. Kid Ego. It's beautifully simple, isn't 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:02.240 it? I mean, it sounds like a Saturday morning 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:05.319 cartoon villain. It does. But that is exactly 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:07.639 the point. Because if you're a rookie in 1996, 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:11.340 you don't need this deeply complex backstory. 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:13.639 You need the crowd to look at you and immediately 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:17.219 know how to feel. Right, right. So Kid Ego, that 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:20.680 name tells the audience, hey, I'm young, I'm 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:24.120 cocky, please boo me. It's incredibly efficient 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:26.909 marketing for a local show. So Kid Ego steps 00:03:26.909 --> 00:03:29.550 into the ring for his very first match. And this 00:03:29.550 --> 00:03:31.870 is where the harsh reality of the business hits 00:03:31.870 --> 00:03:34.610 him. He's tagged up with a partner named Mark 00:03:34.610 --> 00:03:38.330 Payne. Spelled P -A -I -N. You know it. And they 00:03:38.330 --> 00:03:40.909 are wrestling a tag team called Dusty Dotson 00:03:40.909 --> 00:03:43.469 and Nasty Critter. Nasty Critter. Oh, man, you 00:03:43.469 --> 00:03:46.289 can all smell the stale armory popcorn and hear 00:03:46.289 --> 00:03:48.449 the folding chairs just hearing that name. I 00:03:48.449 --> 00:03:50.340 know. But here's the thing about these records. 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:52.020 We see the funny names, but when you look at 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:54.159 the actual results, this was a rough start. Paris 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:56.539 loses that debut tag match. Right. And then a 00:03:56.539 --> 00:03:58.400 week later, he wrestles a guy named Mike Golden 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.180 in a singles match. He loses that one, too. A 00:04:01.180 --> 00:04:02.979 few weeks after that, he wrestles the jailhouse 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:05.439 rocker. He loses again. And we should probably 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:08.360 pause there for a second. Because that losing 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:11.819 streak, it's actually by design. How so? In wrestling, 00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:14.020 especially back in the 90s on the independent 00:04:14.020 --> 00:04:16.680 circuit, you had to quote unquote pay your dues. 00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:19.180 You simply weren't allowed to win right away. 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:21.579 You had to prove to the veterans that you could 00:04:21.579 --> 00:04:24.160 drive four hours in a cramped car, get beaten 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:26.740 up safely, get paid 20 bucks, and then show up 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:28.579 the next week with a smile on your face. It's 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.600 a test of endurance. Exactly. Well, it took him 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:35.920 two full months to get a win. June 21st, 1996. 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.699 He finally beats a guy named Kenny D. That just 00:04:39.699 --> 00:04:42.170 has to be mentally exhausting, right? to put 00:04:42.170 --> 00:04:44.689 your body through all of that damage for eight 00:04:44.689 --> 00:04:47.550 straight weeks without a single victory on your 00:04:47.550 --> 00:04:50.110 record. Oh, absolutely. It weeds people out really 00:04:50.110 --> 00:04:52.430 fast. And actually, the records show Paris took 00:04:52.430 --> 00:04:54.850 a pretty significant break shortly after this 00:04:54.850 --> 00:04:56.990 initial run. Yeah, I saw that gap in the match 00:04:56.990 --> 00:04:59.310 logs. It's a three -year hiatus. Which happens 00:04:59.310 --> 00:05:02.209 a lot more than people think. Injuries, running 00:05:02.209 --> 00:05:05.350 out of money, life just getting in the way. But 00:05:05.350 --> 00:05:09.050 when he finally comes back in 1999, the whole 00:05:09.050 --> 00:05:12.240 kid ego branding is completely gone. He drops 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:15.000 the cartoon villain act. Right. He returns to 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:17.040 the independent circuit, specifically working 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:19.860 with the NWA, the National Wrestling Alliance, 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:23.399 down in their wild side territory. And he reinvents 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:26.379 himself as Air Paris. And just that name Air 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:29.879 Paris? It implies a major stylistic shift. We 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:32.639 are talking high flying, coming off the top rope, 00:05:32.980 --> 00:05:35.500 lots of speed. Because this was the absolute 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:37.939 peak of the cruiserweight boom in wrestling. 