Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guests: “The Bouncers” “Brawler” Brian Milonas & Beer City Bruiser
Date: 09/26/19
Your Hosts: James Walsh & Patrick Kelley

Two of the biggest men ever in Ring of Honor paired together as the biggest tag team in Ring of Honor history join the Wrestling Epicenter to talk all things ROH including Death Before Dishonor this Friday, their Powerplex finish, the state of wrestling, and even a little G1 Supercard as they wrestled in Madison Square Garden. All of this and so much more.

Ring of Honor presents Death Before Dishonor on pay-per-view and Honor Club this Friday night, September 27th live from Las Vegas, NV. In a Bar Room Brawl, “The Bouncers” will square off against the Kingdom’s Vinny Marseglia and their former friend Silas Young. Other matches include Rush challenging Matt Taven for the ROH World Title, Angelina Love challenging Kelly Klein for the ROH Women of Honor title, “The Franchise” Jay Lethal versus Jonathan Gresham, and so much more. To subscribe to Honor Club, visit www.ROHWrestling.com. Or, order the PPV through your traditional TV provider. 

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THE BOUNCERS:

On their PPV match against Vinny Marseglia & Silas Young on Friday night:
Bruiser: “We have a “Bar Room Brawl” match against Vincent and Silas on Friday night. We’re looking forward to getting our revenge that night.”

On their documented past with Silas Young:
Brawler: “Well, Bruiser has more of a history with Silas than I do. I can definitely say that when we were a trio, I was more Bruiser’s friend than Silas’ friend. If you want my opinion, I think Silas is a garbage person – A garbage human being. I know Bruiser wants to get his hands on him for all the things he’s done to him. You know, i don’t think I’ve ever gotten my hands on Silas myself. So, I plan on getting my pound of flesh, so to speak.”
Bruiser: “It is funny. TK (O’Ryan) went out with some concussion issues so Vinny went yout and… He’s known for his mind games. He went out and got Silas involved. Silas baited me in. I was stupid and thought, “Lets give Silas another chance” even though Milonas said, “No, you can’t trust this guy!” I thought maybe Josh Woods was rubbing off on Silas. But, it was Vincent’s plan all along. Come Friday, at Death Before Dishonor, the Bouncers are going to get their pound of flesh and gallon of blood.”

On TK O’Ryan possibly still being around:
Brawler: “Lets put it this way. We don’t put anything past the Kingdom. We’ve prepared for TK O’Ryan to possibly put in an appearance this Friday night.”

On how the two came to be a tag team:
Brawler: “Yeah, it was a fast friendship. Ironically, I think it was the match against each other that made people say, “Why are these guys fighting? They should be a team.” We’ve talked about it a lot but with us, what you see is what you get. We were fast friends before we were a tag team and we have just as much fun off the camera as we do in front of the camera. We like a lot of the same things. We like to drink! We light to fight! We like pro wrestling! The friendship came very easily for us.”
Bruiser: “I agree 100%. Even when Milonas was going through his Top Prospects Tournament, that is when we got to talking and realized we had a lot in common. We both had the same thinking in and out of the ring. When we started teaming, we started spending so much time together – Traveling, in the car. We have so much in common! He’s truly become one of my best friends and a brother. And now, in the ring, we don’t really have to communicate verbally. All we have to do is give each other a look and we know what the other one is thinking. That is really rare in professional wrestling. I’m very grateful I’ve gotten to not only team with this man but also become really good friends with him.”

On their awesome theme music:
Bruiser: “(laughs) That goes out to Indianhead – They’re a Baltimore based band. They had written something for us and we heard it and we were like, “This is us in music form!” Big shout out to Indianhead for writing and composing our music for us. It is called Closing Time by Indianhead.”

On being big men who do things people don’t expect big men to do:
Brawler: “Yeah, man. And in this company’s history too, there’s not too, too many big men. You look at guys like Samoa Joe and a Keith Lee. But, really, guys like us haven’t been the norm in Ring of Honor. But, we’re out to show the world that the the Bouncers are fun loving, beer drinking guys but we’re also some of the best wrestlers in the world and one of the best tag teams on the face of this earth.”
Brawler: “One of the things I really like is whenever somebody sees myself or Brawler for the first time, they say, “Oh, you guys are fat and out of shape.”
Bruiser: “(laughs) No kidding! We’re fat, right?”
Brawler: “But, we both are feuled by that. We go, “Oh yeah? Really? Well, watch this!” We go out and do what we do and those same people who called us fat come up to us and go, “WOW! You guys are some of the most athletic big guys we’ve ever seen in wrestling!” That’s what we do! There’s a stereotype that exists in Ring of Honor and we’re trying to change that stereotype. We’re trying to right that message. We’re going to be the best tag team in Ring of Honor if we’re not already the best team in Ring of Honor. And, don’t watch the Bouncers and expect two large guys to lay on their back. No! We’re going to do the stuff that the little guys are doing. We’re going to fly around, hit hard, and give you the best match that you’ve ever seen!”

