Gabriel Iglesias Talks Pro Wrestling Fandom, AEW's Production Values Vs. WWE, Vince McMahon

Recently on Talk Is Jericho, the current and inaugural AEW World Champion Chris Jericho interviewed comedian and longtime professional wrestling fan Gabriel Iglesias. Among many other things, Iglesias and Jericho talked about how Fluffy became the host of Chris Jericho's Rock N Wrestling Rager At Sea, Part Deux: Second Wave. Additionally, Iglesias discussed his professional wrestling fandom and recently catching an AEW pay-per-view.

During the podcast, Fluffy shared that he has been a fan of pro wrestling since WrestleMania 3.

"Yes, [I have been a fan] since WrestleMania 3! Yes, 1987, Detroit [Michigan], Pontiac Silverdome." Iglesias added, "yeah, WrestleMania 2 was that one where they broadcast from three different locations, so I think it was Chicago [Illinois], LA [California], and New York City [New York]. Back then, it was on closed circuit. It was at a closed circuit location – I didn't know what the hell that meant!"

According to Fluffy, he was inspired by the business side of pro wrestling and what WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has done with merchandising and production.

"So, let me tell you something: I was very, very inspired over the years, being a huge wrestling fan, by the things that Vince did." Iglesias continued, "like hey man, if you've got a great product, you market it, you package it. You don't skimp on the marketing and the branding. You make sure that you put out a very good product and people will follow. And I mean, I've studied the merch. I've studied the way the production is. I'm a big production guy, so I like angles; I like colors, the kind of equipment that's being used, the amount of cameras, the editing, the on-the-fly editing, and so, man, it's always evolving. It's always evolving! Every year, there'd be a new theme song. Every year, it's like, 'okay, let's try this, let's try this,' always changing, always evolving, always growing. And so, I applied that to [my] business. I make sure I'm not putting out these hokey freakin' $2 t-shirts. I make sure it's a good quality. I make sure the silk screening is good quality. I make sure there are little tags, little details, in any of the stuff whether its a bobble head, or coasters, or pins, or hats, or whatever. I make sure it's good quality and it doesn't look like it belongs at the flea market. Everything has a good quality to it."

On the subject of getting Fluffy for the sold out Jeri-cruise, Jericho claimed that Netflix's Mr. Iglesias took home a more modest payday to do the cruise than he is used to receiving.

"Our mutual friend Brad Williams, he was on the Jericho cruise last year and he was saying, 'Fluffy wants to go' and I thought about asking, but I was like, 'I don't have Fluffy type of money' and he said, 'no, he just wants to go,' so I said, 'okay,' and I reached out to [Fluffy] and we were able to work it out. And I thought it was really cool when, obviously, [Fluffy's] people were like, 'guys, this is Fluffy we're talking about here,' but the message came back to me that you said, 'I want to do this. I want to go. It's something personal for me to enjoy what I'm doing in life,' and you made it happen." Jericho explained, "I thought that was really cool."

Apparently, taking a pay cut to do the GOAT On A Boat cruise angered Iglesias's representation. He's just a fluffy guy – he'll make his agent cry.

"I pissed off the suits, no doubt," Iglesias admitted. "They were like, 'do you know how much this guy goes for?' I was like, 'I don't [care] – I just want to do it!' And they were like, 'but you should be getting paid this and that!' 'I just want to do it!' And they only see numbers and you have to respect that that's their hustle. That's what they do and that's what they get paid for. They're not there to make sure you have a good time. All they care about is that you're getting so much money because they're getting a piece of it."

Iglesias, who attended AEW Double Or Nothing, stated that he has been impressed by AEW's production values.

"I was very impressed. I was very, very impressed. I had certain expectations because, I mean, you guys were pumping it up with the promos and again I'm a fan of good production." Iglesias said, "it didn't seem like it was wonky – it seemed legit."

In not so many words, Iglesias suggested that AEW's production values rival even WWE's.

"I caught the second half, but when I got there, I was very impressed, again, with the production value. It was as good [as WWE]. It was as good as the other guys." Iglesias noted, "we had such a great time and we talked about it. We were like, 'wow, this is legit. This is legit.' We knew we were going to have a good time, but we didn't know it was going to be at that same level and we felt that it was. I think that was everyone's opinion."

Additionally, Iglesias put over The Young Bucks versus Lucha Bros. match, saying that he has become a fan of The Young Bucks.

"My favorite match was The Young Bucks versus The Lucha Bros.," Iglesias recalled. "Oh my God, that match was nonstop. They're in the ring; they're out of the ring; they're doing things in sync. I was blown away by that match. I had never seen The Young Bucks – I had never seen them wrestle before and I was just like, 'where have these guys been?' I became a fan of names and faces I had never seen before."

Check out The Pod Of Thunder And Rock And Roll here or via the embedded player below. If you use any of the quotations that appear in this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.