In TurnbuckleTimes’ latest exclusive interview, Ben Bishop (@bigtroublebb) sits down with TBT’s Scott Mitchell (@scott44mitchell) to discuss his time at Beyond Wrestling, including his upcoming match with Dustin Waller, Waller’s new side at Beyond Wrestling, his recent matches with Julius Draeger and Rain Conway, and his goals at Beyond. He also opened up about his recent WWE tryout, his content, which he posts on social media, and what got him into it. You can watch the full interview with Ben Bishop down below.

You are someone who has begun posting such fun content, whether it be videos or skits. What got you into this side of creativity?

“So, it was a few things. I mentioned Sam Adonis. He reached out to me on a whim one day and just said, ‘Man, I think you have so much potential, but there’s something more you can do. You have a great look. You have an innate charisma about yourself, try to think about it.’ He didn’t exactly say to make these videos, but he made my mind start working a little bit. At that point, too, I have to give credit to Nick Buono, Nicky B. Goode on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. He’s been making some awesome content recently as well. He used to work at Barstool Sports, and I became friendly with him through my connections at Barstool, when I did some work with Branden Walker on the wrestling podcast, and Branden would manage me on the indies sometimes.

Nick said, “Hey, Branden’s not doing wrestling anymore. We can unofficially be a Barstool podcast and take over the wrestling account.’ Which ended up, he ended up leaving Barstool. We both said to ourselves, we’re not expecting this podcast to get really huge. Really, for us, it was just to talk, get more comfortable with our voices, and just do something else to try and put content out there. He said, ‘Well, we can try and put one podcast out a week, and we can make clips out of it, but we probably need more content. We need a little bit more to get this thing rolling the way that we want, and just to put more content into the social media and try to build it up. I was like, alright. I’m thinking of what I can do, and I’ve always been someone who takes wrestling seriously.

I take the work seriously, but I don’t take myself seriously. I think we can have fun with this. Wrestling should be fun. Kayfabe, at this point, in this day and age, it may get me heat for saying this, but it’s not real anymore. People know what wrestling is. They’re going to go if they’re invested in the characters and are invested in the stories. They’re going to go have a good time. They don’t really think everyone hates each other, and we all want to make each other bleed and all that. Like, no. You can make them believe that for that time period, like a movie. When you go watch a movie, you’re able to say, ‘Hey, I know what this is, but I’m entertained.’ People watch Stranger Things, do you really think that these monsters exist? No. But you’re going to watch Stranger Things.

So, I was thinking of it, I feel like everyone talks online, and there’s always dirt sheets and stuff, and Kayfabe is what it is. And I want to have some fun. Nobody knows much about indie wrestling or what goes on, or what kind of funny silliness about this whole industry in independent wrestling. I always make jokes in the car with James Ellsworth and other buddies, making fun of the shindie promoters, or the guy who walks in the locker room thinking they’re the shit because they did one match on AEW Dark. I was like, why don’t I just make this into a video series and just have fun with it? They put all these tropes in because nobody else was doing it.

Besides Jack Vaughn. I have to shout out Jack Vaughn because he was doing a great job with it as well, before I even started. He started it a year and a half before I did. He’s doing really well with it, doing more in-ring stuff. So, maybe I could do more backstage stuff. So, I just did it. I did it, Scott, because I thought it was funny. I was entertaining myself because it’s almost cathartic for me. Wrestling is such bullshit sometimes. This stuff is so silly. Why don’t I just poke fun at the silliness of it? I just started making them. At first, a few views, a thousand, two at the most. I was like, this is cool, I’m getting some little traction.

I had some people reach out to me, and they were like, ‘What are you doing? What is this?’ I’m just having fun with it. I had people reach out and say, ‘This may get you some heat.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, what’s heat? F**k it. Heat is bullshit, dude.’ Whatever. If this kicks me out of wrestling because people don’t want to laugh or have a good time, so be it. I’ll find something else, but I just kept making them, and it all came to a head really after my AEW Rampage appearance, where I made the Creed music video, and watching it with my wife. That’s when things started picking up, around two years ago, around this time. Things never stopped. I try to put stuff out every day. Haven’t been as good about that recently, but I’m trying my best.