On wrestling traisitioning into a smaller athlete’s game:
Brawler: “It is the progression of the business.”
Bruiser: “Yeah, it is the evolution of the business. When we first started, wrestling was all about the 6’4 body guys. Now, through the evolution of the business, now we’ve got a lot of the little, in shape, cross-fit guys and they’re the ones that are the acrobats and the flippies. But, I’m proud, and I know Milonas is too, that we’re two big guys and we’re going to show that big guy wrestling is still around and it is here to stay.”

On bringing back the Power and Glory “Powerplex” finish:
Brawler: “(laughs) Just the fact that Bruiser can get up there and do a frog splash was the inspiration. It is such a cool move. It is funny. Last year, I was at an autograph signing with Paul Roma and I told him how we had stole the move. He looked at me and said, “I bet your partner doesn’t jump while you’re still in the air, though!: (laughs) No, no he doesn’t! (laughs)”
Bruiser: “That was 100% Milonas’ idea. I remember we were talking and we said, “We need something that guys don’t get up from and that showcases what we do that people don’t expect.” He said, “Man, a great finish was the Powerplex.” We tried it in a match and the rest was history. I will give Brawler 100% credit for coming up with that for us.”

On working the ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard at MSG:
Brawler: “It was amazing. It was a dream come true to wrestle in front of 20,000 people in, probably, the most famous arena in the world with a great company like Ring of Honor partnered with New Japan. Being in the ring with Japanese legends like Suzuki and Liger and the Great Muta was amazing. And, getting to share it with my best friend… And, also, watching my best friend have a moment with Liger where it was just them was amazing to see because I know how hard Brian works. I was super proud!”
Brawler: “It is one of those things… Never in a million years… Never in my wildest dreams, as a kid, did I ever think I’d be in the center of the ring in Madison Square Garden facing off with Minoru Suzuki and Jushin Thunder Liger! (laughs) Crazy day! The emotions of that day were through the roof! But, one of the things that made it better, like Bruiser said, is getting to go through it with one of the people you consider one of your best friends in the world. The one disappointment is we didn’t get to actually be in the ring together at the same time.”

On AEW on TNT, WWE on FOX, and Impact on AXS:
Brawler: “I’m happy this is happening… ”
Bruiser: “Growing up, wrestling was always there. Then, you had the Monday Night Wars and wrestling seemed to be on every day of the week. Now, as a wrestler, it is great because there are so many shows for us to be a part of. And, for the fans, this is great because wrestling is on every night of the week. I’m so glad for the kids because wrestling is always at their fingertips. I want wrestling to live on forever. So, if these kids have the choice to watch wrestling every night of the week, that is a dream right there!”
Brawler: “I can’t imagine being a kid today. When I was a kid, it was Saturday morning, Saturday night at 6:05, Sunday was All American Wrestling. Once in a while, my parents let me stay up to watch Prime Time Wrestling. But, that was it. Wrestling every night of the week? Wrestling on demand whenever you want it? I don’t know that I would have gotten anything done in my life if I had this as a kid growing up! (Both Bruiser and Brawler laugh) I feel like the old guy. You know- Back in my day! (laughs)”

On how ROH can “Keep Up with the Jones’” with the other companies making moves:
Brawler: “I think just keep doing what we’re doing which is putting on the best wrestling on the planet. Just look at the card for Death Before Dishonor on Friday night. You’ve got Matt Taven versus Rush, you’ve got Jay Lethal versus Jonathan Gresham… The FREE match they’re giving away is Brody King versus Jeff Cobb! That, to me, is insane! Marty Scurll, Flip Gordon, PCO, Bandido, the B riscoes… The level of talent in Ring of Honor is as strong as it has ever been. People need to stop focussing on the losses and look at the talent we have. People need to watch this show on Friday night. You think you’ve seen some good wrestling shows over the past few months? I promise you – Purchase Death Before Dishonor this Friday night because it is going to be the talk of the wrestling world come Saturday morning.”
Bruiser: “We also have Honor Club which is like the Ring of Honor Network. We’re still in syndication on Sinclair – Sinclair just bought all those (FOX Sports) stations. The cool thing about being owned by a big media company is they know how to keep us in the now.”