Recap by: Christopher Jay, rajah.com
Please send all feedback to: jspodcast2020@gmail.com or @wrestlingfancs
TALK IS JERICHO 4/3/20: BEST MATCH EVER - HBK VS UNDERTAKER WRESTLEMANIA 25 - GUEST: MARTY ELIAS, FORMER WWE REF
20:00 On not being given enough time: "Pat Patterson and Michael Hayes were the agents. This match was third and given 15 minutes. Taker and Shawn just looked at each other, and Taker rubs his goatee and says, Shawn, how long have you been with this company. Shawn said, long, about half of my life. He goes, you know what, I've been with this company longer than some of my ex-wives. We got 15 minutes? This isn't going to fly. Hayes said I will talk to Vince and get it changed. Within 20 minutes he came back, and they had 30 minutes."
40:00 On Charles Robinson being the one who was supposed to be the referee: "Oddly enough, I didn't have this match. Charles Robinson had this match. It turned into a little resentment, but I apologized to Charles, but Shawn was the one who asked me. Three weeks before this, we had a meeting. They gave out the assignments, Charles was there. We happened to be in San Antonio, TX and I told Shawn, very nonchalantly, I said, I don't have any match because WrestleMania was coming up. He said, you don't? I said no. He goes all right, cool. So, in Corpus Christie, he pulled me aside and he said, you got my match, I talked to John. The day before WrestleMania, I got pulled aside and I got spoken to (by a few of the referees) that I need to go change it and put Charles back into the match. They didn't like the fact that Charles was taken out and I was put in. I said if you guys want to change it, go talk to Shawn. I originally had the dark match with Morrison and the Colons."
1:12:00 On why he was let go: "In a nutshell, I was let go because I violated the company dress code. I wore a Kiss T-shirt and I denied wearing a Kiss T-Shirt. I got to the building, unbeknownst to me, Kevin Dunn and Johnny Ace had seen me in a limo when they were waiting for Vince. Kevin Dunn told Johnny that I was out of dress code, so I went to the building and I was doing my duty of checking everybody in...I went into catering and Johnny and Kevin and Mark Carano were sitting at a table and Johnny seen me and said, Marty, what the fuck are you doing wearing a Kiss T-shirt. I said well I'm sorry, I just put it on. Of course, he caught me off guard, because here you got Kevin Dunn and Mark Carano and him all sitting out a table. I'm walking in business as usual, not figuring anything and he goes don't you know we have a dress code...I said I just put it on, I'll go change now and he said well go change. The reason I was wearing a Kiss T-shirt was because it was the last shirt, I had that was clean. When you're on a loop and you're on the road...it was the only shirt I had...Then I remember vividly, I got a call and I remember Carano said Johnny wants to talk to you. I called Johnny and he said I have to let you go. I said why? He said budget. But of course, after the fact you here stuff. It's now been 10 years. Did I really commit a sin that was unforgiveable? I have a persona non grata status with them. If I show up, I get kicked out. I went to Summerslam afterwards and I was kicked out. Jericho asked if he thought it was because he took the spot of Robinson. He said absolutely, as I always got shit because you and I are friends, Shawn and I were friends and we rode together. Like who is this lowly referee riding with top guys? Like, I am a suck ass. I know for a fact John Laurinaitis was insecure and thought I was going to get in Shawn's ear. I've reached out to them since them and they always say, we don't have anything for you, which is bullshit because they have hired 10,000 referees since then."