At least four-five pieces of content a week. Some hit, some don’t. But you have to throw it out there. I tell guys all the time. People ask me, ‘Do you have any ideas for social media?’ and I can’t believe I’m that guy that people come to in the locker room now and ask for advice, and they ask me that, and I tell them, ‘You have to not be afraid.’ So many people are afraid to be cringey. What if it doesn’t get a lot of views? So what. Nobody is talking about that, nobody is mentioning that, nobody cares, like, hey, did you see that Johnny only got 1,000 views on his last post? Nobody talks like that.

You have to throw stuff out there and see what works. That’s what I did. I stopped caring about what people thought, and just went for it. It’s helped me tenfold. It really has.”

Do you have a favorite skit/persona that you’ve made, and do you have a skit that you made that took off, but you didn’t think it would?

“Yes. So, obviously, I love a lot of the personas. The first one I really did was Bob Fury, the Shindy promoter. That started getting people more interested in me. Obviously, the one that took off the most is Tribal Keith. Tribal Keith blew up last year. I did not think Tribal Keith would have blown up like that. It was Labor Day weekend, 2025, I think it was Labor Day. I remember after Rhea was in Paris, and she got mobbed by all of those people, and I put up that post pretending I was one of them. I’m like, everyone knows it’s bullshit. I’m like, it’s a filter, it’s all distorted, I’m not trying to pretend, you know? All of a sudden, it just blew up.

You had people, like RingsideNews, picking it up, thinking I was a fan. Then they caught on, and they were like, ‘Okay, this is funny.’ Everyone, everyone. It just went crazy on Twitter. I’m just like, ‘Oh my God.’ I’m so upset I forgot the guy. His Twitter handle, I don’t remember the exact one, but he came up with the name. I was like, oh my God, that is genius. So, I rolled with it. I rolled with Tribal Keith. That’s the one I didn’t think would blow up. I did not think that would be something. I didn’t think that would go gangbusters as it did. Now, I make jokes. Tribal Keith is more over than Ben Bishop at this point. Sometimes people want to shit on me, but I’ve gotten three characters over, while some indie wrestlers can’t get themselves over. So, take that.

But, I like the ones honestly, with my humor, I love the ones that are more of the Kenny Powers character. Just like the delusional, look how good I am. I love doing skits like that. So many indie wrestlers just act like that, think they’re the shit, or the vets that come around who in like 20 years have worked 35 matches, but walk around like they’re the shit and have been in wrestling forever. Or the guy who considers himself an ECW original, but he was outside, handing out tickets or something at the ECW Arena in 1997.

Those are the funniest people to me in wrestling. I get an absolute kick out of those types of carnies. Those are always my favorites. Anything I can do with that, and being that delusional type of guy, I love doing. That’s just hysterical. I love Tribal Keith and Bob Furio. The shindie promoters are just as funny. The fans, I mean, forget it. That’s always going to get the most views. They’re rabid. Some people can’t look in the mirror and laugh at themselves sometimes. But really, when it comes down to it, just like the delusional type of wrestler or promoter is the funniest shit to me. That’s usually my favorite skits.”

Let’s jump right into it. On Friday night, you’ll be squaring off with Dustin Waller at Beyond Wrestling’s big event, “Break The Walls Down.” What’s your mindset heading into this one?

“Well, I mean, I’ll be the first to say, I think Dustin Waller is an unbelievable talent. He’s always at Beyond and Wrestling Open. He’s a standout in the Northeast scene. I know he and Kylon have gotten out to a lot of other promotions around the country as well. They’re younger guys. I think Dustin is 24,25. He’s incredible. He really is. When I found out I was wrestling Dustin, I was happy. I was like, this is awesome. I can’t wait to work with him. Now, talking about the match, let’s talk about what it looks like. I’m much bigger than Dustin. He had that little promo the other day talking about Big Bad Knee Cool. That was funny. I’ll give it to him.