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:40.879 You had guys like Rey Mysterio on national television. 00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:43.680 completely changing the public's perception of 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:45.459 what a wrestler looked like. They didn't have 00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:48.720 to be 300 -pound giants anymore. Paris adapted 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:51.240 to that trend. He became the flyer. And he found 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:52.980 success pretty quickly with this new style. He 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:55.759 wins the NWA Wild Side Junior Heavyweight Championship 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:59.620 in May of 1999. But looking at the title history 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:02.240 here, it seems incredibly volatile. That is a 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:04.060 very polite way to put it. Well, he wins it in 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:06.339 May, but then you look down to October and the 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:08.459 record just says, stripped of title. Right. And 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:10.620 the specific reason listed in in the newsletters 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:13.379 is his inability to defend the championship within 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:16.560 30 days due to an injury. That seems so harsh. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:18.500 I mean, in the NFL, if you get hurt, you go on 00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:20.180 injured reserve. You don't lose your job title. 00:06:20.420 --> 00:06:22.899 True. But in the Indies, the championship belt 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:25.720 is quite literally a prop used to sell tickets. 00:06:25.980 --> 00:06:29.060 If the champion can't wrestle, the local promoter 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:31.300 can't advertise a title match for the weekend 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:33.910 show. Oh, I see. Yeah, so if you sprain your 00:06:33.910 --> 00:06:36.550 ankle and you can't go for a month, you are stripped. 00:06:36.769 --> 00:06:39.689 It is the ultimate gig economy brutality. You 00:06:39.689 --> 00:06:42.110 are only as valuable to the company as your fiscal 00:06:42.110 --> 00:06:44.009 availability this coming Saturday night. But 00:06:44.009 --> 00:06:46.709 to his credit, he's resilient. He heals up, he 00:06:46.709 --> 00:06:49.149 wins a title back in November, but then he gets 00:06:49.149 --> 00:06:51.829 stripped again the following May. It's this constant 00:06:51.829 --> 00:06:54.129 stop -start momentum that just has to be frustrating. 00:06:54.189 --> 00:06:57.290 It is, but... Amidst all of that chaos, he starts 00:06:57.290 --> 00:06:59.990 running into his specific opponent on these cards. 00:07:00.589 --> 00:07:02.389 And this is where the story really gets interesting. 00:07:03.050 --> 00:07:06.509 We're looking at January 6th, 2001, a match for 00:07:06.509 --> 00:07:09.529 the NWA Wild Side television title. This is a 00:07:09.529 --> 00:07:12.129 massive moment. Air Paris defeats Eddie Golden 00:07:12.129 --> 00:07:14.769 to win the belt. It's a huge accomplishment for 00:07:14.769 --> 00:07:17.870 him. The crowd goes wild. He loses the title 00:07:17.870 --> 00:07:20.250 that very same night. Wait, wait, explain the 00:07:20.250 --> 00:07:23.269 logic there to me. Why have him win a championship 00:07:23.269 --> 00:07:25.569 just to lose it an hour later on the same show? 00:07:26.089 --> 00:07:28.709 In the business, it's called a hot shot. You 00:07:28.709 --> 00:07:30.870 do it to surprise the live crowd and make them 00:07:30.870 --> 00:07:33.430 feel like anything can happen. But honestly, 00:07:33.490 --> 00:07:35.949 the important detail here isn't the title switch 00:07:35.949 --> 00:07:39.649 itself. It is who he lost it to. The record says 00:07:39.649 --> 00:07:42.639 he dropped the belt to AJ Styles. Right. Now, 00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:45.319 for you listening, we really need to contextualize 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:48.879 this. Because today, AJ Styles is a certified 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:51.720 legend. He's maybe the best in -ring performer 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:54.879 of his entire generation. Global superstar. Exactly. 00:07:55.399 --> 00:07:59.600 But in January 2001, he was just a kid from Georgia 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:02.279 with a bad haircut. He and Air Paris were exact 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:04.399 peers. They're on the exact same level in the 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:06.620 industry. And they clearly had incredible chemistry 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:09.000 together because after this, they started trading 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.699 wins and teaming up constantly. They were basically 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:14.060 mirror images of each other in the ring, both 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:17.040 super athletic, both completely fearless, both 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:19.899 incredibly hungry to make it. And major companies 00:08:19.899 --> 00:08:21.420 started to notice what they were doing down in 00:08:21.420 --> 00:08:23.459 Georgia. Which brings us to the corporate side 00:08:23.459 --> 00:08:27.680 of things. We are entering the year 2000. World 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:30.860 Championship Wrestling, WCW, is based in Atlanta. 