I mean, Dustin, that’s what happens when you do a lot of shit in your life, pal. That’s what happens when you’re a Division 1 athlete, and you play Australian football after that and move over to wrestling, and you’re 6’12” tall. Yeah, you might not have the best knees in the world, but that’s just because I’ve done shit and haven’t been just playing around in a wrestling ring, doing some cool moves like you, pal. Right. I’ve done some shit in my life. I have to fit in airplanes. I have to fit in cars. Yeah, it’s not easy on the body. But I still go out there and every single God damn night, Dustin, and show what I can do. What I can do for a guy at my size, Dustin, is unbelievable.

So, all I’m saying to you, Dustin, is you can talk about that, but we’ll see once the bell rings what old big double B can do. For that, whatever it might be, five to 15 minutes, however long I’m in there with the guy. I can make it shorter if I want to, but I want to give people a good show. You’ll see when I’m in there that this body can move a little bit. We’ll have some fun. It’s going to be a good show.

Unfortunately, I saw that MJF cannot be there. Card subject to change. But that shouldn’t deter anybody from showing up tomorrow in Cranston, RI. It’s still a hell of a card. I saw that Bear Bronson has been announced for the show. I love to see that, Wrestling Open Champion.

Down the line, Max Caster. We’ve got Bobby Orlando, who I love, and who doesn’t get enough love for his social media. He’s unbelievable. His stuff is great. He’s one of my favorite follows in the wrestling scene right now. The basketball stuff, I think, is hysterical. I told him last time I saw him,  I was like, ‘Dude, don’t take this as an insult by any means, but you should host a YouTube kid show, you’re so entertaining.’ He was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, that’s great. That’s not an insult at all.’ I think he’d make a shit ton of money off of that.

Regardless, there are guys like Steve Stetson, Marcus Mathers, Gabby Forza, and Megan Bayne. It’s going to be one hell of a show. I love the shows at Rhodes at the Pawtuxet. I love coming home to Rhode Island. Even though MJF won’t be there, it’s going to be an absolutely incredible show and an incredible Friday night in Cranston, Rhode Island. Which is tough to say because there aren’t many incredible Friday nights in Cranston, Rhode Island. But when Beyond’s happening, it’s always a good time.”

We’ve seen a new side of Dustin Waller take over at Wrestling Open/Beyond Wrestling lately. What goes through your head when you see this?

“I get it. I’m going to empathize with Dustin a little bit. I get it. He’s talented. He wants to be a bigger star. He probably sees guys come and go all the time; he sees them, and I bet he believes, I’m better than these people, and he might be. Dustin is incredible, he really is. I’m not taking anything away from his talent. So, he’s bitter. He’s a 24,25 year old bitter guy. He sees guys getting shots, and he’s not getting those shots. I get the change of faith. I see why he’s getting upset; I get it.

I’m there too, pal. I understand where you’re coming from. But what I’ll say is, figure it out. I figured it out, and I’m going all over the country. I’m getting flown out to all these places. There’s no reason that Dustin can’t as well. He just has to figure it out. I think he’s getting a little upset, a little mad, probably a little bit jealous of old Big Trouble. He does these amazing things. He does cool moves. I may not be able to do some of those cool moves like Dustin. But what I can do is I can get reactions and get people to care. So Dustin, there’s some free advice for you, pal.”

You’ve become a bit of a mainstay at Beyond Wrestling. What has it meant to you to be a part of that promotion?

“Everything, man. When I first started wrestling, I wasn’t a big independent wrestling fan. I knew of Beyond a little bit. I’d read some stuff online or see what some guys on the indies are doing. I was always intrigued by the indies, but I never got to an indie show; I knew of Beyond, I knew their YouTube, I’d come across some matches, I’d see some matches. I was like, ‘Wow, man, this looks so cool.’ It was gritty, and I liked the feel of it. Of course, it’s a New England mainstay.

When I got the opportunity in October of 2024 to go up to Providence, I was very excited. It was the first bigger indie I got to work for. Drew gave me the opportunity, obviously being from Rhode Island, of course, that comes with the potential to sell some tickets, and I did. He likes that. He’s a promoter. So, we can’t skirt past that. But I’ve shown time and time again that I get reactions and get people to care. I’m not the prototypical indie guy, and I’m not like a super indie guy.

I’m not going to wow people like certain indie guys like Dustin or Marcus Mathers can do. But I think Drew, even last time you saw it, came out of the curtain, and I got people chanting ‘BEN!’ right away. I get great reactions. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what I want. I feed off that. I feed off crowd reactions. Obviously, I’m from Rhode Island, so that helps. But being able to work for Beyond, like the lineage at Beyond, you can’t beat it.

Looking up and down the AEW roster of all the people who went through Beyond. The Kris Statlanders, Orange Cassidy’s, MJF’s, obviously, Max Caster. A ton. Mark Sterling. So, there are so many people who came through Beyond, and I’m happy to be a part of it now. It’s always a joy to get up there. It’s always a hell of a locker room. Rhodes at the Pawtuxet is an awesome venue. White Eagle is nice. Rhodes at the Pawtuxet is a really nice venue. It’s really been a joy. I’m very excited to continue it for as long as I can. As long as Drew has me. Drew, I’m talking to you, pal. As long as you’ll have me.”

In May, you had wins over Rain Conway and Julius Draeger to continue to build yourself up at Beyond. What was it like to work with two of the young up-and-comers at Beyond?

“Don’t forget, he didn’t go to BIO Pro, but DJ Powers as well. I got a win against him, too. I’m currently on a three-win streak in Beyond right now after losing three in a row. So, things are going pretty well. But yeah, I had two days in May where I worked with Rain and Julius. They’re doing something special there, at the Beyond Pro Wrestling School. They’re a joy to work with. Both of them. I can’t say enough. It was a lot of fun. Both matches, both different types of matches, they’re different wrestlers, but both showcased their strengths in the right way.

When Drew asked me if I was okay working with students, I was like hell yeah. I love doing that. I’m not trying to act like I’m just some vet that’s just like, I’ll teach you everything I know, kid. But I enjoy working with people like that because they want to go out and work hard. They’re not like, ‘I want to take a day off’ or ‘Let’s not do too much.’ If I’m here, I want to do something. I want to have some fun. Let’s go out there and work. They were more than happy to do that.

It was cool that Julius, at the Brewing Company, was like, ‘Yeah, I grew up right over there. You could see my house.’ I was like, ‘Seriously? Across the street from this place?’ I thought that was pretty funny because we were in the middle of nowhere. But seriously, they have bright futures. Wrestling is wrestling, so you never know. You never know who can pop off at any time. So, if they can just stick with it. They’re always around good wrestlers; they’re always around the right people. I think they’re going to both do great.”

Do you have any goals when it comes to Beyond Wrestling?

“At Beyond Wrestling, I wish I were closer so I could be there all the time. Unfortunately, I’m in Georgia, so it doesn’t pertain. It’s always a weird question, Scott. People ask me all the time, I shouldn’t say weird, but it’s a good question, but for me, it’s odd because I got to the point where I don’t think about it, I don’t make too many goals anymore. I’m not saying that’s good for everyone, but it’s just my thing. I’ve gotten to the point in professional wrestling where I just want to enjoy it. I want to enjoy the time that I have doing this. We all have a timetable. We all have an expiration date at some point.

I just want to have fun, and I want to work with people. I would love to work with the MJFs of the world if he does come back, and yes, I know that’s Bobby’s match, so I hope he gets it first. But, getting to work the bigger matches, I hope to continue to build up my stock enough to have the opportunity to work bigger matches at Beyond. When it comes to goals, I just take it day by day. I have set goals before. I’ve been disappointed. I haven’t gotten to where I wanted to be.

So, what I decided was that at some point, I think the cards will fall. I will get to where I should be, and I’ll keep working as hard as I can to get to where I want to be. But where I end up is where I end up. I think that it’s important to kind of stay grounded in that sense and enjoy what’s in front of me at that current moment. Beyond has such an incredible fanbase. They make me feel so welcome every time I come on there. It’s just one of the best indies in the country. You can’t argue it. Just to be part of it was a goal in itself. I got that goal.