00:08:31.379 --> 00:08:34.080 It is a massive global company backed by Turner 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:37.360 Broadcasting. And they offer Air Paris a contract. 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:40.379 A developmental deal, specifically. Can you break 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:41.840 down what that means? Because I'm looking at 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.700 his match logs during this period. He signs this 00:08:44.700 --> 00:08:47.159 contract with WCW, but he is still wrestling 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:50.460 in high school gyms for the NWA. So a developmental 00:08:50.460 --> 00:08:53.399 deal basically means WCW pays you a retainer 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:56.590 fee. They say to the wrestler, look. We own your 00:08:56.590 --> 00:08:58.470 exclusive rights, but you aren't ready for live 00:08:58.470 --> 00:09:00.289 television yet. Go get some more experience. 00:09:00.509 --> 00:09:02.909 OK, that makes sense. But the confusing part, 00:09:02.970 --> 00:09:04.929 and the part that really shows how disorganized 00:09:04.929 --> 00:09:07.570 WCW was at this time, is that they weren't really 00:09:07.570 --> 00:09:09.669 policing where these contracted guys worked. 00:09:10.029 --> 00:09:11.809 I definitely noticed that. He is technically 00:09:11.809 --> 00:09:16.129 a WCW employee. But in April 2000, he goes and 00:09:16.129 --> 00:09:19.210 wins the NWA Tag Team titles with a partner named 00:09:19.210 --> 00:09:22.750 Big Bully Douglas. Exactly. Just think about 00:09:22.750 --> 00:09:24.809 that. You have a guy on the official payroll 00:09:24.809 --> 00:09:28.570 of a multi -million dollar television subsidiary 00:09:28.570 --> 00:09:31.309 and he's spending his weekends tagging with a 00:09:31.309 --> 00:09:34.389 guy named Big Bully Douglas in a local rec center. 00:09:34.710 --> 00:09:38.190 It's wild. It shows that WCW management was completely 00:09:38.190 --> 00:09:41.190 asleep at the wheel. The company was hammering 00:09:41.190 --> 00:09:43.889 money by the millions and nobody in the office 00:09:43.889 --> 00:09:45.870 was checking the paperwork on their developmental 00:09:45.870 --> 00:09:48.549 talent. But eventually they do make the call. 00:09:48.789 --> 00:09:51.970 We get to February 2001. The clock is ticking 00:09:51.970 --> 00:09:55.570 loudly now. WCW is desperate. Their ratings are 00:09:55.570 --> 00:09:58.470 tanking. They need new stars because their older 00:09:58.470 --> 00:10:01.450 stars are either far too expensive or just too 00:10:01.450 --> 00:10:04.330 lazy to put on good matches anymore. So management 00:10:04.330 --> 00:10:05.950 looks at the tape from the Georgia indies and 00:10:05.950 --> 00:10:08.720 they say bring up Paris. And bring up that Styles 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:11.139 kid, too. They decide to package them together 00:10:11.139 --> 00:10:13.480 as a tag team on national television. It was 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:15.639 a smart move. They already have the built -in 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:17.860 chemistry from working together so much. They 00:10:17.860 --> 00:10:21.659 debut on WCW Thunder on Valentine's Day, 2001. 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:23.860 And we should clarify, this isn't a dark match 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:26.460 before the show. This is primetime TV. Millions 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:30.059 of homes. It is the big break, the absolute dream. 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:32.259 And they hit the ground running. Just a week 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:35.200 later... They pull off a massive upset on television. 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:38.080 They beat the Boogie Nights. That was Disco Inferno 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:40.299 and Alex Wright, correct? Yep. Those were firmly 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:43.919 established TV names, former champions. So beating 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:47.139 them was a massive signal to the audience. It 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:49.639 meant the writers actually had real plans for 00:10:49.639 --> 00:10:52.200 Paris and Stiles. They were positioning them 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:55.419 to be the next great high -flying tag team. They 00:10:55.419 --> 00:10:57.679 even entered them into a tournament to crown 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:00.899 the very first WCW Cruiserweight tag team champions. 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:03.740 They make their debut. on WCW Nitro, which is 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:06.879 the company's flagship show on March 5th. They 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:08.799 are living the dream. Everything is going perfectly. 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:10.960 And then the music completely stops. Let's talk 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:12.740 about that final week, because this is where 00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:15.879 the timing aspect of the story just becomes a 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:20.279 pure tragedy. It is March 21st, 2001. They are 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:22.480 at the taping for the final episode of Thunder. 00:11:23.700 --> 00:11:25.940 Now, rumors are swirling backstage that the company 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:28.580 is in deep financial trouble, but the wrestlers 00:11:28.580 --> 00:11:30.960 are mostly being told that it's business as usual. 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:34.639 Keep your head down, do your job. In fact, the 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:37.980 creative team decides to go all in on Paris and 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:40.960 Stiles that very night. They rebrand them. Right, 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:43.320 completely. They give them matching flight suits 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:45.500 to wear to the ring. They officially name the 00:11:45.500 --> 00:11:49.659 tag team Air Raid. This is the real kicker. They 00:11:49.659 --> 00:11:52.700 rename AJ Styles to Air Styles, just so he matches 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:55.700 Air Paris. That is incredible to me. They are 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:59.759 building this brand new long term marketing strategy 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:02.559 on the literal last day of the company's life. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:04.639 They had no idea. They go out, they wrestle the 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:06.399 Jundragons, they have a fantastic match. They 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:07.960 walk to the back to the locker room thinking, 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:10.440 OK, we're air raid now. We have a gimmick. We 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:12.000 have merchandise potential. We're going to be 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.480 stars. And then the news breaks. Vince McMahon 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:17.059 and the World Wrestling Federation, the WWF. 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:20.340 by WCW. The competition won the war. They bought 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:22.740 all the assets. And here is the really harsh 00:12:22.740 --> 00:12:25.580 reality of a corporate buyout like that in wrestling. 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:28.799 The WWF, they really only wanted the videotape 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:31.320 library, the championship belts, and a few select 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:33.519 contracts. They wanted the huge names that could 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.080 draw money immediately. Guys like Booker T or 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:38.899 Diamond Dallas Page. Right. And they wanted a 00:12:38.899 --> 00:12:40.779 handful of mid -card guys they thought they could 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:43.799 use. But for a brand new tag team that had only 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:46.299 been on national television for about four weeks 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:48.480 Did they even get a phone call from the new owners? 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:52.100 No Nothing their contracts were simply not picked 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:55.799 up by the WWF air Paris and air styles were unemployed 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.399 instantly Just like that and this right here 00:12:59.399 --> 00:13:01.799 is the divergence. This is the exact moment where 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:04.440 their timelines completely split It really is. 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:07.100 Because AJ Styles hits the independent scene 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:09.840 hard, he eventually lands in a brand new startup 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.639 company called TNA Wrestling, and he becomes 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:16.080 the phenomenal one. He spends the next 20 years 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.720 becoming a massive global superstar, winning 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:22.159 world titles everywhere. And Air Paris. He goes 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:24.029 home. goes right back to the Georgia Indies. 