Now, I just want to keep building it up as much as I can. I’m not close; I can’t be there all the time. But I want to be a part of the history of Beyond and continue to build it up, especially in Rhode Island. Being a Rhode Islander, I love coming back there. I love wrestling in front of friends and family as much as I can. So, if that means continuing to build it up in the state of Rhode Island, I can help out with that. I can say that’s a goal. That’s a goal. Continuing to build up Rhode Island. There we go. You got one out of me.”

You recently had a tryout with WWE. What was that whole experience like for you?

“The tryout was great. I found out in May of last year that I was going to get the SummerSlam tryout, so I worked my ass off all summer, and I trained in a ton of places. I went down to Ace Steele’s, I went to Nattie & TJ’s Dungeon, and I worked out with Sam Shaw & John Davis. They used to have a school in St. Augustine. Also, worked out at Fighting Spirit with Pete Dunne & The Grizzled Young Veterans. I worked with a ton of places, worked my ass off all summer. Got there. It’s a really cool experience, man. They rolled out the red carpet. We were in a beautiful hotel. Obviously, everything was comped and paid for. It was a really cool facility at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, their new gym.

I used to play basketball against NJIT. Their old place was horrible. Shoutout to NJIT for their new facility. In Newark… It’s fine… It’s nice. I mean, I got to be in there with some standout people. I thought it was a great group. Sometimes, I can tell it really gets contentious with the athletes vs. the wrestlers. There were more athletes than wrestlers. There were about 18 wrestlers and 34 athletes. You’re looking at these athletes like, you’re getting this opportunity that we worked for for so long. But, they couldn’t have been more supportive. Every single one of them down the line, every athlete that was there was extremely supportive.

Shoutout to the athletes who made it. Meghan Walker. She’s got so much aura to her. I think she’ll be a standout. Zoey Hines, same thing. Played softball at Boston College. Kai Kavari, he goes by now, so I’ll call him by his wrestling name. But, Cyrus, the running back at Oregon. Delia, Ellen, and Viking as well. Really, all cool people, really happy for all of them. Of course, the wrestlers who made it. Will Kroos. I will wave the flag for Will Kroos any day. Mason Rook now. He’s a stud. The things he can do are incredible. I’m just waiting for him to continue to do more. I think he’ll continue to turn people around on what he can do. One hell of a guy.

Of course, the ID talent. A good buddy of mine, Mike Cunningham. Eli Knight was in my tryout and already got signed. EK Prosper, I should call him by his full name now. But, down the line, Jha’Quan McNair, I worked him in a match. Jacari Ball is his name now. I worked a tryout match with him. A guy in North Carolina who’s going to do big things as well. A lot of people will leave these tryouts and will say, ‘don’t be bitter, don’t be upset,’ and yeah, I had my time when I was bitter and upset. But I won’t be upset and bitter with the people who made it. I’m never going to say it shouldn’t have been them; it should have been me.

I think I should be there. 100%. I think I knocked it out of the park at the tryout. I think there are just a few voices in some of those rooms that did not want me there. We won’t get into that. But it was a great experience, really cool. I got to work a match with Shawn Michaels. Whether he liked it or not, I don’t know. But I got to skin the cat in front of him, too, which was really cool. I thought he’d be more impressed by that. But, he wasn’t as impressed as I thought he’d be. But it was a really fun time. Hard work, tough, but anything worth it is going to be. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Well, I’d change the decision. But everything else was perfect. Made some really cool connections, met some really cool people, and made some lifelong friends. So, all in all, great experience.”

Do you have anyone you’d really like to share the ring with?

“You know, I never have a good answer. It’s a great question, but I never have a good answer. Anyone right now on the indies that I’d like to share the ring with. Well, the top dog. Mance Warner. He’s the IWTV Champion right now, champion at Wrestling Revolver as well. He’s top of the list, and he’s a certified tough guy. The Southern Psycho. I think we’d probably put on one hell of a match. I’m going to have to go with him. I’ll stick with one for now. I’ll go with Mance Warner. I’m calling him out. Mance, you pal. You.”