00:13:24.309 --> 00:13:25.950 That just has to be a psychological wrecking 00:13:25.950 --> 00:13:27.909 ball. I mean, a month ago you were on Nitro, 00:13:28.009 --> 00:13:30.730 you were air raid on TNT, and now you're back 00:13:30.730 --> 00:13:32.649 in the armory wrestling in front of 200 people. 00:13:32.870 --> 00:13:35.149 It's incredibly humbling. And looking at his 00:13:35.149 --> 00:13:37.649 records from this era, he really does grind for 00:13:37.649 --> 00:13:41.149 a few years. But the NWA Wild Side territory 00:13:41.149 --> 00:13:44.730 eventually closes its doors down too. And he 00:13:44.730 --> 00:13:47.529 actually steps away from wrestling entirely around 00:13:47.529 --> 00:13:50.169 2005. It really felt like the end of the road 00:13:50.169 --> 00:13:52.840 for him. But I do love this one specific thing 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:55.220 about the wrestling business. Nobody ever stays 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:57.919 retired. Never. The bug is just too strong. You 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:01.000 always come back. And three years later, in May 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:04.679 2008, he resurfaces. He joins a regional group 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:08.340 called Nawa Ring Champions. But this time, he 00:14:08.340 --> 00:14:10.679 is not just an in -ring talent. He is the Booker. 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:12.799 Which means he's the one actually writing the 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:14.399 scripts and planning the storylines. Exactly. 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.799 He's pulling the strings. And because he's the 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:19.179 one writing the scripts, he crafts one of the 00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:21.500 absolute most entertaining local storylines I 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:23.980 have ever seen. We have to talk about the golden 00:14:23.980 --> 00:14:25.940 ticket. Please do. Because reading this in the 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:27.500 source material, it reads like a daytime soap 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:30.600 opera script. It totally does. So the onscreen 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:32.740 commissioner of this league, a guy named Ted 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:37.799 Guinness, he quote unquote Gifts Air Paris, a 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:40.759 golden ticket. It's basically a physical contract 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.379 that says Paris can challenge for any championship 00:14:43.379 --> 00:14:45.220 in the company anytime you want. It's a get out 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:47.899 of jail free card, but for a title match. Right. 00:14:48.179 --> 00:14:51.559 Highly coveted. But then Paris gets viciously 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:54.399 attacked by the bad guys of the territory, the 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:57.820 tag team champions, a duo known as the Exotic 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:00.919 Ones. The names are still just gold. The Exotic 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:03.639 Ones. So Paris is outnumbered and he needs backup. 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:06.299 He teams up with the top good guy in the entire 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:08.600 company, the Cruiserweight Champion, Chris Gantz. 00:15:08.740 --> 00:15:11.279 So they team up to fight the exotic ones. They 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:13.139 battle really hard. They don't quite win the 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:15.500 tag belts, but they bond in the trenches. Classic 00:15:15.500 --> 00:15:17.519 wrestling storytelling. The enemy of my enemy 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:19.179 is my friend. We fought together. Now we respect 00:15:19.179 --> 00:15:21.480 each other. Exactly. Until the match is over. 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:23.139 They are standing there in the middle of the 00:15:23.139 --> 00:15:25.879 ring, totally exhausted. Paris looks over at 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:28.580 his partner, Chris Gantz. Then he looks out at 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:30.899 the golden ticket he's holding in his hand. Oh, 00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:34.240 yes. He realizes in real time. Wait a minute. 00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:37.500 I have a guaranteed anytime title shot. You have 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:39.720 the championship title. Right. And you can barely 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:41.759 stand up right now. He cashed it in right there 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:44.919 on his own partner. He attacks him. He blindsides 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:46.960 his own partner, hands the ticket to the referee, 00:15:47.580 --> 00:15:50.860 and pins him one, two, three. Air Paris becomes 00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:53.940 the champion and the biggest, most hated villain 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:56.899 in the territory in about 10 seconds flat. That 00:15:56.899 --> 00:16:00.139 is just diabolical. I love it so much. It's so 00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:02.220 efficient from a storytelling perspective. It 00:16:02.220 --> 00:16:05.220 really shows that Paris deeply understood the 00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:07.620 psychology of the business. He wasn't just a 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:10.000 guy who could do a cool back flip off the ropes. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:12.620 He knew exactly how to manipulate an audience 00:16:12.620 --> 00:16:14.779 and make people care about the story. And from 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:17.120 there, he spends the next few years on what really 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:18.970 looks like a local legends tour. I'm looking 00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:21.110 at the match logs from a promotion called Perks 00:16:21.110 --> 00:16:23.549 International Championship Wrestling. This is 00:16:23.549 --> 00:16:27.129 around 2009, 2010. He's definitely not wrestling 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:29.690 rookies anymore. No, not at all. This was a very 00:16:29.690 --> 00:16:33.590 specific era where a lot of former WCW and WW 00:16:33.590 --> 00:16:36.190 legends were touring the small independent shows 00:16:36.190 --> 00:16:39.610 to make extra money. Paris ends up wrestling 00:16:39.610 --> 00:16:42.360 the Steiner Brothers. He tags with Kevin Nash. 00:16:42.659 --> 00:16:45.340 He tags with Ron Simmons. These are legitimate 00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:47.460 Hall of Famers, guys who main evented pay -per 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:49.740 -views. Why are they wrestling Air Paris in a 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:52.200 high school gym? Because when you're a veteran 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.220 like that, you need someone safe. If you're Kevin 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:57.340 Nash, you're a bit older, your knees are pretty 00:16:57.340 --> 00:16:59.940 bad from years of touring. You absolutely do 00:16:59.940 --> 00:17:02.379 not want to wrestle an overly excited 20 -year 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:04.119 -old rookie who might accidentally drop you on 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:06.319 your head. You want a consummate pro. Someone 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:08.500 who knows what they're doing. Right. You call 00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:10.900 air Paris because you know for a fact he can 00:17:10.900 --> 00:17:13.460 lead the match Call the spots and make you look 00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:15.079 like a million bucks without actually hurting 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:17.740 you It's a huge badge of honor behind the scenes 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:20.420 really being known as the safe pair of hands 00:17:20.420 --> 00:17:23.579 It is the respect level is huge and one of those 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:26.059 matches. He actually shakes hands with the Steiner 00:17:26.059 --> 00:17:28.640 brothers after the bell Which immediately turns 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:31.279 him back into a good guy in the eyes of the local 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:35.619 crowd the post match handshake is just a Incredibly 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:37.839 powerful tool in wrestling, but there is one 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:40.599 specific match in 2010 that just brings this 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:46.009 entire deep dive full circle March 6th 2010. 00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:49.390 Air Paris versus AJ Styles. Now we have to really 00:17:49.390 --> 00:17:51.289 stress the context of what was going on here. 00:17:51.529 --> 00:17:54.769 In 2010, AJ Styles wasn't just working random 00:17:54.769 --> 00:17:57.950 indies. He was the reigning TNA world heavyweight 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.390 champion. He was the undisputed face of a national 00:18:01.390 --> 00:18:03.710 television show. And he purposely comes back 00:18:03.710 --> 00:18:06.170 to a small independent show in Georgia just to 00:18:06.170 --> 00:18:08.410 wrestle his old partner. It's incredibly poetic. 00:18:08.430 --> 00:18:10.750 You have the world champion at the absolute peak 00:18:10.750 --> 00:18:13.670 of his fame and athletic prime stepping back 00:18:13.670 --> 00:18:16.009 into a tiny ring. with the guy who was supposed 00:18:16.009 --> 00:18:18.150 to be his permanent teammate 10 years prior. 00:18:18.269 --> 00:18:20.130 What was the actual vibe of that match? I mean, 00:18:20.150 --> 00:18:22.430 reading the reports, it sounds special. It was 00:18:22.430 --> 00:18:24.990 a pure celebration. It actually ended in a no 00:18:24.990 --> 00:18:27.930 contest because of outside interference, which 00:18:27.930 --> 00:18:29.750 makes sense. You have to protect a world champion 00:18:29.750 --> 00:18:32.730 from taking a loss, obviously. But just the visual 00:18:32.730 --> 00:18:35.809 of air raid essentially reunited. Standing across 00:18:35.809 --> 00:18:38.609 from each other on completely opposite ends of 00:18:38.609 --> 00:18:41.670 the success spectrum. It's powerful. It validates 00:18:41.670 --> 00:18:45.390 Paris, doesn't it? It says to the fans, and probably 00:18:45.390 --> 00:18:48.410 to himself, I can still hame with the absolute 00:18:48.410 --> 00:18:51.269 best in the world. Absolutely it does. And Pro 00:18:51.269 --> 00:18:52.930 Wrestling Illustrated actually agreed with that 00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:56.170 sentiment. Back in 2001, they ranked Paris number 00:18:56.170 --> 00:19:00.470 195 out of the 500 best wrestlers in the entire 00:19:00.470 --> 00:19:03.660 world. He was elite. He just literally fell through 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:06.099 the cracks of a massive corporate merger. He 00:19:06.099 --> 00:19:09.339 even ended up contributing to AJ's official autobiography 00:19:09.339 --> 00:19:11.200 later on. Yeah, the book is called Phenomenal. 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:13.019 And honestly, you really can't tell the origin 00:19:13.019 --> 00:19:14.980 story of AJ Styles without talking about Air 00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:17.339 Paris. There are two sides of the exact same 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:20.740 coin. So... As we wrap this deep dive up, what 00:19:20.740 --> 00:19:23.500 is the big takeaway here for you? We have a guy 00:19:23.500 --> 00:19:26.059 who seemingly did everything right, paid his 00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:28.200 dues, got the contract, but the industry just 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:30.160 collapsed right on top of him. I think it's a 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:33.720 profound lesson in perspective. As fans, we tend 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:37.019 to view success in wrestling as completely binary. 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:39.700 Either you main event WrestleMania or you are 00:19:39.700 --> 00:19:43.190 a failure. But Air Paris had a solid 20 -year 00:19:43.190 --> 00:19:46.009 career. He won numerous titles. He booked territories. 00:19:46.109 --> 00:19:48.730 He wrestled legends. He's a beloved cult hero 00:19:48.730 --> 00:19:51.069 to anyone who followed Georgia wrestling during 00:19:51.069 --> 00:19:53.289 that era. He played the hand he was dealt, and 00:19:53.289 --> 00:19:55.710 he played it well. Exactly. But I just can't 00:19:55.710 --> 00:19:58.589 help but think about that one massive what -if 00:19:58.589 --> 00:20:01.210 scenario. It's the ultimate sliding door. Imagine 00:20:01.210 --> 00:20:05.069 it's late March, 2001. The WWF talent relations 00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:07.190 guy is sitting at a desk, looking over the list 00:20:07.190 --> 00:20:09.809 of WCW contracts they just inherited. He sees 00:20:09.809 --> 00:20:12.250 Air Raid. Imagine if he had just said, you know 00:20:12.250 --> 00:20:15.170 what, we need a young, fast, high -flying team 00:20:15.170 --> 00:20:17.849 for the undercard. Pick them up. It changes absolutely 00:20:17.849 --> 00:20:20.970 everything. We could have seen Air Paris on WWE 00:20:20.970 --> 00:20:23.829 television for the last two decades. But even 00:20:23.829 --> 00:20:26.490 more importantly, if AJ Styles gets picked up 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:31.470 by WWE back in 2001, he never goes to TNA Wrestling. 00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:34.329 He never goes over to New Japan. He never becomes 00:20:34.329 --> 00:20:37.390 the leader of the Bullet Club. The entire history 00:20:37.390 --> 00:20:41.000 of modern wrestling. The rise of TNA as an alternative, 00:20:41.539 --> 00:20:44.019 the huge wrestling boom in Japan, maybe even 00:20:44.019 --> 00:20:46.500 the creation of AEW might all look completely 00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:49.059 fundamentally different today if that one single 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:51.160 developmental contract had been signed. The butterfly 00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:54.259 effect is very real. And in this specific case, 00:20:54.660 --> 00:20:56.700 the butterfly was wearing a matching flight suit 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:59.900 on the very last episode of WCW Thunder. That 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:02.299 is a wild thought to leave us with. A massive 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:03.920 thank you to everyone out there for listening 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:06.200 to this deep dive into the career of Aeroparis. 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:08.599 Give that what -if scenario some thought next 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:10.579 time you're watching a match. Always a pleasure 00:21:10.579 --> 00:21:12.819 to break this stuff down. Stay curious and we 00:21:12.819 --> 00:21:13.980 will catch you on the next one.